Late February - Fall Garden update

So my attempt of my first fall garden was successful in my opinion.  Very little watering and just a few days of covering the beds due to below freezing weather while the plants were still young, all in all, I am very pleased at the outcome.

The swiss chard continues to grow and grow throughout.  The cilantro took off quickly and even after freezing, continues to stay strong and grow.  The bib lettuce took awhile but is now ready to harvest.  We enjoyed a salad or two with the black seeded simpson lettuce.  And finally, the broccoli has begun to produce some edible florets.

In the past few weekends, when we had some unusually warm winter weather, I repurposed my self-watering gutter system into a hanging bucket system.  Last summer I grew more mosquitoes than plants, so I thought it was time to go back to the drawing board and see what I could come up with in using the materials that I already had.  The only new stuff I had to purchase was a few lag bolts, couple of bags of concrete, and a small box of screws.

So the plan is to use the buckets to plant tomatoes and peppers from the bottom of the buckets and water from the top.  It will require more frequent watering but at least there won't be standing water for the mosquitoes to produce in.  Underneath the buckets, I have 4 grapevines and some oregano growing.   The grapevines are really going to test my patience since I have been told that it can take up to four years before you will see any growth or produce.

I also started my seeds for the spring/summer garden in my garage.  Planted 3 types of tomatoes, tomatillos, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, and two types of cucumbers.  The rest I will so directly in the beds in March.  Other ideas for plants are watermelons, onions, basil, lemon balm, and mint for now.  I always like to experiment with at least one new plant so I am still looking for what that may be.


Once I have some time, I want to put down some decomposed granite between the beds and around the perimeter to keep the weeds down, mud off of Cassie's feet, and my neighbor's cat out of it.  I don't want to, but if it comes down to it, I might even build a small fence around it.

Get dirty and keep on gardening!

My first Fall Garden

So this year was my first attempt of a fall garden.   Usually my summer garden does so well and last so long that by the time I harvest everything, its to late for fall planting.  Since this past summer was a bust, it allotted me the time and opportunity to give a fall garden a chance.   

I first built some new raised beds and moved some things around.  My old 4x4 beds that I have had for about 6 years were beginning to decompose.  I decided to build four 4x8 beds and lay them long ways facing the sun.  I left about 5 feet between the beds and the back fence where I transplanted my grape vines.  I then took some cuttings of oregano from the front yard and planted it between the grape vines. Since I had plenty of room, I left in two of my old 4x4 boxes on the far left side.

With my first attempt at a fall garden I started everything from seed.  I planted swiss chard, broccoli, spinach, bib lettuce, loose leaf lettuce, cilantro, radishes, and some black seeded simpson lettuce. 

swiss chard

cilantro

black seeded simpson

Everything is growing pretty well so far.  I have already harvested some of the simpson and swiss chard and enjoyed eating it in salads and pastas. 

left over spaghetti with swiss chard, onions, garlic, and goat cheese

swiss chard with the stem removed

                   

My bucket system I tried out this summer still has green plants but still not much produce from them.  I had to move them into the garage a few weeks ago when Austin got its first freeze for the winter.  I recently moved them back out to the side of the house for some sun.  I don't expect much from them but I just hate to let them die, so I will continue to water and hope for the best.  Not sure if I will do the self-watering bucket system again next year or not, but I do have a few ideas for the buckets if I don't.  

So what I have learned about fall gardening compared to summer gardening is that you use a lot less water in the fall.  You are limited on types of plants you can grow, and there is the hassle of covering and uncovering your beds due to Texas' weird temperatures.  The weather within a given week will  fluctuate from freezing to mid 80's.   Lettuces are easy to grow but it does take time and effort to wash it thoroughly before eating it.  One good thing is that I haven't seen any pests eating my plants in the fall, to cold for them I guess.  Even though there isn't much, I still love the smell of fresh herbs and vegetables picked straight from the earth.

Get dirty and keep on gardening!

Zucchini and Acorn Squash recipes

So with my 14" zucchini, I had to use it in a couple of recipes.  The first one was in zucchini, carrot, and onion fritters.  Just grate all the ingredients, add an egg and some garlic, drop a spoonful in a pan with some hot oil and that's it.  Serve it up with some sour cream and/or applesauce.  Delicious.



While I was cooking the fritters, I had used the rest of the zucchini to make some zucchini bread.  Instead of two loaf pans, I just used one bundt cake pan.  It came out a little on the dry side but still pretty tasty with some butter on it.



For some reason, I was really in the cooking mood that night so I also took 3 small acorn squash that grew in my garden and wanted to cook them up some way.  I found online a recipe for squash rings.  Simply cut them cross ways in rings, remove the seeds and center of each ring, baste with some melted butter, season with salt, pepper, and brown sugar.  Bake in oven at 350 for about 25 minutes flipping them over half way through.  Turned out good.  I skin was a little tough so we just ate it off like you would a watermelon.

Get dirty and keep on gardening!

Finally the Fruits of my Labor are beginning to appear

Just when I was about to give up on the garden... after the week of rain and then a vacation to Branson, MO, and getting the water bill for July, I decided to not waste any more water on the garden.  Then the other night I went outside to talk to my neighbor and I looked down and saw this beautiful baby.

A zucchini squash measuring an impressive 14" long.   Now I just have to think of a recipe to use it in.   I noticed a few other small ones beginning to grow as well so hopefully I will be seeing more in a week or two.  The funny thing is though, the squash bed is the only bed that the soaker hose isn't in.  These babies just grew from the little rain we have had in July.

My cucumber vines have all shriveled and dried up, about half the tomato plants are getting sparse with foliage, most of the salad greens have gone to seed (which I will be harvesting and using next year).

I harvested most of the swiss chard last night and sauteed for dinner with some chicken sausage, garlic, spinach, and a little red onion.

Get dirty and keep on gardening!

By now its all about experimenting...

We have already hit the 2nd week of July and still pretty much nothing from the garden.  Last night I went to pick some basil for our dinner and was able to collect a handful of grape tomatoes.  My bell peppers are starting to produce so hopefully there will be some in the near future to eat.  My zucchini squash plants are big but still no fruit.  As for the rest of my plants... I must have got a bad bunch this year.  

I decided to construct a greenhouse structure over the beds to help conserve water and to speed up the growing process.  I also created a shade structure with a tarp for the bucket garden since it gets way more than 6 hours of sun a day.

all the cords are also being used to dry our laundry

I would feel like a total failure if my neighbor weren't having the same problem.   He has gotten a few big boy tomatoes and some cherry tomatoes.  A few jalapenos and a couple of eggplants.

Its been a few weeks now since we had any useful rain.   That would be the case that as soon as a make a rain barrel it doesn't rain.  Maybe I should also get some gutters installed too. hehehe.

The one positive thing going for me now is my compost..  its definitely getting the heat additive.  Last night I went out to dump our kitchen scraps and nearly jumped out of my shoes when something jumped out toward my feet.   At first I thought it was a rat, but then noticed that it was my little frog friend (I think) from a few weeks ago.  I guess he decided to hang out in the damp compost since there isn't much room in the gutters now.

Get dirty and keep on gardening!