Archive for the 'In the Garden' Category

The Little Herb That Could

Published by Annika Barranti on September 2, 2008 in In the Garden. 1 Comment

My garden was dead. Neglect and a hot August shriveled the leaves and I wasn’t sure I could save anything. We’d gone on an eight-day vacation and left our plants to fend for themselves. The jalapenos had stopped flowering already, and I was resigned to the idea that the tomatoes would probably die.

But when we got back I watered everything anyway. And while the peppers really were done, and the herbs that were in a shallow container are beyond resucitation, my tomatoes are giving it one last gasp and my sage is looking better than it did before we left.

Any late-summer miracles in your garden?

Adventures in Container Gardening: Red!

Published by Annika Barranti on July 8, 2008 in In the Garden. 1 Comment

My husband has done a little reading on growing hot peppers, and he tells me that this one is ready to pluck (and the longer we wait, the hotter it will get).

I was not expecting it to be ripe yet, because it is so small — about the size of a store-bought Serrano pepper.

But my tomatoes are a little small too, so I am just going to assume that’s normal.

Almost ready! And the one next to it (behind the leaves) is starting to turn yellow.

STOP, THIEF!

Published by Annika Barranti on June 25, 2008 in In the Garden. 3 Comments

This morning when I went out to water and fertilize my little garden, I was shocked to discover that the soil in my planter was disturbed, causing one of my jalapeno plants to lean dangerously, and my second-largest jalapeno was GONE (just the pepper, not the whole plant). Some predator has gotten into my food! I can only think of squirrels or rats, since I think a bird would have caused much more damage. Has anyone ever heard of or seen anything like this? I am really new to gardening but my hot peppers are the last thing I expected to have filched.

Adventures in Container Gardening: Quick Update

Published by Annika Barranti on June 17, 2008 in In the Garden. 3 Comments

I am still without my camera cord, but I did finally manage to upload some pictures from last week of my lovely little garden.

Remember the jalapeno flower? This is what it looked like last week:

It is easily two inches long now (it was about half an inch at the time of the photo). Further updates to come soon–there is another pepper now!

I replaced the two sage plants that didn’t survive my toddler with parsley and thyme. (All I need is rosemary and I have a Simon & Garfunkle song growing on my porch!)

What’s growing in your garden this year?

Reader Call: Delphineums

Published by Annika Barranti on June 9, 2008 in In the Garden and Reader Call. 3 Comments

Reader Yvie is looking for advice on some delphiniums she was given. I am absolutely clueless about flower gardening, so I am opening up the floor.

In her letter she says:


I received a gift from a friend, these are delphiniums (the cherryblossom ones and they’re small compared to the normal delphinium).

I’m wondering how do I start cultivating these kinds of flowers? The weather here is like spring all the time. June is the start of our rainy season. So far it rained yesterday. I have only a few more months before these seeds expire. I have also researched about this but I don’t know how to start. Any idea?

Any readers with suggestions? Tried and true tips preferred, but links to good gardening sites would help too.

Image from the Wikipedia page.

Adventures in Container Gardening: First Tomato!

Published by Annika Barranti on June 5, 2008 in In the Garden. 3 Comments

Isn’t it beautiful? It’s about the size of my fingertip right now.

Adventures in Container Gardening (Part 1)

Published by Annika Barranti on June 4, 2008 in In the Garden. 3 Comments

I live in a small apartment on the third (and top) floor. We have a rooftop patio with a lovely view of our neighbors’ rooftop patios and, in the distance, the Griffith Park Observatory. On a clear day, we can see the Hollywood sign…if we stand on our tippy-toes. It’s a wonderful porch, and nearly every evening finds us cooking supper on the grill and eating at our rickety table. Most recently, it’s also my garden.

April 21st
My little garden’s humble beginnings, April 21, 2008

When we first moved in we had a glass table top but no table. (How does that happen?) We looked around and bought a half-barrel for $19.99 at Home Depot. It made a good table. Eventually the glass broke, and we discussed various possible futures for the barrel. None of them seemed quite right until this spring, when I was bitten by the tomato bug. My friend Mike’s blog was my downfall, and one Sunday at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market I found myself heading straight to the plant guy.

I bought a Roma, three sage plants, and three jalapeños. Now, I know that once sage starts growing you really only need one plant, and I think the same is true of peppers, but I am cursed with black thumbs. I have killed everything I’ve ever tried to grow in this apartment, and I was nervous. We went to the garden center at a local hardware store (Anawalt) and bought soil, and I set about planting my garden. The jalapeños went into a long planter I picked up somewhere-or-other, and everything else went into the half-barrel. Incidentally, I noticed when I was shopping around for the planter that no one sells real half-barrels anymore; everyone has plastic imitations instead, and often for more than I paid for the real thing!

jalapeno flowers
A blossoming Jalapeño, June 3, 2008

It’s been nearly two months and though two of the sage plants have died, everything else is thriving! (And the dead plants are most likely the result of being uprooted by my toddler, not of anything I did wrong.) I will keep you posted as my garden grows, and welcome any tips you may have.

In the Garden: Ten Things I’ve Learned about Vegetable Gardening

Published by Sarah Bray on May 29, 2008 in In the Garden. 7 Comments

  1. Never give your tomatoes a half-hour watering after they’ve been dry as toast for several days. They will crack open and look monstrously ugly. However, they will still taste good.
  2. A weeding hoe is your friend. Your very best friend.
  3. Even a weed-infested garden is better than no garden at all.
  4. Broccoli is a waste of time unless you plant a lot of it. Even then, it’s probably a waste of time.
  5. Putting straw under your yellow squash helps keep your veggies from getting brown spots where they’ve been resting on the ground.
  6. Harvest okra when it’s small. Huge okra may impress your friends, but feels unpleasantly chewy in the mouth.
  7. It is not as easy to give away vegetables as you think. Even people that profess to like them often do not. Or maybe that’s just my friends.
  8. Even people who are terrible at container gardening can have a fabulous outdoor garden. The earth is very forgiving.
  9. For a family of four, you only need one zucchini plant.
  10. For a family of ten, you only need one zucchini plant.

Carnival of Modern Home Dwelling Day Eight: Outdoor Living

Published by Sarah Bray on May 22, 2008 in Carnival of Modern Home Dwelling and In the Garden. 7 Comments

Organizing Junkie has a round-up of 13 storage solutions available on Etsy that you MUST check out. For more good reading, visit the rest of our carnival sponsors!

Today’s the last day of the carnival, and I’m a bit sad to see it go, I’ve had so much fun! But there’s always next time to look forward to.

Now for the entries!

Modish contributor Maddy has created these wonderful printable seed packets for you to savor. Aren’t they great! I imagine you could use them for other things, too.

 

 

 

 

Stephanie from Stop the Ride had a great idea one day — to use an old stump as a container for flowers. Not only is it frugal, but it certainly blends in with the scenery!

 

 

 

 

Depending on where you live, you may or may not ever get the chance to mend fences. But if you do, I highly recommend that you consult horsewoman over at Innstyle Montana for direction — she’s got some suggestions that are sure to help, even if you are just thinking of building a fence.

 

 

 

Amy from Housekeeping Tips recommends that you use your leaves to fertilize your lawn — and she tells you how.

 

 

 

 

Carol from May Dreams Gardens has a novel idea — that we embrace weeding as a part of our gardening lives. How is this possible? I guess you’ll have to read to find out!

 

 

 

 

Thinking of starting a vegetable garden? Woman Tribune gives us some tips on how to plan it.

 

 

 

 

Rosemary from Her Home Blog has some tips for creating an inviting outdoor living room. (I really need these!)

 

 

 

 

Tony from Birds and Things inspires us to get out and go bird watching this summer.

 

 

 

 

 

Geeky Poet grows her own lettuce — and so can you with her helpful advice. Lettuce is so adorable as it grows…don’t you think?

 

 

 

 

Things to Consider for Your Hot Tub Installation. Before you even buy a hot tub, read Mandy’s article at The Hot Tub Advisor. She’ll make sure you don’t end up with a disaster on your hands.

Organic Pesticides for a Safe Lawn. Happy Housekeeper has a helpful list of organic pesticides that you can use instead of chemicals.

Managing Lawn Care During a Drought. Considering last year’s rain scarcity, it might be a good idea to check out Hobby Lawn Care’s article on the topic.

Well, here we are at the close of our journey. It’s been fun guys! Oh…right. I still need to disclose the winner. The talented entrant is…

Geeky Poet for her helpful article on lettuce-growing! Congratulations! Be sure to email your address to sarahjoy AT todayshomemaker DOT com so that we can send out your prize package.

So what’s next? Well, for me, it’s going to be an enjoyable weekend filled with lots of non-computer time. ;) But I’m also dreaming up ideas for the next carnival, which of course I can’t help but do.

In the Garden (or: Heck, who needs digital cameras anyway?)

Published by Sarah Bray on April 30, 2008 in In the Garden. 5 Comments

I scorn digital cameras. Such gluttonous symbols of American come-and-get-it, all-you-can-eat, here-have-600-images-of-your-dog-Gizmo-while-the-people-in-Africa-are-starving thinking. I am starting a new blogging revolution. A revolution in which we use pen and paper to connect to the hearts and souls of readers everywhere. One in which we reveal our true selves for who we really are. And I’m starting with my garden.

Let me take you on a little tour.

As you enter the garden gate, you will notice a pristine pathway of various-sized rocky terrain. These were purchased with utmost care from the heights of a truly magnificent mountainous region in an otherwise remarkably flat environment. (Aka: the rock store in Virginia Beach.)

Around the perimeter of the garden, you will notice a slightly sunken trench which holds in its heart the treasured pods of beans and snow peas. The ultimate destiny of these as-yet-unformed plants will be to climb to the heights of the wired garden gate, enveloping the premises with their gnarled and graceful arms.

If you will look with me to the right, you will notice the beginnings of pungent tomato plants forming an outer border to the smaller pepper plants in the foreground. A rocky path leads the way in and out of the dramatic scene.

To the left, we see more pepper plants, held within the confines of the splendid squash, zucchini, and eggplant…plants. In the distance straight ahead, we are lucky to behold a slew of okra plants, beckoning us with their pointy fronds.

Now, if you’ll turn with me as we exit the garden gate (Actually, no, you can’t open it. Don’t try to open it!!! Humph. You step over it…like this. What were you thinking?), breathe deeply with me and inhale the fragrant smells of spring. Anticipate the bountiful harvest of summer and fall. Pray hard that the terrifying fact that I ended up planting on the windiest day of the year will not have any detrimental effect on the plantlings.

It was lovely having you join me today. If you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to my digital camera research. What does everyone think of the Canon XTi?