Limequat - Mission Accomplished (almost)

I mentioned as one of my spring goals that I wanted to find a limequat tree. I didn't have much luck and just crossed it off the list. Last week at The Natural Gardener I didn't find a limequat tree, but I did find a lemonquat. I think that's close enough. Turns out they were having a 40% off sale on all trees, so I picked up three citrus trees. All are Texas hardy, so I can plant them right in the ground. This is a requirement, since I already have the fun of moving my Meyer Lemon and Mexican Lime in and out.

Lemonquat

Pineapple Orange (dwarf)

Otwari Satsuma (dwarf)

Meyer Lemon, just starting to ripen

Mexican Lime.

These taste more like an orange than a lime. I'm not sure if that is normal,

but they are extremely tasty.

I got a very useful tip from one of the workers at The Natural Gardener. She showed me a shoot that was coming up from the base one of the trees. It looked very green and healthy, but the leaves were a bit different, three parts to it, rather than the one big leaf of the tree. She said these would suck up all of the tree's energy and should be plucked off. I recognized them from my lemon tree. This year the lime has been doing much better than the lemon and I wasn't sure why. Turns out it was these shoots. I plucked them off this week (a few were so big I had to cut them) and the lemon tree is thriving.

Annuals that can take the HEAT

I've decided that any annuals in the garden have to be able to survive on water no more than once a week. Here's the one's that can take the heat.

Zinnias

Cosmos

Cosmos

Moonflower

Tithonia -

The seed packet said these do really well with little water. I'm not buying it. I won't be repeating these guys.

Recipes 8/16

My garden is at an in between phase right now, so I'm not producing much. I started going to the farmer's market again, until mine picks up. Here's a few recipes I made from farmer's market goodies.

Pineapple Zucchini Bread

(This one if from my mom. It is sooo good! I haven't ever put in the cherries, but I have tried

it with and without nuts. I've also never done muffins, just bread.)

3 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup oil

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups zucchini -- grated

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup pineapple -- crushed

1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

1/2 cup maraschino cherries (optional)

Beat eggs, sugar, oil, and vanilla. Add zucchini, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pineapples, nuts, and cherries. Pour into two greased 5 x 9 inch loaf pans or 24 muffin cups.

Bake at 325 degrees for about 1 hour for loaves, or 20 minutes for muffins. (24 Servings)

Makes: 2 loaves or 24 muffins

Black-Eyed Peas over Pasta (serves 4)

5 slices bacon, chopped and cooked until crisp ( set aside)

1 yellow onion

1 bell pepper

1 jalapeno/serrano (optional)

1 italian sausage ( I use hot)

around 2 cups diced tomatoes

8 oz egg noodles

5-10 diced mushrooms

1-2 cups fresh black-eyed peas ( to your liking)

cook onion, peppers, sausage until sausage cooked through and veggies soft

add mushrooms/peas and cook for another minute or 2

add tomatoes and enough water to covPublish Poster peas

bring to a boil and cook until peas are soft (30 mins to an hour)

serve over egg noodles

put sprinkled bacon and basil on top

(Forgot to mention ... add salt and pepper as your cooking to taste)

Lessons Learned in Spring Garden - Year 2

1. Tomato towers work great. Last year I only used small tomato cages. This year I spent a little more money and bought the towers from Gardeners.com. They are about 5 feet tall and really support the tomatoes well. I will be investing in a few more next year.

2. Tomatoes need so much room. Again, I planted the tomatoes too close to each other. I put 6 tomato plants and two pepper plants in one 4X8 bed. I should have left out the pepper plants. The tomatoes were crowded and the peppers ended up so shaded that they didn't produce well. Cherry tomatoes get huge! They were at least 8 feet tall and spread like crazy.

3. Cherry tomato varieties. You can't beat sun gold tomatoes in the spring, but they really don't taste well when things warm up. Regular old cherry tomatoes were not quite as good in the spring, but I preferred them in the summer. The overall winner are the pear cherry tomatoes. They tasted wonderful spring through summer, and are still producing well now.

4. Drip systems do wonders. I had problems last year with cracking tomatoes and blossom end rot. I was watering myself with the hose and couldn't seem to get the watering even. This spring I put in a drip system and I haven't seen the same issues. The next thing I need to do is get a timer. This waking up at 5:15 to turn on the water and go back to bed is not fun.

5. Beans get huge. Those little beans start so small, but wow do they grow. I did not plan well enough and the production suffered. I had a few small (about 3 feet tall) stands, but they couldn't hold the weight of the beans. For the fall I have switched to metal tents, which should work much better.

6. Squash just may be too much work. I did get some good production this year, but those squash-vine borers are just impossible to deal with. The only thing I found that really worked is to get an early start, get as many as possible before the heat brings the SVBs. I was able to cut into the zucchini and yellow squash to dig out the pests, but the pumpkins are impossible. The plants are just too big you don't know where to start. Due to the overwintering larva, I think I'll have to skip squash next year altogether.

7. I love straw. This makes such a great mulch. A friend of mine can get organic straw from his parents' farm. It also doubles as an addition to the compost pile.

8. I need to fix the melon bed. This year the melons and pumpkin plants grew like crazy. Unfortunately, this kept me from cutting the grass around them. Last year I put a winter garden here, but this year I will spend the winter ripping out all of the grass and making a nice bed.

9. Dewberries are my favorite. Of blackberries, raspberries and dewberries I really like the later. Aside from having thorns, the berries taste wonderful and the plant grows very bushy rather than one or two long branches. I plan on puting a few more of these in next year.

10. If you see a few holes in the leaves pay attention. I saw holes in the swiss chard and just ignored it for a week or so. By the time I really looked the plants looked like skeletons and I couldn't even count the number of caterpillars. A little Bt would have fixed this right up. I used Bt on the tomato plants when a few spread over there and it was fixed in no time.

11. Back to tomatoes. I love romas. I don't care for brandywines. The brandywines didn't taste all that great, didn't produce very well and tended to crack, due to their size.

12. Zinnias and cosmos handle the heat really well. Mums do not. I planted the mums soon after moving in almost two years ago, and they're calling it quits. I love my knockout roses. They really love the sun and heat. I want to try them in other colors.

I think that will do it. I'll have to come back in and add pictures later.

Gearing Up For Fall

It's hard to think about fall in the midst of this brutal summer, but it's right around the corner in gardening years. Last week I picked up cedar for my new raised beds and last weekend my friend Rudy helped me build them. I have three new 2"X12" 4'X10' beds. We made them w/ the mortis and tenon style to match my other beds.

I also built a new bean tent. My neighbor gave me some fencing from a dog run she had in the back yard. It was made of thick gage wire and pressure-treated pine. Obviously the pine wasn't going in the veggie garden, so I cut the wood off and will have enough wire for 3 tents in total. I put the beans where the zucchini used to be. The squash-vine borers hit again and I just didn't have the energy to fend them off. Plus, the zucchini was coming in really hard, which I read can happen when the plant gets too established.

This week I trimmed back the tomatoes. The brandywine had stopped producing, the romas are almost done, and the cherries are still producing quite a bit, but the flavor is severely lacking. I also planted 4 new bell pepper plants in place of the swiss chard that was desimated by caterpillars.

Tonight I plan on planting some seeds. I have kohlrabi, radishes and lettuce. I still need to pick up more, but it's a start.

I included a picture of the okra, just because it deserves the spotlight. These plants have been solid producers through this heat. I've been eating them, pickling them, and giving a ton away. I will definitely be repeating these!

Bloom Day July Edition - What's Dead in the Garden

With this heat wave and drought it's not easy to show what's blooming. Walking around this morning it was much easier to find what is dead or dying.

Columbine -
bought at the Wildflower Center sale this year, has never bloomed

Fig Tree -
Not dead, but looking sad. Come on! This is a fig tree.

Looks like the squash-vine borer has hit again. I just don't have the energy to dig them out anymore.

Here's the culprit, the adult SVB. I found him hanging out on the okra.

Hot and Spicy Oregano -
Barely hanging on.

Mums -
I've had the plant for two years, but I don't think it will survive the summer.

One sad lamb's ear

White Penta - or should I say brown

Daylily -
Not only is it unhappy with the weather, but it appears someone
attempted to dig it out last night.

Tithonia -
These are supposed to need very little water, but they have just been so thirsty in this heat. I refuse to water them more than once a week and I really don't think that will be enough.

Nasturtium -
Faint signs of life.

One bright spot -
The coneflowers are doing great. You can also see cosmos in the background.
I'll be planting more of both of these next year.

Recipes Week Ending 6/21

I'm going to start keeping track of recipes I cook w/ the garden veggies. These are self creations, often inspired by ideas from cookbooks or the internet. I don't put amounts since I never measure. I just go on appearance and taste. I'll also start taking pictures next week.

Two Bean Salad

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Fresh veggies used - butter beans, green beans, cherry tomatoes, onion

Cook onion and bacon

Boil butter beans for 20-25 minutes (until tender)

During last five minutes throw in kitchen sliced green beans

Quarter cherry tomatoes

For dressing, mix together olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, fresh cilantro

Pico de Gallo

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fresh veggies used - romas, cherry tomatoes, red onion, mexican lime, serrano pepper

Chop up tomatoes, pepper, onion, a few cloves of garlic, cilantro

Blend together using "stir" level

Add lime juice, salt

Layered Zucchini/Tomato Bake - My new Favorite Dish

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fresh veggies used - zucchini, romas

Cut zucchini and tomatoes in slices. Make tomatoes about 1 1/2 - 2 times as thick as the zucchini, since the tomatoes seem to cook faster.

Layer zucchini, drizzle with olive oil, add salt and pepper

Layer tomatoes

Repeat 

Sprinkle top w/ bread crumbs and parmesan cheese.

Bake in oven at 350. I can't remember how long, I think around 30 minutes.

Cajun Chicken Tacos

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fresh veggies used - okra, romas, onion, jalapeno or serrano pepper, corn

Shred a rotisserie purchased chicken

Cook onion, okra, pepper, garlic for a few minutes

Add tomatoes (crushed consistency) and cajun spices (cayenne, paprika, chili powder)

Cook for a while until okra is soft

Add corn and chicken to warm through

Put mixture in tortillas, yum!

Succotash

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fresh veggies used - butter beans, corn, onion, cherry tomatoes, can also use zucchini or squash 

Running out of time - will do quick version

Cook veggies

Make white sauce

Mix and serve over rice, sprinkle with cherry tomato halves and cris bacon pieces