gettin' my garden on

[ceelove]

So, you know that rule of thumb for growing corn (and who doesn't?), "Knee high by 4th of July"? What does it say that ours is, uh, chest high?

The tomatoes are already sprawling, by which I mean the vines are 5 feet long. Given that the sungolds have grown up to 10 feet in past years, I think we need to get up some trellises. And a watering system. Meanwhile, the first husk cherries will be ripening this week. Yes, really.

Peas are all done. Not that I've ever kept track before, because it wasn't really worth it, so I have nothing to measure against, but: this year I picked about 8 pounds of peas off the plants, and another 10 ounces of the tiny tender buds and tendrils at the end. Even more importantly, I finally identified what's plagued them several seasons here: fusarium. I am edjumacated.

Beans are covered with flowers, cucumbers taking off, kohlrabi/kale/broccoli/romanesco likewise getting mighty, four kinds of basil wonderfully aromatic. And I've had four solid months of all the salad greens I can eat.

And, having foisted it off on others six times already, we still have All the Bok Choi Evar. Take it!

ETA: I lied. We had Most of the Bok Choi Evar. I believe it is all quite spoken for now. :)

Comments

[veek.livejournal.com]

You are, as usual, impressing the hell out of me. And I SO wish I liked bok choi more than I do! :)

[ceelove.livejournal.com]

We also have all the lettuce evar! And for you, lady, I even pre-wash it, for your convenience.

[veek.livejournal.com]

Bwah!

[medyani.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes please. I mean, um, lettuce, if it comes to this home, I would eat it.

[moominmolly.livejournal.com]

Me me! I want bok choi!

[ceelove.livejournal.com]

There's been some in our fridge for weeks on end, help yourself!

[jadia.livejournal.com]

I would take some bok choy too. :-)

Also, if it's chest high it means it's going to take over your house and eat you from the inside out until you are nothing but corn people. Beware!

[starphire.livejournal.com]

Eeeek! I'm picturing someone else shucking the ears of corn, only to find miniature versions of us trapped within. *shudder*

I think what saved us from being overtaken last year was putting the corn in the shadiest bed, next to the apple tree. It only grew to about 6-7 feet by years' end. This year, no apple tree and an even sunnier bed.

[jadia.livejournal.com]

Eeeek! I'm picturing someone else shucking the ears of corn, only to find miniature versions of us trapped within. *shudder*

I love it. The only thing to make that better is if you were zombies as well! Graiiiinnnnnsssss. (Hah hah hah, I'm awful.)

[ceelove.livejournal.com]

Bwahaha! You really are, which is half of why we spend our massage sessions giggling.

[ceelove.livejournal.com]

As Michael Pollan reports in "Omnivore's Dilemma," the diet of the average American makes us corn people already - "walking corn," according to some. Just doin' my part.

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

Wish I'd had the bok choi last week when I was making kimchi.. But hey, I can make more kimchi because I still have most of the ingredients, so sure, I'll take some. (Do you like kimchi?)

Would also be happy to take other excess bounty of your hands. Or sneak into your yard and steal tomatoes. ;)

[ceelove.livejournal.com]

Carl likes kimchi, I am regrettably wussy-mouthed. And I read that you also lack lettuce? I can drop some off this evening.

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

Do you like the flavor aside from the spice? I could make a mild batch...

Some lettuce would also be fab. I wasn't complaining about the lack, really, just saying that it inspired me to make a non-lettuce salad. I'm a big lettuce fan, so when prepping for myself, my lettuce-based salads are often just lettuce. :)

[ceelove.livejournal.com]

I don't know, I only had it the once, and the "yep, it's hot" predominated. If you make some mild, I'll try it, because I do want to do more fermented foods. :)

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

Well, when you come by, you're welcome to taste the selection of ferments I currently have available, which is sauerkraut and kimchi.

The nice thing about using real Korean chili powder is that it's fairly mild, so I can use less to make it less hot while still getting flavor from it. Before I got the Korean stuff, the "hot" was more overwhelming.

[ceelove.livejournal.com]

Sorry for my timing, I was dashing back to work. I would definitely like a tour of your current urban homesteading projects when I do make it in. Hope the soup was palatable!

[starphire.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's the red pepper hot that's hard for her, not the tangy lactic/vinegar aspect - she's made other fermented stuff that had plenty of that w/o the hot pepper, and enjoyed it.
I suspect she'd be ok with "mild" on the pepper, because she has enjoyed foods that had *some* of that, just not too much.

[kimberlogic.livejournal.com]

fermented foods - ftw!

yay garden!

[kimberlogic.livejournal.com]

I'll happily take some bok choi though I've no garden goods to trade for it. Something else? I was sad to see fewer greens at the farmer's market today but maybe it is just that I was tehre early.

Re: yay garden!

[ceelove.livejournal.com]

I think the bok choi is done for now, but there'll be something else coming out of our ears in a couple of weeks. :)

[beah.livejournal.com]

If you find yourself with a surfeit of bok choi even after all these takers, I'd take another bunch or two too. :)

[jered]

Wow! How do you prevent the squirrels from eating your corn? Every time I grow corn or sunflowers, I find them chewed off at the base within a few weeks.

[ceelove.livejournal.com]

Um, we plant them *just right*. No, I have no idea - but are you sure it's squirrels? I've never heard of them messing with young plants, just the finished product. Cutworms sever young seedlings at the base, and can be prevented with "collars" (which can be as simple as toilet paper tubes).

[jered]

Good question. I'm pretty sure my garden troubles are squirrels and birds. I definitely see the birds on the fruit trees, and I think the squirrels chew down the corn and sunflowers to get to the fruit before it has matured. I could be wrong.

[medyani.livejournal.com]

Um, rats are often a problem for corn grown in urban areas, too. As Cee says, not so much the squirrels with young plants.

[medyani.livejournal.com]

I would love bok choi and lettuce. Can't do much cooking these days, but greens are key!

[ceelove.livejournal.com]

Looks like I'll pass on lettuces at least to your house next week. Beyond that, it's a mystery. :)

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

Er...me? I keep meaning to take you up on this...yar. Life is eating me again.

[ceelove.livejournal.com]

I think it's spoken for now, but there'll always be something else coming. That's the plan, at least. :P