Seed Potatoes

Yukon Gold, French Fingering, Desiree, Nicola (1 sample seed).

I'm waiting until next week to plant them due to cold and windy

weather.  The wind is blowing at 70 mph (113 kmh) today, 

and the night temp is going down to 24F (-4C) tonight.

(We won't be out of the woods until Sunday.)

Found these storebought potatoes sprouted and turning green,

wonder is it safe to plant them.

I took a chance and planted them in a 15 gal pot two days ago,

will the new potatoes from these seeds (if any) safe to eat?

Tomato Transplants Update

San Remo

Odoriko

Cherokee Purple

Black Cherry

Good news today, San Remo and Odoriko tomatoes are flowering.  I've been pinching off early flowers and suckers to encourage growth in the past, but I'm not going to do it this year, it seems the more I fuss over them the weaker and less productive they become, unless the suckers are out of control otherwise I do not planned to prune them.

I replaced the severed Black Zebra with Black Cherry, I thought I have a backup BZ, it turned out to be a cherry tomato instead.  I'm happy to have any black tomato, Black Cherry is good, I grew it two years ago and like the taste.

Harvest Monday - April 26, 2010

 

First Spring Salad 4 oz (113g)

Lettuces and Asian greens.

Snow pea shoots 3 oz (84g)

First Spring Spinach 12 oz (340g)

Total harvest for the week 1.19 lb 

Spinach "Tyee" from seed to harvest 36 days.

Hawaiian lettuce -- Manoa

Korean red leaf lettuce -- Seoul  Ruby

I harvested the first spring salad of mixed greens -- Japanese Mizuna, Mibuna, Hawaiian Manoa lettuce, and Korean red lettuce Seoul Ruby. Cutworms got most of the lettuces the next day right after I transplanted them, I immediately move the few untouched lettuces to the Napa cabbage bed, otherwise I won't have a single lettuce leaf for salad.  I found some of the bad guys, but I'm not sure I got all of them, life of a y'appy gardener!
 
There's not much going on lately except the cold snaps and winds, yesterday was the first time in days that I could tend to my garden chores.  After the wind took down one of the tomato plants I decided to cover up the rest of the tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers except the early jalapenos, I figured if they don't survive it's easy to buy replacement plants.  I was proven wrong, the jalapenos endured 2 nights of 32F (0C) and strong winds with no protection from the elements, I did not expect to see them alive, but they survived the assaults.  Wow, I couldn't ask for more.

I have been waiting very very patiently, I want to sow beans TODAY!  My fingers are itchy, but the weatherman says 2 more sunny days, and 4 cold/windy days coming, (this is our spring weather pattern). The question is:  to sow or not to sow?  What do you think?

Harvest Monday is hosted by Daphne's Dandelions.

Wind Wind Wind

Same shot from the previous post after the wind.

#1 Cherokee Purple -- lost some leaves.

#2 Black Zebra -- gone.

#3 Green Zebra -- minor damage, red tray was gone.

Cherokee Purple

Black Zebra, cutworm didn't do this,

it was severed by sharp edges of the red tray,

fortunately I have a BZ seedling that was too small 

to give away, I'll be using it as replacement.

Green Zebra, lost the tray, minor scrapes on the trunk.

The eggplants look beaten up a bit, they seem to be fine.

Shishito peppers came through fine,

the yellow sticky trap was snapped down to the holder.

I don't feel bad after accessing the damage except a bit of frustration. The biggest challenge in gardening for me is the PMS wind, a spring day can start out nice, sunny, warm, and calm, then suddenly gusty wind kicks in and everything break loose, I have had a small greenhouse blown away and lost all my seedlings 2 years ago, lesson learned. 

I really like the green grow pot, I like how it sinks into the soil and mulched the roots, I like the water bowl so that I don't have to guess how much water to apply and keep the soil moisture at somewhat constant level.  I had major BER problems last year most likely due to inconsistent watering, I hope these grow pots can help eliminate the watering issue. 

The flimsy red tray is useless, I won't use it again, maybe I'll try a red plastic cover as mulch next year.  I'm ordering more grow pots, they are sturdy and stack up nicely without taking up much space, and I like how they hold up the plants, the three tomatoes growing in the pot seem to thrive in it (at least for now).

The Big Job Is Done

Tomatoes:  San Remo, Pompeii, Odoriko,

Cherokee Purple, Black Zebra, Green Zebra.

 

Eggplants: Rosa Bianca (2), Senryo Ni Gou (3), Pingtung (1).
There's a piece of ginger tucked in front of the eggplants.

Shishito Japanese sweet peppers.
 You may have eaten this small pepper
tempura style at a Japanese restaurant.

These two plants were given aspirin in their planting holes,

I'm curious to see if the acetyl salicylic acid can help
them stay healthier than the other four tomatoes.

I Finally transplanted the tomatoes, eggplants, and some peppers last weekend, there are 6 tomatoes, and six eggplants, way too many for the two of us, but I'm expecting at least 50-75% casualty due to various reasons or I don't like the taste, at the end I'll probably end up with just 2-3 plants of each.  There are 2 cherry tomatoes waiting in line to be transplanted, I'll grow them in containers, they are my insurance in case none of the large tomatoes ripen before frost as in last year, at least I know I'll get some tomatoes, they are smaller, less fuzzy, and ripen earlier.

P.S.  Stay tuned for the next post, I blogged this last night, when I woke up this morning it was a different scene.  Arrrrrhhhhhhhh~~~~~~~~

Saute Pea Shoots with Minced Garlic

Saute pea shoots quickly in a hot frying pan with olive oil and
some minced garlic, season with salt, or your favorite seasonings.

 

Today's "gourmet" lunch special --- leftover rice stir fried with eggs and Spam, don't laugh, it's the only "instant meat" I have on hand. This is the type of quickie "balance diet" lunch I make when I work in the garden all day.

Harvest Monday - April 19, 2010

First batch -- 1 cup of peas yielded 6.0 oz.

Second batch -- 1/2 cup of peas yielded 2.40 oz.

 

Mixture of snow pea and sugar snap pea shoots 3.0 oz
(tendrils removed)


Total harvest for the week 11.40 oz


See How They Grow

Roots

Not all peas germinate and grow at the same rate,

some are taller and some are shorter.

Day 7 - leafing out

 Day 5 - greening



Day 4 --- expose to light.

 Day 3 --- looking good

Day 2 -- seeds are viable and good to go.

 Soak 24 hours

Dried green peas purchased from an Asian market,

$5.00 for 4 pounds (1.81 kg)

This bag is approximately 9.70 cups
 

For step-by-step instruction on how to sprout peas click here.

 

Harvest Monday is hosted by Daphne's Dandelions, head over there to see other bloggers' harvests or input your own.

Wordless

Green Gage Plum Tree

Peach Tree

Nanking Cherry

Flowering Rosemary


Wordless for Gardeners is hosted by Lou Murray's Green World.

Harvest Monday - April 12, 2010

Primor baby leeks 7.60 oz

Last winter melon from last year's harvest, I'm guessing it weights over 20 lbs, it was kept at the other house and I don't have a scale to weight it.  Whenever we go there I cut a piece and bring it home to make winter melon soup with chicken or meaty pork ribs, it is one of our favorite soups, simple and delicious.

Chinese winter melon grows like any winter squash, a mature melon with waxy bloom can be stored up to 8 months if it is properly cured and stored in a cool and unheated area of the house. I like to harvest  young  melons  approximately soccer ball or basket ball size, the smaller melon is perfect for soup, and we can finish it in 2 meals, no need to worry about freezing or cluttering up the refrigerator.

In Asian countries winter melons are commonly candied, pickled, and made into filling for deserts in addition to savory dishes.  One of the famous Chinese soups "dongua zhong" is steamed in a carved winter melon.

Harvest Monday is hosted by Daphne's Dandelions.

More information about winter melon - click this link to specialtyproduce.com, on the left sidebar scroll down to "melon, winter" and click on it, the page should display a picture of winter melon and more descriptions follow.

Harvest Monday - April 5, 2010

Carrots 29 oz, green onions 8 oz
(THE END!)

This is the end of my winter garden experiment, I pulled all the overwintered carrots and green onions except some leeks.  I've learned a lot the past few months, all I can say is that reading gardening books and garden blogs help answered some of my questions, but there's no substitute for the experience of working the soil and caring for the plants in my own garden environment.  Had I not plunged blindly into the winter harvest mode, I wouldn't have known winter cropping is possible in high altitude climate, I'm looking forward to the next winter garden (already), hopefully it will have more varieties of vegetables and less overwinter root maggots (Amen~~~).

Harvest Monday is hosted by Daphne's Dandelions.

  

 

Greek Spinach Pie -- Spanakopita

I made Greek spinach pie spanakopita with the last spinach harvest, this photo was taken about 2 years ago and the recipe was published on my food blog Simple Pleasures.

Wind, wind, wind gusting up to 60 mph (97 km/h) here today, it's cold and overcast with rain and snow later this evening.  I'm waiting for a break in the wind so that I can go cover up the strawberries and peas, I should have taken the precaution last night but got carried away with reading books, fortunately the newly emerged carrots and spinach seedlings are safely tucked away in the low tunnel.