Just Checking...

I seem to be waxing on alot lately about tomatoes but I wanted to check with someone else - tomatoes do NOT grow in the winter, right? The tomato plants from last spring are still producing fruit in enormous quantities: healthy leaves, rich-looking color in the tomatos and sprawling. One grew under another plant and I mistakenly assumed the plant was leaf-less. So, I pulled it out by the root, only to expose the fact that the plant had sprawled about two feet into some other plants and was filled with these gorgeous, not yet ripe, San Marzanos - with the most perfect form. There are Sweet Orange (little mini orange tomatoes) that we can't seem to keep up with and then there's this mystery tomato...produces these huge, beefsteak pinkish-red tomatoes that people sware by.

What a winter - and let me say in advance, sorry - friends who are experiencing 'real' winter.

A customary representative of Christmas in December...

one of the favorites for the holidays - white hydrangeas...

always nice to have a little color in the garden...

but peppers in December? It's shocking but true. Think the postman shakes his head everytime he walks by the plant.

This is Lemon Pepper which came up with some larkspur (a clear casualty of seed dropping into a pot that it didn't belong in). While the larkspur have been long gone (beautiful Earl Grey Larkspur) the peppers continue to grow and produce massive amounts of fruit.

Late Bloomer Tomato Plants

So, I previously mentioned we planted far more tomato plants than should have been permitted by law. They were green for a very long period of time and much to my surprise, the plants are producing pounds and pounds of fruit NOW. During the summer there was fruit, here and there. But now, there are fruit everywhere. All shapes, sizes and colors. There are tomatoes growing in areas where we didn't even plant them.

Let's see how long we can keep the plants through 'winter' (whatever that means this year).

Reconsidering Seed Distribution

So I was considering not providing seeds in 2008 (lots of work, small collection, limited number of inquiries except during certain times of the year - you get the picture) - then I received a very nice note from a lady named Christina...well gee...maybe I will consider saving seeds and distributing them to garden friends around the world after all.

For the most part, we are extremely busy through the year but make it a special point of doing what we enjoy which is gardening. And, as part of the gardening process, we've found it an essential part of gardening to save seeds. Of course, anyone who has ever saved seeds knows you can only save so many before it becomes an over-zealous hobby where you end up with far more than you need in one season...thus...this is how we've come up with the concept of providing them to garden friends from around the world. Strange but true.

We're not in the seed business...we're actually working professionals who have standard 9 to 5 jobs that always seem to last beyond 5 and into 10 in the night but that's another story. Seed, however, has become part of our wholistic process of organic gardening and we really are thrilled to be able to share with others of like-mind.

So, thank you to people like Christina for remind us why this is so important. Sometimes the unimportant stuff gets in the way and foreshadows our reality.

Seed List

After several requests, I've added the seed list to this site. It seems several people who are using browers other than Internet Explorer 7 were having difficulties accessing the list. Again, sorry about that. Hopefully this solves the problems from now on.

Let us know.

Adding to the Collection

Okay, we're taking suggestions - tell us the following either privately or on the blog:

1. What should we add to our collection?

2. What companies do you recommend, particularly for heirloom varieties but most importantly for varieties you deem worthy of growing out and sharing with others?

Thanks! We're adding to the collection and are most interested in your thoughts.

Delfino Cilantro

Let me state for the record - I think Delfino Cilantro is a bit of a finicky plant. We planted several and several have withered away.

So far, I'm not impressed.

Heirloom Tomatoes

Last year I said 64 tomato plants in the garden was ridiculous; one heirloom zucchini was plenty and one cucumber was more than sufficient. Shamefully, this year we have so many tomato plants I've lost count; 6 different heirloom varieties of zucchini and 4 different varieties of cucumber - at least 2 plants each.

...sigh

Forgot to Post

Pac Choi Destruction

...I should also reference the fact that my Pac Choi was abscounded, not entirely but in sufficient quantities in comparison to the number of plants previously planted out. I'd like to blame it on the heat - if we had any serious heat...honestly have no idea what happened other than the fact the majority are gone, simply gone. So, sad. Was looking forward to the consumption. Luckily, that was another one of the plants that was incredibly easy to germinate. I'll plant more and will probably provide them with a bit more security - like keeping them in a planter box that I can take inside each evening!

Oh, and I have lots of seeds in case you're interested. Send me an email and I'll gladly share. It's fairly tasty if you can get your share of the plants before the other creatures.

Too Much of a Good Thing

...it's hard to imagine you can have too much of a good thing. We setup a new greenhouse, in addition to the existing greenhouse and I quickly filled it up seeds. What was not anticipated was how quickly it would take in order to get the seeds to germinate. It's a very nice surprise but a shock nevertheless. From vegetables, flowers, herbs and cuttings, it's such a nice problem to have. I'll post some photos shortly. In the meantime, the tomatoes, basil and peppers will be provided to the neighbors. If you've sent a message asking for an updated list, please note we'll try to update the list within the next few weeks but depending on the immediate response for the tomatoes and peppers will depend on whether or not we include that with the main list or provide it a supplemental.

Sorry, we cannot ship plants internationally (outside the United States).

Pac and Broc

All work and no play make humans dull - so I finally had a chance to get into the garden. Surprisingly, things looked rather smashing. That Pac Choi listed below, it finally got planted today. Approximately 30 were planted, if not a tad more. Also planted some of the Broccoli Raab today, fast grower that Broccoli Raab...

Weekend Planting

This was an unusually busy weekend. At least 30 additional varieties were planted; 6 peonies, 30 gladiola and more than 10 varieties of dahlias.


Asian veggies are some of my favorite to grow. Above is Pac Choi which sprouted in only a couple of days.

Fragrant Garden

I go through an extraordinary effort to have beautiful flowers and lusciously fragrant flowers in the garden. I think I've been giving a bit too much credit to the flowers alone. Look at the blossoms on the sweet lemon. The tree is loaded with blossoms and adorable tiny, budding fruit. And yes, the fragrance is absolutely heavenly.

Today's update...

Beautiful, multi-petaled calendula, brightens up the garden.

Whether I want it or not, it continues to grow. Season after season - fennel.

A forest of yummy parsley.

This was the most unusual flower I'd seen in a long time, from a friend's garden. I call it the pre-historic flower.

Here's another interesting flower from a friend's garden.

Cavallo Cornsalad was grown from seed and with the dramatic weather seems to have disappeared. Just poof! Those dreaded critters probably munched on them.

My new favorite lettuce.

Valdor lettuce is tender, sweet, delicious and extremely easy to grow. Not temperamental at all and easy to grow in all sorts of variant weather conditions.

Another of my favorite kitchen garden delectables to grow! Lettuce - yummy...

Wong Bok Cabbage

As an organic gardener, there's nothing more special than being able to go into the kitchen garden and snip a few herbs, lettuce or a nice head of Chinese cabbage. Well, that is when the snails don't get to the seedlings before they're able to grow into a head of cabbage! Generally, I try to focus on companion planting in order to keep the dreaded snails and slugs away from cabbage. I think my cabbage rows were too wide or NOT close enough to the radicchio or arugula, which the snails seem to hate. Within two days of this photo, the cabbage was a distant memory - completely eaten to invisibility.

Zinnia Bounty

A neighbor has the most glorious display of zinnias in her border. I couldn't resist taking a photo.

Bold and Beautiful Radicchio

This radicchio shocked me. It was so beautiful that I wasn't sure I was growing it properly. It was so shiny in a deep wine color with a stark white contrast. Simply shocking. Don't know about anyone else but all the radicchio I've ever eaten was dull and looked like it had been picked days prior. This is another incredibly easy plant to grow and the bugs didn't seem to bother it at all!

Broccoli

One of the easiest plants to grow in the kitchen garden. Plant it, water it and watch it grow.

Yellow Carrot More than Edible

So I grew yellow carrots during the summer for the first time. They started off great. Many warned I wouldn't be able to grow carrots, let alone yellow ones. Well, with all that negativity, after a couple of months, they did just seem to wither away - at least I thought they'd withered away.

The spot where they were originally grown, I planted other items in that spot, not realizing there was one lone carrot enjoying every minute of it and becoming a double legged, monster. This carrot was in the ground for many, many, many months. Of course it was finally realized that 'something' was growing there but had no idea until I began preparing the bed for something else and voila! A baby was born.

Of course, those same negativos told me not to bother trying to eat the thing as it would be pithy and tasteless. Who cares what someone else thinks? I scratched the surface of the carrot and was stunned by what appeared to be juice coming from it...so I figured what the heck - can't hurt to try it.

That was the best carrot soup I've ever eaten. Not only did it make a very good meal, for several days, I might add, the carrot actually ended up being juicy and tender and really quite delicious.

Nay sayers, bah! I dare anyone to buy a cup of soup as good as the one I had from that yellow carrot that had grown to the size of a baby's leg.




01.25.09 :: Update
I've updated another post to help you locate a supplier for yellow carrots.  You can find the information here.

Yellow Alstromeria

Alstromeria

My Alstromeria is normally flowering by December. Must be the unusually cold weather.

Peas

Everyone is eager to see how many peas get eaten this year versus those that end up in seed production. We start out picking peas on a regular basis and then end up not being able to keep up with the rapid production. Before we know it, the garden is filled with plump pea pods filled with seeds.

Stock

Stock is one of those garden jewels we keep around all year long. Although it probably prefers consistent cold, it tolerates our tropical climate and never disappoints.

Yesterday I cut several stems, placed them in a vase and completely forgot about them. In the middle of the night I found myself trying to figure out where the incredibly beautiful fragrance was coming from. It was enchanting. It was so enchanting I needed to make sure I didn't somehow leave a bottle of perfume somewhere that may have broken...room by room I searched until my nose led me to the kitchen where this long, thin circular vase stood with several stems of stock. I smiled and proceeded back to bed.

This morning I'm on my way back to the garden to cut more stems - I figure I'll place them strategically throughout the house - a couple of stems each should do it. This time I'll know where the fragrances are coming from and will sleep through the heavenly aroma that floats throughout the house.

This is a nice way to start the day.

If you're interested in obtaining seeds for these and other stock plants, feel free to contact me, I keep a healthy supply of stock on-hand at all times in different varieties. :) Feel free to take a moment to review the seed list. The particular variety to which I refer in this post is a single flowered, star shaped, magenta petals with dusty-miller-like grey-green leaves and stems that grow close to 3 feet tall.

Zucchini in the Winter

Each year we grow zucchini and each year we try to figure out the best way to use the mountains of fruit we get each day. Friends run from us during zucchini season because we are always offering it. This year we tried something a little different by growing it in winter. And I'm convinced this is definitely the way to grow it! Instead of buckets of fruit each day, at the end of the week, there's a nice selection available to make a nice meal. The fruit don't get as large and are delicious. Much to my amazement, this is has been extremely successful. We've had freezing temperatures and it's still growing. The plant had a bit of a set back during those frosty days but it's still viable and producing delicious fruit. Success!

Korean Garlic

One of my new favorite plants is this Korean Garlic. It's been in the garden for several years now and seems to grow without much effort. The weather has been a bit sketchy and inconsistent but you'd never know based on the growth of this plant.

Packets of Korean Garlic seeds are available on request. Check the seed list for other seeds as well.