Today in the vegetable garden: My cherry tomatoes and ground cherries have green fruits, most of the peppers have buds and 1 has a flower, the Thai basil and bush basil and dill and stevia are growing great, cilantro is starting to bolt (we’ll harvest the seeds – coriander – in a month or so), the peas are nearing the end of their time but we’re still harvesting a small handful of pods each day, and the carrots are sizing up nicely. The onions and garlic are still immature, but can be harvested “green”. I’m planning to sow some zucchini and pole bean seeds tomorrow, in place of the kale.
This entry is about
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Day 96
Lactuca sativa
Growing
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Day 69
Capsicum annuum var. annuum (Grossum Group)
Flowering
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Day 33
Phaseolus vulgaris
Growing
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Day 69
Solanum lycopersicum
Setting Fruit
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Day 69
Ocimum basilicum
Growing
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Day 69
Physalis pruinosa
Setting Fruit
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Previous Journals
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Harvesting: Winterbor kale, Mokum carrots, peas, and strawberries
Strawberry 'Seascape' Harvesting, Pea 'Cascadia' Harvesting, Carrot 'Mokum' Harvesting, and Kale ...
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Bloom Day: Love-in-a-Mist, Water lily, Clematis, Castor beans, Lantana
Love-in-a-mist Flowering, Lantana 'Dallas Red' Flowering, Castor Bean 'Carmencita Red' Setting Fr...
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Hens and Chicks Growing, Portulacaria afra Planting Out, Crassula platyphylla Planting Out, and M...
Later Journals
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Bloom Day: May 2013 (... and falling behind)
Passiflora incarnata (Maypop / Native Passion Fruit) Flowering, Pineapple Guava Flowering, Banana...
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Pineapple Guava Budding, Thai Basil 'Siam Queen' Bolting, Garlic 'German White' (from Mom) Growin...
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The warm season vegies are hitting their stride
Amaryllis Flowering, Tomato 'Mortgage Lifter - Red' Growing, Basil 'Superbo' Bolting, Cucumber 'S...
Comments
AnneTanne wrote:
Everything is so early in your region (and your zone is 8 too!?)
We expect our latest frost around mid May, so I only have sown my basil about ten days ago, and my tomatoes are waiting to be planted out in the greenhouse next month.
Beans can only be sown in the second half of May here.
Posted on 22 Apr 12 (about 1 year ago)
redloon wrote:
I think that hardiness zones are only based upon the average lowest temperature in winter (we got down to -10.5’C last winter but it didn’t get that cold this winter), so there can be pretty massive differences between different zone 8 gardening conditions depending on other aspects of the climate. We have a long, hot summer here – spring and fall (and winter) are our best growing seasons, and it’s very rare to get any snow in the winter. The local extension service recommends planting out tomatoes starting on March 25th, and sowing pole bean seeds in the second half of March (so I may plant soy beans in early May instead of pole beans now).
Posted on 22 Apr 12 (about 1 year ago)
Tralamander wrote:
Bush basil is ridiculously big. I must try this myself! ;)
Posted on 22 Apr 12 (about 1 year ago)
redloon wrote:
Go for it!
According to the seed description from Pinetree Garden, this bush basil only supposed to get 8 inches tall: “O. Basilicum Minimum. A compact mound of tiny light green leaves with white flowers, of equal value in both the landscape and the kitchen. Imparts a delicate spicy flavor to food and is especially good in soups. Just 8 inches tall, it can be grown in pots.” But it always seems to get much larger! I find the dense, rounded growth form to be attractive, and the flavor is different from “traditional” basil but DH and I still like it. Last year I grew Spicy Bush Basil using seeds from Johnny’s, and I think it might be the same plant under a different name. Check out how huge they got!: http://myfolia.com/plantings/186737
Posted on 22 Apr 12 (about 1 year ago)
HazelJ wrote:
Everything looks so lush! I found a recipe for pickled green corriander seeds in Easy Growing which I am thinking I might try this year if the timing/yield stars align.
Posted on 22 Apr 12 (about 1 year ago)
anelson wrote:
your garden looks so delicious!
Posted on 22 Apr 12 (about 1 year ago)
redloon wrote:
Thanks! It really is a beautiful time of year in the garden right now. Everything is growing super-fast, so a large proportion of the leaves are young and fresh and haven’t had a chance to start getting ratty-looking yet. :)
@HazelJ: That’s an intriguing use of coriander seeds! DH usually roasts ours and then grinds them as needed for homemade Indian dishes such as channa masala. The flavor is unbeatable!
Posted on 23 Apr 12 (about 1 year ago)
LillyPilly wrote:
What can I say? Everything looks great with that backdrop! Your soil looks good enough to eat, all your prep is really paying off.
Posted on 25 Apr 12 (about 1 year ago)
redloon wrote:
@LillyPilly: You gotta love a purple backdrop for setting off a vegetable garden! :)
And you know you’re a true gardener when you start paying that sort of attention to other people’s garden soil! Thanks – I have to feed this soil a generous diet of organic matter since its mostly sand and the organic matter tends to be consumed quickly, and when I do it generally rewards me well…
Posted on 25 Apr 12 (about 1 year ago)
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