karl.tsakos.us/blog

I don’t fence my garden in. That’s because I am lazy and cheap. Also, most of my flora is left alone by the local fauna. Some of the little critters in the area bother my tomatoes or nibble on the occasional plant. But for the most part they leave them alone. They could climb over any fence I put in place anyhow.

No, the most destructive animals I have seem to be the odd dog which has escaped its leash and gone for a romp. A ROMP THROUGH MY SEEDLINGS! You know, the only bed I planted so far is now in the cotyledon stage, fresh green coming out of the earth. Which bed do you think the local dog decided to traipse through? The answer is the one out of four beds where it would make a difference. It kindly avoided the other three beds. Dogs, those S.O.B.s.

The other wondrous thing happening in the garden is the amazing health of my garlic. If you’ll recall, I planted the garlic two years ago from some cloves of store bought garlic which had begun to sprout. Last year I was tempted to dig one up and see what was happening under ground. They were growing, but didn’t seem super healthy. This year, there is strong evidence that they have formed new bulbs. This year will be the year for fresh, home grown garlic.

Indoors, I took a lead from both my mother and one of my favorite podcasts, Gardenfork.tv. Now is a good time to start my own seedlings inside and get them ready for the garden. You might have guessed from last year that I don’t like starting seedlings inside. Mostly because I have no place to setup the grow lights they will want. However, from past experience, I have discovered that even poorly started plants will take root rather well. So, I figured I would give mine a head start.

My mother started a bunch of plants indoors this year. A fact which is kind of funny as she doesn’t have a garden of her own. However, both my sister and I are sharing our gardens with her. I guess she will still have her hands full. Anyhow, She gave me a bunch of bronze fennel she started. I transplanted them from her beautiful celadon bowl into some cheap plastic cups I had laying around. Now they are sitting on a windowsill that gets sun most of the day.

Are you following the trends here? Cheap and lazy. One of the reasons I have a garden is because the price of produce is so high. Of course, it is incredibly satisfying s well. But really, when it came to transplanting the fennel what do you think I used? A store bought tool or dowel? A sharpened stick from outside? No, a Bic pen I found on the table next to me. It worked like a charm. Will it work as a pen again? I don’t know or care. I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.

It’s my fault, I realize that now. I thought it was safe to plant some seeds, that we were past another hard frost. It was over 70 degrees last week. I tempted fate and fate struck back with a vengeance.

Yesterday and last night we got snow. And not just a little snow, it’s sticking to the ground. The temperature is around freezing and will be dropping to the 20′s tonight. However, I didn’t just throw up my hands and surrender, I took action. Wether that action pays off in the long run is another thing all together.

One of the advantages of raised garden beds is that they have a lip above the ground to support my makeshift covers for the garden. The bed in the upper right of this photo is the bed I planted in last week. Yesterday morning I covered the bed with a couple of old storm windows stored in my basement. If they are enough to protect the seeds which were most likely just germinating when the cold hit is anybodies guess. Here’s hoping they work.

It’s just March and I’m already at work in the garden. I’m taking a cue from the plants budding all around that we will not have another hard frost and that it is in fact safe to plant. I could be wrong, but at $1.50 at most in seeds, it’s a risk I’m willing to take. The water came from my rain barrel, so really, I only spent about $1.50.

The bed was prepped by clearing out all the leftovers from last season. Then, I turned over the soil and amended it with chicken manure my mother gave me. This is chicken manure straight from a hen house complete with feathers. Hopefully the local animals will start collecting the feathers for nesting material as it makes my garden look a little, well, creepy.

I’m starting this year with a couple of varieties of spinach and some sugar snap peas. I planted them about an hour ago a and they haven’t done anything yet. This is the worst part of gardening, the waiting.

As usual, I was all excited about prepping and planting that I completely forgot to document my work in photos or video. Hopefully, that won’t be such an issue as I really do want to do more of this blog in video.

But Karl, what is it you want to video? Well, I’m glad I asked me that. I plan to expand the garden this year. I’m going to make a new 10 X 4 foot bed in which I will grow the tomatoes in a better, less cramped layout complete with integrated supports. I’ve got the plans all drawn up in my head. Hopefully, they will not stay there. I also plan to grow corn in the other half of the bed. I’ve never grown corn, so that will be this year’s big experiment.

Well, that’s all for now. More to come soon.

Okay, this entry will require reader feedback. I made a video tour of my garden; unscripted and unplanned. I just went through and discussed what I have. It’s rough to say the least.

Leave some comments on wether I should do more like this on the garden or not.

Well, here goes:

Gardener’s Update for June 16, 2010 from Karl Tsakos on Vimeo.

A quick tour of my vegetable garden.

You’re saying I have a blog?

No, this doesn’t sound familiar. Please continue.

Okay, let me get this straight, I have this thing “on line” where I write down whatever comes to mind and then people read it. Doesn’t sound very realistic.

Okay, if you say they do.

What about gardening?

Oh, yes, I did have a lot to say about that. But of course, now there isn’t much happening in the garden at this time of year. Sure, there’s some kale and leeks. The garlic I though was dead sprouted late fall. We’ll see what it has to say next spring. But, that’s about it. Nothing else is really happening in the garden. Oh, of course my compost pile is coming along nicely.

Talk about something else?

I suppose I could do that. But what?

Well, I’m sure I’ll think of something.

As any gardener knows, this year the tomato blight is out of control. As my Mother has told me, all tomato plants get blight, so be prepared. Unfortunately, this year is one of the worst for it. The weather has been cool and rainy for most of the summer, the dreaded blight’s favorite conditions.

New Jersey, which gains much revenue from their tomato harvest, has been very hard hit. Apparently, they have had to sacrifice the majority of their crops. Conventional wisdom is once the plant has it, get rid of the plant. I am trying to buck conventional wisdom. Being the inexperienced gardener I am, I have excuses to experiment blindly.

For one thing I refuse to give up on my plants. Instead of removing any plants showing leaves that dry over night, I am removing the offending branches. As a result, my plants have most of their foliage about two feet above the ground. That’s a good thing as the blight can be transfered to the leaves from soil that splashes on the plants in the rain.

My method of preventative maintenance likewise bucks convention. I have never been a fan of chemicals (they’re scary) and don’t like the idea of spraying my food with any. After some research on the Internet, I came up with the plan of spraying the plants weekly or after a rain with a solution of one part milk and seven parts water. Milk is a sort of fungicide. In addition, tomato plants can always benefit from calcium, so it the runoff is also beneficial.

I have no idea if this will work, but I have my fingers crossed.

I’m still waiting for a tomato to ripen. I have several large tomatoes right on the brink of ripening. At the moment it’s a race of time. I’ve already lost two tomatoes to the blight. I know because they were far from ripening and were going bad from the stem. Stupid blight.

All I want is to make a salad of heirloom tomatoes with some olive oil on them. Of all the plants I planted this year, this is the one real goal I had. The tomatoes are it. Everything else was just for the sake of seeing what would grow. Turns out, most things. That’s not to say I haven’t enjoyed my harvested plants thus far. I have thoroughly. I have enjoyed everything from the prepping the garden beds, to selecting the plants, to starting them from seed and watching them grow. The joy of eating what I’ve grown has been a pleasure.

It’s just that I really want to eat my own, home grown tomatoes. That’s not too much to ask. Is it?

Right now, I’m sitting in the back yard with a warm July breeze blowing and a nice cold Gin and Tonic. In the Kitchen the beets and carrots from my garden are roasting in the oven with rosemary, garlic, oil, and vinegar. The pasta water is heating and I’ll check it soon. This is going to be an experimental dish. I forgot to get some lamb chops to go with the veggies. We’ll see how it goes.*

It’s been brought to my attention recently that I don’t blog about anything but my garden. That’s something that has been lingering in the back of my mind as well. I know I have other things to say, but now, as I sit down to write, the garden is the topic that pleases me the most. I’m sure I will return to writing about other things when I start spending less time outside. Two cases in point: the band is very close to being done recording and then I will have lots to talk about with that and, I’m working on a video podcast but I want to have a couple of episodes under my belt before I launch it.

So, we are left with the garden for the time being.

Did you know potato plants bear fruit? I didn’t know that either. No, I’m not talking about the potatoes themselves, those are tubers. Actual growths on the stem under ground. The plants themselves produce flowers and from the flowers small green tomato like things grow.

As a matter of fact, both plants are closely related. That is of course why their names both end in “ato.” Actually, I just made that up. The potato’s latin name is “Solanum Tuberosum, “ and the tomato’s is “Solanum Lycopersicm.” They are both members of the nightshade family – the deadly nightshade family. And, while tomatoes are edible, the stems, leaves, and fruit of potato plants all contain glycoalkaloids, most prevalent of which are solanine and chaconine. These poisons affect the nervous system resulting in weakness and confusion. And, of course, could result in death.

I just love growing plants that both produce an enjoyable edible component and something that might kill me all at the same time.

Speaking of edible members of deadly plant families, my tomato plants are out of control! The ones I started are all about two and a half feet tall. The plants my mother gave me are over three feet tall. And not only have they all started flowering, but several are growing tomatoes. And, speaking of growing, my cucumber plants have also started flowering and producing little spiny cucumbers.

I striped out the sugar snap plants, which were dying, and removed their trellis. The bed is now fully occupied by the cucumbers and potato plants. That and a lone pepper plant that deiced it was going to try and survive despite being hidden under the cucumber plant. Oh, and the bean plants I planted are now producing beans.

More to come on the garden and other topics. I promise.

* For the record, the pasta with grilled carrots and beets was delicious. Some of the garlic was a little burnt, but other than that it was just right.