Category Archives: 2011

This season I grew and stored 5 “legs” of onions the first week of September. I used the last of them the first week of January. That means I used only home-grown onions for 4 months! The method of tying them in nylon stockings really worked–only about 2 sprouted and 2 went bad. But those were not able to infect the other onions, so I feel like I maximized my harvest. Happy gardening!

Here’s what I received this Christmas: Cuisinart Pro Classic 7-Cup Food Processor My mom thought I needed a Cuisinart, and I had a list of objections: 1. One more appliance. My cupboards and counters are full of kitchen helps, and I didn’t feel I had room for more. I’ve gotten along just fine without it, so do I really “need” it? 2. Overkill. I have a little food chopper that has been doing a great job for many years, and I didn’t think I needed something “bigger and better”. 3. Lid. It seems like the lid to the Cuisinart ends … Continue reading →

I cut back to watering my tomatoes only once a week, and can you believe it–they started to ripen. We also had a long stretch of hot weather, and it’s already a month later than usual, so I don’t know if the watering was the magic or not. Here is my haul–peppers (New Mexico Big Jim’s, bell, and jalapeno), zucchini, tomatoes, and cucumbers. I pretty regularly pick one or two cucumbers a week, but these are ALL the tomatoes and peppers I’ve gotten so far. Pretty soon I’ll have enough for fresh salsa! Happy gardening!

Well, the long and short of it is, my spring veggies did AMAZING and my summer veggies have been okay at best, terrible at worst. Here’s how things are looking, and a harvest report. All that’s left in this garden are carrots (right), peppers (middle) and one parsley plant. I moved these peppers because they were doing so poorly. I have a few small fruits, but the plants are tiny. Transplanting so late seems to have stunted their growth. Lesson learned: if something is struggling, best to leave it where it is. I would have been better served by fertilizing … Continue reading →

Summer has finally arrived–with the heat, thunderstorms, and all. Thank goodness! These pictures are a little late, they were taken two weeks ago. Unfortunately, I had two wisdom teeth removed, and it’s knocked me out pretty thoroughly. I took these the day before the surgery, and haven’t been at the computer since. To say my broccoli is huge would be an understatement. They almost took up 4 squares each. The good news about that–I had THREE harvests of broccoli before it got too warm. I had read about harvesting the main head, fertilizing and getting side shoots, but this is … Continue reading →

Though we had the longest winter/spring EVER (since I’ve lived here), it has been great for my hardy and semi-hardy veggies! Check out my first harvest: I am swimming in parsley! Even though I don’t need it all, I learned last year that if I don’t cut and harvest it, the plant sends up a big, thick stalk and won’t keep producing as well. So I cut a little off the outsides.  I read somewhere that you can keep it like a bouquet right on the counter. It’s working for me so far! I’ve also got lots of spinach. The … Continue reading →

Not a week goes by that we haven’t had cold temperatures, rain, and hail. It’s light at 9 o’clock at night, yet there is snow on the mountains (LOTS OF IT)! The good news is, my spring plants are loving life. The bad news is–do I dare plant tomatoes? The ugly truth is: I didn’t start my plants from seeds this year. I was just too busy with everything, and thought “I’ll just buy them–it’s nearly as inexpensive as seeds.” Boy, was I wrong. To get a nice sized tomato plant is $5 EACH!!! Smaller plants are $3, and you … Continue reading →