awesome vintage poster

the caption resonates to life itself.

2011 Backyard Crop

 This year backyard gardening is a little disappointing due to weather, In June i sow the seeds, right away rains started and lasted 15 days non stop.

All my seeds either soaked and spoiled, or they flushed out of the garden bed. 

I sowed again, but for a lot of Indian varieties it's too late to buy seeds :(
but still i have plenty of other choices to look forward.

2011 veggie list:

broad beans

Kentucky wonder garden bean

heirloom tomatoes

cherry tomatoes

green bell pepper

okra

chills

banana pepper

Garlic

bottle gourd 

potato

mint

spinach
beetroot 

veggie bed in July

banana pepper

bell pepper

potato

bed in mid August
 heirloom tomato, broad beans, bottle gourd, okra, bell pepper


i am happy to go to garden in the morning and exited to see what garden is going to offer for me to cook.
my tiny garden bed never send me inside without abundance of veggies.  i love to pick them, searching in the bushes, smelling, and cooking!!!!

in mid August to September end i go inside basket full of veggies :)


"When the world wearies and society fails to satisfy, There is always the garden."-- Minnie Aumonier

{ text and pictures by ME }

veggie garden is in FULL swing!

so many interesting things happened since my last post and i can't wait to share and keep them here, all of the incidents are great except, my laptop suddenly, stubbornly backed down on me :(

My garden is in full swing, looks FAB and delish!!

i planted many crops for experiment and pleasure to see how they grow and none of them disappointed me :)

mostly Garlic came out fantastic!

i planted garlic last year in October and harvested in 

July!

yes! these are from my garden!

i got the garlic seed from seed savers exchange in September 2009 and they send 2 bulbs and a garlic planting guide, i just followed the instructions 

ola!!

• when you are planning to grow garlic do not separate the cloves from the bulb until you are ready to plant.
• plant the cloves root end down, 6-8" apart. 
• cloves will begin to emerge in 4-8 weeks if not do not be concerned, the plants may  suffer frost or freeze and will survive the weather and emerge in spring, very forgiving:)
• fertilize up to may 15, do not fertilize after 15.
• garlic needs 1" water per week during the growing season. stop watering from June to harvest easily
• keep weeds under control.
• 'Scapes' form when garlic matures. cut or break them off after they are 10" long.

i don't know that the bulbs up there are good in soups or stir fries, so i toss them, and got so sad after i got the info:(

•   harvest after leaf die-back begins sometime in June or early July.
• dig the garlic carefully, do not pull the stalk or it will separate from the bulb.
• gently clean the dirt, don't bruise. remove from sun immediately.

• tie a bundle and hang in shaded, dry shed or garage. leave hanging for 4 weeks.
• after drying, trim off the roots and cut the stalks off leaving 1 1/2" above the bulb. store in netted bags or baskets, do not refrigerate.
• hold the nicest bulbs for replanting.

i think i am definitely planting them again this October!!

i love the feeling of digging them from ground like treasure hunting and find out how big the cloves and the smell of them.

spring onion!

spring onion

my Chinese friend who lives across the street gave me 3-4 spring onion from her garden in sep o9 and warned me not to plant in the ground just plant them in a container since they spread a lot, but i didn't listen to her and planted them in the ground and now i harvested them since i am loosing place in my tiny patch and i have to remove them and replant them in the container just like she told me!

 new bulbs to plant
these are the new ones coming on top of the mature spring onion, what i have to do is separate them and plant them again. isn't that easy!

but the crop is great, i get rid of mature green but kept the fresh greens, onion bulbs and new bulbs to plant.
 now i have to look for recipes that i can use all of these fresh and healthy looking greens and onion bulbs. yey!

hard to be patience

 being patience For me, is one of the toughest things to do! it's a struggle to except the fact that things don't go the way I planned. i simply can't take it. Nature is being just what it suppose to be. raining, windy, cold, hot, sun and moon are doing their jobs, plants are waiting so patiently to go outside......wait! plants are not waiting they are growing perfectly fine in the pots where i plant them, they actually don't know weather they are outside or inside so they are fine. 

problem is ME, and my mind. 

i am keep bugging myself why Cleveland weather is contently changing and didn't let me plant my plants outside:(

about week ago temperature is 75 degrees and i quickly clean the beds and ready to plant and today 41 and sooo damn cold. 

 i learned very important lesson that no matter what, i am not supposed to think about planting Indian veggies outside in the beds until May last week!

 i don't think it works but i have to train my mind for that.
people who know me would say yeh! right! 

 

First Spring Harvest

First harvest of Methi (fenugreek leaves)

never fails to show up and great health benefits as green veggie.

the seeds i sow directly outside(spinach, carrot, beetroot, cauliflower) showing up one by one .
so excited, weather is so beautiful, 72 F sunny and warm but i am not falling for this weather or neither getting confidence to transplant my seedlings out yet.
i will wait one more week.

bellpepper ballerina

it's not my fault i see things this way, it's completely my right brain's fault.

bell pepper from seed to now.

Pumpkin

transfering to bigger pots

  finally got time to transfer the baby plants to bigger pots.

i killed gongoora completely. i got so excited past week when weather got warmer and planted them in the garden

big mistake and lost them after a week with snow fall.
Cleveland or what?
never fail to fool me!
my friend called me the other day a fellow gardener, i told her the tragedy and she said 
why did you plant them out? never forget 

"mother's day is a good rule of thumb to plant seedlings out"

great, after killing the gongoora, ridge gourd i learned a valuable lesson.
good part is i still plant them as seeds directly in the ground but my greed to get month worth of extra crop is not going to work. that's all, no big deal.
actually i am looking for tissue to wipe my warm tears.
IT IS A BIG DEAL!!!
i think i preached about this before and suggested get ready for that, it's not easy at all, i am telling yah! not at all.
 but
i planted spring seeds directly in the ground.
spinach, thotakoora, carrot, cauliflower, beetroot, brussels
they are doing great.
Garlic, onion is doing fantastic.
at least there is something to smile :)



{text and pictures by me}

update on seedstarter

March 12, the day i start seeds indoors and

Tada! just 15 days almost all babies show up, except Dosakaya 

not show up yet? or not planning to show up, mystery!

and only one ridge gourd seed germinated so i have to be extra careful with that.

like i said in earlier post you have to get ready for failure but look at the tray!
  beautiful, healthy looking future!

my son is asking yesterday "are you growing rain forest in there amma? Hehehee

some plants are growing tall and faster than i thought, they are beating the Popsicle sticks, so they need bigger pots to spread their roots.
i will do that tomorrow and let you guys know:) 


happy gardening!



{words and pictures by me}

Obsession and observation

eggplant coming from seed 

Ridge gourd (beerakaya)

watermelon coming from seed

Indian broad beans (chikkudu) coming out of seed

if you want to go through all my garden work step by step, you could go to 
labels -> veggie garden 

{photos taken by Me}

POP!

gongura sprout............this dude is really  happy to see me!

Ohhhhh! me too:)

{photo taken by me}

part 3 -sprouts

these are Brussels sprouts, i sow them 3 days ago,  happy to see them!
if you want start from the seed check part1 and part2

Gardening requires a lot of patience and the attitude of accepting failures, you plant seeds and you get sprouts out of them most of the time, but not "all" the time, that's really annoying, starting all over again is the only option and you are loosing precious growing season or missing the entire crop for that year!

so when you see sprouts coming from the seeds that's a 

sign of relief, but still you have to transplant them, protect from pests, weather and finally the tasting.....looooong road ahead:)

Brussels sprouts

i bought Brussels, garlic, pepper seeds from seed savers exchange, it is a non profit organization, they sell heirloom seeds exchanged by member's ancestors from all over the world and those seeds are dated way back in the 1800's and SSE folks are passionate and acquainted about what they are doing. when you have place, little time and patience why not buy seeds from them and start a tiny garden.



American supermarkets are 
filled with hybrid, look alike veggies and they taste like pesticides. i notice, people aware of it, but there is no other choice but accept commercial markets, especially working, busy families and due to winter months. Apples, oranges, grapes are available through out the year and they look like plastic toys in the display, no blemishes or clumsy. in small farms or back yard garden that is impossible but the choice of veggies you grow, health, taste, IS promising :)

one seed, one plant, one pot at a time.

happy gardening!

{photos taken by me}

seed starting-part 2

In seed starting
part 1

i talked about choosing seeds, cells, seed starter mix, now we will go to next level, how to plant the seeds.

soak seeds (ridge gourd, chikkudu beans(Indian broad beans) pumpkin) in plain water at least 12 hours before planting (if you soak them overnight, the next day you have plenty of time to work on planting) soaking will protect seeds from fungus, gourds and beans must absorb overnight. 

meanwhile make labels (Popsicle sticks are economical, from dollar store) with date and plant name, leave the bottom space empty since it goes in to dirt, use permanent marker, they stay bright and clean. 

rest of the seeds which is not required soaking {mint, coriander, methi (fenugreek), eggplant, tomato, Brussels, chili, cucumber(dosakaya) gongoora} plant them in cells

 
fill the cells evenly with seed starting mix covering each corner, when putting seeds inside check the package suggestion for depth, tap the tray and 

water them soaking with Luke warm water, label immediately because all baby plants look same (for me especially) cover tray with lid bring it inside and put it near vent so hot air keeps the cells warm.

if you don't have containers with lid, that's ok you just need plastic wrap to cover and put it in the warm place, in a week or so, little water beads form inside, at this time remove the plastic wrap or lid and expose to sun light and at night bring it inside, don't let the cells dry keep them moist.

it looks like a lot of work but once you hang of it, it's just a piece of cake, organizing and patience is key here, do the process outside so dirt stay outside, make sure the tray under the cells is not leaking or spilling with water:)
Now you just

 wait and wait and wait.......for baby plants 
this is the real test for me, being patience.

 i am planning to update each stage, so stay tune;)

{photos by me}
 

seed starting-part 1

spring is around the corner and i am getting ready for veggie garden with seed starter. i used to wonder why anybody wants to start from seed when there are garden centers full of plants. 

what do i know, right? after i started my tiny veggie garden in my backyard about 2 years ago i realized the lack of variety in those garden centers, started gardening 2 years ago with one tomato plant, last year i added 6 varieties now i am planning 24 varieties, and yes! i am a freaky gardener now. since i am from India i don't find any of my Indian veggie plants in local garden center. 

i have to buy seeds and in mini greenhouse i have to grow them indoors, when warm outside i transplant them in the garden, it's a lot of work and planning but i AM a gardener and i hooked with just putting a seed in the ground and getting abundance out of it is a overwhelming joy for me.
today is march 11th and in Cleveland the temperature is 61F and it is beautiful outside, but at night temperatures are dropping and not good for heat loving plants and most Indian veggies require warm climate. so if i start from seed right now indoors, when the ground get warm through out night in May, i am good to go with grownup plants and ready to plant in the ground. head start a month or two early and get the veggies one extra month later, that's the idea :)

all winter i saved my kids cookie boxes with lids to recycle as seed starters. all i need is seed starting soil mix and some 
seeds, peat pots- very cheap, {i bought 5 strip pack for $ 2.oo in wal-mart and they are biodegrades made from compressed peat and entire pot can be planted in the ground and they eliminate transplant shock.} and watering can.

if you are organized and head to store as early as March you could get all things in discount prices to start planting seeds. back of the seed packets they give the suggestions how early you have to start indoors and calculate according to that to your local weather. some seeds you could sow directly in to the ground so read carefully and follow that. 

{photos taken by me}