peas

End of the season update!

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One of my favorite things about gardening in general is the progress that can be seen from week to week.

We are at the end of our growing season which we extended a bit by using water flushes intermittently throughout the fertilizer cycle.

It’s pretty amazing to think that in only a few weeks/months that a garden can go from this:

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to this:

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Over the course of the growing season we have made more notes and developed a new game plan for the 2018/2019 growing season which will be discussed in the reflections page.

We had one real good harvest for the lettuce this year but it seemed as if once they were cut once for the initial harvest, the rest of the crop bolted, but at least we were able to get one good harvest:

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Surprisingly squash grow well; however, because of the real estate one plant takes up in the tent we will probably not do the squash again but it was good for an experiment for sure.  We were able to get quite a number of squash from this indoor season; although, some were not viable as they seemed to become waterlogged.  I have deduced that their condition may be due to the hydroponic tent as the squash from the soil tent did not seem to have the same problem:

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The peas grew and grew and grew and grew but for some reason they did not throw any pods until almost the end of the fertilizer cycle.  The plants were very very happy just like last year but not as fruitful.  The same thing happened with the cucumbers.

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The cucumbers did well insofar as growing vines; however, the plant kept throwing off only male flowers.  There were very few female flowers and the ones that did bloom seemed to fall off very quickly when fertilized and the small growth would wilt and die which, when trying to harvest fruit does not work too well.

When we needed veggies or fruits we would just pick them from the vines or plants so here are some pictures of our season long bounty from the gardens:

 

 

The Peppers Are In! Week 2

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Patience is a virtue.

When it comes to plants, being patience pays off.

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The peppers have sprouted!

They look great and so very healthy.

Most of them were root-bound which is great for replanting!

 

 

 

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The rubric has changed… again.

We added squash to our hydro-tent as an experiment.  We just wanted to see how it would do, plus it was an extra that grew and it wouldn’t be right to just put it out in the cold, plus we had some duds so we had the room.

 

A new look at the plants and how they have grown for week 2 (don’t be alarmed about the white powder on top of the baskets.  It’s Diatomaceous Earth which is used simply as a precautionary preemptive measure)…

Tags are from Left to right, as the plants get bigger it will be easier to distinguish one from another:

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*Brussels Sprouts                   /               Anaheim Pepper                  /              Cucumber
*(barely visible but they are there!)

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Jalapeno Peppers         /                Habanero Peppers          /     Sweet Banana Peppers

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Snap Peas             /           Anaheim Peppers                    /         **Bush Bean
**(it was an extra from the soil tent)

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Porterhouse Tomato         /                      Summer Squash                  /       Giant Bell Pepper

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Opal Basil                 /            ***Place Holder                   /         Monster Bell Pepper
***(this place holder is to give the squash room to grow)

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Cherry Tomato               /                             Multiple types of Lettuce Box

 

Hydroponics! Better Late Than Never!

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FINALLY!

20180128_210910.jpgWe changed a few things from our original charted rubric, it’s not a huge change, just some vegetable changes because we had a few extra sprouts of basil and bush beans.

 

*** this rubric is subject to change at any point as the amount of space needed may vary if more plants are put in the “vacant place holder” spaces.

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Our sprout-lets let us know that they were ready to go into the hydro tent so we obliged.  The peppers are, of course, taking their time so we did not plant any of those because we are waiting for them to break the surface, but everything else has come up.

 

 

 

Here is an overview picture of our tent with the baskets:

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Here are some baskets with sprouts, we filled up the reservoir and added our first set of nutrients.  We flooded the table for a bit just to get the plant’s roots wet and get them settled a bit in their new homes with the hydrocorn (things tend to shift after they are placed in the baskets).  The timer is currently set for a 16 hour time cycle just like the soil tent.  The water reservoir is set for 5 cycles per day currently and will be scaled back once the roots establish and the plants grow some.

They are hard to see, but I promise our little anemic plants are there in the big wide world of hydrocorn pellets.

 

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Top Row:
Brussels Sprouts/Vacant/Cucumbers

Middle Row:
Peppers (Not Yet Planted, NYP)

Bottom Row:
Peas/Pepper (NYP)/Bush Bean

 

 

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Top Row:
Porterhouse Tomato/Vacant/Bell Pepper (NYP)

Middle Row:
Basil/Peppers (NYP)

Bottom Row:
Cherry Tomato/Lettuce types

 

The lettuce box was established…

So what we have here is (from left to right):

20180129_212551Romaine / Burpee Bibb / Grand Rapids / Buttercrunch / Red Romaine

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Based on how the lettuce box grew last year, I am sure that we should have quite a nice flourishing crop this year.

 

2018 Winter Outdoor Soil Experiment

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The beginnings of our soil “experiment” start with our planter boxes which we had already established a few years ago and installed irrigation set-ups in each box (smartest thing we did in that garden!).   For now, just because this is new for us, we are only using one planter box to see how well it works.

20180121_155330.jpgWe purchased greenhouse domes made by Outsunny which fit our box which measures approximately 8’x4′.  Rory and Chewy really wanted to be in the photo. We added a little peat moss in and tilled the soil (yes, I know, gasp… we should be turning it by hand with a shovel, but to be fair, it’s winter and soil tends to be hard.)

 

 

 

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The basic of outdoor plants that we, in our household consume were planted
(in order from left to right):

  • Peas
  • Brussels Sprouts
  • Broccoli
  • Beets
  • Acorn Squash
  • Onion (red and yellow, planted throughout the whole garden).

 

As the season progresses, updates will be posted.

Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis L.)

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The Eastern Redbud tree is part of the Fabaceae family.  That’s the pea family.

The Redbud tree is beneficial for a number of reasons.  It is very hearty in the lower plains and eastern portions of the United States and grows wild as well as domestically.

The tree is very distinct because it has the red/fuchsia flowers that bloom in the early spring.  Generally around April here in zone 7.

Beneficial:

The flowers of the tree attract beneficial bugs such as hummingbirds and bees.  In our tree we also have praying mantis egg sacs.

Edible:

Flowers: can be eaten raw or fried; although, the base of the flower is bitter, so it’s best to pinch it off and eat the petals.  The flowers have a slightly sweet taste.  The flowers contain anthocyanins which create the purplish color.

Leaves: can be eaten raw or cooked.  Taste like pea pods and are substituted when pea pods are not directly available.

Seed pods: the seed pods develop in the late summer to early fall.  The immature pods are flat and green and can be harvested.  The pods contain condensed tannins (proanthocyanidin) and essential fatty acids (linolenic, alpha-linolenic, oleic and palmitic acids).

Newly formed branches:  can be cut off and used to smoke wild game.

Medicinal:

The branches of the tree are said to be treatments for whooping cough and dysentery.

The roots and inner bark can be used for the treatment of congestion, fevers and vomiting.

References:
Redbud Analysis
Redbud Fact Sheet USDA