Garden Update: Holy Peas!

Planting snap peas may have been one of the smartest things I've ever done. They are growing like crazy. They are delicious. Ben will eat them, and Sam is considering it. And they make me look like I know what I'm doing. Which, of course, is completely true.

Morning sunlight through pea pod.

They've actually outgrown the bamboo stakes I was using as supports, but they've gotten quite strong and don't seem to mind. If they get too much taller, though, I'm going to need to support them with something else. I don't know what yet. (Click HERE to see what they looked like before) It's very encouraging to have things actually growing. I wish I had grown more now.

Here is an explanation of what is growing (Click on it to see it bigger).

The Tour

My lettuces have been eaten quite a bit by unidentified creatures. I'm going to try to home style remedies to keep them away. We'll see how it works. And they're kinda bitter. I haven't been overly faithful with my watering. Domage.

Cut-and-come-again lettuces

Now, the real question is, what do you use bok choy/choi for? And is this already too far gone? And why are there so many different spellings for bok choy?

Enormous Bok Choi

In the Garden

One of the many things that have been keeping me from this here blog is our garden plot. We got one in the spring and had a friend take care of it for us over the summer. But, apparently the ground was cursed or something, because almost nothing grew. So, when we got home we dug up 3/4 of the garden and laid a bunch of chicken wire down (to discourage gophers) and then put the dirt back in. It was quite a bit of work, since the ground was like a rock. Luckily, for me, Zach did a pretty hefty portion of it.

Now, the hard work has paid off, because the seedlings we planted are growing beautifully.

Those are snap peas on the left on the bamboo trellises and on the right are lettuces and a bok choi.

In fact, dozens of the radish and carrot seeds that I planted in the spring are coming up now. Go figure. Of course, they are coming up with a bunch of weeds, but such is the way of things.

I've been trying to have the boys help me, but it is slow going. They enjoy the idea of gardening, as far as it pertains to digging and watering things, but not always the in such a way that will keep things alive. Which is one of the goals.

Ben, playing with a piece of eucalyptus bark, after "helping" me in the garden.

Those are the lettuces on the left, then some marigolds and spinach and a strawberry plant, that is not looking great. And I planted a bunch of garlic bulbs over in the area that looks like just dirt.

Once I took Sam with me, and he helped by filling his mouth up with the water that Zach had sent with us and then spitting it onto the plants. The following is a documentation of the event:

Sam is spitting water onto the dirt from the water bottle

Katie: Stop it, Sam. That's not funny.

Sam: Mom, it's a little bit funny.

(he said this about ten times for each plant)

Sam: I think this little fella needs a drink.

He fills his mouth with water and spits it out on him.

spring is springing...

all over the place.

Sam Bunny and Breakfast

Ben and Sam pretending to be rabbits and telling each other to stay out of Mr. McGregor's garden is just one sign that Spring is here. Another sure sign is that my tulips are blooming. As you can see.

I'm sure that these pots are too small for these tulips. Especially two bulbs per pot. I was pretty sure at the time, but I had run out of suitable containers. The stems are way too short. They should be about twice that long. I'm not complaining, I'm just not sure I'll be able to use them again next year. Oh, well. They're mighty pretty though. And I have others that are growing the way they should.

Also, you may recall how I obtained this strawberry pot.


Well, last fall I planted several strawberry plants in it, but with very unsatisfactory results. I only got one berry off of the plant. So, I got some pretty little succulents and moved the strawberries to a hanging pot, where they are doing better. Aren't succulents glorious? And I love them in this pot.

Next post: Trip north of San Fransisco... Coming Soon!

how does my garden grow?

With lots of toddler interference. That's how.

I purchased two spray bottles to water the seeds that we planted (spray bottles are better for seeds because the fine spray doesn't jostle the seeds the way a strong stream of water from a watering can does. Just FYI). I only really needed one, but luckily, in a brief moment of complete lucidity, I bought two.

Because the boys LOVE them. Utterly and completely. The first day they spent over an hour outside playing with them. It started with helping me water the seeds. Then moved onto the well established plants (more on them later) and ended up with spraying each other, until their shirts were almost soaked. Then they came in, asked for their jackets, and went back outside to spray their jackets.

Sam (in black) and Ben (in gray) watering the plants.

While these shenanigans were going on outside I chatted with my Mom on the phone for a while and asked what the weather was like there. It was forty degrees and she said that was something of a warm spell. And there was snow and ice everywhere. Our weather was sunny and bright and in the sixties. That is why our rent is so much, people.

And because of this. I planted these at the end of January. And Voila! Tulips! Well, tulip leaves anyway. It'll be a few more weeks till we have flowers. And when you see them and you're completely jealous, just remember: that's why our rent is so high.

Seed starting
(these come inside at night, but I was giving them some sun today)

I got a bit of a late start with my seeds. I should have started them inside a month ago, but I just got them planted a couple weeks ago. I've never (successfully) started plants from seeds before. It'll be interesting to see how it goes. Also, which device starts better seeds: egg cartons or toilet paper tubes. I'm putting my money on the tubes. I already have a couple little thyme sprouts. Yay!

We also started radish, carrot and lettuce seeds outside. The radishes are already sending up sprouts. Hurray!

Radish Sprouts
(when I thin these, I'm going to put them in a salad. They are yummy. Just another FYI for you)

Ben watering tulip plants

Of course, when you allow rambunctious toddlers into your garden things are bound to go awry. Especially when you turn your back on them to make a delicious dinner to feed your starving family. The following is such an example:

These used to be robust lemon thyme and parsley plants, bursting with life and culinary possibility.

The boys ripped off most of the parsley's leaves, pulled up half of my green garlic, and my rosemary cutting. They striped half of the lemon thyme. Sadness. Despair.

I guess I need to get some new plants. There's really nothing else to be done about it.

Oh, and here's a little movie of the boy's playing with their water bottles. My favorite part is when Sam starts drinking it and looks at me to see if I'm going to stop him. Classic Sam.

Garden Updates

I thought it was high time that we revisited the garden. The good news is that the majority of our plants are thriving. The bad news is that I did manage to damage several plants beyond any possible repair.

I picked the majority of the Meyer lemons before we left for Christmas because I was worried that they were going to become overripe. The remaining three gorgeous lemons are proof that I was worrying too much. Oh well. I used to pre-holiday lemons to make a lemon curd today. I haven't tried any yet, so I don't really know how well they turned out. I let you know tomorrow after they have been allowed to chill overnight.

While I was making it I convinced Ben that if I gave him one of the lemons I could put him down and use both my hands. He was pointing at them and saying "app" or apple, which is how the boys refer to any fruit except bananas. So, I put him down and he ran off with the lemon. A few minutes he came back whining loudly, threw the lemon (which now had big teeth marks in it) and started spitting and wiping his tongue. Poor little guy!

The parsley (on the fence) is growing like mad. We use it constantly and add it to just about everything. I'm forever sending Zach out to grab me a couple of sprigs. The lemon thyme there has been fun too, though it isn't growing as quickly, so I'm letting it get a little strength before I start snipping and harvesting. Though it did assist in that fabulous corn dish that we had for Thanksgiving.

The oregano is doing pretty well, though again, not a fast grower, so I've only used it a couple of times. There are loads of tiny little leaves that are getting ready to grow beneath the larger ones. I think it may just be waiting for warmer weather.

There are no pictures here of my rosemary or sweet basil. The basil was doing great until we left for Christmas, then after a few weeks of neglect and several days of hard rain, it decided it had had enough and wilted beyond recognition. The rosemary never had a chance. It was showing signs of ill treatment from the first moments I transplanted it. It's a little annoying since there is rosemary everywhere here! Growing rampant and beautiful, sending its glorious, taunting scent in my direction. Well, I'm not beat yet. I'm going to try both of these again in the spring.

Now, for what people actually cares about (or rather, a few offhand questions about them) - my pilfered geraniums!
Well, despite several vile attempts by the local squirrels to kill them by way of knocking them off the fence (and breaking one of my pots by the by - stupid squirrel), they are doing great! I've replanted them into these pots I got at the local Daiso, and I noticed that they had tons of little roots. They are sending up new shoots too. I'm hoping that we'll get some flowers in the spring. I don't really know what colors they are going to be, what with them mostly just being stalks when I, um, acquired them. I'm guessing they will be a mixture of pink and red.


Well, there ya go. My next project: pilfering some rosemary clippings. Shhhhh!

The Great Pansy Massacre

It was really my fault. I thought that if I put the big planter box full of pansies on the ground in the sun for a while, there wouldn't be a problem. I just had to use the bathroom afterall. So, I ran upstairs, did my business, and came back down. I heard the boys laughing as I walked down the stairs and thought they were so sweet.

Then I saw the dirt.

The long trail of dirt leading all the way to the front door. From what I can gather, they had been throwing the dirt on each other and then Ben had come in and shaken it all off of himself.

Exhibit A - Sam pulling more dirt out of the container

Just in case some people are wondering if the boys really were involve, and maybe those pansies committed suicide, I give you People's exhibit A.

Exhibit B - Ben flees the scene of the crime

Does that look like the face of a repentant transgressor? No, it doesn't to me either. Though it is a very cute face, to be sure.

In the end I forgave them because I believe it was a mercy killing. The pansies were not doing well. Of course, part of the reason they were not doing well is because the boys had been pulling bits of dirt out of the pot since I got them planted. This is what had originally prompted me to get them up high.

I wonder if they've been planning this all along? Hmm...

Dumpster Diving for Geraniums

Growing up, everywhere but California, geraniums were the nice little flowers with that funny smell that Mom planted. I believe this is the case for most gardens. Not here, baby! Geraniums are crazy-mega-monster plants! Taking over feet and feet of ground with their tubular reaching selves! There are several of these massive, more scary than pretty style geraniums around our house.

Of course, as Tai said once, "You just have to look at things there to make them grow." And apparently, with geraniums, you don't even have to be looking.

And yet it was still quite surprising when we found our local dumpster full of geranium cuttings the other day. I guess they decided a certain geranium needed to be cut back, probably to serve as a warning for neighboring plants, and consequently: Free Geraniums!

When I first saw the little flower peeking out of the dumpster I was hoping some over-stressed student had decided that they couldn't handle the responsibility of a plant and threw it out, some magnificent pot and all. Alas. But I did do some research and found out how to work with geranium cuttings. Though there was some conflicting advice. Some said to cut them long, others to cut them short. I went with my gut and cut several of each to see which turn out better. It isn't a very specific gut.

So, now I have four tiny pots of hot geraniums.
They look quite nice don't they? Of course, they are basically just stuck in the dirt. But maybe they put out some lil' roots.

I'll close my eyes for a second.

My Lil' Herb Garden

I bought these the other day from our local garden commune (of course we have a local garden commune, silly.) I haven't repotted them as yet, because I need to get some pots for them. English Lavender
I was looking around online and I realized that the reason the lavender seeds I planted never successfully grew is because lavender doesn't grow well from seeds, they do better from cuttings. Seems like a bit of a lazy plant to me.

Greek Oregano
This smells so very, very good!

Italian Parsley
Apparently this is harder to grow than the curly lettuce, but I really don't garnish, so we'll stick with this.

So, I'm going to plant them sometime this week after I get some pots and soil. I'll keep you posted. I'm also thinking about getting some Saffron Crocus to grow our own saffron. Hurrah for paella!

Lemon Tree, Very Pretty!

Yesterday I walked out the front door to throw out some trash and what to my wondering eye should appear but a tiny, little lemon tree! I was in shock for a moment. It had an adorable little bow on it and was just sitting there looking happy. I read the note, which was from Zach's cousin, September. We had eaten dinner at their house on Sunday and I had mentioned in passing that I had always wanted a lemon tree and especially now that we were in California. Voilà! She said she had been at the nursery and spotted it. Isn't that absolutely so sweet! I just couldn't get over it.


I flitted around it all afternoon, wiping the leaves and lemons to clean up some water spots. The boys woke up from their naps and I showed it to them and they smiled and pointed and ran to touch it. It will be difficult to keep them from pulling the "balls" off the tree. I had to hold their hands and let them stroke the lemons and say, "gentle, gentle" but Ben still tried to twist one off. It had a lovely citrus-y scent when he did.

I scanned the internet and my gardening books for some tips on how to take care of this beautiful little tree and not kill it. Because here is the confession. Though I have spent many years of my life pouring over gardening books, catalogs, websites, and individual gardens, I have never really had one myself. I helped my Mom plant tulips, daffodils, dusty miller and geraniums growing up and with general success. But it was always temporary, such is the life of the Air Force, and we couldn't do any serious gardening. And truth be told, I've killed several plants. Mostly these were throughout college when I'd get the bug for some soil and roots. But the only one that is still alive is Don Juan: The Sexy, Seductive Philodendron, who simply refused to die. Unfortunately, we accidentally left him with Carina before the move. And there he remains. Alas.

So, keep your fingers crossed for me and give me a big ol' green thumbs up. And I'll try to keep everything alive and growing and keep the boys away from them. But not too far, that's how gardeners are born after all.