A much belated update, and Fall garden plans.

This update has been a long time coming because life decided to kick me in the gut, and keep kicking me in the gut several times over the past few months. It was overwhelming to the point that I said to hell with the internet, to hell with blogging, and to hell with all the activities I enjoy.

But, things are getting better, so it's time to start living life again.

August is when we start planting for Fall harvests in our gardens in my growing area. Tomato and pepper transplants go in at the beginning of the month, and no later than the end of the month if you get some big transplants that have already completed that month of growing. I didn't plant any tomatoes this time, I just didn't have it together to go get the plants and get them going.  Of my pepper plants, some are still alive and kicking. I was at a plant nursery yesterday afternoon and found large pepper transplants for 99 cents, so I bought some to replace the plants that died. If they don't produce anything, I'm not out much so it was worth the risk. I've got what I like to use in cooking. Jalapenos and various colors of bell peppers.

I did get some Summer squash seedlings started earlier this month. I have a bit better luck with them in Fall than Spring. The squash vine borers aren't as bad this time of year. I planted straight zucchini, round zucchini, and yellow crookneck squash. Also, new this season I planted some white scallop or "pattypan" squash. Believe it or not, I've never eaten one since they don't sell them in any of the supermarkets I shop at, and the one time I saw them at a farmer's market, I didn't buy any because I didn't know what to do with them. I'm hoping to get at least a few to try out.

It's time for cucumbers to get started now. I got a short row of lemon cucumber seeds planted in front of a narrow trellis at the corner of my side patio, where there's a lot of sunshine. As soon as the soil is dry enough to work, I'll be planting the main section of cucumbers. By the middle of the week for sure. I'm doing half Asian long cucumbers, and half common cucumbers for salads or pickling.

After the cucumbers, it'll be time to start getting beans going. I love green beans (and any other color of pod beans) so I will be planting a lot. They do amazingly well here in Fall, so I always plant as many as I can. This time I have basic green beans, flat Roma beans, purple pod beans (which turn green when you cook them), yellow wax beans, and purple streaked dragon tongue beans.

I'm also getting my herbs going again. Basil, rosemary, oregano, thyme, dill, mint, lemon balm, parsley, cilantro, and chives. I was at a specialty plant nursery yesterday, I had a birthday coupon I needed to use, and also got a bee balm plant to help attract pollinators, and a patchouli plant. Patchouli is a big bushy plant that can tolerate our climate well. It's more or less something to have as a novelty plant. I like the smell of patchouli leaves, they're much more subtle than patchouli oil. So when I have a patchouli plant, I'll pick a leaf now and then and rub it between my hands for the fragrance.

When it actually starts to get cooler, is when I can plant all the cool weather veggies. I've got loads of beet, radish, and kohlrabi seeds. Lettuce, kale, chard, and spinach too. And carrots! I bought some colorful carrot seeds (a pack of mixed orange, white, yellow, red, and purple) along with a pack of just purple. And when I ordered some seeds I got a free sample of carrot seeds that make little round gumball shaped carrots. The wild card for this season is romanesco, a broccoli variant that makes really beautiful heads that have a sci-fi spiraling fractal shape to them.We're really in too hot of a climate for them, but I have heard of people having some luck in this area. I figure seeds are cheap and easy to start, so who knows? If nothing else, the leaves are edible. I'll be putting in some traditional broccoli transplants in late Fall though.

As far as flowery things, I'm going to put out some colorful chrysanthemums here and there in the sunny areas, but that's about it.

Knee-deep in yarn! All kinds of knit, crochet, and loom projects in the works.

It's that time of the year. Too hot for me to spend time outdoors during the middle of the day, so I look for indoor things to keep me occupied. Making things with yarn is my thing right now. I can do it anywhere there is air conditioning or shade and a breeze, and I'll have neat stuff to pack away for when the weather gets cooler.

I've made all the basic hats and scarves that I can realistically use, so I decided that this Summer I would make other things I can wear. I'm at a skill level where I can make simple garments, so my goal is to complete at least three pieces of clothing to add to my wardrobe by the time it gets cool enough to wear them. And a few accessory odds and ends and holiday gifts along the way. Currently, I've got these six projects going, I switch back and forth among them when I get bored with one or need a change of pace.

1.) Circle crochet vest: It's a simple project as far as skill level, but it is time consuming and uses a ton of yarn. I'm about 80% finished with it, but had to pack it away until I can get a few more skeins of yarn to complete it. Neither of the local stores that carry the color I need are anywhere near where I live. So, it'll be on the back burner until next weekend, when I have time to get to that part of town again.

2.) Soft and fuzzy cocoon jacket: This is another very simple project, but also a time-consuming yarn hog. Also, I'm not 100% sure about it given how the crocheted up fabric is coming along so far. It's a bit heavier than I had expected. But I'm far enough in with it that I'm not going to waste the work by undoing it. Depending on just how heavy the final piece of fabric is, I might leave it as a lap blanket instead of seaming it into the jacket.

3.) Colorful striped shawl: I'm not so much a shawl person, but I do like to go sit out on my swing in the back yard and read. And a shawl would come in really handy when the weather gets a bit chilly. Also, the knitting is simple enough to make steady progress, but has a few new techniques to challenge me and build my skills. It's a learning project for sure, and the colors are fun.

4.) Knitted purse: A smaller version of a tote bag I already finished. VERY simple knitting, so it's something I can do when I just want to keep my hands busy. And a smaller project too, so I can totally bring it to a coffee shop or needlecraft meetup to work on and not make stupid mistakes from being distracted or have to keep track of vast swaths of fabric or huge balls of yarn.

5.) Crocheted white cotton yarn purse: I'm almost finished with this, but have been procrastinating making the sewn cotton broadcloth lining. I've got to make progress on some sewing projects and mending work at some point in the near future, so I'll suck it up and get it done.

6.) Knitting loom lap blanket for my Dear Friend: He requested a warm and soft easy-care blanket for Christmas, so I figured Lion Homespun yarn worked up on a knitting board would fit the bill. Mindless but tedious work, I can do this while watching TV or listening to an audio book.

Garden Update and harvest photo, early May 2013

Picked this morning: A couple good handfuls of Dragon's Tongue bush beans, several Husky Cherry Red salad tomatoes, a couple red jalapenos, a couple green jalapenos, and a scrawny little banana pepper.

The things that are doing well are doing really well. Bush beans are in full production, the pole beans are starting to latch onto the lattice they're planted against, the tomato plants all have lots of baby tomatoes on them, the jalapenos are starting to put out peppers slowly but regularly, and the blueberry bushes are covered in ripening fruit. The sweet peppers are growing still, and probably won't start to set fruit for a while. The cucumber vines are growing very slowly, not sure what their problem is. The first melon vines to sprout are growing well, the second planting is starting to come up. Herbs are so-so, and I've finally got some eggplant and squash seedlings that are big enough to transplant.  The big lemon tree, orange tree, and satsuma tree have all set fruit, the younger lemon tree is blooming now.

I am SO looking forward to cooking with those beans. Dragon's Tongue beans when picked fairly young are tender and sweet, with a distinct bean pod flavor. Unfortunately they lose their vivid purple streaks when cooked, but they retain their yummy flavor. IMO, the best way to cook them is to boil until just barely fork tender, then drain and toss with a pat of butter and sprinkle in a pinch of salt and maybe a couple grinds of pepper. You can also toss the cooked beans in shallot butter for a nice flavor too. The shallot really works well with the sweetness of these particular beans.

Texas bluebonnet eye-candy

 

 

One of my favorite things about living in Texas.

Every year, during springtime, we take a day-trip out of the city and through an area where there are always a lot of wildflowers. Some years we're just passing through on our way somewhere, some years flower-viewing is the point of the trip. Some years there are only a few flowers, other years they bloom in abundance. To me, it's officially Spring when the wildflowers start to bloom.

Pom-pom yarn scarf completed! And I will get a chance to actually wear it this week.

 

 

 

So, I finished the scarf tonight. It ended up taking 2.25 skeins to get the length I wanted. I'm not sure what I'll do with the remaining bit of yarn, it's too little to make anything. I might go back to that Michael's store and see if they have any more in the same dye lot. If so, I'll buy another skein and make a cowl or neckwarmer that I can just pull over my head when I don't want to have scarf tails hanging down. I might even be able to get one out of the little bit of yarn I have left. Once the fabric is knitted up, it's insanely stretchy.

 

And if the predicted cool front actually makes it down here towards the end of the week, I can wear it before I have to pack it away 'till Fall. It goes great with this coral top and denim jacket. I've got jeans very close to the same shade of denim as the jacket I can wear with it. The top is actually a tunic, so just above the knees in length. The jacket is waist length. So, it'll look kind of funky with the bottom of the top hanging out from under the jacket. But funky in a good way. I just don't know about shoes yet, but since it'll be cool, maybe one last wearing of some boots before the long stretch of sandal weather?

 

 

Current knitting project. I'm late to the pom-pom party!

I know pom-pom yarn has been a thing for a while now, but I had put off buying any because it seemed a little bit expensive for a novelty yarn I'd never worked with before. I didn't want to buy some and have it end up stuffed away in my yarn stash, never to see the light of day again.

But, I had stopped at Michael's yesterday to pick up an item for a gift swap I'm participating in, and saw that they had the Loops & Threads brand "Pom-Pom" yarn clearanced out to $1.99 a skein. The skein band had instructions for a basic rectangular knitted scarf, which called for two skeins. I wanted to make my scarf a little bit wider and longer than the one pictured on the band, so I bought a third skein. I also had to buy needles because I didn't have any 3.5mm on hand. Turns out, that I could have used slightly bigger needles and it wouldn't have mattered. Oh well, I've got them for future projects now. The colorway I picked is called "Outdoors" and I love the bright pops of turquoise and coral. (Two of my favorite colors!)

I probably won't have an occasion to wear it anytime soon, unless I finish it fast and we get one more really cool night this season. But, it'll keep until the end of Fall when it cools off again. With all the different colors in the yarn, it will look nice either in late Fall or early Spring. I've already decided that it'd go great with faded jeans, a longer tan colored top made from a heavier weight knit fabric, and my tan Birkenstock clogs.

Casting on was easier than I thought it'd be (the Michael's website has a little video showing how) and knitting with it is surprisingly easy too, once you get into the rhythm of the stitches. The scarf is made of garter stitch, so just rows of the knit stitch over and over again. The trick is to knit on the strand of yarn between the pom poms, and let them fall between stitches. Other brands of pom pom yarn have the pom poms spaced farther apart, and you make two stitches between each pom pom. And it gives a tighter, heavier, and thicker fabric. With this brand, you do one stitch between pom poms and you get a looser, slinkier fabric. Which I like better anyway since it doesn't get very cold where I live, and it was only meant to be a fashion scarf and not necessarily for warmth. I suppose you could do two stitches between each pom pom with this brand, if you used even smaller needles. But I like the way it's turning out, so I'm sticking with how I started it. Casting off is supposed to be pretty tricky, but the video shows a method that works well for that too.

I don't think this one is going to be sitting in my UFO pile until Fall. I think I'll probably finish it up soon and just pack it away. The only other yarn projects I have going right now are a couple of  simple crochet purses in cotton yarn. I like to switch between knit and crochet projects because they use my hands in different ways, and I can work longer that way without hand fatigue. Knit a while, crochet a while, knit a while, etc...

Garden update 2-18-13

I was able to do some garden work this past weekend. Not as much as I would have liked to get done, but still a fair amount.

The blueberry bushes have been fertilized, got nice new mulch put down on top of the soil, and are all ready to burst into bloom. One has even started to put out some flowers already. I've got four varieties (having a few different varieties near each other helps with overall production). All are of the "Rabbiteye" type of blueberry, which works well in our hot and humid climate. The varieties I was able to find locally when I bought the plants were Climax, Tifblue, Premier, and Powderblue.  The Tifblue is already blooming, the Premier bush looks kind of scraggly but is covered in tiny buds. The other two are somewhere in the middle. Another point of having different varieties is that they bloom and bear fruit at different periods during the season, so it's good to have an early variety, a mid season variety and a later variety so that you have a longer harvest season. My four bushes are still young, but will produce a bit of fruit this year. I don't know how much they'll produce when they reach maturity, it'll be interesting to see though.

I also planted five Better Bush tomatoes in large pots to put in the front of the house where we get full sun, along with some small yellow marigolds as companion plants for both the health of the tomatoes, and to provide a pop of cheerful color against the green plant and terra cotta pot. Better Bush is a hybrid that does well in my climate and is suited for containers. It makes tomatoes that are bigger than a cherry or salad tomato, but not a giant slicer. Pretty much an all purpose little tomato. If they do well for me, I'll be using them mostly to make homemade marinara sauce. They were an impulse buy at the garden center Sunday morning because they were such big and healthy thriving plants.

Then I got the two heirloom "black" tomatoes in large containers too. The variety is "Black Russian" and they are supposed to be compact plants that produce well. Heirloom tomatoes have been really hit or miss for me. But these were from a reliable supplier, and planted in fresh new rich soil in the prime sunny spot of my yard. So they have the best odds of doing well.

I also got my two jalapeno plants into their pots. I always seem to have more jalapenos than I need, they are very productive little plants here. So this year I chose two varieties, Purple pod jalapenos (which are green inside and are as hot as a standard jalapeno) and "Tam" jalapeno which is a hybrid that has all the jalapeno flavor with only mild heat.

The seedlings are doing okay, the Lipstick peppers are doing the best, the Ghost peppers doing the worst. The Little Finger eggplant somewhere inbetween. I think at least some will make it to transplant stage. But I really need a lamp/heat mat setup to sprout seeds in the winter for spring planting. Next year...

My next project in the garden will be to transplant all of the bell peppers into their containers (and the one funny little "Red Peter" pepper. After that, I will prepare all the March planting (cucumber seeds, bush bean seeds, herbs, eggplant, zucchini, and at the end of the month the melons. And in the meanwhile I will be adding flowers here and there as I go for color in the garden and to attract bees and butterflies.