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.

Fairy Tale Eggplants!

My "Fairy Tale" eggplants are starting to produce like crazy!  They set in little clusters of miniature eggplants, that are purple with gray-ish streaks, although one of the plants is coming out more of a grayish violet color. Nothing wrong with them, just a slight genetic variant. At maturity, the plants are at most a couple of feet tall, and the eggplants 3-4" long. They are growing beautifully in 5 gallon buckets and similar sized decorative pots. They'd be perfect for a patio or balcony garden, They've already earned a permanent spot in my garden, and I'll be ordering seeds for next year. I lucked out and found the plants at a garden center for 99 cents per transplant size plant. I planted 10 total, and after one got eaten by a caterpillar and stray cats dug up one and seriously damaged another, I have 7 healthy plants and one that's straggling and struggling along.  They're somewhat decorative little plants too. They make broad green leaves with flowers that have a very slight violet tinge. They only need a short stake at the main stem, that is completely hidden in the foilage. I can see next year planting them at the back of a flower bed, fronted by a low-growing plant, maybe lavender colored Alyssum?

As to what to do with the actual eggplants? I'm going to take these and just remove the green tops, slice them in half down the middle, brush with a bit of olive oil, sprinkle with a little bit of sea salt, and then just roast them in the oven. I hear they grill up very well too. I'll have more to try that out with by the weekend. But you could do anything with them really. The skin is perfectly edible because it's so thin, and they have a minimum of seeds. Baba Ganouch or something similar? Cube them up into small pieces, roast them, slightly mash them, mix with some lemon juice and spices, and chill to use as a bruschetta type spread? Hollow a bit out of the center and stuff them for dainty little appetizers? So many yummy possibilities!

Gardening update, early May 2012.

Above are some things I picked from my garden yesterday. Ichiban eggplant, Black Beauty eggplant, Ghost eggplant, Husky Cherry Red tomatoes, Tifblue blueberries, and sweet basil. I also had picked a larger Patio variety tomato on Saturday, which got used right away.

Aside from what I've been picking, there are loads of peppers forming on the plants. Mostly jalapenos and Yummy sweet mini peppers. But also one good sized bell pepper so far, and a couple of tiny poblanos. The other bell pepper plants have plenty of blooms and maybe a few have set already, I haven't checked very carefully. And I have a bunch of tiny little Italian style wide green beans, about an inch or two long. I've got loads of cherry tomatoes setting, and even though the other tomato plants did poorly, there are about a dozen fruit set amongst them so far, and they are still growing and blooming, so maybe I will get a fair harvest from them yet. Nothing like last year though. The cucumber vines are growing well, and some have even started to flower, but so far only male flowers, which is to be expected, the males always bloom first, then you start to see females. The melon vines are growing like crazy too. I am very, very excited about them and am really hoping to see some fruit come July. Herbs are doing well, except for the Cilantro, which is already starting to bolt from the heat. But I have plenty of seeds and can keep planting more. Citrus trees are doing well too. Lots of baby lemons, as well as a few oranges and satsumas. I also planted a ton of assorted color impatiens in the back yard for color and they are doing really well. As are the few begonias I planted at the same time.

So, so far, so good, we'll just have to see how things go when it really starts to get hot over the next month.