Gardening

When Does “Growing Your Own” Become Too Expensive?

April 6, 2010

When does growing your own vegetables become too expensive?
I’m not sure I can answer that question but it’s a valid one to ask. Every year I grow a garden and every year I’m sure I spend more on the garden than if I bought organic vegetables from the farmer’s market. So this year, I’ve decided to track everything I spend and then everything I yield to get a realistic picture. This doesn’t mean I’ll stop, even if it’s more expensive, but it’s important to recognize that not everyone may have the means to (be it space, time or money) to have their own garden.

Go to the post to keep reading about what I’ve done so far…

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How to Peel and Seed Fresh Tomatoes

August 20, 2009

I love my garden, I really do. And I think the fresh tomatoes were quite possibly the best thing about it. But late in the season, due to some insects eating the leaves and the blazing summer sun, I got some really ugly tomatoes. These were not the picture perfect ones seen in previous posts, but rather, they were sunburned and splotched, and a few, were slightly chewed on. But like all children, they are still beautiful on the inside, and perfectly edible (ummm, ok, not like children).
So, what to do with my unattractive fruit? I can’t give them away, I’d be too embarrassed. The answer is to cut away and peel off all the ugliness. Then, they are pretty again and ready to be made into sauce or soup. If you just try and peel a raw tomato you will find yourself participating in an exercise of …

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Quick Mid-Summer Garden Update

August 5, 2009

This is 2 day’s haul from the garden last week. In the photo are 4 different types of tomatoes, lemon cucumbers, an eggplant, a zucchini, and a cucumber. Was the no-dig method successful? Yes, I think so. Did it work for everything I planted? No, but I learned in the process and will be better prepared for the next go-round.

As of today, parts of the garden are still in full swing and others are winding down. I still have some Black Truffle and Brandywine tomatoes (which I think cross-pollinated because I’m now getting big, fat, dark tomatoes) and the zucchini and eggplant look like they are getting ready for round two. Other tomatoes are starting to wither and the green beans never really could survive the aphid onslaught.

I’m starting to think about what to plant for my “fall garden.” Any ideas of what would be suitable for a Southern California fall and winter?

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Garden Update; The World’s Most Expensive Tomato

June 7, 2009

Yesterday we ate the World’s Most Expensive Tomato.

Ok, not really, but sometimes gardening feels that way, doesn’t it? When you factor in what was spent on building the raised beds, filling them with hay, alfalfa, manure and compost, buying the plants, building the fences, buying critter repellent, water, and time, it seems like it would just be easier and less expensive to go and buy a good tomato at the Farmer’s Market doesn’t it?

I have to say though, it is incredibly satisfying to pick that first tomato.
The eggplant, tomato and basil in the photo above all came out of my garden yesterday.
No recipe, just slice and grill the eggplant with a little olive oil. Slice the tomato. Arrange on the plate. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with chiffonade of basil, fleur de sel, and freshly ground black pepper. I’m not sure there’s anything better (except …

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Garden update; the Octopus in my Garden

May 16, 2009

Today we finished the irrigation project. Every plant now has an ugly black rubber tube leading to a low-flow drip irrigation end. It will save water and keep me from having to lug the hose from plant to plant. But the manifolds (1 for each bed) looks like an octopus, albeit a 12 legged one, snaking tiny black tentacles throughout the beds.

Yes, we still have intrusions by the monsters raccoons . But they seem to be more random and sometime we go days without seeing any activity from them. I found a way to keep them from eating the pieces of potato I was trying to grow; I started the potatoes in pots and then transplanted them when they got to be about 4″ tall. So far, so good. I’ve done the same with onions, though I may leave those in the pot because it looks kinda cool.

Some …

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Garden Update; Still Battling the Monsters

May 4, 2009

We are still fighting the good fight against the raccoons.
They tear down my fence, I repair it.
I sprinkle pepper everywhere, they use it to season the onions they steal from my garden.
I buy “Critter-Repellent” which contains the urine of larger predators, they reply by leaving poop in my garden pathways.

Actually, to be fair, it seemed as if the Critter Repellent worked, at least for about 5 days, and then they came back with a vengeance, breaking the bamboo posts, tearing down the netting, and digging big holes. In the process they destroyed most of the newly planted seedlings I’d gown myself. I’ve ordered more of the repellent and put out more pepper in the meantime. They haven’t been back for a few days so I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Out of all the tomatoes I planted, some are doing quite well, with fruit already, and some, just …