Tag Archives: lettuce

A lush “green tomato year” in the making

Posted on August 8, 2010 | Leave a comment

Awoke to some drizzle, and had a an opportunity to reset the energy button to a slower pace; to actually sit in the garden (as the skies cleared), rather than tend to it. Listening to the breeze, the little birds, the newly-hatched grasshopper, the bees. Watching the cabbage white loopers darting around, and the juba skippers snapping and courting in their little aerial spirals. Smelling the lavender, sages, bee balm, corn, nasturtiums, squash; summer in general. Feeling like a sleeping cat.

I noticed a feeling of early fall precisely on Aug. 1. The days started feeling noticeably shorter at the same time; there is a tinge of color on sporadic trees. All this seems a couple of weeks earlier than “normal”. We’re most definitely on the downside of summer, with very few tomatoes set. I’ve never had this many tomato plants grow over 5-feet tall before setting fruit! But, we’re not alone in this predicament. Our day and night temps are so variable, slow to warm and very quick to cool in late afternoon. More heat needed!

Fortunately, the squash have kicked in, though more sporadic than last year, especially for their mammoth sizes. The spaghetti squash is out of hand, while little acorn and delicata fruit are just getting started. The cucumbers are developing nicely, as are the margarita and charantai melons. Corn ears are nicely elongated, waiting to fill out the kernels.

Tasseling corn

'Early prolific

Lavender and nasturtiums cushion a spaghetti squah

It was time for the lettuce to be harvested completely, or be overrun by squash and melons, besides being a little bit bitter. Kale and chard are still vigorous, and the bush beans are still producing well. Harvested over 5 pounds this last week on the oldest row. Basil has been sheared back for a second round of bushy growth. Lots of pesto being made!

July bounty:

Beet tops and roots: 11.75 pounds
Basil: 6.25
Kale: 3.5
Lettuce blends: 16.5
Scallions: 0.75
Spinach: 2
Swiss chard: 4.75
Sugar Snap peas: 0.25
Summer squash: 8.75

Month’s total: 53 pounds

Thank you all participants and garden devas!

Lushness galore! August 8

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Posted in Community garden, Harvest tally, Summer, Uncategorized

Tagged basil, beans, beets, buttercup squash, chard, Community garden, corn, cucumber, delicata squash, kale, lettuce, melons, nasturtiums, spaghetti squash, summer squash, tomato

Basil, Beets, Bees, and Beans: Repeat 4 times

Posted on July 25, 2010 | Leave a comment

Not really a tongue twister in that order…;-)

The CG is LUSH. Our present heat wave is what we need to get the tomatoes to set! They and some of the squash have become vegetative monsters with our lovely warm days, but cool nights.

Actually, the bees have been busy in the squash, and there are some ‘Yellow Prolific’ and zucchinis near ready to pick. The gargantuan spaghetti squash plant has set small fruits along its rambling vines, which are now trying to overrun the bush ‘Delicata’ squash and ‘Margarita’ melon. I may be doing some severe pruning soon!

A big change 2 weeks after the last photo! Where's Aspen?

Tomatoes look to be trying to grow as tall as the corn!

Beets were all gathered and shared amongst ourselves this week, as the tops were looking tired and ready to flower. Amazingly, we’re still able to pick lettuce from the mesclun mix, though the bitterness factor is creeping in more.

Beets galore!

And, such a basil harvest from simple thinning and pruning. 4 pounds! So tasty when sauteed with diced garlic, dried tomatoes and salt, in olive oil, tossed with pasta. Directly seeded in the soil in late May, this is a much earlier harvest this year, compared to last, which was transplanted from seedlings.

Beautiful fragrant basil....

Purple bush beans are just reaching maturity, and last, but not least, the corn is tasseling!

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Posted in Community garden, Summer, Uncategorized

Tagged basil, beets, Community garden, delicata squash, lettuce, melons, spaghetti squash, summer squash

Shy of knee-high on the 4th of July

Posted on July 13, 2010 | Leave a comment

The corn, that is! But our subsequent heat spike two days later put the corn into high gear and it’s beyond knee high now. Not to left behind are the squash, melons, and tomatoes; the cucumbers are a bit slower. Basil seedlings have been thinned once, having grown 3 inches in two weeks, and are nearly ready for another thinning.

With the peas pulled out, the oldest row of bush beans has put on height and flowers, though the mesclun mix is not so pleased with little shade. Most other lettuce is now removed, having taken on tree forms. The beets and Swiss chard seem to be the most bothered by heat, showing parched outer leaves at times. They will appreciate a drop to more normal temperatures with cooler, cloudier mornings, as will the stepping stone Scotch moss. A little less watering to do, thank you!

June bounty:

Beet greens: 2.5 pounds
Beets: 1.75
Kale: 4.25
Lettuce blends: 20
Spinach: 2
Swiss chard: 4
Sugar Snap peas: 0.50

Month’s Total: 35 pounds of wonderful greens

Shy of knee-high corn on 4th of July

After a week of HOT temps, think things have grown a bit?!

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Posted in Community garden, Harvest tally, Seasons, Summer, Uncategorized, Weather related

Tagged basil, beans, chard, Community garden, corn, delicata squash, harvest, lettuce

Sun!

Posted on June 25, 2010 | 2 comments

“We love this weather!” exclaim the tomatoes, squash, melons, corn, and beans. “About time!”
Oh, don’t forget the baby basil, starting to plump out their true leaves.

Oooowee! Tomatoes enjoying freedom from their red jackets, and lots of things rejoicing in warmth.

Do we gardeners get bonus points for our patience?

Yes, finally we have been graced with several days of real summer weather, so that the logarithmic growth rate is very visible. Rumor has it that consistently warm days will not be with us until late July or August, and we’ll be bouncing around with cooler weather again, possibly this coming week. But, it finally feels like we’re in the real month of June, albeit near the end.

With the longest days of the summer solstice at hand, as if on cue, the spinach has bolted, as well as a couple of beets and some lettuce. Time for a big greens harvest.

Great hidey-holes in the towering sugar peas; Juniper is out, where's Aspen?

Although we’re not tracking the pounds of bounty going to the food bank, per se, I think it would be fairly realistic to say that at least 75% of June’s bounty is going to help others. At least 7 pounds of greens were harvested this morning, headed directly to a food bank.

Over 7 pounds of luscious greens headed for a food bank

Prediction: no knee-high corn by July 4th; maybe shin-high. Will report!

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Posted in Community garden, Summer, Uncategorized

Tagged basil, beets, chard, Community garden, kale, lettuce, melons, solstice, spinach, summer squash, tomato

Red jackets & tomatoes

Posted on June 17, 2010 | Leave a comment

Fortunately, hardly anyone witnessed the laying out of soaker hoses one evening while it was chilly and threatening to sprinkle. We would have been deemed crazy, as there we were in our fleece jackets and sweats. There was only one quizzical look. Truly, the hoses would have been useful four days earlier when we actually had two consecutively warm days, and the lettuce, kale, and chard went into minor shock. What was supposed to be a warm and sunny week, with only 1 day of “cooler interference”, morphed into 5 days of below-normal temperatures with little sun. (Not sure anymore when we’ll actually see 3 consecutive days of mostly sun.)

Which is why the tomatoes are staying wrapped up in their airy red jackets!

Tomatoes with red jackets to help cope with Juneuary weather

Yes, we are grateful for not being deluged with tornadoes, rain and floods, as others are enduring. And yes, it is perfect weather for planting.

At the same time, some of our plants would love to bathe in more light and warmth, so they grow well.

We’re ready for summer! Or some semblance of it……

Greens galore! June 12-2010

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Posted in Community garden, Spring, Uncategorized, Weather related

Tagged chard, Community garden, lettuce, season, tomato

April…come what May

Posted on April 30, 2010 | Leave a comment

April….spring….is always shifty in relation to weather, but this year feels less normal “than normal”. This isn’t surprising to some of us who can feel the invisible shift in planetary energetics. Strong fluctuations of Earth’s geomagnetic fields, episodes of solar winds, coinciding with increased tectonic activity around the world, just might influence weather patterns and people’s energy, though we won’t hear of it via traditional technology or the media.

Slowly but surely there is growth. The large overwintering kale doesn't count....

April has taken forever to get through; it seems like eons ago that we put in our first cool-crops in the CG. Happily, they germinated well despite heavy rains just after seeding. They have survived several episodes of hail, heavy rain and wind storms, frost, and “much lower than average” temperatures for the month. We could call it….Apruary. Somehow February and April got mixed up. But the sporadic days of sun between storms have brought us snippets of warmth, enough for the plants to show some substance, so initial thinnings were just made. Love those tasty kale, lettuce, spinach, and pea sprouts! I decided to try potatoes again this year, so planted them last week. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for a decent crop. I think I heard something about a warming trend in early May. Yes! Please, oh please.

Aspen beginning his tentative first outdoor explorations: his motto seems to be "always safer to hunker down and watch".

Where's Juniper? Where's Aspen? We know you're there....somewhere.

So, what is the current bumper crop? Weeds!

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Posted in Community garden, Furred and feathered friends, Spring, Uncategorized, Weather related

Tagged frost, kale, lettuce, peas, pets, potatoes, scallions, spinach

Spring is sprung!

Posted on March 23, 2010 | Leave a comment

Some classic spring weather to start off our early spring planting. It was exceptionally warm on the official first day of spring, followed by colder rain showers the next day, when we were scheduled to plant (of course). But, it held off perfectly for us when it came to assembly time. I dashed in and out between showers beforehand to survey and lay out some boundary lines for the planting. Because I’m curious about soil temperature, of course, I measured it: 53°F, and the air temperature was about 54° when we planted.

A little soil prep before planting

It was wonderful to finally kick-off the garden season, and we were in high spirits. A little weeding, some fertilizing, shoveling and raking it in, and then…..seed sowing! To start off: a couple of rows of lettuce, a row each of Swiss chard, scallions, and beets, and a row split to spinach and kale. The kale started growing so fast we were able to harvest 1 pound of it about the time we quit! Just kidding. The harvest was from some overwintering kale, that is starting to flower and needs to get used up. Then there was a consensus to plant snap peas and some mesclun greens mix, which will be added during the coming week.

And now, for the patience part.

Two-thirds of the early spring planting crew...and Juniper nowhere to be seen.

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Posted in Community garden, Developing & Planting, Spring, Uncategorized

Tagged beets, chard, kale, lettuce, peas, scallions

An arctic wave to end the season

Posted on December 9, 2009 | Leave a comment

The full moon on December 2^nd heralded a phase of turbulence that has only eased itself with a slow return to more seasonal, wet weather.

The day was busy enough as it was, coming home from work to prepare a meal for friend Jack, just out of knee surgery. Old Cedar-cat had been having a very difficult week since Thanksgiving, and there was always a good amount of ritual cleanup to do. Meanwhile, we were warned of an imminent plunge of night temps, having already had a couple of frosty nights. The lettuce and chard needed to come out, but I needed more time. Neighbor Patty to the rescue, as if she read my mind! With her help we plucked the lettuce and chard well after dark, leaving the leeks and kale to weather whatever might come.

The arctic wave extended well beyond its original few days, leaving us cold and dry (thank goodness, no ice) with night temperatures into the single digits. It became too cold for frost, quite a rarity in these parts. It will be interesting come spring to see what doesn’t make it through. Though I kept them fairly sheltered, I hope the new pineapple guava seedlings in their containers make it!

But, all those positive ions that build up with continued high pressure get trapped down in the dense cold layer, and start making many people agitated, impatient, crabby, and extremely tired. Where was our seasonal rain?

Relief was on the way as of December 11^th, with a noticeable pressure shift and cloud cover moving in. The tricky part in western Oregon is maneuvering through the “transition zone” since freezing rain is frequently a visitor. There was a quagmire of accidents once the ice formed during that night into the next day, but it passed quickly. My skin in finally relaxing and feeling less dehydrated!

Juniper-kitty thought it would be fun to jump out the door per her normal routine, but didn’t bargain for the immediate skating she had to try out. At first perplexed, she then thought it a bit fun, making tiny runs on the concrete to see if she slid. However, that quickly became old as she became more intent on walking through the yard, where she had more traction on the soil.

Wouldn’t you know? My camera decided to go on the fritz while trying to take some pictures.

A good time to list the bit of November’s bounty, and call it the final tally for 2009:

Lettuce: 6.5 (pounds)
Kale: 1
Chard: 3.5
Leeks: 0.75

Month’s Total: 11.25

Total season bounty: 579 pounds (rounded) Well done!

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Posted in Fall, Harvest tally, Oh..oh...., Uncategorized, Weather related

Tagged chard, freeze, frost, harvest, kale, lettuce

Thanksgiving and suet time!

Posted on November 26, 2009 | Leave a comment

Chilly, rainy weather demands more food for the birds now. During the week we had a break in the weather, perfect for getting out feeders and restocking suet. Today a visiting flicker rewards me! He always looks awkward, being quite large relative to the suet cage, but he prefers it to the specially designed one purchased a couple of seasons ago (forget that one). A woodpecker came by earlier last week, more interested in picking bugs out of some dead arborvitae trunks. A little Anna’s hummingbird is braving the rain as well, searching out different feeders in the neighborhood that have more cover.

At the moment, the lettuce crop in the community garden is worth “gold” given the steep jump in market lettuce prices. It’s slow growing with the current temperatures, but supplies small salads, if not overly-picked.

Frost nips at the yard when there is a clear night, and the nasturtiums aren’t sure when they should officially curl up to call it quits. I was hard-pressed to find enough intact blossoms to adorn a salad headed to a potluck.

A very dreary day, today the rain came in earlier than predicted, and it has been a constant stream, stronger than a typical drizzle; just the right temperature and moisture combination to make it officially “yucky” enough not to work outside. Unless one has a giant umbrella. Hey, I shouldn’t have put the patio umbrella away….

It is a fine day to be inside with the kitties, and I give thanks for that opportunity to “hunker down” for a quiet Thanksgiving, to catch up on correspondence, give the old, ailing cat more attention, and get some rest!

Hope you are having an enjoyable Thanksgiving in whatever way you choose!