I've been waiting for Crooked Neck, when all along it was you, Pattypan.

We have been having the coldest, wettest summer the shores of California has seen since 1924. And my garden can be the first to tell you.

We had about four warm days this last week, and my cucumber plant seized the moment and set a nice little cucumber, about the length of my hand. It started to get cold and wet again, so I harvested it early. It was so sweet and soft, the taste was amazing. I cut it up and made a delicious cucumber water with it, the only thing that truly refreshes me on a hot day. The rest was put to good use on a sandwich.

Also, because of the weather and the proximity in which my crook neck zuchini was planted, everything in garden B kept getting powdery mildew. I took a daring step and pulled the crookneck up and placed it in a pot. She was pretty shocked and droped all her fruit... but I think the worst is over.

While sitting and watching my garden I wondered, "Why does that zucchini plant keep dropping it's fruit after that whole 'funny butt' phase?" dozens of 'funny butts' as I like to call them, had come and gone, none of which had given me a full sized crookneck. "I baby it and baby it, and still nothing to show for it!" Then it hit me. It was a Pattypan! When going to the nursery for transplants, I asked Brendan if he thought I should get the showy pattypan, or the utilitarian crookneck. He said to forget the pattypan, we'd never eat it.


There must have been a mix up!

My eggplant set several flowers during the heat wave, and what I belive to be the Green Zebra tomato got a start on a nice little tomato if its own... I read a really interesting blog where a woman suggest self pollination with an electric toothbrush to simulate bee wings. What a fantastic idea! I am eager to try it, as besides that one tomato, I've seen nothing else.

The mustard seed all took and is going strong.

Also, the swiss chard is doing well, as well as the two beans I planted there.

The snap peas that I took a gamble on are actually setting out flowers. Wow, if that doesn't let you know how gloomy its beeen here, I don't know what will!

What should I do if things continue the way they are? Black plastic? Weed tarp? Giant domes of plastic over the entire garden? As it stands, I am not getting much return on my investment, and it would be a shame to come away with nothing. Of course, money cannot buy the utter fulfillment and joy I've found in gardening

suspension

Dealing with this June gloom. I am used to blazing heat and corn fields that tower over me by this time of year. I see southern gardeners posts about their slowing harvests of zucchinis, tomatoes and the like, and I have yet to get one, and I grow rather jealous.

It's like my garden has slowed down in the last few weeks. All the overcast days, I wish it would rain at least - my garden loves it when it rains.

I've sown mustard seeds with the tomatoes. I also created a bricked off area and filled it with rich soil and sown it with swiss chard. The sparrows tried to steal my seeds, so I left Strummer in the back yard for the rest of the afternoon.

My yellow neck squash keeps threatening to bear fruit, but they just shrivel and die. Should I be hand pollinating? We have tons of flying insects in the garden, so I'm not sure its the pollination. The zucchini plant is still trying to recover from the powdery mildew. I had to prune it almost entirely back, and then spray it with a neem oil fungicide which did the trick, but I am afraid I really scarred her. She's all week, and rather wiry.

After moving the tomato patch around, all the plants dropped their flowers, as I predicted. But in the last few days, have set new ones, as well as growing several inches and putting on a few sets of leaves. I am eager to find a little green tomato there one of these days.

My bell pepper is in suspended animation. It's strange. It doesn't really seem to be growing. Maybe it's the cold?

The eggplants are still setting leaves. As with the zucchini, the leaves are getting huge, so I fear there may be too much nitrogen in the soil. 

 cucumber

 

watermelon

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 Strangely enough, the plant I thought was going to suffer the most has done rather well.The cucumber had a bit of a growth spurt, and I had to add another level of twine for it to climb up. I believe it has set a few fruit.  Also, I lay down composted manure around the watermelon, and it had a bit of a growth spurt as well, and is looking much better after a few weeks of looking rather spindly itself.

The potato is growing like some kind of beautiful, mad weed! at least twelve inches tall now. The method seems to be working as planned. It's exciting! Nothing seems to stop it. I moved it away from the strawberries, as I recently read that they retard each other. The strawberries immediately set out fruit.

Also, I planted my chives near the tomatoes, and it is looking good again! They are companion plants

As a bit of a joke, my mom went out and bought me a chamomile plant which is now growing happily betwixt two giant eggplants. I smile every time I see it, and I fear when they leave it will make me very sad.

Laundry Woes

My seven month old son has been in dutifully white cloth diapers since he was born. Cloth diapers are better for our environment, and less expensive down the  line. Yet, initially it is a large purchase to make. Costing anywhere from 200-$1000 to get a good "stash"

Not taking this ticket lightly, I decided to do all the research I could to discover how to keep my precious purchase looking its best, and lasting the longest.

Along the way, I discovered something amazing... My god, we have all been using WAY too much laundry soap all these years!


Stepping out of the shower, I pull a towel off the rack and put it to my face, instinctively taking a deep breath. After getting dressed and presentable, I go to my mother in the kitchen and say, "Mom, these towels stink!" She continues what she's doing, not bothering to look up "Ok, well I'll use more soap next time."


Little did I know then, the more detergent you use, the dirtier your clothing remains. The object of washing your clothes is not to make them smell good (If you insist on that, use some kind of stinky fabric softener) the object is so that they smell of nothing.

My mother in law told me once, "Grandma isn't happy unless she can see suds." I use that as a signal that I have used too much soap, and need to adjust my method. An excess of soap in the wash leads to soap build up, so each time you wash your clothes, your machine works harder and harder, trying to remove that soap, not the dirt or residue of day to day life.



"Method found that 53% of people don't use the recommended amount of detergent per washload, preferring instead to guess or, worse, to simply fill the cap up to the top—a practice that wastes more than half the loads a detergent bottle could wash, Method executives say."

When I tell people they are using too much soap, they look at me like a mad man. "Too much soap? surely, there is no such thing." but washing clothes is not like washing your hands - and  machines break down after too much abuse. This is a particularly tricky subject as more and more of us buy HE or "High Efficiency" machines that need even less, sometimes half the recommended dose.


So, here is a recipe I use on my diapers regularly for a good, hard cleaning, and on my towels when my parents come into town...


For a FULL load of laundry in a non HE machine

• Run a "soak" cycle... I bet you never even knew your machine had one
• 1/2 tsp Palmolive dish soap
• 1/2 cup borax
• Run a cycle per usual

After one - maybe two applications, your clothing, towels and diapers should be back to smelling like nothing.

Why use more than we need? You are essentially throwing money down the gutter. Read your labels and begin to develop an intimate relationship with your washing machine. Come check on the load every once in a while. See suds? Use less!

Your skin will feel softer, your towels will not offend and you will save money.


Take the test HERE

Too many tomatoes?

Is there such a thing? After careful consideration, much debate between my mother and I, and a simple google search, what I though was a HUGE German Chamomile plant, has turned out to be several mystery tomato plants.

In the early spring when I was busy germinating my seeds indoors on a sunny window sill, I must have gotten my seeds crossed.

But here's the big question... What kind of tomatoes will they be??

I was sprouting Black Krim....

 Green Zebra...

and some kind of cherry tomato.... Oh, I do believe the wait will drive me crazy!

And! On top of that, because I thought all my tomato sprouts failed (as it turns out, it was the Chamomile that did!) I went ahead and bought a tomato plant at Armstrongs! An Old German!

The final kicker for me to look at my mom and say "Uhm, these have GOT to be tomatoes!" was that the plants started to flower today. I can spot those tiny yellow tomato flowers from a mile away.

Since I suddenly found myself with four new tomato plants on my hands, I had to totally rearrange the garden. It all makes sense now. Every time I dug up the "chamomile" I noticed that the roots had grown really fast and really deep! *head smack* I'm a dope.

So, I took down an old red wood trellis from back behind the house, cleaned it up, took it apart, then put it back together again to the size I needed, and put it in the ground. Then, I had to dig up the entire garden B, replant my watermelon and bell pepper, and stick the tomatoes along the back of the bed. As it lays, I still have two of the plants still in pots in need of homes. Perhaps a gift? Or I could let my mom take one home, but would they survive the dreadful Texas heat?

Also, it's only been in the bucket two days, and the potato is already willingly sending out several long purple shoots. I had to give it another few inches of mulch today. I am excited!

The zucchini looks better today, still sick, but better

Felines

Our first cat, Bonnie is quiet and shy. When guests come round, she would much rather sleep on our bed than make friends.

She doesn't eat treats... It's just not her style. But she will eat them if you leave it, and walk away.

She wont sit on your lap... or mine for that matter. But she will sit on Brendan's lap, because he's the daddy. I think she knows who's in charge.

She is delicate and tiny, and almost frail. She is getting over being very very sick. She is smokey and soft, and if you just saw her run by, you might think her a ghost.

Bagheera is a loud mouth. He will let you know when he is hungry, and he will let you know when he is irritated.

He stares down our dog, because he is well over half her size, and honestly, in a fight, Bagheera would win, hands down.

Bagheera makes friends, and sits on shoulders on the back of the couch. Half his body on the couch, half his body on you. When he really likes you, he walks along the back of the couch and bumps your head.

Some people find that disturbing, but I find it lovely.

He looks like a jungle cat... like a dignified gentleman when he sleeps. His jaw line, his musculature are all so refined. He is a cat you don't forget.

He was turned out on the street by his owner. For six months he wandered, and then was picked up. And then we took him home, and now he's my baby.

Powdery Mildew and Potatoes

My zucchini squash has been ravaged this last week by powdery mildew. What once was a thriving, weed like plant has been reduced to just a few weak suckers. I hope it pulls threw, as I'm afraid it is too late in the season to replace it. On top of that, all of my beans died :( It's bad luck for me this week.

I tried a heavy spray of diluted milk to the entire garden A, which is supposed to help. I will use another application next week... I'm not sure though, I may just have to go to Armstrong and see if they have anything organic. I would hate for anything else to get infected. It looks as though my yellow little neck squash had a few infect leaves today, which I pruned and disposed of.

In other news, I finally put my sprouted Peruvian purple potato down in some soil.  I am using the bucket method.


Growing Potatoes - The Bucket Method

• Place 4-5 inches good soil in the bottom of a deep pot, or bucket with holes drilled in it. I chose to use a garden center pot that my blueberry bush came in.

•  Place your seeded potato in the ground. I used a potato I bought organically at a local grocery store. Sometimes these potatoes are unreliable or diseased. For both of the reasons I chose to pre-sprout mine, and use the bucket method as opposed to putting them in my garden. 

• Cover the potatoes with a few inches of soil or mulch (I am choosing to use mulch, in the form of bougainvillea flowers, we have tons of the bushes hanging around). When you see little sprouts peeking out, cover it with a few more. 
• When your potato plant appears to be dieing, you are ready to harvest.

Fathers day and my Baeba: Babycook!

Brendans first fathers day was a lot of fun. I woke up early early on Sunday and worked my ever living but off all day cooking up a storm. I made ribs (Avoid Emerils rib rub, it's far too sweet... Unless you like that sort of thing) a bbq apple pie (see recipe below) tons of vegetable skewers, sweet potatoes, bbq corn and hot links for my baby. It was a lot of work. I was so tired at the end of the day, I found myself folding clothes and actually nodding out mid sentence to people. But hey, it was worth it!

My mom got me one of those neat Baeba baby food steamers/processors when Levi was around five months, and I've only really just started to use it on a regular basis. (If you are unsure as to what a Baeba: Babycook! is, see here)

Considering all the time and money you would spend on going to the grocery store and purchasing old dingy baby food, I would say you save on both. Not to mention your child learns from an early age what real food actually TASTES like!

Basically, I set it up on the counter, it doesn't take up much space and is pretty easy to clean. When I cook dinner at night, I select a vegetable once a week or so that we are eating, and I just cut up a bit more of it. Tonight we were eating caldo de pollo, one of my grandmothers recipes, which calls for carrots. I usually buy all my root vegetables organic so I just chopped one up uniform and small and tossed it in the steamer pot.

(Lots of people are stumped on how to make your own recopies with the Baeba as it uses that funny steamer method, and gives you the water to mix it with after cooking (to much your food is runny, too little and your food isn't done cooking!).... just put the food in the blender, no steamer basket, and pour in purified water, just enough so that the food is covered. Then pour that liquid into the water holder, and then steam!)

When it is done, you just pour the carrots into the pot with the remaining steamed liquid (it should be full of the nutrients that were leached in the steaming process) pulse a few times to the babies ability, and then there you have it. Home made baby food. What could make a mama more proud?

Though... most times, Levi is more interested in playing with the nifty Baeba spoon than eating his meal...

The negatives for the Baeba?  Not all the parts are dishwasher friendly, it doesn't give you a perfectly uniform puree, you always have lumps you have to squish out. For the price tag of $150, it seems a little flimsy and the blenders blade is nothing to brag about. More than once, the food has backed up into my machines water cavaty and I've had to clean it with a bottle brush. Yuck. Overall though, I would say it is worth it, as it eliminates all fuss and any excuse a lazy parent might have.


Cinnamon Carrot Puree

• 1 medium sized carrot
• Enough water to cover carrot in shallow pan
• dash of cinnamon 
• pinch of nutmeg

Cut your carrot into small, uniform pieces to ensure no lumps or hard bits.Place water in double boiler, shallow pan, or your Baeba: Babycook! if you wish. Steam until tender. Place ingredients into blender and blend to desired constancy.

BBQ Apple Pie

Crust

• 6 ounces unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 ounces vegetable shortening, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• Water to moisten
• 12 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 2 3/4 cups, plus extra for dusting
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Filling

• 3 to 3 1/2 pounds apples, I chose 4 Fiji and two Granny Smith
• 1/2 cup sugar, divided
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon orange marmalade (my secret ingredient)
• 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• A dash of cinamon
• A dash of nutmeg

Preheat grill to 400 degrees .

Place butter and shortening into fridge for 1 hour.

Combine flour, salt and sugar. Cube the butter and shortening and pinch in by hand, until mixture looks very mealy and pea like. If you like, you can use a food proccessor for this step, but I like to do it the way our grandmothers did.

Add water until mixture is just moist enough to stay together. Divide the dough evenly into two halves, round them out, cover with plastic wrap. Leave in fridge for at least 1 hour.

Peel and core the apples. Slice into 1/2-inch thick wedges. Toss all of the apples with 1/4 cup of the sugar, place in a colander set over a large bowl and allow to drain.Toss the apples with the remaining sugar, flour, jelly, lemon juice and salt.

Roll out dough, assemble pie. Place pie in either propane or charcoal BBQ for 50-60 minutes. If using propane, use care, as high flames will cause the pie to burn.

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I was told it was the best pie I've ever made... and I've made a few in my day