Seriously

Transplanted 2 sweet red peppers, 6 purple broccoli, and 18 Italian fennel seedlings.

I'm going to need more fennel.

Small garden, Big yield

1. Small garden, big yield!, 2. Broccoli Rabe

The backyard veggie plot is small. Quite. But it produces juuuuuuuuuust fiiiiiine!

Onion and leeks, in repose

Rembrandt-style. Word!

jumping on the fava bandwagon!

Reaped a good haul of favas - round 2!- along with some lovely, lovely leeks! I feel like I've waited a LIFETIME for those leeks, but LOOK AT 'EM! Gorgeous!

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too busy for photos!

This weekend has been a blur - spent several hours in the Community Garden cutting back and tying up the communal (thornless!) blackberry bush, then separated a dozen onion shoots, transplanted more onion (three varieties!) broccoli and brussel sprout seedlings, took up the tomatoes and blue lake beans and transplanted three of the six fava bean seedlings I'd started from seed. After that, I harvested some young radishes, two small heads of frisee* and pruned the lemon verbena (tree) shrub.

All said and done, it was a solid 4+ hours in the CG, and while the garden has a greenhouse, it has no OUTHOUSE, so I was in such a hurry to get to, how shall I say?, le facilities, that I failed to take any photos of the fruits of my labor.

And that is why you get only words. But they're good words, non?

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DIY greenhouses

The transition from summer to fall in SF can be quite harsh - the biting cold 'coastal effect' of the heat from the inland regions rising in the afternoon, which creates a sucking in of the chilly ocean air from the Pacific Ocean. It's BRUTAL.

As I've been starting my fall greens from seed, and the community garden's greenhouse has been in high demand for exactly the same purpose, I decided to improvise. The apartment dwellers of the CG don't have access to directly sunlight as I do in our backyard, so I figured I'd best leave the greenhouse to them, and get my seedlings started on my own turf.

The conclusion was: DIY greenhouses.

I reuse 4" squares and 6-packs from nursery seedlings, and fill with a mix of compost and vermaculite (ala Square Foot Gardener). I start the seeds (Botanical Interests is my preferred brand) and then I slip them into standard grocery store clear plastic baggies (the kind you bag loose veggies in) and do a simple knot at the top. This simple enclosure provides a mini-greenhouse effect - protects them from the harsh cold evening winds, while capturing and containing the heat generated during the day. In the mornings, I untie the baggies and roll them down to let fresh air and sunshine in, then roll 'em up and tie again in the evenings. and Voila! DIY greenhouses.



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End of Summer

Well, if this week's dramatic deluge on the earth didn't signify it, summer is over in SF. Time to clear away the summer squash, the collapsing tomato vines and salvage the salad greens. I made my final 'clear out' of the garden(s), and made off with the goods, with a new batch of fall planting seedlings getting going on the side.



The stately chard, leeks, beets and radishes paused briefly for a photo op, then dove right into the oven and the stewpot. Really, they did.

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that's what THEY said...

I'd told someone this tidbit, and got scoffed at. "More iron than HAMBURGER? Really? HAMBURGER?"

Yep. HAMBURGER. That's what THEY said, anyway....

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chard for days!

It was time. Time to do a final harvest of the remaining summer greens and prep the beds for Round 3: Winter Planting. Coming soon, near you!

The chard had grown to monster proportions - easily 3 ft tall! In all the hubbabaloo of things, I'd failed to harvest before the week+ long vacation, and there they were, ready to bust through the anti-cat netting. I was afraid they'd be bitter, but that's the good thing about bitter greens - they don't go any more bitter than what you loved about them in the first place! These were FABULOUS, and definately the most healthy dark glossy chard I'd ever seen - grocery pickings just don't even come close!

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ready to burst

There are the 4' tall stalks of my leeks, which I've been waiting to harvest until after this bloom. I'm both excited to see the allium-like blossom, and salivating over the tasty shoot down below.

Time to get the next round in the ground for fall!

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beet shoulders

Ahhhhh, they were just starting to emerge - ruby red shoulders rising.





I waited for as long as I could hold out, but could wait no longer. They're still relatively small, about the size of golf balls, but I've got Round 2 in the ground, and Round 3 seedlings pushing their way up, so I decided this was the time.



I'm roasting these and sauteeing the greens, and bringing the whole lot over to Kristine's for dinner tonight - there'll be lots more we'll be dining from our collective gardens, hooray!!

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seedling tags

I've got a new round of seeds started, and I've learned a lesson or two:

1. I never remember what I've planted
2. I can't tell what I've planted when it comes time to transplant, so I've been messing up on the spacing

This go around, I decided to rectify that. I tagged the 6-packs I'm starting the seeds in, so I'll know what's what when they're ready to go into the ground.



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contraband (!!!)

I learned (too late) that the CG doesn't want fennel growing in the garden. whoops! I'd already planted four, and I love fresh fennel salad, so they're just going to have to deal with it. I'll just have to be SURE to harvest before it goes to seed.

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sharing the bounty

Before leaving on our Tour de California, I harvested the bounty from both gardens, and distributed the wealth to several neighbors. The salad greens I snipped and bagged, but the broccoli rabe I bundled in saved grocery bands. I couldn't believe how much I'd been able to get from one harvest, and how absolutely GORGEOUS they were!



I'm waiting to see if the cut shoots regrow, and I've got a new batch of seedlings started, just in case. Beets and more radishes are on their way, and if this chilly spring/summer weather keeps up, some traditional broccoli is going in, too. But right now, I'm SOOOOOOO in love with the broccoli rabe!!

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rocket radish

These beauties were literally launching themselves out of the dirt!



These were planted from seed, a packet I found amidst the gardening stuff in the kitchen nook, labeled 'quick-growing' and Guaranteed to Grow!! And boy howdy, did they!

Brand: Ferry Morse
Name: Radish (Champion)
Days to Germination: 4-7
Days to Harvest: 28

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broccoli buds

This is my second season growing broccoli rabe, and I'm still not quite sure how to deal with this plant. I let them go to seed last time, because I hadn't a clue as to when I should harvest, or how to pinch it down to plump it up. I'm hoping I'll do better with these, even if it means starting a new batch every few weeks to harvest these young and tender.


I harvested just a FRACTION (!!!) of my first batch - wasn't sure if I should pull them out or just snip 'em down. I snipped and will see if the base regrows or not. Looks like I'm not going to be wanting for broccoli rabe in the near future, which is excellent as I have a LOT of recipes that call for this lovely bitter green!


(I grew traditional broccoli in the community garden, which surprised the heck out of me with some really amazingly beautiful heads!)

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looking leekish

It took a long time coming, but these gangly green shoots are FINALLY starting to sport the tell-tale fan geometry that separates these from the kids, er, spring onions. Because these are LEEKS, baby! LEEKS!

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they grow up so fast!

Next thing you know, they'll be asking for the keys to the lawnmower.

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mucho seedlings!

These looked about ready for transplant, and I figured a nice hot weekend was just the ticket! I seeded 9 per (but not all were productive) of: broccoli rabe, micro-greens salad mix, beets, leeks and arugula. Transplanted 2/3 in the community garden, the rest in the backyard garden - a little experiment to see which do better where. We'll see!

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