Flower Power 2010- Call for volunteers
Help!
The Bates Area Civic Association will be having another Flower Power Walk this year and well people are needed. Hopefully the walk will take place on a Saturday in late June, so what will be needed are people to volunteer to give tours. Before that can occur volunteers will be needed to get the word out, help with signage (producing) and volunteering to host a sign. If this interests you contact Flower Power at bacaflowerpower at gmail period com or me.
Related to neighborhood beautification, BACA is planning on having a
big spruce up on May 1st. The last clean up I was able to make a dent in the trash in my alley. I picked up a big yellow bag at the start location, went back to my street, then hit the alley, and dropped it off at one of the trash drop off points.
But once again, I really need help with the Flower Power walk so please, if you can volunteer for one or more things, drop a line.
Lasty, I'm going to be migrating this blog over to another URL this week. There might be several "This blog has moved" posts. Ignore them until I post something at length stating the new URL (hopefully will be blog.inshaw.com) before updating your RSS feed.
Labels: BACA, blog, gardening
I really need to get my garden in gear
Last year I was chomping at the bit for Spring to come so I could start planting seeds and planning my garden. This year with various things going on, such as the short notice roommate, bf, and some stuff I'll just shove under 'financial' the desire is not at the same level. Also I mentioned to friends and neighbors that I'm not going to plant as many tomatoes as I did last year. At the end of the season I had a several tomatoes that rotted on the vine simply because I didn't know they were there. I was concentrating too much on the tomatoes the squirrels ran off with.
I know I'm going to do arugula, alpine strawberries, tarragon, sage, thyme, onions, and cilantro. Mainly because those items have either re-sprouted or reseeded themselves without any help from me. And I still have some leftover seed from last year and it seems tomato seed lasts a year or more. I'll have to see if the same can be said about cucumber and hot pepper. I collected seed from my beets and will give those a go. So the only new seed I may buy is basil and parsley.
I also decided on a different use for the garden, as a supplement rather than a main source. I love puttering in my garden but last year I overdid it. Also I want to support the local farms and buy their produce, so that is another reason to cut back. Yet I do love having food growing in the back yard so I can quickly grab a little thyme for this or a few beans for that. I can't wait till the BFM opens up again, anyone heard anything about it?
Still, I need to get rid of some pots, take some cuttings from the bay laurel and sell off the main tree, and start some seedlings.
Labels: gardening
Mayor's Youth Conservation group does good
Well they can do good
as reported by the BACA blog.
Labels: city services, gardening
Shaw Homestead Report
No, that's not my yard, but the amazing front yard garden on 8th Street near the Giant. Comparatively, my yard is sort of disappointing. The tomatoes are just plants. A few sport some small green globes. So far I'm doing very well with arugula and I've been giving away the salad to friends and neighbors. Another salad item I've got going gangbusters in the yard is purslane. I saw it at the Mexican Fruit Stand and found out it is called 'Verdolagas'. But no need to buy it as I have tons of it. I just have to avoid steeping on it, and the arugula.
I also have growing cucumbers, beans, sage and a bunch of other herbs. The cukes are weird. I bought a particular variety of cucumber that formed softly furred baby cukes. The other plant (I swear from the same seed) has fruit with hard spikes.
I, like many it appears, have started experiementing with canning. My excuse is, I'm running out of room in my freezer and would like to remove the things that can be canned. I ordered a hot water canning kit from the
5th Street Hardware Store, then went back later to pick up the last set of 1/2 pint canning jars they had on the shelf. I'm hoping that if and when my tomatoes do come, I can can them. So far I've canned a banana rum jam and some peaches from a neighbor's yard. I'm still looking at the jars carefully to make sure I did it right. 72 hours and so far so good. I would can the cherries, but my favorite form of preservation is to soak them in vodka. I'm trying to see if the drunken cherries are somewhat shelf stable. Problem is I keep eating them.
Speaking of canning there are
a few articles in today's Post's
Food Section. One on 14th & U and Bloomingdale farmer's market vendor,
Stefano Figerio. Stefano's pastas are taking up space in my freezer, which is why I must can.
And some dissappointing news about food,
organic isn't as organic as we'd like. And if you really want to depress yourself (or not, depends on you) here's
a big ole organic agri-business chart. Last word, which makes this mess so sad, I was overhearing a conversation between a shopper and one of the farmers at the farmer's market. She wanted to know if the veggies were organic. The farmer tried explaining that he couldn't use that word "organic" because of the USDA rules and what not, but yes, no pesticides or unnatural fertilizers.
Labels: farmers markets, food/dining, gardening
Arugula blossoms
Over at
Apartment Therapy's Kitchn they have found a use for flowers from bolting arugula. I got tons of bolting flowering arugula. Unfortunately, all that bolting arugula looks kinda weedy to the untrained eye. I know this because young men came to my door offering their services to pull out all those 'weeds'. Not the first time someone has done that.
I am trying to collect seed from these bolting plants so I don't have to keep buying seed. When the seed pods have dried, I'll pull up the plants and restart my salad days again.
Labels: gardening
BACA Clean up May 9th & Flower Power Walk 6/13
Okay, I got a couple of BACA Flower Power tickets to sell. Flower Power is the Bates Area Civic Association garden walk, and this year it is going to be on June 13th. It is a good opportunity to look at others yards, see what grows well around here and steal ideas. The tickets are $10 and I take PayPal. Money goes to fund other BACA beautification projects.
Also this weekend as a part of the build up for Flower Power is a BACA clean up, with a focus on tree boxes. May 9th between 9 and 11 or noon, at the corner of 1st and P, neighbors will be gathering together to spruce up the area. It is suggested that you bring your own tools and keep them in your sights.
Labels: BACA, events, gardening
In 60-70 days I should have tomatoes
I look at this picture to remind myself that in a few months my front yard will b overrun by greenery, and I will leave some tomatoes to rot on the vine because there is no way I'm going to reach back in there and retrieve them.
Anyway, I'm now actually trying to use up the tomato pastes and sauces I made with last year's tomatoes to make room for this year's tomatoes. I look forward to the little cherry, the flavorful paste and the plain old tomatoes. Right now they are seedlings that aren't sure if they want to live or die. If the little baby plants decide to commit suicide, I'll buy plants at a farmer's market (Bloomingdale starts May 18th) or Home Despot.
Labels: gardening
More Tomato Posting
I got an email from a marketing company and after some light investigation figured it was worth passing on to y'all.
For the first time in its more-than-100-year history, Campbell Soup Company is making available to the American public specially cultivated seeds used to grow tomatoes for its iconic Campbell’s® Tomato soup. The effort is part of Campbell’s goal to grow more than one billion tomatoes across the country and to support American agriculture. Campbell also is teaming up with the National FFA Organization and Urban Farming Inc., each of which will use the special seeds to help create five community gardens in urban communities.
To learn more about this please to go http://akamediainc.com/SMNR/tomatoseed.html
Campbell's on their
own site appears to be giving away seed with the purchase of soup. At "
Help Grow Your Soup" you can click and donate seeds to their project and get your own seeds.
I already bought all the tomato seeds I'm going to use this year. I tried a new to me seed company "
Totally Tomatoes" to get indeterminate and determinate tomatoes. Indeterminate just go all over, determinate tomatoes like the
balcony hybrids, are a bit more bush like. Totally Tomato had more of a choice with the determinants.
Other Seed Sources of Interest:Southern Exposure Seed Exchange- Virginia based and mid-Atlantic focused.
Pinetree Garden Seeds- Smaller packets of seeds. Seems a bit cheaper than some other suppliers.
Cooks Garden- My personal gardening rule is if I can't eat it, I don't need it. This is a seed supplier who factors in taste.
Nichol's Garden Nursery- She wrote the book on container gardening and I bought seeds from her site.
Labels: gardening
A tax category I'd like to see
I was walking by three different vacant lots on my way to work. One is used as a parking lot occasionally, but for most days of the month lies vacant. The other lots are fenced in, and there are a few other lots I know of along alternative routes to the metro, also fenced in.
Anyway, I was thinking, it would be great if these lots were community gardens. About half of part of the lots get full sun. Even better a couple have southern exposure. A way to encourage this could be a reduced property tax rate for owners who lease green space to gardeners. In the city center, where there are more apartments, condos and townhomes with non-existent yards there is a demand for greenspace. If there was an environment that encouraged this sort of land use, it would be great.
Labels: gardening, taxes
Frost Free gardening
April 10th was supposed to be the last frost date for Spring, so I got out this weekend and played in dirt.
Inside the house I've been growing tomatoes from seed in the window. I took a few of the balcony hybrids and replanted them in larger pots. I also have some not-exactly red type tomato seedlings growing in the window as well as I love the odd varieties, the yellows, the green stripes, the orangish and whathaveyou.
Last year, some heirloom varieties we (we being me and neighbor B) grew were duds, producing nothing but lots of vines. I'm going to blame the light, or lack of it, in the rear yard. The front yard produced a bunch of rudely shaped San Marizano (?) plum tomatoes suffering from mild blossom rot. There were tons, and tons of cherry tomatoes that were great for snacking and I'll do them again this year. The Russian heirloom variety tomato was a late season type that produced these huge monster tomatoes that most of the time I did not let ripen on the vine because one part would look 1/2 way to rotting. Having them ripen in a sunny window (to fight whatever mold-like thing growing on one side) was my best bet.
Besides tomatoes I planted some bean seeds. I'm doing the french string bean thing again. I really enjoyed similar beans I had grown before and a meal at Corduroy featuring buttery string beans reminded me of how great this vegetable is.
Labels: gardening
Gardening in the front yard
I've admired the front yard of a house on the 1500 block of 8th St where raised beds bring forth lettuce and something that looks like bok choy. Currently the beds are covered in opaque plastic. That's probably to protect seedlings, while providing light and warmth.
I haven't gone the way of raised beds yet. I tested my soil last year and so far it's biggest problem is that there is too much fertilizer, more than likely from my over use of compost. The soil has been amended and isn't very clay-like anymore so there isn't a need, I think, to raise the beds. However, due to a planned paint project a number of front yard plants will be in pots.
Despite being sick and woo-woo in the head from the cold medicine I'm taking, I filled some pots this weekend. Despite being less than charmed with Swiss Chard, I'm growing it again, but mainly for looks. Swiss Chard can be pretty growing in the yard. Prettier than arugula, which though tasty, is just green and leafy. The arugula is staying, but I am going to try growing it in pots this year.
Labels: gardening
Share your backyard
Total hat tip to
The Bloomingdale Blog on this wonderful idea. The site
Share Your Backyard attempts to match people with backyards with people who need/want space to grow things. That which encourages people to turn lawns and backyards into gardens is a good thing.
Labels: gardening
Farewell to the best IKEA pot ever
IKEA, being IKEA, seems to have discontinued the bestest pot ever, their
PS Fejo. A few days ago I noticed that it was not part of their 2009 catalog.
What's so great about it? It is a self watering pot on wheels. Plastic wheels that don't rust. Wheels that have rarely given me any problem. As I like to move my plants around in the backyard, the wheels are an important feature.
I usually drill three small holes near the bottom side of the pot, a bit above the reservoir, so I can keep them outside. The little indicator, that pops up when the reservoir is full, sometimes fails after a few seasons, bit the main thing, the wheels and the integrity of the pot is longer lasting.
So I went to IKEA and bought 5 Fejos, seeing that the College Park location had about 100 in stock.
Labels: gardening
Going to pot
I'm thinking gardening.
The problem is that I'm planning to paint the front of my house. Once I decide on which shade of color (creamsicle, pencil, kumquat) then I may hire someone to trample on whatever is growing in the ground in order to get the house painted. For those earlier crops they're going to have to be in a pot, so I can move them out of the way.
Patio tomatoes were fair producers. They did well in mid sized pots and gave me some golf ball sized tomatoes at a slow steady pace.
The Emperor Bean produced a decent number of flowers and was very viney. I didn't get a huge number of beans. I'm probably not going to grow them again.
Speaking of beans, I'll definitely do the Parisian green bean again. Last night, celebrating Fat Tuesday, I had a wonderful meal at Corduroy, that had some wonderfully buttery green beans on the plate. So the meal made me think that those beans are worth an encore.
Despite the %$#@ squirrels digging up my seedlings, %$)^$ tree rats, I'm going to try for beets and onions again. This time I'm going to see about putting metal or plastic netting just below the surface to discourage digging.
There are a few things in the ground that will need to move to pots, lest they get trampled. The lavender and the arugula could stand to be moved. Then again, arugula is so easy to grow, I may just dig the plants up and give them to the lady down the street.
Considering how tiny my front yard is, there is a lot of life.
Labels: gardening
Green Tomatoes $1 a bag
I was in the yard, sort of cleaning up. I thought the tomatoes were done. They're not done. But the vines have gotten leggy and annoying. A few of my neighbors were out as well. IT was clearing out some weeds and the Guatemalan couple were clearing the sidewalk of leaves. I gave the couple some ripe tomatoes and some bunches of arugula. I had earlier given a tomato to residents of the Section 8 house down the street.
I was cutting off green tomatoes and setting them on the recycle bin as I was cutting back the vines they were on. IT and the couple already retreated to their homes when a woman in an SUV stops in the middle of the road and says, "Excusing me, how much are you selling those green tomatoes for?"
My mind went blank for a second. Sell? I've never put a monetary value on my produce. I've usually given away the tomatoes, chard, purslane, beans, and herbs growing my yard, but to neighbors, readers of this blog, co-workers, and family. Yet, if someone wants to offer me money, I'm not going to say no. Of course, I have taken bottles of wine...
The woman in the SUV began to tell me how hard it has been for her to find green tomatoes and how she really wanted some to fry. Fried green tomatoes don't do anything for me, so the green tomatoes have little value to me, so I made up a price, one dollar for a bag. She parked the SUV, and I grabbed a bag and collected green tomatoes off of vines I was eying to cut back. I got $1 in change, which will fund my very bad vending machine Twix habit. The woman got about 3 lbs of tomatoes, which she seemed thrilled to get. G-d bless
capitalism in its simplest form.
Labels: gardening
Help a tree out
I was meaning to post
this link earlier.
The 7th Street Garden is moving to Le Droit Park to the Gage-Eckington School. This Saturday they are looking for volunteers to help out. One of the huge tasks will be moving some of their trees.
The garden staff currently don't have the resources to uproot and relocate a set of trees from the space, including two each of peach, apple, and cherry trees. We want to make sure these trees can find a home in a new spot, and to make that happen – according to Susan Ellsworth of the Garden – we need “a tree spade, a flat-bed truck that lowers to the ground, and a small miracle.” Maybe one of the members of our community can help provide at least the first two? Please let us know!
So help a tree out.
Labels: events, gardening
Fall garden
It must be tomato time, because they are all over the place. Well all over the place in the yard. Though 2 of the 6 backyard tomatoes plants were complete duds (no fruit), The front yard tomatoes have been making up for it. For the past couple of weeks I've been bringing my overflow tomatoes to work and giving the to co-workers.
The San Marzano Roma tomato plant has been obnoxiously fruitful as of late. After grabbing the mail I will notice some tomatoes ready to be freed from the vine, which are then deposited on the radiator in the entryway. I had about a dozen of the sometimes rudely shaped fruits sitting on the radiator, when I figure it's time for sauce making.
My method is simple. Wash tomatoes. Cut off bottom blossom rot (a problem part of the potted tomatoes). Remove seeds. Cut in half or several pieces. Throw in pot. Add water as needed. Heat on low. Find something else to do while it turns into pasta sauce mush. Throw in salt, maybe remove skins, or not. Maybe add garlic, cream, herbs, or whatever I feel like, or not. Cool. Label. Freeze.
As the tomatoes are doing their thing, I'm planting seeds for winter foodstuffs. Pretty much beets, leeks, garlic, and onions. The arugula and coriander were sown earlier and I expect them to serve me through the winter like they did last year. I'll see if the parsley will last.
Labels: food/dining, gardening
Fall planting and the problem with being organic
This morning while I was eating breakfast in the backyard, reading the newspaper, B. yelled over the fence about some bugs spotted on the plants. There are these bugs that sort of look like lady bugs, but aren't. They need to die. B.'s solution was spray, mine, shake 'em off the plant and step on them. The are some organic pest control sprays, but stomping seems to be the best earth friendly, plant friendly way to take care of them.
Same thing with bugs found in the corn at the farmer's market. I'm going to assume that the farmers use little to no pesticide. Anyway, at the tops of the corn there were these fat ugly worms eating and turning the kernels to mush. Solution, knock the worm out from the corn, stomp it, knock off some of the mush, buy the corn. When I got home I just cut the top off, the rest of the corn cob was just fine.
I was taking a closer look at the pots because I'm trying to figure out where I can fit the fall plantings for a winter crop. Somethings do well in the winter here. Arugula, does but I've already planted that, as does onions and beets and Swiss chard. I have beet seeds and I need to get them in the ground while it is still warm, but the summer stuff is taking up all the space.
Labels: gardening
Edible Front Lawn
Well it's August and the edible front yard is moving along quite nicely.
Tomatoes- The patio tomatoes are near done and the bigger tomato plants are beginning to show some fruit. Well some of them. Some are just disappointing thus far, with lots of vines but no little green fruits to show for itself. It could be that other pants are getting in the way.
Beans- Beans, beans a wonderful fruit. The Parisian bean is dying if not dead. My beans seem to suffer from a spider mite problem that requires a nearly daily dose of spraying a strong stream of water of the leaves to knock the little buggers off. Unfortunately, with my spotty watering the mites won. At least I got a few nice Harcourt Verts out of them. The red emperor bean is giving me nice little red flowers but nothing else. I don't think I'll grow them again next year. Lastly I am very happy with the conch peas or Texas Cream 8 bean. Conch peas are what I used to eat as a child in Florida. I can't seem to find these kind of peas/beans up here in DC. Though it is a very small amount that I am getting, I'm happy I'm getting them. I will grow more next year.
Thyme- It's taking over every empty spot in the yard. This is the creeping variety, not the culinary kind. I can eat it but only when I've run out of the type I like.
Salad Greens- I don't know the exact name of whatever is pictured here but whatever it is it suffers heat and spotty watering well. It hasn't gone bitter like many other greens and is salad and sandwich worthy. Corn Mache didn't like the heat, and those plants look pretty beat up, so I am hoping that they do better in the fall. The purslane is all over and I'm not eating it fast enough.
Beets- I like the ones I have and have taken the greens and sauted them in olive oil and garlic. I'm haing a problem with seeds I've placed in the ground recently as nothing is coming up and I want something around for winter.
Flowers- Daylilies are done. Pansys and Violas are going strong. I haven't felt the need to put them in a salad. Nasturtiums have suffered in the heat and seem near dead.
Etc. Somewhere under a tomato vine is a sage plant dying for some sun. The mint is fine and I guess I should ponder another mojito party... or just make mojito sorbet. I haven't done squat with the oregano, which has gone to flower. The Thai basil is about to flower. I'm ignoring the swiss chard. I should give more of it away. Make room for something else. The parsley looks sad.
So this s just my 14x8 front yard. Yes, it is crowded. Very much so. But growing in the city can be done. And it is quite fun to say everything (minus the weeds) can be eaten.
Labels: gardening
Walking on my lunch
Part of my gardening is based on the idea of throw it on (seeds) or in the ground and see what happens. If it grows cool, if it don't oh, well.
The experiment with the purslane has been great. Seeds were thrown everywhere, and like the weed it is, it grew almost everywhere I put seed down. I've been enjoying purslane salads for dinner and lunch for a while now, but there is a problem. A good amount of the purslane is where I walk. The reason why I like purslane so much is that it has this great crunch to it. And it is that crunch I hear when I walk towards my bike or go to turn on the water hose.
Now I have arugula seedings from previous plantings that dropped seed growing in my walkway cracks too. Oh, brother!
The good thing about an edible front yard is I can eat it. The bad thing is I'm stepping on and knocking over the food that would be my lunch.
Labels: gardening
