It's Easy Being Green

Proof positive that raised bed gardening has its perks: I unearthed these gems this cold late December afternoon out in the garden here at the Half-Acre Homestead. These were planted in late spring and there are many more in line to mature behind them. For anybody who doubts you can grow your own food in the winter this should tell you otherwise!

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Frosty windows, glinting grass and foggy ponds overtly demonstrated the seasonal change this morning. Tri-Staters, if you didn’t catch the word yet, tonight we’re getting our first freeze warning of the year. That means you gardeners will have some work to do if you haven’t planned ahead.

We did and last night marked one of my favorite nights when it comes to the kitchen garden. It’s what I have affectionately dubbed the Hustle Harvest. This hurried effort is brought on once a year, every fall, when the forecast calls for the first frost of the season. When the call for frost is finally made by the National Weather Service, we bundle up and hustle through the garden harvesting every bit of tender produce that will be ruined by frost. Tomatoes, peppers, basil and other tender herbs that are still hanging on need to be picked.  Even all those green tomatoes will ripen over the next few weeks inside your home. You might even have delicious, bright red homegrown tomatoes to share at your Thanksgiving feast.

Last night was no exception. Talina and Everly had picked most of the tomato plants clean by the time I got home and had quite the wagon load waiting for me to haul in. I bundled up and with the fall nip descending as quickly as the sunset, hustled around picking a load of late season peppers and trimming down the basil plants. We ended up with abouts 30lbs. of green tomatoes that will ripen inside over the next couple of months, 2lbs. of bell and banana peppers and several bushels of fresh basil. The kitchen smells wonderful…that heady spicy scent of basil filling the air.

True, the Hustle Harvest means the end to another gardening season. This one was not quite so productive but it means the beginning to a new gardening year is just around the corner. The anticipation will last all winter.

Hustle Harvest 2011 netted about 30lbs. of green tomatoes, another large bushel of basil for drying and a handful of bell and banana peppers.

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This has certainly been a challenging gardening year, at least for us here at the Half-Acre Homestead. Not only do we have significantly less time to work in the garden (due to the impending arrival of baby girl #2 in the next few weeks) but the weather has just been a bear this year.

All varities of squash have set nicely this year but so far nothing has matured. Every plant has been attacked by squash vine borers and died.

We had an early tease of a warmup early this spring but then the weather turned cold and downright nasty. Cool, rainy weather stuck with us through the end of June but that now infamous 2011 Heat Bubble has built up and doesn’t seem to be looking to leave anytime soon.  Our garden plants were slow to start and are now battling high-heat and humidity.

As a result, this past week marked the arrival of the first ripe tomato. It’s happened significantly later this year than last. Our spring planted squash plants (pumpkins, zucchini, yellow squash) are all dead now, thanks to an outbreak of squash vine borers. The wasp-like insect lays its eggs on squash seedlings. The grub-like infants grow in the stem of the squash plant, boring out the inside of the steams as they eat. Eventually the plant can’t exchange water or nutrients and withers. We’re hoping a second planting will start producing in enough time to save our squash season.

Our popcorn patch has wasted no time shooting up toward the sky and looks to be producing quite a few ears of future popping goodness. Eggplants have also been extremely slow this year both growing and with fruiting. Etna bush beans (used for drying) have been doing very well and produce abundantly. Our pole beans on the other hand have yet to set pods even though they’re covered top to bottom in blooms.

Hopefully things will eventually catch up but if they do, we’ll probably already be gone to The Farm in Summertown, Tennessee to welcome our newest member of the family into the world. How does your garden grow this year?

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The weather here in southwest Indiana has been flip-flopping faster than a group of politicians lately. May proved to be a tough one to get the garden off to a good start before the heat of summer set in and parched everything. We struggled the first half of the month with copious amounts of rain, day in and day out. The raised beds proved their worth in being able to shed the excess water and keep winter vegetables from turning into a bog.

Cooler temperatures (we’re talking 50’s some days) definitely put a cap on growth rates though and stunted warm weather crops that should normally be out around that time. Several tomato transplants just couldn’t get the early sunshine and warmth necessary for them to establish and they ended up withering away. Once two weeks of severe rain moved out, we quickly ping-ponged into the mid 90’s with full sunshine. This extreme temperature swing stressed even more transplants and left local gardeners and farmers wondering what season mother nature was going to stick with for awhile.

It looks like the heat has ended for the time being, taking us back down into the upper 70’s and low 80’s. Another stormy and wet pattern is setting up for the rest of the week. Established plants took advantage of the sun and heat though, putting on a flush of growth that caught them up nicely.

Calico Popcorn begins to stretch toward the sky while a volunteer pumpkin begins to ramble about in front of the popcorn patch.

Our patch of Calico Popcorn out near the duck pond already reaches my knee and almost swallows up our Darling Daughter when she walks in the rows. The tomato plants are also doing great, shooting up a foot or more in the past several days. We’ve even started to have some blossoms open within the last couple of days so hopefully by the 4th of July we will pick our first homegrown tomato. Potato sprouts are shooting up but who knows what they’re doing beneath the soil’s surface.

Our two black and white cats poke through the new garden space checking out the tomato patch and the potatoes in the lower right.

Cosmo Savoy Lettuce has been a big producer in the cool temperatures and only recently has started to bolt. It’s produced many dinner salads for us and by far has been the most successful lettuce growing we’ve ever done. Purple Globe Turnips have also done well this year and provided a continuous harvest. Our grapes are off to the races too. They are quickly climbing up the arbor over our garden gate and are stretching down each side of the garden fence without abandon. We even have some clusters of grapes growing and can’t wait to taste them when they’re finally ready to eat.

The grapes have started furiously crawling across the tiny arbor over our garden gate.

This is the first year we've had clusters of grapes growing and we can't wait to try one!

We’re planting more fruits and veggies every day to keep a continuous harvest cycle going this year. We can’t wait for those summer staples like tomatoes, zucchini and yellow squash to start producing. How does your garden grow? What has done great so far and what has been a disappointment?

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Valentine’s Day here at the Half-Acre Homestead was hot!  Humid too but not because we jetted off to some couples only, exotic beach resort.  No bikinis or frozen concoctions to help us hang on here.  Just the love of our little trio knocking around town together and enjoying one of our favorite spots in Evansville:  Amazonia at Mesker Park Zoo.

My pretty Valentines

The miniature tropical rain forest, cloaked in glass and kept at 75-degrees year round is a deliriously balmy hideout from the swirling snow and sub-arctic blast biting on the other side of those steamed up windows.  It also doesn’t hurt that our Darling Daughter can occupy the better part of an hour just letting off some steam as she runs from one end of Amazonia to the other, pausing briefly to scope out the fascinating and colorful inhabitants.  If you’ve never visited the exhibit before, you enter the tropical rain forest on wooden-planked bridges suspended high above the forest floor.  Here you meet colorful monkeys, birds, sloths and other creatures who like to hang out near the forest canopy.  As you move down through Amazonia you pass through waterfalls and caves meeting more creatures before you end up on the riverbanks coming face to face with piranhas and several otherworldly looking water creatures.  It’s by far one of the bright spots in this fair city and something I wish Evansville could build on.

Orchids tumble out of every nook and cranny and bloom beneath the forest canopy

This trip deep into the misty jungle on Valentine’s Day was to enjoy the Orchid Escape.  We grow a handful of orchids in the Half-Acre Homestead and Talina just amazingly got one to re-bloom after a long slumber.  These amazing plants range all across the globe in nearly every climate, with about 25,000 different known species.  That’s double the amount of bird species on our planet and four times the number of mammals.  More than 30 varieties of orchids are native to Indiana, some growing right here in our own backyard of Evansville.  Orchids are not only beautiful but one species also produces one of the most sought after spices:  vanilla.

Amazonia is already flush with hundreds of different South American tropical plants on showcase (the exhibit also doubles as an arboretum) but for one month every year, the zoo tucks hundreds of orchid plants into every available nook and cranny.  It’s a dazzling display of natural color, form and textures.  Hilltop Orchids out of Cloverdale, Indiana has grown and supplied 170 South American orchid plants for this year’s exhibit ranging across 30 different varieties.  Each grouping of plants has been meticulously arranged and lit with subtle spotlights as if each grouping is on stage to belt out their own aria of uniqueness.

The winter sun beams through the greenhouse roof onto my favorite orchid on display, Zygopetalum "Jumping Jack".

Each variety of orchid displayed is clearly labeled to help you identify your favorites like Phalaenopsis "Jungle Cat".

If you haven’t already checked out Amazonia’s Orchid Escape at Mesker Park Zoo you should take the time to do so.  Time is running out for a visit in 2011 as the exhibit only runs through March 12th.

My "Darling Daughter" Everly and I watching the monkeys climb to the tops of their forest enclosure

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Glorious is the only way I can think to describe the sudden onset of balmy temperatures and sunshine the past couple of days.  Yesterday we climbed into the land of the 60’s and it felt downright amazing.  Even before the first cup of coffee was finished here at the Half-Acre Homestead, we threw open the door and rushed outside to enjoy some fresh air.

Everly, much like the rest of us, has been getting an extreme case of cabin fever as of late.  There is only so much indoor activity to keep toddlers occupied and for our resident garden faerie, it’s just too much time cooped up inside the house.  She had a blast throwing bags of leaf mulch around the yard to help stymie the springtime mud pie that our grass turns into this time of year.  We also took the opportunity to move our rabbit hutches from their temporary home in the garage to their more permanent spot outback.  This gave Everly the opportunity to chase the lop-eared rabbit throughout the flower beds as he explored and munched under the February rays.

Today marked another stupendous day outside and so we relished it.  Darling Daughter and I poked around in the kitchen garden to take a look at everything coming to life this week.  Long lost garlic and onion bulbs have started shooting up all over the place.  Rhubarb crowns are beginning to break the soil’s surface and reach for the light.  Lemon balm, chives and sage are beginning to leaf out in their hotboxes as well as the rosemary bushes which are still triumphantly marching through the winter fully clothed.  Strawberry plants began peeking out from underneath their leaf mulch this week as well, heralding the bright red berries that will soon grace them much to Everly’s daily picking delight.

Strawberry plants are beginning to peek out of their leaf mulch this week as if trying to shake winter off for good

Homestead Hottie briefly joined us in the garden before tossing her cookies down one of the walkway aisles (her story here).  The pregnancy was getting to her today, well the whole week for that matter.  Everly and I looked on in worried support until the spewing stopped and then quickly ushered our poor Homestead Hottie back in to flop on the couch.

Later as the thermometer climbed to the 70-degree mark and there was no rain in sight, I set out to finish Talina’s Valentine’s Day present.  Built from recycled wooden pallets, I’ve been making a potting bench for my Homestead Hottie’s gardening fun.  Everly loves to be involved in any project, especially building and she has great fun helping to wrangle loose screws and sit on boards while Daddy screws them down.

Our Darling Daughter loves project time around the Half-Acre Homestead. Notice some of our cloth diapers getting some welcomed solar bleaching out on the line today too.

Just as the sun set tonight, I finished building the upper shelves.  It took little time to complete and looks great in a eco-chic sort of way.  I was thinking about painting it several different bright colors to match our outdoor cushions but Talina likes the look of the wood.  Rough cuts, nicks, old nails and discoloring will all show through a couple of nice coats of sealer.  It’s what makes the potting bench unique.  I’ll take orders if anyone else wants one.  I can guarantee no two will look alike!

The middle shelf on the hutch still has bark attached to the edges, helping to make it truly unique

Have you been out in your garden lately?  What is beginning to come back to life?  If you recycle wooden pallets for projects, let me know what you’ve turned them into.

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Our house here at the Half-Acre Homestead is filled to the brim with houseplants and some outdoor plants that get ushered inside for a little extra protection from Old Man Winter.  From pines to cacti, orchids to lipstick plant and bananas to oranges, we have a full slew of plants to share space with.  Unfortunately, it’s also a draw for the four-legged felines that also grace our home.

This winter I was dead set on growing a box of lettuce and another box of herbs in the windows of our sunroom.  It also serves as our office but gets an abundant amount of winter light thanks to an entire wall of windows and three skylights that grace the vaulted ceiling.  Shortly after planting, some of our gracious gatos insisted on making these planters their new potty place.  It’s a common frustration felt by any feline fancier who also fancies their indoor greens.

We’ve had limited success topping planter boxes or pots with fine-meshed chicken or garden wire.  It will deter for awhile until they get jumped on so much that the plants underneath end up smashed into an oblivion.  A different trick though involves knitting needles.  Yes, those deadly looking devices some knit-wits can use to whip up a shoulder shawl or even better, a classic Christmas sweater, can deter your cats from doing the unthinkable.  Pick knitting needles of a dark color and insert a few of them into the potting soil so they protrude about two to three inches out of the soil.  The dark color will help hide the needles from human eyes but will most definitely keep that precocious critter from squashing your plant just to pop a squat.

These Pot Toppers also make a great long-term solution for warding off your frisky felines

If you’re looking for a more long-term solution (prepare for a shameless family plug now), my father-in-law has come up with an ingenious invention called a Pot Topper.  He custom makes them from cut stone; any color, any size.  Both are great ways to save your plants and your nerves.

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