In the Bleak Midwinter

It was 85 degrees today. I also harvested 15 tomatoes today, in January. I did not use any season extenders. Gardening in So Cal should be a crime. Yesterday I dropped $200 on seeds, plus I've saved quite a few seeds from my own plants. I have planned out most of the spring garden and this week I start construction on a new 4' x 10' bed. If this weather continues, I am going to explode from happiness, and fresh veggies.

Jan 1, 2012 - A bit beat up from the wind, but tasty!

Dec 31, 2011

Dec 31, 2011 - Garlic and radishes

Dec 31, 2011 - Volunteer lettuce! And lots of it.

Dec 31, 2011 - A very light frost, still eating basil in January!

Dec 31, 2011 - Lavender

Dec 31, 2011 - Yep, that's a bunch of tomatoes

Dec 31, 2011 - More garlic, and volunteer onions

Dec 31, 2011 - Bok choy

Dec 31, 2011 - Kale and carrots

Dec 31, 2011 - Volunteer dill

The Winter Garden, Second Time Around

I understood in my first year of gardening that since I was in Southern California I could still grow things during winter. Kale, bok choy, chard (which probably wouldn't die if a nuke was dropped directly on it) and spinach were all I planted last fall. I didn't realize that here, my "winter" garden gets to be as diverse as my spring one. I basically get to plant all the crap that would die in the 110 degree summer weather that isn't recommended for my zone. Take that mother nature! I can grow whatever I want, I just have to do it at certain times of the year. Boo yah.

I planted:

• Bok choy
• Broccoli
• Carrots
• Cilantro
• Dill
• Garlic (planted 52 cloves so far)
• Garlic Chives
• Kale (dinosaur kale, rawr!)
• Leeks
• Lettuce (5 different kinds)
• Marigolds
• Onions (yellow)
• Onions (red)
• Parsley (Italian)
• Poppys
• Radishes
• Spinach

November 26, 2011

Habaneros! Not many leaves left after the wind.

Volunteer dill plant

Volunteer cucurbitabeae (melon or squash, not sure which yet)

Garlic coming up 2 weeks after planting

Radishes

One of hundreds of volunteer lettuce plants

Bok choy with diatomaceous earth on it

Chinese Ornamental Pepper, insert penis joke here.

Roma tomatoes, the plant is loaded with green ones.

Making Pots

I got a fancy seedling pot maker. All you need is newpaper, and I have tons of that, and the scraps that are left over from making pots can be composted! No more buying seed starter trays.

Potmaker

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Voila!

Beans Everywhere

My pole beans came in about two months late, but man, they are not messing around. I can harvest handfuls of them daily. I'm sure I'll be sick of them soon, but in the meantime, I am amused as shit every time I go searching for beans. I usually find some grasshoppers and a praying mantis or two as well.

October 8, 2011

October 8, 2011 - Basil, tomatoes, peppers, chard

October 8, 2011 - BEANS

October 8, 2011 - Cantaloupe

October 8, 2011 - Honeydew

October 8, 2011 - Habaneros, the plant is loaded down with them

Composting!

I've been wanting to start composting for a while, and even saved up $100 to buy a really cool barrel composter with a compost tea attachment. When I went to buy it, it was sold out! And has been for a year now. So I put off the project.

Then one day my new, and incredibly amazing boyfriend, said to me "I'm going to make you a composter." Could I get any luckier? I get to compost and I don't have to do any work? Yes, please. Less than 2 weeks later, voila, composter in my yard. A pretty fancy one at that. He also made me two buckets with spigots for compost tea. What a man.

October 8, 2011 - My fancy composter!

Melons!

I picked a cantaloupe a bit too soon. Then I got bored and took silly pictures with it. It wasn't very sweet but I ate it anyway.

September 20, 2011

September 20, 2011 - I have too much free time

Fall Garden

My fall garden in So Cal is just as productive as my summer garden. When it's 100+ degrees in fall, the plants don't realize they're supposed to be waning away from the cold. Also, mystery solved, I have a volunteer sorghum plant in my yard. Trying to research some cool stuff to do with it.

September 5, 2011

September 5, 2011 - Tomatoes, basil, peppers and swiss chard

September 5, 2011 - Melons

September 5, 2011 - Sunflowers

September 5, 2011 - Cantaloupe

September 5, 2011 - Honeydew

September 5, 2011 - Cucumber

September 5, 2011 - Peanuts

September 5, 2011 - Peanut stalks growing into the ground

September 5, 2011 - Habanero

September 5, 2011 - Bell pepper

September 5, 2011 - Roma tomatoes

September 5, 2011 - Sorghum!!!

September 5, 2011 - Sorghum up close