Plantings and Cleanings

[errantember]

I first planted my raised-bed garden in February. I had a variety of plants, some of which did well, and others of which didn't. I finally got around to planting another batch of winter greens, including spinach, arugula, and two varieties of lettuce in the extra space left over from harvested and failed crops. All six of my tomato plants are still producing, and probably will continue to do so until first frost. If I protect them, they may go longer.

The largest remaining mystery is what to do with my citrus fruit. I've got one orange and one grapefruit tree, both in pots, and both bearing between 3-6 fruit. The fruit is only now really starting to change color from green to yellow-ish, which I was expecting some time ago. Both plants are hardy to 15 degrees, and I'm considering planting them in the yard in place of existing, non-fruit bearing trees.

What worked:

Tomatoes (several varieties)
Lettuces (several varieties)
Arugula
Marigolds (for pest control and pollination)
Basil

What didn't work:

Carrots (took forever, were scrawny, didn't taste good)
Japanese Radishes (ditto)
Scallions (ditto)
Cabbage (formed head, but got eaten by worms)
Cauliflower (ditto)

Time to start looking for that first frost date...

I also finally started really unpacking from Burning Man, emptying one of my 20 gallon bins and cleaning the playa dust off the contents. In the process I reclaimed the necessary rechargeable batteries and biking lights to trick out my ride for night riding. Since I was actively yelled out for nighttime invisibility recently, this is well-timed.

Comments

[bramblekite.livejournal.com]

The 4 little oranges on my orange tree took forever to ripen too...but they're cute. I have no idea what they taste like yet...

I'm not there yet, but at some point, I'm going to track down a copy of Neil Sperry's gardening in TX book; apparently it's like the bible for gardening here.

That's good to know...

[errantember.livejournal.com]

...I'll have to check it out!

My oranges are pretty normal in size, but my grapefruits are orange-sized.

[kiki39.livejournal.com]

With your growing season, you should be able to add peppers and squashes and a jillion kinds of beans, as well as most herbs. My favourite is Thai basil... :) Yay, gardens!

I had an herb spiral half-built...

[errantember.livejournal.com]

...on several occasions, but had good reason to not finish it, so I haven't been doing the easy thing of an herb garden. Definitely a priority, especially now that I'm cooking more.

Orange

[bramblekite.livejournal.com]

Here's one of my 4 baaaaaby oranges from my baaaaaby orange tree :)

Re: Orange

[errantember.livejournal.com]

Cute!

I talked to citrus growers at the farmers market, and they said the longer you leave them on the vine, the sweeter they get.

Mine are still mostly green.