Happy News....arugula sprouted !

                                              Blue Bells at River Bend River Park.
                                                               April 17, 2019

Wonderful walk along the Potomac at River Bend Park today with Sandy Batterton. The Blue Bells were magnificent- never seen anything so glorious and serene. There was swath of them flanking the path for at least a mile. So powerful to see the masses of them against the dark bark of trees and boulders. The paths are sandy so the green leaves and blue flowers were beautifully framed.

The good news is that when I returned I watered the transplanted Red Bud tree I moved to the fence line with Tammy's house.... there is a bare spot created when she severely pruned her goldspot bush. I watered the garden beds along the garage and saw something little and green. Upon inspection,  I realized that the arugula sprouted !!!! so exciting.

radishes, onions and shallots

Sunday April 14, 2019

After reading the square foot gardener, I measured 2 inch markers on a 2 foot long strip and used it to measure off the plantings at Nottoway. I planted a strip measuring 1 foot by 2 feet with onions I bought at Merrifield and then measured off a one foot by one foot area and planted radishes in 2 inches squares and then finished off my work by puttting in shallots---all the ones I bought at Merrifield. I marked each of the plantings with wooden stakes with the plant name and date planted.
Have to take some pictures to liven up the blog. 

Nottoway dreams clean up from ravages of winter.

April 14th
Spent yesterday morning planting peas in the garage side garden and then went to Nottoway to (gulp) address the ravages of winter. LOTS of weeds in the paths and more than enough in the planting beds. I brought a carafe of green tea and set to work about 10:30. Tons of weeds although not as many as I feared. The garlic in the bed on the left closest to the gate didn't have a lot and the one closest to the patio storage box wasn't bad, either. I started with the bed to the right closest to the gate and worked pretty steadily as I worked I'd mix it up by weeding the walkways which were amazing in the number of weeds. I didn't work particularly quickly but did work steadily. When I was about 2/3 finished and thinking about packing it in for the day, the older Korean man from the plot next to us came in and started to help me! While we have always exchanged hellos, to my embarrassment , I didn't know his name.   It is  pronounced "Shinn". He not only weeded but more importantly, Shinn hauled away all the weeds. Have to figure out how to thank him. The down side was that I had to stay and continue to work. I left about 2:30.
The garden while not weed free looks great.
After I ate lunch, I weeded the front garden bed with the crepe myrtle....ugh, full of weeds and grass.  Transplanted the paccasandra into the Holly Tree bed to replace the ones that died.
Today it is misting rain and I plan on planting some more peas in our garage garden and planting sunflower seeds along the fence line with Juanita, radishes and lettuce in the  bed along the driveway  at Nottoway.

April 12 2019

Today I planted the first seeds at home. After raking the side garden and reassembling the composter, I planted arugula seeds in the garden on the property line with Tammy. The garden looks better after pulling out the oak leaves that accumulated there over the winter. Since the composter is empty, I dumped quite a few of the oak leaves in the composter. I also set up the tomato boxes in the area near the Holly tree on the property line with Tammy. She did an monster trim on her formerly huge GoldSpot bush and azaleas along the fence line so I hope that the tomatoes will do well there. Should be at least 6 hours of sun there.
I emptied the flower boxes in the front of the house and replaced the coconut mat liners; I bought some potting soil from Merrifield garden center because I didn't feel like treking up to Costco . The bag I bought (32 quarts ) looks itty bitty compared with the Miracle Grow potting soil I normally get at Costco...the Merrifield brand was also way more expensive. While at Merrifield, i bought seed potatoes, shallots bulbs and onion sets as well as some more seeds...sunflower and peas. I am soaking the peas in order to plant them tomorrow. Hope to transplant the Fig tree (I think it's in a bad spot- not enough sun) . I did transplant a little bush from under the variegated holly tree by the garage and moved it along the property line with Tammy and put in a rhubarb plant I bought at Whole Foods this week to the bed close to the garage.
Tomorrow, I'll dig the hole for the fig and amend the soil with some perlite that I bought at Merrifield.  I hope that the tree will eventually fruit. Its been raining a nice gentle rain so I am hoping the transplants will do well.
Am going to stop at Nottoway tomorrow...the problem will be that there will be so much work there that I know I will focus on Nottoway to the detriment of  the herb and veg garden at home. I think the peas will go in here on Verdict Drive since the birds at Nottoway are masters at eating the pea seeds.  the last two years I have not had one successful pea plant at Nottoway. The birds perch in the trees and watch every move the gardeners make a la "The Birds"!

August 28

Amazed at the size of the sunflower-must be at least nine feet tall with the blossom about a foot across

The bees love it!

June 20th first day of summer

I watered today, and replenished the depleted rain barrel. The rain barrel holds 55 gallons. 

Our new next-door neighbor, Juanita , did a beautiful job enclosing plot 17 with a wire fence. The garden looks so much better than it had last week – the weeds are mostly gone and she has actually put in some plants!  I am so impressed – I think back on how long it took Ginny and Me to put up the fence around our plot, and the fence doesn't look so great! Oh well, so it goes.

 I sprayed for whitefly last week with the insecticidal soap I got fromMary-field  Garden center. The Man I asked for advice told me it would kill on contact, and he was right. I don't see any evidence of any eggs or nasty White stuff. Hopefully this will improve the-yield on the tomatoes and brussels sprouts. I guess I need to keep a supply of the insecticidal soap on hand in the event that I get re-infested.

I did harvest some garlic on Sunday, it is drying out in our garage.

Beautiful day, blue skies and white fluffy clouds. The day started out nice and cool but by the afternoon was in the 90s.

First fruits....what a surprise!

I was removing my cold weather covers on the potato seeds and discovered Mr Potato Head! What a surprise. 

Wednesday is for weeding

Popped over to Nottoway late this afternoon just to get away. The basement  floor was not installed  properly... They glued it rather than "clicked" it in and then ran out of tiles. The issue is that the flooring was ordered properly but  not  delivered properly Ed compared what we ordered to what was delivered and there was a one letter difference 

The plumber had to be cancelled    as well the tv  delivery because of the flooring usage. There is a huge box in our dining room with a toilet in it.

I weeded and de cluttered the  garden box....the weather is going to be cold this weekend so I don't want to plant stuff yet although many gardeners have planted cabbages and lettuces  

Potato day 3/28

Beautiful day- dug up the area to the left of the gate and set two cinder blocks from George Baker. I placed the rain barrel on the blocks and then poured about 4 gallons of water in the rain barrel

A slow start but at least a start

The water is turned on so tomorrow I will connect a hose and fill the barrel...the water will have a chance to warm up a bit 

I also dug a sort of trench for potatoes ---the directions said the trench should be a foot deep---and planted 8 Yukon gold and then covered the potatoes with leaf mulch and the miracle grow plant dirt

I covered the trench with plastic and the fabric from the hoop covers

The last frost is supposed to be April 10th so I'm being a bit hasty but I think that potatoes are early 

I didn't put in the shallots even though  I was tempted....I felt that the potatoes were enough of a risk.

The straw bales are still dormant....I need to really soak the bales to get the fertilizer into the interior of the bales

Perhaps I'll wet them down tomorrow and set up the soaker hose all will depend on the hose - such a pain in the neck to have to connect 120 or so  feet of hose 

Will take some pictures tomorrow

Hard to believe that its the end of our 4th year at Nottoway

Time does fly; we began the garden in July of 2011 and now its time to close things up for the 2015 summer. This year's close up is earlier than normal because of our impending Camino jaunt.
Have already stripped down some of the beans. This year the bean harvest was wonderful. So delicious and plentiful, hate to take the vines down.
My favorite recipe is to blanch the beans, sautee them and toss them with a lemon, toasted pine nuts, parsley, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. I've been pleased with the tomato harvest, too. I have roasted the Roma and the grape/little ones at 200 degrees for 4 hours. The tomatoes taste like candy when warm. Have used them as a "condiment", too. Actually, I prefer to scoop up handfuls for a snack. The giant heirloom tomatoes were great- some yellow and dark red ones that were yummy with fresh mozzarella. For some reason I planted dark brown sunflowers rather than the traditional yellow ones. I think I wanted "short" ones and those were the only seeds available when I bought seeds.
I have been harvesting the sunflowers, too. They are pretty even though not as dramatic as the yellow ones. Last year I put in cone-flowers for the gold finches as well as some Stella D'oro day lilies for color and they had flourished. The rest of the harvest is problematic- lots of carrots and radishes at the beginning of the season. I loved the garlic and onions that were planted in the fall of 2014. However, I planted a bunch of beets but have yet to harvest them- just don't know what to do with them.   Last time I did beets, I swore I wouldn't plant them again but had delicious beets at the Greek restaurant in Tysons "Nostos" last winter and thought I'd try again- the issue isn't with planting the beets, its with cooking them.
Will head  over to Nottoway tomorrow  after dropping Carly off at the Metro to do some more clean up- it was very hot today. Did an almost 8 mile hike to Meadowlark gardens this morning- with a full pack. It was so humid and hot that I haven't done much since arriving home at noon. We were walking for 3 hours but ran into a couple from church ....Peggy and ? Thopmpson while walking on Meadowlark Drive. We ending up chatting for about 20 minutes about the WOD trail and the easement to Meadowlark. Apparently, there is going to be a path to Wolftrap so that one could walk to see concerts if one was a maniac. I guess we could drive to Meadowlark and park in a neighborhood and then walk.
This afternoon, I did spray paint the greek column I trash picked for my huge plant. It looks better with the sandstone spray paint finish than the gold with black antique finish. Ran out of spray paint at the same time I ran out of steam.

Back to Nottoway

9-9-13

Had a delightful time at Nottoway this morning. I worked for about 90 minutes. Much of the time was spent admiring and harvesting with a dash of weeding and tying stuff up. Basket full of tomatoes! Right now am roasting some for a Roasted Tomato Caprese salad from the Barefoot Contessa book (Back to Basics 90).

Roasted Tomato Caprese Salad Recipe

• Halve and seed a dozen Roma tomatoes
• Sprinkle Tomatoes  with some minced garlic, sugar, salt, olive oil and Balsamic vinegar and roast cut side up for two hours at 275 degrees.
• When cooled- put together alternately with mozzarella , sprinkle with fresh basil and olive oil.

Hard to Believe !

Helped the nice little Korean lady who lugging this big  melon similar to the one growing in my garden. I carried it to her car and asked her what it was and how it is used. She said SOUP. It weighed a ton.

 The first of the Heirloom Tomatoes.

 

 

 

6 miler: personal best!

September 7, 2013
Ocean City, New Jersey

Beach @23rd St & Boardwalk

Yesterday, Lauren and I went for a bike ride on the boardwalk. I rode the blue bike from Vienna. Chris and Lauren adjusted the seat so it was more comfortable but the handlebars are too low. However, when we returned to Atlantic Avenue, we figured out that the ride to 28th Street was about 6 miles. Now, I admit there was a certain amount of whining and stopping to rest; my fanny and my elbows hurt. If I raise the handlebars I won't have to lean over and put so much weight on my elbows. The handlebars are low so my arms are fully extended when I ride. 

My bike

Today, we did the same ride but I borrowed Bec's coaster bike. What a difference; no stopping or whining and did the entire Boardwalk with pleasure.

Jersey Shore

Roxy under a cloud

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

     Arrived in Ocean City yesterday afternoon. The drive wasn't too bad, although I dislike the 95 corridor because of the crazy drivers.

Fun to see Lauren and Frank. The latest trauma on E Atlantic is that Roxy is having "potty issues" in the basement. Consequently, she is barred from the basement and second floor unless accompanied by an adult. There are lots of baby gates- they are really animal gates because there are "cat" doors that will allow Ray to move freely thru out the house. Had a delicious dinner and nice walk on the boardwalk down as far as 12th street.

This morning, Roxy and I took a short walk; when we returned I heard some breaking news. As Chris was watching TV in the basement last night, he heard a suspicious sound (like an animal going potty on a blue tarp) and saw the perp standing on the blue tarp in mid-stream.

Yes, Ray was caught in the act! Roxy was not the culprit, Ray was the source of the unauthorized leaking. Ray, of course, acted innocent and nonchalantly tried to brush the issue aside.  However, the evidence was right there. Truth revealed and Justice prevailed. 

vindicated

guilty


 





a friend visits my garden

August 29, 2013

Today, my neighbor joined me in the Nottoway garden. Libby helped me harvest tomatoes, green beans,  and the last of the potatoes. She and I have similar ideas about harvesting techniques--she instinctively understood the importance of taste testing as one picks. This afternoon, Libby goes to her new school to meet her first grade teacher; she is thinking of giving him a potato and maybe a tomato. I told her that Mr. Armstrong will probably always remember the day that he got a potato from one of his new students.   

While there, Ginny stopped by and we had a chance to catch up. I confessed to eating some of her yellow tomatoes and green beans.

On the way back to Libby's house, we stopped by my house and she had a chance to play with Anne Marie's kitty. All in all, it was a good morning

Ms. Libby's sneaker gives some scale to the big guy on 8-29-13

all is revealed....







The mystery melon is turning ORANGE



Today, I spent a few hours at Nottoway; the mystery melon is getting larger and larger and turning orange. I think it is growing into a giant pumpkin. Everything looks fairly good-the eggplant is thriving, the tomatoes are fine, harvested several pounds of small tomatoes.

 

 

 

 Bev playing with a ping pong ball.

 

 

Beautiful tomatoes-San Marzano

 

Eggplants Palooza !

 

On Saturday, I made a quick run to the Nottoway garden since it had been a few days since I had been over. Harvested a lot of tomatoes and THREE eggplants. The mystery melon is growing and turning color. It must be a pumpkin.

While there, I saw a lady with a clip board inspecting the plots....hope we pass.

Death in the Garden

August 20, 2013

Non-dead chipmunk tomatoes

I don't know how the death occurred but I found a corpse in my garden. The striped body caught my eye as I was admiring my melon/tomato patch and really startled me. My first reaction was "danger, poisonous snake stripes"  but I realized quickly that it was one  dead chipmunk.  The good sized chippy was face down and spread eagled nestled in the base of a tomato plant. Out of respect for the dead, I do not include a picture.   Plus, I did not want to get close enough to the dead animal to take a picture.

Don't know what to do with disposal of the body because everything I can think of requires me to get close to the dead chipmunk. Because of the location of the body, disposal requires some adroit movements with a shovel or other big implement that could damage the tomato plants just as the tomatoes are looking close to eating; asking Ed to dispose of the body would probably make both of us  unhappy. Me, because the likelihood of damage, Ed because he is doing me a favor and the likelihood that I will yell at him.
 I did mention the issue of the dead chipmunk to Ed and suggested that he could help me out but he was non-responsive.

Where are the carrion eaters when one has carrion?

 

Tomatoes Galore

August 18, 2013




bean plant 8-17-13

 

Returned from Indiana, unpacked the car and headed for Nottoway. Watered and weeded and picked a ton of tomatoes. Took some pictures of the growing sprouted beans, glossy eggplant and the mystery melon. The eggplants start off as a sturdy light pink flower.

eggplant flower



 

Tom's departure

On Tuesday night, Frank, Monica and Colleen joined Tom, Ed and myself for a farewell dinner at La Dolce Vita in Fairfax. It was fun seeing everyone although sad to have to watch Tom and Colleen say goodbye.  In retrospect, it would have been better to have scheduled the dinner for Monday night. Live and learn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Farewell dinner at La Dolce Vita

The next morning, we left bright and early at 7am for Indiana and rolled into Bloomington about 6:30 pm. We had few stops only for gas and lunch. The drive wasn't too bad except for the PA turnpike. What a horrible road. We did run into some rush hour traffic as we approached Indianapolis. Bloomington is a cute town. We washed up and headed into town for dinner. There is a town square with lots of restaurants surrounding the courthouse. We ate at Grazie on their outside patio in the front of the restaurant. The wild mushroom ravioli was excellent.  

 

After dinner, we walked around a little but it felt cold and we didn't go very far.  The downtown is a few blocks from campus. We estimated that the downtown is about 5 blocks by 5 blocks and has lots of little shops and restaurants.
The campus is beautiful- most of the buildings are Indiana limestone and there are beautiful wooded areas, streams  and brick paths thru out campus. Lots of begonias and brightly colored flowers all over campus.

Tom's new apartment- living room



On Thursday, we were up and out early to pick up a Budget truck and drive to pick up Tom's "stuff" in Columbus, IN where the U-pack depot is located. We were back in Bloomington by 11am and had a late 2nd breakfast or early lunch at the Runcible Spoon as we waited for the rental office to open at noon. We unloaded the truck and the Subaru with a minimum of hassle. The apartment is in the middle of the first floor which required some walking but no stairs.

After getting everything unloaded, Tom and Ed took the truck back to Budget as I put stuff away in the bathroom and kitchen. I meandered over to the Kroger and picked up a few things. By the time Ed and Tom returned, we all decided to call it quits and for a while. After a nap and some rest time, we picked up Tom at the apartment and went to an middle Eastern restaurant  (Turkish?)  and had a delicious dinner in an outside patio that was very inviting- lots of vines and white lights draped over arbors. After a quick trip to a Bed Bath and Beyond for some "stuff", we dropped Tom off at his apartment. 

Friday morning, Ed and I packed up our gear and went over to Tom's place and helped move some recycling stuff and were finished by 11 am. We left for home  having decided to drive until we stopped. We ended up in Washington PA. Good to be home on Saturday.   

 

Bridge over a little creek in the middle of campus

Tom in the middle of campus

 

 

Some of the flowers on IU's campus August 2013 

 

 

 

Pizza





homemade pizza with homegrown tomatoes



Pizza dough from Whole Foods + Goat and Parmesan Cheese+ freshly picked tomatoes and basil sprinkled with olive oil and sea salt and freshly ground pepper = it was delicious.