tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1321253125394829722024-03-21T18:01:12.436-07:00The Franz (Mostly) Edible GardenThe documentation of my successes and failures at growing a edible gardenkate franz <a href="http://www.mickaboo.org">mickaboo.org</a>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08136243449580169769noreply@blogger.comBlogger142125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-132125312539482972.post-9454977417338122562012-05-31T08:54:00.002-07:002012-05-31T08:54:33.258-07:00Yeah! Garden pics!
70 garlic heads curing
North-side garden
North and East side garden
Potatoes growing in the compost pile
Chives and Strawberries
Potatoes in the north-side garden
4-in-1 apple
Nectazee Dwarf Tree
Italian Plum Tree
My start at converting the backyard to more garden space
4-in-1 cherry tree in east-side garden
Winter squash in the east-side garden
kate franz <a href="http://www.mickaboo.org">mickaboo.org</a>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08136243449580169769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-132125312539482972.post-34780910349651586682012-05-19T16:03:00.002-07:002012-06-28T21:19:32.322-07:00Short - Garlic Success!I just wanted to report that I have pulled up 70 heads of garlic! Yeah!
Just a few notes:
Chet - my largest bulbs! Great sucess with these. Raw taste: medium, has a quick sharp garlic bite, but dies back quickly. Nice garlic to use raw. Cooked taste: coming soon...
Siberian / Music - my smallest bulbs. *sigh*
Siberian - Raw taste: coming soon...; Cooked taste: coming soon...
Music - Raw kate franz <a href="http://www.mickaboo.org">mickaboo.org</a>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08136243449580169769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-132125312539482972.post-49899734706673519312012-05-18T22:53:00.001-07:002012-05-19T16:08:05.739-07:00Some Garlic InfoChet's Italian Red Garlic
Softneck Artichoke type; 10 - 20 cloves per bulb; mild enough to eat raw.
Georgian Fire Garlic
Hardneck Porcelain type; 4 - 7 fat cloves per bulb; great strong garlic flavor.
Lorz Italian Garlic
Softneck Artichoke type; 12 - 19 cloves per bulb; more heat and better flavor than other artichoke types.
Music Garlic
Hardneck Porcelain type; 4 - 7 cloves per bulb; best kate franz <a href="http://www.mickaboo.org">mickaboo.org</a>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08136243449580169769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-132125312539482972.post-82490019409052947262012-05-18T20:45:00.000-07:002012-05-18T20:45:09.741-07:00Garlic RUST!!! EEEEKKKKK!!!I have been seeing the leaves on my garlic plants turn yellow and I wasn't alarmed. I mean, they should be turning yellow at this time.
But on closer inspection of my garlic plants, I saw some small yellow-orange spots all over the leaves. THEY WERE EVERYWHERE!! I knew it wasn't good so I looked online. Basically it can kill your garlic plant, even the bulb if it gets really bad. I thought for kate franz <a href="http://www.mickaboo.org">mickaboo.org</a>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08136243449580169769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-132125312539482972.post-70558770852536970722012-05-15T08:21:00.002-07:002012-05-15T08:21:32.573-07:00Still Here...Hi,
It's been a while since I posted. I've been around, tending to my garden. Just life comes between me and the blog. :-/
I planted garlic last fall, so I will be harvesting those soon. I have been harvesting some scapes (for the first time) and have been sauteing them and loving every bite!
I hope things are growing well in your garden! I should be putting up images soon.
katiekate franz <a href="http://www.mickaboo.org">mickaboo.org</a>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08136243449580169769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-132125312539482972.post-79667608050895692842012-03-22T08:33:00.001-07:002012-03-22T08:33:26.631-07:00Harvest count for 2011Garlic: 32 headsPotato - Purple Viking: 10lbs 1ozPotato - German Butterball: 19lbs 8ozRapini: 7 lb(s)Squash - Butternut: 7lbs 0ozZucchini - 8 Ball: 5lbs 14ozBeans (blue lake, dragon's tongue, royal burgundy): 5 lb(s) 9ozNectarine: 4lbs 2ozZucchini - Black: 4lbs 0ozZucchini - Gold Rush: 4lbs 0ozStrawberries: 4lbs 0ozCarrots: 3lbs 0ozSwiss Chard - Red/Fordhook: 3lb(s) 0ozZucchini - Vegetable Marrowkate franz <a href="http://www.mickaboo.org">mickaboo.org</a>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08136243449580169769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-132125312539482972.post-6425634804744828372011-08-30T23:37:00.001-07:002011-08-30T23:43:54.812-07:00As August Ends...As August comes to a close, I realize that I need to get on uploading pictures. I don't know what my problem is when it comes to doing such a simple task...
Also, my tomatoes are finally starting to produce enough to make salads, pizzas, sauces, and have enough left over to freeze. My one recommendation when freezing tomatoes is to boil them for about a minute and slip the skins off FIRST beforekate franz <a href="http://www.mickaboo.org">mickaboo.org</a>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08136243449580169769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-132125312539482972.post-19548777762754428362011-08-15T09:15:00.001-07:002011-08-15T09:15:54.994-07:00Check on your corn!
Wow, after seeing my corn stalks turn red and the ears on my stalks feeling "empty", I decided to pick one yesterday morning, and I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it with my own eyes...There were yellow corn on them cobs!!!
Well, some of them were just pure starch then since I thought I wasn't picking any corn this year but some were out of this world sweet! I wish I picked most of kate franz <a href="http://www.mickaboo.org">mickaboo.org</a>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08136243449580169769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-132125312539482972.post-48211303683037095302011-07-28T08:22:00.000-07:002011-07-28T08:30:38.639-07:00On Coming Back...Hi, it has been a while...I was thinking about converting to Wordpress, but my laziness has been my hinderance in that migration project, so I think I will bring over my one (and only) post from over there to here later.The vegetable garden is in the production business now...I am out there picking beans every day (and I swear I pick the almost-ready beans the previous day too!), the butternut kate franz <a href="http://www.mickaboo.org">mickaboo.org</a>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08136243449580169769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-132125312539482972.post-68797055602261388632011-05-15T21:47:00.000-07:002011-05-15T22:02:09.637-07:00weekend of rain and growthThis weekend, I was barely able to get in some dirt work - I still had the south-side garden to finish up with loosening the soil, covering with compost, then some cardboard, and a layer of mulch/compost on top of that (called "lasagne" method) - but I got it in late this afternoon. now all the beds have been composted! (late, i know...).So I have a few more beds ready for something to grow, but kate franz <a href="http://www.mickaboo.org">mickaboo.org</a>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08136243449580169769noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-132125312539482972.post-76438563482047684172011-05-02T11:34:00.000-07:002011-05-02T11:40:23.231-07:00Garlic Success!The garlic plants that I planted near the cherry tree were looking a bit wind-swept, yellow, and nearly lying parallel to the ground, so I thought they were probably ready to harvest. It is just the beginning of May so it could've been a bit too early, but...Sunday, my son and I dug up 20 nice heads of garlic! some were quite huge too! I left the leaves on and braided them all together (thought kate franz <a href="http://www.mickaboo.org">mickaboo.org</a>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08136243449580169769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-132125312539482972.post-42804049728046807642011-04-16T20:30:00.000-07:002011-04-16T20:39:39.903-07:00milestone reached: all plots weeded!YEAH! I weeded all of my plots! Even all of the grasses and vetch that overwintered in my south garden. They were much easier than I anticipated to pull up with my bare hands. I have left them lying on top of the ground and I will do the lasagne method on them with some cardboard and what I have left of soil amendments (I only have 2 bags left...:( ). I'd love to use my own compost instead, but Ikate franz <a href="http://www.mickaboo.org">mickaboo.org</a>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08136243449580169769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-132125312539482972.post-35346886543763399392011-04-14T08:14:00.000-07:002011-04-14T08:43:05.553-07:00Tough Learning LessonMy seedlings grew great with the lighting fixtures and the heat mat...but once faced with the outside elements, some died! :-( Most of it was my fault tho. Next time, try to acclimate seedlings by placing them outside (during the day only) for 2 - 3 days, then after that, up till at least a week, leave them outside.Also, this year, its been weird weather (when is it NOT during spring????). kate franz <a href="http://www.mickaboo.org">mickaboo.org</a>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08136243449580169769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-132125312539482972.post-53645751516526914712011-03-14T15:03:00.000-07:002011-03-14T15:12:23.571-07:00seed starting - NOT an easy taskI told myself I wouldn't buy very much for planting in general...I mean why do plants need to be pampered? They have done without for a long time...Well, since seed-starting this year, I've bought 2 (yes, TWO) shop fixtures and 4 bulbs for them, and one seedling heat mat. *sigh*, talking about breaking down! but my entire setup has been under $100. The shelving unit that I am using was already inkate franz <a href="http://www.mickaboo.org">mickaboo.org</a>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08136243449580169769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-132125312539482972.post-954104632906107312011-03-01T11:59:00.000-08:002011-03-01T12:06:07.415-08:00More Seed StartingYeppers...last night, since I actually bought myself a seedling heat mat (*gasp*...I never thought I would buy one of these things...but it is freezing in our garage!!), I decided to plant more seeds:snow peassugar snap peasand the rest are all bush beans:blue laketendergreenslenderetteroyal burgundydragon langeriejacob's cattleJacob's cattle is the first shelling bean I am planting. I chose thiskate franz <a href="http://www.mickaboo.org">mickaboo.org</a>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08136243449580169769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-132125312539482972.post-14794401248822516882011-02-23T08:20:00.000-08:002011-02-23T08:21:12.954-08:00Harvest 2010Snow Peas: 4.5 handfuls (1 handful = 30 pods)Super Sugar Snap Peas: 2 handfuls (1 handful = 30 pods)San Marzano Tomatoes: 200+Australian Yellow Onion: 30Zucchini: 29Strawberries: 27Corn: 17 earsEggplant: 27Jalapeno: 16Zucchini Squash: 11Garlic: 9 (tiny heads)Anaheim Pepper: 10Lettuce (various): 6 salad bowlfuls (adult, side salad amount)Bell Pepper: 9Apples: 4Cucumber: 4Beans (blue lake, dragon'skate franz <a href="http://www.mickaboo.org">mickaboo.org</a>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08136243449580169769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-132125312539482972.post-84607135272334104522011-02-19T16:20:00.000-08:002011-02-19T16:54:07.318-08:00Season 2011 has begunWhoa...it has been waaayyy too long since I last posted to this blog. since September 2010? Shame on me!!Life has had its moments since then and since my work life deals with me being on the computer all day, I kinda lose the interest of going on to a computer when I get home. But, that's besides the point!The point of this blog is to keep a log of my journey into edible gardening. This year, I kate franz <a href="http://www.mickaboo.org">mickaboo.org</a>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08136243449580169769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-132125312539482972.post-49054687710397654212010-09-11T22:48:00.000-07:002010-09-11T22:51:20.637-07:00Can you say "corn pics"?yeah....FINALLY. (i know).these got boiled for about 8 - 10 minutes, and shocked in ice cold water for about 16 - 20 minutes.kate franz <a href="http://www.mickaboo.org">mickaboo.org</a>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08136243449580169769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-132125312539482972.post-62917655138049046402010-08-17T08:23:00.000-07:002010-08-17T08:26:07.845-07:00European PlumsMy 15 month old son and I ate the very first 2 plums picked from our tree that I planted 2 yrs ago. It was not the type I expected but they were just as sweet and yummy! My son and I seem to love to graze the garden and papa barely gets a glimpse of some harvests we have. ha! that's what he gets for not coming out into the garden with us.I know there is a third plum on that tree somewhere...we kate franz <a href="http://www.mickaboo.org">mickaboo.org</a>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08136243449580169769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-132125312539482972.post-23199503116044887032010-08-16T22:29:00.000-07:002010-08-16T22:38:37.775-07:00Finally.....CORNYes, folks...since eating my first ear of corn, that I grew, with my 15 month old son, I decided to do more corn harvesting today. I picked the largest ears, which came out to a total of 12 ears.I researched how to best preserve this corn, since there is no way 2 adults and one toddler can eat 12 ears of corn in one sitting, and I chose blanching. Blanching is a technique of quickly boiling and kate franz <a href="http://www.mickaboo.org">mickaboo.org</a>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08136243449580169769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-132125312539482972.post-89634497294594837602010-08-07T08:36:00.000-07:002010-09-14T14:23:32.095-07:00Note to self on next year's growing season......more beans...all kinds....zucchini amount was good (although since we've been having freakishly cool weather lately, I could've probably had more by now). I have 6 plants....space out the tomatoes more...I had 8 plants planted in one "plot". maybe plant 4 plants in a zigzag fashion and plant pepper plants where the other 4 plants have been removed. just plant plum tomatoes. forget about the kate franz <a href="http://www.mickaboo.org">mickaboo.org</a>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08136243449580169769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-132125312539482972.post-62862350664263359172010-07-23T08:19:00.000-07:002010-07-23T08:57:30.605-07:00Growing Corn (Part II) and a Morning HarvestYes, I have to take pictures. They will come!But, I wanted to share what I read up on corn. (This is the first time I've ever grown corn, so I find this info fascinating!) The flowers on the tops of the corn plants have the pollen that needs to fertilize the corn so that the corn develops the yummy juicy kernels on the ears. Well, for the fertilization to occur, the pollen needs to fall onto the kate franz <a href="http://www.mickaboo.org">mickaboo.org</a>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08136243449580169769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-132125312539482972.post-4017064222177233862010-07-15T22:26:00.001-07:002010-07-15T22:34:11.391-07:00CornThe following pictures are of my Golden Bantam Cross corn taken this evening...Here is what my corn plants look like this evening. The parts sticking straight up on the corn stalks are the flowers. They need to be pollinated for the corn kernels to grow plump (from what I understand). Wind is the main pollinator, which explains why corn plants need to grow so tall.Here are the flowers up close. kate franz <a href="http://www.mickaboo.org">mickaboo.org</a>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08136243449580169769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-132125312539482972.post-17626418178848769952010-07-15T22:21:00.000-07:002010-07-15T22:25:57.477-07:00Corn (part II) and LettuceYou can see the tassels from the new corn coming out...woohoo....i may get some corn this year!Here are some lettuce leaves I harvested this year. yum! I read that if you pick lettuce leaves and some milky substance oozes from where the leaf was torn off, the lettuce is bitter-tasting, but although some of my lettuce had this, it still tasted pretty good.kate franz <a href="http://www.mickaboo.org">mickaboo.org</a>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08136243449580169769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-132125312539482972.post-24286849333304430572010-07-15T08:23:00.000-07:002010-07-15T08:30:34.763-07:00Growing CornThis is the first year I have attempted to grow corn. The type I am growing is Golden Bantam Cross, I believe. It has been amazing to watch this grow! The flowers have shot out from the top a few days ago, and just yesterday afternoon, I saw the tassels show itself atop 4 growths that will soon be corn! I just hope the pollination goes well so the kernels grow nice and plump! Yes, I do have to kate franz <a href="http://www.mickaboo.org">mickaboo.org</a>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08136243449580169769noreply@blogger.com0