this week's garden post will be a bit different. since i have family in germany, i have decided to try and offer german translations to all of my content. so starting with this one, i will be first posting the english text, then followed by italicized text written in german. my german is a bit rusty, so forgive me!
diese woche des gardenupdates wird etwas anders sein. weil ich familie in deutschland habe, habe ich mich entschlossen deutsche uebersetzung fuer alle texte auch zu schreiben (mindestens zu versuchen). also, fange mit diesem eintrag an, werde ich als erstes in englisch schreiben und folge es mit deutschentext in kursiv. ich habe schon eine weile kein deutsch geschrieben oder gesprochen, also es wird nicht so gut sein. entschuldige mich!

i'll start with one of my harvests. it is from the roman candle heirloom tomato plant. look at this beauty! i have not eaten it yet, but i will! this tomato is known to do well in salsas.
ich fange an mit einer ernte. es ist vom roman candle alte tomatensorte. schau mal diese schoene an! ich habe es noch nicht gegessen habe, aber ich werde bestimmt! diese tomatensorte ist bekannt in salsas.




the newest seeds planted today. i have planted more soybeans, green beans, snow peas, sugar snap peas, carrots, pac choi, michihili, broccoli, beets and spinach. i have also planted some buttercrunch and a salad lettuce seed mix.
die neueste kerne die ich heute gepflanzt habe. mehr sojabohnen, gruenebohnen, zuckerschote, zuckererbse, karroten, pac choi, michihili, broccoli, zuckerrueben und spinat. ich habe auch buttersalat und eine salatmischung gepflanzt.






this was my lunch today. a bologna sandwich with slices of my cucumber and the mini heirloom tomato. yum!
meine mittag essen heute. mortadella-aehnliche wurst mit scheiben von meiner gurke und mini alte tomatensorte. lecker!


magnolia tree...it is starting to bud again for a second wave of flowers before going dormant for the winter.

magnoliebaum. es wachst wieder blumen fuer eine zweitemal, vor es winter wird.


the only thing worth really showing in the left garden - it is the yellow bell pepper starting to show a bell pepper! (the other plants are still there, but do not look as pretty.

die einzige pflanze, die bemerkenswert ist - die gelbe paprika zeigt eine wachsende schote! (die andere pflanzen sind noch da, aber die sehen nich so schoen wie diese).


the zucchini jungle. i have already decided that i will kill these plants either some time this week or over the weekend. the powdery mildew on the leaves are getting out of control. i can't have it affecting the new plants.
die zucchinidschungel. ich habe mich schon entschliessen, diese pflanze entweder unter der woche order durch die wochenende wegzuwerfen. der pulverartige schimmel auf den blaettern wird langsam ausser kontrolle. ich kann diese schimmel den neuen pflanzen nicht schlagen lassen.


here are the green beans and soybeans i planted near the zucchini jungle last weekend.
hier sind die gruenebohnen und sojabohnenpflanzen, die ich neben den zucchinidschungel.


cucumber plants
gurkepflanzen


jalapeno peppers and merlot grape
jalapeno-chilischote und merlottraubenpflanzen.


a soybean plant planted between the two bell pepper plants in front of the grapes
sojabohnenflaenzling zwischen zwei paprikapflanze und for die trauben.


a new soy bean seedling has been planted in the same spot where a previous soy bean plant once grew. its really a nice spot that needs some green.
eine neue sojabohnenpflaenzling habe ich eingepflanzt wo frueher eine sojabohnenpflanz gewachsen hat. es ist ein sehr schoenes platz, das mehr gruen braucht.


merlot grapes on the left, concord grapes on the right. now becoming intertwined. no grapes this year. something ate all the tiny ones that were growing earlier this summer.
merlottrauben links, concordtrauben rechts. jetzt wachsen die untereinander. es gibt keine trauben dieses jahr. etwas hat die kleine trauben am sommeranfang schon gegessen.


this is currently my favorite place in the entire backyard...behind the grape trellis. i have thrown various flower seeds back here and hope to see some sprouting soon.
hier ist, im moment, meine lieblingsplatz im ganzen garten...hinter das trauberankgitter. ich habe verschiedene blumenkerne dahinten geworfen. ich hoffe, dass ein paar gross wachsen werden.


newly planted soybean plants growing between the concord grapes and the sweet potato plant.
sojabohnenpflaenzlinge die ich heute zwischen die concordtrauben und suesskartoffeln eingepflanzt habe.


sweet potato plant
suesskartoffel


carrots, green beans and sweet potato all growing well
karroten, gruenebohnen und suesskartoffel wachsen alle schoen.



sugar baby watermelon plant (3 of them)
sugar baby wassermelonepflanz (3 stueck)


here is the biggest watermelon growing. it must weight about 4 - 5 pounds. it may take a week or 2 more until it is ripe. how can you tell that it is ready to be picked? you have to turn it over and look at the light spot on its back - if its yellowish-green, its not ready (which it is currently colored). if its white, then its ready.

hier ist bis jetzt die groesste wassermelone. die wiegt circa 4 - 5 pfund. es dauert noch eine oder zwei wochen bis es reif wird. wie sieht man, dass die melone reif ist? du muss die umdrehen und auf den hellen fleck anschauen. wenn es gelb-gruen ist, ist die melone noch night reif (wie die jetzt aussieht). wenn der fleck weiss ist, dann ist es soweit.




here are two other watermelons currently getting bigger.

zwei andere wassermelonen, die taeglich grosser wird.





snow peas and sugar snap peas, most of which i planted this weekend.
zuckershote und zuckererbse. ich habe die meiste davon heute gepflanzt.




here are some new carrots that i planted in front of the peas.
hier sind karroten, die ich heute vor den erbsen gepflanzt habe.


Almonds...doesn't look even close to drying and being ready for picking.
Mandeln...die sehen gar nicht reif an.


Almond Tree
Mandelbaum


here is an overview of that top right area.
eine uebersicht von der seite hinten rechts.


the flower garden. nothing new. i just thought it was pretty.
der blumegarten. nichts neues. ich fand es nur schoen.






here is a close up of the green beans growing strong.
hier ein photo ganz nah an der gruenne bohnen. die wachsen ganz schnell und super.







here is the newly cultivated plot. this one will receive onions and garlic because they don't grow well with bean plants. again, i have put a 2 - 3 inch layer of soil conditioner and another inch of mulch on top. i find that this preparation works well to loosen up the soil. when i water the plants, i soak this plot to move the conditioner into the soil and help with the soil's tithe.
hier ist das neukultivierte grundstueck. dies wird spaeter zwiebeln und knoblauch eingepflanzt haben. knofi und zwiebeln wachsen nicht sehr gut mit bohnen. ich habe noch mal ein 2 - 3 zoll kompostschicht gelegt, und drauf ein 1-zoll mulchschicht gelegt. ich finde dieses methode langt, um die heimische erde locker zu machen. (ich habe hier tonerde). wenn ich alle pflanze giessen, giesse ich auch dieses grundstueck um das kompost hineinzuarbeiten.


this is the newly planted plot (one i prepared 2 weeks ago). i removed the mulch and worked in the soil conditioner a bit into the native soil. this plot currently has pac choi, michihili, broccoli and swiss chard.
here ist das neueste gepflanzte grundstueck (das grundstueck ich vor 2 wochen prepariert habe). ich habe den mulch weggenommen, und den kompost in der heimische erde hineingearbeitet. dieses grundstueck hat jetzt pac choi, michihili, broccoli und mangold eingepflanzt.


swiss chard
mangold


michihili


broccoli and michihili (large chinese cabbage)
broccoli und michihili (grosses chinesisches kohl)


pac choi (small chinese cabbage)
pac choi (kleine chinesische kohl)




monnopa spinach
monnopa spinat


here are vegetables that i planted in the first plot. they are growing well!

hier sind die gemuesepflanzen, die ich im ersten grundstueck gepflanzt habe. die wachsen noch ganz prima!


two flies warming themselves on a marigold plant.
zwei fliege waermen sich auf eine ringelblume.



the overview of the heirloom tomatoes.

uebersicht vom garten mit alte Tomatensorten.







can you see the soybean plant i planted here last week? yes, it's still there!

kannst du die sojabohnenpflanz sehen, die ich letzte woche here gepflanzt habe? ja, es ist noch da!








here is a garden overview on this fine mid August day...

hier ist eine gartenuebersicht an diesem schoenen Tag in mittel-August...

sorry...i forgot the camera when i went to civic center this week. i meant to take some pictures of the slow food nation victory garden (large veggie garden) in front of san francisco's city hall, but i forgot to take the darn camera. i'll try for next week. (it's coming along beautifully...and they even have their own little compost pile).

i finally got to spend some time in the garden yesterday. it was like a small getaway vacation for me...this week has been tough on me and i can't wait for the weekend. TGIF, baby!!!!

anyways, i went out there and i took a few pictures so here they are in no real particular order...

my watermelon plants...the fruits are growing very fast. the largest one must weight at least 2 - 3 lbs. it will probably need another week or so, but i can already taste the sweet juicy goodness of that baby. currently i have about 4 watermelons growing noticeably bigger. but i also see more flowers blooming. :-)






i have harvested a few carrots already from that healthy carrot spot near the concord grapes, but here are the ones i harvested yesterday. i am a little disappointed in these because of their awkward shapes. i do have clay soil, but these are danvers half long carrots - they are made to grow in clay soil. i expected these to be much straighter. oh well, a carrot is a carrot. however awkwardly it grows. judging by the diameter of the top of these carrots, they are ready for picking. i'll try to put something together to cook for dinner with these and some other goodies harvested in the garden.


i also harvested a few more cucumbers! this makes my cucumber count go over the 100 level. wow! and i think my cucumber plants are also thinking that its soon time to stop producing. these plants are slowly turning yellowish, although nothing really has changed in my watering schedules. i guess it has to come to an end at some point. even with the zucchinis. i am starting to see some powdery mildew spots on the leaves, which means these plants are no longer at their "peak". i am cutting all the leaves with the spots on them to keep it at bay, but i don't think i will hold on to these plants for much longer...2 - 3 weeks tops.


green beans are starting to become plentiful. they are at various lengths and i found that even if they are showing the bumps of seeds in their pods, they will still grow to the normal size if left on the plant - no matter how big the plant actually is. there are many small ones...i can't wait!


cherry tomatoes and the jalapenos are going strong. the cherry tomato plants look really crazy and wild because of the weight of the tomatoes. i have not tied up the plants to the cages i set for them so they are just sprawling all over the ground. the cherry tomatoes, themselves, just keep producing and producing! they even look like they are getting larger too.

the jalapeno plant is wonderful. it needs very little care, if at all. i water it probably once a week or less and its giving me a lot of peppers. and i didn't realize it was so versatile. i thought it was something used only in salsa but you can add it to just about anything you want where a little (or a lot of) hotness is appreciated. (if you want less heat, just remove the seeds).


the heirloom tomatoes are finally putting out more. starting from the top and going clockwise, i have the yellow Bountiful Harvest grape tomatoes, the 2 "mini" tomatoes (i guess it stands for "miniaturized versions of large heirlooms", and another spitze tomato.


here are the seedlings (in 3 containers) that i planted two weeks ago. they are pretty much ready to be planted in the ground this weekend. and i am looking forward to it! i may even start later today when i get home.

in here there are more beets, broccoli, green beans, soy beans and carrots. i have also added red onions, yellow onions, pac choi (small chinese cabbage), michihili (large chinese cabbage), and spinach (don't tell my husband...he says he doesn't eat spinach, but i think he will eat these. they are called Monnopa spinach and they are known to be much "sweeter" than other spinach. shhhh.....).






here are the plants i planted a few weeks ago in the garden plot assigned especially to the fall veggies...swiss chard, broccoli and beets have been planted here. due to my laziness during planting these veggies from seed, i didn't label them, so i think i may have mixed up the beets with the chard...we'll see what happens. (i did learn my lesson from this!)


here are some of the heirloom tomatoes coming soon...

monte carlo (look! its turning color!!). these are a popular tomato in europe (from what i've read).


roman candle. not sure if this is a yellow variety or a red one. i may just have to pick this yellow one and see. (sorry for the blurriness)


JTD (Cambell soup's tomato). this is an ugly tomato in the making. not sure what went wrong in its development, but you can already tell it will be a scary sight when this gets ripe.

here are some late afternoon harvest pictures for today. (sorry, no full garden update. i don't know what happened. it must've been the heat...?)

here is barney, my garden supervisor looking upon the harvest. if it was up to him, he would taste each and every cherry tomato i pick, just to make sure they are juicy and sweet.


my first harvest of blue lake bush beans. these are rather small, but they were picked from a rather small bush. i am thinking they were ready for harvest because you can clearly see the bulge of the seeds within the pod. i ate one (nice and crispy) and shared the rest with the parrot flock that i share my home with. barney didn't seem to be a fan of bush beans...


it was a great cherry tomato harvest. it seems that the tomatoes are getting bigger. i wonder if i am watering these more than before. the jalapenos also continue to be very prolific.


the zucchinis are, as ever, very happy out there. i did chop down a good deal of one of the plants (more than i thought) because it was just growing ontop of itself. so that is why there are a few smaller zucchinis in this bunch. i made a great blueberry zucchini loaf and 6 muffins with a large zucchini i picked a few days ago.


and same for the cucumbers. everyone seems to love these. including me, but i can only eat so much in a week!

here are a few pics of the garden.

my garden helper, barney. he supervises my work and gets a few cherry tomatoes as payment for his hard work.




the watermelon growth is amazing! i think it should be ready for picking in (latest) 2 weeks. i just hope no critters damage these before it gets ripe. currently i have about 4 watermelons growing bigger (on 3 plants)




here are the seedlings i planted in the ground last week. they are getting much bigger - at least they are growing in real sets of leaves. i have been thinking about planting some of the pac choi and michihili cabbage that has sprouted, but i think they are still too young yet.


on to some of the tomatoes.

here is some monte carlo tomatoes. nice and green, but no ripe ones yet.




here is a mini tomato. bigger than the cherry tomatoes and they have a look of a big tomato, just on a smaller scale. and they are turning red. i can't wait to try one of these.


my grape/plum tomato i planted from seed. this is the second one to ripen. i picked this today. it is still sitting in my refridgerator as i sit thinking about what to do with it.


here are some bountiful harvest grape tomatoes. i think these are ready to harvest.


i don't know if you can see it in this one, but the 2nd carrot on the left is poking out of the ground. the bunches are getting bigger, indicating the growth of the carrot under the ground, but i don't think they are just ready yet.


here are some green beans growing. they are getting longer!


and here is my harvest for today. 3 cucumbers. im super happy on the productivity of these japanese cucumbers.