6/30/08

6-30-08 More Radishes

Ella's postcard to Nathan (Finish Boyband) and my radish studs:






The wave of radishes just keeps coming. We have experienced 94 F weather this weekend, since we kept the radishes well watered, they are bigger and tastier than ever. I bagged another 15 lb. this morning-had to do something about it... I made some Chinese pickles over the weekend (fermentation type, no vinegar). It should be ready in about 5 days. I added some radishes spears to the Real Dill pickle juice, they are delicious. I am on the third day of my Seaweed Radish diet. I still love the taste, and I lost 3 lb.! Only if anyone knows how hard it is for me to do that! I think I am going to add some chopped cilantro today for variation.

6/28/08

Thoughts on sowing seeds closer then recommended

I often sow my seeds closer than the recommended space. I call it intensive growing method. The reasoning behind that is for home gardeners we are not looking for growing uniform crops. As a matter of fact, we want to stretch our harvest as long as we can for obvious reasons. Sowing seeds close will allow you to do just that.

When the veggies are growing closer together, they will not all mature at the same time. The spots where they are grow close, they will not grow as fast. That gives you the control to a certain extend of where and when you want them to grow. In any circumstance, don't make them too close together, or they will not grow properly. In fact, the key to success is to thin the plants at the right time and places. And enjoy the thinning as the garden grows.

Veggies suitable for growing this way include: radishes, baby bok choys, beets (enjoy the beet greens in early stage), lettuce Chinese Broccoli (Gai Lan- New Dimension Seed). Watering and fertilizing is also vitally important if you what to grow your veggies intensively. Fruit bearing veggies are usually not good candidates.

06-28-08 All the radishes you can eat!

I went outside first thing this morning to harvest my Crimson Lady Finger Radish (New Dimension Seed). I got about 10 lbs! They are 6" long and about 1" across. I sowed these radishes on May 12, have been harvest them since 6-15. They are still pretty good. The key to grow good radishes are watering. If you keep the plant watered, they will be mild and crunchy, but if you don't water them frequent enough, they may turn hot. Also, I applied very little base fertilizer when I sowed the radishes, because too much nitrogen can produce bad radishes. It makes scene, since we grow radish for its root, we do not want too much leafy greens. Too much nitrogen will also make the radishes hairy and produce inferior quality radishes...They way it's going I should have radishes in the next 2-3weeks...

P.S. Sow radishes close together and thin them out as they become mature. Ella just sent Nathan a post card, it must be a Finish boy band. They are four sexy topless boys with flames all around them, they look awfully like my radishes....and that's how close you can plant them.

My thoughts on the heir and tortoise

I have heard people say gardeners are either the rabbit kind or the tortoise kind. To me, a more appropriate analogy is the three bears. Meaning one should not start the garden too early, neither too late, but just right.

Seeds do not come with internal calendars, they come with environmental cues. To be a good gardener, you need to have a good plan in place, then observe the environment and make appropriate decisions to get your veggies out there. With the aid of some type of protection, you should have an easier time to accomplish this. A few things I like to do is:

(1) Feb: start the heat loving plants, ie. the tomatoes, peppers and eggplants early. I start then in early March. These plants need time to get to the size needed to transplant. Tomatoes and peppers should be ready to transplant after Mother's day. Eggplants are best transplanted when the temperature warms up significantly.

(2)March: Radishes, cabbage beets, spinach, peas, baby bok choys and fava beans are cold tolerant, and can be started in early march if you use the Minihooper from New Dimension Seed. Onion sets should be planted as soon as the ground is workable. You will be able to enjoy some of these veggies from 30 days after sowing. Plant them closer together and enjoy the thinning as you go along. This work particularly well for radishes. I pick some of the beet greens and put them in my salads.

(3)May: June should be safe to sow beans. If you have the Minihooper, you can get an early start by sowing them 2-3 weeks earlier. I sowed my on May 12, they now have bosoms on and I think I will be able to enjoy them the first week of July. I also sowed my corn and soybeans (edamame).

(3)May: I planted more cabbage, Chinese Broccoli, and kohlrabi directly in the garden without the minicooper. Also sowed are the Asparagus Beans. I am taking a chance here, they may or may not make it, all depends on how warm the weather is...

(4) I am also taking a chance on cucumbers. The lure of getting cucumbers in July is too great, so I decided to give it a shot again this year. I transplanted them in April, covered them with the Minihooper. I remove the cover when the weather is warm, and finally took it completely off in late May. They are growing ever so slow, but is coming along. The hot days should give them a boost this weekend.

June Watermelon is slow but coming along

This year the spring is kinda odd, it is very much on the cool side. It is already mid June, the night time temperature is still in the 50th. we did have a couple heat spurs where temperature reached a whopping 100 degrees for 2-3 days, then back to cool nights again. This is the week before the 4th of July. It suppose to heat up to triple digit again! I have planted my watermelon three times in the garden. Each time they came up, then between the cold night and the birds, the seedlings always end up getting destroyed. I am making some scare crows.... I finally got some nice seedlings going. I am keeping my fingers crossed... I am really looking forward to my watermelons this year in particular, because i think they are going to be expensive this year because the high gas price.

05-15-08 Fresh lettuce from my box garden!

I have a few big wooden boxes in my covered shed. The shed is built on the south side of my shop. It has plastic sides and polycarbonate top. It works great for growing vegetables when the outside is still cold. I sowed my lettuce in Feb. and have been enjoying them as salads from April to June. I grew the Polar Ice Green Lettuce from New Dimension Seed. It is great, it's a loose leaf type. I harvest the large leaves and leave the plant in the box. They just keep generating fresh leaves.

06-01-08 Fresh Kohlrabi!

I started them in March, and transplanted in April, covered it up with Minihooper. It worked so well! I harvested my first kohlrabi (Green Queen Kohlrabi from New Dimension Seed) in June 1st. My first one is a small one, but it was delicious in salad.

06-15-08 Fresh Radishes!

I sowed the Crimson Lady Finger Radish on May 12 with the Midwest Garden Seeder. They are ready to eat by June 15. They are soooo good! Here's how I made my salad. Slice the radishes thinly, add sugar, vinegar and dash of salt. Let set for 15 minutes. Enjoy! I am getting a lot of radishes now. I am trying to preserve some with salt and sugar and spices, will let you all know how it turned out...

6/27/08

6-20-08 New Cabbage!

My 2nd head of cabbage,it is the Spring Jave from New Dimension Seed. I started them in March, and transplanted in April, covered it up with Minihooper. It worked so well! I harvested my first head of cabbage in June 1. I made wasabi cabbage slaw, it was delicious. Here's the recipe: 1/4 C sugar, 1/2 C. vinegar, 1 t. wasabi and salt to taste. Shred the cabbage. Pour dressing on it, toss well. Enjoy!

6/21/08

Solar Car! I know it could be done!

Solar Powered Car
solar powered cars, solar car, solar systems, angel investors, electric vehicle

A man’s solar power car captures people’s attention. Let’s face it: paying high gas prices is no longer a sign of being “cool” in modern America. The less we have to pay at the pump, the better. John Weber of Boise, Idaho is dealing with the gas crunch by not buying any more.


The car is one of only a handful of solar-powered cars in the Treasure Valley and can be charged using its solar panels, or by plugging it into a power source.


“I’m just kind of doing my own thing,” said Weber.

The soft-spoken and quiet Weber says he isn’t avoiding the pump to make a statement, he was simply sick of depending on something he couldn’t control.

“I don’t like to be dependent on big global corporations to get my needs met, I like to get my needs met locally,” said Weber.

Weber isn’t content to rely on his solar powered car alone. He’s planning on dumping it and using a bike only. Turns out high gas prices are making people innovate, after all.

6/18/08

my garden

6/12/08

Airlines do not always post their flight arrivals timely

My son is going to spend the summer in Finland. My husband and I dropped him off at the airport and wished him a good trip. By next day 4 hours after his flight suppose to arrive, I checked the airlines flight status, and it's status is still "In Flight". I called the airlines (United and Lufthansa),all say the most updated information they have is that the flight left Frankfurt at 3:30 suppose to arrival at Helsinki at 6:30 pm. It was 10:30 pm local time and the airline's website still shows the flight was "In Flight". The one before his and after his all have landed. I was having a panic attack, feeling my blood curdling and head getting numb. I checked on the internet again, and found a website (http://www.flightstats.com) which confirms that the flight was indeed landed, with 50 minutes delay.... And later I called my son's girlfriend's cell phone and finally got hold of them! Whew!

I don't understand why airline themselves can not update their flight information as quickly! So to all mothers, check the flight status on http://www.flightstats.com before panic!