Beet It - ba bamp bamp bamp bamp - Just Beet It.

I love beets. They are a very versatile vegetable. The root is delicious steamed, boiled, baked or roasted. The greens are delicious sautéed. You can even harvest some of the greens while the plant is still growing just like swiss chard. Actually, the leaves look quite a lot like swiss chard.

I have a small section of beets growing in my new raised beds.

Beet seeds are actually a cluster of seeds. One seed could sprout 2, 3, 4, or even 5 beet plants.

You can't leave them and let all of them grow together like that because they need more space and will just stunt each other's growth.
So you should try to thin them out. One way to thin them is with scissors. You cut the extra plants right at the soil. If you try to pull them out you might damage the remaining beetroot.

Look closer. This is 5 beets from one seed. 

That's how I usually do it. However, I always feel sad that I am wasting a perfectly good plant. So this time I tried to separate them.
I dug up a pair of beets. These were already a little farther apart then some of the others.

Then I gently pried them apart, trying to keep the feeder roots and soil with each plant.

Then I replanted them.

I have no idea if this will actually work. I am experimenting for future reference. Time will tell.
By the way, you can still eat the thinnings. They are delicious raw, in a salad.

A Few Backyard Remodel Photos

We recently overhauled the backyard. We've been meaning to do this ever since we moved in but you know how it goes. You put it off until later and all of a sudden 7 years have passed!

Anyway, it took a while but I am very happy with the end result.

One of the things I hated the most was an old playhouse that sat in the corner. It was big. And noticeable. People always asked about it when they came over. "What's in the house?", "Who's house is that?", Why do you have a little house in the backyard?" etc.

Answers - Junk and spiders were in the house. The kids who lived here in the 80's were the original owners of the house. The house was shockingly well built and not easy to tear down...

Here it is:

Here is the same area, after :

Here is a close up of that same area. It is now one of my favorite parts of the yard:

Here is a view of the pool before:

And after:

I just wanted to try and post something since I said I would over a month ago.

Hopefully I'll show you some new pictures of my vegetable garden and winter vegetables.

That's all for now.

I'll be back soon.

Coming soon...New Garden 2012!

I just wanted to post something since the weather feels like summer and my new yard is almost complete.
I took some pictures and hopefully I will get it up here soon.
Very exciting (for me) things to come.
I can't wait to start planting!

Zukes are coming! Cukes are here!

zucchini squash blossoms

Yay! Finally. The various and assorted squash plants have finally started to flower. I have patiently waited for this day to come. Soon, I will be picking the flowers (the male ones) and stuffing them with a ricotta, parmesan cheese mixture. They are delicious, and yes, definitely edible.

I planted 4 different varieties of summer squash. A yellow, a dark green, a light green and some patty pans. I was told that the Italian zucchini squash has the best and largest flowers for stuffing but I decided to try a few new varieties to see how the squash themselves taste for eating.

I planted two seeds in each "hill". They are about 18 inches apart. All of the seeds germinated and now I have two of each variety meaning 8 plants total. That is a lot of squash. But I haven't been able to make myself cut down the extra plant. I am sure this will be a problem soon since the plants are starting to spread out. It's just so hard to thin plants when they look nice and healthy.

Japanese cucumber

Japanese cucumber and glove for size comparison

I harvested and ate the first japanese cucumber of the season. Japanese cucumbers are long and skinny. I think this one is about 14 -15 inches long. They are very prickly on the outside. They will poke you if you are not careful. When I wash them I use a scrubber sponge and just gently wash the pokey points off. i have two more that should be read in a few days.

Grasshopper in a jar

Rattlesnake beans

Cooked rattlesnake beans

I'm sure you are wondering why there is a grasshopper in a jar. It's because he was in the corn/green bean area. He is a bad bug. And he's a bad bug that is too big for me to squish without vomiting. So I catch them and let my husband squash them at a later time.

Rattlesnake beans are just green beans mottled with purple. These are from the self sown plants. I think there are maybe 3 plants total but they are putting out enough beans for me to have a serving or two every few days. I like the purple color because it makes them stand out on the vine so you can see them to pick easier.  I originally planted these last year with a completely purple variety from  a package of Renee's Seeds but the purple ones never sprouted. I think I'll try the purple ones again next year in my new garden. The bottom shot shows what the beans look like after they are cooked. They lose all traces of the purple striations.

Pinching off the cucumbers

I read up on the cucumbers today since they seem to be out of control.

They have already reached the top of the trellis and have no where else to go.

Unless I attach them to the rain gutters but then I wouldn't be able to reach them...

Research says that I should pinch off the growing tip close to a lateral.

It kills me to cut off the tops but they say it will make them bushier and fruit more.

I guess its like thinning plants. 

You hate to do it but it's necessary for the plants sake.

               Below is the after photo.

Post growing tip pinching.

This is a photo to show how the plant is flowering so well.

At first there were just one or two and now there are tons.

Well, maybe just tens...

Girls and Bees

Look at my girl cucumber! She is flowering!

My last post said I hoped that the male flowers would still be around to do their job when the female flower finally opened and they did. (FYI - there are way more male flowers on the plant than females. They only last a day or two so every day there are a few new male flowers forming.)

I haven't seen hardly any bees since I cut down the nearby lavender. But lo and behold, a bee or two started showing up to participate in the menage a trois that is pollination.

Corn and attack of the beans

Above is Rambo's corn.

We didn't plant very much this year because of the backyard remodel.

I am hoping that it will be harvestable before they have to tear up this part of the yard.

It has already tasseled and is forming ears.

I am not sure how well the corn will end up being pollinated because they say you should plant at least four rows to get good pollen coverage.

We only have two.

We won't know until we shuck the corn.

Last year I planted beans where the corn is presently.

It seems that a few beans may have escaped their pods and reseeded themselves.

I noticed it but didn't do anything about it because I have heard that they are good companion plants to corn because corn needs lots of fertilizer and beans supply nitrogen to the soil.

I later read that you should wait to plant the beans so that the corn can get established and have nice stalks by the time the beans begin to climb. 

Mine started growing at the same time.

As a result, they are pulling down the corn stalks.

They encircle it with their tendrils and then start to pull it down.

Those tendrils are much stronger than you think.

We may have to add support posts to help the corn out.