My New Greenhouse

 

Here's a peek inside my new greenhouse.  This is heirloom tomatoes all lined up in a row.  They're waiting for the weather to be just right.  Then, I'll put them out in the garden.  It's warm enough that I am opening the vents on the greenhouse.  Although there was a little freeze about a week ago.  That's the problem with March....unpredictable!   There usually is a few more cold days here in March.

 

I am very happy with the greenhouse.  I got a small one...you know...making sure that I am going to like having a green house.  I'm happy to report.   I love my green house.  Love, love, love.

 

I am growing Pineapple, Cherokee, Brandywine, Cour Di Bue, Egg Yolk, and Amazon Chocolate tomatoes.  My favs are Pineapple (large, juicy, luscious and sweet) and egg yolk (small yellow (golf ball size) sweet, prolific and just keep on producing right through our heat, I also find they are more resistant to pests.) 

Shot's of the seedlings.

Artichoke

Large plants on the floor.

Here is how I grow my seedlings.  First I make small soil blocks (google them "soil block makers" you can buy them numerous places).  When the seeds sprout I make larger soil blocks with a indention that fits the smaller soil block.  Then I put the small soil block in the larger one.

I find this saves seeds, space and soil.

The small soil blocks are on the right the large ones on right already planted with sprouted small blocks.

A small sample of what I am still harvesting:  Carrots, cabbage, radishes, turnips, parsley, broccoli sprouts, green onion, Swiss chard, and collards.

 

Seeds to plant directly in the garden now (If you live in the New Orleans or Gulf Coast region):

cucumbers
melons (all kinds)
squash (all kinds)
beans (all kinds)
corn
potatoes
gourds
summer annuals:  morning glory, sunflowers, zinnias, marigolds
herbs:  basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, green onion, bay, mint
okra

Plant transplants of:
tomatoes
eggplant
peppers

Hmmmm....I think that's it.

Don't forget....you can plant small and bush varieties in pots!

Around The House and Gardens

It looks like spring here. All the leaves that were blown off during Issac have been replaced by light green new baby leaves....this all happened surprisingly quick!   Amazing, Amazing and Amazing...I'm amazed in case you didn't know.

I've removed all the bushes that were uprooted and I'm working on cutting back the abundant summer growth.  Look at the bark peeling on the river birch...oh I love that!

I'm also clearing up my large garden one bed at a time and planting my fall crops.  Here is a bed of red and green cabbage.  They are growing so fast!  When I was pulling weeds and preparing the beds, the soil was teeming with earthworms.  I'm attributing my soils fertility to these little debris munchers.

The green beans already have flowers.  There shouldn't be any frosts until December.  Even then it may not really freeze until January...if at all.  Two years ago if you remember the temps went all the way into the teens.  Um...very cold for here....and last year...no freeze at all.  So who knows how long these beans will produce.

These are the Camilla red beans I planted.  The vine in the bed next to it is Asian winged beans.  They came back like a perennial plant.  Since it didn't freeze...I wonder.  I'm excited none the less.  Asian winged beans are delicious steamed when they are small.

The peanuts are just about ready to harvest!  Looking forward to seeing what's underneath.

Fig cutting update!!!!!  Byron put these cuttings directly in the dirt this spring after trimming his favorite tree.  All, yep everyone, of them took.  We're going to dig them when they lose their leaves and put them in individual pots and plant some here and some on the property in Mississippi.  Byron's success has gone to his head.  When pruning the trees recently, he stuck a ten foot mulberry branch in the ground to see if would "take".  Ummm....Byron?

Curly mustard getting big enough to gobble.  This is my fav mustard.

View of the front garden.  The Monarchs and Fritillaries are everywhere!

Front porch pumpkin.   I'm in the season!  That's my fav garden tool ever.  It allows me to get into tight spots to weed and it's great for breaking up the soil as well.

The baby chickies are getting big!

Things to plant now:

parsley
dill
coriander
fennel
leeks
cabbage
collards
turnips
mustard
broccoli
cauliflower
Brussels sprouts
beets
carrots
onions
garlic
Swiss chard
kale
lettuce
radish
bachelor buttons
cosmos
sweet peas (flowers and peas)
calendula
nasturtiums

Ummmmm.....I think that's most everything.  Yep...It's the best time to plant ever!

Planting in August...and my Granny Square Afghan

July is done with.

Vacation is done with.

August is here and it is time to plant.....To me this is the very best time to plant in our area.  It's been extremely humid.  The rest of the country is in drought and we're slogging around the yard.  The driveway is sopping and I almost got stuck today when I drove slightly off the rocks.

One worry is the lack of water coming down the Mississippi.  Plaquemines has actually declared a "state of emergency".  Whatever that means...because salt water is intruding up the river and has came further than the drinking water intake.   They're now barging in fresh water.

Maybe there isn't enough water up river...but here there's too much.  On vacation we felt as if we were dragging around a rain cloud.  Everywhere we went it rained...these aren't places known for their rain.  When we were at the Chaco Culture World Heritage Site in New Mexico...It rained!  It was an amazing sight to see.  The water cascaded over the edge of the mesa in multiple water falls.  They only receive 8 to 10 inches of water a year and it rained while we were there!  Here we've received eight inches of rain in one hour before.  Yet thousands of people once lived in Chaco.  Amazing.

I've started pulling out the seeds I am going to plant.  Here is a list of what to plant now if you are in the New Orleans area.

Irish Potatoes - Plant whole small potatoes.

Tomatoes, peppers and eggplants - Plant transplants.  (You're eggplants may look good still.  Mine do.)

Plant the following in small pots or soil squares:  Broccoli, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, cauliflower.

Plant the following straight in the garden:  Swiss chard, collards, cucumbers squash, beans, mustard, green beans, southern peas, turnips.

This year in the spring my neighbor planted Camellia Red beans in her garden as a cover crop.  They produced well and she gave me a bag.   Fresh red beans are awesome!  I never really thought much of red beans and rice.  It was nice occasionally, but nothing I craved.  Fresh red beans are totally different!  They are so much better than the dried ones.  Soooo I bought a bag today and I am going to plant some in my fall garden.  I certainly will plant some in February as well.  I'm impressed.

Here is what I have done with the granny squares I recently started making with remnants of bright cotton yarn.  I did most of these while traveling in the car on vacation.  Umm that's a moon and stars melon in the bowl (my centerpiece).  Love my little piece of the 70's.

It was so much fun to make and easy...and the colors are a lot more fun than the mauve and blue ones all matchy I remember hating as a child.....it's still drafty....I remember hating that as a child to....but if I ever get that VW van...I'll have the perfect cover for the loft bed.....

If you wanna learn here is a link to a cool tutorial...

Good tutorial on how to make a basic granny square. Lots of pics...

Just a Note on Gardening During Our Hot Louisiana Summers...

...really just a note. If you find your garden being devoured by bugs....well it's just Louisiana. Don't despair..and think that your a gardening failure!  I find that June, July and August are our worst possible gardening months. The pests, the heat, the humidity...well not a very good combination for growing much. I find this year that our very mild winter left plenty bugs alive and kicking to cause havoc this summer....and they are.

...but don't be dismayed....there are some things that seem to love and if not love at least live and keep producing in oppressive rainfalls and heat...Okra, eggplant, peppers, and melons. Although all of these do like their feet dry. So try and put them in a raised bed or spot if possible and give them a little breathing room to let the moisture dissipate.

I make my girls a yummy summer snack they devour....yep and it's okra. Not slimy okra, but crunchy okra.

Crispy fried okra:

okra (what ever ya got in the garden)
1 cup corn flour
1 cup flour

Mix flours together. Cut okra into 1/4 inch rounds. Put in bowl and stir to get it's natural stickiness all over it. Place okra in flour mixture and stir. Then place okra in sieve and shake out excess flour. Deep fry until light brown and crispy. Drain well on paper towels and sprinkle lightly with sea salt.

Eggplant

You can fry eggplant too. Just peel and slice eggplant in rounds. I add a little creole seasoning. Dip in egg and milk (whipped together) then coat with the corn and wheat flour mixture. I call this the Mississippi style of frying eggplant. If you want Italian fried eggplant for eggplant Parmesan...coat with Italian breadcrumbs before frying instead of the corn and wheat flour.

...and peppers....well there are a million things you can do with peppers. I chop them up and use them when cooking all the time. I dry the extras and save them for winter. I roast some...you can stuff them and bake or fill them full of cheese coat with batter and deep fry....

....my favorite are the melons...and bugs, I am keeping a close eye on you...you can't have the melons!  The water melons are growing nicely.   Some are close to 10 lbs already!  I have moon and stars and orange glow varieties.  I also have a few large banana melons getting close to maturity...beautiful.

Around the House and Garden & Gardening in the New Orleans Area

These photos are actually from April 19th.  I had some problems uploading...thus the delay...but here they are.  I can't believe how much the garden has grown just the short time from these photos.

Currently I'm harvesting:  cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes, yellow squash, zucchini, Patty pan (white scallop) squash, onions, all types of herbs, black berries, peaches, and green beans.  There's so much growing and plumping up....I expect to be picking enough every day all summer with some to share.

My goal is to have a daily supply  to choose from all year.  With our mild winters we can grow all year.  Except preparing for a disaster such as flood or hurricane or the desire to eat something out of season...there isn't much need to preserve.

 Although, I do preserve some things.  Such as purple hull peas through freezing them....yum all the time.   Freezing doesn't do much good after a hurricane when the electricity is out.  The longest was after Hurricane Gustav when we went 18 days (yes I counted)...18 long hot days in the hottest part of the year without electricity...and air conditioning....

Anyways...here it is....I dug two nice size baskets of new potatoes.  Super yum and creamy.  Store bought really can't compare....I like to cook them whole in a pot with a little butter and olive oil and herbs from the garden:  garlic chives, thyme, garlic, and parsley....heaven...(well sorta)

The front garden.

Everyones' shell ginger is blooming it's little pink grape hearts out.  The buds remind me of clusters of pink grapes.  The blossom is actually yellow with red specks on the inside.  Our past mild winter spared the gingers...that's why we are getting such a wonderful display.

Close up.

The side garden with fig, banana, loquat and avocado trees.

Believe it or not some of these babies are ripe now!

Red Flint corn...an Italian Heirloom...It strikes me as funny that people from Italy have developed heirloom seeds from a South American staple.

Cucumbers and Gypsy Tomatoes.

Florida speckled pole Limas!  Wait til you see the new pics!

My little garden sitting room.

Glads make me Glad!

Overview...honestly compared to this...just two weeks difference...the garden looks overgrown!

Coriander seed!   Saved for spice and replanting...ain't nature sweet...so generous!

Around The House and Gardens & Gardening In The New Orleans Area

Here it is!  Warm weather is here to stay.  It's been in the high 60's at night and the high 70's during the day.  The rains have started just in time to water in all the newly planted seeds and plants.  The mulberries have ripening berries on them and the loquats are loaded with small sweet yellow plums.  These evergreen trees are some of my favorite if used right in a landscape and are great in a permaculture garden.

Really if you live in this area you should have tomato, eggplant and pepper transplants in the ground.  Corn, squash, melon, okra, beans, cucumbers, sunflowers, zinnias, marigolds, etc...should be planted by seed as quickly as possible if not already done. 

Don't bother planting carrots, cabbage, broccoli, collards, mustards, parsley, cilantro, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts, garlic, onions, now, they all do best in the winter time here.  Our climate is very different from other areas, but once you start ignoring the majority of garden books and pay attention to the experience of local gardeners, your garden will fare much better.

Here is the loquat I love so much, with it's abundance of drippy sweet/tart fruit!

 Unfortunately we have killed two large water moccasins in our yard this spring.  I hate to kill any wild life, but I cannot afford to have aggressive poisonous snakes with my girls running around the yard.  These snakes do not always run.  They will stand their ground and challenge you.  Also they hide in unexpected places.  One was in the wood pile which my husband was organizing.  Fortunately he saw the movement. 

I also have found two skins.  Not sure if they belong to the two we killed or not.  We always identify snakes before deciding to kill them or not.  Most snakes are harmless, and we love to share our yard with them.

 Water moccasins or cotton mouths are abundant in our area.  If you want to get an up close one on one experience with the swamp and these snakes and gators, be sure to visit Jean Lafitte park off of Barataria and walk the boardwalk through the swamp.  I'm sure you'll see more than one of these fat snakes.

 The cilantro is seeding.  I just found out that cilantro and coriander are the same.  Here are the coriander seed forming.  I plan to save them for planting and cooking.

 Beets among the eggplant.  See the arugula seed pods falling over near the eggplant?

 The pergola area is surrounded by roses, clumps of chives, and apple mint.  I planted the apple mint in the path because it is so hardy and releases it's wonderful aroma when stepped on.

 The okra re-seeded freely.  I plan to relocate some of these seedlings and pull the rest.  I have planted my oh so delicious pineapple tomatoes in this bed so...the okra must move!

 The herb wheel is looking spectacular.

 The left bed is pole Lima beans.  The right is gypsy tomatoes and two types of cucumbers.

 Pink flamingos in the front garden.

 I planted the front garden up with a few begonias while the perennials get their footing for this year.

 My log that once was a bench is crumbling, so I planted some impatiens in the holes.  Once the log totally deteriorates, I'll make a Hugel Kulture bed there.

 Loving this rose my friend Connie gave me.  It was rooted from a rose bush that survived hurricane Katrina. 

 It's huge puffs of electric pink roses are riveting!

 Potatoes!

 A beekeeper put five hives on my property!  He's going to teach me how to care for bees!  So excited!

 My chickies are doing just fine.  I think they asked me to tell you hello!