Vegging (the garden kind)
Apr. 14th, 2026 01:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hrjI can't remember if I've posted any of this before and am too lazy to look back.
I experimented this year with putting in some "winter crops" with variable success. Cabbage probably needed to be planted earlier because one of the varieties is bolting and the other, though not bolting, looks unlikely to set heads. The edible pod peas are doing ok, in part I suspect because I planted them next to the fence, so they aren't getting excessive sun. I harvested a handful of pods today and suspect I can get a handful per week until they give up. The third experiment was some mixed greens (NOT KALE) recommended by the nursery salesperson. I pulled them out when they started to bolt and will do something with them this week.
Because I had to trim some overly enthusiastic grape tendrils, I picked off the leaves, parboiled them, and made dolmas. Very successful (except for not rinsing the rice sufficiently, so the filling is a bit too sticky). Since I had more filling than grape leaves, I pulled some of the bolting cabbage and did cabbage rolls. (The dolmas cooked in broth and lemon juice while the cabbage rolls cooked in broth and crushed tomatoes.)
Last spring, I spotted some asparagus starts at the nursery, having failed to find any sets, and put them in the circular bed around the persimmon tree. I'd more or less had that in mind and hadn't planted anything else in the circle except for some random gladioli. More than half the starts survived the year and then this year I did find asparagus sets so I added them into the mix. It looks like they get enough water from the lawn irrigation system, though I've been supplementing with an extra sprinkler last year, both for their benefit and to help the persimmon get a good start. It'll be a couple more years before they'll be established enough to harvest (and who knows how many years before I'll start getting persimmons).
When I watch various of my friends and acquaintances flit about from place to place, I think about how significantly my life plans are affected by my love of growing things. And how tragic it would be if this property eventually went to someone who didn't value the investment.
The tomatoes are in the ground now--the usual 18 varieties. (Well, except I doubled up on Sun Gold cherry tomatoes because they're my absolute favorite.) Some years I've carefully documented which varieties I plant and how they perform. This year I didn't even make a list. I made my usual sacrifice to hope over experience and planted summer squash and eggplant.
I still need to pick and process the second half of the Seville orange crop. (The first half went to Chaz and has been turned into marmelade.) The lemons that were sacrificed to a bout of pruning have been juiced and frozen as cubes (for summer refreshment), plus zested and packed in sugar (for baking use). There are still a few juice oranges on one of the trees. The strawberries are trickling in. And it's time to update the garden calendar with all of this for data tracking purposes.
I experimented this year with putting in some "winter crops" with variable success. Cabbage probably needed to be planted earlier because one of the varieties is bolting and the other, though not bolting, looks unlikely to set heads. The edible pod peas are doing ok, in part I suspect because I planted them next to the fence, so they aren't getting excessive sun. I harvested a handful of pods today and suspect I can get a handful per week until they give up. The third experiment was some mixed greens (NOT KALE) recommended by the nursery salesperson. I pulled them out when they started to bolt and will do something with them this week.
Because I had to trim some overly enthusiastic grape tendrils, I picked off the leaves, parboiled them, and made dolmas. Very successful (except for not rinsing the rice sufficiently, so the filling is a bit too sticky). Since I had more filling than grape leaves, I pulled some of the bolting cabbage and did cabbage rolls. (The dolmas cooked in broth and lemon juice while the cabbage rolls cooked in broth and crushed tomatoes.)
Last spring, I spotted some asparagus starts at the nursery, having failed to find any sets, and put them in the circular bed around the persimmon tree. I'd more or less had that in mind and hadn't planted anything else in the circle except for some random gladioli. More than half the starts survived the year and then this year I did find asparagus sets so I added them into the mix. It looks like they get enough water from the lawn irrigation system, though I've been supplementing with an extra sprinkler last year, both for their benefit and to help the persimmon get a good start. It'll be a couple more years before they'll be established enough to harvest (and who knows how many years before I'll start getting persimmons).
When I watch various of my friends and acquaintances flit about from place to place, I think about how significantly my life plans are affected by my love of growing things. And how tragic it would be if this property eventually went to someone who didn't value the investment.
The tomatoes are in the ground now--the usual 18 varieties. (Well, except I doubled up on Sun Gold cherry tomatoes because they're my absolute favorite.) Some years I've carefully documented which varieties I plant and how they perform. This year I didn't even make a list. I made my usual sacrifice to hope over experience and planted summer squash and eggplant.
I still need to pick and process the second half of the Seville orange crop. (The first half went to Chaz and has been turned into marmelade.) The lemons that were sacrificed to a bout of pruning have been juiced and frozen as cubes (for summer refreshment), plus zested and packed in sugar (for baking use). There are still a few juice oranges on one of the trees. The strawberries are trickling in. And it's time to update the garden calendar with all of this for data tracking purposes.
Thoughts
Date: 2026-04-14 09:15 pm (UTC)You might like
>>I experimented this year with putting in some "winter crops" with variable success.<<
I tried winter sowing in water jugs. Only a few of the single-type sprouted, but all four that I sowed with mixed seed are growing like mad.
>>Because I had to trim some overly enthusiastic grape tendrils, I picked off the leaves, parboiled them, and made dolmas.<<
Go you!
>>When I watch various of my friends and acquaintances flit about from place to place, I think about how significantly my life plans are affected by my love of growing things.<<
Yeah, I have roots not feet.
>> And how tragic it would be if this property eventually went to someone who didn't value the investment.<<
If you ever do need to sell, then market in a context where people are looking for that sort of thing -- the homesteaders, permaculture fans, etc. There are magazines and websites with "land for sale" and "seeking land" sections.
>>The tomatoes are in the ground now--the usual 18 varieties. (Well, except I doubled up on Sun Gold cherry tomatoes because they're my absolute favorite.) <<
It's not time to plant tomatoes yet here in central Illinois. We like Yellow Pear and the chocolate or chocolate-striped ones. Watermelon Sprinkles was awesome.
>>I made my usual sacrifice to hope over experience and planted summer squash and eggplant.<<
If you haven't had much luck, you might try a landrace. I bought landrace zucchini and muskmelon seeds to try this year. I tried starting them early indoors but while everything sprouted, most have died long before it was time for outdoor planting. *sigh*
>>I still need to pick and process the second half of the Seville orange crop. (The first half went to Chaz and has been turned into marmelade.)<<
I've heard of those! I love Buddha's hand but haven't seen it in stores for several years. :(
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2026-04-16 01:49 am (UTC)You may be over-estimating how much land is involved here. I only have a quarter acre--it's just planted rather intensively.
Re: "I love Buddha's hand but haven't seen it in stores for several years."
My "citrus grove" includes a Buddha's hand, though I've never really figured out useful things to do with it. I've taken serious advantage of California climate with regard to citrus trees. The full catalog is: 2 lemons (probably Meyer and ponderosa, but I'm not sure), 2 limes (Bears seedless and makrut), 1 kumquat, 1 tangerine, 3 juice oranges of various varieties, 2 Seville oranges (twice as many as any one person needs--long story), 2 grapefruit (Oro blanco and ruby), and 1 Buddha's hand. At the nursery last month I found myself yearning after a finger lime, but I honestly have no good place to plant it, given that I've pledged myself to keep the citrus all in the same quadrant of the yard.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2026-04-16 08:26 am (UTC)That's a good size for someone interested in homesteading who didn't grow up on a farm. Starting with a big plot is asking for overwhelm.
>>My "citrus grove" includes a Buddha's hand, though I've never really figured out useful things to do with it.<<
Buddha's Hand Salad
Candied Buddha's Hand
Note that the syrup is also a useful product.
Tropicana Cookies
Buddha Bars
>>I've taken serious advantage of California climate with regard to citrus trees. <<
That is so awesome. :D
>>At the nursery last month I found myself yearning after a finger lime<<
I've heard of those but never seen them in person.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2026-04-16 10:21 am (UTC)I have the opposite situation from yours--I travel too much to SCA events to be able to really do gardening. It was only during the pandemic that I really had a chance to experiment with that. It was nice to have more than foraged food available in the yard, but it takes time.