Have you seen my strawberries?

A big success this year was moving the strawberry pot into full sun, and hooking it up to my drip watering system. The strawberries have been productive, sweet and delicious. The trick is harvesting them before little animals come and take nibbles out of them.

Unlike store-bought strawberries, which are bred to be "tough" in
order to survive shipping, these berries are so fragile that there would be no way to store them.


They simply start to melt once you plucked. Best thing to do: pick and eat. There are two kinds of berries growing in my planter, though I can't remember the names. One is smaller and has an almost floral sweetness. Incredible!




Bad news on the pea front (that sounds a little wrong, doesn't it?)--the leaves have started showing signs of powdery mildew.I think that they may now be on the decline.

Good news is that my Early Girl tomatoes are looking fantastic! Lots of green tomatoes getting fat on the vine. Maybe a good tomato summer at last? Stay tuned.




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Cure for the common cold? Not so much...

Last week, while I was sick and somewhat feverish, I decided that I had to work in my garden for a while. Not just the vegetable patch, but the whole backyard. I went to the gardening store in a foggy daze and wandered around putting various plants in my wagon. Ended up with a bunch of drought tolerant plants to spruce up the "decorative" part of the back yard, a six pack of corn seedlings, lettuce seedlings, zucchini and cucumber. And a huge back of top soil. Oh yeah, and a can of grass seeds.

Planting the veggies was no big deal. The soil in my veggie garden is nice and soft, easy to dig into. The soil of the backyard however was another story. I think I worked for about 2.5 hrs in the dwindling daylight, sweating both from effort and from my low-grade fever.

I don't think I've ever heard it recommended that one should garden for several hours, trying to dig into hard, clay-packed dirt, in order to beat a cold. And guess what? Didn't help it. Ooh boy, was I tired that night. But the backyard looks great!

P.S. The new plantings are filling in GREAT!












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Pea Salad, First Tomato

What a difference in pea production from last year! It's very satisfying to be able to harvest enough peas to actually cook something for two people.

I'm a little concerned about my green beans. They should be easy to grow, and yet the leaves are pale green and a little spotty. But maybe it's just because it's been a cool year in SoCal, and they'll perk up once it's fully summer.

The pie pumpkins have lots of blossoms, and there are three baby cucumbers developing on their vines.

I also picked and ate the first tomato of the year. No pictures--it went straight from plant to tummy. Stupice tomato; delicious, great texture.

I made a fresh pea salad, using the peas in their pods, mixed with some asparagus, red onion and a white vinaigrette. Yum!