Z is for Zucchini!

Not many Z words in the garden, so I'm going with the one I love the most.  I have a couple varieties of zucchini this year - a regular dark green one, a round one, and this pale green variety called Alexandria.  Can't wait for the first taste of our home grown zucchini!

I've had a lot of fun with the A-Z Challenge this year and want to thank those hard working people who administer this every year!  I've only been a part of it for two years, but they've been doing it for seven. Whew! Lots of work.

Y is for Yellow Onions

I try and try and try again with the onions.  This year I planted three varieties --- white, red and yellow.  They're looking pretty good, but I've been told that they need to be fed in order to get big like the ones you buy in the store.  I'm giving them lots of attention this year.

X is for X-Rated Comment!

Yesterday I went out to water and check on my potted garden....
I went to see if the Tango lettuce needed water.  Last time I saw it, it looked like a beautiful tray of thriving lettuce.  Now it looks like this:

All that beautiful lettuce just stripped down to the stems. (@#$%!^!&&&XXX!!!) What dirty, rotten animal or insect did this?
Sigh.... life is always interesting.

W is for Wine!

I'm so hoping this year will turn out to be the Year of the Wine at our place - the grapes are just popping out all over in the vineyard, the elderberries are abundant, and there might be enough blackberries to try a small batch of that type of wine.  We're keeping out fingers crossed!  I was thinking of trying peach wine, too, but we won't be getting a good crop of peaches this year.

 Tiny grapes

 The vineyard

Blackberry flowers

Elderberries reaching for the sky!

V is for Veggies

I thought I'd just post a view of each of our vegetable beds for the letter "V".  We have 5 beds and a potted garden that are mostly all vegetables. Most everything is growing well and we're starting to see little veggies on some of the plants!

 Bed #1

 Bed #2

 The Squash House is Bed #3

 Bed #4

 Bed #5

The Potted Garden!

U is for Re-USE

Or if you like the recent catch phrase, re-purpose! We do a lot of that around here.  From starting little seedlings in yogurt cups, paper egg cartons, or re-used nursery bought trays, we like to use what we have if we can.  All of these things work - and they work very well.  I know they don't look real pretty or uniform to those with an eye for symmetry, but I'm not one of those. They may be ugly to some, but I don't really mind.

I have an old tire in the chicken play yard for them to jump up and down on in the shade, and a half tire planted in the potted garden with some squash.

Once melons start to show up on the ground, I use Dollar Store colanders to keep them off the dirt while they grow. And I often will put a juice jug that's been washed out and punched with a small hole or two near a plant that needs more water, so that it will be released slowly over time.  This gets even more important as our hot Texas summer gets going.

Think before you throw anything away -- it may be very "U"seful in your garden!

T is for Tromboncino Squash

One of my absolute favorite summer squashes, I've been growing Italian Tromboncino squash for many years.  It's just getting started here in this picture, but soon it will grab hold of the wire panel and start growing up the side, up and over the top.  This plant requires a lot of room to spread out or a high support as it can grow up to about 20 feet! I suggest a support as it keeps the fruit up off the ground and they will grow a bit straighter.

I pick these young, usually about 2 foot long, and while they are still a pale green.  If left on the vine they will thicken and grow to a pale beige, but I like them young and tender. I've read that the older squash can be eaten much like any winter squash, baked or stuffed, but we haven't allowed any to get that old. There's a different texture to these squash that is very pleasant, nutty and buttery.  Really, really delicious.  Trust me!


These make a delicious and different addition to the garden - a conversation starter for sure.  Here are a few pictures of my Tromboncino from the past few years so you can see how they progress in the garden.

 just beginning to form

 a bit older

 a few harvested squash

ready to harvest on the vine

S is for Swiss Chard

We do enjoy Swiss Chard, and I usually have several plants going around here at all times of the year.  This plant usually doesn't care if it's hot or cold, and will grow straight through the winter out in the garden.  I have two types this year - this "Hot Pink" that's in its second year, and a pot of "Ruby Red" that is just getting started.

I pick the outer leaves pretty young when I use it salads, and larger when cooking it as a vegetable.  It's just delicious when cooked with garlic, let me tell you! I've used it in soups, with eggs in just about any way, and can totally be substituted for spinach in any recipe.  

Pretty healthy stuff!

R is for Red Romaine Lettuce

I have three packets of this type of lettuce - none of which I bought.  I got all three of them from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds as "freebies" with my seed orders.  The first packet is from 2012, so I figured I needed use these seeds soon, so I planted the rest of that packet in the pot garden this year.

I confess, this lettuce is not my favorite -- it's paper thin - and when I eat it, it feels like I'm eating tissue paper.  The taste is good, but I can't get over the mouth feel of it.

I know, most people would just toss the seeds and never give them another thought, but I'm my father's daughter, and I can't just toss things out that are still good.  It's a curse, I tell you! Ha!

Q is for Quotes

P is for Parsley

Curly Leaf Parsley

 Parsley is an herb that we have growing in our garden every year, and we've had some good success in keeping our plants alive for at least two years, with them going to seed the second year.  Last year my brother gave me a huge parsley plant that he had to dig up in his garden.  I'm getting lots and lots of little volunteers of this flat leaf Italian parsley at that end of the garden.

Flat Leaf Italian Parsley

There are two more plants going in Bed #1 this year, one is a curly leaved variety, and the other is the flat leaf Italian variety.  Toward the end of the summer, I'll cut and dry these leaves and then crush them for the spice rack.

Parsley is very good for you, by the way, not just a decoration for your plate. Lots of vitamin A, C and K.  I've heard that parsley tea is good for indigestion, but I can't imagine that it would taste very good! Uhmmm....no. I'll stick with Tums!

Little volunteer plants

O is for Oregano

Another herb I have out in the garden every year is oregano.  It grows very easily here, and I believe it is in the mint family - so you can count on it to spread by the roots. I've had plants that have lasted several years, but I'm starting over with a new one this year. I have it in a corner of Bed #4, so it's out of the way and it can go ahead and spread around there all it wants to.

If you snip it off at the top occasionally, it will grow bushier and bigger, and I've read that mid-summer is the best time to cut it back for drying since it's at the strongest flavor then.

Oregano is used in Italian foods and several recipes, and it's scent is fantastic.  Another good herb to grow just for the smell as you brush by it.

I'm planning on trying this white wine marinade once I get enough fresh oregano, probably in a month or so.  Doesn't it sound fantastic on some grilled chicken? Yum!

N is for Name Stakes

Bed #1 stakes are pink

I'll admit it, my memory is terrible.  I can't remember what I had for breakfast most days....so it's no surprise that I have to put name stakes up in the garden to remember what in the heck I planted where.

Once the plants start showing up, it's fairly easy to know what type of plant they are, but the specific variety name is beyond me.  So, to help know what's what, I go to the extra effort of putting in name stakes by each planting.

I find it really helps, now even my husband doesn't need to ask me what a particular plant is when he's out there helping out!  Win, win!

Bed #4 stakes are purple

These are mostly the very inexpensive survey stakes that I get by the dozen at my local Home Depot store - they really don't cost much at all.  I also bought several wooden rulers (3 for a $) at the Dollar Store, and they've lasted a second year, too.  Last year I used a regular permanent marker to label them, but they all faded badly once the Texas sun beat down on them, so this year I got paint pens (black and white.)  I painted them this year, too, so I could use them a second year.  Each bed got it's own color.

If anything, they really help brighten up the garden!

The Potting Shed garden stakes are brown

M is for Marigolds

I plant marigolds around my tomato plants ever year to help keep the bugs away...I know there's some people on both sides of the argument about whether this works or not, but I don't care.  I like marigolds anyway, they really brighten up the veggie garden.

According to what I read, marigold's roots secrete alpha-terthienyl, a compound which has nematodal and anti-viral properties, and it's supposed to retards the hatching of nematode eggs.

Usually I get French Marigolds, but I can't seem to find them at my local nursery this year. Please excuse me while I rant a bit about the fact that my local nurseries don't carry the 6-pack of flowers anymore, only the 4" pots of individual plants. Arghhh!!! I know its all about the $, but not cool - not cool at all.  And they only had these African Marigolds at both places, so I ended up with those this year.  Not sure how they will work, but they are pretty. I just put a row in the middle of the six tomato plants in the main garden.

Next year I'm going to start my own from seed. That's the only way to get what you really want.

L is for Litchi Tomatoes

I'm trying to remember when I first planted these Litchi Tomatoes (also known as Morelle de Balbis.) I think it was about four years ago.  I planted it from seed that I bought from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds and put that thing in a big pot.  It was deadly to look at, and grew to about 4 foot tall.  Honestly, the little red sweet "tomatoes" (more like a berry) are so full of seeds, they weren't all that attractive to us, but I kept this plant for its conversational properties. Anyone who sees it will definitely have plenty to say!

That plant lived throughout the entire winter in that pot - didn't freeze, just kept growing. The next spring I planted it in the ground in a corner of the garden where the grandkids would not run into it (note the sharp thorns!) and it grew woodier and bigger, and we had several volunteer little plants spring up all around it.

Since then, I've been able to keep one of these plants going by just digging up volunteers. This past fall I transplanted one of the volunteers and kept it in the greenhouse to put out in the garden again.  It's been transplanted out to the herb garden now and it's growing gang-busters! Litchi doesn't seem to be very fussy about what type of soil it's in either. It seems to enjoy just being watered occasionally and ignored.

It is a model of self-defense.  Take a look at those thorns -- they are on every surface of this plant, one the stems, on the top of the leaves, and the bottom of the leaves! You cannot work with this plant unless you are totally gloved up and have on long sleeves.

 The flowers reveal that this plant is a member of the nightshade family.  It grows with the same habit as a tomato plant, but mine has never needed a support of any kind, even at its tallest of about 4 foot.

 Papery white flowers

 Even the sepals are covered in thorns.

Thorns on top and bottom of the leaves

It's been an interesting plant, well worth growing.  Just keep it away from foot traffic!