Baby Steps (More Garden Ramblings)

Well, it doesn't exactly *feel* like Baby Steps (or so my body is telling me!), but I did accomplish a "fair amount" in the garden today...

Still have more to do, but I'm getting there!!!

First up:  The Bean Bed (nee The Overflow Bed).  Yesterday I managed to dump some old potting soil out there, and I rigged up a tepee of wooden stakes.  This morning, I dragged the wheelbarrow out to the patio and "freshened" the soil in my upside down planters: dumping appx 1/2 of the old soil into the wheelbarrow, which was subsequently dumped into The Bean Bed.  Then I planted some upside-down 'maters and topped off with new potting mix.

So I guess I should have said First up: The upside-down planters! (still "Works In Process")

I still have a little lettuce and spinach "hangin' in there" on the top. As well as last year's Stevia...

And on the bottom of this planter, Prudens Purple and Indigo Rose maters *literally* hangin' in there!

The other upside-down planter (no pic) has Sun Sugar (sweet yellow cherry tomatoes) hanging down, and a couple of herbs (thyme and sage, I believe).  I've still got a few more herbs to plant: Tarragon, chives, and another Stevia (I'm coming to the conclusion that you can't kill Stevia with a gun!).  Surprisingly, no mint, and it looks like I didn't buy any basil this year (no worries, I have some growing in the kitchen).

I'm not optimistic that we'll see many tomatoes from the upside-down planters.  Haven't had much luck in years' past and - on the rare occasion that a tomato does appear, the dogs invariably find it first!

In the bottoms of these planters, I'll stick some of my leftover runner beans and let 'em trail up the legs and, if necessary, let 'em grow onto the gazebo behind the planters (undoubtedly against my better judgement!  Certainly against Finny's advice).  I have truly run out of plantable real-estate unless I start moving into my ornamental beds (and I really don't want to).

Okay...  Second up!  The Bean Bed!  This is located by the far back corner of our yard - next to the palm trees and nanners.  And, thankfully, I did find a hose that would reach so I could give this bed a good soaking...  This bed is mostly "newer dirt piled on top of rock-solid clay" so it's gonna be a challenge to keep watered...

Beans, beans and more beans...

And a couple of vines!

So I set up my tepee yesterday and I expect (*hope*) to be overrun with beans soon.  Clockwise from right:  Flagrano (French Flageolet), Buerre de Rocquencourt, and (lest you think I'm a total Fru-Fru-Snob with all my fancy un-pronouncable french beans), Kentucky Wonderbean!  Toward the back, I planted Dana's Zuke (friend of mine started a zucchini from seed and gave it to me).  In the way-back, I planted another Artichoke.  That spot's gonna get plenty of shade so I'm *hoping* Artie II will be happy back there!  And up toward the front, right, a Hercules pumpkin that I started from seed.  I'm gonna encourage him to trail over the fence and outside of the bed, next to Roly-Pig.

There are two drip-loops strung through this bed and I really-really hope they'll be adequate.  Dragging a hose out there is a real PITA!  I think I'm gonna top-dress with a bag of steer manure, then mulch on top of that.  Fingers are crossed................

Next up:  The Finny Farm.  

Finny's Maters are all settled-in and growing quite happily, and I've added a few more plants...

Clockwise, from the right-rear corner:  Indigo Rose 'mater, then in the middle there's an Anaheim pepper, front right is Stephanie Stupice, front center is an Ancho Poblano pepper, front left is Brandy the Yellow Brandywine 'mater, middle left is a Crook-neck squash, and rear left is Colin Copia 'mater...

So far, so good on the water situation (Yay!).  But I did end up giving it a good soaking when I added the pepper and cuke today...

Thennnnn...  There's the "Middle Bed" - aka "Paste-O-Rama"

Maters include Jersey Devil, Speckled Roma and Amish Paste, and they seem to be adjusting "okay."  Not exactly thriving, but not dying either!  I still have one more paste tomato in the bathroom windowsill (San Marzano) that I started from seed.  I'll probably stick it in one of the cages and wait for the snails to devour it! (a sacrificial 'mater, as it were!).  And the three Unidentified Volunteers in the back are doing amazingly well...  I did harvest one of my cabbages, earlier this week (Yay!).  Gonna give the other one - maybe - another week, then I'll yank it too.  Anyway, today I added a Home Depot Cuke (front center of bed), and a Neon Eggplant, more toward the back on the right-hand side...

This bed is - shall we say - a bit over-planted???

Lastly, there is Artie's Bed:

Maters in this bed, double-planted Early Girl + Kellogg's Breakfast and Hillbilly, are not looking super-happy, but - again - they're not dead either!  The lettuces are hangin' in there.  And I added a Baby Black Chu Chu eggplant, over on the left-hand side near the metal whirlygig.  I've never grown eggplant before so I have no clue what to expect!  We shall see.......

So what's left?

Welllll...  I've got a few strawberries to plant.  LOL - some have already started producing fruit (in spite of being left un-watered, in the greenhouse, in their itty-bitty 3" pots)!  I dumped the soil out of the strawberry planter yesterday, and want to start-over - but I might not have enough potting soil left (Oooops!).  I still have a couple of tomatoes (Ananas Noir and - jeeezus! - another Stupice!).  Gonna have to put the 'maters in ginormous pots, I'm afraid.  Also, a few herbs, destined for the tops of the upside-down planters.  Appx 9 "leftover" runner beans...  And a couple of dwarf citrus that really need to be potted-up (Bearss lime and some kinda Mandarin orange)...

For now, everything is OUT of the greenhouse (which tops triple-digits during the day now)...  Tomorrow is gonna be a Sailing Day, so I doubt I'll get much more gardening in this weekend.  But the rest of the stuff I have to do just involves a trek to Home Depot (for soil and amendments), then sitting on my duff on the patio to stick everything else in pots!

Nevertheless, I am pretty pleased with my progress.  I'm trying my best to forget about "The Good Old Days" when I would've had EVERYTHING done in, like, half an hour! (And still planned an afternoon-trip to scale Mt. Everest!!!)  (Sucks getting old!!).  Hell, I'm just glad I've still got my garden!!!

Not a whole lot to report (Garden Ramblings)...

...But the weekend is coming!

First, let's look at some Pretty Happy Flowers, shall we???

Bird of Paradise flowers are in bloom!

(wish the pool cover was "off" - but, Oh well!)

Looks nice 'n tropical, dont'cha think?!!

While we're on the subject of Birds of Paradise...  We've got a Super-Bold hummingbird who frequents our yard, from time-to-time.  He sucks nectar from the BOP's and does his little "dtsp! dtsp!" chirp, all the while.    Sometimes he'll flit up *under* the tiki-bar's thatch umbrella and "buzz" the party lights that are strung underneath it!

I've seen him a couple of times, as has dear-hubs, and I do the whole "kiss my tongue against my teeth" thing in an attempt to mimic his chirp.  Well, damned if he won't fly RIGHT UP to my face and look me straight in the eye!  It's actually pretty cool!  And it's so mesmerizing, I *forget* to grab my camera and snap a pic!

(By the time I think of it, he is long gone! LOL)

First hibiscus of the season!

Droid pic really doesn't do it justice - the pink is incredibly vivid!

I *love* my hibiscus flowers!

Most of the perennial yard-plantings are geared-toward "big, tropical foliage" - I'm generally not a big flower-fan.  Don't get me wrong, flowers are NICE, but - for the tropical vibe - nothing beats BIG foliage (especially multi-colored canna leaves!).

In the background of the above hibiscus pic, you can see our star jasmine - which is "vigorous" to the point of  being invasive! - but it smells divine in the evenings (would that we could spend much time out in the yard in the evenings.  It tends to get pretty cool at night - even during the hottest summer nights!).

I've also got the plumerias, which, thankfully DID survive winter outdoors (under a bed-sheet!).  They're too damned big to fit through the greenhouse door anymore!  Some of the branches got frozen and died back, but overall I think they'll bounce back.  No flowers yet - just smidges of new leafy growth.  But talk about a HEAVENLY scent!  OMG - Plumeria blossoms will take you *straight* to Hawaii!

My banana trees are coming back to life.  I believe these are Saba bananas, which grow to mammoth heights! (and are planted in a *very* bad location!  Between a queen palm and the Italian Cypress that line our fence).  

I bought ONE plant on eBay, several years ago.  One actually produced an inflorescence and *seemed* like it was gonna produce fruit - a few years back - but our "warm season" just wasn't long enough so all of the Baby Nannas perished.  Anyway, every year, the banana trees die-back and I think they're goners.  But then, the following year, they come back!  Right now, I'm looking at three very-much-alive banana trees, appx 8-10 feet tall (that desperately need their dead leaves trimmed-off!)

"Sooooo... How's that veggie garden coming along???"

:::sigh:::

Well, I haven't KILLED anything, yet!  But I haven't made nearly as much progress as I might've liked!  This morning, I did drag a couple of old (heavy) pots of soil out to the "overflow bed" and dumped 'em in.  Over time, this may end up resembling a raised bed...  I wanted to stick a few tall garden stakes in the ground - in preparation for planting my pole beans - but I ended up going severely hypoglycemic ("Thanks, Diabetes!") and had to run into the house to ingest glucose, and rest - dammit!

Tomorrow... K???

"Overflow" bed is ready for garden stakes, bean-plants (which - Thanks to Finny - I understand *can* be planted close-together!), vining melons and squashes...

So yeah, tomorrow morning, I hope to get out in the yard and stick the rest of my crap in the ground (Gawd willing!).

Annnnnd....  I *might* (if all goes well) have another Garden Experiment to futz around with this year! (Yes, roll your eyes - I won't mind!).  Found this today and might give it a whirl - what the hell, right?!

Stay tuned...  Film at eleven... Yada yada!

Totally unrelated to anything...

Actually, no.  Not really!

I am something of a "ceramic artist" and, it seems, I've turned into something of a Foodie Blogger (entirely unintentionally!).

Well, it *just* occurred to me that photographing "bland-looking soups" (which I seem to dream-up on a regular basis) in plain ol' boring WHITE soup bowls is, well...  Boring, at best - right???

Sooooo... The "Objective du jour" is to make a few ceramic soup bowls - in different colors - so I can keep my "Soup Posts" at least *marginally* interesting!

I don't delude myself into thinking that this, alone, will make my posts more interesting (I readily acknowledge my long-windedness!), but maybe the pictures will be marginally more interesting!

We'll hafta see if my GOAL pans out!!!

I still want a Tiki Hut...

Okay, I really really want a Tiki Hut - BADLY!

I yammered about this a couple of weeks ago, here.

And today I'll yammer some more because I've had some correspondence going on with the seller of said Tiki Huts.  Thankfully, I still had their flier that I'd picked up at last year's SF Garden Show.  Prices have definitely gone up since last year - but that's the way it goes, right?

In the course of our email exchanges, she had indicated that they have a 10x10 in stock.  "Is there any way to come see it?"  "No, unfortunately."  Seems they don't have a "shop" or anything like that.  But then, apparently, there were a couple of other potential customers who were *also* interested in coming to see the thing "in person" and, as it turns out, their daughter is graduating and they will be throwing a luau party for her so - end result - they HAVE set-up the 10x10 patio cover in their side yard/driveway.  And they're letting us "potential customers" come and see it.  Yay!!!

So I did!  I drove up to Sunnyvale this afternoon!  Hubs couldn't come, so I just took lots of pictures and a few measurements.

10x10 Tiki Hut / Patio Cover

10x10 is "outside of the palm trunks" dimensions

"Inside" the palm trunks is appx 8' (give or take an inch or two)

I freaking LOVE it!!!  It's got metal flashing running up the corners of the roof, and a metal, ventilated "roof cap" kinda thing (that lets air flow through and allows heat to rise/dissipate).  And there's some loose-lattice-kinda wood covering the thatch (to keep the wind from tearing it off).  Although they do have the option to put a 2nd layer of thatch on top of that...

It's got freakin' TIKI FACES carved into the support posts, people!!!

The palm trunks, supporting the roof, are almost 12" in diameter.  VERY sturdy!

 Yep.  Nice solid construction!

The thatch overhangs the perimeter by appx 1-foot, all around.

So the 10x10 actually ends-up covering a 12x12 footprint.  Therefore the 12x12 (the one that I want) should be appx 14x14 (no worries in our yard).  And it was sooooo cool and nice under there!  The overhang actually helps prevent the sun (and heat) from getting "under" the gazebo roof.

Our current gazebo gets "Bloody Hot" because, more often than not, the roof is shading the left-hand-side/outside of the gazebo - not *under* the gazebo (which is kinda dumb!) (but that's the angle of the sun, Oh well!  Waddya gonna do?!).  Well, the overhang (both around the perimeter *and* hanging down) should take care of that!

Here is where you can kinda see the roof vent.

And more details of the construction quality...

So then I asked about the "longevity" of the gazebo - particularly the thatch roof - and she led me to their backyard where they have a different model of gazebo (one with an integrated dining table and benches).  It's been in their yard for 10 years and still has the original roof.

The thatch is slightly more greyish, but still nice-looking

And I don't see ANY rust on the metal flashings

And the inside is still water-tight!

NO signs of leakage!

So, yeah, I've pretty-much ALMOST convinced myself that "I like this more than I like my money!" (The "Joysey-Friend-K Standard")  Although it would be nice if I could get hubs to kick-in "a portion" of the cost.  Maybe 60/40?

I'll wait 'til he's in a good mood and share my pictures...  Then *try* to convince him that WE NEED this gazebo!  Actually, he *does* acknowledge that the old gazebo has seen better days.  And I *did* do some shopping around (online) to see what replacement gazebos are going for.  When we first purchased our 10x15 (probably 10-11 years ago), it was appx $300.00.  And I've been paying $150/yr for new canvas tops.  So we're into this one appx $1500.00.  Still less than half the cost of the Tiki Hut - Ooops!

Well, I'm pricing them out now (again, the steel/canvas jobbies) and, first-off, it is damned difficult to find a 10x15 (most are 10x10 or 10x12).  You *can* find cheap ones but...  They ARE cheap (poorly made and probably wouldn't last 10 years).  So Ix-Nay on Big-Lots.  I *don't* want something "disposable!"

Sears has some decent-quality-looking ones that are in the $800-$1000 range (or a little less than 1/3 of what the Tiki-Thatch model will cost).  And we'd still be looking at replacing canopies every year...

:::sigh:::

I hope I can convince hubster!!!

And, in the meantime, I might try to see what kinda "deal" the seller might be willing to negotiate if we were talking about paying with that "Old-Fashioned-Green-Stuff" (Hey - Can't hurt to ask, right???)

I really-really want a Tiki Hut!!!

Recipe: QT's Creamy Mushroom Madness Soup (Or "There's Fungus Among Us!")

Okay, I absolutely MUST "write this down" before I forget!  Because - DAYUM - I *will* be making this again!

We've got another Farm-Share Delivery coming tomorrow and Hooooly Cow!  I've got some veggies to get rid of! ("Vanquish the Veggies!!!")

One of the leftovers, from my last delivery, was a smallish box of unidentified mushrooms.  I think they are *mostly* Enoki mushrooms, but there were some "fatties" there, too.  No clue what they are! (Note to self:  Keep the friggin' delivery list - otherwise, you won't know what the hell you just cooked!). (Ooh - I think I just figured it out!  I think they're "King Trumpet" mushrooms).

Shroom-O-Rama!

I also had some dried Shiitake Mushrooms in the cupboard...

Annnnnd...  A couple-three different containers of shrooms in the fridge:  Plain ol' white button shrooms, a bag of sliced white shrooms (that weren't looking so "white" anymore) and a bag of Baby Bella sliced shrooms (brown - but they're s'posed to be brown)...  Normally, I don't like cooking with the Baby Bellas (flavor is a little too strong for my liking).  And I've had the dried Shiitakes for-EVAR - just never felt-much like reconstituting them and doing an asian stir-fry (too messy!).

So I ended up consulting Google again (Gee, what a surprise!), and I pinned a couple-three mushroomy-soup kinda recipes, thinkin' I could smoosh 'em together at some point (BEFORE the next boxload of veggies arrived!!!)

Credit where Credit is Due - here are the "inspirations" for my recipe du jour:

Cream of Mushroom Soup - Good, basic recipe - that SURELY puts Campbell's to shame.  But it lacks garlic and I think I want to add Celery to mine...

Celery and Mushroom Soup - This one has celery and cream, and some seasonings that don't normally reside in my spice cupboard!  But it does sound deelish!

Mushroom Celery and Garlic Soup - this one's "Diabetic" and "Healthy" and lacks cream, but it HAS GARLIC!!!...  So definitely a decent foundation!

And then I stole the whole "Cream-Cheese" addition from *this* recipe - 'cuz it was delightfully tasty! (And I credited the OP in that post!).

Now this soup was *somewhat* labor-intensive (had to re-constitute the dried/dried-ish mushrooms, and do a lot of chopping), but overall it really wasn't too bad and only took appx 30 minutes to prepare...

Okay-kay-kay-kay...!  Post the damned recipe already!!!

Home-made Cream of Mushroom Soup - Yummmmmm!!!!

QT's Creamy Mushroom Madness Soup
Yields 6-8 generous servings

Ingredients:

• 4 cups assorted mushrooms, coarsely chopped (I used dried shiitake, enoki, white/button, and baby bellas) (and that 4 cup measure is *after* chopping - just FYI)
• 1 medium-to-largish onion, finely chopped (I think it ended up being close to 2 cups)
• 2 fat cloves of fresh garlic, finely chopped
• 4 stalks of celery, finely chopped
• 2 TBS melted butter
• 1-2 TBS olive oil
• salt
• 1/4-1/3 cup cooking sherry (or white cooking wine - whatever you've got)
• 2-3 tsp worchestershire sauce
• Seasoning Salt, to taste (I used Lawry's Seasoning Salt - which seems to be readily available at any grocery store)
• 4 cups chicken (or vegetable) broth
• 4 oz. softened cream cheese
• 1 cup heavy cream (or half and half)
• 1/4-1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/4-1/2 tsp dried tarragon

Instructions:

1. Reconstitute your shiitake mushrooms (if you're using dried) by filling a bowl with hot water and dumping appx 10-12 dried shiitake mushrooms in it, 'til they moisten/soften up a bit (takes appx 20 minutes) (Oh, and remove the stems from the Shiitakes, after they're reconstituted, 'cuz, evidently, the stems are no good).  My Enokis were also somewhat-dried-out (having been in the fridge for 2 weeks), so I tossed them into the bowl, as well.  You can "go about your business" while this is happening (I was working at the time!) - or you can start chopping your other veggies.
2. Chop up all of your mushrooms into coarse chunks (appx 1/4"-1/2" cubes, or thereabouts).  Set the shrooms aside...
3. Finely chop your onion, garlic and celery (they are going to end up pureed so, as I've stated in earlier recipes, "The finer the better!")
4. Heat-up 2 TBS butter and 1-2 TBS olive oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat.  Once melted, add the onions+garlic+celery and cook on medium-low 'til translucent.  Add salt and let 'em sweat....
5. Add the mushrooms and saute on medium-low 'til the mushrooms start to brown (but the onions should NOT brown)...  All-told, maybe 10 minutes...
6. Add the worchestershire and stir.  That should *start* deglazing/de-greasing the pan...
7. Add the cooking wine and stir some more.  That should finish the de-greasing!
8. Stir-in some Seasoning, to taste (you want the mushrooms to "take-up" as much flavor as they can - at this point!). 
9. Add the broth, bring to a light boil, then reduce heat to low and let it simmer, covered, for appx 15 minutes, til everything starts to soften...
10. Add 4 oz (half a brick) of softened cream cheese and let it melt in...
11. Hit the whole mess with an immersion blender (or, let it cool, and put it in a blender - in batches).  Puree til "mostly smooth" (hopefully, the mushrooms will retain their original shape/texture).
12. Heat it up, again, on medium heat and add cream (or half-and-half).  You don't want to bring it to a boil, but you DO want it to heat-up.
13. Add thyme/tarragon, to taste...
14. At this point, you might want to add some kind of thickener (be it corn-starch, or a butter+flour roux).  Personally, I thought it was fine "As-Is"

Serve hot, with a sprig of parsley...

This soup was AMAZINGLY delicious!  Hell, I impressed myself!  It's hearty enough for a cold winter night, but also light enough for a springtime lunch (which is how I enjoyed mine, today!).  I've frozen a couple of servings and might try using it as a "base" for something else, at some point...

It really is a very versatile and AMAZINGLY tasty soup!!!

Post-Script:  I actually found a website where you can plug in the ingredients and # of servings and it'll give you nutritional information.  Website: Calorie Count.*

And here is the info for QT's Mushroom Madness Soup (after I subtracted 1 TBS butter and switched Cream to Half and Half!) (Yeah, I'm a cheater!).

I need to tweak-around with this tool, a bit (and maybe attempt some manual calculations - just to confirm). But I think it's pretty cool!

*P.S. This calculator seems to work just fine for "regular" recipes - but for "sweets" like desserts made with Splenda, the calculations are all jacked-up (their "baseline" calorie/carb counts are based on "individual packets" of Splenda and appear to be severely "rounded-up!").  Be warned! :-)

Watering Woes Mostly Solved (for now!)

Welllll...  We accomplished a bit in the Garden Realm today.  Not as much as I would have liked, but ANY progress is better than NO progress, right?

Hubs woke up, bright-and-early (although not at 4:30am!) and mowed the lawn.  That was a good thing because poor Dynah was getting lost in the lawn (srsly)!

Then I asked Dear Hubs if he would be so kind as to help with replacing a few of the drip emitters that the dogs had chewed through...

More specifically:

Quiver as you stare into the Face of Sprinkler Destruction!!!

Princess Annie says "Yeeeeahhh?!!  So what?!!"

She is our Chief Sprinkler Eater

Annnnd... Annie's sidekick:

Tazz the Spazz

"Sprinklers?  What sprinklers?  I don't know nuthin' bout no sprinklers!!!"

Dynah Lowrider, whom the vet's office compares to Einstein (because, obviously, she so intelligent - right?)...

Right???

Anywaaaayyyy...  Dynah is far too focused on protecting our personal safety, and endlessly 'patrols the perimeter,' barking incessantly.  So she really doesn't have TIME to destroy the sprinkler system!

Oh.  Sorry.  What was I talking about?

Oh yeah, Dear Hubbie agreeing to fix "a few" drip emitters for me.  

Well, thank goodness I'd had the foresight to purchase the friggin' "Contractor's Pack" of 850-jillion drip emitters from Home Depot (Did you know that H.D. stands for both Home Depot *and* Hundred Dollars?!).

Hubs was not happy.  But it's done now and - guess what?! - water *does* make it clear-out to the raised beds! Yayyyy!!! (I'm still gonna keep an eye on it though).

I also rigged up another mini-drip-loop for my "overflow" bed by the back fence.  Did not get around to sticking anything in the ground - but at least the bed is ready...

Unfortunately, Rent-A-Son Services did not make it over today, so my Super-Optimistic goal of getting the shed cleaned out, never happened :-(  But he *did* take his mom out to lunch and - what with it being Mother's Day and all - I *guess* that's legit!

On the other hand, I did plant these little beauties:

Aloe Tikis!

I think they're pretty cool!  Plus, I've not been able to find 100% Aloe Vera gel ANYWHERE (not even the health-nut store around the corner from me).  They all seem to have just a smidge of alcohol - which hurts like hell.  So now I'll just grow my own!

Anyway, that's the latest 'n greatest.  Hopefully, during this upcoming week, I can plant the rest of my veggies and get that monkey off my back!

  

Garden Progress! (Kinda Rambly, but....)

I am shamefully "behind the curve" this year with the garden situation - owing to my stupid skin condition which has prevented me from doing, well, ANYTHING!

Finny just posted her Garden Update and - yep - I am way the hell behind!  Of course, she got her stuff in the ground back in April (a little too early for my neighborhood.  She's only a few miles up the road, but her weather is quite a bit different).  Anyway, I *just* got most of my maters in the ground TODAY!

Except for the Finny Farm Fam.  Those guys went in last week!  And today I added an Ancho Poblano pepper to the front, center spot in the bed...

And everything seems to be settling in quite nicely!

Yeah, not the greatest pic in the world.  I took it in bright morning sun (with lots of harsh shadows), but the reality is:  There really isn't a good "spot" to stand in, for taking pics of this bed (too many obstacles!).

So since it's such a NON-photogenic location, NATURALLY, I decided to rig up the Plant Cam!

Garden Geekery - at it's finest!

Actually, I have bolted it to the lattice fence that hides the pool equipment and that might actually turn-out to be a good spot (for the Plant Cam, anyway).  Time will tell!

Anyhoooo...  As I'd mentioned in my earlier post, the Canine Crew had me up at 4:30 this morning.  And I think, probably around 9:30ish, I was actually coherent enough to go outside and start tackling the garden-planting chores.

First up was removing the super-leggy/overgrown veggies from the wire shelves in my greenhouse.  Most had grown *through* the shelves and it required some delicate surgical procedures to extricate them!  Some of the maters had intertwined with vining green-beans - FUN! (NOTTT).  But I did finally manage to get them out!

Did I mention they were "leggy?!!"

Oh - and this isn't ALL of them (not even close!!!).  These are actually my "leftovers" that still need to find homes (which, in some cases, might mean pawning them off on neighbors!!!).

So, in addition to the pepper, I planted several 'maters today.  I decided that my old middle bed (the one that still has cabbages in it) will be my "Paste-O-Rama" bed.

Lookie-Lookie!  My cabbage is actually forming a HEAD!!!

(This is exciting because I've never had that happen before - EVER!)

Paste-O-Rama Bed (Right next to the pool equipment)

A super-sunny, super-hot bed.

Again, this picture was taken in the morning.  I haven't caged the 'maters yet b/c I planted them "deep" and "sideways" (to maximize root development).  By noontime, with the sun beating down, they were looking pretty droopy, so I ended up draping a sheet over the 'maters til they get a little more established.

Anyway, far left corner has a "Jersey Devil" tomato.  Front center-of-the-pic is a "Speckled Roma" and on the right-edge, about halfway back, is an "Amish Paste" tomato.  The other maters in the back (3 or 4 - I can't tell!) are "Volunteers" from last year - no clue what they are, but I hope one is a Green Zebra (since that's the ONE mater that I killed in the greenhouse)...

Lastly, there is Artie's Bed:

Heyyyy Artie!!!  Can't WAIT to eat you!!!

(There are two baby chokes on the way, too!)

Unfortunately, I think Artie is too big for this bed but "Oh well!"

So I've still got garlic growing along the edges of this bed.  Up in the front, I double-planted a "Kellogg's Breakfast" (bright orange, mildly sweetish beefsteak tomato) with an "Early Girl" (plain ol' plain ol').  I think that will work out well because, well, Early-Girl is an early-bearer and should "fizzle-out" around the time that Kellogg's Breakfast kicks-in (late July thru Sept).  Then, over to the right (barely visible), I planted a "Hillbilly" which - I believe is supposed to be a HUGE plant - but...  That spot doesn't get a whole lot of sun, but "We'll see!"

Annnnnd...  I still had a 6-pack of lettuce, so I planted that toward the back of the bed, in the shade of Artie!  We'll see how that goes!

I've STILL got a boatload of stuff to plant:

Still waiting in the greenhouse!

Yeah, I know the stuff looks pretty "droopy" but that's 'cuz I just watered 'em and it's Hotter 'n Hades in there!!!

So, I still have vines to plant (squashes, pumpkins, melons, possibly a cuke - not sure!).  Strawberries (need to dump my strawberry planter and start with fresh soil), a couple of eggplants (never grew those before), green beans (OMG - THREE six-packs of beans!!!) and some herbs.  

Frankly, I'm amazed that everything has survived so well out there - given how hot it's been, and the fact that sometimes I kinda "forget" to go out and water 'em!  I only had a couple of fatalities: Cassandra Cuke (but she was "iffy" when I got her), Green Zebra 'mater, and a Stevia (but thankfully last year's Stevia in the patio planter came back!).  Everything else hung-in-there just fine and is MOST eager to get stuck in the ground SOMEPLACE!!!

I still have my "Overflow Bed" out by the back gate, but I just noticed that the drip/soaker line isn't quite long enough to cover the bed (and I've run out of soaker hose) (and it's waaaaay the hell "out there" - too far for me to drag the regular hose for a good soaking), so I've got to make a trek to Home Depot for drip-line supplies (need to do that anyway).  Maybe tomorrow morning!

One thing I noticed (on the Finny Farm Bed) is that when I do a weekly deep-soaking, the daily "dribbles" are just enough to keep the surface moist and the "underneath" soil actually *does* retain it's moisture.  So I think I've stumbled onto a pretty good solution.  We'll see how that works when the MEGA-HOT summer days hit (might have to deep-soak "the old fashioned way" a couple times a week - but, so far-so good!)

Lastly.....  I need to plant-up my Patio Pots.  I have potting soil a-plenty - which is good.  And Rent-A-Son-Services ripped out my dead (potted) palm trees for me.  I've got a couple of dwarf citruses (citri??) that could stand to be potted up.  One is a Bearss Lime, that I've had for a couple of years.  The other is a brandy-new "Golden Nugget Mandarin" that I picked up with a Groupon, yesterday (it's got li'l fruits on it and everything!!!).  And I need to dump the "cut and come again" lettuce in the Patio Planters because it's getting too hot and they're just bolting endlessly.  I'll replace those with cooking herbs - which will be nice when BBQ season starts (Soon!  Very Soon!)

Yeah, lots of stuff left to do - but "That's what Gardening's All About" right???

I'm looking forward to a most bountiful summer harvest.  And ya'all can look forward to endless b*tching about "What the HELL am I gonna do with ALL THESE TOMATOES?!!!!"

Recipes galore, I tellya!!! ;-)