Gardening

cpa · Sep 5, 2015

I have read where some of y'all are amateur apiarists. I admire and envy your hobby! So, I thought that I would share with everyone my much more pedestrian pursuit of gardening. I let my wife handle the aesthetic part of our yard with shrubs and flowers. I like to tinker with growing food. I primarily focus on permanent plantings, but do plant annual food stuffs on occasion.

That is a 37-pound watermelon ('Allsweet') that I picked this morning. The second photo is of one of my two bananas ('Dwarf Orinoco') that will be ripened in about 3 weeks. Our other banana is 'Dwarf Namwah' and will likely be ready to eat in late October. Finally, the grapes (vinifera) are 'Princess'; I also have a 'Monukka' that is just about all picked.

We get fresh fruit throughout most of the year. 'Washington' navel oranges from December through March; 'D'Ancy mandarins from February through April; 'Sanguinello blood oranges in April-May; 'Craig Crimson' sweet cherries in May; 'Blenheim' apricot in June; 'O'Henry' peach in August. Grapes are always from August through October.

Sorry about the 90-degree flip when I uploaded the photos. Not sure why it happened. Hope to see others' bounties from your homes in different parts of the world!

ModelX · Sep 5, 2015

Wow! Impressive! I have no garden or photos to share.

bonnie · Sep 5, 2015

Tomatoes, tomatillos, peppers, blackberries, cukes, etc. 60lbs of grapes turned into 50 jars of moscato jelly. Canned salsa this morning (well, some of it). More blackberry jam tomorrow. Gallons of salsa verde to be made. And lots of tomato sauce canned. It just keeps coming.

Love the fact you started this thread!

This morning -

Raffy.Roma · Sep 5, 2015

This thread is really cool!

cpa · Sep 5, 2015

All looks yummy! We should have a Tesla gardener picnic some lazy afternoon and we can all bring our goodies. We could pile our bounty in the trunk and frunk and park by the side of the highway to look like those itinerant vendors of culled or purloined produce! :wink:

What variety of grapes are those? The berries look too small and yellow to be the old-fashioned muscat grape that has such a vibrant flavor. I had a muscat vine 20 years ago, but I was the only one who enjoyed eating them--seeds and all, so removed it.

Bonnie, if you would like some cuttings this winter after I prune the canes, I would be more than willing to set several aside (or even start them in pots) and give them to you. The 'Princess' variety is a hybrid with muscat and Sultana DNA. The flavor starts out like a muscat and then morphs into Sultana (Thompson Seedless by another name.) They ripen here around mid-to-late August, so likely would ripen about two weeks later in your foothill area NE of Sac (if memory serves.)

In those occasional years that we can't eat all the grapes, I lay about 30 pounds down on paper trays and make raisins. The only problem with making your own raisins is that the stemming process is tedious.

Tuan · Sep 13, 2015

If I see a Tesla full of culled and purloined produce, I'd stop to check it out for sure.

I am jealous. I wish I had a green thumb. So cool to have your own organic garden. The peppers below are from my mother's garden. I'm not sure its identity, but the capsaicin content is pretty potent, much more than a typical jalapeno though less than a habanero. They're also the most pungent peppers I've ever eaten, so these are my favorite.

bonnie · Sep 13, 2015

cpa said:
Bonnie, if you would like some cuttings this winter after I prune the canes, I would be more than willing to set several aside (or even start them in pots) and give them to you. The 'Princess' variety is a hybrid with muscat and Sultana DNA. The flavor starts out like a muscat and then morphs into Sultana (Thompson Seedless by another name.) They ripen here around mid-to-late August, so likely would ripen about two weeks later in your foothill area NE of Sac (if memory serves.)

I'd love a few cuttings! I had 60 lbs. just from one very old vine that I found on the property when I bought it, up on the edge & unwatered/untended. I'm sure it would be happy to have a little company

.

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Tuan said:
If I see a Tesla full of culled and purloined produce, I'd stop to check it out for sure.

I am jealous. I wish I had a green thumb. So cool to have your own organic garden. The peppers below are from my mother's garden. I'm not sure its identity, but the capsaicin content is pretty potent, much more than a typical jalapeno though less than a habanero. They're also the most pungent peppers I've ever eaten, so these are my favorite.

I could use about 8 lbs of those right now

. Heading to a local market to pick up peppers to roast. I just don't have enough this year to keep pace with the tomatillo output (picked 4lbs yesterday). It's a banner tomatillo year and no matter how much roasted salsa verde I make, it's never enough to supply this house & my son's house.

SW2Fiddler · Sep 13, 2015

I took a deep dive into gardening a few years back. I ran raised-bed, hay-bale, cardboard lasagna bed, and self-watering tote to compare.
Grew corn in the Texas drought and learned to love huitlacoche.

Ended up building a backyard aquaponics setup that's easy and water frugal, grows the finicky stuff (like ghost chiles) and huge amounts of produce, as well as happy meaty catfish.
It's the kind of system that should be good in a Mars colony

jerry33 · Sep 13, 2015

It's not a garden, but it's the best attempt I've made so far at growing things.

cpa · Sep 13, 2015

Tuan said:
If I see a Tesla full of culled and purloined produce, I'd stop to check it out for sure.

I am jealous. I wish I had a green thumb. So cool to have your own organic garden. The peppers below are from my mother's garden. I'm not sure its identity, but the capsaicin content is pretty potent, much more than a typical jalapeno though less than a habanero. They're also the most pungent peppers I've ever eaten, so these are my favorite.
View attachment 93988

Tuan, by looking at your photos, I would hazard a guess that your mom is growing serranos. They are real popular among the hispanic communities to combine with other, less hot varieties. Plants and seed are easy to obtain. They are hotter than jalapenos, but not nearly as hot as the dread habanero.

I would have thought that a man with your chemistry background would have referred to capsaicin by its IUPAC nomenclature: (E)-(N[(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)methyl]-8-methylnon-6-enamide! :wink: j/k!

bonnie · Oct 8, 2015

I'm relieved to say that garden production here in Northern California is starting to wind down. A few tomatoes, a few more tomatillos ... still need to harvest potatoes, make pesto from all the basil, pull up the leeks. And then the mandarins will ripen for next month and Dec. And still have limes and lemons. ... okay, some of the garden is winding down. It's kind of a year round event here.

My four tomatillo plants went a little nuts. I made roasted salsa verde from the first 10# earlier this summer & liked it so much (and because my son homesteaded most of it), that I used up the remaining 40# to make more. I'm calling it done. Any more tomatillos that show up will be frozen and put in enchiladas or stew or whatever.

ModelX · Oct 8, 2015

Impressive!

AudubonB · Oct 8, 2015

Our Arizona property came with an impressive orchard. One of its denizens, however, is a plant that I am not so fond of, although Jenny and my m-in-law like - that is the kumquat tree. And boy, is it productive!
I just don't find the too-bitter-for-me fruits to be very appealing in a salad.

I did, however, persuade the ladies to experiment with a marmalade. And all are delighted! M-in-law is going to enter it in the County Fair this autumn - stay tuned. And maybe some pix later (it will look like jars of marmalade - don't hold your breaths).

bonnie · Oct 8, 2015

AudubonB said:
Our Arizona property came with an impressive orchard. One of its denizens, however, is a plant that I am not so fond of, although Jenny and my m-in-law like - that is the kumquat tree. And boy, is it productive!
I just don't find the too-bitter-for-me fruits to be very appealing in a salad.

I did, however, persuade the ladies to experiment with a marmalade. And all are delighted! M-in-law is going to enter it in the County Fair this autumn - stay tuned. And maybe some pix later (it will look like jars of marmalade - don't hold your breaths).

Can't wait to hear. I've made marmalade from my mandarin orange tree - it always makes good Christmas gifts with some homemade bread. I just started a gallon jar of preserved lemons in brine, hoping it turns out well (rind becomes sweet and edible).

And I just picked another 6 lbs of tomatillos. Into the freezer! Those damn bees think it's necessary to pollinate every flower.

Canuck · Oct 8, 2015

Wow Bonnie, impressive. And nice to hear there's lots of bees around even if they bug you. Always a good sign.

I mostly grow Italian types of lettuce that you can't buy in the stores -- at least where I live. Much of it is cut and grow again, until it gets too coarse and bitter. I grew up on it and can't get enough of it. I eat a big bowl every night, with extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, a bit of balsamic and fresh garlic from the garden. Yummy! Winter is always sad when I have to buy the store bought ones but at least I can find organic escarole and endive from California at Fred Myer in Bellingham USA, which is close to my home. We just don't get the same quality or selection in Canada. Here's some vine ripened tomatoes from my garden... I eat them like apples...

DFibRL8R · Oct 8, 2015

Well mine's no 37 pounder but I'm a new enough gardener that I take extra precautions when transporting my fruit

bonnie · Oct 8, 2015

Canuck said:
Wow Bonnie, impressive. And nice to hear there's lots of bees around even if they bug you. Always a good sign.

I mostly grow Italian types of lettuce that you can't buy in the stores -- at least where I live. Much of it is cut and grow again, until it gets too coarse and bitter. I grew up on it and can't get enough of it. I eat a big bowl every night, with extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, a bit of balsamic and fresh garlic from the garden. Yummy! Winter is always sad when I have to buy the store bought ones but at least I can find organic escarole and endive from California at Fred Myer in Bellingham USA, which is close to my home. We just don't get the same quality or selection in Canada. Here's some vine ripened tomatoes from my garden... I eat them like apples...

What a beautiful pic. I didn't get as many tomatoes this year - should have shaded them when the heat really picked up.

As far as the bees ... yes, they're plentiful and should be. I keep 5 hives!

rjcbox · Oct 8, 2015

Cool that some of us share common interests here on TMC: solar, ev's, gardening, bees
Now I need to dig out some garden pics!

cpa · Nov 8, 2015

Well, I harvested the first bunch of bananas for this year. Six hands by six fingers = thirty-six! I have another variety that I will take off in another week or so. Variety is 'Orinoco.' This is a "cooking" banana that is not of the dessert-type (what we find at the grocery store), nor is it a plantain that must be baked or fried.

bonnie · Nov 8, 2015

cpa said:
Well, I harvested the first bunch of bananas for this year. Six hands by six fingers = thirty-six! I have another variety that I will take off in another week or so. Variety is 'Orinoco.' This is a "cooking" banana that is not of the dessert-type (what we find at the grocery store), nor is it a plantain that must be baked or fried.

Pretty cool!

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Annual mandarin harvest coming on strong again ..

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