Social Media – Never Enough Dirt

Social Media

Follow Never Enough Dirt on Social Media

YouTube http://youtube.com/neverenoughdirtdotcom

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/neverenoughdirt/

neverenoughdirt

Goal: grow a cabbage for a St. Patrick's Day #gard

Goal: grow a cabbage for a St. Patrick's Day #gardentotable corn beef & cabbage.
Other garden items include 'Bolero' carrots and potatoes: 'Magic Molly,' 'French Fingerling,' 'Yukon Gold,' & 'Burbank.'

The cabbage variety harvested is 'Danish Ballhead.' Which coincidentally is aptly name for the story I am about to share.

Most years on this day, I am taken back to my middle school algebra class. Where on this day I learned from my teacher, Mr. Ball, that not everyone is excited about St. Patrick's day. Mr. Ball lost hearing on one side due to his proximity to the main guns of a battleship; in training and in the Korean War.

As an algebra teacher, he was effective. He cared in an 'let us get this over with' kind of way. Anything out of bounds of the classroom was meant by his crotchety persona. Including some small talk I tried to have with this man. Like saying, "Happy St. Patrick's Day, Mr. Ball--" believing that he may appreciate it since he shared that he was Irish.

In a Clint Eastwood kind of way but with less raspiness he said, "I am Protestant. We don't celebrate it."

I was too much of a kid to understand the context. I would realize much later in life that my interaction with Mr. Ball was in 1994; when there was a lot of turmoil in the United Kingdom between the sovereign government and the Irish Republican Army.

So this garden to table is for you, Mr. Ball. Thank you for your service to our country.

Fresh cut flowers from the garden for my Valentine

Fresh cut flowers from the garden for my Valentine. Fragrant hyacinths, carnations (aka dianthus), dahlias, gerber daisy, and anemone.

#strawberries, I have grown them haphazardly in th

#strawberries, I have grown them haphazardly in the past. This time, I am switching gears and hoping to pick more than just a few. In addition to providing them with the growing conditions they need in order to thrive (adequate soil volume and sun per plant,) I am planting different varieties for succession harvests. The selected varieties are mostly California bred. Growing on California's coastal inland climate, I am very optimistic about the productivity of these strawberries varieties. That I have observed, most of California's delicious strawberries are grown in coastal climates.

First up is this 'Seascape' #strawberry. Strong plants were planted this January and we have three plants ripening one fruit each.
This particular berry turned fully red and I waited a day before picking it in the morning. It has a soft yet firm texture. The flavor was mild getting on strong. Next time I will wait a little longer to see if that improves the flavor. #seascapestrawberry

Following #nedberries for my berry growing adventures. I hope to also harvest raspberries again after a hiatus of over several years. #nedfirsts

'One Kilo Slow Bolt' cabbage. Our best one yet not

'One Kilo Slow Bolt' cabbage. Our best one yet not just because of size but because of a good portion of stems that comes with size. This cabbage type is the quintessential item for Asian hot pot. The stems become sweet when cooked and balances out the salty and savory items of a hot pot meal. (This cabbage fan prefers to cook it until it is extra soft. The pleasures of hot potting is that during the meal I can also cook it al dente to mix things up.)

As far as cultivation, I discovered that Chinese cabbage (bok choy included) do best with well draining soil. More so with the Pekinensis group like this cabbage. They can be grown in something as simple as a 3 gallon nursery container for optimal drainage. As far as direct sunlight, they are not as demanding. Save your best direct sun spot for broccoli. These cabbage can thrive with 4 hours of direct sun. (Notes from Los Angeles, CA.)

@botanical_interests seeds

#gardentotable #bruschetta with fresh ingredients

#gardentotable #bruschetta with fresh ingredients from our #kitchengarden. Our neighbor hosted an autumn movie night (and their 25th wedding anniversary!) Lasagna was the main course and it solved the problem of what to bring over to share.

Special thanks to @burpeegardening for the 'Everleaf Emerald Towers' plant. This #myburpeetrial Genovese basil plant grows into a nice column. The plant is 37.5 inches and is unsupported. It is also slow to bolt. This means that we have a nice ornamental plant that also is at the ready in case we need it for the kitchen.

Other ingredients from the garden include 'Chesnok Red' garlic and 'Martino's Roma' tomatoes. Here in Southern California, it is possible to sow tomato plants in late April for an end of summer harvest.

Lastly, it is nice to be able to grow decorations; and to share them too. Corn is one of my favorite things to grow because it can be used in many ways. Our neighbor did an amazing with the autumn decor.

If you scroll back a few posts, you will find a pi

If you scroll back a few posts, you will find a picture of this 'Eastern Magic' #broccoli 's main crown-- an impressive one for a summer harvest. Well, this #easternmagicbroccoli plant has not quit. It is making some impressive side-shoots.

Last summer, we selected the 'Monty' variety to trial for summer broccoli harvests. Monty impressed us by growing broccoli mainly through side-shoot production. Wanting to extend our broccoli harvest year-round, we read through the descriptions of varieties looking for ones that may be productive during the months around summer. Eastern Magic was selected for these months.

Our first harvest was in March of this year. Leaving the plants to continue growing, we discovered that it did well with side-shoot production. As far as the trials go, we decided to see how this variety will do when we plant it in succession. To our surprise, this Spring established plant is cranking out some good sized shoots.

We have a summer transplant that we are curious to find out how it will do. Stay tuned!

#successionplanting #kitchengarden

'Sweet Banana' pepper. When we get tacos we head t

'Sweet Banana' pepper. When we get tacos we head to the condiment station and look for banana peppers that have been blistered then sprinkled with lemon pepper and chili powder (or just chili powder.)

From our garden we grew some #nedfirsts banana peppers and blistered them on the grill. Then we drizzled some 'Pink Lemonade' lemon juice and dusted them with our chili powder blend of 'Himo' togarashi and aji 'Biquinho.' All but the cilantro, our garden continues to provide us with #gardentotable meals.

P.s. No beans this time, the pinto plants are still growing.
P.s.s. 'Santa Fe Grande' is a fatter more conical variety. This is the type that is usually found at the restaurants. We will look to grow that one next time.

'Craig LeHoullier Cherokee Purple' tomato. Sowed F

'Craig LeHoullier Cherokee Purple' tomato. Sowed February 1st, harvested June 11th, and eaten June 20th (in a salad of cucumber, tomato, mint, lemon juice, EVOO, and salt.)

CP tomato is a favorite of mine for its size (this pictured tomato was 14 ounces), smooth texture and low acidity. This LeHoullier strain matured at least 3 weeks ahead of our standard CP.

A big thanks to @gardening_kristi for sharing the seeds in a swap. LeHoullier is an East Coast tomato master and breeder. His strain was developed for his climate. In a residential lot, full sun growing spots are coveted. When these spots are full, some varieties have to wait their turn. The wait could be a few months or an entire year.

While CP prefers semi shade locations in S. Calif., I was excited to see if the Lehoullier CP would be happy in a growing location with slightly more hours of shade as this was the only spot available for the planting cycle. This spot's microclimate is very similar to the East Coast's early season climate.
#nedfirsts

'University of Hawaii Orange' #plumeria aka ('John

'University of Hawaii Orange' #plumeria aka ('John John' and 'Tahitian Moonglow.') This is a #nedfirsts bloom from a cutting purchased from @monalisasplants, April 2019. This is a lovely one to add to the #nedpeachy collection.

Plumeria is the quintessential plant/flower of Hawaii. Plants give us a glimpse into the exploration of this planet by the Western culture. Frontiers come in and out of existence; from the Orient to the African continent to Polynesian islands. While Alaska is known as the final frontier, it seems that Hawaii may have been the final cultural frontier.

If you drive around the Cold War Era residential developments around Southern California, you may spot plumeria plants as a living archeological artifact of a time when Polynesian cultures were the frontier.

Image 1: color in direct sunlight
Image 2: color post golden hour /indirect sunlight
Image 3: plant about 3 feet tall, two stems
Image 4: Canon 24-70mm at f/2.8 Av
#universityofhawaiiplumeria

Broccoli is a vegetable that my family eats regula

Broccoli is a vegetable that my family eats regularly. We found a way to grow our own year round supply. (Not to imply that year round harvests all look like this broccoli. Summer harvests come from 'Monty.' This variety produces a tennis ball sized main crown and side shoots after. Summer strategy involves planting two plants (as opposed to one.) Selecting for varieties that match up well with the season and trialing them has led to some amazing discoveries; like this 'Eastern Magic' broccoli harvest in June.

Given the seed supplier's description, we expected it to grow this way during our Southern Californian Fall through Spring. Running our own trial, we were pleasantly surprised.

There was supposed to be a succession plant to trial for a July harvest but I didn't tend to it properly. We have a 4-inch seedling waiting to get planted into the garden. Hopefully there will be something to report back with.

#nedfirsts 'New Brunswick' cabbage. We shared a qu

#nedfirsts 'New Brunswick' cabbage. We shared a quarter with my mom and a quarter with my aunt. With her half, my SIL made her grandma's cabbage roll (tied together with cilantro stems.) You know how much I love soup. It was delicious!

#cabbagerolls #newbrunswickcabbage

#gardentotable Luo Song Tong, Cantonese for "Russi

#gardentotable Luo Song Tong, Cantonese for "Russian Soup" aka #chineseBorscht.

My understanding of the history of this dish is topical at best. Borscht entered Chinese culture via Shanghai through Russian expatriates. With local cultural adjustments like omitting beet and changing the consistency closer to a broth, borscht became #luosongtong. In Hong Kong it became a staple. It is often served ahead of entrees. Here in the San Gabriel Valley Hong Kong Cafes (#hongkongcafe) offer Luo Song Tong as the default soup with an entree.

Walking our garden and finding that we had all the ingredients for this soup, we made our first home cooked batch. Ingredients include: 'Magic Molly' potato, 'Early Grandex' onion, 'Costoluto Genovese' tomato, 'Utah Tall' celery, 'New Kuroda' carrot, and #nedfirsts 'Danish Ballhead' cabbage.
#vegetablesoup

Gardening is "a little bit of this, a little bit o

Gardening is "a little bit of this, a little bit of that." I test out my hypotheses with each planting and come up with some unscientific correlations. For instance, this #nedfirsts market quality #gailan was produced by increasing the nitrogen level through the addition of blood meal during transplanting. It seems that this was the missing variable in past attempts to grow a gailan with a thick stalk (with all other variables constant.) This type of gardening is the art approach.

I suppose I should one day actually grow a bed of vegetables to test out the different variables all at once. Seeing the results this way is the more scientific approach. The art approach is more fun for me.

--
This vegetable is a popular staple in the cultures of China's Guangdong Province. It is often known by the Cantonese (Guangdongese) pronunciation, "gailan." Other cultures in the Guangdong Province are the #Teochew. We call this vegetable, "gatna" (with a soft T pronunciation.) With the migration of people from this province, gailan is popular in South East Asian as well-- seeing it often in Thai cuisine.

Growing up, we ate this vegetable often. It is my favorite vegetable to eat and grow. Gailan has a mustardy aroma and is sweet. This is also crunchy yet tender. The texture is similar to asparagus. It is often stir fry. Cooking it this way preserves all the just mentioned qualities. The key is to get it just cooked. Overcooked gailan becomes soft, bitter, and turns from bright green to a brownish green.

While this is the common preparation, gailan can also be stewed. Its bitterness when well cooked acts as a nice contrast. Gailan is very similar to collard greens when stewed.

This variety of gailan is 'Suiho.' I wonder if it is named for literally being "great (ho) fried (sui)." It also goes by a more marketable name, 'Noble Jade.' #suihogailan

'Tower Chamois' #aster. I was wanting to add some

'Tower Chamois' #aster.

I was wanting to add some color to our Southern California space during the winter months. I came across aster flower and saw that they bloomed in the cool months. I sowed seeds in the fall without too much research. They didn't start blooming until early spring.

As #nedfirsts plantings, I am still learning about how they grow. Seed packets list our asters as annuals while some information sources state that asters are perennial.

In this and the previous post, we have pictures of the asters growing in our space. The flowers stay on the plant for a surprisingly long time. They are very vibrant and perfect. Almost so perfect that I often do a double take and wonder if they are not plastic.

For here on out, I will be watching to see if they are perennial. I am also going to sow the remaining seeds to see if we can get winter blooms.

#nedpeachy #towerchamois

The last day of Teacher Appreciation Week. Better

The last day of Teacher Appreciation Week. Better late than never right??

Floral arrangement from the garden for a second grade teacher. We have a couple of #nedfirsts like the Asters from a color blend seed packet and the #craspedia / #billybutton / #sunballflower (which took two years from seed to bloom.)

Other florals from the garden: @david_austin_roses #ladyofshalott, Love in the Mist, dianthus / carnation, yarrow, cranberry hibiscus, gerbera / gerber daisy, blue bedder sage, provence lavender, and sweet pea.

Photo 3 & 4: close up of aster flower
Photo 5: close up of craspedia flower

'Eastern Magic' broccoli harvest in May. It has be

'Eastern Magic' broccoli harvest in May. It has been fun keeping the succession sowing of broccoli going to see what we get and don't get from each effort. We still have the succession planting going! There are some 10 inch plants in the ground, 3 inch seedlings in pots, and days old sprouts in seed plugs.

Also out in the front yard garden (hidden behind the cereal rye) is a 'Jaune et Vert' patty pan squash giving its first harvest.

Image 5: broccoli plant hidden by a volunteer poppy plant and a row of bush tomato plants.

I am not a very good avocado grower but I think I

I am not a very good avocado grower but I think I am starting to figure out what they need to in order to thrive. Avocado growing information often places emphasis on root rot due to poor drain and over watering. I may have been under watering all this time.

With the 'Gwen' variety, third time's the charm? This sapling is replacing the other two that didn't survive under my watch. #gwenavocado is an exquisite variety that is obscure for three main reasons. 1. Until the patent expired, there was a small patent fee per tree. 2. The skin remains green when it ripens; making it more difficult to gauge ripeness. 3. (The big one) In a commercial setting, it was relatively less productive than newer varieties.

With the patent fee expired, this variety may become more available to backyard growers. Though a poor producer in a commercial setting, it will produce more than plenty for the household. When selecting fruit varieties, be sure to pick for characteristics that suit your taste and discount how it does in a commercial setting.

#gardentocamp 'Burgundy' #purplesproutingbroccoli

#gardentocamp 'Burgundy' #purplesproutingbroccoli , 'Eastern Magic' broccoli, Toisan loose/sprouting cauliflower, and 'Black Beauty' zucchini.

These are the veggies that we grew and ate over two dinners and two breakfasts. We also had backyard eggs to bring.

Camping is also an exercise that extends our repertoire. In a disaster situation (like a large earthquake) or circumstances when resources are difficult to procure, I prefer that we shelter in place with what we already have until the dust settles.

#coleman #colemanusa

#nedfirsts 'Burgundy' purple sprouting broccoli. G

#nedfirsts 'Burgundy' purple sprouting broccoli. Grown in the front yard as an edible element in the landscape; harvested during the golden hour for a #gardentotable side to our dinner.

We have grown purple #sproutingbroccoli in the past only to discover that our climate does not get cold enough to stratify and induce formation of the sought after florets.

Last year, when reading about broccoli types, I discovered that there are newer types that do not need a cold stratification. Enter, #burgundysproutingbroccoli, and off to the trials it went.

Will brake for sprouting broccoli and the like. I also love how harvesting them is literally a snap.

Seeds from @botanical_interests

#nedfirsts 'Eastern Magic' broccoli. The @johnnys_

#nedfirsts 'Eastern Magic' broccoli. The @johnnys_seeds description states that it is excellent in the Northeast, for summer and fall harvest. Extrapolating from that, this #easternmagicbroccoli has a good chance of growing well in the fall through early spring in Southern California.

Still, we will be experimenting to see how it grows when sowed throughout the year. We have a few more succession plants growing.

After this harvest, we will be watching to see how productive the side shoots will be.

This variety forms a very standard looking crown with a very standard taste.

Load More... Follow on Instagram