My Best Looking Tomato Plant

The Gibson Garden IV

You are way overdue for a garden update! I've meant to post things here and there, but just haven't gotten around to it. Since last time, things have changed quite a bit. We've had a near death experience, a revival, and a shift in health. Basically, when we left to go to the lake for July 4th, the garden looked like this:


When we got back, it looked like this:

A few weeks later and still no rain, it looked like this:

See the gaps where squash plants used to be? I thought they were all goners. Yes, I try to water as much as I can by hand, but that's not an easy task or a cheap one. I'll have to find some time to explain the water tank story. I don't feel like it right now. Suffice it to say that we no longer have our nifty little water tank that was supplied by our sump pumps. So if I water, I have to either use our water hose or haul 5 gallon buckets full of rain water and water each plant individually. I did the best I could, but without rain, it was hard to keep everything happy.

But, my lovely little plants hung in there and after a few welcome showers, they brigthened back up. Of course, we did have a few casualties, but we were able to continue our squash consumption without too much of an interruption.

The okra started coming in too, and now that's what we're eating all the time.

The jalapenos are doing well; we just don't have a whole lot of use for them. Anybody want some?

This is our broccoli! I'm surprised it actually bloomed. I don't really know why, I just kind of didn't expect it to. Now I can't decide when you're supposed to cut it and eat it. Probably about now (for the one on the right).

The cauliflower.... yeah. I think the bugs won that battle. And the weeds. I got kind of lazy in a few parts of the garden.

These are Josh's hops (for beer brewing). They are doing so, so well. We were told not to expect the plants to get taller than 6 feet in the first year (which this is) and definitely don't expect them to bloom in the first year. Um, well, they're about 12 feet tall (maybe taller) and are covered UP in blooms. It's pretty awesome.

"One of these things is not like the other ones, One of these things just doesn't belong... doo dee doo doo, doo doo dee doo dee doo..."

So, when the okra first started coming up, we noticed that one came up on the very edge of the garden, away from the rest. I figured a seed just blew over there in the wind, maybe a squirrel carried it over, I don't know. Anyway, we dug up the small plant and stuck it in with the rest of the okra. Looked just like the others. Well, as soon as it grew just a bit more, we began to realize that it was not quite the same. And it grew, and grew, and grew. Don't ask me why I didn't remove it immediately after realizing it wasn't okra. I guess I was just curious to see what it would turn into.

We thought it might be a sweetgum tree, because it has spiky green balls growing on the stem. Josh, Clay and Dustin looked it up last weekend while they were brewing, and confirmed that it is a Castor Bean. According to this website, it is one of the ten most toxic plants known to animals.

Shovel, please!

Lastly, I want to talk about my tomatoes. Remember how I was boasting about how many plants we had? I just thought we were going to be overrun with tomatoes and giving them away left and right.

Well, they never came, never came, never came. Finally, I started seeing the blooms and then tiny little green fruits starting to come. They stayed green and small for a loooong time. Then some of them turned red, but they were still quite small. I thought, man, I've got a bunch of duds! Well, I knew the plants weren't duds, but I thought because of where I placed them in the garden that I had made them duds.

Finally! They're here. And although some of them are lying on the ground due to weak cages that I got from behind "the green house" and a couple hard rains,

they're here! Now that's what I'm talking about! I picked these a few days ago, and the ones in the bucket yesterday morning. I walked out just a few minutes ago and there are more that are ready.

They're still not quite as nice as the tomatoes we had last year because the placement in the garden isn't ideal, but at least we've got some.

I've definitely taken some notes this year and will be ready next year and can hopefully improve the process.

The Gibson Garden III

Wow, this is long overdue. Look at how far our garden has come since last time!


Everything is doing really well. This is 2 of the 5 broccoli plants we have. I'm not sure when to expect the actual broccoli bloom, but I'm looking out for it. Especially since Josh's parents warned me that as soon as it blooms, the bugs go crazy over it. Watch your back, buggos! That's my broccoli!


This is 2 of the 6 or 7 cauliflower plants we have. Very similar to the broccoli (duh).

This is the okra (3 of the 20 or so). It's been kind of slow, but Daddy said it's normal for it to be slower than the squash. So I'm just waiting patiently.

This is 1 of 2 jalapeno plants. The plants seem to be a little skimpy, but they are producing nice little jalapenos, so I'm not complaining!

Here are our 15 tomato plants. We actually have even more that aren't in the garden. They're growing away in some containers next to the house. And I noticed yesterday that one is coming up where my mint is this year. The tomatoes were in that spot last year, and there was this one tomato that fell and rotted, and I never got it up. When I was planting my mint, I saw that same tomato (I was quite surprised it was still there). I tossed it aside and forgot about it. Until yesterday. Apparently one of the dried up seeds made its way out of that year old rotted tomato and into the soil and now I have yet another tomato plant.

And, sadly, Mr. Squash is now indistinguishable. He's in there somewhere, with all his friends. Who (whom?) have all been loving themselves very much, because we've got squash like you wouldn't believe! I pick it every day. Every day. And I'm not talking a couple squash each day. I'm talking I have to go get a bucket because it's way more than an armload. Every. Day.

This is about a day's worth. Maybe a day and a half. So now you see why we eat squash every other night and then some for lunch too? It's crazy! And the great thing about it is I paid $1 for it. All of it. Enough squash for several families for $1. No one should be hungry.

When a Mr. Squash and a Mrs. Squash Love Each Other Very Much...

... or maybe it's just when Mr. Squash loves himself very much... - okay, getting weird.

My point is, we have a baby squash! Isn't it cute?!? It's only about an inch long right now.

We're very happy about the new addition to the Gibson fam- I mean -garden.

The Gibson Garden II

I figure it's about time for an update on the garden. Don't ask me why I'm taking these photos from such a distance. But that's how I started it, so that's how I'll continue.

You can't really see it, but we now have a total of 50 (!!!) squash and zucchini plants, 14 tomato plants, 21 okra, about 10 each broccoli and cauliflower, 1 bibb lettuce, and 2 jalapeno pepper plants. Woo hoo! No carrots or onions. Not sure why they didn't like me. Oh well. I'm pleased with what I have.

I do have to admit, though, that of the 21 okra plants, only 3 of them are ones I grew from seed. Daddy gave me a "Mother's Day" gift of 18 well established plants (he just happened to bring them to me on Mother's Day, so he called it his gift to me). Also, of the 14 tomato plants, only 3 of those are from my seeds. The others came from our local bank. They do a customer appreciation day each year and give away tomato plants. They give them away in sets of two, but we always look for the ones that have two stalks coming up in one cell. I found two different sets that had two stalks in each cell (making a total of 4 plants). I got one for me and one for Josh, and then my great aunt gave me hers. And, the jalapeno peppers came from a friend of Josh's parents. But those 50 squash and zucchini are all me, baby! We're gonna be squash and zucchini'd out by the end of this summer!

I'm going to be doing lots of canning and freezing, I'm sure. We had two tomato plants last year, and they produced more than enough tomatoes for us. Now we have 14! Marinara, anyone?

Okay, so I know the full garden shot doesn't show you much detail, so I'll post another photo of Mr. Squash that I featured in a previous post. *I think this is him...*

He endured a minor injury when Daddy re-tilled the rows for me yesterday. No big deal; he'll recover.

I also wanted to show you Josh's hops. He built a trellis out of pvc and rope, and the hops climb the rope. Pretty cool!

So, if I'm not chasing a chunky monkey around our house or chasing Josh around the "green house," this is what I'm doing.

By the way, I had no idea how back-breaking hoeing your garden can be! This whole gardening thing isn't just stick your seeds in the ground and watch them grow. You gotta be ready to work! But, I'm ready!

Squash

Hi Ho, Hi Ho

Off to work I go!

Josh's dad is coming into town today, and we are going to work at "la casa verde." We're at a point now that I am excited to go up there, rather than dreading it. I don't know if it's because I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, or if it's just that there are finally lots of things that I am actually able to do without a man's help.

I met with our renters yesterday and collected the security deposit. It's exciting, but it's not 100% relieving. We put a clause in the lease that if for some reason their house doesn't close on June 5th, we'll refund their deposit and terminate the lease with no penalty. I kind of thought that a percentage should have been held back, since we're now holding the property for them and aren't taking any other inquiries on it. Josh didn't want to do that, so we didn't. Let's hope everything works out and we don't have to worry about it!

A quick, unrelated note: I'm sitting here at the bar using Josh's work laptop. I could hear Bennett in one of the front rooms, just playing by himself. After a little while I decided I should walk in there and make sure he wasn't into something he shouldn't be. He was standing on the couch in the parlor, looking out the front window. I almost got him down so that he wouldn't fall, but I decided to leave him. I left the room and came back to the computer. I heard him begin to whine and whimper a little bit, surely because he was wanting off the couch. I stayed here. After just a couple minutes I heard little footsteps, and there he appeared in the doorway to the kitchen with a huge smile on his face. I took that smile to mean that he was super proud of himself for getting off the couch by himself, but I'm sure it just meant that he was happy to see me and Stewie sitting in here. I was proud, even if he wasn't.

Another little note: We have sprouts in the garden! It's so exciting to see that stuff grow! As of yesterday, we have about 9 squash plants, 7 zucchini, 1 okra, and numerous broccoli and cauliflower sprouts. I haven't yet seen any carrots, tomatoes or onions. Let's hope they're just a little slower. And the rest of that okra better come on, too. Patience, patience. Josh's dad is bringing me some herbs today; I'm so excited! They have a good friend that grows tons of herbs and is generous enough to split and share her wealth. There are some I'll still have to go get, because they're annuals.

Anyway, I need to go dry my hair (ugh - have I ever mentioned how much I hate fixing my hair?) and finish this cup of coffee before Steve gets here.

The Gibson Garden

It's in! We got our garden planted Friday. Josh took the day off work and spent part of the day helping me finish what Daddy and I started Thursday afternoon. We tilled about half the area Thursday. I offered to help Daddy with the tiller, but we quickly realized that I wasn't quite cut out for that duty. As Josh put it, "There are two speeds. Digging way down into the ground, or skipping over the top of the ground." It was actually quite funny; me with that thing. I couldn't get it up out of the ground so that it could move on to another area. Once I did get it out, it took off and I was pretty much running behind it as it trotted across the yard. No good. Daddy had to continue with the tiller. I basically just walked behind him and pulled all the roots and chunks of grass out of the (beautiful) soil.


Anyway, we finished tilling the ground and Daddy and I made the rows, fertilized them, and I planted okra, squash, tomatoes, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, green onions, carrots, and there is an empty row ready for the peppers. When I posted last year about the garden I wanted to have this year, I kind of thought I might have been a little overly ambitious about what all I wanted to plant. But, most of what I mentioned is in there, plus a couple others. I didn't do corn or green beans; those are a little more time and space consuming. Maybe next year, if I am able to handle this one well. I also didn't do cabbage. I didn't see an cabbage seeds - I need to see if I can get some, although that may be a cool weather vegetable. Broccoli and cauliflower are too, but I put them in anyway. We'll see what happens. We really love steamed cabbage (even Bennett), and I would love to grow some.


I did almost kill Josh last week with some steamed cabbage. He got a cabbage leaf stuck in his throat and literally got choked and had to call/gasp/yelp for me upstairs. I had just laid Bennett down in his crib and I heard a commotion downstairs and then heard him trying to say my name. I'm surprised I didn't fall and break my neck, the way I came flying down those stairs in flip flops. I could tell he was choking; it scared me really, really bad. By the time I got downstairs he had thrown up and wasn't choking anymore, but it was still in his throat. When he would take a drink of water, it would just sit on top of the cabbage, and he would have to cough it back up. Not fun. So, he just didn't drink or eat anything for about an hour to hopefully let the cabbage soften. It got better, but man it was scary. I was shaking like a leaf for a while there.


Back to the garden, I haven't planted any herbs yet, but I will soon. I plan to put in some oregano, basil, thyme, chives, parsley and sage. We already have rosemary and mint. It's raining today, so I'll probably plant my herbs tomorrow or Tuesday.


I love this stuff! I can't wait until it's all full and green and Bennett and I can walk out there and pick some vegetables for dinner. How wonderful is that going to be? Hopefully he won't stumble around and stomp too many...


I'm posting a photo of the garden now, and I'll keep you updated on its growth. The bordered area on the left is where Josh has planted his hops. He is growing his own hops for brewing beer. I don't think I've ever mentioned that Josh brews beer now. He's made several batches so far, and a couple have been just okay, but a few have been really good. So he is growing hops because they are so dang expensive! The other area on the right with the gate in it is where the herbs are going to go. That's where our peppers were a couple years ago, but the peppers are going in the big garden this year, and the herbs will be in the small area.

She's Gonna Blow!

We have a strange little situation that happens when it rains at our house. I don't know if our brick foundation just leaks and lets rainwater in, or if we do, in fact, sit on top of some little spring that runs under our street. A couple people have said (including my dad) that they think there is a spring underneath us. Every time it rains, our (unfinished) basement floods. I mean, it's basically just a glorified crawlspace. It's tall enough for you to walk without hitting your head, and there are parts of it that have a cement floor. Anyway, it floods. My grandfather put in several sump pumps (I think there are five total) a few years back, to pump some of that water out. So every time it rains our basement floods a little, and the hose that runs out of the side of our house pours water for the next day or two. We try to capture as much as we can in five gallon buckets, but you get about 5 filled up and you're out of buckets or you don't have the time to stay out there manning the hose any longer. So, it just runs down our driveway, away from the house. We have talked about getting some kind of a tank to hold all this water, because if we could capture that water, oh my gosh. We would have the most healthy yard on the block. And with the awful drought last year? We would have been just fine.

Well, Josh finally decided to stop just talking about it and do it. He went on Craig's list and found a guy selling this 275 gallon water tank for $25. Long story short, the guy wound up giving it to us, because when he got it out of storage, it looked worse than he remembered. He had gotten it from a mulch company, and they used it to dye mulch. So, it was stained pink (which we knew going in) and had dried up dye all in it still. It took Josh a little while to clean that stuff out, but he got most of it, and we don't care about it being stained - it's just for watering our yard and garden. And we figured if it was used to dye mulch that you use in landscaping, it wouldn't hurt our, well, landscaping. We kind of figured the water might run red for a good while, but it doesn't at all. It's as clear as can be. I know that because of this next little bit here.

Josh got it all set up in the corner of our yard, with a hose running from the sump pump (only one of the sump pumps for now - we figured we'd tie in the others later, once we got our system down) to the tank. He set it up yesterday around 6:30pm. It rained last night and this morning. By 9:00 this morning, it already had 100 gallons in it. We couldn't believe it. This is from one sump pump! There are four others down there! Josh left for work, not thinking any more about the water tank. I happened to peek out there a few minutes ago and see how much it had in it. It's a good thing the tank has a metal cage around the outside of it, because it was ready to blow! That tank was bulging like you wouldn't believe, and water was leaking from the top, the bottom, the hose... Oh my gosh, I thought we were about to get the side of our house pressure washed. So I call Josh. He doesn't answer. I call my dad to see what I should do, which was stupid, I knew what I needed to do. I just panicked a little bit. To see a 275 gallon tank bulge like that was a little scary. I know that's what the metal cage is for, but still. I was nervous.

Anyway, I wound up opening the valve at the bottom to release some of the water. It was like a fire hose. That water shot out of there like crazy! Daddy told me to just leave it partially open to let some water trickle out, becuase the hose is going to continue to deposit water from the sump pump for a while. So I did. But let me tell you how much that pains me! All that perfectly good garden water, just pouring out onto the ground! I realize we've been missing out on that for a long time, but it hurts to let it go, now that we have something to keep it in. So when Josh finally called me back, I explained the situation and he said, "What do you think about getting another one?" I immediately said, "Let's do it." I just can't believe it. In about 15 hours we pumped 275 gallons of water out from under our house. Isn't that nuts? I'm excited about being able to use it to water our garden - which hopefully we'll get planted this week.

Teach a man to fish...

What I want to write about today is the fact that number 1, I love making Bennett’s baby food. I knew that I was going to make his food even before he was born. Not only because I want to make sure that he is getting the most nutritious and chemical/preservative free stuff he can, but also because it is so much cheaper! And, of course, it’s better for the environment. Sure, if I was buying it I would most certainly be recycling the little glass or plastic jars, but this way I’m not even using up those resources.

I love to go to the store and buy a bunch of sweet potatoes, bananas, pears, apples, green beans, you name it, and bring it home and start the process. Most of them get steamed. I’ve found that’s the most convenient way for me to cook his food, and it allows the food to keep nearly all of its vitamins and minerals (whereas when you boil them, most of the minerals seep out into the water). Once they’re steamed to my liking (when a fork is easily inserted), into the blender they go. I used to use the food processor. All the books and websites that I have referenced have talked about how much better the blender is for pureeing baby food than the food processor. I resisted for a long time, thinking it couldn’t be that much different. For some reason, the blender just seems like more of a hassle than the food processor. And it’s funny, because they are stored in the same type cabinet (a low, tiny cabinet – one on each side of our stove), and the blender is much narrower and lighter than the food processor, making it easier to get in and out of the cabinet. But still, for some reason I dreaded getting out the blender, but I’d get the food processor out all day long. Until I had to use the blender one day because the food processor was in the (running) dishwasher. Oh my gosh; what a difference! Talk about pureed food! The only thing I have had trouble getting pureed well enough is snap peas in the pod. Those things are tough! Josh and I tried to have them for dinner one night and they were pretty rubbery and gross. So when I tried to puree some for Bennett, they would not puree. They stayed pretty chunky, no matter how long I let them run in the blender. Also, it said they were stringed (strung? destringed?), but there were strings all in them. Not good. So, I threw them out. Maybe there is some other way you’re supposed to cook and/or puree those things to make them work, I don’t know.

Anyway, once the food is pureed I put some in a container for Bennett to eat over the next few days, and what is left I spoon into an ice cube tray, wrap it in plastic wrap and put it in the freezer. The next day, pop the cubes out of the tray and put them in a labeled Ziploc bag and back into the freezer. I just love this little process! I wish I could make money making baby food for other people. I would love my job. Maybe I like it so much because I really enjoy cooking, but I don’t really cook dinner that much because Josh is so picky and is such a great chef himself, that I never make anything as well as he can or completely to his liking. Bennett is not picky (not to mention he can’t have spices or seasonings yet anyway). I just have to cook the food (I can even way overcook it and it’s okay), blend it up and spoon it out. Done. He loves it. I haven’t found anything he doesn’t like yet, but I have found his favorites. He loves pears and squash. And green beans, too. But his favorite combo is pears and squash with a little plain yogurt and some tahini (sesame seed butter) mixed in. He eats that stuff up!

Okay, for my number 2. Had you forgotten that there was a second part to this? Number 2, as much as I love going to the store to buy fresh fruits and vegetables for Bennett’s food, I love to go to Daddy’s garden or Mama and Daddy’s side yard or Grandmother and Granddaddy’s backyard even more! Daddy has a garden at the house on Strickland Street where he grows squash, okra, tomatoes, and this year he has a little bit of watermelon. The only thing Bennett can eat yet is squash, so that’s what I get for him. There is so much of it that there is too much for all of us to be able to eat before it goes bad, so I use up all the extra making his baby food. I love free food! Mama and Daddy have (or had) blueberry bushes growing along their driveway at their house. They had a bunch this year and gave me a big bag to freeze. The website I use says 8 months for introducing blueberries to infants, but the book says wait at least a year, if not longer. So I haven’t started the blueberries yet. I did make a good blueberry pie yesterday, though. Not for Bennett. :) And today, Bennett and I went with Mama and Daddy to Alabama to see Grandmother and Granddaddy. They have a couple of pear trees in their backyard, and Daddy and I picked a couple buckets full. We could have gotten more if we could have reached them. We didn’t have a tall enough ladder. I’m not sure I would have wanted more, because you’re only supposed to freeze the baby food for 2 months or so. I’m sure it’d be fine if it was in there a bit longer, but I don’t know how quickly we can go through those pears – he has to eat all his other fruit too. We can’t just go on a pear binge!

Anyway, it just gives me so much satisfaction to be able to go out into the warm summer air of the country and pick pears off a tree my dad planted years ago. The Earth provides us with food. I think people seriously forget that all it takes is planting a seed and you can grow what you need to eat! And that seed is a one time investment (well, with some things) and you have food for life if you take care of it. Yeah, there are some things that we’re not able to grow because of our climate, but for the most part, you can grow what you need. And while I so enjoyed being on my grandparents’ land today picking that fruit, I want to be able to say that I went out into my backyard and picked what I needed for Bennett that day. I got Daddy’s squash. Mama and Daddy’s blueberries. Grandmother and Granddaddy’s pears. If I love that we can grow our own food, why am I not growing my own food? Well, I am growing tomatoes and I am loving it, and we have fig trees in the backyard (which reminds me, I need to look up figs for baby food – can he eat those?), and we had a pretty good pepper garden last year, but I didn’t have time to do it this year, with Bennett being so young and needy. But next year, I fully intend to have a garden. A full fledged garden with tomatoes, squash, okra, carrots, cabbage, corn, green beans, peppers, herbs, whatever I can. Maybe I’m a little overly optimistic, but I would love to have a big ol’ southern garden.