I think the gardening year is officially over.

I picked some radishes about a week ago and had some radicchio surviving. But since then we've hit zero degrees and has consistently been very cold, so I think that's it till spring. I didn't have time to cover my spinach and garlic with leaves, however we have about six inches of snow and ice which will serve perfectly well to protect them. It is when they are exposed and not covered that they suffer. With the bad weather I've focused some creativity on some art projects. i made and installed this wall fountain. It will have a switch, a little light and a circulating pump. I used  Moroccan Tadelakt plaster.

My new seeds are here.

I ordered Corno di Toro Rosso (Red bulls horn) seeds from
Ohio Heirloom Seeds, and they sent me two free packets. The same pepper in yellow and one called Quadrato Giallo D'Asti, which I suspect is a yellow bell pepper. For tomatoes, I'm going with Big Zac ( current worlds largest tomato record holder),Radiator Charlies Mortgage lifter,Beefsteak, and Aunt Gerties Gold. I have a friend who has a greenhouse and he said he'd start the seeds for me. the Italian peppers are supposed to be very prolific. I'm tired of peppers that produce 3-4 nice ones about September 1st. I'm going to try to plant the peppers in a block 10 inches apart. I think maybe with the plants too far apart there is a pollination problem.

Corno di Toro Rosso

This Italian pepper goes by the common name “Red Bull’s Horn”. Fruit turn a stunning red when ripe and have a long, curved, tapered shape. Fruit are 6-10 inches long x 1 ½ inches wide at shoulder. Please be aware that these peppers can have a mild spiciness, though they are still regarded as sweet peppers. A traditional favorite of Italy. 75 seeds minimum.
Open-Pollinated, 72 days from transplant.


Click on Image to Orde

Watermelon Radishes

These are green on the outside and red on the inside. Quite sweet also, and very crisp.

This is the Kimchee I made.

It's setting on the counter fermenting for five days.

Mustard Greens, Scallions,Watermelon Radishes, and Turnips

I picked all of these on Saturday. I used them as ingredients in Kimchee. The watermelon Radishes are red on the inside and crisp and crunchy. They are a type of winter radishes.

Purple Broccoli

Here are some Broccoli and Cabbage plants inside one of the tunnels. I have some cabbage worms shredding some of the plants. I forgot that still might need to spray them with BT. I bought the cabbage seeds for ten cents somewhere. They haven't produced very well. I think they are a long season variety, and didn't get enough time to form the heads.

Bloomsdale Winter Spinach

I planted this Spinach on September 15th. It is supposed to over winter and take off early next spring. I might cover it with leaves after it gets frozen.

World class Lettuce

Without any insects, wind and with perfect temperature and humidity, you can grow pretty good lettuce. One day inside the tunnels it was raining off the top continuously. the lettuce was planted September 15th.

Hoop Tunnels

I thought I would experiment with plastic hoop tunnels to extend the growing season. Saturday it was in the 40's but maybe 70degrees  inside the tunnels. The plants are still growing. the hoops are made of 3/8 inch pvc pipe stuck inside of 1/2 inch pipe cut in short sections.  Then I weighted the plastic with rock and bricks..

Swiss Chard

This plant of Swiss chard was planted last March. I scattered some kind of a mixed seed mix. It was in those seed packs that you get for ten cents.It's a great substitute for spinach and much easier to grow. I think I've already cut it three times. I plan on growing much more of it next year. It's also the prettiest plant in the garden.

Green Onions- Scallions

This variety is Cipollotto Da Mazzi. I planted them July 1st. The picture is a little washed out and doesn't show the size real well. They are about ready to pick , but I think I'll leave them till about thanksgiving. The green onions seem to sprout real well and are easy to start.

Digging in leaves.

I dug in about ten bags of leaves I picked up at the side of a road. In each trench I put a whole bag of leaves.The garden soil is getting light and fluffy. It only took about an hour to complete the project. I also ended up with ten very nice paper bags that I can use to mulch, where I want to kill some weeds.

Here is a picture of my fall garden October 20th.

I counted the other day and I have about 18 varieties still growing. I picked ten tomatoes yesterday.

Red Janice Garlic, Grey Griselle French shallots and two grocery store varieties, planted in a French Intensive style raised bed..

You can see how I laid out the bulbs about 6-8 inches apart.I planted them today October 12th. After I laid them out I shoved them down and buried them.The Garlic is a variety named Red Janice that originated in the country of Georgia. It is a soft neck variety that is supposed to do well in Northern climates. As I understand it the Grey Griselle shallots are a variety of their own Allium Oschanini. This is supposed to be the true shallot from France and all others are impostors. I also bought a few red colored and also copper colored bulbs that were referred to as being shallots, but I suspect are really Potato Onions/Multiplier Onions Allium Ascalonicum. All totaled I planted about sixty bulbs. As you can see I placed these bulbs in a double dug bed rich in organic matter, and the bed is sitting on about ten inches of compost.

End of the year produce

It was supposed to frost last week, (which it didn't) so I picked the most vulnerable produce. Its been in the 80's since. I picked the last of the Purple Majesty Green Beans . They did really well for me. As the weather turned cooler the Blue lake quality seemed to increase and the purple decreased. Also I dug my purple potatoes, which were a fingerling variety.

Double dug beds

I have about 110 feet of three foot wide raised beds, all double dug, composted and ready for the spring.This is where I grew my corn.I located some Griselle Grey French Shallots, and a Garlic called Red Janice. I intend to plant them in this area  this week.
Griselle Grey Shallots

Blackberry Plants

A friend gave me five little Blackberry plants  last spring. This is what they did the first year. They are expensive to buy, so don't think you need lots of plants. I planted them about three feet apart. You really need to trellis them and stay on top of them or they would grow everywhere.

Composting Facility Davenport, Iowa

I know this isn't a very exciting picture, but it shows the state of the art compost Facility we have near my home. They sell the compost for $10.00 a cubic yard. It's a great gardening resource to have access to.

Compost facility

A good illustration of French Intensive Gardening.

I am experimenting with intensive planting  of Cabbage. I would rather have smaller heads but more in number. Next year I might only plant the mini size cabbage. They have a great taste and are much better sized for small family's. They are delicious steamed with a little butter on top. To the right is a bed of Mesclun lettuce. I try to have as little bare soil as possible showing. It's nice to always have some plants or seed to put in any available space.

Rabbits defeated? Pvc pipe and garden netting.

I think rabbits have been eating my Radicchio.I have cut off some 1/2 inch PVC pipe about twelve inches long. I drive these stakes in the ground, and then take five foot sections of 3/8 PVC pipe, which I insert in the stakes. It makes a nice hoop support.Then I covered it with garden mesh netting. this should keep the cabbage butterfly's out and the rabbits at bay. It seems the rabbits and ground hogs especially like the following: Radicchio, Red Beets, Romaine lettuce, and Brussels Sprouts. I think I planted 12 Brussels sprouts and one has survived. I think I know how to fend them off next year.

My 1st Cucurbitis maximus- 45 pound pumpkin

I was hoping for something a little larger. But still this is the largest pumpkin I've ever grown. The variety said it was Cucurbitis Maximus.We picked it yesterday.http://www.guy-sports.com/humor/stories/strange_pumpkin.htm

Hugelkultur- German style raised beds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sp_IObIkInQ   Check out this link. The Germans invented a raised bed system called Hugelkultur, where the bed sits on top of logs and brush. This would be a great way to raise your garden up if your ground floods. Also you can get some really good landscaping ideas. Its way better than burning your trees or hauling them away after a storm.

Starting to double dig a new row with compost.

In the red wheelbarrow is the dirt I removed from the raised bed. You can see the trench. In the other wheelbarrow is the compost that I will fill in the trench with.As I go along I throw compost in and on the dirt in the row. I'm going to later on  re-double dig and fill the trench next time with leaves. They have just started to fall here. Last year the city was  baling them with a hay baler into 600 pound bales. I'm hoping to get several next month.

Mustard Greens and Evergreen bunching onions.

Yesterday I scattered some Mustard green seeds ans some Evergreen bunching onion seed. I think if it rains there is still time for the Mustard. I also want to see if the Evergreen onions will over winter here. The note on the package from Burpee refers to them as being perennials. Well see what they do.

These are the corn pancakes (Cachapas) from my corn

Venezuelan Cachapas grown in the U.S.Venezuelan Cachapas grown in the U.S.

This pancake is made of ground fresh corn,sugar,oil and a little salt. The Cachapa is the real story behind Venezuelan oil. In Venezuela they have restaurants called Cachaperas. They specialize in the pancakes, delicious white cheese, open pit barbecued grass fed beef, and Batidas-iced tropical fruit drinks. This is my last untill next year. I haven't found any American corn that works and tastes the same.

Double Digging my raised beds with compost.

I have started preparing my raised beds for next spring. I might yet try to plant some mustard greens. This is where my corn was grown. I found out that in about three hours I can double dig a twenty by 3 foot raised bed. I dig a trench and then fill it  pretty much to the top with compost. Then you move over about twelve inches and dig a new trench and throw the dirt on top of the compost. So the whole bed is sort of floating on twelve inches of compost. At the bottom of the trench, before you add the compost, you take a potato fork and push it all the way. Then rock it back and forth to break up the subsoil. I also had to use a mattock/hoe. The subsoil is almost pure clay, and hasn't been broken up in several thousand years. The French Market gardeners who invented the intensive gardening system used to use horse manure and bedding. They would fill the trench and tromp it down every time they would work there beds. The horse manure heats up, providing bottom heat, and allowing the gardener to start his garden earlier in the spring and continue into early winter. They also used wooden frame sides and windows on top to have miniature green houses. This way in their intensive French gardening system they could have high plant populations and maximum production . In the 17 and 1800's near Paris they had a highly developed production system.

Turnips- Purple Top

I planted these July 30th. They are in a double dug bed with lots of compost. I think I am going to have some really nice Purple TopTurnips. They are about as big as a quarter. They will really grow the next five or six weeks. They love sunny days and cool nights.They are much easier to grow in the fall and taste much better too. They are at there best in November.To eat them we peel the skin off with a knife, slice, and sprinkle a little salt. They are a delicious snack.

Giant Pumpkin Cucurbita Maxima

This  pumpkin is only about ten days old. It is still growing. I have one other pumpkin that turned out nice. We'll weigh it later. I guess the trick is to dig a very big hole and fill it with compost. Your supposed to do it in the fall and then plant your seeds or plants there in the spring. This variety has been very insect resistant, and is still sending out new growth It sends out new roots as shoots and has traveled ten feet from where it started 

originally.

These are some of the roots left over from my Venezuelan corn.

The plants grew to be thirteen feet tall, and none of them blew over and lodged. They have these incredible root systems. I need a spade to dig them out, they are almost like tree roots. The corn is really kind of primitive with some of the tassels growing out of the end of the cobs.

Possum

I caught a little baby possum in the live trap. He looked pathetic so I just turned him loose there on the spot. I don't think they do any damage to the plants. I've been sending 7 bundles of Basil to the farmers market each week.

Venezuelan Corn

I was cutting down my corn plants and found another 30 ears of corn. I thought I had it all picked. I'll try to get a picture of the Cachapa pancakes I'm going to make with them.

All the basic tools you need to garden.

A rake, a potato fork, a spade ( I like a tile rounded spade.) and a sprinkling can. I probably should have added a scoop shovel.

September 8th. I planted green onions/scallions today.

They used to call them winter onions (Winterheckenzweibel). It used to be you could plant them in the fall and they would be ready to go in the spring. With some varieties they have bred this ability out of them We'll see what happens with these. On September 15 I'm planning on planting Bloomsdale Winter Spinach. This variety should get a good start and then take off early in the spring. I broadcast ( randomly scattered)  the seeds, raked them in, patted them down with my hands ( for capillary action and better germination). Then covered them with burlap, and watered them with my sprinkler can. You can buy the burlap at home centers and sewing stores. I use it over and over.

The onions are Cipollotto Da Mazzi, I purchased them from Seeds of Italy.

A wind storm this weekend wiped out my pole beans.

We had winds of more than 30 mph. Next year I'll have to anchor them better. It's a shame they were really starting to produce. They were Kentucky Wonder, which is a Roma style bean. Fatter and meatier than bush beans.

Cilantro

I think I planted this Cilantro/Chinese Parsley July 30th.

It's pretty easy to grow just broadcast it and rake it about 1/4 of an inch deep. You can plant it all spring and summer long. look for any available space in the garden and do succession plantings.

Purple wine grapes.

All the netting is to keep the birds away.These wine grapes were very tasty as well.

White grapes for white wine.

These grapes were very sweet, on the small side and lots of seeds. Still good to eat.

Visited Park Farm Vineyard In Durango/Dubuque, Iowa Today.

We had a great time visiting the Vineyard. An old friend of mine is the owner.

Imperator carrots

I think they did pretty good for a first year garden. We won a first place ribbon with them at the fair. I think the secret to carrots is to have a seed bed dug really deep.

Black Beauty Eggplant

It's not a real good picture, but you can get the idea. I think I only grew six plants that I started from seed. One of the plants is almost five feet tall They have really done well. the only thing that bothered them a little was the Japanese beetles.In every garden every year there are successes and failures. My bell peppers hardly set any fruit, some plants none. I think maybe some nutrient was missing in the soil early on. Well see what happens next year.

Purple Potatoes

I planted these with my grandchildren one week before Easter. I don't know the name of the variety. I bought them in a local hardware store.They are an indeterminate variety, meaning that they will keep growing until frost kills them. Also if I don't dig them they will take off growing again next spring. With potatoes you don't want them to get frosted, so about October 1st I'll cut all the leaves and vines off. Shortly thereafter I'll harvest them. They are purple inside even after you bake them, so you can make purple mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving. I'm going to try to raise them next year in a raised bed with wooden sides and keep adding taller sides. Kind of like a wooden box that keeps getting taller. Then you fill in the box with compost as you go. I think I might plant them this fall, instead of next spring. With this variety if you miss some in digging they come up next spring as volunteers.

Basil september 3rd.

I think I planted this in early June, right after radishes were done. It has been really foolproof, no pests have attacked it.It was unfazed by the hot weather, and seems to like the cool as well. We blended it in a blender with olive oil and a little water and then spooned it into ice cube trays. Then we froze it and saved it in plastic bags to use later. I cut and bundled up a bushel to send to the farmers market this morning. I've cut this four or five times this summer.

A visitor I had last night.

I don't treat all of the visitors to the garden this poorly. One less raccoon to dump over the garbage bin, and eat plants.

Chinese Cabbage, and Radicchio.

I have some Chinese cabbage coming along.These were planted July 1st, You can see the Radicchio next to them that the groundhogs ate to the ground. It looks like they are recovering.

Some scallions I'm experimenting with.

I planted these scallions July 1st, variety Cipollotto do Mazzi. I don't know if they'll get big enough to eat this fall or not. I've never grown them before. I suspect they are best planted in the spring, and then picked in the fall in October and November. Some varieties survive the winter till spring, and some don't. I've never grown these before, so we'll see what happens. You can see the cracks in the soil. It's not really because the soil is dry, but because I have high clay content and not enough organic matter content.

Some Mesculin I started about ten days ago.

Mesculin is a mixture of Endive, leaf lettuces, Arrugula, Frisee, and maybe some Radicchio. It should make some nice salads in October and November.

The finished bed. Planted with Mesculin Salad Greens. Covered with Burlap.

This is the bed I dug up and planted with Mesculin salad greens the 29th of August. The package says ready in 45 days. I sprinkled the seeds on top and raked them lightly with a leaf rake, patted them in with my hands. They are covered with Burlap until they sprout to give them better germination.

Start a new trench and move the soil over the top of the compost.

Start a second trench and throw the soil on top of the compost. After the bed is dug in this manner, I dig several inches of compost into the first 12 inches of soil. Fluff it up with a potato fork, rake it and plant it.

Filling the trench with compost.

Fortunately, I have access to large amounts of compost. You can fill the trench with any organic material, such as : Wood chips, untreated wood pieces,manure,saw dust or perhaps leaves.

Loosen the soil at the bottom of the trench.

Break up the bottom of the trench with a potato fork. Then leave this layer undisturbed. Try not to step on top of your bed because you will compact it. You can place a piece of plywood to step on, on top of your bed.

Double digging

The first step is to dig a trench 12 inches deep, at one end of your bed. Temporarily set the soil aside.