Sunday, August 15, 2010

Garden Update

so our garden has done us well this summer! right now we are "reaping" the benefits of the million tomato plants that bryan planted. we have made lots of spaghetti sauce, salsa, caprese salads, BLT sandwiches, and B is in love with his fried jalapeno, egg and tomato breakfast sandwiches (i can't handle jalapenos before noon)

we are also growing a lot of things we never have grown before.



this plant is a transplant in our yard. Bryan cut me a gorgeous, but alien-like flower he found and luckily at patchwork the kind gardener lady next to us informed me it was a passion fruit! we now have several ripe ones that i am currently trying to figure out what to do with! anyone have any recipes? send them over!!!






more gorgeous tomatoes!
















i dont know if you can spot this little guy, but this is the first time we have successfully grown a watermelon! we have attempted several times...and thought for a long time Bodie thwarted our melon dreams, but this guy survived! we are keeping it a secret from the Bodster though...so shhhh....





and our first pomegranate! remember our placenta tree? we have had this tree for almost 2 years and finally getting a pomegranate...very exciting...










and also a new plant - grapes! i believe these are table grapes...and the best thing we just found out - Loewe's now sells Mel's Mix pre-mixed! so that is awesome...

today we will probably plant some more plants to replace our beans and zucchini and corn that already gave us their wonderful-ness...

8 comments:

Paige said...

So exciting! You guys have it dialed in. Those tomatos look amazing! Our garden SUCKED this year. We still have not gotten a single ripe tomato, and Hank hasn't even been allowed in the garden! We are doing everything different next year... I hope it turns out better!

linsey said...

this post made my mouth water in ways you may have not expected. when you mentioned mel's mix? um, yeah, total pica going on over here. that sounds so fun to dig in to.

linsey said...

don't tell sue or she'll make me take/do something more than she already makes us take/do and i just can't keep up anymore. ;)

CarleeKajsa said...

paige - last year our garden sucked too...i found out the compost we used was too acidic and "burned" all our little seedlings...which is why i stopped using my own compost in the mix...i dont know how to balance it all - but i am sure with all your scienc-ey background you can!

and Linz - holy schnikees i know! my list of stuff i am taking is beyond ridiculous right now - and i forgot how much worse it gets in the last couple weeks - primrose oil, alfalfa...she wants me to take garlic and manuka honey and eat yogurt everyday....i need a chart!

Solera said...

You have lilikoi growing in your yard?!! I've never even seen a yellow passion fruit in the mainland. I would kill to taste one of those! Julia's dad used to make the most amazing lilikoi jam--maybe she can get the recipe for you.

CarleeKajsa said...

solera - i know - julia was also very excited - i asked for her father's recipe and will make sure you and julia get a jar...that is, if i have enough to make a jar...whatever i make with it - i will save some for you girls - hows that?

Anonymous said...

Carlee,
We have 2 lovely garden boxes that my FIL made us when they were down last. They currently are sitting empty in our yard. I really want to get them filled with soil and start gardening! (You know, cause I need something to do. Right.) Do you think there is a significant difference between the regular ol' potting soil and Mel's Mix? Which would you recommend? Is there is a big price difference?

Thanks!!
-Rachel

CarleeKajsa said...

Rachel - you should really be talking to Jen Vanderfluit...she is the expert!! but i will tell you that this season we planted half of our garden (the top part) in mel's mix and the bottom half in potting soil and the side portion in just the regular soil that was there and there was a HUGE difference! the mel's mix we got was amazing - produced more and produced it faster...well worth the trip down to fullerton to get it and the extra $$...

i can't say just yet about the mel's mix from loewe's...we just got it, so we shall see, but it felt the same.

the thing with mel's is that it holds the water so well because of the vermiculite and it also comes all pH balanced...but like i said - talk to jen - she'll know more!!