Okay- we have peas (you have heard, right? More than once?)
I have been wanting to grow things for the kiddush table and also to donate, and we're starting to get our first real crop. It'll work this way: Whatever is ready to harvest by Fridays will go to Kiddush (sp? right?) and whatever is ready to pick the rest of the week goes to the Jewish Food Bank. Ed called them up and they seem delighted!
Dr Reiman planted his peas a few weeks later than I did (I pushed it too early, really) but his are blooming and *if it doesn't get too hot too soon* should be producing in about a week.
The Wolanow's bed has had a bunch of seedlings sprout, and then sit there, but they have officially won the Radish contest- they have one that looks ready, and a little cluster that will be ready this weekend? They beat me- I planted 2 different varieties and I have seen bupkus. But at home, radishes do well in fall, so I'll reseed. I did get some seed from the feed store in Garland, and I think it was old- should have used it for mulch instead. :-)
And what's up with the carrots? Again- spring is tetchy in Texas (it's 80, it's 30, it's hot, it's sleeting) and fall is when you actually get the 'spring' weather long enough to get a cool-season crop. My carrots- again, Zip- but Dr R's (SAME SEED) are at least showing some green, and Kerria's are trying to make tops! You always second-guess, but since this is happening, I'll say that Kerria actually planted later, and at a better time for sprouting. The soil really does have to be a little warm. I had thought that- being compost- it would actually be too hot, but.... whatever.
We all got lulled last month by the 80 degrees and put in our tomatoea and peppers, then it got into the 30's (of course) and they got blasted. But!- I planted real deep and it looks like most will come back, and yesterday kerria's looked like all but a couple are coming back! So not a total loss- but I'd love to put in a bunch more. Jerry's potatoea are greening up- I plan to built little raised beds around them and grow them vertically. It's a technique I've read about but never tried- so keep watching and we'll all learn together.
I just about have the rabbi's planting bed ready- I can get (hopefully) the last load of soil in today. But we have another bed to raise! Steve G has ponied up and has been whinnying like a racehorse, ready to get his hands in the dirt. I have the boards ready, so Sunday we can start that. If it's raining *a little* no biggie- it'll keep it from getting too hot.

Okay, Gang- this is my big call! I need you, your friends, your relatives, people you can grab off the street. This should be GREAT- I have about 7 different kinds of sunflower seeds, and I want to plant this Kid Fort I heard about- you plant in a giant circle, and the tall flowers really make a kid magnet. They can play inside the circle- OOooOOO I want this BAD. So - we need the grass removed from an area where we think this should go. We could put it inside the fence where the plot is empty of the 2 final beds, or we could put it outside the fence but nearby.... it'll only last one season, so it can move around from year to year.
It would be best to get this in before the predicted storms come this week.
ALSO- ok, Naomi- tell Kerria that I've been watching her mint (love mint)- but it IS starting to root ....it's going to take over the whole bed and half of the county. I know. My own mint is coming up in the lawn. (not a bad weed to have) BUT- she really does have to put in into a pot, and put the pot where roots can't sneak out into the bed. If she doesn't have time, I can do it- no prob. Let me know.
Ed saw a rabbit inside the fence- (got any recipes?) but we had to expect it. But I've heard that using blood meal as fertilizer discourages them. I've already used my own blood meal/bone meal (I've cleared it with the rabbi) and encourage gardeners to do the same. I'll plan to bring in a little manure to compost as well.
OOO speaking of- I need guys to wire us up a few compost bins! We have the wire- so come volunteer. You will be admired for your great manliness. What is the Brotherhood planning for Sunday?

That's the news, Gang- it's time for all the summer stuff to go in- this'll be the fun part! Until it gets to be 110... phht. Gardening in Texas.

Welcome to the garden page for the Tiferet Kosher Vegetative Association! Come read all about the trials, triumphs, and trabajo.

At the Chili Cookoff, the conversation turned to gardening in Texas in the spring. I said “It’s a b…” what was the word I used?.... BIG. That was it. “It’s a BIG PAIN,” I said. To someone who isn’t emotionally and financially invested in a crop, things look pretty nice. But to those who are active gardeners, and those who are just now starting, here’s what happens:

February. It’s been 60 degrees for 2 weeks! Too early to start seeding? (note: the answer is ‘Yes’.) You listen to that voice of reason for another 2 weeks, when the temps climb to 80. You can’t take it anymore. “I’ll just put in the cool season crops,” you say to yourself. They’ll be fine!
You wait two weeks, tiny dicots poke up through the dirt, and you send out the formal announcements. What a great year this is going to be! Then-

Sleet. Naturally. Well- cool season crops can take it. They like it. Fine.

March. It’s 70 degrees. No- wait, it’s 30 at night. No- wait- it’s 80. What happens is that nothing puts on much growth till the soil warms up, which means a good steady 50 at night. But the sun during the day is hot- so cool veggies bake. But, hey- we should be able to put in tomato and pepper transplants, right? It’s hot in the daytime-

Oops! Two days of almost-freezing temps canned that idea. Oh- never mind! After the transplants were killed, it’s 70 again.

And with everything else, this killing wind has been trying to knock down what it can’t dessicate.

The answer is to wait until fall for ‘cool-season vegetables’- that’s the peas, carrots, lettuce, turnips. In fall, we get a lovely long cooler growing season- but who can possibly do it? Not me. As a result, we haven’t got a lot right now, but there are beautiful Sugar Snap peas blooming, and right now at Passover, they’re even starting to come in. So come to Kiddush after Pesach (when we can work again) and sample a pea- you can eat the pod and all.
And that’s when we’ll start seeding the corn, okra, and more tomato and pepper transplants.
Several people also have Swiss chard that’s valiantly putting on growth. It’s so cute- it looks just like it’s growing just enough to peek over the bed edging to see what’s going to smack it next- wind or cold?

We’d love to see people coming into the garden to chat and look around- we’ll promise not to put a rake into your hands unless you want one. The TIKVA gardeners know that the entire project will take at least a couple of years to bring to life, but in the meantime, more and more people are donating trees and buying garden beds- maybe this thing actually will bloom sooner than we thought! And we want your ideas- a suggestion from a friend already has me ordering sunflower and gourd seed for a ‘sunflower fort’- some of the varieties should get almost 10 feet tall. I can’t wait to see kids scrambling around inside that wall of flowers-
G-d willing!!


Jan
keylarker@yahoo.com

2009
April (2)