Amy's Organic Oasis

Today's Pickins

2009-01-24T14:36:00.005+09:00

Winter Veggie Pics (finally)

2008-04-07T21:34:00.004+09:00

The winter garden was taken out yesterday. With the help of Y. We brought out the Mantis and tilled everything up to get ready for the summer veggies.

These pictures are a bit late. But this is what the winter garden was.

Update

2008-01-25T20:12:00.000+09:00

I apologize for my long absence.
Like the weeds in my winter garden, I guess I've been in a state of hibernation. Just waiting for the right time to poke my head up and cause some trouble.

Let's see now...what has happened in my little veggie patch since the last time I posted? Ah, yes.
The summer garden ended with an overload of kabocha and tomatoes. I ended up giving many away and freezing some as well. The tomatoes are good in my winter soup and curry recipes.

The soybeans turned into a nice crop (evidently, there were some worms that thought so too). We boiled them up (the beans, not the worms) and ate them as edamame. Very good. The beans that I harvested late were starting to turn pink, and weren't so tasty. Is there an 'ideal' timeframe for harvesting beans as edamame?

In August and September the Mantis and I worked hard putting in the winter garden. I'm currently harvesting daikon, carrots, napa cabbage and broccoli. I also planted strawberries (ready in May) and onions (ready in June).

We're in the middle of a cold snap right now, so my trips to the garden are pretty much limited to quick dashes to pull some carrots and a daikon or two. In a few weeks I'll have to get back into the swing of things again...The potatoes need to go in at the end of February.

Soybeans...??

2007-08-20T00:04:00.001+09:00

A friend gave me some soybean seedlings this year, so I found a spot for them in the garden. I was only half interested in them (I mean, there is not much I can do with a crop of soybeans!)...but now just looking at them reminds me of the farm in Illinois. Kind of nice.

Eggplants

2007-08-19T23:53:00.000+09:00

The eggplants started out great this season...

...but began to wither in mid-July.

This is disappointing, as I should be able to get fruit up until October. I have cut the branches back, and a few new flowers are just starting to show up. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a revival.

Kabocha

2007-08-10T23:19:00.000+09:00

I planted four kabocha plants this year, and they have taken over the garden. I was lucky to have the open space available for them to expand as they please. They have never been quite so voracious in the past. But I got (and am still getting) many nice fruit. They are one of the things I look forward to most from the summer garden.

Botchan KabochaIn addition to the regular kabocha plants, I also planted one botchan (mini) kabocha. You can see the difference in size. I got three minis, and we ate two the other day. Just wrap them in saran wrap and microwave for five minutes. Cut the tops off, throw the seeds out, and eat the rest as is (skin and all). The taste was similar to butternut...quite sweet.

Cherry Tomatoes

2007-08-10T22:56:00.000+09:00

Too Many Tomatoes!

2007-08-10T22:10:00.000+09:00

It's unbelievable!
I have struggled the past two years with my tomato plants. They always started out well, but withered and died before most of the fruit ripened. The tomatoes that did ripen were split and cracked and barely edible. With this in mind, I decided to buy a few extra plants last spring to try and get as many fruit as possible.

I don't know if it's the weather, the seedlings or my extra special TLC, but for some reason the tomatoes are booming and beautiful this year! I'm picking several every day, and they show no sign of stopping! I'm inclined to think that the seedlings and/or the variety were especially good this year. (This is the first year I purchased at the local Ishikawa Shoten instead of the larger and more popular JA Co-op.)

Cucumbers

2007-08-10T21:58:00.000+09:00

Yesterday I took the cucumbers out. The five plants gave an abundance of cukes, and they kept producing a few weeks longer than they have in the past. I was glad to take them out, though, as I was running out of recipes! And it's good to open up the space in the garden to prepare for the winter veggies.