Keep It Continue, The Same Thing

Succession planting has been on my mind lately; luckily earlier than last year. The idea is to keep the garden going; to not have any or many bald spots through the season. As crops stop producing, you replace them with other crops. It is good to have seeds already started so you can just pop plants in when it is time.

Crops can be divided into four broad growing categories: 1. perennial crops like asparagus, rhubarb and chives, which come back in subsequent years; 2. crops that thrive in the early part of the season like lettuce, mustard, radishes and peas; 3. crops that stay in the ground during most of the season like tomatoes, beans, eggplant, cucumber, okra and peppers; 4. crops that thrive in the later part of the season into the fall like kale, beets, Chinese cabbage, lettuce spinach, collards and broccoli.

They thrive at different times of the season for varying reasons, but a popular one is sensitivity to hot summer temperatures; lettuce goes bitter, radishes get spongy and crops bolt and go to flower too quickly. While kale and broccoli are said to taste best after a light frost or two.

The "polycultural" bed pictured above is an attempt at succession gardening. It is going alright so far. I had to really thin out the lettuce in order to give some sun and space to the Swiss Chard. I also put in some pepper plants and Brussels sprout plants that we were given. I am going to start some seeds outside of the garden to pop in as we start to have plants fall out.

Last year we did not buy greens from about May until October-late October even. Sarah is quick to remind me of our CSA, but we had buckets of greens from the garden all season long. We did well with greens last year, but I am looking to get a little more serious about it. I am still in the planning stages, I will let you know what happens.

I am also going to learn when to capitalize plant names, it is bugging me. I have learned to spell lettuce, so proud.

CSA # 3 5/28/2009

Wow, the CSA haul was very substantial this week. I think we have a green for every day of the week, if you count radish and beet greens, and of course you do. I tested the strawberries and all the greens, including the two leaves coming off the broccoli. They were all ding dang delicious. The greens taste so robust and savory. I can't get over it.

Here are Mariko and Owen. We walk together to pick up our csa's each week. Owen is a really interesting guy.

Here is the haul.

You will find the following items in your share: 1 head broccoli – certified organic – Farmdale Organics 1 bunch baby beets – certified organic – Pleasant Valley Farm 1 bunch purple radishes – certified organic – Country Boy Farm 1 bunch Lacinato (or dinosaur) Kale– certified organic – Goshen View Organics 1 bunch tatsoi – certified organic – Hillside Organics 1 bag wildfire lettuce mix – certified organic – Farmdale Organics – 1 lb 1 bag young rainbow chard – certified organic – Elm Tree Organics – ¼ lb 1 head red leaf lettuce – certified organic – Farmdale Organics 1 box Chandler strawberries – certified organic – Goshen View Organics

Those are purple radishes in the middle of this picture; dinosaur kale to the left, rainbow chard to the right.

Pretty.

Here are the baby beets. Notice those spots of red on the table; that is some beet juice that emerged when I pinched of a leaf of the greens, mmmmmm, succulent.

Swimming Pools, Movie Stars

What is the bid deal? I think these are really pretty. They just haven't seen in the proper context yet. Have a look.

The plants appear so comfortable and healthy.

We could go rustic. Look at the lovely patina the weather has given the bowl.

So versatile, the one above looks like a djembe!

Or we could go with a durable design that we could grow old with!

Because You're Mine, I Draw the Line

How big is your garden? I am often asked that question and I find it odd. It is a perfectly normal question, I guess I just don't know how to answer it. Who knows?

I live in Philadelphia, and have a tiny yard. I call it my garden, or my farm if I'm feeling wacky. It is a concrete pad, so I garden (or farm) in a variety of containers, like pots, plastic and clay, tires, a claw-footed tub, a couple of twelve-quart buckets, a couple of metal tubs, Scoops Away buckets, homemade flower boxes, a couple of store-bought flower boxes, a couple of store-bought flower boxes I found on the curb on trash day and a couple of sizable wooden beds I made and a big plastic planter-that looks like fake terra cotta- that David from the George B. gave to us. I guess you'd call me a container gardener, a container farmer, sometimes a woe farmer. I lament.

I'd love to have a toilet in the garden to go with the tub. It would be so fun to grow in-two compartments-business in the front, party in the back. Sarah told me "No, I draw the line at toilets baby." I still throw my worn out boxers in the compost though.

Here is a schematic of the garden. Ignore the shapes, those are from last year when I was suffering from a need to appear to have a plan. The dimensions are still the same though, I checked-27 times.

I Just Can't Live Without My Radio!

Man, is that cool or what. I just have a radio or some headphones on when I work in the garden. These guys actually get drummers and dancers that accompany them to the fields to work! Here is an audio sample courtesy of DrumSkull Drums in Santa Cruz, CA.
This is the front of the album cover. The back of the album is farther down.

The Malinke people who inhabit the savannah woodlands of upper Guinea are intimately connected to the land on which they live. They live as subsistence farmers in a harsh environment, where mere survival requires great strength and hard work. At the heart of their culture is an ancient music that accompanies almost every significant event of village life. This music is a vehicle for joy and sorrow, which is expressed through song and dance. When they head out to the fields, farmers are often accompanied by the village musicians, whose music helps set a tempo for the work. Imagine groups of farmers singing and moving to the rhythm of the music while they work - it is a beautiful sight. In this recording Mansa Camio and his group Sofoli play traditional Malinke music that would normally accompany farmers as they work in the fields.*

*From the cd description at DrumSkull Drums.

Walkin' The Dog

Say it with me: "schwekee, schwekee, schwekee."
Maybe it is more like "schwitkea du-de schwitkea," but still classified as a "schwekee, schwekee, schwekee."

Metaphors, Shaken, Not Stirred

Wow, what a classic rock mix-up. I coulda been kilt!

In the last post ("schwekee, schwekee, schwekee"), I think I was mixing up the guitar at the end of "Sweet Emotion" and the guiro in "Gimme Shelter."

See, them's fightin' words in some circles, especially considering Aerosmith, for a time, was labled a "Rolling Stones knockoff." Perhaps they violated The Code of Non-Infringement (or "The Code") from time to time, but drastic measures such as "Janie's Got a Gun," "Love in an Elevator," and pairing up with Run DMC for a "Walk This Way" remake helped them shake the lable.

I think I just found another "schwekee, schwekee, schwekee" instance: "Walkin' the Dog." Look for that one, you gotta hear it. I believe it's the side of a guitar pick rubbing on guitar strings. Say it with me: "schwekee, schwekee, schwekee."

Rub well.