45 Days from The Wee Garden

It has been way too long, I know. I have been slacking.

 

Here in our little slice of paradise, we have distinct seasons. They are probably not like yours. We have tourists in the winter. This is the same time that we get the most production from our garden.  Unfortunately, while it is too hot in the summer for the tourists, it is also too hot for most of our garden crops. So, here I am, on September 1, without work for 6 weeks, and fighting the heat for some garden production.

 

This dilemma spurred my challenge, a Wee Challenge, for the Wee Garden. I go back to work on October 16, 45 days from now. Let's see if we can eat something, every day, from the Wee Garden. That is 45 days, at our most unproductive time of year.... No lettuce, no tomatoes, even some of the so called heat lovers like eggplant are on a boycott. I think we can do it. Let's spend the next 45 days finding out.

 

For dinner tonight, I have pork chops from our local butcher.  We try to support local businesses, and these are the best pork chops we have ever had.  To go with them today, I have harvested three beautiful yellow squash and two very large sweet potatoes. These sweets were literally popping out of the ground, begging to be plucked from the dirt and cooked.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If we can do it here, in the heat of South West Florida, think what you can do! Day 1 is covered!

 

That is how the Wee Garden grows today!

Now, GO PLANT SOMETHING!

Claudia

Roll Call

I know it has been a bit since I posted... We have been busy in the Wee Garden... It really is not so small anymore, but we are still loving it. I wanted to do a quick update on what has been going on.

We are rapidly approaching 100 pots, and more plants than I want to count. It takes about 2 hours to water everything, and we try to alternate days, or tag team it. The time it takes is so very worth it. We totally enjoy being out there, and sharing in this experience. The quality of the food we have harvested can not be compared to the tasteless produce we were getting from the grocery store. We very seldom buy from the grocery store anymore. If we don't have it growing here yet, we try to get it from a local farm store or produce stand.

So, here is the roll call of what we have growing in the Wee Garden right now. Hopefully I won't forget any one, and this does not include any of the seeds I started this week, that have not sprouted yet.

Most of the Wee Garden

We have six varieties of tomatoes... Beefsteak, Mexico, Rosalita, Black Cherry , Brandy Wine, and Church.

Waiting for the Black Cherry tomatoes to ripen

We have Red Potatoes, Carrots, Eggplant, Zucchini, Broccoli, Lemon Cucumber, and the Salad Table.

Zucchini

Eggplant just starting to bud

Broccoli ready to harvest

Baby Broccoli and a couple of Sweet Cayenne

We have 4 types of peppers... Sweet Cayenne, Bells, Cayennetta, and Jalapenos.

The Jalapenos are almost ready!

 

We had to add some fruit to the mix, so we have  Cantaloupe,  Meyers Lemons, Key Limes, and most recently added Strawberries.

For seasoning... Cilantro, Basil, Oregano, Onions, and Garlic.

Baby Carrots, Seeded Carrots, and Basil

That is how the Wee Garden grows today!

Now, GO PLANT SOMETHING!

Claudia

Bees in the Wee Garden

Everybody has their job in the Wee Garden.

 The bugs are included in this list.  I love to sit and watch them do their jobs!

I find the lady bugs and butterflies beautiful, and the hum of the bees is very relaxing to me.

Here are a few pics of the bees, busy doing their job!

 

I could sit and take pics of them all day, but there are other things to be done! 

So, off I go to water and plant...

That is how the Wee Garden grows today...

Now, GO PLANT SOMETHING!

Claudia

Wee Ones in the Wee Garden

We had a great day in the Wee Garden today. I had a list of seeds to get planted, and just about the time I was starting the broccoli, my son stopped by with the grand babies and his wife. Of course, I am always willing to have some help!

Four year old fingers are just the right size to plant tiny broccoli seeds! Since she is usually told "Don't touch!" She was happy to help!

We did, however, have to send the little one on her way... She kept eating the dirt!

 

So, today we started 3 new kinds of tomatoes, some more eggplant, some more zucchini, and 6 more broccoli!

Thank goodness my daughter in law thought to take some pics!

That's how the Wee Garden grows today!
Thanks for reading!
Claudia

Morning in The Wee Garden

Living in Southwest Florida definitely has its benefits... Like being able to grow food all year long, and as the hot summers ease into what I think are cold winters, I realize how lucky we are, that in January, we can take note of the cobwebs and dew in the early morning.

One of the things Hubby and I like to do is enjoy our morning coffee in the Wee Garden. I like to take my first cup with me, for a morning tour to check on my "babies". Any new growth? Any new flowers/ Any new fruit? Any "critters" cause us any damage during the night? Every day is an adventure, with the ever changing garden!

We've had a bit of fog the last few days... With the haze lingering into the morning...Its quiet and peaceful, and adds little jewels to everything in the garden. sometimes, you just have to stop and enjoy the beauty that is around you.

 

It was yesterday morning, as I sat in the garden and had my second cup of coffee, I looked at the beauty around me that I realized the simple truth... The Wee Garden doesn't only give me food... It gives me peace! 

 

Thanks for reading,

Claudia

Friday Update 11-23

Well. Here it is, another Friday. the Wee Garden is coming along nicely. It is still early, but we have been seeing some benefits, and returns already.

The biggest one this week, was the zucchini. I harvested two more, and we had fresh zucchini for dinner the other night. I sliced and sauteed them with some butter, fresh ground pepper, and sea salt. They were the best zucchini I have ever had! We still have 2 more on the vine, and hopefully more to come.

We also have enough greens in the big pot for another salad, and the new salad table is sprouting nicely.

 We have 6 yellow squash on the vine, and they should be ready soon. This plant is a little backward, as we have an abundance of female flowers, and no males. I did some research online, and opted to hand fertilize them with zucchini flowers. It seems to be working!

The Cukezilla... aka the lemon cucumber is doing well, with tons of blooms, but no cukes yet.

The potato tower is getting tall, and I am anxious to see how it turns out. It is well over 2 feet tall. I am so encouraged with this one, I started another one with some red potatoes I got at the grocery store. They started sprouting before I could use them up, so I figured why not.

The tomatoes are doing great, especially the beefsteaks, that we started first. We have 6 pots of them, with 12 plants, and at least 10 tomatoes already growing. There are still a lot of blooms on these, and the bees have been very busy out there.

We also used fresh basil this week. I made some beer bread, with fresh basil, sundried tomatoes and garlic. It went really well with our pasta. we also used the basil in that sauce. Can't wait to make it with fresh tomatoes!

You can check my weekly tally here!

So, that is how the Wee Garden grows today!
Thanks for reading!
Claudia

We Have a Tomato!

We have a tomato! Our first! This is too exciting!

OK, to be fair, this is a Beefsteak, and it is only about 1/2 inch big, but...WE HAVE A TOMATO!

I know... crazy... But sometimes it is the simple things in life that make us happy!

That's how the Wee Garden grows today!
Thanks for reading,
Claudia

Wee Garden Record Keeping

In discussions with Hubby, I realized that this was not a very good experiment.  I have been very neglectful in keeping any records of what our costs have been. We have bought soil, seeds, fertilizer, chicken wire, wood, and more pots.  Although we will find out if we can grow some of our food, we not know if it was actually cost effective to do so.  So, I am going to have to start keeping better records of our expenses and what the actual yield is from the Wee Garden.

I tried to find my receipts from the last couple of months, but only found a few... So, we are making an estimate, and taking it from there.  Our estimate of what we have spent so far, through yesterday is $300.  Wow. That seems like a lot.  Many of the things we have purchased, we will be used again, cutting our costs for future plantings.

So far, we have gotten about 5 meals out of the small salad pot, but expect to get more from the big table we just built. If you take the cost of mixed baby greens into consideration, and the actual cost on that particular pot, one bag of dirt, and a half bag of seeds, we have come out ahead on that.

I have also harvested and cooked with fresh basil, several times, and traded some basil plants and some of my seed stash for some other types of tomato seeds and plants and some sweet cayenne pepper seeds.

I am going to start keeping a log on what we spend, and what we harvest, as we go.  Hubby thinks I should keep a diary of our progress/setbacks, so we have it for future reference. I will do my best to keep up with this.

So, here is where we are at, $300 and 2 months in.  We have had several salads with fresh greens, and fresh basil in several meals. We have 1 zucchini, almost ready to pick, and several more on the way.

The Cukezilla, aka lemon cucumber has too many flowers to count, all males so far. The beefsteak tomatoes have between 15 and 20 open blossoms on them. We have 2 smaller tomato plants going, and more seeds started. The yellow squash is blooming, and it has both male and female flowers.  The broccoli is coming along nicely, and I remain hopeful.  The purple potato tower is getting huge. We also have cilantro, oregano, carrots, bell peppers, jalapenos, cantaloupe, eggplant and more zucchini started.

I am going to start keeping better records of spending and harvest, and have purchased a kitchen scale to weigh as we go. Hubby suggested keeping a diary of our progress, so I will make an attempt at posting every day. We are out there every day, doting on our Wee Garden, taking pictures of our "babies". So far, this has been a totally enjoyable experience, and I look forward to it every day!

So, that is how my garden grows today...
Thanks for reading!
Claudia

Compost Bin

So much has been going on in The Wee Garden, I just had to make a quick update of our latest project.

We decided we needed to get our compost pile started, so we went to Home Depot yesterday, and picked up a few things.  chicken wire, and stakes.  Hubby had other projects to do, so he left this to me! I was totally stoked, and did this completely on my own. I even got to use the sledgehammer!

The designated supplies/tools:

The designated spot:

The stakes:

The finished project...

Bread bag clips, so we can open the lid without poking ourselves on the wire.










Thanks for reading,
Claudia