Exciting News

Garden Anywhere Box is going to have a booth at the OKC Home and Garden Show January 18-20, 2013. We will be at the OKC Fairgrounds. Come and see us and let us show you how you can "Garden Anywhere". You can get a $3 discount on your tickets if you order them in advance.

Surviving the Frost

 

I hadn't been out to check on the Garden (boxes) in a few weeks. We did not plant a fall garden this year, but I still had some things planted from the summer. We had a frost a couple of nights before and I did not have high hopes of anything surviving. To my surprise, the Kale was still going strong. So was the Swiss Chard, rosemary and Pineapple Sage. Yay! The great thing about a fall garden is that there are no bugs. My kale looks great, unlike my summer kale which was devoured by grasshoppers. Next year...netting...

Things I've Learned this Summer...

Sorry that it's been so long since I last posted. I've been busy in the garden. I've had successes and failures along the way...and I've learned some things.

One thing I've learned is that no matter how easy the "Garden Anywhere" box makes gardening (less water, no weeding), there will always be bugs...

My beautiful squash plant (from the post below) succumbed to squash bugs. I was able to harvest a few squash, but it seemed like overnight it became infested and died.

B.G.A. (Before Garden Anywhere), when I would have a regular, in-the-ground garden, I would till the ground (well, my husband would do that ;) , rake, weed and get the ground ready to plant. Then we'd stake off rows, plant seeds, mulch (sometimes), and water. Usually stuff grew. Sometimes rain would wash it away (when we were getting rain with any regularity) and we'd plant again. Sometimes bugs and varmints would get my plants. Sometimes weeds would overtake the garden. By July, it was usually too hot and weedy for me to care anymore and the garden would go to seed until the next year when we would try again.

I started a new garden plan when I started using Earth Boxes (B.G.A). That was a new way to garden. I really liked it. I did not have to weed and I actually harvested some veggies. Larry figured out how to make his own garden boxes and we expanded our garden as the seasons passed.

Now we have over 40 boxes full of plants or seeds at some stage of growth.

Okay...back to what I've learned...

I've learned that you have to be diligent when planting. The bugs can take over if you don't watch out for your plants.

I did discover a recipe for a squash bug spray that I'd like to share. 

You will need:  1 spray bottle, 1. t olive oil, 1 t. Dawn dish soap and a quart of water.  I added a little cayenne pepper just for good measure.

This works! 

I am using it on my big, beautiful and healthy acorn squash plant. The bugs discovered it and are trying very hard to kill it. I spray them with the spray and they die. It's as simple as that. The other night something told me to go check on the plant. It was about 8:00 at night. It was covered with mating squash bugs. Yuck!  Grabbing my trusty spray bottle, I ended the party. At least they died with smiles on their faces....

I was thinking of bugs and gardening and it came to me...just as there is black and white, hot and cold, up and down, there will be bugs and gardening. There is opposition in all things. Wouldn't it be wonderful if there were no bugs? But that is not how it works. Bugs are just doing what comes naturally. Just as there is birth, there must be death. The birth of the seeds offer promise. After they have blossomed and produced fruit (hopefully) they will die. The bugs sometimes speed the process along, but their purpose is to be the garbage collectors for the garden. When they interfere too early, it is my responsibility to stop them.

Another thing that I've learned this growing season is to plant and replant.

B.G.A., I would plant a garden at the beginning of the season, usually April or May, after the rains and/ or late frost. When things went to seed or bugs, that would be it for me for the year. Now that I'm using the Garden Anywhere boxes, if something isn't producing, I pull it up and start over. I've lost several plants to squash bugs, worms or grasshoppers. Before, I would have been done, but this year, up came the squash plants, kale plants, cucumbers and tomatoes and into the box went more seeds or plants. More tomatoes, more kale, more squash and cucumbers along with pumpkins,okra, beans, corn, peppers, and sweet potatoes are going into the boxes. I've decided that I won't waste a minute or box space. I'll keep planting and re-planting until the frost and then save or cover what I can until the next hint of cool weather allows me to get out and plant some cool weather crops.

In the meantime, I'm thinking about building a greenhouse attached to the house so that we can garden year 'round.

Lots of Squash

It looks like I will have lots of squash to share with friends. Like I said in a previous post, it always amazes me how much fruit comes from such a small seed.

Grape Vines

I got some grape and berry vines at Wal-mart and thought I'd see how they would do in a Garden Anywhere box. We tried growing berries in a raised bed years ago, but did not have much luck. So far, the vines are doing great. Our goal is to have them grow up the pergola and some day have our own little grape clusters right outside the back door. We have other boxes in between for squash and peppers.

More Boxes

This is the view from our back deck. More boxes. We've got tomatoes, kale, Globe zucchini, chocolate mint, pineapple sage and rosemary planted here. We are doing an experiment of sorts. We have tomatoes planted in the garden out in the full sun. These other boxes are in partial shade. Because of the pergola, they don't get the full noon-day sun, but they do get the HOT afternoon sun(around 3:00-dusk). Last year our tomatoes burned up. That was in part to a not yet perfected watering system and partly because we had over 60 days of 100+ degrees outside. We want to see the yield this year with a better watering system. We also want to see if the plants will thrive in full sun or do they like a little shade from the heat.

Our first cucumber of the season

I picked our first cucumber of the season today. It never ceases to amaze me that such a huge plant with an abundance of fruit can come from such tiny seeds. I know how it works. I've had gardens before. But each time I see that first sprout all the way to harvest time, I get excited.

Our first tomatoes...just waiting for them to ripen...

I'm so excited to see our first baby tomatoes growing on the vine. Several plants have tomatoes. We will be able to harvest them soon.

All is not well...

As happy as I am about all of the rest of our garden, I am not happy about my kale. There are little green worms eating holes in the leaves. LOTS of little green worms... Why is this happening? Last year I had amazingly healthy and prolific kale plants. I did some research and discovered what I think is the answer. In the box with the kale, I planted some rosemary. It was an afterthought since my husband does not really love rosemary and relegated it to the "kale box". But, I didn't have any worms or any problems at all with my kale last year. I can not have worms on my kale! I harvest it to add to my smoothies. I do not want the extra green protein in my smoothies! ;) I just bought a rosemary plant last night at Lowes (because I LOVE the smell of rosemary). Today, after I read about rosemary loving kale, I plopped it into the kale box. Hopefully, this will do the trick. I will have to get out my companion planting book again and see what else I need to plant with what. So...just because these are "garden anywhere" boxes does not mean that they do not have to be tended a little. But...there are ways to outsmart the pests. Companion planting is one of those ways. There are also homemade sprays that will prevent pesky pests from invading your garden. Hopefully, with a little planning, your plants will thrive and survive the summer and the pests.

This is huge!

I took a picture of this plant last week...the cucumber/tomato plants sharing one spot in the GA box. Wow! It got huge in just a week. We are doing something right so far...

Not Pretty, but Functional...

This is a picture of rows and rows of Earth boxes. This is from the website: Global Institute Blog. These are boxes that are set up in Haiti to help the people grow their own food.
Just imagine if we could do our part to share Earthbox/Garden Anywhere boxes around the world. Imagine if all of those boxes were connected by tubes to an automatic watering system. It would save water and time in watering all of the boxes. The boxes are not pretty like in a manicured garden, but they are functional. Once you make the initial investment, the boxes should last a long time and provide lots of food for a family or community.
One thing I noticed in the picture is that they do not have the black covering over the boxes. This is an important part of the box system, imho. It keeps weeds out and moisture and a strip of fertilizer in.

Squash Pasta...

Here's one of my favorite ways to cook zucchini or yellow squash...

Wash your squash and use a veggie peeler to peel strips off of your squash. Add strips to a skillet with a little EVOO and stir around gently until softened. Add some jarred Alfredo sauce or make your own. Serve over your choice of pasta. Yum! I like to add a pinch of white pepper. It blends in with the alfredo sauce and adds a little kick at the same time.

Squash Babies or Squash, Baby!

Here's a first picture of some yellow squash. Squash, Baby! Can't wait!

One of My Favorite Gardening Books...

Tomatoes Love Carrots: Companion Planting for Better Tomatoes

It should come a no shock that tomatoes have natural allies in the plant world.

These allies help protect the tomato from pests and predators, leave nutrients in the soil that help the plants and fruit to grow, improve flavor, and in turn benefit from the tomato plant properties.

Friends of the Tomato
As a rule of thumb, consider planting your tomatoes near: carrots, beans, celery, cucumbers, lettuces, mint, garlic, chives, parsley, borage, bee balm, oregano, sage, or marigolds.

Basil and onions are also especially friendly, and can easily be planted between rows.

Roses, peppers, and asparagus really love tomatoes, too; and though they don’t offer tomatoes much in return, they get along well.

Enemies of the Tomato

Keep in mind, too, that tomatoes have natural enemies.

Avoid planting tomatoes near: corn, cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts, kohlrabi), potatoes, rosemary, peas, fennel, kale, mature dill (young dill can help tomato plant growth but mature dill stunts it), or walnut trees.

Interested in more?

Check out Louise Riotte’s beautifully narrative Carrots Love Tomatoes, one of my favorite gardening books.

Tomatoes love Cucumbers...

Not sure how this happened, but we have a tomato and cucumber sharing a spot. Thank goodness tomatoes and cucumbers are friends in the growing world.

The tomatoes a couple of weeks later...

They look beautiful and healthy. We have about 30 tomato plants, a few cucumber plants and a couple of squash plants. It's about time to cage these bad boys.

Our First Zucchini of 2012

Here's a picture of our first zucchini of the season. I've actually picked three so far. There are two plants growing in this box. You can't really tell, but this is a demo box. There is a cutaway with some plastic down the side that allows you to see inside and see the root system. It's pretty cool.

Zucchini Crisps...Or What Do I Do With an Abundance of Zucchini

Preheat the oven to 400. Slice zucchini into rounds. Put into a ziploc bag. Add a little olive oil to coat. Add some bread crumbs or Panko. Add grated parmesan cheese. Shake bag to coat. Place on Silpat on jellyroll pan. Bake until golden brown.

Another Garden Spot

Here is another garden/watering system. This has tomatoes, cucumbers and I don't know what else my husband has growing out there. We have blooms on some of the tomatoes! The plants are thriving. All of the boxes are connected by tubing. They are watered by a water barrel and hooked up to the outdoor faucet so the barrel will never run dry. There will be no weeds and not washing away if it rains.I don't even have to water! We've already had a lot of rain and no washing away of the garden. This is such a great gardening system. I am so excited for this growing season!

Watering system

Here is a picture of our watering system. One blue barrel is hooked up to the rain spout which will funnel rain water in.Both barrels are full of water. The barrels are linked together with tubing which is also linked to the Garden Anywhere boxes. If it is dry for a while and we run out of rain water, the outside faucet will automatically kick into gear and water the plants. This is a box of kale that you see. Notice the dog dish. With this watering system, even the dog is not forgotten. Fresh water everytime they drink.

I thought it was about time to update our gardening progress. My husband has been busily tending to his plants. He started some seeds indoors in January. We had some left over from last year, so he thought he'd see if they would sprout. Here is a picture of the two squash seeds that sprouted. This plant is doing great. It's very hardy. There are three small squash plants almost ready to harvest...and it's only April!

Cabbage Stuff...a recipe...

We grew cabbages in our Grow Boxes along with tomatoes. It worked great.

Here is a recipe using cabbage that most of our family likes. I thought I'd share it with you.

Cabbage Stuff
(Wish I had a better name for it, but this works)

1 green cabbage
1 onion
3-5 potatoes (red or russet)
package of jalapeno and cheese sausages

Chop potatoes and boil in water until tender

While potatoes are boiling, slice onion and saute in a little olive oil.
Slice sausages into bite size pieces and add to the onions.
Add potatoes and brown a little with the onion and sausages.
Add a small amount of water and loosen the brown bits on the bottom of the pan.
Add julienne sliced cabbage.
Cover and steam until cabbage is tender and water is absorbed.
Eat and enjoy.