Springtime at The Little Lake House

Seems like winter took forever to go away, and it wasn't all that BAD really! Maybe I'm just getting old and grumpy. Maybe I'm turning into one of "those" people- you know the ones, they live in a winter climate state but complain all winter long about snow. Guess what guys- Arizona has vacancies.......

So spring has finally arrived, and with that the start of gardening season. I have been a gardener for many many years. I have had all sorts of gardens- patio gardens, little gardens, huge gardens, raised beds, water gardens, container gardens. I'm always trying something new it seems. Container gardening seems to fit my lifestyle the best right now. Our big wraparound deck has lots of space and I manage to fill it with containers every year.

What do I grow? Everything! If it grows in the dirt it can be grown in a container. I have grown every vegetable you can think of from lettuce to carrots to ghost peppers. Every year I have the requisite tomatoes. This year I am growing six different kinds of cherry tomatoes- Husky Red, Gold Nugget, Yellow Pearberries, Chocolate Cherry, Indigo Blue Berry and Indigo Rose. I have one regular tomato plant just for hamburgers and BLTs and such. 

I can't have a garden without peppers. Hot peppers. The hottest of the hot. This year is no exception. Basking in the sun this season are ghost peppers, scorpion peppers, Kraken, Infinity Naga, Morango, Black Congo and Fatalii chilies. I have grown ghosts and scorpions before, but the others are all new to us. I don't grow bell peppers most years because they are so readily available at the farmers market in town or at the Amish farm we visit every year. 

Every kitchen garden needs herbs, and ours always has plenty. I have a big pot that is home to a chive clump that is over 30 years old and still producing. It came from my mother's garden many years ago and I have no idea how long it lived in her garden. It has moved with me numerous times, to California and back, and finally here at The Little Lake House. 

The 30 year old chive clump has been in that pot for more
than 20 years.

Big pots of parsley sit next to this old chive, and all around the deck we have different kinds of basil, different kinds of thyme, sage, oregano, marjoram, rosemary and mint. Mint is a great container herb because you can control it. Plant it in the ground and you have just unleashed the beast. It spreads like wildfire. 

Before long little baby herb plants will fill all these pots
and will flavor our food

Some of the more uncommon vegetables I grow in containers include lettuces and kale, radishes, carrots (the Parisian Market carrots are round like golf balls), eggplant and even sweet corn. Cabbage grows well in containers and so do Brussels sprouts as long as you have a secure place for them - out of the wind so they don't blow over. 

What are some of your favorites to grow in your own garden? What kind of gardens do you prefer?

Gardening at the Little Lake House

Well, I'm more than a month in and things are really starting to take off! I have baby plants and larger plants, have been picking lettuce and kale already, and a few herbs. Garden season is off to a nice start in 2014. We have been getting plenty of rain- which is a huge help. And sunshine, loads and loads of warm, sunny days, humidity, warm breezes. Let's take a look at what is growing. Almost every summer I try something new and this year it is almost exclusively container gardening. With a very large wraparound deck, I have plenty of space for plenty of containers and I love growing my own food.

Cherry tomatoes and peppers are thriving in the sunshine.

Tomatoes- They are doing fantastic so far. The cherry tomato plants have been in the soil the longest and are the biggest plants right now. They are looking great! I see baby tomatoes in there too! So exciting! My four San Marzano plants are off to a good start, have settled into the soil well, they love the rain, and are loving the sunshine. Still a little on the small side so I haven't caged them yet, but that will happen soon. A growth spurt is coming, I can feel it. The Mr. Stripey single plant I got it is doing so/so. It's a little "stemmy" having suffered some leaf loss. The other two that I thought for sure were goners have had a sudden resurgence so I'll probably plop them in the flower bed and call it good!

Mixed baby kale plants

Peppers- The serrano chilies are growing like crazy as well. They loved the hot days we had recently. Little flower buds are starting to form and it won't be long til I have baby peppers! The habanero peppers are also doing ok- they are not quite as big as the serrano plants but I'm sure they will catch up. Their leaves look glossy and shiny and very healthy. A few more weeks of sunshine and they will be standing tall.

A couple weeks ago the plants were noticeably smaller

Sweet corn- Yes, I know I said I'd never grow sweet corn but I heard of people growing it in containers and I have to try everything at least once. It's doing great! I did have to add tomato cages to their containers because the wind was beating them up a little but now they are doing great. Leaves are nice and bright green, strong stalks, getting close to a foot tall.

The tomatoes have overcome the slight frost damage from early May

Lettuce and kale- I've been picking! They are growing beautifully. I have Black Seeded Simpson lettuce and mixed organic kale and both are doing awesome. Lots of salad and nibbling has been going on! It won't be long and the lettuce will bolt, but having never grown kale before I'm not really sure if I can grow it all summer- I'll find out!

Today these corn plants are nearly a foot tall and supported by cages!

Herbs- This year I am limiting the herbs that I am growing. I haven't had a very good basil crop for a couple summers so I have tons of basil planted, lots of pots of thyme, and my old chives that come back very year. Also new this year is a Japanese herb called red shiso. I've never tried it but I've done my research and it's going to be a great addition to salads, Asian dishes and sushi. It will be interesting to see how it grows. 

I keep picking that lettuce and it keeps filling out

Zucchini- Boy oh boy did I plant zucchini! Ten plants to be exact. I might live to regret that....... but I have some relish recipes to try (maybe some winners at the fair?) and I can always throw some zucchini bread in the oven. Last summer I found myself with leftover tomatoes and a couple zucchini, so I cubed everything and tossed with a little garlic and canned and it turned out delicious. I've used it for pasta sauces and smothered steak recipes.

I love chive blossoms. This particular plant is over 30 years
old and has been transplanted in gardens at several houses.
It came from my mother's garden years ago.

Other vegetables- I have a large shallow Rubbermaid-type container filled with soil for growing things in shallow soil. I'm trying a crop of Parisian Market carrots- they are small, round carrots, maybe the size of a big radish. These are also a new vegetable to me so we will see. Mexican Gherkins are also something new I have planted- these cucumbers grow on small vines and produce cucumbers that look like  teeny tiny watermelons. I think they will be wonderful pickles and hopefully a blue ribbon winner at the fair!

Not the best backdrop but a little fire in the chiminea is so nice

Flowers- I don't normally plant a lot of flowers, but I do have a few. Marigolds and zinnia, started from seed, are growing nicely in pots that will fill the bakers rack and nestle among the vegetable plants. And since we all know a gardener is never truly done......I just might find a few more interesting things to plant. But for now, it's time to kick back and relax by the fire.......

Peas, please!!

People with the same hobbies tend to stick together. Clubs and groups are formed, friendships made, partnerships and agreements worked out. This practice is alive and well when it comes to home canners. We love sharing recipes, comparing techniques, helping a canning buddy figure out a failed recipe and we take loads of photos. Loads. 

It's not unusual for canning friends to share harvests. Some of us are extra lucky and have friends that don't can and happen to have fruit trees or many extra tomatoes and pass them along. We have friends who "retire" from canning and give away cases of jars they no longer need.

This year I am on a quest. A quest for peas. Incredibly, NO ONE ever has extra peas to share! Sure, I can plant some in my garden, but I've done that- I ended up with enough for a meal or two, not anywhere near what I was hoping for. A lady I met in a canning group last summer told me she has a deal worked out with a farmer friend- she buys the seed, he grows a few rows of peas and harvests them and she buys them back by the bushel as payment to her friend. I need a farmer friend !!!!!

Seriously! Shelling peas are one of the hardest vegetables to find! I don't have enough garden space to grow enough for a couple dozen jars. Finding them at farmers markets is TOUGH!! I spent most of last spring on the hunt and ended up empty handed. I have a ton of pea seeds- now I just need a farmer!!

Spring oh spring, where art thou?

The weekend has arrived! Finally! Seems like one of the longest weeks of the year. We have had a few days of tease- beautiful 60 and 70 degrees, lots of sunshine and breeze, windows-open kind of days. And............crash back to reality and snow on Sunday.  It's still early in the season, and it WON'T last very long.

Our first ever ghost chili.

I'm looking forward to getting into the dirt this year. My goal is to embrace the Little Lake House and do some major sprucing up in the yard and establish some new gardens that hopefully will be the absolute last re-do I have to go through in this house. I have plans......... but I won't rehash that. I've already told you guys.

Tiger lilies wait for the mail man

I spent quite a while last evening sorting and inventorying seeds. Holy Rubbermaid do I have seeds. It looks like I was planning ahead in the event green beans and shelling peas were to become extinct. I'd have the seeds to save the world !! I'm still looking for a farmer to help me out with the pea project but the beans I plan on planting myself. Sometimes it's not until you really sit down and LOOK at what you have that you realize just how MUCH you actually do have. 

No Italian chef has a garden without banana peppers!

I am a little lacking in the herb seed department. I have plenty of basil and parsley and probably enough regular sage to get a good supply started. It's the fun things I am missing. No red ruffles basil. No flavored thyme- just a couple packets of plain English thyme. Not a single chive seed in the bunch either. How the heck did THAT happen? I seem to have way more cilantro seed than a person should have on hand. I don't really even like the stuff- I'm TRYING to force myself to accept it and move on. 

Purple ruffles basil- so pretty in salads.

I have two, yes, count 'em, two varieties of tomato and that is it my friends. Seems kind of silly but I feel compelled to pick up more varieties!! But over the years I found I have had just as much success with transplants and I don't need to worry about nursing all these baby plants. I will start a couple for us for fresh eating but we like to go to the pick your own farm and LOAD UP on tomatoes for canning day. And peppers- that's another one...... I have so many pepper seeds- hot and sweet and everything in between! That is another plant I don't have great success with seedlings, especially the super hots. I need a greenhouse to be truly successful and that's just not in the budget.

We love cherry tomatoes!

Flower seeds? Who needs those? Except for a few, I rarely grow flowers. Sure there are some perennial lilies and a flowering shrub in my yard but in most cases, if it's not edible, I don't grow it. And certainly later in the season when it gets really hot, and doesn't rain, watering the edibles is much more important and the flowers are the first to go. Now, I do like to plant a few flowers in and among the vegetables, they help deter nibblers and look pretty and they aren't hurting anybody taking up a little space in a corner of the bed. Marigolds fit the bill perfectly. Or sunflowers- now THAT is a flower I can get behind! Literally. I'm 5'2". Some of them are 7 feet tall. Tasty seeds for the humans and the birds are a big bonus when growing sunflowers.

Zinnias add some color to the deck.

I have planned some new things for the garden this year and I think I might sneak a grapevine in there. I have the perfect crappy spot. Yes, I said crappy. Grapes thrive in crappy soil and growing conditions because they are forced to root deeply in search of water and nutrients. Some of the world's best wine grapes grow in the absolute worst conditions. I will be happy with a humble Concord or other such grape- maybe make a little jelly or jam or juice.