So much to eat!

You'll notice a gap in posts.  To be honest, it's because the pictures began to be redundant.  Every week has been pretty much the same.  Pick something, cook it, eat it and then pick again.

Happy to report - there has been a lot to eat!

Here are some pictures.









Brocolli has beautiful yellow blossoms if they open.  The trick was to cut the stocks before this happened.  And it was tough to keep up.  Allow me to explain.















 If you look closely at this picture you can see I cut a stock of brocolli in the middle about a week before.  Every time I would cut a stock 3-4 new stocks would sprout out qickly from around the cut.  I had so much brocolli from 3 plants!
















The brocolli was delicisous with juicy yet crispy stocks.  Eating right out of the garden had a different flavor.  I was delighted! 
















The carrots and beets just kept coming and coming!


















And the brussels sprouts are starting to take form on their stocks.











The blueberries continue to grow nicely.  They are still green in color but once the blue shows Ill post a picture. 

A critical project at work pulled my focus from planting new vegetables in February and March.  The chicken is also on hold for the moment until the time is right to ensure they have the care they need. 

In the meantime, I continue to eat beets and eagerly await the brussells sprouts.  Ill give you an update on the elephant garlic in my next post as well.

 A small spice and herb garden has been planted along with two dwarf fruit trees and will be featured in a coming post.

Up next: Collard Greens, Kale, Tomatoes, & Zuchini!

Blueberries

The last few weeks have been all about weeding and watering.

Unfortunately, I lost the asparagus in the planting process.  Either I left them in the pots for to long or I did not provide the right conditions for transplanting but all three of my plants did not make it.  How does the saying go? -  "You can't make an omelet without killing your asparagus plant."


On the brighter side (the bright blue super antioxidant side) we have a new member of the family to announce.

Introducing the blueberry bush!

Pouring over the pages of Pat Welsh's Southern California Organic Gardening book I learned that blueberries were ideal to plant in January here in Southern California.  I also learned to look for either rabbiteye or southern highbush blueberries to ensure they would bear fruit in my climate.  Additional points to note were that blueberries need "acid soil mix, acid fertilizer, good drainage and ample moisture." (Pat Welsh's Southern California Organic Gardening; page 50)  One final note made, to get two bushes so they could cross-pollinate, and I was off to City Farmer's Nursery to pick one out.

The customer service at City Farmer's Nursery was fantastic.  They had over 10 different kinds of blueberry bushes and all of them were in the highbush family able to bear fruit in San Diego.  I learned from the staff that the Southern highbush family of blueberries is the only one that does not need a second bush for cross-pollination and so one bush purchase later I was good to go, well almost.

In addition to the bush I purchased an organic acid loving plant fertilizer made by Fox Farm and a block of organic coconut coir fiber made by Procoir.

The first step in planting the blueberry bush was to open this dry, hard block of coconut fiber and let it soak in water for about 20 minutes.

Eventually it will look like this.

 

Next I dug a hole in the ground where I wanted the blueberry bush to go.

My final step was to plant the blueberry bush in the hole surrounded by a mix of the dirt removed and the wet coconut coir fiber to be sure I had ample drainage and moisture in the soil.

I have become very proud of my garden and grew eager to enhance my photography skills so that I could better capture how beautiful it was becoming.  With a little research I discovered an App called Instagram for my iPhone.  Below are the latest images of the garden vegetables.

Brussels Sprouts

Elephant Garlic

Broccoli

Carrots 

Beets

And now - Blueberries 

Next post - Harvest Time! :)