Reviewing the year

© 2010 Joshua Stark

This blog began as a series of notes regarding my attempts at gardening, and then raising ducks, in the back yard, and so it's only fitting to do a review, occasionally, to consider what has been working, what hasn't, and how I should prepare next year's Spring garden.  Of course, this being California, the gardening never really takes a break, but since all the harvest festivals have just taken place, it feels like a good time for a review.

First things first:  What did we like to eat?  The pear tomatoes did well, as did the bigger heirlooms (I've got to look up the name!).  The zucchinis were very good (duh!), as were the green beans.  Some bell peppers were okay, and the first hot peppers were great.  The boysenberries and pomegranates, of course, are in a class by themselves.  The Swiss chard was terrific. 

Next:  What didn't we like to eat?  The mild jalapeños, for sure (they tasted like bitter, fleshless bell peppers), and the hot peppers after the bell peppers took off (I think cross-pollination is the culprit).  Come to think of it, many of the bell peppers had thin walls, and little flavor, themselves.  We just didn't like the tomatillos all that much - we had a couple of salsa verdes, but not a ton.  I think we just prefer pico de gallo.  The radishes were violently bitter.

For me, the next step is to consider what grew and what didn't grow.  None of the squashes grew strong enough to make much of a showing, nor did the cucumbers; they were constantly trying to stay ahead of the wilt I'd tried to eliminate by bringing in all new soil.  Now in their defense, the birdhouse gourds and butternuts didn't have a chance to show me much, because they were clipped clean by the ducks.  But, what leaves I saw on them did get the same wilt as the other squashes.

In fact, the duck raids early on really distort the success of the garden this year.  I just didn't build high enough beds, and very early, the ducks flew in and ate almost all the greens.

The corn also came up stunted, the green beans just didn't produce, and the tomatoes and peppers took a long time to ripen, but this I attribute to last year's weather (cool all Summer).

So what, then, grew well?  Of course, the Swiss chard that survived the duck-tastrophe, the bell peppers (though later), and the pear tomatoes and tomatillos.  Also, it looks like the onions will do nicely.  The orange tree has grown some, now that I pump the duck pond under it, and the pomegranate and boysenberry are taking off.  The walnut continues to reign supreme in the yard, but our harvest was severely curtailed this year by squirrels, rats, and codling moths.  Our roses, too, grew well this year, and I plan to harvest hips for rose syrup this week.  And it goes without saying that the ducks grew well, too - two eggs per day.

At the end of my reviews I like to list proposals for next year's garden.  In my case, some bamboo fencing around the raised beds are in order, to keep out the marauders, and another attempt at greens (spinach to collards).  Also, I will only try to grow one squash this year, out of a pot, and trellised almost immediately.  Tomatoes will again make the cut, as will corn and green beans.  I also plan to dedicate a good chunk of land to potatoes, yams, and alliums (onions, garlic, and leeks).  Peppers I will grow, but separating the hot ones and the bells.  And with my successful worm bins, I plan to provide soil amendments in the form of 'casings' (worm poop) in addition to the pondwater from the oh-so-generous ducks. 

What of your gardens?  Do you have any tips or tricks from your reviews to share?  Let's hear 'em!

Still working on changes...

© 2010 Joshua Stark

While I determine just how I want to organize my page here, and I learn my photo software, here's a quick look at some stuff from this year.

As you know, the ducks slaughtered my greens, but my tomatoes, tomatillo, basil, zucchini, and chard have all survived enough to provide for us - the tomatoes/tomatillo in particular.

Here's a sampling of our bounty this year:

The big bottle is next year's nocino, the vinegar is a blackberry-infused cider vinegar, the jars are blackberry jam (left) and green walnut ketchup.  I think the others are self-explanatory.  And here are a couple of eggs, in a spot where the ducks have decided to lay them:

Look closely, they are there.

Also missing is my basil, which is about 5 feet tall, and bell peppers and tomatillos, which have been slow in getting edible, but soon will whelm us (or, in the case of the tomatillo, overwhelm us).

Living in California

A quick pic of yesterday's and today's harvests, at about 38°, 37", with a helping hand:

Getting back on the blog horse

After a few weeks off, I'm trying to get back into regular posting.

So here are some notes on gardening:
Duck water (what my brother-in-law refers to as "nutrient-rich water") is an amazing product on the garden. If only I could bottle it... okay, that's gross, but really, most of my vegetable garden plants look absolutely gorgeous...
with the two notable exceptions of leafy greens, which the ducks have completely wiped out, and the cucumber, which, though large and flowering, still wilts in the Sun. I doubt I'll get cukes this year, either, but I'm trying a few things. First, I'm feeding it potting soil fairly regularly. Second, I'm removing a number of flowers, the idea being that the plant can put its energy into growing fruit. We'll see.

The first crop of corn, planted too early, has died out (and only grew about three feet tall, too). The second planting is receiving healthy doses of duck water, and is responding very vigorously, as are the beans, planted at the same time. My sweet 100 and pear tomato fruits are gargantuan, and those two plants are not only huge, but also poorly placed. Next year, I will move them to the Northeast side of the garden.

Which brings me to my last observation: I have learned a ton this year, even though my harvests have been tiny (except in tomatoes). Next year, I know how I will trellis my pole beans, I know where I'll place things, I know how I will build my raised beds (pretty high, as ducks have long necks). I have a whole new idea about soil, and I have a great watering system, which I'll write about later. I know a lot more about season (don't be fooled by warm weather in February). I started off the earlier harvest disappointed in my garden, but the last couple of weeks I have realized how much of a learning process this is, and I feel much better about it.

Also, my tomatoes are huge.

The first real harvest (and another first)

We cut a serving's worth of swiss chard a couple of days ago. Unfortunately, it quickly wilted in the fridge even in water, so next time I'll remember to cut the chard when we are going to eat it that day. These will get turned into compost and give our ducks reason to jump into the pool today.

I included the purple shears and the "Vegetable Gardener's Bible" in this picture because the shears were used in the harvest (a nice pair that fits my wife), and the book has been my staple for planting my garden this year. Hopefully, when the ducks start laying eggs, I'll get a picture with them and "Five Acres and Independence", which was helpful in getting me to try livestock.

And speaking of livestock: Yesterday the ducklings took to the pool. It took them quite a while, and 100 degree temperatures, but after putting some cabbage on the step to the edge of the pool, and then some cabbage and dandelion greens into the pool water, they reeeeached out their necks to get as many as they could, drank a bit, and then... one of 'em dove in like an olympic swimmer! Straight under the water, and then around and around the pool, completely submerged, with her legs stuck straight out behind her! Then the other two jumped in, and that, as they say, was that. Our ducks love water, and were in the pool yesterday for hours. Today I'll get some pictures of them.

Many, many slugs

And for that, I'm now much more thankful than I was a month ago. You see, I've been picking slugs for the past month, a few here, a few there, and feeding them to my ducklings. I've identified at least three visually distinct varieties, and I've found out that most slugs in my garden are around 2 mm. in length - tiny boogers, and most likely the reason many of my plants look like they've been hit with a shotgun.

Anyhoo, four days ago, I mowed down the edges of the garden and moved a bunch of stuff. The edges had high grasses and some old wood and such, and I picked a few slugs as I moved things. After mowing, Phoebe and I placed some cardboard strips along the edge of the garden, and the next day turned them to find MANY, MANY slugs. I didn't count, but grabbed a few at a time and fed them to the ducklings. The second day, the same thing occurred. I estimated maybe fifty slugs at a time, but yesterday, to be sure, I counted.

On the third day of slug gathering... 111 slugs. And, I know I had more the previous days. This morning, the initial gathering brought 28 more slugs, and I haven't yet checked all the sites.

And I need to do more. I have to pull the grasses out of the garden, as the slugs are using the bases of those plants to hide out under the dirt during the day. If I remove that as an option, they will have to go to the cardboard. Hopefully, I will see a dramatic improvement soon.