Sigh. It’s Monday Morning April 19, 2010
Posted by walterknitty in D'oh, Gardening.add a comment
It was spectacular over the weekend. Warm (upper 60′s, 70), sunny, Saturday night it didnt get completely dark until about 8. Saturday, I biked over to Trader Joe’s and the produce store next door. After biking up many hills I get to my destination only to find out I forgot to put the lock back on my bike. D’oh!
At least going home is mostly downhill on my favourite hill in Portland. It’s long and steep enough that once you get going you dont have to pedal for about a mile. Saturday night I took myself out for a date. Sushi, ice cream, and a good long walk through one of my favourite neighbourhoods in Portland, Ladds Addition. None of the blocks are square, they are more trapezoid shaped with circles here and there. In the middle of all this organized chaos is a coffee shop.
Ladds Addition map
Yesterday, I made a rather more successful trip to Trader Joe’s on my bike. Remembered my lock this time! Mission accomplished. And a good reason to blow off laundry.
Because it was so nice, I planted some parsley seeds, trimmed the oregano and lavender, put the tomatoes and peppers outside to get some sun. Only one of my peppers has sprouted. I’m starting to wonder if I got bum seeds. Bachelor buttons sprouted!
Have any of you ever planted in galvanized metal tubs? I’m thinking of buying a few from the hardware store next week, drilling out some holes in the bottom, filling them with dirt, and putting spinach, chard, beans,and marigolds in one, bachelor buttons, cosmos, and sunflower in another. If you’ve done this and had success or failure, leave me a note or drop me a line and let me know. Your input will be much appreciated.
After all the sun, it’s now back to your regularly scheduled rain.
Sprouts April 7, 2010
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I have tomatoes!
And
Kale!
Kale has quickly become one of my favourite greens. This variety is Russian Red. It’s loving the cool wet weather we’ve been having. The peppers, not so much. I had to replant the peppers because their seeds refused to sprout. The window they were in had been open a crack on some cold nights. That was no help to them whatsoever. Peppers are native to Mexico after all. They like hot weather.
Both the spinach and chard have come up but they are not doing as well as the kale. The lavender is waking up too. It’s starting to get new green leaves. I’ll be ready to re-pot it soon.
It’s supposed to be rainy, windy, and stormy again tonight. That’s one thing about living so close to the Great Weather Machine. Good thing the windows are closed tonight. Maybe this time the peppers will sprout.
Finally, Some Knitting March 20, 2010
Posted by walterknitty in Evil Grey Beast, Gardening, Knitting.add a comment
Because this blog is supposed to have some knitting content right?
This is what’s on my needles right now
It’s Azure from Knitty. It’s knit from the toe up using Judy’s Magic Cast on. Toe up socks used to cause me a lot of trouble, mostly because I convinced myself that I couldnt do it. Sure, I tried a couple of times before, but it never ended well. Frog pond, and dashed hope. This time I was much more determined. If you have fear of toe up socks, Cat Bordhi has a great video on Judy’s Magic Cast On
Once i got the hang of it, I realized this is not so bad. This is much easier than using a provisional cast on and short rows. I hate short rows and this sock has a short row heel. In my future I see a couple trips to my LYS. If I can learn Judy’s Magic Cast On, I can conquer short rows. Even if I feel like they are the bane of my knitting existence.
On a whole other topic, I get to take Claire to her most favourite place today . . . The Vet. She hates going. She meows in the most pathetic way. How could a cat who has this much hair be anything other than dramatic.
Other than that, it’s supposed to be absolutely beautiful today. Sunny and near 70. It’s about time to transfer the kale to it’s permanent home now that it’s getting it’s second set of true leaves. The spinach finally sprouted! It’s time to plant tomato and pepper seeds too. Maybe I’ll post some plant pictures later today.
Is it Spring? February 9, 2010
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While half of the US is experiencing Snowpocalypse it feels like spring in Portland. Over the last couple of weeks, it’s been about 50 or a little above, more often sunny than not, and dry. Usually at this time of year it’s raining like the dickens and about 45. Crocus’ are starting to bloom and snow drops are coming up. I even saw a daffodil the other day.
This is not normal winter weather for us and I’m well aware that the other shoe could drop at any time and it’ll start raining in earnest. The nice weather has given me spring fever. Last night after work I bought some dirt and planted kale and chard seeds.
Kale is a crucierfous vegetable. It’s a member of the cabbage family just like broccoli and cauliflower. I got a good look at broccoli seeds last spring when I tried and failed to grow broccoli. The two of them (broccoli and kale) being in the same family explains why their seeds look so similar.
When I opened my packet of Chard seeds last night I was surprised to see that they looked like beet seeds. While I stared, I remembered that chard is also referred to as Silverbeet. It seemed logical that these two plants would be related. Chard leaves look similar to beet leaves. I checked Wikipedia and sure enough, the two plants are in the same family. Which means rhubarb is related to beets too since rhubarb is a chard.
Oh, and spinach too, which I’m giving another try at growing this spring and summer. I opted for New Zealand Spinach which isnt a true spinach but can be eaten and cooked just like spinach and is heat tolerant where true spinach is not. Hmm . . . maybe over the weekend I’ll plant some spinach seeds. Hopefully, unless we get our own NW version of Snowpocalypse or some other weather disaster, the little seedlings will be ready to go outside in a month.
I’m changing around my spring/summer garden this year. I wanted to grow more flowers and concentrate on the veggies and herbs I like and will use instead of letting some veggies and herbs, mostly herbs, go to waste. I’ve got some plants I’m going to grow as an experiment, summer squash being one and two new types of tomatoes. It’s going to be slightly scaled down this year which should make it easier to take care of.
Back from the beach January 19, 2010
Posted by walterknitty in Family, Gardening.1 comment so far
Even though I didnt want to, I came back from the beach yesterday. Donna especially, her boyfriend Don, and one of their friends Joe, are like my family. In some ways, Donna is more like my Mom than my own Mother. Which is what it is I suppose.
They live along the Nehalem Bay on the Oregon Coast
Beautiful isnt it? Right now, because it’s rained so much, you can barely see the islands in the first picture. Being at the coast is very relaxing, even when it’s raining. Time moves much more slowly than in the city, and overall, it’s a more laid back atmosphere. Oh, and before anyone asks, no I did not take any of those pictures.
Since Donna is like my Mom we talked, went to some thrift stores, drank wine, and it sounds like she’s going to teach me how to can this summer. I have, on loan, Putting Food By and the Ball Canning Book.
All I can say is “Holy Cow!” I had no idea you could can so many different things.
When I was little, my Mom used to can. I dont remember much about her canning other than that it always seemed like she canned on the hottest day of the year. She would can meat, beans, carrots, tomatoes, ketchup, apples, and pears. Every summer without fail, on the hottest most humid day of the year, she’d be in the kitchen with the door closed boiling water for canning.
I’m excited to learn a new skill, especially one that makes me more self sufficient. Last summer I made refrigerator “Bread and Butter” pickles and refrigerator jam out of plums I got for free. Hopefully this summer my garden will produce enough produce for me to put some things away like tomatoes, beans (hot and pickled please!), summer squash, along with hot and sweet pickles. I will, I found out, have to buy a pressure cooker, because not all foods can be canned in a hot water bath. Some foods like tomatoes and beans need to be canned in a pressure cooker because a hot water bath does not get hot enough to kill all the bacteria and enzymes present that can spoil the food. No one wants to eat spoiled food right?
Things are pretty quiet at Chateau Walter. It’s very wet which is to be expected for winter in Oregon and we’re supposed to get a wind storm tomorrow. Lets all keep our fingers crossed that my power does not go out.
Hi, I’m still here January 14, 2010
Posted by walterknitty in Gardening, Knitting, Life Lessons.add a comment
Well,
It’s been a long absence. I was dealing with a lot of man drama, man drama that went on for far too long. Now he’s gone and it’s just Claire and I. He’s been gone for a week and life is much less stressful.
Emms asked for a guest post over at Loumms on growing Lemon Cucumbers in a container. I was more than happy to oblige. Growing cucumbers last summer was fun and even though they didnt get as much food as they should have I still got 2 large mason jars full of cucumbers, gaspacho, and cucumbers to eat.
I have all kinds of plans for my garden this spring/summer. I have seeds for kale and rainbow chard! Because it doesnt freeze here (at least not often) I can start them inside in a couple of weeks and in a month they’ll be ready to go outside. Chard and kale have become my new favourite leafy greens, right next to spinach and arugula. There are new tomatoes to grow, different kinds of flowers (I am keeping the Heavenly Blues. They’re my favourite), summer squash, spinach, herbs, peppers, and a new cucumber. Richmond Green Apple. They’re about the same size and shape as lemon cukes but they are green.
In knitting news I finished Emms Courtline Socks. They’re Hawkeye’s belated Christmas gift. He was so good to me during my man drama I wanted to do something nice for him. He asked for socks for Christmas and after all he’s done for me, I thought it was only appropriate. I knitted them out of a Zauberball that came in shades of cream, brown, grey, and black. Unfortunately, the camera went with the man who was causing the drama, you’ll have to make do with a crappy picture from the camera in my laptop.
Knitting these socks was a challenge. For the first time, I almost succumbed to second sock syndrome. After knitting teeny, tiny, cables for 14 inches, you might succumb to second sock syndrome too, but I preserved. Because he was so good (he said I could call him anytime, even 2AM and he’d answer the phone. he also said that if he was in Oregon he’d've already come to my place and make the man leave) he’s also getting some coffee and home made granola. I’m blessed. Not many girls can say they are grateful for their ex-husbands.
I’ m off to the coast tomorrow for some much needed R&R with Donna who says I’m not her ex-anything, that I am her daughter. No doubt she’ll ply me with wine, food, and talking. She has a huge jacuzzi style tub, I’m sooooo looking forward to a long hot bath. She said something about thrift store shopping and a rummage sale.
M will be visiting next weekend and we’re going to do some redecorating in my apartment. Nothing says “MY SPACE” like some redecorating. I’ll see if I can get him to bring his camera for some before/after pictures.
The gardening experiment July 17, 2009
Posted by walterknitty in Food, Gardening, Life Lessons.1 comment so far
I’ve learned quite a bit from my little garden this summer.
Peppers seem to grow up. What I mean is that the end where the flower used to be is pointing almost straight up to the sky. Cucumber seems to grow about 6 inches a day. I swear to God that it’s true. Every day when I come home from work the plant is 6 inches taller than the day before. Cucumbers, or at least lemon cucumbers, dont grow from a hard stem, the stem is more like a vine. Green beans need to be picked every day and picking bush beans is a lot easier than picking pole beans. Marigolds do work as natural slug repellent.
Even though it doesnt seem like they’ll ever get ripe, I’m going to have more tomatoes than I’m going to know what to do with. They’ll probably get ripe all at once.
Morning glories are very forgiving.
Herbs like to be picked. Especially basil. But with herbs, you have to plant a lot to get a lot.
The lesson I’ve learned most clearly? With pots, you have to have plants that produce a lot in a small space.
What I mean is that although I love carrots, beets, and broccoli, I’m not going to grow them next year. In order to get enough carrots and beets to eat more than once you have to have more space than a couple of pots can provide, unless that’s all you want to grow. One carrot seed will only grow one carrot. One cucumber seed will grow into a plant that produces lots of cucumbers. With that one cucumber seed you’re going to get a lot more out of the space (the pot), money (pot, dirt, fertilizer), and time (pulling off dead leaves, training, etc) If I had space for raised beds you bet your ass I’d plant a ton of carrots, beets, cabbage, broccoli, etc.
I’ve also learned that long, shallow pots are good for growing flowers but not much else. I am going to try to grow collards in a couple of my shallow pots now that the beets, carrots, and broccoli have been pulled.
Next summer instead of beets, carrots, and broccoli I’m going to try corn and small zucchini.
It is pretty cool to see a tiny seed change itself into a large plant that flowers and fruits. How they know how to do what they do is a mystery.
Saturday Afternoon June 28, 2009
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Things are taking off here. There are going to be tomatoes coming out my ears! I’m thinking of things I can do with them like: freeze for pizza/spaghetti sauce and soup, make catsup (how cool would green catsup be, or orange), make chutney, and of course eat lots of them.
Tigerella
The Green Zebra
And the Orange Fleshed Purple Smudge (yup, that’s the whole name)
Other veggies that go with tomatoes are taking off too
For scale,
Yes, the tomatoes are almost as tall as I am.
It was a perfect Saturday. Sunny, warm, not too hot. Pruning and picking at the plants. A bike ride in the afternoon. I did some knitting in the morning. I started the Shipwreck shawl from Knitty about a week ago. Webs was having a sale on Misti Alpaca lace (it was overstock), for 4$ and change a ball, I just couldnt pass it up. It doesnt look like much. It looks like a big blue blob and will continue to look like a big blue blob, getting a little bigger and blobbier every day. No beads though. I’m too lazy to fiddle with beads.
In other news, I found out Hawkeye is going to be here for my birthday. He’s coming from Iowa to visit for about a month and will be here at the end of July. Some of his friends want to go on a camping trip and originally scheduled it for the 31st. He said he couldnt go that weekend because it’s my birthday and he wanted to hang out with me. I would never have asked or expected him to do that. It was one of the nicest things that happened last week. I have no idea what we’re going to do. It’s still a month away. Long enough to figure something out.
The Slug final solution . . . Beer! June 12, 2009
Posted by walterknitty in Gardening.1 comment so far
Simple, economical, easy to clean, and environmentally friendly beer is the final solution for slugs. My Mom put out bowls of cheap beer for slugs in her garden. Jeff (the neighbour across the courtyard with trees and a sad tomato) was having slug problems last year. I suggested he use beer and he never looked back.
Slugs seem to prefer some plants over others. They love poppies. Jeff puts a little cup of beer in his poppy pot and the little s.o.b’s dive right in. He does help some of them along, tipping them over the side into the beer with his little bamboo stick. His own version of slug assisted suicide.
Slugs love beer. I dont know why, but they do. They will creep and crawl into the beer completely unaware that by giving into the sin of temptation they will meet their doom. Some days it looks like slug night at the local pub. Expensive beer is not necessary. Slugs like PBR, at least that’s what Jeff uses. The only thing is that you have to put out fresh beer every day, preferably in the late afternoon/early evening. Slugs come out at night and in the early morning.
There you have it folks. Simple, affordable, economical. Save your plants from certain destruction. The slug final solution. Cheap beer.
Garden Update June 8, 2009
Posted by walterknitty in Gardening.2 comments
I realized it’s been a while since I gave an update on my little garden. I know, pride goes before the fall, but I am proud of my plants, especially the tomatoes. The broccoli was kind of a bust. I got lots of leaves, but they got decimated by cabbage loopers. The heads? Well, see for yourself
That’s my finger for scale. The head will not get much bigger than that. I was hoping I’d get something I could sink my teeth into. That was not to be. I’m not saying it’s not good. It’s got a nice peppery taste, it’s just not something I can make pasta with or make a nice salad out of. Calabrese Green Sprouting broccoli will not be in the fall garden.
The tomatoes? I’m much happier about the tomatoes. Sorry there are only pictures of two kinds. The picture of the third was blurry and it’s nearly dark now, too dark to retake it.
May lightning or hail not strike them dead, I do have a lot of pride in those. I grew them from seed and although one of them almost died before replanting, they both seem to be doing well. All three are doing well actually. Jeff, my neighbour across the courtyard, is having another go this year at growing tomatoes. He picked his up from somewhere, and well, he’s jealous.
He does have a tomato which is more than I have. The way his plant looks, it may be the only one he gets. I know I shouldnt boast or take glee in my accidental tomato growing prowess, but, (there’s always a but) I am pretty damn proud of my tomatoes. Hopefully, there will be enough to blanch and freeze for the winter. Here are some of the rest: Beans, lavender, lettuce (aka dinner tomorrow), morning glories, lemon cuke, peppers (the peppers have flowers!) basil, dill, fennel, beets, and carrots
