Cardiff Garden Blog

So a while back we used to have a skateboard ramp behind our house in a public alley. It only lasted a summer but it was a great summer. We had lots of friends come by and skate it and lots of times guys would leave old skateboard decks. We had nine used decks just laying on a shelf in the backyard. I've always wanted to do something productive with them. I was thinking of making a cool chair maybe with them. But I am no great carpenter. Instead I thought what I great idea to use them to build a raised bed box. This box was built with 100% of the spare stuff lying around in the backyard. Including most of the screws. I screwed two decks to a single 2x4 and then fasten the corners together with a 4x4 and some long screws.  Went and got some bags of soil after tilling up the existing soil.  Added some spicy peppers and some watermelon. 

So while I was plucking dead leaves from the Boysenberry vine I spied this little beauty. It was low on the plant and well hidden. If I wasn't poking around I'd never seen it. Which leads me to believe its going to be hard to find all of the berries when they start to ripen. So this was my first taste of a boysenberry and to be honest I was worried that I wouldn't like the taste of something I am growing so heartily. Thankfully it was delicious and I can't wait to taste more. I've already spied another one that looks to be ready. And the hunt continues..

So I've used a bunch of different pruners in my few years of gardening and these have been the best suited so far. These are Fiskars Micro tip pruners. I bought them at Home Depot for a reasonable price. They are deadly sharp and cut great. I will say the only down side is that they are so pointy sharp on the tips that I think I've stabbed myself over 20 times. Nothing to where I was bleeding excessively but enough to hurt. I reccommend you grab a pair at your local garden store. They run about $10.

So this year I didn't need to plant celery. It planted itself I guess. I had planted celery last year and reaped a decent crop. But this year the remnants must have still been there. Funny thing is that my celery tastes a bit salty. I think because I live very close to the coast and we often get an ocean breeze that the plant has taken in some of the salty air. I've already harvested quite a bit from my 3-4 plants. If not kept in check they will grow rather bushy. A very easy crop to grow that really requires no real mantainence other than watering and picking the celery.  Nothing crunchier than picking one fresh from the ground to your mouth.  I bought some cream cheese with chives to spread on mine. Delicious.

I think this is quite possibly one of the most important lessons to be learned in gardening. Sadly I think most people learn it after they commit the same mistakes others have (me included) in the past In the above picture you see my tomato plants just a few weeks old. I thought I gave them ample room and spacing . But as you can see the other picture I was mistaken. Easiest mistake to make, planting stuff too close together. This was my first attempt at gardening and what better veggie to grow then tomatoes. But I quickly learned that they turn into bushy weeds that quickly take over everything.  I elected to not go the metal cage route and just used clothesline string to string large branches up to support the tomatoes. This jungle did reap great rewards but it was terribly hard to pick some of the tomatoes on the inside of the jungle.  What I learned from this is that no to plant too many tomatoes together unless you want your whole box taken over.  I guess we all get over zealo

So I've had quite the pea harvest this year (Sugar Snap and Snow Pea).  I think I gave away pounds of peas. Handed them out to anyone that would take them. And before I gave them away I would always go through and find the ones that didn't look up to snuff. Either blemishes or discoloration. I would then leave them on my kitchen table that got some sun and warmth throughout the day to dry out. That in turn gave me seeds for next year. I've already sent some to my folks on the east coast in hopes that they can grow some of the peas that I grew. This is my harvest of peas after I left for a week on vacation. Luckily I had my roommate water the plants for me. Unforturnately they didn't pick much.  I filled six sandwich bags full and more.  The crop is about down now. I've ripped out most dead or dying plants and even planted some of my own seeds in a new location. I don't know if it's too late to plant peas but I can't imagine it'll hurt to try.

This is a picture of my grapevine when I first planted it probably 4 years ago.  This is now what my grapevine looks like. It's weaved it way all throughout the fence. It's really had a healthy explosion of growth this past spring and maybe I'll actually get some grapes this year. It's yet to produce any fruit. I've heard a new grapevine could take up to 5 years to produce fruit. I've tried to weave new growth into the fence to keep it from bunching in one area.  Strong well rooted vines.  Nice healthy neon green leaves reaching upwards for more sunshine.

 I've grown squash for a couple seasons now. Verry little maintainence required and usually a decent harvest. I believe these to be summer squash. I've got some Spaghetti squash growing as well as well as pumpkins (also a squash).

These are what my pumpkins look like right now. The vine is well over 15 feet long and winding it's way through our surf rack. The great thing about pumpkins is that you don't need a whole lot of garden space in your box to grow them. I have the roots in a small corner of my raised bed and the rest of the vine growing outside. Now I've learned from experience that it's better to just water the roots of the vine that actually getting any water on the vine itself or it's leaves. Now not every pumpkin will grow. They need to be pollinated.  Some will grow to pumpkins and others will stay the small and rot away. Last year I got 4 solid pumpkins from my pumpkin vine. This year I look to improve the odds by growing more than one vine in multiple locations. These were last years class. Nothing overly impressive but still proud of my harvest. Hopefully I'll have more this year.

Growing Onions is something I am not completely knowledgeable about.  These are Walla Walla onions. And it feels like they've been in the ground forever. I planted over a year ago I tihnk. They are now starting to flower.  I ripped one out the other day just to see how big they were but I was surprised to see that they weren't that big at all. I'm gonna leave them for a while longer I guess. It can't hurt anything. And by the looks of the flowers I might get some onion seeds to plant for next year. If know something I don't please enlighten me with the right knowledge.  I am always open to gardening knowledge and suggestions.

 Building boxes is easy after you've built a few.  Pretty basic stuff. 4x4 with some two by fours.  I've tried to roto till the dirt under the boxes with my garden claw before I've added my own purchased soil. I don't have access to a truck load of black gold so I just buy what I can at the local garden store. It's a good idea to dig your posts in the ground to ensure that your box doesn't move over time.

So this is Cheddar Cauliflower. I can honestly say I haven't had any real luck growing it. It always seems to not be together in one solid head.  It always looks great when it's small like this and then continues to spread apart as it matures further.  I guess I'll have to do some research on what I am doing wrong. If you are reading this and have had the same experiences with Cauliflower and know a solution let me know.

This is my first year growing Brussel Sprouts. I'm sort of excited to see the outcome. I had a bunch of plants in the ground but I noticed they were getting this weird grey fungus on them. Ended up ripping the majority of them up. But I still have a few really healthy ones in the ground. I really want to see the finished product. I like seeing what the supermarket has to offer and comparing with what I grow in the backyard.

Starting the next round of seeds. I've planted Tomatillos (purple variety), Roma tomatotes, Bajia Peppers, Cucumber, Peppercinis, and Cherry tomatoes.  I placed them in my bedroom window where it gets about 6+ hours of direct sunlight. Also my room helps create a greenhouse effect trapping some of the days heat.  I've also planted some on the kitchen windowsill as well.  I will keep you posted on how quick I see some growth. I've tried a different medium for the starter pot. Armstrong's didn't have my standard jiffy pot. This look to be some kind of organic medium maybe some kind of husk. I'll be interested to see if has any effect on the timing of the plants growing.

  What a great way to bring some bright vibrant color to your garden and help pollinate your plants as well.  Sunflowers are a great bee-bringer.  I chose to plant Mammoth Sunflowers that grow to 8-10ft.  I've planted them on the edges off all my boxes in places where they wouldn't be a shade to vegetables but still in the good soil.  After they produce seeds it makes a great bird feeder. In the past I've cut the heads off the flowers and hung them in the fence for the birds to dine on.  I've also planted some right below my bedroom window in hopes that I'll have a really cool bedroom shade of sunflowers.

Tomatillos.  Most commonly found in Salsa verde or green salsa. Looks to be a combination of a tomato and a pepper.  They grow like weeds. Last year I had such an abundance that I couldn't give them away fast enough. This year I went for a purple variety and just planted some in soil yesterday. I expect to harvest within a month or so. Be wary of where you plant these because they need a lot of room and will quickly take over any box if not kept in check. I weave my into the fence for support and help keep them from invading other territory. Tomatillos are very easy to pick and easy to tell when ripe. Just give them a squeeze and if the leafy shell is empty they need more time. If the shell if flaking off and dried they are ready.

I bought a Boysenberry tree/bush/vine whatever you'd like to call it about a year ago. It didn't do much for the first couple months and then this past winter it exploded. I have it climbing a staircase to raised deck. It all the way to the top of deck on one side and half way there on the other side. It's produced quite a bit of white flowers which in turn make green berries that will eventually make red/purple berries.  I'm guess that last part because I've never ate nor grown Boysen berries. Sort of excited to see the outcome. Will keep the blog posted on what the finished product looks like.

I found that picking strawberries a little early from when they are totally ripe really helps.  Example being when a strawberry is still white yet showing small signs of redness is the perfect time to pick.  After picking I let the strawberry sit in a window for a day or two for it to completely ripen.  See pics for example.  Otherwise the strawberries tend to turn mushy or bugs get to them. Stay tuned for more about my backyard veggie garden.