Cardiff Garden Blog

This year wanted to try less size for pumpkins and squash so I tried ornamental tiny pumpkins and gourds  Those are Jack be little pumpkins with my dried peppers on the kitchen table I think it's been easier to grow the smaller ones. Less water. Less time. Less effort. 

   So after seeing some cool photos of Quinoa looked like when grown I bought some seeds and decided to give it a shot.  Know I don't think I have ever eaten any Quinoa (knowingly) nor have I seen it grown.   Looks pretty cool by the way. And supposedly you can eat the leaves as well. I've grown a few plants and a few got to the point where I could harvest the tiny pasty like grains.   I have since dried them in my kitchen and I am in the midst of learning about how to further harvest them from the plant itself. What I found so far was quite labor intensive and seemed to involve water soaking the quinoa to remove chaff and other debris.  I watched a few youtube videos and I don't know if I really want to put that much effort into that little of a harvest. They are said to be delicious but just seems to be a lot of work. If you doubt me google harvesting Quinoa.

  So this is a new variety of pepper I'm growing this year called the Padron Pepper. It's said to be mild when green but after it starts turning red it will be spicier. I've eaten quite a few and they aren't bad. I like something with a little kick.  Healthy size too. Plant grows very hearty and bushy. 

So this picture illustrates about when you want to pick onions.  This white walla walla is starting to peel from its outer skin and its size looks about what you would expect an onion to come in.  If you wait too long it may split into more than one. After digging up its recommended to let them dry in a cool dry place   This giant here is elephant garlic that grows larger than a hand in a fist.  It's way bigger than the normal garlic you'd buy a the store. It's best enjoyed baked in the oven.  Garlic grows from a single clove to be a entire head. So if you get any runts or want to recycle, just plant a clove from this batch for next year.  

 I've  always plant garlic and onions in the fall. This year I pretty much used every box for growing them. I did this because the winters are unpredictable with weather and temp and both are very hearty. Also because I have plenty of pots to grow other things. The pots allow me to better manage soil nutrients and moveable to adapt to sunny or shady spots.  I used some old garlic from last years pick but also bought some at the local armstrongs garden store.  Garlic and Onions are virtually maintenance free. Just water and pick weeds. The trade off is the time it takes for yields. I expect maybe early summer for picking. 

Lettuce is definitely an easy grow. This year I'm growing in pots because it just has fewer issues. In the past in the garden boxes my lettuce was susptible to slugs and other garden pests. The pots elevate the from ground level. Not saying it's foolproof but haven't had an issue so far Nothing tastier then fresh picked lettuce. These two are Crisphead and Saladbowl Also growing Butterhead and Butter Crunch. Yeah I know that is why I label them all