Eden's Eve

In the past weeks, I've been writing a lot off-blog so I've been rather low on words. But now, in honour of the last days of October, I'll post some doubleplusgood updates from the garden:
New record from Big Daddy. This chard leaf is over 95 cm long! I'm sure it could have gone longer but I was impatient to harvest one night. If I can control my harvesting urges, I should be able to get one over a metre long... but time may be running out.I also have a new record for my peppers! I've been harvesting some green ones that are over 9 cm tall, even larger than the one pictured here. And best of all, I got my one red pepper to ripen fully to a stunning scarlet! It's all documented here in this photo series:


For fans of the birds, here are a couple of photos of them from our time out today (October 30), enjoying the sunny afternoon:



Here's one with all my little darlings in one shot:


For M who asked for garden advice: First of all, I really cannot claim to be the best for advice on garden productivity, unless you use me as a negative example. It took me three years to get not much, as I have been lamenting for over a year on this blog. That said, I would recommend Lee Reich's Weedless Gardening, which is basically a gardening method inspired by nature. Besides the perk of having a theoretically weedless garden, I like the philosophy of minimizing disturbances to the garden and soil, which furnishes me with a ready excuse for not working too hard on it, so here are links to some articles by Reich.

My personal Holy Grail for gardening has been the tomato: you can't buy anything that tastes like a freshly homegrown tomato. I found sweet bell peppers to be rewarding also, since my green ones are about as sweet as the red peppers I buy at the supermarket, and my one red pepper was even sweeter and riper than that! I also like having fresh greens so I'd recommend some lettuces, which are pretty easy, and will grow early in the season. Don't plant too much because you probably won't be able to eat it all before they go to seed in the heat. Buy the tastiest lettuce seeds and watch the soil, since that will have a huge impact on flavour. And of course, I'm partial to Big Daddy and Swiss chard in general, which will keep going even through the summer heat.

Try some fresh herbs, since it's so much better to pick what you need from the garden than to go with dried herbs or chance it with fresh cut herbs from the store. I adore basil, but thyme, rosemary, or any other herbs you use would all be good choices. With the basil, you could make pesto, and with the tomatoes, you'll have most your ingredients for a fresh tossed summer pasta with extra virgin olive oil. (Remember that EVOO is good for your health, being a source of health-promoting monounsaturated fats and polyphenol antioxidants.)

As for size, I think that's very much a personal preference. Have it be as big as it needs to be to do what you want. Consider how much you like digging and toiling. If you're not sure, I'd advise starting smaller so that it's not too overwhelming at first, but leave open possibilities for future expansion. Also, you can use some containers if you have a nice lawn you don't want too huge a hole in, but keep in mind that containers will be more time-consuming to water. Smaller plants like herbs and lettuces will do best in containers, or even peppers if the container is large enough. I find that tomatoes really need their space, so that goes best in the plot.

Timing depends on your season. How long and warm is the summer where you are? If shorter, you may need to start earlier by seeding indoors, which may be a good idea anyway. But if you're looking for minimal work, you can always forgo that and just toss some seeds at the dirt and see what happens!