Our Vegetable Garden is Done!

While hubby was spreading this cheap, but effective, steer manure, I was right behind him with the rake. We wore masks because of the horrible wind storms we are having that are supposed to spread Valley Fever, a potentially deadly illness that lurks in the soil in the San Joaquin Valley and up here too, more easily. I'm posting this picture because it gave me a good laugh. I love the composition, the mask, the red wheelbarrow, the green rake, and of course, my hat!  

I helped him as best I could, cutting open all these bags, 

and after he reminded me how to hold a rake correctly, I raked the manure into the soil,

while he continued to empty the sacks.

It was quite a bit of work for us no longer young or well folks, but we cooperated and didn't fuss. I made sure we drank lots of water and took rest breaks. That was the other day.

Then Saturday, he worked alone, while I watched and worried. We redesigned the garden, making it more easily accessible, based on what we learned last year. Using a shovel, he made wider aisles for us to walk in and that entailed a lot of heavy work. You can't see them clearly here, but they will work out great.

Also on Saturday, we planted tomatoes, peppers, rosemary and some other plants in pots. Then finally, yesterday morning, in the midst of another sand storm with huge wind gusts, he put the finishing touches on the garden soil and planted all the seeds. He didn't want my help, which caused a bit of conflict; I mean, he was seriously worried I would mess it up!

Oh, and I hated that mask, so it came of pretty quickly.

And tomorrow we go to the UCLA Hospital in Santa Monica, where he will get his first chemo surgery. I read a bit more about it, and patients tolerate it well for the most part, but all sorts of scary things can happen. Good thing is they will keep him over night for observation. 

And I will drive back home, about 125 miles, then back again the next day, then home again. Living in the boondocks sure is a lot of fun until stuff happens. Oh, well, it will all work out and I know I will feel a lot better once the procedure is done and I know what we are dealing with. 

Picking, Chopping, Cooking!

When I bought a tiny pepper plant last spring, it had a sticker in it that said it was a chili pepper. And that's what I wanted, but someone had put the wrong sticker in the soil and I got these jalapeno look-alike peppers instead. I'm no pepper expert, so I really don't know what kind they are. But they taste good. I picked them throughout the summer and added them to my rice and salads. The smaller ones were especially delicious, not hot at all, and perfect for salads. Yesterday, I picked the last of the peppers and the still green tomatoes. Good thing, because it was 28 degrees at six this morning and both plants had shriveled up and died in the night.

Earlier today, I decided to cook a few of the peppers and tomatoes. I chopped them up with some red onions and garlic:

Then I sauteed them in olive oil for a few minutes. When they were done, I added cooked brown rice and let it all cook for a while. And here it is:

I seasoned the dish with sesame/ginger spice. (It's called Far East Sesame Ginger Blend by McCormick; I love to add it to my food.) The result is a tasty change from everyday rice. And there is nothing like picking and eating food from your own garden....it tastes so good and you feel so satisfied, somehow, that you actually grew these things. I know my harvest was very small, but I'm happy that a few vegetables survived this hot, dry, and dusty summer.

And I learned a few things about container gardening in a desert landscape. We'll see what happens next year. I would love to have a garden in the ground, but I will need some help with digging, fencing, and such.

Today, I also said goodbye to all the petunias, marigolds, and impatients that have been such a joy this summer. I don't think they will last much longer. And I picked the last rose, just in case it may get too cold for it tonight. Here it is and that's Sindbad in the photo. He passed away a few years ago at the age of 18. He was one of the great loves of my life and I still miss him so.

The Importance of Proper Tools

One of our garden hoses finally gave up, after many years of service, and burst open in about 10 places at once. It was time to buy a new hose, but first I had to remove the old one that was pretty much stuck to the outside faucet. The last time my husband and I went to Home Depot, he bought a wrench for me. A tiny, tiny little wrench -- what were we thinking -- not a wrench fit for a woman who may have to deal, all by herself, with all kinds of emergencies, requiring proper tools. Fortunately, he forgot a bucket full of tools the last time he was up here and in there I found a larger wrench. See the difference....little wrench and big wrench:

Little wrench:

Big wrench:

The big wrench worked, so off I went to The Home Depot to buy a new garden hose.

I like the hoses we have now, but they didn't have them in stock. The sales clerk promised that these dark green hoses would be kink free, which is what I wanted. Then, of course, the hoses we have now were supposed to be kink free too and that proved to be not so. I even have a picture in this very blog, to prove that claim wrong. Anyway, I bought a 50 ft. one of these "kink free" dark green hoses.

Then I picked up a few more things while I was there.

On my way back to town, I had to stop at the railroad crossing. I love trains and feel so lucky to live in a town built around the railroad. I will definitely tell you more about the trains in some future blog.

This morning, I successfully installed the new hose, with the help of the big wrench. After that, I watered my container plants and hosed off the dog enclosure and my car. It gets ugly here fast without water, which gives one something to think and worry about. I have only seen about 15 minutes of rain since April and that's not good.

I don't want to end on such a worrisome note, so let me tell you how awesome it was last night at dinner time, to hear the two huge sonic booms as the shuttle Discovery came in for its landing at Edwards AFB, about 30 miles from here. It always thrills me and I so wish I would some day find out about the change in plans, so I could make it down there and watch a shuttle landing.

My Container Garden

This year, I planted a small container garden for the first time since I moved to the ranch. I wasn't at all sure it would work in this hot and dry place. Some of it didn't -- but some plants did really well. And I got an unexpected joy from taking care of the plants. I hadn't gardened for a while and had forgotten how rewarding it can be. To be on the safe side, I selected easy to grow flowers: Marigolds in buckets around the fenced in area.

I planted these petunias in hanging baskets around the fence.

And these larger ones grew in a pot on the ground. And they flourished throughout this long, hot and very dry summer.

The pepper plant that was supposed to be a chili pepper, but turned out to be some other kind, but good nevertheless, also did really well. And it's in its second flowering now. Can you see the small white flowers? I hope the peppers will grow big before the freezing temps arrive.

None of the plants I tried to grow from seeds did anything much. The tomato plants grew to great hights, but produced the smallest Big Boy tomatoes ever. And to make matters worse - got worms. The other day I decided to beat the worms to the harvest and picked the small green tomatoes. I had Fried Green Tomatoes on my mind, but suspected that would involve some kind of deep-fry with a coating of breadcrumbs. Not really for me -- so I added them to the olive oil after I finished sauteeing a salmon filet, turned up the heat and burnt them a little. After I drained them on a paper towel, they were crisp and really good. So now I know that even a failed harvest can produce a good dinner.