I have garden envy

I have garden envy. Everyone else I know who is gardening is actually growing food but I have yet to see any. When I hear stories and see pictures of my friends’ bounty, I get jealous. I know I should be patient. Things are actually progressing quite nicely in my own garden. I haven’t killed a plant in over two weeks and many are on their way to producing food. I should see a squash in the next week or so (I had to hand pollinate one this morning after finally seeing a female blossom). Tomatoes should start blooming any day now. The beans are almost ready to burst. Patience is a virtue that I must work on. However, I am definitely getting a head start on my fall harvest so maybe I will be the recipient of garden envy. 🙂

Tomato Herb Planter

Last Saturday we purchased a cherry tomato plant at the Winter Park Farmers market. This purchase led into the ideal of creating a mix herb pot. I had plenty of mini herb plants started from seeds so it seemed like a great idea for a porch plant. The 9 side holes have a mix of marjoram, dill, parsley, cilantro, oregano, sage, and basil. The cherry tomato is planted in the top hole. We are excited about seeing this planter grow.

What’s Living and What’s Dying?

We have no food yet but here is the gardening status.

What is thriving in the Garden:

Juliet Hybrid Tomato

Random squash (might be butternut or acorn – it was grown from seeds thrown in the yard)

Beans (They are feeding bugs right now – hopefully soon they will feed us)

Onions

Also…
yellow squash
zucchini squash
carrots
Okra
Seminole Pumpkin (In container)
Sweet Potato (In container)

What is on life support:
1 Juliet Hybrid Tomato
1 Cherry Tomato
1 Pepper

What has died:
1 Pepper
2 Cherry Tomatoes
Various seeds that never grew

Here is a group photos of things started from seeds that I have no idea what to do with.

Carlos cooked octopus

Around two weeks ago, Carlos made octopus for dinner….
Every Monday night in Audubon Park, there is a community farmers market. Every week, my husband picks up locally made cheese, bread, fresh caught fish, and organically grown veggies. One particular week he brought home frozen octopus. Knowing that octopus seemed quite difficult to prepare, I left it up to him to figure out how to cook it.
After it defrosted, he cleaned out the eyes and ink.

While he was preparing the octopus, I had to leave to go play volleyball. He prepared the following octopus recipe –Polpi in Umido -Italian Octopus Stewed in Wine and Tomatoes.
When I returned, I was pleasantly surprised at what was prepared.

We ate it on its own with a side of boiled beets and sliced burpless cucumbers. The octopus and sauce would have been spectacular though as a pasta topping.

New Garden Additions

At the organic gardeners meeting last Wednesday we became the proud owners of a Sweet Potato slip and a Seminole Pumpkin plant. If you are not familiar, Sweet Potatoes are just awesome. The Seminole Pumpkin is a butternut squash-like veggie that is supposed to grow well here. As of now, I still have the sweet potato on the porch until I can determine what to do with it. And the Seminole Pumpkin has been transplanted to a larger pot and put under a bottle brush on the side of the house ( so it can climb it).

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