Iivette Soler @ Annie's Annuals 6-25-11

It looked like everyone had a great time at Annie's Annuals (no surprise there) listening to Ivette speaking passionately about her view of the Edible Front Yard.

Elayne & the crew @ Annie's had to bring out extra chairs to accommodate all the folks that showed up. Among the enthralled masses we found Maureen Decombe (@Plantanista) , Kristi (@Tikikristi) & Carri Stokes (@readbetweenthelimes). Somewhere out there is Susan Morrison (@susanlmorrison) of "Garden Up" fame.

What a great setting for Ivette to bring her enthusiasm for combining good design principals with front yard food. She had the audience wrapped around her little finger and I'm sure everyone learned something useful. She presents a lot of information in a short time and makes it very entertaining! Though Ivette is very serious about proper design, she has a very go-with-the-flow attitude.

Signing books for the fans. If you don't have a copy yet, be sure to pick up a copy of "the EDIBLE FRONT YARD". And if you haven't met the wonderful @Germinatrx before, you don't know what you're missing!

Return to The Redneck Garden

Yes, it has been awhile. No apologies, but I will say that I've missed blogging. I enjoy writing & it forces me to look at & think about things in more depth. Like being a photographer requires you to consider the subject in more than just an admiring fashion. Sort of self-induced introspection, if there is such a thing.

So, as for the Redneck garden; various influences kept me from planting winter veggies, so things pretty much languished in neglect.

But spring (such as it has been in Northern Ca this year) brings a sense of renewal & rejuvenation. I didn't get quite as ambitious this year and missed all the really good plant sales. A neighbor gave me a few seedlings of bean & cucumber, while the rest of my plants came from the local hardware store's garden center. That said, I'm pretty pleased with the number & variety of plants as well as the opportunity to take some new challenges this season.

I'm trying corn in buckets for the 1st time. Fellow gardener Annie Haven (@GreenSoil) encouraged me to give it a try & these Redneck planters are set up perfectly for companion planting. I'm hoping the cucumbers will draw the pollinators for the corn. All of this was planted just three weeks ago & is really taking off. Oh, the fennel is a survivor from last year that just keeps producing.

This lettuce container is a bit slow getting going, but I'm optimistic.

The red Cherry Bomb peppers are off to a good start. As are the bell, poblano & jalapenos.

This new tomato appears happy with it's cilantro & basil under-planting & neighboring chives & marjoram, which are both blooming profusely right now thanks to the temperature change & sunlight.

This tomato is a "Classic yellow" from last year that survived the winter frost & neglect & insists on shooting up, tall & proud with lots of flowering going on. I'm interested to see how it does in year #2. This one also has the cilantro & basil companion planting.

 Though the bean or squash plant in the center of this container failed, it looks like the scallions are going to make it just fine. That's another new one for me. I'll find something else to plant in the middle, maybe more scallions.

This Kniphofia was blooming like crazy a month ago.

But now looks like this. Did I piss it off by cutting off the (apparently) dead bloom spikes? Is it just because I have it in a fairly small container? I'm open to input from anyone with more experience.

We do have some pretty happy Dianthus right now. This plant had one single blossom all last year. This year it is really bringing it!

Beautiful, delicate flowers against very interesting structure.

Apparently the baby grasshoppers like them too.

I know it's off-topic, but I have to show off the new houseplant that wifey brought home. I'd never seen a Red Maranta before, but love the red veins & velvety texture. A great find from my bride who really isn't a plant person.

Another great combination of color & texture, courtesy of Mother Nature.

That's about it for this update. I have some new twists in mind and will share them when the time comes. Hope everyone gets their summer off to a great start.

Puttin' Down Some Roots

Has it really been like seven weeks since my last post? Wow! Turns out that time doesn't just fly when you're having fun, it flies even when you aren't having fun. Don't worry, I'm not going to whine & bore you to death with the details. After all, this isn't about me, it's about The Redneck Garden!

Like most gardens in Nor-Cal, my summer veggies have all but flown the coop. I've been gradually pulling things, making room for winter veggies that I haven't started or purchased yet (right on my usual schedule). The latest to be thinned was the green grape tomato that produced quite well this year, but had finally withered beyond even the cage's ability to support it. Only challenge was, when I tried to pull it from the bucket, it wouldn't let go! I had to take it over to the driveway and turn the bucket upside down to get it out. Check out what I found...

 

 For starters, from the surface of the soil, to the tip of the stem was over 6 & 1/2 feet! Not bad for a semi-determinate cherry tomato grown in a plastic bucket!

 

 

This is after I dumped it out of the bucket, so the top of the pics is actually the bottom of the bucket. I'm not totally surprised at this great root growth, but very pleased with the confirmation that I was doing some things right. 

The main root ball, after knocking most of the dirt off was a solid 10" mass of fibrous roots. I don't know if this is typical or not, being the novice gardener that I am, but for a bucket that was only 11" wide & 12" deep, this seems pretty good to me. Further proof that my custom blended soil had a great balance of air & water porosity and that the beneficial organisms in the soil were thriving and sharing their joy with the plant. The original mix contained greenwaste compost & worm castings, which are both great sources of beneficial biology & natural nutrients. The plant received a few applications of worm compost tea during the summer months, a couple small applications of a commercial organic vegetable fertilizer over the season and were never watered more than twice each week.

And even now it wants me to believe it can still make those tasty green treats I've so enjoyed. Thanks to the Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County & Cynthia Sanberg of Love Apple Farm for the good tips. Hopefully next summer will be just slightly warmer & we'll see a little more production.

Until next time; get out to the garden and stay happy.

Eat Real Festival Year Two

I managed to get away to enjoy a few hours at  the Eat Real festival in Oakland this past weekend. I went last year as well, but this was a bigger & better event. Just about any kind of food you could want was being served from trucks, carts & booths. Of course there were several versions of the traditional taco truck or taco stand and they all looked great. Click on the pics for larger images.

And some not so traditional versions...

There were Filipino food trucks...

Argentinian & Indian food trucks...

And of course, a local favorite made even more famous by their recent appearance on the Food Network's "The Great Food Truck Race", Spencer on the Go!

Yes, I did have the Escargot Lollipop, which was excellent and no, Spencer would not tell me who wins. So much for my phone call to Vegas.

And there was entertainment in the form of good, live music...

And more food...

And beverages...

And great wood-fired barbacue...

I talked with one of the guys from this crew; they came all the way from Alabama to do this event! They are trying to organize a similar event at home and have come to Eat Real the past two years to gain experience and learn what it takes to put together a food event of this magnitude. Oh, and they smoked a whole hog from Marin Sun Farms, who provided their pastured pork for all of the food vendors at Eat Real. Yumm!

Can't forget desert...

But wait, there's loads more food...

And there was a whole section on Urban Homesteading...

Even my favorite CSA folks were here...

My family really enjoys the box we get from Farm Fresh to You every other week. My little urban container garden is pretty good, but the CSA subscription keeps us in diverse, seasonal, organic fruits & vegetables that come fresh from the farm, for the same money we used to spend at the local mega-market.

Organic dairy products anyone???

Have I told you about the "Pulled Rabbit Sandwich" yet???

Oh yes I did & it was delish! The rabbit, from Canvas Restaurant (a roving supper club) was a product of Devil's Gulch Ranch, on the Marin county coast. Another great example of sustainable, organic agriculture just a few miles from San Francisco. The Pasternaks are not only farming, ranching & wine making people, they provide many educational opportunities as well. Elmer Fud woulda' loved this.

And more food...

Mac & Cheese is the new Beef Stroganoff (especially the "Trailer Mac") and these ladies were rockin' it! MMMmmmm, pans full of warm gooey, cheesy goodness.

And more food...

Seemed like the crowd was enjoying the whole Eat Real experience. The absolutely perfect weather didn't hurt either.

My visit ended with something you don't see every day...

A hog butchering competition. I know, seems a little strange, but part of the Eat Real message is for people to be more directly connected with their food and know where it comes from. These guys were truly skilled craftsmen and impressive to watch. Absolutely nothing was wasted. The lady emcee did a terrific job of describing exactly what was going on, interacting with the crowd & the judges and provided a lot of education along the way. I learned a lot about pastured pork and what I can do to improve my food supply. This was an unexpectedly good surprise.

So, what did I eat you ask? Limited time and funds were my restrictions or I could've easily spent the whole weekend here. My first taste was the Maui Taco from The Taco Guys. This was a fantastic little fish taco with great big flavor and wonderfully crispy fried Pacific Rock Cod & Sriracha Mayo. My second bite was the pulled rabbit sandwich from Canvas Restaurant and third was the Escargot Lollipop from Spencer on the Go! Okay, I did have one beer on the way out. In truth, I wish I had used that $6.00 on more food.

So there you have it; Eat Real Festival looked to be a huge success this year and I can't wait to see what next year brings. If you made the fest, let me know what your favorite bites were. If you didn't make it, mark your calendar for next year. If you are a fan of fresh, local, real food, this event is not to be missed!