Thievery

Every time there is a promising cucumber that will be perfect for the picking in another day, it's gone before it has a chance.  This was the case last year with my eggplants.

There's a plot next to mine that's also growing cukes but don't have theirs climbing sticks - theirs are just on the ground, growing in weird shapes.  They seem to be left alone.  All of mine that are the best and visible get snipped away.  Frustrated, I wrote a post on my gardening club's message board asking if anyone else experienced vegetable theft.  I said I hate to think it but it's either that or those squirrels are damn good with scissors.

The one reply I got was short and dismissive.  The writer said I'd be surprised how razor sharp claws are and how critters dug up someone else's bulbs so cleanly that it looked like a human did it with a trowel.  Oh really?  I didn't know critters could weed too.  Let me explain.

The weed situation is out of control in my corner of the garden.  We weeded diligently in the beginning but my mother realized she should leave it alone because the tall weeds on the side of the cucumbers worked as camouflage and hid the good cucumbers growing.  For a while it was working, until one day she noticed someone had cleared all the weeds on that side of the garden and also helped themselves to the best of my cucumbers.  The dismissive lady's suggestion: "I don't know what to tell you except look into wire netting?"  Yeah right.

In other news, I'm wondering if I should move this blog to Posterous.  It seems easier to maintain and I hate the fact that I am no longer able to post photos easily as I once had through flickr.  Now if I want to post a photo I have to use Picasa and it sucks.  Why did flickr get rid of its jpg link?  I don't know what the technical term for it is but it no longer lets me post photos here directly from it.  Since I'm on a different computer and don't have the photos on my hard drive, I have to download it from flickr then upload to Picasa then download it here.  Ugh.  It's so inconvenient.  Posterous, here I come.  Maybe.  I have to look into it more.

Switch

So after way too much back and forth than there needed to be I am switching to a different plot.  I didn't get my first choice - as it turned out to be a highly coveted spot and I was the second to request a switch and not the first as I had thought, it went to someone else.  But mine is the one next to it and upon further examination, I think it might actually be better.

The summer weeds are out of control so I have a lot of work ahead of me to clear my new plot:

It's hard to even make out where my plot ends and the next one begins from this picture.  It's completely covered with weeds and why no one announced the availability of the new area months ago when I saw it laid with topsoil and marked off I'll never know.  Annoyance aside, I'm just not sure how I'm going to get through all this with my wonky hand.  Here's the new plot from a different angle although I don't know how much of a better idea it gives of its size and location than the first one:

My tiny plot won't look like this for much longer:

View from the other side, photo a bit overexposed:

Several good things about the new plot:
1. More sun!  Not much more, maybe a couple of hours, but it's something!  Yay!
2. Tiny bit larger, I think.  The measurements were given by a committee member but I should go down there with a tape measure and see for myself.
3. Two points of access to the plot.  By that I mean, when the committee divided up the original garden, they didn't mark off where the footpaths were going to be and told people after they planted to make room.  Some did, some didn't, then they abandoned the plan altogether.  So for my square plot, I have only one point of access.  That means it's hard to reach my basil and some eggplants because I put them all the way in the back to get the most sun.  This time, the committee blocked off a footpath running down the middle so there are two points of access - from the main concrete path and the new footpath.
4. I've learned from my mistakes.  While it's really best to leave the plants alone for the rest of the season instead of digging them up, at least now I know how big they're going to grow next year and space them out better.
5. No more being neighbors with the person who keeps putting rocks on my side of the plot.

Why?  I don't see any rocks lining his/her side.  Whenever I see them, I just remove them.  They reappeared today.

Not really sure when I'm moving.  Of course, I'd like to postpone it until the end of summer.  The switchers don't have to uproot until their old plot is selected for a newcomer on the waiting list.  I haven't received any news about my plot being reassigned so everything stays put until then.

Something Old, Something New

The Old:
Oh dearie dear.  Poor communication and confusion have delayed the plot switch.  New plots were created in another area of the garden and some of the original members (including me) wanted to switch for a sunnier spot.  Getting this done has taken longer than necessary.  Now it's midsummer and unbearably hot with all sorts of tiny creatures biting me, and I have to weed my new plot then dig up all my not-so-little ones and replant them?  Are you kidding me?

The New:
Enough venting.  Today my mother came over and helped me pull out the lettuces and wrangle the out of control cukes that keep wanting to creep into a neighbor's plot.

Here's the last of the lettuce.  Not looking so good, but the final salad greens:

We picked two of the three eggplants that were growing.  They were sagging too close to the ground so my mom thought they'd be better picked and eaten:

The perilla were really abundant.  I hadn't picked any in weeks so there were plenty of large leaves.  My mother snipped while I held out the plastic bag for her to throw them in.  She counted 70.  Here they are after washing:

I took a few leaves and chiffonaded them to add to a nori omelet:

Recipe:
3 large eggs or 2 jumbo for a 10" nonstick pan
few tbsps dashi (homemade or powdered is fine, but it's optional)
dash mirin
dash soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste
few drops sake optional
chopped perilla (or scallions, mushrooms, or whatever veggies you have on hand - it really doesn't matter as long as everything is chopped or sliced fine)
1 sheet nori
oil for the pan
Whisk together eggs, mirin, dashi, sake, soy sauce, salt and pepper.
Heat the oil (I use a blend of vegetable oil and a few drops sesame oil for flavor) and add the vegetables to sautee for a few minutes.  If it's just perilla, sautee for a few seconds.
Add the egg mixture and use a spatula to stir as you would an omelet.  When the bottom is cooked but the top is a little wet, lay the sheet or nori, rough side down.  Pat it down gently and when it looks like it's adhered somewhat, start loosening the bottom on one side of the pan and fold it over.  It should be about 2" wide.
Scroll to the bottom for my link to Oxo's pancake turner.  I have this and it's infinitely more useful than a normal spatula.  That's because it's super wide, and you really need something as wide as you can get to easily roll the omelet.  If you don't have it, use the widest spatula you have, or use two to help roll from both ends.
Loosen more of the bottom and keep rolling and loosening, rolling and loosening.  You should soon have something that resembles a log (think Buche Noel or jelly roll - mmmm... jelly roll.... num num num).  The seam side should be down, and shut off the heat.  Let the omelet sit in the pan for about 10 minutes so all the loose egg inside sets.  Transfer to a cutting board and let cool for another 5 minutes or so before slicing on a bias.

It takes practice, but even if it comes out ugly it's still delicious.  Perilla, when eaten raw, is quite pungent like basil.  But when it's cooked, its flavors become muted and lends a more subtle fragrance.  It's delicious in eggs.

Flowers, Seeds, and General Optimism

As I write this, Wimbledon is on, my new ac is on full blast, and I'm examining the upside down Y's marked with dirt on my sunburned feet.  There was an early morning brainstorm session on the next stage of the hand-built compost bins with the Sustainability Committee, then I skipped over to my tiny plot to water the parched darlings.  I'm guessing it was a total of 10 minutes my un-sunblocked feet was exposed to sun.  I wish I didn't burn so easily.  I'm not looking forward to the bumpy rash.  My poor toes.

But I discovered a few gems to share with you here!  I'd noticed teeny purple buds on my eggplants last week but here they are in full bloom:

Here's another one:

Pretty, aren't they?  I'm not sure if the variety my mom got me are the bulbous Italian kind or the long skinny Japanese kind.  I just hope they produce edible eggplants of some sort.

Before I go on, an apology for the high contrast photos.  It was very sunny out (aforementioned poor toes), and I took these with my iPhone.

Also exciting is that my cilantro have gone to seed.  I didn't know this until I googled to find out why my cilantro started to flower and didn't look like all the other gardeners' cilantro.  Apparently, I'd not harvested it properly.  Since I had no recipes I wanted to cook just yet that needed any, I decided to leave the flowers alone.  Many have now turned into coriander seeds:

I picked one to taste and it was deliciously pungent!  This might be a better shot of my thumbnail than the seed, but here it is split open:

This is what the cilantro looked like a few weeks ago, haphazardly growing with little white flowers on top:

The basil also flowered:

What were once cute little perilla seedlings now have strong thick stalks:

The lettuces look like they need some chopstick and twist-tie therapy.  I had no idea they'd get so weirdly tall.  Here they are flopped over, bowing to the mint:

And speaking of mint, they've gone crazy, as I'd expected:

Here's the whole thing as of this morning:

From the other side:

It looks like a crazy jumble of green now.  Remember when it looked like this?

Wayward Cucumbers

When I planted my tiny plot earlier this spring I tried to use as much foresight as possible regarding placement, considering height, sun needs, etc.  But being an inexperienced gardener I made mistakes and my tiny plot isn't perfect.  I had relocated my cukes next to the bendy wooden low trellis-y thing I'd bought to separate my plot from my neighbor's, thinking they could use that to climb.  Here it is behind the winebox plants:

Instead the cukes grew in the opposite direction, winding their young vines around their eggplant neighbors.  So I unwrapped them as gingerly as possible and attached them with twist ties to chopsticks I stuck into the soil.

I know this is ghetto and I know it can't last.  This would be optimal but as I have neither the space nor ingenuity, but mostly the space, I'm going to have to play the cucumber situation by ear. It all depends how much they grow, in what direction, etc.  But ideally I'd rather have my guys climb a tall fence.  That's why I've asked my gardening club about switching plots, since they're making more and it would be better if I had one by a fence so I am not shading someone else's plot.  

Wine Box Experiment

Last week I discovered some db had put rocks in my plot.  Well, I had planned on putting a border between my neighbor's plot and mine anyway, since there's supposed to be a small pathway between us.  Still, no need to do it for me, thanks very much.

It meant I'd have to move my strawberries and a few other things, which was very well, since I was going to do some wine box experimenting.  A friend and former colleague of mine from my last job at a wine company told me he was using wooden wine cases to grow herbs in his Brooklyn backyard.  I had a few, so I thought this would be a good way to do mini raised beds (my ambition next year is to turn my whole plot into a raised bed).

These are the boxes I had to work with.  Two single magnum boxes, perfect for herbs.

And this one, a 6-bottle case, I decided to use for the strawberries.

It was not easy.  First of all, to make room for the path, I had to remove the lettuces, both strawberries, and three perilla.  Then it took me a while to decide where to place them all.  Should I rearrange everything?  Strategically place those I would access more than others closer - but how would I know when they'd get big enough?  Plant based on size?  This was hurting my brain.  I think I must have stood there for about two hours staring, shuffling, bending down, until I decided fuck it, I'll only move whatever I have to, replant the strawberries and herbs in boxes and call it a day.  By the time I was finished, I'd worked up a good sweat.

Here's what it looks like now:

I kept some of the rocks the offender left, except I placed the tops of my magnum cases, essentially flat wooden boards, below the rocks to provide more of a straight guideline.  I moved the cukes to the corner next to the criss-cross border (bottom left) so they could climb it as they grew.  The strawberries are now in the 6-pack Sassicaia box, and the herbs, rosemary, cilantro, and basil are now in the Monfortino case, leaving a little bit of room for some mint I'm getting from my friend Jennie who in turn will receive some of my perilla.  My lettuces are now next to the chives I planted in the Finca Dofi box, although I fear, a little too close to each other.  The squirrels have already gone at the newly moved eggplants, digging little holes where they shouldn't.

Only problem now is there's a huge gap in the middle.  I was going to scatter the perilla there, but I just didn't have the lower back strength.  If I can give away enough perilla, maybe I can do find something else to plant.  I've been thinking of getting more herbs: sage, chervil, marjoram, thyme, tarragon.  I do have one more 6-pack box, and I ordered some organic gardening soil on Amazon I'm still waiting for (see link above).  Maybe I'm getting more into this than I expected, but I'm (foolishly?) optimistic about my little plot.  Here are some more pictures.


I did a bad job replanting the chives but they are so hard to hold down!  Either the roots are sticking up, or I'd have covered all the green parts.  It was hard to line them up straight.  I think the lettuce is too close.

Strawberries in their new home.  I left room on one side in case I get more.

A close up.  It might be easier to have them in a box when I wrap wire mesh around them to protect them from the squirrels.

Herb box:

Cukes repositioned:

Evil squirrel holes near my repositioned perilla.  It's hard to see here because of the shadows but trust me, they're evil I tell ya!

The rest of the perilla are doing just fine:

Five Weeks Later

These pictures were taken two weeks ago when we had a super hot weekend. I don't like hot weather and I usually cheer on clouds and rain when they're in the forecast, but like a baby (sort of), my little plot has changed me (sort of).

Anyone who knows me, not even well, knows that I love cloudy weather. I just don't like bright sunlight shining down on me causing me to squint, even through dark glasses. I especially don't like bright sunlight shining down on me when it's particularly hot. I can't understand how people like it, unless they enjoy turning their skin into brown leather. A few years ago, I even developed a bizarre sun allergy that creates horrible blotchy little red bumps that itch like crazy if I've been in the sun for more than five minutes.

But now that I have my little plot, I don't hate bright sun so much, because I want it to shine down on my seedlings and help them grow. These pictures were taken after I'd come home from a sailing lesson that hot weekend (another long story, but in a nutshell I'm trying to be more outdoorsy - it was uncomfortable as hell baking in the sun on that sailboat) and I was surprised to see everyone doing so well, especially the lettuce. So although I cursed the hot sun that burned my shoulders through my dark navy shirt (!) I also thanked it for helping my little ones grow.

The lettuce in particular were looking quite healthy:

Next to them are two strawberry plants. (I had some room after I'd given some perilla away.) When my mother brought them to me, they had tiny berries. Then the evil squirrels got to them and won't give a chance for more to grow. I have to get some sort of sticks and bit of wire mesh for protection.

The perilla grew nicely as well. Since my first planting in late March, I gave away six of them to my friend Christine who's got a lot more sun in her back yard. I'm curious to see how they do compared to mine.

And the eggplant are also nice and tall.

I didn't take any pictures this weekend while I was helping with the compost bins but I did notice that my cilantro and basil are doing quite well too. I was worried about the basil because he's not getting as much sun as he should, but the leaves are coming in nicely, if not as nice as the organic raised bed plot next to me. Even the sad little rosemary seedling I bought has grown noticeably.

Incidentally, I received an email from the person in charge of the gardening club saying that some of us had ignored the original plans, not making enough of a walkway between plots. I was careful to leave some room, but probably not enough so I'm going to have to replant this week. I don't like digging these guys up too much - that may stress out the roots but it has to be done so I'll take more pictures and post them here so you can see their progress.