Archive for zucchini
My Organic Garden – An Arbor is Born
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Hello my fellow organic gardeners, I have some interesting news to share. As you might remember from my last garden post, my Sicilian zucchini plant was bent on total garden domination. Luckily the good people at Martha Stewart’s Sirius radio show gave me some advice on how to deal with this situation. Their advice was to build teepee like structures out of bamboo to give the plant a structure to grow into. I went to the local garden center and found a package of thin bamboo stakes that were only four feet tall. I decided to be industrious (and frugal) and purchase this large (and cheap) package of bamboo and just attach them together with some duct tape to get the proper height. What a mistake that was. I built three teepees for my two zucchini plants that quickly started to bow under the weight of the plants. This was when I started doing some more research on my teepee options.
I knew buying the proper bamboo would be quite costly so I figured I needed to think about it more before I delved headfirst and (potentially) wasted more money. While watching a gardening show, I noticed that they had an arbour with various squash and zucchini growing on it. That was when the idea hit me – I would build an arbour. I quickly realized I had some scrap wood from a previous project and could enlist the help of a very handy person. The design was simple – it was really just four posts with a box-like structure on the top that had polls going across for the plants to grow over. I set out to tackle my project and in an afternoon, my little arbour was born and taking care of business. I am happy to report that the tentacles of the octopus-like zucchini plant have been tamed and now stick to their own area in the arbour. The nature of the structure allows for more polls to be attached to the open sides (if need be) and I fear if we get more rain I will be attaching more poles.
Tags: brussel sprouts, eco friendly garden, eco friendly living, eco-friendly lifestyle, garden arbour, martha stewart, organic, organic garden, organic gardening, pesticide free, pesticide free garden, planet forward, Sicilian Zucchini, Sicilian Zucchini planets, Sicilian zucchini plants, Sirius radio, sustainable supplies, tomato plant, vegetable plants, zucchini, zucchini garden, zucchini plantMy Organic Garden – Attacking Sicilian Zucchini
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Last week I painted a picture of a garden where even though the pickings were slim, it was serene and harmonious. Well, apparently I spoke too soon. That’s right my Zen scenario has turned into a full on war after just a few rainstorms. What happened to Kumbaya?
I mentioned previously that my Sicilian zucchini plants were attaching themselves to other plants in the immediate vicinity. What I didn’t know was that with a little rain this plant’s tentacles would Hulk out and start taking over my entire plot of land. You must be thinking I am exaggerating but this is actually what has transpired. These tentacles of the Sicilian zucchini plant have woven their way out of the zucchini section of the garden and into the main garden. They have not only attached themselves to the tomato plants that were two and half feet away but have made their way – as far as five feet away – over to my onions to put their stranglehold on them. Actually, I had left the wheelbarrow out on the law and the zucchini not only grew three feet across the law but also attached itself to the handle of the wheelbarrow and then decided to made a right turn into the bin.
Tags: eco friendly garden, eco friendly living, eco-friendly lifestyle, organic, organic garden, organic gardening, pesticide free, pesticide free garden, planet forward, Sicilian Zucchini, Sicilian Zucchini planets, Sicilian zucchini plants, sustainable supplies, tomato plant, vegetable plants, zucchini, zucchini garden, zucchini plantMy First Organic Garden Report
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Hello fellow organic gardeners. Long time readers of this blog, will know that I am an avid organic gardener. I normally would have posted numerous blogs by this point about my garden but this year my garden has not been as active as last year. The bugs, which were once the bane of my existence last season, seem to be happy co-existing (organically) with me. Shocking, but true. The most eventful happening their year was that I accidentally bought two different varieties of zucchini plants. The nursery I went to labeled all the plants as simply ‘zucchini’. What I did not know was that I have purchased your run of the mill long green zucchini as well as Sicilian. For those of you that don’t now, Sicilian zucchini plants require a lot more room and their vines have woven their way up my fence and around the garden. Yesterday I had to pry them off a tomato plant, and let me tell you it was by no means an easy feat.
Beyond the zucchini switch-up I have tried my hand at a few more exotic plants, such as bok choy. Unfortunately, my bok choy was a flop and I have pulled it and replaced it with lettuce seed. I have also decided to try my hand at brussel sprouts but so far the plants are just large and leafy. The jury is still out on how they will eventually end up. My herbs are plentiful – this has been a great year for basil. The plants are large and hearty and seem to be thriving even in the heat were getting in Southern Ontario.
Another banner crop this season is swiss chard as I have already gotten three cuttings from the few plants I have. Continuing with the theme that all things green and leafy are growing well, lettuce has also been thriving this season. The major disappointment this year has been tomatoes – even though the weather has been cooperating (for the most part) they have not turned red. I find it odd that July is almost over and yet I have not picked one red tomato.
Tags: bok choy, eco friendly garden, eco friendly living, eco-friendly lifestyle, lettuce seed, organic, organic garden, organic gardening, pesticide free, pesticide free garden, planet forward, Sicilian zucchini plants, tomato plant, vegetable plants, zucchini, zucchini garden, zucchini plant
