Zucchinni is in da house!

A Green Tiger zucchini has joined the party. The plant was grown by Sweetwater Nursery from Sabastopol, CA. We have extended the MVG to the front of the house where you can find the zucchini near our cucumber plants.

zucchini - June 10th

Our newest addition has quickly pushed out a few fruit immediately after being planted. We expect great things from this quick producing zucchini plant.

zucchini harvested - June 17th

June 26th

June 26th

The cucumbers are starting to climb up the trellis. Vertical gardening is still a popular technique in the MVG and we hope this technique will prove useful for the Japanese and pickling cucumbers.

cucumbers are climbing

2016 season is starting off with a bang!

The MVG is growing nicely. The green beans have sprouted. The green bean plants are also flowering and will be producing green beans soon.

We replanted green beans seeds to fill in the holes.

We have added a few more veggies plants to the garden.

• Charleston Grey Watermelon grown by Bonnie Plants
• Clemson Spineless Green Okra grown by Bonnie Plants
• Hale's Best Jumbo Cantaloupe grown by Bonnie Plants
• Jalapeno grown by Bonnie Plants
• Japanese Long Cucumbers grown by Kawahara Nurseries in Morgan Hill, CA
• Persian Cucumbers grown by Upstarts Organic Seedlings in Santa Cruz, CA

cantaloupe, okra, jalapeno - March 25th

cantaloupe, okra, jalapeno - June 8th

The corn seeds have pushed through the soil and reaching for the skies. We also adorned the corn bed with a nice watermelon plant to keep them friendly.

Bitter melon has persistently grown well in the MVG. This years bitter melon are no different. All of the seeds have sprouted. We also had a volunteer bitter melon sprout this year. Once the bitter melon reaches the nets, we will begin adding in our friendly bug eaters to help keep the garden clean and clear of pests.

bitter melon in the garden bed

bitter melon in a pot

Back with a Veggie'ence: The 2016 Season Begins

We are back! After a year off, the soil is rested and the compost piles are overflowing. The MVG will be a little smaller this year due to the continue drought in California. However, we are ready to come back with a veggie'ence!

We started off by mending the aged and weathered boards of the garden beds. The garden beds were then filled with compost and organic soil.

After a few visits to our local nurseries, my mother purchased and planted the following vegetables:

• Blue Lake Bush Beans
• Early Sunsation Pepper (bell peppers) grown by Kawahara Nurseries in Morgan Hill, CA
• Lady Bell Pepper (bell peppers) grown by Upstarts Organic Seedlings in Santa Cruz, CA
• Pepper Yolo Wonder (bell peppers) grown by Fredriks Nursery in Ripon, CA
• Tomato Roma grown by Cal Color Growers in Morgan Hill, CA 
• Tomato San Marzano grown by Fredriks Nursery in Ripon, CA
• Thai Basil grown by Fredriks Nursery in Ripon, CA

We also planted a variety of veggies by seed.

• Bitter Gourd Green Skin (Kitazawa Seed Co.)
• Bitter Gourd Hybrid Melon India (Kitazawa Seed Co.)
• Bush Beans Classic Slenderette (Renee's Garden)
• Early Sunglow Hybrid Sweet Corn (Ferry-Morse Seed Company)
• French Baby Bush Beans Nickel Filet (Renee's Garden)
• Sugar Snap Peas (Burpee)

top - bitter melon; middle - corn

top - bell peppers; middle - tomatoes; bottom green beans

Regardless of the drought, Fuyu has grown leaps and bounds. She is full of flowers and fruit this year. Many of her fruit is falling each day due to the amount of fruit she is bearing. We are keeping our fingers crossed and hope for a big persimmon harvest this year.

small green persimmons

The MVG main garden is loving the warm humid weather!

MVG Main Garden July 14, 2014

The main garden is growing out of control this summer. The warm humid weather and a few applications of Burpee's Sea Magic organic growth activator gave all the plants an extra boost.

July 2nd harvest - bell peppers

July 8th harvest - green beans, cucumber, & sugar snaps

My mom harvests handfuls of beans and sugar snaps and baskets full of cucumbers and green peppers on a weekly basis.

July 11th harvest - cucumbers, bell pepper, and squash

July 11th harvest - sugar snaps

We have begun trimming back the herbs. Hanging them upside down on pant hangers allows the leaves to dry without curling up or folding in half.

July 2nd harvest - sage and oregano

So far my mom has blanched and froze 6 1/2 quart Ziploc bags of green beans and made two jars of Mom's Pickles. She will soon be canning Bread and Butter Pickles in the next few weeks too.

french fillet and blue lake blanched and frozen

Mom's Pickles

I treated our kitties to a few catnip bundles. They love to hug the bundle while rolling around on the ground. The bundles last for weeks too. All you need to do is roll the catnip bundle in your hands to reactive the oils.

catnip bundle

There are many other veggies joining the main garden's weekly harvest. The okra, bitter melon, and squash are sprinkled into the harvest baskets while the melons, pumpkins, tomatoes, and eggplant continue to grow and flower.

bitter melon

melons

tomatoes

okra

summer squash

Fuyu is growing strong. There are lots of new branches, large green leaves, and a few fruit dangling from the tree.

Fuyu has a few persimmons growing too!

It is amazing to see how fast the garden has filled-in over the past few months. Check out our before and after shots below:

July 2nd - pumpkin patch

July 14th - pumpkin patch

Behind the garden beds - (front to back) squash (left), cucumbers (right), and melons.

June 11th  - squash, cucumber, & melons

July 2nd - squash, cucumber, & melons

July 14th - squash, cucumbers, and melons

Second garden bed row: (front to back) thai basil in pot/ sugar snaps and green beans/ okra and tomatoes/ bitter melon.

June 11th - sugar snaps and green beans

July 2nd - sugar snaps and green beans

July 14th - sugar snaps and green beans

Front garden bed row: (front to back) lemon grass and lavender in pots; green beans; bell peppers and eggplant.

July 2nd - green beans and bell peppers

July 14th - green beans and bell peppers

May brings plants, sprouts, and fruit to the main garden.

The main garden has seen the largest amount of growth this month. Over the past few weeks, my parents have planted a variety of plants and seeds in the main garden.

May 12, 2014 MVG Main Garden

The melons have taken over the corn field. We had a large corn harvest last year and decided to grow a different variety of fruits and veggies in the corn field. This year we have three types of melons, summer squash, and cucumbers growing in the corn field.

May 19, 2014 melon plants X 3

May 19, 2014 cucumber sprouts

My mother found bitter melon plants at our local nursery. We have used seeds in the past but finding plants will bring forth an earlier harvest (we hope... keep your vines crossed).

May 12, 2014 bitter melon box

bitter melon plant

My family loves to eat certain veggies and our victory garden would not be a garden without tomatoes, beans, peppers, and okra.

May 12, 2014 okra and tomatoes

May 19, 2014 peas and bean sprouts

May 19, 2014 bean box

May 12, 2014 sweet pepper box

The herb garden is growing quickly in the warm summer breeze.  The herbs are about ready to be used in soups, salads, and seasonings.

Fuyu survived the winter and is now pushing out small green orbs. Arn't they cute?! There are two orbs so far. My mother is hoping for many more this season.

persimmon

Here is the official list of veggies and fruit growing in the main garden:

Burpee Plants

Block Party peppers

Cherry Stuffer peppers

Golden Baby Belle peppers
SuperSauce Tomato

Tweety peppers

Plants from our local Nurseries

Bitter Melon

Cantaloupe

Egg plant

Honeydew Melon

Okra

Red Bell Pepper

Summer Squash

Thai Basil

Watermelon

Burpee Seeds

Blue Lake Bush Bean

French Filet Stringless Beans

Salad Bush Cucumber

Super Sugar Snap Peas

Additional Plants

Catnip

Fuyu Persimmon Tree

Lavendar

Lemon Grass

Oregano

Rosemary

Sage

Strawberries

Thyme

May 19, 2014 MVG Main Garden