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

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

The habanero brings the heat to the MVG

habanero peppers

Over the past few months the MVG has not slowed down. The warm month of September was a big month and produced an array of vibrant peppers.

habanero plant

The hot pepper plants took the longest to mature but are finally filling out dishes with spicy flavors. The hottest pepper is the habanero. These little spicy bulbs have made their way into stir fry and pasta dishes. The habanero pepper might look small but they really do pack a punch. I had to cook off most of the heat from the pepper to make most of my dishes edible and digestible.

hot pepper box is overflowing

The long slender red fleshed Thai chili peppers are no comparison to the habanero. The chili peppers were bland in comparison and had little to no heat. In the future, I will plant and grow only habanero peppers. These little orange orbs of hotness have proven themselves deliciously spicy to me and my family.

supersauce tomatoes

The first week of October brought a huge wave of large red SuperSauce tomatoes to our kitchen. My mother made a few batches of salsa but froze most of the tomatoes for use during the winter months. I have also used the tomatoes in many of my curry dishes. The sweet flesh adds a nice layer of sweetness to the the savory taste of the curry. However, nothing beats eating the tomatoes raw with salt and pepper or sliced up in a salad... mmmmm!

last harvest of green beans with
a small harvest of Cherry Stuffer peppers

The Sweet Big Daddy pepper is a favorite with many members in my family. The pepper is very sweet and soft yet the skin is crisp and crunchy. The pepper is excellent when eaten raw. My mother slices them up in salads. I like to cut them up in long strips and add the sweet delight into my veggie springs rolls. Anyway you cut it, the Sweet Big Daddy pepper is a fantastic colorful addition to any garden. This is another items that will be planted in the garden next year.

The MVG is beginning to change and prepare for the winter months. The corn stalks have been cut done and tied into bundles.

A family friend picked up the corn bundles and will be using them in his front yard Halloween themed landscape. Last year, I used the corn as a backdrop for my Halloween photo shoot with my dogs.

2012 corn stalks

The biggest change to the MVG does not have to do with the cleaning up but with the location. My boys and I have recently moved to a new smaller location. This means that the MVG will be moving with us. I have already started a small vertical garden on the small patio we now call our garden.

small green kale sprouts, yeah!

We are going to start small this fall season by planting (from seed) blue kale, brussel sprouts, sugar snaps, spinach, and pok choi. I have also purchased a few herb plants too: oregano, sage, and rosemary. I had lots of fun learning about vertical gardening and trying out a variety of vertical gardening techniques in 2012. I hope this fall season will be just as fun.

Green beans are here!

green beans

The green beans have arrived. I picked the first batch of beans on June 21st and have picked a few handfuls each day since. These long slender crunchy beans will continue to grow throughout the summer. Green bean casseroles here we come, YUM!

cucumbers are bursting from the vines

The corn stalks have reached for the skies and beyond. The tassels are swaying in the wind and will soon float down to the silk to make sweet corn kernels.

Silk has emerged!

The MVG harvests are full of variety and growing in size. I am still picking zucchini, squash, and cucumbers on a regular basis. However, the radish have matured and are bringing red orbs of color to our salads and soups.

June 21, 2013 MVG harvest

A fork, a hoe, and lots of soil!

MVG is ready for the summer season!

The MVG has a new look, wider reach, and is showcasing lots of seedlings. I just used a fork, a hoe, and 5 bags of organic garden soil to make the necessary preparations for the 2013 summer season.

MVG Strawberries

First, I had to prepare the corn field and garden beds for seeds and plants. I started by weeding the entire garden. I like to use a hula hoe when weeding. The hula hoe is quick and very effective. After the weeding, I uprooted last summer's corn roots. I used a spading fork to uproot the corn roots and placed the roots in the compost pile. I covered the entire corn field with fresh homemade compost and used our electric rototill to mix up the dirt. The end result is a field of soft dirt.  I laid the irrigation and sowed the corn seeds. I planted four rows of 36 seeds totaling 144 corn seeds.

I also rototilled a large circle around Fuyu. Last season I planted flowers around Fuyu. This year, I have decided to plant two rings of green beans in place of the flowers. I sowed 10 seeds in the inner ring and 11 in the outer ring totaling 21 green bean seeds.

Second, I turned the soil in the garden beds, added organic fertilizer, and mixed in additional organic garden soil. We have seven garden beds comprised of two rectangle single beds, two square single beds, and three square double beds.  I sowed squash and cucumber seeds in the northeastern double bed.

cucumber seedlings

zucchini seedlings

Third, the MVG has extended its roots to the front yard. Traditionally the MVG has utilized a third of the backyard. However, we had lots of unused seeds from last summer. Instead of throwing the seeds away, I decided to plant the 2012 zucchini, cucumber, squash, and asparagus beans along the southeast side of the front yard. Many of the seeds have begun to sprout and will hopefully produce a secondary harvest for us to eat and share.

squash seedlings

Additionally, I sowed 2013 sugar snap seeds next to the asparagus beans. Both plants are climbers and will have plenty of vertical support with the wooden lattice above the seedlings' cotyledons.

asparagus bean seedlings

sugar snap seedlings

I sowed an additional 10 green bean seeds in a small flower bed underneath our front window. We usually leave the flower bed bare or adorn it with a few flowers during the summer months. I had a few green bean seeds left and thought the area would be a great place to showcase our green beans to the neighborhood.

waiting for the green beans seedlings

I sprinkled a fresh batch of Garden Bark over the entire MVG to give the space a finished look. The ground cover will help reduce the amount of weeds in the garden and keep the herb and front yard sections moist during the hot summer days. I will add ground cover around Fuyu and in the corn field once the corn and green bean seedlings emerge.

Morrison Victory Garden - April 11, 2012