I later found out that the unblemished white head of a cauliflower was at one time regarded as the crown jewel of the home garden.  In terms of conventional wisdom, it seems that those days have long since passed.  With an abundance of relatively cheap, seemingly perfect cauliflower available at the local supermarket, I was advised that actually growing them myself was an unnecessary hassle.

In fact, I read enough on the subject that I just about decided to take a couple of the plants out, as they were using up valuable garden square footage.  I reconsidered, and decided to go all or nothing with the six cauliflower plants.  Six weeks in, and they are thriving.   It’s still a long way to the harvest, but I am beyond proud to announce the arrival of my first little cauliflower.  Obviously, I realize that I am WAY to emotionally involved in these cauliflower plants, but that’s just the way I feel, man.

Everything else is alive, and the majority of my garden is doing better than expected.  I have done much less work at this point than last year. I think that this is primarily due to using a biodegradable “weed shield” topped with an inch or so of mulch for the tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchini.  Sure it helps retain the moisture of the soil, but more importantly, there are no weeds!

On the advice of Klippers Organics (who know a thing or two about growing food), I am watering the majority of the garden, including my tomato plants, just once a week.  I do, however, give the lettuce, spinach, zucchini, cucumbers, and potted plants a second (and occasionally third) watering depending upon the weather.  Seems to be working.  I haven’t used any fertilizer to this point, with the exception of spraying the plants with some diluted “worm tea” every other week.

I have been harvesting lettuce for the past two weeks.  I get enough basil to flavour tomato sauces, pizzas, pastas, and whatever else can use a little extra basil love.  I have been tempted to cut the green onions off the Spanish Onions, but have since been told that that is a bad idea, as water will get down into the bulbs and rot them.  I have lost b/w 5 to 10% of the onions already – probably due to over-watering at the onset.

So, all things considered, things are looking good at this point.  Everything is in blossom or even further along the path to the harvest and feast.  If things go as planned, I expect to be eating zucchini within two weeks.

4 weeks ago:

Today:

If I knew what the hell I was doing, I’d tell you. I don’t! I water them every other day, give them lots of sun, and pick off the top part of the basil when I water. I stick them in the freezer for use in a pesto/soup in weeks to come. Don’t judge me because my herbs are beautiful. I know what you are thinking. Steroids. Am i right? I haven’t even put poo in the soil. This is natural baby. Don’t hate the player!

These are the pepper plants:

I’ll be updating photos to document the growth. With the pots, soil, and plants, I’m into it for about $80bucks. I likely spend $15 bucks a month on herbs so this should make a lot of sense.

“If  you are serious about growing your own food, you should consider investing some time and effort sourcing out quality pig feet.”

Welcome to the inaugural post of  2009 Home Gardening Secrets.  Although it does not presently pass as “common knowledge” or “received wisdom”, I have come to realize the benefits of planting a lucky pig foot deep in your backyard – if part of the shank is still attached, all the better.  As always, we recommend using the lucky feet from well cared for heritage breeds, and please remember to blanch your trotter before planting.

If at all possible, it is better to do this in early spring, as this will allow plenty of time for the pig foot to spread its good energy throughout the garden.  Once done, you can relax.  No need to water, weed or fertilize as the great pig spirit will ensure that these technicalities do not get in the way of a memorable harvest.  I had my brother (pictured above) send me an extra trotter that he had back in the spring, so it should be smooth sailing from here on in.

Background: This is my third attempt at a garden in British Columbia.  Last year was as good as could be expected for my modest gardening skill-set.  Zucchini, sweet peppers, celery, and herbs (chives, rosemary, thyme, mint, oregano, summer savory, parsley) were a huge success.  Tragedy did strike in the tomato fields though (measuring 4 X 3 1/4 feet).  The tomato plants were doing great, full of fruit, and so I had been making plans of how to use them all and who would be lucky enough to receive them…3 days later they were all dead.  The basil, dill,  hot peppers, and strawberries were also big disappointments last year.

Home Garden 2009:

So I’ve signed back up for the emotional roller coaster known as home gardening in 2009.  I learn slow, but I do learn.  Among a handful of new gardening skills, I now know what mulching means and so I have given that a go.  I also have a decent homemade composting set-up using an old stone laundry sink that was left in the backyard.  I still need to find out how often and with what I should be fertilizing with, but I’ve got a few weeks to figure that out.  Here’s what I’m growing this year:

• Lettuce (Romaine, Head, Mesculen)
• Spinach
• Bok Choy
• Tomatoes (Roma, Cherry, Supersonic)
• Cucumbers
• Zucchini
• Cauliflower
• Peppers (Jalapeno, Hungarian, Banana)
• Leeks
• Spanish Onions
• Herbs (Basil, Rosemary, Thyme, Chives, Oregano, Summer Savory, Italian Parsley, and Mint).

I’ll update the garden throughout the summer and share any gardening knowledge that I come across.    Websites such as Local Delicious in Vancouver have some great posts regarding urban gardening.   I’ve learned lots at this site over the past few weeks, and it was here that I found out about the sleek and fashionable rain barrels available to Vancouver residents at a subsidized price.  Good stuff.   You can find out more at Local Delicious at the  City of Vancouver’s Rain Barrel Program.

Wishing you full crops in 2009!