Garlic Galore!

GARLIC!!!

Finally received my order from Burpee.  First time I've ordered garlic through the mail and this will only be the second time I've planted it.  This online article was what I based my garlic variety choice on: http://www.motherearthnews.com/grow-it/red-heirloom-garlic-zb0z11zsch.aspx.  I wanted to try an heirloom of both softneck and hardneck variety and see which one performed best overwintered in Oklahoma.  Chose organic Inchelium Red and Organic German Red. Overwinter in Oklahoma and planted a month late according to most of the online advise I've read so far. Wish my compost had turned out better.  I basically have two large trashcans full of maggots at the moment.  Absolutely disgusting and something that I have not informed my wife about. Made the mistake of not turning it often and letting it get way too moist over the not-so-brutal summer. But I'll have to add some nitrogen rich fertilizer to the recently planted garlic before I mulch it for winter.

Container and Raised Bed Garden - Oklahoma City 2012

Bird feeder and bird water fountain hanging from a re-purposed swing set. It is a big hit.  The birds love it and I end up spending about $50 - $75 a month on bird seed, suet and sugar for the hummingbirds.  So worth it though.  Keeps the cats occupied and pleases me to no end when I glance out to see the daily visit from pigeons, cardinals, sparrows, morning doves, black birds, starlings, crows, blue jays and the occasional finch.

Porch potted plants,  Rainbow carrots, oregano and a huge pot of basil.

Garlic chives and a rosemary bush; both of which survived over the mild winter.

A potted tomato plant.  The potted plants seem to do very well with plenty of water and the addition of compost and/or compost tea.

View of the south tomato and pepper raised bed garden.  Just planted some kale in the empty spaces and it seems to be doing well in the 100 - 110 degree heat.  There is a fat dog wallowing in the grass as well!

Big pepper!

Tomato harvest from one day!  The sun and heat may end up killing all our tomato plants but I hope that isn't the case.  Never get sick of toast and tomato sandwiches!

Tomatoes getting ready for sandwiches.

View of the south garden and the bird swing set.

Porch plants.  Tub of Genovese and bush basil, oregano, carrots and freshly spouted Italian zucchini!

Tomato Butt Rot

Something is turning our tomato butts brown.  The longer we leave them on the plant the bigger the rotten part gets.  After cutting off the offending "butt" the rest make for delicious sandwich ingredients.  What is happening and how can I rid my plants of butt-rot?!

The Garden!!!

The garden,  Pretty good for only May.  Though most of it is being ravaged by caterpillars.  I've been making slightly different batches of organic pesticide (garlic, cayenne, jalapenos, habaneros, and onions blended and steeped in hot water and then strained).  It's a lot of work but it seems to be working.  Only our potatoes were completely destroyed. Having fresh salads every night and green onions and rosemary on hand is really awesome.