Bearded Irises. 5.31.22

 They are in my "garden of shame" (LOL), so called because of weeds.

I will get those weeds out of there.  I really will.

Raspberries In Bloom. 5.31.22

 Unknown variety of thornless raspberry.  They are blooming like crazy.

I'm happy to see some pollinating honeybees.

Lattarula and Desert King Fig Notes. And More. 5.31.22

 Here are the figs now on the Lattarula fig tree.

Here is Desert King.

Brunswick has a few.  Most of the developing figs fell off, usual for that variety.  It looks like Sicilian White will have a few summer figs too.

Here is the Hardy Chicago that I bought and planted during the winter. It survived.  I should pull weeds, and fertilize it.

Squash Bed Now Fenced and Drip Irrigation Installed. 5.31.22

 Not much to look at, but with the drip irrigation my water hauling labor in the hot sun has been cut in half.  Deer usually don't try to cross this fencing.  For the squashes, I used 1 gal/hr emitters.  Last year I gave each squash plant about a gallon per day during hot dry weather, so it's easy to calculate they will need one hour of drip irrigation per day.

I had to install a new T-junction and shut-off valve.   The old ones were cracked and leaky. The rest was easier.

Magpie Ducks Growing Up. 5.31.22

 Here they are with their Indian Runner Duck friend.  She was lonely before they came along - her companions were murdered by a vicious serial killer.   My guess, raccoon or possum.  Or maybe a feral cat. Now they have a fortress for safety.  The duck sisters all seem to be female, but no eggs for another few months.

Brutally Pruned Hardy Chicago Fig Tree is Growing Again. 2.30.22

 This is the tree that I attacked with a pruning saw in March (I think).  Now every node has a healthy looking shoot.

Will it bear fruit this year?  Maybe.  This tree bears on new growth, in August or September.  It's possible.

More Work in Potatoville. 5.30.22

 Today I finished filling in all of the potato trenches.  Now the potato gnome can hide spuds among their roots.

When they are a little bigger, I'll hill up the plants will soil from between the rows.  Meanwhile, they are  nice and healthy and tidy.

Mushrooms. 5.30.22

 Mushrooms are growing all over the place.

What's Blooming? 5.30.22

 A nice red poppy.

A nice yellow peony.  This one came with the old house.  Nice fragrance.

What's Blooming?. 5.27.22

 Horse Chestnut.

Red Peony

Irises

Pawpaws Are Blooming. 5.27.22

 The Pawpaw trees are blooming.  I started hand pollinating them today.

Hilling Up Potatoes. 5.27.22

 Most of the potato trenches are filled in and the earliest ones, planted in Feb, are hilled up a bit.  I have 1 1/2 rows remaining to fill in, the late varieties.

The container potatoes are looking nice too.  The ones in the new planter box are now filled to the top.

The potatoes I planted in the bags are also growing.  I may run out of soil to fill these up.  Maybe arborist  mulch will work.

This might be "The Year Of The Potato" LOL

Fig Update. 5.27.22

 Some of the fig trees look promising for early summer crops.

Desert King.

Lattarula.

White Sicilian.

If all goes well, these could give a June crop. These are reliable varieties for me.   I bought yellow jacket bait for when they ripen and yellow jackets try to destroy them all.

Lentil Loaf. 2.25.22

 I've been trying to find a good recipe for Lentil Loaf.  It's a vegetarian comfort food version of meat loaf. My mom made meat loaf, a comforting memory, but I haven't had meat for forty years.  I used to make a recipe from Vegetarian Times magazine, I think about 1995.  However, it was too complicated, called for a binder/filler ingredient I can't find easily (I forget - maybe kashi?) and crumbled too easily.

So, I looked at other recipes and combined parts into this one and left out some things I don't think were useful.

This actually turned out pretty good.  I think it was a big improvement as far as texture or consistency, over the original.  It needs some refining but so far, so good.  Here is the current recipe, I guess a "work i  progress".

Two cups rinsed brown lentils.  - bring to a boil in six cups of water, boil 40 min.  Lentils soak up all of the water and will be tender.  Let them cool off about 30 min so the eggs wont scramble when added.

Combine -

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1/2 cup oats (I used old fashioned but instant oats might have been better)

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons dehydrated chopped garlic (I made this a while back)

2 teaspoons dehydrated tomato powder (I made this a while back)

2 tablespoons tomato sauce

about 1/2 teaspoon of toasted sesame oil.

Sautè

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped carrot

Now combine the lentils, the dry mixture, two eggs (well stirred), the sautéed vegetables.  I tried using the mixer, the blades gummed up too much so I used the dough hooks.  I left it a bit chunky but a lot of the lentils were mashed.

Line 8 inch bread pan with parchment paper.   Transfer the loaf to the bread pan (there was too much.  I baked the rest is a small glass dish).

Bake 40 min.  Take out of oven.  Coat the top with catsup.  Bake another 15 min.  Remove from over.  Let cool before removing parchment paper.

When hot, this was a little crumbly.  Fully cooled, this loaf cut almost like a real meat loaf.  A bit more firm.   I thought this was great on sandwiches with mayo, mustard, relish.

Next time, I may increase the sesame oil (for umami), and the garlic.  I think instant oats would bind better than traditional oats, although the texture was already quite good.  A little olive oil might make it more juicy but will that make it more crumbly?  Also, maybe red lentils might give a better color but I don't know if that would change the texture.

Potato and Four O'Clock Update. 5.25.22

 I planted this row of Four O'clocks in a narrow wedge shaped  next to the fence in a sort of "Hell Strip" area, too narrow to mow and difficult to care for, especially watering.  I grew squashes there last year.  I also planted a row of early potatoes (Envol), which I hope will be done before most of the heat and watering season start.  

Today I filled the potato trenches by about 2/3 and cultivated the rest.  I also gave both some general purpose fertilizer.

The far end is only a foot between fences.  I may resort to landscape fabric to keep that part relatively clean.

First Sweet Corn is Finally Planted. 5.25.22

 This is about two weeks later than last year.  With the cool weather, that might not be a setback.  This is a new variety for me, "Orchard Baby".  Apparently the ears are short, just five to six inches long, two ears per plant, and the plants are only three to five feet tall.  Ready in 65 days, which is very early (and here possibly more like 80 days).  Victory Seeds description.  Baker Creek Seeds description.  Mine came from Baker Creek.  These originate in Canada and were sold by a North Dakota seed company, so should be adapted to my latitude, and short season.

The rows need protection from birds, rabbits, deer until about a foot tall.  Then they are OK.  I planted close and will thin.  My experience is I often have low germination, maybe birds get the seeds anyway,

I'll probably plant another variety in two weeks.  I'm thinking Early Sunglow Hybrid, which is a bit larger, about the same season length (68 days) and also not as water and is more "corn flavored" than more modern supersweet varieties.

Blooming. 5.25.22

 This was sold as a cranberry bush but I don't know for certain.

Rhododendron, probably 50 years old.

Laburnum

Viburnum

Lilac

Not blooming, but colorful Japanese Maples.

Most of the Peppers are Planted. 5.24.22

 Planted, with irrigation and paper mulch in place.

I added a large container for three more, and am setting up a second one.

Blooming. 5.24.22

 Horseradish

Some Irises

Weigela