Celeste Figs. 9.24.2020

 This is the first crop ever for my Celeste fig tree.  This was grown from a cutting.  Celeste is a historic Southern variety.  Some of the references say it won't bear in the Maritime Pacific Northwest, but they were written before climate change started accelerating.  With a warmer season, maybe it will.

This tree is about 5 years from rooting the cutting.  The breba crop fell off, but these main crop figs, while small, are so sweet and rich!  And there are a few bowls full.  

Celeste is also called "The Sugar Fig".  Good name, these are very sweet.  The darker figs usually have the richest flavor, and these are no exception.

Nerine. 9.24.2020

 I had these in a container that I overwintered in the garage, for about 10 years.  Last winter I planted them in my garden.  They survived last winter, which was mild, and the summer, which was dry.  Now it's blooming.  Very nice.  My great aunt Emma had "Surprise Lilies", which are quite similar but I can never get them to grow here.

We'll see if these Nerine survive this winter.  They are nice, but I'm not up to digging them up and storing them.

New Raised Bed Is Completed. 9.24.2020

 This is the first of a planned three new raised beds.  The old ones, made from fir 2 x 6's, are starting to deteriorate.  They have also tended to sink with time, so the lowest 2 x 6's no longer show above ground / mulch level.  I've been building up the soil in them for 8 years, and that is nice.  Everything grows very well in them.  The old beds are also not where I want them now.

I felt a sense of urgency about the first one.  I want it for garlic, which grows very nicely for me in raised beds, better than in the ground.   Also, it needs to be fenced.  Herbivores eat most of my garlic if I leave it unprotected.

This new method makes a bit larger bed from the same size planks, compared to my old method.  My older bed has also sunk quite a bit.  So,  I bought 1/2 yard of topsoil to mix with the original raised bed soil.   At first I was adding the new topsoil to the bottom level, but then I decided it would be better to mix it all together.  Some is uneven but I think it's mostly mixed.  The new topsoil mix is gummy when wet, whereas my mix crumbles somewhat.  Not knowing where that topsoil came from, or what might be in it, I supplemented it.  After mixing together the old and new soil, I added about an inch of aged compost from my yard - a year or two old - and spread a cup of dolomite lime over the entire bed, then turned it a few times with a shovel, and tilled a couple of times with a hand held "claw" tiller tool that I liked.  Then I raked it fairly smooth.

It's been raining, so the soil management was not perfect, but I wanted to get it done.  Maybe I should let the amended soil cure and age and settle a little before planting the garlic, but I might get started soon anyway.  I usually plant it about now.

First Crop from Garden Gold Miniature Peach Tree.

 I planted this peach tree last winter.  I also planted an El Dorado peach tree, which was smaller and did not have any fruits.  The word "tree" is used advisedly - it's only about 3 feet tall, if that.  There was prolific bloom, typical for genetic dwarf peaches.  I allowed about one dozen to stay on the tree.  I want it to stay small.  Growth was really quite good, and the peaches just ripened.  

Garden Gold Peaches.

These are free stone peaches.  The flavor was excellent.  A tree ripened peach is so much better than anything you can buy.

Next comes the challenge.  I'll need to come up with a good cover for the winter.  Genetic Dwarf peaches are highly susceptible to peach leaf curl disease in the Pacific Northwest.  That disease is carried into the buds by rain, starting about November.  So, the tree will need spraying or covering, or both, come November.  I think this year a clear plastic cover will suffice, because the trees are so small.

I will keep the trees at a miniature size.  My goal is something like a tomato plant in size and garden footprint, but a tree instead of an annual vine.   I'll be happy if there are 2 dozen peaches a year.

I had a Garden Gold peach tree in my old Vancouver yard for quite a few years.  I let the size become too big to readily cover, didn't get around to covering it, and it had severe Peach Leaf Curl, killing a lot of the branches.  That cover is very important.  Keeping it small is also important, if you want to be able to cover it.

I also had an El Dorado ganetic dwarf peach tree too.  I kept it in a container.  I moved the container out of the rain for the winter.  That worked very well, but it needed watering two or three times a day on hot summer days.  I think this method that I am trying now will be more workable.

Baked Pasta Sauce. 9.23.2020

 My friend Rich gave me this recipe.  It turned out to be really, really good.  The recipe made use of sauce tomatoes, onion, garlic, and Jalapeños from my garden, which is something I liked about it.

Cut about 10 sauce tomatoes and layer on bottom of oiled casserole dish.

Add one big minced garlic clove.

Add 1/2 chopped medium onion.

Add 3 sliced Jalapeños.

Dust with salt and pepper and some pepper flakes.

Drizzle with 1/4 cup olive oil.

Repeat with another layer of sliced tomatoes, minced garlic, chopped onion, sliced Jalapeños, and the salt, pepper, pepper flakes and olive oil.

Bake at 350 without covering, 50 min.

Here's how it looked before baking.

Here's how it looked after baking.

Here's how it looked on some spaghetti.

There was about 1/2 remaining as a bonus amount (say bonus amount, not left over.  It really is a bonus).  I kept that in the fridge overnight.  Then I air-fried a summer squash, sliced into French fry size slices and some disks, dusted with season salt, garlic powder, pepper, drizzled with olive oil.  Air fried 9 minutes at 400, mix, air fry another 9 minutes at 400.  Then cover with the pasta sauce, which is heated in microwave for a couple minutes.

Here's how that looked.

 Both meals were delicious.  This is one of the best recipes I've made, ever.

Edit:  24 Sept 2020.  This sauce is also delicious on rice.