Back in the Backyard--A Trailer Park Homestead update

I don't think this is what the trailer park manager meant when she called my gardens "over the top", but some of the sunflowers and some of the corn is now over the top of my head!

Last week, I focused on what vegetables were growing in the front yard, in support of Julie Bass's troubles in Oak Park, so I figured I should show you what's growing on in the back yard (to see how it all fits together, you can check out the video tour) this week.  Like the front yard, naming it the "backyard" is a bit optimistic for the most part, since it is mostly the side yard, but I define the "backyard" as the area from the back door, back to the garage.  The area between the doors is the side yard a.k.a. the children's play area.

A row of lettuce planters, corn (yes, it is supposed to be tassling while that small) with cucumbers trailing around their bases, and a row of tomatoes act as a barrier between the driveway and the backyard and helps create a greater sense of privacy in the backyard.

Soon!

 

Much of the backyard is dominated by towering corn, with vining things such as watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumbers, and squashes growing around their bases to act as a living mulch.

The sunflowers that form the border against the next lot (along with more of the miniature corn and the vining things) are starting to tower above me!  I had to look up to shoot this picture.  I've never been much of a fan of sunflowers, but I really love this variety!

I like the sunflowers so much that I decided to stick a few seeds in the barren patch of ground that was left when I moved the brick pile that was in front of the dryer vent.  Can you tell my 2 year old "helped" me plant these?  Spacing them out better is one of many, many outdoors tasks I'd like to get done today, when the temperature is only supposed to get into the mid-70s.  If I don't get them done today, I hope I can get things done tomorrow, when the high is only supposed to be 81.  I definitely don't want to have to do anything outside when the 90+ degree temperatures return this weekend!

I've never grown cabbage before, since we don't eat a whole lot of it, but I do use it in chicken egg rolls, so I thought it would be a good idea this year to grow a few cabbages then make up a bunch of egg roll filling to freeze so I could just thaw it out and use it when I want to throughout the year for a semi-convenience meal.

The snap peas, which are in the back bed along with the cabbages and a whole lot of onions, look a lot better than their counterparts that were in pots by the front bed.  The formerly front bed peas are now sitting in their pots, next to the back bed waiting to die.  I haven't killed them completely yet since I don't desperately need their pots for anything right now and I'm letting them die in their own time to save some of the peas for seed.  Yay for heirlooms!

The potato condo is completely hidden behind the house, so it could be said that it is the only thing truly in the backyard.  Adding more soil to this thing is on my to-do list for today and adding another layer of slats will probably be on my husband's "honey do" list for the coming weekend.

I didn't bother showing the rest of the back bed and the St. Patty's bed this time around because they are hideous.  A slew of onions ready for the harvesting, or at least nearly ready, aren't cute by anyone's standards.  I'll be pulling both of those beds almost (or maybe completely) up in the next week or two and planting them with some of the broccoli and cabbage I have started or maybe some carrots and greens of some sort.  So much potential yet to be had in the garden for the year!

Final Clue in Mystery Plant Contest

Looks like the mystery plant is producing....something, so the contest that I first posted a bit over a month ago is about to come to a close.  Hard to believe that it took less than a month and a half for these plants, whatever they are to go from this:

(the tiny "weed" on the side of the bucket)

to this:

All three mystery plants are in this cluster together

and keep trying to sprawl across the yard!

If you think you know what they are, you can post your answer on either the original contest post or on this post's comment section.  Don't post your answers on Facebook or Twitter, since those answers won't be counted.  I'll only look on the blog itself when deciding the winner. 

The winner will receive a prize pack containing The Container Expert: What to buy and what to grow in tubs, pots, troughs, hanging baskets and window boxes, some random heirloom seeds (if you live in the US, exact seeds may depend on where you live), and maybe some other stuff, if I can find something else good to throw in there.  Good luck!

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

I made this as an experiment for the birthday party yesterday and it was a big hit!  One of the moms even stopped by the house a couple hours after the party to see if she could take some of the leftovers home so she could show her husband how yummy it was!

It is really easy to make, and with so many of the ingredients coming into season (or maybe already are, depending one where you are?), it is really cheap to make as well!  I think it is going to be a while before I buy salsa for my snacking pleasure again!

In theory, this should last 2 weeks in the refrigerator, but, based on the reaction it got at the party, I don't think that is really a concern since it will probably disappear on its own long before that.  It has a nice, mild flavor and probably would be great served on chicken, in addition to being wonderful as a snack with tortilla chips

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup frozen corn, thawed

1/2 bell pepper, finely chopped

1 tomato, seeds and pulp removed, finely chopped

1 small onion, finely chopped

3 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp cumin

1/8 tsp ground red pepper

Mix together all ingredients.  Refrigerate overnight to let flavors meld.

Dirt Cake

Okay, this is not my cheapest idea ever, but it still probably way cheaper than buying a cake already made...and probably way cuter and more appreciated by the birthday boy!  I made my 2 year old a dirt cake for his birthday party today.  I used some of the gummy worms I made the other day and put it in a toy wheelbarrow that is actually his gift as well, as are the toy rake and the shovel that are being used for decoration and will be used to serve it.  So I guess if you include the price of a centerpiece, gift, and cake, all of which this cake is for this occasion, the price isn't bad for a "cake" that should (in theory) have about 16 servings to it!  I put the cake in quotes since it is more of a pudding-y dessert, but it is still called a cake and it is serving the role of birthday cake.

This is such the perfect cake for my tiny little man too, since he loves to "help" me do things with the wheelbarrow and loves sticking his hands in the dirt, enough so that I need to replant some rutabaga soon, since he's killed a number of them with his love of dirt!  He loves it when I find worms in the ground for him to visit with, so I'm sure he'll love finding "worms" in the cake to eat.  Plus, lately, he's had a thing for shovels where he'll hoist it up in the air whenever he finds one and triumphantly yells "shovel!"  He even took a play shovel to bed with him a couple nights ago.

He hasn't seen this yet, since I made it last night after he went to bed and stuck it in the chest freezer until it is time to go to his party at a park, but I know he's going to love it!

Dirt Cake

1 1/2 packages Oreo cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened

16 oz cream cheese, softened

2 boxes chocolate pudding

4 cups milk

16 oz Cool Whip, thawed

gummy worms (optional)

Make pudding according to package directions (amount of milk may vary depending on brand used.  I listed the amount I used for the Dr. Oetker pudding I used, the only kind of commercial pudding I can ever find without artificial colors!).  If using cooked pudding, let it cool completely, stirring occasionally to keep a film from forming on top.

Blend together cream cheese and butter.  Add to cooled pudding.  Add Cool Whip and mix thoroughly.

Crush the cookies using a rolling pin or children smashing them in plastic bags.

In a flower pot, sand bucket, or wheelbarrow, layer some cookie crumbs then pudding mixture then cookies and so on.  Layer worms throughout if desired.  Finish with a layer of cookie crumbs to resemble dirt.  

Chill for at least an hour before serving.  May also be frozen.

Planning The Fall Garden

My "St. Patty's bed" will be one of the first areas to receive a fall makeover

I can't believe it is that time already, but I probably should be starting to think about what I'm going to be planting in the fall garden.  Actually, looking at this and referring to the charts in the back of the All New Square Foot Gardening book, I'm actually running a bit behind!  According to that, I should have already started my fall crop of broccoli, since that should be started about 16 weeks before the first frost and we're already nearly 12 weeks until the first expected frost!  Oops.  I guess I really need to get cracking on my plans!

The entire back bed will be available for fall planting

So, I plopped down with some scrap paper yesterday afternoon to put together the Great Fall Garden Plan of 2011...then, after a few drawings and scribbles, realized I was being silly.  Realistically, I'm not going to follow such a plan.  I'll end up doing what I always do--harvest things then look around and say to myself "hmm, what has time to grow in this spot?" and plant whatever I feel Mother Nature will let me get away with growing.

With that in mind, rather than neatly diagrammed illustrations of what will go where when, here is a list of when I can put in what, according to the SFG book (except for the rutabaga, since that isn't included in the book.  I had to get that info off the seed packet).  This is not a complete list, but rather just what I'll be planting.

Could stick something here

Plant: weeks before first frost to plant (deadline for my location):
Broccoli: 16 weeks start seed, transplant out at 9 weeks (getting a late start, transplant by August 1)
Cabbage: 16 weeks start seed, transplant out at 9 weeks (getting a late start, transplant by August 1)
Rutabaga: 13 weeks (getting a late start! Planting today!)
Carrots:  11 weeks (July 18)
Peas:  10 weeks (July 25)
Lettuce:  7 weeks (August 15)
Spinach:  7 weeks (August 15)

The book also gives dates for cauliflower (14 weeks, transplant at 8), beets (8 weeks), and radishes (4 weeks), but I'm not planning on growing any of those.

That broccoli coming out will make lots of room for something else

In addition to planting these things specifically for the fall, I'll still have summer crops coming in.  Tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, zucchini, corn (maybe, not sure when this will be finished), and melons should still be able to be harvested right up to the first frost, maybe even longer if I cover them up on frosty nights--one of the nice things about having small garden beds all over instead of one large garden monster planted in rows!  I should also have green beans, winter squash, and pumpkin that is planted now after the first frost, even without covering them up.  So while it is a little depressing planning for fall already, it is exciting to think about all the great garden produce I still have to come!

With two indeterminate tomato plants, two cucumber plants, and two green pepper plants in this garden box, this will be a high priority area to protect from the first few frosts.  There is already rutabaga growing on one side as part of the fall planting, but the carrots and broccoli being removed soon will open up another 7 square feet of gardening space, which, when gardening as intensively as I do, that's a lot of garden space!  I'm guessing I'll use it for three more broccoli plants (where the carrots are now) and 64 more carrots (where the broccoli is now), but I may very well change my mind!