Early Cucumber and garlic harvest!

I know that it's still spring, but already I've harvested my very first cucumber of the 2014 season along with a couple of garlic cloves. That's the kind of year it's been – everything has matured early on.

The cucumber was grown in a pot using Miracle Gro potting mix. It's a burp-less variety I got earlier in the year at a nursery as a small start. There is a twin plant growing in a small raised bed, but so far lots of flowers with no cukes!

Of note is the fact that the temperatures for June have averaged a full seven degrees above normal! So, the added heat may have contributed to early crops like cucumbers while other crops like my lettuce have tended to bolt!

The tomato crop continues to look promising – they do love the heat don't ya know. And, with the plentiful rain we been getting, I haven't had to worry very much about them getting enough water.Interestingly, the problems I normally have with insects and worms are pretty much a non issue thus far. Nor have the deer been a problem! I;ll just keep crossing my fingers as the season moves on forward.

Garlic Growing Experiment

If you read my blog on ‘Growing Garlic in a Pot’ posted on the 9^th of February you would know not to expect a very pretty looking plant. (I think the picture pretty much says it all). This looks more like an onion plant than anything else! Oh wait! Why yes, garlic is a member of that family. Stupid me. However upon a taste test, I can tell you that the leaves taste like…. garlic. What a surprise.

Now that spring is only a few weeks away (March 21^st). I’m hoping to get the plant moved out to the garden where it can do its growing thing. Perhaps by August I will have some fresh cloves to harvest. Perhaps not. Anyway this was an experiment from the start and if nothing else, I can use the tops to flavor some recipes.

Growing garlic in a pot!

After doing some research on the internet, I came to the conclusion that planting garlic is not a very success prone venture unless you know exactly what you’re doing. Which I don’t. But, that’s never stopped me before and it won’t this time.

Now according to people who know about garlic, in Missouri Zone 6 you are supposed to plant garlic in mid October. Outside that is as in the garden. I elected to plant mine on February the 6^th inside in a plastic 12” pot.

Next, according to those who know, you cut off the growing tips on about Memorial Day (late May) and then harvest them in July. By doing the cutting, the plant will supposedly put all its energy into making bulbs. OK? That sounds reasonable to me. I know for sure that if someone came around with scissors and cut my growing point off, I would immediately (after the pain subsided) focus on developing larger cojones. Right you are Fred!

So, with all the pomp and circumstance I could muster on short notice, I took two cloves that were growing all by themselves in the cupboard and plunked them down into a pot filled with fertilized potting mix (another no-no? Who knows)? These were then relegated to a spot that is sort of sunny in a window where they will suffer the occasional watering whenever I get to it care regime. A regime that, I will admit, is notorious for killing most everything that came before.

Stay tuned to this blog for updates. I do hope to get something for my five minutes of effort. This is America isn’t it?