farm with a view

A few quick photos to show how things are progressing at the plot. Actually, more just an excuse to experiment with my new-ish camera.

(Compare with this Jan. 20 farm update)

(The Swiss chard – bright yellow, magenta, red, white and everything in between – is producing well. However, still battling insidious false garlic that pops up everywhere, as evidenced in the lower left corner)

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(Bright Lights Swiss chard leaves the size of my head)

Along with four sugar snap peas:

(Gah. Horribly fuzzy iPhone photo.)

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I have no good excuse for not posting anything in nearly a month. Except that the holidays came and went, and then things got super busy at work for both of us.

Here’s how our plot is lookin’ these days. Fava beans on the upper left, peas on the upper right, Tuscan kale below them and Swiss chard along the bottom:

(Compare with this Dec. 23 farm update)

(Sugar snap peas, about three inches tall)

(Munched Swiss chard)

The bites on this chard plant indicate a snail/slug problem. And the crushed eggshells I’ve scattered don’t seem to be working so well. I think they’re doing some damage in our mini pea patch, too – I can see their shimmery trails all over the leaves. Ugh. What to do. (more…)

Six consecutive days of rain. Can’t remember the last time that happened here in L.A. By day three I was getting a little worried about the kale and chard seedlings we’d just transplanted the weekend before the storms. The most inconvenient thing about having a community garden plot is – duh – having to go out of your way to check on it. As in having to drive to get there. And since Angelenos are notoriously bad at driving when the tiniest sprinkle falls from the sky, we decided it wasn’t worth risking our lives to drive more than what was absolutely necessary and left the plants in the hands of the garden and weather gods.

Today – the first clear day – I finally stopped by the garden. I was fearing the worst after reading this ReadyMade post about rain and drowned seedlings; it basically says they should be OK as long as they’re in raised beds. Of which ours are not. I envisioned being welcomed by dead, flattened plants.

Thankfully, they are still upright:

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Our community garden plot has been empty of plants for the past several weeks, aside from the weeds – mostly nutsedge and devil’s grass (or quack grass). According to my parents – old-school gardeners from the motherland (aka China) – you need to let the soil rest for a few weeks between seasons. As a teenager, my dad labored in the rice fields during Communist rule and tended small vegetable gardens to supplement his often carb-only meals, so I’m gonna listen to him. As such, we’re letting our plot rest, under a nice layer of organic compost and horse manure.

But that doesn’t mean we’ve been totally lazy.

Earlier this week we transplanted the hardiest Swiss chard and Tuscan kale seedlings into the 4-inch pots, which are now hanging out under our big windowsill:

(Tuscan kale seedling. Can we harvest yet?)

So glad we didn’t transplant them out into the garden. We’ve been experiencing crazy hot weather here in Los Angeles lately. Somewhere around 85/90 degrees in West L.A., where Ocean View Farms – our community garden – is located. Wonder how our fellow OVF gardeners are faring with their in-ground plants.