crops in a castle

profiles

2009-06-26T19:36:00.011+02:00

Last October the garden was bare.
The hardscaping was finally completed.
The landscaping was still to begin.
We got into a seed mood.
Getting a head start on spring.

Rudbeckia Hirta - Black eyed Susan's are our greatest success.

We planted too many so we have been handing out trays and trays of them to friends and passerbyers (just like the tomatoes as you may recall).

The seeds were put in the ground October 18th.
Lovingling cared for all winter by mom and planted in the ground in April.

They are proud, sturdy, full and cheerful. Wonder what the garden would have been like without them.
The seeds I bought from lasemeria.com said that these Rudbeckias are called My Joy but some funny things are happening and I will share the other species that popped out with you all.

My little yellow army.
Great for cut flowers, last forever in fresh water and look beautiful with hint of lavander.

This is the predominant flower therefore I'm sure it's a My Joy!

These others have a character of their own. Help us give them a name.
I will surely collect and seperate the seeds for future swap!

Have a very Black Eyed Susan Day!

Epiphany n. 1

2009-06-04T16:00:00.004+02:00

As Children we behaved to avoid a punishment.
Most Kids today behave to obtain a prize.

No wonder the upsidedown society.

What happens when you run out of prizes?

leave the fragrance to your immagination

2009-05-29T23:41:00.005+02:00

My roses lived in pots. They recieved a great deal of attention but the discomfort in their "root prison" was undeniable.
Now they all live in Crops in a Castle with their roots free to wiggle around and stretch into the soil.
This one has found the perfect home. Mostly sun, part shade, surrounded by Giant Ornamental Garlic and a sphere of lavender that travelled with us all the way from Provence when it was a little over a stem.
These two companions, along with some "perfect pruning" (mine) tunned her into the healthy plant she is today.
The aphids did obviously try to tackle her but some home made nettle spray did the trick.
Some hand picking the larva and beetles off the plants on a daily basis also determined the success of my pest protest!

As for the other Roses.
- a climber ended up in a waterlogged spot and succumbed before we had time to notice and save it.
- another lovely English rose lacked attention and underwent "pitiful pruning" (mine alas) and will hopefully recover with some love and care.
- a miniature rose is doing great this year right beside a Santolina and a Calendula that are, I discover hands on, a lot better than the garlic and lavender in keeping the aphids away. There is a bit of fungus on the rose, but not as bad as the previous years.
- last but not least, a rose that has been surviving rather than living in a pot for years is now looking lush and luxurious with its rich foliage and hopefully will bloom soon so I can share her with you all.

Remember to prune during the blooming period to keep the roses healthy. Remove 4/5 leaves below the bloom at an outward facing leaf. If you let your roses go by mid summer they will look like a stork trying to piggy back a rhinoceros.
Take care all....

P.S I'm back in Milan for the Long weekend. We celebrate our Republic on Tuesday here in Italy, or whatever is left of it!

35°C

2009-05-26T14:41:00.010+02:00

The temperature has sky rocketed and the garden has turned into a Burning Bazar...

Weird Creatures are Lurking in the Leaves.
Tiny Plants have turned into Towers.
Fungus and Mold are having a Ball.
Aphids are Appetizing on the Apple trees.

Every morning I set off to water the garden and tackle a bit of maintanence when BAM!
I see something new... something scary.... something crawling
I then run out of the garden, across the town, into the house, no wait, take off your dirty shoes, into the house, up the stairs.... at the computer... no wait... hands full of dirt... wash your hands... back to the computer... search: Images, symptoms, causes, natural remedies...
Back and forth a million times a day these days!

All this under 35°C.

I think my neighour Peppe thinks I'm completely nuts.

I just wasn't prepared.

I will share some tips I've learned to save you from my mistakes..

1. I was seeing little yellow eggs on my string beans.... yuck.... I thought.... squash.... I went.... then I got a doubt... researched and discovered that they were Ladybug eggs.
Look up what the ladybug larve look like (nothing pretting) cuz I was killing those too! Shame.

2. Pole all beans, peas and string beans even if they are shrubs. They will need the support. If not they will slump onto the ground and develope mold. Very invasive. I learned the very hard way. Losing most of my potential peas.

3. Companion Planting: I planted basil close to a funky nettle forest. The basil stayed 1 inch high and unhealthy until we clipped off the nettle. It is growing fine now. The nettle is hanging to dry in the cellar for a wonderful winter tea.

4. Sow what you need. Not a seed more. We have a terrace invaded with plants in tiny pots that need a lot of attention. We don't have space for them all in the vegetable garden and we don't have the heart to throw them out so we are handing out trays to all those who are interesed. And yet there are still lots. Anyone in the Umbria region interested?

5. Only plant certified potatoes. How many times have you read that? Yeah me too. I planted all certified and one store bought cuz it was soooo good. Guess what? We've got potato blight also from that one nasty potato.

That's all for todays tips. One more success picture to cheer us up!
Take care all...

pretty leaves on pink marble benches

2009-05-16T15:19:00.012+02:00

Nadia, you would have had a great time with me today in Milan.
The thing is that Nadia (my zia/ aunt) and I love to walk.
It would be very hard to catch us on a beach sunbathing but you can bet we'll hike you through the most beautiful sites of any city with a broad smile on our face!

This morning I crossed the city of Milan to reach the tiny but stunning Guastalla Gardens.
It was a two hour walk there and another two back but there are so many pedestrian areas in Milan that you enjoy the surroundings without the noise and traffic.

The Gardens were worth the walk. It is mostly a tree garden. Large impressive and unusual trees stand out on the tidy lawn.
When you have a small garden at home you could never dream of planting trees that become this big.
The impression you get in Guastalla is of protection.
It is like being in the presence of kind giants.
And those giants are made of millions of tiny and pretty leaves I want to share with you.

Two more details of the Gardens and then I am off to see the documentary
Terra Madre directed by Ermanno Olmi.

Take care all, have a nice week end.

Milan

2009-05-15T20:27:00.015+02:00

mmmmmm.....
I took a long walk under the rain. 4 km to reach the Botanic Garden in Brera Street.
A fascinating messy garden secluded behind high walls and under the shade of tall pine trees.
The Garden has been there as it is since 1774 but there is written proof of its existence back in 1100... wow. It was a pleasant visit. It rained the entire time, misty rain, the kind that keeps you company. The gardener wasn't there this afternoon but a kind lady named Gabriella who takes care of the paperwork told me all about the place. I think they had about 15 different kinds of sage, some of them HUGE. On the other hand I found a flower that is stunning and that I have to look in to. It's the pink one in the picture: filpendula dentata.... they say but I'm not really that sure.

I got to the Botanic Garden just 10 minutes before closing time so I ended up roaming around this beautiful city without a real destination.

I bumped into this...

Can you guess what it is? Yes, a sculpture but what does it represent? Does this picture help?

Thread and Needle. The knot pops up on the other side of the street in a fountain!
It is in front of the Cadorna Station Colonnade where a bike sharing station stands out in its bright yellow! It was rush hour when I got there and soooo many people were handing back the bikes they went to work with after they got into the city with the train. It is so nice to see something that works in this country!

The walk continued and it was a real achievement to resist this ice cream parlor... I will come with Massimo tomorrow, eating one of these is an experience that has to be shared.

One last thing, Lega Nord's election poster. It states:
"They underwent immigration and now they live in reserves"
Oh intolerance. I guess no city can be perfect but this poster is absurd!

From Milan

2009-05-14T14:54:00.009+02:00

I feel at home in Milan. It is the only large City besides Toronto where this occurs.
Massimo is working here until the end of June so I came up to visit for his birthday and I will stick around for a week or so.
There was so much happening to my Crops that it was hard to leave.
I can hardly imagine what it will look like in a week with all the growing and bearing and blooming that is going on right now!

While I'm here I hope to post a story or two.
The first is the before and after of the Crops in a Castle entrance.

Before

What we had to face:
- the columns had partially collapsed
- there was a very high step between the outside and the inside
- this is the shadiest part of the garden but the space for plants was not delimited
- the gate was to be replaced

That is a lot for one person in one weekend so we spread it out into many tiny and pleasant weekend projects that may give you inspiration also.

The Columns

The Steps

The Gate Massimo made and the Flowerbeds

That's me covered with cement and content in the pictures above.
The sense of accomplishment actually building something permanent conveys makes you radiant inside and it shows on the outside too.
I have always taken tasks very seriously but none have given me the happiness these sturdy results of my efforts have granted me with.

Now I'm off to see a movie in the City!
See you on the next post.

pictures of seedlings and buds

2009-04-29T21:10:00.004+02:00

cranberry buds

ornamental garlic

fenugreek

buckwheat

beets

before and after: The raised bed area

2009-04-28T19:17:00.027+02:00

It is raining out today. A light but perseverent mist that is bathing all the vegetables and flowers that are enjoying it as much as I enjoyed the sprinkler as a child on a hot summer day in the city.
It is the perfect day to fish a "before and after" story out of the photo tank on my desktop.
It was hard to choose one out of so many but the most rewarding project was the one that now produces Food! And it is also the project everyone chipped in on! So here it goes.

Crops in a Castle..... because our tiny orchard stands where the Castle of Foce once stood.
It was a slopey and sloppy piece of land full, and I mean full of rocks. BIG ONES.
Among many challenges, levelling off the land, was probably the most blistering experience of my life.
Here is one example. The raised bed area as it once was and now is:

This is what happened in between:
Step one. DIG - DIG - DIG
Step two. Get all the weeds out of the land.
Step three. Drag away all the extra earth
Step four. Level it out with a rake and heaps of patience.

At that point it began to look like this:
Wow, there was a wall back there!

Yes I agree, it looks even more discomforting.
But it looks prettier with Patsy Baby (Mom) and Papà smiling at you.

I realized at this point that the level was really high compared to the main part of the garden so I decided to split it two separate levels.

Levels need steps and walls to contain the earth. Get creative and recycle.

First two steps are made with wood beams from an old building: Recycled.

They weren't enough so I built the missing step with some left over bricks and cement: Recycled
Then I needed one step for access to the second level. Mom suggested some concrete rectangular garden containers she no longer used and small step in the centre. It worked perfectly.

Massimo then made the raised beds. God bless his hands.

TIP: make the beds on the premises, they are way too heavy to carry after! We made that mistake and it still hurts to even think about it.
TIP: if you are levelling out land don't throw out the extra earth. Sieve it and you'll see it will come in handy sooner or later. All the earth I removed from this area was used to fill the raised beds.
TIP: The perfect width for a raised bed is double the length from your wrist to your armpit. Our arms are all very different. Make then to fit your size perfectly and you won't regret it.

Here is the finished view from above

Mind you, it took two weeks to level the land and another two for the steps.
A week end for the raised bed, another week end to fill them.
But there is now endless time in the future to plant crops and enjoy this part of the garden.

before and after

2009-04-24T20:27:00.009+02:00

Last year I spent almost all my time landscaping.
Landscaping sounds very chic but the truth is there was sweat, dirt and heat; backbreaking digging, lifting stones and mixing cement.
But I suddenly realized I am hooked. I can't stop. It is my favourite gym for body and soul. So yesterday I took a quick look at an unexplored area of the orchard and decided to make it level, rational, clean and pretty.
If you don't know what to do to improve your garden just sit there and stare and listen and stare and listen. Believe me, it will talk to you. It will tell you what to do. You will suddenly visualize. There is no other explanation on how I managed to landscape.

Let it talk to you, you will love it. Look at what this part of the garden told me:

We now have...
- a big white sitting stone
- a new raised bed made with left over "tegole", italian roofing tiles
- a small circular garden bed at ground level
- tidy paths to reach the compost bins and my potato pen

And while I was working the big white rock spoke to me and asked me for some company. I turned and caught a glimpse of some sad rocks my mother had collected years ago at Lago di Garda. They are now smiling at the big white rock from under the plum tree behind the white tulips and fava bean plants.

Here is another view of my new landscaping project before and after.

back to life

2009-04-19T17:34:00.005+02:00

This is my first gardening season after a year of landscaping that ended in November when everything was becoming dormant and the land seemed like it was turning to stone as I was forcing bulbs and fava beans and peas into the soil.
Then the wait began. Two months of cold and rain and then finally the first signs of spring. It is amazing to focus on the tiny signs of everything coming back to life. The temperature of the soil, the tiny green leaves hidden under brown and brittle branches and most of all this ladybug on the Jasmine.

Tulips, Muscari, Daffodils, fava beans and peas have all burst into life..... I'm so happy I withstanded the rain in november to get them in the ground.
The pictures are to share the overwhelming joy of this new experience.
If the peas and fava beans keep up the flowering we will be sharing lots of crops also!

orange pansy

2009-03-25T12:25:00.004+01:00

I'm very grateful to the tiny orange joys on my windowsill for the effortless happiness they have brought me all the way through this long cold and rainy winter.
I never even watered them once! But now Spring is finally back and I will have to find a shady spot in mom's garden where the pansies can survive hopefully until next november far away from the scortching summer heat and sun.
Thanks mom for this beautiful gift.
See you in the garden soon!