January 6, 2024 How thisBecame this This past fall, I decided to try several different varieties of broccoli in my garden. A few are still growing and I’m hoping they reach the harvesting stage very soon. But, as you can see from the photo, this particular variety produced a beautiful head of broccoli just a few days ago. There are five or six smaller side shoots, but none will be as large as the original.  One definition of “monty” describes it as the whole thing; everything that is wanted or needed.  The recipe I selected for ‘monty’ is from our family cookbook. We refer to it as ..read more

November 10, 2023 My history with wildlife eating my flowers is a long one. I once watched a wild turkey peck away at my johnny jump ups. Here in Dallas County, we are much more likely to encounter bunnies. Those little bundles of fluff that look so cute on a neighbor’s lawn may find your new pansies and their friends to be very attractive. Unfortunately, they may not limit themselves to enjoying only with their eyes and might proceed to dine on your new plants. How to keep plants from being nibbled by rabbits is a challenge faced in most gardens sooner or later. A quick tour of the internet ..read more

Tomatoes, I owe you an apology.  All is forgiven.  We had some rain and a mild beginning to the summer. You behaved reasonably under those circumstances and gave us an abundance of delicious fruit.  I’m sorry for all the negative things I’ve said about you.  I have called you names. I have described you as difficult. I have suggested to beginning gardeners that they avoid you and try peppers instead.  Our biggest problem with you this year was that certain bushy tailed scoundrels found you irresistible even when you were green. That was not your f ..read more

June 20, 2023 It’s tomato time at Raincatcher’s garden of Midway Hills.  Over 84 pounds were donated and the plants are loaded down with more fruit to harvest this week. It looks to be a very good harvest and we wanted to share the story of our 2023 tomatoes.  Thirty tomato plants, determinate and indeterminate varieties, were started from seeds in January 2023 and put into the ground and in raised beds in early April.  This was later than is recommended but the nighttime temperatures were too low in March. It is often difficult in Dallas to get the necessary time ..read more

June 12, 2023 I’m kind of obsessed with pepper plants lately.  This is the second year in a row we have loaded Raincatcher’s courtyard beds with pepper plants and I have 27 pepper plants growing in containers at my house.   I think my obsession started when Jim Dempsey grew the Emerald Fire Jalapeno for our plant sale several years ago.  The award winning Emerald Fire Jalapeno has become my absolute favorite pepper plant.  It produces an abundance of jumbo sized, glossy green jalapenos that are longer, wider and thicker than standard jalapenos.  It turns a beauti ..read more

May 17, 2023 Mark Jones demonstrating how to dig under the potatoes and lift them out to minimize damage. These potatoes were hilled up with compost but we did not add any support to keep the compost in place and they peeked out of the soil. The skin became scaly.  Ruth Klein with a gigantic red potato Ruth Klein and Yuliana Rivas Garcia digging up potatoes It is fun when the potatoes pop up out of the soil. We improvised to keep the compost from sliding off after we hilled up the potatoes. The added layers of compost increase yield and keep the potatoes from being exposed to the ..read more

January 26, 2023 A quote from Southern Bulbs has captured my thoughts: “Spring starts the day after Christmas.” Working with our veggie team at Raincatcher’s last Monday, January 16th, spring was definitely in the air and now we have had over an inch of rain to further encourage our spring longings. We sat at tables under our education pavilion planting tomato seeds with dreams of epic tomatoes. For a list of tomato varities we are seeding, see below.Elephant garlic planted in November, to be harvested in June, was examined. We considered the carrots that took a hit during the December low tem ..read more

October 11, 2022 I have to say that the squash vine borers (SVBs) were getting me down.  After spending the summer of 2021 removing borers from the squash plants and still not seeing much of a harvest, I swore off growing squash, almost.  The SVB larva grows inside the squash vine (often killing the plant) and then makes a cocoon that overwinters in the soil. The adult moth emerges from the cocoon in spring and lays eggs on the undersides of the squash leaves. The eggs hatch and the larvae begin destroying your plants again.  One solution is not to have any squash handy for the ..read more

If you’re growing shishito peppers in your summer garden, this recipe should be on the menu. Blackened, blistered and dipped in a creamy Greek yogurt flavored with papalo, it’s a global experience not to be missed.  As you may have guessed, shishito peppers originated from Japan. The name “Shishito” is derived from the combination of “shishi,” “lion,” and “togarashi,” which means “chili pepper.” Take a closer and decide for yourself, “does the creased tip of the small and finger-long shape somehow resemble a ferocious lion?”  Grrrrr…ferocious lion or tasty pepper? After blistering yo ..read more

 I have given up thinking about tomatoes in terms of their life cycle. Instead I look at it this way;  each stage is an ongoing disaster until we shut down the whole operation in July because they will no longer set fruit.  The life of a tomato is a progression through fungal disease, wilt, blight, and infestations of mites and hornworms.  We anticipate these events and do our best to prevent them but around June you can easily find yourself, as I did, staring at hornworms the size of my index finger.  Owing to their coloring, hornworms are perfectly camouflaged u ..read more