The lemon tree chronicles

David gave me an improved meyer lemon tree for our three-year anniversary. We've got it on the porch in a terracotta pot, against the wall of the house. It has one small green lemon on it, and it appeared to be adjusting okay. The past few days, though, I've noticed its leaves curling, yellowing, and dropping.

Some cursory online research leads me to believe that it's one of three problems: aphids, overwatering, or lack of nutrients.

Aphids are a common citrus tree problem. I inspected the leaves of our plants for evidence ("honeydew" or stickiness on leaves) and found nothing. If it turns out we do have an aphid problem, the best solution (apparently) is Neem spray. I highly doubt we're overwatering (we've been watering about every other day and it's been hot as crap), but I'm going to purchase a moisture gauge tomorrow just to be sure.

Hoping for the easiest fix, I spread some rhododendron (high-acid) fertilizer along the edge of the pot tonight. Fingers crossed this works.

Cilantro accidentally gone to seed

The good news is...


you get coriander!

All is not well on the cucmber vine

I have to take Stewie to the vet this morning for his annual check-up and "fecal float." So, I went to the gym and came home to check email before suiting the little man up for his big trip. On my way into the house, I stopped by the garden to see if any cucumbers were ready for picking. I spotted one cuke that was still very small and spiny but dark green and seemed to be fully formed (no more tapering end). I grabbed it to pull it off the vine, and it cracked open, revealing a worm burrowed inside with hundreds of horrible eggs or worm poop; I can't tell the difference. After almost throwing up in my mouth and washing my hands repeatedly with soap, I did some research and discovered that this is most likely a pickleworm, well known for destroying cucumber crops in North Carolina. Awesome. Pictured below, some blurry photos of the offending cuke (I was too disgusted to get any closer, or to touch it again) and a very odd-looking yellowy translucent cucumber still hanging on the vine that is probably afflicted by some other kind of horrible disease or pestilence.

The first tomato of our lives

David and I plucked our first tomato from one of our six tomato plants a few weeks ago. It was a long, trying process -- watching the tomato turn bigger and bigger but refusing to turn red, as it cracked from water want and heat. We didn't have the hang of tomato-growing yet; we didn't water enough, and we had apparently stunted the growth of four of the plants by using some incomplete potting soil mix. But now, thanks to David, things are on the up and up, and it looks like we'll have a bumper crop of at least a dozen tomatoes. We water more frequently now, and David added a hill of "good" soil mix to the four plants that were struggling. We left for the beach on Friday, and when we came back on Sunday, the plants had shot up and were even developing their promising yellow flowers. He is a miracle man.

Cucumber cracker sandwiches

The garden has started to produce cucumbers, and only cucumbers. Gnarly, spiny, yellowing cucumbers deprived of water and subject to all the injustices of a beginner’s garden. Their trellises fell down a few times during the summer storms and before we learned when to pick them, we were leaving them on the vine too long, and some of them got big-seeded and a nuclear-looking translucent yellow. But over the weekend, we picked off some good ones.


Yesterday I made some tasty cucumber sandwiches for lunch. Ideally, I would have cukes on pumpernickel with goat cheese, but I didn’t have any bread, let alone pumpernickel, and the goat cheese in the fridge had gained some green and yellow spots and had to be thrown away. I improvised with some of my favorite crackers, Dr. Kracker’s Seedlanded Flatbreads and Laughing Cow cheese wedges. A chop of fresh potted oregano from the garden and a grind of salt and pepper made a tasty, crunchy sandwich.


Cucumber cracker sandwiches

Serves 1

2 flatbreads

1 small cucumber, sliced

2 Laughing Cow cheese wedges (I used Light Garlic and Herb)

1 tsp chopped fresh oregano

Salt and pepper

Spread cheese on flatbreads, and place cucumber slices on top. Take care not to break the bread. Sprinkle with oregano, salt, and pepper.

And then for dessert...
a New York Times chocolate chip cookie!