Cristina Pulling Weeds at Fonda

Fonda San Miguel’s garden is transitioning into spring. The giant squash, the prolific cherry tomatoes and the Mexican herb, papalote, were felled and frozen by the hard December freezes. Taking their place though are versatile cold hardy spring plants like broccoli, turnips, radishes, arugula and carrots which we planted from seed. The rains were helpful for their establishment. Unfortunately the rain also contributed to weeds galore, so weeding by hand is necessary. After the previous summer without rain, our motto is “we’ll take what we can get.”

In full swing as I write this are Swiss chard, strawberries, lettuce, wild onions and calendulas and some self seeded broccoli from last year’s crop, all of which handled the cold like a polar bear feathered in crisp, non-polluted snow.

This spring we’re looking forward to adding a variety of native Texas wildflowers to the garden. Being a Certified Wildlife Habitat, the added buzz from pollinating insects and birds will add to the community of rhino beetle larvae and earth worms already digging through the organic nutrient laced soil.

Claudia Alarcon and the Chronicle checked in recently to make sure the garden still had a pulse after the beating it took this summer.  Still alive!  http://www.austinchronicle.com/food/2011-10-28/roots-to-riches/ Glad to report that our late-season bounty is complimented with cool-season plantings of calendula, Mexican herbs, nasturtium, other flowers, and my favorite, strawberries, which should give us another great crop next spring.

To survive another summer, we’re gonna go deeper, just like roots chasing groundwater.  We want to make every drop count.   Those drops might as well support plants that make viable seeds, heirlooms that we can use over and over each season and support a more sustainable and self-sufficient food system.  And a more diverse set of plants to feed pollinators and other wildlife, or that don’t need as much water to produce something useful for the restaurant, like flowers.  We plan to go deeper in our uses of compost teas and mulches and smart water use to reduce our need for water to begin with, including the addition of rain barrels to supplement our water use.  We’ll start with the simple stuff, then start experimenting.

Until then, look for the fruits of perseverance in the restaurant this month – tomatoes, squash blossoms, papalo, Swiss chard, lettuce, mint, verdolaga, and cut flowers are making an appearance, all straight from the garden, fresh and chemical free!

Uncontrollable Horde Attacking Free Plant Stash

We planted over 40 Zucchini plants that are blooming, the corn, blue potatoes, herbs, Cherokee Purple tomatoes, and Sun Gold tomatoes and coming up strong, the broccoli is fruiting, and the bluebonnets, butterfly weed, 4-nerve daisy, jasmine, and dozens of other perennials are blooming strong.  It’s a good time of year to be in the garden.  The masses from today can testify, ask anyone.

For the hard-working tomato beds, we’ve covered them with compost and Alfalfa hay, allowing them to rest and recoup during the winter months.  For the rest of the beds, we’re working pure compost into the soil, loosening with hand tools, and sending them back to the production lines.  Some Little Kid helps plants lettuce, Swiss chard, strawberries, beets, carrots, and radishes.  He loves it.

To earn certification, the garden needs to provide supplemental food, like from this hummingbird feeder,

Supplemental water, from this grade-level water trough built from stone and lined with re-purposed vinyl billboard (which leaks, dammit),

A mix of plants that provide seed, fruit, pollen, and/or nuts (check), some kind of cover for wildlife, like a dense stand of shrubs/grasses (check) or a stone pile (check), and places to raise young, like dense shrubs and native trees (check).

September was also transition time in the garden, as we pulled out watermelon, cucumber, and some squash plants to prep the beds for new cool-season seeds, like radish, chard, beets, and carrots.   We also did a major cleanup of all the horseherb, which is  a great native groundcover most of the time, but in this case, had become a great nuisance.   Peppers continue to produce, including the rare Chihuacle peppers that we had started from seed this summer.

But like mama says, it’s not the cover of a book that counts, its how many juicy tomatoes and hot peppers it gives you.  And this struggling little garden is still cranking out the juicy hotness. 

Jalapenos are spitting in August’s face.  Same with the basil, tomatoes, watermelon, and cut flowers, all of which serve both a culinary and display role inside the restaurant and bar. 

Fall seeds have been purchased and planting begins next week, as we’ve spent much of August cleaning up and prepping new beds.  It’s raining at this very moment, my money is on the garden to perk up by sunrise…

We’ve had problems in some beds, most like due to poor soils and insufficient amending during bed prep, so we’re trying to correct those issues for the next planting season with lots of manure compost. 

Planning for the fall season has begun, as we’ve already cleared out one expired watermelon bed, and will do the same to the doomed cucumber bed next week.  Seeds will be ordered this week, and sent to our friends at Gabriel Valley Farms in Georgetown to start for us, so we’re ready to plant in the next month or so.  Be on the lookout next month for freebie starter plants, we’re planning on giving away the leftover plants we don’t have room for!

As the heat sets, we’re also giving the irrigation system a little extra attention, making sure those little leaks are patched and that everything is functioning properly.  The hackberry got a little trim, as did the interior perennial beds that are filled with pollinator plants.  And the weeds, including the not-weed Horseherb, which is taking over the pathways.  We’ve left this native wildflower growing on the edges of the path to help insulate our raised beds, but weeded out the ones blocking the path. 

The heat is making the colors of Mexico happy, as the Zinnias and edible Purslane explode from seed planted in May.  The Zinnias will provide cut flowers for the restaurant all summer as most everything else withers later in the season.

We’ve harvested several gallons of Sun Gold tomatoes, some old garlic, and several buckets of yellow squash, both of which are being used by the kitchen regularly.  Watermelons are just about ready, and should start showing up in bar drinks by early July. 

We’ve seen leaf footed bugs on veggies lately, especially tomatoes.   These pests feed on ornamental and wild plants.   They also fly, but are slow to move so they’re easy to grab and kill, if you don’t mind a little stink on the fingers.   The Bug Book says healthy biodiversity will prevent leaf foots from becoming a problem.  I’ll show you healthy biodiversity.  We might try a little orange oil to see if it helps, and will continue to enjoy the rewarding crunch and squish audibles of manual control.

We’re just about done with planting for the summer season at the Fonda garden.   Which is a good thing, cuz there’s a six-foot thorny weed in the back corner, assembling an army to take over operations.  I think the big one threw a rock at me last week.

Early this month, Fonda inspiration and author Diana Kennedy visited the garden and gave us some pointers for what we should and shouldn’t be growing.  Most of the stuff we planted this month was her recommendation.  A run down of what will soon be appearing on Fonda plates and tables:

• Squash – Ronde De Nice, Straightneck, Zucchini;
• Tomato – Sun Gold, Creole;
• Pepper – Early Jalapeno, TAM Jalapeno, Poblano;
• Dill – Hercules;
• Sweet Marjoram;
• Thyme;
• Mint;
• Cinnamon Basil;
• Cucumber;
• Watermelon – Sugar Baby, Crimson Sweet;
• Purslane;
• Zinnia;
• Hoja Santa;
• Epazote;
• Chard;
• Random edibles running wild throughout the Fonda landscape