Wow, I'm never first! Welcome back from wherever you were :) I look forward to the summer 2008 gardening season... wish I lived somewhere where we could have orange and lemon trees but le sigh, they would die. Good luck!

Missed you!

I can almost smell the dirt! I wish it was all springy and warm here. *sigh*

Wow - the zucchini takeover is imminent, I see. Are you going to dig the plant up - or just go with it?

At least you have an idea of what's to come with the zukes. Maybe you can start taking pre-orders now for all the ginormous veggies you will have this season!

your raised bed could use some more soil. it will not dry out as fast and be more productive.

i'm so jealous of your lemon tree! i started one from a SF seed and my husband managed to kill it.

welcome back, btw.

You might give some herbs a try. For very little money, you can have fresh cilantro, dill, parsley etc. at your fingertips. I found that I could toss some seeds into some dirt, sprinkle with water and *poof* HERBS. And my thumbs, they are not so very green, so if I can do it, anyone can!

So jealous! In Minneapolis we can't start to garden until June. It takes that long for the ground to thaw. I wish I were exaggerating. Happy Spring to you!

lol. You will never be rid of the zukes.

It's going to be great having Meyer lemons right on your tree. I love mine.

Cucumbers can be like zucchini, though. Just saying.

You'll love that Meyer lemon. I have the non-dwarf variety in my backyard. We got two dozen lemons off it last year, and last week it was covered in the most amazing-smelling flowers. Good luck!

Yay for zuchinis! Maddening, but comforting somehow, don't you think?

Zucchinis are like zombis. Or maybe zombis are like zucchini.. They never stop until you do all the right chants and take a fire extinguisher to 'em.

When I saw that zucchini seedling, I heard the music to the Twilight Zone!

I keep saying every year that I'm going to do some container gardening on my balcony but have I even started yet? Yeah, you know the answer to that one! So each year I live vicariously through your raised beds and container pots. ;)

Cultivate an appreciation for baby zucchini. One person can six of the things at a sitting if you catch them early. Of course, this means you spend your 12 minutes per month of gardening time hunting zucchini, but it's better than living in fear.

I always wanted a lemon tree, even when I was a little kid, but alas I live in Delaware, where only the easiest of garden plants grow. Sigh.

I have always wanted a Meyer lemon tree too. Wonder if it would work in Nashville? Maybe if I bring it in during the winter?

Cool, a lemon tree! I have friends who grow a dwarf orange tree in a container, and it's really lovely as well as a source of fruit.

As for the zucchini ... kill it! Kill! Kill!!

I had pumpkins growing in a tree one year. True story!

How lucky you are to be able to pick oranges right off the tree and eat them! I'd be careful planting a pumpkin, though. I'm thinking that since pumpkins are in the same (squash) family, you might have a yardful of pumpkins. Don't know for sure though. I'm stuck in an apartment with no balcony in Chicago.

They're baaack!

Revenge of the ZUCCHINI!!!

your lemon and orange "grove" brought back memories of my florida grandma, who had backyard lime trees. mmmm. limeade on a sticky summer day. oranges came from the grovestand nearby, and weren't very orange -- more yellow and greenish. grandma explained that the ones we were used up north to had been to the beauty parlor for a dye job.

spare the poor, lonely zuke -- baby zukes sliced thin and simmered in v8 make a luvly way to get part of your 5 a day.

too bad your oven is unused/unsuable. somewhere i have a recipe for zucchini chocolate cake.

Lori - why don't you plant some artichokes? They're drought-resisitant (read: hard to kill), and are yummy!

You took some time off to go gallivanting? You go weeks with lots of pictures and very few words and then you disappear entirely for almost a week and the only explanation you vouchsafe is that you TOOK SOME TIME OFF TO GO GALLIVANTING?!?!?

In the immortal words of George Carlin, must be good sh*t. At least I hope so.

And speaking of sh*t and the uses thereof, all of your lovely plants may well be withered kindling along about July, but we Yankees shivering still on our coast over here have a mad jealousy on. Maybe I'll plant some basil in a pot...

Just think... you'll be ready for Sneak Some Zucchini onto Your Neighbor's Porch Day in Aug!~ http://www.wellcat.com/august/sneak_some_zucchini_onto_your_ne.htm

...I love me a wacky holiday!

Gad zukes! Only YOU could turn zukes into weeds! ROFL!
.

I take it back. It wasn't almost a week, it was an *entire* week. I hope it was REALLY good sh*t.

I like the herb idea, but since you don't cook you might not need them. I love the lone zuke sproutling-survival of the fittest baby!
We have no green in Detroit yet. Phooey.

I have the opposite problem, too much cold. Still four feet of snow in the yard. I NEED spring, if only to pretend to garden. . .

i'm with Aileen on wondering if the lemons would work in Nashville . . .
i'm thinking of trying tomatoes this year. i love to have a good herb garden - it's been the sum of my gardening endeavors over the last 3 years. i too am a container collector. ;-)

Ruth, I hate to tell you this, but zukes *are* weeds. Even in New England this has been known to happen.

I know a lot of people who use their ovens for storage and not so much as a chamber for carb production, but zucchini has many more uses than being baked into random loaves.
You can put a little oil in a skillet or wok and saute some onion and garlic until translucent, toss in some sliced zucchini and mushrooms, cook and stir until it smells like something you'd like to eat and then just salt and pepper and serve.
Zucchini casseroles and zucchini dressings are really good options as well. Both freeze and you can eat zucchini during the brief time of year that you can't find good ones. You can also half them lengthwise, steam or nuke them, scoop out the innards and cook it up with sausage and breadcrumbs, stuff the half shells and top with a little parmesan and run them under the broiler (unless the oven is full of yarn, in which case, use a hand torch).
Best use of all is to seed them, dry the seeds and save them for planting next year. But only in other people's yards and preferably without their knowledge. They'll appreciate the gesture. Honest.

I'm glad your newish gardening crew like plants and green stuff - Francisco Yikes! Last year I stuck a sprig of geranium in the end of a planter bed 'just for color' and it TOOK over. As it was the healthiest thing in there, I left it but had to yank it out this year as it was hogging space and blocking the SUN. Citrus trees smell scrumptious and to me are archetypical Los Angeles...how fitting, they will love the heat.

Funny -- I was at the grocery store this morning where they had organic zucchini for a dollar apiece. Not big ones, mind you. Just little ones.

How come home gardeners have an overabundance of these beasts every year that they can't even give away, and the grocery store can sell them for a dollar apiece?

Just one of those cosmic mysteries.

I love your gardening adventures! Please keep us informed.

Is it just me or does that zucchini plant look like it's saying "FEED ME, SEYMOUR!!????"

Purl -

I am with Lucia. Not even a nod toward those of us trying not to worry about you? At one point, I had to give myself a talking-to for being concerned about a grown-woman-complete-stranger-who-probably-got-great-tickets-to-Europe. You could have warned us.

Lecture over. Did you get any knitting done?

Um, people?? Laurie has the right to a private life, okay? I love her and her blog (of course) but she doesn't live in this world for our entertainment.
Jeez.

There's nothing better smelling than an orange tree...I'm absolutely green with envy! (No pun intended.)

I bought some seeds and stuff this weekend too!
Don't you just hate those "good intentioned" people that only give you zucchini bread recipes? (Or take your zucchini and then bring you a loaf of it back?!?) ARRRRRGH! I'm trying to get rid of it...I don't want it back in a different form!

Happy gardening!

Check out that zucchini seedling! It's the miracle of life and whatnot. Surely ONE zucchini plant can't hurt anything; I had just one last year and we got the perfect amount of zucchini. Of course, it doesn't get to be 118 in the shade round here. :)

I'm really looking forward to the garden-fresh tomaters, though.

Happy gardening!

(Oh look, Ronda and I both said "happy gardening." Great minds and all that!)

I steamed, then put my zuke in the blender, and froze in small batches. It was nice to add some veggies to other things (like mexican food) with little effort all through the winter. I know you use the blender... =0)

Am so glad your dad's peppers did well! :-)

Pumpkins make pretty vines, with lovely orange/yellow flowers. You might have to water them (under the leaves) on those hot days, though.

hahaha, zucchinis multiply in the most disturbing way, don't they! a friend of mine was telling me she grew up in a very safe, small neighborhood where no one locked their doors... until the zucchinis harvested. then, people locked their homes and cars up tight, otherwise, they would get filled with unwanted zucchinis! oh, the humanity!

Glad you are back, you were missed.

If the zuke goes wild, consider what folks in Idaho do during zuke season. I was warned not to ever leave my vehicle unlocked while at church (or anywhere) during zuke season. When you come back to your car it will be full of zukes from those folks with crazy vines in THEIR backyard. I'm just sayin!

Wow, I'm envious - I have dreams of planting vegetables in the little corner bed in my backyard, but then I remember the working and the weeding and the digging... and then the desire vanishes. ;)

I'm totally digging the drive-by zucchini idea... RAOZ! Random Acts of Zuking!

The lone zucchini photo needs a horror movie sting - like all those endings where you think you've killed all the zombies, or torched all the aliens, and as the hero and heroine walk away from the wreckage hand in hand you see one lone zombie appendage or bit of alien goo wriggling through the debris. Only zombies and aliens probably aren't as yummy steamed with a little butter.

I am soooooo jealous of your warm weather....we had another 4 or 5 inches of SNOW!?!?! on Saturday it was totally gross! Alas gardening for me won't happen for a while yet. I'm in Alberta the middle part.

Oh no! Slowly back away from the zucchini plant and abandon the idea of pumpkins if you ever want to see daylight again. Seriously. Last year I planted a few pumpkin plants and they took over the entire 15' x 15' garden *plus* another 4' into the yarn on all sides. My neighbors even came over to tell me they had pumpkins coming through the fences!

I lived briefly with one of my great uncles (or great-great) somewhere in SoCal, and it was the best thing ever to go and pick my breakfast. I just loved it so much.

Of course, in New England I can go and pick my breakfast too (if I were growing anything) for about two weeks in August. Short growing season!

Laurie, I have to tell you -- I'm honestly jealous of your zucchini plant. When I lived in Indiana, every year I'd plant several varieties of summer squash (Eight Ball being my favorite), and every year I'd wait to be inundated with them. Alas, it was not to be. Every year my plants would be attached by squash vine borers, and the plants would die long before I was tired of the squash. I picked mine when they were all small, though -- I never had one the size of yours last summer. Sigh -- enjoy them!

I'm jealous. You have an orange tree. (and a lemon but I could buy a container lemon tree too!)
I've got lots of things on the go - garlic (ick - want some garlic plants?), cilantro, carrots, spinach, kale, bok choy, broccoli, herbs, all in pots. I'm not leaving them behind when we move.
Hope you had a fun week of mysterious absence!

Hey, Liz (and Laurie), I never said different. I just expressed hope that the gallivant was a good one.

Laurie, I have two words for you: zucchini smoothie.

do not forget about "leave zucchini on your neighbors porch' day in august!

I kid you not, I heard the theme from the shower scene of Psycho when I saw that zucchini plant! Nooooo....

I haven't gardened since I was a kid, pulling weeds with my Dad. I moved to a place with a huge back yard... I might need to invite some gardening friends over to show me what I can do with it! Home-grown tomatoes, yum!

Oh, Purl, how we missed you!!

Keep them zukes comin'!

Aerogarden

look it up. it takes alot of the work out of things...

except - even they aren't into space aged kudzu worthy zukes.

My soul lusts for some of that green ya got there! Here in Northeast Ohio, spring is just poking it's head from under the covers, knowing full well that although today is balmy, tomorrow could bring sleet, freezing rain, snow, ice, locusts, plague, and pestilence. We know that to give in (before last frost on May 15) to the provocative wares on display in the red-light district that is the garden center at Home Depot is to invite sorrow and regret. Very deep sigh...

The oranges on your tree/shrub made me want to lick my monitor.

Beware of the pumpkins, my mum had them take over her rose garden, on top of a roof and over the fence into the neighbours section.

...and pumpkins might be harder to carry into the office...

Yeah! Laurie's back! Hurray for self-seeding zucchinis! The towering snowbanks here in Maine are slowly shrinking and one of these days the green will come back and then I'll get to plant some things that may or may not survive my neglectful ways. But I have to wait until late May "sigh".

It's nearly impossible to tear out a living breathing plant, but aren't you kinda tempted? I mean, it will just be a giant scary zucchini that you'll have to move away from.

Wouldn't you rather have cantaloupes? They grow almost as easily and are so good. They'd love to live in that bed.

Either way - good for you with your beer and lemons. Sounds dreamy :)

Good call on the citrus. That is what does so well in the valleys. If I remember correctly, grapes do well in that climate. We used to grow them in Arizona. And grape vines are pretty!

And, I don't know what to tell you about the rogue zuke. Except that it is small enough you could dig it up, put it in a little pot, put a bow on it and gift it to someone...

(glad I live in a different state)

Zucchini blossoms - wonderful in quesadillas, blended into soup, etc. And then you don't have all the zucchinis growing up so big. But to get them at the blossom stage, you will have to wander back there every three days or so.

That would be enough zucchini to last my husband all year.:) (He doesn't want to hear about any recipes for it either.)
Glad you're back.
Take care,
Amy

Wow. I can hardly fathom living in a climate that you have full scale oranges right now. Or ever, actually. We're still in Winter mode here, even got a mini blizzard on the weekend. I suppose that is Canada for you. Enjoy the citrus!

Either you need to try to get out there and pick those zucchini when they're still small, or you should set up a roadside zucchini and lemonade stand for extra cash.

The thing to remember about zucchini:

If you keep picking them, they keep making them.

Seconding the comment that your raised bed needs a lot more soil. It's not a raised bed if it's even with the yard ;)

Hope you have fun galavanting. Wish I was doing that.

I'm planting tomatoes in a few hay bales this weekend. Since most of our backyard is concrete with a pool, I have to get creative with growing a vegatable garden.

I have lots of zucchini every year too. I make ratatouille a lot and here is a link to a good recipe for zucchini fritters. They are fabulous:

http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/001366zucchini_fritters.php

oh please don't kill the zucchini plant :) but pick them when they're still young and small, that way you won't have to eat so much of them :)
the EASIEST way to prepare them I have ever seen: (as a side dish or a complete "i haven't eaten any vegetables this week" meal) cut them in slices. sprinkle with some spices, stir so that the spices are evenly distributed. microwave until you drool. eat.
also, you can toss them into almost ANY meal. making a meat-and-potato dish? cut up a zucchini, toss it in. rice? zucchini. pasta? zucchini. cooked zucchini go great with cooked potatoes.

You know that you can make soup from zucchini? The big ones are good for that; otherwise, harvest the zukes while they're still small, or cut off the blossoms (they're edible and really nice; if you need a recipe, let me know). Cucumber plants and zucchini plants are related, so you might have a lot of both this summer.

Looking forward to your gardening season! Unfortunately, I live in an apartment without balcony or back yard, so I have to live my gardening ambitions through you ;-)

While I'll miss the (mis)adventures of Francisco, I'm looking forward to seeing what will actually grow in your backyard. and the fact that a lone zucchini is growing in the back means you are meant to be a zuke farmer or its the beginning of the Pod People. Living in Miami meant we had lemons, oranges, mango and avocado trees in the backyard. Didn't like any of them.
Great orange tree. And the lemon tree? Very pretty!

You know, I first saw the picture of the orange tree with its large and healthy fruit and thought "Hmmm, I wonder where THIS is going?" I had NO idea that it was your back yard! The new gardeners are terrific! And they cleaned out your Zucchini bed? They deserve great big thank you's complete with something baked, if possible!! Congrats to your garden for surviving the Era of Francisco!!

Mmmmm, crock-pot ratatouille...

Mmmm...forgot about ratatouille! Also, here's what I do with a lot of my zucchini: http://www.oduamy.com/crispy_zucchini_coins.html
Sorry, you will have to use your oven, but they go great with spaghetti!

I always put my extras in a box on the front lawn labeled "free zucchini" and people gobble them up in less than an hour. My fave was the stoner guy that pulled up in his beater car, jumped out and grabbed about 4 of them and said, "Zucchini ROCKS!" :)

If you ever have another zuke take over, a soup kitchen would really appreciate them. Lots bread for the homeless.

Is there a recipe somewhere that uses zucchini, pequin peppers and lemon juice? Anybody?

mmmmm zucchini smoothies