Little Pot, Big Flower

My mother loved Georgia O'Keeffe paintings and had prints all over her office that we shared.  I felt like I had entered into an OBGyn office; I couldn't stand it.  I wear my manhood proudly... I weld, I scratch things, I like old rusty metal, I like smoked meat, fire is good, I climb mountains, wounds are to be fixed with duct tape, Georgia O'Keeffee made me vomit.

Fast forward twenty years and a stick that my wife's grandma gave us turned into this.

Pictorial says everything.

The Stinking Rose

My favorite crop of all time is garlic.

That lowly thought of item for your garden, purchased in bulk at the local Von's as a California Early or Late is the easiest thing to grow in your garden and is by far the most rewarding.  Growing it opens up a world far beyond the supermarket isles with varied flavors, heat and nuance.

We've found that red hard neck garlics seemingly grow best in Southern California and are the most powerful in flavor and heat.  Heat like chili peppers when you try them raw, powerful in your Caesar salad and your breath afterwards.  Oh so good.

We are fortunate enough to have a community garden plot across town that used to be our primary source of produce for the year.  Sadly, a professional farmer from South Africa moved into the plot next to us and decided that weeds are a cash crop and grows them by the bushel, which blows seed onto our plot.  This has changed our strategy of water thirsty crops to berries, grapes and garlic.  We are heading there today to pull up the last of the tomatoes, till the soil, kill the water timer and prep for garlic.  In the ground in October and out by July, we had great luck with sexy types like Red Janice, Amore and Early Red; each with their own bouquet.  Sexy.

It is as easy as take a good sized head, break off a clove and into the ground butt side down (pointy end up).  Cover with an inch of soil and let it go for the season.  We didn't have to purchase a single head and were into the conversation each night before dinner of, "What type do you think would go well in....?"

Plant garlic, you won't be disappointed.  Filagree Garlic Farm linked at the right. ;)

Kathy's Potting Bench

What to give the person that has everything?


(Edit: Kathy and her son Danny who live in Huntington Beach Central Park area and have a beautiful southwestern themed backyard have since painted this bench purple with pink accents and it came out amazing!)

We created the Junkin' version of a potting bench for a friend who had everything but was in love with our basic potting bench/bar in the back yard.


We got a hot tip that Habitat For Humanity (http://www.habitat.org/) was having a warehouse sale, and upon arrival was told that everything was going to be sold or tossed.  We found some cool stuff and saw some turn of the century doors getting taken out to the dumpster.


The next morning the idea hit us... a potting bench made from an old door!


This is where our lives took a turn for a new low.  We jumped into the truck and went down to dumpster dive Habitat!  Sure enough, door secured and new project was under way.


After picking up $25 worth of lumber, we threw together a table of 2"x4" and 1"x4", secured it to the door with some lag bolts I had laying around, bolted up some rusty crap from the workbench (horseshoes, etc) and bolted some old jelly jars to the bottom of the table to put knickknacks in.  Complete with a coffee cup succulent garden and an old insulator to store string on, and we were good to go.


Delivery of this beast took two grown men, but it was worth it.  Kathy couldn't have been more pleased. 


Dumpster dive project accomplished.