tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2580065711444989420.comments2022-09-16T08:16:00.092-04:00A Giant's FootprintS.G. Kubrakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08947208069961906484noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2580065711444989420.post-69198809443936783252013-08-05T16:03:09.246-04:002013-08-05T16:03:09.246-04:00Wow! this is an impressive plan. How do you guys f...Wow! this is an impressive plan. How do you guys find time? I also did not know you could grow watermelon out there. Have you tried growing garlic? I'm curious what your crops look like right now, put up some pix :)mpghttp://mangopowergirl.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2580065711444989420.post-23874598347897840832011-11-15T08:04:31.907-05:002011-11-15T08:04:31.907-05:00Janice,
I have not tried it yet, actually I have ...Janice, <br />I have not tried it yet, actually I have never heard of it. I will definitely pick it up and give it a whirl. <br /><br />Thanks for reading and commenting!S.G. Kubrakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08947208069961906484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2580065711444989420.post-14904460031754075932011-11-15T04:04:19.734-05:002011-11-15T04:04:19.734-05:00Have you tried Get Clean's Laundry Cleaner--as...Have you tried Get Clean's Laundry Cleaner--as seen on Oprah Winfrey's Earth Day program (& one of her Christmas picks for "My 25 Favorite Things?"<br /><br />It's green and beats out many conventional, and green, cleaners in tests for effectiveness and price, too.Janice Bakerhttp://bloomin-abundance.myshaklee.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2580065711444989420.post-58395242225330293782010-11-02T13:55:25.405-04:002010-11-02T13:55:25.405-04:00Interesting. I definitely think your melons got na...Interesting. I definitely think your melons got nailed with the blight. Exactly the same thing happened with my cantaloupe. Its really sad to see something go so well then suddenly *poof*. There is also the vine borers. All the <i>Cucurbitaceae</i> seem to get nailed with this, but that is apparently an easy fix with soap and water. <br /><br />I agree I think the takeaway is definitely thinning. We get so excited to see so much, but fact of the matter is that we are letting the weaker ones thrive at the expense of the stronger ones. Ah, Darwin. ;)<br /><br />I am also considering just one species in the same family at a time to keep all that cross disease stuff down, so no potatoes and tomatoes at the same time. <br /><br />I have no idea why peppers are so inexplicable. I mean I have BAGS of jalapenos, and no bells at all. Going to try them indoors this winter and see what that gets me. I know of some folks who have the same plant for years producing very happily. <br /><br />Rebar? What kind of mutant tomatoes are you growing? ;)S.G. Kubrakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08947208069961906484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2580065711444989420.post-2320883381111877462010-11-02T13:39:21.729-04:002010-11-02T13:39:21.729-04:00I had some very similar experiences with my freshm...I had some very similar experiences with my freshman effort at a garden. Successes: <br />*bell peppers (green, red and brown...no yellow or orange showed up, oddly enough)<br />*black Hungarian peppers (way too many to eat)<br />*Anaheim chiles (WAY TOO MANY)<br />*some little finger chiles that I don't have any record of planting (very very hot)<br />*tomatoes: a mixed bag, actually, due almost entirely to my overplanting/underthinning, and failure to properly cut back. They collapsed by 3 steel structures, and I relied on 2x4s to keep the tomato hedge upright. So much foliage that many tomatoes never matures, and the squirrels and possums ate a lot more.<br />*kale: yes, great yield until I got a whitefly infestation<br />*lettuce: another big yes, way more than we could eat<br />*Swiss chard (rainbow): more than we wanted. Discovered I don't really like chard all that much.<br />*white cucumbers: good output, then all the vines withered and died with fruits still in production. Odd. Some sort of blight? More on this below.<br /><br />Failures:<br />*broccoli: only some tiny heads, and it takes up a lot of real estate<br />*beets: they all produced, but very very small bulbs<br />*onions: green shoots, then nada<br />*watermelon: I got great vines and fruits up to softball size. Then the vines browned, turned translucenty, and died off. Same blight as what struck my cukes?<br />*peas: four bushes, total of about 10 pods. Will not replant.<br /><br />Soooo....lessons. Will thin seedlings appropriately. Planning a much more aggressive tomato support matrix made of rebar. Will pay much closer attention to whiteflies and mildew....maybe plant marigolds at periphery of beds to help discourage rodentia? Much fewer peppers. Ye gads.philgradhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09464184559242642535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2580065711444989420.post-25808764917664907802010-08-26T17:35:00.379-04:002010-08-26T17:35:00.379-04:00Concur on all these. My tomatoes became a hedge, ...Concur on all these. My tomatoes became a hedge, and as a result, I had tons that just didn't ripen. I cut about 1/3 out of the thicket a couple of weekends back, and everyone is much happier. I also need to cut down the amount of peppers I planted...and I won't plant broccoli again (and probably not beans, either). <br /><br />Harvested half my beets this past weekend (still small, but had started to show above ground for some odd reason) and the kohlrabi is ready now. Carrots *still* tiny. Melon vines growing great, but no fruit yet (lots of flowers, though...maybe not enough bees?)...philgradhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09464184559242642535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2580065711444989420.post-14196808617937474242010-06-15T17:45:43.893-04:002010-06-15T17:45:43.893-04:00Nice! We've had such violent storms that I...Nice! We've had such violent storms that I've had a couple pepper plants get felled/split.<br /><br />Lettuce growing time is almost over, and I have 8 heads left of romaine to harvest. My spinach is bolting, so time to saute that up too. And the 5 remaining heads of rainbow chard. Yikes! Greens ahoy!<br /><br />Broccoli is coming in nicely, tomatoes and peppers are going nuts, and the cucumbers are threatening to take over the entire block.<br /><br />As soon as the leafy greens are harvested, I'm planting melons, including the interesting "tigger melon". All my seeds are from http://rareseeds.com (Baker Creek, in Missouri!)philgradhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09464184559242642535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2580065711444989420.post-17709194610765870892010-06-03T14:26:29.480-04:002010-06-03T14:26:29.480-04:00Did you buy most of your soil or use what was ther...Did you buy most of your soil or use what was there? I think you might have an advantage as mine was just the Virginia Piedmont clay soil that is so well known here. Last year I only fertilized once and was not disappointed (except for the pumpkins) so I was perplexed about this year. The new bed (by the driveway) has more sand as well, so I am dealing with different soil types. Of course I have a soil test kit, of course I have not actually used it. :) <br /><br />rareseeds.com, bookmarked. <br /><br />I was also considering a cold-bed for salads in the winter, but may hold off since The Wife may start to think me insane. <br /><br />I'm taking pics today when I get home (if it isn't raining). Will hopefully get them up here tonight or tomorrow at the latest.S.G. Kubrakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08947208069961906484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2580065711444989420.post-44638764360936253122010-06-03T14:18:29.605-04:002010-06-03T14:18:29.605-04:00Anxious to see pics of the whole affair. 2 of my ...Anxious to see pics of the whole affair. 2 of my three beds are going gangbusters. I used organic soil from the git-go, and mixed with organic compost and manure. Have not fertilized yet, but acquired some organic fertilizer. All my plants are from www.rareseeds.com, so all non-hybrids too.philgradhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09464184559242642535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2580065711444989420.post-59059479540647849352010-04-30T15:26:41.038-04:002010-04-30T15:26:41.038-04:00I can't wait to see those pics. I haven't ...I can't wait to see those pics. I haven't done anything indoors first and then transplanted. I just don't have time for all that 'hardening' stuff. Is the fencing for the deer?S.G. Kubrakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08947208069961906484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2580065711444989420.post-61017986474404238422010-04-30T13:45:43.693-04:002010-04-30T13:45:43.693-04:00We put in two raised beds and a root vegetable bed...We put in two raised beds and a root vegetable bed. Have surrounded all with poultry fencing, but the big dog has taken it down twice in the pursuit of squirrels. Some things transplanted from seedlings well, others not so much (lessons learned!). Will post pics soon.philgradhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09464184559242642535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2580065711444989420.post-28016146257312492602008-08-16T02:39:00.000-04:002008-08-16T02:39:00.000-04:00So the same problem exists everywhere. Most of our...So the same problem exists everywhere. Most of our veggies were destroyed by squirrels as well. They would take bites out of a new strawberry and then leave in on the porch like a little present to torment me. Then the same thing again the next day like it had forgotten what the strawberry had tasted like the day before. It was such a menace because here we were excited about <A HREF="http://www.mangopowergirl.com/2008/06/our-edible-garden.html" REL="nofollow"> our very first organic edible garden </A> and it was getting rampaged!<BR/><BR/>We found out the solution (even though a bit too late for the strawberries) - no traps, guns or poison! The <A HREF="http://mastergardener.wsu.edu" REL="nofollow"> Washington State University Master Gardeners </A> are always at our farmers' market giving tips, and they told us that the squirrels are looking for moisture. If you notice, they probably dig a lot of holes around the plants they are destroying, trying actually to get at water. So, give them some water & a snack, and they will leave the plants alone. <BR/><BR/>Then the day we forgot to re-fill their little nut dish, all the spinach was gone again >:-oMPGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17978342999500783533noreply@blogger.com