Well, not that this was a banner year for my garden anyway, but Hurricane Irene pretty much ended the season on me. Everything that I grew that was more than 4 feet tall got blown down. Corn, amaranth, sunflowers. The lower lying plants such as peppers and tomatoes are still doing well, and I have lots of pumpkin plants growing, just not fruits as of yet. Beans aplenty from the 3 sisters, but there are no pods yet. I suppose it could have been worse, and this isn't the post-mortem yet, but its just the beginning of the slow harvest wind-down. I'm still hoping to get some good pumpkins by halloween, and maybe a dry autumn will allow me to get some watermelons that don't explode. :)
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Walt Disney eat your heart out
Might be hard to see here, but that's a yellow Monarch on the Evening Sunflower in the garden. All the better since it's 8pm. :)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Friday, July 15, 2011
Hopeful disapointment
I pulled one of the potato plants yesterday that looked ready (droopy and wilted leaves). Its mid-july and those spuds have been in since March. What did I get? Spuds barely bigger than the seed potatoes I put in. Grrrr. Also, I have come to the conclusion that the 3 sisters does NOT work with sweet corn. The stems are so weak that the beans just pull the stalks over where they snap and get ravaged by the local wildlife. I have pulled the beans that were growing in the other batch, maybe I can get some corn by September. I will have to further segregate the crop next season, maybe putting a chicken-wire fence between the corn rows and letting the beans/squash grow on that. Could also be too much nitrogen and the plants are growing so the roots aren't as deep (called logging). Also considering growing things in pots in front of the house (by the street) since that spot get the most sun. Also may let me focus more, I need to concentrate my efforts I think. Too many plants with different needs and not enough experience on my part.
There is another watermelon growing so its not just the 'lone melon' which is good. The evening sun's have flowers on them now and are tracking the sun quite well. Tomatoes just about ripe. Amaranth is at least 10 feet high. :)
That reminds me, do NOT plant Amaranth on the east side of the Main Bed, they shade everything. The peppers are having a hard time competing. Ah, but I think the potatoes have been too hot since they really sit in the sun from 10am till 3. So grow the potatoes on the west side of the Amaranth so they will get shaded.
Pictures this weekend.
Yeah, I know I try not to swing political, but this is about helping people eat. Great idea, and she is a better gardener than me.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/07/14/cnnheroes.hirshberg.seeds/index.html?hpt=hp_t2#
There is another watermelon growing so its not just the 'lone melon' which is good. The evening sun's have flowers on them now and are tracking the sun quite well. Tomatoes just about ripe. Amaranth is at least 10 feet high. :)
That reminds me, do NOT plant Amaranth on the east side of the Main Bed, they shade everything. The peppers are having a hard time competing. Ah, but I think the potatoes have been too hot since they really sit in the sun from 10am till 3. So grow the potatoes on the west side of the Amaranth so they will get shaded.
Pictures this weekend.
Yeah, I know I try not to swing political, but this is about helping people eat. Great idea, and she is a better gardener than me.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/07/14/cnnheroes.hirshberg.seeds/index.html?hpt=hp_t2#
Friday, July 8, 2011
Knee high by the 4th of July
Yep, I don't know where that expression started but it always seems to be wrong for me. As of the 4th my maize was as tall as me (the tallest stalk anyway) and it already has many developing ears. I didn't get a chance to take photos as the Higher Mind of New England has me in its clutches again, really hard this time. I will try to take some this weekend. Here is some info though:
Potatoes: Seem to be ready. A stalk broke on one of the plants the other day and I suppose it died. A few days later I pulled the spud but it was literally crawling with bugs. Even for someone as non squeamish as me, it was pretty gross.
Eggplant: Well, there are plants, but nothing else. This is the 2nd season in a different spot and still nothing. I'm suspecting something is missing.
Peanuts: Got the plants, they look good. I haven't reached under to see if there are actually peanuts yet.
4 sisters doing well, well at least 3 of the 4, I just planted the pumpkins on the 4th so they haven't sprouted yet. But the beans, maize, and sunflowers (evening sun better than the Mammoths since they were late) are all doing well, only the maize has fruited yet. That reminds me to switch to bloodmeal for fertilizer since there is no need for more nitrogen at this point.
Amaranth: Taller than me seed heads beginning to form. The Wife keeps asking me "what do I do with these?" Having eaten Amaranth before I know you cook the seeds like oatmeal, but I still have yet to actually shake them out. That's basically all I know. :)
Watermelon: Have my first baby melon, and its getting bigger by the day. The Littlest Giant loves to "check out the melon". No honeydews yet, but there is such a tangle in the melon patch that I might just not be seeing it yet. The parsnips are in the patch and I think they might be getting smothered. Hopefully they will make it to the winter.
Tomatoes: Have a few babies right now and the plants are healthy so far *crosses fingers* The carrots under them are similarly shaded like the parsnips, so we will see if they make it to winter.
Blueberries: Yeah, birds took 'em all. Even though they were not mature yet. Gonna need a net (and I don't mean Funicello) next season.
Apple trees: There is a baby apple on the Fuji tree. "when it grows up, I eat it!" says The Littlest Giant. I had to spray both trees with neem oil as they were getting Cedar-Apple Rust. They seem to be improving, or at least not getting worse.
That's it for now, found this great article on cnn about gardening. I don't normally post this stuff, but I thought it was a good piece.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/07/08/why.gardening.good/index.html
Potatoes: Seem to be ready. A stalk broke on one of the plants the other day and I suppose it died. A few days later I pulled the spud but it was literally crawling with bugs. Even for someone as non squeamish as me, it was pretty gross.
Eggplant: Well, there are plants, but nothing else. This is the 2nd season in a different spot and still nothing. I'm suspecting something is missing.
Peanuts: Got the plants, they look good. I haven't reached under to see if there are actually peanuts yet.
4 sisters doing well, well at least 3 of the 4, I just planted the pumpkins on the 4th so they haven't sprouted yet. But the beans, maize, and sunflowers (evening sun better than the Mammoths since they were late) are all doing well, only the maize has fruited yet. That reminds me to switch to bloodmeal for fertilizer since there is no need for more nitrogen at this point.
Amaranth: Taller than me seed heads beginning to form. The Wife keeps asking me "what do I do with these?" Having eaten Amaranth before I know you cook the seeds like oatmeal, but I still have yet to actually shake them out. That's basically all I know. :)
Watermelon: Have my first baby melon, and its getting bigger by the day. The Littlest Giant loves to "check out the melon". No honeydews yet, but there is such a tangle in the melon patch that I might just not be seeing it yet. The parsnips are in the patch and I think they might be getting smothered. Hopefully they will make it to the winter.
Tomatoes: Have a few babies right now and the plants are healthy so far *crosses fingers* The carrots under them are similarly shaded like the parsnips, so we will see if they make it to winter.
Blueberries: Yeah, birds took 'em all. Even though they were not mature yet. Gonna need a net (and I don't mean Funicello) next season.
Apple trees: There is a baby apple on the Fuji tree. "when it grows up, I eat it!" says The Littlest Giant. I had to spray both trees with neem oil as they were getting Cedar-Apple Rust. They seem to be improving, or at least not getting worse.
That's it for now, found this great article on cnn about gardening. I don't normally post this stuff, but I thought it was a good piece.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/07/08/why.gardening.good/index.html
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Garden update with pics
So much has changed and I have been very remiss. I will try to update as much as I can before the higher mind of New England gets me back in it's clutches. :)
It was a very wet and cold spring, to be followed suddenly by a very hot...spring. Ah, Virginia. Because of finals and such I was a month late getting the crops in the ground. May 15 this time , although I did plant the potatoes in the last week of march. Also, I added a Fuji apple tree as well as a red delicious apple tree to replace the one I had to cut down. Not to be left out, 2 blueberry varieties were also planted to replace the azalea's that died.
The driveway bed has been extended an additional 32 square feet. Baring any major changes to the property (a tree coming down) this should be the furthest extent of the garden.
On with the pictures, I will provide rolling commentary as usual.
This is the fuji apple tree leaves up close. Sadly they are suffering from cedar apple rust, even though there are no cedar trees around, but there are apple trees. Apparently Fuji apples are susceptible. The red delicious is not however, and it looks fine. Meem oil is on the way to spray on the leaves.
These are the blueberry bushes. Look at those blueberries, look at those holes in the leaves. Guess what they are? Yep, Slug Sappers. Meem works there too, they also "sluggo" works as well. Guess what I already have? They want a war, they got it.
This is the whole grander from the foot of the driveway up. Potatoes up front. They are doing very well up there, I have never seen them this healthy looking. I did pay for the seed potatoes though, but these are impressive. Let's hope the tubers are as good.
A more close up picture of the potatoes. Yes, that is cow poo they are growing in, which The Littlest Giant loves to play with. "cow poo, crush." :)
Eggplant with parsnips on the side. Still waiting on the eggplant to do....something. I am not very successful with that crop so far.
Evening sun sunflowers and peanuts. They peanuts that didn't get eaten seem to be doing well. They have really cute little yellow flowers on them too. Besides the apples and the blueberries, these are the first plants to flower this season.
This is the second of 2 beds dedicated to the 3 Sisters this season. This was planted at the beginning of June. No hills this year, they just washed away last time and I don't want a repeat. I might just do a full fledged milpa next year depending on how this goes. Well, minus the 8 year fallow period.
The first of the two 3 Sisters plots, this one now has beans that were planted when the second plot was planted. The beans are still growing faster than the maize even though I waited a month. I think next year I need to get the maize in in April and then wait till June for the beans, I have already had to untangle some as they were choking the stalks.
Amaranth and sunflowers. I used to think, "no way can the amaranth grow to 3 meters." It's almost 2 now. I think it can. The sunflowers are a second planting as the robins took all the seeds from the first one.
Peppers. Back to front: jalapeño, banana, yes those are tiny bells which I had to replant when it was good and hot out, like 100 degrees, and I have completely forgotten the last variety. I will edit that later. I am so glad the bells came up. I basically have to wait until its really hot, or start them inside next year.
Watermelon to the left, muskmelon (honeydew) to the right. Growing quite nicely and flowering.
Some intensives here. From left to right: tomatoes, carrots, 2 huge onions from last season, tomatoes, carrots, tomatoes, evening sun sunflowers. Carrots and tomatoes are apparently companion crops like the 3 Sisters.
What is not shown is Ye Olde Pumpkin Patch, which currently has nothing but did have spinach and lettuce. Both grew well, but because they were so far in the backyard, I was lazy and didn't harvest all the time. The spinach was great, not enough lettuce grew to get a sample. Dunno why. They went in the same time the potatoes did, but I will do them earlier next year, or even plant them in the fall. The pumpkins get planted here (and in the 3 Sisters beds) Independence Day weekend. That's it for now.
It was a very wet and cold spring, to be followed suddenly by a very hot...spring. Ah, Virginia. Because of finals and such I was a month late getting the crops in the ground. May 15 this time , although I did plant the potatoes in the last week of march. Also, I added a Fuji apple tree as well as a red delicious apple tree to replace the one I had to cut down. Not to be left out, 2 blueberry varieties were also planted to replace the azalea's that died.
The driveway bed has been extended an additional 32 square feet. Baring any major changes to the property (a tree coming down) this should be the furthest extent of the garden.
On with the pictures, I will provide rolling commentary as usual.
This is the fuji apple tree leaves up close. Sadly they are suffering from cedar apple rust, even though there are no cedar trees around, but there are apple trees. Apparently Fuji apples are susceptible. The red delicious is not however, and it looks fine. Meem oil is on the way to spray on the leaves.
These are the blueberry bushes. Look at those blueberries, look at those holes in the leaves. Guess what they are? Yep, Slug Sappers. Meem works there too, they also "sluggo" works as well. Guess what I already have? They want a war, they got it.
This is the whole grander from the foot of the driveway up. Potatoes up front. They are doing very well up there, I have never seen them this healthy looking. I did pay for the seed potatoes though, but these are impressive. Let's hope the tubers are as good.
A more close up picture of the potatoes. Yes, that is cow poo they are growing in, which The Littlest Giant loves to play with. "cow poo, crush." :)
Eggplant with parsnips on the side. Still waiting on the eggplant to do....something. I am not very successful with that crop so far.
Evening sun sunflowers and peanuts. They peanuts that didn't get eaten seem to be doing well. They have really cute little yellow flowers on them too. Besides the apples and the blueberries, these are the first plants to flower this season.
This is the second of 2 beds dedicated to the 3 Sisters this season. This was planted at the beginning of June. No hills this year, they just washed away last time and I don't want a repeat. I might just do a full fledged milpa next year depending on how this goes. Well, minus the 8 year fallow period.
The first of the two 3 Sisters plots, this one now has beans that were planted when the second plot was planted. The beans are still growing faster than the maize even though I waited a month. I think next year I need to get the maize in in April and then wait till June for the beans, I have already had to untangle some as they were choking the stalks.
Amaranth and sunflowers. I used to think, "no way can the amaranth grow to 3 meters." It's almost 2 now. I think it can. The sunflowers are a second planting as the robins took all the seeds from the first one.
Peppers. Back to front: jalapeño, banana, yes those are tiny bells which I had to replant when it was good and hot out, like 100 degrees, and I have completely forgotten the last variety. I will edit that later. I am so glad the bells came up. I basically have to wait until its really hot, or start them inside next year.
Watermelon to the left, muskmelon (honeydew) to the right. Growing quite nicely and flowering.
Some intensives here. From left to right: tomatoes, carrots, 2 huge onions from last season, tomatoes, carrots, tomatoes, evening sun sunflowers. Carrots and tomatoes are apparently companion crops like the 3 Sisters.
What is not shown is Ye Olde Pumpkin Patch, which currently has nothing but did have spinach and lettuce. Both grew well, but because they were so far in the backyard, I was lazy and didn't harvest all the time. The spinach was great, not enough lettuce grew to get a sample. Dunno why. They went in the same time the potatoes did, but I will do them earlier next year, or even plant them in the fall. The pumpkins get planted here (and in the 3 Sisters beds) Independence Day weekend. That's it for now.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Holy eggs Batman!
Three Robin's nests in my yard, one right next to the Main Bed. Momma Robin gets a little bent out of shape when the Giant head walks by. The Littlest Giant loves them and keeps wanting to "check on the eggs." I had to explain that birds aren't cool with being peeped at; she didn't get it.
I have never seen nests in the yard before. I want to think that it's because my organic gardening has made my little patch of Suburbia give something back instead of taking everything away.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
I have never seen nests in the yard before. I want to think that it's because my organic gardening has made my little patch of Suburbia give something back instead of taking everything away.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
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