Friday, August 28, 2009
Tomatoes!
Oh, I forgot to mention what kind of tomatoes they are! The big ones are "Sioux" from Pemberton Farms. The pear-shaped ones are "Beam's Yellow Pear", the tiny gold ones are "Gold Rush Currant", the red cherries are either "Tommy Toe" or "Peacevine", I can't find the tag, and the purple cherries are actually volunteers from last year that turned up in my asparagus bed, but I can't remember the name right now. Apparently my compost bin does NOT get hot enough to kill seeds! They sure are good, though.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Bummer of a year
Between the slugs and the rain, about all that has survived at the community garden is some of the Federle paste tomatoes, but they haven't gotten green yet. There might be ripe corn by now, I'll have to check and see this weekend.
At home the weeds pretty much overtook everything, while I hid from the rain and then later the heat inside. We're starting to get some "Gold Rush" currant tomatoes, Tom says they taste good. I also got about one serving of green beans.
The flowers, however, are going to town! My butterfly bush is almost as big as the garage, we've got zinnia and a million zillion self-sown black-eyed susans. The Red Milkweed was gorgeous, and the phlox seemed to be brighter than ever before. Even the Bee Balm obliged by blooming this year.
The one food item I've had success with is fruit! I just picked about a pint of black currants for drying and making into scones. The spring black raspberries were delicious, and the fall raspberries look to be a gianormous bumper crop. The blueberries were tasty, and the quantity wasn't bad for the first year, and I had so many strawberries I was giving them away. Even the grapes are starting to ripen, and we finally got a plastic sheet over them, so we should be able to rescue some from the birds. I had gooseberries at one point, but I think the birds got to them, because they weren't there when I got the black currants. And soon, I'll have about 6 golden delicious apples from my little trellised apple-frankentree.
And that's about it. All my lettuces went to seed, the kale and broccoli got taken down by millions of slugs, the carrots never germinated, I missed the "good" window on the radishes, and the tomatoes had a very, very slow start. But oh! I forgot about the potatoes. Those are starting to die back, and I suspect there are tons of red, white, and blue potatoes waiting for me under the soil! I'm letting them cure a few weeks in the ground, but then I'll let you know!
Next year I'm scaling back. Kinda makes sense if I'm having a baby, right? No community garden, and I'm going to switch to just a few raised beds instead of half the yard as a garden.
I'm glad we have the CSA farm share! They at least managed to produce everything but tomatoes, even if their lettuce was a bit flea-bitten. It would REALLY be a rotten year if we only had to eat what we could grow!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Rain, rain, rain...
Also, if you're in the Northeast, look out for the late blight that's spreading among tomatoes and potatoes. The sun hasn't come out, and some big-box chains were selling infected plants... it's EVERYWHERE this year! So far my plants aren't affected. I think I'll stop on the way home and get some serenade or copper dust...
Monday, June 8, 2009
BEST THING EVER!!!
"Snackscaping" indeed!
Friday, June 5, 2009
Birdies have fledged!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Baby Birds!
Monday, June 1, 2009
Big Gardening Weekend!
I also did some work in the community garden plot. Everything is planted, except for the things I have to re-plant due to insect eating. The first narrow row on the left is the blueberries and cranberries. Then comes a wide row of paste tomatoes "Federle". Then a row of cherry and slicing tomatoes: Beams Yellow Pear, Brown Berry, Goldrush orange currant, Tommytoe red cherry, peacevine red cherry, Sungold yellowy-orange cherry, Red Brandywine, Glacier siberian, and some other slicing tomatoes in various colors that people traded with me. I planted a bunch of peppers, but people ate them. I have to replant - fortunately I planted extras! I re-potted them, and I'm going to plant out again with cages around them and diatomaceous earth everywhere. The slugs even ate the peppers at home, but I replanted with more of my extras. I also planted Dorinny Corn from Wood Prairie, soybeans from seed, and some celery which promptly died. However something ate all my Indigo plants! Argh. Such a wild garden.
At home, however, things are looking beautiful! Well, except for the colorado potato beetles humping on my taters. But even so, they're pretty. The Mason Bee house is winding down, with mixed results. I think I put them out to early, and the warm patch confused them. Still, I started with 6 tubes and ended up with 8. Not bad for freezing them in 19 degree weather then putting them out and having my apple tree not bloom at all this year. But next year there will be babies! And probably a few new tubes to supplement.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Chickens!!! Whooo!!!!!
Monday, May 4, 2009
Gardening weekend
- potted up Federle paste tomatoes
- started Dorinny Corn
- started more Aparagus "purple passion" from seed
- Divded a bunch of Hostas
- Moved the "American Highbush Cranberry" Viburnum trilobum to over by the house.
- Added two new natives to the garden - Fothegilla minor and Viginia Sweetspire.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Community Garden update, also Lettuce!
You can see the first of the 3 raised beds I'm installing, and the beginnings of the second. We put down the newspaper and cardboard to block out the existing weeds. I like newspaper because I won't be finding it in the garden for years to come - in order to lay down this paper we first had to pull up remnants of ground cloth that was who knows how old. There was still some left, but I just ran out of "oomph".
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Peas and toad lilies
- Planted out cranberry bushes from Johnny's Selected Seeds - "Howes"
- Planted out my own mystery cranberry seedlings from the grocery store cranberries
- Planted out sweet alyssum seedlings
- Planted out Lovage & Salad Burnet
- Started seeds for lettuce, more spinach, swiss chard "bright lights", and beets - "bulls blood" and "chioggia"
Monday, April 27, 2009
Sing a song
From spring to summer in 1 week!
Mostly, though, I can't wait for the delicious sweet-tart berries! Mine taste like sour apple & watermelon jolly ranchers - I love them so much! I'll have to put a net over one of the branches so that I can fend off the birds and have some for myself.
You can see my birdfeeders in the background, kind of. I got a birdfeeder inside of a cage so I could keep the stupid squirrels and grackles and pigeons away. So far I've seen the black-capped chickadees, wrens, sparrows, and the downy woodpecker get inside of it. And I have a safflower feeder for the cardinals. I hope it works! My upstairs neighbor started out asking me to get rid of all the birdfeeders, but I think if this makes the pigeons go away she will be satisfied. They were pooping on her car.
I have also seen tons of bumble bees. I hope one of them finds my Humble Bumble Home!
It has a little white fuzz growing on it, which is apparently desirable. And there is "bokashi juice" coming out the bottom, which smells just like apple juice. I have used it to clean my drains, and also (diluted) to water my plants. They seem happy. I can only assume it's working. I got the "food grade" bokashi liquid. I am seriously considering trying some in juice. It's supposed to aid your digestion. I'm also considering giving it to my cat, because her poop STINKS!!!! It's also supposed to help with that. Although I do wonder if it's unethical. Technically it isn't experimenting, because tons of people have done this, but I worry.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Earth Day!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
More seeds started!
Monday, April 20, 2009
Community Garden
What, you say? It looks like a giant field of weeds, you say? Totally overgrown? Nah..... it's nothing a whole ton of paper mulch and compost won't fix! Oh, and a few raised beds.... I guess I have my work cut out for me.
On the plus side, it's a nice large garden! With very fertile soil! And cute baby bunnies that I scared the bejeesus out of. Of course, they also scared the bejeesus out of me, too! But I got better once I realized they weren't giant furry spiders coming to kill me. I swear, I have become such a city girl!
It will be an adventure to have a garden in the almost-wilderness like this. I've been living in densely populated areas for so long, I've gotten quite paranoid about bugs and things in the brush! Time to get back to nature!!!
On the home front, the onions are all planted out, as well as the rest of the leeks and scallions. The first batch of leeks did not fare so well. I had a hard time today getting the onions out of the celpacks. I hate those stupid plastic things. Next year I'm buying a soil blocker! I think part of the problem was the coir peat. It doesn't stick together on its own at all.
My garlic is up, and apparently I planted it EVERYWHERE. I shall have much garlic this year. Also up is my rudbeckia, rhubarb, asters, columbines, phlox, monarda, astillbe, scilla, just about all the perennials! I even have one clump of tulips blooming! The rest are up but not yet in bloom.
Also, I think my mason bees have started to come out! I think I saw them today - small and black with a cute little white patch on the face. They were soooo interested in my mason bee house from last year, which gets more sun in the afternoon than the new one. Although, on closer inspection of the photograph, it looks more like the leaf-cutter bees. It's hard to tell because they move so fast! I guess I'll find out when the nests are built. I did notice the tubes that didn't get in the deep freeze had been opened. I hope all the bees make it out!
I hope there are more days like this! I enjoyed it so much!
Friday, April 17, 2009
Community Garden!
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Interesting article on sustainable food production
Friday, April 10, 2009
Seed Potatoes
Sunday, April 5, 2009
I also tried my hand at grafting my apple trees - that is, splicing two different kinds together to make a frankentree! I've never done that before. Now's the time for it - the apple trees haven't *quite* woken up yet. I ordered scionwood (again, from Fedco) and used a "whip or tongue graft" from "Grafting Fruit Trees - A Storey Country Wisdom Bulletin". Useful little book. Basically you cut the dormant twigs at an angle, then notch both of them so they fit together tongue-and-groove style. I tied them together, so they have a snug fit. Then you have to wax them over so they don't dry out. That's what that nasty-looking yellow blob is. It really wasn't as hard as I thought it would be! I did 3 grafts today - "Chestnut", "Keepsake", and "Macoun", from Fedco. I put them on my made-to-order Frankentree that I got from Raintree last year. I hope I get apples this year!!!
The onions are next to be planted out, along with the rest of the leeks and the scallions. So far the broccoli is growing well. One of the baby kales died, but I kind of mangled it before I planted it out, so I think that's mostly due to my clumsyness!
The mason bees haven't emerged yet. I guess it's still not quite warm enough. There was a spider hanging out by their box, though, it made me a little worried! I'm sure they'll be fine.
So many buds and baby leaves today! Gooseberry, serviceberry, even my roses are starting to show leaves. I just can't wait!!!
Saturday, March 28, 2009
My seedlings are doing quite well. Since it finally warmed up, I decided to plant out the Kale and Broccoli today. They've been out hardening off for a couple of hours each day for several days, so I expect they'll be fine.
Arugula, scallions, cranberries, and sweet alyssum are working well.
My onions have gotten floppy, though - I'm not sure if I should trim them or not.
And finally, my bokashi composter arrived this weekend. I've finally started loading it up! I'll let you know how it goes.
All in all, a good weekend for gardening!
Monday, March 23, 2009
Bokashi composting
I've decided to look into Bokashi composting, another indoor composting system. It seems to have the added benefit of not being susceptible to the stupid fruit flies that have gotten into my worm bin.
If you're interested in learning more, these websites are great:
BokashiCycle
City Farmer
Kitchen Garden Foods
I had a hard time finding a good place to buy from, but I eventually settled on this place as the closest possible place (Missouri):
http://www.midlandprobiotics.com/category_s/245.htm
You can also order from Arkansas:
http://www.promolife.com/yard-and-garden/composters/bokashi-bucket-compost-system/prod_1780.html
And Nevada:
http://www.bokashicycle.com/Merchant/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=BS&Category_Code=PRDS
And Arizona:
http://www.arbico-organics.com/1202401.html
Or even, make your own...
http://www.cityfarmer.org/bokashi.html
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Beautiful day!
I spread around some alfalfa and kelp meal. I put out some grass seed, too, but I'm starting to think it might have been a bit early. I hope the birds don't eat it all. I also cleaned up excess mulch around the garden. I need to order compost soon!
My crocuses are blooming in startling profusion! I even saw a bee outside today. I can't imagine that it was a honey bee, but it sure looked like one.
I set out my seedlings to harden off for about an hour today. They distinctly resented it. I've watered them with "bio-tone" which is supposed to contain beneficial root microbes. I hope it helps. I also sprayed them with a weak (0.5%) solution of Kelp fertilizer. That's also supposed to help with root growth. I want to get my winter crops put out soon!
Tomorrow is the first hearing for the Hen Warrant, to allow hen-keeping in Arlington. Eeep! Speaking in public makes me nervous. At least I've practiced.
I can't wait for spring!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Let the gardening commence!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Garden Dreaming
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Seedlings!
The seedling setup in the kitchen:
I have a couple of other kinds of lettuce, and also Sweet Alyssum which has come up. I'm starting some Mountain Laurel, Butterfly Weed, Red Milkweed and Leeks, we'll see how they come up!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Hens in the paper!
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
How to start a vegetable garden the easy way
If this is your first time having a garden, I would do things as easily as possible. Here's what I'd do:
1. Find a good site. Look for a spot that gets at least 6 hours of direct sun a day, preferably more. You want good drainage. I'd also test the soil for lead, at least where I live.
2. As soon as the snow melts, go cover the ground where you want your garden with about 4 sheets deep of black and white newspaper. Top that with about 3 inches of compost, either by the bag or in bulk (locally, from Weiss farms).
3. In the middle of May (locally), go buy small plants from a good nursery (locally, I've had luck with Mahoney's, Pemberton Farms, and Wilson's). Pay attention to how much space each plant needs, when deciding how many plants to buy. Easy plants to start with are: tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, chives, basil, marigolds, zucchini, and lettuce, at least around here. You can start beans, zucchini, and marigolds from seed, directly in the garden, around May 15, but for the rest I would buy plants, as they take more effort to get started.
3. Start by hardening off your plants, unless the nursery says they are already hardened off. That means taking them outside for gradually increasing amounts of time, to get them used to where they are going to go. Like first 1 hour in the sun, then the next day 2, then 3, etc., until they are used to the current, full day of sunlight. If you just put them right out into a sunny spot they will get sunburned or die from exposure. :-( Water your seedlings if the top inch of the soil gets dry.
4. After around May 15 (some wait until after Memorial day, depending on zone), plant your plants out so that when MATURE, the edges will be touching. This will leave a lot of empty space in between plants, which is ok. You can plant right through the compost and newspaper you laid down before to smother grass and weeds. Give the plants a good soaking once they're in the ground. If your layer of compost has shrunk down to less than 1", add more compost, hay, or shredded bark mulch (up to 4") to keep the moisture in the soil, and reduce weeds.
5. Water no more than once a week, and not at all if it rains a lot that week. The compost will provide most of the nutrients your plants need, but if you want to give them an extra boost, you can fertilize them with seaweed or kelp meal once or twice a month.
6. Pick stuff as soon as it is ripe!
:-)
Pam
Spring has sprung!
Friday, February 13, 2009
Chickens!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Seeds ordered!
Painted Pony dried beans - cool markings
Chyenne Bush Squash - no vine!
Brandywine tomato
Federle (paste) tomato
Tommy Toe (cherry) tomato
Golden Treasure sweet pepper
From Wood Prairie Farm, I'm trying:
Dorinny (dwarf) sweet corn
Flashy Trout back lettuce
Hulless Oats cover crop seed
Tavera Green Beans
From Fedco, I'm trying:
Yellowstone carrot
Atomic Red Carrot
Purple Haze Carrot
Noir de Russie Scorzonera
Skirret
Crystal White Wax Onion (supposedly 1 year from seed to bulb, no "sets")
Claytonia (for a cold frame winter crop)
Large-leaf Round mache
Kolibri Kohlrabi
Redventure Celery
Diamonte Celeriac
Peacework Sweet Pepper
Crop Rotation
Family | Members | Follows | Why? |
Beets (Chenopodiaceae) | Amaranth Beets Spinach Swiss Chard | ||
Brassicas (Cruciferae) | broccoli brussels sprouts cabbage cauliflower collards kale kohlrabi mustard radishes turnips arugula | Garlic, leeks, onions Legumes | Onion-family crops thwart parasites and pests that trouble cabbage Legumes build up soil nutrients for heavy feeders. |
Carrot (Apiaceae) | carrot celery chervil cilantro dill parsley parsnips | Winter squash or pumpkins (anywhere really) Potatoes | Vining crops smother weeds, making it easier to keep root crops clean. (fairly unrelated to other crops and each other) Potatoes require digging which loosens up the soil for root crops |
Grasses (Gramineae) | corn oat rye wheat | Cover crops | Cover crops help build up the soil for corn. |
Lettuce/sunflower (Compositae) | artichoke chicory endive lettuce sunflower | Carrots, parsnips | Roots loosen soil, making penetration easier for shallow rooted lettuce |
Onion (Liliaceae) | chives garlic leeks onions shallots | Winter squash or pumpkins Brassicas fall planted garlic and shallots should follow potato | Vining crops smother weeds, making it easier to keep root crops clean. Brassicas kill soil pests. Potato harvest results in a clear planting bed for fall-planted crops |
Peas/beans (Leguminosae) | alfalfa beans clover cowpea lentils peanuts peas vetch | Cabbage-family crops or corn | Legumes fix their own nitrogen. Turn cover crops under to replace nutrients used by heavy-feeding crops. |
Squash (Curcurbitaceae) | Cucumbers melons pumpkin squash | ||
Tomato/nightshades (Solanaceae) | eggplant peppers potatoes tomatoes | Mustard, rape, turnips Potatoes can follow corn | Incorporate cabbage-family crop residues to help rid the soil of pathogens that attack nightshades Corn as a preceding crop increases yield of potatoes |