Yesterday I finally replanted my new bed with okra, corn, leeks, carrots, and swiss chard. I also pulled down the soil on the onions that needed it to help them bulb. I'm very pleased that the onions that didn't have to high of soil are starting to bulb nicely. Last year I didn't know that and I didn't really get any. Yay! I'm was also excited to see that I actually have a few chard from the previous planting that are starting to come up despite all the trauma.
I noted today that my basil, spinach, cucumbers, green ice lettuce, and one dill plant are all sprouted. My tomatoes and cantaloupe are actually starting to flower also. I was trying to pick off suckers and early flowers from my tomato plants, but I think I clipped the main growth stem from my brandywine. Oops. So, now I'm just letting everything grow free. Hopefully the suckers on the brandywine will take over and be fine.
I harvested another radish, and it looks like I about have enough lettuce and spinach for another salad. Yesterday, I harvested three broccoli crowns for supper, and today I clipped the first of my flat leaf parsley in my potato salad this evening. It's so nice having my own fresh herbs and really eating out of the garden again.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Monday, May 26, 2008
Catching Up
May has been one busy month! I've found time here and there to do stuff in the garden, but no time to write about it. So, now I'm catching up with what I've done.
Two weeks ago, I planted 4 tomato plants among my roses. I read that roses, tomatoes, garlic, and basil are all good companions and together, it should help with hornworms and black spot. So far, my roses are still fighting black spot, but my tomatoes seem to be doing well. I added mushroom dirt on top, and added fish emulsion as I planted. I also tried burying a gallon jug with two holes in it as a perpetual waterer. I shouldn't have put in two holes though as the water goes out almost as fast as it goes in. Next time I'll try one hole and see what happens. I also planted my canteloupes in front of the office. I added mushroom dirt there too, but this time I mixed in a bit of peat moss. I was also able to plant the other two mounds of corn, although the dogs reflattened one, and put the cherry tomato and hot pepper in pots.
Speaking of dogs, they are now chained, but only at night. What's with that? The good thing is that it does alleviate most of the problem, but we did catch one of them in our yard just as we were heading out this evening. I did look at electric fencing at Lowes. I can get a starter kit for about $50, so I might just do that shortly. I did buy some cheap fencing to make better tomato cages.
I have been harvesting strawberries. Some of them haven't been fully ripe, but it's a race to harvest before my mockingbird does. They're still good though. I will probably only get a pint by the end since I only have three plants, but it was nice for a tasting and in a couple of years we'll really have berries hopefully. Yesterday, I also clipped the first of my green ice lettuce, spinach, and radishes, as well as a couple small broccoli crowns for a very yummy salad. David said they were some of the best radishes he's had. Yay! (I might get him to really like vegies yet...) I'm noting that I really should plant a lot more lettuce and spinach than I do. I'm also trying to figure out why my broccoli crowns don't get very big. I can't complain too much though, this year is the best my broccoli has done yet.
Today I planted pole beans in the first two corn mounds. I also planted more spinach, parsnips, cucumbers, dill, basil and green ice lettuce. I also transplanted the lemon balm, rosemary, and watermelon to bigger pots. And, I finally finished the second half of my new raised bed. I started soaking okra seeds tonight, so tomorrow I hope to try planting that bed again. This time I will do swiss chard, carrots, leeks, turnips, okra, and probably some more corn. I will try to water every morning, and hopefully if the dogs stay out I might get some better results this time. We'll see.
Two weeks ago, I planted 4 tomato plants among my roses. I read that roses, tomatoes, garlic, and basil are all good companions and together, it should help with hornworms and black spot. So far, my roses are still fighting black spot, but my tomatoes seem to be doing well. I added mushroom dirt on top, and added fish emulsion as I planted. I also tried burying a gallon jug with two holes in it as a perpetual waterer. I shouldn't have put in two holes though as the water goes out almost as fast as it goes in. Next time I'll try one hole and see what happens. I also planted my canteloupes in front of the office. I added mushroom dirt there too, but this time I mixed in a bit of peat moss. I was also able to plant the other two mounds of corn, although the dogs reflattened one, and put the cherry tomato and hot pepper in pots.
Speaking of dogs, they are now chained, but only at night. What's with that? The good thing is that it does alleviate most of the problem, but we did catch one of them in our yard just as we were heading out this evening. I did look at electric fencing at Lowes. I can get a starter kit for about $50, so I might just do that shortly. I did buy some cheap fencing to make better tomato cages.
I have been harvesting strawberries. Some of them haven't been fully ripe, but it's a race to harvest before my mockingbird does. They're still good though. I will probably only get a pint by the end since I only have three plants, but it was nice for a tasting and in a couple of years we'll really have berries hopefully. Yesterday, I also clipped the first of my green ice lettuce, spinach, and radishes, as well as a couple small broccoli crowns for a very yummy salad. David said they were some of the best radishes he's had. Yay! (I might get him to really like vegies yet...) I'm noting that I really should plant a lot more lettuce and spinach than I do. I'm also trying to figure out why my broccoli crowns don't get very big. I can't complain too much though, this year is the best my broccoli has done yet.
Today I planted pole beans in the first two corn mounds. I also planted more spinach, parsnips, cucumbers, dill, basil and green ice lettuce. I also transplanted the lemon balm, rosemary, and watermelon to bigger pots. And, I finally finished the second half of my new raised bed. I started soaking okra seeds tonight, so tomorrow I hope to try planting that bed again. This time I will do swiss chard, carrots, leeks, turnips, okra, and probably some more corn. I will try to water every morning, and hopefully if the dogs stay out I might get some better results this time. We'll see.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
I Love Dogs, But This One Must Go!
It took great restrain not to get out the .22 and shoot the neighbor's dogs right in their fence as they sweetly looked at me this evening. I've been having problems with them, but they really had quite the party last night.
Damage report: The last of the cabbage is totally trampled, as are half the onions. Radishes, parsnips, spinach, and chard are all dug up. One corn mound totally flattened, fortunately it wasn't planted in yet. And the cage for the eggplant was taken. I finally found it in the woods. (I might have marched right over to the neighbors house if my eggplant had been smashed.)
Must... Stake... Fence... ASAP!
My Plant Obsession
Hi, I'm KalykoKatt, and I love to buy plants.
Okay, time to move from the 12 step program, but it does seem that everywhere I went this last week I had to buy at least one plant. I promise though, I'm really, really done for this season. So, I got 4 Ambrosia cantaloupe, an Early Girl tomato, a Sweet 100 cherry tomato (I hope. It was the last plant left in the tray, and wasn't exactly individually labeled.), and a New Mexico mild hot pepper.
My mom got me a pickup truck full of mushroom dirt as an early birthday gift too. We put some on the rose bed and some on the office bed. The rest is piled waiting to be used. I haven't had a lot of time this week, so I've only gotten that done and planted the Brandywine & Early Girl tomatoes. I will talk more about that once I get the other tomatoes planted.
Yesterday, I noted that the corn, parsnips, last planting of radishes, swiss chard, maybe beets, thyme, spearmint, & parsley are all up. Yippie! I also noted a lot of digging in my beds. Boo! I really need to get an electric fence.
Okay, time to move from the 12 step program, but it does seem that everywhere I went this last week I had to buy at least one plant. I promise though, I'm really, really done for this season. So, I got 4 Ambrosia cantaloupe, an Early Girl tomato, a Sweet 100 cherry tomato (I hope. It was the last plant left in the tray, and wasn't exactly individually labeled.), and a New Mexico mild hot pepper.
My mom got me a pickup truck full of mushroom dirt as an early birthday gift too. We put some on the rose bed and some on the office bed. The rest is piled waiting to be used. I haven't had a lot of time this week, so I've only gotten that done and planted the Brandywine & Early Girl tomatoes. I will talk more about that once I get the other tomatoes planted.
Yesterday, I noted that the corn, parsnips, last planting of radishes, swiss chard, maybe beets, thyme, spearmint, & parsley are all up. Yippie! I also noted a lot of digging in my beds. Boo! I really need to get an electric fence.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Saturday, May 3, 2008
The Rest of the Story
As of today, it looks like the dill, chamomile, kale, next succession of green ice lettuce and radishes, and possibly one swiss chard plant are all sprouted, /and/ there is one rosebud just opening.
Tuesday I fertilized my roses with the last of my chemical fertilizer. Now I need to figure out how to take care of them organically. I also planted a second row of zinnias and weeded out the office bed. For some reason this year, a ton of vetch took over and climbed all over the box wood. Since it can be grown as a cover crop, I put the huge mound of it on the compost pile.
I have been unsure of having peat moss as the top layer of my lasagna bed. It dries out so fast, and I'm afraid my seeds will never germinate. I decided that I really should be watering that bed every morning, at least for a couple of weeks to see if that will help germination. I've also been having issues with the neighbors dog trampling through it, but I won't start on that rant. (I may not stop for a while.) However, Friday I saw that perhaps one seed has germinated (the aforementioned possible swiss chard), so things may be okay yet. I'm trying to work on patience, but it's so hard.
As I mentioned in the previous post, Thursday I discovered that cutworms had taken out another two plants. I wish I had followed through last month and put collars around all of my plants. I looked to see if there was any other remedy, but found nothing except collars and digging them out. I suppose late is better than never. I dug down to the roots, wrapped aluminum foil around the stem up to the leaves, and put the soil back. In the process, I did find two very fat cutworms and cut them in half. That felt great! I'm sure I missed some, but I dare them to cut through the aluminum.
Friday, I went to Ace and bought plants: rosemary, California Wonder bell pepper, Beuregard sweet potatoes, Brandywine tomato, Big Rainbow tomato, and 2 Roma tomatoes. I'm super excited because I also got a freebee cutting of lemon balm from my uncle today.
So, tomorrow, I hope to get a lot of planting finished and then post pictures of the garden as of the first part of May.
Tuesday I fertilized my roses with the last of my chemical fertilizer. Now I need to figure out how to take care of them organically. I also planted a second row of zinnias and weeded out the office bed. For some reason this year, a ton of vetch took over and climbed all over the box wood. Since it can be grown as a cover crop, I put the huge mound of it on the compost pile.
I have been unsure of having peat moss as the top layer of my lasagna bed. It dries out so fast, and I'm afraid my seeds will never germinate. I decided that I really should be watering that bed every morning, at least for a couple of weeks to see if that will help germination. I've also been having issues with the neighbors dog trampling through it, but I won't start on that rant. (I may not stop for a while.) However, Friday I saw that perhaps one seed has germinated (the aforementioned possible swiss chard), so things may be okay yet. I'm trying to work on patience, but it's so hard.
As I mentioned in the previous post, Thursday I discovered that cutworms had taken out another two plants. I wish I had followed through last month and put collars around all of my plants. I looked to see if there was any other remedy, but found nothing except collars and digging them out. I suppose late is better than never. I dug down to the roots, wrapped aluminum foil around the stem up to the leaves, and put the soil back. In the process, I did find two very fat cutworms and cut them in half. That felt great! I'm sure I missed some, but I dare them to cut through the aluminum.
Friday, I went to Ace and bought plants: rosemary, California Wonder bell pepper, Beuregard sweet potatoes, Brandywine tomato, Big Rainbow tomato, and 2 Roma tomatoes. I'm super excited because I also got a freebee cutting of lemon balm from my uncle today.
So, tomorrow, I hope to get a lot of planting finished and then post pictures of the garden as of the first part of May.
Friday, May 2, 2008
This is WAR!
Lost two more plants today, one broccoli and one brussel sprout. I started digging down and wrapping the stems with aluminum foil. I found two cutworms already and CUT them in half. I wish I had gone ahead and collared my plants last month. Grr...
I will write a more detailed update soon.
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