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May 5, 2008 | 8:41 PM PST
Tags: Oregon , garden , ehow , articles , container gardening , strawberries , onions
Hey There New Friends!
Come by and check out my Container Gardening articles on eHow at:
http://www.ehow.com/member
s/writetruth.html
Let me know what ya think...
Have a Wonderful Day.
Bobbi~
Mar 6, 2008 | 9:32 PM PST
Tags: seeds , blooming , birds , lily , strawberries , snow
We're supposed to get 2-5 inches of snow here tonight---maybe....the line they draw is around 10 miles south of here, and the snow is supposed to be south of that, just hope the snow remembers that and stays where it's supposed to.
Last week we were supposed to get 10 inches of snow, and we didn't get any, while all around us they got 5-12 inches of snow. That is the kind of mis-forecast I like!
Tomorrow I am going to start some seeds indoors and see how I do. I've said before that I don't have much success at that, but you know the old saying, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again". So I will.
I have just a few packets of seeds right now that I've been gathering little by little, so tomorrow I will start some Crimson Rambler Morning Glory, Heavenly Blue Morning Glory, some old fashioned single bloom hollyhocks, and some peppers and tomatoes. I'm also going to try to plant some spinach outside and see what happens.
I'm waiting on a Stella d Oro lily I ordered that hasn't shown up yet, I love that bright yellow color.
I have some zinnia and marigold seed too, but I don't know if I'll start them now or not, I usually just throw them down outside when the time is right.
There is more I'm going to try, in time. I have always wanted to grow strawberries, and just haven't committed to them yet, but this may be the year.
My knee that was giving me trouble still is, a little, but it is much better, and I can't wait to get outside and start doing something. The birds are singing, the peepers are peeping, the crocuses are blooming, the daylilies are sprouting, the brown grass is even standing up straight--everything knows that spring is almost here, and I feel so antsy, just waiting, waiting, waiting......
Feb 6, 2008 | 6:14 PM PST
Tags: winter , strawberries , aphids , Button , pine tree , apple sprout
I'm just plain tired of winter by now. The ice, the snow, the wind…it doesn’t help that most of my winter clothes (and my long coat) are buried in boxes somewhere in the back of my parent’s storage shed. Yes, they’re still there. They’re so far in the back, I couldn’t get to them without unpacking the whole shed, and that simply wasn’t going to happen. At least I have American Idol to pull me through.
So, the garden. The reason we’re all here. Well, honestly, not that much has happened. The strawberries are plagued with aphids, and have been separated from everything else in an attempt to keep the little buggers from spreading. My folks moved some of my plants around for a showing (house goes on the market officially on Monday) and no one remembers where they put the tiny Button seedling, and I have yet to find it. The poor baby is surely wilted and starved by now! Seriously, how do you misplace a plant? Anyway, the one pine tree seedling was thrown out on my mom’s request (it was in her pot, after all, and it was basically dead) and one of the apple seeds (at least, I’m assuming it was the apple seeds, and not a sudden appearance by one of the lemon seeds) has sprouted! It’s nice and strong, standing just under an inch tall and topped with two teeny tiny leaves. So...yay!
Jan 9, 2008 | 2:35 PM PST
Tags: strawberries , kumquat , jelly , plants , daylillies , veggie seeds , pecans
So far this week I have gotten some more kumquat jelly made, the same kumquat tree from my FIL's tree. Had enough to make a double batch. I like the tartness an sweetness going on at the same time. Got a couple deer processed an in the freezer, DH is workng on the last one today. So at least we should have enough meat (beef replacement, other than steaks) til next seasons hunt. Been picking up pecans on halves for an elderly gentleman in town, now just to get them cleaned up an bagged for the freezer.
I got out to the greenhouse an checked on everything, looking good. Watered everything really good, emptied some pots where things had died over the summer. Will reuse the dirt later. Cleaned up some trays so I can get some seeds started about the middle of Feb. Don't want to start some things to early thats for sure.
Today got some of the strawberry plants that are in the pathways replanted into some of the flowerbeds, only about 25 but theres more to go. I came home early today from work due to rain, but it was off an on which in between breaks got those in the ground. Dug up about 50 daylillies for a coworker that wanted some. I feel like I got some things done at least. Now to get rid of this headache I can't shake. Still want to order some seeds for the veggie garden, not enough time in the day sometimes.
Nov 21, 2007 | 11:54 AM PST
Tags: snow , Bachelor's Buttons , strawberries , lemon seed , white pines , nanowrimo
I'm baaaaaaaack! Did ya miss me?
November is a hard month for me to get anything done, for one reason and one reason only: Nanowrimo! For those of you who don't feel like clicking the link, let me explain (briefly, I promise): Nanowrimo stands for National Novel Writing Month. Participants have from 12:00 am November 1st to 11:59 pm November 30th to write a 50,000+ word novel. You don't have to finish it, as long as you reach the 50K mark by the deadline. This is the first year I've done it and I didn't even start until November 5th, plus I'm crazy far behind on word count right now, but by golly I'm going to make it if it kills me! Which it feels like it just might.
Anyways, I know you are not here to read about my faaaaaaaaaaabulous novel, but about my little garden! My strawberries are doing fantastically, as I stated last time...a little too fantastically, to be honest. Some of the plants are so tall, they're tipping over. My tallest plant is actually horizontal for about five inches before turning upwards (all told, it's around 8 or 9 inches tall...er, long?) My dad told me quite seriously that I should think about a stake for the poor thing. Who ever heard of staking a strawberry plant??? I'm thinking about getting a slightly bigger pot so I can kindof mound some extra dirt around it and hopefully hold it upright; the pot it's in right now is a little small for that sort of thing.
The one Bachelor Button seedling is doing smashing as well! He put out a new set of leaves and is just fabulous. I think I'm going to try one more time to get him some little Button buddies, and if that doesn't work out, well, maybe he's just a loner.
The pine trees are 2 for 3 right now. 2 of the little babies are doing fantastically, putting out new growth and just generally doing awesome. The third (the smallest one, too) is really struggling. He hasn't put out any new growth, and some of his needles are starting to turn brown. He has pretty darn close to the exact same conditions as the other two, but for some reason he just hasn't caught on. I read on the internet that he might like having some dirty fish water (you know, from like fish tanks when you clean them out) because it's full of ammonia which equals nitrogen, so I gave him a little bit from my beta fish, but that was like a week ago and it hasn't seemed to help him any. I thought about asking if I could gank some of the neighbor's pine needles too, the ones that fall at the base of his trees you know? but those would take such a long time to decompose that I don't think that would help much either. My dad's going to bring me some root simulant to try and help the poor guy out, but if that doesn't work, I don't know what I'll do.
The lemon seeds look like they won't sprout. The only change that's taken place is that they are now covered in black. yay for mold. I haven't thrown them out yet because I figured the mold might help it break out of that hard shell (might break it down a little) but i'm pretty sure it's more or less a lost cause. Ah, well, I'm making Swedish Apple Pie with my mom for Thanksgiving, so maybe I'll plant some apples in the lemon's place! Bwahahahahahahahahaahahahahaha
!
Oh, yes, and even though I didn't really talk about it, the title is correct - today is the first snow of the year! It's pretty thin, as usual, but it's still the unoffical start to winter, IMHO. Let the holidays begin!
Nov 4, 2007 | 9:24 PM PST
Tags: Bachelor's Buttons , strawberries , pepper seeds
subtitle: The Failures, the Successes, and the Daydreamers
I haven't the slightest what is going on with those silly Button seedlings! I lost another one today and a third one is still refusing to stand up. Only one of them is nice and tall - just put up the second set of leaves! Though mi padre said the first two leaves weren't really leaves for whatever the reasoning was, so I guess it's the first set of "real" leaves. I have half a mind to get the biggest pot I can find and plant all the seeds I have left in it just to see what happens - how many sprout and how many of the buggers stay alive and upright!
But I have to share - my little tiny strawberry plants, the little babies that were so tiny and fragile and half-dead just a month ago...if only you all could see them now! They've litterally doubled in size and are so nice and tall and green and leafy and...and...beautiful! I must admit, they've caught me off-guard; I was hoping they would look this way by spring. Though, as I'm thinking about it, why wouldn't they grow? They have warmth, lots of sun, good soil (versus clay), pleanty of water, no weeds to combat...much better conditions than in my parent's backyard! Makes me wish I'd potted more than four plants...
Then again, if I had as many strawberries and little baby trees and flowers and other plants as I wanted, I would quickly be out of room on my windowsill!
On that note, I do have more pepper seeds (from my co-worker again)....I forgot, did I already say that I got more peppers from her? Well, I did! Both bell peppers and banana peppers. I held off on processing most of them because I was sick, but felt pretty good today so I stripped them all of their seeds and froze their hollow green bodies :) I have more banana pepper seeds than I know what to do with! So maybe I'll plant some of those too.....you know, just to see.
Goodness. I'm unstoppable!
Oct 10, 2007 | 5:02 PM PST
Tags: strawberries , Bachelor's Buttons , beginning , Norcal little blue pot
Let's start with an offical disclaimer, eh? "The author of this blog has no idea what she is doing, and has admitted to making it all up as she goes. Any advice or examples given hereafter should be treated with great skepticism unless validated by legitimate outside sources." ;) Funny, yes, but also true. It's also a pretty decent first-impression-maker. So here is your offical warning: I am a rambling fool! Except lots of stories, random details, obscure allusions, jokes that aren't funny to anyone except me, and other cross-categorical nonsense.
Okay, so now that introductions are out of the way, let's get down to business, shall we? I'm restricted to container gardening, as I live in an apartment and therefore have no lawn to dig up. My apartment doesn't even have a balcony, so I'm further restricted to a (admitedly very long) windowsill until I can be creative and think of somewhere else to put my plants without management kicking me out onto the streets. As of today, I have a grand total of three pots hanging around: two pots with two baby strawberry plants each, and one much smaller pot I just finished planting with some Bachelor's Button seeds. I haven't decided if I'll plant anything else tonight, but I might. I have tons load more to plant, mostly seeds, and more space, but I'm trying not to go too crazy all in one night, lol! I'll try and borrow my folk's digital camera sometime soon so I can try and get some pictures of my cute little strawberry plants posted too!
ETA: I broke my favorite little blue pot today. I tripped over one of my mom's dogs and dropped it on the patio. After a little pouting, I figured out it was made by a company called Norcal. I guess I bought it as a part of a set, because I have three others that are the exact same except in different colors - yellow, green, and pink. Hopefully I can find one online or in a store to replace it...and then maybe buy an extra set too. You know, just in case.
Oct 5, 2007 | 3:43 AM PST
Tags: snowpeas , Strawberries , watercress , toadflax , bamboo screen , mulch
We've been harvesting snowpeas here and there. I've been eating a few but also blanching and freezing some for future use. My 'ordinary' peas haven't started cropping yet.
The main task of the day was mulching the native garden (they are all very young plants). I potted some strawberry runners that I recently bought on ebay (kunowase variety). Potted some watercress that I got from the nursery and re-potted some toadflax seedlings that I had grown. I also planted some tree seeds for bonsai - Giant Redwood, Banyan tree, Japanese Cedar and Australian trees - Cider Gum, Native Apricot, and some Tea Trees.
We started to put up a bamboo screen for some privacy. When we bought the bamboo screens from the nursery, I picked up some copper snail repellent and a shade loving plant - name forgotten - which I'll take a photo of tomorrow!
Jul 22, 2007 | 2:47 AM PST
Tags: avocado , Pomegranates , seaweed emulsion , fish emulsion , mulch , soil pH , multi grafted apple tree , quince , Strawberries
We got up early on Sat to go to the farmers markets. We're trying to learn about the seasons and eat locally grown, fresher produce. So we bought some veggies and australian native flowers. I soaked the vegetables for pesticides when I got home.
We did lots of gardening as it was unusually warm. The pomegranate and avocado that we bought recently were still in their growing bags from the nursery, so we potted them. We're renting our house so we have to grow our trees in pots and dwarf them a bit so that we can take them with us to future houses. It's also better for these trees because they need free draining soil and we have heavy clay soil. I ran around testing the soil pH in the different garden beds today - the soil was acidic when we moved in, but we have managed to make it neutral over time.
I'm still confused about my strawberries: I didn't cut them down because they are still fruiting! It's late winter and there are lots of strawberries in progress. Will letting them live increase their susceptibility to diseases? I thought they were supposed to die! anyway, that is an ongoing mystery..
I mulched all of my fruit trees and berries with lucerne, and gave the trees and garden beds some seaweed solution. I gave my asian greens and winter lettuces some fish emulsion, and also gave some to my peas because I don't want them to flower until after the last frosts. 6 weeks until spring, but there could still be some spring frosts. We planted out a sago palm and moved some clover to areas of bare lawn - we have been under water restrictions for many years here due to drought. Lawns have had to be sacrificed but clover seems very immortal.
Today we went to see a friend who we found out works at a nursery. We bought a flowering quince, a bare rooted 2-way grafted apple tree, a few native Australian plants and ground breaker solution. He took 70% off everything which was exciting. When we got home we potted the tree and we found out that the naughty local possums had eaten our mustard green manure.
Jul 19, 2007 | 2:37 AM PST
Tags: guava , grapes , nashi , Pomegranates , almond , coffee , avocado , berries , lime , Lemon , strawberries , water apple , lychee , durian , mango , star fruit , papaya , honeydew , dragon fruit
There are varying climates in Australia, but I currently live in a temperate area. I'm growing the fruits that need winter chilling but I'm dreaming of the fresh fruit of hot summery places! There are things that I just can't grow here or at least not grow well. Especially right in the middle of winter! It's heartbreaking to taste the fruit in the shops and even sadder when the fruit has come a long way and suffers in flavour for it.
Rambutans here are overpriced and old. I used to eat fresh mangoes, dates, pomegranates, papyas and honeydews when I lived overseas. I even ate durians. The shrivelled tiny star fruits in the shops here are unappetising. Lime and lychee drinks - not financially viable! Bananas are expensive because there was a typhoon in the banana growing areas. Earlier this year I visited a fruit farm and spice gardens in Malaysia where I tasted dragon fruit and my new favourite is the wax jambu or water apple. Above is me at the farm gesturing to a plant that I forgot what it was!
So you can see that I love to eat!! This is a major motivator in the garden. Hopefully one day I can garden in a tropical setting. And I comfort myself that I get to grow a lot of my current plants that would not survive in the tropics. As spring is nearing, I am checking all my fruit/trees' health.
GUAVA: Died back completely this winter, but I read somewhere that they recover well.
GRAPES: Still can't figure out how to prune them - it has been a few years of struggle..
NASHI: Had some rust or something last summer. I have dealt with that. It's about to bud-burst!
POMEGRANATES, ALMOND, COFFEE, BERRIES: Still very dormant
AVOCADO: Looks cold and sad!
LIME: Going crazy, looks to be outgrowing its container
LEMON: Not looking very motivated..
STRAWBERRIES: Now they are working very hard :)
Jul 5, 2007 | 11:07 AM PST
Tags: strawberries , garden strawberries , musk strawberries , alpine strawberries , everbearing , junebearing , tristar , seascape , whopper , capron , lipstick strawberries
When it comes to berries, Strawberries are definitely one of my favorites. To me, a strawberry that has been ripened to ultimate sweetness is a heavenly experience.
I used to think I would never have enough strawberries, that is, until I had over 300 different strawberry plants, which range across different cultivars and kinds.
I have at least 5 different kinds of strawberries currently growing in my yard. By request of AngelsGarden, I thought I would share which are my favorite and some of my experiences with them.
Overall, I like having a mix of everbearing and junebearing strawberries. The benefit of junebearing strawberries is that they have a whole lot of strawberries that all ripen about the same time over a few weeks. This makes it easier to be done with picking them. I like to freeze them for use over the months that fresh strawberries aren’t available. The benefit of everbearing strawberries is that their season is extended longer, allowing you to have fresh strawberries over a longer period of time. If it was possible to have everbearing strawberries year round, I wouldn’t need junebearing ones.
I have preference for different kinds of strawberries depending where they are planted. The way I look at it, there are normal garden strawberries, alpine strawberries, musk strawberries, ornamental strawberries, and wild strawberries.
Garden Strawberries
I believe that when people think of strawberries they are likely thinking of garden strawberries. These are the kind you see in the store and usually see offered in nurseries and have the recognized traditional strawberry flavor.
Everbearing Garden Strawberry
I am growing Tristar strawberries. At one time I thought these would be enough, that with their longer season from June until the fall, I wouldn’t need any other strawberries. However, this hasn’t proven the case in my situation. The strawberries are average in size and the plants spread their season over a longer time, with a slower rate of berry production than the junebearing varieties.
In my experience, they require full sun, fall/winter work in cleaning up runners and dead foliage, and watering during dry times. Of all my strawberries, these tend to be the ones that struggle the most with insufficient boron, which is evident by misshapen strawberries that look more like mutant red growths than something you buy in the store. So, this is something I watch for and occasional have to supplementally feed the trace nutrient of boron for.
Junebearing Garden Strawberry
I am growing two different kinds of junebearing strawberries, Seascape and Whopper.
I got the Seascape plants on a sale that I just couldn’t pass up. The plants tend to be a little bigger than my Tristar plants and the berries also tend to be a little bigger. The first berry of the year on that particular plant tends to be the biggest one of the season.
I ordered my Whopper strawberries from Gurneys. I was really intrigued by their description of them getting almost as big as peaches, which has proven to be true. The first berries on these plants are huge, almost as big as peaches. Their size requires some special care though. I’ve found that if the berries sit on the ground that sometimes one side of them could get over ripe while the other side is still ripening, so if you can, you will want to try to raise the berries up off the ground. Since I don’t have the patience or time to do this, I tend to not wait for these berries to get a dark red for this reason, but pick them when they are still a light red color. The taste is still pretty good.
The plants are also some of the biggest strawberry plants I’ve ever seen, with them reaching over a foot in height. This year I’ve had some problems with the weight of the leaves and runners laying down on top of the berries, hiding the berries pretty well under the mat of foliage.
In my experience both cultivars require full sun, fall/winter work in cleaning up runners and dead foliage, and watering during dry times. I do sometimes see some problems with boron deficiencies, but not nearly to the degree as I see in my everbearing Tristar plants.
Alpine Strawberries
Personally, I believe Alpine strawberries are all around the best strawberries for landscaping. I’ve written a lot about them in a previous blog entry, so I won’t go into so much detail today, other than to say that this week I was pleasantly surprised to see a stray alpine strawberry plant producing berries in a spot that never gets direct sunlight.
I am growing two different kinds of Alpine strawberries, Rugen and Yellow
In my experience, alpine strawberries can grow in full sun to full shade. They do require watering during dry times to continue producing berries, but seem able to recover even if allowed to dry out pretty bad. Very little fall/winter cleanup required of dead leaves.
Musk Strawberries
In the past, at a different house, I’ve grown Capron musk strawberries and the Profumata di Tortona varieties of musk strawberries.
I had these berries planted in full shade with just diffused light to grow with and yet they were still producing a lot of berries and spreading like crazy via a whole lot of runners. If you want strawberries that spread fast, require little light, and don’t mind that the berries are smaller than garden strawberries, then I’d recommend musk strawberries. One thing to be aware of is that musk strawberries require more than one variety to be planted, since they do need pollination.
Ornamental Strawberries
In the past I’ve grown lipstick strawberries.
These have a nice pink blossom, which is a nice change from the usual white blossom of other strawberry plants. They also grew much shorter than all my other strawberry plants, so would make a good low growing groundcover if you didn’t mind that their berry production is less than other strawberry plants.
Jun 24, 2007 | 12:01 PM PST
Tag: strawberries
Okay, I made 6 large tubs of strawberry freezer jam today and I'm not sure I ever want to see strawberries again until next spring. I followed the instructions on the pectin package, but I think it's way too sweet. I'm guessing the amount of sugar may have preservative powers, but geez. I like my preserves a little tart. I might give most of these away and try again with a different recipe. Anyone out there have a good one that's not quite so sugary? The one I tried was 2 C mashed strawberries to 4 C sugar, 2 tbls lemon juice and the pectin.
Any other ideas for what to do with all these strawberries? Divaq, how 'bout you? Have you found any inventive ways to use them up? I might have to have a roadside stand!
Jun 22, 2007 | 11:27 AM PST
Tags: racoons , squirrels , Bird Feeder , Strawberries
We have been battling the bushy tailed beasties over my birdfeeders and flower pots over the last year, recently to the point of building and installing a feeding trough on the deck just for them. Yes, they can be a frustration, but they are very entertaining and give the dogs and the cat some fun as well. It seemed that since the trough went up we had settled into a regular routine. I fill the trough in the morning and sit with my cup of tea and watch and as a wave of squirrels starts rolling toward my deck across the tree tops. Though some are terribly mean and refuse to share with their fellows (which warrants a visit from a border collie), most share nicely and they have been good about leaving my pots and birdfeeders alone. Until two days ago…
I went out to the deck to slop the trough and low and behold my full “last night” birdfeeders were emptied and my hanging strawberry had been stripped of ripe fruit. Grrrr. I figured I had a rogue and that Rob and I would need to teach this rake some manners. The regular crew came for breakfast and I didn’t think anymore about it.
The next morning I got up earlier than normal and walked through the kitchen looking out the door to the deck without turning on a light. There on the railing was a masked bandit helping himself to great paw-fulls of bird seed. He then proceeded to the birdbath to wash his breakfast before eating it. The rogue had been caught in the act. Rob sat watching in utter fascination at this new creature come to HIS deck. Setting Rob on squirrels is one thing, having him tangle with a 30lb raccoon just doesn’t seem like a good idea, so needless to say Rob was not given the chance to try herding coons. By the time I got my camera, the thief had shimmied down the post of the deck and went on his way.
Okay, things are getting crazy now that I am feeding the entire wild population of critters in our little neck of the woods. The squirrel trough is now emptied at dark and the birdfeeders are brought into the house for the night. Hopefully, this will cause the bandit to go elsewhere for his midnight snack raids. Oh gosh, I hope he doesn’t decide to go fishing in my pond!!!
Jun 21, 2007 | 8:52 AM PST
Tags: berry picking , strawberries , raspberries , blueberries
With over 300 strawberry plants, over 50 raspberry vines, roughly 20 blueberry bushes, plus at least another dozen or so other kinds of berry plants in my yard, I do a whole lot of berry picking. In other words, I get a whole lot of practice and plenty of time trying to figure out how to do it well.
Of the many different things to put picked berries in, my favorite is a milk jug with the top corner cut-off.
It is cheap, light, easy to wash, and has a good handle, so is easy to keep a hold of while crawling around berry bushes. I like using the half gallon jugs for my kids and the gallon jugs are about the right size for adults. Once the berry season is over, simply recycle or dispose of the jug, so it doesn’t have to sit around the rest of the year.
These are some things I have found helpful for me:
- While picking berries from your own yard, try to weed under the berry bushes. This not only makes it easier to spot future berries, but draws your attention down low, where ripe swollen berries often hide.
- Get to know your berry plants. For example, I last counted 5 different kinds of strawberry plants in my yard, each tends to ripen berries a little differently, with some being totally ripe when a nice dark red and others being totally ripe when mostly red, but never reaching a dark red color. I even have some that are ripe when an off white color. I taste some of the berries as I pick to get a sense of how ripe they are, as a sort of quality testing. My kids seem to do the tasting naturally, while I’ve at times have gotten so caught up with getting the chore of picking done that I have forgotten to do likewise, only to discover later that the berries weren’t quite as ripe as I thought they were.
- Be sure to pick up leaves, branches, vines, and look under. In many cases ripe berries are heavy and cause things to droop, which can make them more hidden in grass, under leaves, and so on. Typically, if I see one ripe berry it is a sign that there are more in that area that are hidden.
- Wash and soak the berries in water after picking them. It is best to have someone in the family that is not squeamish do this, since it is not uncommon for previously unseen bugs to appear once the berries are submerged for awhile under water. If you don’t mind extra protein with your berries, feel free to skip this. Personally, I prefer more bug free berries.
- If freezing berries, most do best by being initially frozen on a cookie sheet before being put in freezer bags. That way they aren’t all frozen in a giant chunk of berry ice when you are ready to use them. Blueberries and huckleberries can skip this step since they naturally don’t stick together when frozen.
I’d love to hear any berry picking tips that work for you as well.
Jun 21, 2007 | 6:14 AM PST
Tags: tomatoes , zukes , cukes , strawberries , grasshoppers , Ga. Thumpers , canning
I got a good check up with the doc yesterday, upped my weight limit to 20 lbs. You know what that means right? I can now do a few things in the yard an garden, may not be much but its better than it was b4. So on my way home yesterday I stopped by the produce stand an bought a case of mators which came from Sloccomb, Al. So I knew they would be good. Sloccomb is known around here for having the best tasting tomatoes. Something to do with the soil there. They had just been picked the afternoon b4, an knowing how I need to replenish my tomatoe supply I figured why not. So today I'm canning those up.
This morning I got the veggie sprinkler going at 7:30 b4 the heat sets in. Ordinarilly I can only water in late evening due to my work hours, but while I'm on leave its nice to be able to water in the mornings. Everyday I have been harvesting a few things like cukes, mators, few staggered strawberries. A couple days ago the zuke plant replacement I noticed was wilting, well something apparently cut it off at the base. So I'm not sure if I want to replace it yet again or just give up on zukes this year.
Late yesterday afternoon after my nap an boredom set in I went out on the porch an decided to prune out some of the dead canes out of my 2 climbers at the entrance. Nothing strinuous, b4 I knew it I had a couple small piles I now need to take to the edge of the woods. But the roses look better! Hiding on a cane was a grown GA. Thumper (Grasshopper), they east everything in site. So far since seeing them in early spring everytime I see one or more I stomp them to death. By doing this I have decreased the numbers I see almost daily. So to grasshopper heaven he went.
Well time to get busy while the mood has hit me, trudy
Jun 20, 2007 | 6:26 PM PST
Tags: broccoli , strawberries , teaching
Well, this is the second time I've tried growing broccoli. After the first attempt, I didn't plan on trying it again. I don't love eating the vegetable enough to put up with it, I thought. The first time, some creature ate through the stems and they all flopped over before I could harvest. This time, I found a pack of 6 plants at the ACE hardware store near me and they looked so beautiful I thought I'd try again. And...they bolted before I could harvest them. It hasn't even been very sunny or hot here. What is up? I think I'll pull them out and plant...well, that's the problem...can't decide. Oh! I've been wanting some onion plants, so that's what I'll do. Hope I don't have a problem finding some starts. It seems like I don't have a lot of luck finding them when I want them.
I need to build my fourth raised bed and fill it soon. It's silly to have it almost built and then not follow through. The logs are lying there in formation. I just need to dig some trenches to set them in and fill it with some soil mix.
Then, what should I plant? Maybe for now I'll just plant a cover crop until I figure out what to plant.
The strawberries are driving me crazy. There are millions of them ripening all at once, but RIGHT when they are ALMOST ripe, robins (I've caught them in the act so many times that I'm convinced they're the major culprit) get them or they rot and get moldy. I pick bowls full of the almost-ripe-enough ones and they just don't taste great. I've frozen two gallon ziplocks of them. Maybe I'll make strawberry ice cream soon with my ice cream maker. Even almost ripe strawberries would taste good in ice cream! *Sigh* I have GOT to build those row covers for them! I do love to procrastinate!
Those damn robins, by the way, sit atop my topsy turvey tomato planters and crap strawberry seed poo ALL OVER the planters and the tomatoes! As if to say, "I'll eat your strawberries you slaved over and then I will CRAP all over your tomatoes as a an extra bonus!" Wee!
I'd like to pull out a few rows and replace with asparagus. We don't need so many strawberries. I think maybe currants might be nice, too, I don't know. Honestly, until I get a canning element for my stove I don't want to plant too much of anything! It'll all go to waste!
I went to our town's farmer's market today and there were 4 stands! Two were selling birdhouses, one was selling metal sculptures and one was selling some houseplants. No veggies, no seedlings, no fruit, no homemade soaps or sachets or honey or ANYTHING. I wonder if I could make some money there for my excess produce. It'd be EASY to create a much more appealing and useful stand at that market. They need it!
Well, tomorrow is another weekday when I will be NOT working. Oh, it's a rough life. But, don't get the wrong idea, I have 3 multi-day training sessions to go to this summer and am traveling for most of July (not that that's a hardship, but it does make the summer FLY by even faster). I'll be back in that classroom before I can even wonder what happened to my summer! But, I am NOT complaining. Teaching is perfect for gardening obsessed humans.
Jun 13, 2007 | 2:38 AM PST
Tags: Butterbeans , cattle panel , strawberries , Devils Claw , weeds , mystery , vine
Got a few more things done today after I got home yesterday, DD was trying to finish up moving into there new home they purchased then remodeled. So proud of her, her first home she got on her own. They are finally at a point that it won't be long she can plant the plants I've saved for her in pots for her own yard. I did get the cattle panel arbor up with my newphew in laws help. Added some manure to the area, worked it in an planted some Willowleaf Pole Butterbeans. Replanted in spots some of the Sieva BBeans where the others hadn't come up. I think the Sieva seeds must have gotten old seeing how they are coming up in spots. They were given to me when our feed store went out of business back before spring. So if I can just get enough of them to make I'll replant saved seeds next year with fresh seed. The Willowleaft must be ok, the ones I planted earlier so far are trying to break ground. I still have some planting area left that needs something in there, but what?
We had a good storm come thru about 4 yesterday afternoon an everything got a good drink, so afterwards I checked the greenhouse, all was good. But while there I noticed my Devil's Claw seed pods had gotten blown onto the ground with a few seeds scattered. I took them an put the in the squash bed (open ground area). I think those are neat seed pods. Wicked looking! If they come up fine, if they don't thats fine to. I finally took the time to get my last large container done up an planted the last of the comfrey that I almost let die. Good Lord at the roots on them. But they stand a better chance now to survive. They just look bad for now. Weeded a few more beds, not that there bad but don't want them to be either.
If the wind isn't up after work today I think I'll do some round up in spots just so it doesn't get out of hand b4 my surgery. After that I won't be able to pick up anything over 8 lbs for 6 wks. So better get as much done in the over 8 lb catagory finished up today. I put up 4 more pvc stakes for mators an got some others retied. Added a little manure to one of the asparagus containers, just because.the others I had done a few weeks ago responded so well after doing this. I thnk I may have ID'd my mystery vine that came up in the strawberry patch to be cantolope. May be wrong, but from my (not so good) memory I think thats what it is. So my trellising may not work without some olf panytyose to use for a sling. Will see if it ever forms some fruit. Trudy
Jun 12, 2007 | 3:34 PM PST
Tags: Japanese Maple , Wisteria , Bonsai , Strawberries
So, tis the season for Bonsai to look great! Decided to have an update on how they are doing. 
Needs a trim, hehe...
One of the Wisterias...
One of my Favorite Japanese Maples (almost 4 yrs old)
Babies...and strawberries that are going in the ground tonight!
Jun 11, 2007 | 4:03 PM PST
Tags: feed , hogs , chickens , garlic , strawberries , weeding , trellis , butterbeans
It was 103 today, no idea of the heat index. Way to hot to be outside, but gotta do whatcha gotta do. Stopped by the feed store on the way home to get some corn for the hogs an scatch for the chickens an wound up buying a 6 pack of Jubilee Watermelon seedlings an 2 tomatoes, but 1 of them had 2 in the pot so I got 3 total. Like I need more, after 111 tomatoe plants you'd think it'd be enough. But I had some empty spots to fill in one of the mator beds so there ya go. Got them planted an repotted a Rabbiteye Blueberry bush I had bought back in the spring that I just can't seem to get in the ground, but this one was still in the plastic tubing thing, It really needs to develop a better root system b4 going in the ground in this heat. So its in the garden area right next to the faucet so I'll have to trip over it to water. That way I don't overlook it. I also potted up a lemon tree that I had rooted a piece of off a friends lemon tree, so I named it Howells Lemon. It to went into a garden path so it gets watered when I water the garden.
While weeding I noticed the garlic bed had bout finished up an needed dug up, so I took the time to get them dug an in the shade so they can dry. A few are left that aren't quiet ready yet. But most of them were. Now to figure out what to put in that kinda large area. I thought about putting up a cattle panel an arch it for a walk thru trellis, then plant some more pole butterbeans. Even then I'll still have some room left over. Decisions!
After reading the blog about the strawberries, can't remeber the username I got to noticing how the strawberry patch that I just this spring put some runners in now has runners everywhere. So I may need this fall to plant them somewhere or give them away. I may put at least some in with some of the flower beds. But I don't want no 300 of them, lol. Thats way to many for me. I'm trying to get things done/somewhat caught up b4 Wednesday, cause Thursday I'll be out of commission for awhile due to surgery an recovery. But the plus is I'll be home an in the cool a/c.
I can't seem to figure out how to post pics to a blog yet, wish there was a simple "attach photo" button to click on in here to simplify things. I'm not that computer smart to start with, lol. trudy
Jun 9, 2007 | 3:56 PM PST
Tags: tomatoes , basil , sage , thyme , dill , scallions , radish , carrots , pea , strawberries , coleus , green peppers , watering
Hi everyone, how are you tonight? I hope this finds everyone well. I hope everybody's garden is growing and blooming as they should!
Just wanted to let you know that everything is going well in my garden. I now have tons of tomatoes, basil, sage, thyme, dill, scallions, radish, carrots, peas, strawberries and my coleus is growing beautifully!! I only have 1 green pepper so far and my broccoli raab is so far so good. I haven't had to really water the garden because we seem to be getting overnight showers almost every night so that saves me the water. I am waiting for my tomatoes to turn red. I posted here about it and was told not to water them and when I told my husband he told me that I have to water them. I don't know what to believe. This is the first time I have ever had more than 5 or 6 tomatoes. I have like 20 roma's, about 15 cherry and like 20 grape tomatoes. I am just waiting. Any other suggestions would be helpful. One person tells me to stop watering them so they will ripen and another person tells me to continue watering them so they get bigger and they will ripen on their own. Which one is true, false or are they both wrong????? Questions, questions, questions!!
See everybody later. I have to get my dinner out of the oven now.
Take care all, Byeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Jeanne
