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Time for my end of summer update! I am ready for fall and have been thinking back on yet another growing season - successes and failures.
Durin
g July and August, we enjoyed many harvests from our garden and spent the rest of the time inside and out of the heat. The girls are growing up fast and keeping us super busy! They are both getting into helping mommy in the garden and we have discoverd that the little one LOVES getting dirty! Her favorite place this summer has been smack in the middle of the tomato bed, picking them right off the plant and smooshing them all over her face!
We planted 9 varieties of tomatoes, 10 basil plants and 4 eggplants.
Here is a nice shot of some of the results:
It was great fun to try so many different varietes! Our favorites were the heirloom tomatoes, of course; and the japanese eggplants. We have had so much, that we have also been doing some different methods of preservation for use through the winter. I have dehydrated tomatoes, eggplants and figs. I am excited to use the dehydrated eggplants to make pasta sauces and babagunish (sp?) I also pureed tomatoes in the blender and put them in ice cube trays to freeze for making sauces later. I also did a pesto with 5 varieties of basil that I froze in ice cube trays too - now all of our ice tastes like basil!- HAH!
Funny thing about the veggies; I always plant more than I should of every seed and it is just survival of the fittest. Well, this year, I put in a few different kinds of bean seeds and then forgot which kinds i put in - until a few months later, noticed that what had won out was the "yard bean":
<
em>
So bizarre! and actually not that tastey...but fun and the kids thought they made great necklaces!
Next year, I will give more thought to the beans...we did miss having them this year.
SO..here is the list:
Successes:
Heirloom tomatoes, will plant more varieties next year, perhaps will order some plants online for even more variety.
Cherry tomoates, love them...will only plant one plant next year....we had way more than we knew what do do with.
Artichokes, they germinated successfully and I am looking forward to them producing in seasons to come.
Asparagus, continues to do very well and next year, we should be able to harvest continually throughout the season.
Sunflowers, the "king kong" did great and next year, I may devote 1 entire bed to just sunflowers...I would like some for cutting.
Nastursums, did great. I just love them and they are so pretty!
Failures:
Green Eggplant, it did well, but is quite prickly and tough...not all that tasty.
Beans, need to give them more thought...missed having big harvests of them this year.
Wished I had planted:
Cucumbers: hubby hates them, but they are so easy and I love em'
Carrots: the kids would have had fun with them,and they are super easy too!
Squash: I always have trouble with them, but I am always trying some weird variety, so next year I will plant to standby summer squash and hope for the best. These will be great to pre-cook and freeze too!
For the Fall Garden:
Poppies: I put out some in the spring, but still dont have any signs...will try again (i don't know why I can't seem to get these going to save my live-they are suuposed to be easy!)
Spinach
Sugar snaps
Lettuce
Cabbage: I have never tried growing this, but I think it will be fun.
Parsley
Brussel Sprouts
Garlic - have always wanted to try this
The rest of the garden has been just truckin along. It is nice that we are somewhat out of major project mode (other than the deck) and the garden is down to just routine work. I am enjoying watching the beds in the back fill in. I noticed today that the purple beautyberry that was just a few inches tall when I planted it - is now doing its thing:
I am really liking the textures that are happening in this bed. Here is a nice shot with the deck in the background:
Close up of solidago and miscanthus:
An
d...bumble bee having some fun on the autumn joy sedum:
We really had a bad time of spider mites early this spring. They really set up camp in a big oak in the back yard and they migrated their way over quite a few of my plants. The fruit tress suffered a great deal and I am not sure that they will bounce back - but hey, if they don't then I have a chance to buy more plants! A failure in the garden always presents another opportunity, doesn't it???
I finally killed all the grass around the veggie beds and fruit trees and have been slowly spreading wood chips there. I want to make that area more path-like and tuck plants in nooks and crannies.
I also plan to put in some encore azaleas in the front porch bed this fall. I would like another shot of color in there and some evergreen interests when the autumn ferns aren't looking their best during the winter.
All in all, we have had a great growing season and I am ready for fall and all the cool temps to come!
Happy gardening!
-soa
pHOUSE
I want to thank everyone who has been commenting on my posts lately. I have been slacking in my regular chit-chat responses I normally do and don't quite know why. I think I have just been so busy trying to keep up with the housework and get my share of "playing" out in the garden. My husband will be home in a few weeks and I want to be done with my "spring" cleaning and organizing by the time he gets home. There is still a ton to do, then we'll have my daughter's eye surgery on the 17th to add. So, I will be busy, but I will be sure to keep writing!
I felt better later on in the day after having that terrible headache. Thank you all for the "feel betters"!!
Now, on to gardening....
So
many of my seeds are coming up! I am so excited! I planted so many
seeds I can't remember where I planted them all. I marked most of the
seed with sprinkles of peat moss over the areas and that has helped.
Some of them I didn't think to do that with so I have to be careful
when digging.
Most of the seed that is coming up is the
smaller seed like Alyssum, Brachycome (Swan River Daisy), Matthiola
(Night Scented Stocks), and Baby's Breath.
I planted a ton of Morning Glory seeds that I soaked for the recommended 24 hours, but they haven't come through the soil yet and I am wondering if somehow they dried up. It's strange that they haven't, but I will have to be patient.
My "stump planters" have quite a bit of seed coming.
My sweet peas are coming in nice as well as what I believe to be
sunflower seeds (the ones I sprinkled in from last years seed head this
spring). I can't wait to see how nice turn out.
I made a new
flower bed (well, sort of) to spread my cut flower mixes, Shasta Daisy,
Delphinium, Baby's Breath, Bachelor Buttons, the rest of my Black-Eyed
Susan's, extra Phlox, and mixed Poppy seeds. I raked out an area,
pulled out the loose rocks, used all those rocks I pulled out to line
the perimeter. After pulling out the bits of grass and natural bushes I
spread the seed mixed with sand around the area. Covered it all with a
thin layer of dirt and watered it all in. I hope the seed grows in
since it will look really cute with the "Gnome Home" and the two little
Gnomes admiring the flower area (see below). I will post some pictures
later if/when the seeds start to come in. (Click on any of the images to enlarge and see closer up!)
I planted the two Zucchini plants from the nursery today but decided to place a clear plastic tub over them for the night to keep the cold off of them. They were kept under a greenhouse style roof/area that protected them, so I figured it wouldn't hurt (I just have to make sure they don't overheat in the morning). I spotted the Zucchini seeds sprouting that I planted and I am so excited. I do hope they grow! I love fried Zucchini and seasoning salt as well as Zucchini bread! Any suggestions on how to eat Zucchini?
I also planted some Broccoli seeds, but don't know if it will make it before it get's too cold. We'll just have to see.
My peas and radishes have come through the soil which is good too.
I
also decided to plant some Cosmos and Zinnias for the first time and
they are coming in nicely too. I chose to plant them in my wild rose
area since the wild roses I transplanted are not doing to well yet (if
at all). My daughter helped me plant them and it was so cute. She would
squat down and tip her hand attempting to spread the seed around, but
really just dropping them on top of each other so I had to spread them
out afterwards.
I love letting her help me, it makes me so happy to see her learning and enjoying nature. I show her any bug I come across, frogs and toads and especially birds. We listen to cricketts and frogs at night. She knows what Woodpeckers do and can explain it (she's only 2.5 years old). She says "they peck, peck, peck....", "The trees", "Looking for bugs and going slurp, slurp, slurp!" and "using their beeks". It's so cute! She's so bright and retains so much. I want her to be able to look at the little things around her, to be able to step back and see things in a simple way, enjoy it and value it. Kids these days are so wrapped up in materialistic things, video games, t.v and computers. None of those things nurtures the soul, none of those things can do what mother nature does for a person. I believe those things can enjoyed in a healthy amount but that other things need to be taught and learned. Simple things. How many kids go through school having the only experiance with nature be the "plant unit" taught to them by their teacher? Sad.
Anyway......
Above: The tags from my new Clematis. I really like them, but now am not sure where I want to put them. When I bought them I figured I could find a place, but now I am getting pickier and re-thinking where they should go. When I really like a certain flower I take forever finding a place for it to go since I am scared of killing it...lol.
Above: My Mother-In-Laws Gazinia (? I am guessing the name because I can't think of it off the top of my head right now...) Really pretty.
Above: A really pretty purple/blue flower in my Mother-In-Law's garden with her Columbine. Really pretty, I will have to ask her what it is. Do you know what it is?
Above:
A GIANT moth my little Brother-In-Law caught today to show my daughter
and I. It was huge! He said that it looked like Nike swooshes on it's
wings and feathers for antennas.
Above:
"No Name" Cow Manure....cracked me up! I never would have thought there
was "No Name" brand cow manure....had to share....lol!
Above: A few of the Pansies....
Above: My blue/purple Bell Flower blooming! I just LOVE IT!
Above:
One of my favorite flowers in my garden. It's a succulent (I believe),
supposidly flowers but has wonderful green/red colors and grows in so
nicely in my garden. I don't know what it is though. It's easy to
transplant and spread, you just have to clip pieces off and stick them
into the soil. It's great!
Well, today was a truly beautiful day! It was so warm out, and just a really enjoyable day.
My daughter and I played out in the garden in the late afternoon after
the storm clouds rolled in. It didn't storm - only a bit of wind, and
was still pretty warm, but the clouds were definitely the kind that
some with storms.
I decided to try and get some of my seeds into the back flower garden
since I was thinking it was going to rain tonight (not happening
yet...). I have a few interesting things popping up in the back
garden. I think I have spotted 2 morning glories (from last years
seed) and some sort of other flower from seed. It is a big leafed
sprout (like the size of a bean, cucumber, zucchini, etc.) and is
possibly a sunflower but I am not sure and have no idea how it got
there, unless I planted some out there and I don't remember (which is
possible).
I planted:
Sweet Pea - Royal Family Mixed
Four O'Clocks - Marvel of Peru
Nasturtium - Jewel Mixed
Stocks - Giant Imperial Mixed
Cosmos - Sensation
Zinnia - Giant Dahlia
Sunflower - Lemon Queen
Sunflower - Velvet Queen
Sunflower - Helianthus Mixed Varieties
I still have a TON to get into the ground and am starting to feel way
behind the eight ball now. Before I felt I was way ahead of the game
so much so that I had planted some seeds inside way too early, but now
it's getting down to the wire and I HAVE to get them in for their
fullest potential! Especially the vegetables!
Vegetables I have to plan out and get in include:
Carrots
Bush beans (Green Pod Stringless)
Broccoli
Zucchini (oh how I want these to grow this year, I LOVE fried zucchini!)
Peas (Lincoln Homesteader)
Lettuce
Radish
Pumpkin (NO idea where I will be putting these, probably closer to my daughters "play area")
Tomato (4 different kinds, I don't know if any of them will
successfully grow since I am planting them directly outdoors and not
planting indoor starts because I am so behind, but it's a learning
experience isn't it? If they don't work out I will buy some extra
tomato plants to fill the void...lol)
Dill (will probably plant it in with my mint, lavender, and lemon balm
area, but not positive since it tends to look "messy" compared to
flowers.)
The good news is that the vegetable patch is pretty much finished with
soil amendments. I think I want to mix in another load of horse manure
(yeah, that is what I am trying this year, I will have to see how bad
the weeds are and learn accordingly).
When I "draw" out my basic layout in the vegetable patch (tomorrow
hopefully), I will post a picture up of it. I hope to start planting
seed tomorrow though, so I should have a layout planned by then.
Fingers crossed for me, I have to get this done!!
Anyway, more tomorrow I am sure. It is supposed to be warmer than today even! Oh-what fun! I love spring/summer! Sorry, no pictures today....
Have a wonderful week!!
~M~
P.S. Thank you to everyone how commented on my last post about Wildflowers! I just love sharing my pictures and love hearing back from you all! Thank you! I will look up the "Solomon's Seal" to see if it looks like it. Also I will post another picture once it flowers (I think it flowers...).
I heard that we got about 6" of rain in that last storm and everything is soggy, soggy, soggy. The grass needs to be mowed and all my plants are really waterlogged. Hubby tried mowing some today; the grass is dry enough, but the ground is just too saturated and he was tearing up the yard. He got about maybe 1/4 of the front yard done, but all of the back. It looks terrible! Thursday is supposed to be HOT and DRY, so maybe I can finish it then.
We've had two new calves born next door in the last few days and another one due any minute. Having never lived in the country before this is all very interesting to me. I love the little calves, they frolic around like little lambs, kicking up their heels and head butting their mothers like little goats. So doggone cute.
My next door neighbor is putting in a vegetable garden in a fenced off area of the cow pasture. I've never done a vegie garden, but most everyone here seems to grow one. And it seems like just everyone I know is doing one of those topsy turvey tomato thingees. I do love tomatoes - maybe I will try one of those. My grandfather was a farmer - he was a German from Russia and farmed his whole life - seems like I'd know a little about growing veggies, but I don't.
Famous last words...I've made my last trip to Lowe's! As good as those words sound, I know all too well that I'll be back there...again...sometim
e next week. And why not? I've got to make sure that there aren't any new plants I haven't seen or touched or lusted after! I made a promise to myself that I'd have everything planted in the garden by Sunday...so I had to get the last of my veggies...I just had to!
I ran off to Lowe's and left my hubby and a friend of his from North Carolina working on the truck...they're doing a heart transplant...so keep your fingers crossed that it works because my hubby is jonesing for his truck...he has a new car but it's just not the same...or so he says. To me it's...car...truck...four wheels...all the same...still drinks gas!
As soon as I pulled into the parking lot at Lowe's, I knew I was in for a treat...only because I found an up-front parking spot...right in front of the Garden Center. And low and behold...there were all the veggies you could wish for...all brand new...just delivered. I knew I was in heaven...you could almost hear an angelic choir singing "hal-lay-lu-yah". I know I checked out each and every plant in the Garden Center at Lowe's...and wouldn't you know it, while I was there they were off-loading their Friday shipment of new plants from a local nursery! Oh joy...new plants...pretty plants...calling my name and asking me to take them home. I stood firm...I only looked at them, all the while explaining to them that although they were really pretty...really...really pretty...and they would look absolutely lovely in my garden...I just couldn't bring them home...not this time...maybe later...once my hubby goes back out of town to work! How sneaky is that...I'm an undercover plant purchaser!
I headed straight for the veggies and I found all the colors of the rainbow in bell peppers...yellow ones...orange ones...red ones...and the old standby...green ones. So I thought...okay...I'll get one of each...the color will look really pretty in the garden of green! I couldn't resist the poblano pepper plants...only because I know how good they're going to taste filled with ground beef, spices, and cheese! And since I already have nine tomato plants, I couldn't say no to the Roma tomato that somehow found it's way into my shopping cart...I only work with even numbers..that's my story and I'm sticking to it!
On my garden spreadsheet, I have a mass of squash and zuchinni plants...well upon really checking out the available garden space...I've found that I can put in atleast double the number I originally planned on. This means I'll have plenty for cooking up fresh...and canning...and giving away...and of course...pickling. My sister-in-law Tish, gave me a jar of squash pickles and I've fallen in love with them...so much so that I wrestled the recipe from her so I can put them up myself...just another joy in my life! Since I now have a large number of both the squash and zuchinni plants, if I plant them close enough, the shade from their leaves should keep the weeds down in that area...atleast that's what I'm hoping for. I really hate weeding...
I found a nine flat of cucumber plants...they're vining so I'll have to run a trellis through them. Not a problem, if I'm going to put in a trellis or two or three for my beans then while I'm at it, I'll run one for the cukes too. Thank goodness I'm crafty and like to build stuff! Like my watering station that I came up with. I sunk an eight foot piece of 4" PVC pipe in the middle of my garden. On top of it, I put a flange that fits nicely in the hole. On the flange, I'm going to attach my water sprinkler...and attach my garden hose to it. This way, I should be able to water the entire garden area and it'll be tall enough to reach the corn in the back. Fingers crossed that this will work out.
I put in my strawberry plants today before I headed off shopping. I planted twenty of them...unfortunately I didn't read the package first and planted them all wrong. So I had to dig them back up and plant them even with the ground. I definitely had a "duh" moment! I can't wait for them to start producing...I was given a great recipe for jam that I'm dying to make...I can almost taste it now...Mmmm!
So far it's all good with my herb/lettuce garden. A couple of weeks ago, I planted nine head-type lettuces and they are all doing really well. Along with those, I planted my loose-leaf lettuce and my mesclun. If all goes as planned, I'm going to be up to my eyeballs in lettuce. It's a good thing I love salads. They dodged a bullet with my dog Badger...she loves to run. Well she decided to take a run through the bed and all she did was leave giant footyprints in the soil...didn't touch not one plant. Her doggie angel was watching over her that time!
I am so excited that we are going to have one more nice day. I along with my plants are rejoicing in the sun and warmth. It is pure amazement how quickly plants grow with a little of sun.
I guess a little cooler weather and moisture is welcome...only because this weekend I was able to plant some seeds...peas, kolorabi, and squash. They join the parsnips, lettuce, broccoli, garlic, and shallots planted last November. I still need to get in carrots, potatoes and cauliflower. Then when it gets warmer, hot peppers and tomatoes.
After growing up with a garden as a child, it is nice to be able to plant a garden and have my own fresh veggies. I also got the herb garden cleaned out, the rosemary didn't like all the snow that sat on them this winter and they needed some pruning, but I think they should be fine.
Oh the joy of spring...it makes all other worries seem more manageable.
Well, most of our summer trips and parties have past and I was able to spend some much overdue time in the garden this weekend! I so enjoyed it, despite the heat. Because of the lack of recent attention, some extreme measures needed to be taken, so I spent most of my time using loud and aggressive power tools.
I first started out to mow the back by the veggies, but it was so long that the mower just wasn't holding up its end of the bargain...so after a few adjustment by my helpful hubby, I got to mowing...just in time to be chased indoors by a ginormous thunder storm. So, the next day it was back to it and i got most of the back yard done when the mower quit again, so I opted to do some weedeating. After 3 tanks of gas, I had done the entire creek area, around all the veggie beds, edged the lawn and cut the front yard using the weedeater (since I still couldn't get the mower started.) Somehow EVERYTHING gets harder when you go from one child to two HAH!
While I was back by the creek I did some more investigating as to why there is still no growth from the great gunnera....the bulb was as mushy as can be, so I called the company and they issued me a credit. so, i just have to decide if i am going to try another gunnera or something else...
Then, hubby came home, got the lawnmower fixed, and finished up the back yard for me :)
The other thing i worked on this weekend was some veggie bed clean up. We harvested some corn and had some for dinner, but it was not the least bit tasty....I don't know if maybe I left it on the stalk to long, and what was left was so buggy, so I just pulled the remainder of it out and took it to the curb for yard pickup. I don't think i will do corn again...
I also pulled out the spent bush bean plants and okra. This left a lot of room to add more compost and get ready for fall plantings...HOORAY!
The veggie garden has taught me quite a bit this year. I tried my hand at companion planting this season and have been very pleased for the most part. i do think that next year i will plant a smaller variety of things, but more of each thing that i plant.
I have also learned what i don't want to grow again:
corn-takes too much space and is a bit messy and buggy, plus i can buy it pretty cheap at the store
carrots-hubby doesn't like them and i never seem to get them thinned out quite right
okra- i have trouble picking them before they get tough
broccoli-i just never have luck with this :(
Here is what i am for sure going to grow lots of:
Cherry tomatoes
Beefsteak Tomatoes
Asian eggplants
Beans
Zuchinni
Squash
And, here is what i want to try that i didn't this year:
garlic, onions and artichokes
I will continue with the companion planting focusing on the use of marigolds, sunflowers, and nastursuims. these are what seemed to germinate and perform the best. I really had trouble getting a lot of my flower seeds to germinate this year. it is so hard to keep them evenly moist when you have watering restrictions. The whole bed I had planned around the back porch was a total flop. nothing germinated :(. I was going to have 3 kinds of sunflowers, bells of ireland, sweet pea vines and sweet alyssum. But, nothing....oh well, thats the best way to learn as a gardener :) Trial and error...sometimes LOTS of error LOL!
This was not my first harvest, but the first one that I thought was big enough to be deserving of a pic. As you can see, it really isn't all that big. I harvest daily, and we've been pretty much been eating everything as soon as it gets picked, so I can't show in pictures the amounts that I've really collected, which are still quite modest. ;)
Here are a couple of pics of what I call my veggie garden, though much of the yard has become a veggie garden. ;)
On the one side--
On the other--
This is what I call my blueberry patch, though I've planted many other things in there this year. The black-eyed Susans have since bloomed, the petunias are filling out, and are looking much better now.
Coleus. I've added more, and they've grown, so they look better now. :)
And, of course, tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes.
More pics later. :)
I'm growing increasingly frustrated as I thought I would have an overabundance of everything daily by now. So far though, I've only gotten a trickling of various things here and there every day or every other day. A little bit of lettuce, a handful of sugar snap peas, a few zucchinis and yellow squashes, a bit of spinach and swiss chard, 7 cherry tomatoes (not all at once), a pinch of cilantro, and a lot of parsley. Parsley is just about the most useless edible that I planted. And when you cut it, it grows back bigger and better. Why can't everything else grow like that? I was seriously hoping to have enough that I might have to freeze and can things, after giving much away. But most of it so far hasn't even made it to the fridge. ;) My pepper plants are just beginning to flower NOW. I'm thinking that if I had something that more truly resembled full sun, the gardens would be much further along by now. As it is, my gardens probably really only get about 4 hours of direct sunlight during the day and a bit of dappled light throughout other parts of the day. I guess I should be grateful to get the growth that I do. Those darn trees! Oh well. Maybe in a few weeks I'll have the giant harvest that I was hoping for, but I hate waiting. I've already picked 3 carrots way too soon, because I thought for sure they should be ready by now. And I hope onions re-plant well. I know they're supposed to pop out of the ground when they're ready, but the stem seemed so big and it had been so long that I figured I'd just better check. Now, if only my scallions were so slow to bulb! ;) It isn't all bad, I'm just waiting for that BIG harvest where I have more than I know what to do with and all of my ornamentals are flowering like crazy.
My blueberry bushes have put on a little growth-- about 6-12 inches. So that's one step closer to becoming the big beautiful hedge that I envision.
I've been working on digging out a hole for the peach tree and replacing/amending the soil. About 6 ft. in diameter and 1- 1 1/2 ft. deep. There's a couple of inches of topsoil and all rocks and clay underneath that, so as arduous as it seems, it really is necessary so that the tree won't drown and somewhere to spread its roots.
My strawberries are blooming here and there and I'm not pinching them off anymore. I'm not expecting too much this year since I just planted them this spring, so at least I won't be disappointed. ;)
My fig twig is beginning to put out a few leaves. I had planted it directly in the ground so it could grow well, but now I'm thinking that unless it makes some miraculous growth between now and frost, it might be best to pot it up and bring it in for the winter.
My Hansen's cherry bushes are leafing out and growing AMAZINGLY well. I just planted them 3 weeks ago and they've already put on several inches of new growth. I got those and the fig twig from Direct Gardening, believe it or not. I guess they can manage to do a few things right.
So, that's all for now. I'll post pics later.
Well, things keep moving right along here in the garden...with or without my help - :) It has been very hot here with not a lot of rain fall - but luckily we are allowed to water at certain times...so I have been keeping up with that. I am still enjoying the results of all my hard work over the fall and winter (with things being somewhat more low maintenance) I have decided that that is definitely the way to go!
During a good session in the garden the other afternoon, I was able to capture these picts:
Butterfl
y bush is looking great!
Daylilies doing their thing:
Looking
forward to my canna blooms!
Northe
rn Mountain Oats that I ordered on line last year are doing well and I look forward to them naturalizing a bit:
Oak Leaf Blooms turning pink:
Here is a view of the veggies from the back of the back yard:
I just love the shot of color that the marigold give...makes a great view from the kitchen window:
Althou
gh, I did have to pull out all the broccolli due to that yucky wormy thing they got...just like last year! I guess I am just not cut out for broccolli growing :(
The corn is doing its thing:
But, has some yuck on it! This is my first time to grow corn, so I am not sure what to do about this or if it will effect production:
I am loving the purple pole beans! They are SO pretty and yummy too!
And, the spaghetti squash is jumping out of its bed!
Here is a good shot as you come around to the front yard:
>
The turks cap lilies are just starting to bloom. I can always count on these guys!
Getting ready for my hibiscus blooms!
>
The little knockouts that i planted at the base of the sculpture are blooming and i know they will fill in nicely!:
Here is the view as of late as i sit on my front porch:
And finally...the view of the front yard from across the street:
Can you tell most of what i have planted along the street was to block off the view of the rental house across the street from us - HAH! Guess its working :)
First I'll start with last night- About 6:30 or so we had the smoke from a North Carolina wildfire blow in. Between it, 100 degrees and the humidity I could hardly breathe! It's supposed to roll in again tonight.... Logan was coughing last night and this morning, with his voice sounding so hoarse. I'm sure it had to do with the smoke as well. I felt so bad for him.
Today was "cooler" then yesterday- only around 90. I re-attached a picket on the fence, and straightened out the gate again. Now we can close it without having to lift it 6 inches WOOHOO!! That was about all I was able to accomplish before having to leave for Logan's end-of-year class party.
The party was lots of fun. Except for the part about me having to lug a cooler full of 36 cans of soda and 10 lbs of ice about 3 blocks LOL! It's hard to believe that he's going to be in first grade next year, and that Meg will be in Kindergarten! Boy how the time flies...
One more day until we leave for Disney. Been doing laundry and packing. All that's left is to pack the last-minute stuff, and wash the sheets and towels in the guestroom for my parents. I'm really hoping the gardens will fare all right with my being away for a week. I am pretty sure I can get my parents to water the veggies- they want to have some!
Well- I'm off to fold laundry and buy some dogfood.
I had ordered a Contender peach tree from Gurney's, which I haven't yet received. They have however sent the strawberries, and a planting guide. The planting guide states that a standard sized peach tree will bear fruit in 4-5 years. 4-5 years!!!! Well, at Home Depot they had a 7 ft., well-branched Elberta peach tree which should almost definitely produce next year. So, I got it. :) It also produces about a month/a month and a half after the Contender, so it should extend the season nicely. They had nice sized fruit trees at the local nursery too, but the were very expensive, and I wasn't familiar with the varieties they offered anyway. I have also ordered some Hansen's bush cherries and a fig tree from Direct Gardening. They're a discount online nursery with an iffy reputation, but so inexpensive, I figured it'd be worth the chance.
So, I have planted all of my strawberry plants--27 Tribute (everbearing), and 28 Sparkle Supreme (Junebearing). All but a few are beginning to leaf out quite nicely. I should get a few Tribute strawberries this year, but next year is the year. Next year I should have blueberries, strawberries, peaches, maybe some bush cherries and figs, plus whatever annual fruits and veggies I may plant.
Thus far this season, I have harvested much of the spinach that I planted. It really didn't make that much, but was beginning to go to seed. It's quite delicious, but I'll have to remember to plant much more next year if I want any sort of substantial harvest. My zucchini plants have little itty bitty zucchinis on them and are beginning to bloom. Some of my "mystery" tomatoes are blooming and beginning to set fruit. My sugar snap peas are also beginning to bloom. Everything else is growing along well, but it will be a while before harvest.
All things considered, my "farm" is really quite small, but I can almost guarantee you that it's the biggest edible landscape in this entire suburban neighborhood. ;) And I have more plans yet to come. :)
I spent a good part of the day getting my garden up and growing.. around the outter edges are purple petunias, I've read that petunias will keep some pests away... so I look forward to seeing what happens. Then I planted 2 tomato plants (early girls), a row of lettuce, row of baby spinach, 2 rows of stringless beans, 1 green bell pepper. Then in the corner, I put in a catnip plant... I read where catnip repels flea beetles, aphids, Japanese beetles, squash bugs, ants and weevils. We'll see if it really repels Japanese beetles!!
I left one area to plant my Basil. My garden is 10' x 8'. I'll be planting some Dill too, but in another area of my yard. I love to cook with dill.
Okay... my hands are tired from all the weed pullin' and digging... so good nite.
Its amazing how much happens in a garden in just 2 days, especially with a good rain! We were so glad to get home from the hospital with Etta Rose:
Of course, one of the first things I had to do upon my return, was to walk around the garden....so much happened! The peonies bloomed!
All the good rain we had while I was in the hospital really helped along all the veggies:
Everything practically doubled in size! And, look at all the blackberries we are going to have!
But, most noteable is the rose that bloomed! I planted this out in the fall: Mdme Alfred Cartiere. They are on either side of the arbor in the back and will look so pretty when they grow up big. So for now, on our first day home, a new rose for our new rose:
We enjoyed our little stroll in the garden and now I must figure out a time in the day to do my gardening...but, all in good time. For now I am enjoying my little Rose :)
Yesterday I had a large picking of beans. Put up 4 quarts again. Of course, kittens and Peanut helped-several beans had teeth marks on them. I have 3 bird feeders near my garden and the kittens are venturing out now, so they hide in the beans to watch the birds (the birds are still bigger than the kittens!) and I think they bite the beans because they're in the way! Anyway, its no big deal-wash em, and cook 'em!
I also have more bell peppers to pick. I think I'm going to try the garden center and see if they have any Ca. Wonder anywhere. Big Bertha is ok-but I still want my FAT peppers. Jalepenoes are making, tomatoes are loaded, but my cukes - they're slow, slow this year. Lots and lots of blooms, but very few cukes! We had 2 or 3 little cold spells after I had put them in the ground, do you think they're just having a hard time coming back? They're vining good--don't know! I always have lots of cucumbers off of just 2 or 3 plants-I may have to replant!!
I've got a spot where I lost a tree due to Hurricane Rita 2 1/2 years ago that still hasn't grassed over, and I believe I'm gonna put cantelope(? spelling?)there. They were $3.00 for one at the grocery store! Unbelievable!
Despite the Iris Patch having a MAJOR aphid infestation, they continue to bloom :) They have never really done too much in seasons pasts (they are relatively new to my garden- passed along from my husband's grandfather's farm), so its fun to see what color they are. So far we have white and today, the purples are blooming. In the picture, they look more maroon colored. It depends which way the sun is hitting:
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I am also very pleased to report that some of the veggie seeds are starting to come up already and the freshly planted hostas are looking good. Also, the peony buds look like they might burst open any day now!
Oi Vey! Just had to take a quick break from writing this to go tell 3 neighborhood kids to get out of our creek and not mess up all my freshly planted goodies! They were swinging from bank to bank from the grape vines that I cut back! ARGH! I hate being THAT neighbor....but really, I don't want them to get hurt either, would be our liability you know. They quickly sauntered off with their tail between their legs.
Nice weather today, finally, after so many days of high winds and cold weather. It should be even warmer this weekend so I can be gardening all day. My tiny space for a veggie garden had been re-done because the corn on top of the mound must have rot and destroyed by the neighbor's cat judging by the smell. Yuck, I love animals but I do not like my neighbor's cats leaving their poohs in my garden. I had to put that cover because as long as the soil is wet, cats love that spot.
At least corn on the side of the mound is now growing. I re-planted some more corn on top of the mound. It will be followed by green beans and then squash. Hopefully, these will all grow and the three sisters, corn, bean and squash, can complement and enjoy each other. The tomatoes on the topsy turvy planter seem to be doing well but against advice from the instructions on the planter, I added one more tomatoe plant on top. I'm not sure how it wll end up but I can see some buds showng already on the top one but none on the two bottom ones.
Wow, we had an entire six hours dedicated to Citrus today. More than I ever thought I wanted to know. Half of our last class was on propagating citrus. We learned about many of the most popular Door Yard(home grown) varieties, which are better for juicing, or resistance to certain pest or diseases. A lot about different pests and diseases and different control methods. Which root stocks are best for which varieties. Mutations, good and bad. Even which varieties require cross pollination and the best pollinators. We had to learn about maturity dates and how that affects fertilizing and pest control regimens. I will definitely need to review my notes from this class several times to soak up the information.
I think they should have different levels or types of Master Gardener. Some class just seem like so much information to take in. For instance one could be an Ornamental MG, a Door Yard MG (home fruit trees), or a Vegetable MG. Just because they give me a little certificate at the end of class that says Master Gardener I do not think I will feel as though I have 'Mastered" anything. (Personally I do not think I will grow any citrus trees either... That is a tree that requires too much year-round attention for my taste)
Good news! The only other class topic that merits more that one session of training is vegetables. Yea! I have been looking forward to this one. Thursday and Tuesdays classes will cover that topic.
In my own gardens things seem to be doing fairly well. My tomatoes have a little leaf spot but seem to be holding their own. They have several dozen fruit on them. =) I have been pruning out affected branches and will mix up some baking soda and water for them tomm. I did get a bad infestation of aphids in my peas and I think they are a loss. I think I will retry those next winter I looked them up and should have started them in Sept/Oct. I will get use to backward seasons... I will.
My sweet bell pepper plants have baby peppers on them, Hooray! This is a plant I don't have a good history with... perhaps this year will be a success. My cucumbers, squash, and cantaloupe all have flowers. I think my jalapeno seedlings have doubled in size this week too. My cilantro is done and I have started some more. I think I will move them to the vegetable bed, I read that they attract lady bugs and help to repel other pests. Tomm I will peek at the cuttings I started last week and see if they are still alive.
Oh, I did get the composter started up can't wait for the 'good stuff ' for my veggies. I didn't get to my air layering experiments but perhaps tomm. ( If I ever go to bed... Oops , what time is it?)
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