Every time I plan to plant something, it rains, but we did manage to get most of the plants out of the green house. Still have the lemon tree and some thyme in there.
We are so excited-we have actual apples on the trees this year - a first. Anyone have any suggestions on how to keep squirrels from stealing them? I still have 2 beds left to prepare for planting. Hoping there will be a dry weekend.
I am getting ready to refresh my memory on a few booklets:
1. Smallest Possible area to grow food and feed - sustainable Diet and Dairy production
2. Mini Farm - growing complete fertility, nutrition, and income
3. Food for the Future-survival garden plan
Tried to find these earlier when trying to plan this year's garden, but they had disappeared. Belated spring cleaning found them - not in the bookcase where they belong.
Received a tip from TIK, to go to Weather Bell for some interesting info. The Video on the right explains normal weather patterns that caused the Hurricane Harvey situation as well as info for upcoming season. Hint-It's not man made. A line from Texas to the NE will be dry. Plan gardens accordingly per TIK. Thanks TIK.
https://www.weatherbell.com/
Hope all is well with everyone. Have a great weekend. Prayers up for all. God Bless.
Pinging the List.
I think I got all additions and deletions to the ping list made. If not FRmail me, and I’ll try again. Thanks.
gonna add a few Cosmonaut Volkov tomatoes this year to my normal compliment of Celebrity and Grape:
https://www.google.com/search?q=cosmonaut+volkov+tomato
local organic farm has been selling the C.V. tomatoes during season and they are some of the best tomatoes i’ve ever eaten in my life.
this year they’re selling some of the plants, so I thought I try them out for myself.
Isn’t plowing in the rain some kind of rite of passage for farmers? If so, I can check that one off the list. I got most of the back yard tilled up, in spite of the fact that it started raining as soon as I got the tractor hooked up. The back garden is also 1.5 tractor-widths wider than it was last year, and a good 10 feet longer. Dad’s idea, much to my surprise. I can’t tell if dad just hates mowing that much, or if he’s feeling the bite of grocery store prices. Possibly both.
I need to get at least part of the farm tilled soon. The logistics of that keep getting more complicated than they should be.
For Mother’s Day, I bought Mom 3 blueberry bushes and planted them under the spruce trees. The duff that’s built up there is just perfect for acid-loving plants like that. I may add some bloodroot or wintergreen as an understory crop.
More rain later today. We’re supposed to have a drought this summer, but so far we’ve had a waterlogged spring.
I’ve still been running around so much between getting granddaughter married and helping a Godly true conservative man in a run-off election that I’ve got a pitifully small garden. Had my first 6 ripe tomatoes this week tho. Squash looks good. Peppers have been producing. Lemon tree looks good. Lots of cooking herbs. Never got cukes, peas or beans out. With freezes thru April and a wedding 150 miles away I’ve failed to feed us well this summer. Peach trees are loaded tho!
My wife raise tomatoes in animal water troughs, and last years crop was minimal re size, quantity and taste.
She has been told not to grow tomatoes this year in those troughs,
To avoid the expense of removing the topsoil, she was told to plant beans or a similar crop for this season/year.
What types or beans or “green plants” can restore the dirt she has in those troughs?
Thanks
Dave
Hi greeneyes! Thanks for the ping! Hello everyone! Wishing all gardeners well!
This year for us is another low-garden activity year for us. We were delighted to see our parsley overwinter and come back. The wisteria and irises and lilies are gorgeous this year - black berries blooming. We cut down some diseased trees and are missing the shade.
I have been using the “boxed” lettuce with all the little roots attached. I’ve not ever been completely successful with lettuce, and was throwing them away, but Darlin’ suggested I should just go ahead and plant the root stubs, so I did. We’ll see. It’s an experiment.
Last fall I set out some straw bales to overwinter so I could try an experiment with straw bale gardening. Not sure what I’ll plant in them, but surely something will occur to me!
Our local weather went from VERY cold to SUMMER overnight practically! Late starting, and will try to limit the care-giving amount. [It’s hard to do that, once you get going!]
I am in full herb mode. My dill has gone bonkers. Thank goodness I love dill. My basil is growing wide rather than high. I am thinking of moving it. Seeing sights of life in the sunflower bed and am getting ready for my second spinach harvest. Between that and the arugula I got from the community garden, I am good for greens for the week.
Are there any vegetables that have problems with too much calcium?
I.E. ... can I keep tossing my eggshells in the garden, to be worked into the soil at my convenience?
“Square Foot Gardening” is a good book about how to wring a lot of planting seeds out of small plots.
I think I’m up to 67 onion plants packed tight into 6 buckets. Red, White, Yellow. Several new bright green sprouts.
Alas the two (three but two pots) Early Girls did not make it - WM happily refunded the money and I upgraded and bought a couple of Sweet Basil. I picked two pots already off to a great start. Looks like 3 and 4 (or maybe 4 and 4) plants in each one. I harvest, dry in the oven and grind down - put it in empty spice bottles. Sometimes go with fresh chopped (after a rinse of course).
My squash/watermelon may get overrun by tomatoes and strawberries. I put a lot of parts in there for compost. Now, there are about 100 plants springing up. Oops. No telling what I’ll get.
The cherry tomato and sweet million tomato seeds are doing good. I’ll have a couple more empty pots to put a few in which is good (early girl pots).
And the Jalapeno, Serrano pepper, Sweet Snacking Pepper and RYGO Bell pepper seeds harvested from last year’s crop are looking good.
The Sweet Million and Cherry Tomatoes may take over the deck. Oh well, the dogs often like tomatoes, too. 1 always the other is now ambivalent unless they’re cooked in with something else.
Glad you have the Internet back!
Here is a question for our gardeners:
I bought a bag of 24 Gladiolus bulbs.
Can I plant them now, or should i wait till Autumn?
I was poking around in the garden pot, which holds the lily bulbs. because there has been absolutely no sign of their growth. Discovered there were no bulbs at all and the soil very wet and soggy! Don’t remember removing the bulbs and had not seen signs of squirrel activity. Planted caladium bulbs earlier this week and can hardly wait for them to sprout. Purchased a patio tomato, Lil Napoleon. There are buds on the plant already and they seems to be in the tomato forming stage. Roses are going strong but this dam weather has resulted in black spot and will have to deal with that. Lettuce is the best I’ve every grown and I continually have a steady supply for salads. Pansies producing many blooms and I have a steady supply of small bouquets. All good.
Peas are up, asparagus is nearly finished; allium family is doing well.
Seeded our carrots, spinach, and squashes just in time for them to get over 2” of rain in the past week, which the weeds loved.
Apricots had very few blossoms; apparently they tried to bud during the early warm spell, before winter returned, and got frost bit. Cherry, early apples, plums (wild) are all in full bloom. The peach is also starting to bloom.
Daffies and tulips are in full bloom; a couple of fritillaries opened. The iris are covered with buds, as are the lilacs. The violets have been blooming since March.
I have been working on installed the underground watering lines to the raised beds in Barb’s garden. I have three of the four zones plumbed and pressure tested. Still need to finish hooking up the three GFCI outlets as well as completing the manifold.
I planted two pear trees in the garden area in two raised bed frames that I had salvaged from our RV site. Still want to add a couple more fruit trees...Barb’s choice.
Up at the RV for three days of rest, then, back at it. Barb is home planting her spectacular seedlings! Had an accident with her flat of peppers...they “jumped” off the island. Bummer.
We got some badly-needed rainfall here in Central Missouri over the weekend. Right at 2” by my rain gauge. We’re still ~3” behind for the year.
The rain kept me out of the garden for the most part. I did get out there between showers and put some seven dust on my cabbages to slow down the looper worm invasion.
I’ll need to do some weeding out there over the next few days to stay ahead of that.
I finally got Nanner’s hydraulic system put back together and got him out of my workshop. I need to put the firewalls back in the cab, and reinstall the curb-side cab door and then soon as it dries up I’ll be ready to work on the pumpkin patch and sunflower field.