It’s July!

by Garden-Wellington

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted, and we’ve been busy! We have experienced a great deal of rain, which has been wonderful for the garden (except for a couple of hailstorms, see below). We are discovering a few things which we will do differently next year, but overall, the garden is coming along nicely.


We installed soaker hoses on timers all throughout the garden, but have rarely used them because of all the rain. When it is not raining, they are doing great.

We have been eating our lettuces, spinach, endive, radishes, scallions, basil, thyme, cilantro & oregano, a couple of jalapenos, lots of kale, and our first broccoli (and boy, was it good–way better than from the grocery store!). The kale is amazing. If I don’t pick it frequently it gets big and there’s way more than enough to eat. I’ve been giving it away, along with our lettuces. I blanched and froze my first batch of spinach, and need to get going on that project with the kale.

Most things are doing very well. I’m looking forward to having ripe tomatoes! The first summer squashes will be ready soon. My first snow peas have come out and we may have enough for dinner.

The bush beans have not done well at all. I replanted seeds about three times, and each time only a couple of them sprouted. I’m not sure what’s wrong, except that it may have been too cool and wet for them.

We have one red strawberry, about ready to pick, but for the most part the strawberries I planted (from roots) haven’t done well. Of the 36 plants started, only 5 or 6 of them have grown. I’m thinking I will buy a few plants to put in so that they have a chance to be established for next year.

The peppers have suffered from the hail damage, but there are peppers growing on a few of the plants. I’m hopeful that more will grow. Perhaps next year I will plan ahead by keeping them under cover for protection from the hail and the colder nights we had earlier on.

The tomato plants are huge. Our first cherry tomato is almost red. I’m confused about the things I’ve read regarding pruning. For the most part I’ve tried to prune the suckers off the indeterminate tomatoes as indicated in several resources, but I’m not sure why. I thought that the suckers would not produce fruit, but when allowed to grow, they do. Perhaps the reason is just to get better, bigger fruit from the main stem. I find that if I don’t watch very closely, those suckers grow quickly and I’ve found large branches that started as suckers. In some cases I’ve cut them off, in other cases I’ve let them grow. Later, I will determine which plants do better–the ones with suckers pruned or the ones with them growing. I’m sure I wouldn’t want ALL the suckers to grow. The roma bush (determinite) tomatoes have not been pruned, as suggested, and are huge and bushy. For this first year, it surely is experimental, and I will learn a lot. The tomatoes we planted in the upside-down planters are growing, but I shouldn’t have put two plants in each one, as suggested on the instructions. I think they are getting root bound. We also placed them to close the the edge under the porch, and the rain water from the roof seems to have damaged them. We have since moved them back for protection.

Writing in this blog is beginning to be wearisome, but I want to do it for my own reference, even if few are reading! I’m just antsy sitting here typing when I know I have plenty of other things to do! Hopefully I will post more info and pictures later.

Fungus Is Gone

by Garden-Wellington

After battling the fungus (see June 6), I removed the hay mulching I’d had around all the beds to keep the moisture in. It may or may not have caused the fungus, but whether the fungus came from the hay or not, it was keeping it moist and dark, with all the rain. After removing the hay mulch, the sides were able to dry out and for the most part the fungus is gone. Occasionally I find a little here or there, but I think I’ve tackled it!


I took a photo and a sample to a couple of nurseries, and they didn’t know what it was either. The best guess is that it may have come from the wood chips we used in the pathways. One of the people at the nursery thought it looked typical of a tree fungus. We got them from some felled trees in town, so I suppose it’s possible. (Next time we get free wood chips do we need to bleach them???)

Rain, Hail, Cool Weather

by Garden-Wellington

We had more hail yesterday.  I ran out and covered the pepper plants with chairs and stools from the porch, and they don’t look any worse for the wear.  They still have holes in their leaves from the last hailstorm.  This time there’s a few holes in the spinach leaves and broccoli, but everything else looks like it survived. 


The other day we ate kale for dinner!  I put some curly endive in our salad, too. I’ve also been using oregano and basil, and I plan to have a spinach salad soon. Oh, boy…we’re beginning to reap the harvest.  Can’t wait to have more.  There’s a few little tomatoes, but I haven’t seen many–so far they are small and green and hard to find.  I think it’s been too cool for them to do real well.

It’s been cool and wet a lot.  Tim is getting the soaker hoses set up, but we haven’t really needed them.  There’s been enough rain and the ground is so saturated already, we can’t really test them out before our trip to see how long to run them.  I guess we’ll just have to give it a best guess and hope for the best.

What is this Fungus?

by Garden-Wellington


What is this??? This icky fungus is growing around the edges of some of the beds. The bottom, on the soil, is mushy, and the top of it is kind of leathery. It’s starting on the edges of the beds that were done first, so I’m wondering if in time it will show up around the others. So far it’s just on the edges, underneath the hay mulch that is there to keep the moisture in. It’s been very wet–Perhaps if we remove the mulch and expose it to the sun the fungus won’t grow? I’ve looked around a bit on the web for photos of various fungi but haven’t yet seen anything similar. I’ve started removing it, but I’m sure more will grow. I hope it isn’t damaging.


I’ve also found some beetly bugs around, and don’t know for sure what they are. After searching a bit I think it’s a “bumble flower beetle” and not too very harmful, but if I find them or their larvae around I’ll pick them off and get rid of them.

Hail!

by Garden-Wellington

Oh, no!  It hailed today.  It started out as quite a downpour of water, and I was a bit concerned that it might hail….later on my fears came true.  The hail was pea-sized.  The only real damage I’ve seen so far is some of the leaves on the peppers were pretty badly beaten.  The basil was a bit sad looking and a few marks on some tomato leaves.  All in all, I guess things turned out ok.  At least we didn’t have ripe fruit being bombarded.


I picked some basil tonight, walked in and put it right onto our pizza!  Whoopie…our first produce eaten.

Work in the Garden

by Garden-Wellington

This morning I doused all the plants with “manure tea”, with thanks to my helper on the other side of the fence.  I pruned the suckers off the tomatoes and planted some more marigold seeds.  








 

The broccoli is noticeably bigger, and so are the kale plants.  The brussels sprout seeds have sprouted.  The leeks & celery look good.  I think there are buds on the watermelon plants.








On inspection, we’ve seen a couple of asparagas shoots begin to appear, which is a relief, because we were beginning to wonder if they’d ever sprout.  There is also some life on some of the strawberry plants, which were both planted as roots. 






I got a shot of curly endive, too–reminds me of a chia pet or a green ‘fro.

Rooftop Garden Shots

by Garden-Wellington

Here are some shots Tim took of the garden from the rooftop. The first from above the garage looking down, and another from the barn roof looking at the entire yard–the only thing not seen is the “three sisters” over on the northwest corner behind the porch.


The green stuff all across the middle is weeds.  We’ll be working on that area later, to prepare it for planting & crop rotation next spring.

Here’s How it Looks

by Garden-Wellington

Photos taken yesterday & today, in the rain.  In a few weeks I should do a similar set for comparison!

Tier 1

Peas (snow and sugar), cucumbers (lemon and japanese burpless), radishes, rutabegas (6 of them), calendula






Tier 2
Peppers, onions, garlic (coming)







Tier 3 
Trellis (left): Tomatoes (Indeterminites: Brandywine & Sugar Sweetie), Basil & Cilantro
Herb Triangle: Chives, oregano, thyme, chamomile, parsley, lavender, sage
Tier 3 (right): Tomatoes (Determinite Roma, Ace), celery, leeks, scallions, bee balm

Tier 4, Part 1 & 2
Left: Broccoli, Kale, Brussels Sprouts, radish, carrots, onions, garlic, lavender, thyme
Right: Lettuce, spinach, endive, mesclun varieties, onions, calendula, bush beans (edamame & tavera), marigolds


Tier 4, Part 3 & 4

Upper: Summer squash & nasturtium
Lower: Watermelon & nasturtium






Tier 4, Part 5
Strawberries, spinach, borage







Three Sisters 
Corn, beans, winter squash, bee balm







Southwest Corner
Asparagas, parsley, tomatoes, basil, bee balm, calendula, ginger

Three Sisters

by Garden-Wellington

Tim completed the bed for the Three Sisters (corn, pole beans, squash), and I planted it this morning before it began to rain.  We have found a few different suggestions about how to plant this combination, so we’re experimenting with a few different options.


One book suggests planting 4 corn seeds in a hole, then after the corn has grown a couple of weeks, plant a few bean seeds around the corn.  He doesn’t say how big of a hole, or how close together these corn seeds should be.  The soil blocker material had suggested that it is ok to plant 4 corn seeds together in one soil block (and plant them that way), so we are combining these methods by planting the soil blocks already growing, and bean seeds around.  Two (4 per block) we planted in holes about 10″ in diameter with 4 bean seeds planted around the corn.  One hole we left a couple of inches to be filled in later, as the corn & beans grow.  The other hole we filled in now.  I had started two more soil blocks with 2 corn seeds each, so we put these two soil blocks together in another hole with the bean seeds around.

Another book suggests a hole about a foot in diameter, with 4 corn seeds planted about 8″ apart. This hole should be filled in later.  We did two holes this way, and will plant the bean seeds after the corn is a couple of inches tall.

Another book suggest planting 6 corn seeds in a circle, 24″ diameter, with each seed 12″ apart, one in the middle.  The book also suggests planting corn seeds in a trench (when planting in rows), to be filled in  as the corn grows, to give it extra support, particularly in windy areas.  I combined these two methods to make a circular trench to plant the 6 corn seeds, and a hole in the middle.  It looks like a donut.  Later, we’ll plant the bean seeds somewhere around the corn.

All methods mention planting winter squash around the corn, to shield the soil from the sun to keep the moisture in, and also to keep animals out of the corn & beans.  I had started 4 butternut and 4 acorn squash in blocks.  This is too many for the area, but I planted them all anyway, in case some don’t make it.  I can always kill a couple later if I have to.

The fourth sister is bee plant (Rocky Mountain Bee Plant, as planted by the Anasazi indians) or bee balm.  I started plenty of bee balm and planted four of those around the corn.  I have some seeds planted in blocks for the RM Bee Plant, but they haven’t sprouted yet.

The $64 Tomato

by Garden-Wellington

I got a book from the library I’ve just begun to read: “The $64 Tomato” by William Alexander. Just the premise of the book sounds funny!  After all that this guy went through to plant his garden, he estimates that each tomato he brings in cost him $64.  I fear that will be the cost of ours this year!


This morning I am a little afraid to go outside and see what the wind did to the garden last night as I heard it whipping through…I’ll be brave, I’ll do it, I’ll take whatever comes.

We are sure seeing how much the agrarian societies must learn to take what comes and depend on God to grow their crops.  It’s good being connected to the land.  And, it’s amazing to think of these little seeds that somehow grow quickly into so many different plants–vegetables, fruits, flowers and all.  Very incredible!  How can anyone not believe that God created this?  

We are sure having fun with all of this, we know that it is an investment for the future, and in years to come we will enjoy all the work and investment we’ve done this year, which won’t need to be re-done.  We know we are doing “good work” and that is very satisfying.