Garden Update for June the 22nd

It’s generally right about now, just after the first day of summer that my garden begins to get a little out of control. I have vegetables growing all over the place, in between the ever persistent weeds that always seem to grow faster than anything else. But, this year, I have decided not to get up tight about it and have elected to tolerate a less than perfect garden.

This year I’ve had some successes and some not so great successes to report on. One big plus has been the onion sets I planted in the early spring. They have done marvelous and are near their time of harvest. They are of a white onion variety and I plan to use every bit of them up in salads and on hamburgers as the season progresses.

Another real winner was the romaine lettuce. I’ve been able to harvest some continuously right from the first of the year via the cold frames that were sown with seed the previous fall. Now in the heat of summer, I will be attempting to grow more under a shade cloth. That attempt will be presented in a future video on YouTube.

Now, turning to the not so good. That would be the tomatoes. My eight plants have may one or two little tomatoes on them at this time. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong either. I have some in pots and some in the ground. Perhaps it is the soil or maybe, more likely, the gardener that is at fault. Also, the potatoes were an overall failure due to an ant invasion that basically killed the above ground vegetation. I tore out this area earlier today and was surprised to find eight potatoes that look pretty decent. I’ll report further on these in a later report.

My peppers and crop of dried beans are in the fair to OK range. I have already harvested a few banana type peppers with more on the way. I also have a cucumber vine that, while impressive in size, has not produced a single cucumber. Not sure what’s going on with that guy. That’s the thing about gardening. You never know what kind of year you are going to have. There will be surprises and then some disappointments a long the way. Sort of like life.

Garden Update for June 12, 2010

Garlic Bulb Transplants

Of the two garlic starts I moved into the raised beds earlier this spring, I went out to find that the tops of one had died. So, I dug it up to see if the single clove had produced new ones. And low and behold, even though they are quite small there three or more cloves! Way cool. I’m going to let this bulb dry a bit before I attempt to separate the cloves. I can tell you this little dude is really potent. After handling the bulb, my hands smell of garlic. The bulb itself weighed in at 13 grams.

Onions Update

The onions that were started as sets continue to bulb up, but not as much as I would like. Right now most of the onions are less than three inches in diameter. I have the plants perhaps too close together and the soil is not of the best quality for this kind of plant. In any case, I will have a good supply to go to should I run out of the store brought.

Potted Kentucky Pole Beans Suffering

The Kentucky pole beans I started in a long tray just have not done very well. I used a potting mix but am beginning to think that since there are no nitrogen fixing bacteria present in this artificial soil that perhaps that is affecting growth. I also noticed that the roots were matted down at the bottom of the tray. So, I went ahead and moved them over to a section of raised bed that was formerly the home of a large overgrown parsley plant. I’ll see how they do in the new home.

Potato Blues

Both my plantings of potatoes have been attacked by ants!. Some of them are even dying at this point and I suspect the ants have decided to set up a colony in both these locations. I tried a soap solution, but that had limited effect. Also, there are Japanese beetles now in increasing numbers. I’ve killed at least twenty in just the past two days.

My Garden Update for May 2010

Wow, how quick a month can go by. That’s especially true this time of year when things are growing and the sun is shining. (Just the opposite of the wintertime when the days seem to drag on forever).  The rains this month have been plentiful at over six and a half inches and the combination of warm days and cool nights have just been perfect for my lettuce crops! I’ve had fresh salads all spring with only a few trips to the market for iceberg lettuce that has been costing $1.50 a head! Likewise my radish sowings have been prolific as was a parsley plant left over from the previous season. So, I am very thankful.

Now, in the waning days of the month, I have a good number of other plants coming on. Most notably were the Great Northern Beans I wrote about in earlier blogs. These now have little bean pods on them and I’m not sure if I am supposed to eat them at this stage or let them mature into the dry variety I am familiar with. Hmm, think I’ll pick a few and find out for myself.

I also have a really nice crop of carrots coming up at this time (picture about right). They have been a ‘surprise’ crop ever since last year when I found that they are quite happy to stay in the ground until I need them. And so, I had a source of the most wonderful veggie all fall and on into winter. They truly are a sow and forget crop.

My onions have now begun to bulb up and while they never get all that big, they sure are a welcome addition to my kitchen as I use onions in salads, sandwiches and soups all year long. I think I have about fifty plants right now which may not sound like much, but that will be more than enough to satisfy my needs for the summer and even into part of the fall.

The tomato plants of which I have planted two varieties (Brandywine and Better Boy) are just now getting to be about a foot tall. The Brandywines were purchased as starts while the Better Boys were grown from seed. Like wise I have a good selection of mild and hot green peppers including Long Red Cayenne and California Wonder peppers. The starts are all doing nicely while those grown by me from seed are pretty small at this stage. I’ve found, however, that by the time August and September arrive they have generally caught up. Now the only thing I have to worry about (other than insects) will be the deer who also love to munch on the peppers and tomatoes. To that end, I have planted some of each in different locations in an effort to fool them. Time will tell.

March 2010 Garden update

Here it is still the middle of March (the 18^th) and my raised beds are in full swing. (Do you think I’m trying to rush things a bit)? But, I’m not really. The soil in my beds which is now over eight years old is in very good tilth as they say. Even though there is moisture present, I can still pretty much work it with my bare hands. Even the earthworms are up and about! Like them, I got my hands dirty running them through the loose friable loam that is guaranteed to perk up even the stodgiest old cougher like myself. The last week has been very overcast, cool and damp (read as depressing) which was just perfect for the lettuce and radish seeds that were planted out earlier but not so good on the emotions index. When I checked them early today they were gamely poking up out of the soil raring to go. The sun, which was out in full force today, didn’t hurt either. So, seed packets in hand, I went ahead an planted four square feet with bush beans each spaced about 5 inches apart. Sown in between were radish seeds that will act as markers (and reminders) that something is planted in that spot. The radish seed of choice for me is Cherry Belle. It’s available in a packet for under a dollar at Garden Centers like Home Depot in Branson Missouri. The bush beans were from last season and my feeling is if they succumb to a late frost then I’ll just replant. Sometimes I get lucky. What can I say?

After managing to get some bean seeds into the dirt, I went ahead and repaired a section of lumber that had rotted over the course of a few seasons. I’m using boards I’ve found after a recent flood rather than going out to purchase new. They’re free and I’m recycling after a fashion. I replaced about six linear feet this time and still need to replace a four foot section on the end. During one of my hikes in the woods by the rivers edge, I’ll keep an eye out for something that will work. It just kills me to use fresh lumber what with the cost they run these days and all. If I run out of used wood, I’m thinking of switch to rocks and stones which are plentiful along the river down here in southwest Missouri. It’ll be hard work, but since when is that a bad thing? (One of the benefits of a raised bed that has stone walls is the ability of the sun to heat the stone during the early days of spring and then, once the sun has gone down, keep the soil warm for a good period of the evening hours).

So, right now I have the following plants either seeded or growing actively out back; romaine lettuce, potatoes, chives, parsley, bush beans, onions and carrots (from last season). That’s a pretty durn good start for the year by my way of thinking. Inside, I have a tray of peppers and lettuce that was just seeded along with a small plastic pot that will contain early basil. In the front mini-cold frames, I have lettuce both that is growing and lettuce that is being harvested. Earlier this morning, I dug up some carrots from the bed and they will be steamed this evening as part of my dinner. That, my friends, has gone a long way towards making me feel better. Now, for tomorrow, I hope to get the lawn mower in shape for the season of grass cutting that lies ahead. Not as much fun as playing in the dirt, but you have to take the good with the bad, I guess.

June Garden Report