Sunday, August 5, 2012

photos of the veggies

 I've taken pictures and uploaded, but just haven't been able to blog.

This is another year of squash bugs.  *sigh*  None next year, I'll starve them.

Indigo Rose tomato looks real nice.  I've had one turn color underneath, to red.  It was tasty.  I wish they'd ripen sooner.

There have been 2 lemon boys, and some cherry tomatoes, but I'd really like more by now!  Adding gypsum around them has saved the plum tomatoes from blossom end rot.  One speckeled roman that I didn't get had it, but the rest did not.



The cabbages are not heading, but they are in the inlaws.

We're getting lots of cukes. The cucumber beetles seem down a bit; maybe the DE dusting is helping.

Peas are done.  It's time to turn it in & cover and plant a fall crop.




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Saturday, August 4, 2012

August garden fun!

We just realized that it has been a while since we posted. The garden is in full bloom, although we are definitely being attacked by the squash bugs. Next year, we are not growing the plants that they love. We will do all of our squash at an off site location which doesn't seem to be under attack.

We have lost the zucchini plants, and the trombosino is under attack. There were too many bugs, eggs, and  mites to fight the battle this morning and the very hot and humid conditions made it too hard to wage that war.  Our daughter did all that she could to squash the squash bugs with her shoes, but it just isn't enough. This is the time of year when I question whether being organic is the best choice as it is so frustrating to watch the garden that you have labored over suddenly disappear before your eyes.

We choose "organic" and will change our growing plans for next year.  I believe you should grow what works and try not to fight mother nature. I am surprised we didn't figure this out sooner.

Today, we had a lovely garden breakfast. We picked tomatoes, cucumbers, fairytale eggplant, hot peppers, trombosino (one of the few that we still have left), and radishes....... We ate outside and had a great time!




Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Harvest begins

No pictures, but's it's been too long.

Squash bugs - I've got 'em.  I've been squshing eggs, bugs and dusting with dichotomous earth.  Some mites hatched and I sprayed insecticidal soap.  Tomorrow, after the rain, more DE on all the squash.

We've picked the 1st zucchini.  There's another on the way.  We only have 2 plants and that's where the squash bugs are.

We have trombocini squash, about 5 plants.  There's bugs there too, but they have some resistance.

2 buttercup squash.  No bugs yet.

Melons are looking good.  I've seen 2 fruit.

Tomatos.  Lots of greens and lots of flowers.  Nothing quite ripe, but I suspect I'll pick one this weekend.  The indigo are really dark with lots of clusters of saladette tomatos.

Eggplant continues to look awesome.  I picked 2 of the green apple.  Lots of fairy tail ready.  And a few black beauty starting.

Peas are still arriving.  I'd like lots more, but they're tasty.  Maybe I should plan a fall crop.

Northeast snap beans are really starting to produce.  I picked a double handful tonight.  I think I like the romano beans, but these are good too.  Not as wide, but lots longer.

Jalepeno and ancho peppers are coming.  Celery is recovering from rabbit munching.

Potato are doing well too.

Monday, July 2, 2012


sugar snap peas

indigo tomato
 We're starting to pick peas.  The rabbits missed enough so they grew past what part they'd eat.


The indigo tomato is interesting.  It's a whiteish green at 1st, but quickly turns almost black, like someone poured paint on it.  Some of the other tomatos have green fruit, but I think we'll be some of these saladette tomatoes before anything else.

Things are starting to come in.  I saw squash bug eggs under one of the trombocino squash leaves.   I used my new duster to spread diatomatious earth around the cucurbits.  I also saw some holes in leaves that are slugs.  I've seen them anyways.  The DE will help with those and the cucumber beetles.


dusted


Sunday, June 24, 2012

Peas have arrived

This is from 6/16.  Today, 6/24, my daughter & I picked 10-12 pods.  4 were from this plant.

More Pictures


From 6/10/2012
 From 6/16

 These flowers have bloomed from 1-2 blossoms.  My daughter has been deadheading them.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

The spreadsheet

I started a spreadsheet to track things in the garden.

Today, I got my son to help.  As you can see in the spreadsheet, we seeded a row with Watermelon and Honeydew, a row of butternut squash, a row of pumpkin and a row of buttercup squash.


Friday, June 1, 2012

Everything transplanted

Trombocino Squash

24 Fairy Tale Eggplant

At the end of the row, you can make out a trombocino squash from a transplant.  It's shot up since transplanting it monday.  I thought squash were always unhappy about transplanting.  In the foreground is one of the flowers my daughter planted.

Monday I planted our 12 tomatoes from Verrill Farm for varieties I decided not to grow from seed.  It's hard to keep track of 1 or 2 of a plant among 15.  You can see them on the left of the eggplant.  
Melon
Peas and Beans


Cukes

8 Zucchini
I've got strings trailing into the beans and peas to train them up the trellis.  I'm planning at least one more row of beans next to the melon.

Wednesday, my daughter and a neighbor friend put the Zucchini seeds in.

Memorial weekend planting

The hardening off wasn't working quite so well. The plants were not happy.

However, it's time to get them in the ground. The eggplant was just right to go in. My 5 yr old put over 1/2 of them in. I have 24 fairy tale, 8-10 black, 8-10 green apple.

Tomatoes: Striped Roman, Volkov and Indigo.
Cukes: Little Leaf pickling
Trombocino squash.
Chantaruse melon
Cabbage (all 6 by my daugher). Jalepeno peppers.

I staked 2 rows of tomatoes with a florida weave. Next year, I have to work on not being so leggy.
I have 10-12 more tomatoes at Verrill Farm to go in another row.

Next is direct seeding and row for the cukes.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Northeast snap beans

Tonight, my daughter and I planted 15 northeastern snap beans (pole) behind the row of celery. I also put up trellises and added some new string to the trellises.

Sunday in the garden

 Today was for my garden. 2 plots, 11 rows each. I had 1/4" water in the left. In the right, I'm switching to 1/2" dripline. The 1/4 has a limit of 20' per run with a total of 200'. My rows are 20-22'. The 1/2 has a 33' limit with 400' total.


1st thing I did was put the plastic on the left. I already have peas, so I can't do that row. I've overlapped the plastic and I'll have a narrow walkway I'll put 2' wide landscape cloth.

I'm leaving the 11th row for zuccini or cabbage. I saw an interesting technique on covering them with a tent of row cover until they're mature.

Then it was time for the right side. 1/2" drip is easier to put in. I covered the rows with plastic.

Time to test the water. Starting at the faucet were leaks. The anti-backsiphon leaked alot. Stripped plastic threads. Luckily, I had bought an extra. The valve, filter and pressure reduced were fine. The from hose thread to 1/2" leaked lots. I tried a few things, but using 2 hose washers seemed to do the trick. Finally, the 1/2" hose kinked. 3 elbows and some short sections of tubing cured that.

Now that the supply was all set and it was time to check the garden for leaks. The 1/4" had a cut line, easily fixed. The 1/2" had a cut section between rows, a hole between a tee and valve for a row and the end caps on each row needed to be secure. I think the 1/2" is easier to fix.

Everything now gets water. I put down some landscape cloth, folding it in half. I put staples at the end, then a section of strapping held down with 2 pieces of rebar with a hook. That will keep the wind from getting under it.

I got some of the lifetime cloth too. It's 6' wide, but I'm cutting it into 2' lengths. It's certainly easier to laydown, but it takes time to cut. We'll see.

Finally, with all that, my wife has been telling me to plant the celery. I planted 1/2 of the transplants she got. 18. The rest will go to the in-law garden.

The only thing left for the in-law are tomatos and eggplant. I have 60 of each. That should be more than enough for both of us with lots to give away. I've been slow on hardening them off do to the rain, but when that gets done, I'll plant them.



Sunday, May 20, 2012

Saturday

 Saturday was timd weedsto plant for my father-in-law. He has 2 plots, but we're only going to do the front one this year. I didn't do my system at all in the front last year and weeds so overwhelmed the favas and potatoes that he had someone cut everything down!

Anyway, I have 7 rows and potatoes got planted in #7. I used the seed stick to plant squash, pumpkin, watermelon, fennel, radichio and cucumber.

I'll be bringing celery next week sometime.

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Weed Control

Today, I put some scrap wood I had down around the fence.  It'll be easier to mow.  On the inside, I'm putting cardboard. 












In the next picture you can see where I've started the water setup for this year.  I just finished hooking up the valves to the mainlines too.









In the last picture you can see the peas starting to come up.



Saturday, April 14, 2012

Mounding up

It's time to get the rows mounded up, layout the water lines and cover with plastic.
I'm moving the water supply from the inside to around the outside and tied up to the fence.  It will be out the way of the rototiller and I can leave it ll winter.
Monday, I planted the fruit trees.  Next to the nectarine is a Liberty dwarf apple, then Clapp's Favorite pear, then  another Liberty then a Magness pear.
My son helped me out today.  We picked out some flowers for my daughter, and he planted them @ the end of each row.  Pink pansies and red saliva.


Saturday, April 7, 2012

Kids in the garden

My daughter and the boy next door were making "Volcanos" in the garden.  Mounds of dirt with an opening in he middle.  Then they'd get water and fill it up, maybe adding a worm or some rocks.

I put in a row where they were not erupting for peas while they played.  With two furrows in the row, I called them over.  I gave each a handful of peas and showed them where to put them.  The boy said "Can we eat these peas?".  Well, they're organic and uncoated.  "Sure", I said and all 3 of us popped a dry pea in our mouths.  Just like a split pea.  He asked where he could get one.  "Any grocery store or hardware store or garden store will have seed packets."

They went back to their Volcanos as I covered the peas with dirt.  When he was called home for dinner, I remembered another packet I had and gave them to take home.  He was excited to take them home.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

2012 begins

Seeds have been ordered and he planning begun. I've ordered 2 dwarf Liberty apple trees, a Bartlett pear and a Clapp's Favorite pear to plant. As part of that, I'll take down the nectarine. 1 fruit in 4 years and it caught a disease last year. In the fall, hurricane Irene tipped it over. I was able to prop it back up, but I thin it's time. I rototilled the garden, putting in manure and hi cal limestone. The fence is going to be higher, around 5 feet. I'm going to put deer netting above that, to annoy the woodchucks so they won't come in. Outside the fence, close to the house, I tilled up a small area for "The Woodchuck Garden". I'll be putting squashes (they seem to be favored) in with the hope they'll go there instead of inside the fence. It's in BB gun range too. Speaking of pests, I figured out that squash bugs do not like Diatamacious Earth<\b>. I have some and a duster. I'll have them safely under control this year. Being optimistic, I'm planning on more squashes. I've done Watham Butternut and Trombocini because they're resistant, but I'll be adding others, maybe a pumpkin this year. We had a few watermelon and muskmelon last year. I'm going to have more melon this year.