We've been experiencing wild temperature swings plus chronic drought. Everything is ahead of my usual schedule, with several tomatoes and peppers set, and it's only June 10th. Should have ripe fruits by early July instead of August.
Scapes are fully formed on the Red Russian garlic and are just starting to form on the German Extra-Hardy. Bean and pea plants are thriving, newish rhubarb plants are doing better than any other variety I've tried, zucchini and yellow squash have germinated well, onions are a bit puny from lack of water, and not many butternuts sprouted (and I don't have more seed, but there are a bunch of volunteers that I think are butternuts, but could be cantalope or a hybrid of butternut and Kabocha). Oh, and we have strawberries. I'm not really enthusiastic about the variety. Not terribly flavorful.
The semi-feral cat, Clare, has taken to joining me in the garden, lounging in sunny spouts or chasing imaginary prey. She and the completely feral cat, Carl, have apparently been doing a good job at keeping the smaller critters out of the garden. Very little nibbling on anything, except what bugs do. The gypsy moths were bad this year. One pepper plant did get pulled up and the top eaten. I haven't figured out what might have done that.
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
Friday, May 8, 2015
Costs 2015
Johnny's seeds (onion plants, 27.25, Conservor shallot seeds 7.10, Sugar Ann pea seeds, shipping): $45.35
More seeds (dill, nasturtium): $2.83
Local nursery plants: $12.45
6 sugary grape tomatoes
6 JetStar tomatoes
12 Big Bertha peppers (no Ace available. Sigh.)
6 banana peppers
Different nursery:
4 purple beauty pepper plants: $2.99
Supplies
Manure: $18.46
Straw: $20 (estimate)
TOTAL: $99.25
More seeds (dill, nasturtium): $2.83
Local nursery plants: $12.45
6 sugary grape tomatoes
6 JetStar tomatoes
12 Big Bertha peppers (no Ace available. Sigh.)
6 banana peppers
Different nursery:
4 purple beauty pepper plants: $2.99
Supplies
Manure: $18.46
Straw: $20 (estimate)
TOTAL: $99.25
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Early planting 2015
After the coldest winter (and latest cold) in decades, we're now having a week of 80 degree temperatures in early May. I'm half tempted to go ahead and plant the tomatoes and peppers a good three weeks ahead of schedule, but it's probably not a good idea. I did throw some bean and zucchini seeds into the garden, figuring it would be ideal germination weather.
Also planted the shallot seeds (Conservor, 110 days to harvest, then sun cure for a week before removing tops; 250 seeds!) and Sugar Ann snap peas (less than 60 days to harvest). Weeded the strawberry bed (no idea what variety; they were a gift from my tenants), and noticed the first bloom.
The Crimson Red rhubarb is doing nicely. (Shhhhh, pretend I didn't say that. I'm afraid of jinxing them, given the bad luck I usually have with rhubarb.) And the asparagus is getting out of control. Must harvest it tomorrow when my co-gardeners will be home to eat it for dinner.
I need to make a list of the plants to get at the local nursery, and look up what I spent on stuff from Johnny's. Will be getting manure and straw later this week. What a glamorous life I lead!
Also planted the shallot seeds (Conservor, 110 days to harvest, then sun cure for a week before removing tops; 250 seeds!) and Sugar Ann snap peas (less than 60 days to harvest). Weeded the strawberry bed (no idea what variety; they were a gift from my tenants), and noticed the first bloom.
The Crimson Red rhubarb is doing nicely. (Shhhhh, pretend I didn't say that. I'm afraid of jinxing them, given the bad luck I usually have with rhubarb.) And the asparagus is getting out of control. Must harvest it tomorrow when my co-gardeners will be home to eat it for dinner.
I need to make a list of the plants to get at the local nursery, and look up what I spent on stuff from Johnny's. Will be getting manure and straw later this week. What a glamorous life I lead!
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Belated spring
It's late for the weather to just start to settle, and I've had the onion plants sitting in a box in a sink for the past week, but it's been either too wet or too cold (29 degrees the three nights before last night), which I wasn't sure the onions would survive.
But I planted 150 of them, plus about 25 tiny ones closely spaced for scallions. Much more manageable number than last year's 400+. I think the plants were smaller last year, so we got more to make up for the size.
The garlic is progressing nicely, including a row that's right were last year's crop grew. I must have missed a lot more of them during harvest than I'd realized. Fortunately, they're right on the edge of the bed, so I can plant the tomatoes and peppers around them.
I have shallot seeds, and I should plant them this week, but I've got too much on my agenda. They'll have to wait until Sunday or Monday.
Oh, and a few asparagus spears have popped up.
But I planted 150 of them, plus about 25 tiny ones closely spaced for scallions. Much more manageable number than last year's 400+. I think the plants were smaller last year, so we got more to make up for the size.
The garlic is progressing nicely, including a row that's right were last year's crop grew. I must have missed a lot more of them during harvest than I'd realized. Fortunately, they're right on the edge of the bed, so I can plant the tomatoes and peppers around them.
I have shallot seeds, and I should plant them this week, but I've got too much on my agenda. They'll have to wait until Sunday or Monday.
Oh, and a few asparagus spears have popped up.
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
Garlic planting for 2015
I'm late with the garlic planting this year by about a week, but the weather was so mild until recently, I was afraid the plants would grow too much and get killed off when winter arrived. Looks like that won't be an issue from this weekend on out.
Anyway, here's the count:
German Extra Hardy: 60+ cloves planted
Red Russian: 40+ (probably closer to 50, because I didn't count the little cloves between the larger ones)
Early variety (I think -- they're "rounds" rather than cloves): 15
Plus, too many to count of the bulbils from the Red Russian variety, in a strip that's pretty much solid manure (composted).
I still need to cover everything up with mulch, but I'll wait until the ground starts to freeze.
Anyway, here's the count:
German Extra Hardy: 60+ cloves planted
Red Russian: 40+ (probably closer to 50, because I didn't count the little cloves between the larger ones)
Early variety (I think -- they're "rounds" rather than cloves): 15
Plus, too many to count of the bulbils from the Red Russian variety, in a strip that's pretty much solid manure (composted).
I still need to cover everything up with mulch, but I'll wait until the ground starts to freeze.
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Harvest 2014
As expected, the onion crop, while numerous (around 350), consisted of small onions. Still over 300!
The cucumbers died off after producing only 4 or 5 fruits. Zucchini wasn't much better. All but one of the summer squash plants were puny, probably too much in the shade. The remaining one produced about 8 squash.
I froze about two gallons of green beans, and ate a good amount more.
The tomato crop was the best I've ever had. The cherry tomatoes, a variety known as "Sugary" and looking like grapes, not cherries, were prolific and flavorful. One of my neighbors, who generally doesn't like uncooked tomatoes, liked them. The Jetstars also did great (I lost count, at least 60), since we had a dry summer and no blight.
The kabocha produced 7 squash, only 1 or two per plant. I'm not sure how many butternut plants sprouted, but they produced 38 good-sized fruits, some of them HUGE.
I planted peas later than I'd intended, and there wasn't any rain and I was lazy and didn't water them, so only about 7 plants sprouted, and then I never harvested the half-dozen pods.
The pepper crop was pitiful. A combination of the dry summer, less than ideal location (not enough sun) and I'm not sure what else. Quite a few of the New Ace variety just upped and died. I couldn't see any reason for it, just a failure-to-thrive sort of thing. The yellow peppers had good flavor, but weren't particularly prolific, and tended to rot before they ripened fully. We just don't have a long enough, hot enough summer for the varieties that need to go past green. Got about a dozen yellow bells, 40 Ace and 42 bananas.
The swiss chard, at least until now (late October) was puny. Not sure why, except maybe the dry summer.
We had a few strawberries, and the plants sent out a lot of runners, so we should have more next year. They're filling in the herb bed, around the rhubarb.
The cucumbers died off after producing only 4 or 5 fruits. Zucchini wasn't much better. All but one of the summer squash plants were puny, probably too much in the shade. The remaining one produced about 8 squash.
I froze about two gallons of green beans, and ate a good amount more.
The tomato crop was the best I've ever had. The cherry tomatoes, a variety known as "Sugary" and looking like grapes, not cherries, were prolific and flavorful. One of my neighbors, who generally doesn't like uncooked tomatoes, liked them. The Jetstars also did great (I lost count, at least 60), since we had a dry summer and no blight.
The kabocha produced 7 squash, only 1 or two per plant. I'm not sure how many butternut plants sprouted, but they produced 38 good-sized fruits, some of them HUGE.
I planted peas later than I'd intended, and there wasn't any rain and I was lazy and didn't water them, so only about 7 plants sprouted, and then I never harvested the half-dozen pods.
The pepper crop was pitiful. A combination of the dry summer, less than ideal location (not enough sun) and I'm not sure what else. Quite a few of the New Ace variety just upped and died. I couldn't see any reason for it, just a failure-to-thrive sort of thing. The yellow peppers had good flavor, but weren't particularly prolific, and tended to rot before they ripened fully. We just don't have a long enough, hot enough summer for the varieties that need to go past green. Got about a dozen yellow bells, 40 Ace and 42 bananas.
The swiss chard, at least until now (late October) was puny. Not sure why, except maybe the dry summer.
We had a few strawberries, and the plants sent out a lot of runners, so we should have more next year. They're filling in the herb bed, around the rhubarb.
Friday, July 18, 2014
Harvest underway
The last of the garlic was harvested today. Haven't counted it up yet. Lots. I do know that I harvested more Red Russian than we planted, with two of the cloves splitting to form two heads each, one larger and one smaller. So we started with 6 cloves and ended up with 8 heads! Originally, I thought one of the cloves hadn't survived the winter, but all 6 did survive and thrive.
The 400 onions are going to be on the small side, thanks to a two-week drought right as they were maturing, plus the too-tight planting and some lapses in weeding toward the end. Also, just in the last couple days, it appears that bunnies have been nibbling on the onion greens. I harvested about 40 onions today (mostly to get them out of the way of the encroaching squash vines), and about 15 were medium-sized, and 25 were small. The ratio will improve with more medium-sized ones overall, but there won't be more than one or two large ones. Still: 400 onions!
The green beans are peaking now, and I just harvested a colander full of them. The plan is to blanch and freeze them, since I won't have time to eat them all before I leave town for a week. I like this variety. Plants are just the right size and reasonably e asy to harvest, not too close to the ground. I have them supported slightly by abandoned political signs' stakes. The metal kind, sort of H shaped.
The butternut and kabocha squashes are going berserk, thanks to the drenching rain we had a couple days ago. At least a couple kabocha fruits have set, while the butternuts are still intent on growing the vines. The timing for the plants in the garlic bed was perfect, with the last of the garlic coming out today, but perhaps a week or two too soon for the onions, which could use another week or two in the ground or drying on top of the ground, without being covered by the vines. Yellow squash is slow this year, so we're just now seeing some flowers and no set fruit. Two yellow zucchini, though, to be made into zucchini bread on Monday. I want to make bread & butter pickles with later-season zucchini.
The cucumber vines are also doing nicely. Some small fruits are set. They're growing up tomato cages. I'm hoping that will help them avoid the wilting virus that usually ends the season too soon.
Cherry tomatoes are starting to ripen. Good number of green tomatoes on the JetStar plants. Unless we have a late first frost, the pepper harvest may not be particularly good. I've had some small peppers, mostly to encourage additional fruits to set, but the drought set them back too. A couple plants died, although it appeared to be for reasons other than the drought. Not sure what, but they were just sickly. The banana peppers are producing nicely, though. Probably have quite a few when I return from vacation.
Swiss chard is still small, but promising much bigger harvests in the fall. I've had about half a dozen leaves so far. Someone suggested eating the stalks raw, sort of like celery. I tried it, and was not enthusiastic about it. I'll stick to the leaves. It's not like I'm wasting the stems. They get composted.
The 400 onions are going to be on the small side, thanks to a two-week drought right as they were maturing, plus the too-tight planting and some lapses in weeding toward the end. Also, just in the last couple days, it appears that bunnies have been nibbling on the onion greens. I harvested about 40 onions today (mostly to get them out of the way of the encroaching squash vines), and about 15 were medium-sized, and 25 were small. The ratio will improve with more medium-sized ones overall, but there won't be more than one or two large ones. Still: 400 onions!
The green beans are peaking now, and I just harvested a colander full of them. The plan is to blanch and freeze them, since I won't have time to eat them all before I leave town for a week. I like this variety. Plants are just the right size and reasonably e asy to harvest, not too close to the ground. I have them supported slightly by abandoned political signs' stakes. The metal kind, sort of H shaped.
The butternut and kabocha squashes are going berserk, thanks to the drenching rain we had a couple days ago. At least a couple kabocha fruits have set, while the butternuts are still intent on growing the vines. The timing for the plants in the garlic bed was perfect, with the last of the garlic coming out today, but perhaps a week or two too soon for the onions, which could use another week or two in the ground or drying on top of the ground, without being covered by the vines. Yellow squash is slow this year, so we're just now seeing some flowers and no set fruit. Two yellow zucchini, though, to be made into zucchini bread on Monday. I want to make bread & butter pickles with later-season zucchini.
The cucumber vines are also doing nicely. Some small fruits are set. They're growing up tomato cages. I'm hoping that will help them avoid the wilting virus that usually ends the season too soon.
Cherry tomatoes are starting to ripen. Good number of green tomatoes on the JetStar plants. Unless we have a late first frost, the pepper harvest may not be particularly good. I've had some small peppers, mostly to encourage additional fruits to set, but the drought set them back too. A couple plants died, although it appeared to be for reasons other than the drought. Not sure what, but they were just sickly. The banana peppers are producing nicely, though. Probably have quite a few when I return from vacation.
Swiss chard is still small, but promising much bigger harvests in the fall. I've had about half a dozen leaves so far. Someone suggested eating the stalks raw, sort of like celery. I tried it, and was not enthusiastic about it. I'll stick to the leaves. It's not like I'm wasting the stems. They get composted.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)