Barely got any work done on the poor half-dug up sod. Part of me wants to say, "Eff it" to the idea of getting in a cover crop this fall and just build the beds and do sheet composting over the existing sod. Of course, I'd still feel like I would need to double dig in the spring because I'm really curious to try to French Intensive methods. :/ That and trying to get enough materials to compost down to 6" beds by spring makes me itchy. That's a LOT of stuff. I figure it would have to be at least 12" high if not closer to 24
In other gardening news, I've pulled up the tomato plants. I have a couple of pounds of green tomatoes ripening in the kitchen window right now. I was hoping to wait until this coming weekend, but the weather took a serious turn for the worse. I harvested Molly the Eggplant as well. I've got about a pound of tiny, thin eggplants from her. Not sure what to do with it yet. Rescued the rainbow pepper plant and am just going to keep it inside for the winter. I'm worried that my lime and lemon tree are going to drown.
Showing posts with label fall garden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fall garden. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Garden update
I feel like things are a bit more under control now that I spent some time weeding and inspecting the garden. In happy news, there are 3 peppers on the Anaheim plant. One of them is about 5" long. It just blended in too well with the stem and leaves. So, we might get some Anaheim peppers.
Went to the garden store to buy some anifungal stuff for the zucchini plant. I'm losing the battle with the powdery wilt. Fruit is forming, but it gets kinda groddy lookin' at the ends. The master gardener told me it was a lost cause. I need to just pull it. I'm being stubborn and won't . It keeps growing and flowering and I keep having hope. I'll give myself an early September date to give up hope and figure out what can go in there for fall/winter.
I ended up buying an enormous basil plant at the store. Yeah, the season is almost over and we haven't had nearly enough basil. Most of it stayed stunted. I'll nurse this for another month or so and make as much pesto to freeze as possible. The sad fact is, there is never enough basil for me to ever be satisfied. I really need at least 10 plants or so. I could do without many herbs (gads, I hope not)--but I cannot live without copious amounts of basil, sage, and rosemary. I'm known to run my hands through basil or even better-rosemary--and run my hands through my hair so I can smell it all day.
I also cheated and bought a 4 pack of brussel sprouts. It's too late for me to start it from seed again and while I had just given up on the idea entirely this morning--when I saw them--I knew I just had to do it. It is "Oliver" and the fastest growing--only 85 days until harvest. I'm less bummed about the Rubine sprouts that I wanted to grow from seed. I found out that they aren't as productive as the green sprouts. So, hopefully I might eat some sprouts this winter!
Still need to start some fall seeds. Some of the rutabega, turnips, and carrots haven't come up. Might as well start them in the propagator.
Er...I forgot what else I was going to write.
Off to luxuriate in bath with my new bar of goat's milk soap. I am not the type to buy a tiny bar of soap for $4 and usually wouldn't. I'm making the excuse for THIS bar of soap because, well, it's obvious. It's goat's milk. And I need every reason I can find on WHY I need a pair of goats to have my life fulfilled. Really, AwesomeHusband should use the soap as he's the person cockblocking the fulfillment of my desires about livestock.
Went to the garden store to buy some anifungal stuff for the zucchini plant. I'm losing the battle with the powdery wilt. Fruit is forming, but it gets kinda groddy lookin' at the ends. The master gardener told me it was a lost cause. I need to just pull it. I'm being stubborn and won't . It keeps growing and flowering and I keep having hope. I'll give myself an early September date to give up hope and figure out what can go in there for fall/winter.
I ended up buying an enormous basil plant at the store. Yeah, the season is almost over and we haven't had nearly enough basil. Most of it stayed stunted. I'll nurse this for another month or so and make as much pesto to freeze as possible. The sad fact is, there is never enough basil for me to ever be satisfied. I really need at least 10 plants or so. I could do without many herbs (gads, I hope not)--but I cannot live without copious amounts of basil, sage, and rosemary. I'm known to run my hands through basil or even better-rosemary--and run my hands through my hair so I can smell it all day.
I also cheated and bought a 4 pack of brussel sprouts. It's too late for me to start it from seed again and while I had just given up on the idea entirely this morning--when I saw them--I knew I just had to do it. It is "Oliver" and the fastest growing--only 85 days until harvest. I'm less bummed about the Rubine sprouts that I wanted to grow from seed. I found out that they aren't as productive as the green sprouts. So, hopefully I might eat some sprouts this winter!
Still need to start some fall seeds. Some of the rutabega, turnips, and carrots haven't come up. Might as well start them in the propagator.
Er...I forgot what else I was going to write.
Off to luxuriate in bath with my new bar of goat's milk soap. I am not the type to buy a tiny bar of soap for $4 and usually wouldn't. I'm making the excuse for THIS bar of soap because, well, it's obvious. It's goat's milk. And I need every reason I can find on WHY I need a pair of goats to have my life fulfilled. Really, AwesomeHusband should use the soap as he's the person cockblocking the fulfillment of my desires about livestock.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
more garden
Got all the lettuces/cabbages planted in the seed propogating thingy and direct seeded the root vegetables. It took a lot, LOT longer than I expected.
Just need to get in the spinach, scallions, and radishes a little later once there is room for them. Although, if they could be happy with it--I might see what I can companion plant around the peppers and tomatoes right now. The spinach is going to have to wait, but everything else might work.
I'm about 6 weeks late on starting the brussel sprouts. I really hope that I can get a crop out of them since I found out last winter that I actually LIKE them when I don't try to boil them from a frozen state. Actually, I just want to grown them because I've seen photos and they are the absolute silliest things I've seen. How can you not giggle when you see THIS growing in your yard?!?
As always, I'm nervous about putting small seeds directly in the ground. I did manage to remember to water the soil beforehand, pat the seeds down afterwards, and water some more. Now I just gotta remember to water everything like crazy.
Speaking of watering like crazy--I've been having this feeling that I'm not watering enough. My pepper plants are always looking like they want to wilt. Things are growing very, very slow. My chard is still looking like a baby.
I started digging out the soil after the first watering for the new seeds. I was amazed? appalled? surprised? guilty? at how much water I felt like I was putting down and how little it actually permeated the surface.
Ooops.
I have been a bad, bad vegetable mama. I have been forcing my food to pretend that it is growing in the desert. eesh. Plants honestly don't need so much...some soil, sun, and water. I'm absolutely failing on giving them 1/3 of their basic needs. :(
I also JUST LEARNED that the peat moss that is 1/3 of my bed and about 1/3 of ALL of my containers needs a "holy hell lot of water" at first. ("Holy hell" is my new version of a "metric shit ton". Which means that I dont' actually know how much it is, but it is far and beyond more than I can imagine). Come to find out that I have done it all wrong. This is from some garden blog about square foot gardens:
Peat moss is incredibly hydrophobic the first time you get it wet. It's almost like the stuff is coated in the same oil on duck's feathers and it can take a couple good hours of soaking a 4'x4' bed before the water has really permeated all the way through it for that first initial soaking. Especially when you consider the water retention capabilities of the vermiculite itself.
Did you see that? Did you see the words "hydrophobic" and "couple good hours" and "4x4"?
Ladies and gentleman, I think I've ran the hose no more than a few minutes on each square (until this afternoon) both before planting and during planting on my 17'x'3 bed.
I gotta say, as much as I like the "Square Food Gardening" book, it really is starting to piss me off. There was like ZERO mention of this. I mean, according to Mel--you only need a cup of warm water lovingly poured from your hand for each plant like once a week because his formula is so damn awesome. I figured out about a month ago that my poor little plants needed a LOT more than that--but jeebus h!! Dumb things down all you want, but don't tell me wrong THINGS. I've spent too much doing this crap and worrying and feeling crappy and not eating food I'm not growing when all you gotta say is, "Beanhead, you better water that bed a holy helluva lot when you first put it in!"
Thanks for nothing, Mel. Really.
I absolutely have to buy fish and seeweed fertilizer tomorrow. This also may be a real problem as to why nothing wants to flourish. Despite putting down the awesome sauce compost, it IS new dirt. I should help it along a bit. I learned THAT tonight as well trolling gardening websites for square foot gardens.
Really, Mel, you aren't getting a lot of love from me right now, ok? I'm happy to play by the rules, but you gotta tell 'em to me.
Got more wormies so hopefully I can just put down worm castings and worm tea instead of fish and seaweed eventually.
Anyway, I'd like to give much love to the internetz right now. If it wasn't for instant information at my fingertips, I'd spend years screwing this up instead of seasons.
Just need to get in the spinach, scallions, and radishes a little later once there is room for them. Although, if they could be happy with it--I might see what I can companion plant around the peppers and tomatoes right now. The spinach is going to have to wait, but everything else might work.
I'm about 6 weeks late on starting the brussel sprouts. I really hope that I can get a crop out of them since I found out last winter that I actually LIKE them when I don't try to boil them from a frozen state. Actually, I just want to grown them because I've seen photos and they are the absolute silliest things I've seen. How can you not giggle when you see THIS growing in your yard?!?
As always, I'm nervous about putting small seeds directly in the ground. I did manage to remember to water the soil beforehand, pat the seeds down afterwards, and water some more. Now I just gotta remember to water everything like crazy.
Speaking of watering like crazy--I've been having this feeling that I'm not watering enough. My pepper plants are always looking like they want to wilt. Things are growing very, very slow. My chard is still looking like a baby.
I started digging out the soil after the first watering for the new seeds. I was amazed? appalled? surprised? guilty? at how much water I felt like I was putting down and how little it actually permeated the surface.
Ooops.
I have been a bad, bad vegetable mama. I have been forcing my food to pretend that it is growing in the desert. eesh. Plants honestly don't need so much...some soil, sun, and water. I'm absolutely failing on giving them 1/3 of their basic needs. :(
I also JUST LEARNED that the peat moss that is 1/3 of my bed and about 1/3 of ALL of my containers needs a "holy hell lot of water" at first. ("Holy hell" is my new version of a "metric shit ton". Which means that I dont' actually know how much it is, but it is far and beyond more than I can imagine). Come to find out that I have done it all wrong. This is from some garden blog about square foot gardens:
Peat moss is incredibly hydrophobic the first time you get it wet. It's almost like the stuff is coated in the same oil on duck's feathers and it can take a couple good hours of soaking a 4'x4' bed before the water has really permeated all the way through it for that first initial soaking. Especially when you consider the water retention capabilities of the vermiculite itself.
Did you see that? Did you see the words "hydrophobic" and "couple good hours" and "4x4"?
Ladies and gentleman, I think I've ran the hose no more than a few minutes on each square (until this afternoon) both before planting and during planting on my 17'x'3 bed.
I gotta say, as much as I like the "Square Food Gardening" book, it really is starting to piss me off. There was like ZERO mention of this. I mean, according to Mel--you only need a cup of warm water lovingly poured from your hand for each plant like once a week because his formula is so damn awesome. I figured out about a month ago that my poor little plants needed a LOT more than that--but jeebus h!! Dumb things down all you want, but don't tell me wrong THINGS. I've spent too much doing this crap and worrying and feeling crappy and not eating food I'm not growing when all you gotta say is, "Beanhead, you better water that bed a holy helluva lot when you first put it in!"
Thanks for nothing, Mel. Really.
I absolutely have to buy fish and seeweed fertilizer tomorrow. This also may be a real problem as to why nothing wants to flourish. Despite putting down the awesome sauce compost, it IS new dirt. I should help it along a bit. I learned THAT tonight as well trolling gardening websites for square foot gardens.
Really, Mel, you aren't getting a lot of love from me right now, ok? I'm happy to play by the rules, but you gotta tell 'em to me.
Got more wormies so hopefully I can just put down worm castings and worm tea instead of fish and seaweed eventually.
Anyway, I'd like to give much love to the internetz right now. If it wasn't for instant information at my fingertips, I'd spend years screwing this up instead of seasons.
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