Howdy, friends and neighbors!
I apologize for my long absence; it's been a crazy month. So much has happened since my last post! For starters, the strawberries and peas are no longer producing, and in fact the peas have started to die. If you have been watching our Facebook page, you may know that we got quite a few raspberries from Anne Marie's canes (the ones I transplanted this spring are not mature enough to produce fruit yet - next year!) and that I harvested the first of the beets and carrots. I made the beets into a pretty darn good dish: Roasted Beets with Balsamic Glaze, and I added the carrots to a very tasty risotto. Many of the peas went into an alfredo sauce I made. :)
The solanaceae (peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant) have continued to flourish. All of them are blossoming and starting to fruit (although I pinch off the blossoms and berries of the potato plants) and we now have two eggplant - about two inches long apiece - and many tomatoes. The peppers have started to fruit as well, after flowering for some time. All of the above have survived several weeks of very hot weather, with the exception of one pepper: the Thai hot pepper. I think it probably really prefers humid climates, and even though we watered it religiously, the Colorado head and aridity got to it. It was a bummer to lose that little guy, but not a huge loss; I'm not sure what we would have done with so many Thai peppers! The only other ailing plant is a little cherry tomato - the one right in the center of its brethren. I planted five cherry tomatoes, and arranged them like the dots on the five side of a die. The one in the middle is alive, but tiny. I'm not sure what happened - maybe the tomatoes around it blocked a lot of sun, or maybe I was skipping over it somehow when I watered - but it's definitely the runt. I'm not really expecting many fruits from that one, if any, but I'll leave it in the bed just to see what happens.
On to the brassicas! The broccoli are nice and big now, but they still aren't flowering! I'm not sure why this is; they were seeded on time and transplanted pretty much on time, they've been adequately watered and have received plenty of sun... Hopefully they'll bloom eventually. The sooner, the better. The cabbages are doing fine. One of the green cabbages was pretty badly damaged by our hail storm, and lost its apical meristem. As a result, apical dominance was overruled and the plant sprouted four heads instead of just one! I removed the two smaller heads recently, and the remaining two are looking pretty good. They won't be as big as the head on the undamaged cabbage, but they will taste good nonetheless. The red cabbage has a main head as well, but it's a little smaller than the one on the whole green cabbage. Still, no complaints about the progress of the cabbage! The kale is doing great; one is huge, and one is kind of medium-sized (thanks again to hail damage). I really ought to harvest some from the larger one, but to be honest, I'm not sure what to do with it. I know it makes a great green, so I should probably stick it in a stirfry or some such dish. If you want a few leaves of kale, come on over!
I'll lump most of the root veggies together. The beets are doing all right, but they don't really like the heat, so they're a little droopy. I should harvest some of the older ones and use them in something. The carrots are doing fine, though I planted two more rows (about 24 seeds) a couple of weeks ago and they have yet to emerge. I don't like to think that they died, but I'm not sure what else could keep them from emerging. Honestly, they probably weren't watered enough. Hopefully they'll still come up somehow. The onions are doing fine; some of them should probably be harvested soon, as well. I allowed four bolting onions (two red, two yellow) to continue bolting so that they might pollinate one another and set seed, and now their flowers are fully open. I'll have to figure out some way to collect their seeds - it'll be pretty interesting to see what grows from them!
Next, the beans. All of them are doing well. As I said in my last post, the pole beans had some germination issues, and there aren't a whole lot of those. The bush beans did well, with about 75% germination for both varieties. The bush beans also have some blossoms on them, and some of the flowers have already grown pods! Can't wait to harvest those. The pole beans have sent out tendrils, and I have provided them with a trellis pilfered from the peas. The tendrils wrapped themselves around the trellis pretty eagerly, and they have grabbed hold. No blossoms on those guys yet.
Finally, on to the cucurbits! I provided the cucumbers with the peas' other trellis, and they have been climbing that somewhat reluctantly; however, a few cucumber fruits are now developing! A few standard cukes, as well as one lemon cuke. Very exciting! We'll be harvesting those soon. The zucchini and yellow squash, of course, are producing profusely. We have four zucchini, and have harvested from three of them (one is a little smaller, and may never catch up, because it's being shaded by the other three). We have five yellow squash, and two of those are somewhat runty because they were replanted after the original plants died in the hail storm, and now they've been shaded. There are currently three butternut squash (luckily!), which surprises me because I was sure that the ones I replanted wouldn't be coming up - it took them a really long time! None of them are flowering or fruiting yet, because they're so young. The bright side is that they have plenty of room and won't be shaded by other squash. All three types of melons have come up. We have three watermelon, two Tigger, and two cantaloupe (I planted three, but one didn't come up). The watermelon plants are huge, and they are blooming like crazy. One is already producing a melon, and there will be others soon! The Tiggers are also blooming, so it won't be long before they're fruiting as well. The cantaloupe are kinda far behind, so I'm not sure when they'll start blooming, but it shouldn't be too long. The pumpkins...never happened. The two seeds I planted never came up, in spite of my watering efforts, and it just got too late in the season to call Nick about the possibility of buying transplants from him. It is far too late now to think about trying a different variety and starting it from seed, as Frank had suggested.
As it turned out, I actually didn't need to buy more netting. Instead, when I removed netting from the zucchini, I put that same netting over the melons. Later, I removed netting from over the tomatoes, beans, and cucumbers, and now that's just extra. I also added the third layer of tires to the potatoes - again, I got the tires from Alpine Tire Center and painted them off-white using paint from the Larimer County Household Hazardous Waste Recycling Center - and filled the tires with soil and leaves. Ben and I still haven't painted fun designs on the tires, but we probably will at some point...maybe.
I went to ReSource for some floor trim to stake the tomatoes. It was very easy to do, except perhaps for sawing the trim into manageable pieces, but I felt pretty guilty because staking should be done as soon as the tomatoes are transplanted into the garden. Obviously, I didn't do that - and the result was that most, if not all, of the stakes tore through some of the tomatoes' roots. The poor little t'maters look okay still, but it was like I was mauling them! It does make me feel better, though, that there are so many developing tomatoes on the plants.
Well, that's all for now! A whole month's worth of updates. Hopefully it won't take me that long to post again. Until then, my fellow Green Thumbs, fare thee well!
WOG out.
Showing posts with label general update. Show all posts
Showing posts with label general update. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
The Tale of the Hail - and Other Stories
Hello, friendly readers! I apologize for my absence of late. It's been pretty hectic around here - I got a job, and they've kept me working almost every day, so it's all I can do to keep up with the garden, let alone write about it! But I have some time on my hands at the moment, so you're in luck.
My last post covered the trellising of the peas, which involved their (and the onions') de-nettification. Not long before that, I had planted all of the cucurbits, with the exception of the pumpkins. Since cucurbits spread so much when they grow, I gave them plenty of room to frolic and vine as they would. This means that they covered an awful lot of ground in the garden - too much, in fact, to cover with netting. We had enough netting to do so, but we lacked the tubing to make enough hoops. So I just left them all uncovered, with the exception of the cucumbers - they were close enough to the rest of the netting that it was no big deal to extend it over them.
Exactly one week after planting the cucurbit seeds, they began to sprout! I was ecstatic, as the zucchini and squashes sent up huge, healthy leaves, and the cucumbers poked their little heads up. The melons came up more slowly, but were still looking swell. The peas were starting to bloom, and the strawberries were flowering, too. Based on what happened soon after, though, I guess Mother Nature was just having a good laugh.
We got hail. Not a few tiny balls of ice, like we sometimes get in the winter when it sleets. We got real hail. At the apartment, each ball was about the diameter of a quarter. I'm not sure how large it was at the garden, but Anne Marie said it was really bad. This I saw quite clearly when I went over to the garden the following day.
The first thing I checked was the pea patch. Since they're climbers, their stems are a little more fragile, and each hail ball can do a lot of damage as it plummets through the peas' foliage. Most of the peas had been hit pretty hard - broken stems, tattered leaves - and many had been torn from the trellises and plastered to the soggy ground. The blossoms were still there, barely opened, and drooping forlornly. I wondered if they would open at all, now. The good news was that the peas were still early in the flowering stage; they had not been carrying any pods. If they had, it would have been disastrous. It is hard enough to recover from losing flowers and having to take energy from the blossoms and put it into repairing stems and regrowing leaves - it is much worse to redirect energy from seeds to regrowth. I think most of the peas will still recover and bear fruit.
From the peas, I went to the onions. All of the plants had some damage, in the form of broken leaves, and some only had a few undamaged leaves. A few were bolting, though that was probably a result of the recent hot weather.
Next, I checked the cucurbit seedlings. The cucumbers were fine, having been under the netting. The zucchini looked mostly okay. The four yellow squash seedlings that had emerged were pretty much decimated - it was hard for me to tell where a couple of them were, because they were so ripped up and mud-splattered. The butternut squash were in a similar state. The melons were okay, except for the one cantaloupe that had come up - both of its poor little cotyledon leaves had been ripped off, leaving only the stub of a stem.
The kale was pretty badly damaged. Each plant had only a few leaves before the hail, and some of them had been completely torn off. The cabbage fared somewhat better than the kale, perhaps because it was larger and had sturdier stems. The two broccoli plants didn't look good; one was very badly damaged (and would soon die).
The strawberries did all right. There was damage, yes, and some plants would soon be reduced to only a couple of leaves each. But for the most part, the strawberries looked only slightly the worse for wear.
The heroes of the night were the potatoes. I'm not sure whether the house had somehow protected them, or if their foliage was dense enough that the damage was less stark, but they actually didn't look all that different from the previous day. They would rebound within a couple of days, and would soon be overflowing their trainer tires.
Now, on to the other updates. The day after the hail, I planted the remaining solanaceae, in addition to a few varieties of fabaceae, and two pumpkin seeds. First, I put in the beans. I planned to use a three-legged trellis (similar to the ones we're using for the peas) for the one pole variety we have, so I planted those seeds in three groups of six, each group in a circle around a stick to mark where a leg of the trellis would go. I planted ten seeds of each of the two bush varieties.
Next to the beans, I planted the tomatoes. Although I had plenty of seedlings, I only planted five cherry plants, four slicing plants, and five paste plants. The remainder of the seedlings will go to ReSource - apparently their garden didn't do so well with the hail. Unfortunately, the leftover seedlings aren't doing very well in the coldframe (which is where I put them after transplanting their brethren). I think it must be too hot in there. I shall take them to ReSource soon.
In the middle bed, next to the onions, I planted the eggplant. I put in nine Black Beauty and two Swallow - the Swallow were all that remained of the many eggplant babies Ben and I got from Drew. I have several Black Beauties left over, as well, which are also going to go to ReSource ASAP.
Next, adjacent to the eggplant, I planted the peppers. First, I put in six Gourmet. Next were six Sweet Bullnose, then six Early Jalapeño. Finally, I put in one Sweet Chocolate, one Santa Fe, and one Thai Hot, all three from Drew. I have some leftovers from the first three varieties, which, again, are going to ReSource.
Finally, I put in about twenty broccoli plants, all Di Cicco. There aren't any healthy-looking leftovers of these, so I don't think ReSource will be getting any, unfortunately.
After all that, I sawed off some more tubing for netting hoops, stuck some rebar along the bed where I'd planted the beans and tomatoes, bent the tubing from one rebar to the next, and stretched the netting over it. Then, I staked it down. If it hails again, the tomatoes, beans, and zucchini will be protected, but the peppers, eggplants, and onions won't be - yet.
I went to ReSource a couple of days ago, and got some more tubing for hoops. One of the next things on my To-Do List will be to make hoops for the section of the garden that has in it the onions, eggplants, peppers, and melons, and then to stretch the net over them. Unfortunately, I think the broccoli, potatoes, strawberries, kale, and cabbage will have to go unprotected the whole season - so hopefully, we won't get any more big hails.
Well, that's all for now. As always, thanks for reading!
WOG out.
My last post covered the trellising of the peas, which involved their (and the onions') de-nettification. Not long before that, I had planted all of the cucurbits, with the exception of the pumpkins. Since cucurbits spread so much when they grow, I gave them plenty of room to frolic and vine as they would. This means that they covered an awful lot of ground in the garden - too much, in fact, to cover with netting. We had enough netting to do so, but we lacked the tubing to make enough hoops. So I just left them all uncovered, with the exception of the cucumbers - they were close enough to the rest of the netting that it was no big deal to extend it over them.
Exactly one week after planting the cucurbit seeds, they began to sprout! I was ecstatic, as the zucchini and squashes sent up huge, healthy leaves, and the cucumbers poked their little heads up. The melons came up more slowly, but were still looking swell. The peas were starting to bloom, and the strawberries were flowering, too. Based on what happened soon after, though, I guess Mother Nature was just having a good laugh.
We got hail. Not a few tiny balls of ice, like we sometimes get in the winter when it sleets. We got real hail. At the apartment, each ball was about the diameter of a quarter. I'm not sure how large it was at the garden, but Anne Marie said it was really bad. This I saw quite clearly when I went over to the garden the following day.
The first thing I checked was the pea patch. Since they're climbers, their stems are a little more fragile, and each hail ball can do a lot of damage as it plummets through the peas' foliage. Most of the peas had been hit pretty hard - broken stems, tattered leaves - and many had been torn from the trellises and plastered to the soggy ground. The blossoms were still there, barely opened, and drooping forlornly. I wondered if they would open at all, now. The good news was that the peas were still early in the flowering stage; they had not been carrying any pods. If they had, it would have been disastrous. It is hard enough to recover from losing flowers and having to take energy from the blossoms and put it into repairing stems and regrowing leaves - it is much worse to redirect energy from seeds to regrowth. I think most of the peas will still recover and bear fruit.
From the peas, I went to the onions. All of the plants had some damage, in the form of broken leaves, and some only had a few undamaged leaves. A few were bolting, though that was probably a result of the recent hot weather.
Next, I checked the cucurbit seedlings. The cucumbers were fine, having been under the netting. The zucchini looked mostly okay. The four yellow squash seedlings that had emerged were pretty much decimated - it was hard for me to tell where a couple of them were, because they were so ripped up and mud-splattered. The butternut squash were in a similar state. The melons were okay, except for the one cantaloupe that had come up - both of its poor little cotyledon leaves had been ripped off, leaving only the stub of a stem.
The kale was pretty badly damaged. Each plant had only a few leaves before the hail, and some of them had been completely torn off. The cabbage fared somewhat better than the kale, perhaps because it was larger and had sturdier stems. The two broccoli plants didn't look good; one was very badly damaged (and would soon die).
The strawberries did all right. There was damage, yes, and some plants would soon be reduced to only a couple of leaves each. But for the most part, the strawberries looked only slightly the worse for wear.
The heroes of the night were the potatoes. I'm not sure whether the house had somehow protected them, or if their foliage was dense enough that the damage was less stark, but they actually didn't look all that different from the previous day. They would rebound within a couple of days, and would soon be overflowing their trainer tires.
Now, on to the other updates. The day after the hail, I planted the remaining solanaceae, in addition to a few varieties of fabaceae, and two pumpkin seeds. First, I put in the beans. I planned to use a three-legged trellis (similar to the ones we're using for the peas) for the one pole variety we have, so I planted those seeds in three groups of six, each group in a circle around a stick to mark where a leg of the trellis would go. I planted ten seeds of each of the two bush varieties.
Next to the beans, I planted the tomatoes. Although I had plenty of seedlings, I only planted five cherry plants, four slicing plants, and five paste plants. The remainder of the seedlings will go to ReSource - apparently their garden didn't do so well with the hail. Unfortunately, the leftover seedlings aren't doing very well in the coldframe (which is where I put them after transplanting their brethren). I think it must be too hot in there. I shall take them to ReSource soon.
In the middle bed, next to the onions, I planted the eggplant. I put in nine Black Beauty and two Swallow - the Swallow were all that remained of the many eggplant babies Ben and I got from Drew. I have several Black Beauties left over, as well, which are also going to go to ReSource ASAP.
Next, adjacent to the eggplant, I planted the peppers. First, I put in six Gourmet. Next were six Sweet Bullnose, then six Early Jalapeño. Finally, I put in one Sweet Chocolate, one Santa Fe, and one Thai Hot, all three from Drew. I have some leftovers from the first three varieties, which, again, are going to ReSource.
Finally, I put in about twenty broccoli plants, all Di Cicco. There aren't any healthy-looking leftovers of these, so I don't think ReSource will be getting any, unfortunately.
After all that, I sawed off some more tubing for netting hoops, stuck some rebar along the bed where I'd planted the beans and tomatoes, bent the tubing from one rebar to the next, and stretched the netting over it. Then, I staked it down. If it hails again, the tomatoes, beans, and zucchini will be protected, but the peppers, eggplants, and onions won't be - yet.
I went to ReSource a couple of days ago, and got some more tubing for hoops. One of the next things on my To-Do List will be to make hoops for the section of the garden that has in it the onions, eggplants, peppers, and melons, and then to stretch the net over them. Unfortunately, I think the broccoli, potatoes, strawberries, kale, and cabbage will have to go unprotected the whole season - so hopefully, we won't get any more big hails.
Well, that's all for now. As always, thanks for reading!
WOG out.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Frustrating Fertilizer and the Cucurbit Kickoff
Well, before I get to any updates today, I will share with you the most frustrating garden-related event of recent weeks. On May 17, I posted an update and a To-Do List. On the To-Do List was to order fertilizer, which I did promptly after posting that list. The name of the company from which I ordered my fertilizer will remain undisclosed, for reasons which will soon become apparent. However, this company offered a very reasonably priced 50 lb bag of organic alfalfa meal, which is exactly the stuff I wanted. In addition, this company is a small business fairly close to Fort Collins, which is a big bonus. I ordered a bag of fertilizer without further ado and awaited its arrival.
Ten days later, I received a rather brusque email from one of the company's employees. This email stated several things. First, it said that the company had never received my order, due to a glitch in their ordering technology. For this, the employee apologized sincerely. Next, the email said that the shipping price the site had given me was inaccurate - the upshot was that my total price would be almost twice what it was before. No apologies or offers of discounts for my trouble were attached to this information, although what had happened could be interpreted as false advertising. Finally, the employee offered me the opportunity to refund my order, if I so desired - or I could continue with my previous order, at the real price.
I decided that I would refund my order and went back to the website to see what the real shipping prices were for other products so that I could find a suitable replacement product. Sadly, the prices were still the same as when I had placed my first order! I wondered how many other customers were having the same issues as I. I added to my email a query about the price of a smaller quantity of alfalfa meal and the attached shipping. The employee replied with the prices, and eventually I decided on two 5 lb boxes of alfalfa meal. That's one-fifth of the amount I originally ordered, and it came for a higher price than what I originally ordered. Through this whole process, the employee was less than cordial, and did not approach apologetic, even though what should have been a quick, simple process had now turned into a bit of an ordeal. In light of the employee's lack of courtesy, I am in the process of writing a letter to our local Better Business Bureau.
Now, on to happier news. Yesterday we had gorgeous weather, and it seems as though the weather here has finally turned for the warmer (knock on wood), so I went ahead and planted most of the remaining crops. The first order of business was to extend the netting to cover at least some of the things I planted, but the net would have to turn a corner. The last time we tried that it didn't work well at all, so I cut the net, pulled it over a new hoop, and staked it down. Then I stretched the cut end of the net over the other net, at a 90-degree angle - thus turning the corner - added another hoop, and staked it down again. In the midst of this, I planted another row each of carrots and beets, four cucumber seeds, and two lemon cucumber seeds. Then I staked down the net and continued to plant elsewhere in the garden, according to the garden plan I created on Mother Earth News's website back in April (you can see the garden plans on our Facebook page).
In addition to the carrots, beets, and cucumbers, I planted four zucchini, six yellow squash, four butternut squash, three watermelon, three cantaloupe, and two melons of a variety called Tigger - I'm very excited for the last type in particular! After I planted all this, I did some light research to see when we can expect to see baby squash and melons. It looks like if this weather holds up, they'll all have sprouted within a week! Then, I transplanted our two kale plants and three of our broccoli plants, plus the three cabbage (two green, one red) that I got from the Starter Barter about a month ago. I'm stoked, to say the least.
On Friday, I transplanted the peppers into individual containers, and they are positively thriving. Next up are the eggplant, which are still somewhat puny. I'll be transplanting the tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant pretty soon here, but I want them to get a bit stronger first - after transplanting the tomatoes, we put them in the coldframe, and then we had a couple of cold nights. Three cherry tomatoes didn't make it, and most of the other plants wound up with chilling injury. I brought them back to the apartment to make sure they would be warm enough from here on out. After what happened to the tomatoes, I didn't put the peppers in the coldframe at all, but brought them back to the apartment as well for more windowsill time.
I have thinned the beets to one plant per cluster. I also bought six 3-ft-long pieces of rebar yesterday. When we start stacking additional tires on the ones the potatoes are in, I'll stick two pieces of rebar in each bottom tire to hold the stack up straight. The next tasks on the list are to remove the netting from the peas, put up the trellises for the peas, set up an anti-child barrier, and get more hoop materials from ReSource so that I can extend the netting over the squash, zucchini, and melons. As always, I shall continue to weed to keep those dastardly garden demons under control.
That's all for now. Thanks for reading!
WOG out.
Ten days later, I received a rather brusque email from one of the company's employees. This email stated several things. First, it said that the company had never received my order, due to a glitch in their ordering technology. For this, the employee apologized sincerely. Next, the email said that the shipping price the site had given me was inaccurate - the upshot was that my total price would be almost twice what it was before. No apologies or offers of discounts for my trouble were attached to this information, although what had happened could be interpreted as false advertising. Finally, the employee offered me the opportunity to refund my order, if I so desired - or I could continue with my previous order, at the real price.
I decided that I would refund my order and went back to the website to see what the real shipping prices were for other products so that I could find a suitable replacement product. Sadly, the prices were still the same as when I had placed my first order! I wondered how many other customers were having the same issues as I. I added to my email a query about the price of a smaller quantity of alfalfa meal and the attached shipping. The employee replied with the prices, and eventually I decided on two 5 lb boxes of alfalfa meal. That's one-fifth of the amount I originally ordered, and it came for a higher price than what I originally ordered. Through this whole process, the employee was less than cordial, and did not approach apologetic, even though what should have been a quick, simple process had now turned into a bit of an ordeal. In light of the employee's lack of courtesy, I am in the process of writing a letter to our local Better Business Bureau.
Now, on to happier news. Yesterday we had gorgeous weather, and it seems as though the weather here has finally turned for the warmer (knock on wood), so I went ahead and planted most of the remaining crops. The first order of business was to extend the netting to cover at least some of the things I planted, but the net would have to turn a corner. The last time we tried that it didn't work well at all, so I cut the net, pulled it over a new hoop, and staked it down. Then I stretched the cut end of the net over the other net, at a 90-degree angle - thus turning the corner - added another hoop, and staked it down again. In the midst of this, I planted another row each of carrots and beets, four cucumber seeds, and two lemon cucumber seeds. Then I staked down the net and continued to plant elsewhere in the garden, according to the garden plan I created on Mother Earth News's website back in April (you can see the garden plans on our Facebook page).
In addition to the carrots, beets, and cucumbers, I planted four zucchini, six yellow squash, four butternut squash, three watermelon, three cantaloupe, and two melons of a variety called Tigger - I'm very excited for the last type in particular! After I planted all this, I did some light research to see when we can expect to see baby squash and melons. It looks like if this weather holds up, they'll all have sprouted within a week! Then, I transplanted our two kale plants and three of our broccoli plants, plus the three cabbage (two green, one red) that I got from the Starter Barter about a month ago. I'm stoked, to say the least.
On Friday, I transplanted the peppers into individual containers, and they are positively thriving. Next up are the eggplant, which are still somewhat puny. I'll be transplanting the tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant pretty soon here, but I want them to get a bit stronger first - after transplanting the tomatoes, we put them in the coldframe, and then we had a couple of cold nights. Three cherry tomatoes didn't make it, and most of the other plants wound up with chilling injury. I brought them back to the apartment to make sure they would be warm enough from here on out. After what happened to the tomatoes, I didn't put the peppers in the coldframe at all, but brought them back to the apartment as well for more windowsill time.
I have thinned the beets to one plant per cluster. I also bought six 3-ft-long pieces of rebar yesterday. When we start stacking additional tires on the ones the potatoes are in, I'll stick two pieces of rebar in each bottom tire to hold the stack up straight. The next tasks on the list are to remove the netting from the peas, put up the trellises for the peas, set up an anti-child barrier, and get more hoop materials from ReSource so that I can extend the netting over the squash, zucchini, and melons. As always, I shall continue to weed to keep those dastardly garden demons under control.
That's all for now. Thanks for reading!
WOG out.
Friday, May 27, 2011
The Summer Begins in Earnest! ...and in Fort Collins
I hope that title made you at least smile. My dad used to say, "It's raining in earnest! And in Maryland." It would make me and my brother crack up.
Anyway, on to the tasks at hand. There are many! They are plentiful. They can not wait! And yet, they have waited, because I've been busy and then out of town. But now that I've returned from my brief visit home, the garden takes first priority.
It's amazing how many weeds can appear in a mere five days. That's all I was gone for - five days! - but the weeds took advantage of it and were waiting for me when I returned. It's almost as if they knew... So. First garden task is weeding. Ben and I did some of that yesterday, and removed the largest ones, but we mostly just skimmed the garden looking for the big bad guys. Today, I shall expend a greater effort scouring the soil for little weedy menaces. Also, I asked Ben to just leave some pretty darn big dandelions yesterday; I'd rather get them with a trowel to make sure I get the whole dang taproot!
Next, I shall remove the netting from over the peas, which, by the way, grew most vigorously in my absence! One of them is starting to twine its tender tendrils around the netting. This I will not allow, because as the pea grows, it will be forced to either come through the netting or grow up and over the arch that the netting forms as it follows the hoops - this will not only make harvest difficult, but it will also block light from the other peas. the netting must be removed from the peas now or never, because the longer I leave it, the more peas will attach themselves to it.
After I remove the netting, I'll need to set up trellises for the peas to climb on. Some will be able to climb on the fence, but the fence isn't up yet - maybe Anne Marie and I will spray paint some fence pieces today and then attach them, but she has some other obligations, so that might have to wait another day. Sadly, the swingset is right next to the peas and onions, and of course this is the play area of choice for Louis' children, including the infamous Joseph. We shall have to devise a way to keep him off of that side of the swingset, lest he fall on the unprotected peas and destroy the crop. I'm thinking some kind of gate; maybe I can create a barrier using the netting from the peas, or something.
I also need to transplant some of the seedlings from their containers in the coldframe into the garden. Chief among these are the cabbages, kale, broccoli (the ones in the apartment as well), and fennel. The fennel may go in Ben's herb garden; not sure yet. I'll be referring to my Mother Earth News Vegetable Garden Planner for placement of these crops (see new album on our Facebook page!).
Speaking of transplants, I need to put the eggplant and peppers in some individual containers. They're getting crowded too, and even though it'll soon be time to put them in the garden, I want them to get a little stronger and grow some more roots in individual containers.
The beets, as I have mentioned previously, have sprouted in clusters (this is supposed to happen). This is great, because it means they're healthy, and it looks really cool - however, I'll need to thin each cluster down to one plant so that plant will form a nice-looking root instead of a lumpy conglomeration of the roots of all its siblings. This is a fairly urgent task, because the beet seedlings are getting rather large.
So, our To-Do List this week is as follows:
1. Weed!
2. Thin beet seedlings.
3. Take netting off peas.
4. Put up trellises for peas.
5. Construct anti-child barrier to prevent entry into pea area.
6. Start fence latticework for peas to climb on.
7. Transplant seedlings into garden.
8. Transplant eggplant and peppers into individual containers.
9. Plant most of the cucurbits.
- the following are continued from the previous post -
10. Plant more carrots and beets.
11. Extend hoop-and-netting system.
Now for some updates:
The carrots have finally sent up some true leaves! This is very exciting, because these seedlings have been up for over a week with no tangible sign of true leafage.
The beets and peas, as mentioned above, are looking fabulous.
The remaining onions look pretty darn good. There is one red onion that I need to keep an eye on - the leaves are looking a tad wilty, and it seems to be significantly smaller than most of its buddies. Hopefully it's not another case of mold, but I guess we'll see.
The potatoes have finally sent out some real leaves! The Colorado Rose ones have, anyway. The mystery white ones that we got from the Food Co-op haven't sent any real leaves out from their buds yet, as far as I can tell.
The strawberries are looking dang fine. One that had come back from the dead is dead yet again. But who knows? Maybe it'll come back again! I'm hoping for some fruit out of those guys in the next few weeks.
The raspberries are looking fantastic! I can hardly tell which were the ones I'd transplanted anymore, because they have made such a comeback from their transplanting ordeal. I don't expect fruit from those little guys this season, but they're looking really healthy - and I guess you never know. The plants that Anne Marie already had have bloomed a little, so it looks like we'll definitely get a small harvest from them (not surprising - Ben told me he got a good deal of fruit out of them last July).
That's all for now! More updates later. Thanks for your patience as I've come and gone from the blog these last few weeks, and as always, thanks for reading!
WOG out.
Anyway, on to the tasks at hand. There are many! They are plentiful. They can not wait! And yet, they have waited, because I've been busy and then out of town. But now that I've returned from my brief visit home, the garden takes first priority.
It's amazing how many weeds can appear in a mere five days. That's all I was gone for - five days! - but the weeds took advantage of it and were waiting for me when I returned. It's almost as if they knew... So. First garden task is weeding. Ben and I did some of that yesterday, and removed the largest ones, but we mostly just skimmed the garden looking for the big bad guys. Today, I shall expend a greater effort scouring the soil for little weedy menaces. Also, I asked Ben to just leave some pretty darn big dandelions yesterday; I'd rather get them with a trowel to make sure I get the whole dang taproot!
Next, I shall remove the netting from over the peas, which, by the way, grew most vigorously in my absence! One of them is starting to twine its tender tendrils around the netting. This I will not allow, because as the pea grows, it will be forced to either come through the netting or grow up and over the arch that the netting forms as it follows the hoops - this will not only make harvest difficult, but it will also block light from the other peas. the netting must be removed from the peas now or never, because the longer I leave it, the more peas will attach themselves to it.
After I remove the netting, I'll need to set up trellises for the peas to climb on. Some will be able to climb on the fence, but the fence isn't up yet - maybe Anne Marie and I will spray paint some fence pieces today and then attach them, but she has some other obligations, so that might have to wait another day. Sadly, the swingset is right next to the peas and onions, and of course this is the play area of choice for Louis' children, including the infamous Joseph. We shall have to devise a way to keep him off of that side of the swingset, lest he fall on the unprotected peas and destroy the crop. I'm thinking some kind of gate; maybe I can create a barrier using the netting from the peas, or something.
I also need to transplant some of the seedlings from their containers in the coldframe into the garden. Chief among these are the cabbages, kale, broccoli (the ones in the apartment as well), and fennel. The fennel may go in Ben's herb garden; not sure yet. I'll be referring to my Mother Earth News Vegetable Garden Planner for placement of these crops (see new album on our Facebook page!).
Speaking of transplants, I need to put the eggplant and peppers in some individual containers. They're getting crowded too, and even though it'll soon be time to put them in the garden, I want them to get a little stronger and grow some more roots in individual containers.
The beets, as I have mentioned previously, have sprouted in clusters (this is supposed to happen). This is great, because it means they're healthy, and it looks really cool - however, I'll need to thin each cluster down to one plant so that plant will form a nice-looking root instead of a lumpy conglomeration of the roots of all its siblings. This is a fairly urgent task, because the beet seedlings are getting rather large.
So, our To-Do List this week is as follows:
1. Weed!
2. Thin beet seedlings.
3. Take netting off peas.
4. Put up trellises for peas.
5. Construct anti-child barrier to prevent entry into pea area.
6. Start fence latticework for peas to climb on.
7. Transplant seedlings into garden.
8. Transplant eggplant and peppers into individual containers.
9. Plant most of the cucurbits.
- the following are continued from the previous post -
10. Plant more carrots and beets.
11. Extend hoop-and-netting system.
Now for some updates:
The carrots have finally sent up some true leaves! This is very exciting, because these seedlings have been up for over a week with no tangible sign of true leafage.
The beets and peas, as mentioned above, are looking fabulous.
The remaining onions look pretty darn good. There is one red onion that I need to keep an eye on - the leaves are looking a tad wilty, and it seems to be significantly smaller than most of its buddies. Hopefully it's not another case of mold, but I guess we'll see.
The potatoes have finally sent out some real leaves! The Colorado Rose ones have, anyway. The mystery white ones that we got from the Food Co-op haven't sent any real leaves out from their buds yet, as far as I can tell.
The strawberries are looking dang fine. One that had come back from the dead is dead yet again. But who knows? Maybe it'll come back again! I'm hoping for some fruit out of those guys in the next few weeks.
The raspberries are looking fantastic! I can hardly tell which were the ones I'd transplanted anymore, because they have made such a comeback from their transplanting ordeal. I don't expect fruit from those little guys this season, but they're looking really healthy - and I guess you never know. The plants that Anne Marie already had have bloomed a little, so it looks like we'll definitely get a small harvest from them (not surprising - Ben told me he got a good deal of fruit out of them last July).
That's all for now! More updates later. Thanks for your patience as I've come and gone from the blog these last few weeks, and as always, thanks for reading!
WOG out.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Quick Update and WOG To-Do List
I apologize for my recent chronic absence - the Internet at our apartment has officially gone kablooie (like that word? That's a Calvin and Hobbes special, right there!), so I have to come to WOG to do anything online. Also, Chris (my boyfriend) graduated from CSU this past weekend and his mom was in town for that, so I was somewhat distracted from my gardening and related duties. However, now that finals week is over and the summer is stretching before us, there is much more time to spend on said duties! But I'll get to those in a moment. First, a speedy update of WOG happenings.
The raspberries, peas, and beets are all looking fantastic. I recently learned that beets come up in clusters of 2-5 plants, because that's how many embryos there are per seed. I think I learned that from this book, but I can't remember exactly. Either way, the beets are indeed coming up in clusters, and the seedlings look quite healthy. There are still only a few carrots coming up, but I am confident that more will emerge shortly. The remaining onions look quite healthy, except for the ones that got crushed by our friend Louis' two-year-old son, Joseph - those lost a few leaves each, but hopefully the bulbs will continue to grow vigorously. The potatoes haven't really grown at all, but the leaves are still there. Perhaps the seed potatoes have been expending their energy on sending down roots. The seedlings in the coldframe are looking pretty happy. Two of the three garden huckleberry plants that we got at the Starter Barter have died (probably from cold, in spite of our efforts to keep them warm), but the surviving one will be nice and tough. Amazingly, the strawberries that looked dead have sent up new leaves - hopefully, they will continue to recover.
A less encouraging situation has been underway at the apartment - the seedlings there have not been very happy lately. I had been watering all of them daily, but the paste tomatoes began to wilt. After some light research and asking around for opinions, the consensus was that they had been getting too much water. I let the soil of all the seedlings dry out for a few days and watered them all again, and they started to look a little better. I waited a couple of days again to water, and this morning I still hadn't. When I looked at the tomatoes this morning, though, I knew I had to water them - not only were the paste tomatoes wilty, but so were the cherry and slicing varieties! I gave them and the rest of the seedlings a nice drink, and employed my willpower to restrain myself from watering too much. Hopefully when I get home later, they will have perked up some.
Now, on to the To-Do List:
1. Keep weeding! - Bindweed and kochia have shown up and are probably here to stay - but weeding will sure help.
2. Transplant tomatoes into larger containers. - They are surely running out of root space, all crowded into their flat.
3. Plant more carrots and beets. - That way, we'll have a steady-ish supply of both.
4. Buy some fertilizer. - We don't want any nutrient deficiencies!
5. Get more mulch. - Some of the pathways still aren't covered.
6. Paint and put up the rest of the fence. - This will help keep out munchkins such as the aforementioned Joseph, as well as provide some support for peas, beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, melons, and pumpkins.
7. Extend the hoop-and-netting system. - We'll need to do this anyway to cover the crops we'll put in later, and the sooner we protect the onions' leaves from Joseph and company, the better.
That's all for now. Thanks for reading!
WOG out.
The raspberries, peas, and beets are all looking fantastic. I recently learned that beets come up in clusters of 2-5 plants, because that's how many embryos there are per seed. I think I learned that from this book, but I can't remember exactly. Either way, the beets are indeed coming up in clusters, and the seedlings look quite healthy. There are still only a few carrots coming up, but I am confident that more will emerge shortly. The remaining onions look quite healthy, except for the ones that got crushed by our friend Louis' two-year-old son, Joseph - those lost a few leaves each, but hopefully the bulbs will continue to grow vigorously. The potatoes haven't really grown at all, but the leaves are still there. Perhaps the seed potatoes have been expending their energy on sending down roots. The seedlings in the coldframe are looking pretty happy. Two of the three garden huckleberry plants that we got at the Starter Barter have died (probably from cold, in spite of our efforts to keep them warm), but the surviving one will be nice and tough. Amazingly, the strawberries that looked dead have sent up new leaves - hopefully, they will continue to recover.
A less encouraging situation has been underway at the apartment - the seedlings there have not been very happy lately. I had been watering all of them daily, but the paste tomatoes began to wilt. After some light research and asking around for opinions, the consensus was that they had been getting too much water. I let the soil of all the seedlings dry out for a few days and watered them all again, and they started to look a little better. I waited a couple of days again to water, and this morning I still hadn't. When I looked at the tomatoes this morning, though, I knew I had to water them - not only were the paste tomatoes wilty, but so were the cherry and slicing varieties! I gave them and the rest of the seedlings a nice drink, and employed my willpower to restrain myself from watering too much. Hopefully when I get home later, they will have perked up some.
Now, on to the To-Do List:
1. Keep weeding! - Bindweed and kochia have shown up and are probably here to stay - but weeding will sure help.
2. Transplant tomatoes into larger containers. - They are surely running out of root space, all crowded into their flat.
3. Plant more carrots and beets. - That way, we'll have a steady-ish supply of both.
4. Buy some fertilizer. - We don't want any nutrient deficiencies!
5. Get more mulch. - Some of the pathways still aren't covered.
6. Paint and put up the rest of the fence. - This will help keep out munchkins such as the aforementioned Joseph, as well as provide some support for peas, beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, melons, and pumpkins.
7. Extend the hoop-and-netting system. - We'll need to do this anyway to cover the crops we'll put in later, and the sooner we protect the onions' leaves from Joseph and company, the better.
That's all for now. Thanks for reading!
WOG out.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
The Not-So-Steady March of the Seasons - and Afflicted Alliaceae
Well, we have now had our first truly hot weather of the year in Fort Collins. The temperature has reached the 80s both yesterday and today, after weeks of indecision on the part of Mother Nature. The plants, of course, were surprised - Anne Marie has been extremely helpful, keeping the garden soil moist so nothing would get too hot. I think the strawberries in particular were shocked; several of them have wilted in the past couple of days, in spite of Anne Marie's watering efforts (supplemented by my own). The peas and onions seem unaffected by the shift in the weather - the same goes for the seedlings over in the area of the beets and carrots. Everything in the coldframe is at a slightly greater risk of heat stress (and water stress) than the plants that are actually in the garden, because the babies in the coldframe have access to a very limited volume of soil, which can hold a very limited volume of water. We have been paying particular attention to the seedlings in the coldframe, which include several broccoli, two kale, one fennel, several peppers of different varieties, one wonderberry, one garden huckleberry, two green cabbages, one red cabbage, and a few eggplant.
While we're on the subject of transplants, the broccoli, eggplant, tomatoes, and peppers in the apartment windowsills are all looking fabulous. They don't seem to mind that I started them late - hopefully this will continue all season and we'll get some good yields from them - and they have all produced true leaves or are about to do so. They all love it in the curtain-greenhouses, and the broccoli look a lot more comfortable now that they're not so crowded. I've been watering them daily, and they have responded with lovely green leaves and rapid growth. Yay! We'll be transplanting them into the garden before we know it.
Speaking of crops in the garden, I am now entirely convinced that the mystery seedlings in the general area of the beets and carrots are, in fact, beets. I studied the seedlings closely and then looked up pictures of beet seedlings, and they were a perfect match. In other words, we have some beets! Hooray! I have also been keeping a keen eye on some other seedlings in the same area of the garden, and I now believe they are carrot seedlings, based on their location and on the pictures I found online. Double hooray! There are only two or three carrots up so far, but I expect to see more before long.
Alas, the updates this week are not all happy ones. The onions seem to be plagued with disease. The other day, I pulled up three more moldy red onions and one yellow onion that appeared to have the same blue mold that's afflicting the red onions. I hope we don't lose all the onions, but if this trend continues, we will. We are now down to nine red onions and I think about 26 yellow onions. The good news is that the remaining onions all have very healthy leaves. Some of the leaves have been damaged - I suspect this is a result of cats playing on the netting. I am considering removing the netting from the onions to remove the cats' temptation to play on it. The leaves of several of the plants are poking through the slanted end of the netting anyway - and I doubt that the cats will try to eat the leaves, because I've read that they don't like the taste or smell of onions, garlic, etc. I'll have to contemplate this further before making any sudden moves.
Even in light of the diseased onions, the big news this week is that I finally got some potatoes in the ground! The sad part of this is that I never actually called any auto shops - Alpine Tire Center responded to my post on their Facebook wall, and said that we could come talk to Mark or Jeff about getting some tires. So, on Friday, Anne Marie and Ben and I drove Mrs. Teaberry over there, found Jeff, and loaded up on free tires. They had a very large pile of old tires that they get recycled, but they have to pay by the tire for that service. Anne Marie didn't want to have to store any tires, so we only got three - each would form the first layer of a potato tire stack. We brought them back to WOG and rinsed them off with the hose. Then Ben and I moved them to the potato section of the garden and I arranged them there. Then I dug out a large circle of soil for each tire and buried each halfway in the soil. Then I cut the seed potatoes into sections with several eyes each, and planted several sections in each tire. I have five seed potato sections of the Colorado Rose variety that we bought from Abundant Life Seeds and nine of a mystery brown-skinned, white-fleshed variety that I got from the Fort Collins Food Co-Op - we had intended to eat these, but we left them too long and they sprouted. So, we figured there was no reason not to plant them!
Before we stack more tires on top of the first layer, we'll have to get some white paint, a little bit of paint of various colors, some tall rebar stakes, and some straw. After we rinse the next tires, we'll paint them white so they reflect the sun and don't get too hot for the taters. Then, we'll use the other colors paint designs them so they're not too boring and/or ugly. I'd like to get the rebar stakes so that the top tires won't blow over even in storms. The straw is on the advice of our friend Louis, who has tried the tire method and has found that soil inside the tire gets pretty heavy and that using soil can make it difficult to find all of the tubers. He recommends that we use straw instead, at least in the inner part of the tire (not in the center).
Well, that's all the updates for now. I promise to update more frequently once school is out - finals next week! Wish me luck! And as always, thanks for reading.
WOG out.
While we're on the subject of transplants, the broccoli, eggplant, tomatoes, and peppers in the apartment windowsills are all looking fabulous. They don't seem to mind that I started them late - hopefully this will continue all season and we'll get some good yields from them - and they have all produced true leaves or are about to do so. They all love it in the curtain-greenhouses, and the broccoli look a lot more comfortable now that they're not so crowded. I've been watering them daily, and they have responded with lovely green leaves and rapid growth. Yay! We'll be transplanting them into the garden before we know it.
Speaking of crops in the garden, I am now entirely convinced that the mystery seedlings in the general area of the beets and carrots are, in fact, beets. I studied the seedlings closely and then looked up pictures of beet seedlings, and they were a perfect match. In other words, we have some beets! Hooray! I have also been keeping a keen eye on some other seedlings in the same area of the garden, and I now believe they are carrot seedlings, based on their location and on the pictures I found online. Double hooray! There are only two or three carrots up so far, but I expect to see more before long.
Alas, the updates this week are not all happy ones. The onions seem to be plagued with disease. The other day, I pulled up three more moldy red onions and one yellow onion that appeared to have the same blue mold that's afflicting the red onions. I hope we don't lose all the onions, but if this trend continues, we will. We are now down to nine red onions and I think about 26 yellow onions. The good news is that the remaining onions all have very healthy leaves. Some of the leaves have been damaged - I suspect this is a result of cats playing on the netting. I am considering removing the netting from the onions to remove the cats' temptation to play on it. The leaves of several of the plants are poking through the slanted end of the netting anyway - and I doubt that the cats will try to eat the leaves, because I've read that they don't like the taste or smell of onions, garlic, etc. I'll have to contemplate this further before making any sudden moves.
Even in light of the diseased onions, the big news this week is that I finally got some potatoes in the ground! The sad part of this is that I never actually called any auto shops - Alpine Tire Center responded to my post on their Facebook wall, and said that we could come talk to Mark or Jeff about getting some tires. So, on Friday, Anne Marie and Ben and I drove Mrs. Teaberry over there, found Jeff, and loaded up on free tires. They had a very large pile of old tires that they get recycled, but they have to pay by the tire for that service. Anne Marie didn't want to have to store any tires, so we only got three - each would form the first layer of a potato tire stack. We brought them back to WOG and rinsed them off with the hose. Then Ben and I moved them to the potato section of the garden and I arranged them there. Then I dug out a large circle of soil for each tire and buried each halfway in the soil. Then I cut the seed potatoes into sections with several eyes each, and planted several sections in each tire. I have five seed potato sections of the Colorado Rose variety that we bought from Abundant Life Seeds and nine of a mystery brown-skinned, white-fleshed variety that I got from the Fort Collins Food Co-Op - we had intended to eat these, but we left them too long and they sprouted. So, we figured there was no reason not to plant them!
Before we stack more tires on top of the first layer, we'll have to get some white paint, a little bit of paint of various colors, some tall rebar stakes, and some straw. After we rinse the next tires, we'll paint them white so they reflect the sun and don't get too hot for the taters. Then, we'll use the other colors paint designs them so they're not too boring and/or ugly. I'd like to get the rebar stakes so that the top tires won't blow over even in storms. The straw is on the advice of our friend Louis, who has tried the tire method and has found that soil inside the tire gets pretty heavy and that using soil can make it difficult to find all of the tubers. He recommends that we use straw instead, at least in the inner part of the tire (not in the center).
Well, that's all the updates for now. I promise to update more frequently once school is out - finals next week! Wish me luck! And as always, thanks for reading.
WOG out.
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