Clean Up, Rain and Christmas in April

Today was a clean up day. All those loose ends that we put off doing other chores were finally attempted today. Not all were completed. But a good portion of them were crossed off the “honey do” list.

The rain drops visited us late this afternoon and it is nice and steady this evening. We really needed it. Due to it being so dry, the forest fire level had been set at extremely high for quite some time.  Joe is burning brush this evening and the ashes will get spread in the “lasagna” walkways.  I completed layering rows 1 and 2 this afternoon.

More seeds arrived by mail. When that happens, it feels like Christmas . The starting trays were rewashed. It will still be raining for a few days so the seeds will probably get planted tomorrow.  I’m so excited to have found some heirloom tomato seeds.  My paternal grandmother was originally from Europe and always grew these amazing Russian tomatoes. They were huge, juicy but not drippy, and the sweetest tomatoes you ever tasted. I will be planting the variety called Marianna’s Peace in anticipation of the same success she had. Thank you TomatoFest.com!!  If you get the chance please check out their web page. They have over 600 varieties of heirloom tomatoes. They also have some great varieties that grow well indoors. I’m certainly going to be ordering some of them and attempt to grow them all winter long.

One thing I’m addressing this year is pollination. With the decrease in the bee population, pollination has been an issue for many gardeners. We need those babies in order to have our plants set fruit. I toyed with the idea of keeping bees. But opted for a little easier method this year. I’m planting some extra flowering plants to attract them.  I already have lupine, shasta daisies, and black-eyed susans. I’ll be adding some new england asters, coneflower, marigolds and zinnias. I still have plenty of room around the garden for them. And they will make a nice addition to my cut flowers for home and for our executive tenants.

I finally sat down this evening to finish working on my planting plan. I began by making a list of everything I have as seedlings. HOLY MOLY!  When a friend of mine said she had become carried away with starting her seedlings, I chuckled.  Wait until she reads my list. She can slap me for my snickers. But I think all of us who love to garden are guilty of this. We can always share those extra plants with a community or senior center garden. They would certainly appreciate it.

Herbs – sweet basil, italian cooking basil, cilantro, dill, parsley (Italian flat leaf), horseradish (family heirloom), thyme (French), oregano (italian), garlic,

Greens – swiss chard (white giant), collards (georgia), spinach (bloomsdale long standing), lettuce (simpson, ruby, tall utah)

Brussel sprouts (early king), eggplant (early long italian), snap peas (sugar ann), broccoli (calabrese), cauliflower (snowball), garden bean (kentucky wonder), turnip (golden globe), beet (ruby queen), cuke (national pickling), pumpkin (casper, big max), watermelon (fordhook hybrid), fennel (hinojo), onion (sweet sets, white bunching), summer squashes (gourmet mix), pepper (Italian fryers), asparagus (Martha Washington) potatoes (Yukon gold, red), squash (acorn, butternut, spaghetti), carrot (touchon), radish (fire and ice)

Fruits – rhubarb (family heirloom), raspberries (family heirloom) blueberries (early, mid, late)

Flowers – sunflower (summer cutting garden mix), shasta daisy, cosmos, zinnia (cut and come again, dwarf), marigold, coneflower (mix)

Tomatoes – kellogg’s breakfast, plum lemon, tiny tim, white queen, marianna’s peace, neves Azorean red, yellow pear, roma, sweet snack hybrid, sun sugar

Granted that the fruits and perennials are already established. The only planning I'll be doing this evening is the rotation planting of the vegetables. Grabbing the graph paper now.

Spring Warm Up

I have to yell to the mountain tops that I love my husband. He shares my passion for gardening and getting dirty. He spent two days getting the 18 garden beds that were in the "lasagna" areas prepared for the spring. Then he put a black poly down on three of the beds along with hoops that will be covered with a clear greenhouse poly to create mini hoop tunnels to get a jump on our warmer weather crops growing season. This week saw the planting of peas, spinach, broccoli, brussel sprouts, early bunching onions and cauliflower

For those of you not familiar with lasagna gardening or new to my blog, it is the best organic way to grow. I use no additional nutrients for my soil with the exception of an occasional boost for those crops needing it during setting fruit. It is super easy and garners no special tools. I rotate the walkways and planting beds each year. In the walkways being used that year, I continually add layers of brown and green. Layer 1 should be corrugated cardboard or newspaper. Layer 2 should be organic "browns" - ex: fall leaves, shredded newspaper, peat, and pine needles. Layer 3 should be organic "greens" - ex vegetables scraps, garden trimmings, and grass clippings (we do not treat our lawns). Layer 4 should be "browns". Layer 5 should be "greens". Final layer should be compost or manure.

Trust me when I say that when you plant in that walkway next year, it is like planting in black gold. It is the best garden dirt you will ever work with. It is full of nutrients that are just waiting to hold the roots of your tender seedlings and see them all the way through the harvesting of their fruit.

So go grab a piece of dirt and some sun screen. Have fun!

Where Did June Go?

Well this post is way over due. For some reason the entire month of June just flew by. We have spent everyday that wasn’t pouring out trimming and cleaning out old shrubs; cleaning up established beds; graded and planted new lawn areas; and planting a few new things. All of this along with our everyday chores seemed quite overwhelming. We also had 3 weekends of weddings out of state this month and the American Cancer Society Relay for Life. Although they were wonderful and wouldn’t have missed them for the world, our vege garden took a back seat to our schedule. This was not the smartest thing to do. I’m paying for it with more weeding and replanting than I normally do this time of year. I truly missed our weekend time. I like working in the garden during the week but love working in the garden with Joe. It is better than our “windshield time”. We garden and get lots of talking and sharing done. There is some very therapeutic about getting the dirt under your nails.

Knowing I didn’t want to spend lots of time moving a sprinkler around the garden this summer, I used a secret we used in our CT garden. I pounded an iron pipe into the ground in the center of the garden. It sticks out of the garden about 3 ½ feet. Then anchored a really nice Gilmore pulsating arm sprinkler in the pipe. It is fully adjustable and reaches all the way to the corners of the garden. I picked up two of these sprinklers at Ocean State Job Lot. They are made with all brass fittings and were only $6.00 each. Last one I had like this lasted over 25 years. Much better than those plastic ones.

The second crop of beans and peas has been planted and coming up. My squashes are doing well after being planted late with the exception of my zucchini. Both of my zucchini mounds have been lost. But at least there is still time to plant a fall crop.

Those potatoes I planted are now showing its above ground growth. I never grew any potatoes before so this is very exciting for me! I can’t wait to taste a few of new potato morsels.

Even the new horseradish bed is showing signs of life. All sorts of green shoots are peeking through the black gold soil. I can’t wait to harvest some of this in the fall. One of my favorite things is fresh horseradish. One just has to make sure to process it with the windows open and plenty of ventilation. Trust me….I learned this the hard way. First batch I ever made put me on the kitchen floor passed out.

More layers are still being added to the lasagna portion of the garden. It is fun to know we are not only growing our garden but growing our garden soil for next year at the same time. I’m an avid recycler. I even took the plastic bucket that the dishwasher detergent came in and am using it for my compost scraps. I cut them up small to use them in the green layers of the lasagna.

I was surprised that the asparagus I planted this year has grown and ferned out. I had to read up on them and learned that you shouldn’t wait two years to harvest. You can harvest after one year. So I’m certainly looking forward to next year. http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1603.html states that the more you harvest the more you stimulate growth on the crowns. This link has a wealth of information on asparagus and is worth the read.

On another note, I use an SPF 80 while in the garden and I still get a dark tan. I don’t get burnt but I’m sure getting “carmelized.” I wish someone would invent garden gloves that wouldn’t give you tan lines. Hmmmmmm.

I can’t believe I’m already thinking of this. But with our short growing season here, one of the things we need to get on our list of things to do is some cold frames to put directly over plants in the garden. We have plenty of old window sashes to work with and should get these done before we have any of our cold nights in September.

Okay .. back to work.

June 1st !!

We are hoping that the recent weather pattern is behind us. The terrible hail and wind storms are behind us and we are giving thanks that we had not planted the vegetable garden. Those poor seedlings would have been destroyed by mother nature.

Although we are going to be using a design called “lasagna gardening”, I will probably be pulling out those feeder roots this entire season (since this is the first year of a garden back in this space in almost a decade). As Joe furrowed and hoed his way through last evening, I was on my hands and knees, up and down the rows filling my weeding bucket with feeder roots. We have raised the beds in the vege garden to provide more warmth to the soil for our short growing season. What a task it was to make 8 fifty foot rows in our space. He left a comfortable 2 foot path for us to begin our lasagna for next year.

For those of you unfamiliar with this type of gardening, let me fill you in. It is when you use your pathways as a composting site. Granted, it needs to be done in a specific manner in order to be effective. Apparently, this is the method one of the previous owners used. Thus our soil here is like black gold!

But here are some great links with lots of tips:

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/1999-04-01/Lasagna-Gardening.aspx

http://organicgardening.about.com/od/startinganorganicgarden/a/lasagnagarden.htm

http://www.no-dig-vegetablegarden.com/lasagna-gardening.html

Through all of this work, we must take the time to enjoy what is growing wild around here. I know that many of the beds are still in dire need of attention after all of the years of neglect. But some beauty cannot be forgotten.