Overall I am happy with the vegetable garden. Having a daughter now takes priority over many gardening chores as well as maintaining the rest of our property. So unfortunately my outlook for my squash and zucchini/carrots isn't that great due to weeds...but I have well weeded the beans tomatoes and cucumbers and am being well-rewarded for it.
The bad: The Carrots seem to be a big disappointment. The plot has become overcome with weeds. I think I need to grow carrots in a raised bed to control weeds....or maybe an earth box.. (cringe)
Stupice: I am most elated regarding the Stupice tomato's rookie season in my backyard. LOTS of tomatoes appeared around the time of my cherries, and are growing rapidly.
Big Beef: Nice big healthy plants, but not even a teeny ball of a tomato yet.
Cukes: Steady....first couple are ready to be picked tomorrow.
Green Bush Beans: TOTAL JACKPOT. Switched to organic beans from Natural Gardening and we have huge bursting long greenbeans, fantastic eaten raw (I liked last years too but they didnt taste very good raw).
Pear trees: Growing very niceley even in the very warm summer we've had. We planted them in April (still dormant season) at the base of the hill.....too far to use the hose. I give them 3/4 of a bucket of water maybe once a week unless it rains hard and probably double that the first month or so, and they are doing well. I need to spray them though - they've still never been sprayed - no insect damage now though.
Raspberries: I have learned quite a bit. I have not figured out pruning yet, but I'm working on it. It seems all gardeners have different opinions on pruning raspberries. I do know that my grandmother forever has used and still uses her homegrown berries for jam (her jam is pure heaven you really have no idea) and she only cuts the canes down to the ground once a year, in the fall. Anyway, I have about ten 6 foot plants but no berries. It's a messy area. They were uncared for for around 3-4 years, but I could see the old clipper cuts on a lot of the dead wood I found last fall. I did make a lot of my own cuts around November last year trying to make some room and did also transplant some to the backyard. From talking to my grandmother, I gather that the problems this year are not enough water and crowding. She said in 2009 (the dark & rainy year with horrible tomato production)her raspberries did very well. That means they must love the wetness. Also, my grandmother has hers spaced out nicely, and adequately weeded, which I do not. The ones I put in the backyard get plenty of light but not enough water. The other spot with the 6ft plants needs more water (could use more sun too). These plants are also crowded and reside on the very edge of a semi-steep hill with some annoying brush and branches. ***I will someday transplant to a perfect, well-maintained sunny area where it is easy to care for them.
Monday, July 26, 2010
2010!!!
It has been an amazing year so far!!! My wife and I were so blessed to bring our lovely daughter into the world this past January and we are having far better tomato weather than last year!!!
A few older notes (a lot of them written in between periods of USA olympic hockey) from my gardening journal here and in my next post, what I've done so far this year with reflections up until today:
2/14/10
Thoughts on 2009:
*About 75% less yields than 2008
Reason: Hardly any sun & too much rain, in April and May especially. July's weather was not great either.
*No peppers in 2009 other than a few about the size of a cherry tomato.
Tried fertilizer, compared pruning vs non-pruning -- it didnt make any difference. If I want to be successful with peppers, I think I would need to start seeds earlier in winter (greenhouse).
*I kept my biggest, nicest Rosemary plant grown outdoors in 2009 for winter storage indoors, but it soon died upstairs - too cold in closed rooms (our cats would tear that thing apart). In 2009 I did successfully grow 4 or 5 plants from seed. Notes: needs full sun, might try again when garden is bigger.
*2009 Big Beef/Brandywine Tomatoes......Not good.
I didnt change any growing methods/locations (didnt crop rotate) from 2008, and in 2008 by mid august, we had more tomatoes than we could eat and practically give away.
2010 plan: beginning crop rotation, changing from BW to Stupice, keeping Big Beef (produced about 25 small tomatoes vs BW (1 tomato) in 2009.
*Sun Gold Cherry: Great yields in 2009 despite the lousy weather. Plenty of them for my wife and I with 4 total plants.
side note: The weather was so bad in April/May/June 2009 I was picking slugs off plants daily before work and after work in addition to 3 beer traps.
*Basil was super in 2009 despite bad weather. Keep it up!
*Squash/Zucchini/Marketmore Cucumbers: OK in 09, not nearly as good in 2008. Needs more sun.
*Bush Beans: Did great in 2009, but I'll space them out a little more and have more plants in 2010.
2010 Plan
**Last frost date May 23, 2010
Tomatoes--start seeds 4/10-4/11...............................Transplant last week of May (6-7 weeks)
Basil--start seeds indoors 4-6 weeks before last frost.
New Journal entry (undated):
Black Eyed Susans--start indoors 6-8 weeks BLF (I am starting a little bit late)
-2 to 3 seeds per cell
-Plant outside after last frost full sun.
journal dated 3/6/10:
Heard these Carrot tips on WBZ radio: shovel full of soil, make very loose, place seeds 3 inches apart on top then cover with one inch of compost (or less).
A few older notes (a lot of them written in between periods of USA olympic hockey) from my gardening journal here and in my next post, what I've done so far this year with reflections up until today:
2/14/10
Thoughts on 2009:
*About 75% less yields than 2008
Reason: Hardly any sun & too much rain, in April and May especially. July's weather was not great either.
*No peppers in 2009 other than a few about the size of a cherry tomato.
Tried fertilizer, compared pruning vs non-pruning -- it didnt make any difference. If I want to be successful with peppers, I think I would need to start seeds earlier in winter (greenhouse).
*I kept my biggest, nicest Rosemary plant grown outdoors in 2009 for winter storage indoors, but it soon died upstairs - too cold in closed rooms (our cats would tear that thing apart). In 2009 I did successfully grow 4 or 5 plants from seed. Notes: needs full sun, might try again when garden is bigger.
*2009 Big Beef/Brandywine Tomatoes......Not good.
I didnt change any growing methods/locations (didnt crop rotate) from 2008, and in 2008 by mid august, we had more tomatoes than we could eat and practically give away.
2010 plan: beginning crop rotation, changing from BW to Stupice, keeping Big Beef (produced about 25 small tomatoes vs BW (1 tomato) in 2009.
*Sun Gold Cherry: Great yields in 2009 despite the lousy weather. Plenty of them for my wife and I with 4 total plants.
side note: The weather was so bad in April/May/June 2009 I was picking slugs off plants daily before work and after work in addition to 3 beer traps.
*Basil was super in 2009 despite bad weather. Keep it up!
*Squash/Zucchini/Marketmore Cucumbers: OK in 09, not nearly as good in 2008. Needs more sun.
*Bush Beans: Did great in 2009, but I'll space them out a little more and have more plants in 2010.
2010 Plan
**Last frost date May 23, 2010
Tomatoes--start seeds 4/10-4/11...............................Transplant last week of May (6-7 weeks)
Basil--start seeds indoors 4-6 weeks before last frost.
New Journal entry (undated):
Black Eyed Susans--start indoors 6-8 weeks BLF (I am starting a little bit late)
-2 to 3 seeds per cell
-Plant outside after last frost full sun.
journal dated 3/6/10:
Heard these Carrot tips on WBZ radio: shovel full of soil, make very loose, place seeds 3 inches apart on top then cover with one inch of compost (or less).
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Memorial Day Weekend
This past weekend I planted the majority of my vegetables.
A few notes on things I have learned this spring with my seedlings and the weather:
First, the weather has been rather crazy as usual. Seems like a typical new england statement but I swear it always seems to get more and more erratic. The past 4 days saw temps ranging from 90 to 44 at night. 44 happened last night and I wasn't too pleased as it was the first night for many of my veggies in the ground. Daytime temps were steady 80s each day and now we're going to see highs in low 60s all week. Early in April we had mid nineties weather for 3 days in a row, followed by sub-par rainfall in April. Has not rained much in May either. Downpoured when we were out in Brimfield on Sunday but my house didnt see a drop. Our last frost date was April 26 . . . and there was a frost warning in Western Mass last night . . . May 25 . . .
Seedlings:
Thyme was too delicate when transplanted - I wont grow those seedlings again.
Lavender grew strong and healthy as seedlings, but died when I put them outdoors. 2 possible reasons: not warm enough / should have been transplanted into pot to grow more before ground planting. The latter makes more sense to me but could be a combination. Also, was not a full sun area.
Rosemary: jury is still out. Germination was SLOW. The plants in the ground are still seedling size. Basically the 3 earliest transplants were basil, rosemary and thyme. My rosemary is doing slightly better in the shady bed probably because they had a little bit better soil nutrients. **And my Dad did give me a nice sprig of his rosemary plant which I planted in the front left corner with PLENTY of organic material since that is the area with TONS of rock about a 15 inches down into the ground.
And the good . . .
Basil is doing pretty well. I recently re-planted a few in order to incorporate more compost and manure, and the result is very good.
Tomatoes are good . . . seemingly a little smaller than last year, However... the seeds I started in the jiffy pellets are another story!! Those are at least DOUBLE/TRIPLE the size of the ones I started in just starter mix and peat pot. Unbelievable difference!! Although it is one extra step to eventually put the sprouted pellet into the 3 inch peat pot with starter mix, it is FAR worth it! The pellet alone is the reason those were so much faster - the time to germinate was probably 4 days vs 7-8 days.
Gourds sprouted quickly in peat pots and pellets. Planted down the hill (not on the SLOPE of the hill, at base of hill) in 2 rows.
Pumpkins I still need to plant. I will put them in 2 rows just like the gourds. I still have to rip out all that grass in between rows. It's far better to have gourds/pumpkins/squash to rest and sit and grow laying in dirt than on grass - far less rotting/infection. TIP: Put a brick under a maturing fruit to prevent rotting. Must plant pumpkins tomorrow because their length is making them sag now in the peatpots.
Peppers are looking strong. This year I am doing golden peppers and they seem bigger and healthier than my ace peppers from last year.
I am allowing much more room for squash/zucchini/cukes/green beans this year, so I am hoping this pays off. These veggies are all in the front new portion of the garden.
Our shaded herb bed in the front yard which gets several hours of warm afternon sun has parsley, mint, rosemary, sage?? (we're stil not quite sure of this plant that survived the winter) and chives. The parsley is going CRAZY and came back from last year. It's almost 2 feet high. I put a couple extra rosemary seedlings here (as mentioned earlier) and they are doing better here than in the sunnier garden. Mint is not up yet (just planted a week ago), chive seeds are not planted yet, but there is a bunch groing from last year.
This is where I'm at. I could go into detail about my lawn work, but it's much more boring and not organic . . . maybe next year . . .
A few notes on things I have learned this spring with my seedlings and the weather:
First, the weather has been rather crazy as usual. Seems like a typical new england statement but I swear it always seems to get more and more erratic. The past 4 days saw temps ranging from 90 to 44 at night. 44 happened last night and I wasn't too pleased as it was the first night for many of my veggies in the ground. Daytime temps were steady 80s each day and now we're going to see highs in low 60s all week. Early in April we had mid nineties weather for 3 days in a row, followed by sub-par rainfall in April. Has not rained much in May either. Downpoured when we were out in Brimfield on Sunday but my house didnt see a drop. Our last frost date was April 26 . . . and there was a frost warning in Western Mass last night . . . May 25 . . .
Seedlings:
Thyme was too delicate when transplanted - I wont grow those seedlings again.
Lavender grew strong and healthy as seedlings, but died when I put them outdoors. 2 possible reasons: not warm enough / should have been transplanted into pot to grow more before ground planting. The latter makes more sense to me but could be a combination. Also, was not a full sun area.
Rosemary: jury is still out. Germination was SLOW. The plants in the ground are still seedling size. Basically the 3 earliest transplants were basil, rosemary and thyme. My rosemary is doing slightly better in the shady bed probably because they had a little bit better soil nutrients. **And my Dad did give me a nice sprig of his rosemary plant which I planted in the front left corner with PLENTY of organic material since that is the area with TONS of rock about a 15 inches down into the ground.
And the good . . .
Basil is doing pretty well. I recently re-planted a few in order to incorporate more compost and manure, and the result is very good.
Tomatoes are good . . . seemingly a little smaller than last year, However... the seeds I started in the jiffy pellets are another story!! Those are at least DOUBLE/TRIPLE the size of the ones I started in just starter mix and peat pot. Unbelievable difference!! Although it is one extra step to eventually put the sprouted pellet into the 3 inch peat pot with starter mix, it is FAR worth it! The pellet alone is the reason those were so much faster - the time to germinate was probably 4 days vs 7-8 days.
Gourds sprouted quickly in peat pots and pellets. Planted down the hill (not on the SLOPE of the hill, at base of hill) in 2 rows.
Pumpkins I still need to plant. I will put them in 2 rows just like the gourds. I still have to rip out all that grass in between rows. It's far better to have gourds/pumpkins/squash to rest and sit and grow laying in dirt than on grass - far less rotting/infection. TIP: Put a brick under a maturing fruit to prevent rotting. Must plant pumpkins tomorrow because their length is making them sag now in the peatpots.
Peppers are looking strong. This year I am doing golden peppers and they seem bigger and healthier than my ace peppers from last year.
I am allowing much more room for squash/zucchini/cukes/green beans this year, so I am hoping this pays off. These veggies are all in the front new portion of the garden.
Our shaded herb bed in the front yard which gets several hours of warm afternon sun has parsley, mint, rosemary, sage?? (we're stil not quite sure of this plant that survived the winter) and chives. The parsley is going CRAZY and came back from last year. It's almost 2 feet high. I put a couple extra rosemary seedlings here (as mentioned earlier) and they are doing better here than in the sunnier garden. Mint is not up yet (just planted a week ago), chive seeds are not planted yet, but there is a bunch groing from last year.
This is where I'm at. I could go into detail about my lawn work, but it's much more boring and not organic . . . maybe next year . . .
Monday, April 20, 2009
Garden 2009
I am off to my second season of gardening! This year I double my tomatoes (1 tray big beef, 1 tray brandywine -- thats 18 peat pots per tray, and I'll have 9 of each in my garden, maybe more??...so tempting!!), and also I have 1 tray of cherry tomatoes.
Other than my tomato obsession, I am growing:
parsley, chives, mint (partial sun)
rosemary, thyme, basic cilantro (needs full sun)
squash
zucchini
green beans
cukes
peppers
Down the hill we are planting pumpkins and gourds .
For decorative plants, we just planted a couple creeping phlox plants near our periwinkle by the driveway which barely survived the winter probably due to the excessive dirt and salt. I am planning on getting more periwinkle (I have a free unlimited source) and hopefully it will thrive - safety in numbers? Also we planted a forsythia down the hill just to the south of where the pumpkins will be. Not looking forward to trudging up and down the hill with water but it will be worth it. A rainbarrel down there makes sense.
To do all the veggies/herbs, I am roughly doubling my garden's size, while attempting to make better use of space at the same time. I also read about "green composting" so I am trying that by tossing 2 rows of mustard seed (it sproued in about a week in still sub 40 degree nights) in my garden bed and I'll dig it into the soil when I start ripping off the grass and working the soil more next week.
So far seedlings are off to a great start. I tried jiffy greenhouses and they are great. Lavender germinated very well and I kept it very moist - almost wet. Rosemary isnt up yet but I have read that it's best to keep them pretty warm and on the dry side, so I am hopeful that those will sprout up fine in a week or so. Basil, thyme and all tomatoes germinated beautifully. Especially surprising was that my old big beef and b-wine seeds sprouted faster in the jiffy house than my new tomato seeds did in the bigger peat pots! Interesting. I love having the fast germination in the jiffy house pellets, but transplanting is more work . . .
Also, I have 3 lights instead of 1 - only using 2 for now, but will get 3rd running soon.
More to come!!
Other than my tomato obsession, I am growing:
parsley, chives, mint (partial sun)
rosemary, thyme, basic cilantro (needs full sun)
squash
zucchini
green beans
cukes
peppers
Down the hill we are planting pumpkins and gourds .
For decorative plants, we just planted a couple creeping phlox plants near our periwinkle by the driveway which barely survived the winter probably due to the excessive dirt and salt. I am planning on getting more periwinkle (I have a free unlimited source) and hopefully it will thrive - safety in numbers? Also we planted a forsythia down the hill just to the south of where the pumpkins will be. Not looking forward to trudging up and down the hill with water but it will be worth it. A rainbarrel down there makes sense.
To do all the veggies/herbs, I am roughly doubling my garden's size, while attempting to make better use of space at the same time. I also read about "green composting" so I am trying that by tossing 2 rows of mustard seed (it sproued in about a week in still sub 40 degree nights) in my garden bed and I'll dig it into the soil when I start ripping off the grass and working the soil more next week.
So far seedlings are off to a great start. I tried jiffy greenhouses and they are great. Lavender germinated very well and I kept it very moist - almost wet. Rosemary isnt up yet but I have read that it's best to keep them pretty warm and on the dry side, so I am hopeful that those will sprout up fine in a week or so. Basil, thyme and all tomatoes germinated beautifully. Especially surprising was that my old big beef and b-wine seeds sprouted faster in the jiffy house than my new tomato seeds did in the bigger peat pots! Interesting. I love having the fast germination in the jiffy house pellets, but transplanting is more work . . .
Also, I have 3 lights instead of 1 - only using 2 for now, but will get 3rd running soon.
More to come!!
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Tomato Tips
Although this is my first season growing tomatoes (Organic Brandywine and Big Beef) there are a couple valuable tips I learned on my way to having a successful harvest (I have many green tomatoes now). Thanks to my family and friends for providing so much info on tomatoes and gardening during my first summer in our new home.
Staking: I made the mistake of staking later than I should have. Even though my plants were only about 8 inches tall when transplanted into the garden, I should have staked then because this prevents damage to the root system. My crop is turning out fine, but I wish I had realized this sooner and staked earlier.
Weeds: I found that a couple layers of wet newspaper held in place by a few wood stakes or rocks stops a lot of weeds. Pour some more compost or soil on top. A few more weeds will come through the newspaper, but weeding a few out is better than weeding a lot out . . .
Pay attention to the weather. Always water at night/dusk because this allows the water to soak in rather than be burned off by the sun. Also, here in new england we tend to get thunderstorms on a hot day around 4-7 pm, so I like to see if we're going to get that drenching shower before I head out to grab the hose. This can save you some $$.
Staking: I made the mistake of staking later than I should have. Even though my plants were only about 8 inches tall when transplanted into the garden, I should have staked then because this prevents damage to the root system. My crop is turning out fine, but I wish I had realized this sooner and staked earlier.
Weeds: I found that a couple layers of wet newspaper held in place by a few wood stakes or rocks stops a lot of weeds. Pour some more compost or soil on top. A few more weeds will come through the newspaper, but weeding a few out is better than weeding a lot out . . .
Pay attention to the weather. Always water at night/dusk because this allows the water to soak in rather than be burned off by the sun. Also, here in new england we tend to get thunderstorms on a hot day around 4-7 pm, so I like to see if we're going to get that drenching shower before I head out to grab the hose. This can save you some $$.
Zip-its, fixing small holes in wall
If you want to hang a large mirror or heavy wall decoration, studs are always the best spots to drill large screws into, but your mirror doesn't always allow it depending on the spacing of the hang spots on the back. For hollow walls, I recently discovered metal anchors, or "zip-its." They say "zip-it" on the top. Bought a pack of 10 at grossmans b.o. for 1.99. I had used the plastic ones before with limited success. You just press the point into the wall a little (or use an awl) take a philips screwdriver and screw it into the hollow wall all the way. Then with the screws provided in the pack of zip-its, screw it in to the desired level. Bingo.
One thing about these zip-its is that they are wide. If you ever have to pull one out, you'll have a decent hole in the wall.
To fix this hole or any hole in the wall smaller than 1 inch wide, take a clean, slightly wet putty knife and spread spackling paste over the hole, pressing some into the hole as well. go over it a few times, clearing up any putty around the hole. A few hours later or the next day, repeat.
Then when dry, lightly sand with fine sandpaper until the wall is perfectly smooth. Paint over.
One thing about these zip-its is that they are wide. If you ever have to pull one out, you'll have a decent hole in the wall.
To fix this hole or any hole in the wall smaller than 1 inch wide, take a clean, slightly wet putty knife and spread spackling paste over the hole, pressing some into the hole as well. go over it a few times, clearing up any putty around the hole. A few hours later or the next day, repeat.
Then when dry, lightly sand with fine sandpaper until the wall is perfectly smooth. Paint over.
This is the Diamond Light
Welcome to the Diamond Light where we may share peace and information and enjoyment and absolute absurdity at times.
Have you ever noticed that when you go to clap a fly with your hands, and miss, that the fly is not dead (no black fly gook in palms) but seems to have completely vanished?
Have you ever noticed that when you go to clap a fly with your hands, and miss, that the fly is not dead (no black fly gook in palms) but seems to have completely vanished?
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