Not much to journal about today other than rainfall. We got about 2 inches of it over the weekend. Temperatures stayed above freezing, but not by much. There is no longer any snow or ice in the yard and the angle of the sun is moving in a way that the grapes are getting more direct sun. The currants are on the brink of leafing out. The blueberry plants are sporting ever-growing leaf buds, the elder hasn't woken up yet, but does not appear dead- just slow.
The daffs are in full bloom, the crown imperials are budding and will bloom soon. I have emailed my mom offering her all the flowers from both front beds so i can replace them with berry bushes. I may move the blueberries to that area or get some other things- the autumn olive that i grew from seed is still indoors (about 10" tall) and will likely be planted in the side garden. I need to start some goji, sea buckthorn, seakale and other berry plants... i have been saying i'm going to do this for months, eventually it will happen!
Hubby started to rake the garden debris into a pile in the middle of the garden to burn it. Though the rain had soaked everything and fire danger was very low, the wind picked up and we decided it wasn't a good day for it. So we put the fire out halfway through. If we could just get a day without this annoying wind, we'd be able to do it.
Its been chilly and mostly cloudy today, but the warmup is well on its way. I have been checking the small asparagus bed daily now, but nothing yet. Its likely too early. The Welsh onions are perking up nicely and the chives at the corner of the side bed are coming up.
I decided i should try blanching the rhubarb this year. It seems to be the thing to do- so i'll give it a go. I bet it will be nice! I used my 30 gallon, black rubber tub. It won't blow over easily and is completely light-proof.
So that's it today!
Showing posts with label berries. Show all posts
Showing posts with label berries. Show all posts
Monday, April 18, 2011
Thursday, July 8, 2010
There are things going on, but trying to write something about them isn't all that exciting. They are little tidbits like:
The globe artichokes are growing very slowly, i wonder why. Its my first year with them so i have no basis for comparison. Maybe this is normal?
and
The corn is growing like crazy i need to remember to give them some blood meal and side dress them with some fertilizer which i have yet to buy.
There are a bunch of things i need to do still, like harvest castings from the indoor worm bin.
The roller brush with the herbicide....it hasn't happened yet.
Things i need to complain about, like how Triscuit seems to think they invented some "Home Gardening Movement".... puhleease.... home gardening has been going on in my family since half my ancestors came over on boats and before that my other ancestors were already here and had things figured out quite well, thank you very much. Triscuit, who sells a box of crackers for almost $3, made of ingredients that costs them less than 3 cents a box wants to encourage me to 'eat healthy'... Without getting into it too much, i'll just say that a load of manure has more potential nutrition in it than a Triscuit.
Things that i am dreading, like pruning off the clusters of flowers from my Marechal Foch. I know i have to, i intend to, i prepared myself mentally for the reality that grapes have to be treated in just such a way, especially up here where every bit of energy they gather their first summer must be used to fortify themselves for the zone 5 winter ahead. But i want to see grapes. I'm also being a bit pessimistic in expecting the winter to kill the vines and this might be the closest i'll get to having grapes. I want to see the process through. But i have to follow the instructions on this. Not anecdotal instructions, but ones that come from people who have worked with grapes for years, pruned plants on the order of millions....
Now i know i seem a little obsessed, but this is my hobby and some things take a certain amount of obsession to be done right. I really get into things in the beginning, i take in all the information i can find, i think about it, mull it over. Later, if i find that the information i have collected is good and following it has led me to succeed in that area, i let up on the obsession and let the guidelines i found become second nature. If i hit a snag, i become obsessive in that one area until i get it solved.
If it wasn't for some of these challenges i think gardening wouldn't be so much fun. No its not fun to see my prized broccoli and cabbages being decimated by a furry subterranean Houdini... but researching, trying and failing to deter the creature, constructing, reconstructing, and deconstructing the the defenses gave me a challenge with a deadline. The deadline was determined by the appetite of my foe and the growth rate of my vegetables. The irony is that in the end the solution (to this one single raider- it certainly won't work forever) was the first thing i thought of, but the last thing i expected to work. This taught me to never leave any options out.
Oh, did i say how i caught him? I went to a nice Messageboard made up from hunters and trappers in Michigan. I told them of my situation and that i needed a bait that would be more interesting and tempting than my fresh garden vegetables. I was advised to load up the trap, groundhogs are greedy. A piece or two of store-bought broccoli was not going to be tempting enough, but a whole pile of delicious things would be visibly tempting. So i used a small plastic plate and loaded it up with chunks of banana, muskmelon, watermelon, the sacrificed stubs of what had been some of my raided plants, peanut butter, fresh sweet corn, both grape and strawberry jelly.... Within 12 hours i had captured my little furry enemy.
I thanked the guys for their help and my garden has been untouched since.
The rule of woodchucks unfortunately is that there are always more where the first one came from, so i won't declare any sort of victory- ever.
I wonder if my garden would be as interesting to me if Eden-like, it brought forth all manner of unblemished deliciousness. I have thought about that often and i really think it still would. Its that seed planting thing. You can plant a million seeds, but each time one germinates and breaks the soil, there is a thrill that does not get old. Even when things go without a hitch, there is always something else to decide, something to change or something to try out. A different plant, method or technique.
Every morning i go to the window and take a peek at my rows. I normally don't get to escape the house and really take a close look until the little one has begun her nap or the oldest one has gotten up and can watch the little one for me. I often start my mornings with a journal entry here. I'll start at 6:30 and usually by 11 i can get it published. I type between breakfast and cleanup...cups of coffee. The dog goes out and comes back in. I look out the window a few times and try to remember if i recorded some interesting (to me at least) observation about weather, plants, sky.... first sighting of what insect -friendly or ferocious, what flowers are in bloom- which ones have done extra well this year and which were duds. I try to remember bare spots, crowded spaces and plans to change it. I look along the areas waiting to be planted and try to remember if i have planned to plant one thing or three things in that exact spot. I stare at the sun and shade patterns as the season changes and try to decide if there will be enough sun there for the plants i want to grow all season. I wish there was a way to chart it. I wish i had time to chart it. i am almost tempted to get some spray paint and trace the shadows at hourly intervals and then photo it for later reference. Is that too weird? Should i care if it is? It will tell me what i want to know, so why not?
Obsession is only bad if it causes a problem.
I'm a failed perfectionist, i think that is why i feel the need to chart everything....
I did find this interesting webtool:
www.suncalc.net
I may even buy this gadget:
http://www.lusterleaf.com/SunCalc/1875.htm
It has good reviews.
I'm also researching the EasyBloom products which are more expensive, but also provide more than just sunlight readings.
So i might buy another gadget to play with.
Another thing i never got to was the pine litter i planned to gather for the blueberry plants. I was going to mulch them under the row cover with the pine to get the soil nicely acidic. I could probably still do it, but coordinating it might be complicated. I might simply buy a package of Job's Fertilizer spikes for acid loving plants. That is if they acidify the soil as well as fertilize. I'll look it up to be sure.
Its getting close to the time when i have to do something with the Suffolk red grape. I have been putting it off. If i try making it into a potted plant i will have to find a winter home for it. Even if it would make it through the winter, it can't stay where it is right now. It messes up the pattern of plants i have along the fence. Its also in the way because i need to extend the landscape fabric down the line to add in my beach plums, autumn olive, goji and sea-buckthorn, etc.
I did get the cuttings of the porcelainberry vine and the silky dogwood. I don't know if they will root, but i guess it is worth a shot. I might prune the silky dogwood down to the nubs again in the next couple of days and i just might try digging it up and moving it. Then i'll have to move the purple smokebush over. The hydrangea will have to be pruned hard since its getting far too big. I wanted a short accent plant, not another tree sized hydrangea.
I'm tempted to use Roundup on the whole area and then start over. I have some clematis that i don't want to lose though. And i'd hate to lose my spring bulbs. When i actually think about it, i relent, and that is why nothing gets done.
Today's weather started out dim, which is probably a good thing. If it was blazing sun the temp would be well over 85 by now. The sun is just starting to peek out of a hazy sky. This is sunburn weather. Humidity is 68%. I will need to water this evening or tomorrow early. I planted two more celery stubs and 4 inches down the soil was a bit dry feeling.
I have been prepping some 2 liter plastic bottles to hold some of the seedlings i have yet to plant anywhere. They can't go into the flowerbeds yet so they are kind of stuck in the seed flats still. I'll lose them all if i don't plant them into something soon. I made the bottles into self-watering pots. Ugly but serviceable. There they can stay until later when i have space to put them. I am still saving milk jugs for Wintersowing, i'll save them until i use them all up.
The globe artichokes are growing very slowly, i wonder why. Its my first year with them so i have no basis for comparison. Maybe this is normal?
and
The corn is growing like crazy i need to remember to give them some blood meal and side dress them with some fertilizer which i have yet to buy.
There are a bunch of things i need to do still, like harvest castings from the indoor worm bin.
The roller brush with the herbicide....it hasn't happened yet.
Things i need to complain about, like how Triscuit seems to think they invented some "Home Gardening Movement".... puhleease.... home gardening has been going on in my family since half my ancestors came over on boats and before that my other ancestors were already here and had things figured out quite well, thank you very much. Triscuit, who sells a box of crackers for almost $3, made of ingredients that costs them less than 3 cents a box wants to encourage me to 'eat healthy'... Without getting into it too much, i'll just say that a load of manure has more potential nutrition in it than a Triscuit.
Things that i am dreading, like pruning off the clusters of flowers from my Marechal Foch. I know i have to, i intend to, i prepared myself mentally for the reality that grapes have to be treated in just such a way, especially up here where every bit of energy they gather their first summer must be used to fortify themselves for the zone 5 winter ahead. But i want to see grapes. I'm also being a bit pessimistic in expecting the winter to kill the vines and this might be the closest i'll get to having grapes. I want to see the process through. But i have to follow the instructions on this. Not anecdotal instructions, but ones that come from people who have worked with grapes for years, pruned plants on the order of millions....
Now i know i seem a little obsessed, but this is my hobby and some things take a certain amount of obsession to be done right. I really get into things in the beginning, i take in all the information i can find, i think about it, mull it over. Later, if i find that the information i have collected is good and following it has led me to succeed in that area, i let up on the obsession and let the guidelines i found become second nature. If i hit a snag, i become obsessive in that one area until i get it solved.
If it wasn't for some of these challenges i think gardening wouldn't be so much fun. No its not fun to see my prized broccoli and cabbages being decimated by a furry subterranean Houdini... but researching, trying and failing to deter the creature, constructing, reconstructing, and deconstructing the the defenses gave me a challenge with a deadline. The deadline was determined by the appetite of my foe and the growth rate of my vegetables. The irony is that in the end the solution (to this one single raider- it certainly won't work forever) was the first thing i thought of, but the last thing i expected to work. This taught me to never leave any options out.
Oh, did i say how i caught him? I went to a nice Messageboard made up from hunters and trappers in Michigan. I told them of my situation and that i needed a bait that would be more interesting and tempting than my fresh garden vegetables. I was advised to load up the trap, groundhogs are greedy. A piece or two of store-bought broccoli was not going to be tempting enough, but a whole pile of delicious things would be visibly tempting. So i used a small plastic plate and loaded it up with chunks of banana, muskmelon, watermelon, the sacrificed stubs of what had been some of my raided plants, peanut butter, fresh sweet corn, both grape and strawberry jelly.... Within 12 hours i had captured my little furry enemy.
I thanked the guys for their help and my garden has been untouched since.
The rule of woodchucks unfortunately is that there are always more where the first one came from, so i won't declare any sort of victory- ever.
I wonder if my garden would be as interesting to me if Eden-like, it brought forth all manner of unblemished deliciousness. I have thought about that often and i really think it still would. Its that seed planting thing. You can plant a million seeds, but each time one germinates and breaks the soil, there is a thrill that does not get old. Even when things go without a hitch, there is always something else to decide, something to change or something to try out. A different plant, method or technique.
Every morning i go to the window and take a peek at my rows. I normally don't get to escape the house and really take a close look until the little one has begun her nap or the oldest one has gotten up and can watch the little one for me. I often start my mornings with a journal entry here. I'll start at 6:30 and usually by 11 i can get it published. I type between breakfast and cleanup...cups of coffee. The dog goes out and comes back in. I look out the window a few times and try to remember if i recorded some interesting (to me at least) observation about weather, plants, sky.... first sighting of what insect -friendly or ferocious, what flowers are in bloom- which ones have done extra well this year and which were duds. I try to remember bare spots, crowded spaces and plans to change it. I look along the areas waiting to be planted and try to remember if i have planned to plant one thing or three things in that exact spot. I stare at the sun and shade patterns as the season changes and try to decide if there will be enough sun there for the plants i want to grow all season. I wish there was a way to chart it. I wish i had time to chart it. i am almost tempted to get some spray paint and trace the shadows at hourly intervals and then photo it for later reference. Is that too weird? Should i care if it is? It will tell me what i want to know, so why not?
Obsession is only bad if it causes a problem.
I'm a failed perfectionist, i think that is why i feel the need to chart everything....
I did find this interesting webtool:
www.suncalc.net
I may even buy this gadget:
http://www.lusterleaf.com/SunCalc/1875.htm
It has good reviews.
I'm also researching the EasyBloom products which are more expensive, but also provide more than just sunlight readings.
So i might buy another gadget to play with.
Another thing i never got to was the pine litter i planned to gather for the blueberry plants. I was going to mulch them under the row cover with the pine to get the soil nicely acidic. I could probably still do it, but coordinating it might be complicated. I might simply buy a package of Job's Fertilizer spikes for acid loving plants. That is if they acidify the soil as well as fertilize. I'll look it up to be sure.
Its getting close to the time when i have to do something with the Suffolk red grape. I have been putting it off. If i try making it into a potted plant i will have to find a winter home for it. Even if it would make it through the winter, it can't stay where it is right now. It messes up the pattern of plants i have along the fence. Its also in the way because i need to extend the landscape fabric down the line to add in my beach plums, autumn olive, goji and sea-buckthorn, etc.
I did get the cuttings of the porcelainberry vine and the silky dogwood. I don't know if they will root, but i guess it is worth a shot. I might prune the silky dogwood down to the nubs again in the next couple of days and i just might try digging it up and moving it. Then i'll have to move the purple smokebush over. The hydrangea will have to be pruned hard since its getting far too big. I wanted a short accent plant, not another tree sized hydrangea.
I'm tempted to use Roundup on the whole area and then start over. I have some clematis that i don't want to lose though. And i'd hate to lose my spring bulbs. When i actually think about it, i relent, and that is why nothing gets done.
Today's weather started out dim, which is probably a good thing. If it was blazing sun the temp would be well over 85 by now. The sun is just starting to peek out of a hazy sky. This is sunburn weather. Humidity is 68%. I will need to water this evening or tomorrow early. I planted two more celery stubs and 4 inches down the soil was a bit dry feeling.
I have been prepping some 2 liter plastic bottles to hold some of the seedlings i have yet to plant anywhere. They can't go into the flowerbeds yet so they are kind of stuck in the seed flats still. I'll lose them all if i don't plant them into something soon. I made the bottles into self-watering pots. Ugly but serviceable. There they can stay until later when i have space to put them. I am still saving milk jugs for Wintersowing, i'll save them until i use them all up.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
More planting out?
Some of the melons have sprouted and weather is actually looking very good. Overnight lows for this weekend are expected to be in the 50's.
So, i may plant some of the sprouted melons today or within the next day or so.
I wanted the melons to be under hoops, but the row i want them in is one that i didn't get hooped. I did cut a piece of row cover for it and it has been on the row, hopefully holding in warmth. I need the melons protected from bugs right away until they get big enough to survive some bug damage.
So, even though the row cover is supposed to be light enough to put right on the plants... i don't really want to because melons are put on hills, we get wind that might pull and drag the covering enough to snap off little seedling stalks.
This means i need to come up with something to prop the cover up that won't tear or snag it.
I thought about using a few milk jugs with the bottoms cut off, but i don't have any saved and they block too much light. Soda bottles with the bottoms cut off might work, but not for as long as i want.
I got a pack of 24 2' bamboo stakes at "The Tree" the other day.
Hubby had to use an old bike inner tube to patch a leak a while ago.
I remember Mr Wizzbang using slices of innertube as elastics for his carved giant clothespin style hoop clips... and i think if i maybe cut some bands from the inner tube and wrap 3 stakes together, i can spread them over the seedlings like mini tipi.
Like this:
And then put a cup on top so the sticks won't snag the cover.
It should last just long enough for the melons to get a good head start.
*****
Well, its about 12:30 now. I went out to try and do some work. I managed to section off that final wide row. I decided i needed a foot path to be able to get in there on both sides of the row. Its still about 5' wide, but now i can get in to hopefully train the squash vines to head in the direction of the Jerusalem Artichokes and the fence instead of the next planted row.
I got that done and i planted 20 odd Mary Washington Asparagus seedlings. The two Horseradish roots went in too. But that is it. I am still so sore from the other day! I really hate this.
I despise being in pain and i hate not being able to do things. Its not like i'm going out and doing something indulgent. Yes, i think gardening is fun, but i guess i wish it wasn't so painful. Its too small of a garden for me to not get things done in.
I tried to make the hills for the melons.
Its beautiful and sunny and warm. Nice breeze. Perfect day for being out there digging in the dirt.
*sigh*
ok...pity party over.
Anyway.
I do have the new set of sprouts getting acclimated to the sun.
I have to be careful, i haven't had good luck doing this in the past!
I wanted to plant out the onion seedlings and the shallot seedlings... maybe tomorrow :oD
Its so nice out i am tempted to plant the tomatoes that survived the frost, the hubbs bought me a few more tomato cages. I wanted to put together some sturdier braces for tomatoes, since some are indeterminate, but we don't seem to have anything suitable for it right now. I have always used cages with acceptable results. I'll look into trying something different for next year.
Oh, my berry seed order came in. The one from eBay with the fern spores in it. Things look great. Small quantities though, but prices averaged a $1.10 for each item and she combined shipping which was only $2.
I hope i get to report impressive germination rates. I love adding people to my Favorite Sources list.
******
I need to get the 5 gallon brewing bucket cleaned ans sanitized so i can get the wine must in there. I hope my dishwasher can get them clean all the way to the bottom. I intend to use the glass carboy as a secondary, but it will be easiest to use the bucket for the first stage while the flowers are in it. The flowers are to stay in for a week, then they have to be strained out and squeezed well.
I'll have to siphon the liquid off its sediment, from carboy to carboy to clarify it in stages, then when it is clear enough i can age it in bottles.
I'm envisioning a color like herbal tea- chamomile or mint leaf. Would be nice to see purple, but there are no pigments for it. I noticed the flowers turn a gray blue when they hit the boiling sugar water.
I also need to clean out some cell packs for starting my berry seeds....
So, i may plant some of the sprouted melons today or within the next day or so.
I wanted the melons to be under hoops, but the row i want them in is one that i didn't get hooped. I did cut a piece of row cover for it and it has been on the row, hopefully holding in warmth. I need the melons protected from bugs right away until they get big enough to survive some bug damage.
So, even though the row cover is supposed to be light enough to put right on the plants... i don't really want to because melons are put on hills, we get wind that might pull and drag the covering enough to snap off little seedling stalks.
This means i need to come up with something to prop the cover up that won't tear or snag it.
I thought about using a few milk jugs with the bottoms cut off, but i don't have any saved and they block too much light. Soda bottles with the bottoms cut off might work, but not for as long as i want.
I got a pack of 24 2' bamboo stakes at "The Tree" the other day.
Hubby had to use an old bike inner tube to patch a leak a while ago.
I remember Mr Wizzbang using slices of innertube as elastics for his carved giant clothespin style hoop clips... and i think if i maybe cut some bands from the inner tube and wrap 3 stakes together, i can spread them over the seedlings like mini tipi.
Like this:
And then put a cup on top so the sticks won't snag the cover.
It should last just long enough for the melons to get a good head start.
*****
Well, its about 12:30 now. I went out to try and do some work. I managed to section off that final wide row. I decided i needed a foot path to be able to get in there on both sides of the row. Its still about 5' wide, but now i can get in to hopefully train the squash vines to head in the direction of the Jerusalem Artichokes and the fence instead of the next planted row.
I got that done and i planted 20 odd Mary Washington Asparagus seedlings. The two Horseradish roots went in too. But that is it. I am still so sore from the other day! I really hate this.
I despise being in pain and i hate not being able to do things. Its not like i'm going out and doing something indulgent. Yes, i think gardening is fun, but i guess i wish it wasn't so painful. Its too small of a garden for me to not get things done in.
I tried to make the hills for the melons.
Its beautiful and sunny and warm. Nice breeze. Perfect day for being out there digging in the dirt.
*sigh*
ok...pity party over.
Anyway.
I do have the new set of sprouts getting acclimated to the sun.
I have to be careful, i haven't had good luck doing this in the past!
I wanted to plant out the onion seedlings and the shallot seedlings... maybe tomorrow :oD
Its so nice out i am tempted to plant the tomatoes that survived the frost, the hubbs bought me a few more tomato cages. I wanted to put together some sturdier braces for tomatoes, since some are indeterminate, but we don't seem to have anything suitable for it right now. I have always used cages with acceptable results. I'll look into trying something different for next year.
Oh, my berry seed order came in. The one from eBay with the fern spores in it. Things look great. Small quantities though, but prices averaged a $1.10 for each item and she combined shipping which was only $2.
I hope i get to report impressive germination rates. I love adding people to my Favorite Sources list.
******
I need to get the 5 gallon brewing bucket cleaned ans sanitized so i can get the wine must in there. I hope my dishwasher can get them clean all the way to the bottom. I intend to use the glass carboy as a secondary, but it will be easiest to use the bucket for the first stage while the flowers are in it. The flowers are to stay in for a week, then they have to be strained out and squeezed well.
I'll have to siphon the liquid off its sediment, from carboy to carboy to clarify it in stages, then when it is clear enough i can age it in bottles.
I'm envisioning a color like herbal tea- chamomile or mint leaf. Would be nice to see purple, but there are no pigments for it. I noticed the flowers turn a gray blue when they hit the boiling sugar water.
I also need to clean out some cell packs for starting my berry seeds....
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