And its raining, which is fine. Its tomorrow that will be the problem, quite a bit of rain is expected. Along with wind.
The mini greenhouse is holding up and so is the makeshift seedling box. I managed to get the six-pack flat to accept water enough to sow some Oriental Poppies in it. I hope i get many viable plants from it. I love poppies.
My dad's birthday was this Saturday, so he took the day for himself as he should. But he did tell me that he works with a guy who boards horses and he can get a few loads of old manure for both my garden and his.
So if the ground stays too wet for him to get to the grass and yard waste compost, we will at least get some well-aged horse poo.
Justin went out Friday afternoon and got me my Remay row cover stuff. It looks good, giant paper towel roll. The material looks suspiciously like fusible webbing for stitchery, lol. It seems silly that i feel like i am looking at the same material in a totally new light. As long as it works....and by-the-yard, the real fusible webbing is way more expensive!
I expect, from the thickness of it, that it will let a lot of light through, but i don't think it will last more than one season. But that's ok, i would spend way more than its cost for twice what i need if i were using pesticides.
I am going to get a slug and earwig killer though, i need that to keep the bugs out of my flowers at least.
I am doing yet another graph re-do of the garden, i may steal another 3 feet of space along the shorter side (30'x28') just so i can get one more full 4 foot row. If i don't. i will have 4 rows 4 feet wide and the last row will be only 1 foot wide. I don't need another walking row for the edge rows... so if i don't take 4 more feet, i might just relinquish the extra 3 feet of space that is along the back. It depends on when i plot out the Square-Foot method if i have more room than i really need.
I also need to remember to get myself a few bundles of cotton clothesline to run along the tops of the hoops to make a sort of backbone.
Then bricks, i will need at least 30 nice bricks. I hope i can find some with rounded edges so the Remay isn't worn more quickly than necessary.
I am starting to wonder about my wintersown seeds. I think its newbie jitters i guess. This year was an experiment, so i shouldn't let it get to me. I tried a few things that i know may not work, but i had to try for myself. This has been such a bizarre spring it just might work out anyway.
I'm most concerned about those darn Imperial Star Artichokes. I think it was last year, i tried the method that requires chilling the seedlings for a week, i did something wrong because the chilling simply killed them. So this year i wintersowed them, but i'm not sure if that will just kill the seeds... and the seeds were from 2008 anyway and artichokes do not have the greatest germination rate. I think i sowed 10 of them..? I guess i didn't write that down. Even if they do sprout, i don't think the early start will replace the chill method that is supposed to convince them that they have already lived one full year.
Even if they don't produce the first year, i may be able to save some root cuttings and use something of a forcing method on them. So its not my only shot as long as the seeds sprout and the plants last the summer.
I love artichokes so much that i don't plan to stop trying until i am sure i am defeated.
Off, to plot some square foot plantings, study succession crop timing and review companion & intercropping ideas.
Showing posts with label companion planting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label companion planting. Show all posts
Monday, March 29, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Many things...
Rainy out today. I was having a hard time getting the Agribon-19 in the dimensions i needed. I must have it at least 12' wide. The Agribon is available in 12' widths, but the only place i fount it was at Vesey's, and only of 50' lengths. I expect to have four rows needing 29 feet or so (gotta have extra at the ends to close them off) each. Tried emailing them to see if they can get me 150' in continuous length, but i doubt they will be able to even if they are willing, often the stores get them precut and packaged and they dole out the pieces.
But on the way back from visiting my Grampy at the hospital, my sister and i stopped at Paris Farmer's Union to see what they might have, and they looked in their catalog. Found something called Remay (or Reemay, a search for "Remay" bears results in both spellings). This should be a very similar spun material like Agribon. Internet search results in a number of short mentions of the Remay material, seems all positive- for uses such as bug repelling, light frost protection, increased direct-sown seed germination, soil warmer, wind protection, sun protection, & small critter and bird baffler. Just what i need. Paris can get me continuous 300' for the same price as 3 packages- equaling 150' from Vesey's --- and no shipping charges. Yeah it could be way more than may need this year, but for the same price... it was going to cost that much no matter what i did anyway. Might as well get twice the material.
So it should be in today at the earliest. They will call. I'm going out with my sister to see our Grampy again today so i will check in after that because i will probably be out when they call the house.
I really hope its the right stuff. All this plotting, planning and obsessing....!
Been too busy hanging out with my sister to get any more seeds started, but she's only here until Thursday morning and its back to California. And Grampy's operation is tomorrow. It will be a little scary.
Hubby took me to Lowe's on Saturday and we got the PVC for the hoops. I poked the ground with a shovel the other day to see how deep the frost was, its still there, so no rototilling yet even if it wasn't raining, but the rain will soften it a good bit.
The Winter Rye has taken off again, very green out there, not even Easter yet.
Not sure what to do with the apple trees. I don't dare to prune them myself, i have a book to read about it though, just need the time and the daring. But i guess i can't make them any worse. Next i have to look in on what sort of things i can use to organically control what is bugging them. Companion planting tells me to grow onion family plants around them... i think a bed of chives will do much for them, and chives are easy. Maybe toss in a few Welsh Onions....
Gave my sister a huge basket of yarn the other day. I opened up my stash and told her to grab whatever she wanted, don't be shy. Very glad of it, i have lots of nice yarn but no time. She is a knitter and knitting brings out the best in the yarns i had, crocheting does not do them justice since you get a bulkier result. At least with the stitches i use. We are going to have to mail it to her in a box because it will be too expensive to send on the plane, think laundry basket of yarn...lol
So, we will see what today brings.
But on the way back from visiting my Grampy at the hospital, my sister and i stopped at Paris Farmer's Union to see what they might have, and they looked in their catalog. Found something called Remay (or Reemay, a search for "Remay" bears results in both spellings). This should be a very similar spun material like Agribon. Internet search results in a number of short mentions of the Remay material, seems all positive- for uses such as bug repelling, light frost protection, increased direct-sown seed germination, soil warmer, wind protection, sun protection, & small critter and bird baffler. Just what i need. Paris can get me continuous 300' for the same price as 3 packages- equaling 150' from Vesey's --- and no shipping charges. Yeah it could be way more than may need this year, but for the same price... it was going to cost that much no matter what i did anyway. Might as well get twice the material.
So it should be in today at the earliest. They will call. I'm going out with my sister to see our Grampy again today so i will check in after that because i will probably be out when they call the house.
I really hope its the right stuff. All this plotting, planning and obsessing....!
Been too busy hanging out with my sister to get any more seeds started, but she's only here until Thursday morning and its back to California. And Grampy's operation is tomorrow. It will be a little scary.
Hubby took me to Lowe's on Saturday and we got the PVC for the hoops. I poked the ground with a shovel the other day to see how deep the frost was, its still there, so no rototilling yet even if it wasn't raining, but the rain will soften it a good bit.
The Winter Rye has taken off again, very green out there, not even Easter yet.
Not sure what to do with the apple trees. I don't dare to prune them myself, i have a book to read about it though, just need the time and the daring. But i guess i can't make them any worse. Next i have to look in on what sort of things i can use to organically control what is bugging them. Companion planting tells me to grow onion family plants around them... i think a bed of chives will do much for them, and chives are easy. Maybe toss in a few Welsh Onions....
Gave my sister a huge basket of yarn the other day. I opened up my stash and told her to grab whatever she wanted, don't be shy. Very glad of it, i have lots of nice yarn but no time. She is a knitter and knitting brings out the best in the yarns i had, crocheting does not do them justice since you get a bulkier result. At least with the stitches i use. We are going to have to mail it to her in a box because it will be too expensive to send on the plane, think laundry basket of yarn...lol
So, we will see what today brings.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Another sunny day today.
I went to Lowe's last night with my sister (who is visiting from CA this week) to check out the PVC they have and to get a bead on the prices. They were what i expected. Which is good. Only change to the plans (so far) is that i found out that the 3/4" schedule 40 will not accept the 1/2" sched 40. It isn't a lrge enough interior diameter-- but the 3/4" pressure pipe is. But the pressure pipe is rather thin walled, and 10 feet of 1/2" sched 40 does not bend to 2-3' wide very easily, i don't know if the pressure pipe will split due to the tension.
Any excuse to draw:
.
I have a feeling that the hoop will not arch as pretty and nice as that, i think the uprights will bow so i get more of a half-oval (no straight sides), and the inside edges of the uprights will create pressure on the inside top and the outside bottom of the socket pieces. But i am not knowledgeable enough to calculate these things.
So i'm going to get hubby to go to Lowe's with me and make sure it is going to work. He is sure it will, but since he will likely feel the need to rescue me in this project if i flub it, i'm going to try and reduce the level of rescuing needed as much as i can.
He needs to get himself some PVC so he can do some ground wire burying for his radio antennas, so we will make an evening of it. I am also going to print off Home Depot's price on the pipe and see if Lowe's will price-match for me. If they do, the savings might cover the sales tax.
Another thing i was thinking about... if the pressure of the hoops on the anchors will be enough to hold the hoops down if we get wind. If not, i essentially will have made a giant, white, Chinese Dragon kite... So, i will have to make sure the Agribon is pinned down with heavy things like bricks or we will have to drill holes through the hoops and the sockets and pin them together with some stiff wire (think cotter pin)...adding another step.
Now this is beginning to sound really complicated, but i'm reminding myself that we only have to engineer it once. If it works, it will work the same way for the next number of years. If it does not work, there are a number of ways to fix it.
One of which is to simply cut the 10' 1/2" pipes down to 5' and just do it like the majority of people i have seen online-- shorter hoops, but simpler structure.
Why do i want the hoops to be so tall?
Because we have such a short growing season that i want the plants to be inside the hoops, under cover, in the warmer and more stabilized climate of the hoop houses for as long as possible. I also need long term pest control, i hope to only need to completely uncover the rows once or twice a week in order to allow things to get pollinated. There are also cats in the neighborhood who have uprooted my plants before in using my smaller garden as a litter box.
Also, snow cover, if i leave some of my root crops in the ground, the taller hoops will be less likely (i hope) to get buried in the snow. I am hoping the taller walls will distribute more snow weight more evenly across the structure. ( I also plan to get a more sturdy Agribon material for winter use on the few hoops that will be used all winter.)
Do i think the hoop houses will do all these things?
Won't know unless i try, but from what i have been studying, there is a good chance they will do it, or they will at least help a good deal.
I need to start getting the companion herb seeds going. I bought a 3-pack of flats with domes that have the dreaded 6-pack seedling compartments. I dislike the 6-packs, i have the worst time filling them evenly and i don't like the crinkly sound they make, but they were fairly cheap and i needed more.I guess i will see if i can cope this time!
I went to Lowe's last night with my sister (who is visiting from CA this week) to check out the PVC they have and to get a bead on the prices. They were what i expected. Which is good. Only change to the plans (so far) is that i found out that the 3/4" schedule 40 will not accept the 1/2" sched 40. It isn't a lrge enough interior diameter-- but the 3/4" pressure pipe is. But the pressure pipe is rather thin walled, and 10 feet of 1/2" sched 40 does not bend to 2-3' wide very easily, i don't know if the pressure pipe will split due to the tension.
Any excuse to draw:
I have a feeling that the hoop will not arch as pretty and nice as that, i think the uprights will bow so i get more of a half-oval (no straight sides), and the inside edges of the uprights will create pressure on the inside top and the outside bottom of the socket pieces. But i am not knowledgeable enough to calculate these things.
So i'm going to get hubby to go to Lowe's with me and make sure it is going to work. He is sure it will, but since he will likely feel the need to rescue me in this project if i flub it, i'm going to try and reduce the level of rescuing needed as much as i can.
He needs to get himself some PVC so he can do some ground wire burying for his radio antennas, so we will make an evening of it. I am also going to print off Home Depot's price on the pipe and see if Lowe's will price-match for me. If they do, the savings might cover the sales tax.
Another thing i was thinking about... if the pressure of the hoops on the anchors will be enough to hold the hoops down if we get wind. If not, i essentially will have made a giant, white, Chinese Dragon kite... So, i will have to make sure the Agribon is pinned down with heavy things like bricks or we will have to drill holes through the hoops and the sockets and pin them together with some stiff wire (think cotter pin)...adding another step.
Now this is beginning to sound really complicated, but i'm reminding myself that we only have to engineer it once. If it works, it will work the same way for the next number of years. If it does not work, there are a number of ways to fix it.
One of which is to simply cut the 10' 1/2" pipes down to 5' and just do it like the majority of people i have seen online-- shorter hoops, but simpler structure.
Why do i want the hoops to be so tall?
Because we have such a short growing season that i want the plants to be inside the hoops, under cover, in the warmer and more stabilized climate of the hoop houses for as long as possible. I also need long term pest control, i hope to only need to completely uncover the rows once or twice a week in order to allow things to get pollinated. There are also cats in the neighborhood who have uprooted my plants before in using my smaller garden as a litter box.
Also, snow cover, if i leave some of my root crops in the ground, the taller hoops will be less likely (i hope) to get buried in the snow. I am hoping the taller walls will distribute more snow weight more evenly across the structure. ( I also plan to get a more sturdy Agribon material for winter use on the few hoops that will be used all winter.)
Do i think the hoop houses will do all these things?
Won't know unless i try, but from what i have been studying, there is a good chance they will do it, or they will at least help a good deal.
I need to start getting the companion herb seeds going. I bought a 3-pack of flats with domes that have the dreaded 6-pack seedling compartments. I dislike the 6-packs, i have the worst time filling them evenly and i don't like the crinkly sound they make, but they were fairly cheap and i needed more.I guess i will see if i can cope this time!
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Weather and aspirin...
Colorful radar this morning:
It says we are in snow, but it must be melting before it comes down low enough to see.
I decided to abandon researching this Planting by the Moon stuff. For one thing, it seems too rigid, who has time for rigidity when it comes to spring gardening? And i suspect it is 95% superstition, and we all know how ridiculously limiting superstitions can be. The 5% that i think is not superstitious mainly has to do with coastal tides and the weather effects of this. This far inland, any effect is limited... and i'm not going to fret over a missed planting date and then wait around for the next 'window of opportunity'... so there is that.
But i did recall something about Aspirin being useful to plants. Aspirin is a derivative of willow and i remember my grandfather doing the trick of soaking willow twigs in a bucket, then using that willow tea to root woody cuttings. Apparently it makes a good foliar spray (1 or 1/2 tablet per gallon of water) and acts as something of a tonic and helps the plant fare better all around, fighting off insects and diseases. Something of an echinacea for plants. I figure it is worth a try, since the dollar stores sell aspirin for $1 a bottle of more than 100. So, we are going to try that this year.
I still have my gallon bottle of beer fertilizer concentrate waiting for the lawn to wake up. I wonder if i should pop an aspirin in there too.
Oh and slugs, added to the research list (they reach plague proportions here)....and a few articles:
http://www.paghat.com/slugcontrol.html
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/781/
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/901446/
Since it is raining, there won't be any yard work happening today... not just because of the rain, but because when the snow melts in the spring my parents' yard gets so soggy my dad won't be able to get the big tractor out for a while. So that will halt things quite a bit unless we get some really dry weather for a bit.
We have not gotten nearly as much rain and snow as the rest of the state and those blizzards that hit last month, they barely grazed us. Although we did get one storm a couple weeks ago that brought us a huge amount of rain. This current system is not doing much to us right now. Very light precip, but i guess it has drenched everyone south of us.
Still thinking about hoop houses. I want them for the whole garden... well, most of it anyway. Not for the corn... But i'm thinking pest control, season extension, frost protection.... i don't want to use or buy a bunch of bug sprays and such. I will have to for the apple trees, but i simply don't want to spend money like that. It is expensive and i always feel like i need to take a shower after dousing my plants with the stuff. I'm not a stickler for Organics, but i like to avoid unnecessary steps and expenses. If i can eliminate most pest and disease issues with reusable Agribon, Diatomaceous Earth, Aspirin, companion planting and beer traps, i am willing to try it.
I am also thinking that it might be interesting to combine the hoop houses with beneficial insects. I have wanted to try ladybugs, i understand they will eat spidermites. We have a lot of spidermites. They even attack the weeds- i have never seen so many, its quite amazing. What has kept me from trying ladybugs is that i have such a small yard, i bet they'd just all fly away. So i wonder if i were to release a few in my sealed up hoop houses, they would sort of have to hang around and eat what they find. They would get air and moisture and light, and it would be lots of room, not like putting them in a glass jar where its so small they know it is something they should try to escape. I'd stick my houseplants in there to be 'cleaned'... my houseplants get infested so bad that Safer's soap hardly helps. But i think i might dig out my bar of Fel's Naptha soap and see if that might help. I only bought it to make my own laundry cleaner, but it is said to have many other fine uses (like everything over 50 years old does).
I found some marigold seeds among my stash, they were from 2006, which is within decent germination expectancy range. And i have a ton of K-cups saved up for planting in. I'm hoping to get the Asparagus seeds started today.
It says we are in snow, but it must be melting before it comes down low enough to see.
I decided to abandon researching this Planting by the Moon stuff. For one thing, it seems too rigid, who has time for rigidity when it comes to spring gardening? And i suspect it is 95% superstition, and we all know how ridiculously limiting superstitions can be. The 5% that i think is not superstitious mainly has to do with coastal tides and the weather effects of this. This far inland, any effect is limited... and i'm not going to fret over a missed planting date and then wait around for the next 'window of opportunity'... so there is that.
But i did recall something about Aspirin being useful to plants. Aspirin is a derivative of willow and i remember my grandfather doing the trick of soaking willow twigs in a bucket, then using that willow tea to root woody cuttings. Apparently it makes a good foliar spray (1 or 1/2 tablet per gallon of water) and acts as something of a tonic and helps the plant fare better all around, fighting off insects and diseases. Something of an echinacea for plants. I figure it is worth a try, since the dollar stores sell aspirin for $1 a bottle of more than 100. So, we are going to try that this year.
I still have my gallon bottle of beer fertilizer concentrate waiting for the lawn to wake up. I wonder if i should pop an aspirin in there too.
Oh and slugs, added to the research list (they reach plague proportions here)....and a few articles:
http://www.paghat.com/slugcontrol.html
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/781/
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/901446/
Since it is raining, there won't be any yard work happening today... not just because of the rain, but because when the snow melts in the spring my parents' yard gets so soggy my dad won't be able to get the big tractor out for a while. So that will halt things quite a bit unless we get some really dry weather for a bit.
We have not gotten nearly as much rain and snow as the rest of the state and those blizzards that hit last month, they barely grazed us. Although we did get one storm a couple weeks ago that brought us a huge amount of rain. This current system is not doing much to us right now. Very light precip, but i guess it has drenched everyone south of us.
Still thinking about hoop houses. I want them for the whole garden... well, most of it anyway. Not for the corn... But i'm thinking pest control, season extension, frost protection.... i don't want to use or buy a bunch of bug sprays and such. I will have to for the apple trees, but i simply don't want to spend money like that. It is expensive and i always feel like i need to take a shower after dousing my plants with the stuff. I'm not a stickler for Organics, but i like to avoid unnecessary steps and expenses. If i can eliminate most pest and disease issues with reusable Agribon, Diatomaceous Earth, Aspirin, companion planting and beer traps, i am willing to try it.
I am also thinking that it might be interesting to combine the hoop houses with beneficial insects. I have wanted to try ladybugs, i understand they will eat spidermites. We have a lot of spidermites. They even attack the weeds- i have never seen so many, its quite amazing. What has kept me from trying ladybugs is that i have such a small yard, i bet they'd just all fly away. So i wonder if i were to release a few in my sealed up hoop houses, they would sort of have to hang around and eat what they find. They would get air and moisture and light, and it would be lots of room, not like putting them in a glass jar where its so small they know it is something they should try to escape. I'd stick my houseplants in there to be 'cleaned'... my houseplants get infested so bad that Safer's soap hardly helps. But i think i might dig out my bar of Fel's Naptha soap and see if that might help. I only bought it to make my own laundry cleaner, but it is said to have many other fine uses (like everything over 50 years old does).
I found some marigold seeds among my stash, they were from 2006, which is within decent germination expectancy range. And i have a ton of K-cups saved up for planting in. I'm hoping to get the Asparagus seeds started today.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Final plan:
Ok, i think i will stick with this plan. Now i just have to decide how many repellent plants (chives, oregano, basil, marigolds, etc.) i need to get ready for. Park Seeds is giving free shipping right now with a coupon code (SAVEGREEN) so i will be getting some new Heirloom Marigolds, oregano and Chive seed as well as a packet of Hens & Chicks mix to replace the ones hubby thought were dead from overwintering....he threw them out. I have had them forever, and i tried to not be upset... but i'll just plant some more. *Sigh* I need to get 25' of trellis netting, and it will be placed closer than i drew it on the plan. Burpee has a really good price on it, but i'm going to try and save shipping if i can find it locally.
Off to order more seeds...! Really?...Yup!
Thursday, March 11, 2010
I'm going crazy...
Somewhere between the first flat of seeds and the one i planted yesterday...there was another bunch of seeds that i planted. But since they are outside and bundled up, i can't see the date i planted them. But the list goes thusly:
Winter Squash- Red Eye, 2008, ( these were sooo yummy when i planted them in 2008, i will always plant these if i can)
Winter Squash- acorn, Carnival 2008, pretty- if you don't eat them, decorate with them!
Melon- Rocky Ford , 2010
Melon- Hale’s Best, 2010
Brussels Sprouts- Bubbles, 2008
Summer Squash- Sundance ("very prolific"- is an understatement even as far as SS & Zucchini go ) 2008
Cucumber- Summer Dance, 2008
Winter Squash- Long Island Cheese, 2008
Artichoke- Imperial Star, 2008 - this is the one that i messed up last time, i hope to get beyond seedling this try
Cucumber- Alibi, 2008
Melon- Banana, 2008
So, that brings me to around 30 planted items. And i still have more to go. I have gotten some graph paper to plot out what sort of trouble i have gotten myself into. This is based on the garden being 20x30'. I made sure hubby knows that i expect this to be a minimum dimension, at least for this year. If i find that i cannot handle that size garden, i will agree to make it smaller. I would really like to have it 40x20' but for now and planning purposes 15x30' is good to start... i think i will have lots of stuff crammed a bit.
I did plant 5 of each packet of seeds, but i don't plan to keep all of them and i don't expect 100% germination anyway. If 5 sprout i will keep 2 and send 3 to my parents for their garden. If 2 sprout, i will either split with them or depending on what it is, i may keep both if it is something they won't use.
I am also trying to plot which direction i need to place my rows to maximize the space, i planned for 3 feet between planted rows and it looks like i am losing a lot of planting area, but i know when stuff fills in, i will be glad i put that much room between things. Especially the tomatoes which are almost all indeterminate types!
Scale is 1/4"=1'. The shaded areas are the walking paths and the white sections to the right are where the corn and beans and asparagus is destined. the back row in the top picture is where i plan to put the cukes, melons, radishes and winter squashes.
I hope to install some trellis netting in the back so the vines don't ramble too much, the orientation of the garden is pretty good. North is to the Left, so the sun will rise to the back and the space to the "front" of the garden is wide open for full summer sun all day long.
I did some more research on companion plantings and jotted down some notes:
I did also get to check on some over wintered stuff i got from Oikos Tree Crops. I bought 4 Beach Plum plants from them last year (they sent me 5) and though it looks like only three made it through winter i consider it pretty successful considering that my husband and dad kept forgetting that the fluorescent pink tape all over the flower box meant that something was living there....and dropped landscape timbers and construction debris all over them.... Great prices, discount on multiple items and they are no smaller than the sad little twigs i have gotten from other less reputable companies. But the Oikos stuff is really very nice. I plan to get some blueberries from either them or from Pinetree. Oikos also has stuff like hazelnuts and persimmons, medlar, pawpaw etc. Got the JA's there too.
Ok, have to go plot the plant spacing on the garden graphs now...
Winter Squash- Red Eye, 2008, ( these were sooo yummy when i planted them in 2008, i will always plant these if i can)
Winter Squash- acorn, Carnival 2008, pretty- if you don't eat them, decorate with them!
Melon- Rocky Ford , 2010
Melon- Hale’s Best, 2010
Brussels Sprouts- Bubbles, 2008
Summer Squash- Sundance ("very prolific"- is an understatement even as far as SS & Zucchini go ) 2008
Cucumber- Summer Dance, 2008
Winter Squash- Long Island Cheese, 2008
Artichoke- Imperial Star, 2008 - this is the one that i messed up last time, i hope to get beyond seedling this try
Cucumber- Alibi, 2008
Melon- Banana, 2008
So, that brings me to around 30 planted items. And i still have more to go. I have gotten some graph paper to plot out what sort of trouble i have gotten myself into. This is based on the garden being 20x30'. I made sure hubby knows that i expect this to be a minimum dimension, at least for this year. If i find that i cannot handle that size garden, i will agree to make it smaller. I would really like to have it 40x20' but for now and planning purposes 15x30' is good to start... i think i will have lots of stuff crammed a bit.
I did plant 5 of each packet of seeds, but i don't plan to keep all of them and i don't expect 100% germination anyway. If 5 sprout i will keep 2 and send 3 to my parents for their garden. If 2 sprout, i will either split with them or depending on what it is, i may keep both if it is something they won't use.
I am also trying to plot which direction i need to place my rows to maximize the space, i planned for 3 feet between planted rows and it looks like i am losing a lot of planting area, but i know when stuff fills in, i will be glad i put that much room between things. Especially the tomatoes which are almost all indeterminate types!
Scale is 1/4"=1'. The shaded areas are the walking paths and the white sections to the right are where the corn and beans and asparagus is destined. the back row in the top picture is where i plan to put the cukes, melons, radishes and winter squashes.
I hope to install some trellis netting in the back so the vines don't ramble too much, the orientation of the garden is pretty good. North is to the Left, so the sun will rise to the back and the space to the "front" of the garden is wide open for full summer sun all day long.
I did some more research on companion plantings and jotted down some notes:
Plant the bush beans to the left of the corn to shade themSo, now i have to get started on my herbs!
Start some basil seedlings to plant within the tomatoes
Start some parsley to grow between the asparagus
Remember to divide the chives and plant them under the apple trees
Don’t plant the kohlrabi near the tomatoes
No sage near the cucumbers
Onions with chamomile , but not near the beans
Start borage to plant around the squashes, tomatoes…and oregano also deters stuff
No dill or kohlrabi near the tomatoes
Broccoli likes dill and mint
Rosemary or sage repels cabbage butterflies
Thyme for flea beetles
No fennel near caraway, or coriander
Carrots next to sage and onions and chervil
Eggplant is protected by amaranth
Marjoram and oregano everywhere
Nasturtiums are traps for aphid
I did also get to check on some over wintered stuff i got from Oikos Tree Crops. I bought 4 Beach Plum plants from them last year (they sent me 5) and though it looks like only three made it through winter i consider it pretty successful considering that my husband and dad kept forgetting that the fluorescent pink tape all over the flower box meant that something was living there....and dropped landscape timbers and construction debris all over them.... Great prices, discount on multiple items and they are no smaller than the sad little twigs i have gotten from other less reputable companies. But the Oikos stuff is really very nice. I plan to get some blueberries from either them or from Pinetree. Oikos also has stuff like hazelnuts and persimmons, medlar, pawpaw etc. Got the JA's there too.
Ok, have to go plot the plant spacing on the garden graphs now...
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Wintersowing
I began the great wintersowing project last week and managed to get a tiny bit more done today.
I am planting a mix of new seeds from this year, seeds from 2008 and some older seeds from as far back as 2002 and even 2000!
This is what i have planted so far:
3-3-10
Tomato- Pruden's Purple (2008)
Tomato- Yellow Pear (2010)
Tomatillos- Purple (2002)
Cauliflower- Graffiti (2010)
Broccoli- Gypsy (2010)
Tomato- Polfast (2008)
Everything but the Tomatillos were from Pinetree Garden Seeds. They are, in my opinion, the best seed place by far. They sell seed packs in home gardener size and the prices average about $1.20 a packet. They still have some seeds that are only .99 a pack.
The Tomatillos were from Johnny's and they are also a good source for seed, but i suffer from sticker shock every time i open their catalog. I love them, but i can't afford them anymore.
I once did a side-by-side wish list with Johnny's prices vs. Pinetree and Pinetree beat Johnny's by almost half. I think there were only two seed items that Johnny's had that Pinetree didn't (but i found similar items that were very much alike)... my list was about 60 items long. I have been a loyal customer of Pinetree ever since.
So those seeds are planted and covered in plastic baggies, sitting outside under the overhang by the back door. I have one of those little 4-shelf greenhouses that have the zippered plastic cover. I need another one if i can find them. I bought mine for $50 a few years ago, they are now around $60 or more. I may get a larger size instead of another small one.
Ok, so back to the stuff i have planted -
i think it was Sunday i planted some Buttercrunch lettuce. A seed packet i got at the grocery store (Liberty Garden) last year and planned to plant but never did.
Today i got a tray ready of 50 #7 peat pellets, but so far i have not gotten anything in that, but i did plant a small flat of Siberian Tomatoes from a pack of seeds i bought from Totally Tomatoes in 2002. I went tomato crazy that year, it was the year that i was going to try growing in planters on the balcony of the apartment we lived in at that time. I bought about 20 different tomato seeds and was able to use maybe 3 or 4 seeds from each of perhaps 5 varieties. I just couldn't decide what to limit myself to, so i went crazy and i have grown at least one variety from that order almost every year since, but this is the first try of the Siberian.
The experiment worked out so-so, the slats on the balcony were too narrow for much sun to get through to the plants and i had started planting a bit too late because i had to save up for everything. Then they were hard to water because my husband kept throwing out my milk jug that i was using.... its hard to water plants in a 20 gallon Rubbermaid tote with a 12oz drinking glass.
The only other thing i planted today was Caraway seed, straight out of the Spice Islands bottle :)
I was doing some quick research on companion planting and there was something that said caraway attracts some winged critter that is good, i can't remember off the top of my head, but i will figure it out or read it again. Hopefully they will sprout and grow.
I printed out a few pages on companion planting to read later and i am thinking about looking into some of the planting by the moon stuff. First i need to make sure that isn't some old wives' tale sort of hooey. It could be scientifically sound, but unstudied - companion planting is sound but it is being studied a bit, but even that has been invaded by new agers a little bit. But the planting by the moon is old stuff and i did read up on it once when i was much younger and reading through the Farmer's Almanac, now the Farmer's Almanac, though it has many good points and is informative, does have a tendency to dish a lot of hooey. Its entertainment after all.
Ok, that's it for now...
I am planting a mix of new seeds from this year, seeds from 2008 and some older seeds from as far back as 2002 and even 2000!
This is what i have planted so far:
3-3-10
Tomato- Pruden's Purple (2008)
Tomato- Yellow Pear (2010)
Tomatillos- Purple (2002)
Cauliflower- Graffiti (2010)
Broccoli- Gypsy (2010)
Tomato- Polfast (2008)
Everything but the Tomatillos were from Pinetree Garden Seeds. They are, in my opinion, the best seed place by far. They sell seed packs in home gardener size and the prices average about $1.20 a packet. They still have some seeds that are only .99 a pack.
The Tomatillos were from Johnny's and they are also a good source for seed, but i suffer from sticker shock every time i open their catalog. I love them, but i can't afford them anymore.
I once did a side-by-side wish list with Johnny's prices vs. Pinetree and Pinetree beat Johnny's by almost half. I think there were only two seed items that Johnny's had that Pinetree didn't (but i found similar items that were very much alike)... my list was about 60 items long. I have been a loyal customer of Pinetree ever since.
So those seeds are planted and covered in plastic baggies, sitting outside under the overhang by the back door. I have one of those little 4-shelf greenhouses that have the zippered plastic cover. I need another one if i can find them. I bought mine for $50 a few years ago, they are now around $60 or more. I may get a larger size instead of another small one.
Ok, so back to the stuff i have planted -
i think it was Sunday i planted some Buttercrunch lettuce. A seed packet i got at the grocery store (Liberty Garden) last year and planned to plant but never did.
Today i got a tray ready of 50 #7 peat pellets, but so far i have not gotten anything in that, but i did plant a small flat of Siberian Tomatoes from a pack of seeds i bought from Totally Tomatoes in 2002. I went tomato crazy that year, it was the year that i was going to try growing in planters on the balcony of the apartment we lived in at that time. I bought about 20 different tomato seeds and was able to use maybe 3 or 4 seeds from each of perhaps 5 varieties. I just couldn't decide what to limit myself to, so i went crazy and i have grown at least one variety from that order almost every year since, but this is the first try of the Siberian.
The experiment worked out so-so, the slats on the balcony were too narrow for much sun to get through to the plants and i had started planting a bit too late because i had to save up for everything. Then they were hard to water because my husband kept throwing out my milk jug that i was using.... its hard to water plants in a 20 gallon Rubbermaid tote with a 12oz drinking glass.
The only other thing i planted today was Caraway seed, straight out of the Spice Islands bottle :)
I was doing some quick research on companion planting and there was something that said caraway attracts some winged critter that is good, i can't remember off the top of my head, but i will figure it out or read it again. Hopefully they will sprout and grow.
I printed out a few pages on companion planting to read later and i am thinking about looking into some of the planting by the moon stuff. First i need to make sure that isn't some old wives' tale sort of hooey. It could be scientifically sound, but unstudied - companion planting is sound but it is being studied a bit, but even that has been invaded by new agers a little bit. But the planting by the moon is old stuff and i did read up on it once when i was much younger and reading through the Farmer's Almanac, now the Farmer's Almanac, though it has many good points and is informative, does have a tendency to dish a lot of hooey. Its entertainment after all.
Ok, that's it for now...
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