Well, i'll be....

I just got my email notification from Henry Field's. My Fig plant has been shipped.  Yay.  On a Friday.

Its funny cause i just checked into my account on Wednesday (i think) to see what was up. Last i knew it was supposed to be shipped around a week ago. I'll have to check to be sure,  but anyway, last time i checked the ship date was for the middle of this month and i was too irritated to even bother saying anything about it.  But this morning i get a ship notification.  I have not gotten a tracking number yet, but a number appears on my HF's website account... but its the number for my already-delivered citrus assortment.

Well, hopefully all goes well and they are sending me a nice plant.
So far the Meyer Lemon and the Key Lime are looking good, the Venous Orange is struggling... The leaves that were curling when it arrived have fallen off and the wind actually blew it out of its pot the other day, so i plunked it back in and put a small bamboo stick against it to prop it up. It seems to be no worse for the wear due to that. It seems to be simply hanging on.

My Big Hip Roses should be delivered today, i got them from one of Oikos Tree Crops' eBay auctions. Five plants for $20, shipping included.   The tracking page states that the package is out for delivery.

My Stark's order is scheduled to be shipped this coming Monday.  That has my grapes, blueberries and lingonberries.
Burpee has not sent me a ship estimate yet. They have my Edelweiss grapes and that weed barrier fabric.

I finished the "Food Drying" book. It was quite useful to read, many recipes for using your dried items and of course, the instructions on how to dry them.
I was particularly interested in the dry soup mixes. Soup is so convenient when you have a bunch of things on hand that need to be used, but not a lot of time to babysit a frying pan or an oven.  You can put anything in a soup.  I have.  Radishes and lettuce work surprisingly well in soup.

I'm also wondering if i slice eggplant into long strips and use them in a casserole (without rehydrating them) if they would make a great noodle substitute in a lasagna.  I have tried doing a low starch lasagna  using savoy cabbage or fresh zucchini slices in place of the noodles, but it ends up being watery and the cabbage and zucchini have no cling or body.  I hope dried eggplant will absorb juices and stay just a tad firm through the cooking process.  Hopefully my Slim Jim plants will do me a favor and produce a lot so i can experiment.

I am going to plant corn today. I have to.  I have to do some real weeding too and direct sow some herbs.
And lay out some cardboard.

Weather

It rained off and on most of Tuesday, yesterday it was cloudy much of the day with heavy fog overnight. It seemed to be raining at times, but it was so humid that the trees were catching the fog and they were dripping. But it wasn't really rain.
This morning we still have that heavy fog. It is pleasantly warm, not so warm that it is uncomfortably muggy and not a chilly type of cool.
Its not the most cheering of weather, but i'm fine with it because we really need to have the moisture.
I was getting tired of dragging out the hose.

The fennel was up as of yesterday- this is the bulbing type.  I need to get out there and do some real weeding so i can start interplanting some herb seeds. If i don't weed well, i may accidentally weed out my herb seedlings once they sprout.

Where i visited the library yesterday i came back with a few books. So i have plenty to read. I got some books on food preservation like "Food Drying" by Phyllis Hobson.  I would like to dehydrate some of my leavy green produce to powder and use as a sprinkle over fresh salads and meats.  I like the idea that dried foods don't need electricity to be stored.  I have a vacuum sealer setup and i save glass jars (much to hubby's dismay) so i am pretty much ready to go when my garden is.

Here comes some rain now.  I think the dog would like to come in. We have her under a shade tree, but no actual house for her yet.
************

Back to books.

I also got "Carrots Love Tomatoes"  by Louise Riotte
I did a lot of interplanting research, but when it came to planting time i was too overwhelmed and i simply used GrowVeg to make sure i had room and plunked in whatever i thought was ready and safe to go in.
I know i have a few things next to each other that may compete according to the interplanting principles.  I don't know if the issues will be dramatic- failure to thrive, or if i am simply missing out on some optimum productivity, i guess i will find out. But if i read the book, i might bet a better understanding of the reasons for the method, more than i got from a quick scan of suggestion charts that i found scattered about online.

I also took out "The Big Book of Preserving the Harvest" by Carol W. Costenbader
It said on the cover that it has pickling recipes. I'd also like to see more preservation techniques. I almost bought this book used at Amazon but i wasn't sure i'd need it, so i am glad my library has it.

I wonder if i am going to have to preserve anything from my garden this year...  Tomatoes i am sure (i planted out about 10 plants when 4 usually cover us), but i wonder about other things.  I think if i actually follow up on succession plantings, i will.  We (I) use so many onions i think i should plant an entire row next year. I only put in 20 of each, red and white, this year to trial them.

Part of the reason i am not sure is from the charts i read in "Root Cellaring" .  One of the parts of the book (its all good) that i found to be the most informative for my immediate needs was the chapter on how much food to to cellar for a family of 4.
I don't know if my little garden can produce that much, lol!

Here is the chart:

Beets: 1-2 bushels (i had room to plant about 20)
Carrots: 2-3 bushels (i planted a 4x4 bed)
Cabbage: about 30 heads (i have room to plant 6 at a time)
Brussels Sprouts: yield from  10-20 plants in the garden (i planted 6)
Chinese Cabbage: 20-30 heads
Celery: 10-20bunches
Turnips or Rutabagas: 10-20 plants (i have that)
Sweet Potatoes- 2 bushels (this is not a sweet potato growing area anyway)
Irish Potatoes 6-14 bushels
Squash and Pumpkins 30-40 fruits (this i could do that)
Onions: 1-2 bushels
Parsnips- 1-2 bushels
Salsify: 1/2-1 bushel
Garlic: as desired (they suggest a 25' row with width enough for 4 sets across) about 8# yield

Its a great guideline, but for some things i have room for less than half.  I'm not freaking out or anything, but i am beginning to fully appreciate the need for full productivity in a garden. Right now we don't need to rely on ours in earnest, but i would like to get it to the level that takes it beyond a hobby garden. My hubby works hard and i'd like some physical proof of my work too since i am home. I'd also like it to be a safety net of sorts if it becomes necessary.  I have a way to go there. lol

Oh, i did also love their suggested storage plants list and was happy to see that they listed Pinetree Garden Seeds as a resource for some of them. I went ahead and researched how many of the recommended plants Pinetree has the seeds for and i set up an example order to go from next year so i don't have to do it again:

Along those lines i also got "How to Live on Almost Nothing and Have Plenty" by Janet Chadwick
I'm not sure how useful it will be since it assumes i live where town zoning at least allows chickens.
You know, i am only about 3 blocks away from where zoning allows chickens. Any idea how annoyed i am about that?   Anyway, the book should at least be informative and interesting.

If i do anything outside today, i might just spread around some slug bait.

I did manage to remember to buy a second hose-end sprayer. I needed a second one because i an using the first one for Bonide (fruit tree spray) and the other one i need for using my home made beer-based fertilizer and for using worm tea as a foliar spray.  I got the Miracle Gro brand sprayer with the 3 different spray options. It came with a full tank of that blue fertilizer granules. So i guess i will use that up first then  go in with my home made ferts.

I found that Burpee carries the Edelweiss grapes and a 20 year weed barrier fabric.  I think i should get both of them soon.  I will have to decide how i plan to put the grapes up. Probably the post and wire method.
As a friend suggested, i think i will smother the weeds with cardboard first and then set up the posts and wires, apply the weed barrier then plant.

I think that covers it for the day.

Book search help request.

I read a particular book a fair amount of time ago and i enjoyed it enough that i often think about it. I would like to find it again, but i don't remember the title and have no clue about the author except that the author was a man. As far as i can remember, the book was nonfiction and it was not really a journal, maybe it could be called a memoir.  It was probably written before the 1970's... possibly in the 1950's. 
It was an old hardcover book, maybe green fabric binding...  it was found at the local library, which has been rearranged to the point that i don't know that i would know where to look for it. I remember where it was shelved, but its not setup that way anymore. The Librarians there did try to help me find it, but after combing through the area where books on similar topics were kept, we didn't find it...  they said it is possible that if it hadn't been checked out in 8-10 years it may have been culled. *sniffle*  They could probably find it from another location if i can find Author or Title at least.
Anyway, it was about the author's decision to basically get away from society as it was then - rat race, impersonal, etc.  He had a few acres out someplace (maybe Ohio???)  i don't remember, but it was north where it snowed. He put some affairs in order, i think he bought some basic tools and off he went.
He either made himself a cabin from scratch or there was an existing structure that he had to repair...  anyway, i remember he had to dig a latrine and had trouble with his ditching system....   He came across as a cranky soul and i think he left a wife behind, but i'm not sure. But i do know that he didn't go with any family. I think he did have a neighbor stop in once or twice with some supplies from town. Things like lard, candles, maybe a spade....  maybe reading material?
I think his outhouse got washed out once as well.... 

....he may have had a pig at one time, or i'm confusing that with another  tale.... 
i think he had to make bread with acorns too--  or i am mixing that up too.  i read a lot of this sort of stuff, it gets confusing with this much time away.

It was  an interesting story. Much like the story i saw a couple times on PBS, the guy who went to Alaska and set himself up there. I'd like to find that too...  but they are different stories...(Alone In The Wilderness/One Man's Wilderness)... i actually saw the PBS one shortly after i read the book and thought for a few minutes that it was the same story, but it wasn't.

We found a few similar titles/themes from women and one geared toward kids... and on Amazon i did see one with Elk in the title and maybe another one about Alaska...

I notice a number of visits to this blog, but few comments....which is OK,  but if any one of you out there ever happens to come across or recognize the book by this skeletal description, please post a reply. I would be so grateful! :o)

Cultured Butter

Oh, yes.  I was reading something somewhere about my "French Breakfast"  radishes.  I understand that they are commonly served for breakfast (no real surprise) with butter (woah) on them...  i think i twitched when i read butter.  I usually have mine with salt.  Butter and fresh radishes never occurred to me as a logical combination, i'm still not sure. But since i live on a carbohydrate-controlled eating plan,  butter is my friend not my enemy.
So i did some research.  It seems that it is true, and its not usually just butter, (though that is acceptable) it is made into a sort of open faced sandwich. Bread is buttered and then thin slices of radish are placed on top to be enjoyed. Well i won't bother with the bread so i'm still intrigued and making  a mental note.  I figured there must be something particular about the butter because even though i want to like the idea, something is simply not clicking.

The key may be that the butter commonly used is not the butter we in the US are used to. Cultured butter seems is supposedly what is used and over here its unusual, over there it is apparently the commonest type.

So, up for a search for how to make this at home. It can't be that hard...

And it really isnt:


Full fat yogurt and heavy cream are all that is needed. Maybe some salt.

I have all that!


One quart of heavy cream mixed with 1/3 cup of full fat yogurt...

Mine is  frozen in cubes because whole, plain yogurt only comes in big containers and i only use it to make more yogurt.
Use a very clean container.  I'll be using the Pyrex measuring cup that i measured the quart of cream into.


Mix the milk and yogurt well (after it thaws), but don't beat it in.

Cover and let it sit someplace warm for about 24 hours.
I decided, since it was cool last night, to use my yogurt incubator. I understand anything over 70-75 degrees F is good enough.

It should look thicker the next day, like yogurt does after incubation...

Cut the thick top with a whisk and stir to make sure it is all smooth

Now its time to make butter. Well, not quite. I decided to chill the culture because butter gets really soft at warm weather room temperature and i have "churned" butter before. It goes easier if everything is at least chilled.
I didn't take a picture of that part. ;o)
So, on to the churning. 
Since i saved a large pickle jar for this, i can shake it and roll it.  It takes a while, but if you pawn part of the task off on your kids it will go faster. (You could use a blender set on low speed i guess, but what would be the fun in that?)

And, shake, roll, slosh until it starts to grain...once that happens things go faster and you might not even notice the grainy stage. I tried to get a picture, but i can't really see that the camera caught it.

The butter will happen suddenly. Its almost like a magic trick,  give it a few more shakes to compact the clump of butter.

Strain the buttermilk out and save that for other yummy uses. (hmmm, pancakes, biscuits...a soak for pieces of chicken destined to be battered and fried)
My hands were too buttery to photo this part...

Rinse your butter with very cold water until all the buttermilk is out- or the buttermilk will spoil and make the butter taste rancid.

Taste it and salt lightly if you like.

Cultured butter and buttermilk.... Now those radishes need to grow!!!

Since its another cool day, i'm going to be making beef jerky with ground beef.  I use ground beef because it is so much cheaper than any steak i can get, even chuck and london broil are ridiculously expensive.
But that isn't really an exciting or unusual enough activity to blog about. But that is the activity of the day.
I'm too achy to plant corn like i wanted to.

An interesting giveaway.

I don't normally do this sort of post, but this is a website and product resource that is well within my interests.  They are also giving away a fascinating looking  DVD set of Home Craftyskills lessons , aka: Homemaking , from http://franklinsprings.com/

So i will share their site (giveaway) here:
 
Raising Homemakers

Just spent most of my "allowance" on some berry plants!

I went to Stark Brothers' online, i have been getting their catalogs for years but never got to get anything from them before.

I got Lingonberries, Patriot blueberries, Blueray blueberries, Frontenac grapes, Marechal Foch grapes and Frontenac grapes.  I still want Edelweiss grapes, but its going to be hard to find them since the only grape vineyard/nurseries i found that carry them want to do 25 vine minimum orders.  I don't have room for 6 vines, much less 25. No room to hold and then resell either.

Maybe i can get in on a large order with someone in the Gardenweb community. I think i have seen people do that before.  They get together, make an order and have it shipped to a trustworthy ringleader who distributes them to the recipients and shipping is reimbursed.

Or i will have to make do with the 3 grapes i have just ordered....  which won't be all that bad, really. (!!!)  I only got one of each in case they don't do well here, i won't be out  more than the 3.

We have gotten some decent rain so far today, enough to make some big puddles. So that is a relief.  Lots of thunder storms in the state but they are all skirting my area and it looks like that will be all the rain we get for the next 24-48 hours.

Hoping for rain.

We aren't getting  a lot of rain so far this year, so i really hope to get a good bit today. I'm not a big fan of having to use the hose so often, if we had well water it would be different. My dad is looking into getting me a couple 55 gallon drums we can use to catch roof runoff from the shed to use in the garden.
But it looks like the rain that is heading towards us is going to be hit-or-miss (and drying up before it gets here) and maybe amount to about a half inch.  But the sun not being strong today and little to no breeze, means less drying out.  Nothing in the garden seems to be suffering from the dryness and the part of the yard we haven't done anything with yet just looks dusty.
I'm making cultured butter today, since its a hands-off project i can be doing other things until its time to *churn* the cream.

I still have not started the annual flowers i wanted to have. I think there is just about enough time if i get that done in the next 3 days or so.

I am waiting on some "Big Hip Roses" from Oikos Tree Crops this week. I ordered them off their eBay store. 5 of them for $20 shipping included.  I hope to plant them on the outside of our fence that runs along the road.  Its all barren and dusty there and it needs something to keep the kids from leaning on the fences and snooping through the cracks.  Hopefully i can use the petals for rosewater and other interesting things like rose petal beads and such.  The plants should be able to handle being covered in snow from the plow.

I need to get some sort of heavy duty landscape fabric so i can smother out the weeds and grass from the inside of the fence where i plan to put the berry plants. I think i should get that going now.  Especially after it rains, if its wet under the fabric, it will steam the weeds faster and the worms will love the cooked plants. I think.

I have things to do today, but if the rain holds off or even if it doesn't i will try to plant  sweet corn later on today.

Long weekend

We were away too much to do anything gardenwise, but i did get to look things over and take a few pictures. The Roma tomatoes don't look like they ever endured a frost.
 The weeds are starting to really ramp up too.

The brassica row has grown noticeably.

Its been dry though. We have been watering and i'm sure the covers are helping too.  I think the Parsnips are sprouting, the radishes are almost 6 inches tall now.

This coming week is supposed to be warm and it is almost 100% certain to rain tomorrow and the rest of the week looks like half the days are going to be rainy. We could use it so i won't complain.

I planted the Zsa Zsa peppers today, they acclimated to full sun over the weekend and did well, i also planted the Graffiti Claulflower and the Bubbles Brussels sprouts. The cauli and the brussels had just begun to sprout last week , but they were  drying out too fast in the flats so i put them in the rows before i lost them entirely.

The Salsify are looking good, no seciond leaves yet, but they are giant seed leaves.

While i was gone, hubby said the cover over the cukes and melons kept blowing off. They did get some flea beetle damage where they were exposed the most, but it does not look too bad at all.  The bush beans also sprouted, i think the rutabagas and beets are too, but i had to get back inside before i could check closer  to be sure.

Oh, and i put in the Siberia and Empire tomato plants, got the clothes bar rack things in there too...  i don't think they will work great, but they will be better than nothing.

The rest of the seedlings will go to my parents' garden, if they have time to come get them and then plant them. I don't know if they have had time to get their garden ready much past tilling it.

Other than sweet corn...  my planting is done.  I will do  that this week.

Well, maybe a few lettuce seeds will go in.

Weeding is next.

Lilac Wine, part 3

I got the wine in the secondary, the glass carboy.  It has a nice blush shade to it. It is rather cloudy but that will settle out with frequent transferring.
I took some pictures but i don't have time to post them, i will edit them in later.  I mainly wanted to record the activity so i know what days to count from for the next steps.
So far the taste is pleasant, apple like , slightly bitter... i have no idea if that goes away as it continues to ferment, age and such. There is also a pleasant floral scent, it seems to retain that, it still does not quite smell like lilacs, but its nice anyhow.  Maybe the scent will concentrate when its bottled and the vapors won't be vented through airlocks.
So far things seem to be going well.

Finally...!

The carrots are up!

I was not expecting anything interesting  to happen when i went out to check if anything needed water, so i did not take pictures. But i did look up some carrot sprout pictures yesterday and due to the regular spacing of the sprouts in the plot, i am sure they are my carrots.  I planted them on the 11th, so i guess they are right about on time- within the 14-20 day period they are said to. I'm just used to seeds with that time frame popping up for me within a handful of days.
Still no love from the parsnips. But i am happy enough about the carrots. Funny thing is that i recently made up my mind to plant something else there by the middle of next week if they did not come up.  That must have scared them straight.

Very pleasant weather today. Sunny and a little breeze, temperatures in the high 70's. But we really do need rain. We never got any of the thunderstorms that the weather forecasters expected, it even fooled my weather module and my leg.

Oh, and  i think a local farmer is manuring  his fields right about now. It carries on the breeze. A very bovine aroma.  First i have smelled it this year. It truly is Spring planting time.  Glad it doesn't bother me like it does some people, i grew up around farming areas and it could get quite pungent. But nothing like when the pogies come ashore in Harpswell.  That is close to unbearable!

Amazing

its suddenly gone to 62 degrees,  after a full day close to, if not into, the 90's, its a sudden shock.  no visible thunderstorms forming, but the front is definitely moving through. the temps are not forecast to tumble past  52 degrees overnight.

this should be a comfortable night for sleeping if the breeze stays gentle

8am. 89 degrees already according to NWS
My weather center gadget is saying its 84.2 in out yard right now. We have a nice breeze that comes through the windows so it isn't horrible.
We didn't get any severe weather, rain or Tstorms yesterday.  I wonder how hot it will get today.

I need to get the Zsa Zsa pepper seedlings acclimated to outdoor life. We will likely be out and about for the long weekend and i will probably forget them. Usually this is the big planting weekend for this area. Everyone hits the garden center and its a one-time gardening glut all at once.
I think i'm glad i was able to start so early this year.

I do have one concern though, i read the blog of a lady who is about a zone South of me (Skippy's Vegetable Garden) and she just posted an entry yesterday about her broccoli buttoning.  She said it was possibly from them getting too warm too fast or being left in the seed flats too long.  So i wonder if i can expect a similar result.  I had my broccoli in 2.5# ground beef trays.  They are almost the same size, volume and dimension as the brown pulp trays i used to get my seedlings in when i went to the nursery.  I tried to keep them out of the greenhouses so they wouldn't get too hot. I don't know if they did get too hot when i kept them out, they only went under cover when frost was expected.
Its something to watch for.
Broccoli usually continues to head from the sides for a while, maybe that is what hers will do and hopefully mine would too.

The breezes feel nice.


I planted  some Germander seeds the other day and they are up now.

I took the seedling flats out from under the covers. I couldn't see them well enough to make sure they weren't drying out. Since they are in small cells, it will happen fast if i don't pay attention.
I told my parents to take the extras, they will probably do that sometime next week.

School is almost over now. One more day to go. Our school gets out about 2 weeks ahead of the public school.  We don't do the 'early out' day that the public schools do, so even if we have a bad winter and school gets canceled due to snow storms we end up with an abundance of  total classroom hours. So that translates into a longer Summer vacation for our kids. My daughter says that the extra 2 weeks is a fair trade for the uniform code. 

I'm trying to figure out how long to keep the row covers on in the garden.  In normal years, they would be needed right now.  But its so warm out that the heat advantage isn't really necessary.  The bug advantage is what i'm leaning on now.  I'm not sure how this will balance out.   I think it is likely that it will cool down.  We normally only get 14-30 days of temperatures above 86 degrees in my area.  Many of those happen at the end of June through the middle of August.  So, um, yeah... this year is weird.
There are different types of row cover fabric. Mine is the grade that is supposed to help moderate temperatures in the garden. It lets through 85% of sunlight, holds in moisture and does not block rain. Maybe it is moderating the temps inside... i have never put a thermometer on garden soil before, so maybe it stays cooler in there than it does on the outside soil surface.  I remember the garden's surface soil being so hot in the summer that it felt like it was burning my bare feet. I know plants can handle surface temperatures like that to some extent....  My parents never watered their garden unless it was just after planting or it was super dry for a long time.
My Reemay cover is comparable to Agribon-19 according to my local Paris Farmer's Union (without the bells and whistles of seams and possibly without the UV stabilizers), and here is the description of what the Ag-19 does:

High quality spun-bonded polypropylene cover is light enough (0.55 oz./sq.yd.) to be laid directly over plants without hoops or frames but strong enough to withstand light to moderate wind and other stress. No need to remove it during the season because it is porous to water and air and has 85% light transmittance. It provides up to 4°F of frost protection, warms the soil and is a good pest barrier. It also conserves water by reducing evaporation. It is similar to other rowcovers but generally longer lasting. UV stabilizers increase expected field life to 2 to 3 seasons.

Agribon™ rowcovers have all the qualities of other brands, while being more affordable and with seams double-bonded for ultra-strength.  These floating rowcovers increase yields, prolong seasons, reduce soil erosion, protect against frost, speed up germination, minimize wind damage, conserve soil moisture, deter insects and birds and protect against extreme temperatures.   source

That is what i remember reading when i first decided to So,  i'm just not going to worry about the inside temps anymore.  I'll still look and write it down, but i won't worry about venting the ends anymore.

I had found and read a few PDF papers on tomato and squash growing under various row covers while i was researching it. The studies used slitted plastic, Ag-19 and a type of grow mesh that is fairly common in other countries (and is expensive to get over here).  The plastic was slitted for obvious reasons, the mesh didn't need slitting and i don't remember there being mention of venting the Ag-19 at all.



So second-guessing is over for now, lol.


I did some research on grapes and this article was very helpful  Grapes for the North

The University of Minnesota's page was also very helpful. Many of the grapes in that article were developed by UofM and the UofM site lists licensed sellers of their varieties (and others') of wine, juice and table grapes. There are a lot of commercial growers, but there are also some vineyards that are willing to sell retail in small amounts...  not sure if they are willing to sell as small as me, since i can only have maybe 2 or 3 of any one kind, and only 5 kinds at the most. But around the middle of this winter i will be emailing my questions.


These seem to be my choices:

Vailant (purple)

Frontenac (purple)

Edelweiss (white)

Kay Gray (white)

Niagra (white)

Catawba (red)

Swenson Red (red)

I'll see what i have room for if my berry seeds go anywhere.






For blueberries, i think i'll try "Patriot" next Spring.





I'm looking into how much room thornless blackberries would take.

Ack

Its really hot. 89.8
So i put out a couple loads of laundry to dry and opened the ends of the rows to ventilate when the temperature monitor read 100. Luckily the humidity is low so the heat is not quite as bad as it could feel... unless you are standing right in the sun or working in it.

Being the sweltering day that it is, i went for an indoor project.

I saved a few containers from store bought sushi, they looked like they would be useful for something!

They have these grooves in the bottom that  make great little moats so when used for chitting, the seeds aren't standing in water, but they should stay moist.

And they have clear lids that snap on almost snug

I use napkins, they are moderately thick.

I just cut them to size in one stack then wet them and press out the excess.

Wet but not quite dripping seems to work for me.

Toothpick dipped in water

Huckleberry seeds are small

Some people scatter their seeds, i can't.  I have done this before by putting the seeds in a wet paper towel then folding it and putting them in a plastic bag with a label. But i can't see whats going on and i usually miss it until the roots are out and have to be pulled from the paper.
This way i can see what is going on and i can pull any seeds before they have emerged too far.  If they need darkness i can cover them with a small piece of heavy fabric.

Labeled and ready for a fortnight vacation in the Amana.

Did a few more assorted trays of seeds.

I had taken a few pictures of the garden. Just weeds so far where the carrot seeds were planted.  I need to look up a picture of what carrot seedlings look like right after they germinate. So i can weed things a bit.

This row looks like something actually is planted.

Tomato row.

This is one of the Roma tomatoes that got frosted. Its making it back very well.

I tried to get a good shot of Melon Row, but its just not wide enough. Sometimes the wind will billow out the cover and i can see straight down the row, but it was too calm this morning.

I sort of cheated on the cucumbers normally i do one set of 3 per hill, but i ran out of hills. So doubled them up. We like tiny cucumbers so hopefully it works out.

They look so tiny,  if things grow right the comparison pics later in the year should be pretty dramatic. :0)

The Goji seeds sprouted like crazy but they grow super slow.

 

 My little weather unit says its going to rain.  Nothing on the radar according to the NOAA's  National Weather Service page and nothing i can see at Weatherunderground's live radar.  Lots of white puffy clouds though.

Expecting a hot day

Under the hoops this morning at about 6:30 the temperature was 67, outside temp was 62.

Expected to be unusually hot, some forecasters are calling for low 90's.  Others are staying at 87-89.
Its already 74 at 8:00am

I have the dog outside under her shade tree. I'd like her to get her outside time in now, cause she'll want to nap the rest of the day on the cool kitchen tiles.
We have air conditioners, but i don't like to use them much.  The cold from them is too direct, and once i turn it on, outside becomes even more intolerable.

On the weather maps, our state is mostly in red for severe weather (depending on what channel you watch),  I am right on the edge of a red and yellow zone. If we are going to get storms, i hope they bring some rain. I expect that the row covers will protect my plants from a heavy rain.  I may not be happy to see if they hold up under hail,  but if they get a test today, i have plenty left to rebuild as long as the plants don't get whipped. I don't really expect that to happen though.

I still want to try and do something in the garden today. I might end up just lifting the edges of the covers so things don't cook under there...  mid 80's got the undercover temps to almost 100...  90's will put it well over that i expect.  Little to no breezes are expected.
I'm glad i watered yesterday, if i hadn't i bet things would be try as toast by tonight.

Watering...

I dragged out the oscillating sprinkler today. It got to around 86F up here. Under the hoops it read 99.5

I hope that is going to be ok. I don't think it will cook the veggie plants where they stand.  But i watered to cool things down a bit and since the air has been very dry- humidity about 28%- so i am letting it run for a while.
I looked underneath and it seems like things are growing quite happily from what i can see. I didn't have time to really pull up all the covers and check each row- that is the only problem so far with the covers. Its an extra step just to see what is growing.  But they only need to be there for the first handful of weeks until the plants get big enough to fight off pests and hopefully miss a breeding cycle or two. Then they'll on again in the fall when i hope they will extend the season past the first few frosts.

I'm considering some sort of drip irrigation system.  Something that can be installed and left under the hoops and stay there all summer. Maybe i will look into it throughout the winter. I sure don't need to be testing anymore ideas in the garden this year.

But i do have a better idea for my tomato trellising.  Right now i have some standard cages, but i am short at least 4, maybe 6, so i need something else. I do have a pair of clothes racks that i bought cheap- but they didn't work... The footings were not strong enough and the whole unit falls over when i put stuff on it-  But with the footing removed, it is a  metal structure made of 1/2" tubes that i should be able to push into the ground and tie some trellis twine to. I may have 2 of them i can use. . that might be just about enough for the last tomatoes. So i have to remember to try and see where i put  it when i took it apart, and where i put the second one that never made it out of the packaging.

I hoped to run another strand of wire on the fence today, but i don't think i will be able to get to it.  I need to remember to take the time for it next chance i get.
I also need to find some sort of venturi attachment for the hose so i can run some liquid fertilizer through it for when i water. I have seen some that attach inline to the hose and you just put the tube in your fertilizer concentrate container and it sips it as the hose is watering.  I just have to find out what they are called and what types exist, then either order my choice or look for it at a local shop.

The Weather.

The forecast for this week is just amazing.
 High 80's Tuesday and Wednesday, low chance of rain, overnight lows as high as 62 (Tuesday night).
I hope we do get a few thunder storms Tuesday night, we will need the rain. Only 30% chance of showers on Friday.
I don't plan to plant anything today. House stuff to do and gardening chores will likely be held to watering only.
Only thing left to plant is corn and some slow Brussels sprout seedlings anyway.
The Zsa Zsa pepper seedlings appear to be cooperating. They remind me of a teenager rolling out of bed in the morning.  Of 6 peat pellets, 5 have come up. Still, there were 2 seeds in each and most of them only have one seedling.

I have to run a couple more strands on the electric fence, just to make sure i discourage any over-and-under visitors, completely.

8:30 am and its 67 degrees already.

Yep, another post today..

...Because i got some more seeds planted out.

Rutabaga, Laurentan
Beets, Egyptian
Green Bush Beans, Provider

I also got the 7 (of the10 that sprouted) Salsify (Sandwich Island mammoth ) seedlings planted out.  There is a long gap between the green beans and the salsify and i was tempted to fill it with something else, but i have to wait until the Brussels sprouts seedlings either come up or not, if they don't then i will put in the Jacob's Cattle beans. They are a good green bean and a good dried bean so i could get a crop of either one or the other if i plant them in the next 2-3 weeks.

I lifted the cover on the melon row, and it was amazingly warm under there!  I'd almost say it was hot... i hope not too hot. I didn't have much time to inspect the row cause i had to go in, my "babysitter" was about to go on strike.

The weather is so nice out today. A little 3mph breeze now and then, its about 75F...

Overnight lows forecast:
Tonight  52
Tomorrow 54
Tuesday 57
Wednesday 42

Nothing much

At about 9:30 this morning it was 62 degrees outside, under the hoops it is 74. It was very foggy  out this morning. The humidity was 92 percent.  It is supposed to warm, humid and overcast for much of the day today, which is good weather for having set out peppers and eggplants. Less chance of them drying out and the row covers keep in the warmth and humidity longer for a bonus.

Not sure what if any planting will happen today.  Everyone else seems to not be feeling well again, which means i and the little one are the only ones awake.  Even the cat and the dog are napping... the hamster too.  The bird is awake though.... and the fish, last time i checked.
I have been up since 5:30am

Had to repair the electric fence this morning. Hubby broke a corner post with the lawnmower last night and didn't bother to tell me.  I know he knew he did it cause the broken post had been shoved back in the ground but the wire was too low and was in the grass. The fence had also been shut off and not turned back on... so it was unarmed all night. I noticed the 'on' light wasn't blinking, so i looked and noticed.  I had to push the post into a new spot and then pull the cotter pin out to raise the wire level higher and then twist it a bit to tighten it back up.  I didn't have time to check under the covers to see if everything is still there. 

I need to wash out some trays so i can start chitting some berry seeds.

More planting today.

Hubby was tired of looking at the mini greenhouses in the middle of the far end of the driveway.  So, i decided that the rest of the stuff could live temporarily in the empty part of the Tomato Row.  Corn might go there later, but for now there is just a few feet of radishes,  but plenty of room leftover between the radishes and the tomatoes.
So the greenhouses are ready to be put away for a while and all the  plants are technically in the garden... heh.

But i actually did plant the summer squash seedlings and sowed the bulb fennel seeds. I also planted the burdock and globe artichoke seedlings.

Still waiting on the Banana melon seeds to sprout. They are the only melon that wasn't ready for its hill. One actually has sprouted, but i'm doing 3 per hill, so i am waiting for it to have friends.

I put a wired remote thermometer inside the hoops where the tomatoes are, and at ground level the temperature reached 85 degrees around noontime. It feels nice and humid in there too when i reached in to place the thermometer wire inside. Actual outside temps were about 72 and 40% humidity.  So it is definitely creating an early summer climate under the Reemay and i bet the soil is much warmer than it would be without it.  I bet it would be cooler on a breezy day.

Since the pepper and eggplant seedlings were going to be outside anyway i went ahead and planted them too. I imagine they will stay warmer in the garden soil, under the hoops than they would in their little pots in the greenhouses.  I got the "Fooled You" Jalapeno,, New Ace sweet pepper, Slim Jim eggplant and the Scarlet Chinese eggplant all in. The only one left out is the Zsa Zsa sweet pepper seedlings.  I managed to get 3 so far out of the last 6 seeds i sowed on a heat pad.  It looks like a couple more might come up-  but i will wait to plant them because they took so long to sprout, if i pant them too early i bet they won't grow even a smigen more at this rate.

All i have left to plant are a few more tomato seedlings that just came up a few days ago-  Siberia and Empire....
The odd cabbage and Swiss chard seedlings that i extracted from the onion flats, a few brussels sprouts, hopefully some cauliflower- i have all but given up on them...  the original wintersown sprouts are still tiny.
Then, the rutabaga, the salsify seedlings, beets, the Appaloosa beans and the string beans will go in, then the corn when it warms up more and the radishes are almost ready to come out.

Forecast overnight low tonight is 47F
Sunday its 49
Monday:54
Tuesday: 58
Wednesday:49
 No rain in sight as of now.

The grapevine still seems happy and there have been no woodchuck  raids on my garden yet.
I can see that i will have a lot of weeding to do throughout the summer. There are things popping up all over the place.

I still don't think the carrots and parsnips are even close to sprouting yet. I can't see anything happening there.  I have never had good luck with carrots. 

Melons and cukes

I planted them around 6pm.  Overnight temps forecast to be in the upper 40's and lower 50's through next Friday.
They sleep outside in the seed flats as it is, the ground was and stays warmer overnight. Plus i put row cover over them. So they should be cozy.
The soil felt quite warm, the cover on the melon row definitely helped with the soil temperature.

The only melon i did not plant were the Banana. They are late starters and have not sprouted yet.

I plan to direct sow the green beans, and rutabagas ....maybe the beets tomorrow.

I'm sort of throwing caution to the wind at this point.

I doubt i'll  be able to next year, this has been an exceptionally mild spring.  I hope this bit of apparent risk is  going to be worth it. If we have no frosts in the next 14 days, i will be glad i did it.


Under cover, i think the plants can stand a light frost.