Everything Science Forum

Well it's gardening season, more or less.  We still have another 35 days before we not supposed have anymore chance of a freeze.

But the buds have opened on the raspberries, blackberries and blueberries.  So now it's wait and see.

The rhubarb shoots have come up, and I still need to transplant (and divide) my biggest one.  I was partially successful with the smaller plant.  It looks like one of three transplants didn't survive the winter.  :(

Anyway, we are starting lots of seedlings indoors, and I have already turned about 3 cubic meters of soil (and composted leaves) in our main vegetable garden.

I started some garlic and I need to post the pictures.  One took off, and rooted and sprout immediately.  Others are coming along slowly.

I think this year I'll do beets and turnips and/or parsnip, and maybe various squash/zucchini.

Have you tried any cold frame gardening?  We've been doing that a couple of years now and can keep lettuce and spinach going almost year round.  We had a frightfully cold spell for a few days in February and we lost a lot then, but did pretty darn good this year.

I need to get some raspberry bushes going.  Plus till my "corn area".    ;D

We have bad luck with lettuce.  The weather gets too hot and dry, and it bolts.

I would like to try spinach.

Are there any good sources on 'cold frame gardening'?

We are in Zone 5, which means we can get some pretty cold temps - down to -20°F (-29°C) in winter, but we can get 100°F (38°C) in summer.

Chard tends to be more hardy than spinach but can be used in many of the same ways. That said, I admit I prefer spinach.

We've put in the pole beans, potatoes, carrots, zucchini, pie pumpkins, and leeks. I seeded some 5 year old celery seed, we'll see if it is still viable. The artichoke and strawberries are still going year round (zone 9 here) and the rhubarb is starting to take off again.

I tried fava beans for the first time this winter. They are almost big enough to harvest. I grew wheat again, this time with the intention of eating it (in the past I had merely weaved it into various art.) But the mice got to the wheat, and I only have a few heads left, which I will save for seed instead of grinding.

I've been amending cow manure into our "corn spot" and hope to plant corn before long.

Most of our garden is at the community garden, which has a lot of rodents. So, much of my plot is caged to keep the rodents out. I'll get a snapshot in a few days to share with you.

This is a good book on 4 season gardening:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1890132276/002-4955127-3312851?v=glance&n=283155 (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1890132276/002-4955127-3312851?v=glance&n=283155)


I was considering trying favas, Patty.  Hope they turn out well!

Anyone have issues with raccoons?  They ate all my corn last summer.  I've heard coyote urine will help.....

We have raccoons in our area - I've seen them on the neighbor's property, right next to our property.  However, they do not seem to bother our plants.

We have a problem with deer and rabbits though, so we put netting around our plants.  Perhaps that also dissuades raccoons.

Interestingly, I haven't had any problems with the raspberries, blackberries or blueberries, except something did eat the ripened blackberries before I picked them.  >:(

I do have to protect the strawberries though.  Since they are at ground level, rabbits and mice have easy access.

(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b78/Patty4150/garden.jpg)

(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b78/Patty4150/garden2.jpg)

(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b78/Patty4150/garden1.jpg)

I can cover the cages as needed, and the plants are then protected on all six sides with 1/4 inch mesh.

It feels weird to cage in my plants, but the community garden is over-run with mice, rats, ground squirrels, gophers, and the very occasional raccoon.

Our brief experience with raccoons resolved on its own, so we didn't need to trap. But with the other wildlife, we have used Havaheart traps very successfully.

Patty, that's cool!  Thanks for that.   Artichokes!  Hmmm.

I am hopeful about the garlic, but this is my first time.  I would also like to do asparagus, but that takes about two years to get going.

We use plastic netting, mostly for deer, but it does keep rabbits out too.

The only thing the mice or rabbits seem to bother is the strawberries, although I did chase a rabbit out of the garden where I had peppers and tomatoes growing.

We have at least one owl in the neighborhood, so hopefully he or she is controlling the mice and small rodents.

Nice photos Patty!

Thanks, A and C.

I'm starting to get into lasagna beds. Have you tried these? The few un-planted spots in the garden are receiving layers of straw, coffee grounds (courtesy Starbucks), cowpoop (courtesy the ranch down the road), and a few other organics. I'm curious to see how the soil develops with lasagna gardening. You aren't supposed to till it - just plant into it when it has decomposed a little.

The plants above, are bigger already. The potatoes are about twice as high, and the pumpkins and zucchini are also twice or more, as big. I recently learned that the potates will make more and more tubers, if you continue to mulch them vertically as they grow. Hmmmm. I'll need to mulch a lot, but that's OK and works well with the lasagna plan.

The artichoke is near done, but we've had about a dozen artichokes off it this year, and at least a half dozen more maturing at the moment. No complaints there!! I may need to remove ithe plant to make room for one more big cage, but it has served us well.

I hope to plant some peppers soon. Assuming the lasagna layers are ready to go in the next couple weeks.

I have not heard of 'lasagna beds', but it seems to make sense, and is consistent with what I have observed with our compost piles.

In our compost pile we dump non-meat/non-dairy organic kitchen waste (bread, fruit and vegetable scraps, and coffee grounds, used tea bags, etc) along with yard waste (leaves, grass clippings, twigs, etc).  I have noticed plants, e.g. tomato, potato, flowers, weeds,  . . .  growing very well in the compost pile!

One of my wife's uncles has a compost pile, mostly grass and leaves, in which he grows tomatoes, and he grows BIG tomatoes!

 :koala

Minimalist Garden Bed
http://www.galleries.thegardenforums.org/v/mikecons/

Very nice. That's sort of a lasagna.

So far I am happy with the way lasagna gardening is working out. The worms are much happier than they were, and the plants seem to be doing very well indeed. There aren't any slugs, which is good for the new sprouts.

I planted basil a few days ago, and will add another layer or two of organic material in another day or two.

I need to get new pictures so you can all see how quick the plants are growing. My husband doesn't get the gardening bug, and so i can't share with him the way we gardeners like to.  :)

Added in edit: Here are the pumpkins, beans, and potatoes again. You can see how they've grown over the last three weeks (compare to photos above). The potatoes in particular are booming.

(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b78/Patty4150/pumpkins2.jpg)

(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b78/Patty4150/beans.jpg)

(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b78/Patty4150/potatoes.jpg)

I pulled all the garlic and now have three tidy braids in my kitchen. :) I'm moving the last cage over to where the garlic was, and will be able to plant corn in it as soon as it is moved.

THe wheat is finishing, so I should have wheat berries to plant in the fall, soon. The fava beans are setting pods and maturing pods, and I'll have some seeds from those as well.

The carrots are almost big enough to start picking and the pole beans will be twining up the poles within two days. The potatoes have stopped growing, which means tubers are probably starting.

I've planted okra and soybeans and bok choy here at home, and sweet corn (four inches high now),  and a few more peppers and some tomatoes and oh yes, a friend gave me a sugar cane so we're trying that too.

:) :) :)

Gee, Patty, that was fast.  My garlic is just getting started.  We planted tomatos, peppers (including one habeñero) and some peas.  Everything is growing slowly since our temperatures are barely up to 60°F, and at night, its 30's or 40's.  Lettuce seems to be doing well.

But I have 7 maybe 8 new blackberry canes.  Finally, they are taking off.  But I've got lots more work to do to expand the blackberry patch.  ;D   The raspberries, strawberries and blueberries seem to be doing nicely.  The strawberris and blueberries have flowers, but the raspberries are a couple weeks from flowering.

The rhubard is doing very well.  :1thumbup  :beer

 :koala

My herb garden is in, and looking very tastie. My growing season is too short to start slow growers from seed. We had 2 inches of snow last week, but my floating row covers saved the day!
 I'm growing 4 types of tomatos{started indoors}and plan to get back into canning this year. I've got a good handfull of barley seeds to try this year.

Hi Charity! I miss canning tomatoes. I can't seem to grow enough here, to can any decent quantity.  :\'( And the barley sounds fun! What do you plan to do with it?

I had a nice surprise today - when I stuck my hand down around the base of some of the potato plants - look what I found!

(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b78/Patty4150/potatoes1.jpg)

They aren't really "done growing" but I was curious .... and boy oh boy will they be tasty in the stew tonight!

That one on the right looks really good.

I need to do taters.  ;D

We spotted a good sized rabbit - about 8-9 lbs (~4 kg's) the past couple of days.  I think he got some of the peas.

I need to get busy and plant beets and turnips or parsnip, and some broccoli and squash/zucchini  :D

 :koala

Just ate some fresh strawberries from our strawberry patch.  :D

They seem to be doing quite well!  :1thumbup

I let the original plants propagate (by runners) and those plants are bearing fruit.

 :koala

New potato's!!!!!!!!!!!!! yummy! Barley is planted like wheat, in tight close rows. So it doesn't get a companion Tho its ringed by pumpkins, which hubby planted, much to my suprise..the GIANT kind!!!!
 I'm useing floating row covers for the herbs and tomatos, hopeing it holds some heat in..nights here still dipping down to the 40's.
 I too, have gotten a hand full of strawberrys, but the forrest critters seem to be getting most of them.

I have the strawberries surrounded by a net, otherwise the forest critters would clean them out.  Last year a rabbit managed to find a hole under the net and I saw him/her nibbing on strawberries.  The mesh is sufficiently small to keep out all but mice and voles.

Hi Again!

Once things start growing they don't stop.

Here are the Pie Pumpkins, being trained up poles. They grow several inches a day from multiple meristems. They are setting fruit.

(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b78/Patty4150/pumpkins1.jpg)

Here are the beans, vining nicely and also setting beans. I can start picking within a week.

(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b78/Patty4150/beans1.jpg)

I have pulled all the garlic and moved another plant cage into that spot. That cage has been planted with corn, which is sprouting now.

(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b78/Patty4150/corn1.jpg)

I have harvested many potatoes, although some are still waiting for me.  We have really enjoyed them. I am trying to get a second crop going in the same spots. I think I'll be successful. I may decide to use some of that space for another crop - We'll see. You can also see that we have baby carrots at the moment. These have been nice also, and I grow them in successive plantings so should have carrots for the foreseeable future.

(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b78/Patty4150/carrotspotatoes1.jpg)

(As you can tell, I was doing cartwheels when I took that last picture. I love my gardens!)

At home, we've put in four blueberry bushes. I hope they do OK. My okra and soybeans aren't doing well - I may need to re-plant those. More corn, tomatoes, and sundry other crops are coming along. YUM!

Soy beans are a main crop around here, they thrive on neglect and really poor soil. So your more then likely just too good of a gardener to grow them well. :yukyuk
I tried to transplant some wild blueberries{huckleberry}, but they don't look very happy in there new digs. I wonder if I brought a couple of buckets of dirt from the site where I got them, and turned into the soil, if that would make them feel more at home?

Hey Charity,

I think most plants adapt to soils or soil conditions in which they originate. 

You might check the pH of the soil.  Blueberries like acidic soil.

Blueberry plants grow best in acid soils (pH 4.0 to 5.0) that are well-drained, loose, and high in organic matter. The soil water level should be at least 1 foot below the soil surface or roots will suffocate. Soil pH (degree of acidity or alkalinity) can be determined by sending a sample of the soil to the University of Minnesota Soil Testing Facility. Instructions for taking a soil sample, and containers for sending a sample can be obtained through your county extension office. Most garden soils in Minnesota have pH readings above those that are optimum for blueberries (most soils are too alkaline).

I suspect this may also be the case for Wisconsin and Michigan.

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/DG3463.html

Growing Blueberries in the Home Garden
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1422.html

Growing Blueberries in the Home Garden
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8207.html

Lowering Soil pH
http://hubcap.clemson.edu/~blpprt/lowerpH.html

In Michigan - Hints on Growing Blueberries
http://www.canr.msu.edu/vanburen/e-2066.htm

 :koala

GRRRRRR!!!!!  :033102angry_1_prv.gif:

Some critter - I believe deer - ate 5 of 9 new blackberry canes.

Last year the deer ignored the blackberry plants.

So now I have to surround them with a mesh.

Oh man. You'd think brambles would be safe.

I moved my blackberry to another spot of the yard this spring and it's barely limping along. It was so prolific in the last spot, I thought I could put it anywhere. I hope it eventually adapts to its new home, but we sure won't see much of a harvest this year.

Charity - I'm trying blueberries (commercial varieties) again this year. I have amended heavily with acidic amendments, and need to work in some sulfur to boot. I don't know about huckleberries, but Astronuc might be right about their pH needs neing low as well. I've had blueberry failure twice in the past, so I hope third time's the charm.

I hope they do well for you too! My neighbor told me that nothing will grow in the spot where the huckleberries are because....a giant black walnut use to grow there! The tree came down about 3 yrs ago, but he told me that the walnut trees add something to the soil which makes it good for walnuts but bad for everything else.
I'm going to half to look into this matter more.

Edit:  Sorry GL, I hit the wrong button and overwrote your post.  Any chance you can retype it.

Astro.   :-[  :P

Anyone know a good repellant for racoons?

Anyone know a good repellant for racoons?

We use a capsicum-based pepper powder that is supposed to repel squirrels from the bird feeder - it's OK for birds though.  Maybe that would also discourage raccoons and other mammalian varmints.

BTW - we've had several days of rain and thunderstorms, and we have another one right now.

Areas to the west of us - in Delaware and Susquehanna river valleys - have had extensive flooding.   A section of I-88, 35 NE of Binghampton, NY was washed out.

HA!  I'm being censored!!!!  ;D


I was just complimenting Patty on her potatoes and wondering when I should start feeling around for some spuds off my own plants?  I can't recall the how many months from planting to harvestable.

Oh, and I was complaining about hailstorms and raccoons.   

You could go back and edit it.

You mentioned that you had one heck of a hailstorm, and that you lost some of your plants.

ah yes....   lost most of my cabbages, and my tomatoes and beans aren't looking good.  Hopefully they'll recover.   

I'll try the capsaicum for the raccoons!

That must have been some hail storm.

We have had mostly heavy rains, but only several inches, not 8 or 12 inches like we had last October.

The areas around Scranton and Wilkes Barre, Pa, and Binghampton, NY had several inches of rain in 48 hrs.  Binghampton flooded, but the levees protected Wilkes Barre, so far.  Hopefully they won't have any more rain for a while.

We got an inch and a half of rain in less than an hour and my back yard was just covered in pea to golf ball sized hail.  All I could do was stand on the porch and fret!!!

BUT, we just ate the sweetest peas from our garden so not a total loss!  And everything else is perking back up nicely.

Yeah, sounds like you all have had much more water than you need out there!

I haven't seen any hail in our since we moved here.  We've had heavy snow 24+ inches (61+ cm) and even lightning during snow fall, but never hail.

We also dodged the bullet again last weekend.  Saturday evening we had heavy storm with high winds.  About a mile west from us, there was some tornadic (cyclonic) phenomenon and several trees were blown down and one house damaged.  It is amazing that the damage is confined to a small area of a few acres.  Properties across the street and either side of the one property had little or no damage.  It looks like what ever it was just dropped right on top of one house and surrounding yard.  The property is on the other side of a ridge from us, but we are at the top of hill, so we are potentially vulnerable to this kind of phenomenon.  Several years ago, there was a tornado that touched down and ran in a straight line for about 2-3 miles and cut a path about a 100 yds or so wide.  Trees were blown over or shattered, and several houses damaged.  That thing stopped about 2 miles from us - just two ridges from us.  It had been moving in our direction and had it continued, it might have been right on top of us.   We have been quite lucky so far.


Oh, yeah.  I discovered blackberries on our wild brambles.  I knew we had the brambles, which occasionally have small berries, but this year for some reason, the berries are more plentiful and the brambles are much thicker.  Maybe its the rains we've had for the last month.  The wild blackberries certainly taste different than the cultivated berries.

The blueberries and raspberries are ripening and we are now collecting Japanese beetles.

I harvested a couple of zucchini yesterday.  I have 4 zucchini plants and 4 summer squash that are doing quite well.  Each plant has several zucchinis or squash.  Some of the first fruit didn't mature.

I also planted some more hot pepper plants - habañero, serrano, kung pao, and a hot Portugal pepper plant.

but never hail

  Well, I should have said rarely or hardly ever.  We just had a thunderhead develop over our house, and it dropped some hail before quickly changing to heavy rain.  Fortunately the hail was pea size (about 1/4 - 3/8 in ). 

We have received some light hail in the past, but it is rare that we do - I mean it sprinkles hail - unlike in W. Texas, where I have seen the ground covered in inches of hail.

I actually feed the racoons marshmellows and grapes. We put them up in trees, under rocks and inside rotted logs about 600 yards from the garden. The creek is another 100 yards farther, so they take there treats there to eat. Seems to keep them busy enough to leave the garden alone.
I tried everything..even the powered hot peppers. I think mine even enjoyed the spice!

First blossems on squash and pumpkins!

The habañero, serrano, kung pao, and a hot Portugal pepper plants have started producing fruit and still have a few more flowers.

The serrano actually came with fruit and the peppers have grown in size.

The habañero pepper fruit has grown in size, and the hot Portugal and kung pao are just starting.

I harversted several more zucchinis and summer squash.  They are fairly large (length: 8-10 inches/20-25 cm and diameter: 2-2.5 inches/5-6.3 cm).  More are growing.  ;D :1thumbup

We have several bowls of raspberries and small bowls of blueberries and wild blackberries.

My wife's tomato plants have green fruit, the lettuce is still doing well, and the sugar peas are still producing.

Hi Greenleaf!

I think potatoes must respond to day length, because the second batch I grew didn't make spuds for me. Did you find spuds when you looked?

I'm planting some cooler crops now - leeks and carrots and beets. I may get another crop of corn (planted August 1st) but it's a little dicey. We swapped produce at the community garden today, and I brought home a bag full of tomatillos which we promptly turned into salsa verde. It was very, very good over grilled chicken. Also broiled the older leeks and carrots (planted last spring) and drizzled with olive oil - Yum - and a side salad of cucumber/tomato.

The blueberries are muddling along, they look chlorotic but I have fed them so I don't know what else to try.

I think I might try beets and maybe turnips next.  The squash and zucchinis are about done.

Patty, are the leaves of the blueberries yellow or brown?  Other than making sure the soil pH is about 5.5 - 6, I am not sure what you can do.   I look around for some ideas.

The leaves are yellowing with green veins.

I had added a ton of sulfur to the soil, so the pH should go down (from around 8.0 )  eventually. I planted the berries in acidic planting mix. I have fed with the recommended food.

I planted four plants, different varieties, and one seems to be doing better than the others (Sunshine Blue, which is more tolerant of higher pH.)  Two are a little chlorotic and the fourth is very chlorotic. The fourth is very close to the retaining wall, and I have heard that such proximity raises the soil pH.

I planted four varieties in the hopes that at least two would make it. So, things may work out (I hope so) but I don't know what else to try. I've been to the berry forums on Gardenweb and I think I've mostly heard all the ideas that might make a difference (adding vinegar when you water, etc.) Still, if you come across anything, I'll be all ears.

Here are some of my Habañero peppers.

Those are some nice looking peppers! A few pepper jellies took the spotlight in our little local fair.
 Everything did well in the garden this year, we had to give much of it away. I'm going to try and dry some of the squash{acorn and butternut} for soups this winter.

{acorn and butternut}

That's what I need to do next year.  I think it's too late for a new crop - cool weather and less sunlight is coming.  Equinox is Saturday (Sept. 23, 2006, 12:03 AM EDT, 04:03 GMT), which is simultaneously Friday (Sept 22, 2006, 11:03 CDT).

I did zucchini and summer squash this year, but I prefer acorn and butternut.  I also need to start sooner.

I do want to try beets, turnips, parsnip and carrots though.

It's time to plant garlic, no matter where in the US you live.

http://www.gourmetgarlicgardens.com/

The blueberries are looking a bit better. Two are now in the 'green' category. I'll give them more sulfur and more food in the next couple days. I'll check the pH again too.

Astro, your peppers are beautiful. We've had a good year on peppers, and I have stuffed bells a couple times. They need a few weeks still before they can come out, and and I am itching to get the garlic planted there. So, it's making me itch for more garden space.

What do you do with your peppers? Any good jelly recipes? I've never tried that, and it might be a way to use the younger peppers.

I have used this one several times, works really well.

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups finely chopped mixed peppers of your choice
1 1/2 cups distilled white vinegar
6 1/2 cups white sugar
3 ounces liquid pectin
DIRECTIONS
In a large, stainless steel saucepan, combine green pepper, white vinegar, and white sugar. Bring to a boil, and cook for 6 minutes, stirring constantly.
Stir in liquid pectin, and continue to boil for 3 more minutes, stirring constantly. Skim off foam with a metal spoon, and remove pan from heat
Ladle jelly into sterilized jars, leaving a 1/2 inch space at the top. Seal, and process in a boiling-water canner for 5 minutes.

The snow hit last night :(, so gardening is over for the season. Carrots and squash made it to the root cellar just in time. A great batch of herbs has dried nicely, as well as dried pumpkin and squash.
 Barley has been sent off to the miller to be de-husked, gonna try some barley beer with this batch. :1thumbup

Yum!

Where do you live, Charity? I thought you were an Aussie. Must have you confused with someone else.

I am impressed that you grow barley,. I have thought about trying it (mostly for soups) but have not as yet. We have some wheat that will hopefully survive the squirrels, and I admit I do not know how to de-husk the stuff. Any tips?

We grew amaranth this year, and I have enjoyed harvesting the seeds and adding them to all sorts of dishes.

We don't expect snow, but the weather has cooled and I need to get the peppers out soon.

The saffron (crocuses) are blooming, and I should get at least a few micrograms of saffron this year. Woo hoo!  :)

We had our first frost last night, but so far we haven't had snow.  The area 250-300 miles (400-480 km) west of us had about 2 ft (60 cm) of snow yesterday.  Highways were closed, and many people were without electricity.

I guess I'll harvest whatever is left in the garden - still a few habaneros left to pick.

Hi Patty, I'm in northern Michigan, about 120 feet from Lake Michigan. Where we only have 2 seasons...summer and winter. :-\\

With the wheat, first you half to thrash it, to remove it from the stalk. Tie a good hand full and wrap a pillow case around it, then simply beat it against a fence. Some of the hull should come free with it. Then spread it out on the cement{or large flat stone} and gently rub it with another stone untill more hull comes off. You won't be able to remove it all.
 Then on a windy day, you half to winnow it...by tossing it up and letting the wind, blow away any bits of hull.
You can grind it in the food processor, of couse the more hull, the nutter the taste of the "whole wheat".

Hi Charity!

Somehow I missed your instructions! Thank you! In fact, we have been doing it "by hand" stalk by stalk, (telling ourselves it's a zen thing) and have a couple cups of kernels that we hope to grind soon. Your method sounds better --- I'll try that.

Astronuc, have you had snow yet? Word is that the Northeast is snowless.

We've had two hard freezes here last two nights, which is unheard of here.

This past year I tried growing late into the season, to see if I could get away with it. I planted popcorn and tomatos on August first. The popcorn is harvested - and I had no problems at all with corn borers, which was nice! I was still getting brandywines off a couple plants last week (made some tomato sauce a few nights ago and had no idea how delicious fresh tomato sauce is, in January!) but the freezes have taken their toll.

Planted peas and garlic last week, after the popcorn came out, and built up my lasagnas. I've mapped out the garden for spring planting - Potatoes and peppers will be the main crops this year.

I'm hoping the rhubarb will return, but probably won't know for a few weeks/months yet.

Any ideas for new things you plan to try this coming year? I'll definitely have to include some of that barley in the plan.....

Astronuc, have you had snow yet? Word is that the Northeast is snowless.

Yes - we are still snowless, and we broke an all time high last week - 70°F - which was at least 10°F (5.5°C) warmer than the previous record high.

Two buds on one of my blueberry bushes opened!  They may be killed if we have hard freezes.

We had a warm Jan-Feb about three years ago.  Then in March of that year, we had more normal hard freezes.  Orchards and nut growers lost 50-75% of crops.  Our oak trees had no acorns that season.

We have a storm warning for tonight - freezing rain.

I'm sure you've heard that virtually the entire citrus and avocado crops have been lost here. We're still cold, a week + after the first freezing night, but slowly warming. Personally, we lost an agave, and a banana tree, but they'll come back in a few seasons.

I've temporarily switched gears at the community garden, from growing intensively and using every square inch as it becomes available, to building the soil. So all the annuals are  coming out (a lot was killed by the freeze anyway) and the layers are going down. Straw, coffee grounds, leaves, bunny manure, compost -

-I dug into the underlying soil yesterday. This soil resulted from all the layering I did last year. It was fabulous stuff. I can't wait to plant in it, but 12 inches of layered materials only gave me about 2 inches of fabulous soil, so I'll have to wait for yesterday's additions to at least begin to break down. A few weeks.

Then on the way home I had to stop at the grocery store and as luck would have it they had their seeds out for spring. I hadn't planned to buy seeds (Since I'm trying to build soil right now) but it was too tempting. I bought some "normal" stuff (basil, cucumbers, pole beans) and some new varieties of a few things (purple carrots, a french canteloupe, pasilla chiles) and some new things I've never grown before (quinoa, which looks like a beautiful plant.) I still need to find barley.

So today, if I get my chores done, I get to start planting in seed pots.  :) :D :1thumbup

Did you get freezing rain in the end, Astronuc? When's your last frost date?

Did you get freezing rain in the end, Astronuc? When's your last frost date?

  The freezing rain was well to the north of us.  About 50,000 people were without power for a day or two or three.

In a normal year, our last frost is officially May 15 (or near Mother's Day) - but then this hasn't been a normal year.  We haven't had a normal year for quite a while now.

The seeds are here in stores too now. I'll start my seeds over the weekend, cold crop anyways, and the summer ones in march.
I have ordered a bunch of worms to help with the compost pile. They should get here by Easter.
Winter has been so gray this year. And yes Patty, oranges are $1.25 each now, so I'll half to switch my addiction to Tangelos!

Charity, if you wanted worms, you should have asked.  I have plenty of big ones in our compost pile, but they are deep inside and won't come out until it's warmer.  ;D

I've seen several about 1/4-3/8" in diameter and 6-8 inches long.

It's too early for us to think about starting seeds.  In two months perhaps.

 >:(

So here in Denver we've had a lot of snow (for us) - a couple of feet late December, early Jan.  I finally got my coldframes dug out last weekend.  I'm going to have to rebuild.  The weight of the snow broke the lids and squashed my beautiful lettuce and radishes.   :\'(

Anyone ever used those little heating mats to put under flats to start seeds?  Like these:  http://www.charleysgreenhouse.com/index.cfm?page=_a3&cid3=416&cid1=175&cid2=415 (http://www.charleysgreenhouse.com/index.cfm?page=_a3&cid3=416&cid1=175&cid2=415)

Nope, never used them. I start my seeds in a sunny window, that I built a deep shelf on.
Ive started my slow to sprout herbs over the weekend, and next weekend will get some flower seeds going.
  Worms just don't like it here, too much sand. I've only been composting for the past 4 years, so my garden only has a 2 inch layer of good earth, befor the sand starts to creep in. Root crops love it. Grains and gourds really need coaxing to do well.

The blueberries look much better this year. I am beginning to think they will make it after all!  :) The nectarine is doing well this year too, and the lemon tree we started from seed in 1997 blossomed for the first time. The apricot sapling has about a dozen apricots this year.

We've planted mostly peppers in the community garden this year. Anaheim chilies and bells, both for stuffing.

What are you folks growing? Anything new?

Well, my strawberries have ripened starting last week.

My blueberries have set and one bush has ripening fruit already.  I am hoping the others grow larger before ripening.

The blackberries and raspberries have just started to flower.

My wife's lettuce plants are huge, and some are probably ready to bolt.  We just started some tomato plants, and I have some garlic growing.

Hello again!

How long does your strawberry season last, Astronuc?

Here is this year’s plot at the community garden, the organic garden about 8 miles from my home. We are just starting to harvest summer vegetables.

We live in a dry area of the country (about 18 inches of rain a year, mostly between November and May.) This area used to be a seabed – which means that our soil is alkaline clay (from deposits of lime.) The first couple years at the community garden, I used gardening techniques that I learned in the Midwest – Basically tilling in compost every spring and planting. I found that this didn’t work well here, because the soil and climate is different than in the Midwest. So, I switched to mulching (to conserve water) and lasagna beds (to build crumbly organic planting mix) and have had better luck as a result.

The other issue with the community garden is that it is in the middle of open space. So, we have tons of rodents. I have built "cages" for all my crops, as a result, and these can be fully netted to keep rats and squirrels out. Fortunately this year the snakes, hawks, and weasels are keeping the rodents down. Our resident red-tailed hawk will often perch in our garden as we are working, and will watch us. It is quite an experience!

The first picture will be the most interesting to soil junkies like me :) . This is an image of the "soil" that results from my lasagna layers. The most recent lasagna layers were pine needles, used coffee grounds, straw, and half finished compost. I have pulled those layers back, and you can see the crumbly stuff that comes from *previous* layering, along with about a half dozen worms. I find worms every time I pull up the layers – sometimes just a few and sometimes scads.



Here are some of the vegetables that we have planted. The beans are starting to produce:






We are trying cantaloupe again – and having much better luck this time (very green and lush growth) thanks to lasagna gardening. One leaf is the size of a dinner plate. It is a french variety - I forget the name.



Our basil is coming along:



And so is the corn, which will be topped and netted to prevent the squirrels from eating it, once the ears have been fertilized. I am letting some pumpkins crawl around the perimeter of my plot, near the corn:



I am delighted to have some bell peppers (about 12 plants) coming along nicely this year, and am looking forward to many meals of stuffed peppers:



And finally, we have a volunteer tomatillo. I hadn’t planned on planting any this year, but decided to keep this volunteer because I have found that the "native" plants tend to do better with the climate and rodents.  We found a great recipe for salsa verde last year that we are looking forward to trying again.



I also have zucchini, cucumbers, and a few odds and ends that didn’t get photographed. And we have other plants at home, where the rodent problem is non-existent. Most of our tomatoes are at home, and a few other items.

Thanks for strolling through my garden with me! Happy gardening!

I'd love to see yours, too!

Strawberry season last about 3-4 weeks.  I need to work the ground more, with more organic matter, and properly mulch it.
 
We had many strawberries, but they were generally small.  Strawberry season has been over for about 1-2 weeks.


Now the blueberries are ripening, and the raspberries and blackberries have fruited, but are still green.

On top of my car, a bird left me a messy purple blop. That means its Mullberry time in northern Michigan! So today, I'll hike down to the berry trees, eat my fill, and bring the rest home to make syrup.

Deer have been a big problem, eating most of my herbs and my celery. Lack of rain, and high heat has stressed out whats left. Powder mildew has set in on several flowering plants, treating everything with in sight, in hopes of keeping it in check.

Patty your garden looks beautiful, rich and lush, and very well on its way.

We have mulberries here too.  I was walking under a tree recently and discovered berries on the ground and overhead.  I tasted some from the tree, and they were sweet.

The blueberries and raspberries are ripening.  I picked about 1.5 pints each last weekend.

The blackberries are ripening and should be ready next week or the week after.

The hot peppers are coming along, but so far the habaneros are the only one's not producing.  They seem to be growing more slowly than the other varieties.

I went to a local farmers market and bought fresh cherries and apricots!  Delicious.

I harvested a couple of bowlfulls of blackberries last Saturday.  Unfortunately, a few had mold which started spreading to others.  So I quickly froze them in hopes of salvaging the rest.

If left on the canes, blackberries either dryout or rot, unless an animal gets them.  So far, deer are the only animals I have to keep away.  Birds don't seem to bother the berries.

Raspberry season has been over for a couple of weeks, but we still get blueberries on the late-bearing plants.