Those piccies make me want to step away from the pizza.
edit; patiently waiting for the mountain blueberries around here that have an amazing ability to grow on both North and South flanks of our beloved tree swathed hills.
Small and sweet, you can't believe what passes for blubes from the flats. A hiking mentality and happy bucket is all that's required.
When bushwhacking means BLUEBERRY bushes, you're in the right place ! As for Blackberries, there is a BB bush at the end of every lane and uncivilized patch in the urban region.
EKAT: Sounds like it is morel-hunting time for you!
For the non-initiated: morel = super-yummy mushroom. They are difficult (but not impossible) to mistake for poisonous mushrooms. Morels like pine-forest areas with disturbed, from logging or fires, soils.
i'm in the north east, not the west. it is supposed to be 80 tomorrow though, and not raining. hopefully that will help the rasberries and blueberries, and everything else in the garden...
hey there survival and all... oh my, in my dreams, only... :(
but i am patient... perhaps years from now, i will once again get my wonderful turn...
i actually DID get to get a small pot of tomatoes last year, with a donated plant... AND some donated brocolli from a gal across the street, so i had a fun time with that...
what i DO HAVE however, i will soon post:
i haveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee taaadaaaa... :)
the ever wonderful milkweed plant!!!
well---if you don't eat too much of it, you actually CAN make soup from the pods, which i did once, from an old aneeshnaabee lady's "kind of" recipe...
but---- what i mean to be so very happy about is this:
the flowers of the milkweed smell so very sweet and lovely... especailly come near evening... the are a fist sized ball, of many spiked buds...
can you IMAGINE the wonderful joy the deer must have this time of year, romping the fields and smelling this over the pine trees...
heavenly.... (i used to SEE where they bedded down, under these milkweed areas, when i used to live across town, near to the woods... )...
well, i have this, around my pond, as i transplanted them, but--all around here, the natural land, eases in, anyways... but i miss the other side of town, however...
well, i will post some pics of my pond area, a little tiny tub sized patch of dirt... if i get a job by next year, i could plant veggies, but there really is not much sun at all.. would have to have moveable push carts, etc....
but i will try to go gather black and blue berries, soon...
*this was my punch line, you all... ;)
well, i will be back later, tonight or morning, with the neat pics...
wow, have fun cooking and eating all this stuff...
oh, say, tinker b... i DO have mint (love mint) :)... but these last two years, it keeps turning DARK spotted on the ends... :( do you know why???
say, do YOU have any idea why my patch is getting dark speckles on the leaves... ?
it is a new patch, transplanted from the grandkids house... growing faster this year... but this year, far worse, than last year, it is getting kind of ruined, before i can use it...
have you ever seen this... i will try to post a picture later, when i post the other pics...
got to work on my "project" first though, or i will get behind on a goal...
wow, thanks for the share...always nice to hear from you...
wow, better to have miles of mint, i reckon, than miles of
poison ivey, huh... :) :)
Seriously, Man, I didn't know she was Your sister.
Jun 14, 2010 - 11:06pm PT
Well, actually, there's miles of THAT, too. (dammit!)
I dunno about spots, though. It's wetter there, though, maybe?
Moldiness can kill plants in a lotta ways. Just guessin'.........
neebs,
There is always a greenhouse or nursery nearby that will tell you what is wrong with your plant, if you take them a sample.
They will always tell you about a fix also.
Thanks for posting.
B
Ekat: I grew up hunting morels and gradually expanded to a few other "hard to mis-identify-----and die" mushrooms. Even took a course once.
It is best to go out with a local----after studying a book on the subject.
I agree, it is a scary subject, for those that don't know.
Amanita Muscaria. Considered poisonous. Some have taken it for the "high." A friend of mine did and had a horrible night of strange compusive actions, linked to hallucinations. He was lucky, since it can also cause organ failure.
Survival, I too have a Bumper crop of delicious Mulberries. Also have apricots, peaches, nectarines, plums and a ton of Anna apples. They grow abundantly here in my climate. Veggies include zucchini, yellow squash, saucer squash and tomatoes. Limited on what I can grow cause I'm not around much and they have to take care of themselves......and of course avocados. I also have a macadamia nut tree that produces many nuts every year. Oh yeah, couple of orange trees, lime trees, kumquat tree...a big sage bush and a few boysenberries. If I could afford H20 I'd be in fat city.
Nice to hear from Yo All and your growing adventures. :D lynnie
It's been a tough year for gardening. Last night I harvested the 'taters and a kuke, yummy! I have high hopes for my tomato(e)s and the raspberries are OFF THE HOOK. We ate salad for about ten weeks but now it's all bolted. The rains look to be starting up again, so maybe it's time to plant some more.
I didn't do much in the garden this year. It's a good thing as I'm moving out in a week. I did plant peppers and Basil. I'm about to harvest 27 million pounds of basil. Gallons of pesto anyone? Pesto Sushi?
Here's our humble garden in Bishop where the bright Sierra sun makes the plants extremely happy and productive. Funny how fast they grow, especially when you're not watching them and going climbing instead. Thank the heavens for automatic drip systems. See complete story at: http://adventuresportsjournal.com/content/current-issue
The salad bowl of Bishop
Credit: BW
The missus with hoe
Credit: BW
Bishopican Gothic (out takes from a magazine article on gardening and climbing)
Our garden here in NW Montana is no match for what you have going on where you are. Peaches? Wow.
Or how about that garden in Bishop? Another reason to drool over the east side of the Sierra's.
We had a late start, we waited until the June monsoon was over, and we planted starts from one of our local organic farmers.
We are sticking to the basics this year; lettuce, garlic, onions, broccoli, kohlrabi, winter and summer squashes, tomatoes, basil, peas, beans,and swiss chard.
So far we have harvested salads, and one round of basil and garlic for my wife's awesome pesto. True bounty won't be for another month.
Well, I have an update on the rabbit saga. For those following this little melodrama, it seems that rabbits broke into my holding pen (where potted fruit trees waiting to be planted resided) several years back and caused an inordinate amount of damage. They literally virtually destroyed all the trees in there. Over recent seasons the farm rather resemble the Australian outback - there were rabbits EVERYWHERE.
Various people made all manner of suggestions esp my good buddy, Rox. I kept hoping for predators but no such luck. WELL............a family of gray foxes moved in this summer. Seems they just love (ahem) rabbits! They damn near cleaned out the whole population of them and I was thrilled. Nary a rabbit in sight! Problem is, (sigh) it seems they ate them all up and then it would appear the foxes have moved on. (damn!). Now, it seems the rabbits are beginning to rebound. Double Damn!
So, I guess the trick is to figure how how to keep the gray foxes happy enough so as they stick around. I wonder if they would like some dog houses out in the back fields and wooded areas. Hey, these guys can just name their price. Whatever they want, they got it. Nothing is too good for my buddies, the gray foxes. Seems the coyotes which have been plentiful enough have not done jack sh#t all these years when it comes to rabbits. But.......one family of gray foxes took care of the whole problem in less than a month's time. Babies were cute as a button, too. Now how to get them to come back.
That is plenty funny. Migrant Foxes. I suppose they are small enough to follow a rabbit into a warren.
If it was all that much food for them, they will add you to their migration pattern, I bet.
NOW is the time to make the area less rabbit friendly. Find somebody who can blow up their warrens with the propane injection gadgets.
I saw a wild baby rabbit hopping around a couple days ago. About 3 inches long, and cute as hell.
Nothing seems to be growing in my vegetable garden this year. A late season, too much water. So far, I have not even got a tomato. My partners garden is got onions that have ended their growth and gone to seed ... we were chasing deer out of it just a few days ago. They seem to like the carrots and beets ... but don't touch the onions ...
Actually, Rox, these guys are big suckers. These are the gray foxes and they are about the size of a small coyote. They are much bigger than the red foxes. Apparently, they like rabbits which is just fine with me. Seems to me that the coyotes like hunting mice and voles more than they do rabbits. I think it is easier for them and, my experience with dogs dictates, that they always take the easy way out. They grey foxes are also willing to come right up close to the house versus the very shy coyotes who stay in the back fields. I saw a grey fox walk right across my yard not 20 feet from the house. I also see quite a bit of grey fox poop around when they were in town.
They seem bolder and more willing to come down from the woods and get their prey. Course I suppose that is not good for the cats but I only have one cat who goes outside and he sleeps all night inside. I only see him wander up the fields if we are there otherwise he pretty much stays very close to the house. He is not a roamer or wanderer. He is our very nasty bipolar, anger-management cat which I spoke about on the pet ban thread. I have one very sweet 1 year old kitty but she is strictly indoors and one 19.5 year old cat who pretty much spends her entire life asleep on the bed. She gets up only to eat and pee/poop - otherwise she is asleep. I guess pushing 20, she does not have much energy but she eats like a horse. Also, she DOES beat up the 1 year old kitty which totally amazes me. She goes after her with a vengence and attacks her.
I still have nine cats (down from 15) and know cats well. They take liking and dislikes very seriously. They have a lot of jealousy, too. And a larger social structure than is commonly known. Even young cats sleep up to 18 hours a day ...
Our foxes here are quite a bit smaller, at least the ones I have seen. Nobody would expect one the size of a coyote, unless coyotes are smaller in Penn.
Rabbits were designed to be food. A sad thing for rabbits, but I think that is my final answer. Anybody who has ever taken one apart knows how easily they disassemble.
Here is part of our garden. We have oranges, peaches, avos, nectarines, lemons, blueberries, raspberries, potatoes, peppers, zuchs, tomatoes, carrots, radishes, cucumbers, grapefruits, bananas, apples, snap peas, sunflowers,grapes, pumpkins... Not all are fruiting yet (banana, grapes).
We also have a spice garden with much basil and quite a flower selection.
We decided to go big this year.
Margy is also obsessed with the butterflies, especially the Monarchs so we have much milkweed. We are now on the Monarch migration map.
The Hummingbirds love the yard.
does or did, your milkweed... every get full of yellow bugs (aphids? perhaps)...
and or did it ever start turning brown and ugly-ish on the plant... (not just the pods?)...
i never rmember seeing them, thusway, in the woods... or last year, even.. this year, they looked bad... :(
had a great crop of flowers and butterflies, though!
this trouble is recent, ...
andsay, do you get those small long black and red beatle type bugs on them? i just noticed, that, too... these bugs are using the plants for "mating' ... oh my... i am either doing nature a good service, or a bad one---depending on these bugs... (i will look them up later tongiht) ...
right now, i am on a "tech mouse" hunt...
:)
thanks for any info...
god bless! nice to hear of the butterflies!
Hi Neebee,
I just took a look at the Milkweed and there are no pests of any type on them right now. Just the usual suspects (spiders and bees). We have had other pests on other plants and just sort of deal with it, no pesticides allowed. There are too many kids, dogs, cats, birds, etc. around.
hey there say, dee ee.... yeah, i just sprayed soapy water on them... but far too late... next year, i will look sooner... was very busy editing my books, this year, as a lump project, and not dragged out, as the usual way...
say, i DO have some pics of two of the critters using these plants (aside from the bees, and butterfly)...
here you go:
the bugs, and their "honeymoon" spot
(child friendly--as bugs are bugs):
*edit: must have been at least six 'couples' of bugs, there
that day... most likely more, later...
Credit: neebee
*as you can see, the milkweed leaves, were already turning yellowish, and thus they up and fall off... it could be natural-process, or, it was due to the other tiny yellow bugs, ruining the plant...
yes, this is how i found it, upside down... ---great climbing skills, huh... :))
Credit: neebee
haha, oh my.... never took a picture of the "small hords of yellow aphids? or whatever they were)....
hmmm, i may go look that up...
thanks, dee ee.... for the share...
god bless...
:)
Bruce, growing peppers in New Mexico doesn't count. That's like growing moss in Seattle. Show us something serious. Peppers in Seattle is 5.12 gardening.
Does that mean I have to grow moss here to qualify for 5.12???
That would be a start. Or fiddlehead ferns, maybe. Or orchids. But peppers in NM is, well, easy. 5.2 gardening. Kind of like growing rosemary in Seattle.
Peppers a challenge up here. Some years I get a reasonable crop, other years (like this one) are not so great. But it's fun to try. And I somehow always manage to harvest enough to get me through the winter.
I gardened like a fool, deep in the cool, pumice rich shade up there and my biggest bumper crop was 56 HARD GREEN toms. . . made good Green Tomato Chutney year after year.
Not a big fan of chard, but last night it was chicken salad with arugula, mustard greens, spinach, baby romaine, beets, carrots and asparagus all from the back yard.
Bad year for the broccoli and cauliflower though. To damn cold!
I've got the corn planted as well as the tomatoes and basil.
hey there say, all... wow, i may get to have a real garden this year... :) long as i can get some plants, that is... i DO have yard space now!!!! wow, i am so happy to say that!!!!
will let you all know how it goes, and will post pics, too... first there is still a bit more junk from the other folks to get out of here, then, the fence too, will get put back up...
ground is a tad hard, still, but we are getting there...
:)
it's still a little cold here, but i have been giving the grapevines some trimming love. i don't hink they have had any attention since my grandfather died forty five years ago. i've been clearing land that used to be garden for the past few days and it makes me want to settle in and start a garden, and i would if i was in cali or anywhere in the west. so i will give up my patch of dirt for rock climbing...
hey there all, say.... wow, finally i got me a garden!
i mean a REAL one--as--the last few years i did try planting wild plants, and a tomatoe from my daughter, and a few bits of stuff (lots of milkweed, for instance) and a few flowers...
well, this house has a whole yard!!! :O
and i am taking it to hand:
now, i just to water, and weed and pray that it grows...
oh my... patty is kind of BORED by it all...
Credit: neebee
took all the weeds from the fence line, too, and put seeds on all the fence sections... some were old flower and veggie seeds from years back...
the ones in the garden, though are new seeds... sure hope there is enough sun this year for them all to grow....
got some already-grown tomatoe plants, and a few grown plants, too, for certain other areas...
and--lots of transplants as to wild-stuff from the other yard...
grow like weeds: the tiny grape hyacynths... here in the midst of sasafras trees... :)
Credit: neebee
well, i will share how it does, in a month or so...
:)
oh my, my swiss chard is about 1 1/2 inches tall, hahahaha, surely NOT like justthemaids, :))
but, i DO have a really neat and fun garden... just got done transplanting stuff today... :)
will post pics tomorrow, as i got to get up at 7!!! and i am STILL here, :O
well, the trouble here, is no sun... (not due to the huge oaks, and elms, or sasafras, either)... it seems to be rainy fall weather, still, and no may, june sun, excecpt for perhaps 6 days? in these last 2 months? or so...
think that may have stunted it all, but i SURE DO LOVE IT!!!!
WELL, see you all tommorrow...
god bless, and happy supertopo eve to you all...
:)
I've got string beans, a couple types of lettuce, a couple types of toms, blue spuds, watermelon, cantaloupe, zukes, summer squash, cukes, a couple types of broccoli, bell peppers, cayennes, jalapenos, cilantro, basil, and sage.
Two weeks in the ground and I've only lost one cuke plant, the beans are going crazy, and the spud greens are breaking ground.
Does anyone out there have a secret sauce they use as a fertilzer?
Last year a neighbor gave us a bucket of dry, one year old Cow sh#t.
I'm telling you, get a 5 gal bucket, fill it about a 1/3 of the way with
dry cow sh#t and fill the rest with water. Let sit a day or two in the
sun. Then take, about 6 ounces and add it to a gallon of water and you
have your self a miracle grow of maniac proportions.
Do this every day (every other day) during the vegetation stage and then
slow down over time.
Keep filling with water in the bucket as it goes down over time. Add more
cow sh#t when the water gets clear.
This tea is simple. Cheap. And better than anything I have ever seen at
the local store.
So I'm checking in on my patch this morning and found that something came in overnight, scurried right to the center of it all, and ate my broccoli leaves. Nothing else, just the broccoli leaves. The stalks are intact, so hopefully they'll bounce back.
I've been peeing on the perimeter of the garden since before I planted, all for nothing I guess.
I thought the woodchucks left when I moved in with my dogs a couple years ago but something's lurking out there...
hey there say, skipt... a gal in ohio told me something like that, and, i am getting ready to make some... will see how it goes...
also, say, brandon-
some folks say, too, to spray dish detergent on the leaves...,
perhaps that will help???
something just ate the leaves off my hopefully-one-day-giant-sunflowers, oh my!
well, i got a few pics here:
only thing is: since i planted it, the sun moved it ray-trail... now, the fence on the left give a shade longer, before it was only a half a foot, now it almost two feet, til it moves... :O
Credit: neebee
another view... the fish pond is hiding on the garden side of the ol' shed... :) *rest of yard, has bits of odds and ends planted along fence, and under trees... (looks like the woods here, and lots of shade) :) i miss the sun, but DO get a nice patch on
Credit: neebee
sasafras grove, and tomatoes in the far corner... and compost pile... this is the only other sunny spot, later in day... :)
Credit: neebee
well, say, happy garden time to you all...
things are still tiny here... hope they grow before winter sneaks up, ;)
Dang. . . it's flat out WINTER up here. . . I won't be planting anything at all! The rule of thumb is that you don't plant warm season stuff til after June 9th. . . and we're at least 2 months behind. . . do the math. . . ain't no time for nuttin'!
:-(
Pretty amazing, really. . . I mean, NOTHING important (gardenwise) can grow, but the weeds are rampant!
Is this the saddest thing you've ever seen? The end of frikken June and NOTHING planted for the season. Just spent days clearing all the rain soaked weeds outta here and transplanted a bunch of volunteer yarrow. . . but it's just too cold and dark to plant anything yet.
Ya know what really cracks me up about this is that DFU (DogF*#kingUgly) fence. . . I mean, it's elk, deer, bear, wolf, moose, turkey, rabbit, coon and fox proof - but the only things growing in there right now are things none of the beasts will eat!
I threw in the towel back at the end of May, not that I was ever really in the fight this year. But I'm not bothering to plant anything this year either. It does appear to have finally stopped being winter, but starting a garden in late June just seems like it would just be a waste of effort, so I'll find other projects to spend my time on.
Oh man, think back 100+ years...homesteaders must've been HURTIN!!!
But the aboriginal people who lived here have done so for thousands of years and, yeah, sometimes they were hurtin' but, the thing that got them was smallpox.
Hmmmmmmmm. . . I guess, for all intents and purposes, this is a garden, eh? One that almost never needs any work - and that's a good thing, since it's many acres!
:-)
Montana wildflowers for Jessica. . . from my backyard.
hey there say, ekat... wow, this is the first time in 8-9 years that i have been able to HAVE a real garden, and oddly, no sun, :(
but the rain has helped it, for sure...
but, here in mich, my garden now, is as big as when folks get their plants from the store and START their gardens, in may (though they many times, have frost to deal with, and have to cover it, or keep the plants in the basement, etc) ... but now, not just ME, but ALL of us have a garden that is "a bit behind" in size...
but i am so happy for the joy of being out there...
i know you will too, if you just plant some greens, :)
and, somehow,
yet--i am being hopeful, being that i had the open door to do this...
:)
will let you know how it goes...
p.sp
folks are still trying, at least, out here, but we WERE OUT OF SNOW, before you all were, so we had that much hope, this time, :)
The beans are exploding in the garden. As are the tomatoes, leaf lettuce, and cukes.
But, I picked a jalapeno today for dinner and didn't expect much. That plant had produced a couple already that didn't amount to much more than a bell pepper. I ate a little slice and, holy shit! Too hot! Totally caught me off guard.
I'd already made the wrap with the pepper in it before I sampled my bounty. Now I'm stuck with a really good wrap that I'm scared to eat. The pepper was that hot, and I was liberal with it in my wrap.
The melons are softball sized and practically pulsing 'cause they're growing so fast.
The purple potatoes are telling me that I planted my rows too close, as they are between the rows and spilling to both sides and getting caught up in the cucumber vines.
well, course i don't have the squash, since it failed, but i left a few spindly stalks to see if they'd climb the fence, kind of fun to see that, :)
BUT:
i DID get two small cucumbers! and some turnip greens, and lettuce...
and thanks to the good lord's grace, i DO have some tomatoes!!
and, wow, the black eyed peas, make great fillin for just about anywhere... they are bushing in all the areas that i put them in, and make the yard not look so empty... plus:
it appears that bits of fruition, as to pea-pods ARE growng now,
:)
i did get to seed a tiny bit of fill in grass, into the woodsy ground cover in back, too... so not so much dirt, ... little by little, i may get to fix up some seed where the dirt if still plenty, by the back door, too...
here is a picture of the yard, and some of the garden, got rasberry bushes, but no rasberries, but at least, this year, they DID flower!! :)
michigan wild plants, are in various areas, too...
mainly you can raspberries, and tomatoe plants shooting up.. and lettuce... :)
not special organic, but in south texas, in the home that i had to leave, i HAD two of the most wonderful peach trees in the world...
always perfect flavored (yep, if the birds did not get them) :))
i had transplanted them from an in-law type cousin family's back yard...
and they grew to be lovely trees, as well...
though, to some, they were small, but to me, nothing was better!
they could sit in the palm of your hand (bigger than an apricot, though, of course)...
very orangy and with red on the skins... so nice colored inside, as well...
so very delicious....
sadly, i have never had a peach like them, anywhere, since... :(
sure hope and pray, perhaps some day, i can find or plant something similar, you never know.... they do have peaches up here and apples and cherries, and lots of berries, but to me:
the berries that grow up here, are the best...
the other fruit is good, but something is lacking...
(though the apples are good)...
:)
thanks for the share, i also miss south texas, as we had papayas, small perfect flavored ones, as well, in our yard, and i planted them from seeds, of all things--they acturally GREW for me... :)
when the woodpeckers did not beat me to them, i loved to eat them with lemon!
thanks again for the neat peach share, :)
god bless...
your garden sounds great, even if it is a 'rant', :))
hope the melons do well...
i have some backeyed peas that are doing great, leaf wise,
we will see, as to the pea-pods... (depends on the shade and overcast issue here)... but they are lovely ground cover, :)
say, now, DR. F... now THAT is a garden i never seen before... :O
really NEAT STUFF you got there... thanks for the share...
This has been a fortuitous year for the Obamagarden.
We won't have much of a grocery bill for the rest of the year.
It started out with Artichokes, Asparagus, cabbages and beets till we were sick of them.
The cold this winter nuked the Broccoli and Cauliflower however,the beets got pickled in red wine and we have a years worth.
I accidentally made a discovery about cabbages. If you harvest the head, but leave the rest of the plant it will produce a second crop of mini cabbages or giant Brussels Sprouts, depending on your perspective. We've had Shallots the size of onions all summer from another experiment.
The first crop of sweet corn and green beans is vacuum bagged in the freezer and the second crop is now producing. Also in the freezer about five gallons of raspberries and ten gallons of boysenberries that will become jam this fall. So, Fresh corn and green beans at both ends of summer as well as the dried and frozen ones for later.
The tomatoes have done incredibly well. I've canned a couple dozen pints of salsa, a dozen of zucchini in tomato sauce as well as massive amounts of sauce and dried. We've also been eating a lot of BLT's. I'm gonna have to crank out an other batch of salsa Sunday as well.
the Butternut didn't get that big, but they are just about right size for two people. I've still got a couple of spaghetti squash going as well.
Next month I'll start in with prep for the Fall/winter garden.
1,500 lbs of Lamb Haas Avocados! ( aprox, they filled a bin-and-a-half, at around 1,000# per bin )
Two years ago, it was 345 lbs. I don't know what was produced last year, because someone helped themselves to all of them in the middle of the night.
My neighbor's daughter picked them while I'm out of town. He thinks she deserves $75. I think it should be about twice that, because it had to be a long, hot day for her.
I would have had an even ton, if I hadn't been eating guacamole every day for the last six months ( and an avocado a day each for four dogs ).
Avocados store well, Lolli. Real well. Better than any fruit I know.
A lot of the time they keep too well.
They don't get ripe until after they're picked. They're hard as rocks the whole time they're on the tree, and for at least a week after they get picked. The season lasts for several months, so you can pick what you need, and leave the rest on the tree for as long as you want.
Once they're picked, they take at least a week to soften-up to the point they can be used. Put them in the refrigerator and they'll never get ripe. In other words, they'll keep as long as they're cold ( or on the tree ) - assuming they haven't already ripened. I've heard they'll last several months refrigerated, but I don't know for sure because I just store mine on the trees.
When I drive up the coast to see my folks in Washington I bring them a wine-case box full of Lamb Haas avocados. I don't put them in an ice chest or anything, they just ride in the back of the truck with everything else. It always takes me well over a week to get there, and the avocados still need a while to ripen before we can get to making guacamole.
I was just searching around to find the *approved* method of shipping avocados through the mail ( I don't want to do it for money, I just want to send some to my widely-scattered friends and family ), and I think I'll just wrap a bunch in newspaper, and put them in a Priority Mail container. Priority Mail is always there in three days, and the avocados will still need a week to ripen.
I experimented a little last fall and turned in a bunch of compost, covered by cardboard. This spring I turned in organic soil and organic fertilizer.
My plants took off!!! The squashes quickly outgrew the critter fence and things were looking awesome!
Then, late July hit. Something started getting into my lettuce, then my squash leaves. I built a trap, the only way in was thought the trap if it was a rodent of some sort. This mostly worked, but the damage was done.
The lettuce tried to come back, but just went to seed instead of producing. Half the squash plants survived, and white blight (or mold, whatever it's called), took most of the rest.
The cukes were the most hardy, they looked stunted for a while, then started producing like crazy.
Tomato worms suck. I hate them.
The big experiment of the year was the peppers though. I planted half in the garden and potted the other half in pricy farm store bagged organic soil. The garden peppers did nothing all summer, hardly even grew. The potted peppers, which I kept outdoors in full sun did incredible. My yield was off the charts, both in quantity and hotness. Jalapeños and Cayenne, they're both still giving me more than I can use. I've gotta pawn them off on friends.
I think next year I'm going to shift more to potted veggies even though I live in a fertile neck of the woods. It's just so much easier to cater to each plants individual requirements.
We moved to a new house to late last year to do much in the way of planting, but we got a few things in this spring, including these hops, which I just harvested last week.
Not bad for first-year growth
Credit: Ghost
We also got a good tomato crop, which is unusual for Seattle, and the few herbs and peppers we managed to get into the ground are doing really well. I think it helps to have a yard that actually gets some sunlight.
We'll see this week if I can produce an avocado crop this year, or not. It's been pretty damn cold here for a few nights now, with a couple more cold nights to come.
Good thing I held off expansion until later this year! It'd be discouraging to watch a bunch of small trees freeze.
We're well into Spring. Anybody but Fritz got anything going this year?
I finally created enough sunshine to grow some vegetables in my own yard. ( I had to cut down seven good sized shade trees to do it ).
It's a Salsa/Pickle/Stir-Fry/Spaghetti patch. ( it was going to be a Guacamole patch, too, but that was before the Great Freeze Of '013 killed all of my Avocados )
I put up the Deer Fence in February. The deer around here are the size of Pygmy Goats and Cottontail Bunnies, so the deer fence only needs to be two or three feet tall. Chicken wire mesh, but heavily reinforced ( with scrap lumber ) because the Goat will test any fence she sees, espeially if there's something to eat on the other side of it. She's tested this one, and so far it's held up.
The pots were planted last month with Bell Peppers, Hatch Chiles, Poblano Chiles, Jalapenos, Haberneros, tomatoes ( Romas and cherries ), and Italian herbs. So far, so good. Nothing's died.
I got the cucumber trellis framework up last month. Four 12' rows of pickling cucumbers should give me enough to do whatever I feel like doing with them. If the Goat gets lucky, there'll be a surplus. She LOVES cucumbers. Once they get going, I'll be hanging concrete reinforcing wire on the A-frames to give the vines something to climb. If everything works as planned, I'll install a wire "roof" betwen the two A-frames, and create a tunnel of cucumbers.
I'm using weed cloth this year. Never used it before. It can't hurt. Maybe it'll cut down on the ammount of water needed.
( this evening, about 6:00 pm ) ( I used a kite to fly the camera )
I'm tired of paying a DOLLAR for a shrivelled Bell Pepper with a dried-up stem, or a DOLLAR for a little Zuchini that's only about the size of my own ... well, not very big. Used to be, the time of year when your garden was cranking out the produce, the prices at the market went DOWN, but not anymore. So it makes more sense than ever to plant today.
Well we've been enjoying greens from our cold frame all winter. Not sure why I don't have any recent pics. But mainly it's a jungle as we divert attention to this:
Hopping Rabbit Farm west field overview
Credit: khanom
Currently we have in garlic, onions, potatoes, spinach, chard, scallions, and strawberries. Of course much more still to go in, but this year we're using only a small part of our usable area for row crops. Elsewhere the apples, peaches, blueberries and raspberries are coming along well.
Right now up close it's mainly dirt... but I'll post more photos later as things get going and if I remember.
So this year I will be experimenting with a mostly container garden. I have a little strip of soul on my patio as well that is currently overgrown grass. Any suggestions on how best to prep the soil for food crops? Unknown origin or previous treatment. I was thinking I might just haul most of it out, line it and plop some good soil in. I'm sick of food costs and love gardening.
Michelle - it really depends on what your region is like, what you wanna plant, what your microclimate is like, et'c et'c.
Since you have to get soil for your planters, you might as well get rid of the grass & soil it's in and start again. Grass can be a friend or a pain in the bum.
If you've only got a little soul, you probably don't want to haul it away.
Any grass buried deep enough will die, so if you are building a raised bed you can just get compost etc and dump it in on top. Depending on how high the bed is and what you are growing, you don't need to do anything with the grass -- it'll just decompose and provide organic matter. If it were say 12" and you wanted to grow tomatoes, you might want to cultivate some but unless it's rock-hard clay it probably won't matter.
When I was doing raised beds in Joshua Tree I got a big load of horse manure and composted it down. I supplemented with purchased compost mix and steer manure. Any decent nursury should be able to sell you better compost and/or soil mix for cheaper than the crap at the big box stores. Of course the best plan is to be composting all year.
I do it now on a bigger scale -- about five yards of horse pooh a week, to which I add chicken pooh, wood mulch, grass clippings, etc. I just turned the pile and man do I smell... of... freedom.
Check and see if your state has an agricultural extension program, or check with a local, small nursery / garden shop.
Soils and requirements can vary widely and if the area you want to plant is right up next to the house there's a good chance that construction leftovers have changed the soil composition radicaly from what's just a few weet away.
Just don't get suckered into buying sacks of "garden soil"
Yup, because of course you want to be spraying poisons on ground where you grow food.
I'm by no means a grass expert but I believe most grasses of that type (called rhizomial ??) will not be able to survive buried at least 12". Don't quote me on that.
We have some perrenial grass here that is quite persistant, although I've not identified it exactly. If you leave a clump in the ground it will survive, but only if less than about 4-6". My strategy for those areas is to flip the sod with a bottom plow and let it dry, and/or remove the clumps. Where the roots are exposed it dies.
Thought I'd take a pic of the main pooh pile to make all you gardeners jealous. What's left in this batch is about 20 yards and it's got about another 2 weeks before it's ready. And yeah, the apple trees are blooming. The brown thing is a mobile chicken coop.
Bermuda will survive even if a foot deep in well aerated soil.
(been there dun that)
Horse manure works great because it isn't as "hot" as steer manure and has a lot of incompletely digested fibrous material that really helps loosen up clay soil, and you can also usually get it for free or next to it.
Just make sure you compost it for a few months and don't put it on fresh or you will burn up your plants, mostly from the overabundance of the nitrogen in the urine. Also it gives time for any anti parasitic agents the horses had in their system time to break down. Horse wormer even in incredibly small concentrations will nuke all the earthworms.
Roundup on the other hand breaks down completely in about two weeks.
Had the craziest strong Brandy wine Amish heirloom tomato last year. We have 6 strong starts off the biggest tomato warming up in the bullpen. Suppose to warm up soon and they'll be planted.
Well, I'll take your word for it TGT... I dunno. I've no real experience with Bermuda. But I've never seen grass survive when fully buried... now bindweed on the other hand...
If you wish to believe the Roundup is somehow safe, I guess I won't convince you otherwise. My thinking is that when you fúck with nature, she tends to fúck you back. Usually in unpleasant and frustrating ways.
More important companies like Monsanto are directly responsible for massive damage to agriculture and rural communities that may never fully heal. Thankfully the revolution in small-scale local farming is gaining speed. We're the people who will keep food costs down and be able to provide you with wholesome natural non-toxic food when all around you huge food monopolies are jacking up prices and forcing you to eat cheatoes.
We have a sweet deal with a local stable. They need to get rid of their crap, so we come about once a week with our dump bed truck and they load it for us. We don't pay for it but that doesn't mean it's free.
I find horse manure on it's own to be lacking. We also got a bunch of sheep manure -- the two together is fantastic. My philosophy with compost is the greater diversity the better.
Very envious of your spread there khanom. We have a tiny patch of city land here ... no room for a manure pile. We have two 50-gal drums of worm compost. They survive winters easily ( tho' we have a fairly mild winter ).
And agreed on grass. Around here the quackgrass ( rhizomal ) needs to be dug out , rhizomes and all and then ya gotta be vigilant for the little bits missed.
Don't use Roundup on food crops. Better to go an Organic route - yeah, I know - there's crap in the atmosphere but why put more in? Dig dig dig. We ridded our yard of convolvulus (sp?) that way. I still fight quack grass despite digging it out every spring.
There's no perfect garden. It's always work in keeping the weeds away.
Thanks for the note about horse-worm meds in horse manure. We don't have an easy source for horse manure but I do tend to jump on it if we get it. Don't wanna mess with our earthworm population !!!
so back to this project. Round-up, no. unfortunately, I can't do a raised bed, so the next best thing would be to dig and haul. I can't get the depth being suggested but I suspect if I clear most of the "offending" soil, I can line it and replace. I have to be ghetto cheap about this, so I'm scavenging things. I'm also starting plants in toilet paper rolls! I the previous grass infested patch, I was thinking planting sunflowers, zuchinni and herbs in the ground. maybe corn. to disguise my mj plants in containers. tomatos and maybe peas. for sure cucumbers to pickle. then I started thinking I could do greens in the ground too. I need to do more research. your stuff all looks awesome folks! since I live on the SF peninsula, the weather is bomber and I get lots of summer sun. the Star Gazer Lily is in heaven and I also have orchids that are stoked to be outside in the shade.
I can't wait to buy land and grow more food and rustle chickens. maybe goats for cheese. plus guns to keep the zombies out of my food.
I'm pretty sure it's an old-timey injectible vial. Medical waste.
Back almost a hunred years ago, the big place next door was a tuberculosis hospital - and it's built like one. My place - a hundred yards away - was the doctor/nurse quarters.
The real estate guy told me about potential medical waste when I got the place. "If you dig up any jars, DON'T open them".
Glyphosate (trade name RoundUp, etc), is the most widely applied agricultural chemical in the country. If you're fretting over if being applied near food crops...well, that ship sailed decades ago.
It's basically an enyzme synthesis inhibiter. It only works on actively growing plants, the uptake method is through the foliage (i.e. it won't work as a pre-emergent). And it does breakdown relatively quickly for an herbicide. EPA gives it one of the lower toxicity ratings.
If you're fretting over if being applied near food crops...well, that ship sailed decades ago.
And: Still, I wouldn't want it on my food.
Farmers spray it ON food crops. You know that right? That's the whole point.
EPA gives it one of the lower toxicity ratings.
Given your apparent confidence in government work, which is possibly lower than my own, I'm not sure this means much.
The perpetual problem of humans monkeying with nature is that we are rarely able to know and understand the long-term implications of our actions. In the early part of this century almost no agricultural chemicals were thought to have negative effects, but naturally with use and time to see them we discovered that was very much not true.
Everything you do on a farm has consequences. Everything you put on or near the soil affects it. Sometimes it's perceivable, sometimes it's merely measurable, and sometimes you don't see the consequences for many years.
If you google glyphosate toxicity you can find studies that link the chemical to deliterious effects on living creatures (here's just one). But do you need a study to tell you that wiping out all plant life in a given area will not have some consequence? It matters to me that it is toxic to humans or toxic to mice, but far more important is that this practice ignores the delicate balance of systems farmers must work within to ensure long-term soil health and productivity.
I'm really bummed, as this has been a hobby of mine for a few years now.
The irony of poverty is not being able to afford to get my garden going this year. If I could fund the startup, I'd be paying less for the veggies I love to eat.
How long does that plastic last? We were thinking about doing some of those, but it seems like 2-5 years max before the plastic would deteriorate up in Tahoe. Currently harvesting used windows in the tahoe area...
Wes, if you are asking me, it's not plastic. Well, it's still a petroleum product. But it's a breathable lightweight row cover for keeping insects at bay and reducing heat. It comes in heavier weight versions that are excellent frost protection. It lasts long if you are careful -- it rips easily.
The brand we use is Agribon, available many places. We bought from Peaceful Valley Farm Supply in Grass Valley.
We do use greenhouse plastic on our cold frame, and it should last 3-4 seasons with care.
I'm real happy with what I've got going this year.
No problems. No setbacks.
This is when it's fun. Production matches exactly what I can cook and eat. Sometime in the next couple weeks the work will start and I'll be firing up the canner.
She canned a case of Boysenberry jam weekend before last. Probably need to do at least two more batches and a batch or two of Raspberry
Thanks to climate cooling I'll have a bumper crop of tomatoes so the Salsa and sauce canning production will start in about two weeks.
The heat loving plants like the corn have been a dud this year. The Sweet potatoes are rather stunted, but the beans are finally starting to take off late from a state of arrested development.
I will have to transplant the Shallots this weekend.
when you grow them from seed you get clumps like Scallions and then you need to replant them and give e'm some room.
The Goat got hers, too. She gets rid of the ends, peels, seeds, etc. Unlike the Dogs, who know there's no future in begging, the Goat thinks she needs to be front-and-center for the whole process.
Chaz, I like your setup. Nice big garden, avo trees, goats, what's not to like?
I'm a wee bit envious. Not too much, as I have my own sweet garden, but I like goats.
I wasn't going to plant this year, but crumpled at the last minute and got my babies in the ground. Good thing too, because we had snow over Memorial Day weekend. I put 'em in the ground the next weekend.
I'm growing my hot peppers in pots again this year, I had outstanding success last year. This year I've added habaneros into the mix. Pots are great for peppers, as you want a lot of sun to increase the capsaicin. Mobility is key if you live in an area with many trees and you can't find a site with all day sun.
Let us know!