Garden Update......busy, busy, busy!!!

Spring is just around the corner! We were blessed with two nice warm days over the weekend. Do you believe it was 62 on Saturday and the mid 50's on Sunday?? So....I went over to the plots to get some work done. This is the best weather for doing this type of work.

I took down 4 of the 5 trellises and laid them on the beds where they will be this year. I forgot the drill-driver both days. So, I couldn't move the last one. I also turned over about half of one of the big beds. I am pleased to report that there are lots of worms!!!

I turned over the one end of this bed where the broccoli will be planted. The garlic is at the other end of this bed.

  

I removed most of the straw from the garlic bed.

 

The bed in the middle was also turned over. This is where I will plant some cauliflower. The two end beds is where the asparagus is planted. No signs of grow yet.

 

As you can see (click on any picture to enlarge), the top of the soil is quite dry for this time of the year.

The raspberries were pruned. I totally forgot to cut them back in the late fall!

I added some additional bunny protection to the fencing. It was too low and we had a bunny living in the garden last year. I managed to get about half of the perimeter finished. Hopefully I will be able to finish it next weekend.

  

There is one full table of starts in the basement. I am in the process of pre-sprouting the peppers and eggplant. By the end of the week, there will be another table going!

 

The greens and lettuce and doing well and......

 

I think it's time to thin the celery!

 

How's your garden prepping coming along???

The Plots at the end of September

I can't believe that September is almost over! Boy, time sure does fly! Today I spent 8 hours at the plots cleaning up. All of the tomato plants were pulled and all of the beds were tidied up.

A view from the front

Bed #1

This is where the potatoes were planted this year. I dumped a bag of composted manure on the bed. I will work it in and plant the garlic in this bed next weekend.

Bed #2

a/k/a Tomato Bed 1

All tidied up and ready for winter. I left the marigolds and basil in the bed.

Bed #3

The 3 Sisters planting was at this end of the bed. The hot & spice peppers and eggplants are still going strong at the other end of the bed.

Bed #4

a/k/a Tomato Bed 2

All tidied up and ready for winter

Bed #5

There are still some leeks left in this bed and also the sweet peppers at the far end.

Bed #6

This is not a good picture. I couldn't get a good angle to show the bed. The blackberries are at this end and the raspberries at the far end. As you can see the berries all survived the transplant and are thriving. I'm going to build supports for them next weekend.

Bed #7

The strawberry bed. This bed still needs some attention before winter sets in.

Bed #8

This bed has asparagus at each end and another section in the middle where the onions were planted this year.

The asparagus also survived the transplant and is thriving.

A view of the garden from the back.

The gate is locked and most things are in order for the winter.....but, not everything is done!

So, how's your Fall Clean-Up coming along???

The State of the Plots Mid-July Part 2

In the previous post "The State of the Plots Part 1", I went through Beds #1-4. In this post we will go through Beds # 5-8 and Plot 102.

Click on any picture to enlarge

This is Bed #5

In the front of Bed #5 are French Cantaloupe. I lost one plant so far and it looks like another one is on it's way out.

Behind the cantaloupe in Bed #5 are some more Pickling Cucumbers. They are struggling along just like the other cucs and just starting to produce.

The next in Bed #5 are two Small Sugar Pumpkin plants. They are very happy right now. Let's hope that it stays that way!

Following the pumpkins are a few leeks which I forgot to take pics of. They are struggling with this weather. Next are the cabbage. There are a couple of Savoy, Tet Noire and Red Acre. All of the heads are small and I have yet to harvest one. They were planted late.

This is where the spring Broccoli was planted. I sowed some Great Northern Dry Beans here and covered them with straw. These are starting to pop up too.

The Sweet Peppers are next in this bed. They are also much much smaller then the plants last year. I'm sure we will have enough to get us through the winter. At the end of this bed are two Zucchini plants which I failed to take a picture of. One was sown 2 weeks ahead of the other and are doing well.

Bed #6

The Raspberries and Blackberries are planted in this bed. They transplanted well. Hopefully we will get a late harvest of Raspberries. The Blackberries have some fruit and new shoots on them. Their harvest will be very very small as they were cut way back to transplant.

Due to the small size of the Blackberry transplants I was able to plant celery, onions and Purple Pole Beans in this bed. Next year I don't think there will be much space for any additional crops. The celery is really suffering due to our extreme heat and lack of rain this year. The onions are also very small.

The Purple Pole Beans are doing well and hopefully will start producing soon.

Bed #7 is the Strawberry Bed.

The transplanted strawberries are much much smaller then the roots I put in at the far end.

This is where the Strawberries transition from the transplants to the new roots. Boy, what a difference! They are even the same variety. Hopefully we will have a bumper crop of strawberries next year!

Bed #8 is divided in to 3 parts. 

There is Asparagus at this end. In the front I sowed some late peas where the Favas were planted. I also covered them with straw to hold moisture in so they would germinate.

In the middle of Bed #8 there are 4 Celery plants and onions. As you can see all of the celery is really struggling with this weather. It's a good thing I planted way more then we need to get us through the year.

The onions are so so small in comparison to last year. I really don't know if we will have enough for the year.

There are a few good size onions. But these are Walla Walla onions and they should be twice this size. I'm going to dice them up and freeze them.

The far end of Bed #8 is planted with another variety of Asparagus. I also sowed some peas here.

Last but not least is Plot #102.

Patti & I pulled all of the tall weeds in about 1 1/2 hours. Yesterday, I weed whacked the rest down. Now, we just need to get it tilled. Then we will put up the fencing we have accumulated and start planting fall crops!

Mystery Tomato Update & The State of the Plots Mid-July Part 1

This morning I heard from Lisa at Amishland Seeds regarding the mystery tomato. At first she thought it was a variety of tomato called Schimmeig Striped Hollow, since it looked similar and she files her seeds in alphabetical order. After I looked at the description on her site, I knew it wasn't. I emailed her back and she is going to do more research and get back to me. I have purchased seeds from her for years. She has very interesting seeds with detailed history and is a very kind lady. The week I ordered the seeds from her, she was moving from her home of 20+ years. So....the Mystery Continues!

Now onto "The State of the Plots Part 1". I was going to do this is one post....but, it would be way too long! The gardens are really holding up surprisingly well despite the weather. I'm really not sure how many heat waves we have had already this year and the lack of rain continues. The rain just goes right around us! Thank heavens Doug fills my barrels with water in return for an occasional jar of jelly and I weed whack the front of his plots. Thanks Doug!

Click on any picture to enlarge 

The front of the plots.

These are Red-Seeded Asparagus Beans. The vines are supposed to get 10' tall. Well, they are about 1' right now.

These are Chinese Red Noodle Beans. They are also supposed to get really tall. They are much taller then the asparagus beans.....but not nearly as tall as I would have thought they would be by now.

The King of the Garden Lima Beans are at least 8' tall! I guess they are just going to have to hang over. And...yes, the gates are finally up!

Bed #1 The Potato Bed

As you can see, the plants are dying off already. I have dug more then half of the Yukon Golds.

Bed #2 Tomato Bed 1

The plants are looking good.....kind of like a jungle!

They are loaded with tomatoes!

This is the Mystery Tomato plant.

Lots of big beautiful Cherokee Purples!!

Bed #3

This end of Bed #3 has the Three Sisters Planting. They are all looking good. I did have another squash planted on the other side. But, it just died. I have no idea what happened to it. It looked like SVB. But, when I pulled the plant, I couldn't find any evidence of SVB damage.

Behind the Three Sisters are two trellises. The one in the front of this picture has pickling cucumbers. They are struggling along with this weather and just starting to produce cucs. The trellis behind the cucs has Ottawa Cranberry Dry Beans growing on it. They are slowly moving along.

Next in Bed #3 is a recent planting of Great Northern Dry Beans. This is where the spring cauliflower was planted. It's been so dry that I decided to cover the area with straw to keep the moisture in. It worked and the beans are starting to pop up through the straw!

The next area in Bed #3 is where the Eggplants are. They have quite a bit of fruit on them. I'm not sure how big they will get with the lack of rain. Time will tell.

Following the eggplant in Bed #3 are the Hot & Spice Peppers. The plants aren't nearly as big as they were last year. Most of them have a good amount of peppers on them. One variety that is having a problem is the Paprika Peppers. Many of them are getting what looks like BER. I just cut the ends off and hang them to dry. We are out of Paprika Powder....so, I'm using every bit I can.

At the end of Bed #3 are two Watermelon plants. I think I planted Sugar Baby.

The jungle in the misty background is Bed #4.

This is the second tomato bed. They are also loaded with tons of green tomatoes.

Stay tuned for The State of the Plots Part 2!