Heat and Humidity

I am truly sick of the heat and humidity. I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in about two weeks. I don’t have air conditioning and the ceiling fans can only do so much. It doesn’t help the sleeping situation when Max (now down to a slim 72 pounds) insists on sleeping in bed with me – and I mean right next to me. Some part of him always needs to touch a part of me – even if it is just his paw across my leg. I usually don’t mind but it is so friggin’ hot! Ok, I am now whining….off to the garden.
The heat has been good to get a jump start on all those veggies that normally don’t come out until August. I have corn ears already – and have had them for a few weeks. It was only 49 days after planting them. But the raccoon have already found them! Carl the Coyote has arrived and I do have a picture of him to post – but again I am at work and do not have access to my files here.
The spaghetti squash is looking good. I think there are about 10-11 of them so far – which isn’t too bad for 6 plants! It is climbing all over the corn stalks – so much for the 3-sisters method of having the squash grow along the ground to keep out the weeds!
Both types of melons are growing nicely. Lots of flowers! But they don’t seem to want to climb up the trellis I so diligently built for them. They prefer to ramble along the ground twisting themselves in the hay. They require daily intervention to make sure that they stay the path.
The first sowing of edamame has already started to produce beans. I need to keep an eye on them because the harvest window is so short I don’t want to miss them. The second sowing is just starting to flower.
At last the tomatoes have picked up – the Sungolds are starting to turn. I was able to grab a few as snacks the other day – while I was patiently trying to train the cucumbers up their trellis. Apparently this is the year for all tendril growing veggies to ignore the given growth pattern of up – and just grow anywhere they please! I have only been able to snag two zucchini so far. Which makes me sad – there are so many gardens that I see when out walking that are exploding with zukes. I am just hoping that I am a late bloomer.

Holy Heat!

All this heat and humidity is really starting to get to me (not to mention everything I am trying to grow)! It hit 100 yesterday and according to the news that has happened in July since 2002. It has been in the high 90's for about 4-5 days already and today the forecast was to be cooler. My thermometer says 82 - and that is in the shade. Ugh.
I did pick my first zucchini over the weekend and there is another one on its way. If this heat keeps up I think it will be ready in about 5 minutes! My rain barrels have been empty for weeks and dragging around that friggin' hose everywhere is just a pain in the butt. But you do what you gotta do to keep things growing.
The random tomatoes that came from my compost are some sort of cherry tomato. They all have flowers in bunches. I can't wait to see what type they are. I am hoping for some yummy heirloom. Just please don't let them be Sweet 100's. Too many of those last year - I want something different.
Here is the one that is growing out of the bin.

Right above it you can see a ventilation hole. That is the size of the hole that this sucker found and decided to grow out of! I took this picture at about 11:00 this morning so you can see that it gets very little light. You can also see that I do not weed anything over there. Dandelions, clover, ridiculously long grass. It is very unsightly over there but I have bigger things to worry about and take care of. Maybe if I didn't work I would have the time to handle every little inch of my yard but then I would be poor and wouldn't be able to afford any of the tools to do so! Ah - the perfect Catch-22.

Bugs, Critters and More Tomatoes

It is now completely out of control! I now have a tomato plant growing out of my compost bin! I guess that kind of makes sense seeing as the random tomatoes that are growing around the yard all came from said bin. The holes along the bin are not that large so this lucky tomato seed found just enough light to sneak out and start spreading. This particular one does not have any blooms yet but all the other wayward ones do. I am thinking about leaving it alone and see what happens.

As far as my aphid invasion - it seems to be under control. I used a bit of the saucy spray and they seemed to have found another place to go (I am hoping over the fence and to my neighbor’s yard).

The corn has already started to tassel which of course means that something found its way into the plot and gnawed down two stalks! I made a make-shift chicken wire fence around the remaining stalks. I made sure that the wire is curled out and then for some added protection I cut some of the wire so if anything tries to get over they will get poked. But you know it will be me that gets poked - not them!

The Fastbreak Melons are starting to flower too! They haven't even reached 5" high yet but there are two tiny yellow flowers already. The weather has been so friggin' hot lately - the melons must be in heaven (while the rest of us feel like we are in hell).

Tomorrow's forecast is 70's, sunny and no humidity - perfect day to get out there and get some overdue chores done.

Berries and Bugs

There is nothing better than fresh picked berries - and I have tons!
All of these raspberries came from one corner of the humungous bush. I didn't even move around. Just top to bottom. The container got full but there are still plenty more to pick.
Found some interesting bugs around the yard too. Look at the size of this dragonfly!

It was hanging out on my back porch for pretty much half the day. I thought it might be dead - but really, how could it hang there if it were dead? Eventually it took off. Well, not sure if it flew off, but it is gone and not on the porch floor.
I also found this little guy hanging around the huechera plant out back. Hopefully it found lots of bad bugs for dinner.

And speaking about bad bugs. My Picasso Petunias are COVERED in aphids. They can hang out there if they want as long as they stay away from my eggplant and any other vegetable I have growing. I am going to brew up a batch of 'saucy spray' just to be safe. Saucy spray is:
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon tabasco sauce
1/8 teaspoon liquid soap
It works on leaf hoppers, aphids and pretty much any other pest. It can also be used to deter raccoons. I haven't tried it on them yet, but the corn is looking really good so I guess an extra big batch will be made today.

More and more tomatoes!

Oh dear - these tomato seeds are a lot hardier than they are promoted to be. I was out weeding the garden and found eight random tomatoes growing around the zucchini. Now that dirt came from my worm bin, not the outside compost bin. Apparently this is Mother Nature's way of telling me to grow an abundance of tomatoes. I pulled them out and put them in the yard waste bin - I am taking no chances. The so-called marigolds I planted along the potatoes are also tomatoes. Just a big-ass welcome sign for bad bugs! Speaking of tomatoes here are the first Sun Golds of the season


Not only are the tomatoes spreading like wild fire this is the first year in I cannot remember how long that the hydrangea bush is exploding




Typically I get one or two blooms and was actually thinking of pulling the whole thing out this year. Apparently it knew it was on the chopping block and is putting on an amazing last ditch effort to survive. Although it is extremely early for it to be in bloom. Everyone around here has full blooms on their hydrangeas and really, they shouldn't be in full bloom until August! I guess the heat is getting to them too (but in a good way). Here is a close up of one of the numerous blooms.

It has been so freaking hot and humid over the past week here that everything needs to be watered every day! God forbid I have a life outside of these plants, which I did last night. I went out straight from work to meet friends and just to spite me my petunias decided to die. I watered them heavily when I got home from work tonight but not sure if my CPR efforts were too late. Stay tuned

A Big Oopsie!

I really wonder where my head is at sometimes. I was out picking the peas (which are growing up and along the tomato cages) and I noticed what I thought was a an escaped tomato branch. Nope. It was a whole nother friggin' plant! I dug up marigold seedlings from one of my containers and planted them around the tomatoes. Turns out they were tomatoes, not marigolds. I have NO IDEA what type of tomatoes they are nor how the heck the seeds survived over the winter in my compost bin. I also planted some in the Victory Garden around the potatoes to keep away the beetles and haven't gone over there to check if they are indeed marigolds or wayward tomatoes.
The potatoes that were also growing in the bin are doing quite nicely in the yard now. However I noticed a few more in there when I was turning it the other day. No more potatoes, please.
Not so sure how well the melons are going to fare. The previous owner of Victory Garden home came by (he definitely does not own the house and was trespassing just as much as we are) and decided he didn't like the trellis so he took them down! Trampling all over the itsy bitsy melon seedlings in the process. I planted what I had left of the seeds about a week ago and still nothing. The melons were a stretch anyway. It was just something new to try.
Oh and last but not least - the caterpillar is an American Lady

What caterpillar?

Out weeding today - damn maple tree - and I found this guy hanging out. I went through 12 pages at bugguide.net and haven't been able to find it! Not sure if it a 'good' bug or a 'bad' bug. I am thinking black swallowtail but sent an email to my regional field coordinator for butterflies to check. Usually they don't have the red dots which is why I question its kind.

Staked the tomatoes today and the Sungolds are starting to flower. My handy book Trowel and Error says it is now time to water with epsom salt. 1 tablespoon to 1 gallon of water. The raspberries are now in full harvest mode. I am thinking I have gotten at least 2 pints in the paste 3 days! I love fresh raspberries.
So, I planted Garden Purslane a l-o-n-g time ago in some window boxes and was caring for what I though was purslane very diligently. Apparently they were weeds! The purslane has succulent leaves and they finally emerged from the soil. Light dawns and out went the weeds and in more purslane seeds. Now I think I got it down pat!

Backyard visitors

I don't think I ever mentioned that I have tons of bird feeders, birdbaths and bird houses around the yard. This week parents have been bringing their 'kids' to visit. Here is a juvenile cowbird. He sat in that feeder for a good 10 minutes with no help from mom and dad and he wasn't at all concerned with the dogs hanging around.

Here is the whole nuthatch clan. Not sure if it was mom or dad but you can see one of the kids getting fed. This family makes me laugh. One of the kids flies from tree to feeder back and forth with its parent just begging for something to eat. But never attempting to get seed from the suet feeder himself!

Not the best picture but these downy woodpeckers move so fast it is the best I could get. This is the dad giving a snack to his young one. Mom was in and out days before flying from feeder to the tree out front. Leave it to the guy to go about it the lazy way!

The peas have arrived - FINALLY

So this year I didn't pull them out because apparently tomatoes and peas make good neighbors. I left the peas in and they have finally started producing. Not nearly in the abundance that they did in years past but I guess that is what I get for using gajillion year old seeds!
And do you remember this is what the raspberries looked like on April 11 and here they are today.

And they are already producing berries. Still pink but in a few days they will definitely be ready to pick!
The heavy rain over the past week definitely killed some of the seedlings but I have dropped seeds in the same spots so hopefully everything turns out ok.
Something is nibbling on my eggplant leaves so I need to mix up a concoction of some sorts to ward away the pests. I am thinking hot pepper, garlic, water and dish soap should do the trick no matter what pesky pest it may be.

Picking up the mess

Woah! Yesterday's storm left a crazy mess. The rain came down so hard and heavy it looked like hail. My poor melon and delicata squash seedlings may not have survived : (
The corn/spaghetti squash plot is flooded - so much for good drainage.
However the potatoes are still standing. The ones I found growing in my compost bin and replanted look great! The ones I planted from my organic produce delivery - not so much.
There are branches, twigs and bunches of leaves everywhere! And the city doesn't do a yard waste pick up for another two weeks. I already have two full barrels (courtesy of my neighbors weeds and overgrown shrubs). We don't have a dump here and I don't own a chipper. I would really like one but they cost a lot!
So here are some more pictures of things in bloom here:
Astrantia growing alongside the bush

Nora Barlow Columbine

Ok, so not technically a bloom but this painter's palette is growing like crazy - everywhere! It fills in the shady areas nicely

And last but not least the Lamium

Spring Blooms

These roses were here when I got here not really sure what they are.

These black pansies heavily reseed! If one didn't bloom early I would have taken them out as weeds.

For the life of me I cannot remember what this bush is!!! My sister gave it to me last year and I must have thrown out the tag : ( It does smell heavenly though!

Impatients

Blue Girl Rose - they smell like lemons!

Busy, Busy, Busy

Whew...so much has been planted over the past three days. I put 6 tomatoes in my yard 2 of each - chocolate cherry, green zebra and sungold. Four of the zucchini went in my yard and the other two went to Tom for his last grow box. Around my zukes I dropped in some nasturtum seeds to keep away bugs and to add some color. I planted Kentucky Blue Wonder beans over in the V-yard and the Purple Stringless here. I put those on the back bean tower in the hopes that they will be easier to harvest since they are purple! The rest of the chocolate cherry and green zebras went across the street. The last of the sungolds didn't look so hot so I just may give them away :).
Today 36 corn plants went in. This year I started them in peat pots and regular old potting soil and in less than a week I had shoots and roots coming out from the bottom. Around the corn I put in spaghetti squash and next week I will add either edamame or bush beans - going with the old "three sisters" plan of attack.
The only things left waiting to be planted are the eggplant, melons, delicata squash and cucumbers. My cukes weren't coming up even after two weeks so I added additional seeds into the green slam pots and wrapped the marketmore in damp paper towels stuck in a tupperware container on top of the fridge and in three days they had already sprouted! I put those in the existing peat pots and hopefully those will be ready for Memorial Day weekend planting.
My chard look awful! I think it is getting too much mid-day sun. They leaves are starting to get brown and crinkly. They also have purple spots - pretty spots - but I am pretty certain they shouldn't be there. I planted more seeds along the back fence where the sun isn't quite so harsh.
I am thinking I am almost done, but then I think again and realize that everything still needs lots o' love after being planted! Rain is due on Wednesday so hopefully it comes and can save me the trip of dragging Tom's hose over the fence!

Trellis and Tomato Update

Now this is what a trellis should look:


The triangle 'tee-pee' like trellis on the left was built with some help from Tom because as you already know building is not my strong point. For less than $20 in supplies this should stand through several seasons. This year it will hold Fastbreak Melons
The lattice trellis on the right was FREE!!! I had extra lattice hanging around from I have no idea what project. We cut it in half and attached it to 8' legs. I got tired of digging so there is a good amount of space from the ground to the first piece of wood, but I am thinking a little bit o' twine or some trellis netting and all will be good.
The third trellis is my previously departed bean trellis. I bought a better staple gun and used 1/2" staples this time and instead of two free standing pieces I tilted them towards each other and attached them by zipties.
So the Victory Garden looks good so far. Here's hoping that everything that should be planted there comes up. I am a bit worried about my cucumbers right now. I started the seeds a week and a half ago and only two have come up. I love cukes and that is what I really want to grow. I might have to just suck it up and buy some seedlings : (
As for my previously frozen tomatoes:

I think they just might make it! I have trimmed the dead leaves and will plant them pretty deep and keep my fingers crossed that they produce. I mean I really do have too many. I can only handle 6 in my own garden and I have 22 in total! That is a lot of tomatoes!

R.I.P

Oh dear - I really messed up today. I put the tomato seedlings out to harden and forgot about them It was quite windy and chilly today and this is what I have right now:


I watered them with warm water and put them in the windows (as you can see) in the hopes that they might perk up. I really did have too many plants to begin with but I feel terrible that I could have possibly killed them.
Also on the R.I.P. list is the bean trellises I 'built'. Apparently the staples I used were not strong enough and the whole thing collapsed when I went to put it up. I guess I can put both of these experiences in the "live and learn' category.
On the bright side the raspberry bush is blooming as is the blueberry bush I transplanted last year. So all is not lost,
And as promised here is the picture of Max helping me edge. Gotta love the life of a dog.

And life goes on

Lot's going on on the homefront these days. Seems as though all my electronic devices are dieing at the same time. I have no cable, no internet and the microwave is on the fritz too. I have been a bit busy trying to make things happen inside, but not so busy that I couldn't get some seeds planted!
I started my Delicata and Spaghetti squashes in peat pots this weekend. And because my Golden Purslane isn't doing so hot outside I started that in peats as well.
I was able to edge the entire yard - and Max was a huge help. I will load that picture once I can get online from home (yup squeezing in a little personal work at work again). The mulch should be delivered today but before putting it down I need to trim the forsythias and other bushes. It makes such a mess on the nicely laid mulch when I do it after.
I also got some 1 x 4 x 8 pine planks to build some not to sturdy bean trellises. I will be lucky if the last the season but at least it is something. Those pictures will follow as well - providing Comcast can fix my modem :)

Another rainy weekend

It's been raining again and it is supposed to get down to the mid-thirties tonight. I heard on the news that there is a chance of snow in parts of New England too! So much for Spring, huh?
I was able to harvest some asparagus last weekend. The stalks were very thin but I couldn't help myself - I just had to cut them. Don't they look pretty?
I have plans to go to Depot or maybe the Grossman's Outlet to buy some wood to build a melon/squash trellis. I got this super easy design from Organic Gardening. It looks like even I can do this and I stink at building things!
I am already looking at more spring bulbs for the front and side yard. This year all the giant hyacinths came up and the rest of the yard looks so blah. I love the look of all that color blooming after a long, dreary winter and Brecks has a $25 coupon if you spend $25 along with a $10 saving if you spend $75 or more. Sounds like a plan to me!
The lettuce in the garden now is officially stolen. Every little seedling is gone. Hopefully the ones in the window boxes will stay put. Not sure if the Swiss Chard seeds got stolen too. As of right now I have nothing coming up. The purslane on the porch is finally starting to come up. I am not sure if everything is just slow to germinate or it is because of this crazy weather we have been having. Fingers crossed that eventually the real Spring will arrive and everything will just pow - pop up.

Raspberries, tomatoes and stuff

So, I planted 8 red potato seeds and only 1 yukon gold today. That is all I had : (
I am using potatoes that I got from Boston Organics I couldn't use them all cooking wise so I let them grow 'eyes", then cut them, and then placed them in a sunny window to harden up. Hopefully this works because digging a 5 foot long, 12 foot deep, 12 foot wide trench for no reason will certainly make me mad!
i was also able to up-pot my chocolate cherry and sungold tomatoes. The first picture is back from March 28 and is of both those and the green zebra.
This second picture is the chocolate and sungold just before up-potting.









And here is my inconspicuous raspberry trellis. If you look closely you can see the wire running about 2 feet from the bottom and then again about 6 feet high. This all started out as a itsy bitsy bush in a 4 inch pot that I bought at Home Depot three years ago!

Over the weekend I was also able to transplant my kale. Some is in the garden and some is along the back fence and them even more is along the side fence. I just don't like wasting perfectly good seedlings. Kind of like my spider plant, when it grows babies I need to find a home for them - I just can't throw them away.
In two smaller sized whiskey barrels I started the Northern Lights Swiss Chard. Nothing has come up thus far in the garden with the Fordhook Giant but they say 5-17 days for germination. I did have lettuce coming up but all of a sudden poof - it is all gone. Kinda pisses me off so I started more salad bowl in my window boxes along with some Jericho. I think the birds are having a field day in my garden this spring!
Some good news is that the spinach is finally coming along. I haven't had luck in the past with spinach but it is looking somewhat hopeful right now.

Finally - the peas have risen!

I guess I should be thankful that they are coming up at all after all that rain, but I planted the seeds back on March 21 and just this week I can see them popping up. Pity though, they will need to be pulled out to make room for the tomatoes on Memorial Day weekend. I think the only ones that I will see a harvest from are the dwarf grays. They are only 58 days. The 75 days ones - hasta la vista baby - peas or no peas.
I planted some Fordhook Giant chard yesterday. It is my first time attempting to grow chard I also have Northern Lights but those are for containers. Tomorrow the weather forecast is 85! Holy heat. The poor peas, spinach and lettuce. They are all just peaking out an tomorrow will be a huge slap in the face for these cool loving crops.
I definitely need to load some pictures. My tomatoes are looking really good - well at least I think they are - I have never grown them from seed before. The seedlings are all starting to grow their first set of true leaves and it has only been a few weeks. Good, right? I am attempting for the third and final year to get Garlic Chives going from seed. Half of them have started to emerge but that is as far as I usually get. Once they are 3-4" high I set them out near my rose bushes and them POW - nothing. So, pictures will be coming so you can see the progress....

Well Hello Sun!

Thankfully the rain has stopped - finally. After four days of non-stop rain and flooding we finally had a picture perfect spring day! I was able to get a lot of yard work done - raking up left over leaves, clearing out the asparagus bed, and cutting back all the dead growth from all of the perennials. The asparagus is actually coming up now. I pulled off the salt marsh hay from one of the rows two weeks ago and just pulled off the other row today and found some very sun deprived white stalks growing! I put down some of the asparagus food as well as some slug deterrent - just to be safe. I did go slug hunting with my trusty soapy water bin and found only 6 itsy bitsy babies - but better to get them now then when they are huge and eating everything in sight!
My mom helped me with the raspberry trellis today too. I didn't want to have the unsightly wooden posts so I used some green poles rescued from the victory garden last year and some donated galvanized wire from my neighbor, and fellow gardener, Tom. I love free!!! It isn't perfect but I think it will work to keep that crazy bush under control.
The daffodils are finally starting to bloom. I don't know why ours are so late. Everyone else has had blooms for over a week but ours are just starting to show their pretty faces. Well, at least the ones along side the driveway. The ones out along the front fence look like they are starting to get blooms which is a huge step in the right direction seeing as last year they were to shy to bloom.
The hostas are are all starting to peek out as well. I spread some diatomaceous earth around them to keep the god awful slugs from having afield day. It really pisses me off that birds allegedly eat slugs yet I have more slugs eating away in my garden than I can count. I have bird feeders, bird baths, and perches all over the yard - I guess these city birds are just too lazy to go looking for the meaty slug when they can get the seed for free!

Checking in

So I was able to get the gluten down on Saturday. I had just enough to do the whole yard. Garden's Alive will be getting an order from me soon! Nothing doing yet on the lettuce and pea front in the garden. I think all the rain last week may have washed the lettuce seeds away so I did another sowing of Salad Bowl just to be safe. I also planted my spinach today. I added in some bone meal for added nutrients and apparently Freddie, the part lab, part goat mix rescued last April, likes bone meal. He was caught numerous times with his head sticking through the fence licking the soil! I am going to have to keep an eye on that one - the manure should be a HUGE treat for him!

Here is where my kale stands as of today. I think my mistake in the fall is that I transplanted too early. I like using the muffin tins because it allows me to water from the bottom. I used the Neptune's Seaweed liquid fertilizer the other day when I watered in hoping to give the right nutrients. The growing instructions say to add "appropriate nutrients" but doesn't specify which one! Hopefully it likes seaweed!

The tomato seedlings are looking good. Tomorrow I head off to Depot to get some florescent lights to help them along. I have them under a heated greenhouse right now, but I am a bit concerned about the amount of light they are getting. No spindly tomato plants for me!

Well, Hello Snow!

I wasn't able to get a picture of the snow before heading out to work this morning but yup, in typical New England fashion it is snowing today. I planted three types of peas last Saturday - Dwarf Grey Sugarsnap, Snowbird and Sugarsnap. Hopefully they are hardy enough to withstand the freezing temps that are expected tonight. My buttercrunch lettuce also made it into the garden and not too sure if that will survive either. Thankfully I still have tons of seeds left to try again.
I was able to get my three different tomatoes - Sungold, Chocolate Cherry and Green Zebra - into peat pots on Sunday. I have them on top of the fridge right now and everyone except the Zebra has started to sprout. The Winterbor Kale is coming along nicely in the south facing window in the bedroom. Soon the tomatoes will join them. If the snow/rain/slush will hold off this weekend I am planning on getting the corn gluten down - better late than never. The Dogwoods from Arbor Day also need to find their permanent home this weekend. Fingers crossed that Mother Nature cooperates.

Finally - Spring has arrived!

Well, not officially according to the calendar, but weather-wise, woo-hoo!! After the torrential rains over the weekend (which I thankfully missed having been on vacation) the sky is cloudless, the temperature in the 60’s and the crocuses in bloom. The jonquils, daffodils and tulips have all broken the soil and are peeking up getting ready to spread even more spring cheer. I cannot wait to get out this weekend and get my hands dirty. It has been far too long!! I have some serious yard clean up duties to conquer. There are the straggler leaves that have been around since fall, the broken limbs and twigs from this past storm, old growth to be cut back and the cover crops to be tilled. I also need to get the corn gluten down and the salt marsh hay off the asparagus beds. Home Depot is also on the menu for supplies to finish my raspberry bush support as well as some wood to build a squash trellis. The greenhouse needs to dusted off and brought up from the basement so I can get some of my seeds started and last but not least the Easter decoration need to get put out/up. All this and I really only have Sunday to get it done. My sisters and I are throwing my mom a surprise retirement party on Saturday, so that whole day is a bust. Whew – I’m getting tired just thinking about it.

It's That Time Again

It has been quiet the past few months. I have been planning the garden out on graph paper and today I ordered all my seeds. Yup, this year the garden is growing from seed! This will be my first year attempting to start everything from seed. Well, except the eggplant, I cheated and ordered plants. I have never grown eggplant before so I thought I would start safe. As for seeds I went with the standards - tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, lettuce, spinach, peas and beans. I am also going to attempt swiss chard, garden purslane and cantaloupe. Hopefully I have enough space to put all the flats! I am also trying out the new cow pots. They are made from cow manure and are supposed to be better than regular peat pots - both for the environment and the plants. I have been itching to get into the garden and cannot wait. This year everything is coming from Territorial Seed. I have had great success with them in the past, so fingers crossed it will be a stellar year!