Summer Update #1

Continues to be a wet season. Weather folks saying we're approaching being one of the wettest years in the last centruy!

Broc-Caul: Lots of leaves on the brocolli, but few heads, all small. The cauliflower is going nuts, and I'm hoping for good things there, but disappointed that only one head per plant.

Beans/Peas:Twined up the antenna pole, and the green beans are at work, about 2' up now. The yellow bush beans in the middle bed are leafing well, but true to form have already been nlown down once already. Sugar snap peas about 3' up in the container; still no flowers but very healthy.

Tomatoes: Going nuts! Interplanted again with Borage to draw bees. I'm being aggressive this year in trimmung back the borage so it doesn't compete for space with tomatoes in the cages. Have flowers already on most of the tomatoes. Haven't tied the cages to the fence yet... must do that before the plants get too much bigger.

Sunflowers: Six Mammoth, planted between the tomato cages. About 2'. Have a volunteer Black Oil Sunflower on the e side of the smallest finger bed, and planted pickeling cukes there. Hoping the sunflower can be a good support for the vines.

Ribes: The gooseberries are still doing great. Will probably do a mid-season trim to encourage slightly more vertical habit. The red currants in containers also doing great, but a branch or two broke on each several weeks ago during exceptionally high winds. Seemed to recover. Black currant progress is going slow: one of the two planted in the west bed simply did not come out of dormancy. The other is sending up baby shoots from ground level. For the other two co-planted later in the same container... looks like the same story... one is sending up shoots from soil level, the other is looking kaput.

Squash: Already harvested a small zuc. The delicata and butternut are spreading according to plan, but I do believe the growth is a little less full than if they were in full sun. Results is what counts though, so we'll keep watching.

Jerusalem Artichoke: Came back from the Energy Fair with a pound of korms from the Jungs in Stevens Point. Will give a couple to Doug, and plant the rest singly in 5-gallon buckets. Learning experiment.

Berry patch: Looking great. The mix of raspberry types will be especially appreciated.Melanie already picked a couple of early growers a fre days ago. Expect the main batch to come in over the next few weeks.

Onions/Garlic: Onions looking super happy. Garlic leaves yellowing, indiciating some kind of deficiency. Will read up on that and try to address tomorrow. The garlic plants are also smaller than last season. If there's anything I've not paid attention to this year its the garlic.

Planted an eggplant and another bell pepper in the smallest finger bed, next to the sunflower/cuke experiment.

Greens: Pulled all the endives when they started to bolt. Stopped harvesting from the window box and switch to the greens in the middle finger bed. WONDERFUL stuff! Have also started snipping from the Swiss Chard. Have to look at what to plant in the place of lettuce for the worst of summer.

Blueberries: Doing well, all setting fruit. Looks like 2-3 weeks to pick.

Spring Update #2

Tomatoes: x3 Viva Italia, x1 Amish Paste, X1 Roma, X1 Grape, X1 Early Girl

Onions/Garlics: Scaling back from last year. ~20 Storage, ~20 Cippolinni, 7 Red Torpedo. Have the sweet onions in a pot waking up, deciding on where to plunk them. 90% of garlics doing well. A couple have corkscrew greens which I presume is a virus or some such... have to check that out.

Greens: The endives are awesome; will start harvesting this week. Don't know what will replace them... maybe kales. Spinaches crowed-out by the endives... lesson learned. The window box with asst lettuces also about ready to harvest. Have reloads in the middle bed.

Peppers: 1 each Purple Bell, Mini Bell, Long cayenne in the middle bed.

Cole: The broccoli are starting to head. Lots of leaves, but nothing from the cauliflower yet. Still haven't planted kale.

Peas/Beans: Will planted green beans in regular spot again this weekend. Sugar Snap Peas starting to peek in 3-gallon pot w/integrated cage on north side next to window well.

Berries/grapes: The blueberries are dropping their blossoms and starting to set. The x2 gooseberry shrubs are fully awake and exploding; will have fruit from both this year already! The x2 red lake currants are also very happy in their 2-gallon pots while waiting for a permanent spot. Don't see any flowers on either yet. Ordered x2 Black Currants from Jungs; planted both in shaded bed on w. side; both still very dormant... will see if they wake up! The heavy pruning of the grape vines seems to have paid off, with vigorous growth from both and many more clusters than last year. Will still do extra stem pruning on both towards the ideal of one main stem at each trellis. All x3 Nanking Bush Cherry woke up, in pots on the s. side garden, waiting for me to get a clue.

Asparagus: Only half as many spears up as normal, with none harvested. Hmmm....

Squash: Since all the blackberries in the ½-barrel froze, I'm switching it to annuals. Planted a zucchini, a Delicata, and a Butternut. The zuc will grow forward into the yard; the other two will trellis on the picket fence... delicate towards the asparagus, Butternut towards the west. Trying out the permaculture idea that squash are suitable for moderate light what with their large leaves and all (I have seen them VERY happy climbing up in the canopy of fruit trees).

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After the wonderfully wet first half of spring, things have been a bit drier lately. Nothing in the last week, and nothing substantial predicted for the next. Will do the first lawn watering of the season this weekend.

Spring Update

Not only an early spring, but a very wet one as well...

Last frost reached out to Mother's Day, so couldn't make too early a use of the warmer days.

Gooseberries in place (1 on s. side, 1 just north of Comfrey plant along fence). The Red Currants are in containers now (both woke up just fine) with exact homes TBD, and the 3 Nanking Bush Cherries are in Azalea pots wondering if they were ordered impulsively.

Order 2 "Ben Curan" Black Currant shrubs from Jung's yesterday, after realizing over the last 2 weeks that BCs are among the most shade-tolerant Ribes. Will try them along the fence in the high-shade area under the pine overhangs.

Lagging on getting the Red Torpedo onions in, since I made a point to give the garlics enough room this year, plus I have Broccoli and Cauliflower at the other end of the bed. Might put the Torps in the middle of 7 tomato spots... need to decide very soon. Have 20 Cippolini and 20 LTS onions in and growing.

The Elliot Blueberry I purchased last year and never planted is still hanging in, and actually doing well considering it was completely above ground all winter. Will at least re-pot it to a larger container.

The lettuces are doing well, have the smallest bed co-planted w/spinach.

Started 6 massive Sunflowers to interplant between the tomato spots, and will (try to) use as bean towers.

Done with frosts now, so plan to get squash planted in the next week or two. Think I'll try 3 varieties in the ½-barrel: zuchinni for spilling forward into the year, Delicata to trail on the fence towards the Asparagus, and Butternut to trail on the fence towards the west.

Have done NOTHING with the middle bed yet. Will probably be home to pepper plants. Has the chives now, and a straggler Blackberry coming up!

I see lots of worms by flashlight when I come home at midnight-thirty and check on the yard. Looks like they're happy.

Early Spring 2010

Wow, what an early spring we're having this year. Getting report of local apple orchards that their trees are averaging 2 weeks ahead of sched.

The home and garden centers are packed to the rafters with plant starts, even though it is still most of a month until the last frost date (Mothers Day)!

I put in a 3rd blueberry plant ("Chippewa") at the north end of the existing grape and blueberry plantings. This variety is supposed to stay a little shorter than the 2 "Blue Ray" plantings already there; needed shorter growth so as not to block late day sun to the raised beds.

Have 3 sesame plants started... we'll see how long they last. Just received the shipment of Onion starts from Dixondale Farms; same variety as last year. Will contact Rick and Roy to share.

Ordered some fruiting shrubs from Gurnee's: 2 red currants, 2 Pixwell Gooseberries, and 3 Nanking Bush Cherries. Hope I can find homes for them!

Here we go again in 2010!

Started 4 each broccoli and cauliflower on 3/6 in organic potting soil.

being HEAVILY distracted by thoughts of permaculture by Jack Spirko on "The Survival Podcast". http://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com

Will start sesame soon...

In the fall, bunnies eat...

In the fall, bunnies eat...

• Carrots tops and carrots
• Red Beet Tops
• Spinach
• Blueberry bush branches

They didn't touch the turnips or radishes.

Note to future self: after first frost, protect remaining greens with wire mesh, etc.

White German Beer Radishes

Pulled on Nov 3rd. I didn't know what size to expect. The bodies were about 3" long (not including the tap root, and about 2" across. Brought them to Rick who said the ones he's used to in Bavaria were about three times the size. These were healthy but small.

These were planted in the same area as the onions, which were heavy feeders. Will make sure to amend the soil more heavily next time, as well as start earlier in the season.