MID-JUNE GARDEN

MID-JUNE GARDEN

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

WE’RE HOME FREE, I THINK

Well, thankfully the weather has gotten warmer and the tomato plants have survived, although a few have yellow leaves and look a little nipped.  This week is supposed to be in the 70s, but I noticed in the 10 day forecast that temperatures are going to cool down next week.  I don’t plan on taking down the hoophouse until mid May, just in case.  Every morning I open it up so that it doesn’t get too moist under the plastic and the plants get the full benefit of the sun.  It smells so good when I unzip the plastic – just like a tomato salad!  The peppers and marigolds are also thriving.  Today, I’m going to fill a couple pots with seed starter mix and plant my squash.  I’ll bury the pots in the soil of the hoophouse wherever I can find a little room since it is chock full of tomatoes.  The front perennial garden is blooming and every year I am amazed at how the plants rise from a barren winter soil.  They burst out and fill the front of the house with beautiful yellows, pink s and blues.  The bleeding hearts are at their peak now and are just so magnificent with their arching branches of pink flowers.  Their beauty makes up for the fact that in July the plants will totally die back and will leave big empty spots in the garden.  Same with the Virginia Bluebells.  The hostas are unfurling and the deer are dining.  Last year I sprayed everything with a garlic concoction and the garden smelled like hoagies.  Not a bad smell and the deer did stay away for the most part.  This week I really need to get out there and weed since we now have this very invasive weed that seems to be growing in all the nearby fields.  Don’t know what it is, but I don’t need a name to know that it is a ‘take over’ weed.  Usually if I give the garden a good weeding in the spring, there isn’t too much maintenance during the dry summer months.  Nothing grows, not even weeds.  I haven’t had any problem with animals in the vegetable garden.  I think that the fox family has taken care of the rabbits and the squirrels haven’t climbed over the fence for some reason.  The deer have never jumped the 4’ fence, even though it would be an easy hop for them.  If they ever did, boy would they enjoy the greens that are filling two beds. 

Monday, April 18, 2011

ALL MY EGGS IN ONE BASKET

Well, once again I am the optimist, but hopefully, I won’t suffer from it.  We’ve had a couple pretty cold nights and my tomatoes are sitting in the unheated hoophouse looking a little chilly.  Not only did I plant my tomato plants, but put in every single one that I’ve grown, including the plants for my friends.  It certainly has been a roll of the dice and if I lose one, I’ll probably lose them all.  But so far, they are alive and I noticed that one of the plants even has a flower on it.  Could be a ‘stress flower’ - the plants sense that their days are numbered and try to save the species before the end comes.  The weather forecast looks like it will continue to get warmer and we may even have a day in the 80s by Wednesday, so that should warm the tomatoes up.  This has been a long, cold, wet,  windy Spring.  Patches of grass are starting to come up, but honestly, it looks very sparse.  I think that most of it was washed away in one of the downpours.  My husband is distraught and says that he can’t even grow grass.  My rain barrel is hooked up to the downspout now that the threat of ice is gone and I’ve been watering with rain water.  Even my indoor plants respond to the rain water.  The peas and kale are poking up and I just put in some spinach the other day.  Other than that, the garden is moving along all so slowly.  I think that I am just anxious to see it turn into a jungle.   I am an impatient optimist. 

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

TOO BUSY TO BLOG

Well, it’s that time of year when the weather is finally cooperating (kind of) and you can get out and garden for hours.  Yesterday, I potted up the rest of my tomato plants that I am growing for friends and then buried them, pots and all, into the soil in the hoophouse.  So now all of the tomatoes are in one place and will be easier to keep happy.  I’ll distribute them to their new homes in about four weeks or so.  The temperatures in the hoophouses are warm – perfect for tomatoes.  I open it up when it gets a little too warm – as high as 120 degrees on sunny days - yikes!).  I buried the pepper plants in there too, along with the marigolds.  So it is a very crowded 4’ x 8’ area and will be bursting at the seams in another month.  So I guess that is what took up most of my time.  I continue to pull out the greens that are bolting, such as the arugula, and replace that crop with Swiss Chard, peas, turnips or spinach.  I noticed yesterday that the greens in the one bed are doing so much better than another.  I suspect that it is because the one bed has been used for three years and needs some amendments, whereas the other one is just new.  And, the older bed hasn’t had winter rye planted in it and that seems to make a huge difference.  The strawberry plants are starting to wake up and I need to compost that little bed if I want enough strawberries for desserts.  

We took the grow rack down from the living room and it finally doesn’t look like a nursery in there.  The impatiens starts were on the rack when I accidently knocked the whole tray off onto the living room floor.  Ugh, what a mess!  Damp soil and broken plants everywhere.  So I guess I’ll be buying my flowers at the local nursery again.   I was going to keep the rack up longer to start the squash and cukes, but you know, why don’t I just start them in the hoophouse too?  I’ll give it a try this year and see how it works out.  The hoophouses survived their third winter and only have a few cracks in the plastic.  A little duct tape will probably keep them going for a fourth winter.  Not bad for a mere $70 investment!

Thursday, April 7, 2011

GROWING TIMELINE AS OF APR. 7, 2011

WINDOWSILL: Cherry tomatoes (si 2/1), Roma tomatoes (si 2/1), Beefsteak tomatoes (si 2/1),  Peppers (si 2/8), more tomatoes (si 2/14), Marigolds (si 3/1), Impatience (si 3/25)

HOOPHOUSE: Cherry tomatoes (si 2/1 hh 4/4), Roma tomatoes (si 2/1 hh 4/4), Beefsteak tomatoes (si 2/1 hh 4/4)

GARDEN:  Swiss Chard (wo hh), Spinach (wo hh), Lettuce (wo hh), Mesclun (wo hh), Lettuce (ds hh 2/6), Mesclun (ds hh 2/6), Lettuce (ds hh 2/17), Mesclun (ds hh 2/17), Broccoli (T hh 3/1), Swiss Chard (T hh 3/1), Peas (ds hh 3/16), garlic (wo), peas (ds 3/16), kale (ds 3/16), onions (ds bulbs 4/7)

si = sown inside
ds = directly sown
wo = wintered over
hh = hoophouse
fc = fall crop
H = harvested
T = transplanted
B = bolted

CHARTING THE GARDEN


Little by little, the garden is coming to life.  The beds of greens aren’t protected by the hoophouses and are thriving in the cooler temps of spring.  I noticed that the kale and peas are poking up and I just put in my onions today.  I refer to my garden plans from previous years in an effort to rotate the ‘crops’ (and I use that term loosely) and mix it up a bit.  The tomato plants in the hoophouse are doing well, even though the temps have been in the 40-50s.  We haven’t had much sun so the temperature in the hoophouse is on the cool side of things.  But according to the forecast, things will be warming up this weekend, and it’s about time.  I’ll probably move the flat-top hoophouse this weekend and get another bed warmed for the rest of the 2/1 tomato plants.  It would be a good time to sow the nasturtium seeds with the tomato plants as well. 


I refer to my chart (see picture above) often and try to keep it up-to-date with the new info from 2011.  The orange highlights denote hoophouse growth, the pink is for the plants sown inside and growing on the windowsill and the green is for the plants grown in the open garden.  I also note when the vegetables are transplanted (T), harvested (H) and bolted ( B).  I have marked on the chart when things were done the last few years and what the recommended date would be.  Even though this is a little extreme, I feel that this makes me more relaxed as I only have to check the chart for my next gardening job.  This system works really well for me, so why change?  According to my chart, I should be sowing my cucumbers and squashes, but am holding out for a week or two because of the cooler temperatures we’ve been having.  Plus I need to move the rest of the tomato plants off the windowsill to free up space for the any new starts.  With my limited space, it turns out to be a juggling act, but keeps me on my toes.  I am also posting my current Growing Timeline and you’ll notice that only the tomatoes are in the hoophouse and the greens are ‘free range.’ 

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

HOOPHOUSE MOVING DAY

What is it with warm, sunny days in the early Spring?  Those 70 degree temperatures force you out into the garden to expose your winter-white skin to the burning rays of the sun.  After a day outside, your exhausted, sunburned body feels great.  It’s gardening time again!  Yesterday was one of those beautiful days and I got a lot done.  We moved the hoophouse off the greens as they are not only ready to be free, but are starting to bolt from the heat!  There are so many greens that I am going to turn into a rabbit soon, I think.  The hoophouse warmed up the soil in the new bed and I transplanted my very unruly tomato plants into it.  I didn’t harden them off, but instead draped an old sheer curtain over the hoophouse to filter the light.  I planted the tomatoes deeply so that they would develop new roots further up the stem.  I also threw in a whole egg and a handful of oatmeal for good measure.  That should get them off to a good start.  So, other than monitoring the temps in the hoophouse and unzipping the top for ventilation, I’ll water and that should do it for a while.  I’ll give the tomato plants a few days and if there are no problems and they seem to do well, I’ll put my potted tomato plants (that I am growing for friends) into the hoophouse too.  That will free up some space on the windowsill for cukes and squash starts.  It’s a bit of a juggling act with such limited space on the windowsill, but it forces me to keep on top of things and get them into the garden ASAP!  According to the National Weather Map, we are expecting 10 days of rain.  Ugh!  That’s probably worse than snow, but you know, I’ll just put on my slickers and get my feet wet.  Well, on the brighter side, the rainy weather will be great for the newly planted grass seed. 

Friday, April 1, 2011

GROWING TIMELINE AS OF APR. 1, 2011

WINDOWSILL:  Cherry tomatoes (si 2/1), Roma tomatoes (si 2/1), Beefsteak tomatoes (si 2/1), Broccoli (si 2/1), Swiss Chard (si 2/6), Peppers (si 2/8), more tomatoes (si 2/14), spinach (si 2/14), Marigolds (si 3/1), Impatience (si 3/25)

HOOPHOUSE:  Swiss Chard (wo hh), Chinese Cabbage (wo hh), Spinach (wo hh), Lettuce (wo hh), Mesclun (wo hh), Lettuce ds hh 2/6), Mesclun (ds hh 2/6), Lettuce (ds hh 2/17), Mesclun (ds hh 2/17), Broccoli (T hh 3/1), Swiss Chard (T hh 3/1), Peas (ds hh 3/16), Chinese Cabbage (hh H 3/16)

GARDEN:  garlic (wo), parsnips (H 3/1), peas (ds 3/16), kale (ds 3/16)

si = sown inside
ds = directly sown
wo = wintered over
hh = hoophouse
fc = fall crop
H = harvested
T = transplanted
B = bolted