community plot update

since the new backyard garden beds are coming along very slowly, let's go check in on my community garden plot. since it's a true raised bed, it seems to dry out a lot and needs a ton of water. also, my plants just don't seem to be growing as well, and as fast, as i think they should. i'll need to come up with a plan for feeding the soil and perhaps some sort of mulching. maybe later today i'll go hunt down some burlap coffee sacks again. anyhoo, let's see how she is doing.

ok, so not to shabby. the peas i planted were a total bust. they didn't germinate as well as in the past, which could be due to the new type and brand i used, or the fact that i have a tendency to forget about my community plot and neglect it more than i should. also, i did not use any kind of inoculate, but then again, i never have. the few peas shoots that did start to grow were then promptly eaten by some sort of critter, so, that was that for the peas. 

the onions seems to be fairing ok, but not great. they're not dead, but not really growing either.

i had high hopes of enjoying some nice kohlrabi. but then again, 

some critter has decided that the young tender leaves make for a nice night time snack. 

the crowder peas that i planted last week seem to be off to a good start. 

 the lemon cukes are popping up as well,

and the turnips are hanging in there.

soon i'll have some pictures of the new backyard garden. 

in the plans are: 

4 types of tomatoes, 3 different peppers, 2 eggplants, various herbs, 

a few sunflowers with green beans climbing them, 2 kinds of summer squash, 

and a couple of potato sacks getting started way to late. 

 in the future i would like to add: 

a lettuce table, a herb and flower garden, some fruit bushes, 

a very small table top greenhouse, and cold frames. 

it all makes my head spin a little, so i just keep telling myself.... 

one thing at a time, one thing at a time.

(garden note to self: crowder peas and lemon cukes: direct sowed seeds: second week of may. tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants: from starts: second week of may. )

getting some produce love from the garden in january!!!

it's been a little dry here lately, so i though i'd go out, check under the row cover, and water the fall garden. i really didn't expect to find much new going on. i knew the swiss chard had taken a hit the other night after the row cover had gotten blown off and a light snow fell on the exposed leaves. and i knew the the mustard greens were doing pretty good after i quickly reached under the covers two nights ago and picked some for our soup. but i really had no idea as to what was happening with the beets and turnips. well surprise, surprise!!!!!

look at that little garden grow!!!!!

it looks good from up here, let's take a closer look. 

what the heck!!!!

there are some turnips growing in there!!!

who knew?? not me. i wasn't expecting that at all. 

i was just gonna do a little watering. 

see the little bit of purple top peeking out.... that's me turnips!!

there was quite a few of them out there in various stages, 

so i just pulled out a few to see what they looked like. 

aren't they pretty!!??!!

the rest of the turnips i'll leave in the ground for awhile and harvest as needed. if we get more frost or a big freeze, in the end, that will just make them sweeter as the plant sends all it's sugars down to the roots for survival. and the row cover is proving to be useful at keeping the frost from damaging the green leaves. as for the beets, well, they were a failure. but if i remember correctly, i did not give them as much love as i did the turnips in the beginning, so i may only have myself to blame. i pulled up all the beets, which were growing in the middle, and that made it easier to water both the mustard greens and turnips, so c'est la vie. the swiss chard was looking a little sad under it's tent, so either the snow did it's deadly deed, or the soil was simply a little dry. i gave them some water, and with the temperatures rising a bit this week, we'll have to wait and see if they perk up over the next few days. stay turned!!

now just image what i can do once i get around to building cold frames and proper row cover!!!!

i'm still here/a quick garden update

will you just look at that!!!

the garden has exploded and is desperate need of tending to. and just where have i been? well, for two full weekends we were out of town, and, i have also started a new part time job. but, since i was in training, i worked a full 40 hours last week, which left little time for the garden, and the neglect is showing. so off the computer and into the garden i go for the morning. right now, the big issue in the garden is the winter squash take over. therefore, room needs to be made so i can re-route the ever growing vines. 

for now, i just wanted to drop a quick post to let ya'll know that i am still here, 

and still gardening, and still cooking, and still posting. 

so, stay tuned, there is more to come. 

p.s. (11:30 am) i was just out in the garden doing some clean up and spotted a squash vine borer moth. oh, great!!! now i gotta go back out there, look for eggs and signs of larva in the base of the plant stems, and figure out how to "cover vines at leaf joints with moist soil, to promote formation of secondary roots that will support the plant if the main root and stem are injured." check out this website for more info on the subject, and click here for a picture of the stinking little bugger.

garden note to self: how to prune winter squash. advise taken from Rob Johnston, the owner of Johnny's Selected Seeds, as found in the NY times... (A typical squash plant will make 20 pounds or so of squash, and that's all you want to ask of it,'' he said. ''So once the plant sets four or five fruits, you can prune it back.'' On each runner, leave a couple of leaf nodes past the last fruit you want to keep, he said. Then, pinch off the growing tip at the next node. If the vine is huge, you may have to cut off quite a bit instead of just pinching. As long as you don't trample the leaves or disturb the main root, you won't hurt the plant or the squash left on it.)

tomato troubles, going from bad to worst.....

it's like a regular daytime soap opera here in the garden. just when the tomatoes are in the dirt and seem to be doing ok, i receive one pouch in the stomach after another. first, some critter dug up and destroyed one of the hillbilly potato leafs, and then one of the only two surviving violet jaspers dies. now, one by one, each of the little babies aren't looking so good. i just might have to bite the bullet and buy tomato starts this year and re-work my method for next season. hopefully i can find some interesting heirloom starts at the farmer's market tomorrow that will work out. boo hoo me.

at first their little home in the garden was so safe and promising. 

i made them milk jug cloches to keep off the evening chill.

now the jugs are being used as over night critter protectors.

the tiniest tomato plant ever.

i though they looked small in the yogurt containers.

they looked absolutely minuscule out in the garden next to the 6 foot stakes.

gone, but not forgotten. 

the HBPL on the left fell victim to the critters.

come on little guy, you can do it. 

grow, tomato, grow!!!!

garden note to self: plan for next year next year. rework the potting mix, start the tomatoes inside in little individual newspaper pots, give them worm castings on an earlier and regular basis, 1-3 weeks after transferring to bigger containers, move plants outside into a mini greenhouse to get warmer temps and more direct sunlight.

tomatoes babies, are you cold??

here in the land of tornadoes and rain, the stunted tomato seedling saga continues. i have been reading and researching tomato growth all over the internet, and yesterday i hit the library for books specifically about tomatoes.

 a little light tomato reading and some vintage tunes.

what i've come to learn is that my little babies just might be to cold. the other day, i noticed that some of the stems and underneath of the leaves seemed a little purple. this could be a natural discoloration depending on the variety, or it could mean that they are suffering from a lack of phosphorus, either from the mineral lacking in the soil or the soil being to cold for the tomatoes to properly uptake the nutrients. i figure that the cooler temperatures of this house, as compared to the house in greenville, might be a big factor in the stunted growth. even though the temperature inside ranges from 65-70 degrees, which is ideal for tomato seedlings, i definitely see a difference in their growth after they spend a day outside in the near 70 degree sunshine. unfortunately, here in st. louis, that has been a rarity this spring, as gray rainy days have become the norm. this has not been the case in years passed at the greenville house, where the tomatoes had fairly consistent warm and sunny window to grow in. also, i might have leached out some of the nitrogen and other nutrients from the soil on the super soak days. next time i will follow up these days with some food for the little guys, and/or save the water run off to reuse. so finally, the other day all the seedlings got a dose of worm castings and a few hours in the sun and seem to be doing better today. unfortunately, the next sunny (and not windy) day in the forcast is not until friday, and that is followed by yet another weekend of rain and thunderstorms. all in all, what this means is that i need to start feeding them sooner, AND i seriously need to work out a plan to build a mini tomato greenhouse for next year's seedlings. till then, the little guys need to hang in there just a little longer before they can safely go out into the garden.

little guys trying their best to grow during the indoor rainy days.

 hang in there. you can do it!!

i guess you could say the silver lining to all this rain is, i haven't had to go out and hand water my garden for about two and a half weeks. the peas, potatoes, and onions don't seem to mind the excess moisture and are growing really well. i took advantage of the little bit of sun we had yesterday to grab a few shots, and discovered the most exciting thing...... 

 flowers on the pea plants!!!!!!

we'll have little pea pods in no time!!!!

let's hope the coffee sacks are doing a good job at draining all this rain,

and the potatoes aren't just sitting in there rotting away.

i give in, cleveland wins.

after 5 garden break ins and many onions trampled,
i've finally given in, moved the fence, and cleveland has his little runner space back.

he just can't fight that feeling.

so now, cleveland has plenty of room to chase the garbage trucks, beg neighbors for petting and treats, and of course, he has is wooing spot back and can continue to pin for the the little red-haired girl. who, i found out, is indeed a female and her name is brewster. once again the garden is safe from doggie paws, so let's take a look and see what's happening in there.

some onions are doing great....

some are victims of  doggie feet, hail, or both....

some are not looking so good....

and some are simply dead.

the potatoes seem to be doing well.

so far, the coffee sacks are working.

the peas took a beating (a few days after this pix was taken) from the storm winds, heavy rain, and pea sized hail,
but are hanging in there and seem to be enjoying all this rain we are getting,
as are......

the billions of weeds!!!!!

what a nightmare.

all those various tiny weeds are making it hard to decipher what is veggie germination,
but i'm pretty sure this is some swiss chard that's starting to grow.

i also finally tossed my used coffee grounds in the garden.
just a little goes a long way out there.
so, if you have more grounds than garden space,
you can also sprinkle them on the lawn for an extra boost of nitrogen,
or pop them in the compost.

i also crushed up all the saved egg shells in the food processor.

i sprinkled them in the areas where the tomatoes and peppers are going in a few weeks. 

i'm not sure if the calcium from the shells really help, but i do know that it doesn't hurt.

p.s. i still need to do more research on natural ways to feed my tomatoes. i'm starting to see some yellowing and "burnt" looking edges on a few seedlings. maybe a lack of potassium?? oh, dear.

onions!!!

potatoes aren't the only new thing in the garden this year, i'm also trying my hand at onions. i've done leeks before, but never the big round bulb onions. when the bell gardens had nice bunches of onion sets for $1 each, i though, why not? what do i got to lose? go big or go home. so i invested a whopping $3 and bought three different varieties;

• big daddy (110 days): super-sized with a tender heart. delicately-textured flesh good eaten raw or excellent in a french onion soup. yellow globes will last 8 months in storage. good disease resistance and bolting tolerance.

• red candy apple (95 days): glossy and deep red as an apple and nearly as sweet. flatten, globe-shaped bulbs grow to 4 inches across.

• copra (105-115 days): leader in storage varieties. medium-sized, dark yellow skinned globe onion with a thin neck that dries quickly. store up to 1 year.

i didn't do anything super special to the dirt where i put the onions. 

i just tilled it up a bit, mixed in some compost, and got to planting.

(4/5/2011)

for the bigger onions, i placed the sets about 4-6 inches apart, 1 inch deep, in two rows about 6 inches apart. since i still had extra sets, i then planted another row in between the first two rows, and put the sets about 2 inches apart. this middle row i will harvest early as "green onions," for salads and such, while waiting for the others to bulb up.

(4/11/11)

as you can see from the photo above, all the onions were looking pretty good the other day. we've been getting plenty of rain, so they haven't required to much care. but, i just went out to check on everything since learning this morning that we had some hail storms in the area last night (although i slept through the whole thing). some of the onions are looking great, and some not so much. i don't know if it's the particular variety, my planting technique, possible hail damage, or trauma endured from multiple doggie fence breaches, which have been a total of 4 so far. so, time to strap on the boots and do some damage control.

garden note to self: order of the onions, at the front to back: copra (long day),  big daddy (long day), then red candy apple (intermediate day).

tomato trauma

can you say oops!! here is a hard lesson learned. when setting your tomatoes outside for a full day of direct sun, don't set them in a reflective metal pan. they will pretty much cook.

at least i'm pretty sure that's what happened here. at first, i though it was the variety of tomato, the yellow beam pear, and maybe my seeds were to old. but then i noticed one of the tomatoes in the small containers was a violet jasper, and it to was pretty much a goner. so they must have literally cooked in the pan. oops. i guess i could have tried to revive them, but since the yellow beam pear are my least favorite, and i'm working with limited space, i chalked it up to a lesson learned. luckily, the rest of the tomatoes seem to be doing fine. i just gave them a layer of compost as to create more roots along the stem. if they're not gonna be big guys when i put them in the ground, they better have a nice developed root system.

(f.y.i these guys are 9-10 weeks old, and still so tiny.)

i must say the jury is still out on my new soiless seedling starting mix of compost and sand. the seeds seem to germinate okay, but the plants don't seem to thrive as i think they should. it also could be the lack of worm castings this year. maybe that worm poo works as well as "they" say it does. so, after the holiday, hunting down worm poo goes straight to the top of the garden to do list.

last week, i also transplanted some of the pepper starts from the second round. these pepper plants are about 5 weeks old and just as big as the seedlings that survived from the first round started a month before them.

all in all, i'm just itching to get everything in the ground. and if all else fails, i can always throw in the towel and go buy starts from the demo garden, knowing that the sale of those plants go to support the local community gardens. until then, there's more research to be done on what to feed my babies once they hit the dirt, and lots of beer to be consumed to calm my nerves.

garden note to self: not sure about the new soiless mixture. at 5 weeks transplanted the pepper starts into bigger containers, which from the looks of it, did well in the newspaper pots and had healthy white roots. at around 9-10 weeks the tomato starts are still pretty small and i may need to feed them something soon.

potato procrastionation



(potato demo at the bell gardens)

not only did i procrastinate in planting my potatoes, i seriously put off telling you about it. 

it's not that, i don't love you, my dear readers, but with the warm weather, comes busy busy busy days. 



so, once again, bye bye t.v., hello dirty clothes and filthy feet.

traditionally, st patty's day is potato planting time. luckily i held off a bit, 'cus shortly thereafter a big 4 inches of snow was dumped on my garden. also, the bell gardens did a potato planting demo where i scored a few more seed potatoes for the rock bottom price of 5 potatoes for $1. i planted two large red pontiac, three medium kennebec, and about 6-7 of the variety i got at work, which i believe are some sort of yukon gold. since the potatoes from work were fairly small and had already sprouted huge eyes, i planted them whole. the other potatoes i cut into pieces with at least 2-3 good eyes on each piece. i let them hang out on the kitchen counter for a few days so the cut edges could scab over before planting. this should help prevent the potatoes from rotting.

since i don't feel like having to "hill up" the potatoes in big mounds, i'm  growing them in reused coffee sacks. you can buy different containers and "potato bags" online, and i've heard mixed reviews on the burlap sacks, but these babies were free!!! yep, i said free. all you need to do is call your local coffee roaster and ask what they do with their coffee sacks. one roaster here keeps them in a big pile until folks come around asking for them, and will give you as many as you want. hello!!!

so, here's the little method i came up with for my first try at potatoes. since i only had bags of compost, and straight compost would be to rich for the potatoes, i needed to scavenge some dirt. so i dug a small hole in the garden, and mixed that dirt with about equal amounts of compost. then, i put some big rock in the hole hoping to accomplish two things; provide extra drainage for the sack so the potatoes don't rot, and allow for good air circulation so the potatoes will "air prune." meaning, that once the roots reach the wall of the burlap, instead of circling around like they would in a hard walled container, they will hit the dry air and stop growing. hopefully, that will then stimualte the grow of secondary roots for an overall well-developed root system. the more roots you have, the more water and nutrient uptake by the plant. 

i rolled down the sides of the burlap sackstill til there was about 4-5 incehs at the bottom and it looked like a doughnut. i filled the bottom with about 2-3 inches of my dirt/compost mixture, placed either two large or three small potato pieces in each bag, and covered it with another 4-6 incehs of dirt.

and there you have it folks, my first ever row of potatoes. the potatoes need to stay covered and in the dark, as exposure to light will render them green and icky. as the plants grow you need to keep them good and covered with about 6-10 inches of the foliage exposed. this is where the beatuy of the sack comes into play. as you keep adding soil, straw, or leaves to cover the potatoes, simply roll the sack up as you go. once the plant has flower blooms, you can carefully go digging for "new potatoes," or wait till two weeks after all the foliage dies back for larger tubers. again, here is another glorious attrubite of the sack. instead of having to go digging with a pitch fork for your potatoes, simply cut down one side of the sack and watch all your potatoes fall out. at least, that's what is supposed to happen. fingers crossed!!

to not waste any space in my garden, inbetween the bags, i am going to plant little rows of lettuce, japanese greens, and spinach. that way, the bags and potato plant leaves can help shade the delicate greens from the summer heat. now, all i need to do is sew up a granny inspired summer garden dress and apron, put on a big straw hat, and come up with a name for my farming alter ego. any suggestions???

p.s./garden note to self: potato planting took place on 4/5/11. the first three bags are red pontiac, the next two bags are kennebec, and the last three are potatoes from the market.

seed addiction and one super awesome raised bed idea

last weekend we heading over to gateway greening's bell demonstration garden, and even though i have more seeds than i can possibly plant this season, at such low prices, i just had to get more. for community gardeners, or gateway greening members, the veggie seed packets were 25 cents and the flower packets were free!!! so i signed up for a membership and got a sweet deal on flower seeds, as well as, some seed potatoes and onion starts, (which i'll talk about in upcoming garden posts). also a few days before that, i picked up some seeds for yet another winter squash and lemon cucumbers. what all this really means is, if i don't seriously get some homemade garden markers going, it's gonna get really confusing out there.

i'm really hoping the marigolds help control the bunnies and squirrels.

also while we were at the bell garden, we watched a potato planting demo and checked out some raised beds in various states of production. set on 22 vacant city lots, it's pretty cool to go and walk around and see all the great veggie gardening that folks are doing. i can't wait to see it once the growing season is in full swing.

one particular bed caught my eye by totally maximizing the space with the addition of some vertical containers made out of house gutters. i figure that's a great place to grow different kinds of lettuce, herbs, and small leafy greens, therefore, leaving the rest of the bed for growing your tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and such.  plus, what a great way to keep the tender lettuce out of reach from the ever present multitude of bunnies that romp around the city. i don't think they had much in the cold frame, but it does look like they have a few onion starts growing in the middle of the bed.

soon soon soon, it will be time to set the tomatoes out in the garden, and hopefully with a new home and fresh compost, they will really start to grow for me. till then, i guess it is warm enough during the day to start the hardening off process. fingers crossed that a little fresh air will do wonders for my tomato babies. in the meantime, i'm gonna weed the small garden plot, till in some compost, and spread out coffee grinds and crushed egg shells. and with all the garden centers opening up for the growing season, it's time to hunt down some sea kelp and worm poop. next time i'll show you my potato plan and onion starts.

p.s. garden note to self.... time to ready more starts. make more newspaper pots for some squash and cucumbers. squash will need 4 weeks before setting out, and cucumber will only need about two weeks. get working chick!!!!

the peas survived!!!!!

good news folks, the peas are alive and well. at first i was a little concerned that i planted them to early. but then on day 9 they started to poke out of the soil. how cute they were, these tiny little green babies. and just as the weather started to warm up and the peas began to grow, and i dragged my scandals out from the back of my closet, we were hit with a small dusting of snow and a cold snap. still, no big concern. i had peas survive an unexpected frost in the greenville garden, surely a light layer of snow flakes wouldn't be anything the peas couldn't handle. but then, on day 25, this happened......

what the junk!!!!! march 26th and 4 inches of the white stuff!!!!!

but, i am happy to report that as of today, the peas are looking pretty darn good. now the debate is, do i sow the rest of my peas in the garden, and hope that they are ready to harvest before i need that space for peppers and tomatoes?? or perhaps, maybe i should use a couple of the free coffee sacks i acquired, and do a raised bed kinda thingy?? i'll have to think about that. cause i do like me some peas, and never seem to plant enough to keep me satisfied. what the hey!!! let's plant them all!!!

you can never have to many peas!!!!!!!

garden note to self: 2 rows of both progress #9 and green arrow peas were direct sown on 3/11. progress #9 were the first to germinate 9 days later, and green arrow followed shortly after that. by day 19 each type were growing well at about 1-2 inches tall.