Current Status

There is so much to write about regarding my "winter" plantings. I will start with just an update of the greenhouse and garden area. I have several plants trying to grow despite the unseasonably warm weather. Yesterday, we hit a high of 75 which resulted in the greenhouse heating up even though I had the venting window and door pretty much wide open. The temps inside went into the 90's which is not good for the cool season crops I have growing. Here is the temp at 3 yesterday afternoon.

Despite that, the seedlings appear to be working hard to grow. Here are my spinach (round containers) and lettuce (rectangular) plants. The lettuce seedlings are quite small as they were delayed in sprouting. Not too bad as they struggled early due to our warm weather in the middle of October. I plan on working in some slow release fertilizer this week once the temps drop a bit. That should spur their growth as I water them.
 
I also have leaf lettuce growing well in the one of the grow boxes alog with carrots continuing to progress. I will need to cut the leaf lettuce soon. I will add them to the salad lettuce I recently bought. Then I plan on planting both of the grow boxes with lettuce as I now have a feel for how to manage them.

 
Additionally, I have Giant Ceasar and Swiss Chard growing along with a small planting of radishes. My wife mentioned she had a white onion with top growth that she was using in a roast. She cut off the top and gave it to me. After researching onions, it was apparent that you could plant that and there was a decent chance it would grow another onion. Always open to experimentation, I decided to give it a try as I had nothing to lose. Here are a couple snaps of the plantinng.
 
And heres how it looked this morning. Seems the plant has responded enough to give me hope. As I say, only time will tell.

Once the weather eventually turns, the plants should begin to grow in earnest and the greenhouse will become more productive. One thing I learned last year is that the plants grow at a much different rate than they normally do. But, grow they will.
Speaking of growth, the Winter Rye I planted in my garden beds is probably the best I have ever seen. It is not only taller for this time of year, but it is much thicker and more dense. I am truly excited as this will be a huge step for my garden soil health. Here are a couple pictures of the beds.
  
On another note, I have been collecting various compostable items to place in one or maybe two of my composters. Besides my neighbors contribution, I decided to strip the leaves off of a bunch of branches I was going to cut up. I piled them up on a tarp to begin drying them out. Then I collected my front lawns clippings when I cut the grass on Monday and piled them over the leaves. I did the same thing with the clippings from my back yard and added them to the pile. This is the result that followed all that work.

I also have been collecting cardboard from the various packages that we get. I cut them up and put them into my one cart. I'm letting them sit there to soak up the rain and my periodic watering from my rainbarrow I have to empty before it freezes. Here is the cardboard and a picture showing the current state of the cuttings as of this morning.
 
The weather here in the last few days has been wierd. Mornings have been misty/foggy then the sun breaks through in the afternoon and we have summer. Here are a few pictures to what we woke up to this morning.
 
It was warm with a light rain and pretty dense fog.
So, as can be seen, there has been alot going on in the greenhouse/gardens. I have also been trying to finish all the outside tasks that need to be completed before the cold weather sets in along with maintaining the growing. It's been a little hectic at times but progress is happening. From what I can tell, next week is going to be appreciably cooler than this week.
Well, that's all I have for now. I will write soon about my indoor gardening attempts that I am just setting up and all that entails. Until next time, Happy Gardening Everyone!

Where the gardens are today(Part1)

I have been fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to assist two other gardeners in my area with setting up new garden areas for them.  I say fortunate because it is a compliment of sorts to have people ask you for advice let alone trust you to plan and implement their gardens.  It has been quite busy time maintaining my garden while working with these folks on their gardens all the while holding down a job too.  But it is very rewarding too.
My gardens' activity has been pretty hectic to date.  I expanded the garden area and made several decisions to make the garden more productive with food we enjoy eating and also to allow for foods that can be put up in the fall.
Last year I planted 4 paste tomatoes thinking I'd get enough from them to put up a few jars worth in the fall.  Just to try it out.  It was, to say the least, a huge disappointment.  I have spoken to several gardeners who all related that their tomatoes were off last year.  So this year, I bought 20 paste plants thinking an area of 81 sq. ft would be enough.  Not quite as it turned out.  Given last years crop issues, I did some research and found out that I have actually been crowding my tomatoes.  Seems the ideal spacing is 2 ft. between plants in a row and 3ft. between each row of caged plants.  So, I spaced mine so that I could get 15 plants in the isolated area where they wouldn't be impacted by any other plants issues.  Here's a picture of the plot so far.

The large boards on either end of the rows are set up so that I can tie them up in what is called the Florida weave method.  I have never used it before but decided it lookd easier (in the long run that is) than staking and/or caging the plants.  I do not like the cages that are sold everywhere as they are much too low height wise to handle plants that can grow to 6-8 ft. tall.  I never really understood why they were always manufactured to such small heights.  May have to do with the thin wire they use to construct them.  

The Florida weave method entails running a string alternately around the plants at 10 - 12 inches from the soil line and then every 10-12 inches upwards to give them the support they need.  Here is a picture of my first attempt at it.

You start at one end and weave the string on opposite sides of the plants as you go down the row and then loop back and weave the string to the other side of each plant.  This kind of cradles the plant as can be seen in the picture. When they get to 2 ft height, I will then do the weave at that height.  This will continue until they reach full height.  I am by no means an expert so this will be an experiment. We have had some windy weather and the plants seem to have had no issues yet.  

On another tomato note, I have 10 plants of various hybrid and heirloom plants in the ground that all seem to be doing very well too.  After researching why I had so few tomatoes last year, I learned thateither the hybrid tomatoes or heirlooms seem to do well each year but one always outperforms the other type.  As I had predominately heirlooms last year, that may have been the source of my issue. So, this year, I have it almost split down the middle.        

The two plants in the bowls are for my father in law for Father's day.  He used to have a garden but has given it up for various reasons.  I will put a cage around them for additional support.  I will use a mix of the cages I have and poles for support once they overgrow the cages.   All he has to do is water them at this point.

Speaking of experiments.  Last fall I grew out lettuce and carrots in a covered mini greenhouse.  The carrots are still growing and I have replanted the lettuce to see if I could continue to grow using the structure.  Here is where it is at as of now. 

I have two rows of leaf lettuce that are growing quite well.  I continue to water the plants and need to pull some of the carrots to see if progress is being made or we are at a standstill.  But, to have leaf lettuce this far into the season is a bonus.  

I planted a row of Buttercrunch lettuce about a month ago and covered it under woven vegetable fabric.  As can be seen below, it also is doing very well given the lateness of the season.

There are 7 heads of the lettuce in the row and they seem to all be growing very strong.  We're going to be having some nice salads soon enough.  

I also have a bed of 16 Bell Pepper plants that are doing ok given our decidely cooler weather we have been experiencing.  They are all healthy as can be seen in the picture below.  I love peppers but I really do think I over grew yet again this year.  I will probably end up giving some (alot actually) if they come in like last year.  We shall see how that turns out.  

I've also planted 6 cucumber plants.  I have them trellised on my DIY structures.  A local garden center closed about 2 years ago and I bought their onion set displays.  Here is how they ended up looking in place after I painted them and added screening.

They are really sturdy, wind resistant and somewhat compact.  When I bought them, my wife was skeptical as was I.  But, the cucumbers are starting to grow to a point where they are climbiming unto the screening.  I will see how they fare as they climb.
In the backround of the same picture are three interconnected wire "ladders" that I have converted to yet more cucumber trellises.  These were repurposed from being protective coverings for plate glass windows that were being delivered to the company where I work.  I wired them together and then attached them to rebar I pounded into the ground. they held up 5 cucumber plants - cucumbers and all through some windy storms.  These were being thrown out so I asked for them and was told if I can get them in my car - they were mine.  And they were.
With the weather turning much warmer in the next week, the various plants should begin to become more robust.  I will have to naturally watch them as the higher temps can cause issues.  You may leave in the morning and come home to plants wilting right before your eyes.  Don't stress!  This is natural as the plants wilt to preserve moisture to survive.  Just give them a good drink of water and watch them rebound.  It doesn't appear to cause any long term damage.  But if this happens repeatedly, that's mother nature telling you that you need to step up your watering game.
So, there you have the latest, greatest from my backyard.  In part 2, I will recap what has been happening in one of the gardens that I am assisting the people into becoming full on gardeners.  I will give all the details in the next week or earlier.  Until next time, Happy Gardening everyone!!!!   

Is this winter?

It's just refusing to act like winter in these parts of the Mid-Atlantic.  Temperatures have been 10-20 degrees above normal for the last week and are forecasted to stay about there untile the end of this week.  Several of my plants are responding to the warmer than normal weather by putting on buds. Hopefully, that won't affect their growth in the summer.  It has, however, been a boon to my vegetables which I will gladly accept.  As can be seen in the pictures below, all the plants have grown quite a lot since my last check in last week.
Here is my Gourmet Blend cut and come again lettuce.  I will be checking this about mid-week as it shouldn't be allowed to grow too much more or it will stunt future growth.  It will also affect the taste as it goes beyond prime picking time.

I also have some Black Seeded Simpson lettuce that is showing signs of life recently.  It's still a longshot but who knows?

I have Lolla Rosa lettuce that is also responding favorably to the season.  It's the square in the upper right part of the bed.

The middle three rows are spinach plants which are showing robust leaf growth this past week.  They may be ready for picking by the end of this week if the temps stay as forecasted.  Only time will tell.

The top left bed has carrots and the middle top bed has onions, both of which are showing growth.

So, for it being the middle of winter here, the beds are doing much better than I even imagined. Granted, there's been a much milder span of very mild weather, but that's the beauty of gardening. Sometimes, the seasons work against you and at other times, like this period, they work for you. Nothing is guaranteed in gardening.  You just have to roll with what God gives you.  

I have started my Broccoli, Cabbage and Cauliflower seeds in my seed starting area this weekend.  

It's hard to believe we are less than 12 weeks out from planting the early Spring plants.  I goofed last year and failed to get them started on time so I ended up buying some plants - which didn't work out too well.  It was one of those failures that taught me a lesson.  Gardening does that to you if you aren't paying attention.  

I will take pictures of the plants when they emerge.  That's all I have for this week.  Can't wait to see if I have lettuce to harvest this week.  That would be a huge bonus.  Until next time, Happy Gardening!    

What's happening in the garden.

Here's hoping your Christmas/Holiday was all you hoped it to be.  We are fast approaching the end of 2016 as hard as that seems to fathom.  And while this is traditionally the time I generally am disconnected from the garden, this is not the year for that.  I have been thinking a lot about the garden and how I can make it produce more benefits for the family and neighbors.  The one glaring area where I have seldom ventured in all my gardens is with respect to a winter garden.  I have thought about it from time to time but have never put forth a serious effort given our cold temperatures and the subsequent snows from January through early March.  As I have related, I have been busily attempting to grow a winter garden this year with some good results so far.  I took the picture below Saturday morning.

As can be seen, the lettuces are not faring too well at this point.  I think it is due to a combination of picking the wrong variety of lettuces and the lack of a strong enough sun getting through the layers. The other crops, however such as the spinach, carrots and onions seem to be faring quite well at this time.  So, overall, I'd say it is definitely a mix bag of results.  The true test will be when our winter weather is upon us and how frozen the ground in the structure actually gets.  

I went out today and made a path to this part of the garden as it was getting quite muddy given the rains we have had.  I raked the ground and laid foot stones to the plants as can be seen below.

As you can see, it will reduce the mud situation for me until it snows.  I'll cross that bridge when the soon approaching time comes.  My plan is to plant the area with grass this Spring so I don't have to deal with weeds next year.  You can also see that the winter rye is doing fairly well in the beds given it's late planting and the temperatures.  It will at least have laid down roots for the next summer crops which will add structure and nutrients.

I am also continuing to add plant material and kitchen scraps to my compost bin.  This isn't the usual time of the year to be doing this but our temps have been somewhat moderate.  The weather is supposed to be very mild through this week with a high of 60 tomorrow and mid-high 40's the rest of the week.  While the process of the breakdown has slowed at this point, I had a bunch of scraps yesterday from our Christmas family dinner so I decided since it was almost 50 yesterday and was going to remain that way for a few days, why not add them to the existing pile? You can see that in the photo below. 

The egg carton is biodegradable and so are the paper towels.  The egg shells will break down with a little effort on my part in the spring and the potato peels will disappear eventually.  After I added the various items, I covered them with a heavier layer of decomposing grass cuttings I saved just for this use.  

I will add some leaves in the early spring along with kitchen scraps to get the decay process reignited for the next season.  But for now, I have to keep an eye on the temps to insure that the edible scraps actually break down.  I don't want to invite any uninvited guest to my yard.  

Below is a picture of the units that I use to compost given our areas population of field mice.  They have worked out really well for my area,

I also began prepping for my first plants to start from seed.  According to my calculations, Broccoli and Cabbage need to be started around the 22nd of January and Cauliflower follows on the 29th .  I also plan on growing peas this year.  As I said early in this post, I plan on making this garden the best ever and that entails a wider array of plants - and a lot of planning.  So, I won't be having a bumper crop of tomatoes or peppers like I did in 2016.  

That's a wrap for all that is going on in the garden at this time.  Seems like it's a lot but it has been somewhat therapeutic to say the least.  This is probably my last post for 2016 so I will wish you and yours a very Happy and Safe New Years.  Until next time, Happy Gardening everyone!   

Leaves, leaves and more leaves.

One of the mainstays of my gardening routine is the annual fall collection of leaves.  It affords me time to get outside, get some exercise and collect one of the most important ingredients for my composting.  Last Saturday, our region was hit by some really heavy winds which meant a good portion of the leaves that were still on my tree were blown to other yards and even over my house. When I looked at my tree after the storms, it seemed mother nature threw me a huge curve ball by stripping away a larger percentage of the leaves from my tree than I even imagined.
Nonetheless, I went out yesterday to recover the leaves that were piling up in my back yard.  Much to my surprise, it seems that I was still left with a sizeable amount of leaves.  When all was said and done, as seen in the picture below, I was able to get 6 heavy duty bags of leaves collected.

  

Not a bad haul given the loss from the storms.  I will take these back behind my garage and let them sit in place during winter.  They should decompose a bit during this time.  If my neighbors do put their leaves on the curb for pickup, I may take a bag or two to augment my supply.  These are such a great additive to you compost that it seems such a waste to see them thrown away.

On another note, I checked in to my mini winter garden to see the progress.  As seen below, so far so good!

The lettuce and spinach are doing quite well while the carrots are slowly maturing.  All the plants seem to be on schedule.  We have had several freezes and temperatures in the 30's and the plants seem quite robust given these conditions.  Of course, the telling factor will be when we get into winter weather.  My hope is that the plants will grow to a point where I can cover them with compost thereby adding a little more protection to get them through the winter.  The lettuce probably will not make it through this.  It was a gamble that, to date, has paid off.  I am told that carrots and spinach that have been exposed to colder temps taste better.  We shall see.  And as I have said, this is an experiment that I undertook just to stay active in the garden.  I will have to water them today which should get them through the week.  Winter gardening requires much less work than summer ones.  

Well, that's all for now.  Hope you are enjoying whatever gardening you are doing.  Happy gardening everyone!     

Awww..September arrives!

Well, as the summer winds down, your thoughts should turn to harvesting the last of your summer crop and if you are of the mind, beginning preps for fall crops.  I have busily been harvesting that which is ready.  My friends the squirrels have become more active lately and thus are also partaking of my last crops.  Luckily, there is enough for all of us so I don't begrudge them the few items they have absconded with.  Everyone has to eat after all.
I did some harvesting of the summer crops this morning.  I decided it was time to pull my watermelon I have been eyeing for quite some time.  As seen below, it's a Celebrity watermelon that has grown to 17" and 15 lbs.  Haven't cut it open yet but we will tonight.  This is the first time I've grown this type so we shall see what all that time and effort has come to.

With fall in mind, last weekend I planted 18 po.ts in my two hydroponic systems.  The crops are essentially various lettuces, carrots and a smattering of various herbs.  It may be a little late on getting them planted but as you can see, they are taking off rather nicely.  The first system to the left is one that I bought from cleanairgardening.com after seeing similar systems at Disney many years ago. The one on the right is a makeshift one I cobbled together after buying the fixture

from a closeout sale of a retailer.

Both systems work well but I would give the nod to the Clean air system for it's compact size.   But the re-purposed unit is quite good with root crops like carrots which is what you see in some of the bowls.  I feed them with the nutrient solutions I also buy from Clean air seen below to the left.  The Coke bottles have each nutrient solution and I mix 3/4 of a teaspoon of each into a gallon of water and flood the systems with that in the morning and evening.  Growth is always good.

My wife, son and I also picked our concord grapes yesterday that we have growing along our fence. We made organic (because I don't do anything but water them) grape juice and jam.  Can't wait to try the juice tomorrow morning.  I'm going to either grow more vines from cuttings or buy more plants to increase our yield.
Well, that's all for this Sunday afternoon.  It's been quite active this weekend and probably will stay that way for another month or two if the weather holds.  Hopefully by next week, I will be able to report on my progress of getting sunflower seeds from the plants we have along our driveway.  Until then, happy gardening everyone!