That's a tough question to answer. The weather is at times saying yes and then cruelly, no. We are currently at 43 degrees right now. I walked out to my garden plots and the when I dug into the soil, it was cold and wet. Not a big surprise as the weather has been quite seasonal.
So, what can be done given the soils are not ready for planting even the hardiest of seeds. My answer is quite simple. I will begin the process of clearing out my plastic greenhouse. I placed one of my remote thermometers in it to get a gauge of what the temperature ranges are at this time. Once the coldest temps are consistently above freezing, I will then set up the various hydroponic systems I have and begin seeding in the early crops. I was behind the curve the last time I planted in it and the crops bolted before I could get a decent crop produced due to too much summer heat. It's a delicate balance to get the seeds in at the right time. One season is not like the other in this area.
I did a little cleaning around the beds when I was outside Saturday morning. The rains and snows took a little toll on the them. Nothing huge as everything looks to have come through the winter. The winter rye is in a sort of dormant state but that will change with a few more weeks of 50 degree weather. It will be soon enough before I have to cut the rye and start working it into the soil.
I also eyed up the area where I will be building the glass greenhouse this spring. Lots to do there so I just need to start chipping away at that in small chunks. The next step is to remove the bricks and paver stones in the area of the greenhouse floor.
Once those are removed, I can then use the rototiller to break up the ground where I will be starting the base of the unit. That won't be for a little while yet as the ground is wet and we are expecting some freezing temps in the near future.
I took out some kitchen scraps this afternoon and buried them in the unfinished composter. I did this in order to get the processes moving to create bacteria once the temps moderate. There will be slow decomposition for now and even that is fine. It was deep enough to perhaps awaken or feed the existing microbes that exist that far down.
It was nice to get out in the yards and tool around the various points to get the gardening juices flowing again. Spring is about a month or so away but hope has been rekindled. It should be an interesting year given my focus on making the garden contribute to our household. There is big difference between gardening as a hobby and gardening to augment our food supply. We shall see how it turns out. It is a challenge for sure. So, there is where the gardening progress is at this point in the year. Till next time, Happy gardening everyone!
Showing posts with label garden preps. Show all posts
Showing posts with label garden preps. Show all posts
Sunday, February 17, 2019
Friday, September 15, 2017
To begin again.
To begin again is part and parcel of the life of a gardener or farmer. Many people think that the cycle of gardening starts in the Spring when all is fresh and the world is becoming new again. I believed that for a long time too. But as you become more experienced, you begin to realize that it may actually be in the fall that the garden begins again.
For me, fall is the time when you take inventory of what worked in your garden and more importantly what didn't. You need to assess all aspects of the pervious season to see where your crops failed and why. Why is a very hard question for any gardener to ask. It goes to the very core of what went awry.
For the last week or so, I have begun to clear out my various plants very deliberately. There was one huge failure in the garden this year and that was cucumbers. Usually a very easy plant to grow, I had 8 plants from which I picked zero cucumbers. Talk about frustrated. I logged about 6 cucumbers that the pesky squirrels in my neighborhood stole. I know this because I found them strewn about mine and my neighbors yard. But still, in a routine year, I should have had far more than just 6 cukes. So, there is something else that occurred.
I do believe that I may have had them too close to several other plants which may have resulted in lower production. Too much intensive planting may have wiped out the nutrients and water to a point the cukes just didn't get enough of either. I will have to research this a little more in relation to the beans and lettuce I planted near them. I may have been a little over ambitious.
One issue I was keenly aware of this year is the lack of bees in the garden area. There just didn't seem to be much activity. I am going to take a couple of steps to try to fix the problem. First, I am going to fit in an area of pollinator plants that will draw and support bee populations. Hopefully that will at least get them to visit my yard. Secondly, I am going to investigate starting a Mason bee colony around my garden. I tried that a couple of years ago with no success but this time, I am going to double the effort. Mason bees are very docile and rarely sting people. They are usually just interested in pollinating.
There was another issue that I alluded to earlier. I was doing the intensive plantings because I was overly ambitious with the numbers of tomatoes and peppers I grew. That, along with adding sauce tomatoes to the mix, made for tight quarters in the garden. Plants generally do not like to be compacted. The soil can be depleted to a point that the plants deplete the nutrients they need and there is less air circulation. All of which contribute to poor plant quality. So, next year, the number of peppers and tomatoes will be reduced measurably in order to give myself room to space things out appropriately. I should see better quality and quantities in all respects.
So, if you're not already working your garden this fall, you still have plenty of time. I am currently adding heaps of Leafgro brand soil conditioner. It's a US Compost council organic certified blend of leaves and other ingredients. I am giving all my beds about an inch for the winter and then I add winter rye for a green cover crop. The rye traps nutrients into their roots and holds it there until the spring.
Well, that's about all I have at this time. Hopefully you found a few nuggets to help you in your endeavors in the garden. Until next time, Happy Productive Gardening everyone!
For me, fall is the time when you take inventory of what worked in your garden and more importantly what didn't. You need to assess all aspects of the pervious season to see where your crops failed and why. Why is a very hard question for any gardener to ask. It goes to the very core of what went awry.
For the last week or so, I have begun to clear out my various plants very deliberately. There was one huge failure in the garden this year and that was cucumbers. Usually a very easy plant to grow, I had 8 plants from which I picked zero cucumbers. Talk about frustrated. I logged about 6 cucumbers that the pesky squirrels in my neighborhood stole. I know this because I found them strewn about mine and my neighbors yard. But still, in a routine year, I should have had far more than just 6 cukes. So, there is something else that occurred.
I do believe that I may have had them too close to several other plants which may have resulted in lower production. Too much intensive planting may have wiped out the nutrients and water to a point the cukes just didn't get enough of either. I will have to research this a little more in relation to the beans and lettuce I planted near them. I may have been a little over ambitious.
One issue I was keenly aware of this year is the lack of bees in the garden area. There just didn't seem to be much activity. I am going to take a couple of steps to try to fix the problem. First, I am going to fit in an area of pollinator plants that will draw and support bee populations. Hopefully that will at least get them to visit my yard. Secondly, I am going to investigate starting a Mason bee colony around my garden. I tried that a couple of years ago with no success but this time, I am going to double the effort. Mason bees are very docile and rarely sting people. They are usually just interested in pollinating.
There was another issue that I alluded to earlier. I was doing the intensive plantings because I was overly ambitious with the numbers of tomatoes and peppers I grew. That, along with adding sauce tomatoes to the mix, made for tight quarters in the garden. Plants generally do not like to be compacted. The soil can be depleted to a point that the plants deplete the nutrients they need and there is less air circulation. All of which contribute to poor plant quality. So, next year, the number of peppers and tomatoes will be reduced measurably in order to give myself room to space things out appropriately. I should see better quality and quantities in all respects.
So, if you're not already working your garden this fall, you still have plenty of time. I am currently adding heaps of Leafgro brand soil conditioner. It's a US Compost council organic certified blend of leaves and other ingredients. I am giving all my beds about an inch for the winter and then I add winter rye for a green cover crop. The rye traps nutrients into their roots and holds it there until the spring.
Well, that's about all I have at this time. Hopefully you found a few nuggets to help you in your endeavors in the garden. Until next time, Happy Productive Gardening everyone!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)