That just doesn't seem possible. I know summer still has a bit of a ways to go. But when I browse the web, there are all these various Youtube gardening experts bantering on about how it is time to do the various things gardeners should do to prepare for fall crops. I get that there are lead times and such that must be considered if you are going to grow into the earlier parts of winter. I never really put much effort into growing a fall crop as I did not have the time and I guess, the energy to tend to the plants. The fall crops need more attention than the summer ones. At least that has been my experience when I attempted to grow them the one or two times I did. Maybe I am wrong and just need to try again.
I helped my Father in Law set his generator in place Monday night in case the power went out. Our areas' power is prone to outages in lightning storms or high winds. Isaias sat almost directly overhead of us for about 5 hours and it put down a pretty brisk rate of rain and winds, but luckily, we had no outages. It wasn't a huge threat to us that the local media and national weather services made it out to be. I know the coastal areas were in a much different situation but they seemed to withstand the storm pretty decently.
I worked on my greenhouses' door Monday as it was coming off in windy situations. And thankfully, given Isaias' wrath yesterday, my decision to attend to it so I wouldn't see it cartwheeling across my yard in a driving rain was well thought out. I shimmed it and then drove screws through the metal base and shims into the 4X4 wood base. Then I tightened the various nuts and bolts. Once shimmed and seemingly unable to come off the track, I ran a bead of caulk between the metal base of the greenhouse and the wood foundation. I checked on it Tuesday night and thankfully, the door was still in place and there wasn't any evidence of water seeping into the greenhouse.
I am thinking about growing a variety of lettuces', chard, carrots and the like this fall in the greenhouse. Part of what I need to get accomplished in order to do that is to make the greenhouse more weather tight. I am going to caulk the various panels in order to cut the wind seepage down and also stabilize them in case we get a strong storm. It held up pretty well last winter. But there were a couple of times when the panel just popped out in high winds. With a little elbow grease, I can hopefully lessen the likelihood of that happening this year.
I was planning on taking pictures yesterday of all the containers I have amassed this year and what my purposes are for them but, the rains were quite heavy. They persisted until later in the afternoon. So, I will postpone that to a later date this week. Our new family room and dining area is still under construction. I think we are about 2 weeks away from completion. It has been a long process with lots of decisions and a bunch of travelling here and there to buy the various accoutrements. Now that we can see it coming together, we are getting very excited.
So, I will leave it here. Please check back in a few days (barring any last minute room issues) for my post regarding the containers. As always, Happy Gardening Everyone!
Showing posts with label garden progress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label garden progress. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 5, 2020
Saturday, January 18, 2020
Garden renovation update
I was able to get more work completed before the current cold weather struck. That's a good thing too as when I walked out into the backyard yesterday, the ground was hard as a rock. It had no give whatsoever. Guess old man winter has decided to settle in for a while via winter storm Jacob.
After much work, I was able to remove about 240 of the pavers that I had distributed throughout the garden. That number kind of snuck up on me as I did not realize I had that many. It's amazing how that can happen. See, I was able to procure them from two different sources over an extended period of time. Given my propensity to get carried away, it didn't really dawn on me that I had gone so overboard. And, I paid a small price for that as seen from the photo below. To say my back was none the better is an understatement.
At this point, I have unearthed the area near my shed that was covered by the pavers. This was the most time consuming and intense work I believe I will have to undertake during the renovation. Those bricks were in place for about 5 years so they were firmly entrenched in the mother earth. But, after a consistent and prolonged effort, I am glad to report, this phase is now 100% complete. After removing the pavers, I took my tiller and evened out the bed. I did notice that there were a copious amount of worms poking themselves onto the surface. That was a very encouraging sign given nothing had been planted there for many years. I purposely did not till the whole bed as there are bulbs along the white fence that I want to transplant in early Spring. I will have to till the area again once we are out of winter. Here is the finished product.
Additionally, I was able to prep the beds against the fence and in the middle of the garden. I have to say that I am impressed with the one wheel tiller as it hasn't had any trouble breaking up the surface soil. I used to use a mantis unit that would clog and needed to be cleaned repeatedly during use. It was just so frustrating. Given the soil I was prepping had ice clumps, I don't believe the Mantis would have been efficient for this scenario. Sometimes, old school just works better. And, I do think that the Mantis was kind of destructive to my soils health. There were a bunch of worms in the two beds coming to the surface and I can only imagine the Mantis would have killed many of those worms. As you can see from the photos, the beds are thoroughly dug into for the initial cut. I will have to make another pass once we warm up.
After completing these tasks, I decided to clean up one part of my beds that I had neglected to do in the fall. I had several poles, clamps and ties that I left in the beds. I pulled the poles and ties and gathered them up. I guess the grass that was growing there hid the supports as I had way more than I remembered. As shown, that area is now decluttered and ready to be worked. And, I have recovered a fair portion of the ties which I will clean with a bleach solution to kill any bacteria that may be present.
Well, that's where I am now standing in lieu of the ground freezing up at this time. I will have a report on the status of the my greenhouse growing endeavors in the next day or so. Until then, happy gardening everyone!
After much work, I was able to remove about 240 of the pavers that I had distributed throughout the garden. That number kind of snuck up on me as I did not realize I had that many. It's amazing how that can happen. See, I was able to procure them from two different sources over an extended period of time. Given my propensity to get carried away, it didn't really dawn on me that I had gone so overboard. And, I paid a small price for that as seen from the photo below. To say my back was none the better is an understatement.
At this point, I have unearthed the area near my shed that was covered by the pavers. This was the most time consuming and intense work I believe I will have to undertake during the renovation. Those bricks were in place for about 5 years so they were firmly entrenched in the mother earth. But, after a consistent and prolonged effort, I am glad to report, this phase is now 100% complete. After removing the pavers, I took my tiller and evened out the bed. I did notice that there were a copious amount of worms poking themselves onto the surface. That was a very encouraging sign given nothing had been planted there for many years. I purposely did not till the whole bed as there are bulbs along the white fence that I want to transplant in early Spring. I will have to till the area again once we are out of winter. Here is the finished product.
Additionally, I was able to prep the beds against the fence and in the middle of the garden. I have to say that I am impressed with the one wheel tiller as it hasn't had any trouble breaking up the surface soil. I used to use a mantis unit that would clog and needed to be cleaned repeatedly during use. It was just so frustrating. Given the soil I was prepping had ice clumps, I don't believe the Mantis would have been efficient for this scenario. Sometimes, old school just works better. And, I do think that the Mantis was kind of destructive to my soils health. There were a bunch of worms in the two beds coming to the surface and I can only imagine the Mantis would have killed many of those worms. As you can see from the photos, the beds are thoroughly dug into for the initial cut. I will have to make another pass once we warm up.
After completing these tasks, I decided to clean up one part of my beds that I had neglected to do in the fall. I had several poles, clamps and ties that I left in the beds. I pulled the poles and ties and gathered them up. I guess the grass that was growing there hid the supports as I had way more than I remembered. As shown, that area is now decluttered and ready to be worked. And, I have recovered a fair portion of the ties which I will clean with a bleach solution to kill any bacteria that may be present.
Well, that's where I am now standing in lieu of the ground freezing up at this time. I will have a report on the status of the my greenhouse growing endeavors in the next day or so. Until then, happy gardening everyone!
Sunday, February 17, 2019
Time to begin?
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!
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!
Monday, July 11, 2016
Garden growth
So far, I am pretty pleased the state of my gardens' progress. The tomatoes are coming along fine even though they were delayed in being transplanted due to our wet Spring weather. Here is a picture of them at this time.
They are full of little tomatoes so at this time, I have to be sure to continue to supply them with periodic nutrients and water. I plan on giving the garden a dose of compost tea this weekend to start them on their way to maturity.
Here is my first watermelon of the year on the left and a volunteer tomato that decided behind my garage was a great place to reside on the right. I just put a pole by it to see what I am getting. I love surprises!
Like I said, all in all, not bad progress for this time of the year. Well, I hope everyone is having a great year so far too! Remember to be vigilant as there are a lot of distractions this time of the year. Until next time, Happy gardening everyone.
They are full of little tomatoes so at this time, I have to be sure to continue to supply them with periodic nutrients and water. I plan on giving the garden a dose of compost tea this weekend to start them on their way to maturity.
Here is my first watermelon of the year on the left and a volunteer tomato that decided behind my garage was a great place to reside on the right. I just put a pole by it to see what I am getting. I love surprises!
And finally, my cascading crop of cucumbers after a month. They have taken over the trellis!
Like I said, all in all, not bad progress for this time of the year. Well, I hope everyone is having a great year so far too! Remember to be vigilant as there are a lot of distractions this time of the year. Until next time, Happy gardening everyone.
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