Been a while

It has been a while since I last posted. Much has been going on in the garden and a lot more has been happening outside the garden. My wife and I decided that we needed to tear down the Patio Enclosure we inherited with the house when we bought it many years ago. It served its purpose all these years. We have many fond memories of our sons' birthday parties, our many family Christmas open houses, the many Christmas' we spent in there as our son grew up. One memory that is very present is when we bought him a huge Lego Starwars set for Christmas. The thing must have had a million pieces.

He and I sat down on the floor and began the task at hand. And, as I sat there watching him connect the pieces (with little help from me), I marveled at how he systematically and logically assembled that behemoth of a starship. It was the first time I can remember being in awe of him. 

But, all good things come to an end. Lately, when we were in the back room, you could feel the floor giving in and shaking a bit. It was time for it to go before we procrastinated too long. So we have been on a journey of getting contractor bids, and deciding how and what we wanted this new room to look like.

Trust me, it was a process that soaked up bunches of time with conversations with the contractor, deciding on the contractor and the myriad decisions attendant to creating a new living space. It's going to be worth it as the old room certainly outlived it purpose.
So, I have been away from the blog but have been busy with getting the garden roaring into summer. It's been quite a balancing act these last few weeks. I was out one morning at around 4:30 with my work light and head lamp transplanting my tomatoes. Had to be done and couldn't be delayed much longer. I know it seems a bit extreme but you can get a ton done at that hour of the day. The birds kept me company once the sun started to rise and I think I chased off a few pesky squirrels.
I will endeavor to try to post during our construction phase which starts in a little while. Here's hoping it all goes without a snag. But, lets be realistic here, there will be issues. We will persevere. Until the next time, Happy Gardening everyone!

Garden preps and other musings

It's March and you know what that means - Spring is here - almost. I'm generally not an optimist so I do not get too excited but after today, one can hope. It was a beautiful day and I got to enjoy it immensely. After a visit to the doctor for a routine appointment, I came home and indulged myself. I decided it was time to mark the beds and get things moving.
So, after checking the measurements and verifying all was right, I roped off the front beds. It didn't take a lot of time but I wanted to be sure everything was aligned. My goal, after all, is to maximize the spaces I have. So here are the beds that I'm establishing. They run northish to southish. My yard, like most yards, does not run true north and south. 



This bed is 18" wide and 21' long. It will be the first year that I have gardened in this area so I will obviously have to amend the soil heavily this year. I have lots of compost but that will have to augmented with other materials. I don't look for this to be a big producing bed but with the right mix of amendments, it may be enough to get some production. Anything I do add will be certified organic. I generally look for the OMRI certification on anything I purchase.
The second bed shown below is 2.5' wide and 21' long. This area is a long existing plot of my garden. Naturally, it should be a productive plot but will need a treatment of compost and maybe another ingredient.


My third and fourth beds are a blend of two previous beds. They are 2.5" wide and 12' long. The third bed (on the right) is about 50% new area and 50% existing bed. The fourth bed is heavily an existing bed. In fact, I will be moving some of the dirt from it to bed 3. And again, bed 3 will need amendments and compost.



The fifth bed is about 18" wide and 21' long. It is also a new bed so I will follow the same protocols as to the other new beds. 


Having completed the outlining of the beds, I then cut the beds to fit the sizes of them and transferred the excess dirt to the beds. This was done to establish the walking paths between the various garden plots. Once I was finished with the edging of the beds, I raked each walk path. This was the final step to firm up the beds and walkways.

I think the garden is starting to come together. Shortly, I will have to work on the other two smaller plots on the other side of the main walkway and them run my hand tiller through the beds to get them ready for planting in early April. Much to do, so little time as usual.
I am always amazed by the rare things I find at stores I had no idea carried the items. For instance, I had no idea that TJ Maxx carried this



Or this



I did get this work light very cheap at Sears due to the store being closed. Sad end to an American icon. 



Well, that's all there is for now. It's time for me to get the seedlings started. I am excited to see if there is any difference in them by starting them in my greenhouse. And, as always, until next time, Happy Gardening everyone!

Where the garden's are today (Part 2)

As I have commented before, I have two gardens other than my own where I am assisting the homeowners with their endeavors.  The one I am going to speak about today is a garden that a coworker and his wife have.  There have been a few attempts to garden by them but, like most of us, they lead very busy lives.
So, my coworker built fences to keep his five dogs out of the beds.  Once that was done, we tilled the area where they had previous gardens and another area where no gardening was ever attempted.  I kept their expectations low on the new area givne the state of the ground.  I told them we would appoach that area as a developmental area this year.  Here is a picture of the area where they had a garden for a couple of years.

And here is the new gardening area.

                                             

In the exsisting area, we planted tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers.  I used the fence (which I cannot take any credit for) as supports for the cukes as seen below.  They will find the fence and then begin to climb it.  That should make for a nice green wall for the garden.

.Here are two pictures of the garden bed as it looked on this past Thursday.

I'll take more pictures when I go over this week to put down fish emulsion fertilizer on all the plants. The plants are beginning to react to the hot weather we have been having and seem to be growing at a pretty good pace.  
What we ran into with the new area is a lot of rocks and general debris that was buried.  Seems there was a garage in this area and the owners grandfather would either leave some stuff on the ground or buried it in place.  Rocks abound but that is part of the territory when opening up new plots.  Still not really sure what is under the surface but the overall soil health is poor at best.  I was planting a watermelon plant and ran into a string of red bricks.  So far, we have found about 10 but I know there are many more in this area given it lines up with the area of the garage.  I'll eventuall pull more of them as they are in great shape and very old.  Can't find this quality of brick anymore.
I've planted 4 paste tomatoes and a set of beans all of which are growing.  I also planted watermelon and a squash plant.  But, it seems, a rabbit had them for a quick snack.  Along with these, I planted canteloupes along the fence to again use the fence as supports as seen below.  This is a little older picture than the others.  I'll be updating these in the next week or so.

It's been quite interesting to take a yard that has never been gardened and see the work involved all over again.  After a few years, the garden can kind of fall into a yearly routine.  Part of the issue is that I am also maintaining my garden, this one and another garden along with working a full time job. I can see the potential of doing this type of stuff full time but realize it will have to wait until I retire. In the meantime, I have enough to keep me busy.
What is rewarding to me is to speak to these people and realize that they are interested in growing their own vegetables the organic way like I do.  It's extemely rewarding to pick a quart bag of buttercrunch lettuce, a fresh cucumber and a skad of beans like I did this morning and know exactly what was used to grow them besides the tremendous freshness component.  And they are looking to me and my expertise to guide them to this type of experience.  I just don't understand how one would not have a garden but then again, that's just me. The other gardener I am working with is a long time gardener who had begun to give up on gardening this year given his age.  I have spoken with him and helped him get his garden started this year. Now we are discussing what we we are going to do at the end of the season to make the soil better and the no-till approach that I have recently adopted.  He didn't want to give up the gardening, he just wanted to give up the work involved.  Organic, after all, is actually less work than the old style row gardening practices of the past.
Well, that's all for now.  I need to kick back and relax the rest of this day.  It's a beautiful, hot afternoon to just breathe.  Until next time, Happy Gardening everyone!      

Oh beautiful day!

As the day began

We had one of the most delightful days in a very long time today.  The forecasters were dead on this time.  I planned on getting a very early start to the day given the forecast and what I really needed to get accomplished.
I actually look forward to beating the sun up because it is a very special time of the day to me.  The world is quiet for a while and you can just take in all of God's beauty.  It affords me time to breathe and just exist.  Even the birds aren't quite up yet.  And in the area where we live, that is saying alot as we have a very big population of loud birds.  Sometimes I can imagine me as a farmer and being out in the fields and just taking in the day before getting on to the business of farming.  You know, looking down from a hill over the rolling fields below just as morning is approaching.  It has to be one of the best offices with a view in the world.
So,  I was up at 5:15 and raring to go.  I put on my headlamp as it was dark outside and began the day.  I had a pile of limbs that needed to be cut up and bagged along with other yardwaste.  I sometimes have to wonder what my neighbors think when they see me up that early.  Then again, they may not even be up.  So here was my view at 5:30AM

I said it was dark didn't I?  I began clearing the pile and cutting up the pile when it occurred to me that most of the limbs were rather substantial.  Then it hit me - why not?

Permaculture anyone?

I decided to practice a little permaculture gardening.  Never heard of it?  Well, it is quite complex but one of the parts of it is to use what your land produces.  In this case, I decided to attempt to employ the various branches of the tree in my yard as plant supports in my garden.  I tried it last year with my Peppers and it worked very well for me.  So, I trimmed the various large branches down and bagged the waste products and the little limbs for disposal this week.  When I started, I thought I might get maybe 10 or so limbs for Pepper supports.  Here are the culled limbs.

After about an hour or so, I had all my limbs trimmed and ready for use in the garden.  And the bounty from nature was far more than I anticipated.  Here are the Pepper supports.  All 15 of them!

And here are the Tomato supports.

There are 11 of them.

Frugality?

Now, my experience is that these will last for about 2 or 3 years.  But then again, who cares?  I looked at tomato cages and supports and they can cost anywhere from $4 to $9 each.  Even at $3 a piece, that is a savings of $78.00 all totaled not counting taxes.  That seems significant to me.  I have been and continue to be frugal if nothing else when it comes to my garden.  Maybe I am a throwback given my experiences but it all adds up.  And readily free materials are available if you look for them and use your imagination.  I will go into this further in a subsequent post.

Sprucing up!

I've decided this year to tighten up the look of my gardens.  I noticed that the fence posts that I use were pretty well worn from the many years of service so I bought some spray paint to bring them back to life.  I think the results speak for themselves.  Before:

and after:

A small but I think significant improvement.  I'm going to paint the rest of them next chance I get.  \

Winter garden progress  

During the day, I checked in on the progress of the winter garden I kept going all through the winter. I wasn't expecting the lettuce to be doing okay as the temps were high and this garden was covered with three layers of protection.  So, I uncovered them in the 80 degree heat we had today and this is what I found.

Quite an early salad garden!  Not at all what I expected but I will take it.  I removed the extra layer of the thick greenhouse plastic to insure that it wouldn't get too hot in the greenhouse this week.  Of course, I will have to keep an eye on the weather to make sure it doesn't get too cold.  At this point, it looks like it will be normal without any drastic low temps.

Shared garden?

I have a freind who with his wife wants a garden this year.  They are really busy so I volunteered to help them this year with the garden.  When he told me he'd have 400 square feet of garden I kind of thought he was over shooting it.  He contacted me to come over to look at the space today.   Here are the spaces.

This is one plot.  Here's the other.

And here's the rest of the above space.

He wasn't kidding.  This is probably a little bigger than 400 sq ft.  It's what I call - big fun.  The nice thing about this is that it runs east to west and there are no trees to shade the sun.  The bulk of the space will be in full sun.  Should work for most plants but it defintely won't work too well for lettuce and such.  

Next?

Lots for sure.  Just seems that you run out of time regardless of how early you get up.  I have yet to ramp up with the community garden I have been helping out with and I am behind in growing my plants.  Having a full time job and doing serious gardening is sometimes overwhelming.  I mean, I put in 10 hours in on my garden and yard today and it feels like I did not get enough done.  Where did all this work come from?  But, you know what, I got to spend 10 hours on things I needed to and in my garden.  Not a bad day actually. 

And you?

Hopefully you are ramping up your garden activities just about now.  There is certainly alot to do this time of the year regardless of where and what zone you live in.  I hope you are getting your hands dirty and the soil tilled.  And, until next time, happy gardening everyone! 

       

Spring is in the air?

So, this week we have had quite the little swing to spring.  After a cold Sunday, we woke up to frigid temps and some wind on Monday.  It was about 15 degrees when I started my car.  It begrudgingly did start after a little hesitation.  It was frigid for the day as temps did not get much above 26 around this area.  Yesterday was a little better as we broke into the mid 30's.  And today, it was in the mid 40's..  The high for tomorrow should top out at about 60 which will seem downright balmy compared to Monday.  But, tomorrow will be the end of the unseasonable warm weather.  By Saturday, if the weather forecasts are to be believed, we should be back in the 30's with a possibility of snow.  Such is life in the mid-atlantic region.  Swings of this sort are common place during winter. 
I took advantage of the temps today to check on the winter garden.  I didn't know exactly what to expect given the unevenness of our weather.  But, much to my surprise, it looked pretty good all in all. 

 

While the lettuce looks worse for the wear from the temperatures, the spinach, onions and carrots look pretty hardy at this point.  According to what I have read, this seems to be the result that I should be seeing at this time.  I have hope that this will continue and it just might if the weather stays on the

warmer side of normal for this region.  Only time will tell but again, I am pleased with the progress

at this point.  I watered the plants and covered them back up having taken the opportunity to water before the cold temps set in for the weekend. 

It hardly seems time to begin starting plants for the garden but I will be finishing the set up for starting plants in my basement this weekend.  I plan on starting broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower(maybe).  I also have to find some good seed starting mix so I will have to do some research and see what most people believe is the best.  I tried an organic mix last year and I wasn't exactly happy with the way it ponded water on the surface.  That, and the fact that the soil seemed to stay way too moist

seemed to hinder the seedlings growth.  Once I transplanted them and got them into the garden, they took off.  But, by that time, they were delayed and just seemed to be unable to catch up.  I learned a lesson that weak seedlings beget weak production.  It's all part of the experience of gardening.

Well, that's about it here in Baltimore.  Just taking one day at a time and waiting for the gardening season to commence.  Hope you and your families are all doing well and that you are enjoying reading these posts.  Until next time, happy gardening everyone!   

New Year!!

Here's hoping everyone had a great News Years Eve and this finds everyone well.  As the new year begins, there are a few things that one needs to attend to in order ensure a great beginning of the garden season.
But, before I get into that, I went out yesterday to check my winter garden.  I was very surprised at the results I have gotten to this point.  As can be seen from the picture below, the lettuces that I had my doubts about have actually grown at a pretty good rate this week and they have greened up.  That means that the sunny days have been good enough to allow the plants to grow while being covered. The other plants of carrots, onions and spinach have also shown an appreciable rate of growth too.  I have some hope of getting some winter lettuce but that will depend on the temps and precipitation we do get.

At this time of the season, there are several steps that you want to take that may seem trivial but are essential to your gardens' outcome in the coming new season.  The first step is to plan out your garden and what crops you want to grow.  As I have alluded to in earlier posts, I have thought about the number and mix of crops I grow.  I have repeatedly over grown tomatoes and peppers despite the fact that my family really doesn't eat many of them.  I love a fresh tomato but do I really need to grow 18 different varieties?  The answer is a resounding no.  Same goes for the peppers.
Given this and the fact that I have expanded my garden plots last fall, I will need and want to grow other vegetables that make more sense.  I have already planned to grow cabbage, broccoli and peas this year.  Last year I planted the cabbage and broccoli late and got less than desirable results.  This year will be different.
The other activity I need to do is to inventory my seeds that I have stored.  I noticed that the various big stores are already putting out their seeds so that is one true sign it is time to augment my stores of seeds.  One thing to be careful about is to be sure that the seeds in these stores are for this year.  I know that the seeds will survive for years if properly stored, but why buy last years stock?  That is, why buy last years seeds at full price?  I will be travelling to a seed store in Baltimore city that I prefer as they sell varieties that are suited for this region.  I prefer theirs over the big selections in the other stores for that reason.  I will be going there in the next week or two.
The other activity that escapes attention at this time of the year is to do general maintenance of your tools.  Other than cleaning them up, oiling them and sharpening the various bladed tools, one has to look at whether the tool needs to be replaced.  Tools wear out over time.  If the tool doesn't effectively do the job it is for and can't be fixed, then it's time to discard it.
I have always viewed tools as an investment. You should be cautious about buying the cheaper tool. My experience is that it is far cheaper to buy a tool that is a little more expensive over the long run.  I actually have found some real nice tools at various antique stores.  They are older and sometimes a bit rusty, but you can't beat the workmanship of the tool.  And there is just something about buying a used tool as they are broken in and just have that "feel" in your hand.  You can see and experience the quality that went into it many decades ago.  They were made to last.
Given we are possibly going to have our first snow of the season with lower temperatures this week, there is nothing that can be done in the actual garden this week.  Much of the activities are the above referenced ones.  I will be watching my winter garden but, if the weather is as predicted, it will be better for me to stay away and let it alone.  Sometimes, that's the best tactic.
So, there you have it.  As always, Happy Gardening everyone!
    

A lot has been happening.....

Even though I have not posted for awhile, all due to a very busy few months, I have been quite active in both getting the garden set for winter and experimenting with winter gardening.  I hope that everything settles down to a point where I can post more often.

Most people shut their gardens down after the typical season is over and stop all activity after removing all the dead plants.  There is nothing wrong with that.  That was what I typically did every year.  But after seeing a plateau in both the quality and quantity of production in my gardens, I did research on how to improve the soil.  I soon realized the value of using cover crops in my garden beds.  I have written about this in previous posts but I certainly believe it bears another mention.

Cover crops can be a whole array of plants that you grow in your beds that will add structure and nutrients to your garden.  They can be planted any time of the year but I do it at the end of the planting cycle.  I have settled into a pattern of growing winter rye every year.  Winter Rye grows well into early winter and remains quite vibrant throughout.  I was a little delayed in getting it started this year but it has done pretty well given it's late start.  As can be seen in the picture below, it is filling in pretty well.  If I had been able to start it earlier, the growth would have been much more robust.  A reminder that in gardening, it's about the timing.

This will suffice though as it will continue to grow over the winter season.  It will prevent soil erosion, give me a green manure that I can cut in the Spring and the roots will supply structure and nutrients over the next growing season.  

While the rest of the garden is on auto pilot, I decided to experiment with growing cold weather crops in a structure.  It has it's challenges for sure.  In the mid-atlantic area, we get some pretty cold temps and snow during the December through February period.  So, I have decided to utilize the structure as seen below.  

By itself, it will not offer enough protection for the whole season.  While I am not an expert, I am going to use a multiple layer approach to see if it will work.  I have no illusions that I will get robust crops on my first attempt.  As I said earlier, this is an experiment.  But, any crop I do get, will be a bonus.  

So, here is a chronological look at where I am at this point in time.

I planted the crops about 3 weeks ago and they have grown as seen in this above photo I took Saturday.  I have various lettuces in the first set of rows with spinach in the middle set and in the far row I have onions, carrots and La Rosa lettuce.  

Temps have been dropping steadily lately and we are under a frost warning tonight.  So, this morning, I went out and added layers to move my effective zone up probably 2-3 levels.  From my guess, this is now probably at a zone 9-10 area.  That supposedly will get me to lower Georgia or northern Florida zones.  

I first put a layer of vegetable spun fiber over the crops inside the structure.  I put in sticks and then pinned the fabric down on the ends so it would be taut.  The fabric does not touch the plants that way. Then, I took some UV heavy duty plastic and put it over the structure itself as seen below. 

This should allow the air inside to warm up during the day and slowly cool off during the night. Again, no assurances this will work but I think it gives me a fairly decent chance. 

I am also doing the last of composting that can be achieved.  I cut my front lawn for what I hope is the last time.  In doing so, I cut it very low which produced a pretty large amount of clippings.  I collect the last cuttings of the season as I believe they do not decompose fully and thus can cause various issues in the Spring.  So, here is the final collection.

Given they were very wet when I cut them, I am going to let them sit out overnight to dry.  This insures that there will not be any ammonia smell due to their fresh state.  Once dried, I will use them in each of the three composters I have.  This will add bulk and allow me to add leaves to get one last burst before the real cold weather hits.
Another facet of the year end gardening around here is rounding up of leaves that are currently falling.  As seen below, I get a pretty good supply from my tree.  I do have to augment it by picking up my neighbors leaves.  I've even been known to stop on my way to or from work and pick up a few bags.  It always has amazed me that people don't use this free source of nutrients in place of the artificially produce fertilizers that they do use.  I really have no issue with grabbing the bags regardless of what people may think.  I can't seriously remember the last time I bought any soil for my garden.  It makes sense to me both monetarily and environmentally.

Well, that sums up the activities in the garden at my house.  Hopefully you are enjoying the last of the season and are doing your necessary prep work for a great start to your garden season next year. Until next time, Happy Gardening everyone! 

Garden renovation progress

As I have related in my previous posts, I am in the process of renovating my garden this fall.  I am doing this because the beds were uneven and it just looked bad to me.  So, after having to delay the work due to family issues, I have begun in earnest to relocate the beds.  What I have desired is to bring everything into alignment including where they end.

I would never harm the tree for garden symmetry

Sunday morning was a beautiful day with a low temperatures and a gentle breeze.  I cranked up the Sirius radio and off I went.  One issue I ran into was that in the bed I was working on, the Oak tree in our yard has a big root running right where the one border is located.  I naturally had to concede that this was not an issue I could solve by removing the root.  It is quite large and I would be concerned that cutting the root would harm the tree.  It's a beautiful tree so I had to figure out how I was going to work around the root.
The issue was that the cement block over the root was standing up higher than all the rest of the blocks and looked out of place.  So, I devised a plan to build up the blocks in the border so that there would be a slight rise to the block and then a slight decline after this block.  As you can see, it's noticeable but not overpowering.

Granted, it wasn't perfect, but it did solve the issue with the least cost.  If I leveled all the other blocks to this one block, I would have had to buy a lot of soil to put under the rest of the other blocks.
I worked for about two hours getting the blocks in alignment and leveled as seen in this photo.

I also made sure that the two block borders were 48" apart which is what I consider the optimum width.  It allows you to work on the bed on each side and you can reach every plant in the bed.  My previous bed was 44" wide and that did not quite allow me to plant my vegetables with their correct spacing.

Cement blocks: a concern in vegetable gardens.

One concern I have heard people express is that my borders are cement bricks.  People are concerned that the blocks will cause the soil to turn alkaline.  While I understand the concern, research is inconclusive as to the mobility of the acids coming off the blocks.  But I also know that the bricks I have are at least 20 years old and were out in the elements their entire life.  My neighbor gave me about 100 of them because he just wanted to get rid of them.  I would think their age would negate the issue of acid bleaching.
Cement blocks are extremely durable so I know that I will not have to do this again.  My reasoning for doing this is to first widen each bed to 4 feet widths.  Additionally, I can now use drip irrigation to water them if we have another dry spell next summer like we did this year.  I am also doing this to get an aesthetic look to the beds.  I plan to fill the holes in the blocks with dirt and grow bee attracting flowers in them.  That will also anchor the blocks in place so they won't shift.
So, in two hours time, I was able to get the first plot about 70% completed.  There is supposed to be a period of about 16 hours of on and off again rains.  It supposed to be clear most of the weekend so I am hoping to complete the first plot and then maybe get the second plot about 50 % complete.
You may be saying that you don't have this much space at your house to do something of this proportion.  You should remember that everything can be scaled to fit whatever space you do have. Even a small garden can produce great abundance.  It's all in the planning you do.  Don't rule out a garden just because you think it cant be done in your case.  The rewards are too high not to have a garden that fits your space.
So, there you have the status of the project at this time.  I will follow up with more reports as I work through this.  So, until next time, happy gardening everyone!

Saturday at the community garden

The Remington Improvement association held their fall cleanup for their area and the community garden.  It was an overcast day so it was actually pretty nice out.  Along with the various neighborhood volunteers and gardeners, there were about 70 volunteer students from a local college. They ably assisted the various leaders with projects around the neighborhood and in the gardens. There certainly was a lot to be accomplished

The gardens needed some weeding along the paths and the application of mulch spread over the areas.  I must say the students I worked with were very determined and worked at a very steady pace. Between the waste from the neighborhood alleys and all the weeds and tree branches that were trimmed at the garden, at the end of three hours we filled a large trailer and a full sized pickup truck with green waste.

The garden looks beautiful and is now ready for fall preparation.  We agreed that we need to come back to the gardens in a few weeks and spread winter rye onto the individual beds so that we can grow it as a green manure for the spring.  
In speaking with the students, there was an overwhelming opinion that endeavors such as the community garden were efforts they felt good about assisting.  We told them that the gardens were organic for the most part as we leave what the various gardeners do to their plots up to them.  There was talk about food deserts in most of the major cities such as Baltimore and that community gardens were seen as a big answer to some of the issues involved.  There also was discussion with regards to freshness, safety and the carbon footprint of most food we consume.  And again, the gardens were seen as a solution to this issue along with the various farmer's markets we have here in Baltimore.  It was really a pleasure to speak to them and hear their concerns and their admiration for what we had started in this section of the city.
I left the gardens that day a bit tired but also very satisfied that the efforts of all the people associated with our gardens were being noticed and appreciated by the young women and men we met.  It gives me a boost to know that I am not alone in my opinion of just how important gardening in these times has become.  I cannot think of a better endeavor for any family to undertake than gardening.      

Fall composting?

Most people think that at this time of the year, composting would be drawing to a close.  Nothing could be further from the truth actually.  I am currently loading my 3 composters with all the materials that I can find.  I still have many bags of leaves that I collected both last fall and this spring that I need to use.  I am collecting as many table scraps that I can find and am combining that with the leaves and cardboard to get a last pile into play before the weather turns colder.
This is a perfect time of year to actually begin to compost as the wealth of items are outstanding.  I use newspapers, cardboard, fresh cut grass, kitchen scraps, tea and coffee grounds and of course, my bags of leaves.  Also, this is the time of year that if you have a garden, you can put your clean spent plants into the composter.  You have to be vigilant to not put any plant waste that died from a disease or fungus.  You would only be adding that to your garden next year.  You can always look online to find more extensive lists of materials you can use.
The point is, now is the time to either begin to compost or get your last loads in before the snow and cold weather begins.  It is a fact that if the pile is big enough, it will continue to breakdown over the winter.  It will just happen on a smaller scale and at a much slower rate.  But, it still happens.
Naturally, those of us who live in the warmer climes of the south can compost year round.
I cant emphasize enough as to the importance that composting plays in the scheme of gardening.  It is the black gold of soil as it renews the ground and recycles the natural resources we have at our disposal.
If you have never composted, you can check out my guest post that I did for Brennan Young at The-Urban-Farmer.com. that will explain the details of composting in much better detail.  I hope you like it!

Blossom End Rot - scourge of the tomato.

"Failure of one thing is repaired by the success of another."  Thomas Jefferson, Garden Book,1809

I don't think that there is anything more disheartening than putting in the planning, exerting the labor and tending to your tomatoes only to have them end with Blossom End Rot.  Although this malady of the soil can occur on other plants such as squash, peppers and even watermelons, it is most associated with the tomato plant.  That may be because the tomato is likely the most planted vegetable across all gardens. 
Unlike Mr. Jefferson's outlook, to have it all end with a black, soft spot on the end of your tomatoes is an almost epic failure in most gardeners opinions.  But, is there really anything a gardener can do to decrease the chances their tomatoes won't be beset by BER?  Thankfully, the answer is that there are certain steps that can be implemented that will reduce the occurrence drastically.
In order to defeat this scourge, one has to understand the origin of it and the complex nature of the issue. Blossom End Rot is often mistaken as a fungus or pest issue by gardeners.  If they see it, they will spray their plants with pesticides or fungicides to combat it.  When in fact, BER is really an environmental soil issue.  Once detected by sight on the fruit, it is almost impossible to correct the situation in time to save the rest of the crop.  
Rot occurs under certain identifiable soil and weather conditions.  Calcium deficiencies and long periods of wet weather are the main culprits that bring on rot.  While one cannot control the weather, you can control the structure and mineral content of your gardening soil to manage it.  As with any issue of the soil, it is best to start with a soil test.  Preference here would be to submit your soil samples to the local extension service instead of using the do it yourself kits that are available.  The extension services often will give you concrete steps to take which is based on their many years of experience.
If the soil test showed a calcium deficit, you will likely will be advised to add limestone to your soil.  If there was too much, you will told to add gypsum.  The test may even show you have the necessary calcium and nutrients for your plants.  The rot may have occurred because your plants cannot access either due to other practices.
Whichever your results are, the next step is to build up your soil structure.  As alluded to earlier, BER can be the result of your plants inability to take up the calcium and nutrients present in the soil that they need.  They are blocked by other less noticeable issues.  This condition is generally brought about by poorly draining soil, the use of high nitrogen fertilizers or salts and/or irregular watering practices.
Poorly draining soil can be best addressed by adding organic matter to your beds in the spring before planting begins.  It can take the form of almost any amendment offered.  Compost is perhaps the most used one.  Either buy a OMRI rated compost or use your own if you practice composting.  Others would be composted cow manure, mushroom compost or leaves.  One caveat here.  When buying commercially produced amendments, look for the OMRI certification to insure you have a clean product for your garden.  No sense in introducing harmful pathogens into your garden. 
Adding organic matter addresses a multitude of issues that can occur in your soil.  It both allows your soil to hold the necessary moisture, and it also structurally allows it to drain the excess off.  It adds nutrients to your soil that are slowly released to the plants too.
With tomatoes, an even watering pattern will go a long way to lessening the chances of Blossom End Rot.  Uneven watering does not allow the roots to supply the fruit with the balanced nutrients required for successful maturity.  A balance must be maintained between your watering and the rains you get.
Another step that can be taken is to mulch around your tomatoes.  This results in the maintenance of a constant soil moisture and temperature.  Mulch has the side benefit of also depressing the occurrence of disease transfer from the ground to the plant leaves when it rains or you water in the garden.
Another practice to stem BER is to rotate your crops each year so the plants are not being grown in the same plot year after year.  Different plants deplete different nutrients throughout the growing season.  Rotating also reduces the opportunity for diseases and pests to become prevalent in the garden.  
One last trick that can be used is to spread dolomitic lime into the hole you are transplanting your tomato seedlings into.  Then cover the lime with native soil and transplant the tomato.  This will allow for a ready supply of calcium right at the root zone.  You can also spread a little of the lime on the top of the soil for an added boost later.  
These are the most effective known methods and practices any gardener can take to insure the best possible outcome for your tomatoes.  Using any combination of these will significantly decrease the occurrence of Blossom End Rot in the garden.  I hope this has been helpful and that it will ensure you great tomato crops in the future.  Happy Gardening everyone.         

And then summer hits with a bang!

Well, between the evening of July 4th and the morning of July 5th, we received over 1.5" of rain.  It was one of those nice soaking even rains that are just so good for the plants.  Plus. it filled my rain barrels with over 125 gallons of free, clean water.  But now, that has been followed up with probably the hottest weather we have seen in quite some time.  This presents a very difficult challenge for your garden.  Today's high was in the 90's with what I would characterize as high humidity.  You just feel it as soon as you go outside.  It's not oppressive but just give it time and it will be.
The challenge is to make sure your soil isn't drying out even though just about a day ago, you just saw some really significant rains.  Heat of this magnitude can sap the moisture right out of the soil just as easily it put the rains down a day ago.  Easy come, easy go anyone?  And your plants will not generally show the effects of this whipsaw until they have transpired the saved moisture in their leaves.  You can go to work and come home and it's like night and day.
To guard against this, you need to give the plants - as illogical as it sounds - a good watering to ward off the weeping plant syndrome.  That's where I will be this evening.  I will use my sprinkler as I do not want to overexert myself in the heat.  I will use the rain water in the mornings when the sun is not so powerful.
On a side note about watering.  There is new proof that watering your garden in the noon hours (12-2PM) is very beneficial to vegetables.  They actually produce better and more veggies.  So, if you can do that without putting yourself at risk, the rewards are reportedly worth the extra efforts from what I have read.
So there you have it.  The never ending challenges facing a backyard gardener.  Go out and give it a try folks.  Gardening is both a reward and a challenge.  Until next time, happy gardening.