Snow!!!!

 

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This is our snow from yesterday.  To some of you, this does not look like a big deal.  However, I live in Maryland.  And, around here, this is a crippling storm for the day.  It was nice to see since it was the first snowfall over an inch in 716 days.  Our snow drought is now officially over.  

The plants in the greenhouse weathered the colder temps quite well.  I watered them down before the storm system arrived so that probably helped.  And, I have a soft plastic greenhouse off to the side where I have been testing it for use over the winter.  I planted a cover crop later in the year and just have let it take its course. I peeked inside today and the cover crop is doing just fine.  

That means I can use it to grow root and spring crops if it maintains this pace.  I am quite impressed.  I'd love to hear how your gardening is coming long and what you are doing.  

Just picked this batch of lettuce from my greenhouse.  I have many more but I generally only pick what I need for the next meal.  Can't wait to eat this bit of organic freshness tonight.  Hope your day is going well and you haven't been too impacted by all the weather systems these past few weeks.  Untilnext time, Happy Gardening!

Winter finally arrived!

The Mid-Atlantic was visited by old man winter this past weekend. But, knowing it was definitely heading right for us, I decided to open up my leaf mold composters while it was snowing in order to get a little moisture into them. It was snowing at a pretty good pace when I went out as attested to by this picture.

It was supposed to come down at a very fast and furious pace for several periods throughout the day. So, in the morning, I went out and took off the tops of the various composters and dumped the snow from the lids into each container as seen from the pictures below.

Overnight, we were hit with an ice storm which is causing major traffic issues and sidewalk problems. Some areas have had power outages. I'm just grateful to be retired and not out in the mess. Here is a picture showing the ice out in our and our neighbors yards this morning.

We are expecting another wave of snow today through early tomorrow. I"m going to have to go out and get my front porch and sidewalks unvovered before that hits.
As of yesterday, the plants in the greenhouse have been hanging in there but I need to get out there to check their status today. Here's hoping they came through.
There is lots to do and report on in the coming couple of days so once the snows/ice are gone, I'll start digging in to them. Please check back periodically for the updates. As always, Happy Gardening Everyone!

   

Lettuce abundance

Well, here we are at the beginning of 2021. Having much to be grateful for and to look forward to the New year. Let us all look forward to a more abundant year.

I took stock of the progress of all my plants.  The weather has been on the mild side lately so I decided to move my plants from my basement into my greenhouse in order to get them out in the sun. They were looking a little anemic so I figured it was time for them to get some good old fashioned sun under protection of the greenhouse. I moved 10 of the most mature plants in order to minimize the shock to them. After watering them down, I left them to soak in the rays.
Here is a picture of one rack of my lettuce and spinach plants. I can see a few salads in my near future which is very exiciting.

Additionally, I will have Giant Ceasar lettuce to add to the cuttings from the above lettuces as seen below.

I also have seedlings that are coming along in the greenhouse that are just starting to put on mature leaves. The container on the left has Iceberg, Bibb and Giant Ceasar. The planter to the right has 8 spinach plants. These were all planted at the same time and seem to be progressing well.

So, everything is moving along. The days are starting to get longer as we'll see our first 12 hour sun day before the end of January. There is much to do and time is approaching for the first planting of seeds for the early Spring crops. I have a long list of tasks that need to be addressed before I can put any plants in the garden. It's going to be a very busy beginning of the new year.
I will be writing about these endeavors as I tackle them so please keep visiting my blog. So, lets move forward in this new year everyone and Happy Gardening!

Indoor gardening

Last week was a very busy one for me. During the week, I discovered an infestation of pesky gnats in my cucumber planter. I decided I had to take action as I certainly did not want it to spread and time was of the essence. Given that the cukes hadn't even started to peek through the soil as they were seeded in a few days prior, I decided to do another boiling water treatment. I took the water and poured it over the soil as I strirred the soil with my trowel. I did this to insure the water penetrated further than the 2" where the eggs may be. I got the water super boiling which resulted in it steaming for quite some time. I checked it the next day and there were no signs of the gnats. Thankfully!

I seeded in three varieties of cucumbers about two weeks ago.  My reasoning for this is I had two older packets of cuke seeds and wanted to run a test to see if they would still germinate. I put those on each side of a very recently purchased variety I really want to grow. Figured if I got a plant from either of those, I could always transplant it.  And, much to my amazement, all the seeds germinated.  Guess I don't need to buy any new seeds for this coming year.
Speaking of seeds, I have been watching several Youtube gardening and other similar types of channels. A recurrent theme recently has been that there more than likely will be a seed shortage next year accompanied by pretty steep price increases. Some suppliers have already annouced price increase of upwards of 100% for next year and some even more. Now, I certainly didn't think I needed any seeds but I decided to check my inventory. And, upon further analysis, it turned out I did need a few seed packets. So I went to the local seed supplier I buy from to check out if the rumors were true.

After shopping and deciding what I needed and wanted, it turned out I needed more than I was aware. Guess I got a gardening bug while I was there. They had a meager supply showing in the shop but they did have everything (and more) that I wanted in their warehouse storage area.
So, I bought 15 various seed packets for a total of $28.00. Not too bad considering I bought quarter pound bags of peas and corn at over $4.50 a bag each. I was quite happy that they have not - at this time - raised their prices. I asked about this upcoming years prices and availability. They have no plans for price increases and are still waiting to hear from their seed supplier on availability. They're assuming it's all good. Which, if it pans out, is good for our area.
So, when I came home, it dawned on me that I needed to organize my seeds in a better way. I decided to bite the bullet and organize the seeds alphabetically. I had them by season but it just wasn't working out. After about an hour or so, I had them all laid out ready to pack. Here is a picture of my seed packs.

I haven't counted them but I would imagine there are about 225-250 packets. I am going to count them and update my spreadsheet in the near future. After loading the seed packets into my container and putting the larger bags into ziplock bags, I put them into my dorm refrigerator for safe keeping. Here is the refrigerator as it now sits.

The top shelf has containers with single type seeds in them. The second shelf has the seeds combined by alphabet. And the bottom bag has Bean seeds and packets from last year. While not ideal, it does make finding a particulat variety a little easier at this time.
I was driving through my neighborhood recently when I came upon a bounty of leaves that were bagged in clear plastic bags. What were these people thinking about? They're gardeners no less. So, I stopped and very matter of factly threw 6 of the bigger bags in the back of my car. I drove to my house, dumped them on my driveway and looped back around. I again piled 5 bags into my car and repeated the unloading. I then thought about what I was going to do with these. Then it struck me.
I took the bags and put them on the ground around my greenhouse. This way, I thought, they would decompose with all the sun that area gets throughout winter. And, they would act as a wind barrier for my greenhouse. Two wins there. Below are pictures of the bags and the bags placed around my greenhouse.
 
I guess I am just a little different. Most people don't understand the value of them. I have 4 composters that are filled with leaves from my tree. I have a 32 gallon garbage can that I perforated with a ton of holes that is also filled with the leaves. And I have the 11 bags I just appropriated with little effort. True story - I used to stop on my way to and from work to snag bags of leaves along the curbs. My wife (and neighbors most likely) probably shook their heads when they saw me unloading those bags. The reason for all this effort is that leaf mold is perhaps as close to the most perfect soil addititve you can find. I am frugal for the most part. Not of out necessity but out of resourcefulness. I can't stand to buy processed soil from anywhere. Paying upwards of $10.00 for a 2 Cu. Ft. bag of soil when I can create my own seems like a waste of money. Last year I spent more on soil than I ever have. And, the reason was that I just retired last fall and lost focus on my composters due to other priorities. That was a lesson learned that will never be forgotten. Here are pictures of my composters and the one garbage can as they sit now. I will need to water them down if it doesn't rain soon to assist with their decompostion.
 
I have lots more to tell so I will be posting again in the near future.  Until then, Happy Gardening everyone.  

Quick Update

 We had our first Drs. appointment yesterday. Much to our delight, the results were very promising and quite frankly, a relief. She has no issue that this Dr. could see that would be a cause for alarm. Yeah! There are more Drs. visits in the near future but to hear good results at this time is wonderful.

Gardening wise, I have to say I am very pleased with the progression of the plants in my basement. Pictured in the left pic is a container with Mixed Colored Swiss Chard nearest the camera and Giant Ceasar in the foreground. The middle picture is the carrot conatainer and the right pic is of my Bibb lettuce plants. The Bibb plants are all putting on their true leaves so that is a very promising. All the plants are doing pretty well so far.
  

I went out to my greenhouse this morning and the few surviving plants seem to still be struggling. The whipsaw weather has not been kind to them so I keep the faith but recognize the reality. I have plenty of seedlings coming along so when they are ready, I will have to replant in the empty containers I have.
That's all I have for now. Thanks for the prayers for our situation, they are much appreciated. Still more hurdles to cross so we will continue to take it one day at a time. Until next time, Happy Gardening everyone!

Hello Again

After many issues with my computer, I had to relent and buy a new laptop.  Happily, I received my new laptop Sunday.  And what a relief it is to have a machine that works.  Took a little time to get used to it but I think i have the hang of it now.  Now that the issue is resolved, there is much to tell/relate.  Given winter is right around the corner, time is of the essence.

I was doing chores this past Thursday in my backyard.  Having completed my work there, I went out front to discover that a sizeable tote of spent flowers and plants was sitting in my driveway.  Apparently, one of my neighbors knows that I am an avid composter.  If it's green or brown, it will most likely end up in one of my 4 units.  So, I carried it back to my garden area to begin the prepping process.  I put the cuttings into my wheel barrow.  Here is the result of that.

I then took a shovel and sliced through the mass in order to speed its decomposition.  I lightly watered them down and went on with my chores.  Here is how they looked after the chopping.  I was happy to get these as its a pretty good unexpected haul and will definitely go a long ways to giving me the bulk that is necessary.

I put the container in my driveway, not knowing who exactly gave me them.  I then worked in my greenhouse and went inside my house, noticing that the container was now gone.  Next morning, I woke up to yet another set of plant debris in my driveway.  This one was a little bigger in mass than the first one as shown below.

I then added these to the previous donations and cut/watered them like I did before.  Here are before and after pictures of my compost treasure. 

I went to put the container back in my driveway and my neighbor accross the street walked over to retrieve her container.  I thanked her for it and she said it was easier to do this than to bag them up and she knew I composted so might as well put them to good use.  People surprise you sometimes.    

I have left the cuttings in the container and actually added a few pots of spent soil and some grass cuttings.  It rained on them over the weekend so they are off to a good start.  I'll add them to my working composter at the end of this week before the weather turns.  

It's great to be able to post again without the computer wonking out on me.  There is a lot to cover and I will do so over the next week.  I have a bunch of competing outside tasks to get accomplished this week as the weather is currently unseasonably warm and I plan on taking advantage of it.  I'm not complaining but as we all know, there are only so many hours in a day.        

So, in my next post, I will take stock of the progress of the seedlings I have currently growing.  Lots to write about but It will get done.  Until next time everybody, Happy Gardening!

 

The challenge of wind

This past Thursday (10-17), our area was buffeted by very strong winds due to the nor'easter that was off the east coast this past weekend.  Some gusts were in the range of 40-50 mph.  I really gave it no thought in regards to my new greenhouse.  That is, until I saw a panel from it lying next to one of my garden beds.
Upon discovering this, I went out to inspect the structure only to find that there were two panels that had become freed from the greenhouse.  I gathered the two pieces and put them inside the unit to make sure they weren't tossed all over my yard or worse yet, damaged.  I then attempted to locate the clips that were supposed to hold the panels in place.  These clips are best descrided as spring loaded paperclips.  And finding them proved callenging to say the least.
After my initial reconnaissaince trip around the immediate area surrounding the gardenhouse, I found about 6 clips.  I knew I needed to find more of these so I expanded the search.  Amazingly, I ended up finding more clips almost 20-30 feet away.  I then tried to attach the panel that was taking the brunt of the winds.  I put the clips back in place and secured the panel (or so I thought).  I then moved on to the next panel feeling like I had accomplished something.
Just when I finished securing the second pane, the previous wall piece made this horrible sound and then proceeded to fall out and begin a dance accross my gardens.  I hurriedly caught up to it and turned around and saw the second pane push out and fall to the ground.  So, with one in my hand, I ran accross the gardens and grabbed the second piece.  Defeated, I put the two pieces back into the greenhouse and analyzed the situation.
I decided to open the vent in the roof to allow the winds to flow a little easier through the structure.  Feeling quite proud that the greenhouse was going to make it out of these winds in relatively good shape, I began to look for those clips that weren't obviousy up to the task at hand.  While walking the area, I heard yet another noise.
I turned around and looked directly at my building only to see a roof piece wobbling furiously.  Then, all at once, it was launched like a kite into the air.  I stood there dumbfounded and amazed at the same time.  It moved up rapidly as I had visions of this piece landing in my neighbors yards, or worse yet, that it would land in the next block.
As quickly as it went up, it came down with suddeness.  I ran to try to catch it while thinking this was not going to end well.  But, it did,  Someone upstairs must have thought I had had enough.  I gathered this piece and laid it with the other two pieces inside the house.
At this point, I decided to let things just progress on their own.  Until the winds died down, I was fighting a literal losing battle.  I went inside and tried to keep myself preoccupied.
After a couple of hours, I went back to unit and discovered that another side panel had succumded to the fury of nature.  I put that inside on top of the others and looked for more clips.
My wife ordered new clips from the manufacturer which they said were improved. No further damages were sustained from the storm Thursday evening and by Saturday, the winds were much calmer. 
Upon receipt of the new clips on Saturday, I went out and reinstalled the panels.  Yes, the new clips seem to be more substantial so there is hope that this episode will not repeat itself.  Amazingly, throughout this whole ordeal, none of my plants were damaged.   All of them came through with no noticeable damages. 
I can only imagine what my antics looked like to my neighbors as I fought natures elements.  They already know that I am a bit over the top on my gardening but this episode must have cemented that in their minds forever.
I am that neighbor afterall.  Well, that's all that is fit to write about at this time.  Have a great week and Happy gardening everyone.
                     

Greenhouse update.

I am both happy and relieved to report that the greenhouse is now complete.  It took most of Saturday to erect the structure.  Thankfully the weather was almost ideal as it wasn't too warm.  It is still summer afterall in this part of the world.  It would not have been completed without the very able and determined efforts of my friend Mark, my wife, son and daughter in law.  It was challenging to say the least.
The biggest challenge came from the fact that the greenhouse had sat for almost 2 years before it was built.  It was stored in what I considered a relatively safe area but was somewhat exposed to the weather.  When opened, the instructions were unusable.  We printed the instructions from online but they were for the newer model and the numbers did not quite match up.  My wife and son were able to piece the door and vent parts together through what I would call dogged determination and methodology.  I would not have been so successful.  Lesson learned here not to procrastinate.
After siting the 4"X6" wood supports and laying down a run of marble stones in the troughs we dug, we then cut the wood to their proper sizes and leveled them on the stone.  We then attached the wood pieces to each other by using L brackets and 3 inch wood screws.  Once that was completed, we began the construction of the greenhouse.
As can be seen from the picture below, the process was to build the 4 walls separately.

This is the one of the wall sections which was comprised of about 10 pieces.  Once all 4 walls were built, we transported them to the site and attached them to each other.  Then the middle support was attached along with the three supports on each side which act as the channels for the "glass" inserts.
We then finished the greenhouse by inserting the vent into the section for it and attached the sliding door to entrance wall.  I then screwed 3" wood screws though the base of the greenhouse into the wood base framing.
Here is a picture of the finished product.

The greenhouse is 8 ft long and 6 foot wide.  It actually feels pretty spacey inside right now.  I am sure that will change once I load in selves and such.  The sunlight is diffused by the panels.  Both the space and the diffusion of light are better seen in the picture below. 

On Sunday, I began transferring the various shelving units I have into the greenhouse.  As can be seen below, there appears to be enough room for what I have planned. 

I hope to be able to try to grow the traditional root crops inside it.  I will then have a real feel for how far into the winter I can grow plants.  It will definitely help me with growing my own plant varieties and timing plant maturity in the spring and throughout the summer.  

That's all I have at this time.  My next step is to get as much of the garden plots reset before it is too cold.  I will keep you posted on that and the many goings on in the garden.  If you should have any questions, please drop me a line.  Thanks for visiting!

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!

Beginning of another year

Here's hoping that you had a wonderful New Years and this year is your most productive one yet.  As we inch into the new gardening season, one has to take stock of where you are in order to guide your efforts to an even more glorious harvest.  For me, this year, that means many things.
First off, I have decided to forego my ususal routine of growing most of my own vegetables from seed.  I have decided to purchase most of my plants from two or three growers in my immediate area.  My reasoning for growing my own plants was that the growers were not offering the plant selections I liked to grow.  There was a paucity of heirloom plants available and an overabundance of the usual hybrid varieties.  For me, there is nothing like the taste of the heirlooms.
After visiting the various plant sellers throughout last year, I noticed that between three of the them, I could find almost all of the varieties I wanted.  And, to make it all the better, they were at very affordable prices.  It appears that the growers have finally caught up to me and other gardeners in regards to the superiority of taste of the heirlooms.
I still do need to take stock of my seed inventory which I will complete this week.  An indirect result of the aforementioned decision to curtailing my growing efforts will be a much smaller seed stock and, of course, less purchasing.  I just need to be sure I have the seeds for the various plants that can be started directly in the garden.
All of this will allow me the luxury, if you will, to concentrate more efforts in building my soils to peak richness.  Last fall I planted winter rye in all three of my beds to overwinter them.  I have written several times last year about the benefits of this which I firmly believe in.  The beds are in great shape given the weather we have had recenlty.  Two weeks ago we had wind chills in the negative 10 degree range and have just entered another colder than normal period this week.  It's supposed to right itself by this coming Friday.
Here are the beds as of last week.  I think they look great and the rye is actually holding up much better than I would have anticipated.

               

I will be waiting until probably late February to cut the rye down to the soil level.  Then I will wait for the cuttings to rot for about a week or two.  Once rotted, I will work them into the soil with either a fork or a light roto-tilling.  The object is not to distrub the roots or the sub soils.  This serves many purposes.  The cuttings will act as an immediate green manure, the roots as nutrients for the plants over the growing season as they break down and the light rototilling will not introduce imbedded weed seeds to the sun and warmth required for them to grow.
After I do this, I will need to add a mix of composted horse manure and compost in order to build the necessary fertility and structure in the soil.  One has to be careful to be sure that the manure does not have wood chips or shavings in it as those are detrimental to vegetable growth.  People sometimes use cow manure but that is courting disaster with pathogens if it is not composted correctly.  My choice is to use the safer horse manure.  I will be researching various local suppliers of this as I like to stay as local as possible.
I also have a new 8X6 greenhouse to place in my gardens.  Not quite sure where but my guess is at the end of my beds at the southernmost end.  This will, by proxy, be a reason to reset my beds.  I am thinking of getting rid of my blocks and do a more intensive planting scheme.  I am still playing with various alternatives so I havent really come to any hard choice although I will need to do so in a short time.
Well, that's all the news in the gardens at this time.  Just begining to piece it all together one step at a time.  So, until next time, Happy Gardening to everyone!