Well - it's been 3 months since I've updated this with garden news.
And there's actually been a lot of news...it's just been so bi-polar that I've not had the heart to post it.
As the last post stated, all of my early crops got eaten....by something rabbit...groundhog...chipmonk I wasn't sure.....
Upgrading Defenses
I knew I had to upgrade my defenses, but before I could get around to it the next crops started to come in. The spinach, swiss chard and arugula I had started from seed, and they started to get eaten too....
So, put a new 2' fence with 1/4" openings around the bottom of the existing fence, and put down 1 inch layers of soaked newspaper around the outside in an outward facing L - against the fence and away from it. On top of this I put top soil and planted my marigolds....the marigolds disappeared, but the remaining swiss-chard, the lettuce starts and the arrugula kept growing. I planted lavender and feverfew outside the garden "gate" and radish, scallion, & carrot seeds, my tomato & pepper seedlings inside...and they also grew.
YAY! I was keeping critters out!
My Garden GROWS!
I went on vacation, and when I came home and things were good, so I planted beans, squash, and cucumbers, and took as a good omen the fact that I had at least 2 garden spiders living in my fence and a garter snake living in the flower pot under the windmill.
While I'd been away the tomato plants had more than doubled in size, the radishes had overwhelmed the carrots and scallions (a lesson for next time) and the lettuces were ready to harvest...and harvest...harvest ....and then they were dessimated.GONE eaten completely to the ground.
IT's A GIANT GROUNDHOG
The newspaper barrier had stopped the critters for a while, but apparently the most determined critter of all was a HUGE groundhog who lives just into the woods behind the garden.
He managed to break through the newspaper barrier in late in June, and I have not managed to find a way to keep him out yet. I have used purchased products (Mole-b-gone - a castor oil based repellant & Critter Ridder- a pepper based repellant). I have used rocks that I can barely carry, I have used home made garlic spay....nothing is keeping this guy out.
Continual Destruction
As the bean and cucumber plants appeared they were eaten to the ground...so far the squash are safe. I had re-seeded lettuces for a future crop and have not seen anything so I assume as soon as they show up they are eaten as well.
Blessedly the critter does not seem to prefer tomato and pepper and basil plants....they get nibbled from time-to-time, but more in the way of a trim or pruning rather than eating to the ground.
Do Groundhogs Seek Revenge???
It does seem that whenever I've worked in the garden and tried to put a new layer of defenses down that my nemesis goes for revenge.........
Last weekend I was enthused by 1 of my pepper plants - a mild variety that produces long yellowish peppers - the plant was tall and healthy and had at least a dozen small peppers hanging on it....well, I did my "shoring up" of defenses, pulled some weeds etc then went to make supper.
When I went back to show my husband, the plant had been eaten to the stems...the peppers were, however, left hanging....like me.
Harvest Despite Destruction
As I had indicated, even though the groundhog got the lions share of lettuce I had managed to eat a lot of salad for the two weeks between coming home from vacation and his breaking and entering...I have harvested a few peppers and small cherry tomatoes so far and that will hopefully continue.
My garlic, shallots and onions were harvested over the past month. The garlic had varying results. We planted about 6 varieties and some did better than others I'm not sure if that was due to the spot in the planting bed or just the variety. The shallots did MUCH better than last year and I have high hopes that next year will be even better. Onions were a new crop for me and I don't think I kept the bed weeded enough or watered enough. Despite that, I did get a harvest...they are mostly smallish, but will still be yummy I'm sure.
Growing Challenge & It Doesn't end with the Peas!
So, the peas got et by a critter......
That's not really ok...I am a bit bitter about it, but figured hey...I didn't put down any of my mole be gone (which has seemed to help with groundhogs/woodchucks in the past). And it's a little too early for marigolds...
This weekend I scattered the castor oil infused corn husks (aka Mole-B-Gone) around the garden, planted some marigold seedlings and stared setting out my cruciferous plants which are another first for me. Broccoli and cauliflower I had started from seed and some left-over purple cabbage starts from my friend K.
I also started some chard, arugula and lettuce seeds.
I did this SUNDAY afternoon.
Yesterday I went to water them and EVERYTHING BUT THE PURPLE CABBAGE WAS GONE!
I am SO FRUSTRATED! How could the varmits have found these things so fast?!?!? Now I'm not sure whether it's a groundhog or a bunny that is managing to get past my defenses, and I 'm really afraid of setting out anything else.
I have more green cabbage and kholrabi starts that didn't make it into the garden on Sunday still in the greenhouse....not to mention all of my herb starts, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants ....
On a side note the garlic onions and shallots are doing just fine with no fence or protection whatsoever.
That's not really ok...I am a bit bitter about it, but figured hey...I didn't put down any of my mole be gone (which has seemed to help with groundhogs/woodchucks in the past). And it's a little too early for marigolds...
This weekend I scattered the castor oil infused corn husks (aka Mole-B-Gone) around the garden, planted some marigold seedlings and stared setting out my cruciferous plants which are another first for me. Broccoli and cauliflower I had started from seed and some left-over purple cabbage starts from my friend K.
I also started some chard, arugula and lettuce seeds.
I did this SUNDAY afternoon.
Yesterday I went to water them and EVERYTHING BUT THE PURPLE CABBAGE WAS GONE!
I am SO FRUSTRATED! How could the varmits have found these things so fast?!?!? Now I'm not sure whether it's a groundhog or a bunny that is managing to get past my defenses, and I 'm really afraid of setting out anything else.
I have more green cabbage and kholrabi starts that didn't make it into the garden on Sunday still in the greenhouse....not to mention all of my herb starts, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants ....
On a side note the garlic onions and shallots are doing just fine with no fence or protection whatsoever.
Growing Challenge: The Peas are GONE!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can't believe it!
After all that waiting and watching.......SOMETHING (woodchuck/groundhog probably) got thorugh the perimeter fence and ATE ALL OF THEM!!!!!!! I planted 2 full packs!
The onions, shallots and garlic are, however doing quite nicely.
I think I'm going to go cry now.
After all that waiting and watching.......SOMETHING (woodchuck/groundhog probably) got thorugh the perimeter fence and ATE ALL OF THEM!!!!!!! I planted 2 full packs!
The onions, shallots and garlic are, however doing quite nicely.
I think I'm going to go cry now.
Growing Challenge: The Peas are Coming! The Peas are Coming!
YAY!
After work yesterday it was SO beautiful that the boys and I stayed outside for a while...them to play on their climbers and met o rake yet another couple of tons of leaves off of the flower beds.
So, of course I wandered over to the garden enclosure and there were some peas...fianlly...peeking up out of the ground!
I didn't have the time or energy to go get the camera last night, but I promise to take a picture and post it over the weekend.
YAY!
After work yesterday it was SO beautiful that the boys and I stayed outside for a while...them to play on their climbers and met o rake yet another couple of tons of leaves off of the flower beds.
So, of course I wandered over to the garden enclosure and there were some peas...fianlly...peeking up out of the ground!
I didn't have the time or energy to go get the camera last night, but I promise to take a picture and post it over the weekend.
YAY!
Transplanting 1
Yesterday I transplanted ALL of my tomato seedlings and some of my flower and herb seedlings. It was exhausting and dirty work.
Exhausting because I did it in my kitchen and because I tried to save as many tomatoes as I could...and I only lost 2 during the process. It seems as though the separation of even the tiniest of starts worked.
I have no pictures at the moment, because I was too tired to take them and my kids were yelling for dinner by the time I finished.
Right now, I have no place to put these plants once Mothers' Day rolls around and I can plant outside. The fenced in area that was home to my tomatoes and squash (and everything else) last year should not be a home for them again ghis year according to crop rotation guidelines, but right now I don't have the larger area I intend to use fenced in.
But that problem still has 4 weeks to get a resolution.
In another week or two I'll be doing the transplant shuffle on the peppers and eggplants, and probably more herbs and flowers.
Exhausting because I did it in my kitchen and because I tried to save as many tomatoes as I could...and I only lost 2 during the process. It seems as though the separation of even the tiniest of starts worked.
I have no pictures at the moment, because I was too tired to take them and my kids were yelling for dinner by the time I finished.
Right now, I have no place to put these plants once Mothers' Day rolls around and I can plant outside. The fenced in area that was home to my tomatoes and squash (and everything else) last year should not be a home for them again ghis year according to crop rotation guidelines, but right now I don't have the larger area I intend to use fenced in.
But that problem still has 4 weeks to get a resolution.
In another week or two I'll be doing the transplant shuffle on the peppers and eggplants, and probably more herbs and flowers.
Growing Challenge - Peas Plus Garden 2008 Update
OK - There's a lot to report, and pictures to go along with the reports, but it's been crazy couple of weeks, so I'm going to start posting and just add as I'm able.
For the Growing Challenge - I said I'd grow peas this year, and I planted them as my friend had advised "BY PADDY's Day" but I have seen NOTHING come up yet and am a little discouraged at this point.
Since I've planted about 6-8 new things, other than the peas, this year I will be ok to go forward no matter what...but I really want the peas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So, in addition to the stuff K and I planted at the begining of March I've also planted more flowers and early crop veggies on my own. Right now all of the seeds have been sown in trays indoors except for the peas which were direct seeded outdoors.
(The plants in green type are new to my gardens)
The additional flowers are: coleus, cosmos, more marigolds, petunias, 2 sizes of sunflower & nicotania.
The additonal veggies are:
Cabbage, kholrabi, lettuce, arugula in addition to the earlier veggies.
This weekend I planted onion sets and shallots outside, and as soon as it gets warmer, there are LOTS of other new things to direct seed too.
So, K and I planted our tomatoes and peppers at the same time, but my peppers have taken their time germinating... as you can see in this picture, they are just starting to come up.
Back outdoors, the rhubarb patch is starting to show signs of life...but the asparagus is still a long ways off.
Also new this year - the tags I've made to label the seedlings (re)use strips of #5 plastic tubs that are not recycled around me. This includes yogurt containers, sour cream containers, margarine tubs etc.
For the Growing Challenge - I said I'd grow peas this year, and I planted them as my friend had advised "BY PADDY's Day" but I have seen NOTHING come up yet and am a little discouraged at this point.
Since I've planted about 6-8 new things, other than the peas, this year I will be ok to go forward no matter what...but I really want the peas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So, in addition to the stuff K and I planted at the begining of March I've also planted more flowers and early crop veggies on my own. Right now all of the seeds have been sown in trays indoors except for the peas which were direct seeded outdoors.
(The plants in green type are new to my gardens)
The additional flowers are: coleus, cosmos, more marigolds, petunias, 2 sizes of sunflower & nicotania.
The additonal veggies are:
Cabbage, kholrabi, lettuce, arugula in addition to the earlier veggies.
This weekend I planted onion sets and shallots outside, and as soon as it gets warmer, there are LOTS of other new things to direct seed too.
So, K and I planted our tomatoes and peppers at the same time, but my peppers have taken their time germinating... as you can see in this picture, they are just starting to come up.
Back outdoors, the rhubarb patch is starting to show signs of life...but the asparagus is still a long ways off.
Also new this year - the tags I've made to label the seedlings (re)use strips of #5 plastic tubs that are not recycled around me. This includes yogurt containers, sour cream containers, margarine tubs etc.
Rain Barrel Research
So, I've been researching Rainbarrels....because it'd be a nice enviromentally friendly way to water the garden this summer.
Some of the better links are listed below....
Of course, as much as I really WANT rainbarrels, the priority is a bigger/better garden FENCE. Since I have enough seedlings and seeds sto plant 2-3X the amount of space I currently have a fence around..........oh well, dreams are good to have :)
http://www.rainwatersolutions.com/rainbarrels.html
http://www.cleanairgardening.com/33galrainbar.html
http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/publications/files/rain_barrels_guide.pdf
http://www.aquabarrel.com/product_rain_barrel_complete_55gal.php
http://www.epcontainers.net/id10.html - These guys are in Idaho and have the BEST prices by far. But shipping might be an issue
http://www.geocities.com/pmm1018/rain_barrel1.html - Using a rain barrel to “feed” a toilet - interesting concept!!
If anyone has any experience with rainbarrels they'd like to share I'd be really grateful!
Growing Challenge: Crocuses are UP &Peas are in!
These are just some of the bulbs I planted last autumn....they're all popping up all over the yard!
YAY! I just LOVE Crocus - it makes me feel like spring is really on it's way!
I got my peas in by Paddy's Day - as my friend DRS always reminds me! But this is the first year I've had enough of an act together to follow that advice! So - we may actually get to eat garden fresh peas this year - or as my kids call them "green candy"!
YUMM!!!
Last week I found a couple of garden challenge websites and decided to try and participate in several....
The challenges are listed in the sidebar and I encourage everybody to participate in them!
Growing Challenge asks you to grow just one new thing...to produce just a little more of your own food...
My intent is to do much more than that, but PEAS is definitely one of my new crops this year.
As I get going with the other challenges I'll write more about them as well.
I
Seed Starting 08
And then there were two.
For last year's seed starting, three of us got together....
Friend K who has the most green thumb of all and plants an enormous garden....she hosted the get-together, supplied the knowledge and some of the equipment....
Friend D and I who wanted to get stared in the gardening arena, but with far more modest plots.
This year...K, D and I got together for seed selection night, but since then, D found out that her well water is contaminated with arsenic and that there's a good chance her soil is as well...which leaves her with needing to haul in lots of soil to make raised beds and figuring out ways to water not involving her well...
I found seed-starter kits at the local Lowes that are window box size, so I bought a few of those to put in the kitchen windows - the only windows in the house which are not glazed, low-e.
The rest of the stars will go in the basement under a grow light.
We started all 9 varieties of tomato - the seeds we ordered and two I found at a local shop...
Broccoli, Cauliflower, Eggplant, Cabbage, Leeks, Sweet and Hot Peppers, Herbs - basil (5 varieties) Cilantro, Parsley, Fennel and Dill, and some flowers - Marigolds, & 4 o'Clocks.
I'll be starting additional flowers at home over the next few weeks.
For last year's seed starting, three of us got together....
Friend K who has the most green thumb of all and plants an enormous garden....she hosted the get-together, supplied the knowledge and some of the equipment....
Friend D and I who wanted to get stared in the gardening arena, but with far more modest plots.
This year...K, D and I got together for seed selection night, but since then, D found out that her well water is contaminated with arsenic and that there's a good chance her soil is as well...which leaves her with needing to haul in lots of soil to make raised beds and figuring out ways to water not involving her well...
I found seed-starter kits at the local Lowes that are window box size, so I bought a few of those to put in the kitchen windows - the only windows in the house which are not glazed, low-e.
The rest of the stars will go in the basement under a grow light.
We started all 9 varieties of tomato - the seeds we ordered and two I found at a local shop...
Broccoli, Cauliflower, Eggplant, Cabbage, Leeks, Sweet and Hot Peppers, Herbs - basil (5 varieties) Cilantro, Parsley, Fennel and Dill, and some flowers - Marigolds, & 4 o'Clocks.
I'll be starting additional flowers at home over the next few weeks.
Another Year, Another Chance to Garden
Ok...it's January...it's COLD and inside three of us are salivating over tomato and green bean varieties!
This year we limited ourselves to
7 tomato varieties:
Pink Stripe
Large Cherry
Brandywine
Hillbilly
Amish Paste
Black Plum
Keeper
4 Pepper varieties:
Bell
Banana
Jalapeno
and Mixed Carribean (hot)
We also discussed beans - pole vs bush and green snap vs shelling....I deferred to our group expert with the exception of voicing that I wanted to do the chinese long beans again this year.
We really didn't get any farther than that - going through the hundreds of heirloom tomato varieties and whittling down the possibilies really took most of our time....
but we're on our way!!!
YAY
This year we limited ourselves to
7 tomato varieties:
Pink Stripe
Large Cherry
Brandywine
Hillbilly
Amish Paste
Black Plum
Keeper
4 Pepper varieties:
Bell
Banana
Jalapeno
and Mixed Carribean (hot)
We also discussed beans - pole vs bush and green snap vs shelling....I deferred to our group expert with the exception of voicing that I wanted to do the chinese long beans again this year.
We really didn't get any farther than that - going through the hundreds of heirloom tomato varieties and whittling down the possibilies really took most of our time....
but we're on our way!!!
YAY
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