Rain Delay

Turmeric has withstood the dry spell better
than the ginger (left).

It's been nearly six weeks since I've worked in the garden.  Sadly, it's been an extremely dry six weeks, so most of the garden has gone to seed.  Today was going to be the day to get back in and get it back in shape.  The weather was predicted to be perfect for outdoor work--cool and sunny.  Then the predicted cold front slowed a bit and Thursday's rain delayed until Friday.  It was a lovely soaking rain, much needed, but has totally rearranged my Saturday.

No bushhogging or tilling.  The main things I wanted to get done this weekend!

Even if the new pasture desperately needs it before I break up ruts with a disc, it will be several days before I can get the tractor in the field without creating even worse ruts.

I had planned to till up the garden beds and plant green manure, but, again, it's too wet.

This is what happens when you plant White Wonder
next to Edmonson:  orange cucumbers!

The new to-do list

• Vacuum and dust:  ugh.  But I hear rumors the dust bunnies are plotting a coup, so I guess I must.
• Update blogs:  well, here's a post, so I guess I can do that.
• Cook dinner for next week:  what's in the pantry?  Do we need to pick up some good local grass-fed beef?
• Wind up the hoses and put away the trellises, so, at least, garden progress can be made.
• Fertilize the turmeric and ginger.  Trees, too.  Blackberries, as well.
• Convert the DIY Indoor Greenhouse back to a greenhouse.  What else has it been?????  That's another post!
• Sleep in.  Lovely.  I think I'll go do that right now.

What about you?  What's growing in your Savory garden?

Nancy

Lessons from My Organic Garden 2013 Edition

Muscadines

Well, I'm not putting a current picture of the garden in this post because, well, the crop I grew best this summer was grass.  Yup.  Grass.  All in the garden.  I was ill for about 2 weeks early in the summer and it just took over.  Yes, I've tried some to keep ahead of it, but it's stronger than I am.  In the next week or two, I'll be fishing the soaker hoses out of the grass and tilling it all under.  All is not failure, however, although the vegetables just could not compete with the grass for nourishment.  So, lessons learned from this year, so far:

Cucumber!

Weeding

• I hate weeding.  I don't weed.  I don't care how cool it is; I do not weed.  This is a major problem for an organic gardener.
• If I will not weed, I must either mulch or plant in rows.
• No-till isn't working for me; the aforementioned grass takes over the mulch crop.
• Intercropping is not working either.  The grass takes over before the "inter" crop establishes itself.

Sprouting bulblet of a "walking" onion.

Gardening method

• "Strip" gardening (tilled strips 3' x 25') has too much opportunity for grass incursion.  It's just not working.
• Raised beds have worked well for the ginger and turmeric.  Consider planting more, but do make them 3' wide rather than 4'.
• "Market garden" crops should be grown either in rows, cultivated with a tiller, or under plastic mulch/gardener's cloth covering soaker hoses.

Ginger and turmeric

Crop Selection

• Even heat-tolerant varieties of broccoli and cabbage can't tolerate the unrelenting direct sun of my garden.  Plant them earlier or later.
• San Marzano, Rutgers, and Oxheart tomatoes have done well.  Plant them again.  Currant tomatoes should be planted in single rows with harvest space all around.
• Although White Wonder, Sumter, and Edmonson cucumber varieties have produced well, I need to find a smaller variety for pickling.
• Go with the same pepper selection next year, but be sure to mulch with plastic as well as feed more heavily:  jalapeno, Tennessee cheese, serrano, King Arthur, among others.
• Annual "garden" crops are too labor-intensive; increase blackberries and find additional perennial crops.

A luscious fig!

The Future

• Blackberries!  They like my dirt and their cultivation schedule works with mine.
• Turmeric?  What's above ground looks good, but we'll see how the rest turns out.  It is planted in a raised bed with . . .
• Ginger?  It's really scruffy looking, but new leaves mean new "fingers" on the hand-shaped ginger root.
• Figs:  The fig trees are producing more this year, and enjoying the heat.
• Catawissa/Egyptian/Walking Onions:  They grow well in a pot, and every part of the plant is edible.  The bulb is like a small shallot and tastes like a spicy scallion.
• Other specialty crops:  Do you have any suggestions for specialty crops?

So, I'm shutting the garden down early this year.  I've already started the container garden on the porch and am considering a low tunnel outside.  There is so much to learn, but . . .

The greatest lesson about gardening is that there is always next year.

A Thank You!

I'd like to share a little "next year" with you.  I'll send 10 "walking onion" bulblets to five of you who take the time to offer suggestions for next year's specialty crops in the next two weeks.

What about you?  What's growing in your Savory garden?

Nancy

Sneaky Zucchini in my Organic Garden!

White Wonder Cucumber

My garden has surprised me several times this year:  cucumbers are popping up all over, tomatoes are finally swelling on the vines, and, ta-da!, zucchini were hiding at the bottom of several plants!

I happily sent them home with my daughter, for whom I planted them.  All of the squash and zucchini are loaded with blooms, so she (and I, and my neighbors, and my co-workers) should be well-supplied.

Edmonson or Sumter Cucumber

With the development of the tomatoes, the tomato hornworms have also arrived, so a primary task each garden day is patrolling for and eradicating the pests.  My cousin collects hers and uses them as chicken treats, but I've just dispatched mine to their eternal reward.  The San Marzanos have been the surprise of the season, with the Rutgers following close behind.  I was a bit worried about my tomatoes being so late until I spoke to a few local market growers whose crops are also late.  I feel some better now.

Early mornings have been surprisingly cool.

The Contender beans have produced almost a peck of beans, so I'll be able to freeze a batch soon.  The Calima beans are just now producing so it will be a week or two before the beans are ready.  The Mandy pole beans have been very slow to grow and are barely blooming.  I hope to have some by the end of the month.

My plan to combat grass and weeds with mulch has been derailed by a lack of mulch.  This means the nutgrass has run rampant in the beds, as you can see in the cucumber picture above.  I need a new plan.  I hate pulling grass, but I'll have to do it, or live with the grass until the fall changeover.  Or both.

Peppers, cucumbers, & zucchini!

Update:  I'm living with the grass, kind of.  I pull it sometimes, but, mostly, just rummage around in it, looking for the vegetables.  Next year, I absolutely must put down plastic!

So much to do--I'm off to can (purchased) tomatoes!

What's growing in your Savory garden?

Nancy

Garden Firsts in the First Week of July

Tiny Tennessee Cheese Peppers!

First Filet Beans

The first week of July has brought a number of firsts to the garden!  The first sweet peppers have swelled to the size of ping-pong balls despite the small stature of the plants.  They are planted in a "new" bed whose soil may not be as friable.

The Dragon's Tongue beans and Calima filet beans are putting on their first fruit and I should be harvesting some of the filet beans later in the week.

The first cucumber!

Tiny figs!

The squash are blooming profusely, and I was surprised yesterday by the first zucchini peeking from the grass and foliage.  If all of the blooms "make," I'll have enough squash & zucchini for several families!

The cucumbers have begun climbing the trellis fence and the very first tiny cucumber has swelled on the stem!  The vines are loaded with blooms so the crop should be plentiful.  Hopefully, it will be since my daughter has consumed nearly all of the dill pickles I put up last year!

First zucchini; actually, there are two!

Dragon's Tongue beans

The fig trees (two are growing together) are developing tiny little green figs.  Last year's crop of two (yes, only two) figs has already been surpassed if the fruit ripens.  I hope to need fig recipes come fall.  Every time I smell the tree, I think of my grandmother who lovingly tended her fig tree as long as she was able.

So, it's the calm before the storm.  Soon, the produce will be ready and I'll be canning and freezing.  I cannot wait!  Until then, I'll be watering and weeding.  And waiting.

What about you?  What's growing in your Savory garden?

Nancy

June wanes, July waxes in my organic garden

The fence is completely screened by the hibiscus and day lilies.

The heat and humidity have really settled on the farm like a hot, wet blanket which means the day lilies and the hibiscus (and the weeds) are thriving.  A busy week kept me out of the garden last week and this morning brought some surprises.  The pleasant surprises were peppers, tiny tomatoes, and blooms on the squash, cucumbers, and beans.  The unpleasant surprise was the inevitable incursion of nutgrass and purslane.

The turmeric (near) seems to be doing better than the ginger (rear).

The turmeric is adapting well to the heat, but does expect to be watered almost every day.  The early shoots were scalded by the hot sun, but most have rebounded after watering.  Given the long growing season both ginger and turmeric require, I'm already planning a low tunnel to stave off the cold nights which will come in November.

The squash seems to be thriving, despite the grass.

No squash bugs, so far, but I saw the first marmorated stink bug on the driveway this week.  My cousin has suggested daily dousing with a tea made of garlic and geranium oil.  What do you think?

A tiny cabbage!

The Resident Dragon is most excited about the development of the tiny cabbage.  It's been so hot, I fear that the heads will never form, and am already planning to plant more in the fall.

The beginning of a broccoli floret!

My daughter is excited to know that the broccoli is developing.  The broccoli in my father-in-law's garden seems to be bolting (from the heat, I suspect).  I'm hoping to avoid the same fate.

The currant tomatoes are loaded with blooms!

Once again, the currant tomatoes are thriving while the others are lagging behind.  Some are blooming, but there are only two ping-pong-ball-sized tomatoes maturing.  This means it's time to add bone meal to help with fruit set and to ward off blossom-end-rot.

The cucumbers and beans are blooming well.

Three varieties of cucumbers means I will be pickling and sharing this year.  My daughter likes to snack on cucumbers so I'll be sending some home with her.

These heirloom beans thrive in the heat!

We're growing green/filet beans as well as dragon's tongue and kidney beans this year.  I hope to dry the dragon's tongue and kidney beans, but will probably freeze the others.  The little pods are about an inch long!

The blackberry primocanes are growing tall.

The blackberries are finally in full season and that means the RD is still enjoying his "drive-by" snacks as he rides past on the lawn mower.  Oddly enough, the blackberry bramble is the best-mowed area of the yard!  We've harvested enough to freeze about 3 quarts, with more still on the canes.

It's time to tie up and tip the blackberry primocanes
so they will produce lateral canes and more fruit next year.

The primocanes are flourishing and I "tipped" them 4" above the top trellis wire this week and tied the remaining cane to the trellis.  I'm trying to root the cuttings to expand the bramble next year.

It's July, which means it's about time to start seeds for the fall garden.  Do you have any suggestions?  I'd like to try some onions again, but I've just not had much luck with them.  What do you think?

What about you?  What's growing in your Savory garden?

Nancy

Organic Gardening: Time to Work!

Beans and cucumbers sprouted after only 5 days!

Things are really getting busy here on the farm.  Nearly everything is transplanted and almost all seeds are in the ground, with the exception of the interplantings.

A routine

I'm still tired, like last week, but am settling into my summer routine:

• Work in the garden from first light (as soon as I can tell a snake from a stick) until the heat and/or humidity become unpleasant, which is about 9.
• Get on the tractor and bushhog or mow until the heat and/or humidity become unbearable.
• "Chill out" in the cool house:  cleaning, cooking, or writing.  (Or napping!)
• Go back to the garden when the breeze comes up in the evening and work until I can no longer tell a snake from a stick.
• Chill out inside for a bit before enjoying the sleep of the weary.

Mandy (Big Red Ripper) cowpeas!

This week has been typical, and the beans, peas, squash, and cucumbers planted on Monday night have sprouted!  That is a testament to warm air temps as well as warm soil temps and some judicious watering.

Water everywhere

Speaking of watering, since I've expanded my beds this year (growing from 4 to 8), I'm in need of more low-pressure Gilmour flat soaker hoses, especially since my wonderful 50-foot hose lost its battle with the tiller last fall.  (It took me over an hour to unwind the snarl from the tiller tines.)  We've been watering with oscillating sprinklers this week, but the additional hoses go in next week, which will, hopefully, save some water, especially once I begin mulching with yard clippings.

Broccoli and cabbage have grown a lot in 2 weeks,
but need fertilizer!

I've also fertilized the transplants this week, giving them a dose of the lovely Garden-Tone from Espoma.  Although all of my garden area was, at one time, part of a corn patch, some of the strips have been "worked" more than others, and it shows.  I stabbed the ground next to each plant for a fertilizer "earth funnel" and the newer beds (worked less) were harder than the beds I worked last year.  The plants in those strips will need some extra care.

In fact, I'm considering tilling up another strip and planting a series of mulch crops to help condition the soil for next year.

Interplantings

Back to this year, though.  Since I will not have enough grass clippings to mulch all of my garden strips this year, I plan on interplanting other vegetables.  The current plan is:

• Carrots with tomatoes
• Beans with tomatoes
• Beets with cabbage and broccoli
• Eggplant among the pole beans

Peppers will be mulched with the grass clippings; that has worked really well for several years.

Working through the time of long shadows!

Cucumbers and beans are already planted in the same bed (cucumbers down the middle along a trellis, in the hopes that the bean canopy will minimize the weeds around the cucumbers.

Pole beans are planted at the foot of each tripod leg (including the tomato trellis supports) in the hopes they will climb up the leg.

A new tool

In years past, my patches were grassy and weedy, but I've already improved on weeding this year.  The difference?  The "action hoe"!  It's light; it's nimble; it's fast!  I know my plants will do better when they are not competing with grass and weeds for nutrients.

A "berry" good report

The early blackberries are turning red (from green) and we are hoping to have the first berries in a week or two!  The canes are loaded and we're hoping for a good year.  We've been watering with a t-post sprinkler from Tractor Supply which we've found to be far more stable than a tripod.

Wild roses, violets and buttercup--
beauty is there for those with the eye to see it!

Slowing down

As you can see, it's been a busy week here on the farm, but sometimes I am forced to stop and remember why I am so thankful to be here:

One of my early memories is sitting on the church steps on the opposite corner of this property and listening to the bobwhites and whipporwills.  I was disappointed, when I moved here, to learn that they had been gone, hunted out, for many years.  The second summer, I thought I heard bobwhites, but could never prove it.  The third summer, several others in the community heard what seemed to be a lone bobwhite.  The fourth summer and fifth summers, we had a pair.  This summer, we've heard at least two pair.

This morning, I saw a bobwhite sitting on the trellis that is 25 feet from my back door, calling for his mate.  By the time I retrieved my camera, he had flown away.  But I saw him.  He seemed comfortable here.  I hope he stays--and brings friends--for his call takes me back to a slower time when time was savored.  And that's my most important plan for the summer:  savor the time, and the people I share that time with.

What about you?

How are you living your Savory life?

Nancy