Monday, September 20, 2010
Garden Alert from Peggy!
Ladies!!! Drum roll please….. we have seedlings coming up ALREADY! Bok Choy, Radish, Kale and Lettuce coming up. YEAH!!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
End of Summer Harvest and Fall Planting
"Long time, no blog!" you say? Well, there just hasn't been much to report lately -- the gardeners really just spent the summer watching the garden do its thing and collecting veggies now and then. However, the time has come to review our first season's harvest and to commence fall planting. So, off we go...
Last week, we harvested the last of our summer/early fall crops: a big bunch of carrots and several sweet potatoes. The carrots were quite delicious, and the sweet potatoes are now in the process of "curing" per instructions recommended by Jane. In about two weeks, the sweet potatoes will be ready for baking, mashing, scalloping, tempura, deep frying, or whatever else we can think to do to them. Mmm....Only the parsnips remain in the garden, and they will continue to grow until winter.
Overall, the garden's first season did not produce as many veggies as we had hoped -- and some plants were more successful than others. We are still convinced that our harvest was limited by the early hot weather and the less-than-optimal soil with which we started (see photos below). We had success with our first round of lettuce and radishes; carrots; sweet potatoes; green cucumber; green beans and snow peas (though both of these passed their prime very quickly); Roma and Tumbling Tom cherry tomatoes; and sunflowers. Disappointments included bok choy, cowpea, eggplant (both varieties), green onions, leek, garlic, all pepper varieties, spinach, patty pan squash, the remaining tomato varieties, and zucchini (of all things -- we didn't get a single one!). The herbs did quite well before succumbing to the heat of the summer, and the fate of the rhubarb is uncertain -- Peggy's is definitely dead and Virginia's alternately produce leaves and appear to die out. We shall see if they make a stronger comeback in the cooler weather.
We decided to amend and seed two of the garden beds for the fall: the root vegetable bed and the tomato bed. After debating the benefits and availability of various soil amendments, we decided to simply purchase several bags of premixed potting soil (consisting of compost, peat moss, and perlite) and to work it into the existing soil by hand. The remaining beds would be cleared in preparation for the winter. Peggy and Virginia tackled this job yesterday.
Here's how the garden looked before the autumn cleanup:
We went to work on the tomato bed first, and quickly decided that our job would be easier if we didn't have to work around the accidental asparagus. Peggy couldn't bring herself to kill it, though, so Virginia pulled it up while Peggy averted her gaze. After a moment of respectful silence, we carried on. The existing soil came up in large clumps of clay as we forked our way through the garden bed and we had to spend a significant amount of time breaking down these lumps. We then slowly tilled in 1.5 cubic feet of potting soil, which seemed to lighten the dirt considerably. When we were fairly satisfied with the consistency of the soil, we planted kale, our lettuce seed mixture, and snow peas (and provided two large tomato cages for the snow peas to climb).
The root vegetable bed presented much more of a challenge. The existing soil was very difficult to break up -- so much so that we felt compelled to record our battle in photos:
...that is one huge solid lump of dirt!
We were eventually able to dig up the soil around the parsnips to the depth of our garden forks, and to introduce a 1.5 cubic feet bag of potting soil into the existing dirt. We then planted radishes, bok choy, carrots, and spinach in the amended bed.
Finally, we attempted to clear the large gardening bed, but the dirt was so hard that we couldn't dig our forks into it. It's no wonder that very few of our veggies managed to grow in it! Since we had reached our planting goals, we decided to set a date in the near future to dig out at least a third of the dirt from the large bed, and to replace it with a potting soil mixture. We will also amend the herb bed, after we transplant the thriving butterfly bush to a new spot near the garden.
And voila, the garden is (mostly) ready for the next growing season!
Watch this space for more updates on our new crop of veggies!
Last week, we harvested the last of our summer/early fall crops: a big bunch of carrots and several sweet potatoes. The carrots were quite delicious, and the sweet potatoes are now in the process of "curing" per instructions recommended by Jane. In about two weeks, the sweet potatoes will be ready for baking, mashing, scalloping, tempura, deep frying, or whatever else we can think to do to them. Mmm....Only the parsnips remain in the garden, and they will continue to grow until winter.
Overall, the garden's first season did not produce as many veggies as we had hoped -- and some plants were more successful than others. We are still convinced that our harvest was limited by the early hot weather and the less-than-optimal soil with which we started (see photos below). We had success with our first round of lettuce and radishes; carrots; sweet potatoes; green cucumber; green beans and snow peas (though both of these passed their prime very quickly); Roma and Tumbling Tom cherry tomatoes; and sunflowers. Disappointments included bok choy, cowpea, eggplant (both varieties), green onions, leek, garlic, all pepper varieties, spinach, patty pan squash, the remaining tomato varieties, and zucchini (of all things -- we didn't get a single one!). The herbs did quite well before succumbing to the heat of the summer, and the fate of the rhubarb is uncertain -- Peggy's is definitely dead and Virginia's alternately produce leaves and appear to die out. We shall see if they make a stronger comeback in the cooler weather.
We decided to amend and seed two of the garden beds for the fall: the root vegetable bed and the tomato bed. After debating the benefits and availability of various soil amendments, we decided to simply purchase several bags of premixed potting soil (consisting of compost, peat moss, and perlite) and to work it into the existing soil by hand. The remaining beds would be cleared in preparation for the winter. Peggy and Virginia tackled this job yesterday.
Here's how the garden looked before the autumn cleanup:
We went to work on the tomato bed first, and quickly decided that our job would be easier if we didn't have to work around the accidental asparagus. Peggy couldn't bring herself to kill it, though, so Virginia pulled it up while Peggy averted her gaze. After a moment of respectful silence, we carried on. The existing soil came up in large clumps of clay as we forked our way through the garden bed and we had to spend a significant amount of time breaking down these lumps. We then slowly tilled in 1.5 cubic feet of potting soil, which seemed to lighten the dirt considerably. When we were fairly satisfied with the consistency of the soil, we planted kale, our lettuce seed mixture, and snow peas (and provided two large tomato cages for the snow peas to climb).
The root vegetable bed presented much more of a challenge. The existing soil was very difficult to break up -- so much so that we felt compelled to record our battle in photos:
...that is one huge solid lump of dirt!
We were eventually able to dig up the soil around the parsnips to the depth of our garden forks, and to introduce a 1.5 cubic feet bag of potting soil into the existing dirt. We then planted radishes, bok choy, carrots, and spinach in the amended bed.
Finally, we attempted to clear the large gardening bed, but the dirt was so hard that we couldn't dig our forks into it. It's no wonder that very few of our veggies managed to grow in it! Since we had reached our planting goals, we decided to set a date in the near future to dig out at least a third of the dirt from the large bed, and to replace it with a potting soil mixture. We will also amend the herb bed, after we transplant the thriving butterfly bush to a new spot near the garden.
And voila, the garden is (mostly) ready for the next growing season!
Watch this space for more updates on our new crop of veggies!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Free Wildflower Seedlings: Appalachian Mock Orange
Virginia now has Appalachian mock orange seedlings available for adoption. This variety grows into medium sized shrubs (4 to 12 feet in height) with large white (mostly scentless) flowers. It apparently does well in the shade. Pretty!
If you would like a seedling or two (or more), please leave a comment on the blog or contact Virginia by phone or email.
Garden Maintenance
Well, the garden is chugging along with very little help from us, but it's not producing very much. Hmmm...Poor soil? Overcrowding? Too much moisture? Not enough moisture? We will have to investigate before the next planting season and revise our gardening strategies accordingly.
Our only other problem has been an invasion of mealybugs and some powdery mildew, which we have treated with natural products specifically made for vegetables. So far, the damage seems minimal.
We have had to reinforce the corners of the e-fence because the plastic posts had started to lean toward the garden beds and the wires were drooping. Our remedy was to place short lengths of rebar next to the plastic posts and to secure them to the original posts with plastic zip ties. This tightened up the wires considerably.
Also, the sweet potato vines had been growing out of the bed and shorting out the e-fence, so we corralled the vines with a length of short garden fencing kindly donated by Jane.
We continue to wait patiently...
Our only other problem has been an invasion of mealybugs and some powdery mildew, which we have treated with natural products specifically made for vegetables. So far, the damage seems minimal.
We have had to reinforce the corners of the e-fence because the plastic posts had started to lean toward the garden beds and the wires were drooping. Our remedy was to place short lengths of rebar next to the plastic posts and to secure them to the original posts with plastic zip ties. This tightened up the wires considerably.
Also, the sweet potato vines had been growing out of the bed and shorting out the e-fence, so we corralled the vines with a length of short garden fencing kindly donated by Jane.
We continue to wait patiently...
Friday, June 4, 2010
Last Spring Harvest
The last of the spring lettuce, various herbs, and our first batch of pole beans and snowpeas...yum...
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Garden Review
The gardeners got together on Memorial Day and we discussed our successes and failures so far. (Wine and spicy chocolate cupcakes were on hand to facilitate our conversation...)
First, it appears that we need to increase the drainage in our garden beds and to be very careful with moisture levels. We have lost several seedlings and all of our spinach as a result of problems related to overwatering. (Planting the spinach earlier in the season might also have prevented it from bolting, as we had an unusually warm spring.)
Second, in the large garden bed, the position of the pole beans and tomatoes on the far trellis should be reversed if we plant them again. The tomatoes do not seem to be getting quite enough sun, whereas the bean plants look a bit crispy.
Third, we need to be more deliberate in thinning our root vegetables and bok choy as they grow. Although the bok choy was certainly edible, the plants were spindly and didn't develop the deep green leaves, plump stalks, and classic bok choy taste that we were hoping for -- we think that overcrowding might have been the problem.
We will take these notes into account as we prepare for our next planting season!
Please note that you can now subscribe to receive notifications of new postings on our blog, by entering your email address in the form that you will see at the bottom of the navigation pane on the right -->
Let us know if you have any problems with this feature.
First, it appears that we need to increase the drainage in our garden beds and to be very careful with moisture levels. We have lost several seedlings and all of our spinach as a result of problems related to overwatering. (Planting the spinach earlier in the season might also have prevented it from bolting, as we had an unusually warm spring.)
Second, in the large garden bed, the position of the pole beans and tomatoes on the far trellis should be reversed if we plant them again. The tomatoes do not seem to be getting quite enough sun, whereas the bean plants look a bit crispy.
Third, we need to be more deliberate in thinning our root vegetables and bok choy as they grow. Although the bok choy was certainly edible, the plants were spindly and didn't develop the deep green leaves, plump stalks, and classic bok choy taste that we were hoping for -- we think that overcrowding might have been the problem.
We will take these notes into account as we prepare for our next planting season!
Please note that you can now subscribe to receive notifications of new postings on our blog, by entering your email address in the form that you will see at the bottom of the navigation pane on the right -->
Let us know if you have any problems with this feature.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Free Wildflower Seedlings: Cardinal Flower
Virginia has been growing wildflowers from the seeds that she gets as a member of the North Carolina Botanical Garden. And because she believes in spreading the love, she'd like to give some of those seedlings to friends of Savasana Community Garden.
Right now, she has about six cardinal flower (lobelia cardinalis) seedlings that are ready to find new homes. According to the Botanical Garden, cardinal flower is a hummingbird favorite with its "striking red flowers," and it requires average soil and sun to part-shade. Read more about this plant here.
If you would like a seedling or two (or more), please leave a comment on the blog or contact Virginia by phone or email. The seedlings will be a distributed on the usual first-come-first-served basis. Enjoy!
There will be more wildflowers to come!
There will be more wildflowers to come!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
