Garden Journal June 28 2015

Welcome To My Gardens

I know that I have not written here in a while.  That is due to nothing really happening in the garden right yet.  I am just letting things grow as they should.  So this morning I went out and took some pictures of all my vegetables in their garden beds to show you the progress that they have made.

The first ones that I have pictures of is my cucumbers.  It seems like they have had blooms on them for a week now but are starting to have tiny cucumbers on them.  Oh and I did see a bumble bee pollinating them on Friday evening.

I think that I finally got them in my area and I think it is because I have planted some white clover in my yard.  They now have lots of things to get their meals from and pollinate at the same time.  I am hoping that will be the same for the humming birds that I have feeding at my feeders. I also have a bit of Bee Balm growing up front too.  Last year they did not flower, but they are flowering this year.  They are pretty to look at.  Perhaps I will take some out of the wheel barrow and plant them in other places in my yard.

Next stop is the Tomatoes.  I have lots of tomatoes growing.  I have so many that I might just get enough of the first picking to make a couple of jars of marinara sauce and put up for the winter.  I have many tomatoes on my Yellow Boys, Roma's and small ones starting on my Beef Steak Tomatoes too.  Almost time to get busy again.

Friday before it rained I added some more of the Thuricide to my lettuce and spinach bed because I was all those baby orange centipedes growing and crawling around in there.  I also saw some sow bugs and both of them are dining on my lettuce and spinach plants.  I think the plants are done in that bed anyway.  I am not sure what I can plant in there now.  I tried cantaloupe seeds, but they didn't grow.  That might be due to those bugs that love to eat roots and seeds.  We shall see.

I also put the Thuricide on my Peppers and they are doing so much better now.  We had lots of rain all day yesterday and I think that helped everything too.

I have squash on my Yellow Straight Neck Squash plant!  I also have lots more flowers on it so that will produce even more.  I think that I may cut the small squash off and add it to my Ham and Rice dish.  I have my ham bone in the crock pot today and will make the rice and the vegetables later today.  That's dinner!

My Purple Green Beans are coming around nicely.  I grew these last year but I waited to long until Pi harvested them that they weren't very tasty.  I also read on the packet that they turn a bright green when you cook them.  I will be picking these for daily meals or so and might have enough to freeze for later eating. We shall see how that goes though.





Well that is about all for now.

Until next time......

Garden Journal Entry May 15 2015

It has been a while since I have posted about my gardening around here.  It is because I was anticipating on re-purposing a large 33 gallon trashcan that we re-purposed for a rain barrel and it got a split in it and could no longer hold the water that came from the roof.  I am a recycler of things around my house, if I can do it I will, other than that I will add it to my recycled items for my husband to take to the recycling center in town.

Before I tell you how I re-purposed and how I made it I want to show you all my gardens.  There are lots of new developments and plants and ideas that I got, implemented and observed concerning the things that I have done so far.

The first thing that I was wanting to do for a while was make a new name sign for my small address garden.  It has been a few years that I have really need to get sown and find another board, trace a heart on it and cut it out.  The old sign feel apart in my hands when I picked it up.  I did have it hanging on some hooks under the bar, but every time the wind would pick up the sign would fall off.  I finally just laid it on the ground until I could find the time and the wood to make a new one.  It was toast as we say around her for things that un-usable anymore.  No re-purposing for that one.  Here is a picture of the new sign and one of the old one.  I screwed the new one on the bar this time and it surprised me that it looks better than hanging.

BEFORE

AFTER

I went to my local farm supply store, Boltz Hardware, Garden Center and General Store and asked them about how every year that I have tried to grow squash I get a flower on it and then the next day the plant is dead.  I have asked the same question of the Extension Office when they were at the last 4-H club County Fair and they did not even know.  Isn't that strange?  I thought that it was.  Anyway he told me that it was a Squash Bug that will come out of the ground...any soil.  The larvae will burrough it's way up the stem and eat it as it goes along.  That is why it is so sudden.  He gave me something that will kill that bug and a lot more bugs along with it.  I also got me a bag of Diatomaceous Earth to sprinkle on my roses and any other vegetables and flowers that all the new caterpillars will devour in a single night.

HERE IS THE STUFF THAT I USED TO POUR AROUND THE PLANT

 AND ALSO THE BAG OF DE.  

It is hard for me to pronounce the full name correctly so I just say DE.

I used the liquid on all of my plants, not just the squash.  I almost used the whole bottle.  I don't think that store person understood that I have a large assortment of gardens.  Wow is all I can say after I used this stuff on my plants.





I have a holly bush, really small and had not grown at all in the last four years that we planted it in one of our gardens.  After I put this stuff on it and around it, It actually has new growth on it.  That was about in a week's time and not months or years!  I am very happy about that as I think the Holly is too.

We have a creep crawly that loves to eat roots and I dropped a drop of this stuff on it and it killed it instantly.  Since we live in the woods we have all kinds of things that live under the ground that will eat and steal roots, bulbs and the like.  It sure did the trick with this plant!

We have these gardens growing like weeds!  Hahaha!  That is what I called the new one that we put in next to the driveway.  I had to divide and move some Daffodils to a new place and then I had orders many Fall blooming bulbs from Brecks Bulbs another favorite place of mine and spending lots of money there.

HERE IS THAT GARDEN

VEGETABLES

I purchased more tomatoes, Peppers and Squash and Zuccini and they are doing really good after I also put that liquid bug, creep crawly stuff on them after planting them.  I am excited that I have flower buds on some of my Yellow Tomatoes today.  I am on my way to really having a garden that will produce for me.  It is good to know that I fixed the bug problem that I never realized that I had.  Thank Goodness for that!

DEER CHASERS

This is one of the many Deer Deterrent that I use.  It is very inexpensive and has worked for 2 years now and my Hostas are really growing now.  You can purchase these at any store that has children's toys and it will be in the toy section.  I have a variety of colors of them and have them in various gardens.  They are the pinwheels and I get the plastic one show here.  The wind catches them and spins it around, night and day and the metallic of the plastic shines bright all over the place.  The deer and other critters do not like the noise, the sound and the sparkles.  Good for me and bad for those who like to dine on my flowers.  Win-Win all around!

Gardening Journal, May 6, 2015

Gardens from April 28, 2015 to May 6, 2015

I have been so busy and not had the time to write this last Saturday and here is is Wednesday already!

We did lots to our gardens last weekend and I have to show you what we have done.

VEGETABLES

We got some lettuce and spinach plants and planted them on April 28.  This may be a new one for me as I didn't get the right lettuce plants.  I wanted Bib lettuce or loose leaf but instead I got Head Lettuce.  I do not know of any way to put it up or preserve it for later.  The spinach was slow in getting started in the garden here.  I added this cremline fabric so that it keeps the bugs from feasting on my food.  They have lots of food in the woods that they do not have to go munching on mine.  

I also got a couple of different Tomatoes this year.  I got some Yellow and Roma tomatoes and then I also planted some seeds of the Beefsteak tomatoes that should be sprouting any day now.  My neighbor was done using his tomato cages and he gave them to me to use and so I put them over the tomatoes here.  Since April 28 they have doubled in size and the cool nights have gone away now and the warmer days are making these grow like weeds (they were weeds when they were first found in peoples yards).

Peppers are in the bright pink raised garden and I got Green Peppers and some hotter ones.  I am planning on putting them in the sauces that I am going to be using the tomatoes for.  I also want to take some and freeze them for the winter foods that I will be making. These are a bit slower to start.  They have only grown about a inch since I planted them on April 28.

I also planted some cucumber seeds on my front deck to grow on the banisters.  No pictures just yet, but they have finally started to peek out and sprout up.

FLOWERS AND GARDEN BEDS

This was hard work but it looks so good after it is all done.  Oh I have more bulbs coming to plant here in the fall.

About halfway done.  We had to rake all the leaves out of the area that we were going to be planting the transplants here and the bulbs that are coming in the fall.

From about three sets of Daffodils I got about 10 new bulbs to plant. Deer do not like these so I had to plants them around the Hostas that you see in the next picture.

These Hostas were planted in the front garden with my Hyacinths, but did not do well there.  This is as high as they have gotten and they were planted there for about 4 years.  So we moved them and I also got 2 new plants of of each one.  They look really super there int he wooded area with the Bleeding Hearts.

End product, at least for the summer.  Gorgeous!

We may be putting up more of the red boards later, but we much get more paint first.

OTHER AREAS OF THE YARD

My Lilac bloomed this year and this is the first cutting off of it.  They smell so good!  For some reason my lilacs only get blooms every other year.  So when they bloom I have to take advantage of the flowers.

We moved the water pool under the front deck for Duke and the cats to be able to drink from and maybe Duke will get his paws wet when it is sweltering hot outside.  One can only hope!  That is Mikey drinking out of the water hole.

There was a extra Rose stick coming up from the Bigger Climbing Rose on the trellis that we made for it on the left side of the house.  I had an extra large container and we planted that extra Rose in it on the right side.  It is doing really well there right now.  I thought it was a shoot from the other Rose and thought that I would have a problem removing it.  When I dug down into the soil, it was on it's own and not connected to the other Rose at all.  Strange, but things are strange around here anyway.  I added some Rose food to that bigger Climbing Rose as well as added and mixed in with the new Climbing Rose container. 

First mowed lawn of the season!  It smelled so good and I loved the smell of newly cut grass.

Our sign had fallen apart and we were waiting to get more paint and a better board to replace the old one.  So I took one day and made this pink sign and this time I screwed it into the yellow board instead of hanging it.  Yeah hanging it was very pretty but the wind would always knock it off the hooks.  Finally the board just rotted and literally fell apart.  So here is the new and improved sign.  I just love all my bright colors in my yard and gardens.

Do you like bright colors too?

Gardening With Friends and Neighbors

CSA Farming

I was watching a cooking show on the TV today and it mentioned something called CSA Farming. A farmer does all the work while the local people buy shares into the farm and get baskets of food for a very nominal price. Some have it set up that local residents can help with the farming too.

Community Supported Agriculture can be a big boon to the local economic crisis. People are losing jobs and many cannot even drive long distances they need to get to the grocery stores. With all the hullabaloo of e-coli and other poisonings going on from crops grown and shipped in from over seas this concept could very well be the new future of fresh farming and locally grown produce. While local residents purchase home grown foods they also learn how to farm themselves and what goes into it. This way it is more healthy then going to the grocery store where you really don't know what is in or on your food.

Farmshare LTD, based out of CT says this is how their Farm Share works: Farm Share Ltd. works with local family farms to bring freshly harvested organic crops to your table. Our Farm Share^tm delivery service means you can participate in a CSA and support local farms without having to drive to a pick-up location. You can now enjoy weekly (in spring/summer/fall) or monthly (in winter) deliveries of organic and naturally grown produce from a small local farm directly to your door.

How My CSA worked in the 80's

I remember doing something similar to this back in my early 20's in the neighborhood that I lived in. It worked slightly different then the way that it is done using the CSA method. People rented out a plot of land that was offered by a local farmer or rented out empty house lots. I have heard of it being done on the tops of city apartment buildings to empty city lots that once were dirty and dangerous.

What the farmer did in our area was put many raised gardens in the space of the lot or farmers plot. These filled, raised garden were 3 feet high by about 8 - 12 feet long and 4 feet wide. It was a very workable space for anyone. We plowed/hoed, planted and tended our own gardens. Water, mulch and organic fertilizer were available for the most part and everyone had access to them. There was a monthly fee for the plot and I assume a fee for the use of mulch, and fertilizer and water use. At the time I thought it was exorbitant, but now many years later, it is a drop in the bucket.

Great Teen Activities

If you are looking for a good teen activities, this would be it. Teens usually get into this kind of thing. They have the freedom of creativity and taking ownership in what they produce. Most will even try eating these different vegetables. Aside from the creativity they also learn things like taking care of the earth and the healthy eating and lifestyle. Most teens learn by "hands on". Math, Spelling, Communication and all kinds of things they learn on paper would be more readily learned in this type of activity. Special Needs and Mentally Challenged Children and Adults would also do good with this type of activity.

Learn More About CSA and Small Farm Legislature

• Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund
  The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund is a non-profit organization made up of farmers and consumers joining together and pooling resources to: • Protect the constitutional right of the nation’s family farms to provide processed and
• Community Supported Agriculture
  Community Supported Agriculture from the Alternative Farming Systems Information Center
• Community Supported Agriculture - LocalHarvest

Our Future  

The future of this nation depends on the farming of such. Farmers are having a difficult time keeping their lands and farms. The more we do this the more we loose valuable resources and keep us open to more economic downfall and the risk to our own health. 

I think we will be doing more of this in the coming years.  People are getting leery of what may be recalled because of e-coli and salmonella which comes from the supermarket.  Do we really know how  genetically engineered food will affect our bodies some years down the road?  Ask your local farmers market where they get their own produce they are selling. The reason why I say this is because one of our local farmer's market does not sell from the local area. He buys it from many states away.  I didn't know this until I asked.  I assumed because he had a local fruit and vegetable stand that he was a local farmer selling local produce.  I stopped buying from him.

We do have a pick your own farm, but the real treat is growing your own and the learning process that it includes.  Many do not have such a place to pick their own produce.  There is just something about working in a garden to release the stresses of the day.  You can grow things like Purple Tomatoes and Peppers and learn and grow Heirloom vegetables.  The creativity is amazing.

More Helpful Information

• American Community Gardening Association
  How to start a community garden.
• How To Make Compost
  Compost is an excellent soil nutrient, as well as a fabulous mulch. It is what is left of food scraps, grass cuttings, leaves, hair, and other things you would normally throw away, after these things are...
• Cash Crops for Small Farms: Rabbit Manure
  Family farmers, homesteaders, and even suburbanites can earn extra money with packaged rabbit manure. Rabbit manure is considered to be one of the best manures for gardens. Unlike many other animal manures,...

© Debra K. Allen a.k.a Lady Guinevere

I researched and wrote this article. Please do not copy and paste any part of this article, picture included for your own use. I will find you and report you for stealing.  It is my right to change any information therein at any time and/or change the location of my article.