Storms Passed

Well, the storms came and went. I thank that Lord everyday that we didn't get the terrible weather that Mississippi and Alabama did. Such devastation in such a short amount of time. The worst for us was around 7 PM and it rained hard with straight-line winds (I think that is right). I mean that rain was horizontal!! I have never seen anything like it. Watching the trees, it reminded me of the TV pictures of a hurricane coming in. After that, it calmed down and rained the whole night. I really don't think my tomatoes would have made it.

I really need to get my plants out though. It is suppose to rain today and I think all week. I know it is suppose to thunderstorm all weekend. I have lost my watermelon. The container it came in is just engulfed with mold. I don't see how it could have been from me over watering since none of my other plants are dying, but I guess I was just not meant to have watermelons lol Last year, I got a pretty vine, but no watermelons. This year one out of 5 seeds germinated, and then was killed in a freak accident that took all my other seedlings (the container that held my seedlings flipped over). Now this. Oh well. I still have my cantaloupe!

Other that that, nothing much is going on. In my daughter's box, we planted carrots and radishes with the seed "tape" method of Granny's. The radishes look great! Looks like a bunch of clover invaded the box LOL but the carrots are not showing their faces yet.

I am planning a cruise for the end of September (my daughter's birthday). Not 100% sure we are going, but I am going to have to start getting this weight off! It would be a sad site to be in such a beautiful place and not be able to enjoy it because you are worrying about how you look in a bathing suite! :D

The beginning of planting

I have finally been able to start planting. Last weekend my daughter and I planted carrots and radishes in HER bed. I about fainted when she said she wanted a garden. I said OK!! Now her having a garden pretty much consists of putting the seed tapes in and covering with loose dirt, but I am just happy she is interested.

Day before yesterday we dug up the garden where the potatoes were going. She was a HUGE help there. She said digging was her favorite part of the garden. I told her I hated it but go for it! She did a really great job. I planted some corn that I had started inside (in a baggie and they sprouted) and I planted potatoes. I also got some bush beans out. I cant wait to get some fresh beans out of the garden. I also was able to plant some okra plants that were also started in a wet baggie and were sprouting.

I was about to plant my tomatoes but remembered that I was going to wait until May to plant them. I figured they were still growing in the containers, they can wait a few more days. It's a good thing though. They are calling for some rough weather Friday night and Saturday. Possible tornadoes. I would have really been upset if I had planted them, and hale damaged them all! So sometime next week I will probably plant all my other plants. Tomatoes, squash, watermelon, cantaloupe, pole beans, and pumpkins.

I bought some new hoses for the back yard. A hose in the front broke so my garden hose was moved to the front. I see now that 50 ft is just not that long. I bought 2 of them thinking I could get it down to the back beds better, but I was having a hard time getting the hose to reach to the back of the main garden. I am going to have to invest in at least a 75 ft hose. I did get some splitters so I should be able to get hoses to all my gardens and not have to carry water to anything.

When I bought my tomato plants, I found some more blueberry bushes on sale. I bought two more jerseys. I shouldn't have planted the berry bushes where I did because they are not getting full sun like the package said they needed. My berry bushes are growing and they look really good...to someone that has never grown berry bushes! lol But they are growing! I just dont know if I should just add the new ones to where the bushes are now, or move the new ones to full sun? I guess I could move them to where the banana tree is. That is about the only place that is full sun that wont give the guy that mows the lawn an obstacle course! LOL I already annoy him with all my hoses running all over the back yard LOL

I will try my best to get pictures, but there really isn't much to see. Maybe after I have planted everything it will look like a garden again :D

Added to tell you guys....I BOUGHT A DWARF ORANGE TREE!! Spring Hill Nursery was having a special. $20 off any order. Well, the orange tree was $20! While it said shipping was $7.95 before the coupon, it jumped to $12.95. But $12.95 for a dwarf orange tree SHIPPED??!?!?! AWESOME!! If anyone is interested, here is the link http://springhillnursery.com/ and the code is 414217. Here is the link for the orange tree. You can buy 2 orange trees and a pot or 3 orange trees without a pot for $12.95 shipped! http://springhillnursery.com/navel-orange-dwarf-citrus/p/16550/ or you can pick anything else out. Too cool eh?

Starting over

I still don't have pictures. Not sure what my deal is here lately. I will try to take some tonight with at least my phone. lol

OK so I went to Walmart to replenish my garden. All they had was Bonnie plants, which is fine by me, but they mostly just had tomato plants. I snagged a Better Boy and some other hybrid...I can't remember the name..and they both were a double (two plants growing in one container) for $1, and straight neck squash which I am hoping will taste like crookneck squash which had 10 plants in the pot and a pot of watermelon which has 10 plants in the pot for $2.50 each. There are like 10 plants in there. Then yesterday, I went to Lowe's and the Bonnie truck was there unloading. They had EVERYTHING!! I found a 9 pack of Giant Beefsteaks and one had a double for $3.48!! I also found a cantaloupe 9 pack that had 3 plants in each square for $3.48! I was ecstatic. The Bonnie guys were filling the shelves and they had a pile going of plants that were OK looking. I wouldn't have paid full price for them but they would have been salvageable. I asked what he was going to do with them. He said "throw them away. They are too tall" I said "well then can I have them?" He said "no. We can't give any plants away" it was SUCH a waste! I just couldn't believe they were doing that. There was another woman there with the same idea as I had. She kept pestering them. He just kept saying "no Ma'am. I can't give any of them away. I have to throw them out" I understand the reasoning. It keeps them from giving good plants away to friends and families and even keeps them from selling them themselves. But to throw them away! Because they were too tall?? poor babies :-(

The plants from Walmart was not very happy about being left out yesterday in the cool weather. I took them in until the weather gets warmer, which I am hoping will be Saturday! At the minimum, I will get the potatoes and okra and beans (both pole and bush) out. They will be fine underground until the cold snaps pass.

More death falls over my garden

Yesterday afternoon, I went to get my "tray" of seedlings to set out in the sun for a couple of hours to harden off because I was going to plant them this weekend. I looked where they were sitting in the basement and I couldn't find them. Then I looked down. Somehow, the tray had fallen off the boxes it was on and fell. Just about all my plants are dead. ALL my tomatoes are gone and most of my squash. My pumpkin made it but that isn't a big deal. I was doing that for fun. I am just sick. over 2 months of work...destroyed. I am not sure what I am going to do now. It will be too late to start them now. By the time they grew and finally produced anything worth having, it will be fall. I am sooooo bummed. :(

Weekend Gardening

Well, Saturday, I was going to put off gardening again. We went out that morning running errands and I just didn't want to. I wanted to make burp cloths and bibs and hooded bath towels instead. But when my friend came over to help us poor widowed women with the yard work, I felt guilty and decided to go out and garden. OH BOY did I get on a roll!! I totally moved the original garden's soil. I topped off ALL of my beds and filled the other 3 I had waiting. Then I spread some Kelp over that bed and tilled it. *I* tilled it! Well, after my brother-in-law and my friend started the tiller that is. LOL I just KNEW I would be dying yesterday from sore muscles. Nope! Even today I am not sore.

I also got a big present for gardening when I really didn't want to. Not only did I get my whole bed tilled, I have a box FULL of strawberries! All my berries came back and MAN do i have a box full of blooms!! I just cant WAIT to get my first batch of strawberries!! I am going to till the garden again (it was very very moist...I kept loosing my shoes to the soil!) to make sure it is nice and fluffy for good drainage. I really need to go get a soil measurer thingie (that is the official name you know) The PH balance thing, to make sure it isn't out of whack. but other than that, I think it is ready to roll! I just have to harden off my plants first. Next weekend baby.... PLANT THOSE SUCKERS!!

Death of my desk garden

Well, all my plants died. I have no idea why. I was out Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday and came back to them yellowed, and looking poorly..that ones that had not shriveled up and died that is. I don't think it had to do with no water because the soil was moist and that would show them as brown and not yellow.

Anyway, I wrapped all of my squash, pumpkin and watermelons with paper. I basically elongated the newspaper containers so the vines has something to rest on instead of drooping the the surface. So I guess I am not THAT BAD of a gardener! lol Hopefully I will at least get those out. I dont think the tomatoes are ready to go out. They are just too skinny. I just hope I can get caught up on my embroidery business, go to the grocery store, and get the garden tilled this weekend! Why, oh why, do weekends have to only be 2 days?

Very bad Gardener

I have to admit, I am a BAD BAD gardener. I have YET to till up my garden. I should have had potatoes in April 3rd. Did I do it? Nope. Want to know my excuse I used? It rained....from 2 am til 7am with the rest of the day sunny....but it rained. It might have been mushy...wet...the tiller would be all gunked up! rriiiiight I wanted to sit, drink coffee, and fight the people at Walmart for parking spaces.

So I am going to have to do it THIS weekend when according to the moon, is NOT a good idea. Oh well. It was up to 87 degrees yesterday. WOW! I stayed inside because I was sick...booo. But I do have some plants going. I am seriously thinking of planting these babies either this weekend or the next. They are just getting too big and are falling over.

These are mostly my crockneck squash and Table Queen Squash


This is a bigger picture of what is growing but the other things are mostly tomatoes. I have 2 pumpkins growing and a cantaloupe. I couldn't get any other cantaloupes or any watermelons to sprout. I am going to try again though. I really really want more cantaloupes and watermelons.


Anyhoo, I gotta get this thing going! I was suppose to have radishes, carrots, and spinach going by now! I do have some broccoli and cabbage growing in the back yard. A lot slower than I thought it would be but I am just shocked they are growing!

Update

As I am sure you guys all know by now, I am NOT as much into the garden as I was last year. But I did start all my plants that I planed on all the way to my watermelons and cantaloupe. I need to take an actual inventory of what I have started. I had really had to push my Ox Heart tomatoes to sprout. 2 of the 6 I started in the soil came up...and they were very late. I "forced" some others to sprout by using EG's starting method and that took a while in itself. My other tomato plants are beautiful and is getting their real leaves.

I have some gorgeous squash plants coming up. Big and thick and getting more leaves. I might have to go ahead and plant them and just put something over them if another frost comes (which I am sure we are due some more).

My sugar baby watermelons are not sprouting at all even being in a very damp tupperware container. I am not sure what is going on there. I had 1 of 4 cantaloupe plants sprout. But I did get a sugar something pumpkin and Jack O' Lantern Pumpkin to sprout.

I have moved some of the garden but stopped when I found termites in my wood that divided part of that container. EEWWWWW I am not worried about the wood. I don't plan on using it again but I worry about what they might do to the soil. I was going to reuse it to supplement the other soil in the garden but now I am not so sure. Will they stay in the soil if there is no wood for them to munch on?

After I move that, I need to till that area. I have to get this done this weekend because I need to plant my potatoes that have decided to grow in my sack they came in whether they have soil or not! They are kinda creepy looking. The potatoes are basically covered in white vines, which I am sure is normal.

This weekend I have to plant all my root crops. My daughter has claimed a box for herself. She is going to plant carrots, the only vegetable. lol

Progression

Well, all the seeds that I started in the soil has died. Not sure why. The radish kinda curled up and laid down on the soil and the lettuce seemed to have gotten very small at the base and broke off. But the seeds that I started with the towels and water in a Tupperware container are doing beautifully! Not all came up, there were 2 out of 14 radishes, that sprouted in the box, but didn't come up after planting. I guess I broke it somehow. I am not disappointed though. I thought that was EXCELLENT progress! I am starting some new ones to replace the ones that died and didn't come up. I started them late yesterday afternoon and expect to plant them in the morning. I think I will do the same for broccoli and cabbage since I planted them in the ground a couple of weeks ago and see absolutely no sign of them coming up.

At home, I had some of the seeds germinate that were downstairs but more than half didn't. I dont know what was wrong but I started some more squash (only one germinated in the soil) yesterday and will do the same with some tomatoes tonight (or when I get a chance). Well the moon phase says not to do anything until Tuesday so maybe I should wait. I will start watermelons, pumpkin and cantaloupe seeds then too.

New life!

I have FINALLY gotten some seeds to germinate! Yay! By the wise advice of Engineer Gardener and others on Garden Web I brought up the seedlings that were in my basement to the top of the kitchen fridge. I do have some tomatoes germinating!! I need to take them back down to the basement under the lights so they dont grow too fast and get leggie and die.

I have also found a lettuce peeking out of it's pot on my desk at work. I can't wait to have a salad at my desk...from my pots! heheh I planted a Grand Rapids Lettuce in the middle and four Early Scarlet Globe Radishes around the edges of the pot. I was just at Dollar Tree yesterday and they have these cute decorated small pots that would be PERFECT for my desk garden but I walked right by them not thinking. I may have to stop by there today during lunch heheh Anyway, can you see him? lol

Moon Gardening

Well, not much has happened in the area of gardening since the 8th. I have not had any of my seeds germinating so on some advice of some SMART people on http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/sqfoot/ I took them upstairs in top of the fridge to warm up. I will then take them back downstairs under the florescent light after that. I was told that cold will help prevent seedlings being leggy.

I have recently been thinking of the Moon Gardening and at once I thought it was an old wives tail like putting a knife under the bed to cut the pain in two (wha??) but the more I thought of it, it seems logical that God would use the Moon to help with the plants. I mean, the moon moves the oceans! How hard would it be to manipulate and promote growth! So I am charting when I should plant what and we will see how that goes. :D

I have decided that since my desk has under the shelf florescent lights (not sure what that is called) and overhead lights, why not grow lettuce, radishes and carrots indoors? Someone else on the garden web mentioned that they were growing lettuce in the basement. I thought "well! Why not here!" I only have one pot that is 6" wide by 6" deep so I started one Grand Rapids Leaf lettuce and threw in 4 Early Scarlet Globe radishes on the outside. If I can find another cute pot at home (I am sure they are premium price now), then I will think about maybe some short carrots. I will have my own little salad bar! lol Well, I will update you on the progress of that little project.

Superbowl Weekend

Well, to my disappointment, the Colt's didn't win but was very happy that they lost to the Saints. The only two teams that I would not be totally upset with the Colts losing to is the NY Giants (I just LOVE LOVE LOVE Eli!) or the Saints since this was the first time...EVER to be in the super bowl. Plus, that is where the Mannings grew up so I am sure that Peyton was not 100% upset with the loss.

Anywho, I was finally able to catch up on starting the seedlings. I started:
Porter Tomatoes (4)
First Pick Tomato (5)
Ox Heart Tomatoes (5)
Giant Beefsteak Tomato (6)
Yellow Crookneck Squash (6)
Table Queen Squash (4)
Sweet Potato

I was able to rig a temporary set up to use my florescent lights in the basement. I basically just stacked plastic totes until the plants were around 3 inches from the light. While I know they don't need light right now since they haven't sprouted, I thought it would be good for the heat. I am still debating on getting a warming mat for the peppers. I need to get those started as well.

I meant to plant my broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, radishes, carrots and spinach, but didn't get to the garden. It was soooo cold and I haven't re-arranged my garden yet. This winter has been the coldest that I have remembered. It has snowed more this year (2010) than it has in a very long time. Closed schools twice and there were flurries all weekend. Have I mentioned how much I DESPISE cold weather? I just dont see how the northerners deal with it.

I am still not 100% sure I want to change my garden. There is a 76 square foot area that has been used as a traditional garden for years. Mom and dad worked it for so many years and just put a couple of tomato plants and other stuff in so I know the soil is pretty good. I thought it was a waste to put a square foot garden on top of so I as going to move it down the hill a little and use that as additional space. But we have Bermuda grass that is horrible and Mom has warned many times that it is a bear to keep up with. I struggled with it when I put down weed cloth so this will be much harder. But I also didnt mind weeding. I didn't do it weekly but when I did, I wasn't miserable. I am going to have to persuade me some muscle to help. I have already asked a friend to help and he has already committed so hopefully that will go smoothly.

I have already asked my brother in law to keep an ear open to anyone wanting to get rid of horse manure. I might have to break down and call some horse farms (for a lack of words...I drew a blank) and see how much they will charge for me to haul it off. I am hoping nothing but you never know. I am imagining that will involve some shoveling as well. I might also weigh my option of calling a nursery and seeing how much they will charge for some compost or manure or something by the truck full. Mom got something for $15 a car load. I am happy with that :D

Anyway, while I ate my weight in Super Bowl food (I think I could go a week with the amount of food I ate in one day), I was proud that I started 30 plants.

I am so excited that gardening season has started! WOOOHOOO!!!

Jen

Tomato Seeds

Well, I am happy to say that I FINALLY started my tomato plants. EG, (I can't post comments at work) I live in zone 7 (formerly 6b which I wonder if we will go back to since the weather has kinda reversed) but last year I remember being able to buy tomato plants that were twice the size as the ones I started. So I assumed if you can start your squash plants in January (my neighbor did and had squash a month before me!), then I can start my tomato plants early.....except I didn't! >:( But I am happy to say I did. I stared 4 Ox Heart Tomato plants(has anyone ever heard of them? A friend of mine graced me with 2 from her son's garden and those things were HUGE! She said they were a very old kind of tomato and while they had very few seeds, I was able to save them), and 2 crookneck squash, and one winter squash. I am going to start my Porter Tomatoes (4), First Pick Tomato (5), and Giant Beefsteak Tomato (6) tonight. I didnt start them last night because I wasn't sure which ones I planed on starting and my spreadsheet was at work. LOL I was planning on starting cantaloupe, Israeli watermelon and Sugar Baby watermelon, and pumpkin, but kinda wondering about those. I am also going to plant broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower to see if they actually make it. My neighbor across the street planted his sometime in January. By March he had harvested all of his broccoli and he said he started them in January. Hmmmm I am going to try it at least. I have MUCHO seeds and thought, why not!

Thanks for your input guys. It means a lot :D

6 months?

Has it REALLY been 6 months? Well since I am very OCD and Bi-polar all wrapped up into one, I got VERY tired of my garden and documenting it. But I'm back!

This is what I am planning on doing this year. I am going to try corn once more but with the three sisters method. Any advice?





I should have started my tomato plants 3 1/2 weeks ago, but every day I plan on doing it that night. I am hoping to rig something up downstairs. I have some GREAT fluorescent lights but with normal people, they are on the ceiling and I am not electricity knowledgeable enough to move it so I am going to have to bring the plants to the light. I also have to get some soil from the garden. Can you start tomato plants and pepper plants in peat moss only?

Maybe I can beat last year's harvest of pears. Not one was ripe. EWWWWW Maybe if I stick some Irish Spring in the trees to keep the deer away, then I can leave them up there until the end of August. But I made MANY jars of Pear preserves. I am not fond of the pieces of pears in it so I will make pear butter this year. Got to get more jars! lol

It's good to be back. Thanks for all your feedback!