Thursday, January 20, 2011
Name Change
I had been having trouble finding seeds for the Fat n' Sassy peppers that I adore. Turns out that they have been renamed! Surely a marketing ploy which I find very irritating. Now they are listed as King Arthur.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
MUST PLANT!
Seed catalogs are coming in the mail. It has me thinking about what I will be planting this year. With such limited space I need to really be sure that I plant a lot of tried and true plants and limit my experimentation. These are the specific varieties of veggies that I've grown in the past, that I can really depend on every year, and wouldn't be without. These are all very disease resistant, heavy producers in my garden.
Here's my list of 'MUST PLANT!' varieties:
Tomatoes: Sun Gold, Celebrity, Jet Star, Kellogg's Breakfast
Cukes: Salad Bush
Radishes: Cherry Belle
Peppers: Fat n' Sassy bell peppers
Garlic: Music, German Extra Hardy
Lettuce: Little Gem, Jericho
I was wondering if any of you would share the varieties that you just have to plant each year.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Monday, December 6, 2010
Just Couldn't Control Myself
It's not even winter yet and I have already ordered stuff for the Spring. A Ouachita blackberry plant, Winona strawberries, my beloved Salad Bush cucumber seeds, and...just for fun...a dwarf Meyer lemon tree. I was hoping the Meyer lemon would be sent so I would have something to play with over the colder months, but it looks like Gurney's is waiting until Spring. Next I'll be checking out Dixondale Farms to order my onions for next season. There's still some gardening fun to be had when it's so cold out. It's just of a different kind.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Presents for a Gardener
Since my birthday is in less than a week from now, I have been looking at fun garden gifts. I thought I would share two of the items I recently purchased. These would make great presents for the gardeners in your life...or for yourself.
Water Wiggler
Amazon currently has this marked down to less than $25 (originally $40). This is the "PI 4WW Water Wiggler Water Agitator for Bird Baths." It takes two 'D' batteries, but it claims they last for 3 months. I've had mine out for a few weeks and it's going strong. It's a pretty addition to my homemade birdbath. It provides gentle ripples to get the attention of your birds. It is safe to use in a heated birdbath as well.
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Handcrafted Hanging Platform Feeder
Crafted by Anthony Stokes from Stokes Art & Design Services. I purchased this item from them on eBay under the seller name "gardenaccent". Beautiful craftmanship. Made of cedar and "sealed with a premium UV protective water proof clear wood sealer". Order early, because they aren't made until you order them. They need time to craft and cure them. I believe they even customize designs if needed. Many sizes, designs, and products to choose from. I'm very happy with my purchase!
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Just some fun ideas for the garden.
Water Wiggler
Amazon currently has this marked down to less than $25 (originally $40). This is the "PI 4WW Water Wiggler Water Agitator for Bird Baths." It takes two 'D' batteries, but it claims they last for 3 months. I've had mine out for a few weeks and it's going strong. It's a pretty addition to my homemade birdbath. It provides gentle ripples to get the attention of your birds. It is safe to use in a heated birdbath as well..
Handcrafted Hanging Platform Feeder
Crafted by Anthony Stokes from Stokes Art & Design Services. I purchased this item from them on eBay under the seller name "gardenaccent". Beautiful craftmanship. Made of cedar and "sealed with a premium UV protective water proof clear wood sealer". Order early, because they aren't made until you order them. They need time to craft and cure them. I believe they even customize designs if needed. Many sizes, designs, and products to choose from. I'm very happy with my purchase!.
Just some fun ideas for the garden.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Mini Home Orchard
From left to right: Red Haven peach, Stanley prune-plum, Stark Honeysweet pear, and Golden Delicious apple..
My mini-home orchard. That's my clothesline cutting through the picture. All but the pear are "supreme" trees from Stark Bros. They were delivered in very good condition. The roots were still moist. Unfortunately the trees were not marked with chalk for the proper planting depth like expected. I have been doing a lot of reading about growing dwarf fruit trees properly (and they came with a planting guide), so I think they will be just fine. Just be sure not to allow the grafted area to come into contact with the soil or it may root you may loose the dwarfing aspect of the tree.
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MULCH: Keep mulch several inches from the base of the trees so that rodents can't find a place to hide. They like to eat away the bark at the base of the tree. If they completely eat their way around the trunk, the tree will likely die. In the pictures it appears as though I mulched all the way to the trunk. I did not. There is a dark brown, recycled rubber tree ring around the tree. Starting around 5-6 inches away from the trunks are thick layers of mulch on top of the tree rings.
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TREE GUARDS: I also ordered some tree guards to protect the young trunks from rodent damage and, in particular, sunscald. Since there are no branches or foliage to protect the young trunks from bright winter sun and reflections off of snow, the guards will help protect the vulnerable trunks. I've also heard of people using an outdoor, latex, white paint on older trees.
Above: Dwarf Stanley prune-plum. Self-fertile. European. Purchased from Stark Bros. A "supreme" tree.
Above: Dwarf Red Haven peach. Self-fertile. Purchased from Stark Bros. A "supreme" tree.
Above: Dwarf Golden Delicious apple. Self-fertile although having another apple or crabapple tree in bloom at the same time will increase the harvest. Purchased from Stark Bros. A "supreme" tree. It's a slightly curved tree, but it was the thickest with an excellent rootball.
Above: Dwarf Stark Honeysweet pear. Self-fertile. Purchased from Stark Bros. The only one that wasn't a "supreme" tree.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Fruit Trees
Last Tuesday I planted my mini-orchard. Very mini, but it is what I can fit into my yard neatly. Now I am the proud owner of a dwarf supreme Stanley prune-plum tree, a dwarf supreme Golden Delicious apple tree, a dwarf supreme Red Haven peach tree, and a dwarf Honeysweet pear tree. All self-pollinating (although they would probably get more fruit with another variety planted nearby). All were from Stark Bros. I'm not sure if it was worth the extra money to get the supreme trees, but they were well branched. Although when it came to width and height, they didn't appear to be any bigger than the pear tree which wasn't a supreme. I also added three more Caroline raspberries. I can't wait to see them all come alive in the Spring. Pictures of my mini-home orchard will be coming soon!
Friday, November 12, 2010
2010 Garden Review Part II
2010 REVIEW
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BIGGEST HITS
Salad Bush Hybrid Cucumber - Excellent production and flavor. A must-have, compact cucumber. Vine are about 3’ long. Has yet to disappoint me like other varieties. Canned TONS of pickles using these (not picklers) and they were excellent. Maintained a pleasing texture and crispiness with canning. Seed is a bit pricier and has to be ordered online, but it will definitely be returning next season.
.
Reliance Grape- Newly planted in the beginning of the season. Very vigorous, disease resistant. Very happy with its growth so far.
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Apache Blackberry- I planted one in the beginning of the season. It is an upright variety, healthy, and growing vigorously. Branches topped at around 4 feet to encourage laterals. Fruits on previous years growth.
.
Red Norland potato- Good production and flavor in container. Beautiful color. Will be back.
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Russet Burbank potato- Very large potatoes in ground. Good flavor and great production. Rough skin. Will be replaced with Yukons.
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Yukon Gold potato- Good production and flavor in containers. Will be the staple potato here next season. Love it!
.
Golden Acre Cabbage- Small cabbage that produces quickly. Very easy to grow with great flavor. Successful in Spring and Fall. Will be back.
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Lady Emma Hamilton rose- An excellent David Austin, disease resistant shrub rose. I don’t spray, so this is important. The heavy humidity didn’t take a toll until very late in the season. A light spotting of black spot. No big deal. New foliage is a gorgeous burgundy which sets of the deep apricot-colored blooms. A stunning rose. Branches form a nicely rounded shape. Heavy bloomer. Strong, citrus scent. Love it!
.
Scarlet Nantes carrots- I could place these in either category. Last year these were fantastic. Sweet, large, they froze well. A huge hit. This year, well…black swallowtail butterflies used the to lay their eggs on. They would devour all of the young, supple foliage. I would bring them indoors and raise the cats…picking off the young foliage myself to feed them. Although the plants kept pumping out fresh leaves, it took a huge toll on the size of the carrot. Would I have changed a thing? Not for a second. We may not be eating homegrown carrots this winter, but we have lots of great memories of the butterflies we raised and released.
.
Sterling onion- from Dixondale Farms. Large, white onion. Storing well so far. Only a few
Began to spoil. Great flavor.
.
Red Zeppelin onion- from Dixondale Farms- still storing well, very strong flavor. Lovely red rings.
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Copra onion- from Dixondale Farms, yellow, long storer, small size, but weather was quite dry.
.
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BIGGEST MISSES - A large part of these varieties landing in the “misses” list was due to the weather. Record heat. Drought. High humidity. Not exactly a recipe for success. Another huge factor was the soil mix that was filling the raised beds. I used Mel’s Mix. A combination of 1/3 peat, 1/3 compost, and 1/3 vermiculite. The peat portion was detrimental to many of my plants because it refused to stay moist or remoisten despite repetitive, deep waterings. My recommendation. DON’T USE MEL’S MIX. Half of the soil in these beds will be removed and mixed into spots with heavy clay soil. The other half will stay in the beds and get mixed with my existing clay soil to help it retain water and nutrients better. With that said, here were the biggest misses:
.
Spirit Hybrid Pumpkins - All three plants succumbed to borers early in the season. Willing to try this shorter-vined pumpkin one more time next season.
.
Black Beauty Squash- I must be the only one that has yet to grow a successful squash. Of the two I planted, one was eaten by rabbits. The other….just barely hung onto life until the drought hit. Then died. Not willing to save space and try it again. I like zucchini bread, but not that much. I’ll just ask for one or two from my in-laws. They can’t get rid of their fast enough.
.
Serendipity Corn- Bicolor, synergistic. Started out so impressive, but it was impossible to get the peat in Mel’s mix within the raised bed to moisten. Would try again. The few ears produced were filled out well with excellent flavor.
.
BIGGEST HITS
Salad Bush Hybrid Cucumber - Excellent production and flavor. A must-have, compact cucumber. Vine are about 3’ long. Has yet to disappoint me like other varieties. Canned TONS of pickles using these (not picklers) and they were excellent. Maintained a pleasing texture and crispiness with canning. Seed is a bit pricier and has to be ordered online, but it will definitely be returning next season.
.
Reliance Grape- Newly planted in the beginning of the season. Very vigorous, disease resistant. Very happy with its growth so far.
.
Apache Blackberry- I planted one in the beginning of the season. It is an upright variety, healthy, and growing vigorously. Branches topped at around 4 feet to encourage laterals. Fruits on previous years growth.
.
Red Norland potato- Good production and flavor in container. Beautiful color. Will be back.
.
Russet Burbank potato- Very large potatoes in ground. Good flavor and great production. Rough skin. Will be replaced with Yukons.
.
Yukon Gold potato- Good production and flavor in containers. Will be the staple potato here next season. Love it!
.
Golden Acre Cabbage- Small cabbage that produces quickly. Very easy to grow with great flavor. Successful in Spring and Fall. Will be back.
.
Lady Emma Hamilton rose- An excellent David Austin, disease resistant shrub rose. I don’t spray, so this is important. The heavy humidity didn’t take a toll until very late in the season. A light spotting of black spot. No big deal. New foliage is a gorgeous burgundy which sets of the deep apricot-colored blooms. A stunning rose. Branches form a nicely rounded shape. Heavy bloomer. Strong, citrus scent. Love it!
.
Scarlet Nantes carrots- I could place these in either category. Last year these were fantastic. Sweet, large, they froze well. A huge hit. This year, well…black swallowtail butterflies used the to lay their eggs on. They would devour all of the young, supple foliage. I would bring them indoors and raise the cats…picking off the young foliage myself to feed them. Although the plants kept pumping out fresh leaves, it took a huge toll on the size of the carrot. Would I have changed a thing? Not for a second. We may not be eating homegrown carrots this winter, but we have lots of great memories of the butterflies we raised and released.
.
Sterling onion- from Dixondale Farms. Large, white onion. Storing well so far. Only a few
Began to spoil. Great flavor.
.
Red Zeppelin onion- from Dixondale Farms- still storing well, very strong flavor. Lovely red rings.
.
Copra onion- from Dixondale Farms, yellow, long storer, small size, but weather was quite dry.
.
.
BIGGEST MISSES - A large part of these varieties landing in the “misses” list was due to the weather. Record heat. Drought. High humidity. Not exactly a recipe for success. Another huge factor was the soil mix that was filling the raised beds. I used Mel’s Mix. A combination of 1/3 peat, 1/3 compost, and 1/3 vermiculite. The peat portion was detrimental to many of my plants because it refused to stay moist or remoisten despite repetitive, deep waterings. My recommendation. DON’T USE MEL’S MIX. Half of the soil in these beds will be removed and mixed into spots with heavy clay soil. The other half will stay in the beds and get mixed with my existing clay soil to help it retain water and nutrients better. With that said, here were the biggest misses:
.
Spirit Hybrid Pumpkins - All three plants succumbed to borers early in the season. Willing to try this shorter-vined pumpkin one more time next season.
.
Black Beauty Squash- I must be the only one that has yet to grow a successful squash. Of the two I planted, one was eaten by rabbits. The other….just barely hung onto life until the drought hit. Then died. Not willing to save space and try it again. I like zucchini bread, but not that much. I’ll just ask for one or two from my in-laws. They can’t get rid of their fast enough.
.
Serendipity Corn- Bicolor, synergistic. Started out so impressive, but it was impossible to get the peat in Mel’s mix within the raised bed to moisten. Would try again. The few ears produced were filled out well with excellent flavor.
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