Still here....

Whew, has life been moving by in a flash these last couple of weeks.  The weather has much improved, and the garden is growing taller and greener by the day.  I am still trying to catch up with the weeding!  I have a few friends looking over my shoulder while I am out there with hose and weed bucket:

There is no vacancy in that robin's nest!  I found an egg in my garden under a tall oak tree a number of weeks ago, and I relocated it to the eggs in the nest pictured above in hopes it would be viable.  It felt warm and heavy so I was hopeful.  (I know birds sometimes kick out an egg on purpose, and that is what I figured Mama Robin would do if the one I added was dud.)  I checked under the magnolia tree that holds this nest daily for any 'discards' and never saw any.   There are 5 babes in that nest so I have a feeling the egg transfer was a success.  Baby birds are just so darn cute, and I must say that these chicks are much quieter than the house wrens in the bird house out back.  What a racket they make!

I have been terrible about posting updates on the garden.  The tomatoes are full of fruit and are stretching towards the sun (pictured below).  Cucumbers and zucchini are growing on the vines, while the winter squash, beans, and eggplant are just beginning to flower.  (A varietal note - Magda are winning the squash race and almost ready to harvest, with Partenon not far behind.  Black Beauty is slow to go compared to it's squash mates.)  I was surprised to see a few small peppers on the bushes while watering today, the last time I noticed them they were just setting fruit.

My potato onions have fallen and are dying back quickly, so early compared to a standard variety onion.  Some of the garlic is coming close to maturity as well, I am anxious to harvest and gain some bed space for fall greens.

The fruit season is progressing nicely as well.  The apples are sizing up, blueberries & currants are starting to turn,  and brambles are flowering and setting fruit, though strawberries are of coarse the current stars.  We went picking on Father's Day and there is some jam cooling on the counter, and about 20 more pounds of berries waiting for me in the fridge.  Yikes!

Off to finish putting together the potato salad for dinner, 

can't wait for those new potatoes to start coming in.  

Happy gardening everyone!

Big Horse Creek

My apple trees arrived today, and the folks at Big Horse Creek Farm put a smile on my face.  It all started the first week of January when I placed an order for two apple trees.  BHCF will custom grow your variety on your chosen rootstock.  The trees are just about a year old now and are literally sticks.  In the first picture my fingers are on the taller of the two 'sticks'. ( My thumb is on the support stake.)  The second photograph shows the graft site on both trees.   I am very excited to have these babies, and I know with proper care and some luck they will put on beautiful growth come spring.

Now I was already thrilled to have my trees arrive, this wait has been close to that of human gestation, lol.  So imagine my joy when I found this along with the 3 pages of care & planting instructions:

Inside was an envelope with $3.00 tucked in and a note to "buy myself a gourmet cup of coffee"....well Ron & Suzanne- that is exactly what I will do!!  (The refund was given as a result of one of the trees being slightly smaller than their standard.  Now that is great customer care.)

So if anyone reading this is ever having an urge to plant some heirloom apple trees, please don't overlook this little company that truly cares about growing a healthy tree, and treating their customers right.

(P.S.- these trees are Hightop Sweet and Westfield Seek-No-Further, both on dwarf Bud 9 rootstock.)

Happy June

We have been enjoying all this beautiful New England weather, what a change from last year!  I took some pictures of berries and flowers this morning.   The currant made it's first ripe offerings this past weekend, the little berries were sweet, tart, and gave a little 'pop' in the mouth....one of the kids liked them, the other was not so sure.

An apple update:

The blueberries are starting to take on their signature color, I better get them netted.

The chipmunks have been stealing the strawberries as soon as they near their prime, I am hoping they get lazy soon.   I REALLY want some berries!

I am getting very excited for tomato season to start, the plants seem to be coming along nicely.

Today's harvest:

We built a fire pit this weekend on a whim, usually we just use one of those bon-bon drum thingys.  Not bad for the cost of a bag of mortar....we had slim pickings for rocks though, that was the true challenge.  The pit was broken in last night......

And look what I discovered when bug hunting and watering the potatoes today:

Seems as though somebody has been sleeping in my garden.  No fur that I could see, but looks a bit like a rabbit may be behind it.  

The beans are soaking, a bamboo tee-pee has been erected, and I need to dig the inoculant out of the shed before I forget and sow without it.  It really has been a beautiful day to work out in the garden.  Other chores included 'hilling' the potato bags with compost and straw layers, a little weeding, some potting up, and some feeding were checked off the list today.

Many of the potatoe plants have put on quite a bit of growth this past week despite the cold evening temperatures.  Even the tomatoes appear to be happy being out in the garden in below average May temperatures.  Most plants are starting to flower out and a few varieties are noticeably bigger than the rest, mainly the Polbig, Juliet, and Sungold.  Lettuce seedlings are growing in nicely between the plants.  It is almost time to do another succession sowing for the greens.  I have some Claytonia and a Spicy Mesclun Mix to add to the next round.

(I put 4 plants under black mulch and they are in fact larger, though they are also early varieties so not sure which is the contributing factor- maybe both.)

The currants are really coming along, my mouth waters just looking at them!

Here are my apple babies (just a solitary fruit one the first tree, still a group remaining on the second):

And some great news:  my rhubarb has come to life- WOO-HOO!!!!!!!!

I am finding the obvious coloration differences in the mint I recently planted runners of interesting, the ginger mint is quite gold, the chocolate mint has dark colored veining and edging (which for some reason is not very visible in the photo below unless you really compare it to the traditional mint), and then there is the plain 'ol mint- just green!

I am growing quite impatient for all those peas to start producing.  I spied a few flowers out there today- FINALLY!  I was able to harvest a large amount of greens today, enough to get us through most of the week I think.......well, that about covers what is going on out in my little kitchen garden, what is coming to life in yours?

New Arrivals......

This photo of my deck taken earlier  just kind of sums up my jumbled, somewhat productive, yet destructive day.  It started with a super-gross spraying of the apple trees.  This stuff truly is nasty and I don't ever want to use it again...but, then again, I do want edible apples.   I was all ready to try and go organic but then I read several accounts of apple truth and came to the conclusion that I had pest problems last year, and I didn't even have apples yet.  Sigh.  And to make things worse I burned 1/2 of the first tree I sprayed.  Not sure if I did a poor job rinsing the container out after the last Dormant Oil spray, or if the concentrate was not evenly mixed in the sprayer.  I know I measured the poison correctly because I sacrificed my favorite little kitchen measuring cup to do so.  Just a bad experience all around.  Yucky, yucky, yucky.

Then, I got some of that "put off potting-up" done.  Cow pots and a weak fish feed have put me back on the road to garden success.  The fridge is still untouched for any of you who may be wondering.  Next the mail came with live goods and a book, The Backyard Orchardist.

One of the "LIVE PLANTS" boxes had the sweet tator slips in it, a bit earlier than expected.  I was caught by surprise so their bed wasn't ready yet....off I went to throw it all together.  In the end I made 2 hills, covered with black mulch.  I amended with a bit of Potash, K-Mag, and acid loving organic fertilizer.   The slips are quite crowded, but after last year's disappointing harvest I am not willing to give them any more space to prove themselves.  The Georgia Jet slips are now tucked in under row cover with a strip of plastic thrown over for good measure, though it doesn't completely cover the bed.....I better change that (find a larger piece) sooner than later since night temps are still getting quite low around here.  So, -  hills, mulch, and row cover.  I hope it is all enough to keep them going until June comes around!

Aaaaaaand the remaining rhubarb came today as well.  They are still sitting in the box....

......and that is where they will remain until I figure out where the heck to put them.

Garden Happenings

(Written yesterday....)

Last year's first pea, doesn't it look good!?!

Today I sowed the early Polbig tomatoes under the proper fruit time according to the Biodynamic calendar.  These will go out extra early under greenhouse-like conditions.  We also sowed some tomato seeds following Wintersown.org instructions, the milk jugs are set out in the garden along with the spinach and kale that went into the coldframe today.   I wonder, how quickly will the seeds germinate in those milk cartons?

A last minute trip to Home Depot last night for Dormant Oil Spray and a tractor cart resulted in a Yellow Delicious Apple tree, 2 yellow raspberries, 2 bags of strawberries, and some extra Victoria rhubarb coming home with us as well.  YIKES!  The tree is labeled as "dwarf", but without knowing which rootstock it is on this could end up being one big tree.  I am thinking of calling the nursary to pin down answere on that one......dang impulse buying!  My other two apples are not due until Fall, and what I really needed was a Crabapple to act as a long season pollinator.  I just hope it is labeled correctly, and is indeed a dwarf Yellow Delicious.

On that note, the new apple tree got quite a pruning and they all were treated with Dormant Oil spray.  I had wooly aphids in the Fall, so this was a necessary spray to help the trees get off to a good start when those buds set.  I also ordered some limb spreaders to increase the crotch angle of the limbs and encourage horizontal branching.  This apple tree stuff is complicated, I hope I do well by them!

My upcoming Biodynamic sowings for the month of March are as follows:

• 15th-16th- indoor sowing for lettuce & basil
• 18th & 19th- indoor sowing of tomatoes and peppers
• 20th- Florence onions
• 26th (after 10am)- 1:00 pm 27th- indoor sowing of tomatoes and peppers

I have my peas soaking, and then it occured to me that their designated bed (future home of peas &  tomatoes) has not yet been built.  Hmm...I was going to germintae them indoors, but where will they go after that?  This could be interesting.  Looks like I better find a large container, and fast!

Yesterday's Garden Walkthrough

When I went out yesterday morning to do some watering and harvesting I found a honey bee doing a dance in this squash blossom. Of course I didn't have my camera and by the time I had retrieved it the fella was gone. Moments later another bee arrived. I am not sure what type this one is though.

***

This is the bushy, furry asparagus bed with a handful of dahlias thrown in. I peered in around back, and sure enough, new spears are still emerging. I figured they would be done by now since most have gone to seed and they are a "Spring crop". Maybe they are just trying to catch up from their late start?

***

Welcome to the tomato jungle! There are quite a few plants with diseases, but so far this hasn't affected the fruit production. All the plants seem to have caught up to one another in size (some were started much earlier than others). The flavor of the Juliet Plums is superb, but their size in my opinion only makes them good for fresh eating. I couldn't imagine trying to make sauce out of those tiny things.

***

Here's a good one.....whats the biggest thing in my garden? The sunflower seedling my son brought home in a Dixie cup from pre-school, ha! The sweet potato vines underneath are finally starting to ramble. (Don't mind the weeds.)

***

This is one of the handful of winter squash growing in containers. I never thinned this pot and there are two plants growing in there, I hope they have enough room to get through the season. I don't see how they could but I just don't have the heart to pull one out now.

***

These beans are a 'fall sowing'; the muskmelon seedlings originally in this straw bale were eaten by critters in the night. I added some dog hair and metal wire for good measure and so far they have been left alone.

***

The neem spraying on the apple trees has not helped any, in fact they are worse. I think the situation is too far gone and requires a more potent chemical. The trees are not happy, hard to put into words, but I can just tell things are not good. I used Bonide Garden Dust (an insecticide-fungicide) today and gave them a fish emulsion feeding. I don't know if the dust will work any better than the neem, but if I don't stop the insect damage soon these trees may weaken beyond repair.

Next year I will be sure to use the neem proactively (as Ruralrose suggested) along with Horticultural & Dormant oil spray. If anyone has any other suggestions please share them! I know most literature calls for regular spraying of fruit trees, and I was hoping to avoid it if at all possible......maybe that just isn't realistic?

***

Lastly, yesterday's garden bounty. BLT's and refrigerator pickles are in my future, this is what I have waiting for all summer!! My bucket was actually heavy today, weighing in at four and a quarter pounds, YEAH!

Mass Destruction

I have never despised cute furry creatures so much. When the rabbits mowed down all of my beautiful crocuses this year, I let it go. When somebody had a field day in the bean,pea, and melon patches, I let it go. But not this time....this time I am holding a grudge. Here are my discoveries made today out in the garden, the destruction is massive. I feel as though these images should come with a 'WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES TO FOLLOW' sign.

(I know I am being a bit dramatic but in a matter of days I may have had an apple tree and a grape vine destroyed to the point of no return by little teeth. I am desperately hoping this will not be the case.)

OK, first discovery: the Mexican Bean Beetles have arrived.

Secondly: my little vine was further defoliated over the evening. Only a handful of leaves remain. I immediatly wrapped it in row cover and emptied my vacuum canister around the perimeter (dog hair)....I don't know what else to do.

Third discovery: bark stripping (by now I am walking in circles, fuming). Thankfully it is not girdled, but there is a lot of damage here. (Spitzenburg Apple)


Fourth: This is the other tree, thankfully not as severe.
(Liberty Apple)



And the big five: More pest and disease pressure. The Spitzenbug has so many things to fight right now. There is quite a pit of pest damage here, and also some disease which I have yet to pinpoint, a few lesions are visible in this photograph.


The one and only positive discovery- we have cantaloupe blossoms! This is the only vine of any size worth mentioning, and the only one flowering at the moment.

I am so angry with myself for not protecting the tree trunks, but I thought bark eating was a seasonal issue, meaning that as long as they were protected come Fall all would be good. Wrong. I tried an OMRI approved insecticide on the affected tree but it isn't reducing the pest pressure any. I was not yet willing to pull out the 'big guns', but finding the bark damage today has changed that. This evening we will be wrapping the trunks in mesh and spraying some nasty chemicals. I am thinking of having one of us hold up a barrier behind the tree as we spray so as to contain the droplets as much as possible. I will also spray at dusk when fewer beneficials are active. In a day or two I will follow it up with a foliar spray of fish and kelp emulsion and then just keep my fingers crossed that the damage is repairable, and that there will not be more in the future.

Fruit Plantings

After doing some work to the house we were left with one mess of a side-yard. My husband was hoping to avoid having to mow the slope and I was hoping for some fruit to pick so we came upon the idea of doing some edible landscaping. Luckily this is a popular topic these days or we may have ended up with more hydrangeas and the dreaded grass. This has been a fly by the seat of our pants thing and getting the proper hours of sun required for these fruits is questionable. So far we have planted 2 dwarf apple trees and a variety of small fruits. I have noted the varieties below along with a few links to help me through out the season, I already can't remember what is what. We hope to have a ground cover of strawberries and a blackberry/raspberry bramble hedge when all is grown in. (Shown above: alpine strawberry, our progress in the side yard to date, blackberry flowers)

GROWING and VARIETY NOTES:

Canadice Red Seedless Grape - site preparation, pruning & trellising:

(trellis on the garden 'to do' list)

• ensure good drainage (sandy loam best)
• grapes prefer Southern Exposure
• pH 5.5-6.5
• amend planting site with bone meal or rock phosphate
• pruning determines vine health
• http://extension.unh.edu/resources/representation/Resource000576_Rep598.pdf
• http://info.ag.uidaho.edu/Resources/PDFs/CIS0790.pdf
• http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/2003-12-01/Sensational-Seedless-Grapes.aspx

Growing Blackberries:

• fruit is ripe when it goes from glossy to dull
• tip erect canes back mid-summer
• primocane varieties fruit on first year canes
  

FRUIT VARIETIES 2009

Dwarf Liberty Apple on pajam/M-9

Dwarf Spitzenburg Apple (Thomas Jefferson's reported favorite) on pajam/M-9

Apache Blackberry

Ebony King Blackberry

Navaho Thornless Blackberry- prune to 6 feet; upright, mid-summer fruit; good flavor & yield

Heritage Red Raspberry

Jewel Black Raspberry (2)

(?) Latham Red Raspberry

"Mounding" Strawberry (17)

Honeoye Strawberry (25)- has been called a 'foolproof' strawberry plant, great freezing qualities; early-mid season producer; best flavor occurs in med.-light soil.

Cabot Strawberry (25)- huge, excellent flavored mid-season berries, first fruits may split or be rough; may space closely, less likely to run

Alpine Strawberry (3)

Jersey Blueberry (2)

Toro Blueberry (2)

Bluecrop Blueberry (2)

Canadice red Grape