Garden Happenings

Potatoes going in Grow Bags, I believe I have 10 bags in all.  The bottoms were filled with a mixture of compost and potting mix, the seeds set in, and then covered with more mix and straw.

Here are the LaRatte Fingerlings in one bed, I planted this and another one slightly smaller.

The new grape and arbor was added onto the original behind the asparagus bed.  Behind the grapes is a new bed for 5 blackberries, and two raspberries....we are still in the construction phase as the canes have not arrived yet.  Still needing to find a spot for my second currant and rhubarb that is coming.  AAGGHH! Runing out of room!  So frustrating when we have almost 2 acres of land.

Some micro greens from today's thinning.  Beets, Radish, Chard, Arugula, and Hon Tsai Tai....YUM!

How cool do these currant buds look?  I had never seen them before, it is reminding of grape clusters.

I decided to use this tub as a planter for my 4 lowbush blueberries.  They remain quite small and only require a foot a piece, so this is snug but should do.  If not I will just transplant at a later date.

In addition to all the expansion and planting I sowed some more seeds today as well.  Things are finally coming together nicely thanks to a good friend who brought over a couple truckloads of dirt/compost for me.  The new beds are almost full, I am off to hill and cover the sweet potato bed up with black mulch...those slips will be here before I know it!!!
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Edit:  Those micro-greens made a mighty fine pizza topping for lunch!

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.

NOOOO!!

Something ate my grape's leaves, stripped three-quarters of the vine clean. Must be rabbits. Or mice. This plant has been in it's nursery pot inside my garden waiting to be planted for waaay too long and it was untouched. Yesterday we FINALLY built the trellis and planted the darn thing......the horror!

That was of coarse the longest vine, the one I was planning on keeping and turning into the main stem come next year. @!*#@ * rodents. Guess I should have tied it up last night instead of propping it off the ground with a pot.

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