Moving

30 August, 2011 Reply

It's always nice to take a few friends with you when you move!

You knew the time was coming. Your spouse had been looking for a new job for some time. You’d really, really hoped that it would be in the same town, but they just called you and been offered a fantastic job in another state. You’re wildly excited, except, your gardens! You’re going to have to leave your gardens behind!

Now that you’re going to have a change of address, you need to decide what to do about the yard. Of course large plants are going to have to stay put. However, if you’re moving during the growing season you can often take starts of some of your favorite perennials. It will depend on what’s waiting for you on the other end, whether you want to try and take some plants with you.

If you’re moving right into a new home, taking plants is breeze. If it’s going to be awhile before you have a permanent change of mail address, it can be harder. If you’ll be staying in an apartment or hotel, it can be a big challenge to keep plants alive and healthy long enough to get your new home purchased and moved into.

One option, if you’re not moving too far. Is to leave your plant starts with a trusted gardening friend, so they can water them regularly and care for them until you’ve moved into your new home. Another option is to have an agreement with the person purchasing your home that you can come and take starts of certain plants once you’re settle into you new place. You may need to be creative.

In order to free up more energy to be creative you may want to consider having a company automatically take care of all your mail change and forwarding tasks. This will allow you extra time for digging and potting your plants, as well as time needed to find a way to take care of them so you can start your new home off with many of your old friends surrounding you.

They’re Up!

29 August, 2011 Reply

Tiny arugula seedling emerged in just five days!

My fall veggies that is.  In only 5 days the mizuna and arugula were up. A couple days later chard, tatsoi, and pak choy joined in. Kale arrived a couple days later. The only thing that hasn’t sprouted, that I thought would by now, is the collards. The carrots won’t be up for at least another week. They take a long time to germinate.

One of the most surprising things is that some of the really old seeds are going great guns. Both the mizuna and the arugula had a lot of old seeds mixed in and they’re coming up all over the area I planted them.

The only problem I might face is that my husband and I might both have to be out of town for a week at the end of the month. That means no watering and that could spell serious problems. Anyway, I’ll cross that bridge if I have to.

The rest of the garden is getting it fall flush of new growth and goodies. The tomatoes have grown 6” this week alone, putting on a whole new crop of tiny tomatoes for harvest in about a month. We might even end up with tomatoes in November this year if things continue like they are.

I’ve been doing clean up in the veggie garden, too. Those plants that are finished up or looking totally cooked from the hot weather have been pulled up. I’ll be emptying all but two of the gardens this fall, so that I can add a whole bunch of leaf mulch and other amendments to allow them to “cook” over the winter. Our soil still needs tons of help nutritionally. Each fall I’m hoping to add another thick layer of amendments, till them in, and let them mellow in the soil during the winter. I’m hoping within 3 to 5 years to have soil that is well balanced and texturally ideal. I’m working with soil that is totally depleted, as this was a tobacco farm before we moved in. Tobacco is a heavy feeder and well known for depleting soils and ruining their texture. So, I just consider my land as a desert and am working to return it to health and productivity.

Fall Tool Cleaning

26 August, 2011 Reply

It’s a little early to actually clean your tools, as there is still a lot of time left to garden, but it’s a good time to schedule your tool cleaning. Since tools are often exposed to the elements of rain and sun, regular care and maintenance will make them last much longer.

Before putting your tools away for the winter, it’s a good idea to clean them thoroughly. If you have metal spades, trowels, shovels, etc. they may have developed some rust on them through the season. Cleaning the rust off now with mild abrasives and then coating your tools with a fine layer of oil, will ensure that the tools won’t rust further while in storage. Also, sharpening your tools makes easy work for you in the spring.

Cleaning tools before you put them away for the Winter, makes them ready for use on that first warm Spring day.

Handles should be cleaned, sanded if they’re wood and have gotten rough. A coating of oil or urethane keeps the wood from getting soft from exposure to moist winter air.

You’ll need to do the same thing with your garden cart. Wash it out and then if there is any metal on it make sure it’s not rusting. If it is clean it up and preserve it with oil or paint it. Using a good rust inhibiting paint is a good idea. If your cart is wooden now’s the time to paint it, before you put it to bed.

If you have a greenhouse, take a good look at it. Make sure there are no holes, even tiny ones in the plastic. If there are repair them. The weigh of snow can make a tiny hole into a true catastrophe. If you heat it, make sure the heater is in good order, pipes for hoses are well insulated, and that the door closes tightly, so you aren’t heating all of nature.

Doing these small tasks as soon as your growing season is over, will ensure that you are ready to go that first warm day that hints of spring, when you’re just itching to get outside.

 

Putting In A New Garden

25 August, 2011 Reply

As the cooler weather is just around the corner, I’m ready to start putting in a new perennial garden. As I mentioned earlier, fall is a great time to plant perennials, trees, and shrubs.

I’ve always wanted a picket fence around the front of my house. Not just this house, any house I lived in. Until now I’ve never had one, and I’m not going to have one quite yet, but I’m going to start putting in the gardens in preparation for the picket fence.

Not a pretty sight, but wait until next summer when it's filled with flowers.

I’ve already done the first part. We rolled out a large piece of black plastic that is covering an area 7’ wide by 40’ long. I know that sounds like a huge garden. The fence is going to run across the front of the house, which is 80’ long, so this is just about ½ the distance it will go when finished. The reason I’m not putting in the whole garden is two-fold. First, I didn’t have long enough plastic. Second, we’re going to look into putting in a carport at the end of the house. We’re going to need a placement permit for that and we need to see where they’ll approve the placement as it is going to be pretty close to the property line. Once we know for sure where the carport is going to be placed, then we’ll know where the picket fence is going to end.

I’m going to take you through all the steps of putting in the garden. Here’s the first shot of the black plastic in place. You’re supposed to leave it 4-6 weeks in order to ensure you’ve killed all the roots of the weeds underneath. It is just about six weeks now, but I’ll probably wait one more week to start garden preparations, as it is still too hot out to plant anything.

Also, we need to decide if we’re going to stagger the fence or raise the beds so the fence can be in one straight line. I’ve got some plastic trellis that is cut 2’ wide that we’ll play around with and see which look we like. Then we’ll either have to stagger the pickets when we put them in or build a retaining wall for the gardens as the slope of the property is quite pronounced. Easiest would be to stagger the fencing, but I think I’m not going to like the look, so we’ll probably end up putting in a retaining wall. This will mean lots of extra work.

Anyway, once done the garden on the outside of the fence will be filled with daylilies, irises, and gladiolus. The inside fence will be more of a cottage garden filled with lots of perennials, some annuals for bright spots and a few veggies just for fun.

Film Buff

22 August, 2011 Reply

Thanks to Roman May

Movies have always been my thing and never more so than when I moved out here to the country where there wasn’t all that much to do. I love the idea of being able to hole up inside my house and watch an old Western or a modern-day romantic comedy and I know I’m getting to escape for a few hours at a time from my relatively boring life! I recently found a link at work that said Local Satellite Internet for satellite internet and it’s really helped me stay in touch when I’m at home. I’ve been able to shop online for the DVDs I want (I don’t really have an iPod or anything) and they are delivered right to my door! My movie collection is really growing fast and I’m glad I’ve got that built in cabinet to put my film collection in. My friends all think it’s really cool, though, and they’ll drive all the way out here just so we can watch a movie together so I guess it’s not all bad!

Summer Garden In Review

19 August, 2011 Reply

I have to admit this was not one of my more stellar summer gardens. Oh, it’s still going, but so much of it has been hit by the long, hot, humid weather that there’s not much going on. Lots of diseases and pests this year, too, ugh.

I ended up with early blight on my tomatoes. Their still alive, but look horrible, with dead black leaves hanging all over them. I’ve treated them several times, to no avail. The summer squash produced exactly one squash each and then got killed by squash vine borers. The corn has gotten blown over in a big storm and the birds keep eating the pollen off of the stalks, so I’ll probably not get anything there. The winter squash vines got killed by squash vine borers before they produced anything. The melons I planted are producing tiny melons with almost no flavor. You name it, it has not been a good year.

Even my herb garden, which usually overflows is struggling. That is everything except the basil, which has overtaken much of the vegetable garden area.

I have had a couple of noted successes though. First off, the long beans have been fantastic. They went down a little during the hottest period, but are now producing almost faster than I can harvest. The red ones are the real winners here this year. They are out producing the green ones almost two to one. Also, I had a bumper crop of carrots that were actually long and conically shaped. I finally have a garden that is deep enough for carrots to grow full length and not hit the heavy clay. So, we’re totally enjoying them.

There are always good and bad years, but this is one of the worst for me. I’ve decided that I’m not adding any more gardens until I get the ones I have under control. I do have three gardens that are in progress and will get them all in this fall, but no more major gardens put in until I have the soil balanced, weeds under control, and strong healthy plants growing in my garden all season. I just need to take the time to really work the area I have available and get some great mulch and compost put into the soil, to make it more productive. Maybe I’ll see if I can’t scare up some manure this fall, as well. That would be a fantastic boost.

Nature’s Little Surprises

16 August, 2011 Reply

Here's my current mystery plant. Look at the lovely big leaves!

Seems I’m always finding new and interesting things in my garden, that I didn’t plant. The first year we lived in this house, broccoli and bird’s nest gourds came up. I recognized both as something other than weeds, so we enjoyed the broccoli and I have a box full of gourds to decorate, someday, when I have time.

Next, I have this very pretty “weed” that is growing next to the house. It has leaves that look sort of like ducks feet and has pretty small yellow flowers all over it in late spring. I couldn’t pull it up, as it is so dainty and delicate looking. It has continued to grow for me each year.

I have a number of black-eyed susan plants that have come up in all kinds of strange places and hardy ageratum is almost invasive in my yard. The chipmunks have planted hundred of sunflowers all over the yard, including in the middle of the lawn. They’ve been a fun addition for the birds to munch on without having to put out another feeder. Also, somehow dozens of holy basil plants managed to seed themselves into a garden that they weren’t even grown in last year! Only a couple came up in the garden they were grown in, but one whole 3 foot by 6 foot garden is nearly full of them and it is located about 10-15 feet away from where the original plants were.

Of course every year I have some of volunteer in the compost pile. I’ve had watermelons, bell peppers, Jerusalem artichokes, etc. This year it is a tomato plant.

However, I have a new mystery plant in with my tomatoes. We went and picked up a load of leaf mulch from the city here this spring. I put some of it in the bed where the tomatoes were planted. This pretty, strong-looking little sprout showed up a few days later. I left it for a few days to see if I recognized it as a weed. I didn’t. It is now about 2 feet tall and has smallish flowers, that look somewhat like a hibiscus, on it, but I still don’t know what it is, as the leaves look almost like a maple tree only a lot bigger.

So, I’ve started a topic on Dave’s Garden, asking other gardeners to help me identify this lovely little plant. I’m actually hoping that it is some sort of hibiscus or mallow plant that is perennial. I’ll move it to the front yard when I do the beds up there next month.

Anyway, it is a lot of fun seeing what new plant is going to show up “on my doorstep” each year. If you don’t pull out unknown sprouts too soon, you may have a few pleasant surprises, too.

Vacation Woes

13 August, 2011 Reply

No one wants to see this sign at the head of the stairs to their basement.

What awful words to have together, but sometimes it happens. Tragedy can really ruin all the unwinding, time away from home has created. Coming home to find that your house has been broken into, or that a thunderstorm crashed the 100-year-old oak tree into your roof and no-one bothered to contact you. Maybe the neighbor you had checking on your automatic drip irrigation system checked it regularly, but never noticed that the system got stuck in the on position and you find your basement filled with a foot of rank water. Any catastrophe can end your vacation abruptly and unpleasantly.

When faced with loss of property you need either the police or your insurance agent. To get the cleanup underway you need professionals that know what they’re doing. That’s when you turn to someone who is experienced in basement flood damage Austin. A brief look around the internet brought up this company  http://www.thesteamteam.com/austin-cleaning-services/ who have a lot of useful information on their web site.

Once you’ve dealt with the unneeded crisis inside, remember that gardening is one of the best ways to de-stress. So, take a weekend and redo the relaxed feeling you had from your vacation; spend time in your garden and allow yourself to de-stress.

Fall Vegetable Gardens

12 August, 2011 Reply

Flowering Kale

If you are lucky enough to live in an area of the country that doesn’t get its first frost until mid-October, you can start a second vegetable garden. Starting from the beginning of August in some areas and ending at the end of August for other area, depending on their first frost date, you can plant all kinds of vegetables for fall and winter harvest.

Many of your spring crops will produce a great fall crop. Some of them will even overwinter in milder climates. Try starting a new set of carrots. You can grow most of the brasiccas as well: broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbage, etc. Flowering kale and cabbage are beautiful additions to the fall garden and are equally edible. I started some this spring, just for fun, and they did splendidly, so I’ll be starting my fall batch in the next few days. In some places you can put in another set of peas, although I like to keep them for spring, because then they seem really special. Lettuce, and most of the greens, can give a full harvest up through the first really hard frost.

So, if your summer garden has peaked, try adding a fresh set of fall seeds for continued harvest, sometimes through the entire winter.

Saying I Love You With Flowers

9 August, 2011 Reply

Whatever the occasion, I don’t know a single woman who isn’t delighted to receive flowers. Flowers always bring a smile to their face. When saying, “I love you” with flowers, most people immediately think of red roses. Roses are the flower that symbolizes passion, but let me give you a tip here, nothing says, “I love you” more than a bouquet of her favorite flowers in her favorite color. Anyone can send roses, but someone who sends a bouquet of her favorite flowers in her favorite color, really loves her, because they’ve cared enough to find out what she really enjoys.

Sometimes getting just the right combination of flowers takes some planning, because a florist may not always carry unusual flowers. Florists can get almost any flower, but they cannot possibly stock every flower available, so contact them in advance and have them order them in special for you. That, too, will say, “I love you,” because you will have to have planned in advance and not just picked the flowers up at the supermarket on the way home.

There are some flowers that don’t do well as cut flowers. Ask your florist for their recommendation of a flower that is a close match for that flower, then they can order it for you. Also, their favorite flower may not come in their favorite color, but do the best that you can to make the match.

Also, make sure that your bouquet includes cut flower “food.” It has been shown to extend the life of cut flowers. If you’ve gone to all the trouble to get special flowers you want them to last as long as possible.

Never fear, even if your loved one lives out of town many online florists can make that special bouquet, too. Just give them plenty of time to get the flowers ordered in. Although many of them guarantee next day delivery, specially ordered flowers will take some extra time, so you still need to plan ahead.

Give me a bouquet of fragrant lilies, or any blue flowers and I’ll be much happier than if I receive the now overdone red rose. I think your loved one would enjoy a change, too.

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