Yesterday and today I planted peas, some spinach, arugula, carrots, garlic, Walla Walla onions, red onions, white bunching onions, and romaine lettuce. I'm glad I waited to buy the red onion sets because I got them on sale today. Kaitlyn was a big help getting the raised beds ready for planting. She used the hoe to mix the compost into the soil while I finished mixing and smoothed the soil.
Hopefully what I planted will grow ok and not drown because shortly after finishing this afternoon it started raining really hard and it's supposed to keep raining for several days.
Showing posts with label weather. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weather. Show all posts
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Friday, May 24, 2013
More Planting
I planted 3 hills of buttercup squash, 2 hills of spaghetti squash, 2 hills of summer squash, 4 hills of sugar baby watermelon, 8 celery, 8 banana peppers, 9 jalapeno peppers, 1 habanero pepper, 2 eggplants, basil, parsley, thyme, petunias, marjoram, nasturtiums, marigolds and borage. I planted a couple Roma tomatoes and marigolds in a big container in the corner of the garden.
Some animal, probably a squirrel, dug up some of the wax beans and lima beans I planted yesterday so I had to fix them.
I noticed some of the carrots, beets, kale, salsify, bunching onions, spinach, romaine, and Waltham 29 broccoli are sprouting.
There are a bunch more herbs and flowers to plant, but I'm exhausted and it started sprinkling so the rest will have to wait until next week.
Some animal, probably a squirrel, dug up some of the wax beans and lima beans I planted yesterday so I had to fix them.
I noticed some of the carrots, beets, kale, salsify, bunching onions, spinach, romaine, and Waltham 29 broccoli are sprouting.
There are a bunch more herbs and flowers to plant, but I'm exhausted and it started sprinkling so the rest will have to wait until next week.
Monday, May 13, 2013
One of the buttercup squash I started for Cathy sprouted Friday. We brought several plants up to Crooked Lake this weekend. I helped Cathy transplant several plants while Al, Dad, Terry, and Larry built a greenhouse instead of fishing Saturday. Temperatures there were in the high 20s/low 30s with snow and lots of wind.
Next year I'll start marigolds as Cathy did. She started almost a whole package of seeds in one small tray and then we transplanted them. It's a huge savings on seed starting mix and space under the grow lights.
We brought back a whole black tray of plants back home. A few of the tomatoes will be experiments in indoor gardening because they're too small to put in the garden and actually have them produce anything before frost. There's also a rosemary that's almost dead that I'll try to nurse back to health.
One of the sugar baby watermelons sprouted over the weekend. I went out to check the garden and found that several of the peas, black seeded simpson, and arugula are coming up. Some of the onion sets are sprouting. 3 of the CDs came off of the posts so I retied them. The rhubarb is really taking off and some of the asparagus is growing well. Some animal, probably a squirrel, dug up a bunch of the new strawberry plants so I replanted them. Several others look like they're thriving and have leaves now.
Cathy gave us lots of landscaping fabric, so I'll use that in the walkways with wood chips instead of newspapers.
It's supposed to be about 70 today, 93 tomorrow, and in the 70s the rest of the week, so the soil should warm up enough to plant peppers and tomatoes soon.
Next year I'll start marigolds as Cathy did. She started almost a whole package of seeds in one small tray and then we transplanted them. It's a huge savings on seed starting mix and space under the grow lights.
We brought back a whole black tray of plants back home. A few of the tomatoes will be experiments in indoor gardening because they're too small to put in the garden and actually have them produce anything before frost. There's also a rosemary that's almost dead that I'll try to nurse back to health.
One of the sugar baby watermelons sprouted over the weekend. I went out to check the garden and found that several of the peas, black seeded simpson, and arugula are coming up. Some of the onion sets are sprouting. 3 of the CDs came off of the posts so I retied them. The rhubarb is really taking off and some of the asparagus is growing well. Some animal, probably a squirrel, dug up a bunch of the new strawberry plants so I replanted them. Several others look like they're thriving and have leaves now.
Cathy gave us lots of landscaping fabric, so I'll use that in the walkways with wood chips instead of newspapers.
It's supposed to be about 70 today, 93 tomorrow, and in the 70s the rest of the week, so the soil should warm up enough to plant peppers and tomatoes soon.
Sunday, April 28, 2013
We finally got compost!
Boy, what a difference a couple days makes! The temp was in the 70s Friday and yesterday. Today it was 80! We went to the county compost site yesterday and picked up a whole trailer load of compost and a small bale of straw. The guy working at the compost site (John) said he'd keep an eye out for any more straw and set it aside for me.
Today I put compost on almost half of the garden. I also planted peas, salsify, carrots, and the romaine, spinach and black seeded simpson that are in the center of the bed where the peas are planted. We're supposed to get lots of rain tonight and tomorrow so I didn't water yet.
Kaitlyn and I moved some bricks to the front flower bed where the tulips are starting to come up. After the tulips are done I'll build up that bed so people stop walking on it and I'll plant more flowers there.
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| Kaitlyn loosening soil to plant peas |
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| Kaitlyn shoveling compost |
Today I put compost on almost half of the garden. I also planted peas, salsify, carrots, and the romaine, spinach and black seeded simpson that are in the center of the bed where the peas are planted. We're supposed to get lots of rain tonight and tomorrow so I didn't water yet.
Kaitlyn and I moved some bricks to the front flower bed where the tulips are starting to come up. After the tulips are done I'll build up that bed so people stop walking on it and I'll plant more flowers there.
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| Lettuce growing in pots inside |
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| Rhubarb is coming up |
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| Hauling compost to the garden beds |
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| Compost on the garden bed |
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| Kaitlyn helping in the tulip bed |
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| Peas are planted and stakes in place |
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Transplanting & seedling report
Yesterday I transplanted 4 buttercrunch lettuce, 4 romaine lettuce, and 2 cauliflower farmers extra early to pots to grow inside. I moved the light above the eggplant up a little. More of the borage and some of the nasturtiums and forget-me-nots sprouted.
Today has been around 40 degrees so a lot of the snow is melting. They're predicting another possible 1-3 inches tomorrow night, but high temps this week are supposed to be in the high 40s and low 50s so hopefully the rest of the snow will melt and stay melted.
I don't think we'll convert it this year, but I found plans on how to convert to drip irrigation for raised beds so ideally I'd like to do that next year. I also found plans for making self-watering indoor planters out of 18-gallon rubbermaid tubs so I'll plant to make some to grow tomatoes and peppers year-round.
Today has been around 40 degrees so a lot of the snow is melting. They're predicting another possible 1-3 inches tomorrow night, but high temps this week are supposed to be in the high 40s and low 50s so hopefully the rest of the snow will melt and stay melted.
I don't think we'll convert it this year, but I found plans on how to convert to drip irrigation for raised beds so ideally I'd like to do that next year. I also found plans for making self-watering indoor planters out of 18-gallon rubbermaid tubs so I'll plant to make some to grow tomatoes and peppers year-round.
Friday, April 19, 2013
Snow & indoor gardening
Between yesterday and today we got just over 11 inches of snow. :( The compost site has postponed opening until Monday. With Al's work schedule we won't be able to get compost until Friday or Saturday, so hopefully the snow will melt before that.
The buttercrunch lettuce is getting so big it's shading other seedlings so we stopped at Home Depot on the way home to get potting soil so I can transplant the lettuce to pots and just grow it inside. 6 of the borage sprouted today. I moved the light up again above the tomatoes that are on the top shelf. A couple more banana peppers and California Wonder bell peppers have sprouted.
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| Snow by 6pm. We got another 2" after that. |
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| Add'l snow by 8am. |
The buttercrunch lettuce is getting so big it's shading other seedlings so we stopped at Home Depot on the way home to get potting soil so I can transplant the lettuce to pots and just grow it inside. 6 of the borage sprouted today. I moved the light up again above the tomatoes that are on the top shelf. A couple more banana peppers and California Wonder bell peppers have sprouted.
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| Borage |
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| Buttercrunch Lettuce |
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| Romaine Lettuce |
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Darn Snow
It sure doesn't seem like spring yet. We got close to 6" of snow on Thursday and about an inch Friday. Today we had a bunch of snow and some freezing rain. One of these days it has to stop snowing!!! Because of the snow the compost site has delayed opening until next Saturday (4/20) so we'll plan to get compost and wood chip mulch then. Hopefully the snow will melt and the beds will dry out by then so I can plant the April seeds then.
I have several romaine and buttercrunch lettuce plants that are just about ready to transplant. The broccoli and cauliflower are just about ready too. I moved the lights above the tomatoes up several links.
Since it's been so cold I'm concerned about the borage, nasturtiums, and forget-me-nots actually germinating if I direct sow them so I started inside today in peat pots and put them above the fridge.
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| Snow on the garden 4-10 |
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| Still snowing 4-11 |
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| Snow in the driveway 4-11 |
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| I never thought I'd need to use this in April. |
I have several romaine and buttercrunch lettuce plants that are just about ready to transplant. The broccoli and cauliflower are just about ready too. I moved the lights above the tomatoes up several links.
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| Bachelor Buttons and Marigolds |
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| Eggplant |
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| Romaine |
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| Buttercrunch lettuce, cauliflower |
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| Tomatoes |
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| Peppers |
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| Plants under shop lights |
Since it's been so cold I'm concerned about the borage, nasturtiums, and forget-me-nots actually germinating if I direct sow them so I started inside today in peat pots and put them above the fridge.
Friday, April 5, 2013
Plants & Fence
All of the eggplants have sprouted. I had to move the lights up a link above the cauliflower and tomatoes.
We bought more chicken wire and plastic cable ties last night for the garden fence. Today Kaitlyn helped me put the fencing up just in time before it snowed this afternoon.
We bought more chicken wire and plastic cable ties last night for the garden fence. Today Kaitlyn helped me put the fencing up just in time before it snowed this afternoon.
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| Eggplant seedlings |
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| Romaine Lettuce |
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| Sweet Basil |
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| Sage and Parsley |
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| Sweet Marjoram |
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| Peppers - Jalapeno and bell |
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| Bachelor Buttons |
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| Tomatoes |
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| Tomatoes |
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| Mortgage Lifter Tomato |
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| Marigolds |
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| Broccoli and Cauliflower |
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| New garden fence |
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| New garden fence |
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| Side of the new garden fence |
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| Tulip bed with snow still on it |
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Weather & Plant Update
It's been cold the last couple days but tomorrow to Friday it's supposed to be in the low 50s for daytime high temps so hopefully the rest of the snow on the garden will melt. I haven't gone out to look closely, but it looks like some of the chives may be up already.
I found instructions to make a handy template tool for making holes for planting in a square foot garden so I'll make some of those in the next week or so.
The plants under the shop lights are doing well and a couple of the chamomiles have now sprouted.
According to the county website the compost site opens for regular hours on April 15th so Dad will bring his trailer down on the 13th so we can get compost and woodchips the week of the 15th.
I found instructions to make a handy template tool for making holes for planting in a square foot garden so I'll make some of those in the next week or so.
The plants under the shop lights are doing well and a couple of the chamomiles have now sprouted.
According to the county website the compost site opens for regular hours on April 15th so Dad will bring his trailer down on the 13th so we can get compost and woodchips the week of the 15th.
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| broccoli & cauliflower |
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| jalapeno peppers |
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| bachelor buttons |
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| cauliflower, basil, lettuce, marigolds |
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| eggplant |
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Thunder
There was a lot of thunder and rain very early this morning. Grandma Olive once told me about an old farmer's tale that's mostly accurate that the first frost in the fall is usually about 6 months after the first thunder & lightning of the year. So we'll look for the first frost about September 30th.
Between the temperatures being in the 40s and 50s the last few days and the rain overnight most of the snow has melted in the back yard and the raised beds closest to the house are mostly uncovered.
Between the temperatures being in the 40s and 50s the last few days and the rain overnight most of the snow has melted in the back yard and the raised beds closest to the house are mostly uncovered.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Seedling Maintenance
Most of the tomatoes are up now so I moved the trays downstairs under the shop lights. (I took the eggplants out of the trays and kept them on top of the fridge since they haven't sprouted yet.)
Some of the celery sprouted as well as a few marigolds and more parsley, sage, thyme, basil, romaine, buttercrunch lettuce, and peppers. One of the banana peppers is finally up! I started the chamomile and a bunch of bachelor buttons and marigolds.
More of the snow is melting today, but the beds probably won't be completely snow-free and workable for another week or two.
Some of the celery sprouted as well as a few marigolds and more parsley, sage, thyme, basil, romaine, buttercrunch lettuce, and peppers. One of the banana peppers is finally up! I started the chamomile and a bunch of bachelor buttons and marigolds.
More of the snow is melting today, but the beds probably won't be completely snow-free and workable for another week or two.
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| peppers |
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| peppers |
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| thyme |
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| celery |
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| tomatoes |
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| more peppers |
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| tomatoes |
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| tomatoes |
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| tomatoes & peppers under the lights |
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| cauliflower & broccoli |
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