A Brief Planting Interlude

With the chicken wire overhung on the PVC frames, I realized I was able to do some planting in the beds below without worrying the draping of the chicken wire would rip them up.  HURRAY, I can start the garden in the new beds!  I had lots of home-grown seedlings waiting to go in the ground.

Here are broccoli, celery, leeks, and bell peppers...  I can't get full celery stalks here, but I prefer the leaves anyway for the stronger flavor in salads.

And some cabbages...

I have 9 heirloom tomatoes planted in large sturdy remesh cages.   2 Brandywines, 2 Cherokee Purple (my favorites),

1 Aunt Gerties Gold, 1 Striped German ...

 1 Prudens Purple, 1 Ponderosa Pink, and 1 Big Beef (a decent-tasting hybrid for backup)

Tomorrow, I'll be planting seeds in the other beds.  Spinach, radishes, carrots, scallions, beets, etc.

And one bed is reserved for the "3 sisters".  That's corn, pole beans, and melons.  The corn is a bi-color type (love bi-color corn for the combination of flavor and sweetness), the pole beans should climb the corn stalks, and the melons should cover the soil and shade out the weeds.  It's an American Native pre-Columbian practice.  We'll see how it works...

Interesting Day, Part 2

So after the "energy inspector" left yesterday, I had other things to do.

First, there was yet one more form to get notarized about Dad's death.  Dad had 4 investment accounts and life insurance (and 2 days retirement pay), which all required some forms (several of which needed bank manager legal signatures and stamps).  So I had all but the last one signed, copied and filed.  The last was just a Notary stamp, and I had the envelope all filled out (just needing the one last page stamped).

I got that, went straight to the post Office (they were all oversize envelopes of 6-10 pages, so I couldn't just stick an extra stamp on them).  OK, that's all done. 

I'm conflicted.  I don't need the money (I've been fortunate to have done well enough myself).  But I'm grateful to Dad for having accumulated it over his life and I appreciate my portion of his life's savings.  And he knew from our financial discussions over the years that I was doing well. 

So I'm going to increase my giving to charitable organization that I think help the world best.  I'm not naming specific ones, but world hunger, world medical treatments, and the general environment are high on my list.  And there will be a local cat no kill-shelter (Southern Maryland suggestions are invited).

After getting home, I planted leeks among the corn.  There's enough sunlight around the base of the corn for the leeks to thrive.  It was nice to get some dirt under my fingernails!  I have the corns planted about 8" apart in bins (its an experiment), but I figure the small space the leeks require won't bother the corn.  SCORE!

And then I wanted to get my garden mailbox re-installed.  I use 2 mailboxes in the yard to store small tools.  One is in the garden itself (for hand tools).  The other is at the deck for hose nozzles and attachments.  This one was the latter.  The old attachment had been poorly constructed and a bit off level.  I fixed that today, and attached it to the center post of the new deck absolutely level. SCORE!

They I decided to hang the niger thistle-seed finch-feeder from the center of the deck.  But there were 3 deck posts and only 2 long hangers.  So I need a third.  But I did have the 2 to install, so I did that.  And in honor of the new deck, I did it RIGHT!

I set one about balanced sideways on the post and clamped it loosely.  I have this neat tool that gives an analog dial red at any angle.  Old but accurate.  I clamped the hanger in about the center and level position, then measured it side to side.  I attached a screw at the bottom, then adjusted the position of the hanger to be level and clamped it tight.  Set in another screw at the top (pilot hole for accuracy and all that ease of screwing).  Perfect.  Now I just have to plant some appropriate flowers in the baskets to be hung. 

After THAT, I dug up weeds around the tomatoes and the bell peppers I planted.  They are all doing well.

By tht time, it was getting near dark out.  I called the cats in.  They get kibbles as treats when the come in when called.  Dinner was a smoked half steak sliced thin with carmelized onion, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, and crimini mushrooms (cheaper lately than regular white mushrooms), bean beans, tossed salad, and M/V potato.

Garden Renovation

Wow, it's been a week since I last posted...

I started renovating the garden area in April and found really hard work there.  I had put down various layers of weed-blocking material over the years, and they got covered with dirt.  LOTS of dirt!  Vining weeds grew among them and tree roots from the neighbor's' trees got in there too.

Pulling and cutting them all up was HORRIBLE!  It all falls into the "I can't believe I thought that was a good idea at the time" category!  I pulled the stuff up by brute strength mere inches at a time.  I shoved a 6' breaker bar under it all and pried it loose.  I cut it into manageable chunks with a curved rug-cutting knife and a razor knife.

I estimate it took 40 hours of hard frustrating work.  And it's not complete YET.  But is IS cut and removed for the area I want to rebuild framed beds with a chicken wire enclosure to keep the evil squirrels out.

I'm 64.  I can't do the hard work like I could when I was 35.  I had to do all of it 1 hour work, 1 hour rest inside and drinking gatorade to replenish.

But I finished it...

A few days ago, I hooked up a small yard cart (about 2.5 feet by 4 feet) to my riding lawn mower and started heaving the heavy sodden pieces of underlays into the trailer.  Then I drove my mower to the front yard and heaved those pieces into the 5'x8' hauling trailer.  It damn near killed me.  Then I drove the hauling trailer to the landfill, along with other junk and regular trash I have collected.  And hauled it all off again.  That means I had to handle each damn piece of underlay 4 times. 

Fortunately, I designed my hauling trailer so that I can remove the back and just drag all the junk off the back end.  And pulling the junk DOWN is going to be  LOT easier than lifting it UP.

The rest of the work is moving good garden soil from the existing (falling-apart) beds, breaking the old frames apart (and removing the old wood), leveling the new surface, building new beds, and moving the good garden soil to the new beds.

And even THAT won't be straight-forward work.  Since I'm rebuilding where the existing beds are (only place in my yard with half-decent sunlight), I have to do it in stages.  My old beds were small 8'x3' framed beds; the new ones will be 16'x4' (more space efficient because there is less wasteful path-space between them).  I will more than double my planting area in the same overall space.

I've moved enough existing soil and old frames to built the first new 16'x3' bed.  Then I will empty the existing beds soil into that.  Then I can tear THAT old wood apart and level THAT space and built the 2nd new framed 16'x3' bed. And THEN finally tear the old frames apart for the 3rd new framed bed...

WHEW!  And because the new beds will require more soil than the old ones, I'll only be filling each 1/2 way with existing soil.  So I'll be hauling in compost to mix in and fill the new ones. 

The good news is that the soil I've already dug up and piled onto other beds is now loose and easy to move.  The old soil had vine and tree roots in it and was Hard-As-Hell to dig into and move and I also had to spend time pulling the roots out of the soil lest they grow new Evil Plants.

My main gardening is not going to happen this year.  By the time I finish this rebuilding project, it will be too late to even plant crops for Fall harvest.  Fortunately, I took some space from my annual flowerbed to plant heirloom tomatoes, flat italian beans, and seedless cucumbers.  And I have bicolor corn, fingerling potatoes, and leeks growing in large containers.  Those are my favorite crops, as they are either expensive or difficult to find in local grocery stores.

Some pictures...

Prying up the old carpet.  Note the black plastic below that.  And there was synthetic (unrottable) "burlap" below that.

Had to pry it loose from below and the sides.

One of MANY piles of heavy pieces of cut carpet.  The pieces are deceptively heavy.

The lost herb bed.  I finally just dug it all up.  I'll start a new herb bed,

A 4" diameter tree trunk I had to dig out.  With axe, shovel, and pry-bar.

The first area cleared of soil, vines, unwanted tree saplings, and old frame wood.

A corn-planting container.  I have 3.  It's a month-old picture.  The 8 corns are 6" high, and I've planted leeks in between the corn .

I won't have a "normal" garden this year, but I'll get by.  Next year, I'll have a fine new enclosed garden the damn squirrels, rabbits, and groundhogs can't get into!

Gardening 2

Well, it was my favorite weekend of the years last weekend.  Its the day I start seeds of some of my favorite crops.  8 weeks before average last frost day...

It was TOMATO DAY!  And bell pepper, broccoli, cabbage, radicchio, celery, and "some other stuff" day.

I love fresh heirloom tomatoes above all individual foods.  Right from vine to mouth, sides on the dinnerplate, in salads, as snacks.

But the last few years, my heirloom tomatoes have not produced well (even for heirloom tomatoes) in spite of good care.  So when I read about grafting heirloom tomato stalks on disease-resistant hybrid roots, I got interested.  Well, almost all grapes grown for wine are grafted on disease-resistant roots, s why not tomatoes?

I planted 2x my normal number of heirlooms (Brandywine, Cherokee Purple, Prudens Purple, Aunt Gertie's Gold, and Striped German) and as many of the hybrid Big Beef to use as hybrid roots (plus 4 to grow for themselves as backups).

The idea is that you cut the tops off the heirlooms and the hybrids and attach the heirloom tops to the hybrid roots.  I bought small silicon clips to hold the 2 together.  It may be tricky to do (I have shakey hands from teenage DDT exposure), but I will give it my best try.  And I've planted enough of the heirlooms so that, if the grafts fail, I will have enough regular heirloom plants for the garden.

I will take LOTS of pictures so that I can look back on the points of success or failure.

There is good news on the previous weekend flower plantings.  There are SEEDLINGS showing!  That is encouraging, because the seed packets said "germination in 7-21 days" and I'm seeing some at 7 days.

I bought a mini greenhouse today.  And I mean "mini-mini".  Its a steel frame with metal mesh shelves and a vinyl cover with zippers that allow you to adjust how closed/open the cover is.  Its for hardening off plants outside before permanent planting, a transition I have always had difficulties with.  It's kind of simplistic, but at $30, worth a try.  I found it at Lowes.

The other gandenng project I keep working on is an enclosed garden surrounded by chicken wire to keep the squirrels from tearing up the seedlings and eating the ripe veggies. I made a fast and crude attempt last year and it "sort of worked".  But not well enough and it was a real effort to harvest anything through the barriers.

I looked up "enclosed gardens", and found a decent design.  But it was small and had flaws.  I've been thinking of improvements.  Thinking of improvements even in my dreams at night...

I think I have something easier to construct, easier to build larger, and sturdier.  I won't give out all the details right now (they are changing daily), but basically, its a 20'x20' grid of 1/2" metal pipe built of 10' pipes and connectors, covered all around with chicken wire and chicken wire extended out from the bottom at ground level about 3' to discourage animals from tunneling under.

I'll show pictures when I settle on the design.

I will have a busy early Spring to deconstruct my existing framed beds in early April (falling apart after 25 years) before the planting season starts in late April.  But it is either then or not and I want to have a garden free of the evil squirrels.

Some Evil Squirrels

Some evil squirrels are about to die.  I do not find pleasure in this.  I admire squirrels in many ways; they are clever, agile, and adaptive and I generally respect that.  I even think they are "cute".  I set up two squirrel baffles on the bird-feeder and I thought we had reached an understanding.  They couldn't reach the birdfeeder, but they were welcome to the seeds that fell.

But one one small group of them in a particular community learn to survive by eating every unripe apple, pull up every pole bean seedling, dig up every corn seedling, and pull off every heirloom tomato fruit , I have to put a stop to it.

I had squirrels around for the first 24 years here and never had a problem.  2 years ago , they suddenly learned to eat my tomatoes.  Last year, they started to eat my bean seedling.  This year, they are tearing up any plant I plant.

I wasn't sure it was really squirrels until yesterday when I caught them in the act.  There were 3 squirrels in the garden at the places where I am losing plants that I am growing for my food!  I know the direction they come from. 

I seriously think it is just one group of squirrels.  I intend to kill them as serious varmints.

I have several Hav-A-Hart live traps and one is sized for squirrels.  But I must mention that I am only using Hav-A-Hart traps so that I won't catch innocent animals like my cats or other cats.  Any squirrel I catch in the direction of the cadre that destroys my garden will die.

They have pulled up all my corn seedlings 3 times, my beans 3 times and half my cucumbers up twice.  I admire squirrels a lot, but when it comes to MY food, they are going to lose.  Its not ALL the squirrels; its only the ones that come from one direction and I'm going to get THOSE!

The most humane way I know to kill varmints is drowning.  I tried stabbing them with arrows through the cage screen, but it didn't work fast.  So I just drown them.  Its not as bad as you think.  They move around confused for a minute, then blurp an exhalation.  Then they are gone.

I expect some complaints, but I've tried different ways and that is the fastest I've found.

But if it is a contest between my growing veggies for my own food and allowing the squirrels to stop me from growing my own food, the squirrels are going to lose gradually and eventually.

Its Been A Hard Week

Well, I should summarize the week...

Sunday - Ayla suddenly started extruding pus from her vulva.  I spent the afternoon and night keeping her as clean as I could.

Monday - Brought Ayla to my regular vet first thing in the morning.  He did some tests to eliminate urinary infections, then did x-rays to search for a reproductive tract problem.  He scheduled surgery for Tuesday.

Tuesday - Ayla was opened for exploratory surgery first thing in the morning.  At noon, the vet called to say that he had found the spayed uterus remnant was infected, which led him to discover her left ovary was intact.  He removed both.  Considering that the breeder's vet had done both a first and a followup spay operation, he was quite surprised!  I was very angry towards the breeder's vet.

Ayla (and I) have gone through frequent and lengthy heat cycles for 3 years.  Most times lasting for 10 days separated by 2 weeks of calm.  Occasionally, there was a whole month between heat episodes.  The news that my vet had found the cause was a matter of extreme joy.  I was thrilled.  The $800 was well worth all the trouble.

Tuesday night I picked Ayla up to give her the antibiotic, and I discovered she was dripping with red stuff all over the incision.  I assumed it was blood and brought her to an emergency pet hospital.  I was there for 2 hours.  The ER vet put a pressure bandage on her, did some tests, and decided she should see my regular vet in the morning. 

Wednesday - My vet was upset and distressed that I had had to go through all the ER stuff.  He explained that scar tissue is difficult to seal and that sometimes there is seepage.  But he apologized for not having advised my of that, and I am OK with the apology.  It DID cost me $1,000 at the ER hospital to learn that Ayla COULD have just lain on a thick towel all night.  The ER vet COULD have told me that, but he is running a business and I DID request service.  It was still pretty shoddy, though.

Anyway, my vet kept her for observation and examination all day at no charge. 

Thursday - Brought Ayla back to my vet for further observation.  He found the incision healing, not seeping, and he removed the IV catheter.  No charge, more apology, and lots of discussion.  And he gave me his home phone number in case of night time problems.

I hate the cone she has to wear, so I went out and bought an inflatable collar (XS dog collar, if you want to find one for a small cat, S for a regular size cat).  Ayla doesn't mind the inflatable collar, it even seems to make a decent pillow!

Friday - Ayla is alert and walking around, eating, and drinking.  She seems fine now, healing well with no "sera" seepage.

I spent the morning giving her lots of attention and scritching the itchy incision area that she can't get at with the inflatable collar.  She enjoyed that a LOT!

In the afternoon, I unwound by watering the veggie and flower gardens.  I have a nice system.  Stab a spading fork with a "D" handle in the ground, fit a hose nozzle in the handle (most will fit one way or another), and turn the water on for 5 full minutes at each spot.  Move the spade and repeat.  All afternoon!  Sit in a chair in the shade and drink a beer while listening to classical music on a little boom box.  Very relaxing and theraputive. 

It was 100+ outside, but I was sitting in the shade and there was a slight breeze.  There was water spraying, birds around, etc.  I NEEDED that!

Speaking of the gardens, the reason I was watering was because we are so dry here in MD.  There have been rains, but brief and hard and not much for several weeks.  How dry has it been?  The hosta bed still has dry crunchy leaves from last Fall.  They won't decompose!  Too dry.

More bad news!  A sign at the entrance to my neighborhood advises that electricity will be turned off for 5 hours August 1st!  Oh joy...  The forecast for that day is over 100 again.   I see that Verizon is digging up the neighborhood for some reason, so that must be the cause.

More bad news!  Have you ever used a garden hose and forgotten to turn the water off?  And the hose burst?  And not gone out there for 2 days?  That happened to me Tuesday.  I don't know exactly when the hose burst.  If I am lucky, it burst just before I went out and noticed.  If I am unlucky, it happened shortly after I went inside and it spewed water for 2 days.  And, of course, the water was not even spewing near any of my plants...  I will find out on the next quarterly bill.

More bad news!  Because of Ayla's apparently finally successful spay Tuesday, I contacted a radio vet show (The Animal House).  I had been a guest in June of last year discussing unsuccessfully "Twice-Spayed Ayla, and they asked for followup.  So I was scheduled for a taping Wed afternoon.  Well, Wed morning I had been up all night and morning, so I had to call to cancel (because I needed to collapse in bed).  They didn't want to reschedule for the next week, so they are just going to read the email I sent them.  I sure wish I could have been on-air to talk to them.  That would have been thrilling!  I guess I missed my 15 minutes of fame...

It will be broadcast in August and I will give details for that later.

I think it is finally safe to have "too much to drink tonight"!  And I plan to.  I just haven't decided whether it will be my favorite cheap wine (Twisted vine Zinfandel) or my own Sling recipe (1/2 oz gin, 1/2 oz pomegranate liquer, a shot of real pomegranate juice, fill up the glass with ginger ale over ice, and drink through straw).

I HAVE had worse weeks, but not often, and this one ranks way up on the list.  My baby sister died last Summer, Mom died last Fall, Skeeter died in Dec 2008, LC died in Jan 2010, I failed out of college in 1975 (I returned and graduated in 1993), and I got fired from a job because I couldn't roll tires off a truck fast enough.  All considered, I think this week places 5th.  Maybe 6th because I think at least Ayla IS finally spayed and that's good.

Garden Harvest Starts

I finally got some garden harvest a few days ago,  Not much.  1 zucchini an 1 small tomato.  But they were good steamed together with some red onion!

I HAVE started getting italian flat pole beans and a few small cucumbers, but I forgot to take pictures (I had dinner on my mind).  My first main season heirloom tomatoes are getting large enough to start developing color soon.  The corn is sad again.  I JUST don't get enough sunlight for them.  They are tasseling at 3' high with 4" ears.  The celery is actually growing.  I've never successfully grown celery before. 

The flowerbed is doing OK.  I've kept the weeds clear better than usual, and the annuals are finally flowering.  They are in one large patch where I had some runner grass invade.  I kept digging it out and got rid of most, but I decided to just plant annual flowers there this year and dig it all up in Fall to get and the last of the runners.  I basically just used up all my annual seed packets, so there are marigolds, carnations, salvia, forget-me-not and wave petunias in small groups.  It will do for one year.

I need more sunlight.  Over the 25 years here, the neighbors' trees have grown huge and I get 6 hours sun at best.  I'm amazed I can still grow decent tomatoes (and they are getting leggier each year).

Seedlings, Yay!

Well, I have seedlings of my large-seed crops up now!  You may recall I had pre-soaked them a few hours and drained the water out of the individual containers to let the initial seedroots develop before planting them.  It works really well!  It is guaranteed germination.  You have to handle the seeds gently so as not to damage the 1/4" root, but it is well worth it.

Of the 10 cukes I planted, 9 are up and there is time for the 10th.

2 of the three cantaloupes are up in each of the 2 places I planted them, as are 2 of 3 of the watermelon seeds and honeydew seeds in their single spots.  In any case, it looks like I will have a good initial growth of those this year.  We will see later if there is enough sun for the melons to ripen.  I mention that because I have not had success with melons previously.  But 2 years ago, I had a couple of trees removed that I think provides 2 more hours on sun on the garden.  Last year was just bad all around, so that doesn't count.

The flat italian beans are emerging; only 2 so far, but I expect all of the 10 to emerge. I expected the beans to come up first because they are robust seedlings, but they ARE planted deeper, so I guess it balances out.

The heirloom tomato seedlings are thriving.  They got 4 daylight fluorescent bulb treatment this year (2-bulb lights make them leggy) AND I waited a week longer to set them in the ground (til the soil temp was over 60F at the coolest).  That seems to have helped.  They are greener and stockier than in past years and the stems are noticably thicker after 1 week.  I am looking forward to a superb harvest this year.

In case you are wondering why there are 2 cages, it is because something ate 1 of the seedling's top off and I had to replace it.   The small green cage is to discourage the groundhog or rabbit (I have at least 1 of each in the fenced yard).  I didn't know any mammals ate tomato plants!  Well, that's why I grow extras...

I have 2 Brandywine, 2 Cherokee Purple, and 1 each Prudens Purple, Aunt Gertie's Gold, and Tennessee Britches.  Everyone has their favorites and while Brandywine generally wins contests (and I love it too), here in MY yard with MY conditions and habits, Cherokee Purple is the winner.  The taste is more complex, it is more productive, and it is more disease resistant.

I also have a hybrid Stupice as an early tomato, and a Sweet Million in a hanging pot for snacking in the garden.

I am not using the permeable red plastic groundcover this year (supposed to reflect the best light frequencies back up to the leaves).   It may or may not work, but I noticed last year that water was not penetrating it.  Maybe the pores get clogged after a few years.  I don't want to have to buy it new every year!

I planted bi-color corn, too.  It is just a 2'x3' block of 6 (its just me and I only eat one a day at best).  But I will plant a 2nd 2x3 block next weekend and another 2 weeks after that for succession.  I know how to maximize pollination in small plantings.  In case you are wondering about that, you snip off a tassel each day and rub it around the silks for a week.  If it is a really calm day, you can tap the stalks to make pollen fall straight down.  If you REALLY want to maximize pollination, you can put a plastic bag over the stalks and THEN tap them.  Here, 1 ear per stalk is good.  This is NOT "corn country".

I don't know why I bother to grow corn.  At harvest time, bi-color corn is available cheap.  I should grow something more expensive like red lettuce  That stuff is ALWAYS $2 a pound.  Bi-color corn is sometimes 25 cents an ear.  But its the challenge, I suppose.  I stopped growing green bell peppers when they were 10/$1.  But just once, I want to grow really good corn.  Straight from the garden to boiling water in 1 minute!

The flowerbeds are doing great.  I probably have them in better shape than in the past 10 years.  I got them pruned of old stems early, got the beds weeded early, fertilized them with organic slow release 6-10-6 early (a blend I make from 2 sources), and (for once) I got cages around the large sprawling ones early!  I let the cats show off the flowers in their Garden Tour Thursday posts.  You can see that HERE.

OK, no plant in its perfect conditions should need cages.  But I get less sun than they would like, so several are a bit leggy.  The cages help that.  With the slightly increased sun and good fertilizer, the troillus are standing on their own, the coneflowers are stockier and other larger patches of flowers are standing up aganst the weeklong heavy rains.  OK, only 2", but it comes in heavy downfalls.  In past years, they would all be bent over.

So things are looking promising here.

Catching Up On The Yard Activities, Part 2

I have had the darndest time with the soil in the small crop bed.  The soil is unusually clumpy.  Not wet-clumpy, dry clumps.  And they are hard.  That is unusual.  I can usually just crush them by hand easily.  I even added compost this year.  Maybe I dug the clumps up from deeper in the bed this year.  I need fine soil for planting carrots and lettuce, etc.  Fortunately, it has rained for 2 days so I think I can crunch up the hard clumps in a couple days.  And maybe I better add a couple inchs of leaf-gro to turn in!


I cleaned out the small 5' pre-formed pond last week and siphoned it dry.

Then I repotted all the waterlilies and sweet flag, refilled it, and waited a week.

I added some mosquito dunk and was surprised to find ( a week later) that there were larvae all through it.  I took a full dunk and crumbled it up all over.  I am glad to see there are no larvae to be seen now!


So I added 4 small orange fantail goldfish to the pond.  They like to sit under water plant leaves, so they are hard to spot, but I stood by the pond for a while and finally noticed them moving around.  They stick together.  I may put some netting over the pond to keep the goldfish safe.  I had 3 that lived there for 4 years then all disappeared in a week.  I suspect a raccoon.


I pre-soaked some other crop seeds several days ago.  It gets the initial root started so you know which seeds are viable.  Flat Italian beans, corn, cukes, cantelope, honeydew, and watermelon.  I got those all planted just before the rains came Saturday.

So I'm waiting for the first seeds to come up.  I'll bet on the beans to show first.

Catching Up On The Yard Activities, Part 1

I should have been posting a few times the past week, but I get distracted by other things (cooking,  cleaning, yardwork, cats, MSNBC, etc).  So I will try to catch up a bit now.

I've spent the most time in the yard.  Last week was wonderful outside.  Temps around 70F, low humidity, mostly sunny.  I was greatly encouraged to spend time outside.

First, I introduced Marley ( my new cat from January) outside for the first time.  I got a harness he couldn't get out of.  It was a trial to get him into it.  Took tries on 3 days before I succeeded.  But he was stunned to be outside and didn't fight the harness (much).  It wasn't that he tried to get out of the harness, but tried to walk around things that would entangle the leash.

 He couldn't figure out why he couldn't walk under the deck, or around poles, or through tomato cages lying on their sides.  But he was happy to be outside so he didn't complain (too much) about being "guided" away from those places.  He had a grand time outside until I brought him in (30 minutes the first day, an hour - twice - the second day).

 Since he showed no signs of running or trying to escape the tall fence, I let him out free the 3rd day for an hour while I was out with him (close to him all the time).  The 4th day he liked to just sit on the grass in the shade and wander around a bit.  I feel free to let him out when I am out and Iza is out.  Iza is protective of the yard and if a stray cat came in, she would be right at it before Marley had to defend himself (he IS still only 8 months old.  Reminder:  Get him microchipped next week!  Just in case...

The Spring weather has been fluctuating so badly (highs of 50F one day, 80F a few days later) that I have not been sure when to plant the tomatoes.  Tomatoes can be permanently stunted at 50F.  It finally settled out last week and I got them all planted.  I only like the heirloom tomatoes these days.  I grow them from seeds.  There are 2 Brandywine, 2 Cherokee Purple, 1 Aunt Gerty's Gold, 1 Prudens Purple, 1 Tennessee Britches.  There is also 1 Stupice.  It is a hybrid that matures fast.  It hasn't worked well the past 2 years and this is its last chance here.  And I better get the hanging pot with the cherry tomato set up soon!

The space to the right will be for bell peppers and basil.

Seedstarting Fun

Is there a rule in life that nothing can ever just go smoothly?  I ask because I went to start my garden seedlings a couple of days ago and it was harder than it should have been.

Now, maybe I am fussy about my seed-starting, but I have 40 years experience at it and I know what works best.  You start seeds indoors, and you want sterile, unfertilized non-crusting soil. That means something called "seed starting soil".  It is finely sifted, loose, and no fertilizer that encourages fungal growth to kill the seeds.

It was time to start my tomatoes, peppers, etc.  The home stores did not have seed-starting soil available!  What???

 They said the demand wasn't high at this time of year.  But THIS is the time to start seeds!  The garden-department guy just looked at me weirdly, like maybe I was a communist.  After visiting 2 other home stores, I went home defeated.

But I checked my supplies.  Seed-starting soil is milled moss, vermiculite (or perlite), and sand.  I had the first two, but no sand.  And I found a bag of potting soil with almost no fertilizer (0.07%).  I made my own!

The potting soil and the sphagnum moss had chunks of stuff in it.  I tried using a kitchen sieve, but it was too fine.  The kitty litter scoop on the other hand worked GREAT (cleaned and dried).  3 parts sifted potting soil, 1 part sifted sphagnum moss, and 1 part vermiculite, well stirred, and I was in business! 

The sifted-out stuff will go in the regular potting mix for houseplants and outdoors containers.  They won't mind the extra material at all.

So I have my heirloom tomatoes, hybrid bell peppers, broccoli, and various annual flowers going just fine now.   The tomatoes, etc are upstairs where it is warm to germinate best.  The flowers are in the basement where THEY germinate best, and the petunias (that need light to germinate are under artificial "daylight" lights. 

At least the new season is started!

I guess that, in the future, I will have to buy my seed-starting soil later this year for next year!  Glad I have a storage shed...

Various Stuff...

I help the cats blog so much I start to lose track of my own stuff at times.  So it is time to catch up a bit.

It is time to start my garden veggie seeds.  The basement is, quite frankly, a mess!  All Winter long, I just kept "doing things" and never mind the clutter.  There was always time to arrange things for the early seed plantings.  LOL, guess what time passed?  Yeah, it is time to plant seeds and I am SO unready for it.

Grandiose plans for better seed/light planting shelves are now forgotten and I have to make do with the old structures.  I have almost no southern light to help the plants, so I depend on fluorescent bulbs.  Even the best ones are inherently weaker than real sunlight.  I had thought to widen the shelves to increase the 2 bulbs to 4.  I had thought I might add mirrors behind the shelves and in front to increase the reflected light.  But I didn't.

So, what I did today was the best I could.  I cleaned and reorganized enough space in the basement to collect all my gardening seed-starting materials into one place.  I was actually leased with the results, though it is not worth a picture.  If you want to picture it, just imagine a workbench with 10 sq ft empty space where there was none yesterday.  :)

Well, at least I have THAT!  And I sorted through my various bags of soil amendments to see what I had for a good seed starter blend.  The local garden centers don't even have sterile soil-less mixes available yet.  I am thrilled to see that I do have vermiculite, milled peat moss, fine sand, and some sterilized loam left over from last year.  At least that will get me started!


On other news, Marley the cat is getting used to the new home.  He is the fastest adapter I have had in decades.  The others hid for several days, but Marley was ready to come out and find his place in the house after the first day. 

He plays  with Iza mostly.  Iza outweighs him 12 lbs to 6 pounds, but he is fearless.  It was a shock to Iza at first because she was "Top Cat" mostly by virtue of weight.  Marley pounces from anywhere!  At first, Iza was quite upset and poofed her tail and whapped him hard, but lately it has become more cooperative play with them taking turns chasing and then curling up together.

Ayla is the "odd cat out".  As a small cat (yet the oldest) she never has been one for aggressive play.  I think she is getting used to it though.  She isn't doing the "chase and wrassle" that Iza and Marley do, but she does a certain kind of "you can't catch me" game with Marley.  She hisses mildly, then provocatively hops OVER him several times then runs off.  I think she is showing him that he really can't pounce her because she is just SO much more agile than he is.

That doesn't stop him from trying, of course.  He's only 6 months old and braver than he is experienced.  Marley chasing Ayla is like Marley chasing a shadow.  When when she lets him get close, suddenly she is up on the top of the closet door and he is looking around for her on the floor.

The crocuses are starting to bloom!  Yay!  Spring is coming. 

I made a hamburger yesterday.  That may seem bland.  But I ground up the meat (short ribs) myself.  I sauteed mushrooms, red and green bell peppers, and some onion.  Then I made a mayo/mustard mix with some minced garlic.  What a great topping!  I've had worse (good) steaks!

Tomorrow, it is back to cleaning the basement.  There is so much more to do!

2011 Gardening Season

The 2011 gardening season has begun! I've received my good seed&supply catalogs.

Now,  it is time to go through my seeds and decide which need to be restocked or replaced (because of age).  Fortunately, I have a system for storing and tracking them.


First, all the seeds are kept in capped vials with a number on the top.  Yes, those are "specimen containers".  I found them cheap 10 years ago somewhere.  The tray makes for easy carrying and finding the numbered vials.

The seed tray is kept in a basement refrigerator that I also use as a root cellar and bulk frozen food storage.  They last longer sealed and chilled...  The open vials remind me that that seed is used up.  The 0-99 series is for flowers and herbs, the 100+ series is for veggies.


Second, a list has the seed name and type, the year of purchase, and the vial number.  I keep it on Excel because the columns are easy to manage.  But I also print out 2 copies for safety.  One stays in the seed tray, the other in a 3x5" card file (more on that below). 

BTW, that's only 1/2 the list.  I had to fold it to make it large enough to be readable here.

The smaller the seeds, generally the shorter they last.  So I'll go through the list looking for ones that seem old or I don't like.  For example, I'll be replacing all the corn (111-115) this year.  The Bon Appetit is too old, and I didn't like the Golden Bantam.  Far too starchy for me.

The third part of my system is calendar and a 3x5" card file.  That is for specific weekly instructions for each crop.  On the calendar, I simply find the average last frost date and write "0" on the closest weekend.  Then going backwards I write -1, -2, -3..., etc for each weekend; forward from there it is of course 1, 2, 3... so I have "weeks til" and "weeks after" the average last frost date.  Those are the basis for the card file instructions.

Each file card has  a specific crop, a specific numbered week, and instructions for what to do with that crop that week.

For example, this card reminds me that in week -4 (4 weeks before the average last frost date), I need to transplant my tomatoes from the small cell packs to larger individual pots and set them deeper in the soil.  So there are 4 cards for tomatoes.  One to plant, one to transplant inside, one to harden them off outside, and one to plant outside.

Each week has it's own tab in the card file box.  Week 0 might have individual cards for tomatoes, cabbage, leeks, radishes and cucumbers; week 2 might have cards for radishes, corn, broccoli, beans, and melons.

I have a separate series of cards for Spring planting and Fall planting (counted from average first frost date in October.  Some crops have many cards for the same purpose (for succession planting of radishes every 2 weeks for example).

The cards are, of course, geared to my specific location (Southern MD USDA Zone 7A) and gardening habits (using protective covers outside on some crops).  It may seem a bit complicated.  Some people just remember this stuff easily, I don't.  And some people trust their gardening by the weather each year, I don't.  And some people don't like to keep records, I do.  It works well for me.

If you have any questions about it, leave me a comment or email me:  yardenman-2118 AT comcast DOT net.  (replace the caps with the symbols)

Compost Tumbler

There may be a hope for the compost tumbler after all.  I had really criticized it HERE. 

At first, I mainly used it to keep rich tempting kitchen scraps from the groundhogs and other critters.  I could never get it to heat up enough to really compost stuff quickly.  But I may have figured it out.

But to back up a bit...  In past years, I would look at the barrels of produce waste in the grocery stores and wish I could get them.  My requests were always refused.  But I am persistent.  This year, the store managers suddenly say "yes".  I have gotten 6 bags of corn husks and other unwanted produce debris.

I finally have enough stuff to fill the compost tumbler bin.  You would be surprised how compact a whole trash can of corn husks gets in just a week.  But then it was all green stuff and that doesn't make a good compost blend for aerobic breakdown...

Well, I get a daily newspaper (which uses safe soy ink) and I have a paper shredder.  Aha!  Nice "brown" stuff to add to balance the decomposition.

In the past 2 weeks, I have added about as much dry shredded newspaper to the bin as green material.  I've made it a point to turn the bin several times each day.  It's heavier to move, but not unmanageable.  I can tell the balance is better and that the materials are getting mixed well.  It doesn't smell bad.

I know all about anaerobic vs aerobic breakdowns, so I know it is finally working right.  Best of all, it was HOT inside (140F) when I opened it today.

I finally got enough stuff inside, and the right mixture...

Yay!!!

I still think a regular compost bin is far superior, but I have to give SOME credit to these rotating things.  With a lot of care, they can work "OK".

So, The Flowerbeds...

At least most of the flowers have survived the drought.  Unfortunately, the weeds did better.  I cringed everytime I walked past them in the brutal Summer heat.  Watering the flowerbeds was almost like feeding lambs to wolves in order to save some lambs, but it was still hard.

In the past week, I have made great progress in weeding the flowerbeds. 

Here are some horrible "Before" pictures...

There are more, but you get the picture. Half the growth is weeds.  Well, a few days ago I started getting at the weeds.  I have a procedure...

Wait for the afternoon shade to spread, bring out the radio, bring out the camera, bring out a beer in a gel-pack, apply mosquito repellent, and start pulling weeds up by the roots carefully.  You would think that, after a couple of years, I wouldn't have a weed problem. 

It doesn't work that way.  Nature brings weed seeds in from everywhere.  There is no stopping it.  I swear that if I sterilized a square foot of soil and covered it with heavy plastic, there would be weeds happily growing a month later!

ARGHHHH!


But I can destroy a month of weed growth in a limited are in a day.  About 50 square feet a day in a tightly growing flowerbed, anyway.  It's tricky weeding a flowerbed with no paths.  I have to carefully slide my feet in between plants I want to keep.  Then I have to bend every whichway following weeds through the desirable plants down to the roots.  Then pull them gently till the roots come up or dig at the spot till I get the roots.

I don't just pull the weeds loose at ground level, I really work at getting the roots.

Well, I made good progress.  Here is the pile for today...

The weed pile was 3'x3'x2'high.  I'm going to let them desiccate there for a few days before I add them to the compost tumbler bin. 

Fortunately after several years, I have the compost tumbler reaching a good temperature.  Enough to kill most of the weed seeds, I think.  But more on that next time...

Well, Finally!

Hurray!  It has been raining several inches the past 2 weeks.  Finally, I am off dedicated watering duty and can pay attention to the weeds again...

The weeds are legion!  They have thrived with the watering better than the flowers and veggies, and they nearly took over the entire garden without my usual lethal attention.

The corn tried to do well.  It grew, but the heirloom variety I tried (remembering it from childhood) "Golden Bantam" was not what I remembered.   I was excited at first...

And it looked really good!

I picked it at the right time (just as the silks dried), but I hated it.  All starch, no sweetness.  And I tried leaving another for the silks to dry longer, but that was worse.  Then picked one ear earlier.  It was all terrible!   Like eating a raw potato, only chewier...

I have been spoiled by modern sweet hybrids.  I'll accept that and will plant the hybrids next year.  Unlike tomatoes, I like the new ones better.

More about the flowerbeds in a couple days...

More Problems

Well, I have to apologize.  I haven't really been doing anything worth mentioning lately.  Everything has just been to maintain the yard and house, and nothing worth taking a picture about.  I water the garden, spray some weeds, do laundry. Wow, how exciting...

OK, I have a few pictures but they are embarrassingly routine.

Here I am watering some plants...

I get bored holding the hose for 6 -7 minutes, so I jam the spading fork into the lawn and stick the hose nozzle in it.  It really works quite well, and I can pull weeds in the next part of the beds while the hose does it's thing.  Or sit in the shade and drink beer.  Guess which effort has been winning out in this heat?

Here is the groundcover I am watering.

It is called 'snow-on-the-mountain' and not happy in this MD heat.  It loves NH!  But it looks good April-June, survives July-August, and looks good again September-October in the shadiest areas.  Mostly, it is tenacious and keeps sending up fresh leaf stalks.  Each of these clumps were mere single leaves last Fall.  Next year, it will be a full groundcover.

The front hosta bed is looking good...

This is from May, but they haven't changed any (well, they have some flower stalks).  Watering 2x weekly has helped.

I picked some tomatoes 2 weeks ago...  Those were eaten up in 4 days.

Sadly, it was so hot in June that I only have small fruits developing now...  It was too hot for them to pollinate.

And it hasn't been much better in July.  So far, I have had 20 days over 90F degrees this month.  Today actually dipped below 80F, but I wasn't able to take advantage of that.  More about that tomorrow...

I picked my first ripe bell peppers of the season yesterday...

I was surprised the purple ones ripened before the red or orange ones.  I've grown purple ones a couple of times in the 90s, but these are the first to grow well.  They aren't as sweet as my Red Lipstick variety, but they look good in a salad.  They turn gray-green when sauteed, so I use them fresh.

Gee, I guess I did have some things to post about...