Finally, some gardening weather!!

I finally got a chance to make some progress in the garden this week. We've had some beautiful warm (actually, hot) weather. I missed the chance to work outdoors Thursday since the house was getting a new roof and it wasn't safe to be out working near the house (and there were 6 guys on my roof)- I just stayed inside for the most part. Friday, I made some progress. I got more seeds and starts planted, pulled a few weeds, added some more mulch, tweaked the trellises and generally cleaned up the mess I had going out in the garden.

I planted the started-too-early squash and zucchini a few days ago. Some have fared better than others. Both zucchini starts seem to have succumbed to the strong winds we've had and the pumpkins aren't looking so good. I think the spaghetti squash, butternut, watermelons & pattypan are going to make it. I direct-sowed a few seeds just in case. I also planted out the cucumber starts along with a few seeds. I planted seeds of Rattlesnake beans, the Zi Long Beans and I replanted the peas since they've not done much of anything and they've been out there a few weeks. I've had just a few that have broken ground. It is possible the bunnies discovered them and chomped them before I ever saw them since I actually planted them outside the raised bed. Oops..


It seems pretty much impossible to get an overview photo of the garden but this one gets pretty close. I've just caught the corner of a couple beds, but you can get a general idea of the plot. I'll try to catch the same angle later in the season when there's actually something growing out there to give it some dimension. I think if you click the photo, you'll get a bigger view.

So, here's one of my less successful beds- the asparagus I planted last year didn't do so well. I'm not sure if you can see but there are 4 spears in this bed. I planted 10 roots. Several didn't come up at all last year and I think these are from two roots. I ordered replacements but they won't come until next spring. The strawberries didn't fare much better. I've only got about 4 plants total out there from 25. I'm not sure what happened to them. Last year, they started out great then turned yellowish. I'm sure that was a fertilizer deficit but it seemed strange since all the new beds last year were filled pretty much the same and the other plants did fine. I lost most over the winter though. I have replacements coming soon.

The raspberry patch is filling in well. I planted 9 plants last year, one didn't sprout. There are lots more now. Hopefully I'll get some berries this year. Last year, my fall-bearers froze before they ripened.

The pots at the top of the retaining wall are a visual aid for planning the herb garden. It was supposed to go in last year but I never got that far. Right now, the only thing planted up there are the walking onions. Hopefully that will work out alright, those onions might not stay where I put them. They should be fine for a year or two I think, then they'll need some supervision or a dedicated bed of their own.


This is the salad bed. I've got Summer Crisp, Baby Romaine, Black-Seeded Simpson, Savanna Mustard & Teton Spinach in there. I started the seeds in milk jugs on the porch (wintersowing-style) and transplanted them a few days before I left for Montana. I'm finally seeing some growth. Hopefully I'll get some lettuce before it bolts. I also have a few Swiss Chard, Broccoli & Cauliflower in the other half of the bed. Of course, since I gave away my extra broccoli starts at the swap, 2 of the 3 have since died (presumably the wind, possibly hail). It's ok though, broccoli isn't my favorite anyway. I tossed in a couple more seeds for gee whiz yesterday.

This bed may become an interesting experiment in squash growing. I've got spaghetti, butternut, pumpkin (Small Sugar) and watermelon (Sugar Baby) in there. I debated which way to place the trellis and though it looks funny backwards, I think that will be more effective. I added string to it to give a little more climbing area. I need to find a couple more 2x2s and add them to the backside to make it more like a stepladder. It has at least stayed put with the winds we've had so far, unlike the actual ladder which I had to secure a little better. The jugs of water and rocks in the bed are to absorb heat to help keep the little plants warm at night. I need to work on a cover for this one though, my previous attempts have all blown off. Hail is bound to come along and I've got to try and protect the plants. There have been some devastating hailstorms around Denver and Pueblo this week. We got a little taste the other day but it stopped before it got too bad. Denver had 6" of hail on the ground and had to bring out snowplows to clear it.

The Red Pontiacs potatoes in the bin are starting to show some growth. The other potato patches are showing some green now as well. Once again, I've got potatoes scattered all around. I seem to have some self-control issues when it comes to buying seed potatoes. I was pretty good this year, I bought Red Pontiac, Purple Majesty & Majestic Purple (which may end up being the same as the Majesty, I'm not sure). I also planted the pantry-sprouted spuds from last year's harvest.

That's all I've got for today. It's been a slow spring but things are looking up! Soon, the tomatoes & peppers will be headed out the door.

Well, there is one more thing... this one can't wait for the veggies to get going!

HAIL NO!!!

So far in July, we've had nearly 4 inches of rain!! Of course, with this rain has come the threat of more severe weather and the gardeners' nightmare, HAIL! I guess I can feel fortunate that we've only had pea & marble sized hail. The storm that left this loveliness was apparently throwing golf balls around in other areas.

After a few storms, the hail damage is starting to show up in the garden as well. The zucchini doesn't look so bad, just a few holes in the leaves. The one on the right has a couple female blossoms coming, maybe I'll have zucchini soon!

The corn looks a little shredded after yesterday's storm.

This poor little borage didn't enjoy the pommeling so much.

After the first hail, I decided to build some protection for the tomatoes, just in case the golf balls come hurtling through the sky, they might stand a chance. I have two layers of chicken wire (offset so the holes are smaller) attached to a couple pieces of wood at each end. I laid it over the top of the trellis and tied it to the top supports. When the growing season is over, I can untie the wire and use it over the bed to hold down the fall mulch. Of course, this doesn't offer full protection as the sides are still open, but I'm hoping it helps (well, really, I'm hoping it's unnecessary). I also added ropes for the tomatoes to grow up. I still need to add the lines for the beans. The beans aren't growing so fast yet, so I still have a little time on that one.

The spaghetti squash & pumpkins are creeping up the ladder more and more each day. The Small Wonder squash is looking like it will be quite prolific. I may have spaghetti squash coming out my ears come fall!! Of course, the squash will probably all have little hail scars on them... The nasturtiums look the worst of everything in this bed. Those big round leaves took a severe beating.

This is the new addition this week. I finally got the trellis for the cukes & watermelon added. I had a few 2x2's left still so I used 'em along with the spindles that came from the stairs we cut down to fit the garden area (so I wouldn't have to jump off the retaining wall anymore). I had a set of hinges in the basement from an old project that was taken apart and a pair of brackets to keep the thing square (that I have no idea where they came from).

Too bad it doesn't sit at quite the same angle as the ladder. Oh well...

I covered all the bush beans after the first (or second?) storm. I figured they seemed to be having a tough enough time this year with out being beaten to death by flying ice.

They're still yellow, but they're looking a little better than they were. They are putting on growth now and they look like blooms may be on the way soon. I was going to try some fish emulsion, but the only time I remembered to look for some while I've been at the store, they didn't have any. We don't have any nurseries out here and I haven't been nearby any recently. I did apply some coffee grounds around the worst of them, just to see if that would do anything. I still wonder if it's because they're pretty wet. This week is supposed to be hot and I think dry, so maybe they'll perk up a little more. I've never had beans look this bad and the germination rates have been pretty dismal as well. I'm hoping the heat helps these guys get back to normal.

To top it all off, look what I found hatching (or emerging, or whatever these guys do)...

I wasn't sure at first what was wrong with it, it was laying so strangely on the mulch, then I realized it's legs weren't free yet. I wasn't so thrilled to find this guy for sure.

Well, there's my update for this week, a little early. I'm off my usual routine anyway as I didn't do my end-of-week pictures last week and Mom flies in tomorrow so I'm may not have a chance to update for about a week (we be out doing tourist-y things not garden-y things I think!). I'll be back before long though!

Trellis Progress

I've made some progress with my trellis situation this week. I stayed with essentially the same plan but I changed how it's put together. My original plan was to build 4 individual rectangles to go over the bed. Once I built the first one, I felt it was not going to be sufficient once the beans & tomatoes started getting tall.

Here's what I ended up building...

While it looks very similar to what I had planned, I made some real changes to how I built it. This one is built in sections that run down the sides, not over the bed, which makes it much less dangerous (for the plants) during installation. The 4 uprights have a loop of pipe strap at the top which is how they're attached to the top horizontal piece. Having the uprights loosely attached made it easier to adjust placement (read: lots of wiggle room!). I marked where I wanted them on the side of the bed, attached with one screw to hold the height, straightened them out and added a second screw in the bottom. I then put up the other side the same way. I put the overhead cross pieces on last. There are 2 at the tomato end to run string from. There's one at the pole bean end just for visual balance and a little extra support. I'm going to run horizontal lines for the beans similar to the peas but a little more heavy duty (and neater) as they'll be there much longer than the peas.

I also decided to use my scavenged ladder for the Small Wonder spaghetti squash and Small Sugar pumpkins. The ladder is not safe for use anymore so it's got a new purpose. I picked this up free on Craigslist this spring. I also added a few cross pieces to it. These were also scavenged. They were attached to the stairs we re-purposed so I wouldn't have to jump off the retaining wall anymore (or go the long way around) to get to the garden. All last summer, I used a bale of straw as a step (still had to jump down, just not as far). By fall, my step was getting lower and lower...

Anyway, I have a little pile of these 2x2's from the stairs and I was happy to finally find a use for at least a few of them. This poor ladder will look like a jungle by fall I suspect. I did put a couple screws in each side to attach it to the bed so (hopefully) it won't come crashing down in a storm.

I still have to add something for the cukes, patty pan squash and watermelon (if they ever sprout - I had one weak start but it died shortly after transplanting) .

Speaking of spaghetti squash, here's why I was getting anxious about a trellis here...

I know, it's not huge, but it's growing pretty quick. It's sending out tendrils and if you look to the right of the photo, there's a female bloom about to open. Luckily, the bloom on the left appears to be male. I'm surprised how quickly this one bloomed. The spaghetti squash and pumpkin are the farthest along of my vining plants. The cukes & patty pan are hanging in but are smaller. The watermelon is non-existent. The zucchini seem to be starting to show some growth now as well.

The potatoes in the bin didn't put on a huge amount of height this week but they are filling out more. I'll add another board soon. I've added some straw to nearly all the potatoes this week. . Some are growing faster than others, but most seem to be in good shape. The only variety that seems to be doing poorly is Viking.

These are Red Pontiac, a late season variety.

When reading about growing strawberries, I read conflicting information about what to do with Junebearing strawberries. Some sources say pluck the blooms the first year, others say leave them. I even read that they won't produce the first year. Unless that last bit refers to runners that are sprouted in the summer, I'd call it false information.

This is one of the Honeoye I planted this spring. I decided to learn for myself what the best way to handle the blooms was. I plucked blooms off half the plants and let the other half go. I have 4-6 berries started on the ones I let the flowers grow. I'm planning to allow limited runners this summer. I want the bed to fill in but I want to (try to) avoid total chaos. We'll see how that goes...

It wasn't for nothin' after all

I went out to check the garden this morning and discovered I was wrong about how much support my peas required. They stood up fine on their own but today, our wind returned (and if the forecast storms show up, the wind will be much worse). I cringed as I saw the bloom covered tops bent over in the wind. I tried to think of something tall I could quickly put out for them. All I could come up with was my less-than-stellar trellis I started the other day.

It was a little tricky to move in the wind, but once I got the screws started, it wasn't hard to straighten and attach. I just ran some cotton string between the sides which was enough to straighten out the poor peas. They looked broken, but when I got them stood back up, the stems looked fine. I guess I'll find out in the next couple days if I'm going to lose any. It seems strange to me how often the wind manages to blow from the direction of the house (ok, it bounces off the house, but still...). Last year, the corn was usually flattened from that direction.

The trellis actually seems a lot more stable than it did before. I think it's because of the string holding the sides. I'm thinking I may be able tweak my plan a little and make it work. I'm still undecided though. Maybe tonight I'll check out some more options & see what I can come up with.

Back to the Drawing Board

The time is fast approaching that I will need to have all my trellis work completed. That also means I'd better make up my mind what I'm going to build! I have 3 beds that require some form of support. I thought I had two of the three figured out. Two of three has turned into ZERO of three. I was using the sticks for the rattlesnake beans and pickling cukes, up until I discovered the tree branches were rooting. For the other pole beans and tomatoes, I was planning to use a stack of 2x2's I have on hand (a freebie from last summer). It seemed so simple, too simple in fact. The plan was to build 4 sets of these...

This is not going to work. It's completely unstable and when there are plants on it, I think it could come crashing down during a good windstorm. Unlike some fellow gardeners who very much enjoy overengineering these types of projects (I'm sure this post will make at least one man in Alabama cringe) I tend to go with more of a "wing it with what you've got until you really know what you want" sort of method. Sometimes, it doesn't work out so well, so back to the drawing board it is. I also still need to decide how I'm going to support the vining plants. I've really got to get crackin', the pumpkin is starting to grow.

The potatoes are growing well it seems. I'll be adding the second board on my bin before too long now. I'm curious to see the differences in production between the potatoes in the containers, the bin and the ones in the ground.

Most of the tomatoes are doing well. I lost the one Roma, but the others are all hanging in. I have one little guy in here who's lagging behind but it was not looking well when I planted it, so it's at least an improvement.

The Galinas Gold Cherry which was the early leader in growth before transplanting isn't doing as well as it was. It has a little leaf curl and just isn't thriving like some of the others. It is still growing and is about to bloom again. Hopefully, it straightens itself out.

The black cherry (not pictured) which looked bad after transplanting seems to be doing well now.

These are the remaining Rattlesnake beans (since the bunny dug in behind them). I'm going to wait a bit longer to see if more sprout before I fill in the blank spots. I had them planted around the sticks that I had to pull out. Crazy trees.

On a positive note, the Sugar Snaps are SO close! Not much longer now- I can hardly wait!!

To those of you who use Blogger, I can't drag & drop anything in compose mode anymore (for the past few weeks) for some reason. Anyone else having this problem?