While out shopping with my wife, we stopped into a thrift store just to see what they had. The store - 2nd Avenue Thrift - is a very large store with a wide selection of items. As my wife was searching through the women's clothes selection, I naturally migrated over to the appliance and housewares area. As I went through the aisles, I saw a three level plant stand that caught my attention. I wasn't quite sure where I was going to use it but I decided to buy it and figure that out later. As seen below, It was a substantial metal piece that I hadn't seen before. Once I saw that it was priced under $10.00, I was convinced it was going home.
I may repaint it but for now, I am going to leave it as is.
I have been working in my greenhouse getting the shelves set up for seedlings which I have been growing. I decided to use Terra Cotta pots. I was able to get most of these pots through an online auction during the summer. I bid $ 3.00 for the garden tools and pots lot and actually won. There were 20 pots of various sizes and a few other items that I am also using. I have the pots spread out among the established lettuce and spinach plants that I started mid-August.
I have staggered the pots so that each plant will get sun on them in the winter. Hopefully, that will result in healthier plants.
I have roughly 64 seedlings growing under lights in my basement. They are not quite ready to transplant but that should be happening in the next week or so.
The lights are red-blue grow lights which do not show well in pictures. I run the lights about 15 hours a day on timers and water the plants from below. So far, so good.
I am going to plant the seedlings into the pots and also in the grow bag system I have. After today, the weather will be turning cooler so the timing is pretty good as far as these plants are concerned.
There is much to do and I hate to say it - winter is right around the corner. I do believe this winter is going to be much colder and snowier for the mid-atlantic. That adds a lot of other tasks to winter preps. Gratefully, I have the time.
So, until next time, Happy Gardening Everyone!
We had the worst storms this morning with very high winds, lightning and heavy rains. We also had several rounds of power outages that just came and went then came again and went. Only to come back again. Well, you get the picture. The winds blew my potted tomato plants all over the place. Guess it's time to pull them and put the vines in the composters. They weren't exactly what you would call healthy so I don't have any frustration about what happened today.
I decided to try to propagate two stems from my Longevity Spinach plants to see if they really were as easy as people said they were to grow. So, earlier this month, I took two cuttings and just put them into two pots filled with soil and set them aside. I didn't do too much other than water them. They are about 3 weeks old and, as you can see below from this one, they both have begun putting on new growth.
As the weather turns colder, I will have to eventually move them into my basement as they are good only to zone 9. I am in zone 7. I have grow lights so I will nurse them along until the weather turns in the spring. I will be cutting and harvesting the two original plants this week as they have just grown so robustly. I can't wait to begin using them in various recipes as they as super healthy for you. I think I probably will propagate about 10 total plants to insure I have a steady supply of it. I must say, they are really low maintenance.
My greenhouse is coming to life for the fall/winter plants. I have a small selection of spinach and lettuce plants that were kind of impacted by the hot weather we have had the last few weeks. It gets really warm in the greenhouse and that heat stunts the plants. Now that we have had a string of cooler weather, they seem to be taking off again. Here is a recent picture of the plants.
I have more plants that I started in my basement that I am going to migrate out to the greenhouse over the next week or so. It's been busy for sure.
There are lots of house projects to complete before winter makes its' appearance. We just recently bought a new washer and dryer. That was an adventure as these machines are getting bigger all the time and our house is older with smaller door entrances. Luckily, the machines fit but it was so close. Just glad it all worked out in the end. We now need to reconfigure our laundry area to make it more efficient. Besides that, there are numerous jobs that cannot be put off so I try to fit in the gardening as best I can. I do have the advantage that I get up at 5-5:30 everyday so I tend to gravitate to the garden when the weather is nice.
This past Monday, I went out to pick some tomatoes off a volunteer San Marzano plant. I love to let them ripen and eat them much like a cherry tomato. If we had more of these plants, I certainly would attempt to make homemade tomato sauce. But, there is only one but it has been prolific. Here is a picture of the harvest of beans and tomatoes I picked.
Last week, as I finished eating breakfast, I noticed something moving in my back yard. I seemed to have acquired a new visitor to my menagerie of wild life. I am none too pleased as these guys make themselves at home and are hard to evict. I actually chased him and he managed to make his way out of my yard. Hoping, since I and my dog caught him a bit off guard, that he won't be coming back. One can always hope.
Well, that's all for now. Hoping your garden is giving you a bountiful harvest now. Until next time, Happy Gardening everyone!
Hello everyone! I hope your gardening endeavors are bringing you great results as Autumn comes into view. I have been so busy with everything that it is often hard for me to get it all completed. Our weather has been wreaking havoc as we have had some real scorchers of days this past month. It felt like I was constantly pouring water on my tomato plants. But, I am glad to report that it was worth the efforts. Here is a recent harvest of tomatoes.
Cucumbers, on the other hand, have been a whole different story. No matter how much water I gave them, they just seemed to drop flowers. And, when they did produce a cucumber or two, the squirrels seemed to beat me to them. I guess they have to eat too. I read in a recent article that the reason squirrels go after tomatoes and cucumbers is because they are thirsty. They nick the fruit and drink as much as they can and then just move on. So frustrating!! But, I am going to try a suggestion that said to provide water sources away from the garden for the squirrels. They will find it and evidence is that you will see much less invasion into your garden. But, you have to start as early as possible in the growing season to "train" them that the water is available. Going to give it a try.
I recently purchased Longevity Spinach plants. These are quite different for many reasons. First, they are perennials so there is a year round harvest . A big plus. Secondly, there is a multitude of health benefits associated with them. There is a lot of evidence of this as they have been grown and eaten in China, Southeast Asia and Africa for centuries. I heard about them through a Youtube channel I follow. They do well outside year round in Zone 8 and above. I am in 7 so I will have to bring them in before the weather turns cold. I currently have them in my greenhouse where they seem to have adapted well. Here is the latest picture of them.
You can eat the shoots and leaves on these. I haven't harvested anything yet as I want to give the plants time to mature. One other point, if you cut off a branch and stick it in soil, it will develop roots and grow. Propagation is apparently very easy. I will try that once I have a good feel for the harvesting and general care of it.
I recently bought a couple mesh raised bed planters thinking I would use them in the spring along side one of my garden beds. I am always looking for more production from the space I have. I found one of these on clearance at the Tractor Supply store near me. They were 33% off so I bought one. Then, my wife and I stopped in to another Tractor Supply store subsequently and found more for 50% off. I couldn't resist. I bought another. If you have a store near you, you might want to stop in and see if they have any if you so desire.
So, I decided to try set one up in my greenhouse to try to grow winter crops. I made up several batches of my soil mix and filled 3 of the 4 cells. I just didn't think the fourth cell would be workable given my space. I am going to plant lettuce, spinach and carrots in them. It's an experiment to see what kind of production I can get. Here is the unit as currently laid out.
There is lots more to do. Today, we are feeling the effects of what was Hurricane Ida. It poured here very early this morning and the thunder was loud. It is supposed to get very windy with more severe thunderstorms this afternoon so I have to hustle a little to secure all the paraphernalia in my yard. So, until next time, Happy Gardening everyone!
It's been waaaaay too long since I posted here. It's funny how life can get soooo busy. And, I have been busy. Not all of it has had to do with the garden and that has impinged on my postings and such things. Hopefully, I can get back to my earlier routine.
On the gardening front, there have been many challenges. The biggest challenge of all has been figuring out where exactly the weak link was in my gardening practices. As a recap, in the fall of 2019, I totally revamped my garden. What resulted was several newly located beds that were never garden beds previously. At the end of 19, I spread a generous amount of compost and other additives and sowed in a cover crop. When I planted them in 2020, most of my plants were strong going in and then they just failed. My results were meager as the plants did try to recover but the damage was just too much for them to overcome. This set me on the quest to right the ship this year.
After extensive research over last winter, I settled on a blend of soil additive ingredients that many "experts" highlighted. After going full in on this, the new plants were better but there still was something a bit off. This was very frustrating for a gardener who produced many great gardens over many years. But, I had to remember that this is part of the gardening experience. So, the quest continued but at least this time, the plants were doing better and progressing.
So, I watched several videos on Youtube to see if I could glean the pearl of info that would set my plants on a better trajectory. After countless viewings, I found one where the presenter was mentioning that when you are buying composted manure, make sure it actually was fully composted. He said that if it isn't, the manure could continue to breakdown in your beds and this would result in a locking up of the available nitrogen in your soil as the manure will absorb the nitrogen at high levels. He recommended a brand of manure that was available in my area.
I immediately bought several bags and started using it versus my earlier manure. I took the new mix and heavily loaded up the open beds in my garden. Additionally, I used the new mix setting up several plastic pots and mesh grow bags. Along with this, I side dressed the existing plants to hopefully spark more vibrant growth. And, I have to say, the results have been very noticeable.
Weather has been the second biggest challenge this year. We have had some really crazy intense storms that have hampered the garden. It has, as of late, steadied itself. And the garden is looking better for it. All of the plants have taken off and they have begun to offer veggies. Here is a picture that shows the present state of the garden.
A much better garden than I had last year.
Here is a picture of my potted plants which I started a little over a month or so ago. I can't say enough about the black mesh bags versus the orange plastic containers. The mesh bags are definitely superior as they hold water in the soil better than the plastic pots. I have struggled with those plastic pots during the heat wave we had over the last two weeks. Seems like I just kept watering throughout the day with very little payoff. I have a total of 12 of the mesh bags to use next year as I tried the three as an experiment. You can see the difference from these pictures.
Much of my efforts in the last week or so have centered mostly around my fall garden. I applied a good layer of my soil additive around the trellises I built for peas. I soaked my peas last Sunday and planted them Monday. Soaking is supposed to produce seedlings faster and get better growth. This is important as the actual pea pods aren't bothered by a frost but the actual plant is. My understanding is that peas do much better in the fall so I am hopeful.
I also began a planting of 20 spinach seeds in a converted hydroponic system. Instead of using vermiculite, I substituted my garden dirt mix with some vermiculite added to enhance drainage. The plants are growing rapidly so I am looking forward to many harvests.
Knowing that 20 plants were not enough to get a healthy heaping of spinach, I took a vertical fence unit and again, used the soil mix and planted the pots with more spinach. My wife loves spinach for her home made breakfast egg casserole and her muffins. So, there is a need for them.
Speaking of spinach, I ordered two plants of what is called longevity spinach two days ago. I recently viewed a video and this variety was touted as the best spinach to be had. It is chock full of micro nutrients and vitamins and reduces metabolic sugar levels among other benefits. I was unable to buy seeds as it is only sold as plants in the US. It originates from China, Asia and Africa and is a perennial. So, I thought I would give it a try. I'll check back once I get the plants.
I also bought self pollinating cucumber seeds and planted them Saturday. I did this because I was noticing that there weren't that many bees around my plants. This is another of my wife's and my favorite vegetable. As it turns out, after I planted these seeds, there was a resurgence of bees and this move many have been unnecessary.
It should be interesting none the less to see how they perform late in the year. Here's their present progress in the greenhouse.
There is so much going on that I could write much longer. I have planted about 50 bean sets which have come up and are well on their way. I still have to plant beets and another crop of beans. While doing all of this, I naturally am attempting to bring the summer veggies to finality. I have a hot house which I will be setting up in the near future. There is also the need to reconfigure my greenhouse for winter production. Whoever said that once I retired, I would have a lot of free time, was not accounting for the fact of how I garden.
Please continue to read this blog and, if you get the chance, check out my instagram account at veryenthusiasticgardener for more threads. Until next time, Happy Gardening everyone!
After resolving the issue with my soils, I had to contend with old Mother Nature on many fronts. We whipsawed here and there to the point that one couldn't tell if it was Spring or Summer. Until last week, one just had to wait for the day to see what you were getting. Needless to say the plants were growing a little then stopping a little. We finally had a string of days that were sunny, hot and humid last week. We went from Spring to mid summer in a matter of two days. But, the plants responded and began growth in earnest. It seemed like they were finally in growth mode.
Then, after a weekend of very nice summer temps, mother nature decided that this was enough. Our weather forecast for Monday evening was for thunderstorms and a possibility of maybe even stronger storms if conditions were right. As I was going around my yard picking up things and putting stuff away, my neighbor made a comment that high winds were now being predicted. That was enough for me. I grabbed my 5 potted tomato and cucumber plants and put them into my greenhouse for safe keeping. I then reinforced my trellised tomatoes and cucumbers and put on extra supports for my peppers. That was all I could do.
Later that night, we had two horrendous thunderstorms hit us almost one after another. The first was just plain scary. It had high winds, heavy downpours, vivid lightning and very loud and house shaking thunder. This was accompanied by a long period of hail and what was described as a possible small tornado. Not fun at all.
Once that passed, we went to sleep only to be awoken around 1:30 AM to a high energy lightning storm with even worse thunder. It sounded like bombs going off around us. My poor dog was just spastic. Not a good night at all.
And I woke early as usual to a scene of limbs everywhere. Here is a sampling of our neighbors yards.
Not cool, but, by comparison, we escaped relatively unharmed with only a few small limbs on the ground.
Yesterday, I decided to top dress my beds in preparation for mid-summer plantings. The weather was gorgeous and the humidity of last week is gone, so I figured it would be a good time to get this completed. I added about 3" of soil over the two beds pictured below. The soil was a blend of various inputs which I have changed to this year. When I side dressed my existing plants with this "newer" mix, there was a definite improvement in the growth of the plants. While my previous mix was good in theory, I am convinced that I used a partially decomposed mix of composted manure. After investigation, I found out that if you use unfinished manure, it can lock up the nitrogen in the soil making it unavailable to the plants. I simply changed the manure and things seem to be much better.
As I mentioned earlier, I have 2 cucumber and 3 tomato plants in pots. I am experimenting with these to see if I move them around during the day and keep them in the sun for the most part, will that then give me a greater harvest. My bet is it will. My issue now is that my garden area is being overshadowed by a mature maple tree that has grown over the years. The garden area gets about 6-7 hours of sunlight which may just not be enough. I have a choice, either I have the tree cut back at a pretty substantial cost or I adapt. The tree is not something I am going to cut as it is very beautiful and provides a nice shade for our house and yard. I am starting to adapt as the potted plants are far outgrowing the garden ones. If I go this way, I will then grow these in pots and use the garden area for cooler, less sun intensive plants. It may end up that I plant some tomatoes in the garden for later harvest and pot up a few for early harvest. One has to do what they have to do. Here are the 5 pots as of today.
I don't remember if I ever mentioned the birthday gift my son and daughter-in-law bought me this year. They signed me up to a subscription to receive a monthly seed bank box subscription. I'm not sure how long it's for but I can tell you that it is a very nice gift for any gardener in your family. Each month you get a box with a selection of seed packets along with a card telling you about the seeds. I have received 3 boxes so far and each one has been very interesting. Here is a pic of the box and seeds that I received on Tuesday.
Speaking of seeds, I am going to have to cull my seed collection or get a bigger refrigerator(dorm). I don't think I can get too many more seeds into it at this point. I believe I have about 300 packets in all and given my inability to pass by seed displays without purchase, it has now come to a breaking point. I keep the seeds at about 30 degrees in the unit and I have been able to get the seeds to last 10 or more years. Matter of fact, the the tomato plant in the lower right of the picture above is from seeds that are 14 years old. That's the crux of the issue in that if my seeds last that long and I keep buying new out of habit, I will hit the "push comes to shove" point. I'll figure it out eventually.
Well, that's all I have at this point. There is a lot going on and it is quite busy in the garden now. I'll be updating the overall progress with more pictures soon so please check back. Until next time, Happy Gardening everyone!
