Garden December 2021

  

December Garden List

1. Clean up seed starting area

2. Start Winter garden

Winter gardening has started about two weeks ago. This is the lettuce before transplanting. It's 16 days from planting. In about another 10 days I'll be harvesting the first lettuce salad. I'm going by the last time I grew salads. Radishes were a little faster, but I haven't been able to grow radishes after the first time of success.

The radishes look good, but the radish part is not producing a radish bulb. I'm wondering if the soil is too rich for the radishes. If there's too much nitrogen in the soil, then the top will grow great, but the roots won't produce. There could be left over fertilizer in the soil from the reused potting mix. I have discovered that even if the radish doesn't develop the top leaves taste just like radish. So the plant can be used in salads for the radish taste.

Garden November 2021

 

November Garden List

UR Cleanup yards

UR Cleanup seed starting area

UR Plant basement garden salads

UR Test viability of seeds.

TNG Continue to cleanup road strip

November 1

My thoughts for today is to work on Urban Ranch yards. They need a lot of cleanup. I still have some buckets to empty in the bucket garden and one raised bed of tomatoes that needs to be cleaned up. The front needs to have all the flower pots taken down and emptied. So there's much to do today if I choose to do it. I feel like I'm getting a little lazy this time of the year. I suspect it's natural to get lazy during the short cold daylight days of winter.

I bagged up two bags of tomato plants and put them in the trash can. I cleaned up the front yard flowers as well. I still have the buckets and two more tomato plants to clear out of the raised bed. The tomato bed will be the bed to rebuild from landscaping timbers to concrete blocks. Then the raised beds will be completed. I will start on the brick facing.

November 2

My thoughts for today is to finish the cleaning up of the last couple tomato plants from bed 4. I have filled up the trash can so this bag of debris will have to wait until next week. 

The temperature finally dipped below freezing with a low temp of 28 degrees this morning. That officially ends the garden season. Now the plans for next year begins. I still have a few buckets to dump as well. 

I will go to Terra Nova Gardens tomorrow. The high will be in the forties but still warm enough to work with the mulching.

Here's the last bed to be rebuilt. It was the bed that grew the regular sized tomatoes this year. As you can almost see it's quite the mess. It's time to clear it out and get it ready for next year. The 2x2 structure has been there for almost 10 years. It's been support for many different things over the years. But now it has to go.

Here it is all cleaned up. Another bag of yard waste is now ready for the trash can. I'll have to wait until next week as the can is already full. You can see the deterioration of the landscape timbers in this picture. Another load to the landfill will be needed.

The bucket garden has been taken down and the soil put in the storage area. I will be taking all the buckets and pails out to Terra Nova Gardens for storage. I will clean up the patio area so that it looks nicer before winter sets in.  I've been thinking about putting in a drain system around the patio to keep water from setting on the patio and putting pressure on the foundation

November 3

The plan for today is to go to Terra Nova Gardens and continue to mulch the road strip up to the garden fence. Just a little bit each time I go there will get the strip mulched. 

This is a picture of Terra Nova Gardens as it is today. Yes, it's an ugly mess that needs much attention. All I can say is I'm working on it. The mulch given to me is going on the frontage strip but I don't think I'm going to have enough to get it all covered.

The picture isn't too clear but this is turkeys that I haven't seen in a couple years. I didn't think there were any around any more but I guess there is.

It was a good day at Terra Nova Gardens. I moved 15 wheel barrows full of mulch in three hours. That's a good day. Usually I can only move 8 or 10 wheel barrows.

Thursday, November 4

No gardening today

Saturday, November 13

Yes, this is my happy place. The first seed catalog seems to come earlier every year. It used to come right after Thanksgiving but the last few years it started coming earlier. It's never the same catalog that comes first. I suspect there's competition in the seed business and also the opportunity to select seeds before they are not available. The last couple years has put pressure on the seed companies to produce more seeds for folks that have seen the benefit of growing their own food. I usually order from the seed catalog's website but enjoy browsing through the catalogs. The purchased Baker Creek is the Cadillac of seed catalogs in my opinion. They are my first choice for ordering seeds. They are efficient and fast and always throw in free seeds with each order and no shipping cost. I'm hoping that I can get down to their big two day spring gathering this year. I haven't been to one in a long time. Mother Earth doesn't seem to want to have a Fair in Topeka so Baker Creek is the next best.

Garden October 2021

Summer Garden List

TNG Continue to build cage

TNG Prepare strawberry bed

TNG Continue to work on pathway

TNG Continue weed management

TNG Work on water tower

TNG Replace weak posts

TNG Work on North fence.

TNG Work on tree cleanup

TNG Cleanup and mulch road area outside fence.

TNG repair street side fence.

UR Cleanup back yard

UR Start working on concrete block raised bed

UR Work on side yard cleanup

UR Clean up backyard Patio

UR Clean up Front yard Patio

Saturday October 9

The great potato experiment was a bust this year. The potato tower did not work. I bought the indeterminate potatoes that were supposed to produce potatoes up the dirt covered vine but it did not do that. The potato harvest was disappointing but I shouldn't be surprised because I literally just planted and walked away without weeding or watering during the summer heat. However, the potatoes that were produced were good size and taste awesome.

I've started using the mulch that Neighbor Dave got for me. This is the first of the mulching. I am deciding whether to just cut down the Rugosa Rose bushes and let them grow back through the mulch or just mulch around them as best I can. Several of the bushes died because I suspect Neighbor Tim sprayed roundup around them which drifted onto the bush as killed it. I did mulch this area some years ago but not deep enough. This time it will be at least four inches with maybe another layer within a year or two.

I'm slowly making some progress but the rough part is ahead of me. There's some big bushes and even a massive tree that has grow up over the course of the last three years. I'm almost convinced that the best plan is to just take the chain saw and cut everything down to ground level and start over.

Saturday, October 9

Another day of glorious mulching. The mulch is perfect for this project and I hope that I have enough to cover the whole frontage in front of the garden. I have convinced myself to cut down all the bushes with the other weeds and tree sprouts. If Rugosa Roses are as tough as I think they are they will regrow up through the deep mulch. If not, oh, well at least it will look nicer.

Thursday, October 14

I thought this would be a good idea for cutting down the brush but it was a bust. The trimmer did a better job than this blade. So the next thing I'll be trying is to use the chainsaw to cut the heavy top brush and the trimmer and pruners to cut the stubs down to the ground before covering with mulch. 

It's starting to look half way deceit. I still have a long way to go and I'm not sure that the mulch that I have will be enough to cover up the whole front area. The next three section of fence are the worst. It has a big tree in the midst of the Rugosa bush. 

The Rugosa bushes did really good but the bind weed just grows over them and smothers them. Many have died because of that. I'm cutting them all down to the ground and hoping that some will find there way up through the mulch to start over with all new growth. Perhaps I should trim them back every year and not just let them grow wild.

This was the total out of control part of the frontage road. I brought out the chain saw to cut down some actual trees growing there. Some were about three inches in diameter. The stumps are still there waiting for me to drill holes in them and fill them with roundup. In two or three years the dead stump with be rotted enough to just hit with a sledge hammer and they will com right out. 

This is the debris that needs to be hauled away from the front of the garden. I can't get back to do that until Monday afternoon. I'm hoping to be able to pack it down in one load to take to the landfill. If I can't get all in one load then I'll try to pack the rest in the back of the garden to compost down. There's still a lot of work to do. Hopefully the weather will hold for one more week.

Garden September 2021

Wednesday, September 1

Summer Garden List

TNG Continue to build cage

TNG Prepare strawberry bed

TNG Continue to work on pathway

TNG Continue weed management

TNG Work on water tower

TNG Replace weak posts

TNG Work on North fence.

TNG Work on tree cleanup

TNG Cleanup and mulch road area outside fence.

TNG repair street side fence.

UR Cleanup back yard

UR Start working on concrete block raised bed

UR Work on side yard cleanup

Wednesday, September 1

Not much gardening going on today. Maybe some cleanup in the Urban Ranch backyard.

Yea, cherry, grape, plumb tomatoes all gone. Never again will I randomly select tomato plants from the garden center. I have a whole bucket full of tomatoes from the dregs of these plants. I suspect they will just get thrown away. Life is full of lessons. This is one. 

This is the beginning of the third rebuilt raised bed in at Urban Ranch backyard. I'm trying a new method that I'm still perfecting as I go along. I've decided to make the growing space a little smaller in these beds to make reaching into the center easier and well quite frankly, I have plenty of garden space and really don't need to maximum the space.

Well the experiment with the potato tower was a bust. This is the harvest from the spot in front of the potato display. These potatoes were all under the ground where the potatoes were planted and none were up the vines in the rings of soil above ground. Next year I'll use the ring method but will plant the potatoes in layers. I tried this once before but waited until the potatoes were up and growing before planting the next round. It did work but the potatoes that were the biggest were on the bottom of the layers and potatoes were smaller in each layer above the ground. My plan for next year is to plant the layers all the same time. I'm not sure if the potatoes planted way down deep will make it to the surface.

This is the harvest from the ring that was not filled with dirt. It was just a normal potato planting without hilling up. The harvest was about half of the two ring potato plants. I haven't compared the other hills yet but it seems that the two ring potato towers produce more potatoes than just the in ground potatoes.

This is the grass clippings for the summer. I used very little of the clipping harvest. For some reason I just didn't get out to Terra Nova Gardens very much this year. I thought I would be able accomplish more than I have there. I'm hopeful for next year.

I had to blast my way into the mulch pile that my neighbor had delivered for me. I haven't had a chance to use it much so the grass weeds grew up to head high. My farm touch trimmer blazed a path into the mulch pile. I only got two mulch wheelbarrow loads out before it was time to go home.

Monday, September 20

The plan for today is to set the north west corner of the third raised bed at the Urban Ranch in place with the new method that I have devised. I will be using 2x12x8s to set up a form to be able to set the blocks in the right place and height.

It's a good start for the third raised bed. Tomorrow is another work day for the bed. I'm hoping that it doesn't rain much tonight. We are supposed to get rain but I don't know how much. This is two blocks short of being half done. It would be nice if I could get this completed by the end of the week and for sure by the end of month.

Second day of work done. The new method is working much better and faster. I might get this done in one more day. Maybe a day and a half. There's just one more long side to do. There's the long 2x12 guide to set and six blocks to finish the foundation. It will be nice to have another raised bed finished. Next week will be Terra Nova Gardens street front and cage. I'm hoping to get that done before the weather gets too cold to work.

September 23

Another raised bed done. It took three days .... well four counting the initial digging out the dirt. One side is a little wonky but it will be just fine. Next year I'll get the fourth one done and I'll be set for the rest of my life. I'm glad the weather held and now I'm done except for putting the dirt back in. I'll probably wait for that to take the grass clippings from the front and back yard and bury it in the this bed. I should freshen up the soil with the bags of manure and then cover it with more grass on the top. It's a good time to get rid of the coffee grounds too. Fill that bed full of good stuff and let it rest over the winter. Now it's time to concentrate on Terra Nova Gardens.

September 24

Today will be a day of continuing to get fall things done while the weather permits.

Garden August 2021

Monday, August 2

Summer Garden List

TNG Continue to build cage

TNG Prepare strawberry bed

TNG Continue to work on pathway

TNG Continue weed management

TNG Work on water tower

TNG Replace weak posts

TNG Work on North fence.

TNG Work on tree cleanup

TNG Cleanup and mulch road area outside fence.

TNG repair street side fence.

UR Cleanup back yard

UR Start working on concrete block raised bed

UR Work on side yard cleanup

UR Set up second gutter auto water

UR Clean up front patio

Monday August 2

Thoughts for the garden in August are leaning toward completing the cage and more weed control. I'm thinking about just cutting down all the all the brush in front of the street side fence at Terra Nova Gardens and putting down a mulch of about a foot deep. It has gotten totally out hand the last two years. I have a trimmer with a saw blade that would be able make it easy work. Before I put the blade to work, I would just use the trimmer attachment to clean up as much as I could. I have a huge mountain of mulch to use so that's not an issue.

There's still lots of things to accomplish at the Urban Ranch. I haven't started the process of building the next raised bed from cement blocks. I should keep track of how many hours it takes to build one. I still have yet to set up the second gutter auto watering. I did buy the lag bolts for the height adjuster. 

Garden life is not what I thought it would at this time of my life. I thought the garden would be much better and produce much more.

Yes, it's a weed mess again at Terra Nova Gardens but I am determined to make some headway in August. This year has been a struggle to get to Terra Nova Gardens. I'm not sure why but I haven't had the desire to go and work on the things that need doing. Are my expectations to high? Is my desire to garden waning? Is my age slowing me and desire down? Many considerations are in my mind.

Another pathway cleared of the weed mess. This pathway was weeded earlier this year which was easier to clear this time. I still like the weed pulling method the best. The trimmer just makes it into a lawn that needs mowing every week. Pulling the weeds keeps the paths clear much longer. The compost heap in the woods is getting bigger and bigger. Bind weed isn't as much an issue as it used to be but Creeping Charlie is taking over under the grass. It's a large challenge to keep the grass under control. I think I might continue to work on the one cage and just use those beds next year while I work on the next two beds. Things are so far out of control that I need to start again on a smaller scale. 

Today will be a day to work on the Urban Ranch things. I do want to clean up the front patio and start another round of mowing. Lydia's yard needs to be mowed today. Both my yards need to me mowed and 35th street needs to be mowed again. This year I have gotten into the rhythm of mowing my yards every two weeks.

The fence line is in need of complete cleaning up. The final push of summer is upon me. 

Tuesday, August 3
Today will be a day of Urban Ranch yard and garden work. There is plenty to do. 

Nice. These are the first of many larger tomatoes. I am buried under cherry tomatoes. I don't know what to do with them all. They are determinate tomatoes so after the flush they will be done. I can pull them out and maybe plant something else in the buckets.

Saturday, August 7

I got the second gutter leak fixed and the auto water set up. It needs to be adjusted down more so as to not overflow the gutter. I made the adjusters a couple days ago and now I just need to watch them to be sure they keep the gutters at the right level.

The cherry tomatoes are almost done and are starting to dry up. The major harvest needs to be done and then they can be pulled out. The in ground tomatoes are starting to produce bigger tomatoes. I gave away some of the tomatoes yesterday to Bill and Keith. There's more on the way.

Monday, August 9

The accumulation continues to pile up. Every time about this time of the year that happens. I really don't want to can any tomatoes but it looks like I might have to do that. No one seems to want any tomatoes because most have their own. I'm cutting back on what I grow next year. I really don't have to have a big garden for just me.

This garden is pretty much spent. The cherry tomatoes are mostly done and the bell peppers are all but done. I am seriously thinking about pulling them all out, refreshing the soil, and planting a fall crop there. I don't think I have enough time for that. 

Tuesday, August 10

Garden life is winding down. I never got the Terra Nova Gardens cage built so I suspect the sweet corn will be a bust. I could throw up the electric fence but my desire for gardening at Terra Nova Gardens has all but disappeared for this year. I'm not sure why. I just never got a good start in the spring so I couldn't catch up and stay inspired during the garden year. My energy level was not the best this year either. Life is winding down and my biggest concern is upon me. I have always thought that by the time my family responsibilities were minimal my ability to do what I want in the garden I would not be able to do it because of old age. It seems to becoming true. I have really noticed that I can't do nearly as much as I used to be able to do. Only a could years ago I could carry two concrete blocks easily. Now I struggle just carry one. I suspect my energy and strength will only continue to dwindle. I'm just not ready for that to happen. There's so much more I want to accomplish. The slow down of life is upon me.

Wednesday, August 11

Not much gardening today. I am going to try to get out to Terra Nova Gardens to carry the bags of grass for mulch. I'm not mulching much this year. The grass will get piled up in the compost area by the back fence until later in the fall or next spring. I'm not sure just how much I'll be able to accomplish this year at Terra Nova Gardens.

I still want to cut down all the bushes and trees along the road and heavy mulch it. I suspect the bushes will come up through the heavy mulch to start life over. I really had envisioned a much better look when I planted the rose bush hedges. 

Tuesday, August 17

No garden work again today. It's been many days since I've actually did anything with my gardens. I did water the eggplants a couple days ago but other than that, nothing. I'm just letting the bucket garden go since it's mostly on the way out anyway. I have very low key thoughts about planting a fall garden in the buckets but the time is slipping away for that. Maybe some leafy greens could be grown but with only 58 days left until frost, there's not much that can mature in that time. It's really time to start cleaning up the gardens and prepare for next year. I still haven't started working on structure things. The cage isn't built, the raised bed isn't even started, and the health of the gardens are dwindling. I didn't get the electric fence up so I doubt if I'll get any corn this year. The potatoes are totally overgrown with weeds so I'm not sure what the harvest will be there. It's been a terrible year for gardens. Everything is a mess. So the winter will reset the gardens and I'll start over next year. I haven't even used any grass mulch from the mowing this year. I'm just going to dump them into a pile inside the fence and help they will compost down. Life really went awry this year as far as physical gardens go. I have to hope that the people garden flourished better.

The doctor visit was just as I suspected. No problem. She wants me back in a month to see if there's any change but from what she described it's been that way all my life. Keri is just being cautious. And I get that. 

Wednesday, August 18

I am hoping to get out Terra Nova Gardens. I want to cleanup the driveway. I have all the grass from mowing this year setting in the driveway. I want to get that inside the fence in a compost area to compost down into a usable compost. Then there's the brush from the fallen tree that needs to be taken away and piled up in the woods. Those are the two things I want to get done today. Anything else will be a plus. I am going to try to get small bites done at both the Urban Ranch and Terra Nova Gardens as long as I can before Winter sets in. I think it's time to start transplanting the strawberries that I have potted up this year.

Tuesday, August 31

This is the end of August. It was a busy month for sure and the first part of September will be busy with Sharon stuff.

Here is the work for this day. This corner always gets over grown with with trees and bind weed type stuff. This year I let it go a little longer than I should. It was a real mess to clean up. Now I need to root out the stumps with digging and a reciprocating saw. 

Looks a lot better now with all the debris gone. There's a big pile of brush and weeds to feed into the weekly trash container. Since the trash container is so big I am filling it weekly with cleanup from the yard. 

I have decided to use plastic bags for the yard grass clippings because there's no yard waste pickup any more and really I didn't need to use yard waste bags because I just take it out to Terra Nova Gardens anyway. I had the problem of soggy bags if it set in the bag too long and total deterioration if it rained. I don't know why I didn't think about that sooner.
 

Garden July 2021

Thursday, July 1

Summer Garden List

TNG Continue to build cage

TNG Prepare strawberry bed

TNG Continue to work on pathway

TNG Continue weed management

TNG Work on water tower

TNG Replace weak posts

TNG Work on North fence.

TNG Work on tree cleanup

UR Cleanup back yard

UR Start working on concrete block raised bed

UR Work on side yard cleanup

UR Set up second gutter auto water

UR Clean up weeds in backyard circle

UR Clean up front patio

Thursday July 1

Today will be at the Urban Ranch. I will take another photo for the first GRIT blog on the new platform. I would like to get weeding done along the fence line around the compost pile. There are so many things that need done at Terra Nova Gardens and the Urban Ranch. The back issue is slowing me down a little but I'm pressing forward with a little help from my friends. Those would be Aspirin, Tylenol, and Advil. One of each covers all the pain and muscle relaxing.

The cool mornings are wonderful. I'm not sure when I sprayed those noxious weeds but it killed them dead. The carcass of them is a black skeletal plant. I think it took about a month to completely kill them. I sprayed another section of the yard. I'm not spraying the whole thing at one time in an attempt not to have a lot of drift into garden areas. I might get granular weed killer to lay down by the back fence so as not to have spray drift into the neighbors garden.   

These are the things necessary for rooting strawberries. I'm not sure why I never thought about making my own wire staples but I didn't. I bought two bags of wire staples for the Wurtz mulch project when I could have just made them. I have several new stolons to pot up but my back was killing me today. I just know when this episode is over the temperature outside will be blistering hot. I've been trying to back off on the physical work but it's not getting better. Every so often the back will flare up for about a week then it will go away for several months.

Friday, July 2

Filled auto water tank for tomatoes. It is still working great.

Monday, July 5

Sick day today. No gardening or yard work. The plants need water so I'm going to slowly get them watered. I started with the buckets. Then the rest of the backyard plants after a rest.

Those tomatoes are starting to suck up the water. The roots are down in the gutter so they get as much as they want. It's at least a couple gallons a day plus top water.

Tuesday, Jul 6

Still recovering from the sick bug that is attacking me. I did get outside and do a little watering today and a small harvest.

This was the harvest for today. One tomato and one strawberry. Maybe tomorrow I'll pot more strawberries. I am still not doing much physical activity because I don't want a relapse back into this crud I'm fighting.

This is a better way to water the tomatoes. Most all the water goes directly to the roots of the tomato. This is a five pint bottle and drains well.  The cap is on the bottle top and the bottom was cut off the bottle. Then the bottle is buried beside, in this case a tomato plant but could be any plant, upside down with the cap four to six inches under ground level. A small soldering tool melted four holes in the neck of the bottle just below the cap for the water to drain out when inverted into the ground.

Wednesday, July 7

It rained last night. We got .66 inches of rain and it filled my water tank up again. It was needed. So it's another low key garden day.

Thursday, July 8

I want to get the second gutter set up for auto watering today and start the annual fence line cleanup. I have a $5 coupon to use at Ace hardware to use for the Flex Seal paste, if they have it. Just checked the website and they do so it's a go to setup the auto water for second gutter. That should help the plants get through the day hot days ahead.

Wednesday, July 13

Today is a day for Urban Ranch backyard cleanup. There's probably more than one day's work to be done. I should prioritize that list of things to do.

Water all plants

Trim back yard

Mow back yard

Pot strawberries

Set up 2nd auto water

Clean up fence line

This is the beginning of the day at Terra Nova Gardens. This is what happens when the gardener doesn't frequent the garden for 10 days. And there's three inches of rain that has fallen. There's a pathway under there some where. The tedious task of removing all the grass debris is time consuming but necessary. Weed control is always a challenge when trying to tame a parcel of land that has been wild all it's life.

See there is a pathway under all that growth. I like to pull the grass out by the roots. I could have cleaned up the path with a trimmer in about 30 minutes instead of the 4 hours that it took to pull out all the grass. The reason I like to pull out the grass is that it won't grow back if I pull it up by the roots. This will have some stragglers that will pop up but mostly the path will be clear. Eventually a trench will be dug out to a depth of 4 to 6 inches and filled with mulch. I have enough mulch for many pathways to be filled.

A tree branch has fallen at Terra Nova Gardens and is on the back fence. It wedged itself around another tree and doesn't rest full weight on the fence. It would have crushed the fence if that would have happened. I think I can trim it up without too much trouble.

This is the end of the branch that is laying on top of the back fence. I'm hoping to trim this up but just let the rest of the branch continue to hang in the tree that it's lodged around. This is a majorly big branch but it really didn't do any damage to the fence that I can see.

 Wednesday, July 14

Today gardening will be minimal as it rained. 

Fill gutters and auto water tank

Mow back yard

Pot strawberries

Set up 2nd auto water

Clean up fence line

There are still some things to do even if the rain continues. I'm hoping the grass will dry enough to get mowing done. That it the priority for today. If that can't happen then I can do setup for the second auto water gutter and fence cleanup. 

 Thursday, July 15

Mow & Trim Front yard

Mow 35th street

Pot strawberries

Set up 2nd auto water

Clean up fence line

The temperature today is 75 and cloudy but the dew point is 68 degrees which makes it a sweaty day. 

Monday, July 19

Cut boards for seed starting area

Pot strawberries

Set up 2nd auto water

Clean up fence line

I got a couple things accomplished today. I've been wanting to set up the second gutter watering. I'm not sure I have it set quite right. I'll find out by tomorrow. Now I have one more gutter to set up and I'm done with auto watering setup for the gutters.

I really need to get the strawberry potting done. There's many that need potting up. Some are probably ready to move but the thing is there's a second plant on the same stolon. I'm not sure I can snip the stolon off the main plant with the second plant not rooted.

Tuesday, July 20

UR Pot strawberries

UR Clean up fence line

UR water all plants and fill gutter tanks

TNG cutup trees

TNG pull weeds

I most likely won't get to Terra Nova Gardens until after Bradley goes to work. I do want to work on the trees that are down today. I didn't make it to Terra Nova Gardens

Wednesday, July 21

UR Pot strawberries

UR Clean up fence line

TNG cutup trees

TNG pull weeds

Life goes on. The cherry tomatoes are starting to flush. The cucumbers are producing but very minimal. The fruit is a prickly kind that I don't especially like. The neighbor's cucumbers are very nice and he has given me many of them to eat. I slice them up, throw in a few cherry tomatoes, chop up some onions and season with Mrs. Dash with ranch dressing. It's a very tasty summer salad.

I am hoping to make it out to Terra Nova Gardens to cut the South side tree back away from the entrance to neighbor Tim's garden area. 

Here's the harvest for today. There are a bunch more cherry and grape size tomatoes that could be harvested but they can stand on the plant a few days longer while I eat these. Some bigger tomatoes are starting to ripen. I've had the cherries for quite a while but the Early Girl is bringing in more. I haven't harvested any tomatoes off the others just yet but it looks like they might start turning soon. The high wind storm didn't knock any tomatoes over but they didn't push them over to a leaning position. The south side is difficult to water and look for tomatoes. I might have to trim that side up a little. I'm surprised that the strawberries are starting to produce. There are many stolons and I really have to pot up some of the strawberries before they get rooted in. Many of the stolons have multiple plants. I didn't know that they did that.

I eat as many as I can but I will have to give some away soon.

Thursday, July 23

UR Pot strawberries

UR Clean up fence line

TNG cutup trees

TNG pull weeds

UR weed strawberries

UR Fill gutter tanks

Life is just a bowel of strawberries. I'm going to like my strawberry beds when I get them started. That might be what I need to do at Terra Nova Gardens. I should plant more berry bushes and less garden. Berries are perennial and come back every year without planting. I think that would be better for Terra Nova Gardens especially if I get the cages up and running because it would protect the aerial assault as well as the ground assault. 

Saturday, July 24

UR Pot strawberries

UR Clean up fence line

TNG pull weeds

Some watering was done yesterday but not a complete one. I'm puzzled about the second auto gutter watering tank. The tank drains but the gutter is never full but there's not indication that there's a leak. Is it the plants are sucking up that much water. I'm not sure. 

The cucumbers are slowly producing but not real heavy. The cucumbers have flowers but many don't get pollinated. I'm thinking that spot I have for them is not a good spot for pollinators. I'm wondering if I can pollinate them somehow.

Sunday, July 25

UR Clean up fence line

TNG pull weeds

Fill tomato gutter tank

Water all plants except strawberries 

I am letting the gutter under the pepper plant drain down to goop up the west end of the gutter. It has a leak. The flex paste works great to seal up the leaks. The auto water for the gutters need to be tweaked a little and have an adjustable level. I have it figured out how to do it. I just have to do it. It involves a section of 2x4 and lag bolts for adjusters.

Monday, July 26

UR Pot strawberries

UR Clean up fence line

UR Fill gutter tanks

UR build auto water adjusters

TNG cleanup trees

TNG pull weeds

It's the beginning of the harvest flush. There are many green and red peppers but none are big. They are just average size. I should start harvesting them and using them in the breakfast and salads that I eat.

Tuesday, July 27

UR Pot strawberries

UR Clean up fence line

UR Fill gutter tanks

UR build auto water adjusters

TNG cleanup trees

TNG pull weeds

The plan for today is to get some of the small projects done at Urban Ranch and spend time at Terra Nova Gardens in the evening after 4 p.m. when the shade invades the garden. 

The weed issue is totally out of control again and it needs daily attention to get it back under control.

Thursday, July 28

UR Pot strawberries

UR Clean up fence line

UR Fill gutter tanks

UR build auto water adjusters

TNG cleanup trees

TNG pull weeds

I will make an attempt to work at Terra Nova Gardens. There is much to accomplish there. First on the agenda will be water all the corn plants if they are still standing and water the potato plants as well. The heat will have taken a toll on them for sure. The next task will be to pull weeds as much as I can. The heat will be a factor for sure and I don't want to over do it. I will need to be out there more in August and September. Things are beginning to tighten up as far as time and things to accomplish. 

I still haven't started working on the third raised bed in the back yard. That will definitely be a challenge. When I start that it will require a land fill run. The old rotten timbers will be hauled away along with many other things in the side yard to be cleaned up. My list of things to get accomplished has not dwindled much this summer.

It seems that every year since 2017 (my best garden year) March and April has been taken up by family and friend responsibilities. I suspect that might be the issue once again next year. The last couple years it's been Grandma Carroll's care responsibility. She looks like she will continue life for quite some time but things can deteriorate quickly when in the 90s. So if it happens I just know it will happen in March and April.

Garden June 2021

Tuesday, June 1

June Garden List

1. Continue to build cage

2. Continue to plant corn

3. Continue to plant green beans

4. Continue weed management

5. Work on water tower

6. Replace weak posts

7. Work on North fence.

This is how the garden day started. This section will be the second cage. The fence behind all this tree foliage is totally trashed and needs to completely rebuilt with new posts. It lasted about eight years and I can most likely reuse most of the fence panels but some will need to be replaced. The wild vines are have taken over the North fence that in this picture. Behind the fence is a total mess of monster vines. It's going to take a lot of work to root them all out and off the fence.

This is the end of the garden day. Many wheelbarrow loads of weeds and brush were taken to the brush and weed pile at the edge of the woods next to Lonergan's potato patch. The next visit to Terra Nova Gardens will be to clean up the beds and the west pathway that's still covered in weeds. I won't recondition these beds until I finished with the corn, beans, and onions beds. 

I've decided to just cage the corn side of the first cage. I didn't really think the planting through and I planted ten foot sunflowers in a six foot cage. So if I just cage the corn side it will allow the sunflowers to grow up to their mature height. What was I thinking.

Wednesday, June 2

Not much gardening today. It will be a day at the Urban Ranch and definitely watering all the plants. The rain has not been too much lately. The rains that we get are not too helpful. Terra Nova Gardens is drying out and the next visit will have to be a watering day. 

Maybe I can work on the automation of the bucket garden watering some today. 

I tied up some of the bucket tomatoes.

Thursday, June 3

Not much gardening going on today. I might sneak out to Terra Nova Gardens after taking Bradley to work. I need to be diligent about working on the reclamation of the garden beds there. The first order of business would be to do as much watering as the natural spring will allow. That might be all that gets done. 

Saturday, June 5

I'm going to try to get out to Terra Nova Gardens and water all the plants. The forecast is for very little rain for the next week with hot temperatures. Plans for Terra Nova Gardens race through my mind constantly changing from day to day. The over all plan is the same but just how to get there is different each day.

I have an issue with one of the gutters for the patio garden. The gutter for the tomatoes has a leak. It's really too late to fix it for this year. I have to come up with a way to save the water that leaks and reuse it. I have some ideas but not sure they will work. Any open water collection is a invite to be a bird bath which I don't want from the crackle black birds or any bird for that matter.

Grass mulch is piling up at Terra Nova Gardens. I have to figure out a way to use it. I'm thinking just pile it in the two beds that will be the second cage. It will eventually be buried in the beds but for now it will keep the weeds at bay. I don't think I'll get to bury the grass until this fall. The front beds of the garden can be covered with grass as well for weed control. 

I will try to kill the trees that I cut by boring a hole in the stump of the tree and filling the hole with stump killer every time I visit the garden for a while. Then maybe next year I can remove the stumps. That way the tree won't grow back from the stump. I can't believe how big trees can get in just a couple years.

This is the potato patch. It's time to start piling on the dirt. I know that potatoes can be totally covered up at this stage and they will just keep growing up and out of the dirt. When I experimented with the three layer potato patch, the first planting was covered up twice and survived just fine. I'm using the dirt out of the path to cover up the potatoes. I'll cut the carpet out and dig about four inches of dirt out of the path. The dirt will be replaced with weed barrier fabric and mulch. There are several sunflowers up and growing that are outside the potato rings.

This is the corn. I thought about closing up the door of the cage to keep the rabbits out. They like to munch on the tender shoots. I will have to make the door the next time I go out to Terra Nova Gardens. I think the door will be just attached at the top with zip ties and when it gets opened up, I'll just flip it up on top of the cage. It's the simplest way to do the door. I'll put some wire hooks down the side. I will put a rock line across the door opening and across the back of the path.

Here's a bean. There a few beans that are up and growing. I've decided that I should have a small walk between the tires to service the tires and areas outside the tires every three tires. I'll use the stack of patio blocks for the small walk way. It will make it easier rather than jump around like a monkey.

This was a tree in the North fence line of the garden. I sawed off the tree and drug it out into the wooded area by Lonergan's potato patch. I drilled this hole to fill with stump killer that I suspect is nothing more than roundup with a higher price tag. I'll refill the hole a couple more times to kill the stump down into the root level. Maybe by next year this stump will be rotted down to be taken out easy. It's a good way to keep the stump from sprouting back into a scrub tree.

I've had this stump killer in the garage for several years and have used it around the Urban Ranch along the fence line to kill the sprouting Mulberry trees. It does a good job. I have some more trees to kill behind the shed. There's trouble some tree there in the fence line that I keep cutting down but it keep coming back. I'm not sure if I've used the drill a hole and fill it with stump killer trick or not. I will this year.

Monday, June 7

Today I would really like to start covering the potatoes with dirt which will require the carpet to be removed from the center path and filled with mulch. It will be after I mow down 35th street and before Lydia's yard mowing. It will be a challenging day. So I need a carpet blade for the box cutter. And I need some Philips screw heads for the cordless screwdriver. I keep breaking the tips off the driver heads.

 

This is the beginning of the day at Terra Nova Gardens. It's bed number 8 for the second cage. Actually the weed pressure is less than I thought it would be but it's been covered all last year with old tarps. So the weeds have been really k

kept at bay. So the work begins. 

The grass from 35th street is was just two bags. So this is the next section of bed 8 that gets covered by grass. I put down a good healthy layer of grass that's about four inches. It will shrink down in a few days and I may put more on before the fall rejuvenation of the bed. Then a another coat would be great. 

This is the end of the day with the second of grass covered with carpet to let it cook and dribble the nitrogen rich juices down into the soil.  The carpet I found on Irvington Road by the storage unit for Dot. I cut it in five foot sections and it covers the bed perfectly. I really didn't get a whole lot done at Terra Nova Gardens today but every little bit helps.

Tomorrow will be spray the backyard with weed killer spray. Well, that is if the wind isn't a factor. 

Tuesday, June 8

Not much gardening going on today. I do have to water the plants again. I will have to start hauling water out to Terra Nova Gardens as the barrel at the spring is not working too well. It's not actually in the spring area which looks a lot wetter that where the barrel is. I probably should sink a couple barrels in the spring area to catch more water. Lot's to do at Urban Ranch and Terra Nova Gardens. The people garden still needs tending as well.

I sprayed a center portion away from all gardening for the obnoxious weeds. I want to see how well it works before going any farther and if it will have an effect on the garden plants. There was a slight breeze which is another reason I didn't want to get close to garden plants. If this is effective, I'll spray in smaller areas at a time to keep the drift down. Tomorrow is another low wind day. I need to get out and spray earlier in the day.

I also noticed that the tomato gutter is almost dry which means I have to be more diligent monitoring the water in the gutters. All the plants look really good. I hope that spraying won't damage them. I thought maybe I should have used a granular weed control as apposed to a spray.

Wednesday, June 9

Today will be a day at Terra Nova Gardens. I do want to start covering up the potatoes and filling in the trench where the dirt from the path is taken with the mulch that Dave Hall got for me. It's mountain of mulch just like what I've always wanted. There is so much work there that it's like starting over. I'm just keeping after it a little at a time. It's another hot one today so the progress will be slow and steady with a little work and lots of rest with lots of water to drink. I drink warm water. I don't think it's good for  the hot body to drink cold water. My thought is it shocks the body and that can't be a good thing.

The tomato gutter continues to have a bad leak. It's not fixable so I'll continue to catch as much of the water as I can and pour it back into the gutter until the season is over. It seemed to be good at the beginning of the year but now it leaks over a gallon a day. 

These are the bucket tomatoes. They are looking good. I will trim around the bottom of the plants to give them better air flow. My hope is to keep feeding them every two weeks and making sure that the they have enough water. I might have to go to watering every day with this hot weather upon us. They don't look stressed just yet but I don't want to wait for that either.

Peppers are doing well with same notation as for tomatoes. I can see little buds forming so the peppers will be coming. I need to mulch them in with grass clipping. Maybe I'll do that today. I might water them today as well. It just keeps getting hotter every day this week. The forecast says there's a possibility for rain on Friday but I'm not counting on it.

These are the in ground tomatoes. They are ahead of the bucket tomatoes but not by much. I removed the wire protection to get better access to watering the plants. The lettuce and sorrow are just about at the end of there usefulness. I will remove them soon. The idea of planting the starts from the basement was a great idea. I've been harvesting for a couple more months than usual. The sorrel really took off and produced. I might leave that in. I should plant more lettuce in the basement. That area has been shut down for quite some time. It's a mess down there and needs to be totally cleared and cleaned.

The potatoes are up and growing well. The task for today was to remove the carpet in the pathway; remove about four inches of dirt from the pathway; use the dirt to fill up around the potatoes. The next round will be to set another tire on top of these tires and fill it with dirt.

Here's the first tire filled with dirt. The weeds were just starting to grow so now they are totally covered which will help with weed control. This dirt from the path was a bit chunky and had to be chopped up with a spade to a good texture to smooth around the potato plants.

This is the pathway and the spot where the soil has been removed. There's just enough soil in the pathway to fill the tires. The dirt broke up fairly good for being a pathway for several years.

The mulch that Dave Hall got for me isn't premium mulch but instead gives the look of a forest path. I quite like it. I'm not sure how long it will last but the price is right and there's mountain of it waiting to be used. Once I get the potatoes covered in soil, I can start working on the corn and beans. I brought home two barrels to use for hauling water. The spring just isn't up to the task this year. The water level is way down but it might be the  placement of the barrel. I noticed that where the spring really is the top of the dirt is wet. So another task on the list would be to sink another barrel down into the muck of the spring. 

Friday, June 11

I have two barrels set up to haul water out to the garden. I haven't done that for years. I want to fill up the east water tower tank to see if it will hold up under the weight. It will be a test to see how well I engineered it. 

The 1/2 inch rain today will be great for the potatoes and corn planted at Terra Nova Gardens.

Saturday, June 12

No gardening today.

Sunday, June 13

No gardening today.

Wednesday, June 16

Very little gardening today. Just watering plants and trying to fix gutter leaks.

Pulled out lettuce and sorrel. That was a good run and way too much for me to eat. I think three plants each would supply me for outside lettuce. It's time to plant more.

Thursday, June 17

Today will be a brutally hot day. The heat index will be 108 and there's a winds. That's not good for plants. The bucket plant suffer the most. The soil gets hotter and the furnace wind sucks the moisture right out of the soil.  I watered down all the plants as much as the container would hold before it started heating up. I will water them again after the sun goes down behind the trees. I don't think it's a good idea to water during the hot part of the day.

I weeded the raised beds and pulled all the weeds in the bed slated to be rebuilt. There's not much more to do with gardening today except keep the plants hydrated.

Friday, June 18

Another hot day on schedule. It won't be the 105 hot like yesterday but still middle 90s. Thank goodness the humidity has been decent this year. It always starts out in the 80s in the morning but decreases during the day and by evening it's in the 30s or 40s percent. 

There'll be no gardening today. 

Monday, June 21

Day 168 of year 2021

Today will be spent at Terra Nova Gardens working on the cage, path, and potatoes. I didn't get to work on potatoes or path because Bradley needed a ride to work. I didn't know that I was supposed to take him to work. 

Tuesday, June 22

Day 173 of year 2021

I'm hoping to be able to get out to Terra Nova Gardens to work on the path and potatoes. I did get the gate and south end of the cage done. It's going to be more of a project than I thought but that's always the case isn't it? It's going to be great when I get it done. I'm not going to cage half for the sake of the sunflowers. It's more important that I get the cage built than saving some bad planning when I planted the sunflowers.

I have given up on two gutters until I have the time to try and mend the leaks. It's too time consuming riding herd on catching the water each day and returning to the gutter only to have it leak out again. I have to do some extensive sealing to keep it from leaking.

This is the first regular size tomatoes harvested. I did harvest a couple cherry tomatoes from Urban Ranch front driveway container pot. I just might make these into bacon tomato sandwiches. They are not big cover a sandwich in one slice tomatoes but it a start to the season of  juicy home grown tomatoes. After the rough start to the growing season, I'll take it and enjoy it.

I planted strawberries in two of the raised beds at the Urban Ranch to be a nursery for spawning babies to build the strawberry bed at Terra Nova Gardens. Here is the first two babies that are being planted in cups to root. When the roots are well established I'll snip the umbilical cord and let them grow up a little before putting them into the their permanent bed. It might take a couple years to get a substantial bed established at Terra Nova Gardens but it will be worth it.

This is my attempt to fix the leak in the gutter under the tomatoes. It's a thick paste that is supposed to seal water leaks. I put the entire can on this end of the gutter. I've had trouble with this for a couple years now. I might just have to replace the gutter next year. I think this is year number five or six for this gutter method. It has to cure for 48 hours. I might give it an extra day just to let the thick coat cure a little more. Hopefully, I can get through this year. 

Wednesday, June 23

Day 173 of year 2021

Today I'm planning on a day at Terra Nova Gardens and working on the potatoes next ring of dirt and extending the path mulch. But first I need to water all the Urban Ranch plants and give them some fish emulsion. I gave them all a dose of fish emulsion but not a full watering. I'm going to let the plants soak up the fertilizer and maybe give them a full watering tonight or see if we are really going to get rain tonight and wait until tomorrow morning if no rain comes.

Here's the second ring of potato tower. I could keep going but I think I'll stop with just two rings. I have enough space to put the rest of the dirt from the path. I have one more double ring and four more that I can put dirt to fill one ring. That will be enough to see if this indeterminate potato thing is for real.

I replanted the first corn tire ring. Something ate the sprouts. I now have the two beds semi secured. Rabbits can go through the fence but raccoons can not. However, raccoons can climb over the fence so the corn is not secure just yet. I will have to step up the progress to put the top on the cage.

Here's the path mulch that Dave Hall got for me. There is a mountain of mulch that will fill many pathways. The wheel barrow that Dottie my wife had me buy all those years ago has finally worn out after about 25 or more years of use. I have another wheel barrow that I'll take to Terra Nova Gardens. It also needs a bit of work with replacing the handles.

This is the potatoes that are double ringed. I have three completed with one more to go. It's taken over half of the pathway dirt. This will be amazing when I'm finished with it. I used the water tower today to water all the plants. I need a new end to the hose to soften the flow of water.

Friday, June 25

Day 176 of year 2021

Now that the gutter leak is fixed I have an idea for the automatic watering. This is a three gallon water container but it could be any size. I need to put a special cut block under the front of the water container to lift it up off the end of the gutter or the weight will break the seal. I put a little water in the container just to see if it will work. I'm sure it will work great. I cut a PVC pipe to lift the container just a hare up and take the weight off the end of the gutter. Then I filled up the container and it seems to be working great. Tomorrow morning will be the witness to working or not working. The leak on the far end of the gutter seems to be sealed as well. So one gutter down and one to go.

I rooted five more strawberry babies. That makes a total of nine all together .... I think.

Saturday, June 25

Day 177 of year 2021

The automatic watering is working perfectly. Because of the rain, I expect, not much water was used from the water jug. The leak seal must be working or the water jug would be much lower.  I really would like to see it dry up for a few days to see if the leak really is fixed. I'm pretty sure it is. 

There won't be much gardening today as it rained again last night and everything is wet. Maybe Monday. It will be grass mowing day for Lydia's yard and 35th street.

Sunday, June 26

Day 178 of year 2021

The days of June are dwindling away. Only four more left. I'm hoping to continue to work toward an enclosed cage by the time of corn tasseling.  I have to get busy and make it happen or the electric fence has to go up again. 

I definitely need to water today. I rooted four more baby strawberries. Yesterday I planted six Zucchini seeds. We will see if they sprout.

The watering system is working wonderfully well and the leak is finally fixed. It doesn't take much water to keep the gutter full. I might cut another PVC pipe to fill the gutter just a smidge more. Now I'm ready to work on the other gutter that leaks and set up a automatic water system there as well. I thought that it would take more water to keep the gutter full than it does. I like this automatic watering system better because I can see just how much water is being sucked up by the plants. Last year with it hooked up to the big water tank I couldn't tell how much water was being used and it's a really simple way of watering. There's no timers, no valves, and no worries. What could possibly be better than that.

Wednesday, June 30

I'm hoping to get more corn planted after mowing 35th street to acquire mulch. Some trimming on the fallen tree will be scheduled but depends on the back health as to whether it will be done.

The temperatures are amazingly in the 80s and quite tolerable to be outside working. I'm not sure how long it will last but I want to take advantage of the cooler days as much as I can.

The tomato auto watering is working wonderfully well. The next gutter is not leaking dry any more and I'll have to use my shop vac to suck out the water. I don't trust that it's cured itself. I'll get another small container of the Flex Paste. It certainly worked on the tomato gutter.

This is the last day of June. I did work on the cage but it really needs to be stepped up in building it. I do have the area fenced in and secured. Well, probably not for rabbits or raccoons just yet but certainly from deer. I'm not sure what nibbled the corn at the entrance and I did replant that ring. The rest of the bed will be planted traditionally in rows.

The corn is up in the first ring that got nibbled. The rest of the corn has been planted in traditional rows. This bed is fully planted. It was a sticky day and I sweat a lot. I can mark that task off the list. The next time out I'll be finishing up bed 8. The weeds need pulled and the ground covered with grass clippings. Then a carpet cover to keep the weeds under control.