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.