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.