Applestar's 2016 Garden

[applestar]

Update

Espalier Fence Row, Haybale Row, Sunflower House and Extension, Raspberry Fence Row


Corn and Peas, etc. in the Sunflower House


Planted pre-germinated adzuki beans everywhere I could squeeze them in, including among the partly planted cherry tomatoes in the new Raspberry Fence Row Extension dubbed "2016 Cherry Lane", between Marrowfat and Swiss Giant peas in the SFH, alongside Chickpeas in the outer Spiral Garden.


Overview of this area including the Spiral Garden Annex of Blauwschokker soup peas, H-19 Littleleaf cucumbers, and Kakai hulless seed squash

[rainbowgardener]

beautiful! It looks a little like a labyrinth. I hope my circle garden will eventually have that effect too -- it won't be a labyrinth, but it may remind you of one a bit.

[applestar]

The Spiral Garden is a lot of fun. It's great to watch the garden fill in as the season progresses with any size bed, but this one takes on a well-defined spiral ...then eventually turns into a mounded jungle, and depending on what is planted for the rotation, I literally have to push my way in between and under the canopy. ha.



Didn't you say you are about to pull your peas, Rainbowgardener?

My first harvest just started with the Golden Sweet snowpeas:




My two hanging basket of peas are bearing pods, too -- they will be ready soon. The extra tall one that's falling over is Green Arrow and is normally about 4 ft tall and need support. The other one is Sugar Daddy, I think.

[applestar]

VGA today --



Kyoto No.3 heading Nappa in the front looks like it might be starting to form a head. There are three but only the one in the middle is progressing well -- guess I planted them too close You can see the corn trying to get through (not the volunteer garlic in the front left but the grassy looking leaves among the big leaves). I keep harvesting the loose leaf Osaka Shirona, thinning and cutting IcebergA lettuce that I'm not saving to head up, and the Komatsuna to give Mirai350bc corn the chance to keep growing while we wait for the *spring* greens to finish up. I'm harvesting the main heads from these broccoli, too. Successful succession in here is going to be touch-and-go. Insect screen is keeping them safe from the cabbage white butterflies that are starting to flit everywhere and dumping eggs under the leaves of unprotected broccoli and kale leaves.

OH YEAH -- I saw the baby praying mantis still in here. It had molted to a green instar maybe not quite 2 inches long.

[applestar]

Cabbage white butterfly kaleidoscope has arrived -- I imagin this would be the second or third generation since they start showing up in ones and twos in very early spring.

Now, they are everywhere, and I swear they are mocking me. They flit by when my hands are full. They flutter up from where I'm heading to do something else. I look out of the window and they cross my field of view. They are dumping eggs -- so many! Even on runty plants. I can only successfully catch them -- one at a time -- maybe 1 out of 4 tries with the butterfly net. And they ALWAYS not only appear but flutter near when I don't have the net.

I don't really like Bt but might to have to bite the bullet. I can live with using Bt if I do it very carefully and put only on the brassica. I can't use anything else that affects other insects because I'm seeing way too many beneficial insects everywhere -- hover flies, robber flies, tiny little beneficial wasps -- braconids, trichogrammas, aphid mummy makers -- praying mantis babies are scurrying everywhere and ladybug larvae and pupae. Paper wasps are looking for caterpillars already. I realized I can't use DE dust against slugs because ground spiders are everywhere on the mulch.

Hmm... And the birds will be gathering food to feed their babies too.

I'm half tempted to rely on the numerous Garden Patrol that are already here, but I know from past experience that they are not 100% effective, and won't help with keeping broccoli heads clean -- I may decide to just harvest the remaining broccoli at whatever stage they are in. Cabbage and kale generally fare better, and I only have to remove the worst affected leaves. I think I planted cauliflower too late -- they are still only in leaf stage.

[applestar]

Today's harvest:



Onion flower

[applestar]

All planted and growing, including the adzuki beans that just came up. ...time to mulch the paths
(And get more wood shavings for the beds)

[applestar]

...fern-like plants are Chickpeas and the heart-shaped seedleaves coming up in a neat lines are the adzuki that were planted after pre-germinating. The photo on the right shows a squash seedling that were planted directly after sprouting on spoon seedzip. (I'll mention the corn below)

I killed a couple (well, OK a few ) doing this -- we're talking super coddled seeds sprouted in seedzip under lights, then immediately taken outside and planted in full sun.

I'm getting better at it though -- here, we have Orangeglo watermelon that were planted. What, you can't see them? Of course not.


-- it turns out this is the key. They spend the first day covered like this -- under a pot, even a 3oz cup that had been used for other seedlings that were actually planted in potting mix after germinating to sprout. I planted these today.

In the left photo, you can see a watermelon seedling in front of the pot. That one was planted two days ago, and spent yesterday and day before (which were partly cloudy) with a pop up insect screen food dome over it to give it the lightest of shades.

[applestar]

I'm finding volunteer corn here and there. It could be they are just bird- or chipmunk/squirrel- sown from some bird seeds, but they might be accidentally dropped seeds of the Bloody Butcher that were growing in the Spiral Garden before, so I'm letting some of them grow.

[applestar]

Corn in the SFH are growing fast too. Don't get mislead by the elephant garlic in the SFHX, but the closer group of corn were planted 11 days after the farther group.


- use right-click "Open Image" for full view -

...sorry looking tomatoes in the HBR are starting to look more presentable since they have started to recover from mite infestation. I'll post closeup pics soon...
...I keep forgetting to take pictures of the Iris versicolor in full bloom right now...
...the two Hari eggplants are still inside the wall-o-water Has anyone ever just left it in place? I imagine at some point, it will become impossible to remove....

[applestar]

View of SFH and HBR from the SFHX mostly Elephant Garlic Bed. If you zoom in -- use right click Open Image -- you might be able to see the House Wren peeking out



...another view of the "stately" Elephant Garlic and the rest of the garlic in the Apple Guild bed starting to make scapes

[applestar]

I wanted to share this photo. Marrowfat peas are oddities for sure. I have to rescue the corn from their double "handed" pairs of grasping tendril clutches at least every two days.



(These are Kandy Korn x Glass Gem F1)

[applestar]

Some of the eggplants --

Kamo in one of the HBR tomato slots ... 2 Hari's in wall-o-water at eastern/sunniest end of HBR

VGB Pallet-sided High Raised Bed: Overwintered White Comet ... Hari

-- This bed tends to dry out but the soil at ground level below tends to stay wet and sometimes soggy due to low valley grading effect between our property and the neighbor's, plus the neighbor has an extended rain gutter downspout that drains outside of their foundation planting on this side. (She used to complain that the narrow patch of grass between her foundation planting and my fence got soggy and wet every time I watered my veg garden -- part of the reason I built the pallet-sided high raised beds was to dam and soak up the excess before going over the property line....) Sunflowers grow very well here, but I wanted to rotate something different this year.
-- I originally intended to plant gourds and I did get two luffa seedlings (started in cups to true leaf stage) planted, but when I tried to sow pre-germinated and pre-sprouted seeds, something (slugs or pill bugs/sow bugs) ate every single one of them. So I had to switch gears and find other crops that grow deep enough roots. Eggplants should work. I might plant some Okra since I intend for the Luffa to climb along the top of the fence. I have the seeds (Jing Orange, Burgundy, and Louisiana Velvet -pale green almost white) pre-germinating. This time, I'm going to put a bunch of DE -- both sand sized and powdered -- in there when I sow the seeds.

[applestar]

First small cutting of lavender. These are all from the new small/tiny plants -- the big plant is not quite ready yet.
Unfortunately, I couldn't take the photo outside because we had a crazy scary wind storm that ROARED through just as I was cutting these. LIghting is terrible in my laundry room.

I rubber banded and hung the small bunch in our bedroom

...I didn't take a picture but I also snipped and grabbed some Southernwood before the rains started, so I will be able to dry and make some moth sachets. Probably get some tansy, too, next time the the weather is dry, before they start getting powdery mildew. I use the lavender stems for these. Flowers and buds are for special projects and for tea and cooking in baked goods, and putting in ice cream, etc.

[applestar]

Sunflower House (SFH) and Sunflower Extension (SFHX)

[nltaff]

Everything looks so beautiful! Wondering, how did you get rid of the mite infestation on the tomatoes? And hasn't the weather been just so so uncooperative? I've awakened to 40, even 39 degrees for a little over a week now, and I'm just tired of carrying my basil flats in and out of the house. My poor tomatoes and peppers get wind-whipped every day! Thought of you as I cleared the weeds from the asparagus bed. Threw all the slugs into the woods, found a toad, so I installed a flowerpot house for it!

[applestar]

Everything looks so beautiful! Wondering, how did you get rid of the mite infestation on the tomatoes?

THANK YOU!

Mites -- Pest mites are my nemesis. Overwintered tomatoes and lately even seedlings started in late winter when the mites are at their worst due to heat-dried indoor air are infested with one kind of mite or other. One year, I had (never before seen or heard of) two-spotted mites on a tomato in one bedroom, nowhere else. I tried to save it but couldn't. After that, I realized I had better things to do with my time than to try to kill invisible pests and save the plants.

Even before that, the quintessential houseplant pest -- red spider mites -- had been an occasional problem. And every single time, if I could just keep the plants alive until it was warm enough in spring, all I had to do was to acclimate and put them outside, and they recovered. Now I have TRM's (Tomato Russet Mites) and possibly Broad Mites, too? I can't see them without going to the trouble of using the microscope or other magnifying gear? BAH forget it.

~~ If I can just get them out where they can be found, the Invisible Garden Patrol will get to work, eradicating the near-invisible pests. ~~

It's the same for these tomato plants. Once hardened off and planted in the ground, most of them will turn around. It's the ones that are still in tiny seed starting containers that are still suffering. Too much stress and I think the appropriate Garden Patrol can't find them as easily. I do put the seedling flats on the ground among flowers that they like, and I was trying to uppot them and turn them around and get them to grow back enough to plant, but I'm seeing signs that that's a wrong way of thinking. They won't turn around unless I plant them in the ground. Some I planted as nothing left but sticks are now starting to re-grow.

~~ This is why I won't use pesticides of any kind unless for very limited use with limited group of plants. I don't know what I'm doing, but THEY DO. ~~

I planted a few more "nothing left but sticks" We shall see.... If the humid/muggy season with accompanying fungal issues, and high temps and drought will hold off a little longer, they might be able to make it even if they have been considerably set back. Once they settle in after planting and the root system find good soil and earthworms and the rest of the soil foodweb become integrated and established, hopefully they will take off.

[applestar]

...And hasn't the weather been just so so uncooperative? I've awakened to 40, even 39 degrees for a little over a week now, and I'm just tired of carrying my basil flats in and out of the house. My poor tomatoes and peppers get wind-whipped every day! Thought of you as I cleared the weeds from the asparagus bed. Threw all the slugs into the woods, found a toad, so I installed a flowerpot house for it!

39-40°F ? -- that's tough Too low for even tomatoes, so warm weather plants must be suffering. For me, the sudden cool down to overnights in the 50's have actually been a blessing since the peas and broccoli that were threatening to finish up and die due to the "skip spring temperatures and go for full burn heatwave" have had a reprieve.

(That said, it's 87°F out there right now. )

...I'm honored that you thought of me as you were throwing away (or was it WHILE YOU WERE COLLECTING) slugs.....

[applestar]

Yesterday, I went around tucking in pre-germinated okra seeds in here and there, dry basil seeds, dill seeds, cilantro seeds, edamame seeds, and one variety of bush beans.

Looked at one narrow Unprepped bed thinking I had planned to put something there, but couldn't remember and was also not up to getting out the tools to weed, hoe, fork, amend and fertilize... So that will be for another day. (Realized after coming inside and updating my maps and garden journal that I meant to sow a bunch of bush beans there -- definitely need to get that done)

Another weird day/night -- went up to 90°F and currently 80°F out there (it should really be in low 60's, even high 50's). This is going to precipitate spontaneous emergence of bad bugs. ugh.

[imafan26]

You are having wierd weather. I am getting rain now but the temperatures are 78-86 which is pretty normal for this time of the year.

[applestar]

Those loose garlic -- I noticed one of the Tzan Turban garlic foliage had gone completely yellow and tried to dig it up. The yellowed stem came off and the entire bulb was in the process of losing all of the paper to spoilage. But when I washed off the dirt and broke up the cloves to rub and rinse off all the softened layers, these clean and firm cloves came out. They look good and usable right away, though obviously not for storage.

The other one is from SFHX -- probably a smaller elephant garlic.

The big onion is the one that I'd stuck in the corner of the SIP with Hari and Pea eggplants last year. Even though I had laid the tub on its side for the winter, it just kept going and didn't bolt when grown alongside the spring broccoli (when I planted the broccoli earlier in spring, the onion looked so pathetic I was going to pull it... But didn't). The neck fell over a couple of days ago so I decided to harvest it, especially since I can't let the SIP dry out.

Smaller onion came from the hanging basket of crazy strawberries that I had overwintered in the garage V8. I stuck a few ONION bottoms in there,must for fun. I harvested this one today and another one about the same size a couple of days ago, but there is a monster red onion in the middle of the basket still growing. I think I must have went way overboard with nitrogen rich organic fertilizer when I first planted, thinking this will feed the onions. (and obviously it did) But the strawberriy's foliage has also been growing like mad and it's only just this past week that it has started to bloom.

[applestar]

Here's an update on that tiny VGB patch of Kandy Korn x Glass Gem F1 that I interplanted with Marrowfat peas. Obviously not all corn plants are growing well -- making their own selection -- but the ones that ARE doing well look pretty good, I think.

One of them was obviously having trouble despite a good start, and I was starting to see chewed up leaf edges. After wondering if it might be slugs, I tried pouring some water in the center tubular cup of leaves -- for no reason except that I wanted to see how the new leaves were growing or not growing more clearly, and it looked "muddy" in there.

...As soon as the water washed clear, I could see a FAT cutworm coiled up in there. All gone now and the same plant is looking great!

[lakngulf]

Produce looks great.

[Lindsaylew82]

Produce looks great.

Sho do!

[nltaff]

applestar wrote

thinking of me when throwing away slugs

Actually, no, not the slug part, the fetching a pot to half-bury for the toad part. I once paid a student of mine, back in the 90s a nickel for every toad he brought me (I supplied the shoeboxes).
As for the temps, the tomatoes and peppers have done fine during all these cold morning starts, especially the ones in the bales (because I haven't fully removed the cover). Looking at the forecast, I promised them full freedom tomorrow (as tonight's low is the last one in the 40s for at least a week and a half. Everyone around here is shaking heads over this strange stint of April-like weather. Anyway, I haven't lost anything yet, and everything is producing blossoms. As a bonus, usually, by this time the beet greens are looking ratty, but they are, to date, pristine and looking yummy. Cold has kept the earwigs and other munchers at bay.

[applestar]

Chickpeas are starting to bloom

[Lindsaylew82]

Are the chickpeas viny or bushy?

[applestar]

Bushy

[rainbowgardener]

Oh wow! Something I never thought about growing and they are beautiful! Once I get more beds built!

[applestar]

Here are some more snapshots from the Spiral Garden. I do like the feathery blue-green foliage of the chickpeas

[applestar]

Here's Spiral Garden Annex. Kakai hulless seeds squash have taken off and are threatening to overwhelm the one Uncle David"s Dakota Dessert squash in front of the center fence post. That one looks stunted. The three H-19 Littleleaf cucumbers are poised to take over from the Blauschokker Blue soup peas which were planted too late and not doing very well except where sufficiently shaded.



I'm thinking of planting two medium height pepper plants here since Uncle David didn't over run this area as expected. One of them -Pasilla Chili- is hardening off.

[applestar]

I took down the string trellis and pulled the yellowed pea vines in the SFH today. The pea vines were put down between the corn rows as mulch over scattered organic fertilizer (Chickety Doo Doo).


When corn was first planted back in May vs. today's corn :


With string and without except for the last row on the right :


Latest map of the Sunflower House



Today's harvest including test pulls of elephant garlic and a couple of purple Tzan Turban garlic

[Lindsaylew82]

What are the little balls on the ends of the roots there. On the garlic.

[applestar]

Elephant garlic tends to produce these small hard cloves outside of the main bulb. The wrapper is thick, hard, and brittle. They are 1/2 the size of small cloves of smaller garlic and maybe 1/8 the size of elephant garlic clove, and can be used as garlic in cooking -- a little less tender but who cares if you are going to smash them -- and keeps extremely well in storage.

If you plant them with regular cloves, they make small undivided rounds next year, and then, theoretically, full divided bulb the following year. One of the test pulls was planted as a round, and I haven't examined it closely, but it looked like a bigger round but with the external cloves attached....

[applestar]

Upstairs window view



...it's always tricky taking a photo here in the morning because the morning light reflects off the window screen whether the sun is hitting it or not...

The birdscares, toy and garden hose "snakes" and the picnic plate covers are no longer helping -- the wiley and brazen catbirds have been getting in the raspberries and I watched one gobble up a barely blushed fruit. NO wonder I'm hardly seeing even remotely ripe looking ones in the last couple of days.

I am realizing that last year's success with protecting these raspberries was mostly due to Robin that was nesting in the tall shrub (Arrowwood Viburnum) below the window. The pair was dedicated to chasing off any intruder birds from the vicinity, including the catbirds, and they preferred to gorge on wild strawberries under the shrub and the mulberry in the back.

As soon as DH finds fishing lines that he can spare, I'm going to try stringing invisible lines all over above and alongside the raspberry row. I'm not going to try to net it unless I can construct a support system that can hold the netting away from all the bristly thorns and that would be a major project. If I'm making something like that, I might as well build a chicken wire berry house....

I'm thinking I'm going to have to re-allocate the strawberry netting to protect the (thornless) blackberries which are full of green fruits now. Seas Scape may sporadically produce more berries,Mobutu hopefully, I can protect them individually.

[applestar]

Sunflower & House in morning light. A volunteer sunflower insisted on growing here to legitimize the name of the bed.

This is a 10 ft diameter circle

[applestar]

So... This wasn't a Kakai -- I can't remember if I had started some seeds from a volunteer pepo (this blossom doesn't look maxima, does it?) or if I accidentally used unisolated Kakai seeds....



Odd thing is so far the butter yellow baby fruit looks like Red Kuri or another volunteer maxima, but I'm pretty sure the pointed petals look pepo and not frilly rounded petal of maxima. Pepos and maximas don't cross do they? Hmm... Maybe these are two different plants.

[applestar]

More garlic harvest sitting in front of a fan on standard size webtray turned upside down.



One full-size elephant garlic...I think I'll dig up the rest in couple of days. Thinking of planting sweet potatoes in the SFHX bed and rest of the pepper seedlings in the Outer Apple Guild bed after the garlic are harvested.

[applestar]

Some photos of the VG beds and VGE-SIP -- I removed two of the broccoli and planted two eggplants -- these are the overwintered White Comets, as well as a couple of the given up-as-duds squash seedlings that sprouted in the Dwarf Moringa pot in the back. I stuck a cutting of Chicago Hardy fig in the back.

VGD pallet sided high raised bed has been taken over by Fordhook vining nasturtium. I always planted Jewel and other bush types so I never realized how rambling these are. Good thing most of the other seeds I intended to grow here had failed to sprout

VGB - Corn (Kandy Korn x Glass Gem F1) and Marrowfat peas are taking off, and you can see I really need to take that insect screen cover off of VGA... I haven't looked inside in several days, almost a week.

[applestar]

Chickpea Pods



...there's a point when you are supposed to let the soil get really dry for them, but I can't remember when...hopefully not yet because I just accidentally really flooded the Spiral Garden swale/path