Applestar's 2016 Garden

[applestar]

I'm also starting to harvest nice little carrots for the DDs to snack on


Kaleidoscope Mix (Atomic Red, Bambino, Cosmic Purple, Lunar White and Solar Yellow), Danvers, Scarlet Nantes

I sowed some Yellowstone recently, too.

[applestar]

The tiny VGB Korn Patch (Kandy Korn x Glass Gem F1) was starting show signs of stress a few days ago, and Innoticed it had begun to yellow yesterday. But I'm out of Chickety Doo Doo I used for the SFH corn, so I decided to try laying a thick layer of 1/2 finished compost -- about 3 inches worth -- in the swale•path between the corn and the pallet-sided high raised bed. I'm going to continue to pile greens (pulled weeds) on top and cover with cardboard.



If the local earthworms and night crawlers don't gather on their own, I might get some of the red wigglers from the vermicomposter working in here.

[applestar]

Subject: Sweet Potato Questions

Well you could have put it back. Sweet potato is pretty sturdy. ABSOLUTE KEY to growing is heat, Heat, HEAT. 85°F or above. 90°F would be better. Once it gets hot enough during the day, direct sun will provide the kind of heat you need. No A/C -- set up outside or garage or attic... Maybe your car parked in the blazing sun.

For me growing the slips is not the problem, it's the typical lovely cool night air in the 60's and threats of early killing frost and accompanying drops in temp starting around late September -- I can't count on heat-loving crops beyond then even if the subsequent days are frost-free until late October or November.

This year, late lingering cold spring delayed everything so I'm not very optimistic about sweet potatoes, but I put this extra late Hawaiian sweet potato in last year's eggplant SIP after the big broccoli were done.



...if this works, I might have to concede that I have to grow sweet potato under black plastic mulch when planted in the ground, and plant the slips earlier by setting up a low poly tunnel over the black-plastic mulched raised mound.

[applestar]

NOT-Kakai -- since the first blossom didn't set, I made sure to pollinate with males from same vine.

Bottom two are yellow zukes 'Butta' -- first female blossoms may open day after tomorrow?

SFH corn -- a couple of Mirai359bc have started to shed pollen but no silks yet

_- I think they are looking good

Today's garlic harvest -- they were drying in the shade on patio table and were brought inside just in the nick of time before severe thunderstorm swept through

That one in the bottom left close up is supposed to be Russian Giant Marble Purple Striped, I think. The cloves are starting to separate, right?

[applestar]

Espalier Fence Row is looking good -- Prok persimmons, Arkansas Black apples, Magness pears, Seckel pears.... Now to protect them all summer until they are ready to harvest in the fall

[applestar]

This morning, I was childishly excited to notice that the satellite map of my area has been updated on the iPad native Maps app and I could see my Spiral Garden!

… yep, that's all I could see, but hey, it's there Only trouble is that the mask for the current location blurs the image a bit. I'll have to take another screenshot when I'm out and away from the house

Google updated only a few years ago, so I suppose it will be a while before they update again....m

[applestar]

[Lindsaylew82]

Ah it's so pretty!

What's the frosty white thing near the center of the spiral?

[applestar]

That's a cabbage

[Lindsaylew82]

Wow! It's so bright!

[applestar]

Practically all of blueberries and grapes are bagged:

...I ran out of organza bags... I have to get more or put up a netting for the blackberries.


First blackberry -- almost ripe, not quite. Maybe tomorrow.

...something chewed through one of the yellow raspberry bags and ate one Berry. 2nd unripe was chewed off but still inside.

---

I don't think I've shown a photo of my tiny rice paddy yet this year. I'm growing sweet glutinous rice this year sprouted from a package of Korean organic sweet brown rice

[applestar]

I didn't get the chance to take pics, but some of the Mirai350bc corn in the SFH are starting to shed pollen, and there were at least 4 stalks that had the tiniest tufts of silk emerging. ...I collected pollen in a deli soup container I had handy and sprinkled them on the tiny silks.

[applestar]

Wow! It's so bright!

I like to mark the center of the spiral in some way. Last year, I planted my big banana plant there. This year, I'm in love with the color contrast of the cabbage as well as broccoli and cauliflower to the rest of the green growing things. In this photo, I think morning dew was on the already frosty colored foliage, with rising sun reflecting off the sky/clouds to create that effect.

[applestar]

Somehow, I didn't take pic again, but the silks have emerged some more and also on more stalks, so I hand pollinated again. I can't easily get into the middle of the patch, but hopefully, the middle ones are sufficiently covered. One problem I noticed with the densely planted corn is that the leaves of different stalks overlap and sometimes block the silks, directing the pollen away. Ideally, I think individually standing corn with plenty of room stretches their leaves wide without interference from neighbors -- corn seems to be designed to form upward cups with their leaves so the pollen grains slide down and collects, bathing the emerging silks in pollen.

Squash are Starting to bloom. I hand pollinated the Not Kakai and it has set (actually pale yellow color but the leaves cast a green shadow) Long Pie is not blooming yet, but soon, and has a female almost ready to bloom (long thin calyces and velvety fuzz not spines marks this as a C.moschata). This last one -- I can't remember which one it is because I forgot to label it, but since the male has opened, I can tell it's a C.maxima, and it's NOT Uncle David.





A lonely female Butta summer squash on one plant. A solitary male -- though females are on their way -- on another one 6 feet away.... The male blossom was occupied, but the bees climbed out and flew off as I walked with the cut off blossom, then I married them.

One of Kikuza x Tromboncino F1 has male blossom and at least two female buds. This one is a C.moschata.

[applestar]

...a fly-by post of the silking corn (5.13 Mirai350bc)


But the one on the right is something different (from the 5.24 ASH WORTH • DBL RED • AZTEC BLACK group)