SQWIB
Greener Thumb
Posts: 970
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2016 9:21 am
Location: Zone 7A - Philadelphia, PA

Re: SQWIBS Urban Gardening Adventure 2018


November 8th


My Redhaven Peach Dwarf tees from Stark Bros. came in, so I planted both of them and also worked on my "mushroom garden" layered some more compost, rabbit bedding/manure and wood chips, just waiting for the Wine Cap Stropharia rugosa-annulata mushroom spawn from Field and Forest.
Image

Planted one in the Hugelkultur bed (right). This will be the mushroom bed also.
Image

and one in the corner with some blackberries, it's tight but I'll prune to fit.
Image





November 12th


Got a chance to try out my Blow Out fitting. It worked very well, just hooked it up, turned on the compressor and opened the valve slowly until the water in the lain was drained.
Image


Added some Bio-char and compost out front where I plan on putting in an Apricot Tree to add to my "Mini Orchard" Dug out the Tiger lilies to plant my Pear Tree for the "Mini Orchard". I really need to stop buying trees.
There is a black walnut in the neighbors yard that I am a bit worried about, its about 50' away.

Finished prepping my Mushroom bed and planted my King Straphoria spawn. Started with a layer of wood chips on top of the already covered beds, than worked in the spawn, added another layer of wood chips, followed by some double ground compost then cleaned my back yard pond filters on top to add pond sludge as a cap. This area gets a good bit of sun but I'm hoping that when my annual veggies are planted they wil provide some shade. I did add some spawn to shaded areas just in case.
Image


Finally got around to making my horseradish this year, I was really impressed with it, lets just say my nasal passage is clear. Some will be gifted to a friend and some will be used for Horseradish Mustard, the rest will be left as is. I'm not sure I am going to grow this next year, its just too hard to dig up, but then again, if I missed any roots, I will have it growing anyway!
Image

Image

Image

I decided to Knee High my dwarf peach trees, I took off more than half of the tree, ouch! This is a very emotional cut and hopefully I done the right thing.
Image

Image


I had my daughter Sam help me with harvesting the Yacon, I figured she would get a kick out of seeing the tubers as the were pulled from the bed. It was time, we had a decent frost the other night and the plant was done. I was happy with the harvest and Sam was intrigued by the tubers so I asked her to make a Yacon Pie for thanksgiving. The rhizomes are stored in some mulch in the refrigerator to hopefully grow next year. I chopped and dropped the Yacon and topped with a bag of shredded cardboard for its winter nap.
Image

Image

Image


Finished picking my Tabasco peppers for my sauce, It has been resting on some charred oak for 4 years. I'll process this next year into some hot sauce after another batch of Tabascos are added.
Image

Image

Stacked the rest of the firewood, cleaned the yard, burnt some yard scraps, pallets and some hardwood for Bio-char.

Topped the beds with a layer of double ground mulch and added rainwater and urea to 6 of the beds at a ratio of 4-1 except the mushroom bed.
Image


And what was my reward for all of this hard work.? Dessert! This is a banana that I ran through a Magic Bullet Desert Bullet, OK maybe the butterscotch isn't a healthy choice but hey I'm trying!
Image

User avatar
Gary350
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 7396
Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:59 pm
Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.

Your Tabasco peppers sauce looks GOOD. I wish I could still eat spicy hot food I would make some of that. I LOVE spicy hot food but my stomach does not allow that anymore.

User avatar
applestar
Mod
Posts: 30514
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

Especially if your garden is visited by rodents or rabbits that can get in those beds, don’t forget the hardwarecloth trunk guard for the new fruit trees. At least you probably don’t have to worry about deer.

One year when we had really heavy late winter snow that drifted to over 30 inches — higher than rabbit fences that protect my garden beds from pesky wild rabbits, winter-worn, hungry rodents came around on the following days, easily traveling on the crusted over snow and “over” the buried fences, and nibbled on fruit tree branches that should have been way above their reach :evil:

That was the year “they” also girdled one of my espalier apple trees — the plastic wrap around tree guard had failed due to action of the snow pack freeze/thaw cycle plus the frozen over snow drift provided a perfect pocket cave underneath for them to do their dastardly work. By the time the snow melted, it was too late.

SQWIB
Greener Thumb
Posts: 970
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2016 9:21 am
Location: Zone 7A - Philadelphia, PA

applestar wrote:Especially if your garden is visited by rodents or rabbits that can get in those beds, don’t forget the hardwarecloth trunk guard for the new fruit trees. At least you probably don’t have to worry about deer.

One year when we had really heavy late winter snow that drifted to over 30 inches — higher than rabbit fences that protect my garden beds from pesky wild rabbits, winter-worn, hungry rodents came around on the following days, easily traveling on the crusted over snow and “over” the buried fences, and nibbled on fruit tree branches that should have been way above their reach :evil:

That was the year “they” also girdled one of my espalier apple trees — the plastic wrap around tree guard had failed due to action of the snow pack freeze/thaw cycle plus the frozen over snow drift provided a perfect pocket cave underneath for them to do their dastardly work. By the time the snow melted, it was too late.
Would a cardboard core work?
These are over a 1/4" thick and 6.5" long and I can get an unlimited amount.
Maybe 2 high?

Image

User avatar
applestar
Mod
Posts: 30514
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

I would be concerned that those would promote fungal growth inside where you won’t be able to see what’s happening. You want airflow.

SQWIB
Greener Thumb
Posts: 970
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2016 9:21 am
Location: Zone 7A - Philadelphia, PA

November 18th

Put in my Apricot tree.

Winter prepping my Rosemary. I had a three year old plant here last season that didn't make it, I usually put a fluorescent lamp by the base and cover with a blanket, last winter I did not and the plant died. This year I am going to try just mulching the entire plant with leaves and pine needles. I don't expect it to make it but I am curious to try.
Image

Image


I finally winter prepped this planter, I waited till the last minute because I was still getting tomatoes. The beet was mulched in.
Image

Image

Image

Image



This was the last bed that needed a winter blanket, I used some pine needles and leaves that I liberated from Trap Pond.
Image


Had this packaging material that I used around my Pear Tree.
Image


Although this bed was actually put to sleep for the season it was topped with Rabbit Bedding/manure. I will continue to top a lot of my gardens and "in-situ" compost all winter long.
Image


Finished winterizing my Rain harvesting sysytem.



November 22nd

My daughter Sam made me a Yacon Pie for Thanksgiving.
Image

Image


Found a bag of maters in the freezer so I canned some stewed tomatoes, test recipe for next year.
Image

Image

Image

The next two items are not from the garden but here are a few ways I like to use up my Thanksgiving Turkey.
Turkey Panini club w/fried salami, fried ham and American cheese with a bit of mayo.
Image


And turkey soup, but this year I canned it. For this batch, I reduced the stock to make it like a concentrate so when we go to reheat it we can add three cups of water with a cup of Amish noodles, giving us 2 quarts of soup.
Image


For dinner last night Laura and Samantha made us a Pizza.
Image

Image

Here I am attempting to grow Black seeded Simpson and Paris Island Romaine for my wife, I felt bad for her, she loves romaine but has gotten sick from it twice so she won't ever buy it again, last time she got sick we ended up in the emergency room. I also tossed in some Beets to hopefully get a beet harvest so I can make some pickled red beets, but I'm not holding my breath.
Image

User avatar
Gary350
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 7396
Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:59 pm
Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.

I love to see what other people cook it gives me good ideas. Most people tend to cook the same things over and over because it is what they know how to cook and they grew up with there family cooked it too. I love to try new things. Sometimes I watch cooking shows on TV but YouTube videos are best I get to pick things that we might like to eat especially foods from other countries. Your turkey soup looks good that gives me ideas. My wife likes to cook more than me but sometimes I need to have my turn in the kitchen.

I wish the garden forum had an Every Day Cooking category. What every other people are cooking for, breakfast, lunch, dinner I would love to see it. I get tired of eating the same stuff for breakfast what do other people eat. It might not be anything special to them but it might be special to someone else. We eat garden vegetables all winter I hope other people do too. If others don't have a large pantry full of garden vegetables they need to buy food at the grocery store it is still interesting to see what other people cook every day.



Return to “Vegetable Garden Progress + Photos & Videos”