Applestar’s 2021 Garden

[applestar]

…I accidentally disturbed a nest of bunnies this morning — at least 5 tiny lemon-sized babies scattered, then later I accidentally scared one that was hiding among my container plants and drove it past the patio and around the corner. I know they will turn into pests later but for now, they are soooooo cuuuute, and I hope they don’t get hurt….


…I keep forgetting to take pictures, but I’ve been harvesting handfuls per day or two of cherries and strawberries. Not a whole lot this year - nothing to brag about - but satisfying when you are exhausted from some work you’ve been doing, stomach grumbling … to just sit at the shady garden bench and snack on freshly harvested handful … I guess may be 8 or 9 ripe cherries.

…Uppotted the Venus Flytrap today. It seemed to have been happy in the 1qt recycled SIP bottle, so I made a 2 qt version:

[imafan26]

I have tried and killed many venus fly traps. I grow pitcher plants instead. They are a lot easier.

[TomatoNut95]

I drew a rabbit yesterday, and also drove a real one out of the yard. As much as the yard needs mowing, I don't like the exhausted that particular lawn mower leaves behind.

Also I love that Venus fly trap! I wish I could raise one, but since it's a tropical houseplant, I know it wouldn't like me...

[applestar]

Your animal renditions are wonderful TomatoNut!

Both of you but @imafan in particular, Venus Flytrap needs a chill period at near freezing temp (like some bonsai). If you have space in the meatbin of your fridge, and send it through dormancy, that could do the trick. But you’re right — hanging pitchers should love your garden conditions.

TomatoNut should be able to just keep in the backyard or greenhouse through the winter. You seem to get plenty of rain so don’t need to worry about drought? I have trouble procuring rainwater and sometimes have to resort to storebought distilled water.

It gets TOO cold during the winter here (they are from the Carolinas) but like the Garage V8 conditions which usually stays above mid-20’s. First winter, I actually tried keeping them in a spare picnic cooler, but later found out that was too complicated. I CAN collect and thaw the rare snow accumulation for winter watering….

[applestar]

Finally starting to get the garden beds planted. I’m going to try the plastic mulched bed tech for increased root zone warmth, combined with some kind of protective overhead or surrounding covers in general this year. Part of the covers’ purpose is to protect against rabbits and bunnies in the initial tender stages until better actual fencing etc can be built, and to compensate for the weak or insufficiently hardened seedlings/transplants.

6/2/21 APPLE GUILD BORDER
From Right
1. C9 Vol.VGC BackCtrMid
2. J4 MR.C F4 sfhx x-short
3. G9 Allons-y,Dr.X
4. B4 Turhune
5. F8 Molten Sundrops F5 or F6
6. E6 Molten Sky F5
7. F4 Wild Rosa F5
8. White Wonder VGB.PSRB Oct’15 (split leader/culled main)
9. Yellow Mystery. Lindsay’19
10. Wes
11. Wes
12. Grightmire’s Pride
13. PaddyMC’s Steelhead
14. Neves Azorian Red
15. Michalych

* Apple Guild Border is planted with overgrown lanky Tall Large-fruited or Tall Cherry tomatoes in red cellophane mulches bed.
* Surrounded with insect mesh on the apple tree side (South) and vented row film on the walkway/lawn side (North)

- 6/3/21 (VEGETABLE GARDENBED A)
* VGA is planted with Caramel Crisp popcorn F1 (I kept saying Mushroom popcorn F1 originally — but when I looked at the seed packet it wasn’t ) Same type though - these are supposed to pop up into smooth bumpy round instead of lumpy.
* Black plastic mulched bed
* There was leftover space at the end so I planted the Tomatillo Queen of Malinalco there — not sure that was the best space for them but these REALLY needed to be planted in the ground.
* Fitted the two double rows with low wire tunnels then surrounded/loosely covered with the vented row films mostly again to keep bunnies out and also in case birds decide to try any mischief.

[applestar]

I was going to say “Did I not post a pic of how I’m protecting the cherries from the birds?” …then realized I haven’t taken the time to take such pictures.

Here’s a view from afar included in the frame by accident. I’ll try to get a closer view shot with one of the drawstring bags removed soon, maybe tomorrow

I was able to harvest almost a pint of ripe cherries this morning, but forgot to take a picture

[Taiji]

This reminds me that our first year in the U.P. there were one or two cottontails but in recent years I haven't seen any. I only just realized they haven't been around, I didn't really miss them. Don't know if they just didn't survive the winters or maybe predators eliminated them. Plenty of squirrels though trying to get to the bird feeders.

Your post reminds me also that I was going to try the black plastic mulch idea for some of the longer season squashes and heat loving things here to maybe speed up their growth in this short season area. I saw someone else doing that here.

And...was going to get some row cover to maybe help keep whatever little black fly bores into my onion stems at bay, but...the with the virus interruption I forgot all that til now. Next year...

[applestar]

Never too late to try different techniques @Taiji

[applestar]

So here we are — Picked a little more than a dozen this morning. YUM!

…Later I went to check on the pond, but my spot— which I recently improved by adding another flagstone and leveling things around a bit — was occupied.

I just looked from the upstairs window and the frog is STILL in MY spot

[applestar]

Today, I was pretty wiped out from the last couple of days of work, so I was only able to plant this pallet-sided raised bed — newly designated as VEGETABLE GARDENBED B (VGB). I’ve given up on heavy work to refurbish and refill this bed this year, so I only weeded, loosened the soil, and added fertilizer. Soil depth has reduced down to probably about 15 inches. Stabilized the pallets a little. Used the red cellophane as mulch here as well.

>> TOMATOES
From Right
1. E5 MoltenSky F5 8.17
2. F? MoltenSky F5 8.17
3. Wes
4. F6 MoltenSundrops F5 or F6
5. Wes
6. D2 MoltenSky F5 8.17
7. D2 MoltenSky F5 8.17

Except for Wes, which is a red oxheart (one of our returning favorites), these are all my segregates from the Maglia Rosa x Coyote cross and are elongated cherry type. I plan to build a bamboo support structure with full-length cross beams that are not too high and within my reach for harvesting, and try a disciplined pruning and horizontal training technique with these.

[applestar]

Ugh this is a painfully (literally) slow process. Nothing to brag about this year except that I am determined to grow my garden this year no matter the obstacles, even my own weak and uncooperative body.

It’s going to require cutting corners and working within money and time budgets…. but, well, my posts are never really about THIS is HOW you do it — more like I tried it this way and it worked …or didn’t.

Today, I made the mods I wanted to the PATIO KITCHEN GARDEN SIP2 and SIP3 by linking the reservoirs with a tubing. I also made sure there will be no more silly tiny clogged drain holes that needs to be poked out with a stick

I could have made full cover plastic mulches for these if I took the time to figure out where to retrieve a second bag from (I’m sure I have one somewhere) but instead, I slit the 2cu.ft. potting mix bag in half and semi-covered them. I really didn’t have enough potting mix to create the mounded form to cover anyway. There will be evaporated moisture loss, but the SIP3 is fitted with a garden hose supply line, so it’s not too hard to fill, and I could even make it more advanced tech later.

I think the open edges will work since I wanted to sow some carrots along the edges.

I couldn’t find nor remember if I actually have dolomitic lime so I improvised by adding some of my saved ash covered charcoal from the rocket stove experiment, calcium nitrate, potassium bicarbonate, and magnesium sulfate, plus organic vegetable fertilizer, organic fruit tree fertilizer, and cottonseed meal, and inoculated with my cultured organic citrus fertilizer tea and unfinished Ehime AI-2.

I ran out of steam so didn’t get to planting today, but these will hold peppers in one and my dwarf/short cross tomatoes like Shimofuri in the other.

[TomatoNut95]

So here we are — Picked a little more than a dozen this morning. YUM!
5F49BD75-2050-4234-9B0F-4CA50924EBFE.jpeg

…Later I went to check on the pond, but my spot— which I recently improved by adding another flagstone and leveling things around a bit — was occupied.
B26F05A6-6DC1-4A74-A68D-8C26FED40ED3.jpeg
I just looked from the upstairs window and the frog is STILL in MY spot

I have a (I saw/heard two once) big leopard frogs living in the ditch at the end of my driveway. Every time I go out and get the mail I take a peek and I'll hear or see it hop up into the culvert. Sometimes it squeaks in surprise to my approach.

The other day I saw a small leopard frog sitting in a muddy spot and I bent down and picked him up. He sat there like being picked up by a giant was no big deal. I relocated him to the miniature ditch swamp. So far I have not seen any tadpoles in any of the water standings, thank goodness. I don't want to have to scoop them out before they dry up. I've had to go on tadpole rescue missions before, and shopping up 100+ little wigglers isn't easy.

[applestar]

Yay! Several ToDo tasks for the Patio Kitchen Garden are almost ready to be checked off.

All 4 SIP’s 1 Earthbox (EB) and 3 2nd hand tubs (SIP1,2, and 3) have been mostly planted.

EB — existing Elan F1 and virginiana wild strawberries
- I found a spot at the end of the EB with no strawberry plants so I added amendments and planted a pepper — Little Tangerine Bell.

SP1 — PARTHENOCARPIC cucumber and Cauliflora to grow under the insect net
- overgrown with blackberries, strawberries, mitsuba, Chocolate mint, weeds
- Weeded, Reorganized existing plants only keeping some strawberries along front and side edges, and refurbished with amendments, and planted
- One of the 2 parthenocarpic Picolino cucumbers
- some of the heat tolerant lettuce and a couple of - I think - cauliflower seedlings
- TBD — 1more Picolino and Fioretto Cauliflora when they grow a little more

- Clearing the patio area around these for better access, I checked on the Can-O-Worms vermicompost tower that had been neglected here for the past maybe 2 years, and to my surprise, found reasonably good looking finished vermicompost in all three trays as well as the bottom reservoir. No time to work on it today, but I found a nice shady place to put it for now, (and scooped out some of the vermicompost for the SIPs)

- Planted SIP2 and SIP3

SIP2 — TOMATOES
Back Row
1. Shimofuri霜降りF8HBR.FR-W2 Jan’20
2. Shimofuri霜降りF8HBR.FR-W2 Jan’20
Center Row
1. (Dwarf Arctic Rose x Utyonok) F2
2. (Dwarf Arctic Rose x Utyonok) F2
Front Row L->R
1. (Shimofuri霜降りF7 x Aztek) F1 medium height/internodes
2. (Shimofuri霜降りF7 x Aztek) F1 medium height/internodes
3. (Shimofuri霜降りF7 x Aztek) F1 short height/internodes
4. (Shimofuri霜降りF7 x Aztek) F1 short height/internodes
5. (Shimofuri霜降りF7 x Aztek) F1 short height/internodes
6. (Shimofuri霜降りF7 x Aztek) F1 short height/internodes

- These tomato seedlings are looking sad because they got hit by septoria due to the up and down temps and excessive humidity (and all their lower leaves had to be removed). But I’m hoping planting them in their permanent location will get them going and allow them to outpace the fungal issues. I’ll continue to treat them for the fungal issues. Not having the big leaves to transpire out will help relieve the transplant shock anyway.

6/7 — sowed Adelaide and Minicor carrot seeds along the two edges

SIP3 — PEPPERS
Oda sweet (purple streaked stem)
Rocoto Mini Olive F4 Becca’21
Chocolate Cake NOT or King of the North
Hanoi Market g3
Goldfish (x Giant Sweet Devil’s Horn? F2)
Goldfish (x Giant Sweet Devil’s Horn? F2)
Aji Pineapple (x Brazilian Starfish F1?)
Aji Pineapple (x Brazilian Starfish F1?)

…I think the peppers look pretty good. I wonder if these should be protected with insect mesh?

6/7 — sowed Mokum and Yaya carrot seeds along the two edges.

- The noonday sun was too much for these still tender from the hoop house, so I rigged a shadecloth from a scrap of agribon fleece I was intending to throw out.

- TBD — sow carrot seeds along exposed edges of SIP2 and SIP3 ...6/7

- Harvested the last of the cherries today. Now I have to give the cherry trees a summer pruning job to shape the espalier better.

[applestar]

...this is my first year growing Picolino cucumber, but I feel pretty good about it already since I have heard good things and gardening friends are endorsing its performance and flavor.

I wanted a small, Parthenocarpic variety for growing in protected conditions, possibly for extended season later in the fall.

...I also have Poona Kheera and Suyo Long started. I have a spot for Poona Kheera that won’t take too much work to get planting-ready, but Suyo Long is going to be part of the MAJOR Side Yard overhaul — Haybale Row, Sunflower House, and the (dreaded) Spiral Garden.....

By my estimation, I have maybe 1 week since the first true leaf is just emerging on most of these.

On the plus side, I’m almost finished with the VG beds.

Planning to plant — Melons (on trellis), eggplants, peppers and possibly edamame in the VGbedC, Dwarf Tomatoes in the VGbedD.PalletSidedRaisedBed, and Korean Melons in the VG.SIP.

Major project here will be the trellising system for the melons…. Here is a concept sketch (this is version 1 — I have an improvement in mind but am reluctant to modify this basic sketch)

…and the Support System for the already planted tomatoes in VGbedB.PalletSidedRaisedBed.

[applestar]

VG area is one if the first garden areas to receive the direct sun in the morning, and 80°F by 8AM mornings are hard to work in, especially when the RH is near 100%.

I got the VGD Pallet-sided Raised Bed mulched with red cellophane, and planted the dwarfs and short-stature varieties :

6/8 VGD.PSRB — L to R
Back Row
1. Uluru Ochre (Dwf.)
2. Mikado White PL
3. Dwf. Blazing Beauty
4. Dwf. Chocolate Lightning

Front Row
1. (Dwarf Arctic Rose x Utyonok) F2
2. Tartufo (darkest leaves)
3. Dancing with Smurfs
4. Li’l Wild Rosa F4.A1 Jul’17sfhx

* *add ash-covered rocket stove charcoal*
* 100:1 vinegar solution soak for healthier roots

...I did also plant the 4th Queen of Malinalco yellow tomatillo plant, and the 2nd Picolino cucumber plant.

...I started working on the support structure for the VGB.PSRB, but had to give up....

*some of the older tomato plants are starting to bloom*

[imafan26]

Wow! Looks great. I wish I kept better records. I like your spreadsheet but I have never planted so many things with so much detail. I have a notebook instead, and I do scribble on the labels the cultivar and date. Most of the time I forget to put things in the notebook right away so some things never make it. Sometimes I will use the labels as backup for notes. Now, I am relying mostly on the pictures so I can see what I have in the garden at different times.

I am better with the orchids, but not by much. If I have a good label then I put on the backside of the label the dates for the purchase and location code, dates of bloom, and division. Lost label no name unless it is an orchid I recognize. But then, I won't have the historical data either. It is hard to find good labels these days.

I have grown Suyo for years and I love the heat tolerance and the fact that it is parthenocarpic. It has been harder to find Suyo seeds the last couple of years. My new favorites are Summer Cross, and Soarer which are Japanese seedless types. They have even better disease resistance than Suyo to powdery mildew. Suyo still beats them for heat tolerance. I am trying a new one now called Progress which has both heat and disease tolerance and like Summer Cross and Soarer, it has a smoother skin. So far, Soarer has the crispest flavor, but all of them are best eaten the day they are picked. Locally, I can only find Shiyo Kyuri, which is o.k.

[applestar]

Thanks @Imafan. I’ll try to get some seeds for those varieties next year. I don’t know that heat tolerance is what I need as much, but I am definitely looking for good Japanese types.

I am sometimes/often not as dedicated to record keeping later in the season. But especially in the beginning, I can’t keep everything organized in my head. I’ve tried many different methods... some I will admit have been too obsessive


...About a week ago, I decided I still want to grow edamame. I thought I had seeds, but was having trouble finding them since I am so disorganized this year (well actually for the past couple of years ) BUT I remembered I went through a home made soy milk and tofu phase and bought some organic soybeans that were supposed to be good for making homemade sprouted soybean tofu. I checked my records and they were purchased in January of 2019 and labeled “new crop” = 2018.

I wasn’t sure how viable they were since they were in the back of the pantry, but I went ahead and tried sowing them last Saturday (6/5). I came across a video by fukuberry.com that mentioned you could mass compot them, then separate the sprouted seedlings to plant individually.

https://youtu.be/G8dokeaKGTM

Yesterday, I saw mounding potting mix with fissures and wondered if they might be sprouting ... today, this is what I saw

This is not an edamame variety but good flavor as tofu might mean decent flavor as green fresh beans?

[applestar]

Tackled some of the cucurbit planting today. Korean Melon in the VG.SIP, Poona Kheera in the VGCx (the small cinderblock raised bed outside of the VGC fence, and the melon row side of VGC where 2 Montreal Market Melon plants and a Jubilee watermelon plant went. They all needed to be protected from the blazing sun with temporary scraps, and I’m going to fit them with better hoop-and-floating covers to see if I can emulate the warmer growing conditions. Our heatwave is ending and overnight temps are forecast to drop down to the 50’s for a few nights starting tomorrow, then no more than 60’s for a while.

I’m going to try to meticulously follow the Japanese farmer videos to pinch the main leader after ~7 leaves to grow 3 side shoots (children vines) on the melons and 2 side shoots (children vines) on the watermelon.

This is as far as I got on memorizing the instructions, but the melons are supposed to be further pinched to encourage sub shoots on the children vines (grandchildren vines) and THIS is the vine you are supposed to allow the fruits to develop.

I can’t remember if the watermelon is also supposed to be pinched to grow grandchildren vines.

… I’ve compiled the instructions and posted them here …

My plan is to allow the vines to creep around and root in the mulch holes and THEN guide them up the trellis. I’m not sure if this will work, but we will see.

[imafan26]

I have had been seeds be viable for up to 9 years. As long as they are stored properly they can last a long time. I plant most things in compots because it takes up less space than individual cells. I do have problems finding enough space when it is time to up pot or plant them out. I have a few extra peppers I am still dealing with.

I have been modifying how I work the garden too. I did try no dig for the last two years. After 6 inches of newspaper and potting soil, I hardly see any nutsedge. However, bindweed and spurge is everywhere.

I use the potting soil and cinder bags for mulch in the pots. I cut them into circles and fit it around the stems of the tomatoes and peppers. It helps keep down the weeds in the pots and help retain some moisture. The white side up is reflective.

It seems some parts of the country are much hotter than I am. However, they probably have dry heat and not high humidity which makes mildew problematic.

The Cucumbers I listed have all had good resistance to downy mildew. Powdery mildew is resistant to highly resistant depending on variety. Progress and Suyo are heat tolerant. Soarer, not so much. Summer Dance also did well in Summer. The plants will start to show more powdery mildew especially as they start to age and decline, but most of it is limited to the lower leaves in the beginning. By the time it becomes a problem, the plants are done anyway. I am having more mildew now because of the warm weather and night rain. Less than a 0.10 of an inch isn't enough to water the garden, but it is enough to cause mildew.

Are you using plastic, insect netting, remay or mosquito netting?

[applestar]

- Reconfigured the VGA corn protection since I wanted to use the wire fence tunnels in

VGC:

6/10 Planted
1. HARI g2 Eggplant WP’20-21
2. HARI g2 Eggplant WP’20-21
3. Chocolate Cake or King of the North
4. Chocolate Cake or King of the North
5. Oda Becca’21
6. Oda Becca’21
7. Yellow Cap. Becca’21/Geoffrey44
8. Yellow Cap. Becca’21/Geoffrey44

* GOLDEN Sesame along the fence to VGCx

- 6/10 COVERED TO KEEP WARM FOR THE NÈXT SEVERAL 50s 60s NIGHTS

*** As you can see @imafan, I’m using whatever I can get my hands on. The new fleece I thought was summer weight was actually a heavier winter weight, but I put it over the melons anyway, and it wasn’t quite big enough so I used the vented row cover plastic, too. I used some metal window screens to temporarily protect the poona kheera cukes until I can go buy some chicken wire …. LOL
*** I’m currently using insect netting along one side of the xtall/cherry Tomatoes in the apple Guild Border, and for covering the Patio Kitchen Garden Earthbox/SIP1. I have half a bolt of white tulle, and a large green mosquito netting on stand-by.

[applestar]

Today, I started tackling the BIG PROJECT — The Side Yard Gardenbeds — for real.

I actually tentatively assessed the situation 2 days ago by taking out my big scythe and leveling as much of the taller weeds as I could. I’d forgotten how much fun using that tool is.

I can’t stand power tools with their loud noises and gas fumes, but there is a rhythm and freedom in quietly swinging the big sharp cutting edge from side to side and satisfaction in seeing even some of the waist and chest-high seed borne tree whips go down. Then taking down swathes of grass with another swing.

Still, you can maybe see the work I had “cut out” for me in the top panorama photo in the collage.

Today, I started by turning the compost pile which I had previously loosened up from the enclosed plastic bin into a windrow. It hasn’t been worked on at all, so maybe 70~80% was not decomposed, but there was good finished stuff underneath as you can maybe see, and I used 2 compost bin lidfuls to prep the first garden bed I tackled — designated “Haybale Row” (so called because it was originally turned from sod to a gardenbed with a haybale gardening experiment).

I’m redefining the area from the original single 2.5 ft wide row into a wider double row.

I tackled this first because it was going to be the “easiest” but it still took a lot of work, and I ran out of vim and steam to actually plant anything. — just as well since I’m completely breaking the rule to wait at least 6 weeks after prep work to start planting

The chicken wire protected end will be where I’ll plant the Suyo Long cucumbers with bamboo trellis. The rest of the bed will be for the Latte Bicolor sweet corn which should have been planted 2 or 3 days ago. But I couldn’t plant today because even if I could, I wouldn’t have had anything left to put up some kind of protective surround or cover in case the bunnies get in this area.

My reward today was some raspberries (and strawberries and a single perfectly ripe Emperor Francis sweet cherry that somehow managed to fruit way after everybody else, and was hiding under a leaf from the birds raiding the Juneberries just down the fenceline. (I’ve fallen out of the habit of taking photos of everything so didn’t snap a picture….)

I’m bringing the “pipe-structure season extension project” back on-line.

- It just needs a couple of tweaks to be ready to roof over with a greenhouse film.

- And I’m planning to use that insect screen mesh fabric that is airing out over the Spiral Garden trellises for the sides. (I have more if this isn’t enough). But I have to build a doorway frame bordered with wigglewire tracks first to be able to completely go around and secure to the structure.

- And I do want to build a “knee-high wall” of probably just hardware plastic to keep out the bunnies, etc. So that’s going to need pvc tubing going all the way around at knee high level…. Yeah, lots to do.

But in the mean time, I plan to prep the bed inside and plant melons along the one side with CRW mesh trellis (complete the trellis all the way to the back) and then hopefully the rest or as much of the tomatoes and peppers as will fit.

Busy, Busy.

[applestar]

Got the Latte Bicolor F1 sweet corn and Suyo Long cucumbers planted.

- I had been tempted by other members’ reports of growing corn for succession harvests and started a second pre-germination — this time of Luther Hill OP Sweet Corn dated 2019. They all started to germinate yesterday, and I just didn’t have the wherewithal to pot them up individually and tend to them, so I went ahead and sowed these in the Haybale Row as well.

- I did get them properly covered.

— Yesterday late afternoon, I DID SPOT a hoppity behind of a rabbit disappearing into the growths near the fence, so every precaution is necessary until I can tackle the perimeter fencing. That’s going to be another BIG project.

- I set up the bamboo support for the cucumber trellis but didn’t get to securing the nylon net trellis yet.

- I planted some of the lettuce starts in available space though this area might get too hot. For today, I gave them a shade with a cut open potting mix bag. I forgot about using a plastic mulch (partly because I’m expecting to get a roll of green cellophane on Wednesday. But I might just cut holes in this flattened bag and use as mulch/cover since the lettuce is small enough, and I can just cut in from the edges for the cukes.

[applestar]

…the carrots are sprouting in the Patio.SIP-2 and Patio.SIP-3 — Adelaide, Minicore, Mokum … and slightly less enthusiastically, Yaya. (NOT those round-leafed ones — they’re too small to pluck …maybe if I got forceps …or bamboo skewer chopsticks….)

[applestar]

Hmmm just reviewed Luther Hill corn (white sweet) to see WHY I bought the seeds in the first place. I got them from Fedcoseeds and this is their description — Hey it’s a NJ heirloom!

(82 days) Open-pollinated. This rarely-offered heirloom developed by Luther Hill of Andover Township, NJ, in 1902, is one of the parents of the venerable Silver Queen. The most popular sweet corn in parts of New Jersey for more than 50 years. Sweetest OP corn I’ve ever tasted, Luther makes multiple 12-row, 3–6" long miniature ears on modest 4' stalks. Because the suckers often yield good ears, each plant, if spaced widely, can make up to four ears. Fedcoseeds.com ‘19

.. it’s also being offered at SouthernExposure.com which is a good sign for me since their climate advice marches mine in hotter/warmer years.

Since the advice is to grow this variety with plenty of space to allow for suckering, I might try to dig up seedlings in between and plant them in another location, IF I manage to get to it.

[applestar]

Some of you may remember me mentioning this:

Made “nature’s gift” green/weed juice 天恵緑汁 (mostly) according to instructions on videos I’ve been watching recently.
[…]
His primary ingredient is mugwort,
...He uses the resulting juice to inoculate a bokashi blend.

…Today, I started a batch of the “nature’s gift” green juice using tansy (related to mugwort) trimmed from under one of the apple espalier and a small amount of mugwort from the window planter, plus a bit of comfrey and a bit of willow leaves.

I also started two 4-gal buckets of pseudo-bokashi. I didn’t have all of the specific recipe ingredients …I’m trying this with buckwheat hulls instead of rice hulls, etc.

A couple of days ago, I made vinegar extraction of crushed eggshells, crab shells, and some bones, and strained the fortified vinegar out to a bottle. I took what was left of the crushed ingredients, and had been culturing with my sort of AI-2, kefir whey, etc. So I added them all shells and all.

I’ll eventually add some of the green juice too.

[applestar]

…With heatwave coming, I removed the tunnels from Haybale Row (HBR) corn and the Vegetable Gardenbed C (VGC). I’m keeping and rearranged the materials for surrounding the beds to protect from bunnies and such.

* Latte Bicolor looks a little pale; and more Luther Hill have started to sprout. — Sprayed with combo microbe liquid supplement

*I pinched off the growing tip from this Jubilee watermelon — first to achieve 5+ true leaves

…I started prepping the bed inside/under the Sunflower House shelter structure. Lots of work needed after 1-1/2 years of neglect… only managed to complete half of the space. Planning to plant three rows — melons, tomatoes, and peppers.

…As if I didn’t have enough to do, I started working on a new flowerbed. This is in a troublesome location with hard-packed clay substrate and sopping wet conditions when it rains due to the inter-property grading that brings most of the neighbors’ downspout on this side to drain down to this area. But if it doesn’t rain, it can get ground cracks due to dried out clay.

2801B64A-7E74-4591-94A8-79F34D24E508.jpeg (451.31 KiB) Viewed 782 times

* I want this to be “less care intensive” so I will be transplanting suitable starter plant materials from various parts of the garden. And start sowing seeds

[applestar]

Planted the melons today —
1. Montreal Market
2. Sweet Freckles
3. Honey Rock
4. Jubilee
5. Jubilee
6. Jubilee
7. Honey Rock
8. Sweet Freckles
9. Montreal Market

Also planted the only Greek Sweet Red C.moschata squash that sprouted.
I’m using the trellis at the end of the Haybale Row. I used it for two butternut vines before, so this should work.

[applestar]

More tomatoes in the Sunflower House:

1. allons-y,Dr.X
2. grandma oliver’s chocolate
3. prudens black (2)
4. amana orange (2)
5. tidwell german (2)
6. chocolate pear

1. molten sky
2. cows tit (2) survived damping off/deep
3. flathead monster (2)
4. lucky cross (2) survived damping off/deep
5. terhune (2)

…Plan is to hang strings from the “rafters” for support and prune/train them to two vines per variety (doubles or 2 singles)

[applestar]

- Latte Bicolor corn are greening up — I’ve been giving them folier ferts in addition to more sun exposure… and Luther Hill corn are continuing to sprout.

…Remember those tadpoles in my pond? (review photo Top-Left) — They are now tiny 1~1.5 inch frogs (I counted at least eight ). There are two adult frogs that overwintered. Today, they were facing off across the pond from each other.

- Last week, I had found a lone tiny frog INSIDE my patio hoop house, and put it in this remote bucket reservoir for the VG.SIP. I had siphon-linked a 2nd bucket since one bucket tended to empty down to barely 1 inch of water ( and I lost the first group of guppies). The 2nd group of guppies seem to be doing well in this 2nd bucket.

[applestar]

YAY FINISHED planting the Sunflower House

Rest of the line up to make the cut —

TOMATOES
1. Schimmeig Stoo Striped Bell, Lindsay’19 (2)
2. Dwarf Chocolate Lightning
3. Believe It or Not (2)
4. Faelan’s First Snow
5. Terhune X, SFH Aug’17 (2)
6. Faelan’s First Snow
7. Faelan’s First Snow

PEPPERS —
1. Hanoi Market, g2
2. ODA Sweet, Becca’21
3. King of the North or Chocolate Cake
4. Little Tangerine Bell
5. Chocolate Cake or King of the North
6. (tomato) Mikado White PL
7. ODA Sweet, Becca’21
8. Aji Pineapple
9. (tomato) Dwarf Arctic Rose x Utyonok F2 1/16/18

…I started testing the “strings from the rafters” tomato support, but the string I had isn’t strong enough for the weight and the weather… ordered proper tomato twine for the real deal.
… I threw on the old insect mesh … which turned out to be not enough, plus a $ store netting I thought might work for cucumbers as general protection surrounding the Sunflower House beds.


— here are update views of the Candy Crisp Corn F1 in VGA and the VGC+VGCx beds. Poona Kheera cukes in VGCx are getting ready to climb with tendrils, so I have to finish the support structure with twine or netting….

[applestar]

Here is a view of VGA bed from the other direction. Queen of Malinalco tomatillo are blooming and three out of four are looking vigorous. The 4th one is trying to catch up
— I’m pruning them like peppers / eggplants, removing lower suckers until strong sucker forms under 1st blossom, then maintaining 2-stems and pinching all sub-suckers after 1or 2 blossoms.

VGB bed and Apple Guild Border tomatoes have grown while I have been busy at the other side of the house. I spent most of the day with them today applying and assembling support systems.

— three notable blossoms in the Apple Guild Border from left to right —
- Neves Azorean Red
- Wes
- Molten Sky F5 or F6


I tinkered with the Sunflower House insect screen mesh some more (just having the mesh covering the entire North and East sides have created noticeable stillness and warmth inside), and also covered the melons with a low tunnel of 2nd insect mesh since we are expecting 2~3 overnights in the low 50’s °F. (I also covered the melons in VGC bed and VG.SIP.) They are supposed to be kept warm to encourage the Children Vines (sucker vines) to grow strong after pinching the main vine after 5th or 6th true leaf node
—You can see the yellow strings I used to try out the tomato support.

— (bottom right) Suyo Long cucumbers are doing well and - in this case - I am removing all suckers up to 5th~6th true leafnode.

[applestar]

I bought a set of halloween decorations — 3 battery-operated night-activated eyes that flash/blink and “gaze” side-to-side with colored eyes.

It’s not really doing them justice but here are two of them, red and green (unfortunately not as strongly colored as I’d hoped).

I have motion-activated solar-charged LED spotlights coming soon. I’m hoping between them, it will help to deter the night marauders.

…my neighbor just told me this morning that she can’t leave cat food outside for the rescue kitties because the raccoons keep raiding from the woods in the back to enjoy the buffet….

[applestar]

I spent some time thoroughly weeding my new garden bed.

I was excited as I started working on it this morning, since I have named it — as I do all my garden beds — and decided to call it “My Dad’s Memorial Rain Garden”

1. It sort of symbolizes my return to enjoying this hobby since last year’s tragedy shut me down.
2. It’s my promise to my Dad that I will be OK and keep on gardening
3. This low area bed perfectly represents my gardening philosophy and will require every bit of my experience and accumulated information to pull it off and have it function as a Rain Garden should. It’s an exciting project.
4. This bed, while located outside of the fence, is an extension of my Sunny Native Bog garden in the Northeast corner of the fenced backyard.
5. And in Japanese culture, northeast is an unlucky cardinal direction called “Kimon” — “Demon’s Gate” — from which malicious, evil and negative spirits enter. So in dedicating this rain garden bed to my dad, I’m asking his spirit to guard and protect us.

6. The curve of the bed roughly mirrors the grass to form the yin-yang symbol, which kind of happened when I first cut the sod — I told myself to “just go with the flow and make the shape as it happens” …and this it what came about … which in hind sight is PERFECT for the spiritual theme of this garden bed.

7. The action plan now is to finalize plant selection and planting map (and finish prepping the bed) then wait for good week with several days of rain in the forecast to plant, using eco-plastic biodegradable mulch before and/or after planting depending on plant and rootball sizes.
8. Then once I figure out how to use the electric chipper shredder, make enough mulch out of various woody trimmings to cover over the plastic, and eventually, to be deep enough.

[applestar]

I noticed these yesterday, but I already had bunch of other activities to report —TAH DAH!

FIRST TOMATOES TO SET FRUITS. These are cherries of course — my Molten Sky F5 or F6 and Molten Sundrops F5 or F6. Molten Sky is an elongated large (about pecan-sized) grape cherry. I feel like this segregate of Molten Sundrops is trying for larger fruit than last time — look at those calyces — but it’s still tiny so we’ll have to be patient.

I also tied more twine and tomato-clipped branches, snapped off suckers, etc. …Sticking to 2 vines per plant even the cherries.

[applestar]

I have been going in and out of the shed EVERY DAY. It’s a two-door, but I usually only open the one door to access the garden tools and soil amendments. The other half of the shed is used for longterm and less frequently used supplies storage,

I have been noticing a faint buzz when I’m in there, but had assumed they were flies or other insects that were exploring the open doorway.

Today, as I was reaching for some of the tall bamboo stakes/poles (that I have also been accessing and using for various recent projects) — I buy these in a bundle of some extraordinary number, so I keep them along the centerline of the shed within reach with only the right door open — As I was rummaging through the bundle for thinner ones for today’s project, I heard the faint buzzing again and looked up …and saw what looked like a pale colored ball in the shadowy upper corner of the inside of the left, unopened door. Suddenly anxious, I basically threw the other door open and rushed away from the shed. Turning around, I saw that there was a cream- colored (not grey) baseball sized NEST!

I failed to take a photo because I was immediately locked into strategizing how to deal with it. I ended up using a hose-end tree/shrub sprayer with the 1:8 mixing container. I didn’t put anything deadly in it but the mixture of liquid peppermint soap, canola oil, and diatomaceous earth -for good measure- was nasty enough. And it turned out that the light colored nest was not very sturdy — maybe due to not being weathered… or the tree sprayer that can shoot up into 25 ft tree canopy, shot from approximately 8 feet away, was devastating. The nest crumbled into bits and was blasted off the door.

I left the doors open and stayed away for a little while to hopefully allow the lost-looking hornets to give up and also NOT make the connection that I might have had anything to do with the destruction, then closed the doors and called it a day. WHEW!

[applestar]

Entering the final stages of the Side Yard Gardenbeds renovation — Woke up with a great idea to move the compost pile from the middle of the Spiral Garden — then will have a clear, fertile circular bed to plant in. Just need to be loosened up with garden fork and rake

* Started by concentrating on weeding the inner spiral (and the swale/path

* WHERE TO MOVE THE PILE TO?
>> 🛎 🛎 🛎 CREEP THE PILE ALONG THE INNER SWALE/PATH!!!
 — chicken (compost pile) tractor style

* Took off the bin side covers AAAND

* The snake did not want to leave — if you look closely, middle of the snake is ROUNDER. I coaxed it away by digging and shifting the uncomposted newer material around it

* …also saw something small and furry scamper away after digging three fork fulls or so … + a large red woodlouse spider and a big black ground spider carrying white egg sac under abdomen

* Succeeded in starting the tractor run, but I didn’t/couldn’t move the pile entirely out of the middle of the Spiral Garden because the snake went into the half finished part of the compost pile.

* BUT !!! After most of the initial raking and hoeing were already done, yanked out an 8~12 inch tree-let and in next instant was scrambling away “Arrrgh! YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!” …as a swarm of bees/wasps flew out of the loosened ground. Ran all the way to the other side of the Sunflower House, still holding the stirrup hoe.
* Blasted the hole with yesterday’s hornets mixture in tree/shrub spray
* Crouched behind the compost pile and took photos to verify they ARE yellow jackets >> they WERE

* Blasted and soaked the nest area some more… but they kept returning and buzzing around and maybe trying to dig, so I called it a day.

…I think I’m more tolerant of bees and wasps than most, especially when they are beneficial to the garden. And even yellow jackets are welcome to visit during the early summer because they feed pest caterpillars to their young. But NOT if they’re ground-nesting and they are going to object to me digging nearby. They are nasty and will sting if you get too close (within a couple of feet) to their nest. I’m surprised they didn’t get me earlier while I was weeding.

[applestar]

Day before yesterday, harvested a 2gal bucketful of Elderflowers, which wilted to about 1/2 the bucket. Soaked the flowers with sliced lemons for 24 hours, then squeezed out and strained the liquid, boiled with about 80% weight sweetener to make Elderflower syrup.

If you make according to recipe with white sugar, you get a delicately golden syrup, but I used honey and natural cane sugar. (the Weck glass lid jar shows off the color most accurately)

— We make refreshing summer drinks with this diluted with water or seltzer water. This is so good …and elderflowers have anti inflammatory and antioxidant phytonutrients.

[applestar]

Fireflies have arrived! There have only been one here, two there over the last several nights, but tonight, I see many more

I always get anxious waiting for them to emerge, because I keep thinking all the spraying the county and the township do - not to mention private individuals - against mosquitoes will end up killing them all.

…but they’re BACK!

[applestar]

The yellow jackets managed to dig back in — so I was unable to approach too close. I blasted the nest site again and this time with sustained stream. So much that some of the the wasps seemed to have “misplaced” which T-post their nest was under. They approached where I was planting melons and checked under the claw-hoe tines, crevices in the turned earth that I was trying to break up and smooth into a raised row, …everywhere except the base of their own T-post

Still, I managed to plant the remaining cucurbit transplants, so that’s one box checked. I just have to fill the remaining inner spiral with last selection of solanacea — tomatoes, peppers and the lone eggplant that are left — the rest will not make the cut and will go to the compost pile.

I started summer squash seeds yesterday that will be planted in the middle of the Spiral Garden. Hopefully, by the time they are ready, I’ll be able to dig in that area, and creep my “Compost Pile Tractor” completely out of the innermost circle

…I thought I might get away with planting those Montreal Market melons, but the wasps rushed over to investigate as soon as I started to prepare that part of the bed, so I basically just gathered and piled the still-lumpy soil around the plants just enough to anchor them… and got away.

[applestar]

My new versatile folding ladder arrived the other day. The deal was that if I had this ladder I could get up on the garage roof and clean out the rain gutters that have been clogged in the recent rain storms.

So I got to play with the ladder this morning, and had the rare opportunity to take a garage roof panoramic view photo of the Vegetable Gardenbeds and the Appletree Guild Border:

After the obligatory project was checked off I folded the ladder into an M-shape double step ladder and finished building the support structure for the tomatoes in Vegetable Gardenbed B, and strung and attached the hanging string support for each of the vines:

…LOVING my new very useful toy. . Next big project will be installing the Sunflower House wigglewire tracks, for which I think the scaffolding configuration would be appropriate.