Still to wet to plant! (part 3)

A unique, fun, & functional option to raised beds!

Straw Bale Garden// Planted with Beets, Chard



When the weather just won't allow you to get in your garden and plant, try putting in a STRAW BALE GARDEN.



This is a great project that not only creates a unique raised bed, but also allows you to plant pretty much anywhere you want! Plant it on the grass (will kill everything underneath, including perennial weeds), concrete (think driveway), gravel, or other location where the ground is poor or cannot be dug.

When the bales colapse in on themselves, use the compost on your next SBG or toss it into your garden or flowerbed! This is the beauty of it - recycling at its finest!

 Great for kids or for adults that can't bend down to ground level.

{  Stack 3 straw bales side-by-side, cut side up (seed-free bales are best; baling twine should be facing outwards). Water down bales thoroughly.

{  Broadcast 3lbs bloodmeal, feathermeal or some other high nitrogen fertilizer over the 3 bales (5 lbs of used coffee grounds works too); then broadcast 3 lbs COF (complete organic fertilizer) over the bales.

{  Add 3 inches of soil, potting mix or coco coir over the bales, followed by 4-5 inches of aged compost (or last year's SBG material) to top it off. Water well again and cover (burlap coffee bags work well). The composting process will take place during this time, heating up the bales. Wait to plant until the process cools down, about 1-2 weeks.

Each bale should hold either...

§  (Up to) 6 cucumbers, trailing down

§  2-3 squash, zucchini, and/or melon plants

§  A couple of tomato plants per bale with one or two herbs and leafy veggies in between
§  Four pepper plants 

Summer planting of poppies, corn, tomato

§  12-15 bean or pea plants

§  A mix of the above or any other plants you like.

I put in this SBG June 2009 and planted it with some Winter crops (see pic above); the following Spring I planted lettuce in it. Summer 2010 I scattered some old California Poppy seed (which all germinated!), then stuck in some corn & a cherry tomato!  Note to self: corn does not do well in SBGs.

 Try it out & enjoy the rewards!


This is what the SBG looks like now... all collapsed in on itself. It's done it's duty and is now a lovely heap of compost! (you should see the size of the worms in here!) I will be putting in another SBG, so I will mix this loveliness all together and use it as my top (planting) layer. It's totaly recycleable!

Last year's SBG is ready to go on top of this year's bales!

Give it a try and let me know how it goes!  : )
Have any other fun and unique garden ideas? Let me know and I will share them!

PEAS OUT!
~GP

Still too wet to plant! (part 2)

I made the mistake of trying to do a bit of weeding in one of my flower beds yesterday... ICK! This bed is right next to the house - it's mostly clay (the only spot in my yard) and I have not added nearly enfu compost to do any good.

hard to miss the large WEED out my livingroom window!

I know better than to walk on wet soil, and even more on such saturated CLAY soil. Ugh... I don't think this bed will ever dry out!



I cautiously took a step onto one of the pathways in the bed, "not too bad", I thought, so I took another step and sunk in about an inch! YIKES!! Ok, since I was already committed, I pulled some of the weeds that were impeding the view from the front window. Oh, I need to get that LARGE one pulled in front of the window... Get out of the flowerbed dumbass! I walked around to the side of the bed - on the walkway - and started in again, pullling weeds and ripping out clumps of soil (clay) which was really making a mess... but the weeds are getting out of control!



even the smallest weeds leave big holes!



I finally restrained myself, disgusted with not only the weather that allowed the weeds to take over, but now my bootprints that would most likely be permanent features in the muck, and the new clay craters that now dotted my beds.

I have decided that this bed is getting ripped out and revamped with a nice straw-and-compost mixture to try and break up the pottery vault in the front yard.







In fact, putting in a Straw Bale garden may be the best way to go this year. This is a great project that not only creates a unique raised bed, but also allows you to plant pretty much anywhere you want!

Check out my next post - I'll tell you all about it!!

If there was one bright spot in all this chaos, the sun was out and I happend upon this little snake sunning among my sedum.








Oh yea, and then there is the rabbit who has decided that my flowerbeds are his personal buffet. This is the first year I've had bunny damage of any kind! I welcome the critters as they do a great job of keeping the dandilions cut down, but they are now eating more than just weeds! Aw, hell.

"Hewoe, Wabbit"  (that's my best Elmer Fudd)

Part 3 will be posted soon, so check back for STRAW BALE GARDEN information!

PEAS OUT!
~GP

I'm just dying to get my garden planted!

Enuf with the crappy February weather already! (Although Rose Fest just started, so we have just about 2 weeks of bad weather left, then we can go to Summer)

3 squash seedlings (right side of picture)

So after my garden got rototilled, I went thru and raked paths to make raised beds to plant in. I could hardly stand it - a beautiful garden with nothing in it.

I started some Boston Marrow Squash from seed earlier this month and decided they had to go in. So, with seedlings and trowel in tow, I planted 3 squash.

To protect the babies, I took a few of my mixing bowls and used them as makeshift greenhouses. They let in a bit of light, but I mostly wanted to protect from weather and cold.



mixing bowls doing double-duty as mini greenhouses!



They are doing well and I now have something planted in my garden!

Let me know how your garden is growing - send me an email or post a commentt!

PEAS OUT!

~GP

Caterpillarus Wierdnus!

So much for my Latin-speaking skills...



When I got close, it lifted its tail and tucked its head under!

I was out the other day checking on some of my Quaking Aspen seedlings when I came upon this curious bug... Not quite sure what flying insect this will turn into, but it looked pretty cool. I was able to snap a couple of pix, and then had to run out for an errand. When I got back, the caterpillar was gone, and so were a few of the leaves on my seedlings!

I have no idea what kind of caterpillar this is, so if anyone can identify, I would greatly appreciate it!



not  great pics, but you get the idea



here you can see the head tucked under

entire leaves and stems are gone!   BAD BUG!

PEAS OUT!
~GP

Nothing makes me happier... than a freshly tilled garden!

I was beginning to wonder if I would EVER get my garden tilled! A bit of luck and this little stretch of 70deg weather was just what we needed to get the garden ready to go.

650sqft - freshly tilled and ready to plant!

Most of the garden was in weeds, but I managed to sow some cover crop over about 1/4 of the garden last Fall. This grew into a nice dense mat about 30" tall which prevented the weeds from growing. I mowed it down earlier today then had it tilled under (thanks again Bill!!).

See that big pile on the far side on the garden? I had started a few compost piles about 5 years ago in the back corner of the yard... yarden debris, grass clippings, old potting soil... they finally made their destination to my garden! After Bill tilled the garden, he scooped up all the finished compost and dumped it in the garden. As I put my veg starts in the ground, I will add this compost to the planting holes and mulch around the plants with it as well.

All we need now is a bit of warmer weather (especially the nighttime temps) and I can get all my warm season crops in the ground!

This is what it looked like last summer...

my composting operation!





... and this is what it looked like this afternoon!

The hens were really excited about the fresh soil to dig in and took care of the bugs and worms left on the surface after the soil was removed! I'll be moving my compost bins back in this area and finally get them off the grass!

May your garden produce a bountiful harvest this year!

PEAS OUT!

~GP

FINALLY got my seeds started... we'll see what happens!



Corn Salad (Mache) gone to seed!

  So, any good gardener would've had seeds started in the greenhouse back in February/March (especially tomatoes & peppers!). I, being one of those who has been completely distracted by the weather this year, just got my seeds planted last week and they are rearing to go! I've had the heat mats going 24/7 and wathcing every day to see if anything has come up. I had squash up in 3 days and tomatoes up in 5... I figure it's going to go 1 of 2 ways: (1) everything will catch up regardless of when I started OR (2) it will be another "green tomato" year and it won't matter cause nothing will grow anyway... I'm one of those "there's always next year" gardeners so what the hell.



baby 'maters!

 

watermelon seedlings

In case these plants happen to make it to maturity, here's what I planted: (note: hyb = hybrid variety)

TOMATO: Sun Gold (hyb), Cherokee Purple, Cuore Di Bue, Ananas Noire, Chocolate Cherry, San Marzano, Black Krim, Purple Russian, Hillbilly, Brandywine, Black Sea Man & Amana Orange. (All except Sun Gold are heirloom; Black Sea Man was a new introduction by Log House Plants last year)

PATIO TOMATO: Red Robin & Micro Tom

PEPPER: Tri Color Vareigated, Fish, Early Jalapeno, Purple Beauty, Tequila Sunrise, Peach Habanero, Yum Yum Gold (hyb)

SUMMER SQUASH: Tromboncino, Grey Zucchini

WINTER SQUASH: Buttercup, Boston Marrow, Small Wonder Spaghetti (hyb)

PUMPKIN: Full Moon (hyb), Fairy Tale, Orange Cutie (hyb), Lil pump-ke-mon (hyb)

WATERMELON: Sugar Baby, New Queen (hyb), Orchid Sweet (hyb, seedless)

MELON: Tigger

ARTICHOKE: Green Globe

WHEW! Hungry yet???  I still have more to start (like lemon cucs), but they germinate in a couple days so no problem there! And then there's all the direct-seed veg like beans, corn, spinach...
 


leggy squash!


As you can see, the Tromboncino & Buttercup squash was the first I started and they are a bit leggy. The cool thing about squash is that you can plant them kinda like you do a tomato (non-grafted type). When you plant your squash, bury the stem up to about an inch below the first leaves (cotyledons). The squash will develop roots and actually make a stronger plant. I found this out by mistake last year...Who knew?!?


I'll have veg starts at The Wade Creek House in the next couple weeks, so stay tuned and I'll let you know when they're available!

PEAS OUT!

~GP

Not much in the garden right now... but we're getting there!

slug damage on bok choi leaves

This Spring has been expecially brutal on greens... the slugs have taken over! I've been picking and squishing as I do not use ANY type of pesticide (organic or not) on my veggies. The only things that have somewhat survived the slimy carniage are a few bok choi and some peas. Not a bountiful harvest by any stretch of the imagination, but better than nothing! I don't mind a bit of bug damage - if the bugs are eating good, so will I!

12' of potatoes! (48sqft)

On Wednesday, the weather was nice enough (in the morning) for me to get my potatoes and a 2nd round of lettuce in my raised beds. It was perfect planting as it rained later in the day giving the newly planted seeds a big drink.

I planted a few different varieties of lettuce (romaine & looseleaf), and 4 varieties of potatoes. The lettuce will be ready in 30-40 days and the potatoes will be ready later in the summer. The potatoes - Yukon Gold, Red Pontiac, Ozette, Rose Finn Apple are all mid-season potatoes and perfect for fresh eating. I hand cultivated the soil, nestled the spuds down in the soil and covered with a wonderful yard-debris compost. I can't wait to harvest these lovely spuds!

Yukon Gold Mine!

I will continue to hill up the potatoes until the soil is about 4" shy of the top of the raised bed.

PEAS OUT!
~GP

The DL List - Update

Clucking Amazing!



chicken butt



The hens have been off antibiotics for 3 days now, and I've let them out to roam the past 2 afternoons. They are very excited to escape the confines of the coop, although they stay pretty close to it!



I have gotten 3 eggs/day the past two days, and the feathers are starting to grow back!!! The gash Buff has on her neck and the gash Daisy has on her back between her wings have scabbed over and are healing nicely.

I can't believe Buff and Daisy (mostly Buff) survived that brutal attack and are on their way to making a full recovery! Buff's ankles are still swollen, so not sure about that one.

I got these hens as dual purpose hens - 2 years to lay then into the freezer. My neighbor (the one who helped patch up the hens the night of the attack) told me "if they survive you CANNOT eat them!"  Damn...  ; )

PEAS OUT!
~GP