Garden Log
Re: Garden Log
If anyone wants an automated, no hassle way to receive wood chips, here you go.
I just signed up and I'll let everyone know how it goes.
I just signed up and I'll let everyone know how it goes.
-
- Posts: 1240
- Joined: Thu Feb 12, 2015 2:14 pm
- Location: Falls City, OR
Re: Garden Log
They sure don't have much information on that page. We get free wood chips in Dallas, a 9 mile drive, in my Toyota pickup.
But if that outfit delivers that might be a good deal.
But if that outfit delivers that might be a good deal.
-
- Posts: 5406
- Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 3:28 am
- Location: Wettest corner of Orygun
Re: Garden Log
Spent two hours tending garden this morning, mainly mounding up the rows of potatoes. Disappointed in the spinach... it didn't grow well after it emerged and now is bolting; I probably need to plant it a little later and in more batches. Sugar Ann peas are blooming, other varieties still growing with no blossoms yet. I ate the largest radishes 2 days ago.
Despite having a week of no measureable rain, there were 3 days that were wet, misty. A couple sunny days never got above 60F, but we're finally transitioning to the dry season, with temperatures going up. Soil will dry out soon, so today I'll water.
Despite having a week of no measureable rain, there were 3 days that were wet, misty. A couple sunny days never got above 60F, but we're finally transitioning to the dry season, with temperatures going up. Soil will dry out soon, so today I'll water.
-
- Posts: 5406
- Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 3:28 am
- Location: Wettest corner of Orygun
Re: Garden Log
The other pea varieties are blossoming now, so not much difference in timing. Still, if you want the earliest snap peas, then Sugar Ann gets a nod.
Big surprise was finding 4 volunteer seedlings in the greenhouse on Friday morning. Couldn't decide if they were watermelon or cucumber until noticing the seed husk clinging to one was from a watermelon. Hmm, I guess I forgot to mention that the greenhouse is back in production? Filled the allotted bell pepper spaces & all but one of the tomato spaces... the plants are improving from a bit of transplant shock, the tomatoes were hit hardest.
Spending a couple hours per day catching up on weeding. It's mostly light work, though going through the strawberry beds is a chore. Otherwise, I'm occupied with cutting & splitting firewood, getting it stacked in the sunshine. It's this time of year when I'm really happy to be living on the coast instead of in Portland... our daily highs are a very comfortable 68-75F while Portland is touching 90F. Makes it so much easier to labor as hard as I want.
Big surprise was finding 4 volunteer seedlings in the greenhouse on Friday morning. Couldn't decide if they were watermelon or cucumber until noticing the seed husk clinging to one was from a watermelon. Hmm, I guess I forgot to mention that the greenhouse is back in production? Filled the allotted bell pepper spaces & all but one of the tomato spaces... the plants are improving from a bit of transplant shock, the tomatoes were hit hardest.
Spending a couple hours per day catching up on weeding. It's mostly light work, though going through the strawberry beds is a chore. Otherwise, I'm occupied with cutting & splitting firewood, getting it stacked in the sunshine. It's this time of year when I'm really happy to be living on the coast instead of in Portland... our daily highs are a very comfortable 68-75F while Portland is touching 90F. Makes it so much easier to labor as hard as I want.
-
- Posts: 1240
- Joined: Thu Feb 12, 2015 2:14 pm
- Location: Falls City, OR
Re: Garden Log
I need to start making hay. The grass is just ridiculous. Too bad I have no use for hay.
-
- Posts: 5406
- Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 3:28 am
- Location: Wettest corner of Orygun
Re: Garden Log
Been nibbling peapods since Jun 1. Dumped second pot of potatoes and generated 4 servings of new potatoes slightly larger than eggs, so it looks like June is as early as I can get fresh potatoes from container-grown.
Re: Garden Log
So unfair. I was just out in the garden yesterday, looking at the ankle-high pea plants and longing for the summer days when I can graze in the garden. I actually thought of you and swore...to plant peas much earlier next year.
-
- Posts: 1240
- Joined: Thu Feb 12, 2015 2:14 pm
- Location: Falls City, OR
Re: Garden Log
We have volunteer potatoes all over the place. I think they might be an invasive species. Maybe this will stop the gophers from finding and eating them all.
-
- Posts: 5406
- Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 3:28 am
- Location: Wettest corner of Orygun
Re: Garden Log
I'm gradually learning to remove them unless they come up early and are particularly vigorous. Usually they're started by the tiniest of tubers, the ones you either thought too small to bother with or missed entirely.
One small stretch of my volunteers is keeling over today. Possibly insect victims, possibly lack of water... I'll have to investigate right after I yank them out to regain the garden space!
-
- Posts: 5406
- Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 3:28 am
- Location: Wettest corner of Orygun
Re: Garden Log
Tomato plants getting bigger in the greenhouse, radishes have bolted, and strawberries are coloring. Weather has been perfect for me & wife: 70-72F highs with light breeze.
Something bloomed yesterday afternoon, however, that apparently everyone is allergic to and it was not present where I was fishing on the Kilchis River. Came home @6p and dear wife was snuffling madly... cleaned fish, fed guts & head to the crawdads in our river, and came back into the house with my nose suddenly clogging.
Something bloomed yesterday afternoon, however, that apparently everyone is allergic to and it was not present where I was fishing on the Kilchis River. Came home @6p and dear wife was snuffling madly... cleaned fish, fed guts & head to the crawdads in our river, and came back into the house with my nose suddenly clogging.
- jennypenny
- Posts: 6861
- Joined: Sun Jul 03, 2011 2:20 pm
- jennypenny
- Posts: 6861
- Joined: Sun Jul 03, 2011 2:20 pm
Re: Garden Log
We have zucchini and tomatoes already. This is the earliest we've ever had them by a couple of weeks.
We also have a groundhog who's about to meet his maker. I'm pretty tolerant about sharing the garden bounty with the other residents of our yard, but this one won't quit. He's eating the cucumbers, beans, and squash non-stop. He's ruining it for everyone. Anyone have any ideas short of shooting it with an air rifle to scare it off?
We also have a groundhog who's about to meet his maker. I'm pretty tolerant about sharing the garden bounty with the other residents of our yard, but this one won't quit. He's eating the cucumbers, beans, and squash non-stop. He's ruining it for everyone. Anyone have any ideas short of shooting it with an air rifle to scare it off?
-
- Posts: 5406
- Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 3:28 am
- Location: Wettest corner of Orygun
Summer Garden Pics
Saturday was our hottest day so far this year... 90F. Doesn't sound all that hot to most of you, but considering we seldom go above 75F, like today, it was pretty ugly for me. Started the day by taking pictures and then heavily watering the plants in the greenhouse and taking the side panels off the greenhouse for extra ventilation.
So a quick tour. First up is my wife's flower bed, featuring day lilies and irises with a smattering of annual flowers for color accents (which are mostly what you see blooming).
This next one is the temporary bed we started in 2012 as a holding place for plants until we could find a place for them. Little did we know it would stay put all these years. You can see some of the potatoes in the background. The bed really is slated for a move, though. Any day now. Maybe.
A view of the potatoes with the temporary bed in the background. Sweet corn & brushpiles occupied this space last year.
The california strawberries that are trying to take over. They've spread out from the two rows I salvaged & transplanted just last year! All that lush growth means I've had difficulty getting to the weeds <ahem>
Peas and onions. Was occupied by late-planted potatoes last year and "lawn" in prior years. The dirt strip to the right was a grass path last year, but I found that didn't work well, with the grass and weeds trying to go under the greenhouse and also back into the potatoes. That's a 3'-4' tall lump of weeds I've pulled this spring getting this bed and the potatoes planted.
Not pictured are the espalier apple trees (planted last year), filbert trees (planted last year), raspberry vines (new this year), space for this year's sweet corn, blueberries (original 4 established bushes plus 7 bushes we brought in 2012), a shade garden next to the house, and the shady border in the backyard to enhance viewing interest from the patio and upstairs windows.
So a quick tour. First up is my wife's flower bed, featuring day lilies and irises with a smattering of annual flowers for color accents (which are mostly what you see blooming).
This next one is the temporary bed we started in 2012 as a holding place for plants until we could find a place for them. Little did we know it would stay put all these years. You can see some of the potatoes in the background. The bed really is slated for a move, though. Any day now. Maybe.
A view of the potatoes with the temporary bed in the background. Sweet corn & brushpiles occupied this space last year.
The california strawberries that are trying to take over. They've spread out from the two rows I salvaged & transplanted just last year! All that lush growth means I've had difficulty getting to the weeds <ahem>
Peas and onions. Was occupied by late-planted potatoes last year and "lawn" in prior years. The dirt strip to the right was a grass path last year, but I found that didn't work well, with the grass and weeds trying to go under the greenhouse and also back into the potatoes. That's a 3'-4' tall lump of weeds I've pulled this spring getting this bed and the potatoes planted.
Not pictured are the espalier apple trees (planted last year), filbert trees (planted last year), raspberry vines (new this year), space for this year's sweet corn, blueberries (original 4 established bushes plus 7 bushes we brought in 2012), a shade garden next to the house, and the shady border in the backyard to enhance viewing interest from the patio and upstairs windows.
Re: Garden Log
In my experience rabbits and groundhogs are notoriously difficult to catch in a live trap because they have so much food available already. I would recommend baiting with a very fragrant fruit such as a peach or nectarine. Also block off all exits to his den and then make a funnel to the trap on the last remaining exit. That's the only way I have caught our woodchucks. I still haven't caught any rabbits in my trap. I give em 3 or 4 days to go quietly....jennypenny wrote: ↑Sat Jun 24, 2017 6:04 pmWe also have a groundhog who's about to meet his maker. I'm pretty tolerant about sharing the garden bounty with the other residents of our yard, but this one won't quit. He's eating the cucumbers, beans, and squash non-stop. He's ruining it for everyone. Anyone have any ideas short of shooting it with an air rifle to scare it off?
This is a lot of work and so I have ultimately resorted to just shooting them, because it only worked half of the time.
-
- Posts: 5406
- Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 3:28 am
- Location: Wettest corner of Orygun
Re: Garden Log
I suppose you can't fence out groundhogs because they dig? How come the dogs aren't doing their part?
-
- Posts: 5406
- Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 3:28 am
- Location: Wettest corner of Orygun
Re: Garden Log
Finally, the first tomato sighted in the greenhouse! 8 peppers set on the 5 bell pepper plants... definitely a better result than last year. Strawberries have been slow this year as I've only picked a couple pints despite the hot weather last week.
-
- Posts: 5406
- Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 3:28 am
- Location: Wettest corner of Orygun
Re: Garden Log
Results of container-grown potatoes planted extra early: 1-2 weeks earlier consumption of new potatoes compared to just planting them at the normal time and, while sometimes higher-yielding, the container-grown were universally smaller in size with skins less well-developed than the ones planted in the ground at the regular time. It's possible I crowded them too much in the containers resulting in the smaller size.
Overall judgement: there's little material benefit for the work unless one doesn't have the garden space.
Overall judgement: there's little material benefit for the work unless one doesn't have the garden space.
Re: Garden Log
I didn't get around to planting my container garden until late in the year. I am hoping for a warm October!
I planted a pole bean (lazy housewife), cucumber (spacemaster) and three varieties of tomato. I'm also giving away some seedlings to co-workers:
I'm kind of getting sick of coddling these tomatoes which seem to want to just die in my environment without constant care.
Some animal is burying peanuts in the planters. The animal, not identified yet, also likes to shove peanuts into the plastic pipes I use to bottom water the containers. You'll see I am covering the pipes now. I'm not sure what animal is getting onto the 10th floor of an apartment building to bury peanuts in my planters but it's cute.
I planted a pole bean (lazy housewife), cucumber (spacemaster) and three varieties of tomato. I'm also giving away some seedlings to co-workers:
I'm kind of getting sick of coddling these tomatoes which seem to want to just die in my environment without constant care.
Some animal is burying peanuts in the planters. The animal, not identified yet, also likes to shove peanuts into the plastic pipes I use to bottom water the containers. You'll see I am covering the pipes now. I'm not sure what animal is getting onto the 10th floor of an apartment building to bury peanuts in my planters but it's cute.
Re: Garden Log
@ffj, you can bring him to our place! I love possums; they're good rodent killers. We haven't had one stomp around in our garden yet...I think. Hmmm. Something is smashing the onion tops but not actually eating anything. A vole chewed 75% of our pea plants off the root and left them lying there to die, but we caught him. He was not rehomed.
Re: Garden Log
He's probably still hanging out there, content as a pig in mud. Just needs some voles to round out his diet. By the way: that's an interesting Havahart trap. We have them in a variety of sizes, but they all have a trap door on both ends.
You have to give your dog points for persistence!