Garden Log

[George the original one]

Time to dig out the seed catalogs... despite thick frost on the ground. For the early garden, looking at carrots, peas, radishes, & a bunch of greens.

[llorona]

@GTOO: Where do you usually order your seeds? Last year I ordered a bunch of seeds from the Seed Savers Exchange. I love them!

[George the original one]

http://www.territorialseed.com (local Oregon)
http://www.johnnyseeds.com

[7Wannabe5]

Harvested brussel sprouts and flat leaf parsley on the last day of 2015. According to the internet, parsley can have an oxytocin effect if eaten in large quantities. Maybe that is the secret of the Mediterranean diet?

I am so excited for next season because I finally have a big greenhouse to play with, and I have determined that it is legal to use a rocket stove on my property. One of my favorite toys is my 3-D landscape design software that accepts templates from Google maps and models from the Sketch-Up warehouse. So, I can go out on a scavenger/scouting walk around my habitat/domain and then put everything I find that is of interest to me (like big trash pile of cinder blocks, or clump of rosemary on public land) on my 3-D map.

[jennypenny]

I use Territorial and Johnny's like GTOO. I also use High Mowing Organic and I've had the best luck with their seeds. If cmonkey is doing the etsy thing this year, I'll buy his seeds.

Does anyone grow microgreens? All of a sudden I'm having trouble with mold growing on them. I've tried all of the tricks and I'm still having an issue.

Here's what they look like. I love them. Three weeks from seed to table. They don't even need grow lights.

[George the original one]

If you're having mold problems, I think sterilization, improving air circulation (they look crowded, but I don't grow microgreens), and limiting moisture are the defense options.

[George the original one]

Seed orders placed. $260 for the veggies. A lot went into onion starts and potatoes (25 lb bags from Johnny's are relatively cheap for potatoes). I also chose convenience over price, buying seed tape for carrots and some greens. Next year, if the onion starts do well, I'll try to plant seed in September instead of using starts... I'm still learning the ropes with onions. New this year will be attempts to grow celery and reno squash.

Another $400 went for 10 apple trees and 4 hazelnut trees. Tompkins King, Honeycrisp, Melrose, & Pink Lady for apples. Slightly over-ordered on the trees in case I lose two or three. Fortunately we have the space for a couple 80' rows of espalier fruit trees. Want a Granny Smith & a couple of Braeburns, too, but think I'll wait until next year unless some pop up in the local nursery stores.

[enigmaT120]

I hope you get nuts from those hazelnut trees. I have about 8, and the squirrels and Stellar Jays eat almost all of them before they're ripe enough to fall off the trees. I swear one of my retirement hobbies is going to be sitting out in my back yard with a good book, a beverage, and my .17. I really like hazelnuts.

Are you buying dwarf or normal trees to do the espalier? I'm interested in that, but have too many more pressing things to do for now.

[Slevin]

Does anyone grow microgreens? All of a sudden I'm having trouble with mold growing on them. I've tried all of the tricks and I'm still having an issue.

I do grow them as well. Unfortunately I also live in a very dry state, humidity wise, so I have never had this problem before (my issue is that they usually end up getting too dry). I would agree with the above advice to try and improve circulation as much as possible. I don't think you are crowding them though. How much is the moisture draining out of those pans? Are they ever dry? Off the wall consideration-- Have you considered growing antibacterial/antifungal microgreens mixed in with your other microgreens?

[George the original one]

Garden prep chore: put up a rabbit fence!

We can see that the next invasion wave is on the way, 5 white bunnies at the far edge of the neighbor's field. I may also begin indulging in rabbit stew.

[George the original one]

Are you buying dwarf or normal trees to do the espalier? I'm interested in that, but have too many more pressing things to do for now.

They'll be dwarf or semi-dwarf. I don't want to climb ladders to pick fruit if I don't have to. Don't mind climbing ladders for pruning, so my top row might be a bit taller than some growers might choose.

[George the original one]

25' out of several hundreds of feet protected against the ravenous bunnies. Got tired of rooting out trailing blackberry & raspberry & himalayan blackberry vines. Yeah, it's only a start. Came to the conclusion that black plastic covered with barkdust needs to go under the fenceline so the birds quit adding to the weeds along there by sitting on the fence & pooping berry, holly & weed seeds.

Switching to a more fun project: the former owner had a bed of "california" strawberries (the really large kind that are so tasteless when bought in the supermarket) that was overtaken by grass & weeds before we bought the place 4 years ago. We've rescued some in the past and they were productive, though we learned they're very susceptible to mold, yet taste better when grown here in our damp climate and picked only when ripe. I ought to have 20 more plants back into production by the end of the day. I prefer the hood derivitives (rainer, benton, etc.), but the huge size of the california variety is useful for bulking up strawberry dishes.

[jennypenny]

@Slevin--It's hard to see in the picture, but the pans are doubled for drainage. The top one has holes and sits in the bottom one with some balled up aluminum foil underneath it to allow for a gap between the pans. I haven't had any mold on the latest batch, so I'm wondering if it was the unusual heat and humidity around Christmas that caused the problem. We had some strange weather. Now it's cold and dry and they're doing fine.

[enigmaT120]

I prefer the hood derivitives (rainer, benton, etc.), but the huge size of the california variety is useful for bulking up strawberry dishes.

You have good taste. I used to grade strawberries all the time, both in Salem and in the LA area. You're right, the ones down there (even for freezing) are just bleah. But that was back in 1989 so maybe they have better varieties now.

Regarding the trees, last month's Mother Earth News had an article on pruning normal fruit trees to keep them small. It looked really interesting but I don't have any immediate plans to get more fruit trees so it will have to wait.

I want to get a couple of persimmon trees, it's cool to have fresh fruit in December.

[George the original one]

I need recommendations for tomato varieties. Should be early & continuous producers of roma-sized fruit (or larger), resistant to fungus & disease. Sounds like early girl, no doubt, but what other varieties are there? They'll be grown in-the-ground inside a greenhouse.

It being a nice sunny day (45F high) here, ground not soggy, I began screening rocks from where the greenhouse will sit. Always forget how tedious it is and have to remember how much I appreciate the end result. Couldn't do this at the former residence at this time of year because the clay was too thick, but here we have a sandy/clay loam. Well, loam is debatable because of thin topsoil, but once you add 4" of compost and mix it in, it's much better.

[cmonkey]

Amish paste is pretty fantastic, large and ripe in about August here. Great for sauce and ketchup. Eating fresh too. PM me if you would like some and I could send you some I have a ton of seed.

[jennypenny]

I ordered too many strawberries, so I'm looking for creative ways to grow them. I like the idea of using rain gutters. I wonder if I could rig something like this with the rain gutters over my (very small) deck for shade.



I also thought about running PVC pipes vertically around the garden and doing something like this ...



I could probably try the PVC ones in my sunroom.

[George the original one]

>I ordered too many strawberries

I gots to know... how many is too many?!?

[George the original one]

Useful pamphlet about potatoes in general and potato towers specifically:
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/lane/s ... _cwise.pdf

And one man's first-time experience with a potato tower:
http://sinfonians-garden.blogspot.com/p ... -bins.html
Best advice from there, apart from selecting proper varieties, is to be vigilant and cover shoots after 4" of growth. 25:1 production is pretty good! He also has some storage advice.

I've got space and will mostly grow mine in rows, but I'd like to try a potato tower or two as an experiment.

Finally, a note for southerners on why potato towers likely aren't a good solution in that part of the country:
http://www.thegardenacademy.com/Great_P ... _Hoax.html

[jennypenny]

>I ordered too many strawberries

I gots to know... how many is too many?!?

hundreds

In my defense, they are the most reliable berries we grow and I don't have to fight off the birds for my fair share. If I can grow them in towers or gutters, I won't have to fight with the rabbits for them either.

re: tomatoes
We do really well with Brandywine, Rutgers, and Beefsteak here. Two are local varieties, so that might be why. I wish I had the room to grow them without staking them. That's how you get those immense 'mortgage lifter' types. In South Jersey, people grow the indeterminate types as vines (like melons) and throw beach sand underneath them to keep the tomatoes from getting too wet and rotting.