Thursday, May 31, 2007

Fruit(less) trees

When we moved into this house, there were no trees, so Lowell and I set out to buy and plant a few.  He had grown up with fruit trees, so that’s what we got, despite my protests that they would just attract bees and hornets, as well as make a huge mess.  In our back yard, we now have 2-year-old apple, plum, and pear trees – one of each.  They look pretty good, with the exception of the apple tree, which developed cedar apple rust last summer.  We sprayed some nasty chemical on it and that seemed to clear it up.  But it appears as though the rust is back…I need to find a less-toxic solution to this problem, as the tree is near my garden and any spray that requires a mask to apply doesn’t sound like it’s good for my veggies…or us!  Since this tree is our dog’s favorite to water, I’d rather not have him subjected to any chemicals either…

None of these trees are producing fruit thus far, so no hornets yet.  

I also cheated a little this last weekend on my tomatoes…I bought a patio plant, just to hedge my bets should the garden not bear fruit.  So far, this patio tomato is the healthiest looking of the bunch.  I have yet to move it from its original plastic container to something prettier, in spite of some adamant protesting on Lowell’s part that it looks “trashy”.  No, dear, “trashy” would be a dead tomato plant in a pretty pot!

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Happy happy! Joy joy!

I might not be a total failure at this gardening business, after all! :) We had a glorious rain today, and I ventured out to the garden this evening with a new Russian tomato plant (a gift from a co-worker)...and lo' and behold, my tomato plants seem to be recovering! Granted, they are still slightly wilted around the leaves, but they are upright and holding in there. My peppers still look awesome, the cucumber transplants have doubled in size, and I think some of my seeds are starting to spout. I think. Its kinda early to say for sure - could just be weeds of some sort poking their way through...but there is definitely something sprouting. One little guy kinda looks like lettuce...

Monday, May 21, 2007

Tomato-Uh-Oh

So, my bell pepper plants look awesome!  BUT…my tomato plants not so much.  I don’t know what I’m doing wrong – they are in the sun, it’s hot outside, they are getting enough water, but still they are withering.  Is it transplant-shock?  Will they recover?  Will I have to buy new plants and start over???  I’ll try to get some pictures tonight.  I was so looking forward to tomatoes, too!  So sad…

 

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Admitting defeat

So, I think my seedlings are a lost cause. I'm not a very attentive plant parent - my peace lily can attest to that. My flower beds are a haphazard mix of whatever can basically grow itself the second year after being planted. So, am I too surprised that I suck at seed-starting? No, not really. I shouldn't have expected any miracles. I walked into the makeshift nursery (our guest room) last night to discover my tiny peppy seedlings looking severly wilted, much like their onion brethren before them. I watered them, but I'm not deluding myself into thinking it will help.
Fortunately, over the weekend and with the help of my friend ML, some more-established veggies plants were added to the garden. A trip to the Farmer's Market yielded several tomato plants (Better Boy, Roma, Cherry, and Beefsteak), peppers (green, yellow, red, and purple(!), and a couple of cucumbers. I stopped at Walmart's gardening department and picked up some onions, zucchini, squash, and canteloupe plants, and into the garden they went. I planted the gourds in the row I had already sowed cucumber seeds - that way in case any of the seeds do decided to sprout, they aren't surrounded by strangers. Also, since I know zucchinis and melons tend to spread and take over, putting them along one side gives me room to expand the plot to that side next year and let them do their thing. The onions went down the center row, to protect the schnauzer puppy from his own curiousity - onions are very dangerous to dogs.
I also covered the entire plot with cedar mulch - I don't know if this is right, but I didn't have anything more natural to mulch with - no untainted grass clippings or straw - so orgaznic cedar mulch will have to work for now.
So, my garden now looks like a real garden instead of just a large patch of dirt. Cross your fingers that some of my little babies bear fruit. I will try seed-starting again next year, with better equipment and a little experience under my belt.

Thursday, May 10, 2007

You did what?!?

That was basically the reaction I got last night, when the DH arrived home and discovered our lovely new compost bin nestled next to the deck stairs. The bin, previously home to some give-away clothing I'd stored in the basement, is now half-full of the evening's fruit and veggie scraps, coffee grounds, and a couple of junk-mail newspapers.
He'll get over it. I think he's amused more than anything about my formerly-closeted Dundee Barbee self rearing it's patchoili-scented head. I'm 3/8 hippie, you know. Hippy-dippy is probably a more accurate description - I meant to take pictures of the whole compost-bin construction process, but alas I could not locate the camera I had used less than 20 minutes prior to this adventure. I took it outside to photograph some flowers blooming in the front yard (at least something is growing!) and now I know that I then carried it into the basement and set it down to pick up the bin. I managed to look everywhere BUT the basement before giving up to prepare for belly dance class. Oh, well.
Composting is a slightly intimidating project, but I honestly think the hardest part will be keeping the schnauzer-dog from peeing on it.

Monday, May 7, 2007

Rain, rain, go away

No sooner than I got my seeds into the ground did the skies open and the rain began.  As of Saturday night, I heard rumors of up to 5 inches of rain already.  Most of the Midwest has been drenched the past few days, with dangerous storms to boot.  

I’m worried that my seeds might have been washed away, but I haven’t ventured out to check yet.  My plan at this point is to replant if necessary and to pick up a few already-established plants at the Farmer’s Market this coming weekend.

 

Friday, May 4, 2007

Into the ground they go...

My office was closed for the afternoon due to the Offutt Air Show rehearsal (we're in the flight path, so it's a safety issue). So I took advantage of the moist soil and warm day to get some seeds into the ground.
Today I planted cucumbers (Burpee Hybrid II), lettuce (a five-variety gourmet blend), and carrots (Little Finger).
The garden soil looked good - I'm thinking that the week since I mixed in the manure and top soil really helped, not to mention all the rain we got this week (and are looking forward to this weekend). I drug my cultivator through the plot to loosen things up, then began making little rows for my seeds. The cucumbers are in the first row on the west-most side of the garden, with two rows of carrots next to them. I put the lettuce up toward the front of the plot for easy access. I marked the rows with small stakes and some yard (a temporary solution).
These three types of seeds took up about half of my plot! Granted it's not too big, but I was initially worried that this project would take up so much time because I had this "huge area" to fill. Fortunately, as I go, it seems smaller and smaller. I'm glad I had the foresight to start small. If this is a hobby I stick with over the years, I can add on as needed.
Once my onion and pepper seedlings get a little bigger and studier, I will transfer them out to the garden. Right now they are in "recovery" in the guest room. I left them with the DH's mother while we were on vacation, and they seemed fine when we got back, but then I had the great idea to set them outside on the deck (since it's so lovely outside)...and they started to look bad...I brought them back in and have been nursing them, but I think I lost a few. Oh well, if they don't make it, I'll just shell out some cash for more established plants that were started by someone who has a clue what they are doing! I was mainly curious to see if the seed-starting could be done at all....
That's right - I said it: I have no idea what I'm doing, really. :) I've planted many flowers, several shrubs, and had some good luck, some bad luck, but mainly just luck - there is no skill involved in my gardening activities. If you're looking for advice, you're in the wrong place - this is just a chronicle of my dirt-covered adventure in edible flora...

On a slightly different note, I also planted some flower seeds. There is a corner of the yard that I un-sodded last year to put in some sort of bush...I can't remember what it was, 'cause it didn't survive - either due to lack of care, bad conditions, or perhaps someone mowed over it and just didn't tell me - it's not longer there. So I have this patch of nothing and adjacent to that, there is a strip of grass along the east side of the yard that has turned yellow. So today I pulled that up, pushed the dirt around a little, and tossed in some butterfly-attracting wildflower seeds from a big can. There are plenty left, so my plan is to continue to pull the grass from along the fence until I can border the entire yard with wildflowers. I will also add some larger plants throughout the border as I have the time and money, but the can of seeds seemed much simpler than planting individual flowers or bulbs. Hopefully they take off before the birds get to them...

Thursday, May 3, 2007

Oh sh!t...& my new friend

Last week before we left for our Colorado vacation, I stopped by Menards on my way home from work.  I figured a week away from home was a great time to let some fresh garden soil and compost settle into the garden – better than nothing, right?  So I picked up a few bags of organic garden soil and some Nebraska-produced manure compost and headed home with a new hoe and a new cultivator.  My dear sweet husband, while impressed than I spent a couple of hours in the sun turning over the soil, was not so keen on the idea of paying for poop…

While digging, I came to the realization that flip-flops are not the best footwear for gardening.  Not because I stubbed my toe on the shovel, but because I had a close run-in with my new “friend”, a large brown spider.  Eek!  I just have to remember that he’s there to help – a large well-fed spider is better than a garden plot full of bugs…