In the garden, one day your are “in” and the next day you are “out”. Most of the corn has been cleared out of the garden to make way for winter seeds – broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, lettuce, onions, and beets so far. Some stalks of corn remained to allow the beans to finish up and to provide a bit of shade to the pumpkins below. Fine.
See?
The stalks were yanked and broken down into the green waste. This isn’t going into MY compost.
Wiedersehen!
I’ve never grown ginger before and don’t really know if zone 9 in Bakersfield, California is a successful area to cultivate the stuff; but my brother gave me some rhizomes to try. They aren’t fat, full rhizomes either. The odds may be against me. I’ve looked at a few ways to try growing them and it looks fairly easy. My thought is to plant them out with a bed of daylilies. Sunny, warm/hot location in well drained soil that gets watered daily.
According to Botanical.com: Naturalized in America after the discovery of that country by the Spaniards. Francisco de Mendosa transplanted it from the East Indies into Spain, where Spanish-Americans cultivated it vigorously, so that in 1547 they exported 22,053 cwt. into Europe.
I’ll give it a shot and plant some tomorrow. In the meantime, if anyone has any words of advice please post them in the comments section. Thanks
Is eating corn bad for dogs? Not the cobs…the plant. Ajax enjoys shredding the leaves. I don’t think he actually eats the leaves. He shreds them.
Every dog I’ve ever had enjoys popcorn. Not the microwave junk. The real deal. Ajax is no exception. I don’t know why he’s attracted to the corn; but he is.
Is that bad for the dog? It can’t be good for the corn.
This summer, two beds were planted in the 3 Sisters method of gardening. Corn, squash, and beans are those three sisters. Golden Bantam Yellow Sweet Corn was planted in both beds…not all at once. The seeds were planted weeks apart to insure ears of corn throughout the summer. The first planting was in the east and gradually worked westward. Both beds were planted with Borlotto Solista beans. The eastern bed was planted with Lemon squash. The western bed was planted with Jarrahdale pumpkins.
Here’s the critique:
The corn sucked. No matter when I picked it, it had a doughy texture. The taste was fine. How can you go wrong with butter and salt? The texture was always bad. It could be the variety or it could be the gardener. This is my 1st year growing the stuff. Although the critique rates corn as bad…very bad, I consider this summer a success. My goal was to get at least one ear of corn. I surpassed that; but I will have to think carefully if I want to grow corn again. It does take a lot of water. Several rows were planted to insure pollination. Elvin Bishop plants his 3 Sisters garden in a circular pattern; but I’m completely satisfied picking up a few ears at the Farmers’ Market during future summers while humming a Bishop tune. Let the professionals mess with the mess.
The beans produced less than last summer when more seeds were sown this summer. Not good. Sure the plants climbed up the corn stalks just fine; but I would like a lot more beans to show for the effort. These beans are great dried and I’m disappointed that not many were produced. If you plan on using this method, make sure the corn has sprouted about 6” before planting the beans. Their growth catches up to the corn quickly; so giving corn a head start will provide a nice bean pole for the vines.
Lemon squash produced but not as vigorously as last summer. It could be that the seeds were left over from last summer. I would recommend using a squash that trails all over the place when considering the 3 Sisters method. Bush varieties do not serve the purpose of providing shade on the garden floor beneath the corn stalks. Aphids attacked the squash in this bed pretty badly this summer.
One success is the Jarrahdale pumpkin. They have produced quite a few blue-green squash and provided nice shade for the garden floor. Aphids were around for a brief time. A power blast from the garden hose seemed to clear things up with the help of ladybugs.
Right now, in the tail end of summer heat, I wouldn’t plant a 3 Sisters Garden again. Once I have the time of a cool winter to reflect, I may come to my senses and rise again to the challenge. Maybe I need to go all the way and put a dead fish in the planting bed like Indians did long ago. Nah. This pale (or pail) face steers clear of fish.
Well, here comes fall planting. It’s still hot enough for swamp pants. It’ll be that way through October. The seeds need to get in now that the first 3 Sisters bed has been pulled. There’s a few beans that remain on the west end of this east end bed.
The photo is oriented north and each drip line has something planted (or soon will have planted) on either side. It looks pretty pitiful now but so would you if you spent an endless summer under blistering sun. Here’s what’s planted from west to east. (That’s from left to right). I’ve noted the dates the seeds were planted and the days to maturity.
At the top of each irrigation line are planted Buttercup squash(8/13/11, 95 days). It’s a winter squash I’ve never tried; but Floyd’s had the seeds and I was game. Sparkler radishes (8/13/11, 25 days) are sprinkled throughout.
This bed is about one month ahead of planting last year. My goal is to harvest by Thanksgiving. It’s nice to have goals. Another goal is to survive swamp pants season and enjoy a cool – cold and wet winter. Come on October!
The garden was pumping along nicely at Thanksgiving 2010. Come on October!
Vera had flare too. She was always tanned. I got you covered there, Vera. This is where I will stray from being like Vera. She always wore makeup. Green mascara and Ponds face cream were on her vanity along with a jar of bobby pins. If her hair wasn’t styled or in the process of being styled, she threw on a wig to make her appearance presentable. Another way I will not follow Vera is having a cigarette lit in every ashtray of every room of the house. I wonder if she ever inhaled those cancer sticks or simply used them as incense.
Settle down.
Take it easy.
It’s not what you think.
Honestly.
Did you think…
Never mind.
The packets of zinnia seeds from the drug store have really grown well this summer. The native soil in the garden is pure junk. Even though it’s been amended over the years to help grow stuff; some plants simply can’t take the heat.
These seeds seem to thrive. They’ve been fed a few times and get adequate water but no special pruning or primping. They’re out in the front yard so they’re exposed to cats, dogs, and miscellaneous children. 
The lawn weeds on the sideyard were removed by Farmer MacGregor to make way for a temporary flowerbed. He even trimmed back the surrounding hedges to give me a little elbow room to maneuver. This spot will, most likely, be paved over when a new driveway is installed. Now here’s the problem:
What should be planted in this space?
Any suggestions are welcome.
The scarecrows were put to work this evening due to the fact that birds had pecked a peach off the tree and knocked down 4 apples. They do a great job. Ajax thought 2 strangers were in the garden and barked his disapproval. Nevertheless. He couldn’t deny that they were smarty dressed.
Fierce!
I sometimes keep a small ruler with me in the garden to track the progress of a few things of interest. Here’s how things are moving along this summer.
Jarrahdale Pumpkin in the second 3 Sisters bed. This one settled on the ground.
This pumpkin climbed up the bean support for a better view of the garden. It’s getting to be a fat, happy baby.
The Variegated Pink Lemon is producing a few fruit and currently blooming. The scent is great.
The sunflowers are really attracting the “good guys”.
As a result, this bounty is enjoyed about every other day.
The oblong tomatoes are Cour Di Bue – ox heart type tomatoes. That nice round one is a Heinz.
Today, the first of the 3 Sisters beds is getting cleaned out to make way for winter – and I’m glad. Seeds for broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, onions, carrots, beets, and lettuce are waiting their turn.
I can’t give a full review of the 3 Sisters form of gardening yet because the second bed is flourishing. Hopefully it will help change my thumbs down to a sideways review.
