Friday, October 24, 2014

Markers

 Relying on my memory to recall what seeds were planted where is not a good plan.  When the seeds are sown, I try to mark the information on the seed packet.  Date, location, etc.  Germination dates are jotted down if I think of it; but that's typically not recorded. 

The information noted on the seed packet is then transferred to a wooden stake and pounded into the ground in the general area of the crop.  This system works pretty well.  The ink gets weathered down and can be erased with a light sanding making the stake available as another marker.

Carrots - Chantenay Red Core
 Even if the crop is easily identifiable, the variety may not.  This group of carrots are Chantenay Red Core.  They are supposed to grow well in heavy soil.  The raised beds aren't heavy.  These were planted because of other factors:  One of the sweetest, this variety was introduced in 1929 and is a large, stump-rooted carrot with a deep red-orange center; great for juicing or fresh eating.  A good market variety that is smooth and refined in shape.
Lettuce - Cimmaron
The salad bed has several varieties of lettuce that were planted at different times.  The south 1/2 of the bed was planted about a month before the north 1/2 to allow for the impending shade when the Earth tilts away from the sun creating more shadows over the garden.  The markers for the lettuce have that information recorded.

If more time could be dedicated in the garden, it would really be a Jeffersonian organization.  But I live in the real world and simply do the best I can.  Martha Stewart I am not.

Garden Update:
Apples - Granny Smith
The harvest is complete from the Granny Smith apple tree.  At one time, I wasn't sure that tree was going to recover from scorch.  It really performed well this year.  Now I will be busy in the kitchen making sticky apple muffins and apple/cranberry pies...all freezer friendly.

2 comments:

dorothy said...

That is a beautiful harvest and those muffins and pies sound delcious! Have a great day!

David said...

Maybelline, I'm back from a weekend of Mother Earth News Fair. So much pent up garden information and nothing to do with it until spring. It looks like you are getting your share of gardening in for this fall. Gardens here are done. All the plants are pulled; all the rain barrels are drained and cleaned; all the hoses need to be stored away until the spring rains come again. Over all it's been a disappointing year but much was learned about what not to do during a bad year. Next year I'll be better equipped for disaster gardening than this year. I was somewhat ready for volatile spring weather this year but just not enough. I'll not make that mistake again. The end of June 100+ winds with large hail and seven inches of rain really did break my gardens back. I never really recovered from that devastation. Now I have a recovery plan for such things that may happen. It may just be that will be our weather pattern here again in the near future.

Have a great garden marker day.