Augusta West - Not

It's time for the Masters' Tournament in Augusta, Georgia.  That golf course is famous for its azaleas.  My garden is not.  In 2009, we planted a bunch of camellias and azaleas in the garden.  Wrong.  They did bloom, but then they went kaput!  Only one azalea survives today.  Thriving in their place are thornless boysenberries

 George L. Taber Azalea

Garden Update:

Tomatoes (Better Boy):  Farmer MacGregor could not imagine a summer without homegrown tomatoes.  So rather than solarize the raised beds to eradicate the nematodes, he opted to plant a variety resistant to nematodes.  This is what we grew last summer in another bed. Planted last week.

Bell Peppers (Golden Bell):  Three plants should be enough to take us through the summer. Planted today.

Hot Peppers (Serrano):  Pepper poppers are a favorite around here.  MacGregor also prefers home grown salsa. So...Serranos were planted today.

Note:  I still cannot bend so Farmer MacGregor has taken on the task of planting.

Nectarine (Fantasia):  What's nibbling on the nectarines?  Ants?  Grasshoppers?

Fantasia Nectarines

Espalier:  All the espalier fruit trees (except for the Granny Smith apple) had a spring pruning.  Nothing too heavy.  The leaves are necessary to prevent scald.  The most vigorous growth was on the apricot and plum trees.

Garden Update

My screwed up back doesn't allow me to work in the garden as I would like.  I can't even get down and take photos.  I simply get down as low as I can, point the lens in the general direction, then snap a photo.  Most times it works.  If it doesn't, I simply delete.  Here's a sample of what's going on in the garden.

Garlic Chives are going to seed.

The vegetable garden is still producing.  In fact, the fall/winter vegetables have already germinated.  Seeds of broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower were sown on Labor Day, September 3, with the majority of germination occurring just 3 days later on September 6.

Waltham 29 Broccoli


Peppers of all varieties are improving with the cooler weather.  Some might not consider 95° cooler; but it is and there are fewer hours of the day dedicated to baking at those temperatures.

Bell Pepper

A couple of Better Boy Tomatoes were planted earlier this summer with the thought of having fresh, large tomatoes into the fall.  Looks like that plan is working out.

Better Boy Tomato

Pumpkins continue to produce well.  Daily squash bugs hunts continue as well.  The pumpkins rest on dried grape leaves in an attempt to avoid rotting portions on the squash.  So far, so good.

Jarrahdale Pumpkin

 





Fruit trees that have fruit are Granny Smith Apple, Robertson Orange, Rio Red Grapefruit, and Variegated Pink Lemon.  All the fruit trees are due for a haircut/pruning and a feeding.  I would like to wait for the weather to cool down further; but it doesn't look like that will happen anytime soon.

Granny Smith Apple

The Red Flame Grapes set a second crop of berries this summer.  The first issue was a bust.  All the berries split and were moldy.  These bunches aren't as tight and look pretty good.  The berries a larger too.  Don't know if they will be very sweet.

Red Flame Grapes

Some flowers in the veggie patch are appreciating the change in weather too.  All kinds of pollinators are attracted to the garden with the help of all kinds of flowering plants.

Calibrachoa Hybrid - Superbells Coralberry Punch

Petunias without bud worms!

There's tons that needs to be done before we're officially out of Swamp Pants Season:

• Turn the old tomato bed.
• Plant peas
• Plant sweet peas
• Clean up the overflowing boysenberry canes.
• Prune / feed roses.
• Clean out remaining tomato (Gold Currant) bed.
• Plant lettuce
• Plant onions
• Prune / feed all fruit trees.

Going to Seed

A work associate has a wife interested in gardening.  The only problem is - she wants immediate gratification.  She buys full grown plants rather than trying seeds.  But she's young and learning.  A package of seeds costs so much less than a full grown plant and produces so much more.  Plus, the plants are probably healthier when started properly by seed.  I start seeds in place outside most all year round.  The right seed in the right hole works most every time.

Nasturtiums and peppers planted May 28, 2012.

Being contrary to the last statement, I was searching for some bell pepper plants to add to the garden this weekend.  The available specimens were either pitiful or outrageously overpriced ($2.98/seedling!).  I had to revert to my original mantra and grow from seed.

Not only is it the most economical way to garden, but it's convenient too.  Whenever possible and practical, seeds are collected to use the following season.  If the variety works well in the garden, why mess with success?  Collect the successful varieties for later use or trade and share.  Don't forget to label the container.  That's a trick I'm still learning.

Sweet Peas collected in an old peanut butter tub for drying.

Radishes, herbs, beans, and squash can bring fairly fast results.  Sunflowers, sweet peas, and morning glories may grow so fast and furious that they may gain "weed" status in the garden.  What a danged shame more gardeners don't use seeds.

Sadly, Ferry Morse Seed Company is closing down it's operations around the USA.  Hope this is simply a reorganization and not an indicator of the preference of gardeners. 

Try picking up a packet of seeds and see how much more satisfying gardening can be from seed to seed.

Hope

  Sweet Pea – Old Spice

The 1st bouquet of sweet peas was harvested this weekend to enjoy in the kitchen while preparing Easter dinner.  These were planted so late, December 12, 2010, that I really didn’t have much hope that anything would come of my meager effort.  The seed packet describes this variety as  a single and bicolor tall heirloom.  A bean support used last summer for beans remained to support the sweet peas.  Once they have faded, beans will be planted for a late season harvest.  The success of the sweet peas is more than I had hoped for.

 

Lavender – Lavendula Angustifolia

On September 23, 2010, seeds of lavender from Burpee were sown with hopes of a quick germination.  After more than a month I gave up hope and forgot (kinda) about another failure in the garden.  This weekend I notices a few signs of success along the corn bed.  There is hope that the garden will have more lavender to enjoy.

Bell Peppers

A visit to the Farmers’ Market this weekend was fruitful.  I returned with three new Bell Peppers – Red Beauty, Red Marconi, and Super Heavyweight.  The Tomato Lady unveiled some of the peppers she has been germinating for here weekend business.  My hands were full of produce bags and a puppy lead; so I let the Tomato Lady’s daughter select three different varieties of bells for me to try.  Oh, she tried to educate me on these varieties; but I was distracted with all the shoppers wanting to pet Ajax.  My hope is that these peppers will be abundant and be used to stuff and grill.

The pea patch was cleaned out this weekend to make way for tomato transplants.  A few carrots and onions will remain until they mature.  In the meantime, the soil will be amended, deep holes dug, and a variety of tomatoes will take up residence until the fall.  I’m using the same method as last summer for plant supports.  Stringing.  The strings will run vertically and I’ll wrap the plants upward around the twine as they grow taller.  This post has an example of what the supports look like when they are full of tomatoes.  Hopes are high that this year’s tomato varieties will flourish.

All in all, this Easter weekend is a pretty good one for hope.

 

Journal Winner:

Helen said...

I think I'm in love with that journal! And my favorite month is October.

 

Helen, shoot me an email with your preferred delivery address and the journal will be on its way.  Congratulation.