Garden time.... moving fast!

If you would have asked me yesterday, I would have told you that I was not going to be planting anything in the garden on Sunday, 5/22.  Even waking up this morning, I really questioned the possibility.  Even up until 3pm, I still questioned my sanity for asking.

I was WRONG.

Spent most of the morning doing some general repair of a raised bed that was damaged when we took the birch down earlier this summer.  A new 2x6 was all that was called for.   Also tried out my father-in-laws B&D 14" electric string trimmer.  Not very good reviews on Amazon, but it did a really great job for me.

My wonderful wife took the time to spend a couple of hours weeding and all she asked was that I help.  Gladly.  We got a big push done and now both of the big compost barrels are full.  Grass cutting took almost 2 hours given the amount of growth that has gone on.

Some pictures to mark the progress that is finally being made.  Thank goodness for raised beds!

Harrow Sweet Pear - Garden Spot

Contender Peach - Garden Spot

Bartlett Pear - Garden Spot

 The garden beds are a blessing in a wet year like the one we are in.  In a lot of instances, people are still going to be a week or more out.  Get me close, and I can get it in!

Onions are starting to come on very quickly

Block planted greens: chard, beets, spinach.  Yes, the beans are up!

Parisian Pickling Cucumbers

Peas, and the trellis is ready!

Tomatoes after a hard rain, with a little hail thrown in.

ASPARAGUS - this is what it is all about!

Garlic, three ways.  Getting ready for a foliar feeding!

Be safe, stay dry, and always practice safe gardening.

Bill

Warm day, time to plant.

Took the opportunity to get 5 more garden beds tilled as well as planted 11 broccoli, cauliflower, and kale plants tonight.  Looks like everything we planted on May 8 is through the ground.  Took time to finish planting my greens bed.  Believe it or not, I have beans through the ground.

Windy, Cold. Windy. Cold.

It is hard to believe that today is the 15th of May.  I had to wear a sweatshirt today when I cut the grass.  Cold northerly winds went right to the bone.  The good news is that today was relatively sunny, warming the soil and allowing for some opportunistic weeding.

Really nothing to report new in the garden. Everything that we planted last week is pretty much sitting, waiting for warmth to start growing.  I expect to see radish plants poking their heads up pretty quick.  The rest of the garden beds are too wet to work.  Perhaps we will see something by the end of the week.

I did have the opportunity to get out to the UWGB NAS Heirloom Plant sale.  #17 in line.  One of of my best performances.  Picked up 32 plants: tomatoes, peppers, flowers, and some other stuff.  I have to say, the selection was great and the plants looked great.

I then took a quick trip up to Oconto to visit the Martins at Garden Spot.  Picked up 3 fruit trees for the yard.  Two bare root pears and a potted peach tree.  Kind of difficult to think about planting things when it was raining pretty hard.  Great looking trees and a great selection.  Ronald is very helpful.

I have moved my transplants of broccoli, cauliflower, and brussel sprouts outside.  They got a good workout in the wind, but it will toughen them up.  Hopefully this week I can get the balance of the kale up and on the deck.

We'll see what the week brings.  I would like to get some more in the garden.

Until then, garden safe.

Bill

A week after Easter and it still feels like it could snow

With the cold and wet weather continuing, I took the opportunity to plant some spinach and swiss chard inside.  It will give me a leg up once it gets dry enough to work in the garden beds.  The onions are still very slow, and probably quite cold.  Once the weather warms, they should shoot right up.

The garlic is doing well after an application of bone meal.

We had some very wet weather last year and I was afraid my raspberry patch was a memory.  Today, I got in and cleaned them out.  For the most part, I was pleasantly pleased.  I saw good regrowth on all 4 varieties.  The primocanes from last year showed enough life to be optimistic about the potential for a crop this year.  Time will tell.

Next week is Mother's Day.  Make sure you plant something for your Mom.

A note of reminder.  May 14 9:00 am will be the annual heirloom plant sale at the UWGB NAS.  I know that I will be there early.

Be good and be safe.  We'll talk next week.

Bill

It's April 19th in NE Wisconsin.

8-10" of snow.  Aren't we supposed to be planting?

Hopefully we can make it to work tomorrow.

OK. It's late, but....

It's tax time and not time to be planting seeds.  I know that.  I articulate that.  I still don't follow my own advice.

Today, I planted the following:
Brussel Sprouts - Long Island Improved, Bubbles
Broccoli -  DiCicco, Calabrese
Kale
Cauliflower
Basil - Italian Large Leaf, Genovesse, Thai, Licorice, Sweet
Parsley - Moss Curled, Double Curled, Italian Dark Green
Cilantro
Rosemary
Lettuce / Romaine - Outback, Caeser Blend
Swiss Chard - Lucullus, Bright Lights

They are sitting on top of the boiler so a nice heat source that should help the seed explode.


This year I am going to do a lot more staggered planting of our plants.  Think about it.  You go to your local garden center and get some plants that most likely have been started at the same time.  They might have been slowed up to meet some predetermined delivery window.  The way I look at it, one should keep the plants growing very, very fast and not slow the process down.  From inside, to deck, to hardening off, to garden.

Time will tell.  Consider that the sleet on the windows last night put me to sleep and the flooded back yard welcomed me to light of day.  Remember, this is spring.

Be safe.

Why would you want to garden.

A great article from ThePeoplesVoice.org should give everyone a new reason to plant a garden this year.  Some of the thoughts you will agree with and some not.  But in general, you can't argue with them.

Enjoy the read.

Bill

Tilling and Planting continues....a full month early

Today is Sunday, April 18, 2010.  It was cool today, but definitely not the cold of a winter waiting to return.  The wind died down today, a calm amidst the last 4 days of a cold wind out of the NW.  It hasn't rained since we go and inch or about 8 days ago.  I also don't believe that it will snow again, but remember that we are in Wisconsin.

We continue to move forward with the garden.  Thanks to my friend from work, Brent Winebar who was good enough to share some All Blue and Carola potatoes from the ones he was planting in his own garden.  I was able to get 3 full hills planted when I supplemented them with some Rose Finn Apple potatoes that I purchase this week.  I utilized the plant in the fill technique and then encircled the hill with wire mesh and covered with 6" of leaf mulch.  All the potatoes had good swollen eyes and were showing the first signs of roots.  Potatoes were planted in #14, which is one of the new beds starting this year.

Earlier this week I planted #13 with onion plants that I started on 3/5.  Both red and yellow onions planted in multi-plant blocks, similar to the suggestions of Elliot Coleman.  We've had 2 frosts since then and they are doing just fine.

#11 was also planted today with transplants of spinach, swiss chard, and beets.  I also planted seed of leaf lettuce, spinach, more beets, and carrots.  The entire bed is covered in a plastic hoop house as I suspect we are going to have at least one more good hard frost.  Maybe not this week, but definitely the potential exists.

The last bed we planted was #15.  Super Sugar Snap peas went in.  I will put up the metal fence panels that I use for the trellis this week to make sure I don't kill too many plants by waiting.

I still owe people pictures.  It is on my list.

Happy Gardening, 2010 is here!
Bill

More seeds started, beds tilled and bushes trimmed

It turned out to be a very busy weekend.  While the weather was relatively cool and windy on both Saturday and Sunday, I did get the chance to trim out a lot of the woody growth from foundation plantings, trim the currants back (yes, I cut them back very hard), tip the red and purple raspberry plants, and trim off some ground hugging limbs on some blue spruce.

On Saturday morning I planted 3 varieties of broccoli, 2 varieties of brussel sprouts, 2 beets, 2 spinach, romaine lettuce, and kale.  In all, I got 108 multi-plant blocks started.  With onions, we are now creeping up to 200 multi-plant blocks started.  I won't be starting  tomato or pepper plants as the selection from the students up at UWGB is always good and offers a more robust selection then I care to.

On Saturday afternoon I also turned over my 2 early beds (potato and greens).  The leaf mulch from the fall has broken down substantially and the earthworm population had taken off.  A week of warm weather as its forecast should lead to optimal conditions to plant some spuds next weekend and get the A-frame set up on bed #11.

On Sunday I tackled the new area, freshly broken for beds 13-16.  I turned the sod over in the fall and it has mellowed nicely over the winter.  The Mantis tiller had its work cut out for it but was definitely up to the task.  I didn't try to tackle all of the tilling in one move but rather attempted to get the tops knocked off and ready for the next tilling.  If time permits, I will be assembling #13-16 beds next weekend and then tilling inside the beds.  First thing that will be planted will be onions.  In and out quick and allowing for some potential double digging.  We'll see how it goes.

As we ran out of time and energy this weekend, I promise to get some picture up and posted next week.  However, I wanted to give you a little taste of our recent trip to Kona, HI.

At 9,600 ft of elevation not much grows.

Monday 3/8 standing at 13,700' elevation on top of Muana Kei.  The hill in the distance is 70 miles away. And yes, the clouds are below us.

Be safe.
Bill

Getting ready for Memorial Day

Quick note tonight. We are getting ready to head south for my nephew's wedding on Sunday in Edwardsville, IL. Should be a good time to see family and friends. We got a nice shower about 5 pm that will go a long way to avoid having to put any water down until we get home on Monday. The asparagus keeps coming as we were able to pick another 3 #'s to take an grill on Saturday.

The garden looks great. Pulled a few weeds in the garlic and asparagus. The second batch of compost in the tumbler should be finished by the time we are back. Looks like we will also be able to get in the last planting of peas on Tuesday. Also will take the opportunity to get in the first planting of beans next week.

Mary picked up some flowers today at a new greenhouse. She took a trip with friends out to see Thistledown Greenhouse in Bonduel. Sounds like we will be going back. Planted some Eryngium 'Blue Hobbit' (Sea Holly) and Euphorbia 'First Blush' (Cushion Spurge). Should do nice out front in the front flower beds.

Gotta run. Things to do and pack before we leave for tomorrow. We'll talk next week.

Over the holiday take a moment to be thankful for the country we live in. It may not be perfect but it is still the best thing going. Be thankful for the sacrifice that all those have given to make it what it is today. Have a safe Memorial Day.

Bill

Catching up - Tueday 5.19.09

Ok, it has been busy. A lot to do and the weather has been less than cooperative.

Saturday was spent staying warm. This was the UWGB plant sale. Picked up 8 tomato plants, 13 pepper plants, and 2 nice cucumber plants. #19 in line is the best I have ever been. It was just plain rotten the rest of the day.

Sunday I planted the tomato plants and put up the Wall O'Water around all of them. The green meanies look weird but they really do soak up the BTU's. By the end of the day, the water was quite warm and the plants were safely nestled in the ground. I know, harden off, get them ready. Past experience shows that the best thing is to get the plants in the ground (bury them deep) give a good feed of kelp meal and bone meal and let them adjust. Have not lost a plant in 10 years doing it this way. The best part is that the roots are really down deep.

We also spent a lot of time dividing plants. Liatris and ornamental grasses seemed to be the candidate. Got all the division spread around the beds and properly disseminated into the neighborhood.

Monday was school board that lasted until after dark.

Tuesday was a busy day in the garden again. Planted the peppers and cucumbers. Forecast calls for warm and a touch of rain. Should be perfect for the plants. No WOW for the peppers, they should be OK. Also cut more asparagus (~3#'s). The beds are coming pretty fast right now. The neighbors are happy, the inlaws happy, and the wife is happy. Fresh aspargaus is a great thing.

Need to do a call out for my father-in-law. Jim did a great job in helping make some new rabbit stopping devices for the raised beds. The design was flawless and as usual, over engineered. Pictures after we get back from St Louis this weekend.

Eric, my nephew gets married on Sunday. Will get a chance to catch up with the family once again. It should be fun.

We'll talk on ..... well, next week.

It might be May, but it is not summer!

Fresh asparagus never tasted so good. We have now been cutting for about 12 days. It is really starting to come now. The garlic is also looking very good. We have side dressed it with our homemade fertilizer blend and it really seems to have taken.



The cole crops are all planted as of the writing of this update. The peas are a little behind, but are now starting to take off with the advent of warmer weather.



This is the third planting of beets. A little sparse in the germination, but I can attribute that to the age of the seed (1-2 years).

I have been less than prompt on keeping up with the garden updates. For that I am sorry, but things do get prioritized. Last Friday I took the time and helped put in our new dock at the lake about 90 miles north of us. It turned out to be the best day of the weekend as we enjoyed temps in the 60's and nice sunshine. Saturday and Sunday greeted us with bouts of rain and temps in the 40's and 50's. Not the best to be trying to do something in the garden.

On Monday, I was able to get a few of the beds tilled and finished planting the last of the brussel sprouts (Jade E Cross), a row of beets, spinach and lettuce, along with 2 more double rows of peas. This makes 3rd and 4th plantings. We should get the 4th/5th in before we leave for StLouis and Memorial Day.

The berry plants look very good. Purples and reds are all doing great. The currants are heavy with flowers and should yield another great crop this year.

More pictures soon.

Rain is predicted for Wednesday and Friday PM. Figures, its May in Wisconsin. Going to the NAS Plant Sale at UWGB on Saturday morning. Would like to come home with 23 plants. Planning on getting there early (~630).

Gotta run, busy day at work tomorrow.
Keep your hands dirty.
Bill

Another sneak attack at summer

Greetings from what was a warm Friday at the end of April in Wisconsin.

Yesterday we got to the high 70's after a rough start to the day which brought out some gloomy skies, gusty winds, and a blustery cold shower. As the day progressed the yellow orb continued to share with us poor earthlings. I could feel the itch all day that it was time to plant some more.

Finished my work day and the call of the local garden center was loud and clear. The truck didn't want to go home, rather to see what new specimens were there waiting to go into the vegetable garden. Picked up 3 3-packs (Premium Crop broccoli, Early Snowball cauliflower, and Georgia collards. Had to hunt around a little bit to find just the ones I was looking for, you know the ones, good growth but not the older plants. The garden center guy reminded me that it really was too early to be planting as we might have snow yet. I just didn't have the heart to tell him that I was already ahead of him by almost a week.

The soil was cool, slightly damp but still very friable. Got all of the plants in, taking the time to make sure they sat a little deeper into the planting holes. This will allow for a more focused water effect and based on past results, a stronger plant as the roots go deeper. Moved the covered fencing on to the new plants. This should protect them from any hard rains that we would get.

A light cultivation for the plants we put in last week. More so to keep the crusty soil in check but also to smooth the planting bed a little.

Took a hard look at the greens and pea planting from 2 weeks ago. We have had some rather cool and damp weather in that time, even some measurable snow. Yes, we have lettuce, spinach and beets breaking the surface. I was a little concerned about the peas, but a little digging quickly sent me to covering the sprouted seeds back up. Trust, good soil not overworked, amended with the right amount of organic matter will deliver. Trust.

The planting continued. Given that we were at the two week planting window, it was time to put more greens and peas into the bed. So...... another row of spinach, beets, and lettuce and 2 double rows of peas. I did take the time to make sure I finger-poked the peas in rather than digging out a trench.

Curious was the nature of my mind. Was the asparagus growing? The answer was yes and no. Yes, I did find some of the nice white shoots started. However, they were buried under the leaf mulch and still very cool. Need to leave the mulch on for at least another 2 weeks. Then we'll make a decision to take off or just let asparagus push its way through.

My wonderful wife reminded me that it was Friday, it was the end of the work week and it was starting to get dark. Given that appropriate prodding, I grilled up some thick cut pork loin chops, fresh asparagus (from the store), and a sweet onion. I am so glad that spring/summer/not winter is here. The time spent outside makes the food that much better.

It's now Saturday morning and it is raining. You know, cold to the bone rain. It is supposed to last until Sunday night. No snow, but a good rain. We do need it, but it could be a little warmer.

Next weekend is set for a quick dash to Minnesota to deliver some furniture and household stuff for our college kids. Its also an off week on the planting schedule. Weather for the next week is predicted to be in the mid-50's for the highs with lows in high 30's. Hopefully we will be able to start drying out.

Sorry there weren't any pictures. Time got short.

Stay dry.
Bill

Tilling the soil, a restaurant review, and planting

No ranting, at least not right now. Too many positive things about the garden.

Yesterday I actually got the chance to get the Mantis tiller fired up and ran it through the raised beds in the garden. Wow, I was surprised at how friable the soil was and the impact the shredded leaves made to it this year. All of the beds were tilled and raked smooth. There was not one bed that was too wet to work. Cold, you bet they were but the ground was ready to go. Also took a moment to manually fluff the leaf mulch on the asparagus and garlic. Nice to see those little shoots of green poking their arms up. It must be spring.

Saturday looks like a day for planting.

First though one needs to take in the proper nourishment to sustain ones soul, mind, and body. Off to VITA, a neat new experience in raw vegan. Yes, a lot cutting edge for Green Bay but in the thoughts of this rookie, a definite you must go back and hit it a second (and third...) time kind of place. Bianca White may be on to something here. Mary and I had the Thai Curry soup and other than a suggestion that the avocado could have been chopped instead of a slice, a certain thumbs up. We each had a different pizza, flatbread with nutbutter and other toppings. Fennel, onion, and cherry tomato along with spices made mine a wow. Mary had the Hawaiin with mango, tomato and sprouts and while sharing between us, I think she wanted to keep the whole thing. Each plate came with 3 large pieces and this card-carrying carnivore was pleasantly full.

We did get into the desert menu with Lemon Poppyseed cheesecake and lavendar ice cream. Yes, both were great, non-dairy and eye opening. Wonder what they could come up with in the spirit of a Key Lime pie?

Going back? You bet.

Now, back to our regular programming.

Saturday saw the first seeds go in the ground. Beets, spinach, lettuce, and two varieties of edible pod peas. Too cold, I really don't think so. Even if we get erratic germination, it will still result in edible greens by the middle of May. Planted about 1/2 of the bed which leaves another planting to be done around 4.24. Maybe by that time we are also getting ready for brassica.

Weather is supposed to stay fairly warm tomorrow (~50) so we should be seeing some additional soild warming. Monday is predicted for rain and it most likely will be cold. Welcome to Wisconsin.

Stay warm, stay dry, remember that spring is almost here. Until next week.

Bill

Is spring really here?

Today marks what might be considered the first day of spring. I know, spring started a number of days ago. I lost that count somewhere in the middle of the last snow storm we had. The winter has been long and hard and one really needs to understand that we here in northeast Wisconsin have gone back to back with 100" snowfall winters. Too long.

Today was nice, mid 40's and lots of sunshine. I can't hold out the hope for tomorrow being the same. I just check the weather at Intellicast and already see that the rain has crossed through Madison and is coming towards us. Temperature is predicted to be 34 and a call for 1-3" of snow. Remember, spring is here.

Hidden in those 12 raised beds is garlic (2) and asparagus (4). All organic and all waiting for a little more warmth. I did take the time to fluff the leaf mulch on top that we put on last fall. The Simplicity lawn vac did a great job of shredding the leaves and speeding the decomposition. I got all beds turned over last fall with the exception of one, but the hard winter does a great job of mellowing the soil.

One if the great things about organic gardening is the desire to want to stick your hand into the soil, cold though it may be just to feel the connection once again. Seeing that the worms are already active is a reminder that something is going right.

When we started with this soil almost 12 years ago, it was clay. Good Wisconsin red clay. Now you don't have to break your back to double dig the beds (always try to get 2 per year. Probably are at a place where we can start slowing down on the organic matter, but will stay very heavy on the compost.

A quick peak at the chives. If you look close, you will see that the new green is already starting to poke their heads through. I was tempted to take some of the old growth off, but I got burned a couple of years ago with a late freeze. I know we will get a few more shots at the cold, so I will hold off.

It will be time to start making up seed tapes. The link gives a great formula for the glue and pictures of the final outcome. I have used a process like this in the past, but the flour/water glue will help a bunch.

I did not start any plants inside this year. Work plans had called for some travel that would have prevented the attention required. Mary's schedule is heavy with work, class, and teaching Nia making a better choice the commercial purchase of plants. I would heartily recommend the plant sale at UWGB on 16May 2008, a Saturday. Great tomatoes and peppers (and more). The heirlooms are well worth the time and effort. Funds go to support the Cofrin Center for Biodiversity. A good community effort and good people at the sale.

Remember, the good word is spring is here, well kind of.

Be good. We're making a committment to be a lot more active here with gardening updates and random musings.

Bill