New Pictures - A Week Late

Here are two pictures of some Agastache Rupestins. I started them from seed a couple of years ago and they are going strong but look kind of weedy. I saw a hummingbird check this one out a few weeks ago. Now I am going to look for other agastache colors.




Here are the three foot tall zinnias (with some daisies and marigolds).



Here is a remaining patch of sedum (lost several to the winter) and this bunch is in bloom and is complete with bumblebees.


Another thing in bloom at the moment are my chive pots.


Here are my 7 foot tall cosmos tied to the inside of my veggie fence. Most haven't bloomed yet much to my disappointment.


Here are my 7 foot tall tomato plants.


Along the same fence I planted some Tithonia and it full bloom now. It came out bushier than I thought it would.

Notes for Tuesday September 1, 2009

September already? Can't believe it.

We got back from our vacation (a week at the Jersey shore) on Saturday. There ought to be a law that all vacations need to be a minimum of two weeks. Yesterday was a difficult day to get back into the rhythm (didn't really want to either).

Friday before we left I emptied 0.9" from the rain gauge and hoped that we would get some rain while we were gone. Upon return I emptied 1.5", not sure when we got it though. Then again on Sunday morning I emptied 0.6" from a thunderstorm that rumbled through at bed time Saturday night.

Before we left for vacation I told my neighbors and emailed my friends to please come by and pick some veggies while we were gone. When I got home it didn't look like anyone did. I picked about a bushel of juliet tomatoes, a half a bushel of regular tomatoes, a bushel of cucumbers and about a half a dozen peppers. Still no hornworms!??

On Sunday afternoon I pulled the third string beans (picking about two gallons) and planted a row of radishes alongside where the beans were leaving room for another row in a couple of weeks. There were only about 6 spinach seedlings in the row I planted a couple of weeks ago so I pulled them and planted another row. I also tied several of my cosmos plants to the fence since they were falling over. Some of my cosmos are over 6 foot tall and haven't flowered yet.

I need to take some pictures. Some of my zinnias are about 3 foot tall and in bloom and my five pots of chives are in full bloom and were buzzing with small what looked to be small carpenter bees. The tithonia I planted have really taken over and are alot more bushier than I expected and are full of blooms.

Then later on Sunday afternoon, I cut the grass. I wish I had a combine instead of just my push mower. We had two weeks of wet weather since I last cut it (wet at least for August, the news said that it was the third wettest August on record). I had to keep the deck of the mower raised again and still had to cut it at half width and half speed. While pushing the mower I avoided three toads.

There was no sign of the groundhog the whole week before we left and when we got back his hole had reopened. So on Sunday I threw another handful of moth balls in his hole and filled it the best I could packing the soil in using a 3 foot 2x4. Yesterday morning there was no indication that he had returned but when I got home from work he had started to dig his hole again but didn't get very far so I filled the hole again.

Notes for August 19, 2009

Last night I picked tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. With the abundance of Juliet tomatoes, I even brought some into work today. I think I might change the number of plants next year. Instead of 12 plants of small tomatoes (cherry/grape or juliet again), I may decrease it to 9 and increase the medium sized tomato plant. I may even try a earlier variety to see how that works. As I was picking last night I was thinking that I should water the carrot seeds but never did. Mother Nature took care of that for me. I emptied 0.5" from the rain gauge this morning.

Notes for August 17, 2009

Well on Friday I finally was able to cut the grass. It had been a couple of weeks but at first it didn't need it. Then we started getting rain at regular intervals and my calendar wasn't letting me out there to cut it. Soooo when I finally got to it Friday night, I had to go half speed at half width and raise the deck a notch in order to get it done before nightfall. While I was cutting the grass I avoided, not one, not two, not three but FOUR toads. That's a new record for me. Each were small, about as big as my thumb. It baffled me why so many until I realized they were out there chasing some of the hundreds of crickets I also saw in the thick grass. Saturday the calendar opened up again and I was able to get a nice chunk of time in the yard. I first harvested some green beans (first picking of third green beans), peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers and the last batch of onions. Then I tended the tomatoes (trimming suckers and tying). There isn't much tying anymore, most of my plants are six foot or taller and have out grown my 8 foot stakes (each stake is in the ground at least a foot). So I trimmed the suckers I could reach and tied the lower/slower growing tomatoes. I am surprised I don't have any hornworms yet. Now that I said that, I will probably pull of several tonight (I plan on watering tonight). I pulled out all the remaining onions and really didn't get many more. I noticed that the onions that went to flower never really formed an onion. So I think that starting next year I won't let them flower and I will snip the bud off when it starts forming. I added some wood ashes and then turned the onion patch and planted two rows of carrots. Earlier this week I received two German bearded irises (that I ordered in the Spring, but didn't realize at the time that they wouldn't be delivered until August). So I planted them in the front of the house. I pulled out a low lying evergreen first and planted them there. The evergreen was bare in the middle and the outer edges needed trimmed back which wouldn't have left very much. It needed trimmed, part of it was a trip hazard for my front steps and another part was growing into the driveway and so I wasn't liking it. After planting the irises, I finished cleaning up the tree debris from the tree I had cut down about a month ago, (my friend came by this week and picked up the cut wood for his wood burning stoves). I also had to fill in the depressions that the falling pieces left. And finally I weeded and mulched the front gardens and the other driveway garden. The other driveway garden is kind of bare. I lost a bunch of perennials there this year. So I will enjoy thinking of what I can plant next year.

Who needs a fig leaf, I'll use cucumber?

Someone else likes the garden.

Tithonia.

Last Saturday's harvest. Yesterday's was the same.

The cosmos were getting big enough that I had to tie them to the fence.

Friday I emptied 0.25".

Yesterday I picked and pulled the second green beans and then planted spinach in its place. then I picked some peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes (plums and regular). I also picked a few more onions. Next week I am planning to pull all the onions and plant carrots.

This morning we had some heavy rain and I emptied 1.2" after I got home from church.

Now what I want to know is who wished the ground hog on me? We have a juvenile ground hog who has taken up residence under the concrete slab under my shed. We have a box trap set with apple nearby but he doesn't seem interested (there's enough grass all around). Today I put a bunch of moth balls into the hole and filled it in the best I could. Maybe he'll get the message and move on?

Notes For Sunday July 26, 2009

Yesterday the family schedule allowed me to work in the yard and I was able to take advantage of it and still catch up to the family. And at bedtime I was feeling it.

First, I picked two gallons of green beans. I probably should have picked last week because I realized I really need to spread the planting from three weeks apart to four weeks apart. The row of Lima Beans I planted last week is sprouting now. Then I tied and trimmed the tomato plants. I found two cherry tomatoes that were ripe. Actually they were more like a grape tomato. This year I am trying Juliet (an elongated grape tomato) because I was tired of losing so many cherry tomatoes because they have a tendency to split. And of course they never made it out of the garden and I ate them right there. They aren't as sweet or as juicy as a cherry tomato but they were surprisingly very meaty and very good. I also picked 6 cukes.

Then I finally finished mulching my flower beds and transplanted a few marigolds and cosmos left. I still would like to mulch the front of the house and will probably will do that next.

After mulching, I cut the grass. With the dry weather we've had, I grass didn't need cutting. While cutting the grass I avoided running over a toad. This must have father or mother toad. He was a good size one.

Notes for July 12, 2009

Here is a pic of the veggie garden, beans in the front hiding the peppers, tomatoes tied to the tall stakes and cukes in the back on their own fence.

Here are the beans in the front. Each row was planted three weeks apart (the family complained when all three rows had to be picked at once). I started picking last week so I will be picking each week for the next seven which puts me into September. The first row (on the right) I picked their second picking yesterday and I filled two one gallon bowls.

This flower bed has mostly annuals. Our cold winter this past year was down to the negative numbers and the winter winds buried it with a foot of leaves that I was unable to dig out until late and so all but a few volunteer daisies survived. I replanted some volunteer daisies in the back with zinnias in the middle and some marigolds in the front.

Yesterday in addition to the second picking of the first green beans, I picked 12 cukes. Then I tied and trimmed the tomatoes and finished mulching the third green beans. Next week I will pull the first green beans and replant lima beans. When the second green beans are done I am thinking of planting spinach and the third will be replaced with radish. My tomatoes will be super late this year because of the cooler wet June. I will have some grape tomatoes in a few weeks but the bigger varietties will be into August.

Last night Mother Nature smiled on me and provided 0.75" rain, otherwise I was going to water today. Unfortunately is was a noisy rain complete with light show which the thunderstorm proximity alarm didn't like (the 80 lb Golden Retriever) so we had company in bed with us from 1 AM to 2 AM.

What's in bloom?

We'll start off with a bonus, two for the price of one. We have a dark red daylilly and some white Yarrow.


Here is a lavender day lilly.

And now I have a double bloomer! There is a story to go with this one. Got this one (and others not blooming this year) from the next door neighbor of a relative while attending the annual fourth of July family picnic last year.

Any guesses? How about ONION! Yes, my onions are in bloom.



Here is a look at my onion patch. they are starting to fall over so I will be picking in a few weeks.

Yesterday I watered the veggie garden and the annuals planted this year. Tied and trimmed the tomatoes (thank goodness that most of the stunted one are looking better). I figure the wet and not very warm June has put me back about a month. I also picked 10 cucumbers.

First beans and cukes

My other day lillies have started to bloom. I planted this one last year.

Thursday afternoon I had a large dead oak tree cut down. It died last summer. I don't know what from. Gypsy moth caterpillars were really bad two years ago and this tree did survive that but then died a few months after spring started last year. I wanted the tree service to it cut down on Friday when I had the day off but it was a cash deal and they finally called me back Thursday afternoon while I was work and said we'll be there in a half an hour. Wouldn't have been a bad day if my wife's car battery hadn't died when she tried to move the car back in the driveway after the tree was cut down.

I had Friday off and I got a bunch done before we went to some local fireworks. I picked the first picking from the first green beans. ( We had them for dinner tonight in a green bean casserole at my brother's house celebrating the 4th and mom's 82nd birthday. They were good). I then tied the tomatoes and trimmed their suckers. The third green beans started to sprout a few days ago.

I finished mulching flower bed #4 and then mulched all of flower bed #5 and began mulching #3. Before I mulched #5, I planted some more marigolds, zinnia and cosmos in flower bed #5. Yes I know I am going out of order but these two gardens needed more attention first (they're the youngest) flower beds 1, 2 & 3 are closer to autopilot.

With the tree down I had to install a post in the ground for the birdfeeder. One end of the hanging wire was attached to the dead tree. I bought a 10 ft 4x4 post a couple of weeks ago in anticipation. I also installed several new posts for the clothesline and removed the hooks from the trees.

This afternoon I watered the veggie garden and the recently planted marigolds, zinnias and cosmos. I really don't like to water in the afternoon but the family schedule left me no choice since we were going to dinner at my brother's house and this morning I did make it to church. After I watered I noticed that I could pick several cucumbers and I ended up picking seven. So this weekend I picked the first fruits of green beans and cukes. Yummy!

The cucumbers are growing nicely. I grow a seedless burpless, which is the family's favorite.


The Bee Balm is starting to bloom. My teenage daughter has even noticed.

I just planted my third green beans. Each row was planted three weeks apart. I will be picking from the first row (on the far right) this weekend and when its finished in three weeks, I will be picking from the middle row. I noticed the third green beans are starting to sprout.

The tomatoes are growing but in the past they have been bigger but its been a mild (not hot) June with plenty of rain.

It hasn't measurably rained since last week so I watered my veggies tonight as well as the marigold and zinnia I planted along the house on Sunday.

Notes for June 27, 2009

Yes I have Lymes and I had a real anxiety about working outside today. My doctor told me to wear a high sunblock and my brother who recently had Lymes said that he couldn't go outside because the medicine gave him a headache in sunlight. Yesterday on my way home from work I did get a headache (it was bright). After working outside for several hours (and putting on a sunblock before I went outside) I never did get a headache. I wear glasses and my glasses automatically turn dark when exposed to the sun's ultraviolet light. Anyone who has this type of glasses also knows that they don't work in the car since auto glass has been UV treated for years. The headache I got on Friday on my drive home was close to one of those headaches I get instantly when I get beamed with a red laser pointer. So I think I need to find my old clip ons for driving during the day. I started the day by Tying the tomato plants and trimming off the tomato suckers. About 1/3 of my plants top leaves are curling and seem to smaller. Wonder if its from the wet weather. It does seem to be affecting more than one variety. Then I transplanted two gloriosa daisies from the veggie garden into the flower bed next to the chimney. Actually its not a flower bed now and it was last year. Everything that was in that flower bed last year died over the winter. This particular flower bed was under a pile of leaves one foot thick (the winter winds pile them there). And we also had temperatures in the negative numbers this past winter. While planting I found a couple of volunteer daisies, so all is not lost. After I transplanted the daisies, I turned the garden using a spade where the radish bed was and then removed the sunflower twine and their supports. This made me think that I should mulch the 2nd green beans next before planting the third and so I did. Then I planted 3rd green beans and noticed that the 1st green beans could be picked next weekend. Then I mulched the remainder of veggie garden and all thats left to mulch in the veggie garden is alongside 3rd green beans after they sprout. Last night we had three dry thunderstorms. Each storm dumped a bunch to our west and then faded as it got close. My son cut the grass in the front yard for me this afternoon and I cut the back yard after dinner. My son mentioned that he chased a toad with the mower for a moment. Good to know there are still some around. During one of my breaks I was watching the Red Tailed Hawk circle around and was listening to the Blue Jays give the warning squawk. When I took my cool down break after cutting the grass, all I saw were robins looking for bugs/worms.

5-4-3-2-1-speed marigold planting

Well the weather radar looked like it was going to give me a few hours of time this morning but I forgot to check it again right before I went outside. I got about 45 minutes. It was just enough time to tie up the tomato plants and start to speed plant the yellow marigolds in between the tomato plants before in started to pour. Okay I did get a few other things done. I transplanted four volunteer tomato plants replacing four very small tomato plants that weren't growing well for what ever reason. The volunteers were about 4 to 5 times larger than the ones I dug up. I also planted several cosmos along the fence of the veggie garden. I worked about ten minutes in a light drizzle before I had had enough. This afternoon I emptied 0.35" from the rain gauge. Just after dinner we had a couple of downpours.

Staked and tied!

I finally did get some time in the garden yesterday afternoon but it wasn't until 2 PM.

I picked another handful of radishes and then pulled out the remaining plants since they were all bolting into flowers.

I lost a couple of cucumber plants and so I transplanted one to where I had lost three right next to each other. The plants are now just under a foot tall. In the next week or so I will be moving the vine so it can find the fence.

I planted the remaining volunteer yellow marigolds that I dug up when I planted my tomatoes and peppers. I still have some I started from seed but they are still kind of small. I planted the marigolds in between some of the cucumbers and then in between some of the tomatoes. The rest of the yellow marigolds will go between the rest of the tomatoes and then the peppers.

Something has eaten all but two of my sunflowers and luckily I had another packet of seeds. If these get eaten, I don't think I am going to try to plant them again this year. The rabbits can't get into my veggie garden where I have the sunflowers so my next suspect is the chipmunk. They seem to be abundant this year, or it may be just one. but in any case I am seeing him/her more often this year than in years past.

My second green beans have nicely sprouted. They are all about three inches tall. The first green beans are about a foot tall and have about three to four sets of full leaves.

I lost a tomato plant so I transplanted a volunteer in its place. Then of course I found two more that were bigger and better looking than the one I transplanted. I have a pepper plant that is looking suspect so I might replace it with another volunteer.

Then I staked all of my tomato and pepper plants using 8 ft 1x2's for my tomatoes and shorter pieces for my peppers. I purchased a couple of old bedsheets from the thrift store last winter and cut one up to use for making strips for tying. I first cut into fourths and then made small cuts on the edge about 3/4" apart to rip off a strip as I need them to tie the tomatoes and peppers. Then I tied almost all of the tomatoes and will wait for the peppers to get bigger before I tie them.

Next job: mulching!

Notes from May 28, 2009

This Hosta was saved from a friend's house where their Hostas were deer food. Of all the ones they gave me, this one is doing the best. To the right is Agastache.

I bought a white Rhododendron two years ago and this year it bloomed.

This is a painted Daisy (in the chrysanthemum family). It doesn't look impressive because its become rabbit food. Five other nearby have also been eaten. Not surpised because the leaves are similar to carrot leaves.

Can't remember the name of this perennial. I started it from seed a couple of years ago and its been steadily growing in size. I think it was called Centaurea?

Here is a painted Daisy that the rabbit didn't get to. And for a bonus there is some sort of bug on the flower.

Stayed home from work today but didn't get to work in the yard until the afternoon.

Today I planted the remaining cukes, replacing several cukes that had died and picked a handful of radishes.

I fertilized the cukes, tomatoes and peppers with a drink of fish emulsion.

I planted tithonia along the fence of the veggie garden along with 6 of the transplanted marigolds that I dug up last week.

I trimmed several trees of lower branches (two holly trees, a dogwood and several oak trees).

I watered what I didn't fertilize (radishes, beans, onions and two patches of young grass in the lawn).

Then I started mulching the paths of the veggie garden. I didn't mulch around the plants yet, I'd like them to get a little bigger.

Some of the sunflowers have started to sprout and all of the annuals I started two weeks ago appear to have sprouted.

I am planning on planting another row of green beans on Saturday. I hope to start a row every three weeks.

Notes for Monday May 25, 2009

Emptied 0.15" from the rain gauge this morning. We had a couple of rumbles of thunder and three 30 second downpours.

Everything in the veggie garden seems to have survived transplanting. I will feel more comfortable when I noticed growth, especially the cucumbers since I took them right from the windowsill inside and planted them outside. The tomatoes seem to be fine as well, even the one plant where the stem broke away from the roots and I just planted the stem. (I am sometimes grateful that tomato plants do that).

Next I plan on mulching and giving all a drink of fish emulsion fertilizer

PLANTING!

Well I got done what I hoped to get done and today I am paying for it as expected.

I started off by transplanting freelancing marigolds and tomatoes (growing on their own in the veggie garden) into six packs to be planted or given away later. I also dug up a couple of baby oak trees and potted them, someone at work wants one.

Next I put up the cucumber fence (5 ft high PVC coated fence).

The I planted tomatoes plants (30: celebrity, whopper and Juliet), pepper plants (14, Fat N Sassy and New Ace) and cucumber plants (24, Hybrid Sweet Success). I started all of these from seed indoors. I didn't have time this year to get manure from the horse farm and so this year I tried something different. All of the pepper plants and all but two of the rows of tomatoes I planted with a handful of finely ground up leaves. I did this to help my sandy soil retain moisture.

Then I planted a row of sunflower seeds.

I wish my marigold/zinnia/cosmos seedlings were about ready to plant, I would be planting them next week. Unfortunately they are just starting to sprout, so I guess next year I will be starting them earlier.

I am still not over my cold so I ended up taking frequent breaks and drinking a water bottle each time. During one of my breaks I did notice a chipmunk running through the backyard.

Notes for May 3, 2009

The Azaleas are starting to bloom.

Emptied 0.55" from the rain gauge.

Next year I think I need to start my peppers two weeks earlier and my tomatoes two weeks later.

Started cukes and tihonia seeds indoors.

Notes for April 7, 2009

Well I did empty the rain gauge again on Friday with 0.6".

Saturday I did get some of the leaves taken care of but I was battling 30 mph winds, so the front yard will have to wait. (especially since there were more blowing into my yard from across the street). What I ended up getting taken care of was priority 4. I was able to clean the mortar off the cinder blocks I got this winter and now my two compost bins are complete.

Yesterday I emptied 1.05" from the rain gauge after I got home from work and noticed the onions starting to sprout.

On Sunday I noticed some of my celebrity tomato plants sprouting and yesterday there were more including the large tomatoes, the Juliet grape tomato and some of the green peppers. It looks like the grow mat definitely helped the peppers get started. It normally takes them two weeks to sprout.

Notes for March 31, 2009

It rained Sunday evening and I emptied 0.2" from the rain gauge on Monday.

I started my tomato and pepper seeds last night. I put the pepper starters on top of the electric grow mat I got for Christmas. It says on the mat that it is only designed to be about 10 degrees warmer than the ambient temperature. So it should work nicely.

I need a couple of nice days off to get caught up. I have piles of leaves to clean up and a garden to till to plant radish and spinach. Saturday looks to be a nice day but Sunday looks to be a full schedule with no time to the garden or the yard.

Notes for October 26, 2008

Hey we finally got some rain too! I emptied about an inch from the rain gauge. I should probably put the rain gauge away soon. Last Monday morning it was 28 degrees and Friday morning it was 26 degrees. It was Friday morning that burnt my tomatoes and peppers. Today I picked the last bunch of tomatoes and a few small peppers. All of the tomatoes were green or starting to turn orange. In any case the tomatoes will sit on the windowsill to ripen.

Yesterday the wind blew pretty good and I had a few branches to clean up in the yard. It only sprinkled or showered all day and it wasn't until the evening that we finally got some heavier stuff. Which was exceptionally nice since there were forest fires not too far away and the fire fighters needed the rain. Friday morning the fog get the smoke next to the ground and it was kind of spooky.

Today I finally was able to mulch the leaves in my yard and start piling up the mulched leaves in my compost pile for next years mulch. I use a leaf blower to get the leaves out of the driveway and into the grass and then mow them over with my mulching mower with the bag on. It took me about three hours to finish. The leaves were a little heavier since yesterday's rain. There was also some grass clippings in with the leaves which was a bonus. The next mulching I will lower the deck of the mower to its lowest setting (now that the crabgrass has been frosted).

I also picked a handful of radishes.