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Post by oldmobie on May 25, 2014 23:25:17 GMT -5
No edible gardening today, but I did get a few "before" pics of my wife's "butterfly garden" which she says is becoming more of just a flowerbed. The green rectangle is where she planted birdhouse gourds. In the red circle is a yellow climbing rose. In the pink oval is a red mandavilla. Here you can see one of the window boxes. There's one on the far side of the other A frame. When she gets the other liners in, the last 2 boxes go in. There will be 2 side by side on each A frame. The geraniums under the platform are to be planted in them, as well as flowers from seed. Maybe petunias? See the white circle? Meet the villain of the story. He's of the opinion that birdhouse gourd seeds belong in his gut, not in the ground. She planted them 3 times. Yesterday. If he doesn't straighten up, there could be a box of Stove Top in his future. Early retirement, farm style. The holes you can see near him are the sunflowers and black eyed susans. Shhhh! Don't tell the duck! As far as we can tell, he hasn't disturbed them. Down the right side, just out of this shot, is a row of assorted pumpkins and ornamental gourds. Again, if the duck left them.
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Post by oldmobie on May 25, 2014 10:36:47 GMT -5
Chard isn't remotely related the brassicas. I'm afraid you caught me working from memory, instead of doing the research. To tell the truth, I'm curious enough to grow out the crossed seeds and see what they produce, but I would like to also harvest some uncrossed seed to see how this cabbage was meant to taste. If I were to mark the seeds produced before the pak choi blooms, then I'd have pure seed (barring pollen donors I don't know about) right? Then each seed produced after the pac choi blooming would be a potential cross?
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Post by oldmobie on May 24, 2014 22:02:15 GMT -5
Potatoes just haven't been doing well at all this year. I planted almost the same way as last year, which I considered a success. I put down a single layer of newspaper to suppress grass and weeds, put my eyes on top, and put a very thin layer of straw on top with intention to add more after they were up. Last year 5 pounds of seed potatoes yielded 5 gallons of harvested potatoes. This year, 5 plants or less have managed to get leaves above the straw. Almost is a big word in this case. I think the difference is that this year I cut eyes apart to make more plants. Last year I put the spuds in whole. It's hard to keep the newspaper moist, it's always wet or dry. The whole potatoes had food enough to endure until the roots hit dirt. Most of these eyes have just been hanging on, no roots. Today, we moved the straw, gathered all the eyes that were still alive, but hadn't grown yet, and replanted into holes inthe dirt, with just a bit of compost over the top. They might still make, but it'll be a late crop. Now I'm thinking about the space we emptied. Probably bush beans or a cover crop. Really leaning toward bush dry beans; I can pack 'em in tight, to smother weeds. I won't have to leave walkways. And they're a legume. Speaking of cover crops, I think my buckwheat's coming in! (Yes, I'm that easily excited.)
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Post by oldmobie on May 24, 2014 21:17:01 GMT -5
Still gonna check the anthers for pollen transfer, because I'm anal thorough like that, but it looks as if all's well and I get to save seeds and try again.
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Post by oldmobie on May 24, 2014 16:30:51 GMT -5
Looks normal to me. Like Joseph, I can't tell if the anthers are shedding pollen or not. You're the best placed to discover that. Are you growing different cultivars or just the one? If only one and the pods forming have seeds then I doubt there is any CMS issue. By the way, the female bit that accepts pollen is the stigma which is supported by a style, just as the anther is supported by a filament. Only the one cabbage, though I'm growing a few relatives. Pak Choi, radish, collards, broccoli, cauliflower, chard. None of those are blooming yet, so I really just mention them to be thorough. The pods are swelling and bumpy, so I think there are seeds. I suppose they aren't viable until they turn brown, but with so many, I may open a large one and check. Forgot kohlrabi. Also not blooming.
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Post by oldmobie on May 24, 2014 16:20:38 GMT -5
Thank you! I will try to test for pollen at the appropriate time. I couldn't get any yesterday, but it was afternoon, just after a rain. I really wasn't too surprised that it failed.
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Post by oldmobie on May 24, 2014 8:21:00 GMT -5
That seems so weird to me: To have peas and beans at the same stage of development. My peas have been in the ground for something like 10 weeks and are just starting to flower. Perhaps the weather will trick me into planting beans next week, but to be prudent I may wait another couple weeks to plant the beans. I keep saying that I really aught to develop a hot weather landrace of peas, but I never quite get the seed, and the timing, and the ambition all together at the same time. I actually WinterSowed peas this year. I guess they don't like that. They didn't come up. It was late for peas when I put these out.
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Post by oldmobie on May 23, 2014 21:59:32 GMT -5
Slightly thinned the carrots today. Transplanted some of them into the old washtub. Gave some away, and finally put about half in the compost. Green beans are starting to come up. Corn is starting to come up in the new garden. Nothing to take pics of yet, just tiny green points. Maybe in a few days. Harvested the pak choi that hasn't bolted yet. Afraid it'll probably go to the worms. It's full of holes, has what seems to be eggs on the back, and in at least three places, something folded the leaf back and made a cocoon in the fold. I did clean a small piece and taste it raw. It was mild, between lettuce and cabbage, but fleshy and crisp. Not sure about a whole salad of it, but it'd be great in a salad. Mrs oldmobie put out more sunflowers today. She has two full rows now of the Mammoth Russian, Giant Grey Stripe, my saved seed from both grown together, and Joseph's Landrace (XL seed). In front of that she's started two more rows of shorter sunflowers: Lemon Queen, Velvet Queen, Teddy Bear, along with a mix (Evening Color, I think) and mexican sunflower (The seeds look different, I doubt it's a true sunflower.). In front of that is black eyed susan. She's about half done. She has some wire framed window box type planters that mount on a porch rail, which she intends to mount to the horizontal spreaders of the A frames of the swingset. Trouble is, the liners are shot, and she can't find new ones the right size. Today she settled on a design and started making her own.
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Post by oldmobie on May 23, 2014 20:59:55 GMT -5
I want to save seeds from my Michihili cabbage, but I'd rather not pass on any male anther sterility. If this is informative, it's producing obvious seed pods. I don't really know how to tell if the flowers are normal or not. It appears to my VERY untrained eye, that the female part (I don't even know the name.) is central, with 4 or 5 anthers around it. Am I right? Are those the anthers? Does everything look normal?
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Post by oldmobie on May 22, 2014 23:59:04 GMT -5
Image courtesy of Google StreetView. Looks great! I'd be thrilled with those results!
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Post by oldmobie on May 22, 2014 22:51:59 GMT -5
Lately I've been reading some other members' posts about using willow for a living fence. It got me thinking about the living fence I'd like to grow. This happened the same day we bought landscape timbers for Mrs oldmobie's butterfly garden, which put a new thought in my head. Black locust. (My wife says "You know, I've been thinking..." is the scariest phrase she can ever hear from me. You ladies may now begin feeling uneasy on her behalf, if you're so inclined.) The living fence I've wanted to build would consist of fruit trees which are graft compatible, so where I cross the limbs, they'll "take". Around here, that should be apple, pear, peach, cherry and I think plum, apricot, almond. I still plan a section of that. But what about black locust for home-grown timber edging? A quick google indicated that it contains toxins that could kill an animal, though it often doesn't. Where my fence is going, there are currently sheep and goats, and only 5 strands of barbwire between it and cows. No go. That same search led to a mention of what we call hedge around here. Other folks call it Osage Orange. Posts I helped dad make of it 20-30 years ago are still good as new. There's a tree about 100 yards north of the barn. Aparently nontoxic. The cattle deaths from eating the fruit are now blamed on choking. Also mentioned: it's a member of the mulberry family. How long does mulberry wood last in contact with soil? I guess we'll find out: birds have "planted" me several mulberries. If it's no good for timber, we'll still eat the berries. It seems folks have grown both from cuttings. I took 12 of each. If anyone with sheep and goats doesn't know it, mulberry leaves are apparently made of candy! I've had goats that are afraid of me come within arm's reach to eat from a limb that I held down. If the limb is big enough, the sheep get in on it, but they won't stand up to the goats for it, usually. Watering in the new garden today, I fould an unreal number of tiny bright green seedlings. Does anyone know if this is what newly germinated clover looks like? My wife and oldest son predrilled all of the whole landscape timbers to edge the butterfly garden. She and the younger son have started pinning them down with rebar stakes. When that's done, we'll measure for the ones that have to be cut. She also planted one of her new climbing roses at the end of the swingset. All of the mature lettuce is bitter and starting to bolt. The red salad bowl is fine. Slower to bolt, or just less mature? One pak choi bolting. I think I need to taste test, and maybe harvest the rest, so I can taste it before it gets bitter.
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Post by oldmobie on May 22, 2014 22:04:55 GMT -5
Same peas I posted about yesterday, hopefully a better pic:
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Post by oldmobie on May 21, 2014 18:52:50 GMT -5
Planted first row of sunflowers for butterfly garden today. Mammoth Russian, Giant Grey Stripe, my own saved seed from both (hopefully crossed), anf Joseph's Landrace (extra large seed) alternated to maximize crossing. Also planted a red mandavilla by the swingset, right where the slide used to be. Side by side comparisons of landrace crops vs whatever seed I had of the same species are coming along. For the spinach and peas, Joseph's landrace seeds are slightly ahead. (At seed leaf stage) I'll keep track as they grow. Spinach: Joseph's Peas: Mixed store-bought Peas: Red circles indicate possible additions to the landrace. They certainly have gotten started quickly. I'll compare growth and production. Should I rogue the stragglers, or see what they produce? The kohlrabi I put out yesterday:
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Post by oldmobie on May 20, 2014 23:40:25 GMT -5
Already far too late for spinach, for me; s'pose I should start some NZ spinach. It's about 50-50 odds that it's too late here, too. Our weather's pretty variable this time of year. But I'm impatient to see some landrace crops grow. I shouldn't get my hopes too high, though, as my climate is quite unlike Joseph's. I'll probably have to rebreed and reselect to make it my own, but at least he's saved me years of gathering the diversity. I'm gonna get a solar electric-fence charger so the neighbors, who're pasturing horses on my back ten, can fence my other un-used six acres of knee-high weeds for their pasturage. They run goats, sheep, and horses, and did for years on that land before I bought it; no harm to me if their critters turn those weeds into poo; given the current drought, they need pasture (the cost of fodder going up); given my age, I need obligation and community integration; looks like a win-win situation to me. I'm finding that sheep and goats make great companion grazers. They turn weeds and brush I don't want to cut into usable meat. (At least the sheep do. Haven't tasted goat yet.) Here's the official first domestic disagreement that I shall reveal to this community: I informed my wife that in order to clarify the duties of our first goat, his name would in fact be Poulan. Sadly, to date, that name remains un-official. As you say, no harm comes from responsible grazing. Just don't let them eat to the dirt, like I did, unless you'd like to grow something else in that spot. I bet following a "scorched earth" grazing with a cover crop would be pretty effective...
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Post by oldmobie on May 20, 2014 21:57:00 GMT -5
Put out a 4 pack of kohlrabi In the 2 northern most concrete blocks at the east end. I've always meant to try it, but it died on me when I tried to grow it from seed. When I saw the poor little root bound things at the lumber yard for 78ยข, with little "turnips" the size of my thumbnail already on 'em, I figured it was my chance. If we like 'em, I really should get seeds again and try WinterSowing 'em. Spent most of the last hour of daylight cleaning fencerow, so we can put sheep wire over the barbwire. Where we keep the sheep and goats is eaten down to bare dirt, they have to be let out each day to graze. They graze the pasture that is becoming my new garden, so we're on a deadline: make the fences adequate in the new pasture and get 'em relocated before corn and watermelons get outta the ground! Saw new growth in the squares where I planted the peas. The spinach-mustard, collards and salad greens are already coming up. I thing the spinach is starting, but can't be sure until I see true leaves.
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