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Post by kazedwards on Jun 21, 2014 2:19:32 GMT -5
Well it rained yesterday so everything had a nice sip. I might water in the next day or two but for now nothing appears to be stressed. I have a few tomatoes starting to from as well as several peppers. Still need to get out there and plant a second set of beans but it has been 90 plus so I have not been to motivated. I have been considering planting more lettuce, radishes, and carrots but I think it would be a waste with how hot it has been/will be until fall. I also have not figured out how to grow lettuce well either. It always bolts or gets eaten up. Maybe I'm to picky and greedy when it comes to size of the head. Basil has finally started coming up good and needs to be thinned. I think I will wait for that until we have some ripe cherry tomatoes. I would like to start a herb garden as well this year. Any advise? From what I have gathered, most herbs self seed and are low maintenance. Any recommendations on what to grow? I know I want oregano, dill, and 1 or 2 types of basil. I don't really know what else would nice to have maybe cinnamon? Is there also a certain way to plan an herb bed or do you just throw it all in willy nilly? Is there a way or pattern that you all find works really well? I have also heard that they affect each other's taste. Is that true?
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Post by kazedwards on Jun 21, 2014 13:12:21 GMT -5
Well I cleared the space I am using for the beans and planted another set. I did one seed every 6 inches rather than the normal 2 per 6 inches. Hopefully I will get good germ and all 36 seeds will grow. I also moved the lemon tree and new orange tree out. The lemon tree I got in March and has just finished blooming. I hand pollinated and have about a half dozen limons now growing. It is about 4' tall and was starting to grow heavily towards the window. The orange tree I got when I was in Florida a few weeks ago. It is about 8" tall and still getting established in the pot that it is in. I don't know why I waited so long to put them out but it is definitely time. I will have to water them every day with them being in pots but I hope that the higher humidity will do them a lot of good!
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Post by 12540dumont on Jun 21, 2014 17:04:42 GMT -5
Zach,your garden is huge! Is the rest of that grass?
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Post by kazedwards on Jun 22, 2014 2:31:42 GMT -5
Zach,your garden is huge! Is the rest of that grass? Well thank you. It's a good size for a residential backyard, but I do wish I had more room so I could grow corn. It seems small compared to most the photos I see on here of everyone's space. We do hope to move on to a few acres in the next 4 or 5 years. The rest is grass except for alittle area by the house that is strawberries, a few shrubs up front and a non fruiting pear tree with lilies around it. |
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Post by kazedwards on Jun 23, 2014 2:58:35 GMT -5
Well I think I lost a watermelon. It just wilted and is now about completely done. I think not enough water was the problem. I don't think it was a disease or anything but who knows. The others are staring to vine out and are looking great. I did water the melons and cukes this morning before work and then it stormed. I was about to pull out the sprinkler if it didn't. And the lemon tree has 18 lemons growing not a half dozen! I really wish I had more room so I could have some fruit trees. At least couple of Apple trees, few cherry trees and perhaps a real fruiting pear tree. Maybe in a few years.
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Post by kazedwards on Jun 26, 2014 1:12:33 GMT -5
Yesterday I used the soaker hose that is with the peppers and tomatoes. It wasn't very effective and mainly ran off and flooded the path. The top 5" of soil was very hard and didn't take in any water unless the hose was right above it. So I broke up the top 6" or so of the hard soil as best I could and mulched heavily untill I ran out of dry grass. I need to add LOTS of compost to all of the garden this fall. I was hopping that i added enough this year to see a difference but I guess I didn't. I also weeded the path with the weed eater. It has grown very thick with crabgrass. I started to weed and clear the middle bed to plant some lettuce and radishes but it was so thick with crabgrass that my hoe broke. I didn't realize it had got so bad in that area.
I plucked a couple of the bulbil off the walking onions and planted them as well today and started collecting pea seeds. There were only a few dry pods so I will be getting more tomorrow after I get a new hoe. The radishes are still blooming and I hope they will be done soon to clear up space. I grew cherry bell radish and a purple one called Selzer purple. They probably crossed so we will see what I get this fall.
I have something eating the hell out of the kohlrabi. I think every leaf has a half dozen holes in it at best. I don't think it is caterpillars because I go down to the garden 2-3 times a day and check and haven't seen a single one yet this year. It might be grasshoppers though. There are even a few with half the stem/ball gone. Hopefully most will last until they are big enough to eat and the little stinkers will be distracted with the damaged ones.
The watermelon, cantaloupe, and one cucumber are starting to vine. They are growing really well and I can see the difference daily. The three cucumbers that I replanted have their fist set of true leaves and are starting to catch up. Hopefully this year we can get some good watermelon. Last year the only one that had muture fruit was bush Surgar baby and they were softball size. I also grew Carolina cross but they all rotted on the bottom or end before they mutured.
I am hoping to get another set of beans in next week, that is if the last set can pop through the hard soil soon. Also need to finish weeding the "lawn" in the middle of the garden and try more lettuce and another set of radishes and maybe carrots. Next year I think I will use the soaked hose for carrots to get better germ rates. I would this year but I have it going through and around 6 tomato cages and a few peppers.
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Post by kazedwards on Jun 26, 2014 1:13:09 GMT -5
I will also have pictures to come soon!
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Post by kazedwards on Jun 27, 2014 1:03:32 GMT -5
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Post by kazedwards on Jun 27, 2014 1:31:24 GMT -5
Well it is now pouring like crazy! I just ran out of bed and pulled the lemon and orange tree in to the kitchen from off the deck. Wife won't be happy in the morning but at least I know they can't blow away! Well back to bed all.
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Post by philagardener on Jun 27, 2014 5:31:02 GMT -5
kazedwards , looks like your garden is doing great! Thanks for sharing your progress!
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Jun 27, 2014 10:12:23 GMT -5
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Post by richardw on Jun 27, 2014 14:58:29 GMT -5
Looking good alright Zach apart from kohlrabi,its so nice looking at a summer garden during winter down under.
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Post by flowerweaver on Jun 27, 2014 23:18:06 GMT -5
You asked about herbs. Oregano and rosemary are perennial shrubs and are nice to have in a permanent location. There are different varieties of each, that vary in shape and taste. Annual herbs like sage, basil, parsley, coriander and dill are easy to start from seed. They sometimes reseed themselves, but it really depends on your soil, location, weather, etc. Where I live in the desert not much reseeds itself. On occasion coriander and parsley will for me. I think people with better soil and consistent moisture may have more luck with this. Bay is a tree, but I don't think it takes frost. Cinnamon comes from the bark of a tree, I don't think it grows in the US, it grows in India. Mints are easy to start from cuttings. The seed is very tiny and easier to grow if you have a greenhouse.
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Post by kazedwards on Jun 28, 2014 0:51:14 GMT -5
You asked about herbs. Oregano and rosemary are perennial shrubs and are nice to have in a permanent location. There are different varieties of each, that vary in shape and taste. Annual herbs like sage, basil, parsley, coriander and dill are easy to start from seed. They sometimes reseed themselves, but it really depends on your soil, location, weather, etc. Where I live in the desert not much reseeds itself. On occasion coriander and parsley will for me. I think people with better soil and consistent moisture may have more luck with this. Bay is a tree, but I don't think it takes frost. Cinnamon comes from the bark of a tree, I don't think it grows in the US, it grows in India. Mints are easy to start from cuttings. The seed is very tiny and easier to grow if you have a greenhouse. Thanks for the advise! Do you have a separate bed for them or do you grow them with the veggies. This year I have basil with tomatoes and it would be nice to use the beds I have now. It is also easy for me to put oddball stuff in a corner here or there. Thanks again for the help! I really appreciate it! |
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Post by richardw on Jun 28, 2014 0:54:08 GMT -5
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