The Random Thoughts In My Head...: Garden

Mama's New Toy

Mama got a new toy this past weekend!

It's a dual barrel spinning compost bin! I've had a upright bin for many, many years. It's warped from the sun so the lid no longer fits. It is hard to stir the compost all the way through. The bottom door no longer lifts up to get to the beautiful black gold at the bottom.

Costco had these bins last week so I jumped on it as soon as I saw them. Bryan and I put it together. We decided to put the bin in the garden. I didn't want to lose the space, but it will be easier to just dump it onto the ground. We put it so the latches can be opened from outside the fence so I can dump the mini bin from the kitchen without going into the garden.

Yesterday I spent a couple of hours transferring the compost from the old bin to the new bins. Toward the bottom of the bin was this beautiful black gold. I spread it in the garden and will turn it in later this week.

I'm getting excited to start gardening. I have begun to uncover the things I mulched last fall... The raspberries are peaking through and so are the strawberries. It makes me nervous to start uncovering the mulch in case they get frozen in the next six weeks. It's happened before.

What are you going to plant in your garden?

6:00 AM
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Random Thoughts on Thursday

* Mmmmmmmmm. Guinness Cake. Yesterday we made Guinness cake for today. So. Funny story. At least it is funny now. It wasn't yesterday. Yesterday morning I fed the sourdough starter to make sourdough biscuits for dinner. I covered the bowl with plastic wrap and placed it in the oven. I"m not sure why except that is where I put all of my doughs to rest or rise. Except I turned on the oven to bake the Guinness cake. The plastic wrap melted all over the bowl and into the starter. The starter baked into the bowl. Maybe I'm not meant to be baking with sourdough...

* My parents dug up and thinned their rhubarb plant. They had 20 little rhubarb plants and they brought them to my house! I already have a ginormous rhubarb plant that probably needs to be thinned as well. I posted on Facebook and got a few hits. But then I posted it on Nextdoor.com and it got cleaned out within a few hours. It's pretty hardy stock, it was in their backyard when they bought their house. My parents bought their house 20 years ago and they bought the house from the estate of the people who built the house. It was funny how excited people were to get rhubarb. Apparently I've been taking it for granted!

Happy St. Patricks Day my friends. Be safe!

6:30 AM
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This Week In The Garden

Considering it was such a cool, wet May it's been pretty hot and dry the last couple of weeks and the ground is dry and cracked. The garden is fairly neglected at this point. I've just been so busy. I finally pulled the arugula and radishes since they had gone to seed. We ate as many radishes as we could. I'll plant more again around the end of August in hopes of a September harvest before is frosts (or snows). The eggplant is slow and I thought I lost it in June due to drowning, but it fought back. The head lettuce is look beautiful and we'll eat some this week for salads.

There are small cucumbers and green peppers. I'm itching to make gazpacho but we don't have any ripe tomatoes yet. The tomatoes are looking a little junglish right now. After last year when the tomatoes got so heavy they toppled the tomato towers I came up with a plan to trellis them. In my head it worked way better than it is currently working. If you have any suggestion for tomato towers for next summer, I'm all ears!

We haven't gotten any strawberries. Between a 4YO and Henley they've eaten all of the ripe ones. And some that weren't so ripe. There are perhaps five plums on our tree and no cherries. But the rhubarb is going gangbusters!

I know that's how it goes in gardening. Always a product of mother nature, but with a little TLC we'll have some goodies. Because there is nothing like walking out the back door to gather homegrown goodness for dinner!

6:30 AM
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New Beds

Bryan and I decided this past winter that we were going to plant grapes and raspberries. We have to find a place in the front yard to plant the grapes. Grapes are toxic to dogs. Something in grapes (and raisins) can cause kidney failure. Henley, the Goofy Newfie, eats strawberries out of the planter and apples & plums off of the tree, so I'm fairly certain he would eat grapes off of a vine. Granted Henley weighs 150 lbs and it might take quite a few grapes, we just don't want to take the chance. Anyhoo, we have to find a spot in the front yard that would be adequate to plant grapes.

Raspberries...we are getting some from a classmates parents garden. He researched varieties that grow well in the Colorado Front Range and now has many offshoots that he dug up. Since they spread (which is why he has so many to give away), we decided to build a raised bed.

We had some 2x6x8's in a stash pile. We also had some 4x4's in that same pile. We cut them in foot lengths to attach the boards to in the corners. The hubs had to go to HD to buy a couple of more boards so that we could finish. After we moved it into place an attached the end pieces, I lined the bottom with all of the newspapers we had in the recycle bin. Next I layered chicken coop poop and bedding and compost. I think we will have to go buy a load of dirt & compost to finishing filling the box. I've never gardened in raised beds before so I hope this little experiment doesn't go south on me...

9:12 PM
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No Apples Again

Two weeks ago we were sitting on the back patio talking about our fruit trees. I glanced over my shoulder to the cherry tree, which is FULL of cherries. I noticed the apple tree had some branches that were curling and turning brown. I immediately call my dad who used to work in Cooperative Extension and knows people who are in the know. His former co-worker (who is also my chicken guru) called back and told us we have fire blight.

Fire blight is a bacterial infection that affects apple, pear and crabapple trees. It can spread very quickly and if not contained can wipe out an entire orchard in a week! I now understand why so many commercial orchards spray their apples. I'm not saying I agree with that, just that I understand better. Our tree, while still alive and has apples, is basically dying.

Bryan did trim some of it our tree. He cut a huge part of the front of the tree. I was going to continue to trim the smaller branches. After each cut, the blades need to be dipped in a bleach and water solution which makes it a time consuming process. After looking at the poor tree today, we made the decision to cut it down now. Every branch is infected to some degree and we are not going to prolong the inevitable.

I am upset that we will lose our tree and that we will not have any apples again this year. There is a lady down the street that has a huge apple tree and always lets up pick her apples. According to our expert we will be able to plant another apple tree in the same place but not for another season. Which will give us time to research apple trees and find a variety that has some resistance the fire blight. Bryan is now campaigning for a peach tree, but with the randomness of our springs here we'd get peaches less than we get apples, but we'll see.

9:28 PM
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Garden Update #1

This post should probably read as a potato tower fail. I saw this wonderful potato tower on pintrest and thought how easy it would be to build. And grow so many more potatoes than I have in the past. I couldn't have been more wrong. The first tower I built out of old chicken wire was huge. I had to buy a couple of bags of dirt and compost to mix in with my existing dirt and compost. And the chicken wire holes were too big so once I cut out the holes for the potatoes to grow out of none of the dirt stayed in.

So I built a smaller potato tower and used smaller holed chicken wire. I transferred the dirt and had the same problem. Once I cut small holes to plant the potatoes in all the dirt came tumbling out.

So, I went back to my old standby...the grow bag from Gardeners Supply Company. My potatoes are growing gangbusters. We'll see if I actually get any potatoes when I dig them up!

We've got these wonderful planter boxes that border out backyard patio. A couple of years ago I decided to fill them with strawberries. So far we've not had good luck. Last spring they were all frozen from a late spring frost (even with a thick layer of protective mulch). I replanted last spring and three plants made it through this past winter. My parents dug up some of their runner plants and we have, once again, filled our planter boxes. The only detriment to getting strawberries this year will be a certain three year old named Corrine.

This is Corrine's cutting garden. It's on the edge by her playhouse and she waters it and I'm hoping she'll be able to cut some flowers soon because she certainly likes to pick them and bring them in. Not that there's anything wrong with that!

5:31 PM
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Sweet Peas

When we cleaned out the laundry room last summer I found a bag of seeds. The majority of them were sweet pea seeds. Sweet Peas are one of my favorite flowers. (I have a lot of favorites). Their scent is just that. Sweet. And look at those colors. Aren't those beautiful? Now is the time to plant sweet peas. They like the colder temperatures and can be planted as soon as the soil can be worked.

So my little helper and I set out to get these seeds ready. I cut open the packages and my assistant poured them into a plastic cup. Sweet peas have a hard coating and for better germination should be soaked over night. We had a couple of varieties of seeds- long climbing plants and a container variety. The climbing ones were all different colors and we mixed those in the glass to soak.

We will plant these seeds of Friday. Fingers crossed they actually come up. Did I mention the seed is old? Most of the packages were from 2005 and ten or so were from 2006. I planted cucumbers last year from 2005 seed and some of them came up. It will be interesting to see what the germination rate is on almost ten year old seed! I bet some seeds sprout and we'll have beautiful flowers on our fence.

6:00 AM
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Peeking...

Spring is close. Oh so close. Everywhere I look there are signs of spring. Rhubarb is peeking through the dirt. Tulips are springing up. And the strawberries are coming up through their protective mulch. Even the weeds are sprouting EVERYWHERE!

We started digging in the garden today. Corrine and I. She looked for her worm family. Mama turned some wet compacted clay soil. It amazes me that after so many years of amendment and compost there is still so much clay. She was excited to plant some seeds. I had to disappoint her and tell her we weren't quite ready.

But we're getting close!

5:41 PM
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Fall Time

It is most definitely fall! I love this time of year. It has most certainly gotten colder. Right now it is only 36 degrees out. We may hit 40 today. In light of the much colder (than last week) temperatures it is time. Time to change the bedding from the cool summer bedspread to the warm winter down comforter. Time to get out the kitties box. It is an old fruit box lined with a wool blanket. It sits in front of the heater vent in the dining room. They are happy little kitties now. Time to put away the shorts and get out the jeans and long sleeve shirts and sweaters. Yay, it's sweater weather.

The leaves are dropping here in town. The maple tree in the front yard is turning a pretty shade of red. Up in the mountains a lot of the leaves just turned brown and fell. Too much rain in the last month plus some early season cold and snow.

For the most part the garden has been put to bed for the winter. We'll leave the carrots and dig them as we need them. I'll use the leaf blower/vacuum and suck up the leaves to spread in the garden. Then I just need to spread some compost on the garden and rototill it in. I love working outside in the cool weather!

11:35 AM
4 Comments

Pie Pumpkins

Note to self: always write down what is planted where.

I have 62 New England Pumpkin Pie pumpkins, 2 (rather small and mostly still green) Jack o Lantern pumpkins and no butternut squash.

What does one do with 62 pie pumpkins? Give them all away, of course. Why, you ask? Because hubby and I don't like pumpkin anything. Corrine might like it, but she won't get it here.

I have started baking them down for some people who want pumpkin and won't do it themselves or don't know how. Even though it's super easy...I just cut the pumpkin in half, clean out the pumpkin guts, put each half upside down in a baking dish, pour water in the dish and bake in the oven at 375 until it's soft. Then I scoop it out and puree it in the food processor. I'm also going to bake down some pumpkins for my food swap next week.

I may have to put some on neighboring front porches (with a note on how to prepare it), ring the door bell and run like crazy!

5:37 PM
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This Week in the Garden- - September 17

This past week was a rough week in the garden. Last Monday it hailed, and while we had enough pea sized hail to cover the yard, we were lucky. A mile west of us had a foot of hail. They had to get out the plows! The big leafed plants did not fair well. This obliterated plant was a cucumber. I picked the last of the cucumbers and pulled up the plant. The squash and zucchini don't look much better. I haven't pulled them just yet since there are a couple of blossoms left. I've got my fingers crossed that they become something.

The pumpkins and kale didn't fair any better.

But at least there are some pumpkins turning orange. I'll wait a while to pull those.

And while everything got a little beat up, for the most part we are still enjoying the bounty! This is more potatoes than we've gotten in the last two years combined and I haven't finished digging them up.

The tomatoes will become sauce. We'll probably just eat the cucumbers as salad.

Usually this is a busy time of year in the garden, but everything has been slow this year. With the crazy weather we've had, it's more important to watch the weather and know when to get out the frost blankets for those straggler veggies!

2:51 PM
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The Bucket

Buckets have so many uses. But in our house this bucket has two very important uses-- pet water dish and garden watering. The bucket lives in our bathroom tucked into a corner next to the vanity.

I got my bucket almost ten years ago when I went to the home and garden show. It is from Denver Water. The idea behind the bucket is this: put the bucket in your bathtub and when you turn the water on to get warm for your shower, the water fills the bucket instead of going down the drain. Then you can use the bucket of water to water plants and pets, mop the floor, or wash the car. You get the idea.

Our house was built in 1946 and it takes a gallon of water minimum (and that's if you are the second shower) to get hot water flowing to the tub. The bucket holds a little over two gallons of water. I have used this bucket daily to water pots of flowers, plants, roses, the garden and grass. It's not a lot but I know the water doesn't get wasted. Plus the dogs and cats drink out of it. Why on earth would they drink out of their respective water bowls when the communal bucket works just fine?

Shared: Independence Day Challenge

6:00 AM
3 Comments

Definitely Pumpkins

About six weeks ago I posted about some plants coming up that I wasn't sure what they were going to be. Fast forward to today. I know now they are pumpkins. But what kind?

I'm fairly certain they are New England Pumpkin Pie Pumpkins. They aren't very big and if they were Jack O Lantern Pumpkins then they should be much larger. I think this particular plant might be more than one seed. I had planted some seed and it never came up so I replanted it. Then I had the sprinkler system fixed and now it is getting regular watering. I hope it is more than one seed. Can you imagine if it was only one seed planted and the plant got to be this huge? It's taking over that section of the backyard. It's like that kids book The Great Green Turkey Creek Monster.

8:25 AM
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Freezing Rhubarb

The rhubarb plant was taking over. I decided it was time to fill the freezer of rhubarb for pies and muffins this winter. (I really must do a better job of taking before and after shots). Before I pulled some rhubarb I could not get to the compost bin. And that is how much is left of the plant!

C and I trimmed the leaf end outside and then went inside to wash the stalk and trim the other end of the stalk. I cut the rhubarb into half inch chunks and put them into a large bowl. Then I dug out my handy dandy sealer and put 3 cups of chunked rhubarb into each bag and sealed them up.

I've always done 3 cups per bag because it has seemed like a good starting point for recipes. When the bags of rhubarb are defrosted, there is a lot of moisture. I usually snip a hole in the corner of the bag and then squeeze out the excess liquid. That method has always worked for me. I'm not sure if there is a better or easier way. If anyone has some experience with that I'm open to suggestions.

Shared: Independence Day Challenge.

5:54 PM
4 Comments

The Garden This Week- - Aug 9th

We've had some unseasonably cool weather here in the Denver area. Like in the 60's and 70's. It's nice for the people and big black dogs. My garden however... those heat loving tomatoes are not sure what is going on. This little tomato is a volunteer from last year. It is growing in the area that we referred to as the "tomato jungle" so I'm not sure what kind of tomato it will turn out to be. Right now it is growing gangbusters while some of the others are just blah. I'm a little concerned that I won't have ripe tomatoes for tomato sauce. And that just scares me.

volunteer tomato

We did finally get some broccoli. I think the cool weather has helped with that. The cucumbers are coming in as well. Our first lemon cucumbers are growing and we are anticipating munching on them!

lemon cucumber

This past week I pulled the rest of the beets and pickled them. Hubby loves his pickled beets and that is the only reason they are growing in the garden. The bibb lettuce bolted ages ago, but I've left in the garden to pick for the chickies as an evening treat.

8:44 AM
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This Week in the Garden {July 12}

So many things are coming up now, things that I planted weeks (even months) ago. I have replanted my carrots three times and they are finally starting to sprout. And the funny thing is, while we eat carrots, we buy them. These planted carrots are for the dogs.

I planted giant Jack O Lantern pumpkins, New England pumpkin pie pumpkins and a butternut squash. They are planted in various spots around the back yard so they can spread and grow. The problem, at least right now, is that I'm not sure what is what. I didn't label the plants.

This little plant was planted TWO MONTHS AGO! And it just sprouted! I think it is the butternut squash because it is planted in the smallest of the three places.

I think this one is the Jack O Lantern pumpkin. And I think that because it is in a larger out of the way space. It was also planted two months ago, but it sprouted about three weeks ago.

So by default this one would be the New England pumpkin pie pumpkin. And look at how much bigger this one is.

It will be interesting to see what each of these plants really is. And I hope that given their very late start they have time to actually grow.

6:00 AM
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In The Garden: June 28

Last Saturday I watered the garden to try out my new drip hoses. I forgot to turn it off when we left to go to a BBQ. Oops. The tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers had a good drink.

This week consisted of pulling up the radishes that bolted. It was funny though, there wasn't much to those radishes below ground. They were white icicle radishes and instead of a veggie, it looked like a long, white taproot. We are still eating the french breakfast and the easter egg radishes. I had to replant the carrots. They just weren't coming up. Their new home is where the radishes were. We are still eating lettuce in salads and spinach and kale in smoothies. Although neither of those plants has been spectacular this year.

west side

The tomatoes are growing nicely. I'm hoping to not have a jungle of tomatoes like I had last year. That made it so hard to pick them and a lot of them rotted on the plant. I thought I read someplace that you are supposed to prune off the lowest branches on the tomato plant, that it is supposed to send more energy to the flower/tomato than to the leaves...Does anyone know about this? Have you done that?

East side

So far (knock on wood) the potatoes look great. They are growing in a fabric bucket. I've used it before and have not had great results. Which is more on the gardener than it is on the bucket. This year, I've kept them watered and had added dirt to the bucket once a week. I'm hoping to have more than 8 marble size potatoes.

potatoes

It still seems to me that things are growing very slowly (except the weeds) this year. This week has been hot, 90's hot. But it's a dry heat. I have spent the last week digging up some dandelion sort of weed. It's either that or a knapweed type of plant. Nevertheless, it is annoying and was getting ready to bloom and go to seed. And let's not even talk about the bindweed that comes from my neighbors yard. Ugh.

Happy digging this week!

1:23 PM
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A Rose...

...is a rose is a rose.

The roses are a jungle, but a beautiful one. I only got a handful of them pruned before they had buds. I can't help but smell them every time I walk by.

6:00 AM
5 Comments