The Master Plan 2011

Layout

Instead of rows this year, I'm doing beds and making them densely packed.  I'm also doing a smaller garden this year.  A total of 4 beds side by side, 2 feet wide by 12 feet long, with 3 feet of hardwood mulched path between each bed and around the garden.

Watering

This year, instead of soaker hoses, I'm using sprinklers.  The soaker hoses break and leak too easily, don't lay exactly where you want them, and only water a narrow area.  Some parts get soaked, some stay dry, and it takes just long enough to water that you forget to turn the water off in time to avoid flooding the garden.  Soaker hoses beat hand watering, but I wanted to try an alternative this year.  Since a single sprinkler doesn't quite cover the full garden area, I'm using 2 sprinklers.  One between the first two beds and the other between the last two beds.  It seems to be quick, easy, and effective so far, with the only downside being that the placement of the sprinklers needs to be adjusted based on wind speed and direction at watering time.

Fencing

So I thought the fence didn't do much last year because the rabbits could squeeze through and hop over.  However, since the peas, spinach, and lettuce have already been decimated this year and I've been forced to replant, I am seriously rethinking my no fence decision.  Stay tuned.

Companions

In Bed 1 we have a double row of peas (1/2 pound Early Frosty, in keeping with tradition) climbing a 12 foot long section of (ironically) rabbit fencing.  On either side of this double row is spinach, planted about 4" apart in each direction to fill the bed, and with beets and turnips interspersed.  I planted this year's Bloomsdale Longstanding (one packet was not enough) on one side of the fence and last year's Melody Hybrid on the other.  Beets are Baby Ball and turnips are last year's Purple Top White Globe.

In Bed 2 we have half the bed devoted to zucchini (Garden Spineless) to be interplanted with nasturtium, and the other half of the bed reserved for bush lima beans.  I went with Fordhook 242 (1/2 pound), although it was a close call between those and the Burpees Improved Bush variety.

Beds 3 and 4 each have two rows of corn (Argent, rows 1 foot apart), intermingled with head lettuce and leafy greens.

Bed 3 includes Paris Island Cos Romaine (transplanted) and Swiss Chard (Large Ribbed Dark Green, direct sown).

Bed 4 includes Buttercrunch (transplanted) and Mesclun Salad Mix (1500 seed packet containing arugula, endive, buttercrunch, black seeded simpson, grand rapids, and prizehead lettuce), with a few feet devoted to last year's collards instead of mesclun.

And in the flower bed out front, surrounding the trees, I planted strawberries.  24 plants of the Everbearing Quinault variety.  Purchased cheaply as roots from Wal-Mart.

Asparagus

The asparagus are on! 

We've had asparagus soup already, as well as a new recipe.  Rather than boil or steam the asparagus and serve with cheese sauce, I fried it up in butter with onion, garlic, salt, and pepper.  Yum!  Today Ann did some in the oven with olive oil, salt, and pepper - another winner. 

So far all but one of our stalks has come from the asparagus we started a few years ago, and only one stalk from the plants we planted last fall.  But I suppose that's to be expected.  Looking forward to lots more asparagus this season!

Tree Update

The peach tree bloomed beautifully recently.  It's really taken off recently and seems to be thriving.

The dogwood we planted last year has shown no signs of life since last year, so we're discussing replacing it.

The Norway spruce seedlings we planted last year are clearly long gone.  They were shipped at the wrong time for planting so we didn't expect much from them.  However, Ann got some free Norway Spruces for Earth Day last week and there happened to be exactly the right number we needed to replant, so we did.  Here's hoping second time's the charm!

Spring Planting Timeline 2011

The spring planting season has only recently begun and I'm already behind on recording the details.  Here's a recap so far.

March 21:  Planted peas, spinach, turnips (experimenting with earlier than recommended), and beets (earlier than recommended) in a single 2' x 12' bed.  Started first batch of Romaine and Buttercrunch head lettuce indoors.

April 9:  Peas were sprouting.  Filled in gaps in peas, beets, and turnips.  Transplanted first batch of head lettuce.

April 21: Spinach and peas were ravaged by rabbits.  Replanted both.  Sowed leaf lettuce, swiss chard, corn, and zucchini.  Still early for corn and zucchini but extended forecast calls for no frost between now and May 1.

April 23: The rabbits moved on to devour most of the head lettuce.  Perhaps I need to reconsider my decision to skip the fence this year.

Apparently I forgot to note down exactly when I started the second batch of head lettuce (sometime after March 21 and before April 9), or when I transplanted them (sometime between April 9 and April 21).  Oh well.  Things are going well so far, aside from the rabbit damage.

Busy Garden Week

Tuesday I spent 2 hours in the heat of the day weeding the part of the spinach and pea row where the rabbits have taken care of the peas, and I've decided is the best place for the lima beans to go.  The rush is that I just realized the lima beans will need to go in the ground soon.  They're about ready whenever the spot is ready.  Which means buying posts and hanging the concrete wire Bill had left over from his bean support system.

I wound up with sunburn on my thighs and on what would be the tramp stamp area from weeding bent over for two hours in the midday sun.  This serves as a good reminder that sunblock goes everywhere.

Then Dave came home early and had time to work with me in the garden.  We added mushroom soil, store bought topsoil, and slow release fertilizer to the new flower bed we're making out front.  Then we (meaning my man-beast) tilled the flower bed to be and the area of my veggie garden where the corn goes.  There was also weed whacking and lawn mowing that went on.

Today (Thursday), I planted all 4 rows of corn and Matthew helped me.  He played with the dog, he watered his feet, and he played in the new sandbox Dave built, among other interesting activities.  The nearer half of the rows are planted with the earlier variety of corn (Seneca Snowshoe) and the farther halves have Argent which matures later.

Did I mention there's a dogwood tree temporarily residing in my veggie garden?  Yeah, it belongs in the flower bed to be out front.  It's sitting where the melons will go while they grow a bit in their peat pots.  The cantaloupe and honeydew are all up, and I just thinned them to one per cup.  And the first melon is peeking out of the dirt today, hopefully followed by at least one per cup in the other three cups.  :)

I have some spare tomatoes and eggplants, and some basil and oregano still upstairs too.  Everything, except maybe the oregano is about ready to be transplanted to a bigger pot... if not to the great outdoors.  Those basil are getting big and beautiful (relatively speaking).

Flower Pot & Strawberry Pot

It has come to my attention I've been negligent in blogging about some recent plantings.

1 - A strawberry planter that is thriving.

2 - My first large scale flower pot.  It contains pink geraniums, purple wave petunias, and diamond frost euphorbia all in an 18-inch diameter blue glazed pot that we got on sale last fall.

I love how both are turning out, and can't wait to harvest some strawberries.  Here's a picture of the flowers.

Early Planting

So, it's been warm, and the eggplant & parsley seedlings looked like they really wanted to go play in the garden, so I planted them yesterday. And staked the tomatoes. And planted some marigold seeds near the tomatoes & eggplants.

Today I decided it was time to plant some generic-no-name zucchini and yellow straight neck squash seeds in hills. And a bunch of nasturtium flowers in the hope of fending off the squash bugs this year. Also some basil and oregano from seed between zucchini hills.

The cantaloupes and honeydews are sprouting already, and some of the limas, but the watermelons haven't yet. Still time. And oops, I've mixed up which pots have cantaloupes and which have honeydews, so I guess I'll just have to see which plants grow which. It'll be a surprise.

That leaves the melons and lima beans to transplant and the corn to plant. Corn should be any day now. Just need to till up that area again first. Then the fall crop.

I've gotten a bit ahead of myself in outdoor planting, but so far I've been very fortunate that we haven't had late frosts. Here's hoping I don't come to regret the early plantings yet....

Melons & Beans

I just started my watermelons, cantaloupes, honeydew, and pole lima beans in peat pots yesterday evening. Can't wait to see them take off. But hopefully not too much before it's time for them to go outside. :)

Tomatoes and More

Both batches of tomato seedlings got so big so fast that the first was starting to wilt and the second was almost as big but not yet wilting. I decided I needed to start another batch just in case, and plant my tomato plants in the garden way early. So Sunday I started some more tomato and eggplant seedlings, as well as some basil and oregano seedlings. I also transplanted some lettuce Ann gave me, and filled in some gaps in the rows of peas with fresh seed.

Then yesterday evening, I planted a dozen tomato plants in the garden. I've filled some milk cartons with water and sat them near the plants to act as a heat sink to collect heat during the day and release it at night. I'm collecting more milk cartons so that if a frost is coming I can cover each tomato plant, and I need to get tomato stakes soon.

It has just gotten to be time I could start my melons, but now I'm paranoid about starting seedlings too early, so I'll probably wait a bit.

Spring Gardening Update

On Friday, March 19, I re-tilled a row in the garden (did it myself - what a workout!), laid a soaker hose, planted peas and spinach along the soaker hose, and installed the same pea supports I used last year - nylon mesh supported with rebar and plastic ties.

Then on Saturday, March 20, I repotted a bunch of eggplant and tomato seedlings from teeny pots to 3" peat pots. In peat pots now I have a dozen tomatoes and half a dozen eggplants. Plus some extras still in the small pots as backups until I need the space under the grow light. And some to give to Ann.

Today I repotted the parsley that have sprouted into slightly larger pots, and separated a few that came up with multiples in the same pot. I now have 8 parsley seedlings.

Besides maintaining what's already been planted, my next step will be to start some watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydew seedlings directly in peat pots sometime between April 10 and May 1.

I'm debating whether to start basil, oregano, marigolds, and nasturtium inside or whether to directly sow into the garden. While all four can be directly sown outside, I had intended to start some inside, but it's looking like there may not be room under the grow light for them what with tomatoes, eggplant, parsley, and melons taking up all the space. To be determined.

Seeds and Seedlings

We took the pilgrimage to Rohrer Seeds in Pennsylvania on Tuesday. I picked up all the seeds I wanted. Ann and I will share her packet of zucchini seeds and my packet of Italian tomato seeds.

That morning, I decided to add pole beans to the roster. I'll split a row between herbs and pole beans after the peas and spinach clear out.

I also decided to grow Melody Hybrid Spinach instead of Bloomsdale Long Standing Spinach because I prefer the kind that is more smooth and less ruffled. The pictures on the packets made this clearer than the descriptions did.

Instead of Amish Paste tomatoes, I decided to go with San Marzano tomatoes, described as the original Italian paste variety. The authenticity appeals to me for making spaghetti sauce. I've been really enjoying the homemade spaghetti sauce I canned last year. Inconveniently most of my batches of spaghetti seem to take 1.5 quarts instead of an even 1 or 2. I'm considering making batches of pints this year instead so it'll take an even 3 jars.

On the trip, I also bought 2 dozen purple pansies to line the front walkway. I'm gradually hardening them off between the garage at night and outdoors in the sunlight during parts of the day.

This afternoon, during Matthew's naptime, I started some seedlings: 27 tomatoes, 9 eggplant, and 9 parsley. Some of the tomatoes I'll share with Ann, and some are extras in case they don't all sprout. I'm using a plastic Jiffy Greenhouse that has 72 tiny cells, probably an inch across each. Because they're so small, I'll need to transplant the plants to other pots later, probably peat pots. But in the case of the tomatoes at least, that'll make for stronger plants, because I can bury some of the stem each time they get transplanted and produce more roots.

It should be time to plant peas and spinach in a few weeks, but I heard today the Farmer's Almanac is calling for a worse March than January and February. That would be impressive considering the blizzards we've had already this year. We shall see.

All in all, a good week for the garden so far. Total seed price: $43.95

Seed Shopping List

I've been scouring the Rohrer Seed catalog in anticipation of the annual pilgrimage to their shop in Pennsylvania. Following is my current shopping list. All the seeds I need for the 2010 garden with the exception of the basil, oregano, and parsley seeds I've already bought from Lowes.

Corn	1/4 pound	Seneca Snowshoe	$5.79
	1/4 pound	Argent	$4.59
Melons	pkt	Ambrosia	$2.99
	pkt	Earli-Dew	$2.99
	pkt	Bush Jubilee	$0.99
Squash	pkt	Black Beauty Zucchini	$0.99
Eggplants	pkt	Long Purple	$1.69
Peas	1 pound	Early Frosty	$4.99
Spinach	1 oz	Bloomsdale Long Standing Melody Hybrid	$1.99 $3.99
Tomatoes	pkt	Amish Paste San Marzano	$1.79 $1.59
Nasturtium	1/2 oz	Whirly Bird	$5.99
Marigolds	pkt	Spry Boy	$1.99
Turnips	pkt	Purple Top White Globe	$0.99
Beets	pkt	Baby Ball	$2.79
Pole Beans	2 oz	King of the Garden	$1.99

From Lowes I already bought Ferry-Morse Oregano, Sweet Basil, and Plain or Single Parsley. I've started some indoors under my new grow light. Perhaps I'll be able to harvest some before the outdoor garden even gets started and freeze it in ice cube trays with a little water or oil for use in spaghetti sauce later. I've seen recommendations of 2 Tbsp olive oil to 1 cup of herbs. I'll grow some of these herbs in the garden too.

Edit 3/4/2010: I changed my mind about the varieties of Spinach and Tomatoes, and decided to add Pole Beans to the garden. The edits have been added to the table above.

Planning the Garden Schedule & Layout for 2010

Here's a rough outline of things to do for the garden and when to do them:

• Till the cover crop under - ideally mid-February, but definitely no later than mid-April. If you wait until planting time to till it under, the rotting plant matter will inhibit germination of the seeds. The mid-February target gives 4 weeks of rotting time before the peas and spinach get planted in mid-March. If the snowy weather prevents this, tilling it all up when I plant the peas and spinach should give plenty of rotting time before the warmer season veggies get planted.
• Start tomatoes & eggplants indoors - March 1 - April 1 suits both plants. Eggplant can get started as early as 2/15.
• Plant peas and spinach - March 15 - May 1, aiming early around St. Patrick's Day so I can reuse the row for herbs and bug-deterring flowers.
• Start melons, herbs & flowers inside - April 10 - May 1.
• Sow Corn May 15 - June 1.
• Sow warm season veggies (eggplants, tomatoes, melons, zucchini, herbs & flowers) outside - May 20 - June 20.
• Edit: Sow lima beans outside - June 1 - July 15.
• Fall turnips and beets - July 20 - August 15.
  

And here's a rough layout for the garden, in 8 rows from left to right:

• 4 rows corn with an early variety near the house and a later variety further away; the early variety may be replaced with turnips & beets in the fall. Because of the arrangement of the irrigation hoses, it'd be easier to re-till the closer part of the rows without disturbing the hoses too much than the further part.
• A row of cantaloupe, honeydew, and bush watermelon. I should be able to fit 4 of each type in a row.
• A row of zucchini and eggplants, possibly interplanted with herbs (basil, oregano, parsley) and bug-deterring flowers (marigolds and nasturtium).
• A row of peas and spinach to be replaced by herbs (basil, oregano, parsley) and bug-deterring flowers (marigolds and nasturtium) when done producing.
• Italian tomatoes for making sauce - 12 plants.

Note: I chose 8 rows because I can water all 8 rows with a hose splitter at the garden spigot connected to two hoses carrying water to the garden. At the garden, each of the two hoses is split with a hose splitter and connected to two drip hoses long enough to water two rows each. More rows would complicate irrigation. Fewer would limit the varieties I can grow.

End of the Season

Yesterday Dave and I prepared the garden for winter. We removed the fence, hoses, supports, and weed control fabric and mowed the weeds. Then we added maybe a dozen bags total of compost, humus, and manure to increase the organic content of the soil. We also added half a bag of pelleted lime (20 lbs) to raise the pH of the soil because last spring's soil test suggested that and we never got around to it before. Next, we tilled it all in, going over everything twice to mix it well, and raked a bunch of remaining weeds out with a grate pulled by a tractor. Finally we spread a bag of "Garden Blanket" over everything and watered the whole area. Garden blanket is a mix of enough crimson clover and alpowa wheat seed for a 3,000 square foot area. It's designed as a cover crop. I got it at Kingstown garden store for around $10. The clover will fix nitrogen as it grows and both clover and wheat will help aerate the ground and keep wind and rain from washing away my good topsoil over the winter. Then in spring, I'll till it all under, providing extra organic matter for the growing season. I need to read up to double check how early I need to till it under so the decaying organic matter doesn't inhibit germination, but on whole it should really help improve the soil.

Tomatoes, Watermelon, ... and Doves

Yesterday was opening day for dove season here in Maryland, and I harvested 6 with my 20 guage shotgun. That's double my previous personal best. On top of that, it was a perfect day for sitting outside in a corn and sunflower field for four hours: nice breeze, beautiful skies, not too hot or cold.

And, when we got done, since I was already outfitted for tall grass with plenty of tick protection and planning a thorough de-ticking (actually didn't find any which surprised me), I harvested my second big batch of Italian tomatoes. Yes, they are rather overgrown with weeds... thus the relevance of the tick protection. But the great part is, I harvested around 400 tomatoes - two big dishpans full. Tomorrow it'll be a big squeezo-ing, spaghetti sauce-ing, and canning day for me. I expect I'll probably get 3 gallons or more juice out of them for another 6 or more quarts of spaghetti sauce. A good tomato year. :)

Today I watered everything and miracle-growed the watermelons. Also picked two gorgeous watermelons. The one I got earlier was 14 pounds. The ones from today were 17.2 pounds and 12.6 pounds. Best of all, there are still six more out there that I can see: two small and still growing, two medium, and two large almost ready to pick (the tendrils are beginning to dry out, but aren't quite there yet). I love watermelon, but I'm glad they're spacing themselves out a bit so we can enjoy them over a longer time period. And I still see some flowers, so who knows, there may be even more in the future. :)

Harvesting Tomatoes and Watermelon

Last Tuesday I harvested 230 tomatoes. Thursday I squashed them into more than 3 gallons of tomato juice, and Friday I made and canned spaghetti sauce. I got 6 quart jars of spaghetti sauce total. And today there are a bunch more ripe tomatoes. Didn't get a chance to pick them yet though.

Today I harvested my first ripe watermelon. It was fourteen pounds and super delicious. I'm saving some seeds, though I'll have to do some research on whether watermelon can cross pollinate with zucchini or pumpkin, and whether the cantaloupes Ann grew are close enough to cross pollinate with my watermelon. I see 7 more watermelons out there. At least one looks ripe, with the curly tendrils turning brown. The others look like they need at least a little more time. Can't wait to eat more watermelon!

Peas and Spinach

About a third of the row of peas came up beautifully. The other 2/3 came up sporadically. Today, I planted peas in some of the gaps and spinach in others.

Why peas and spinach together? It seemed as good a place for the spinach as any (already tilled and all). Just now I checked to see if they're recommended companion plants, and it seems they are. The peas provide shade for the spinach. And I'd think the spinach might keep down weeds at the base of the peas. We'll see how they do together. If they do well, I may take to planting them together intentionally in the future, not just as an afterthought. :)

Harvesting Corn and Planting Peas

I got an excellent crop of corn this year. We harvested Seneca Snowshoe July 17-25 and froze a bunch on the 25th. Then we harvested the Argent from July 26-August 4 and froze the remainder on the 4th (yesterday). Snowshoe was ripe right on schedule, but Argent was earlier than expected and we finished harvesting later than we probably should have. Snowshoe was bug free and beautiful, and the earlier harvested Argent were likewise, but some of the last ones were kind of buggy. Overall, a wonderful success!

Same day I harvested the last of the corn and cut down the stalks, I also planted a bunch of peas. They should take around 63 days to mature, putting harvest time around the 6th of October... shortly before the first frost slated for (if I recall correctly) mid-October. On one hand I wonder if I'm too late and on the other I wonder if I'm too early. But it's a good experiment. :)

Squash Bugs

I have identified the pests that are attacking my zucchini and volunteer pumpkin plants. I've seen all the stages, but didn't realize they were all related. Here's some info about the evil Squash Bug:

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/GARDEN/VEGES/PESTS/squashbug.html

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/M1208.html

Sadly, from what I've read, it seems the best defense may be a good offense. That is, I have to go out hunting and squashing. Yuck!

Veggie Garden Update

Recent additions to the veggie garden include:

2 Japanese Eggplants
14 Roma Tomatoes
2 Large Red Tomatoes
2 Large Yellow Tomatoes
Basil
Oregano

I've also started thinning the corn. It's not easy throwing out such beautiful healthy plants, but I know it'll help the other ones grow better.