Thursday, June 29, 2006

Garden Quickie

Stopped by the garden after work today. Didn't have the camera with me - not much new to show.

The Rumbo pumpkin vines are easily three feet long already - longer and faster growing than anything else out there!

Counted about 30 baby squash that are starting to pick up some speed in their growth.

Got a lot of weeding done - some very systematic (all the onions) and some just here and there as I was checking things out. Doing a much better job of weeding this year than all the previous years! Makes me feel good!

I actually picked some beet greens today - THOUGHT I would cook 'em but we were lazy and ordered pizza, so I just wrapped 'em (and all the beautiful lettuce and the few radishes) in damp paper towels, bagged 'em, and threw 'em in the fridge. I'm looking forward to trying them, but since I'm not a big fan of bitter foods I'm a bit nervous. Not nervous like tasting something I don't like will ruin me forever, but nervous that I won't like the more mature taste.

Something's starting to snack on my cucumber leaves. One of the two varieties (Sweeter Yet) is DEFINITELY slower than the other (Sweet Success).

I see carrot leaves popping up all over - yay! Both down the middle of the onion rows, and between a section of squash and tomatoes.

Speaking of tomatoes, I'm sad to find two of my three Black from Tula's are getting VERY yellowy and wilty. Thinking of just sprinkling them with some fertilizer (10 10 10?) and seeing if that helps. Not sure what their problem is. I had the same thing happen with some of my tomatoes last year - in a different area of the garden. They do great for awhile, and then just fizzle and die. Did a little research online, but I don't recall if leaves are curling up or down, etc... Need to pay more attention.

Found some volunteer potatoes coming up under the onions, plus a couple volunteer tomato plants and what I THINK are volunteer tomatilloes - again, all in the onion patch. The tomatoes and tomatilloes would make sense - they were in that area last year. Potatoes were on the other side of the garden - plow must've moved 'em. Thinned out the tomatillo (or weed) sprouts and just left a few - will see what they develop into. I expected tomatillo volunteers - am just surprised it's only NOW that I'm seeing much of anything.

Some of the peppers have blooms - yay!

Tomatoes at the garden are just starting to get little green fruit.

Oh, and those red raspberries I was waiting to finish ripening here at home last week? Black. I forgot I had black raspberries two years ago. Thought they died last year. That must be them taking a year off as they died off in the pot but a runner hit the rock wall and came back up in a few spots along the hill the wall fades into. Heh heh - future owners here are going to love me!

9 comments:

Stunned Donor said...

Bummer about the tomatoes, but yellowing usually means an iron or magnesium deficieny. I think 10-10-10
would stress them out.

Jeph said...

So I should look for one of those in a supplement at the garden center you think? I saw similar notes about iron/magnesium after posting that entry...and I think I have to pay attention to which way the leaves are curling to nail it down.

Hopefully I'm not going to be too late to try to fix this.

Funny how I have the same garden spots each year, have supplemented the soil in past years, I till it, they plow it several times, and yet these "dead spots" still seem to move around the plot.

Stunned Donor said...

Those dead spots may be nothing more than the effects of a plant that was there the year before. Google "companion planting".

Stunned Donor said...

Since you're not gardening organically, a shot of Miracle-Gro should perk up those tomatoes. Unless you're Ohio's first case of tomato chlorosis virus, that is...*wicked laugh*

Farmgirl Susan said...

Ack! Why are you considering commercial chemical fertilizer when your garden is located on a horse farm! Manure, silly! :)

Stunned Donor said...

who's on a horse farm? Is that community garden on a horse farm?

Jeph said...

Yes, the community gardens are on a horse farm. That's another reason it's so weedy. They plow in tons of manure. And then in previous years I've carted over EXTRA manure (not knowing at the time that they were working it in as well). I wondered if the plants hit a hot spot in the manure - something that didn't get churned in - but I think it's all well composted. The stuff I loaded up in tubs to bring to my plot last year sure was. Only problem - I was informed that horses don't digest weed seeds like cattle do.

And so far I haven't used Miracle Gro or anything like that on my garden plots. I AM using it on the home flower beds though. I sin. :)

Stunned Donor said...

I only suggested miracle-gro because it has the minerals your plants seem to be craving. I would never use the stuff myself because it cause very rapid growth in seedlings and that brings on aphids and whiteflies.

I would be in heaven if I had a constant source of horse poo! Luckily, my cousin has just been hired on for security at a new horsetrack they're building here, I have great hopes for access to their poop!

Jeph said...

The horse farm that rents out the garden space will let ANYONE come along and take the stuff I think. You might check and see if you have anything similar in your area.