Sunday, February 16, 2014
3 Minutes of Birds
February and finally a deliciously warm day....and for those of you snowed in...this is your yard in the near future...
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Adjust....Adapt!
Wanting to begin this post with the positives, I have to say that our CSA members really shined through perhaps our most difficult season last year.
Every year presents different challenges and opportunities and I considered last year to be a learning event. Among lessons learned;
This is not to say that last year was a failure, but after such an awesome garden in years prior, we had very high expectations for 2013. For one thing, we completed installation of a drip irrigation system which, as it turns out, is not much use when it rains 2 inches every weekend for a month and a half (we never even turned it on).
Last year was particularly mild, setting up for an unusually wet spring. This year's cold weather pattern, I believe, will yield to the type of spring we are accustomed to, and the hard freezes will knock back pests and weeds that are not usually perennial, but manage to live through our recent mild winters. The pear and fig trees will appreciate the dormancy.
We are making a few changes this year - increasing the herb beds, changing our mulching methods, moving crops, and working hard to make the high tunnels produce the way they were expected to. This brings me to the $1 tomato seeds, and the trailer load of crushed pine bark parked in the driveway. One of the high tunnels is being geared to by-the-book (or Greenhouse Tomato Culture) tomato production. We will be building raised beds and utilizing high-quality greenhouse tomato stock and drip irrigation to attempt to duplicate the kind of results that can be achieved in this type of growing environment. It will mean a little more trouble and some additional equipment and new techniques. We will utilize integrated pest management and do this with no chemical pesticides. I consider tomatoes to be the bedrock of a successful garden. Last year's late, wet, spring caused damage to the tomatoes and this year I am determined to produce an abundance.
So as we finish ordering our seeds, start flats of tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and early season vegetables and herbs, send out emails to our past and new CSA members, we renew our enthusiasm, raise our hopes, and make adjustments, fully expecting this season to be the best ever.
C'mon spring!
- high tunnel greenhouses, which in this environment offer great protection from heavy rains, can, and do flood and will smother plants (solution - raised beds of well-draining growing media);
- a tractor-mounted tiller, while a miracle implement, must be used sparingly during exceedingly wet springs lest it overly compact the soil;
- corn can be planted in flats and transplanted into the mud when all else fails, but, don't ever underestimate the raccoons (solution here was to buy electric netting, as the deer fence just won't keep them out);
- and, I believe that winter oats can actually rob the soil of nitrogen early in the season as the woody stems break down.
This is not to say that last year was a failure, but after such an awesome garden in years prior, we had very high expectations for 2013. For one thing, we completed installation of a drip irrigation system which, as it turns out, is not much use when it rains 2 inches every weekend for a month and a half (we never even turned it on).
This year I am taking the unusually cold winter as an omen for a great spring.
Last year was particularly mild, setting up for an unusually wet spring. This year's cold weather pattern, I believe, will yield to the type of spring we are accustomed to, and the hard freezes will knock back pests and weeds that are not usually perennial, but manage to live through our recent mild winters. The pear and fig trees will appreciate the dormancy.
We are making a few changes this year - increasing the herb beds, changing our mulching methods, moving crops, and working hard to make the high tunnels produce the way they were expected to. This brings me to the $1 tomato seeds, and the trailer load of crushed pine bark parked in the driveway. One of the high tunnels is being geared to by-the-book (or Greenhouse Tomato Culture) tomato production. We will be building raised beds and utilizing high-quality greenhouse tomato stock and drip irrigation to attempt to duplicate the kind of results that can be achieved in this type of growing environment. It will mean a little more trouble and some additional equipment and new techniques. We will utilize integrated pest management and do this with no chemical pesticides. I consider tomatoes to be the bedrock of a successful garden. Last year's late, wet, spring caused damage to the tomatoes and this year I am determined to produce an abundance.
So as we finish ordering our seeds, start flats of tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and early season vegetables and herbs, send out emails to our past and new CSA members, we renew our enthusiasm, raise our hopes, and make adjustments, fully expecting this season to be the best ever.
C'mon spring!
Getting Excited About Spring
...EVEN as the sleet piles up outside, and we are destined to spend one more day housebound. Will wants to post about the upcoming season and hopefully will do so tonight; in the meantime, we've been talking about seed ordering....(ask Will about his $1 a seed tomato order -yikes) and we have made some changes out near the garden to put in more herb beds this year. All of this makes me think about Tulsi...I grew all 4 kinds of Tulsi for tea last year and had a special bed dedicated to it. But I made the grand mistake of not planning well, and running out of room before the Kapoor was ready...and it had to be relegated to the back of an herb row by the greenhouses. so sad. In a way, I feel like I am supposed to like them all equally -I have no idea why. But in fact, I love the Kapoor so very much. They all have their special traits, but the Kapoor (the only one that is African in origin) has the sweetest, most amazing smell and taste. There will be much, much tulsi basil in our future (and that includes all of the CSA members). I'll go about my business on this very cold night -=and dream of warm days and herb beds.....
Krishna (very prolific, but the leaves are smaller and Krishna flowers quickly)
Rama (when mature, the leaves and stems are actually more red in color)
Kapoor (wish you could smell this....)
Vanna (large and velvety leaves -the least aromatic)