Moved the blog

I decided to move the blog.  All the posts here are now reposted on Gardening, Farming and Living where I'll keep blogging.

Got the East Garden planted

Got the garden all set up last week and planted yesterday.  I had so much fun doing it!  I brought all my seeds and the drawing pad out there and sat at the table, looking and thinking how the plants would look once they were grown in, taking as much time as I wanted to decide.  I ended up spending over three hours on it ~ from 2:30'til almost six ~ before I was done planting for the day.  Kelly stopped by about then on her way home from work, and we had a glass of wine sitting out there looking at what I'd got done, and talking about the Library Pea Patch and other plans.  What a nice end to a wonderful day.
I used cornmeal to mark where I'd just planted and that allowed me to go plant one thing, maybe two, then sit and think a while again. Then plant another thing, sit down and think. It was a much better way of doing it than the old way ~ just get it in the ground wherever without much thought.  And more enjoyable, too.

I tried to do closer spacing on everything, ala square foot gardening.  I also interplanted some things, like winter squashes under okra and tomatoes, to see if they'll act as a living mulch.  I hope I gave everything enough room.  I'm bad at not doing that and ending up with crowded walkways.  

I do have the fence and the chicken tractor as vertical garden space, so maybe there will be enough room.  I put the spaghetti squash against the tractor thinking it'll give the chooks some shade.  I can't wait to see how that turns out.

I left the third row from the left unplanted, along with the right front row, to use those in the video shoot on how to plant seeds.  I've talked to so many customers at work who don't know how to.  Some are hesitant (or are downright afraid), some have done it without success (planted too deep, let them dry out while germinating, etc.).  And some have just never thought about doing it, thinking they'd just buy starts of squash, watermelon and cukes, not knowing those things don't much like being transplanted or that it's just so easy to plant them from seed.  So we figured that'd be a good subject for an entire episode. 

Soil temp was 75F Friday.  And here's the list:

Beans ~ 
Purple Queen Bush
Kentucky Wonder Pole
Yard Long

Cowpeas ~ 

Texas Cream 40

Limas ~ 

King of the Garden Pole

Squash ~ 

Winter ~ 

Vegetable Spaghetti

Early Butternut

Cream of the Crop Acorn

Musquee de Provence

Long Island Cheese

Baby Blue Hubbard

Summer ~ 

Vegetable Marrow

Golden Zucchini

Black Zucchini

Ronde de Nice

Okra ~ 

Annie Oakley

Melons ~ 

Blacktail Mountain Watermelon

Minnesota Midget Cataloupe

Cucumbers ~ 

Lemon

Peppers ~ 

Mulato Isleno

Cayenne

Giant Marconi

Tiburon

Tomatoes ~ 

Garden Peach

Mortgage Lifter

Peacevine

Coustralee

Matt's WildCherry

Arkansas Traveler

Sungold

Red Pear

Principe Borghese

Yellow Pear

Pruden's Purple

Marglobe

I'll post a link here once I get all this on my PlanGarden.com map.

More rain and new chicks

Man, what a storm!  Wednesday, a storm blew in at work.  It was a helluva busy day with delivery after delivery after delivery.  The driveway was lined, both sides, with plants and we'd been trying to get them all put up all day when about 5:00 we started hearing about a storm in Marble Falls coming our way.  By 5:30, I looked up to see it ~ big, black, boiling clouds with that tornado green color that tells you something bad is in that storm.  I concentrated on getting in the fragile impatiens and geraniums that were covered in blooms that would easily be torn off by a hard rain.  Sharon and Lacey came out to take down anything tall that would be blow over, and we started getting the hanging baskets down and under cover.  Finally, we were done and I could go home.

When I got home, the rain gauge said 1.5"!  There might have been a bit of trash in it that altered the level, but not that much.  We definitely got over an inch.  Perfect!  My pastures are going to look so green in a few weeks, more than they already are.  

But then I noticed the hail.  Ouch!  Most of it was a bit bigger than a quarter, but many stones were as big as a fifty cent piece.  There wasn't a whole lot of it, but enough to have gathered in places on the porch where it was washed into clumps.  Once I noticed it, Kelly and Leslie started noticing it in the grass and elsewhere.  I checked my peppers I'd just set out last week and thank goodness there wasn't much damage.  Only one plant had half it's leaves torn off.  The herbs and other things looked pretty good still.  

Austin didn't fare as well ~ all along 183 rear windows of cars were knocked out, skylights and home windows broken.  As I watched the news, pictures started coming in from Marble Falls.  People's backyards looked like it had snowed.  Amazing.  

The weird thing?  This is one of the three worst hail storms on record for our area, and all were on March 25th.  Oooo-EEEEE-OOOOO-ooooo...

On a lighter note, I have new chicks!  Picked them up yesterday morning from Naumann Feed.  Aren't they cute?!  I can hear them chirping contentedly right now, in their homemade brooder in a chair in the kitchen. 

I've been needing a few more layers since I've started bartering with the eggs.  I'll be giving Brad a dozen a week for a while for fixing my computer, giving Kelly a dozen a week for my carpool contribution, and I just like to have some extra to give to Leslie and Rhonda every now and again.

I've got them in a homemade brooder right now, just a rubbermaid container.  It's easy to clean, so thisround of chick keeping should be easier.  You can see the lamp inside ~ there's a hundred watt incandescent bulb in there. The  jar on the right is the waterer ~ it's a metal thing that  screws onto a kerr jar of water.  Nifty.  And a LOT better than those crappy plastic ones I had last time.

Here's the container I'm talking about.  You can get them just about anywhere.  I think I'll need a bigger one soon, or maybe I'll just move half of them to another one.

Here's what I got ~ from the top: Black Jersey Giant, Buff Orpington, Cuckoo Maran and Ameraucana.

I got half a dozen straight run Jersey Giants and Orpingtons as I want to evaluate the males as meat birds and the pullets will make good layers.  I got half a dozen Ameracauna pullets to have blue and green eggs, and three Maran pullets to have those dark brown "chocolate" eggs.  They'll make cool surprises for Brad, Kelly, etc.  I think they'll like them.  I know I'll have fun with them.

And the guineas are laying! I got three eggs yesterday.  How cool!  Once I get these chicks outside, I think I'll start some guineas in the incubator.

Man, I got a lot done today!

Man, did I ever get a lot done today!  I started by planting some peppers and herbs in one of the raised beds by the peace sign.  They all came from work, all save one were frost damaged or otherwise unfit to sell.  I put a basil plant in the north end then, clockwise from that, I planted an eggplant (unknown variety), two Senorita jalapenos, a Hot Cherry, a Hot Banana, a Tabasco, an unknown pepper, a Fooled You jalapeno, another Senorita jalapeno, and another unknown eggplant.  In between I put a catnip plant towards the south end and a Jim's Best oregano towards the north (that was the only plant I purchased).  I'm hoping those two will spread out and act as a living mulch for the peppers.

I was out there, I noticed that the potatoes were looking good, atleast one pot was.  I'm not sure which one those are.  I'm actually not sure what either of the two types are ~ I need to ask David again.  The second variety is coming up, but not as vigorously as the first one.  I think I let them get a little too dried out before planting, plus the second ones weren't sprouting green from the eyes before I planted them.

I also noticed that the herbs were doing fairly well, recovering from the winter nicely.  In that pot are Golden sage French thyme, English thyme and Greek oregano.  They're all nicely spreading and filling out the pot.

Next up, I put the new hose on the backhoe and got that fixed.  Billy came over and helped me move the chicken tractor over so I could till that plot and the one next to it.  I put the tiller on the tractor and did it to it.  It looks great!  I also tilled about a quarter of the stud pen plot.  There's some bermuda growing in the middle of it and a few other small patches elsewhere, so I won't till those areas until I get rid of it.  

Lastly, I planted those agaves Kelly and Billy gave me.  I think they'll look nice out front oneither side of the driveway, especially once they get big.  I think I'll put a rosemary bush on the left side to match the one on the right.    

And some lantanas would look nice.

UPDATE: They've broken ground and posted about it on the White House blog.

Woohoo!!

White House to Break Ground on Kitchen Garden ~ Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is getting a new garden.

First lady Michelle Obama is scheduled to break ground Friday on a new garden near the fountain on the South Lawn that will supply the White House kitchen.

She will be joined by students from Bancroft Elementary School in the District of Columbia. The children will stay involved with the project, including planting the fruits, vegetables and herbs in the coming weeks and harvesting the crops later in the year.

Mrs. Obama spent time earlier this week at an exhibit on rooftop gardening.

"We're going to get a big one in our back yard, the South Lawn," she promised the volunteers.

Foodies Celebrate White House Veggie Garden ~ ABC News

Michelle Obama has said she wants to make the White House vegetable garden an opportunity to talk about America's diet.

"We want to use it as a point of education, to talk about health and how delicious it is to eat fresh food, and how you can take that food and make it part of a healthy diet," she told Oprah Winfrey in the April issue of O magazine, first reported by food writer Eddie Gehman Kohan. "You know, the tomato that's from your garden tastes very different from one that isn't. And peas -- what is it like to eat peas in season? So we want the White House to be a place of education and awareness. And, hopefully, kids will be interested because there are kids living here [in the White House]."

Obamas to Plant White House Vegetable Garden ~ New York Times

WASHINGTON — On Friday, Michelle Obama will begin digging up a patch of White House lawn to plant a vegetable garden, the first since Eleanor Roosevelt’s victory garden in World War II. There will be no beets (the president doesn’t like them) but arugula will make the cut.

While the organic garden will provide food for the first family’s meals and formal dinners, its most important role, Mrs. Obama said, will be to educate children about healthful, locally grown fruit and vegetables at time when obesity has become a national concern.

In an interview in her office, Mrs. Obama said, “My hope is that through children, they will begin to educate their families and that will, in turn, begin to educate our communities.”

Twenty-three fifth graders from Bancroft Elementary School in Washington will help her dig up the soil for the 1,100-square-foot plot in a spot visible to passers-by on E Street. (It’s just below the Obama girls’ swing set.) Students from the school, which has had a garden since 2001, will also help plant, harvest and cook the vegetables, berries and herbs.

Almost the entire Obama family, including the president, will pull weeds, “whether they like it or not,” Mrs. Obama said laughing. “Now Grandma, my mom, I don’t know.” Her mother, she said, would probably sit back and say: “Isn’t that lovely. You missed a spot.”

Yes, White House Garden Will Be Organic ~ Mother Nature Network

Michelle Obama Orders up White House Garden (no beets needed) ~ LA Times Daily Dish

Obamas Ready to Start a White House Garden ~ Chicago Tribune

Read more news about it.

EatTheView.org

Kitchen Gardeners International

The Who Farm Starts Today

Why don't you go thank them yourself?  I did, and here's what I wrote:

A million thanks for yet again leading the way! As I said in my comment when I signed the EatTheView.org petition, people who grow their own food are healthier mentally and physically because of the exercise they get from doing it, the better nutrition they get from eating it and the lessening of stress from knowing they can feed themselves no matter what. This better mental and physical health will serve them well in the trying times we find ourselves in. Thank you for setting yet another good example for many more to follow. Because of your actions in starting a vegetable garden on the White House lawn, even larger numbers of Americans will be able to take advantage of the mental and physical benefits of gardening.

Rain, rain, glorious rain!

Last week we got about four inches of rain!  YEEEAH!  It rained all week, starting on Tuesday when temps dropped to the forties.  I had to work out in it unloading trucks, but I did it.  Nobody at work that day was very happy about it, but we got through it.  Sharon sent Neil to Academy to get some rain slickers for us and that helped tremendously.  Wednesday was a repeat of Tuesday, 

but not quite so much rain.  Thursday was a lot better, too ~ warmer temps.  But it dropped back down again Friday and brought more rain with it, but I was home so could enjoy watching it out my window.  We got so much rain that they lifted the burn ban for a few days so I called my buddy Brad and asked if he wanted to come play pyro.  We got a bit of things burned, but not everything by any means.  There's another chance for rain this weekend.  Hope it comes with enough moisture to lift the ban for longer.

This week, temps are up in the low 80s during the day.  This warmth is making the grass just jump up out of the ground!  The pastures are greening up, so all the animals are out there, nose down, eating like crazy.  

Speaking of animals, check out the two new ones at Bob and Bettie's place.  They're the first new calves from Tuffy.  Looks like they got color this time!  Too cute.  I'm so happy they've come out so loud.  I don't know if they're heifers or bull calves yet.  I'll be missing out on spring calves this year, so I need a calf fix.  I think I'll drive down to see them.  

In the garden, things are popping.  Something ate all my cilantro!  I thought it was caterpillars at first, then thought maybe my guineas.  So I kept the guineas locked up the next day to see, but whatever it was kept eating ~ finished off the rest of the leaves and stems.  So I'm back to thinking caterpillars.  I bought some BT, and will use it before I lose anything else.  I'm thinking that's what was getting my coles last fall.

All three of my brugs left outside in pots all winter have sprouted.  Way cool!  I'll be able to move the rest of them out of the greenhouse soon, along with all the other tropicals.  Then I'll have plenty of room for all the tomatoes, peppers and things.  I'll be potting up like a madwoman to be ready for the plant sale.  I hope to have the gooseneck trailer full.  I talked to Bettie and Carol about that and they're going to set me up with my own cash box at the garage sale to make it easier to keep that money separate.  Fence and solarizing plastic for the Library Pea Patch here we come!

Speaking of that, at the board meeting last Saturday I gave a presentation on the Library veggie garden.  I wasn't planning on anything happening other than just letting them know what we had planned, but they heartily accepted the idea, passed a motion for us to move on with it and Jim even said if we ended up needing some money they'd give us some!  Woohoo!  It's ON!  

I'm still talking to Jane's friend Sandy about getting her friend who owns a fence company to donate a lot of materials and maybe some labor, too.  Dewey offered to hire some guys to build it, but we butted heads on how to build it, so I don't know what'll happen there.  Hopefully I'll get all the materials rounded up and can still use his guys ~ he'll just be writing the paycheck after all, so what does it matter what I tell them to do, kwim?  Brad offered to help, too, and I imagine I'll have more people volunteer, so I'll get it done the way I want to do it in the end.  

Edible and Useful Wild Plants

There are many useful plants around us.  The pastures and parks are full of them.  A group is working on compiling a 12-volume encyclopedia of the ones found in Texas and I can't wait for them to get it done!  They need help, so if this interests you, please go to the site and see how you can volunteer.  They need people to do a wide variety of things ~ growing plants for sale to benefit the project, giving talks about useful wild plants, photographing useful wild plant events, even proofreading articles.

On this same note, DragonFlyWings told of how milkweed pods are edible and asked about other edible wild plants on this thread, and I answered:

I didn't know about the milkweed pods, Dragonfly! Cool! I've made jelly from those hog plums, as well as the wild grapes, prickly pear cactuses, dewberries and agarita bushes (a good trick to harvest those is spread a sheet out below the bush and use two sticks to harvest ~ pull one branch out with one stick and tap that one firmly with the other stick ~ all the ripe berries will drop onto the sheet). There are also wild persimmons ~ not the little black things, but real persimmons, yellowey-orange and everything. They don't taste very good if we don't get much rain, and still don't taste nice until after a frost. Well, they still don't taste really good unless you add a lot of sugar. LOL! And of course who could forget pecans. I make pies and pies and more pies every year from those, as well as add them to soups, salads and stir-fries.

Speaking of salads, there are wild onions, pickle plants (those light green "shamrock" sort of weeds ~ you eat the seed pods), purslane, watercress and sorrel to flesh out that salad of dandelions. And wild mint to go in your tea or mint juleps. And chicory for use as a coffee substitute. If you want a cooked dish, use those sorrel leaves with some lambs' quarters and spiderwort to add to soups and such like spinach. And you can cook young prickly pear pads after burning off all the spines. They're good in scrambled eggs and are called napolitos in Mexico. They're even sold in cans in HEB.

As for medicinals, there is mullein for chest congestion, senna for constipation, the aforementioned horehound for colds (IF you can get past the naaaasty bitterness), and tickle tongue tree (aka toothache tree) to stand in for Oragel (it really does make your mouth numb).

Euell Gibbons is a great resource! He wrote two or three books, but the most popular was the first one Dorothy mentioned. Another good book for our area is Edible and Useful Wild Plants of Texas and the Southwest by Delena Tull. I can't personally attest to it's usefulness yet since I just bought it (just a minute ago took the plastic off as a matter of fact), but three people have told me that it's a really good one. This thread's got me motivated to read through it this morning to see what it says about the things I've already been using (the things listed above). The cover says it contains recipes as well as information on natural dyes, harmful plants and textile fibers.

Library Pea Patch Plan

Edit: The link I used to show the plan appears to change as I make changes at the Plangarden.com site, so what you see below isn't what it was when I originally posted it. If you'd like, you can go to the Pea Patch blog and see the updated plan.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here's a proposed plan for the Library Pea Patch. It takes a bit to load, but not long. Once there, you can fiddle around with the design (but can't save your changes).

It's not complete, but does show the majority of the garden. In between the greenhouse/potting area and the beds will be a patio/gathering area with something else on either side of it. Not sure how to use up the extra space ~ more beds? A knot garden of herbs? Any other ideas? (Both links will update themselves automatically as I work on the plan, so if you come to this posting late, the "classroom" area will likely be filled in already. But please still post comments on ideas and suggestions for it if you have them.)

Here it is posted directly. Drag the windows over until you can close them, then you can drag the garden itself around to see it all.

Those lovely brugs

The brugs have sprouted! The brugs have sprouted!  Two of the three I left outside in their pots last year are sprouting new leaves from the bases.  I dug around the base of the third one and saw green down there, too!  Now that I've learned that brugs are root-hardy to my zone, the world is my oyster. No longer do I need to make sure there's room in the greenhouse for all the 20+ gallon pots.  No more do I have to restrict myself to just a few because of lack of room.  Now I can plant them in the ground, knowing that they'll come back.  I'm on cloud nine!  

Pink Suaveolens, Frosty Pink, Pink Favorite, Dr. Seuss, Charles Grimaldi, Jean Pasko, Shredded White and Variegata.  That's the list of the ones I have so far.  Emphasis on the "so far" since now I can have as many as I have flowerbeds for.  Considering there's over sixty acres here, I'd say my collection will be growing.  I've been eyeing Wretched Mess (among others from that website).  Triple blooms!  That hang in a sort of chain!  I have to quit using so many exclamation points!

So here's the plan ~ I'll amend the beds I already have and build a few more around where the large horse trough pond is now, then plant them out, all seven of them.  I'll replace the large round trough pond with the smaller oblong one to have some sort of water feature there, which will be nice. I'll build beds in that corner and put the brugs there, atleast three and maybe four of them.  I think some of the dwarf cavendish bananas would look good in front of them, and some of the Queen ferns I have in front of those.  I also found out that my Split Leaf Philo is hardy, as is the big colocasia, both left out in pots and sprouting now.  I may try to fit those in that corner as well, probably closer to the cabin in the shade.  I'll have a little tropical garden there, complete with pond and birdbath (atop the 3' electric pole that's still there).  

This fall, before the first frost, I'll cut the brugs down to the ground, making cuttings to start in the greenhouse from the tops.  I'll have a gajillion next year to sell.  I'll probably start a few cuttings in pots earlier in the season so I'll have a blooming-sized one in time for the first plant sale.  If I haul an actual blooming brugmansia to the sale, even eight inch rooted cuttings in a quart pot would sell like hotcakes for twenty bucks.  Money trees ~ there really is such a thing!  Imagine the money I could make to fund the library veggie garden just from brugs.

Man, I'm so excited.

Square Foot Gardening

I've been learning about square foot gardening lately.  Bought the book and am reading it now.  I'm not a fan of the "Yes, it really works!" infomercial tone it takes sometimes, but the simplicity of the system is winning me over.  I plan to try a few beds this year. 

The beds at work seem to be doing great.  They've planted one with the "Mel's Mix" recommended in the book ~ 1/3 vermiculite, 1/3 peat and 1/3 compost (pic at right, front bed).

They've also planted beds with different things in them, such as the Rose Soil and Hill Country Soil we sell, and one with straight manure compost (pic at left).   It looks to me like the other soils do just as good, and maybe even a bit better for some crops, than the Mel's Mix.  They're cheaper, too ~ less than half the cost of Mel's Mix (1/3 the cost in some cases).  

More pictures:

Comparison of different beds (top to bottom) ~ 1/2 Rose Soil and 1/2 peat, Mel's Mix, 1/2 Hill Country Soil and 1/2 peat, and straight Hill Country Soil.  

This is a neat way to do the guides.  It's concrete reinforcement wire used to make the various planting guides.  The crm has 6"x6" holes, so if you cut out one "cross" per square foot, you'll get the main square foot guide to attach to your bed's frame.  If you cut out one square foot total (as in the upper left guide laying on the main guide), you get a 6" spacing guide.  You can cut and glue/weld other wires onto sections to get the other spacing guides.  These last three aren't attached ~ just shown laying on the main guide in the pic to show the idea.  You'll use them individually as you plant.

I just love the veggie garden at work.  They make it look SO easy!

Another new egg and more new sprouts

What a cute little thing!  Found it in one of the nests today as I was putting up the chickens.  I got all the guineas in.  They'd been roosting outside in Grandma Wall's catalpa tree instead of going in the coop.  Today, as I was walking around looking at the garden, I noticed they were following me around.  That gave me an idea ... so tonight, I played Pied Piper to their Children of Hamelin.  Instead of a flute, I had a bag of bird seed.  Worked like a charm.

On the seedling front, aren't these as cute or cuter than that little egg?  Beefsteak hybrid seedlings.  They're sitting on the table with the Taxi seedlings, the amaranth seedlings, the Brandywine seedlings, the Yellow Pear seedlings, the Principe Borghese seedlings, and what I think are basil seedlings.  There are also some Early Jalapeno seedlings in the same flat as what I think are the basil seedlings.  Those two are in the flat I floated (with the Pasilla Bajio seeds).  Atleast all isn't lost from it. :)  Serranos are up, too ~ been up for a few days, but I forgot to write about it.  

Amaranth seedlings, Illumination

A pretty in the greenhouse, Billbergia nutans

And the onions, watched over by Nellie and the guinea that never seems to keep up with the others.  Today, while leading all the others in, he got stuck behind the fence I'd just led him and his five brethren and sistren around.  Yeah.  I dunno either.  I think I'll call him Dimwit.

Does growing your own really save you money?

I found this interesting blog today.  A man and his wife tracked all the time and expense that went into growing their own vegetables.  Of course this is only considering monetary gain and doesn't take into consideration the exercise, peace of mind and just plain fun that are the best benefits.

Here’s our year-to-date garden summary:

Month	Time	Cost	Harvest
January	4.0 hours	$27.30	–
February	2.5 hours	–	–
March	3.5 hours	$130.00	–
April	5.5 hours	$28.51	–
May	5.5 hours	$110.89	–
June	7.0 hours	$0.79	$50.83
July	11.0 hours	$20.94	$123.68
August	8.0 hours	–	$123.94
September	2.0 hours	–	$152.75
October	5.0 hours	–	$155.77
November	6.0 hours	–	–
December	–	–	–
Totals	60.0 hours	$318.43	$606.97

They said that 2009 will be even cheaper since some of the things they bought in '08 can be reused.  So, it looks like it's worth it, especially if you enjoy doing it. 

New Sprouts!

Both amaranths are coming up, lots of sprouts for both.  And Yellow Pear, Principe Borghese and Taxi tomatoes are coming up ~ atleast one sprout of each.  Man, that soil warming cable works!

I also brought home one 4" pot of Matt's Wild Cherry tomatoes that had four plants in it.  I separated them this morning and potted them up.  It was easy to separate them ~ just let most of the soil fall off the rootball, then floated the rest in a pan of water while jiggling one plant at a time out of the bunch.  

Update at 9:15pm: Mortgage Lifter, Early Girl and Beefmaster are starting to come up now, too.

Veggie Gardening in Texas vs. Ohio

A friend asked me today how gardening in our area is different than gardening elsewhere, specifically a cooler climate.  I thought others may benefit from hearing my response, so I'll post it here.

The main differences between gardening here and somewhere cooler like Ohio are the disgusting heat in July and August when everything suffers, and the mild winters that we can grow right through.  

Our last average frost date is March 15 and first average frost date is November 15, so there's a long season between there.  However, the disgusting heat in July and August kind of puts a damper on it.  Heat lovers like okra and cowpeas (Black Eyed Peas, Crowders, and other Southern Peas) will usually sail right through the heat, but other things will seem to go "on hold" or outright crisp up.  Cukes want to give up the ghost, so trellising them helps ~ gets them off the hot soil and gives them some shade since only one side's worth of leaves is facing the sun at a time.  Tomatoes won't set fruit once temps get over 95 every day ~ the heat renders the pollen nonviable, so no fruit is pollinated, therefore no fruit set ~ but you can either start over with new plants for the fall or just baby the ones you have through the heat (maybe with some afternoon shade) and they'll put on again once things cool down.  I heard John Dromgoole today talk about using 30% shade cloth for them ~ might have to try that this year.

This hothothot August makes for two warm growing seasons a year.  The Fall garden (second warm season) is when you can replant squash, beans, etc. for a second crop along with new pepper and tomato plants.  Check the days to maturity for what you want to grow in Fall ~ if they have a DTM of 90 or less, you'll have time for them to reach maturity and still have a month or so of harvest time.  For instance, cucumbers have a DTM of 65 days, so if you plant them August 15th, you'll be picking them by the end of October and will continue to pick until frost kills them.  Just be sure to keep them well watered during the hot months and mulched so they'll survive through the heat.  

The flip side of our warm climate is that we get to actively grow things all year 'round.  We can grow all the cool weather crops all winter ~ broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussels sprouts, kale, radishes, garden peas (English "green" peas, snow peas, etc.), cilantro, parsley, lettuce, chard, onions, garlic, spinach and a few others I'm not remembering.  There are so many things we can grow through winter that our gardens really don't ever have to be empty.  We do have to be ready with floating row cover or some other cover when nights dip really low ~ pea blooms will freeze and abort, lettuce can get nipped ~ but most all the other things will do fine through a freeze without protection once they're established.  I like gardening in winter almost more than in summer since the weeds grow slower, there are less pests (both insects and diseases) and since all plants grow slower I can stay on top of the harvest without having to literally pick every day and freeze all that.

Here's a link to a really good planting guide for our area: http://www.main.org/aog/plantcal.htm

You probably already know that that's all averages and we can have weather patterns that upset even the best laid plans, such as the 90 (Ninety! ACK!) degrees we hit yesterday ~ I could almost hear all the broccoli and lettuce plants bolting and turning bitter.  Mulch helps that a lot ~ it keeps the ground cool in summer and avoids the wild soil-moisture-level swings that make your tomatoes crack and most any plant suffer.  

Here's another good site for information about growing the usual crops in Texas (look at the bottom section for the good tips): http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/vegetable/cropguides/index.html  Of course I'm not a fan of their remedies for pests (usually all synthetic chemicals), and if you're the same I'd advise you to either ask a neighbor what that bug or pest is that you see then look up online how to fix it organically or put a sample in a ziploc bag and bring it in to the Natural Gardener.  Neil is the botanist on staff there and he can figure out whatever it is you have and tell you how to fix it.  He's got the neatest microscope that's hooked up to a computer so you can see it on a screen instead of having to squint through the microscope's eye pieces ~ nifty!  

Is there anything in particular you wanted to know about that I haven't covered here?  Let me know ~ I'll be glad to answer what I can.

More seed starting

Started a LOT more seeds today.  Here's the list:

Joe Pye Weed

Amaranthus 'Illumination'

Amaranthus 'Splendens Perfecta', aka Summer Poinsettia

And a LOT of tomatoes:

Heirlooms and open pollinateds

Prudens Purple ~ 72 days

Roma ~ 78 days, determinate

Taxi ~ 64 days

Coustralee ~ 85 days, BIG fruit (up to 3 lbs.)

Brandywine ~ 80 days

Yellow Pear ~ 80 days

Mortgage Lifter ~ 77 days

Principe Borghese ~ 78 days, determinate

Hybrids

Beefmaster ~ 80 days

Better Boy ~ 82 days

Early Girl ~ 60 days

Celebrity ~ 78 days, determinate

Sweet Million ~ 73 days

My plan for all those tomatoes are to sell as many as I can at the Pea Patch Plant Sale and plant the rest somewhere out here.  My goals for this year are to learn about timing the seed starting so I'm better at it next year, make sure I have room to grow on the transplants 'til they're big enough to sell (in four inch pots most likely), sell tomatoes at an honor stand at the front gate, and save seeds from the OPs for replanting next year.  

Along the lines of seed saving, I'll also be buying a few plants ~ Matt's Wild Cherry for one, just in case I can't get any of the Texas Wild to sprout (and even if I can ~ I want to compare the two).  I also want the "original" Brandywine 'Sudduth's Strain' if I can find a plant of it to compare to the Brandywine I have now (eventually, I'd like to trial all of the Brandywines).  I'll be keeping an eye out for other heirlooms at work and will pick up the interesting ones to trial and save seed from.  I'd better get to making those blossom bags if I get many currants and potato leafed vars.

I took Kim Rae one of each of the Bilbergia I have and they caused a little stir.  Joanie wants one, as does Carol, so I've got theirs potted up and sitting in the sink, waiting to be taken with me tomorrow.  I'm so glad to share them ~ it's fun.  Mostly I'm just glad to know, finally, what the hell they are! *giggle~snort*

Rain a-fallin', castor beans a-jumpin', and guineas a-hollerin'

What a wonderful day!  I woke up at 7:30 to a wet porch.  Not much more rain than that, but it was still nice to see.  All day it's been overcast and cold.  I love days like this.  Apparently, so do the guineas ~ I let them and the chickens out this morning and the guineas haven't shut up yet.  This is the third day that they've been let out and each day they've done the same thing ~ yak, yak, yak! I think they want to make sure I know they love it.  

I also potted up the Jerusalem artichokes I got in the mail the other day.  They needed it since they were sprouting leaves already.  But I'm not quite ready to plant them.  I'm thinking I'll grow them in large pots like the potatoes, but don't have enough soil yet (need to get some from work).  

Also, I'm reading on the G-Web about potato bins ~ wooden frames that can be taken apart to harvest the potatoes.  I'm hoping to get a few pointers about growing potatoes in containers.  Need to do research on the organic-ness of tires as well before I use those.

While in the greenhouse, I checked on the cuttings and seeds.  Man!  I LOVE castor beans!  Just look at them!

How cool are they?!  Planting them is almost like instant gratification they sprout so fast.  I really think I'm going to like them.

Other things sprouting ~ Bughatti lettuce, Red Shield hibiscus (I was worried about them, if I'd soaked them too long, and it seems it was warranted ~ only one's sprouted so far :( ), Luna Pink hibiscus and Welsh onions.  And just look at the artichokes, too!  They're in the upper right, just to the left of the green quart pot there (with Welsh Onions in it).  Greengreengreen!

One thing that sucks though ~ ants have moved in to the seed tray I have on the warming table.  Bummer.  Oh, well ~ just have to break out the cayenne pepper.  They'll be gone in a few days.

More planting and irrigation to boot!

I'm so proud of me.  I got soaker hoses cut to fit the three raised beds in the Peace Sign garden, put hose ends on them, linked them together with made-to-fit sections of regular hose and connected it to the spigot.  They're out there soaking the lettuce seeds I just planted. Too Cool.

The lettuce I planted are, from west to east (top to bottom in pic), Black Seeded Simpson from Botanical Interests, Matina Sweet from Pinetree and Jericho from Pinetree.  I also set the onions out yesterday ~ red (Red Sweet or Sweet Red), white (White Bermuda) and yellow (1015Y) ~ got the sets from Naumann's Feed Store.  

I also got some seed potatoes from Naumann's and was going to plant them in these beds, but something told me not to (probably my inner child who hates to dig potatoes), so I decided to plant them in some large tree pots I have.  That'll make it easier to harvest them ~ just tump over the pot.  I haven't planted them yet, so I may put a few in some tires.  Lord knows I have plenty of those, and it won't take long with the sawsall to cut the centers out.  Those would also be easy to harvest ~ use the tractor to push them over if I can't by myself.  

And Friday I planted the herbs I bought at work Thursday.  I've got parsley in the long bed, in between and front of the purple honeysuckle and bridal wreath spirea.  It's the green stuff in the foreground.  Sorry that it's hard to see, but we've all seen parsley, and this picture was just too cool not to post. ;) 

I put three bloody dock plants along with variegated oregano, catnip and lemon grass (Leslie gave me a chunk of hers that I've been eyeing for a while) in one barrel...

... pineapple mint, bee balm, lemon balm, Mexican mint marigold, and winter savory in another (on the right) and sweet marjoram and Bergarten sage in another (on the left).  I need to get a few more things to fill that one out.  The little pot in the middle front has one of the brugmansias in it that I left out as an experiment to see if it comes back.  So far, one of the others has sprouted some green.  I hope all three will.

I got good news and bad news

Bad news first: While bottom watering a flat of newly planted Pasilla Bajio and Early Jalapeno peppers, I let the water get deeper than the flat was tall.  Yep ~ the seeds just floated right out of the flat.  If any are still in there and they sprout, I won't know which is which.  Bummer.  But if any do sprout, I'll just plant them in my own garden or the market garden.  I may sow some tomato seeds on top of them since it'd be easy to tell toms from peppers.  I'd also planted some old basil seeds in the end leftover after I'd run out of pepper seeds.  Maybe some of those will sprout.

Good news: We got rain!!!  Not much, but atleast it was some.  Hopefully that's a nice precursor to spring gully washing, frog strangling turd floaters.  

I also got some other things sown.  Welsh onions in their own pot, old purple basil seeds (had a question mark on the ziploc they were in, so not sure that's what they are ~ but they look like basil seeds) also in their own pot, and a flat containing serranos and purple cayennes.  

More good news: The Jerusalem Artichokes from the kind trader on the Gardenweb came in today!  Half a dozen healthy tubers that are sprouting roots already.  Cool!  Awful nice of someone to do that for sase. 

Let's plant a vegetable garden on the White House lawn

There is a growing call for President Obama to plant a vegetable garden on the White House Lawn. Eleanor Roosevelt did it. Thomas Jefferson did it. In fact, the majority of our presidents, from the founding of our country to the middle of the 1900s, did it. I think it's time for our current president to join the pack and do it, too. If you agree, please consider signing the petition at EatTheView.org. I did, and here's the comment I added:

I truly believe that building a vegetable garden on the White House lawn will spur more people to learn about growing their own food and actually do it. It's human nature to "follow the leader", as has already been demonstrated by you, President Obama. Because of your calm, reassuring, compassionate yet strong demeanor throughout your campaign and into the first days of your presidency, I have noticed a change in everyone I meet. We are nice again! For God's sake, I even had a nice chat with the phone worker when I called to pay my phone bill! It's wonderful! 

You are right that a lot of the change we need will be up to us to make. We're willing to do it. We just need you to continue what you've been doing in setting a good example for us to follow. If you build a vegetable garden on the White House lawn, we WILL follow your example. People all across the nation WILL grow their own food. This will have a tremendous impact on our economy and the environment. We'll save money, which we can spend elsewhere spurring the economy on. We'll save fuel from not having to have so much food trucked across the country. And there will be less emissions due to less of those trucks making less of those trips. 

But most of all, people will be healthier from the exercise and nutritious food. That will translate into happier people willing and ABLE to do more to pull ourselves out of this hole we're in. If we have a better outlook and feel better physically, we can do so much more to turn things around. 

Most of our despair is gone, President Obama, because of you. We wanted it to be gone and just needed someone to lead us to a place where we could hope again. You did that. And I am asking you to do it again ~ lead us again in providing for ourselves. Please, replicate what Slow Food Nation did in San Francisco's Civic Center Plaza, building a vegetable garden where one was 60 years ago. Please, put the vegetable garden back where it was for almost 150 years (read about it on this page: http://www.eattheview.org/page/history-1) ~ on the lawn of the Nation's House. Adams, Jefferson, even Eleanor Roosevelt did it. Please follow their lead so we can follow yours.

Windy, dreary day

*sigh* I had planned on planting peas today, but it's just too damn windy.  The birds aren't even coming to the feeder it's so bad.  I did go out there and try ~managed to get the end of the bed from the cilantro to the forsythia sage loosened.  I just wish I could have gotten something planted.  It looks so bare out there.

Warming Table's set up!

But first, what a cute little egg!  The little "new" banty pullet from last year's chicks must be laying, now graduated to full-fledged hen status.  She must be so proud.  Every time that happens, I have to just stop and smile at how adorable the little egg is.  I used it and a few of it's brethren to make some giblet gravy, hence the decimated onions and garlic skins around it.

I bought a soil warming cable from Farmtek a couple weeks ago and decided to set it up today.  Initially, I was hesitant to use regular potting soil for fear of it getting too hot when it was dry and possibly having some of the organic matter catching fire.  I asked Neil at NG about it and he pointed out that it won't really get that hot, just hot enough to start seeds.  Doh.  

I put about an inch of nice, sandy potting soil down first, spread evenly across the table.  I cut some hardware cloth to fit, zip-tied the cable to it per directions (easy-peasey ~ just put the thermostat somewhere around halfway between the center and a side of the table), and put another inch of sandy soil on top.  Voila!  

I'm so jazzed!  Can't wait to start pepper seeds and more tomatoes.  

Speaking of tomatoes, here are the Beefsteaks and Fox Cherries I started a couple/few weeks ago.  I'd put two or three seeds of the Fox Cherries in each cell because they were old seed.  Well, in some places all three seeds have sprouted!  Looks like I'll have some separating to do, but I surely don't mind.  That's just more plants for the library plant sale.

Here are the other seeds I planted a while ago.  Left to right ~ Castor Beans, Luna White hibiscus and Green Globe Improved artichokes.  I just love seeing all the little green heads poking up!  Can't wait to get them into bigger pots and some into the garden.  I'll plant just a few of each (two in the case of the hibiscus) and offer the rest at the plant sale.  I hope they sell ~ being "exotic" to most people, they just might.

And most of the cuttings ~ about three hundred and I'm just getting started.  

Now that I've got the warming table, I'll be starting a lot more soon.  I haven't tried any of Grandma Wall's pomegranate yet, nor her fig tree or the beautyberry by the creek.  

I figure if I make a dollar a plant, I'll need about a thousand to make enough money for the fence and startup materials for the Learning Garden project.  So I'll start many more than that to have a few to pot up and grow larger for the next sale.  I'm also thinking I'll save seeds from all my heirloom and open pollinated veggiesto package up and offer for a donation to the garden project.  Might make a few more bucks that way, and it'd be fun to get more people interested in growing the old varieties and saving their own seed.  

I don't know if I've mentioned the Learning Garden project here.  Kelly Baty and I have an idea to start a vegetable garden at the library to teach people how to grow their own food.  It's sad how many people have no idea that it takes more than just tilling up the dirt and plopping in some seeds.  In this economic climate, it's scary to think how many people are completely dependent on others for their food.  Kelly and I are aiming to rectify that by teaching anyone who wants to learn how to grow atleast a portion of thier own food in their own backyard.  A fence to keep the deer out is the first step ~ and the estimate for materials is $800.  So, my goal for this year is to raise a fat grand from my propagation attempts.  Bet I can do it. ;)