May Flowers, Yes!!
And the rains came and they came and they came and they came. Now comes the sun, then comes the flowers. The rain started Saturday. It rained Sunday and Monday. My rain barrels have gone from almost empty to over half full. In a dry moment, I walked through the garden yesterday. All the little green things were smiling. The things I planted and the weeds.
The task at hand is to conserve this water just in case we don’t get more. As soon as the ground makes a dry crust, it will be worked with the tines on the hoe. Then comes the mulch. 3 or 4 inches will be enough to start with and not too close to the plants. If it is available half-finished compost is the perfect mulch for most things. Do not use that on potatoes or peppers. Potatoes taste nasty if they get too much Nitrogen. Peppers will make gorgeous plants and no peppers. I learned that the hard way. Just plain leaves are great for peppers and potatoes.
The mulch will last longer and do a better job if newspapers are placed on the ground before the mulch is added. With potatoes don’t use the newspapers. Bring the mulch up to the potato plant so that only the top of the plant shows. Some of the potatoes in my garden are 2’ tall now. The mulch is within 6” of the top. More will be added this weekend because the rain packed it down. When the potatoes start “making” they are really easy to “gravel” from the leaves.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Will There Be May Flowers
Will There Be May Flowers?
There have not been many April Showers. One zone of my “Rube Goldberg” irrigation system ran for an hour yesterday. Some spots in the garden still test above 6 on a scale of 1 to 10 on the moisture meter. Most of the garden is below 4. Tuesday I mulched almost everything with half finished compost. The potatoes of course just get un-mulched leaves. I added more to bring the mulch to the tops of the plants. It is almost a foot thick in some places now and needs to be done again.
I planted a dozen eggplants and a couple more peppers in the cage with the sweet peppers and the kohl crops. I am out of half finished compost and almost out of spots to plant anything. I still have lots of basil plants and a few Jalapeño peppers to go in the ground. I would like to plant some more beets. One never has enough compost or space it seems.
I started the “watermelon fence” yesterday. I don’t know if it will work. I put some 4” X 4” post in the ground sticking up about 2 feet. They are three feet from the edge of the watermelon hills, which are at the outer edge of the garden. I will lean some 4’ poles on the 4” X 4”s and cover them with 2” X 4” wire. The watermelon vines will be trained on the wire. The wire will be loose enough to sag under the weight of the watermelons and hold them in place. Hopefully they will be out of reach of the snails and sow bugs. I will post a picture.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/.
There have not been many April Showers. One zone of my “Rube Goldberg” irrigation system ran for an hour yesterday. Some spots in the garden still test above 6 on a scale of 1 to 10 on the moisture meter. Most of the garden is below 4. Tuesday I mulched almost everything with half finished compost. The potatoes of course just get un-mulched leaves. I added more to bring the mulch to the tops of the plants. It is almost a foot thick in some places now and needs to be done again.
I planted a dozen eggplants and a couple more peppers in the cage with the sweet peppers and the kohl crops. I am out of half finished compost and almost out of spots to plant anything. I still have lots of basil plants and a few Jalapeño peppers to go in the ground. I would like to plant some more beets. One never has enough compost or space it seems.
I started the “watermelon fence” yesterday. I don’t know if it will work. I put some 4” X 4” post in the ground sticking up about 2 feet. They are three feet from the edge of the watermelon hills, which are at the outer edge of the garden. I will lean some 4’ poles on the 4” X 4”s and cover them with 2” X 4” wire. The watermelon vines will be trained on the wire. The wire will be loose enough to sag under the weight of the watermelons and hold them in place. Hopefully they will be out of reach of the snails and sow bugs. I will post a picture.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Adapting to Climate Change
Adapting to Climate Change
We are having a drought in NC. Other than 1 or 2 spot waterings, last year is the first time I have really put a lot of water into my garden. The spring of last year was damp. The drought only came along in the summer. This year is really shaping up to be dry. I will be on the road a lot this year and I know my wife hates to face the mosquitoes to water the garden.
I am installing a “Rube Goldberg” irrigation system. I will lay out soaker hoses along the rows where low plants grow. I am putting sprinkler hose in the rows of tall plants. I know the leaves like some water too. The garden will be divided into 4 zones. Each zone will have a separate valve for the hoses there. Using a moisture tester will determine when a zone should be watered. All my wife will have to do is test the soil and turn on the appropriate valve as needed.
I will test the timing in the zones so that she will know how long to leave the water on to raise the moisture level by the right amount. Hopefully we will minimize the need for the water by heavy mulching. I have learned from the greenhouse that a large plant sucks a lot of water up and puts it into the air. Not having enough water stunts the growth of the plant.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/.
We are having a drought in NC. Other than 1 or 2 spot waterings, last year is the first time I have really put a lot of water into my garden. The spring of last year was damp. The drought only came along in the summer. This year is really shaping up to be dry. I will be on the road a lot this year and I know my wife hates to face the mosquitoes to water the garden.
I am installing a “Rube Goldberg” irrigation system. I will lay out soaker hoses along the rows where low plants grow. I am putting sprinkler hose in the rows of tall plants. I know the leaves like some water too. The garden will be divided into 4 zones. Each zone will have a separate valve for the hoses there. Using a moisture tester will determine when a zone should be watered. All my wife will have to do is test the soil and turn on the appropriate valve as needed.
I will test the timing in the zones so that she will know how long to leave the water on to raise the moisture level by the right amount. Hopefully we will minimize the need for the water by heavy mulching. I have learned from the greenhouse that a large plant sucks a lot of water up and puts it into the air. Not having enough water stunts the growth of the plant.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Back in the Garden
Back in the Garden
I got home late Monday night. I waited until the sun came up before going to work; so I could look at the garden. The summer squash, zucchini and cucumbers are finally coming up. One more tomato has “bitten the dust”. It looks like a cut worm. We picked greens Tuesday night and tonight we will have a salad. We had to buy cucumbers and tomatoes.
Wednesday morning the temperature went into the high twenties. I feared for the tomatoes; but they did just fine. The figs also survived. Those are the only things that I was afraid could not stand the cold. Now the only big worries are the drought and the bugs. I am going to interplant the whole garden with mole kills (castor oil beans), basil, mint, onions, garlic and hot peppers in the hopes of keeping most of the crop. It is better to eat a vegetable with a little blemish than to ingest a lot of poison. A spray of baking soda and dishwashing soap should control the powdery mildew.
The plants that deer and rabbits eat are protected by poultry mesh. Rabbits dig so some will still get in. The area around my home was all woods when we moved in. Now it is all houses. I feel sorry for the wildlife that has lost so much habitat. The birds and squirrels are probably better off. Everyone feeds the birds and most people have dogwoods, holly, oak trees and other things that generate a lot of berries and nuts. The deer have plenty of food. They just don’t have cover and water. I put in a bigger bird bath this year and there are deer tracks around it almost every morning.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/.
I got home late Monday night. I waited until the sun came up before going to work; so I could look at the garden. The summer squash, zucchini and cucumbers are finally coming up. One more tomato has “bitten the dust”. It looks like a cut worm. We picked greens Tuesday night and tonight we will have a salad. We had to buy cucumbers and tomatoes.
Wednesday morning the temperature went into the high twenties. I feared for the tomatoes; but they did just fine. The figs also survived. Those are the only things that I was afraid could not stand the cold. Now the only big worries are the drought and the bugs. I am going to interplant the whole garden with mole kills (castor oil beans), basil, mint, onions, garlic and hot peppers in the hopes of keeping most of the crop. It is better to eat a vegetable with a little blemish than to ingest a lot of poison. A spray of baking soda and dishwashing soap should control the powdery mildew.
The plants that deer and rabbits eat are protected by poultry mesh. Rabbits dig so some will still get in. The area around my home was all woods when we moved in. Now it is all houses. I feel sorry for the wildlife that has lost so much habitat. The birds and squirrels are probably better off. Everyone feeds the birds and most people have dogwoods, holly, oak trees and other things that generate a lot of berries and nuts. The deer have plenty of food. They just don’t have cover and water. I put in a bigger bird bath this year and there are deer tracks around it almost every morning.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Italian Food in Korea
Italian Food in Korea
Would you be surprised to hear that Italian food in Korea is not like Italian food in Italy or the USA or any where else I’ve been? The main difference is the seasoning. I ordered spaghetti with bacon and olive “sauce”. “Olive sauce” turned out to be olive oil with a lot of chili peppers and garlic.
One of my students and the interpreter and I went to lunch together to the “Italian Plate” restaurant here in the Gangnam section of Seoul. While the food was nothing close to my idea of Italian, it was quite delicious. The city of Seoul has a restaurant for every 10 people. They have to be good. In spite of being an extreme concentration of humanity; Seoul has abundant, fresh and delicious food. USA agriculture claims to be the most productive in the world. This is accomplished with a sacrifice in taste and healthfulness of the food. If the Korean farmers can feed Seoul’s 20,000,000 people with tasty, healthy food, why can’t the most productive farmers in the world provide that for the people of the USA.
Would you be surprised to hear that Italian food in Korea is not like Italian food in Italy or the USA or any where else I’ve been? The main difference is the seasoning. I ordered spaghetti with bacon and olive “sauce”. “Olive sauce” turned out to be olive oil with a lot of chili peppers and garlic.
One of my students and the interpreter and I went to lunch together to the “Italian Plate” restaurant here in the Gangnam section of Seoul. While the food was nothing close to my idea of Italian, it was quite delicious. The city of Seoul has a restaurant for every 10 people. They have to be good. In spite of being an extreme concentration of humanity; Seoul has abundant, fresh and delicious food. USA agriculture claims to be the most productive in the world. This is accomplished with a sacrifice in taste and healthfulness of the food. If the Korean farmers can feed Seoul’s 20,000,000 people with tasty, healthy food, why can’t the most productive farmers in the world provide that for the people of the USA.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Food for More than Thought
Food for More than Thought.
I am in Seoul S. Korea; so I cannot tell what happened in the garden yesterday. I choose to talk about my breakfast. Everyone who comes to the USA from abroad asks, “ What happens to your food?” I believe the answer is agribusiness; but I have no first hand knowledge. The city of Seoul and its surrounds has 20,000,000 people. They are not fed from garden plots.
The food here is unbelievably tasty. This morning I had crispy cucumbers and patio tomatoes. The boiled eggs had strong deep yellow yolks. This food is as good as that from my garden. Well….almost.
Go to the street at the very early hours of the morning. It will be thronged with pickup motorcycles. (I don’t know how else to describe them). They are loaded with fresh eggs in flats and boxes of vegetables. A few years ago, I took the bullet train to a city in the south called Busan or Pusan. The landscape was crowded with cloche’s and rice patties. I wish I spoke the language well enough to learn their farming methods. Many Koreans speak very good English. I have not found a farmer from which I can learn. If I do you will be the first to know.
David Segrest practices international real estate and writes an international real estate blog. Email is david@segrestrealty.com , Web page http://www.segrestrealty.com/ ,Blog http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/
I am in Seoul S. Korea; so I cannot tell what happened in the garden yesterday. I choose to talk about my breakfast. Everyone who comes to the USA from abroad asks, “ What happens to your food?” I believe the answer is agribusiness; but I have no first hand knowledge. The city of Seoul and its surrounds has 20,000,000 people. They are not fed from garden plots.
The food here is unbelievably tasty. This morning I had crispy cucumbers and patio tomatoes. The boiled eggs had strong deep yellow yolks. This food is as good as that from my garden. Well….almost.
Go to the street at the very early hours of the morning. It will be thronged with pickup motorcycles. (I don’t know how else to describe them). They are loaded with fresh eggs in flats and boxes of vegetables. A few years ago, I took the bullet train to a city in the south called Busan or Pusan. The landscape was crowded with cloche’s and rice patties. I wish I spoke the language well enough to learn their farming methods. Many Koreans speak very good English. I have not found a farmer from which I can learn. If I do you will be the first to know.
David Segrest practices international real estate and writes an international real estate blog. Email is david@segrestrealty.com , Web page http://www.segrestrealty.com/ ,Blog http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Separation Anxiety
Separation Anxiety
I am in S. Korea now and I must admit I miss my garden. This is a critical time of year to be away. Monday afternoon was spent in the greenhouse. Almost everything left in there was trying to climb out of its pot. I repotted everything that was too small to go in the dirt outside. The water from the rain barrels is almost gone. As the plants get bigger they really drink the water.
The potatoes were getting pretty leggy. I had piled up the dirt from around them as high as it would stay. I had to mulch them with leaves. A week or so ago, I built a rail of 2” X 6”’s along the sides of the potato row to hold the leaves back. Now I will pile leaves to keep only an inch or two of potato plant exposed until the leaves are mounded as high as they will go. Ideally the potatoes will think the leaves are loose soil and make really big potatoes in the dark. Please pray for my potatoes, even if they like the dark side.
The asparagus have made huge beautiful ferns. I wonder why I did not plant them in the flower beds out front. I think I will buy some more and use them in the flower beds. Perhaps I should rethink the entire garden in terms of the decorative value of some of the plants. We have been using vases full of blooming rosemary stems in the house. What else can be used this way?
David Segrest practices international real estate and writes an international real estate blog. Email is david@segrestrealty.com , Web page http://www.segrestrealty.com ,Blog http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/
I am in S. Korea now and I must admit I miss my garden. This is a critical time of year to be away. Monday afternoon was spent in the greenhouse. Almost everything left in there was trying to climb out of its pot. I repotted everything that was too small to go in the dirt outside. The water from the rain barrels is almost gone. As the plants get bigger they really drink the water.
The potatoes were getting pretty leggy. I had piled up the dirt from around them as high as it would stay. I had to mulch them with leaves. A week or so ago, I built a rail of 2” X 6”’s along the sides of the potato row to hold the leaves back. Now I will pile leaves to keep only an inch or two of potato plant exposed until the leaves are mounded as high as they will go. Ideally the potatoes will think the leaves are loose soil and make really big potatoes in the dark. Please pray for my potatoes, even if they like the dark side.
The asparagus have made huge beautiful ferns. I wonder why I did not plant them in the flower beds out front. I think I will buy some more and use them in the flower beds. Perhaps I should rethink the entire garden in terms of the decorative value of some of the plants. We have been using vases full of blooming rosemary stems in the house. What else can be used this way?
David Segrest practices international real estate and writes an international real estate blog. Email is david@segrestrealty.com , Web page http://www.segrestrealty.com ,Blog http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Flatulence in Earthworms
Flatulence in Earthworms
I am so conservative with composting materials that I even take home the scraps and coffee grounds from the office. I found some leftover beans that I would no longer be comfortable eating; so I put them in the compost. My compost bins are so full of earthworms that I think of the compostables as earthworm food. I wonder if these beans will give the earthworms flatulence. That could give a whole new meaning to one of the benefits of earthworms which is soil aeration.
The sun is back out and I am feeling better. I can’t wait to get back into the yard. I wonder if the rain has made anything grow yet. My intentions for the day are to till some more of the front yard and saw up some more firewood. I may work on the watermelon fence a little too. My travel schedule is pretty brutal from now until the beginning of June; so I may not write a lot. I am trying to get my garden on “auto-pilot” so my wife will not have to do too much while I am gone.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com/ , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/.
I am so conservative with composting materials that I even take home the scraps and coffee grounds from the office. I found some leftover beans that I would no longer be comfortable eating; so I put them in the compost. My compost bins are so full of earthworms that I think of the compostables as earthworm food. I wonder if these beans will give the earthworms flatulence. That could give a whole new meaning to one of the benefits of earthworms which is soil aeration.
The sun is back out and I am feeling better. I can’t wait to get back into the yard. I wonder if the rain has made anything grow yet. My intentions for the day are to till some more of the front yard and saw up some more firewood. I may work on the watermelon fence a little too. My travel schedule is pretty brutal from now until the beginning of June; so I may not write a lot. I am trying to get my garden on “auto-pilot” so my wife will not have to do too much while I am gone.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com/ , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Indian Winter
Indian Winter
I’m not sure there is such a thing; but that is what today feels like. It is not cold enough to hurt the little growies. It is cold and miserable enough to keep me inside. There is a light rain falling. It is soaking my plants the way they like it best. It is putting a little something in the rain barrels. It is putting all of my projects on hold.
The tomatoes are in the ground. Almost all of the seeds are planted except for some late things for the fall. We had fresh greens from the garden yesterday.
My current major project will take all summer and most of the fall. I am going to till and replant the whole front yard. I started out trying to till the ground where the English ivy lives. The tiller kept bogging down. I got out the old side delivery lawn mower and set it high and mowed the foul stuff. Then I set it low and mowed it again. When the weather gets better I will start tilling again. I want to put most of the yard into flower beds and just have a little bit of grass. I would like to install some “yard art”; but my wife objects to everything I have mentioned. I guess I need to get out one of those “You Know You are a Redneck” books and assess my taste.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/.
I’m not sure there is such a thing; but that is what today feels like. It is not cold enough to hurt the little growies. It is cold and miserable enough to keep me inside. There is a light rain falling. It is soaking my plants the way they like it best. It is putting a little something in the rain barrels. It is putting all of my projects on hold.
The tomatoes are in the ground. Almost all of the seeds are planted except for some late things for the fall. We had fresh greens from the garden yesterday.
My current major project will take all summer and most of the fall. I am going to till and replant the whole front yard. I started out trying to till the ground where the English ivy lives. The tiller kept bogging down. I got out the old side delivery lawn mower and set it high and mowed the foul stuff. Then I set it low and mowed it again. When the weather gets better I will start tilling again. I want to put most of the yard into flower beds and just have a little bit of grass. I would like to install some “yard art”; but my wife objects to everything I have mentioned. I guess I need to get out one of those “You Know You are a Redneck” books and assess my taste.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/.
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