Pictures at last

I am not very good at this picture thing; but here are some garden pictures. The one on the extreme right is the small fig tree. It is actually the same size as the big fig tree. The picture under this text that I cannot get to move is the rosemary plant.

The picture above this text is the raised bed beside the Greenhouse. It has beets carrots and Thyme. I will upload some more pictures when I have practiced some.

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/.

It Is Never Too Early to Prepare (part 1)

It Is Never Too Early to Prepare (part 1)

Yes, you guessed it. I am planning my fall garden, my next years garden and the plantings in the greenhouse. I have already planted a very small patch of Romaine lettuce. It started coming up yesterday (June 22). I want to change the direction of the rows next year, just to see how it affects production. The fall garden will hopefully still be producing when I lay out the rows for spring planting.

So, what do I plant for fall? Swiss Chard is at the top of the list. Turnips (Tokyo Cross Hybrid) and mustard are an annual event. Lettuce, Arugula and Mesclun mix are required. Radishes beets and carrots will be planted every two or three weeks all winter. I feel like I am leaving something important out. Any ideas?

I’m changing the whole layout of the greenhouse. There will be 3 shelves instead of 2 and they will have lights. The shelves and lights will be “modular” so I can move them as the plants grow. By planting time I will be back to 2 shelves. What will I do with the extra plants? The greenhouse will also have a 18” X 8’ raised bed; so I can plant right in the ground. My intention is 3 tomato plants, 2 cucumber vines and some basil. I will have lights on a timer to get the correct day length.

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/

Rain, Rain, Don't Go Away

Rain, Rain, Don’t go away

The rains have come back. Not with force; but at least to keep the ground wet. The garden appreciates it.

We have eaten 2 figs (whoopee). There is a squash on the spaghetti squash vine. The vine is 8 feet high. The chayote ( I hope I have spelled that right) is really taking off. Squash and zucchini are producing. I don’t know about the potatoes. Most of the vines are starting to look a little sad. 1 vine died. I dug it up and only found 2 very small potatoes. 1 of them was partially eaten by something. Maybe my idea of covering the vines 18’ deep in leaves was not so good.

The eggplants have little knobby eggplants on them, the tomatoes have big tomatoes; but they aren’t getting ripe yet. The Asparagus have huge ferns and the patty pan squash are almost ready to pick. The watermelons are half way up the watermelon fence. I believe the “watermelon plant” that has blossoms is a cantaloupe. I have lots of volunteer cucurbits this year. They all seem to be the running variety. I know that at least 1 is a cucumber; because I picked a cucumber from it. I can’t wait to see what the rest of them are. I also have some volunteer tomatoes. They are in the area where I planted marglobe last year. Marglobe is not a hybrid so they may be true tomatoes.

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/

English Ivy

English Ivy

I don’t know if English Ivy really originates in England or not. If it does it is a pretty good vengeance for the American Revolution. I had some trees cut down in my yard a few months ago and the tree people really tore my yard up with their bobcat. I did not really care; because I felt that it was time (after 23 years) to redo the landscaping.

I started out with my tiller. A third of the front yard is (was) English Ivy. The tiller got so tangled up, I had to send it to the shop to get it going again. Now, I pull some every day by hand. I have put mountains of the stuff on the street for the yard waste collection. I still have a long way to go. I do hope to try the tiller again next week. I have enough sense now to stop if it starts pulling a long strand.

I realize, I could just poison the stuff. I don’t want to do that. The roots would still be in the soil. I would have to work in the poison to pull the ivy, Waste from the yard goes in the compost pile and onto the vegetable garden. I may plant some vegetables in the flower beds next year. I don’t want to put the poison in the watershed. There are many reasons not to use the poison.

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/

Small Strong Turnips

Small Strong Turnips

I pulled off all of the turnips yesterday. The bulbs were not very big; but the leaves were starting to look ratty. Most of the turnips were too small to fool around with so I just put them in the compost bin. The ones that had bulbs about an inch in diameter or more, I took inside. We cooked a few for supper last night. They were really strong. No more purple tops, strictly Tokyo Cross Hybrid turnips for the future.

The soil is drying out really fast. I guess it is because the plants are getting so large. I had to water yesterday. I think I will just water every day until it rains again. The watermelon vines have blossoms. I know that means they will really start sucking up water.

Weeds are really growing fast under the fig trees, despite the shade and the heavy mulch. I pulled them yesterday. I think I will try planting some oak leaf lettuce there. It would be wonderful to have lettuce, tomato and cucumber at the same time. I picked the second cucumber yesterday. There were only a few squash and one zucchini and 2 small broccoli heads. The Brussels sprouts have a few little buds on the stalks.




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/

High Expectations

High Expectations

At the risk of jinxing things, my garden is coming along fantastically. The watermelons are climbing the watermelon fence. (a little). The spaghetti squash is over my head and blooming. A couple of the tomatoes are bigger than my fist. 2 cucumbers should be ready to pick today or tomorrow. We are eating yellow squash and zucchini. The patty-pan squash is blooming. There are even a couple of blooms on the eggplants.

The kale is still producing in great quantities and it still tastes good. How long can it last? There is even a little bit of lettuce that hasn’t bolted. I don’t think there is any way we will have tomato, cucumber and lettuce from the garden in the same salad; but there is a real good chance for the lettuce and cucumber. Only a few of the turnips have bolted; but the ones left don’t have very big turnips on them; so we may be almost finished with the turnips. Learn from experience. From now on it’s Tokyo Cross instead of Purple top.

Interior painting has started on the greenhouse and the plans for new shelves, lights and an inside raised bed are under way. The indoor raised bed may be a little radical. We’ll see.




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/

Progress Report

Progress Report

I am once again separated from my Garden. I am in Miami in an air-conditioned environment. It is really too hot in Charlotte to be in the yard anyway.

The grape vines are really going to town. I had no idea they would grow this fast. The tomatoes are over my head and have tomatoes the size of tennis balls already. We are eating squash and zucchini. The spaghetti squash is literally climbing the wall. It is at about shoulder level now. The patty-pan squash finally has blossoms. The watermelons are growing; but slowly. There are tiny cucumbers on the cucumber vines. We have cut some broccoli but they are small. If we don’t cut them they will go to seed.

We haven’t had any rain for weeks. I have been watering with my Rube Goldberg system every 2 or 3 days; but that only keeps the plants alive. It does not really make for healthy growth. We had a thunderstorm last night; but it was only thunder and lightning, no water. In Miami we had a nice storm yesterday afternoon. The sky is overcast now. Everything here is really green and lovely. The flowers are blooming in Coral Gables.




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/

Back to the Garden (and the weeds)

Back to the Garden (and the weeds)

Despite the good food and warm hospitality of Bulgaria & Romania, I am glad to be home. I have been home a week. I have been home long enough that I am not even home anymore. I am in San Francisco. I did have time to mess around in the garden a little bit.

It took a full week to pull all of the weeds. I also pulled off the mustard and arugula. They have gone to seed. We are still eating kale. A little bit of squash and a little bit of zucchini comes in every day. The herbs are growing faster than we can eat them or give them away. The turnip greens are not really fit to eat; but the turnips are still growing so I have not pulled them off. The turnips are really a by-product of the greens to us; but last fall I planted some Tokyo cross hybrids. They were very good. There were a few volunteers this spring so we ate them.

My wife boiled them in salt water. She diced them and seasoned them with dill, ground pepper and butter. God they were delicious. The ones that are growing now are the purple top. We are hoping they will be as good as the Tokyo cross. I’ll let you know. I have also been pulling ivy and turning compost. The weeds have refilled the compost bin; but I am almost out of mulch.




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/