The bogeyman of the year in our garden was the spotted cucumber beetle. To me that would be a frightening costume. One could also go as a deer or a rabbit. These creatures may not be scary to non-gardeners, but they strike fear into the hearts of anyone who has gone out in the morning to find everything eaten or trampled. Maybe a wolf or coyote costume would be good. It could be stuffed and put in the garden next spring as a scarecrow (scaredeer).
The greens are really coming in well. We have eaten them 4 times and given them away once. Yesterday I told my mother I would bring her some on Tuesday. She dreamed about them last night. They are that good. The onions are almost ready to start pulling. What do you call spring onions in the fall? The spinach has true leaves. The mesclun is growing, but it came up a little spotty. It may need replanting. The arugula was planted late, but is coming in pretty well.
This weekend saw the last available raised bed filled and mulched. There is only enough wood left to build one or two more. That will be next weekend’s project. It is raining now and is supposed to continue tomorrow. If the ground gets good and wet, I may transplant a few little trees.
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/
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
Punkin’ Shell
Peter, Peter, Punkin’ eater
Had a wife and couldn’t keep her
Put her in a punkin’ shell
There he kept her very well
Michael Swol has a great use for his pumpkin shell. He made a pumpkin stew. The stew is pretty normal. What is different is that he cooked it in a pumpkin shell. The stew was made in the oven. The pumpkin shell needs to be on something secure in case it leaks. Michael’s did. The flavor was fantastic.
With all of the pumpkins on sale all over the place, this might be a good time to try a pumpkin stew. A friend of my wife’s made pumpkin beer last year. It was ok. I would rather have a good traditional brew and use the pumpkin for a pie.
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/
Had a wife and couldn’t keep her
Put her in a punkin’ shell
There he kept her very well
Michael Swol has a great use for his pumpkin shell. He made a pumpkin stew. The stew is pretty normal. What is different is that he cooked it in a pumpkin shell. The stew was made in the oven. The pumpkin shell needs to be on something secure in case it leaks. Michael’s did. The flavor was fantastic.
With all of the pumpkins on sale all over the place, this might be a good time to try a pumpkin stew. A friend of my wife’s made pumpkin beer last year. It was ok. I would rather have a good traditional brew and use the pumpkin for a pie.
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, October 21, 2010
Forgotten Arugula
Somehow the arugula was left out of the fall planting. Someone somewhere mentioned arugula and I tried to remember if it had been planted. No, it hadn’t. It got planted yesterday. The rain is supposed to come today, so maybe it will be off to a fast start. The first of the scarlet globe, white tipped radishes were picked yesterday; but there are no salad greens to go with them. These are beautiful big radishes and they are not pithy at all.
The mesclun and spinach are coming up, but they are still too small to pick. We have had 3 messes of sallet greens and one mess was given away. They are tender and delicious. The stems were even tender enough to leave them in. We are saving the greens from the radishes to mix with the next batch.
The dry weather has really hampered the garden growth. The garden has needed watering every day. Rain is predicted for today and the sky is cloudy. I even heard thunder a little while ago. Pray for rain please.
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/
The mesclun and spinach are coming up, but they are still too small to pick. We have had 3 messes of sallet greens and one mess was given away. They are tender and delicious. The stems were even tender enough to leave them in. We are saving the greens from the radishes to mix with the next batch.
The dry weather has really hampered the garden growth. The garden has needed watering every day. Rain is predicted for today and the sky is cloudy. I even heard thunder a little while ago. Pray for rain please.
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/
Monday, October 18, 2010
Green Greens
The first of the turnip greens and mustard were picked Saturday. They were young and tender and clean. There were not a lot of them, but they were delicious. We had some more rain so they should replenish themselves quickly. The spinach and lettuce went into the ground Saturday morning. They were well watered in Sunday night so they should grow quickly. The tomatoes still have fruit on the vine and the new cucumber plant has blooms. Maybe we will get a late salad.
The high temperatures are supposed to increase Thursday, but the lows will stay in the 50’s. This is according to the weather forecast on the internet, if you believe it. The afternoon sunshine should make things grow. The speckled lima beans that were just vines have finally set bunches of beans and they are filling out now.
This is the time for a good side-dressing of compost. Beans and other legumes put nitrogen into the soil until they start fruiting. Then they are heavy feeders.
The weather is perfect for aerating the lawn and over-seeding. If the lawn is full of weeds, and you don’t want to use a lot of chemicals, try planting winter rye grass. The lawn will be green all winter. The rye grass will choke out the weeds. In the spring the lawn can be over-seeded again with an appropriate variety that will take over when the rye grass dies in the summer.
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/
The high temperatures are supposed to increase Thursday, but the lows will stay in the 50’s. This is according to the weather forecast on the internet, if you believe it. The afternoon sunshine should make things grow. The speckled lima beans that were just vines have finally set bunches of beans and they are filling out now.
This is the time for a good side-dressing of compost. Beans and other legumes put nitrogen into the soil until they start fruiting. Then they are heavy feeders.
The weather is perfect for aerating the lawn and over-seeding. If the lawn is full of weeds, and you don’t want to use a lot of chemicals, try planting winter rye grass. The lawn will be green all winter. The rye grass will choke out the weeds. In the spring the lawn can be over-seeded again with an appropriate variety that will take over when the rye grass dies in the summer.
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/
Monday, October 4, 2010
Cool Dirt
Finally the temperatures are dropping to the point that spinach and lettuce seeds should germinate well. This weekend should be a great time to plant if the ground is not too wet. In raised beds that have been kept under mulch this should not be a problem. The weather should be suitable for direct seeding of cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower as well, but it may be too late in the season to get a crop before a hard freeze hits.
Next springs garden plan should be in place by now. Lettuce and spinach and the other crucifers will continue to produce until the very coldest weather comes and they may survive into spring. It would not be fun to pull up producing crops to plant the spring garden.
One big change that will be implemented in our summer garden is that we will not plant everything on Good Friday. The plants of peppers and tomatoes and egg plants will go into the ground at 2 or 3 week intervals so as to keep continuous production. The winter squash, except for spaghetti squash, will be planted in early June.
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/
Next springs garden plan should be in place by now. Lettuce and spinach and the other crucifers will continue to produce until the very coldest weather comes and they may survive into spring. It would not be fun to pull up producing crops to plant the spring garden.
One big change that will be implemented in our summer garden is that we will not plant everything on Good Friday. The plants of peppers and tomatoes and egg plants will go into the ground at 2 or 3 week intervals so as to keep continuous production. The winter squash, except for spaghetti squash, will be planted in early June.
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/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
