Okra and tomatoes could have been served together last night, but there were only a few okra and these 1st few tomatoes need to be eaten raw with just a little salt or some cucumbers. There is nothing like a home grown tomato. Two tomatoes were picked Saturday. There was another ripe one yesterday, but it was rotten.
It hasn’t rained since Saturday night so BT was sprayed last night. That will probably guarantee rain today or tonight. Spraying the garden is kind of like washing the car. There are holes in some leaves, but there do not seem to be any larvae or eggs on the bottom of them. There have been quite a few fireflies observed. Maybe they are eating the harmful larvae. The spotted cucumber beetle has not shown up yet this year, but he will be here.
The blueberries that were planted a few months ago are producing already. These are the ones that came from the 4H club and from the Wing-haven sale. The one that was still alive after last year and that had blueberries last year has not even bloomed.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
Tomato Envy
For male gardeners out of puberty and all female gardeners tomato envy is one of the greatest curses of gardening. Who will get the 1st tomato? Who will get the largest and the tastiest? Who has the coolest heirloom? What if the tomatoes get a disease or are disfigured? The list goes on and on and the anxiety builds until the crop starts coming in healthy and tasty.
The tomato fence in our garden had to have another rail installed. The vines are over my head, but the tomatoes (the vines are loaded) are mostly within a few inches of the ground. The fence seems to have kept the deer out this year, but there are still many critters that can get the low hanging fruit from the tomato vines. As the 4th of July (our normal 1st tomato day) approaches the anxiety hightens.
The okra is producing little pods and should be ready to pick by Sunday. Would it be wonderful to have okra and tomatoes together.? Maybe it will happen soon. This weekend will be devoted to making sauerkraut and drying squash. Of course the standard jobs of turning compost, mulching, weeding and tying tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants continues.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/
The tomato fence in our garden had to have another rail installed. The vines are over my head, but the tomatoes (the vines are loaded) are mostly within a few inches of the ground. The fence seems to have kept the deer out this year, but there are still many critters that can get the low hanging fruit from the tomato vines. As the 4th of July (our normal 1st tomato day) approaches the anxiety hightens.
The okra is producing little pods and should be ready to pick by Sunday. Would it be wonderful to have okra and tomatoes together.? Maybe it will happen soon. This weekend will be devoted to making sauerkraut and drying squash. Of course the standard jobs of turning compost, mulching, weeding and tying tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants continues.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Okra Blooming
Finally the 1st blooms appeared on the Okra. Until last year the okra was pretty much left out of our garden because picking it is so itchy. It is worth it. A long sleeve shirt beats the itch and okra is so good in so many ways. Many people limit their okra to fried okra because of the slime. They are really limiting themselves, because frying okra destroys the best part of the experience.
Okra in stews and little mixes of vegetable is really great. It enhances the flavor of almost everything. Speckled limas, fresh sweet corn and onions are fantastic. Add stewed tomatoes and a little basil and the flavor goes through the roof. Stewed tomato and okra served cold is a summer delight. Green beans and new potatoes with a few pods of okra are excellent.
Some people leave the end of the okra where it is picked from the plant to keep the juice and seeds from running all over the place. This destroys the okra for me, because it does not blend with the other foods. As good as the okra is, it is not one of my favorites if it is not mixed with other vegetables.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Sauerkraut
The bugs are starting to take a serious interest in the cabbages. It is time to make sauerkraut. Here’s how:
The only things you absolutely need are cabbage, non-iodized salt, a container and a follower (more about that later). 5 pounds of cabbage will make a gallon of kraut. Each 5 pounds of cabbage requires about 3 tablespoons of salt. Chop the cabbage, put it in a bowl and mix the salt with the cabbage. You can mix in other vegetables and flavors to suit yourself. Put a few inches of kraut into the crock or other container and pack it really tight with your fist. Keep adding the mix a few inches at a time until your container is almost full.
When the container is almost full the follower needs to be place on top with a weight to hold the kraut down. A plate or saucer with a rock on it works well for this. A cloth can be tied around the top to keep out flies. For the first 24 hours the kraut should be checked and smashed occasionally until the juice has risen to cover the follower. At this point just put the container in a cool dark place and check it every few days. Make sure the kraut stays beneath the juice and skim off some of the crud that forms on top. The kraut is ready to eat in about a week. Some people scoop out some kraut and repack the container as they need until the container is empty.
We don’t have a nice cool space to store our kraut so we can it when it is “ripe”. A hot water bath is ok for this, but we usually pressure can it.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/
The only things you absolutely need are cabbage, non-iodized salt, a container and a follower (more about that later). 5 pounds of cabbage will make a gallon of kraut. Each 5 pounds of cabbage requires about 3 tablespoons of salt. Chop the cabbage, put it in a bowl and mix the salt with the cabbage. You can mix in other vegetables and flavors to suit yourself. Put a few inches of kraut into the crock or other container and pack it really tight with your fist. Keep adding the mix a few inches at a time until your container is almost full.
When the container is almost full the follower needs to be place on top with a weight to hold the kraut down. A plate or saucer with a rock on it works well for this. A cloth can be tied around the top to keep out flies. For the first 24 hours the kraut should be checked and smashed occasionally until the juice has risen to cover the follower. At this point just put the container in a cool dark place and check it every few days. Make sure the kraut stays beneath the juice and skim off some of the crud that forms on top. The kraut is ready to eat in about a week. Some people scoop out some kraut and repack the container as they need until the container is empty.
We don’t have a nice cool space to store our kraut so we can it when it is “ripe”. A hot water bath is ok for this, but we usually pressure can it.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/
Monday, June 20, 2011
Pathway Mulching
The pathway mulching started a little late this year. Leaves are not easy to find on the curbside. Some progress is being made however. Saturday, I found a bunch of pine needles. There were more than I could safely carry in my pickup truck so I made another trip Sunday. Most of them went into the pathways, but a few were used to put a light covering on the leaf mulch in the flower beds to give them a nicer look.
We are finally picking cucumbers. They are really hard to find among all of the foliage. The bugs are coming back as well, but not as bad as yesterday. The garden needs to be sprayed again, but every day seems to threaten rain. It hurts to spray and then get it washed off. BT is being used again this year, but the application method is different. Some of the bottles that came with organic foliar fertilizer were saved. The BT is put in the bottle at ½ strength and sprayed with the hose. It seems to work pretty well.
The squash is coming in like crazy. We have given away and eaten bunches, but now it is time to start drying it for use in soups this winter. The tomato vines are loaded too, but don’t count your tomatoes before they are sliced.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/
We are finally picking cucumbers. They are really hard to find among all of the foliage. The bugs are coming back as well, but not as bad as yesterday. The garden needs to be sprayed again, but every day seems to threaten rain. It hurts to spray and then get it washed off. BT is being used again this year, but the application method is different. Some of the bottles that came with organic foliar fertilizer were saved. The BT is put in the bottle at ½ strength and sprayed with the hose. It seems to work pretty well.
The squash is coming in like crazy. We have given away and eaten bunches, but now it is time to start drying it for use in soups this winter. The tomato vines are loaded too, but don’t count your tomatoes before they are sliced.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Squash Time
The squash is here big time. All three types of summer squash: yellow crookneck, patty-pan and zucchini are producing like crazy. Of the winter squash, only the butternut has bloomed. The winter squash is in a corner that does not get as much sun as the rest of the garden. We have been eating squash and giving it away for over a week now.
Ana made a fantastic lasagna with zucchini and kale. Her lasagna is always wonderful, but this may be the best yet. She has also grilled a lot of marinated patty-pan and made a lot of stir fries. Michael Swol said that he was going to make stuffed patty-pan with the ones I gave him. We put his recipe in the blog last year and it is in “THE INCOMPLETE GARDEN BOOK”, but I will try to get the “new and improved” version and publish it here soon.
The okra is waist high. The tomatoes are shoulder high. They are loaded with small tomatoes. The early girl variety started putting on little tomatoes 1st this year. Usually they are last. The cucumber vines are huge, but the largest cucumber is about 3’ long. That won’t be worth the trouble to pick. Straight 8 was the variety planted, but with members of the cucurbit family, one never knows what will actually appear.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/
Ana made a fantastic lasagna with zucchini and kale. Her lasagna is always wonderful, but this may be the best yet. She has also grilled a lot of marinated patty-pan and made a lot of stir fries. Michael Swol said that he was going to make stuffed patty-pan with the ones I gave him. We put his recipe in the blog last year and it is in “THE INCOMPLETE GARDEN BOOK”, but I will try to get the “new and improved” version and publish it here soon.
The okra is waist high. The tomatoes are shoulder high. They are loaded with small tomatoes. The early girl variety started putting on little tomatoes 1st this year. Usually they are last. The cucumber vines are huge, but the largest cucumber is about 3’ long. That won’t be worth the trouble to pick. Straight 8 was the variety planted, but with members of the cucurbit family, one never knows what will actually appear.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/
Friday, June 10, 2011
Stinking Compost
It was promised that the method for dealing with stinking compost would be discussed in this article. The best place to start is with the cause. The smell was coming only from the 1st 2 bins. A little bit of lime was applied to these bins, but that did not help. Finally it was determined that the smell was actually caused by grass that had been left in bags before being incorporated into the bins.
The solution turned out to be mulched leaves. In the first bin, the grass is being layered with mulched leaves with the leaves always providing a top cover. In the second bin the entire contents of the bin are being covered with mulched leaves. A leaf blower on reverse (vacuum) cycle is being used to mulch the leaves. The leaves from our yard are long used up so the leaves have to come from those that people put on the street. At this time of year that source is diminished, slowing the incorporation of grass into the compost pile.
Fortunately, the grass from our yard that is dumped directly into compost bin does not seem to be a problem. It can decompose aerobically. The leaves in bags have already begun anaerobic decomposition.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/
The solution turned out to be mulched leaves. In the first bin, the grass is being layered with mulched leaves with the leaves always providing a top cover. In the second bin the entire contents of the bin are being covered with mulched leaves. A leaf blower on reverse (vacuum) cycle is being used to mulch the leaves. The leaves from our yard are long used up so the leaves have to come from those that people put on the street. At this time of year that source is diminished, slowing the incorporation of grass into the compost pile.
Fortunately, the grass from our yard that is dumped directly into compost bin does not seem to be a problem. It can decompose aerobically. The leaves in bags have already begun anaerobic decomposition.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Hot Weekend
These 90 degree plus days are not really good for the garden. They cause the pollen on many plants to be deformed and cause the fruit not to set. They are also kind of hard on the gardener. In spite of the heat much of the backlog of projects was advanced. Mulching of the pathways has begun as well.
The squash is coming in well. We got the 1st 3 yellow squash on Friday. Yesterday a huge basket was half filled with yellow and patty-pan squash. The zucchinis are about 3” long but they still have blossoms so they were not picked. The cucumbers are loaded with blossoms but no cucumbers. The sugar peas are still producing well, but the vines are looking a little shabby. There are bunches of little tomatoes.
The stinky compost seems to have been defeated. It did not take rocket science. The smell was coming from the grass that had been collected from the road that was in bags. The method for defeating the smell will be addressed in the next post.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/
The squash is coming in well. We got the 1st 3 yellow squash on Friday. Yesterday a huge basket was half filled with yellow and patty-pan squash. The zucchinis are about 3” long but they still have blossoms so they were not picked. The cucumbers are loaded with blossoms but no cucumbers. The sugar peas are still producing well, but the vines are looking a little shabby. There are bunches of little tomatoes.
The stinky compost seems to have been defeated. It did not take rocket science. The smell was coming from the grass that had been collected from the road that was in bags. The method for defeating the smell will be addressed in the next post.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/
Friday, June 3, 2011
Last Day of May
A visit from my son who lives in Virginia reinforced the blessing of our climate. His summer garden will go into the ground this week. Our Charlotte garden is ready to start producing. There are small yellow and zucchini squash on the plants. We may pick squash by the weekend. There are two tiny tomatoes. The cucumbers and some of the peppers have blossoms. The okra is over a foot tall.
The holiday weekend provided an opportunity to catch up much of the backlog of garden and yard work. The grass still needs cutting as it always does. There are a few plants in the garden that still need to be side-dressed with compost, but there is no more compost until next weekend. There was a huge pile of compost on a tarp. It seemed an impossibility that it would all be used, but it was. Even the compost that was finished this weekend was used.
There is also a problem with odor from the compost pile that was not present last year. A plan is in place to correct the problem, but it will be revealed when it is shown to be effective.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/
The holiday weekend provided an opportunity to catch up much of the backlog of garden and yard work. The grass still needs cutting as it always does. There are a few plants in the garden that still need to be side-dressed with compost, but there is no more compost until next weekend. There was a huge pile of compost on a tarp. It seemed an impossibility that it would all be used, but it was. Even the compost that was finished this weekend was used.
There is also a problem with odor from the compost pile that was not present last year. A plan is in place to correct the problem, but it will be revealed when it is shown to be effective.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/
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