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Planning a Raised Bed Garden (Pt. 3)

Planning a Raised Bed Garden (Pt. 3)


Making an attractive garden where it is easy to work is an important consideration. Maximizing production is also important. Before accepting the plan and starting construction, one should think about what will be planted and how well the plan will facilitate this.

Some considerations are crop rotation, crops to be grown, vertical or horizontal planting. What are the challenges faced by the individual gardener. Our #1 predator was deer. This problem has been solved with a 6’ “Bambi” fence. If rabbits or squirrels are the problem a different solution will be required. Pollination can sometimes be an issue. Adding a couple of beehives has really helped in this regard. If this solution sounds a little excessive, bumblebee nests can be purchased. Bumblebees have longer tongues than honeybees and can pollinate a lot of things that honeybees can’t.

Insect pests are also a problem that needs to be addressed in the initial planning. Mulch conserves moisture and reduces weed problems but provides a winter home for insect pests. Poison will kill pollinators and predator insects as well as the bad guys. We are not spraying anything that will hurt the bees and have pretty much limited pest control sprays to BT for caterpillars and Sulfur for mildew. It is ok to have some pest insects to give the good insects someone to eat. Maintaining balance is the key.

A birdbath is a really good additional feature to attract pollinators and insect eating birds. It also attracts tomato pecking birds, but they would probably come anyway.

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/

Planning a Raised Bed Garden (Pt. 2)

Planning a Raised Bed Garden (Pt. 2)

If the gardener does not have a pretty clear plan in the noggin, it is a good idea to draw the plan out on graph paper.  Some definite organization is necessary, especially if this is a partial construction.  If this is a refurbish, after laying out the plan on paper, lay it out on the ground. 

String is best to lay out the beds and pathways but make sure none of it is left in the garden as it will tangle the tiller.  Once the garden has been laid out with string, it can be marked with spray paint or lime.  This step will have to be repeated after the tilling is complete. 

If this is a refurbish and plastic or ground cloth has been used under mulch  in the pathways, probably the hardest part of the whole project is finding and removing the plastic.  When this is complete, a few more pieces will still be found with the tiller, slowing the entire process. 

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/

 

Planning a Raised Bed Garden (Pt. 1)

Planning a Raised Bed Garden


People who suffered from the exceptional rainfall this year may be considering moving their garden into raised beds. This was done at our home quite a few years ago and we have learned some things. One thing we learned is that raised beds are the best way to garden.

Some of the issues to consider in planning the garden are: What will be planted, what kind of access to the beds will be needed, and how will the pathways between the beds be maintained. Many of the beds in our garden are ready to be renewed. This can be done without dismantling the beds, but we are taking this opportunity to put our experience to work in a redesign.

Beds can be almost any width, but over 4’ makes for really hard work when the center of the bed needs management. If a bed is against a fence or wall, 2’ should be the limit. Any bed that will be home to a squash plant should be at least 4’; and the squash will still be too big for the bed. Our new beds will all be 4’ wide and 12’ long. The length does not really matter much. 12’ was chosen for these beds because 12’ lumber is the longest that fits well in my truck.

2” X 12” lumber is being used for the sides of these beds. This is not very important. The deeper the bed, the more room there is for plant roots. The higher the sides, the easier the access for people who don’t like to bend over. Beds can be bordered with many different types of materials. Rocks, bricks, logs or concrete blocks can be used. A friend uses wine bottles. The perimeter beds in our garden are done with landscape timbers. Any type of lumber should be treated. Fears of contamination from the treatment are irrational, but people who are worried can seal the lumber with Urethane or something.

If there is no fence the pathways in one direction need to be aligned. If there is a fence the horizontal and vertical pathways should also be aligned. The garden does not have to be rectangular, but consideration should be given to making the individual beds accessible with a wheelbarrow or garden cart.

There are many ways for dealing with the pathways. Ours are standardized at 30” except for the one in front of the gate. That one is 36”. Some people like to let the grass grow between the beds and cut it with a lawn mower and a weed eater. This makes one of the nicest looking presentations, but the grass tends to send roots under the bed borders and invade the beds. Covering the ground with plastic or weed-block and mulch works well. The edges by the beds can still be a problem. We are hoping to solve this problem by using 36” weed block in the 30” pathways and stapling the weed block to the sides of the bed. Wish me luck.

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/

More Lessons from Experience

More Lessons from Experience

When the garden was put into raised beds, it was done with salvage lumber. The beds are all different sizes. Even so they are in orderly vertical rows of the same width, either 3’ or 4’. The real problem is that the horizontal pathways are not lined up. This was not a problem when there was no fence.

When the temporary fence was put up in the season before last, there was still no problem, because there were two entrances. The Bambi fence ended that advantage. It is now very difficult to move the wheelbarrow or the tiller to the individual boxes.

The solution is to standardize the size of the boxes so that they have straight horizontal pathways as well as vertical pathways. Destruction of the old beds was started Sunday. Many of the beds are still planted so only a few can be replaced now. All of the future boxes have been laid out and will be built when their space becomes available. The original plan called for building one box at a time and filling it with the rich dirt from the other boxes that were being wrecked.

This plan was abandoned in favor of tilling the ground from all of the demolished boxes. Building new boxes if and when the planned space is available. The boxes will be filled halfway with mushroom compost and topped off with dirt from the pathways. Another plan, to deter weeds, is to have 30” pathways and use 36” commercial grade weed block in the pathway. The extra 3” on each side will be stapled to the boxes.





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/

False Fall

False Fall

 

 

There are not supposed to be highs in the 70’s in August. But then… the whole weather thing is weird. Last year was one of the hottest and driest summers on record. This year is one of the coolest wettest summers. The garden has not required supplemental water more than 6 or 7 times.

 

All the rain has been a mixed blessing. It is great not to have to water, but so much water can be a problem. The tomatoes were quite prolific, but they had so much water in them that even after squeezing them out, the canning jars had water in the bottom of them.

 

The almost daily rain made it almost impossible to control the bugs and the powdery mildew. Every time the plants were sprayed with BT or sulfur, the next day’s rain washed it off. Some people’s whole gardens were washed away. This points to a benefit of raised beds and organic practices. The raised beds drain faster and the organic practices make it possible for birds and predator species of insects to help a little. If all of the bad guys are eliminated, the good guys don’t have anything to eat and they just go away.

 

 

 

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/

 

 

 

Let there be Light (Florescent that is)

Let there be Light (Florescent that is)


Since the rain made outdoor activities uncomfortable this weekend, the greenhouse preparation for the winter indoor planting began. That involves cleaning the shelves, the lights, the heat pads and the floor. Nothing is really difficult except for the florescent lights. Working with those things can make one feel like Laurel and Hardy.

The bulbs have to be turned just right to burn. Then they have to be hung from the bottom of the upper shelves. After that they need to be adjusted again. Doing that makes the bulbs fall out. Putting them back in while sitting on the brick floor is painful and difficult. It is good that no one has a video.

Learning from experience, a new modification is being made this year. There are gaps in the shelving boards that allow the heat pads to wrinkle in places, making movement of flats difficult. Putting Plexiglas on top of the shelves cures this. Using surplus Plexiglas makes this a little tough, but it sure will save a lot of time in planting season.



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/

 

New Beginnings

New Beginnings

It is time to start planning the fall/winter garden and greenhouse. Yellow squash for a second planting have already gone into the ground. A few Roma and Marglobe tomatoes and some Brussels sprouts have been started in the greenhouse. Sometime this week, cabbage will be started as well. The tomatoes will be planted in large pots to be brought into the greenhouse when freezing is called for.

Even though the greenhouse plantings for next summer will not begin until late December, the determination of what to plant needs to begin now, because seeds will be hard to find then.

In late august the fall garden goes into the ground. The beds are being prepared now. The old spring garden beds are being planted to squash. The old squash beds will be planted to fall greens.



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/

 

Learning From Experience

Back when the garden was very small, Marglobe was the only tomato planted. The garden grew, the greenhouse came along with a desire to experiment. Every year a few different varieties of tomatoes were planted. This year the permanent varieties were established.

They were Marglobe, German Johnson, Celebrity and Rutgers. There was one new experimental variety. This was a particularly bad year for tomatoes, primarily because (of all things) too much rain.

Some of the vines died from fungus. Many of the tomatoes have cracked tops and bird or bug holes. All of the tomatoes have produced a lot of really great tomatoes. 56 pints of tomatoes have been canned as well as 14 jars of soup that is mostly tomatoes. The best variety every year has been Marglobe. This year it is the only variety with perfect vines and perfect tomatoes.

A late planting has been started in the greenhouse. It is all Marglobe. Next year, Marglobe will be the only tomato except for those grown from seeds provided by friends for their gardens.







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/

If at 1st you don't succeed

Try, try again. A lot of people had their gardens ruined by, of all things, too much rain this year. Those of us who had raised beds fared better, but had other problems.

Many people had stem borers and squash bugs. These creatures must be controlled before the problem starts or all is lost. BT will control both bugs if the plant is sprayed before the plant becomes infested. The difficult part with the borer’s is getting the spay onto the stem past the canopy.

It is not too late to replant. Rotate plant families to avoid re-infection. Be sure to put the dead vines in a trash can rather than the compost pile. Even a very hot compost pile will have cooler spots near the edges. The little bit of extra compost is not worth the risk of perpetuating the problem.







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/

Exercise in Futility

The garden was sprayed with BT (for caterpillars) Tuesday with plans to spray with sulfur (for powdery mildew) yesterday. Yesterday the rains came. Not enough to make a lot of difference, just enough to wash the BT off of the plants. The garden is in a transitional stage and needs a lot of work.

It still needs to be sprayed with BT and Sulfur. Tomatoes, peppers and eggplants are growing so fast that they need tying up almost every day. The spring crop beds need to be cleaned out and reworked. The zucchini and patty-pan squash have succumbed to something and need to be pulled off and replanted. These dead plants will go in the gray trash barrel, not the compost. The replacement plants will be planted in the spring crop beds, to avoid re-infection.

The spaghetti squash is ripening fast. A few fruits seem to have pickle-worms. Last year we got the worms out and ate those right away instead of trying to keep them. This year is the best year we ever for spaghetti squash so there are way too many to eat. Freezing will be tried. Freezing squash of any type usually results in a bag of water, but that is better than wasting them.

Tuesday the bees appeared to be getting ready to swarm. A nuc box was placed near the hives just in case. Yesterday’s rain seemed to have calmed them down.





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/

Too Much of a Good Thing

Many people have blamed their garden failures this year on too much rain. How is that possible? Part of the problem is that the roots and lower stems rot. Another problem is powdery mildew and other funguses. The use of raised beds can improve the “wet feet” situation. It is too late for that remedy this year.

It is not too late to replant a lot of things. If done quickly, most squashes and squash relatives can be planted and still make a crop. It may even be a better time because a lot of the squashes natural enemies have passed the busy part of their life cycle. Don’t plant the new seeds in the same location as the old ones. The pulled up vines should go in the trash rather than in the compost. You may want to plant the squash where the winter garden was supposed to go and then plant the winter garden in the squash beds. Tomatoes are iffy. It depends on when the 1st frost arrives. Do not pull up the tomato plants until they are completely dead. They will continue producing some tomatoes.

The powdery mildew is another problem. It can be stomped out with a sulfur spray. The problem in our garden with both the bugs and the mildew has been the daily rain. The sprays will be washed off before they can do any good. BT is sprayed for bugs. It only kills larvae not grown beetles.





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/

Easter Eggs, Zucchini & Cucumbers

It is not necessary to ask what these things have in common to anyone who has searched for them. Each plant can be thoroughly searched and still a couple will get away until they resemble watermelons. They are still good to eat in most cases, but the seeds are big and hard and have to be removed.

A good way to use overgrown cucumbers is in “cucumber salad”, sometimes called refrigerator pickles. Scrape the seeds from the cucumber and slice the cucumber into the thickness that is preferred. Chop some onions. Mix the two in the ratio that suits your own palette. Cover them in a jar with a blend of half salt water and half cider vinegar. Leave them in the refrigerator at least overnight.

The flavor of the onions and cucumbers blends with that of the salt and vinegar. Eat the mixture as a side dish or as a delicious addition to any garden salad. If you are really good and finding the cucumbers before they get huge, this can be made with normal sized fruits.





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/

Ripe Spaghetti Squash

The first one came along finally. The spaghetti squash vines are loaded with squash, but not ripe ones. Finally yesterday one was a little darker yellow than the others. The stem was not dry, but the bottom was white and the top was yellow. It got picked. It was ready and delicious.

The easiest way to fix spaghetti squash is in the microwave. One can get out the ice-pick and take out their frustrations on the squash. Put it in the microwave for 5 minutes. It may not look done, but remember things keep cooking after they come out. Cut it open and scrape the insides out. Keep scraping until all that’s left is a thin rind. There is a lot of spaghetti in a small squash.

Bees do not like for you to smell good. Last night I used some skin so soft mosquito spray. It really smells more like a fancy lotion than mosquito repellant. When I was working by the bee hives, one came over and stung me for no good reason. I guess it was the smell.



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/

A Plague of Rabbits

There was once a hawk that lived close to the garden. He ate all of the rabbits and the slow birds and squirrels. When the supply ran down, he left. Now that it is safe a mama rabbit moved back in and started procreating. That was 6 months ago and now we are awash in rabbits. Where is the hawk when he’s needed?

The good news is that except for some cabbage that was still in the pots hardening off, they have not eaten much from the garden. Something…it could be a deer is eating the hostas and nibbling on the cherry trees. The rabbits don’t climb trees so that definitely fall to Bambi. It is hard to be sure about the hostas. When I see them in the yard, they are usually munching clover or grass.

The depredation from insects in the garden has been pretty limited, but I have seen a stink bug and a spotted cucumber beetle. The BT doesn’t bother them because it is the adult beetle that does the damage. The BT works against the larvae only. Spraying anything more serious may hurt the bees.



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/

On the Quality of Tomatoes

That 1st homegrown tomato is usually the best thing on earth. This year’s tomatoes so far have been a little disappointing. The very 1st was one that had been damaged by a bird. Only half of it was ripe. That half was delicious. The next two tomatoes were either Marglobe or Rutgers and they were great. The last couple of tomatoes have been German Johnson. They were huge tomatoes, but mealy. It is nice to take a single slice to make a sandwich, but only if it is a delicious tomato.

On the other side of the garden the new potatoes this year have been prolific and delicious. The sugar peas are also delicious even though, by mistake, dwarf grey sugar was planted instead of sugar snap. With the sugar snap the whole pod can be eaten even if the pea is mature. The dwarf grey sugar pods are tough when they are filled out.

There are still no cucumbers and the squash have not been productive. The ones we have gotten have been delicious. There are blossoms on the egg plants, but no fruit. Maybe, soon.

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/

Hail Yeah

Yesterday afternoon’s garden & yard ventures were shortened by a heavy rain storm. I turned out that we got .7”. Shortly after the rain started there was a shower of hail. Expecting that the garden would be smashed down and the leaves shredded, an early morning inspection foray was conducted at 1st light. There was no damage and the leaves that had looked sad and wilted yesterday were standing up tall and proud.

The spaghetti squash is doing the best ever so far this year. (knock on wood). There is one odd looking specimen laying in the garden path beside the spaghetti bed. Instead of the white or light yellow of most of the squash this one is green and spotted. It will be fun to see what it is.

Supper last night was a salad made from lettuce and tomato from the garden. It was quite good. Now if there were only a cucumber. Among my friends, my garden is the only one producing tomatoes. Some of them have cucumbers though.

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/

To Spray or not to Spray

Poisons are not used in our yard or garden so that is not the issue. Rain is the issue. BT (Bacillus Thuringiensis) and Sulfur are the main sprays used. They both wash off in a moderate to heavy rain and have to be re-applied. The alternative is to let the crops get eaten up by bugs or killed with powdery mildew. This year seems to have brought a bumper crop of chameleons, so there are not as many bugs as normal. I can’t help but wonder if the diseased caterpillars spoil dinner for the little amphibians.

Powdery mildew is a more serious problem because it has no natural enemies. It is extremely bad in the high humidity caused by Sun and rain. An emulsion of either sulfur or baking soda will pretty much wipe it out. Experience has shown that baking soda kills the leaves on which it is sprayed. Sulfur does not.

The BT was sprayed yesterday on the garden. It still needs to be sprayed on the cherry and blueberry plants. The sulfur was used up last year, so more will have to be purchased.

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/

Sunshine & Rain are a Powerful Combination

The last 5 days, while being uncomfortable for gardeners, have been great for gardens. The spaghetti squash has 12 fruits that can be seen without touching the leaves. In very humid or rainy weather touching leaves should be avoided as much as possible to prevent the spread of powdery mildew and other fungus. The rest of the garden is kicking butt too.

Sugar peas have yielded enough for three meals in the last 4 days and there are plenty to pick today. Kale has been cut 4 times. Once to eat and 3 times to give away. It will be cut again today. 4 tomatoes and 4 zucchini have also been harvested as well as a patty-pan squash and lots of lettuce and onions. New potatoes have been grappled 4 times.

The problem with the constant rain is that it is pointless to spray BT for insects or sulfur for powdery mildew. They would just wash off. This weekend crowder peas and cantaloupe were planted. They were not part of the original plan, but there was room for them, where the radishes and spinach came off.

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/

Wonder Weeds

Saturday morning every single weed was pulled from the garden beds. Saturday afternoon they needed weeding again. They didn’t get it. Why is it so easy to grow grass in the garden and so hard to grow it in the lawn? Perhaps the whole lawn should be dug up and planted to vegetables. Once the grass took over it could just be mowed.

The leaves in the spaghetti squash, lettuce, mustard and kale are covering the ground well enough that there is no need to weed. Weeds are pulled only when they grow up through the vegetable leaves. The only consolation is that the weeds help fill the compost pile. Some people say that weeds should not be placed in the compost pile. That would be a terrible waste of biological material.

So far this year the BT has only been sprayed once. The stinky stuff to repel the deer has been sprayed about 5 times, but I forgot and the deer have apparently ruined 2 cherry trees. Not much point in spraying now but they were sprayed with BT.

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/

A Game of Squash(es)

All of the squash plants have the ability to pollinate the other squash plants. For this reason volunteers can be a lot of fun. Saving seeds if more than one variety is planted is futile. Good gardening practice says that all volunteers should be pulled like a weed as they may harbor pests or disease. That would spoil the fun.

Last year there was a volunteer squash that turned out to be a patty-pan. It was the most productive squash plant in the garden. This year there are 4 volunteers. One of them could be from a dropped butternut seed. The other three are total mysteries. Only 1 plant has produced a female flower that looks like a squash. That one appears to be a spaghetti squash, but the truth will not be revealed until it is picked and cut open.

The little zucchinis are about 5” long now and 1 is getting ready to drop its blossom. Most summer squashes are better small so they are picked when the blossom drops unless it gets knocked off by accident. Winter squash should be left until they reach full maturity in order so that they will last well in storage.



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/

Teeny Weenie Zucchini

The first little zucchinis have formed on the plants, but one should not count their zucchinis before they hatch. The first of any squash plant frequently dies on the vine. The zucchinis aforementioned have huge blossoms still, which means they have not been pollinated. There are no male flowers on that plant, but the plant next to it has plenty. Hopefully the bees will do their job. Whenever there is a tiny squash, perfectly formed, that just dries up and falls off without maturing, it is because it was not pollinated.

The paragraph above was written Friday. Since then the little zucchinis have grown to about 4”. The still have the blooms. We do not care for monster zucchinis so they will be picked when the bloom falls off. Incidentally The spaghetti squash now has one female blossom that is beginning to swell. The rest of the blossoms seem to be male so there is hope.

Michael’s 2nd hive of bees was picked up on Saturday. The best part of picking up bees was talking to Wayne Hanson, who is and extremely talented beekeeper. The first hive of my bees was still being fed and had an extra super with a queen excluder. After talking to Wayne the queen excluder and the feeder were removed. The reasons for that will be discussed 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/

Bee-ing Disorganized

About a week ago a small super was added to the #1 beehive. It seemed like a good idea to check for activity. Saturday and Sunday had afternoon rain, so the venture had to wait until yesterday (Monday). The bees have drawn almost all of the comb, but have filled almost none of it. They did make some burr comb under the feeder and fill that.

Hive #2 only had 1 undrawn foundation. That was replaced with a plastic foundation to see what will happen. The undrawn foundation was on the extreme right side. The two frames next to it were moved over and the plastic foundation was placed between 2 almost full frames. That hive will need a super this weekend. If they draw the plastic, it will be plastic. If not the plastic will be returned to Mann Lake and wax will be used.

The first sugar peas were picked yesterday. They were stir fried with asparagus, spinach and onion from the garden and bell pepper from the store. MMM good. The original intent was to grapple some new potatoes to go with the meal, but the ground was too soggy for sticking a hand under the potatoes.







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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/

Sugar Peas

They are not quite ready to pick, but there are little pods on the pea vines. The vines are as tall as my shoulder. The potatoes have been blooming for over a week now so maybe a few new potatoes will also grace the plate. Stir fried sugar pea pods, spring onions and asparagus with a side dish of new potatoes sounds mighty tasty. We can have a salad and some mixed greens with it.

The rain gauge measured 4.1” of rain last night. That should get things growing. The garden and the flowers have been watered every other day, but that really just keeps them alive. A good soaking rain followed by lots of sunshine is like steroids for the garden. Now where is the sun?

This was the weekend for opening the #2 beehive. The rainy afternoons prevented that. Mann Lake sent frames with plastic foundations instead of wax. One or two of those need to go in the hive to see if the bees will draw the comb. Plastic would definitely be more convenient for me, but the bees will make the final decision.







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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/

Middles

This is a dead time in the garden season. Everything is planted. The spring stuff is getting boring. The summer stuff is not producing. Everything is growing pretty fast, including the weeds, but there is nothing to pick except the various greens, herbs and asparagus.

Maybe your tomatoes do not need support yet, but this is time to put the supports up. Our garden uses bamboo trellises. The tomatoes are already up to the 3rd rail. There are loads of little green tomatoes, but none for the salad. The tomatoes that were canned last year are good in a salad, but a good fresh one would be better.

The radishes were planted a few at a time, but even the last planting is getting ready to go to seed. The leaves are good in the mixed greens. Try some poke salad in the mixed greens. The poke salad needs to be cooked and drained and cooked again. The 2nd cooking can be mixed with the other greens. The stalks are good too. Cook them with the greens in the 1st cooking. Peel them and cut them into 6” pieces. They are great sautéed in butter and lemon.







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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/

Bee Box Buzzing

Sunday marked the 2nd opening of the 1st bee hive. A little smoke warned the bees of the coming invasion, but it also calmed them down some. They are still taking sugar water so there was syrup in the feeder. A mistake was to set the feeder out uncovered. When it went back on there were 2 bees that had drowned in it.

Everything was stuck together very tightly with propolis, and took some prying with the hive tool. All of the frames in the top box were drawn except for a plastic drone comb that was added for varroa mite control. Most of them were only partly filled with either brood or honey. There was enough filled comb that a super needed to be added. The only super available was a small one, so when the medium ones come in (hopefully today) if the super doesn’t have too much honey it will be pulled off and the medium box will replace it.

There is a fence covered with honey-suckle right beside the beehives but the bees ignore it and fly off into the distance to get their food. Up until last week the bees were coming back with full pollen sacs. Now it seems that they are going for nectar. They also seem to be harvesting some propolis as there were quite a few bees working on the joints of the restacked hive.







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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 Search for Cherry Trees

Almost every nursery in Charlotte was called looking for cherry trees with edible cherries. They are said not to grow well in this area, but there are a lot of ornamental cherries. Why shouldn’t the edible ones grow. This is the 3rd year of trying them in the space between the sidewalk and the street.

The 1st year they were purchased from Stark Bros. They were about 3’ high and looked like sticks when planted in the fall. When spring came they branched and leafed out well. At least the deer thought so. They ate all but 1. Last year’s trees came from Willis Orchards. They looked like sticks, but they were about 5’ tall. All but 1 leafed out at the beginning of the season. That 1 leafed out later and very sparsely. Dogs pissing on 1 have killed it already. The one from stark that was still alive did not leaf out.

This year the planting is going to be spring instead of fall. 2 trees for replacement were finally found at the Grower’s Outlet in Pineville. They are about 8’ tall and cost $25, which is less than the smaller trees from Stark Bros. and Willis Orchards. Wish me luck please. I desperately want cherry blossoms and cherries.







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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/

Too Early for Mulch

The pine needles and other mulches are piling up in the professional landscapes. This is to prevent weeds and enhance the appearance of the beds. At this time it may not be in the best interest of all of the plants. The soil is about 60 degrees in the Charlotte area. For many plants to do well the soil temperature should be higher. Mulch slows this warming.

In our garden, which is mostly in beds, the pathways are being mulched. The beds are not except for cool season plants like cabbage and onions. This weekend the plants in other beds will be side-dressed with compost. The compost is black and will help the soil warm up. It will also provide some feed to fast growing plants.

Compost is a slow release fertilizer and does not supply nutrients fast enough for many plants this time of year. A foliar spray can give fast results and if it is not too strong, will not burn the leaves. Manure or compost tea is great for this purpose. A little fish oil or blood meal could be added as a booster.





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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/

Little Dogs and Cherry Trees

6 cherry trees were planted last fall. They were carefully watered and cared for through the winter. All of the trees except 1 leafed out pretty early. That one was presumed to be dead, but it leafed out a little bit about a week later. All of the trees were alive and well.

About 2 weeks ago a lady was walking on the sidewalk with her little dog. The dog lifted his leg and dowsed one of the trees. That tree appears to be dying. I don’t know if the dog pee was the cause. There is a little scuffed spot on the trunk near the base. The real problem with the loss of the tree is not so much the cost and effort. The replacement tree will be a year behind the other trees. It will look funny for at least 2 years.

These trees were Bing, Brook and Black Tartarkian. My mind was filled with visions of the street in front of the house lined with beautiful cherry trees and bowls of cherries. The year before, trees were planted. When they started leafing out the deer ate them so strongly that they all died. This year deer and rabbit repellant has been applied every time it rains. Maybe we are not destined to have cherries.





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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/

They Have Risen

Both of my tillers are running and digging. Michael’s generator is working well. The repairman, who fixed the unfixable, is Johnathan Hartis. He makes house calls. His phone # is 980 721 1035. For $100 he revived and serviced all three items. It took less than 2 1/2 hours.

I had taken 1 of the tillers to two shops. One of them got two chances. This came at the peak of garden preparation season when I really needed the tiller. I finally broke down and bought a new one. I called Johnathan Thursday and made an appointment for yesterday (Wednesday) at 3:00. He came almost an hour early and had the tillers running quickly. The generator took a little longer. The good thing is that I did not have to take the tillers to a shop and wait several weeks for repair and then be told that they couldn’t be fixed.

So now I have two tillers, but when I got home someone had stolen my lawn mower. I never lock my shed, but I noticed the doors were closed the wrong way and I checked and the lawn mower and my sawzall were gone. Nothing else was missing. Now that the horse is out, I have locked the barn door.





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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/

Tiller Killer

I must be a tiller killer. Two years ago my 1 year old tiller would not start. I took it to my regular lawn mower repair guy. He got it to start but it wouldn’t dig. I took it to Faulk Brothers. They kept it over a month and I picked it up, paid almost $100 and took it home. It still cut off every time I engaged the clutch to dig. I really liked that tiller so I gave it away and went to Lowes and bought another just like it.

The new one lasted 2 years and wouldn’t start. After spending almost $200 with several repair people, I gave up and went back to Lowes. This was during the holiday season and they only had one tiller in the store and it cost about $1200. I broke one of my rules and went to Home Depot. Don’t get me wrong, I love Home Depot, but I never buy anything there with moving parts. I bought their last tiller, which was a floor model. It worked great for 4 months.

I went to till a friends garden last week and the tiller went about 6 feet and quit. It wouldn’t start for anything. I don’t know if I can take it back still or not. I found a repairman who makes house calls on the internet. He is coming today to hopefully fix both tillers. If they run, I will give you his name.



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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/

Today is the Bee’s Big Day

Written 4/23

This will be a moment of truth. The bees were brought home 3 weeks ago on Saturday. It is time to open and inspect the hive. Michael and Winter opened their hive on Saturday. I deemed it too cold to open mine. Their hive is doing really well. There was some burr comb that had to be removed. It had uncapped honey in it.

Today the temperature is supposed to go to 72. It is time for the grand opening. It is hoped that there will be lots of brood and a little honey. Michael and Winter’s hive had that. The bees have been coming to the hive with loads of pollen in their pollen sacs. They have been doing a little dance on the front porch. One day it was a back and forth dance. Another day it was a waggle dance.

There are some varroa mites in the present hive. A foundation for drone brood will be inserted into the hive when the inspection is done. The idea is for the varroa mites to lay some of their eggs in the drone brood. The drones are pretty unnecessary so the comb can be put in the freezer and killed along with the mite larvae. When it is replaced in the hive the bees will clean it up and refill it. In theory this reduces the mite population by 10% each time it is done.

Incidentally, the first little tomato has appeared.


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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 Fence Seems to be Spoiling Dinner for Bambi

Since the gate was installed on the Bambi fence, no deer tracks have been seen in the garden. The depredations on the young plants has been minimal and mostly attributed to Bugs Bunny. Ricky Raccoon does not seem to be bothering the garden, but I believe he has been trying to get into the beehive.

A have-a-hart trap will be placed under the beehive tonight. If Ricky stays away he won’t have a problem. If he doesn’t stay away, he will have a very bad night.

Everything in the garden has come up except for the okra and some beans and cucumbers that were fill-ins for things that didn’t come up. The fill in sugar peas have come up and the yellow squash in the front yard has come up. Dill and zinnias were planted in the front yard on Friday. The zinnias have come up. It may be a little early for the dill.

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/

I Love My Garden

Every year is a perfect garden year when the garden is in the planning stages. As the greenhouse gets going, little failures creep in. Then comes the spring planting and some things don’t come up. If everything comes up, Bambi and Bugs Bunny come in and have a feast on the small plants, which leaves nothing. Several improvements this year have helped maintain the garden quality. Of course it is very early in the season.

A new greenhouse was purchased and assembled before the greenhouse season really got going. This tripled the amount of surviving plants. Everything planted came up and flourished except for the basil and the nasturtium. A Bambi fence has so far protected the garden from Bambi. Bugs still comes to dinner, but so far he hasn’t eaten much. A big red-tailed hawk is a welcome visitor to the garden. He does eat some of the songbirds, but his favorite dish is rabbit. The asparagus bed was loaded up with about 4” of compost at the end of the last season and asparagus is being cut at the rate of about 4 per day.

The biggest disappointment each year generally comes from the spaghetti squash. It usually has a poor germination rate, producing only 1 or 2 plants. Then there is a low fruit set, and finally there are pickle worms. This year a new bed has been made around about 1/3 of the garden. Everything in that bed has come up extremely well except for the cucumber. There are actually so many spaghetti squash plants that they will have to be thinned.

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/

Too Much of a Good Thing

The ideal situation is to plant grass and have immediate rain. Thursday saw the last task as putting out grass seed. It was too late for mulch. Thursday night saw rain to wash away the world and probably the grass seed. The straw was spread Friday afternoon. That was closing the barn door after the horse gets out. I suppose if the grass doesn’t come up, the yard can be reseeded over the straw.

Everything in the garden is planted except for the okra. The yellow squash was planted in the front yard. I did not tell my wife. We’ll see if she raises Cain. There is still a good bit of work to do in the ornamental beds.

Potatoes have been planted in sand bags for the past several years, because the soil in the garden was unsuitable. This worked out well but makes it almost impossible to grapple the potatoes. The garden soil has improved greatly over the years, so the potatoes were planted in the garden this year. They have come up already but are not big enough to hill up yet.

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/

Good Friday really was (good)

It rained all night Thursday and Friday, but the days were nice. A lot of plants went in the ground. The gate to the garden had to be installed 1st or Bambi would eat the garden. Bugs Bunny can still get in, but he doesn’t eat much. A big red-tailed hawk has been hanging around the yard, so we haven’t seen many rabbits this year. Why doesn’t it eat squirrels?

The greenhouse was way too productive. Loads of plants have been given away and there are still too many for the garden. Some of the tomatoes have blooms. All of the marigolds have blooms. Herbs are planted all over, but this year there is a dedicated bed for herbs in addition to the ones that are in the vegetable and flower beds.

Rotten Saturday was a beautiful day, but my father always said the anything planted on rotten Saturday would rot. The main thing we did on Saturday was pickup and situate the bees and get the front yard ready to plant grass. It is almost ready. Maybe grass will go in the ground today. Clover seed is being mixed with the grass seed to give the bees a little extra nectar.

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/

Getting Ready to Plant

Written 3/13/13

Tomorrow morning is the last predicted freeze between now and March 22. The garden is almost ready for planting

A new bed 2’ wide has been built around 1/3 of the perimeter of the garden with landscape timbers. It still needs to be filled with landscape timbers and dirt. All but 4 of the old beds have been reworked and some of them have been planted with early crops. The kale and mustard have sprouted.

The plants in the greenhouse are either going to have to go in bigger pots or the ground. It is probably too early to plant things like tomatoes and peppers, but the traditional day is Good Friday which is the 29th. Tomorrow after things warm up a little, a few plants will be put outside to harden off. They will be brought in at night. The cilantro and parsley can be planted. One each of tomatoes, peppers, marigold and black peony poppy will be planted this weekend if the 10 day forecast still predicts no freezing.

The marigold can take a light freeze. The others will still be small enough to cover with a 2 liter bottle if a freeze is predicted. Even though it is sad to lose any plant, the greenhouse has more than I will be able to plant or give away.

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/

Drying Soil

This summer we will wish for rain like we’ve had lately. For now it has been keeping the soil too wet to till. Yesterday (Thursday) the ground in the garden and a front flower bed were too wet to till. The front yard, that just needs enough tilling to be able to rake smooth, was tilled. The tilling was started 4 months ago, but “projects” have gotten in the way of completion. Now it has to be raked and then it will be ready for grass seed.

Hopefully the front flower bed will be ready to till this afternoon. That soil drains really fast. If no rain comes the garden will be tilled Saturday. Then some new beds will be built and filled with mushroom compost and dirt. The compost from the bins is almost gone. There are probably 2 wheelbarrows full left. It takes 1 wheelbarrow load to refresh a bed. It takes 4 to make a new bed.

The 10 day weather forecast calls for no freezing weather after today until St Patty’s day. That forecast is very frequently wrong, especially this time of year. I am resisting the urge to set out some summer crops. Even if the weather stays warm, it really doesn’t speed the harvest. The potatoes for the spring planting still need to be planted.



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/

A Tale of Two Marigolds

Parsley, Cilantro and Marigolds (only a few of each) were put outside during the day to harden off. Friday night they were forgotten and left out all night. Since the original intention was to plant them on Saturday, this was not a problem. They did not get planted Saturday. The temperature went to 25 on Sunday morning. This was not a problem except for 1 marigold. One thrived and one died.

The cilantro and parsley were set out Sunday. The surviving marigold was taken back into the greenhouse. Kale, Swiss chard, onion sets, radishes, mustard and sugar peas were planted over the weekend. Two asparagus plants were hardened off, but their planting is being delayed until the asparagus in the bed start shooting up. One has poked its nose up, but it has only grown 2 inches in 4 days.

The soil in the garden is still too wet to till. Freezing nights and windy sunny days should dry it out fast. If it is not dry by Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday more rain is predicted.



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/

Figs Already?

The fig trees in the yard do not even have leaves. Several of the little fig trees in the greenhouse that were started last fall have little figs already. They should probably be pulled off so that the tree can concentrate its strength in plant growth. Of the two volunteers that appear to be sunflowers, one is over a foot tall. The other is about 6 inches. The greenhouse is getting crowded. Maybe the parsley and the cilantro can go in the garden this weekend.

The “nuc’s” for the bee hives have been ordered. It is hoped that bees will improve the pollination of the garden. A “nuc” is a nucleus hive. It consists of 5 frames of brood, covered with bees and a queen. It is placed into a 10 frame hive with a feeder in hopes of getting a head start on the honey flow season. A trip to Brushy Mountain Bee Farm yesterday, helped Michael and I identify the equipment we need and we hope to order this weekend.

The ground is still soggy and cannot be worked, but the soil in the beds is about 45 degrees. Waiting much longer on the planting will make the ground too warm for the early development of the crucifers. The broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts will be purchased today. The cilantro and parsley will be put outside to “harden off” in the afternoons. Sunday, depending on the predicted temperature, they will be left out overnight.

Blooms and Swollen Buds

The narcissus plants in the front yard are blooming as are the cherry trees (I think that’s what they are) on Sardis Rd. The blueberries in the front yard have swollen bulbs. The cherries in the front yard are doing nothing. The new bulbs that were planted this fall are doing nothing. Perhaps with the hard freezes we have had over the weekend, it might be a good thing.

Today it has rained all day. This afternoon will probably be a greenhouse day unless the rain stops. If the rain stops it will be a good day for digging postholes. The garden really needs to be tilled so some new beds can be built, but with the constant rain, who knows when that will happen. That is the good thing about raised beds. There are still places to plant the spring garden.

The mustard that was planted this fall has pretty much succumbed to the weather or something. The volunteer mustard is doing great. Fortunately the collards are growing fast enough that we are not without greens. The spinach is still growing as well. The onions are doing great of course. We haven’t been eating many of them so they have not been replanted in over a month.



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/

Still Full

The mats have arrived and been placed, but the shelves are still full. The shelf that has no mats or lights has been covered partly with cilantro, asparagus, parsley and marigolds. I don’t think the cold will bother them and they are growing so fast that they may do just as well without the artificial light. Many of the plants are almost big enough to transplant now. By Good Friday, there will be a problem.

It snowed Friday and turned everything white. My yard actually looked good for a change. Most of Saturday and Sunday were spent in the greenhouse dividing and transplanting. Some cabbage was planted, but the lesson has been learned. One seed per container. The cabbage was not put on a heat mat. It will not germinate well at over 70 degees.

Sunday afternoon things had warmed up and melted off enough that the two sections of privacy fence to hide the lumber pile were installed and the trench for the power and water to the greenhouse was deepened and covered. The fence on the other side of the yard from the garden was started. That will just be a rail fence with no wire. Its purpose is strictly aesthetic. The property line will be planted with fig trees and camellias.



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/

Sunflowers, I Think

About a month ago a little plant appeared growing in the bed of my truck. It had seed leaves like a cucurbit, so it was assumed that that is what it was. No. Now it looks like a sunflower, but it is not growing very fast. Another plant jumped up in a pot where camellias were being rooted. It is definitely a sunflower. Where do they come from?



It rained on Friday, so it was too wet to stretch fence on Saturday. The fence for another section was put in place and the stretcher was hooked up to have it ready to pull. Sunday afternoon the ground had dried enough to stretch the fence. It was stretched but not nailed. Yesterday it was nailed, but it had rained all night Sunday and most of the day Monday, so the last section was not installed until Tuesday afternoon. Everything is done now except for a strand of wire on the top and the gate.

The new greenhouse is getting full with the plants that are being divided or repotted. The new seedling heat mats have not arrived yet so the parsley, cilantro, thyme and marigolds were put on a shelf with light but no heat. The greenhouse is pretty warm anyway.



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/

Too Fast for Me

The new greenhouse is rockin’. Unfortunately the old law about everything growing to fill available space is especially true in the greenhouse. The plants are growing so fast that the two new heat pads and two new shop lights that were bought are not enough. Two new heat pads were ordered today. There is only room on a heat pad for one more flat right now, and there are still two flats with pots that need to be divided and quite a few plants that need bigger pots.

The Bambi fence is about 1/3 stretched. The next segment is very hard to access; and last night it rained and softened the ground too much to pull wire. Maybe it can be gotten into place this weekend anyhow so it can be easily stretched when the ground dries up.

Duke power sent their boys by last week and they chopped the limbs off a bunch of the trees in the front yard and made it look even worse than it did before. That won’t stop the power from going out when we have an ice storm. Why can’t they be sensible and bury the lines. Whatever ugliness there is in this city can be charged to Duke Energy.

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/

Is it Really January?

Yesterday the temperature got up to 70 Degrees. The greenhouse was so hot, the vent had to be opened. This morning the temperature was 61 degrees and today (1/30/13) it is rainy and should go to 72 degrees.

Most of the green stuff in the garden is doing well. The mustard is looking ratty, but the collards are doing well and the turnips have nice bulbs even if the greens have seen better days. Bambi ate the sugar peas, but he evidently doesn’t want the cabbage. There has been enough rain that the deer and rabbit repellant needs to be renewed.

The Lenten roses are blooming profusely, but the pansies are looking sad. The red chard did nothing. Only about ½ of the front yard has been prepared for spring grass planting and Duke Energy uglified the trees at the front and left the wood just laying there. Needless to say the front yard is not sightly.

Little Growies Like Their New Home

All of the plants from the old greenhouse have been moved to the new greenhouse. Many of them have true leaves and need to be transplanted to larger containers. The other shelves have been built, so there is a place to water them. What is not in this greenhouse is a way to catch rainwater. The city of Charlotte had a sale on some fancy-schmantzy rain barrels last year. The one that was purchased is still not installed by the house. That will be the weekend project to install that and pipe it into the greenhouse.

One of the shop-lights in the ceiling still won’t work. Getting it going will be an afternoon project this week. The brick floor is 2/3 complete. Hopefully it will also get finished this week. If there is no rain (fat chance), the Bambi fence will get finished this weekend except for the gate. When the fence and the greenhouse are complete, there are only small projects to accomplish.

There was no room in the old greenhouse to finish planting the rest of the seeds needed for the garden. Now there is room to proceed with that task. Here’s hoping for a great garden season.







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/

Greenhouse is Done

It is done, but not finished. The greenhouse itself is complete. The half day construction time cited in the instructions might be possible with better instructions, but I doubt it. Even if a half day means 12 hours, it would be pretty close. The instructions were just pictures and some were really hard to decipher. The greenhouse kit was done with quality materials and all of the parts were there except for a few screws for the tie-downs. The screws were too short anyway.

The next step was to buy a big (900 #’s) bag of sand and sand the dirt floor in preparation for placing brick. The first shelf was constructed. I kept trying to take it inside the greenhouse and finish it there, but it was to floppy. By the time I got enough of the wood in it to make it steady, it was too heavy and I couldn’t lift it. Also there were a couple of improvements that could be made, so tonight it will be taken apart and re-assembled inside the greenhouse.

The next step will be to install ½ of the brick floor to hold the shelves in place. The shelves for the other side were not built as the “educational process” needs to be experienced first. Before doing that the lights, wiring and heat pads will be installed in the ceiling and in the 1st set of shelves.







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/

Asparagus

          I usually wait until after the 1^st frost to trim back the ferns on the asparagus.  When I bought the plants, they were Jersey Giants and were supposed to be all males.  One little girl decided she wanted to be “where the boys are”.  She produces seeds every year, but they have just been allowed to self-sow.  This year a few of the seeds were hanging around when the ferns were cut down so they got planted in the greenhouse. 

          Searching the internet for transplanting information, I learned that Jersey Giants are hybrid asparagus.  The little plants are there already so they will be planted anyway.  They will go into a new bed so they will be easy to identify as the illegitimate children of the regular bed.

          In the regular bed it is difficult to identify the asparagus that grew from seed or the original plants.  Asparagus beds are supposed to last 40 years.  That is longer than I expect to last, but I look forward to replacing the beds with rootstock that has been grown from seed. 

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/

Progress on Greenhouse and Bambi Fence (part 2)

The seeds that need to be replanted may get attended to today (1/16) if the rain keeps up. Otherwise, the new greenhouse and the Bambi fence will take priority. The new greenhouse has arrived, construction is started and progressed as far as it can go with 1 person. The foundation is square and level and part of the frame has been assembled. The advertisement said 2 people could assemble the greenhouse in a half day. I am beginning to assume they meant 12 hours. 4 hours has been spent just lining up the parts for each step.

All but 1 piece of the Bambi fence braces have been cut and inserted. That piece has been cut. The ground dried enough to fill and tamp the postholes, but there has been more rain. The ground is too wet for stretching the fabric. If there is no more rain those items and the construction of a fence stretcher will happen this weekend.

The front porch is now complete except for cladding post and re-painting. The cladding can only be done one side of one column at a time because there are only 6 clamps and all six are needed for each board. The cement is supposed to dry in one hour. Unless it cures for a whole day the board can fall off, so the limit is one board per day. There are 20 boards. If the temperature is below 50 degrees, the board cannot be installed.

Progress on Greenhouse and Bambi Fence

Except for the most recent plantings most of the seeds in the greenhouse have sprouted. Cilantro, Eggplant and Nasturtium still need to be planted and there will be late incremental plantings of most of the other varieties. The marigolds are starting to get true leaves and will need to be repotted soon.

The new greenhouse has been ordered and should arrive by the weekend. The details on foundation and shelves are still being worked out, but it is hoped that the foundation will get done this weekend. If it doesn’t rain at least the ground will be prepared.

The Bambi fence has been slowed down some by wet ground. The posts phase had almost been completed when the rains came and the ground was too wet to fill and tamp the holes. That got done Tuesday. Now the braces are being cut in and nailed. If no rain comes the ground should be dry enough to stretch fabric by the weekend.

Some progress has been made on the front porch. Doug was too busy to cut and plane the cladding boards for the columns, but that is done now. The first board was put up Tuesday to try the glue. It is good that only one board was done, because the glue did not hold. More glue and more clamps went on yesterday with a hope for improved results.





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/

New Year/New Resolutions

The best way to be successful with your resolutions is to not have any. Instead of resolutions have goals. When you fall from grace 1 time, the resolution is shot. When you make goals, progress can be made toward the end.

Most of last year’s goals for the garden were accomplished. If not completely they were accomplished at least in part. The garden gets better each year. The bambi fence worked well enough that is being replaced with a permanent structure this year. The greenhouse improved a lot. It will be replaced with a new one this year that will be a permanent structure and be located where it will get more light.

About 30 trees were removed last year. To save a little money, the tree man was told he could haul off the marketable lumber and leave the scraps in the yard. That would have pretty dumb if my health had been good. As it turned out my heart got out of rhythm and my work speed and endurance went way down. Almost none of the yard projects got done and the garden was late getting planted. My heart got fixed and all that is behind me now. Projects are winding up almost every week.





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/