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/