And the Rains Came (written 3/28)

The day before yesterday brought 1.4” of rain and confined me to the greenhouse. Yesterday (the 26th) the ground was too wet for most things. It was ideal weed pulling weather. The greenhouse did get some attention because repotting is so back breaking, it is better to do a little at a time. Today the rain is coming down big time. There are no more cups or potting soil and very little space on the heated mats.

The rain barrel is in overflow mode. The grass needs cutting. At least it was easy digging the post holes for the fence on the unfenced side of the garden. It is too wet to put the posts in though. Most of the sugar pea trellis was installed. Renfrow’s had some string net that looks like it will work really well. 30’ was not enough and they don’t open again until Tuesday.

All of the greens are doing great except for the arugula. It has gone to seed. At least it will be easy to pull off with the ground so wet. The onions that were started last month are already appearing in green salads and being chopped for garnish on soups and mashed potatoes and things like that.

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/

Hotter Than Ghost Peppers

Michael Swol, whose birthday is today, received a packet of Dorset Naga peppers from England yesterday. They are supposedly 30% hotter than the famous ghost chilies. I hope to plant them this afternoon in the greenhouse. They are supposed to take up to 4 weeks to germinate. I wonder who will be brave enough to test them against the ghost chilies and how will they be able to tell if they are hotter. Which ever pepper they eat first will probably burn out the lining of their mouth.

We got what felt like a major rainstorm last night. The reading on the rain gauge was only 1/2". A normal garden needs about 1” per week of rain. The raised bed gardens need more and this time of year the wind seems to blow a lot, which dries out the soil quickly.

The arugula had started setting a few little flowers, so the ones with flower-stalks were pulled up and put into the compost. The rest of the arugula was harvested to about 2” above the ground. It is hoped this will slow the bolting 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/

Forgotten Arugula

Somehow the arugula was left out of the fall planting. Someone somewhere mentioned arugula and I tried to remember if it had been planted. No, it hadn’t. It got planted yesterday. The rain is supposed to come today, so maybe it will be off to a fast start. The first of the scarlet globe, white tipped radishes were picked yesterday; but there are no salad greens to go with them. These are beautiful big radishes and they are not pithy at all.

The mesclun and spinach are coming up, but they are still too small to pick. We have had 3 messes of sallet greens and one mess was given away. They are tender and delicious. The stems were even tender enough to leave them in. We are saving the greens from the radishes to mix with the next batch.

The dry weather has really hampered the garden growth. The garden has needed watering every day. Rain is predicted for today and the sky is cloudy. I even heard thunder a little while ago. Pray for rain please.

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

Cornucopia Time

Although it is not as nice as looking at my own garden, looking at any garden is fun. Sunday, I looked at Jane’s raised bed. Her tomatoes are blooming. Today, I walked past Charlie’s little garden. His tomatoes are knee high and blooming. His squash are filling out well. He told me Saturday that a weed did not have a chance in his garden. He is right so far. I haven’t seen Michael’s garden lately, but he say’s that he has green tomatoes already.

My garden is doing well too. The greens and salad stuff are especially prolific. The arugala is bolting; but there is plenty of other stuff. The tomatoes don’t have blossoms yet; but they are dark green and healthy and getting tall. The squash is getting really big, the corn is knee high. The cucumbers and beans are ready to start running. The watermelons and cantaloupes are so prolific they will have to be thinned.

Yesterday brought .4” of rain. Mulching has begun. If we have another dry year, that will save a lot of water. It will also keep the weeds down and add organic matter to the soil and make a nice habitat for earthworms. Today everything will be sprayed with either pepper spray or BT.

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

Pak Choy

Don’t wait so long next time. This is the lesson learned from pak choy. The beautiful pak choy plants that were harvested this weekend were still good; but they were post-mature. The greens were saved by cooking them with garlic and ginger. The stalks were still good raw. Everything would have been better were the plants harvested 2 weeks ago.

The pepper spray seems to be effective against the 4 legged pests. It does little to stop the multi-legged villains. There is some type of little critter that attaches itself to a turnip leaf and just sucks. The leaf wilts and shrivels. The garden needs a good dose of BT. Rain was threatened all weekend so the application was post phoned. The rain finally came today so as soon as it quits, BT will go on the plants.

Arugula is going to seed. We have been eating it in salad, but now the flowering plants have gone to the compost bin. The rest will be cut short with the scissors and added to the mixed greens.

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

Holy Week in the Garden

Any week in the garden is holy to me; but in most of the south, there are some significant dates to consider. Regardless of the position of the moon and the stars, Good Friday is always considered to be an auspicious day for planting. Rotten Saturday (the Saturday before Easter Sunday) is always a bad day to plant anything. I have never had the courage to break these rules, so I don’t know if they are valid or not. Why take a chance?

Finally a single potato plant has stuck his pretty little head out of the ground. It looks like a little green rose. The grape vines have swelling buds. This is a great sign, because a dormant grape vine looks so dead that one doesn’t expect it to ever come back. The pea-vines are about 5” high and it is time to start supporting them.

The fall planted arugula and turnips have flowered and been pulled off. The Texas blue-bonnets have bloomed and are as pervasive as ever. It is inconceivable they should be a state flower. Why not the yellow rose? The blue bonnet could be the state weed.

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

Groundhog Revisited

Some may remember that I stated my differences with Paxatawny Phil. He did not see his shadow. I saw mine. We have had 5 weeks of miserable winter weather in Charlotte since Groundhog day. Finally it seems that Spring has sprung. No freezing temperatures are predicted for the next 10 days. The cherry blossoms are popping out like crazy. The daffodils are blooming. The arugula in the garden has sprouted. Hallelujah!!

The broccoli and bok choy that was planted a few weeks ago is doing well. The little cages have kept it from running away to find greater happiness in Bugs Bunny’s stomach. Even Bambi’s mama hasn’t bothered it. Her tracks are all over the garden. She really hasn’t eaten anything that I can tell. We are eating spinach finally from the fall planting. The old arugula is really getting ratty. I hope it will last until the new is ready to pick.

Everything that is going to be planted in the greenhouse has been planted except for a few more Marglobe tomatoes. There are more trays with sprouted stuff than with un-sprouted stuff. The Nasturtiums and the Cilantro are big enough to plant; but I will be satisfied to repot them instead. For the last several years we have had a late cold snap on or shortly after Easter weekend.




David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

Let it Snow

Snow brings benefits other than snow forts, snow balls and snow cream. Snow (and rain) grab nitrogen from the air and fix it in the soil. Have you ever wondered why the grass is always greener when the snow melts? This is part of the reason. Snow and rain can add as much as 2 to 12 pounds of nitrogen per acre to the soil per year. Some people even pile snow onto their garden beds. In addition to the nitrogen fixation the snow is a form of mulch that prevents the wide temperature swings that cause soil heaving and damage to overwintered roots.

Snow, unlike rain, is a slow release type of moisture. Unfortunately for most of us, it comes at a time when we don’t need it in our gardens. We still need it in our aquifers. The water seems to have freshened up the greens that were damaged from the solid week of below freezing temperatures. Friday evening I picked greens thinking they would be covered up if I didn’t. They were covered; but when the snow and ice melted they looked healthier than before. Even the older planting, that I thought was gone, looked healthy.

We celebrated the melting with spaghetti last night and put fresh arugula from the garden in it. The weather man is calling for more nastiness to come; so I guess I better pick the greens again fast.


David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

Praise to Arugula

This blog cannot say enough wonderful things about arugula as a salad green. It has other uses as well. My wife got a super deal on turkey meat balls the other night so she made spaghetti and meat balls. We lined the bowls with arugula. The arugula adds a really nice taste to the spaghetti sauce and the arugula tastes great with spaghetti sauce. Sunday morning one of the cooking show hosts was making arugula ravioli. Ana wrote down the recipe. If it is good, I will find it and link to it for you. I will also give you instructions for Ana’s version.

The building of raised beds in the garden is progressing well. 12 beds are completed and either planted or mulched. 4 more have been built and filled with compost. It is raining today so the soil will probably be too wet for the rest of the week to put the dirt in the beds. I did scrounge enough wood to make 3 more beds.

In the greenhouse, the tomatoes have been planted in the indoor raised bed. Two of them died immediately; so I was glad to have a couple of extras. Spaghetti squash has been planted just to test the viability of the seeds. A lot of seeds have been saved from this years spaghetti squash and the excess will be given away if they sprout well. If they don’t sprout well they will be toasted.

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

Broken Toys

Broken Toys

Yesterday I went home early to blow leaves. The choke on the leaf blower would not stay up. I could not start the leaf blower. Any readers who know me know that I had a mechanical bypass at a very early age and I am totally unable to fix anything. My leaves are unblown and the leaf blower is in the trunk of my car.

I did lay off and sulfur the 4th row of the garden. That is the row where some stuff is already growing. Greens, radishes, arugula and lettuce are coming along nicely. The temperature went to 80 degrees yesterday. It is supposed to do so again today. That should make things grow. Our salad last night had arugula and radishes from the garden. Most of the 1st planting of the fall garden did not come up because of the drought. That is why everything is so late this year.

I also ordered grapevines and asparagus crowns from Stark Bros. http://www.starkbros.com/ yesterday. Their web page said they were sold out; but they took my order over the phone for February delivery. Ordering stuff is almost as much fun as planting. Nothing is more fun than eating the produce from the garden though.



David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/.