It’s Growing

This week has brought a lot of rain and sunshine and the combination has made the garden really grow. The picture of zucchini was taken on 5/15/11 and the bed is 4’ wide. The cucumbers have trellises now and they are already climbing them. A small start has been made on the tomato fence.

2 5’ 3” schedule 40 plastic pipes were purchased and cut into 20” sections. 5 of these were planted in the tomato row about 15” deep. The large bamboo shafts are placed in the pipes. The laterals on the trellis are tied to these. Last year the bamboo shafts were too unstable when they were sunk into the dirt. It is hoped that the pipes will be more solid. It is hoped as well that they will carry a huge weight of tomatoes.

The broccoli, cabbage and herbs are doing really well this year. We have been eating broccoli about twice a week and the cabbages are forming firm heads. It has been raining for about a week, so all of the BT has probably washed off of the plants and will need to be re-applied as soon as the rain stops.

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/

Big Zucchini

The speed at which a zucchini grows is always amazing. There was a little zucchini on the vine Wednesday. It was no larger than my little finger. Last night the rain came pouring down so hard that I could not go to the garden. This morning that little zucchini was 15” long and huge. The pale zucchini on the bush that was supposed to be patty-pan squash grows much slower.

The same package of seeds that sprouted the spaghetti squash, is sprouting different types of squash. Of the three largest, one is the color of a melon and the others are pale green. The watermelon already has bunches of little melons on the vine. This year we want to do a better job of picking them at the right time (whenever that is). Last year they were good, but had too many seeds.

There is a tomato as big as my fist on the tomato vines. We are getting lots of cucumbers and the mesclun is still producing. Help me pray for that complete salad from the garden.



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/

Summer Bounty

Finally cucumbers have joined the garden salad. Tomatoes will be awhile. The squash plants are overflowing their beds. The greens are getting brown and lacy. It is time to get them out of the way so the squash will have more room. The sugar peas are still producing as is the broccoli, but they are starting to look kind of ratty.

I was a little disappointed because I thought that the zucchini I planted was a different variety. It turned out to be tasty, so I was fine. Now I am really disappointed, because what I thought was patty pan is a pale colored zucchini. I hope it is not too late to replant patty-pan. The real problem is that I don’t have any space yet. The broccoli is planted beside okra and cucumber. The sugar peas are in a 3’ wide bed. It is too early to pull the potatoes.

A year without patty-pan squash could be really sad. Maybe I can plant some in the front yard. I had better buy the seeds someplace else. I am sure if I go back to Renfrow’s they will be from the same batch.



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/

Sugar Baby Watermelons

Having learned the lessons from last year the sugar babies are growing on a watermelon fence with a fine mesh (1”X1”) plastic material. There are quite a few nice melons developing. Another mistake made last year was not picking some of the melons early enough. This year each melon is being checked every few days. The BT is being used after every rain to keep the worms down. The watermelons were not big victims of the pickle worms last year; but why take a chance.

The BT (Bacillus Thuringienses) is apparently working on the other crops. I feel like I am using biological warfare. BT is a disease. Just call me Saddam. At least we are getting nice clean vegetables this year without resorting to noxious chemicals. The bugs (in the larval stage) won’t get sick if they don’t try to eat my vegetables. The pollinators are not harmed.

A big surprise this year has been the zucchini. Every year before, even if the rest of the garden is doing poorly, the zucchini is really prolific. This year we have had as much as we wanted; but no excess. The peppers are doing better than usual. I think it is something I learned from Michael and Ray. The pepper plants received no compost until they bloomed. Then, it was loaded on heavily.

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/

Squash

Squash

Some of the greatest variety in the garden comes from the cucurbit family. The squash themselves are varied; but the family also includes pumpkins, cucumber and melons. One of my favorite things about squash are the volunteers. The leaves are pretty unmistakable; but you never know what the fruit will be. I found my first volunteer of the season yesterday. It was not in the garden. It was beside a little redbud tree planted in the front yard that was fertilized with compost. It looks like a cucumber. We will see.

The first yellow crookneck squash was picked on Monday. It was very small. The yellow crooknecks, zucchini and patty-pan squash all have tiny squashes on them. The time to pick them is when the blossom falls off. After that they just get tough.

Squash plants require a lot of space. Most plants fit in a 3’ wide row, and each row holds 2 or three rows of plants. Not squash, they get a 4’ wide row and the hills are 4’ on center. The hills start out as a post hole about 1’ deep. This is filled with compost. The loose dirt from digging the hole and whatever is around the hole is raked into a hill about 6” high. Three holes, like the finger holes in a bowling ball,are poked in the top of the hill. These holes each get 3 seeds and are filled up with loose dirt. After the plants come up, a mulch of compost is placed around the plants. This is topped up every week and expanded to cover all of the area under the plants. Squash plants put new roots down as they grow and these new roots need sustenance.

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/.

My Decision

My Decision

The last ending was Good Friday is coming. “To plant, or not to plant? That is the question. This is the answer. I planted cucumber and summer squash and zucchini. I used some of the compost that is not quite finished. Last week when I turned it, it had lots of little squiggly earthworms. This week it had loads of big fat earthworms. They grow fast.

For the cucumbers, I put up a fence of plastic 2” X 4” wire 28’ long. I made a deep furrow down one side of the fence. The soil tested 6.5 to 6.8 ph. Cucumber’s soil should be 6.0 to 6.5. I put a thin line of sulphur in the furrow and then filled it with compost (and earthworms). After covering the furrow with dirt I planted the cucumber seeds about ¾” deep and about 6”s apart.

I planted 6 hills of summer squash (yellow crookneck) and 5 hills of Zucchini. The hills were spaced on 3’ centers. To make each hill, I dug a 6” hole with the posthole diggers. I filled the hole and made a pile of compost about 6” high on top of it. I scraped up the loose soil around this and the plug from the posthole to make a hill about 18” in diameter and 10” high. I poked three holes in the face of each hill just like those in a bowling ball. I put 3 seeds in each hole, filled them with loose dirt and patted them down.

Incidentally, the garlic has come up. The fig trees are putting out leaves. The radishes in the new raised bed are up. I also planted a thyme plant in the new raised bed. Spring is so wonderful. Happy Easter.


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/.