Maybe the hot weather early in the garden cycle doesn’t hurt. It certainly isn’t inhibiting the vegetative growth in the garden. The tomatoes are growing like crazy and only a few of them have fallen over in spite of the fact that they have not been tied up. One plant even has a couple of little tomatoes and one of the yellow crookneck squash has a blossom.
The sugar peas miraculously started producing again and there was a spurt in broccoli growth. The cabbage which normally has poor success in our garden is doing well. One has been picked and there are two more ready to pick. Ana is making a marinated coleslaw with the one that was picked.
The garden has been sprayed twice with BT and the bug damage has been extremely minimal so far. Some of the broccoli leaves are getting pretty ragged. They may have been missed with the last BT spraying. Last night brought a half inch of rain, so the spraying will need to be renewed again tonight with special emphasis on the broccoli.
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/
Showing posts with label broccoli. Show all posts
Showing posts with label broccoli. Show all posts
Monday, May 30, 2011
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Pruning Figs
This weekend the fig trees had lost all of their leaves, so they were cut back to eye level. The center branches were also cut out to let more light in and any branches that crossed were cut off. Last year only one tree was pruned. This was a major mistake as that tree required a saw for much of the pruning. It is amazing how fast fig trees grow.
The broccoli has heads about 3” in diameter now. It should be ready to pick. One of the cauliflowers has a head about 2” in diameter. This weekend it will have the leaves tied over to keep the head white. It is also time to make another planting of radishes and onions too. Like the other crucifers they will produce practically all winter.
The rest of the green tomatoes were pulled off yesterday. This was done about 3 weeks ago, but the tomatoes kept growing so there are more now. The plants are really frost bitten this time and the temperature is supposed to go to 25 degrees in the morning. This weekend the eggplant and tomato plants will head for the garbage and the beds will be put to bed for winter.
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 broccoli has heads about 3” in diameter now. It should be ready to pick. One of the cauliflowers has a head about 2” in diameter. This weekend it will have the leaves tied over to keep the head white. It is also time to make another planting of radishes and onions too. Like the other crucifers they will produce practically all winter.
The rest of the green tomatoes were pulled off yesterday. This was done about 3 weeks ago, but the tomatoes kept growing so there are more now. The plants are really frost bitten this time and the temperature is supposed to go to 25 degrees in the morning. This weekend the eggplant and tomato plants will head for the garbage and the beds will be put to bed for winter.
David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://davidsegrest.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Strange Weather
The forecasters have changed the 10 day forecast again. The thunderstorms predicted for Saturday have been downgraded to scattered showers. Friday the 17th thunderstorms have been predicted. One thing stranger than the weather is me. I like to pick up bagged grass and leaves on the side of the road for compost and mulch. This time of year it is mostly grass, but yesterday it was only leaves. Is the dry weather causing this, or is it just that time of year?
Figs and tomatoes are ripening at a rapid rate. The okra is still producing even though most of the plants are on the ground. The peppers are doing well too. The cabbage and broccoli plants that went into the ground Sunday will probably have to be replaced. Some of them look like little strings laying on the ground. They received a good misting last night. Maybe that will help.
The turnips, mustard, kale, collards, radish and carrots that were planted Sunday and Monday have not come up yet. When they do they will have to be watered like everything else. I can’t remember having to water the fall garden other than the transplants. This would normally be the time to over-seed the yard, but I think it is just too hot.
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/
Figs and tomatoes are ripening at a rapid rate. The okra is still producing even though most of the plants are on the ground. The peppers are doing well too. The cabbage and broccoli plants that went into the ground Sunday will probably have to be replaced. Some of them look like little strings laying on the ground. They received a good misting last night. Maybe that will help.
The turnips, mustard, kale, collards, radish and carrots that were planted Sunday and Monday have not come up yet. When they do they will have to be watered like everything else. I can’t remember having to water the fall garden other than the transplants. This would normally be the time to over-seed the yard, but I think it is just too hot.
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/
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Cornfusion
The rains finally came. When I went to work yesterday morning (5/17) at about 6:15, the rain gauge showed about ½ “. I went by the house at about lunchtime and it showed 5”. That has to be some kind of mistake; but we did have a lot of rain. Look at the corn. It is smashed completely down. Maybe it will come back up.
The broccoli all got ready at the same time. We have cut 5 good sized heads. Now the side shoots are almost as big as the heads were. The sugar peas are yielding a handful of pods every day. There are some little squash that will surely be ready to pick by the end of the week, if not sooner. The cucumbers are climbing their fence, as are the watermelon and cantaloupe. The spaghetti squash is getting ready to climb.
The greens are producing all that we can eat or give away. The salad greens are too. The herbs are all harvestable except for the parsley. It will be big enough to cut by the weekend. My friends all have little tomatoes. The tomatoes in our garden are only at the blossom stage.
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/
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Broccoli and Bok Choy
Sunday the broccoli and bok choy got planted. The plants came from Renfrow’s instead of the greenhouse because last years broccoli had small heads. The bok choy was an impulse thing. It was next to the broccoli. There is not much in my garden for the rabbits to eat right now; so I made some little cages out of chicken wire to keep them from eating the new plants. As of yesterday (Tuesday) they were still safe.
Tonight it is supposed to snow. The temperature is going down to 28. We are supposed to have sub-freezing weather every night until Sunday. What do the weather people know? I can remove the cages from the plants and put some plastic jugs over them. Then I’ll have to go home tomorrow when the weather warms up and remove the jugs. Crucifers can stand some cold. Perhaps I can just pull the mulch up close.
The greenhouse tripped a breaker last night and the lights did not come on. That means the heating pads were off as well. Now the lights and the heating pads are on different circuits. That means I won’t know if the heating pads are off without going into the greenhouse. It is not the circuit breaker that trips, it is the ground fault disconnect. Maybe I need to put in new recepticals
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/
Tonight it is supposed to snow. The temperature is going down to 28. We are supposed to have sub-freezing weather every night until Sunday. What do the weather people know? I can remove the cages from the plants and put some plastic jugs over them. Then I’ll have to go home tomorrow when the weather warms up and remove the jugs. Crucifers can stand some cold. Perhaps I can just pull the mulch up close.
The greenhouse tripped a breaker last night and the lights did not come on. That means the heating pads were off as well. Now the lights and the heating pads are on different circuits. That means I won’t know if the heating pads are off without going into the greenhouse. It is not the circuit breaker that trips, it is the ground fault disconnect. Maybe I need to put in new recepticals
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/
Monday, February 8, 2010
Broccoli for the Spring
Last years broccoli had very small heads. I have been doing some research on broccoli in the hopes of doing better this year. Starting with the assumption that I “know nothink” in the words of Sgt. Schultz, I looked for tips on the internet. The only thing I can think of that I maybe did wrong last year was in the process of starting my own plants. I could have let the plants get stunted or planted a wrong variety. This year the plants will come from Renfrow’s hardware.
The soil is where everything starts. The ph should be between 5.5 and 6.5. Test the soil early and amend it with sulfur, sphagnum or lime as needed to correct the soil ph. Broccoli needs cold weather so plant early. Mine will go in the ground on the weekend of Feb 13th. Broccoli is a heavy feeder and needs to grow fast. It will be planted in a new raised bed with a lot of compost and will receive weekly doses of compost tea.
Broccoli also needs regular water and deep watering. I know I watered last year; but maybe it wasn’t deep enough to support the roots. This year gallon jugs with holes in the bottom will be buried beside the plants to ensure the water comes to the roots from below. Broccoli plants need 2’ all around so there is room for the jugs.
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/
The soil is where everything starts. The ph should be between 5.5 and 6.5. Test the soil early and amend it with sulfur, sphagnum or lime as needed to correct the soil ph. Broccoli needs cold weather so plant early. Mine will go in the ground on the weekend of Feb 13th. Broccoli is a heavy feeder and needs to grow fast. It will be planted in a new raised bed with a lot of compost and will receive weekly doses of compost tea.
Broccoli also needs regular water and deep watering. I know I watered last year; but maybe it wasn’t deep enough to support the roots. This year gallon jugs with holes in the bottom will be buried beside the plants to ensure the water comes to the roots from below. Broccoli plants need 2’ all around so there is room for the jugs.
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/
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