Lessons from this Years Garden

There are things to do and things not to do. A big to do is to get the whole garden into raised beds. Another thing to do is be more diligent with the pepper spray. Both fig trees will definitely get a heavy pruning. The things not to do deal mostly with what not to plant.

There will be no potatoes and corn. The melons do well; but they all get ripe at the same time and we don’t eat them. The jury is still out on the melons. The three sisters will have sunflowers in the place of corn. There will be more varieties of tomatoes, peppers and squash and more eggplant plants. There will be lots of cucumbers, the same amount of okra and more pole beans. There will be green beans and speckled limas.

The spaces between the beds will be mulched much earlier next year to avoid grass. The mimosa tree that shades the garden will come down. It is possible the poplar tree will come down too.

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/

Firecracker 4th

The promised rain did not materialize, watering was needed. The weekend of the 4th did show some progress in the garden however. The tomatoes are coming in fast enough to give a couple away. Not quite fast enough to can. There are several egg plants almost ready to pick. We are getting over 1 pound of cucumbers every day. The potatoes were pulled off. There was a net loss on the amount of seed potatoes and the harvested potatoes. I really mean it this time. No more potatoes!!!

One of the beds where the potatoes were planted was filled with compost and covered with dirt. Also the upside down tomatoes were planted. This year a rack was built to keep them high enough off of the ground that they will be hard for deer to browse. Last year just as the plant was loaded with tomatoes, a deer ate the whole thing. This year it is hoped that they will last long enough to come into the green house and produce some late tomatoes.

The corn is finished. Something ate the ones that were on the ground and knocked the rest of the corn down. In the three sisters bed, the beans hit the ground as well and got eaten by whatever ate the corn. The butternut squash grew into the yellow squash bed and all the way through it. There are loads of butternut squash. The powdery mildew is back and I tried to spray it, but the sulfur stopped up the nozzle on the sprayer. When it was being cleaned a part was lost so today I have to get a new sprayer.

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/

Will the Real Patty-Pan Squash Please Stand Up

The momentous event actually took place on the 16th. As was mentioned in earlier blogs, the patty-pan squash that was planted on Good Friday, turned out to be a pale zucchini. On Saturday the 11th, seeds were obtained from Myers Park Garden Center. They were Reneé’s so I have confidence they are the real thing. They went in the ground on the 12th and on the afternoon of the 16th the first two had sprouted.

Yesterday some of them had true leaves. I just hope they have true fruit. The other squash are really coming in. The cucumbers, okra and corn are doing likewise. There are some good sized watermelons on the fence and the spaghetti squash is loaded. The corn is the surprise. It has been smashed down by rain several times. The ears are very small for silver queen, but they are fully filled out and they have very sweet and tasty kernels.

One tomato was starting to blush just a little yesterday (Sunday the 20th). Maybe there will be a complete salad in the future. The mesclun is looking a little ratty, but it is still producing. We harvest with the scissors, so we have to pull the leaves off of a tough center stalk now.

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/

Weather or Not

The ten day weather forecast for Charlotte calls for 90 degrees everyday and thunderstorms every two or three days. This is not great for people who enjoy being outdoors, but it is great for gardeners. It may not be that great for the corn and sunflowers. The tassels on the ears of corn are already starting to darken at the ends and the ears are not filled out. The rain has smashed the corn down several times and this has probably interfered with pollination. About 1/3 of the sunflowers are down too.

The little bitty tomato plants that were started around a week ago for the upside down tomato containers were transplanted to little pots on Sunday. They all seemed to survive. The basil seed that was planted to accompany them did not even germinate. The soil was probably too warm

The green beans and lima beans are the only things in the garden that have not bloomed except for the patty-pan squash that was planted Sunday. The beans are running strong though. When they do start producing at least they have healthy vines. The green beans are planted with corn and butternut squash. The smashed down corn may cause a problem there. Next year I may plant sunflowers with the three sisters and build a frame to support the whole mess.

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/

Here Come the Squash

Friday night there were enough squash to make a big mess of squash & onions. We used green onions from the garden too. Sunday there were over2 pounds of squash. We had squash casserole. Mick McNeely taught me a new trick. Pick a handful of Sage leaves. Get some olive oil hot in a pan. Drop the sage leaves in and crisp them and pull them right back out. It takes 5 seconds or less. Be careful not to overdo it. After the squash dish is cooked garnish it with the sage leaves. They provide a wonderful surprise when bitten into.

Zucchini is coming in now as well. The variety is not exactly what I thought was planted, but they are tasty. That is what counts. The patty-pans are covered with blooms. They all seem to be males. No squash there. There are three little spaghetti squash and several “pregnant” blooms. I am having to spray with BT every couple of days because we are getting so much rain. The fence and the human hair seem to be working fairly well for the deer, so I haven’t bothered with pepper spray. I see small rabbits in the garden every morning; but the garden is well advanced enough that they don’t eat much.

The corn is tasseled and has little ears. The height of the cornstalks is all different because of it being smashed down several times. Who knows if there will be any kernels on the corn?


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/

(Sun)Flower Power

The sunflowers are 8’ tall and they still do not have flowers yet. Only a few have fallen over so far. The variety is “Mammoth Russian”. We have planted them before, but not since moving into the city. When fully mature the flowers should be at least 12” across. When dried they will be stacked in a plastic bag with the top open. They can be given to the birds one flower at a time. The birds and squirrels go crazy. The seeds are, of course, great roasted; but we are too lazy to shell them.

The corn is about 6’ tall; but laying down it is only about 1’ tall. The rain finally got the corn that was in the three sister’s bed as well. The rain helped everything else so much it doesn’t really matter. The corn is tassleing already, will this affect the pollination?

The squash is blooming and making yellow squash. The zucchini is coming slowly and the patty-pan has flowers, but no fruit. There are a couple of spaghetti squash on the vine, but no butternut squash yet. Tomatoes and cucumbers are growing slowly and the mesclun is holding out. We may get a complete salad yet.


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/

A Corny Story

…And the rains came. And the corn fell down again. Part of it did anyway. The corn that was planted by itself in the ground fell down. The corn that was planted in raised beds with pole beans and squash did not. It seems that the vines from the squash and beans held the corn up.

Finally there are some little tomatoes. Saturday there were three, about the size of a sugar pea. Today (Monday) there are many and the first ones are about the size of a garbanzo bean. There are cucumbers about the size of my thumb and most amazing of all. There is a spaghetti squash about the size of a small egg.

The grape vines are very young, so not a lot of grapes are expected. Last year there were a few and the birds ate them before they even got ripe. This year there are at least 5 bunches. We have been saving the net bags that citrus comes in and I made little bags to guard the grapes. The little bags are red/orange. I hope they don’t attract the birds even more than the grapes do.

My neighbor finally put his leaves on the street yesterday. I beat the garbage man to enough of them to finish mulching the garden. The bed where the potatoes were planted and only 7 came up have been filling with grass. They got filled to the rim with leaves this morning. The potatoes are still there. They had already been mounded with leaves and dirt. They are piled a little higher now. By the time the potatoes come off in July, there will be enough reserve compost to fill at least one of the beds with compost.

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 Rise of the Queen

Silver Queen that is. You saw the pictures of the corn on the ground, smashed down by the rain. It is now standing straight and proud. The sunflowers are taller than I am. The tomatoes are chest high and loaded with blooms, but no little tomatoes. One of the peppers does have a little pepper. We picked a couple of yellow crookneck squash this weekend.

The peppers were not side-dressed with compost until the first blooms appeared. Too much fertilizer in the beginning stages will cause the peppers to make a big plant and almost no peppers. Side dressing needs to get heavy when the blossoms appear.

We have been getting quite a bit of rain lately, so the garden is being mulched a little each day to conserve this moisture and hopefully to suppress the weeds. We don’t really worry much about the weeds that grow in the pathways, but they do make the garden look raggedy. They also take some moisture; but with the raised bed structure, they are not a real problem. The weeds in the bed are pulled daily.

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/

Expert Advice on Mulberries

Yesterday(Friday) I had the pleasure to speak with Paul Banner of Banner Nurseries. This is a third generation nursery family and Paul knows his stuff. I had plans to propagate some mulberry plants this fall. He said “Do it now.” Take the new growth at the end of the branches, dip it in Rootone. Stick it in a good potting mix and keep it in the shade. I will do it this weekend.

The corn has started to stand back up a little bit. We are supposed to have more thunderstorms this weekend, so I hope it doesn’t get smashed again. The first yellow crookneck squash will be picked tomorrow or Sunday. There are zucchini as big as a pinky finger. Squash and onions, here we come. There are still no little tomatoes, just blossoms. The plants are beautiful; but eating is better than looking.

Mesclun is producing faster than we can eat it or give it away. It will probably not freeze well, so we will have to eat more salads. The cucumbers have blossoms and will soon have cukes. We will have everything except the home-grown tomatoes.

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/

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/

Where Have all the Flowers Gone

The sugar peas are chest high. They have no blossoms yet. It seems that they are of a size to have flowers by now and possibly even some pods. The sugar peas were our first garden construction of the season. 4’ bamboo poles were placed in the ground at the corners. 12’ poles were put at the top and bottom and string was woven between them like a cats cradle. We hope to facilitate and extend the harvest this year. Normally the peas lay on the ground and are very hard to find for us but not for the slugs. The vines are damaged harvesting the peas.

The spinach has been very prolific this year. Normally we get all we can eat; but no more. This year we have frozen some and given a lot away. No e-coli in home-grown spinach. The pepper spray seems to have worked pretty well to keep the critters away from the crops. There was 1 ½” of rain Saturday night, so the mess needs to be re-applied.

The corn is 1’ high and except for the first depredations, it has been left to grow. Some of it was side-dressed with compost this weekend. Some was not. It will be interesting to see how much difference the compost makes, if any.

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/