Fast Germination

The fall garden is amazing for the fast germination. Arugula was planted Sunday and came up on Monday. Turnips, mustard and kale were planted on Sunday of the week before and sprouted on Saturday. Cabbage and spinach were planted at the same time as the Arugula. They have not sprouted yet, but the soil may be too warm. They need temperatures of less than 70 degrees.

The next crop of figs seems to have started with a handful on Monday (Labor day). The previous crop was the largest we have ever had. This crop appears to be the sweetest ever. We make a lot of fig preserves because they are so good on biscuits or toast on cold mornings. The late cucumbers already have blossoms and runners so they were put onto a trellis this weekend. See the picture above.

A late harvest of cucumbers and squash is always iffy because there are so many bugs to eat them. The first plantings of cucumbers are dead already. The first plantings of squash are still alive, but they are producing almost nothing.

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/

Finally Figs

In spite of the recent rain, yesterday’s garden yield was poor. The okra was pretty good, but there were only about 7 or 8 tomatoes and 1 patty pan squash. The figs were fantastic though. A little grocery store bag got almost completely filled. The house is full of tomatoes already. They need to be canned again. The figs need to be made into fig preserves also. Tonight the kitchen and jars will be gotten ready. Tomorrow night we can.

Everyone who has eaten the sauerkraut says it is “kick-ass”. Our first jar was finished off last night. Cabbage will have to be planted really heavy this fall. Kraut can be made from other greens too. How would mustard or turnip kraut taste? It may get a trial. Maybe even kale kraut will be good.

It is time to start planning the fall garden. Except for things that will be harvested pretty early, row A will be left empty so that it can be reworked. It will be widened to 4” and the spaces between the beds will be eliminated; so there will just be one long bed.

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/

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/

Tomatoes Still

The tomatoes were picked green a week or two ago, when the 1st frost was predicted. There have been a couple of frosts since then. The tomatoes were pretty much forgotten. Monday as the figs were being pruned, I found some red tomatoes. Wow.

The figs were pruned to eye level again. Last year one fig tree was left un-pruned and one tree was pruned. The yield from the un-pruned tree was marginally greater, but the figs were harder too pick. The decision to not prune that tree was really regretted when pruning was done Monday. Some of the branches were too thick for a lopper and had to be cut with a bow saw. The city has a 5’ long rule for curbside pickup. Many of the branches from that tree had to be cut again.

Kale has been picked 3 times now. Salad greens have been picked twice and I have lost count of how many times the sallet greens have been picked. The lima bean vines are still health and blooming, but the lima bean pods have not filled out much. A different variety will definitely be in the works for next year.

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/

2nd Crop Figs

The second crop of figs is getting ripe. The dry weather could have something to do with it. The birds are inflicting less damage than they did on the 1st crop. The bird bath was almost empty yesterday. Maybe the birds have decided that I was a poor host and moved on. The bird bath is full now. It is okay if they come back. I hope they won’t eat the figs.

Yesterday’s temperature was up to 90+. The poor little cabbages and broccoli looked like they had expired. They got misted really well, but it may just be too hot for them. It is supposed to go to 91 today. Is this really September 8th?

NPR had a program about climate change yesterday. They explained the difference between climate and weather. It sounds almost like the stock market. We have to watch the trends in climate. For weather, we watch the sky. The 10 day forecast is calling for thunderstorms on Saturday now. Yesterday, they were not calling for thunderstorms on Sunday only.

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/

Grandchildren in the Garden

Grandchildren are visiting. They are lot’s of fun especially in the garden. Yesterday they wanted to help pick. We started with the figs. They are small enough to duck under the branches and pick the low hanging fruit. Little Caitlin enjoyed pointing out the high ones and then she got the idea to climb the tree to pick them She and I picked one tree, my son and Samantha picked the other.
The okra was out of Caitlin’s reach and of course one can’t climb an okra plant.

She did a good job of finding the okra pod’s though. It was the same with the tomatoes except I had to lift her to pick the tomatoes. When we cut grass she stepped on a fire ant nest, so we had to stop and take care of the wounds. Then we started murdering fire ant hills. We dug them with the hoe, sprinkled them with mound destroyer and Caitlin sprayed them with the hose. When she ran out of fire ant nests she decided to spray me. I retaliated of course, so we had to go inside and the rest of the day’s projects just didn’t happen.

I went to Renfrow’s yesterday for the fall seeds. I was told that the bugs would get all the cucumbers if I replanted; but a pack of seeds was 89 cents. One cucumber costs that, so I got them anyway. They will hopefully be planted today if there are not too many distractions.

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/

Cucumber Beetles Almost Defeated

The sulfur and BT have almost eliminated the spotted cucumber beetles. The rain keeps washing the spray off of the leaves, but I would rather spray than water. The problem is that the yellow squash and zucchini are pretty much destroyed. The yellow squash has been replanted and is almost ready to bloom.

The yellow patty-pan squash has little squash on the vines. They seem really small. I hope they don’t turn out to be the little medallion sized squash. Cucumbers and zucchini will need to be replanted. There may be time for a crop before first frost. The tomatoes are doing great and we are still getting mesclun. The mesclun is looking ratty but maybe it will last until the fall planting comes in.

The figs and hot peppers are the real stars of the garden right now. We are getting 3 to 5 pounds of figs a day. Yesterday Ana made preserves. We will probably have to make more tonight. The birds are eating a lot of them, but there is plenty for them and us. The tomatoes seem to have slowed down ripening a little in but there are still plenty on the vines. The upside-down tomatoes are growing rapidly and should be producing before frost. They are going to be heavy for the rafters in the greenhouse. They may need some special support structures.


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/

Finally Figs

The first figs were picked yesterday finally. The production from the two trees was kept separate to see whether pruning or not pruning makes a difference. One picking, of course, will not be definitive. The un-pruned tree produced 1# 8 ounces of figs. The pruned tree produced 8 ounces. There are other considerations besides production. The un-pruned tree is much harder to pick. It also shades the garden more.

For the last 3 mornings the garden has been sprayed with sulfur spray. Unless it rains today, that should finish off the spotted cucumber beetles. I only saw 1 this morning. The plants will get a good examination this afternoon. Hopefully the beetles will be gone. The other pest is birds in the tomatoes. It is not fair to complain too much since they are planted by the birdbath. If the problem continues a bird net may be necessary.

We had a complete salad last night, but the mesclun is looking really scroungy. It may be time to go ahead and plant a fresh crop. The soil temperature is still pretty high, maybe we will have to plant bib lettuce or something more heat tolerant. It is almost time for the fall garden anyway. Labor day is supposed to be the day, but need can be an important influence.

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 Garden

Summer Garden

Hot weather and afternoon thunderstorm are a great combination for growing gardens. Squash is coming in every day. The greens are still producing; but some are going to seed. The oak leaf lettuce and mesclun have slowed down; but they haven’t bolted yet. Tiny little cucumbers are on the vines. The 4th of July is only 3 weeks away. Last year’s 1st tomato in my garden arrived on July 3. Is there a chance of a salad with everything from the garden?

I have hopes; but there are still some obstacles. The deer ate the blossoms from the tomato plants. The plants are recovering well; but they have very few blossoms. Mr. Blackley at Renfrow’s hardware said to use Swiss chard instead of lettuce. I thought I had bunches; but yesterday, I noticed that something had eaten most of it.

The fig tree is totally loaded with figs. They should start ripening soon. Then it will be time to race the birds. The bird bath should probably be located further from the fig trees. The birds probably think they are visiting a spa or something. They can take a bath, get a drink and partake of the garden, the figs and the mulberries. They do eat some bugs too; and they are really fun to watch. Maybe a feeding station should be added. The neighbor with the cats moved out; so it will be a bird feeder instead of a cat feeder 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/.

Fig Wasps

Fig Wasps

It is nice to learn something new everyday. My friend and associate Chris Abrams told me this morning (4/30/09) about figs. Figs are not fruits, they are flowers. The petals, sepals and stamen are inside the fig. A tiny little wasp crawls inside and pollinates the fig. See a description here:

http://www.figweb.org/Interaction/Who_pollinates_fig_trees/index.htm

When I started thinking about this, I just wondered how it was possible, since this fig wasp lives within 15’ of the tree. Fig trees are natives of Asia. How did the wasp get here. I discovered that the fig varieties in the Americas are different. All of the flowers are female and do not require pollination.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fig#Pollination.2C_propagation.2C_and_fruit


Figs normally produce 2 crops per year. The 1st is borne on last year’s new growth. The second comes on the current years new growth. My first crop is usually small; because I prune the tree very heavily when it goes dormant. The 1st crop typically freezes anyway.
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/.

Sad Squash

Sad Squash

Yesterday (Aug. 18) I noticed the first real signs of cucurbit decline. The vines on almost everything are getting woody and dry. There was almost no new fruit on anything. I really thought all the rain we have had and now the sunshine would make the garden perk up and get excited. It only seemed to hurry the end.

The tomatoes are just starting to make and they are getting wilted looking. The watermelon leaves are looking a little brownish. The speckled lima beans do look good and the volunteer cucumbers are still green and producing. The Chayote plant still does not have blooms; but it is growing wildly. The neighbors weeds and vines have crossed the fence to the point of being intrusive. I guess that will be my big project for the weekend, cleaning that fence-line.

The figs were producing almost ½ pint a day; but yesterday I only got 2 figs. People talk about 2 crops of figs a year. I wonder if the first crop has just finished and all of the little figs on the tree are the second crop. I am just glad the first crop was good. My wife was really distressed about the way I had cut the trees back. Maybe she won’t complain this year.




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/.

Odds and Ends

Odds and Ends

Yesterday, Nov 7, 2007, brought the first freeze of the fall season. The temperature only dropped to 31 Fahrenheit. I don’t think it hurt my garden. I did not find any damaged figs, tomatoes or eggplants. I pulled all of them off anyway and took them inside. I only picked the figs that had swollen. The others will never ripen off of the tree. Green tomatoes can be ripened in the window, chopped and stir-fried, or made into fried green tomatoes. The eggplants are small; but they should be ripe enough.

I finished up the raised bed it is ready for strawberries and asparagus. Originally I had planed to run 2 rows the length of the bed with one for each type of plant. Last night I decided to check in “Grow It” one more time. Asparagus need a ph of 6.5. Strawberries need 5.5 to 6. I guess I will have to devote half of the bed (lengthwise) to each one.

I also consolidated my compost piles. This has been a bad year for compost. Normally I cut my grass every week to 10 days. The clippings go in the compost. I haven’t cut the grass since July. Normally at this time of year, I would have 3 full compost bins. They will turn into 1 bin by spring. This year I have 2/3 of a bin. I have got to find some more composting material fast or I will not have enough compost to do the spring planting.

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/.