Cool Dirt

Finally the temperatures are dropping to the point that spinach and lettuce seeds should germinate well. This weekend should be a great time to plant if the ground is not too wet. In raised beds that have been kept under mulch this should not be a problem. The weather should be suitable for direct seeding of cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower as well, but it may be too late in the season to get a crop before a hard freeze hits.

Next springs garden plan should be in place by now. Lettuce and spinach and the other crucifers will continue to produce until the very coldest weather comes and they may survive into spring. It would not be fun to pull up producing crops to plant the spring garden.

One big change that will be implemented in our summer garden is that we will not plant everything on Good Friday. The plants of peppers and tomatoes and egg plants will go into the ground at 2 or 3 week intervals so as to keep continuous production. The winter squash, except for spaghetti squash, will be planted in early June.

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/

Not Too Wet to Plow (Tuesday)

The rain from Sunday and Monday gave the perfect amount of moisture to the ground. The tiller bit deep and chewed the ground and the organic matter on top of it to a perfect consistency. Today’s rain would have left the garden too wet to till. It should leave the lawn in perfect condition for aerating and seeding. It should also go deep enough to facilitate trans-planting trees or shrubs. It should also cool the soil.

The plants in the garden looked really happy yesterday. They were obviously getting really tired of city water. They enjoyed the long cool drink. They are enjoying another drink today and maybe tomorrow. The ground will be too wet for building new beds for several days, so this will be a good time to work on the lawn and transplant some trees.

As soon as the soil is dry enough to work spinach and lettuce should be planted. It may grow fast enough to be picked while there are still tomatoes and cucumbers.

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/

Is It Too Wet to Plow?

The ground was hard and dry enough that the little bit of water it has received over the past couple of days has probably just soaked in and been sucked up by the greenery. If it doesn’t rain more today, a shovel full of dirt will tell the tale. I have enough compost and enough wood to make another raised bed. The ground will need plowing first.

There are so many things that need doing that had to wait on the rain. Hopefully this cooled the dirt enough to plant spinach and lettuce. Fall is also the best time to seed grass and transplant trees. The ground was too hard to aerate and way to hard and dry for tree holes. There probably won’t be time for everything. Tilling the garden and building the raised bed will get priority. Next will come grass seed and the trees will go last.

The 10 day forecast for Charlotte calls for more rain on Wednesday and Thursday. If that comes it will soak the ground too much for tilling the garden, but it should help grass seed and make tree holes easier to dig. The ground may already be too wet for tilling.

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/

Last Day of Summer

…Or so they say. The high for today is supposed to be 94 degrees. The lowest high in the 10 day forecast is 83 degrees. No rain is predicted. The humidity is so low that there is no dew on the grass in the morning. The grass is turning a nice even shade of brown. At least it doesn’t need to be cut.

The topsy-turvy tomatoes seem to be suffering more than anything else in the garden. They get watered every day, but they still have a sad look to them. The peppers and eggplants seem to be thriving. The three cucumber plants that survived the beetles are green and bright, but they are not growing much. Two of them have put out the little runners that they use to hold on to the trellis, but only one is tall enough to reach the trellis.

The soil is still too warm for planting lettuce and spinach. None of the fall carrots or beets has germinated. The kale and turnips were spotty. The mustard and radishes are growing well. The onion sets were put out last weekend. They have done nothing. The mustard should be large enough to pick next weekend. Everything requires daily water.

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/