Journal Entry 2012-12-09

Gardening in Middle Tennessee
Filled the bird feeder twice this week. Need to buy some chicken scratch two makes in with the sunflower seeds. Will attract different thirds – and be much cheaper, two. I have a lot of seeds that are six years or older. I should do a germination test.

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Journal Entry 2008-05-06

Gardening in the High Desert

• Watered beds, sunflowers, weeds
• Looks like volunteer oregano germinating in bed #1
• Took some photos of strawberry blooms
• Sunflowers planted kind of close, but since it's only one row, hope still will be OK. Need to plant more, more, more. Some for the backyard, too.
• Is the last hard frost gone yet? Can I try toms outside? Time for another sacrificial tom? Time to plant some purple "cool soil" beans?

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Journal Entry 2008-04-06

Gardening in the High Desert Planting

• 10 Sun Seed dwarf sunflowers (Territorial packed for 2006), 4 - 5 ft tall, 12-15" heads
  
• 60 tall sugar snap [peas] around the most easterly "dead tree"
  
• Mammoth sunflowers planted 4/5/08
  
• Sun Seed sunflowers planted 4/6/08
  

Should have started some of each kind of sunflower yesterday to compare germ [germination] times. Oh well, maybe I will plant more out today. I could turn those into a formal sunflower trial, but really, all I want to do is kinda see if early April is OK for starting them. If I sow the long season ones (i.e. Mammoth at 80 days) throughout April and May an the beginning of June, I should have some in bloom from the middle of July to September. Of course, pushing it for the ones to ripen at the end of the season - just like pushing to plant at the beginning of the season, well before "Last Frost." 

Sweet potatoes barely holding on Can they survive my neglect and abuse for another month and a half? Going to find them a nice sunny place this year so they can run wild. I'm amazed that they had any tubers at all last year Maybe this year they'll have eating sized ones. Anyway, they are green and lush out i the grade so even as an ornamental, they are worth it. I can't believe I still have descendants from a sweet potato from our first Thanks Giving. Makes them a little more special. History, small miracles, and good food - major parts of what makes gardening so important to me.

Need to plant more

• Peppers
  
• Toms
  
• Basils
  
• Other herbs
  
• DONE - Sunflowers (outside)
  
• DONE - Peas
  
• DONE - Wildflower mix
  

Notes

• Planted peas along the watering line, but am now wondering if I should have planted them closer to the tree trunk.
  
• Had some left over wild flower seed from I don't remember when or where. Planted on the west, in front of the ring of daffodils around the most westerly dead tree.
  
• Sunflowers in the most NE corner. Will plant more of the short kind along the eastern fence so they won't shade the area for corn too much. Tall ones along the back. Do I really think I can get 100 to grao and bloom? Of course, at this time of year, all things are possible.
  
• DH says to grow some hot peppers. Maybe I'll get some seed at Walmart
  
• Between the wind, the general desiccation, and the fast draining sand, it's a wonder anything germinates here
  
• Watered and fed backyard trees
  
• I should plant a bunch of marigolds, although something ravenously devoured the flower petals, it did grow well and bloomed ok. And whatever ate its petals did not eat other things int he garden.
  
• Watered wildflower bed and sunflower areas again in the afternoon
  
• Watered trees in the front years
  
• The wind is howling outside, but here in the house, it is quiet. The boys [Dear Husband and Dear Son] are napping, the dogs are outside. Baby plants sit in the warm sun in the southern window. The world is at peace.
  

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Journal Entry 2008-04-02

Gardening in the High Desert

Garlic

• Watered weeds, veg beds and garlic
  
• Some weeds starting to bloom - a delicate lavender one, and one with white flowers. Also tumbleweed now germ along with a new weed that I haven't seen before.
  
• First daffs in garden blooming - pale cream yellow
  
• Weeded all beds
  
• Irises growing like crazy
  
• Large rabbit tracks in the garden
  
• Time to feed and water trees - they are starting to break dormancy
  
• I am thinking of buying some onions and some garlic at the store to grow - just to see what happens
  
• Forgot to water my oregano transplant. Well, I guess we'll see just how tough it really is.
  
• Got to sleep good, go to work early, go home early and then take lots of photos of the garden tomorrow
  
• More peas are up
  

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Journal Entry 2007-09-15

Gardening in the High Desert

Planted out 48 cloves of garlic today. Having a fence sure revolutionizes my gardening. Don't have to wait for raised beds or worry about dogs!

• 6 Georgia Crystal
• 14 Bogartyr
• 17 Kettle River Soft Neck [2012-09-12 Note: presumably one of the bonus varieties]
• 6 Korean Red
• 5 Siberian
• 6 Polish

2 cloves of Kettle River and 1 clove of Siberian - too small to plant - will eat! Planted 8 bulbs all together. Still have lots more to plant.

Well, at least I didn't totally procrastinate and I have at least 4 dozen bulbs in the ground. I will be more than thrilled to get even half that next summer. Still need to put in at least one more bed of garlic - maybe plant some and let them flower - maybe the Kettle River since you get a lot of small cloves from one bulb [have since learned that soft neck garlic generally does not set flowers - and they aren't really flowers, but tiny bulbils]. I could plant some and let them flower, but I'd need to remember where I put them so I could make sure that they got watered!

Tied some apple tree branches and weighted them - I think it will only take a few weeks to train them. I only have one concrete stake to use as a weight right now, and since it hasn't been very windy, I figure I'd see how it went.

MDH is amazing. He built me this awesome fence and today I woke to the sounds of hammering - he was building the gate. I'm so thrilled. I don't think he knows how much I've wanted a garden like this - for nearly all of my adult life.

I think I still have about 10 more garlic bulbs to plant - a next week job. Or, a next week pleasure.
The sun is setting. It is peaceful and still and a pleasant bit of chill in the air. I love this time of day, and this time of year.

The boys are out hunting Evil Rabbits.

Observed my Tomato Horn Worm eating this afternoon - totally pigging out is a better description.

NEXT YEAR: Cage or fence in toms

I started my seed inventory and maybe I won't need to order too, too much - I have MG's and all sorts of veggies. Including pole beans. But, of course, "having enough" is no the real reason one goes into a see buying frenzy - it is the hope and the promise of a bountiful garden that lures one.

OK, I promised myself that to show my appreciation for all the time and energy that MDH gave me on building the fence, that I would spend a significant amount of time cleaning house. I so much would rather play in the garden, but I will do it - this is an awesome thing he's done for me!

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Journal Entry 2007-09-13

Gardening in the High Desert

• Moved big, fat cat from red round toms to lush growth in VB [Vegetable Bed] 1 - took photos
• Watered apple trees, garden, front fence row
• Garlic order from The Garlic Store came today!

Garlic Order for Summer 2008 harvest:

• Georgian Crystal
• Korean Red
• Siberian
• Polish Hardneck
• Bogatyr
• Surprise Bonus

I am very excited about garlic planting time!

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Journal Entry 2007-08-13

Gardening in the High Desert
Bloom/Harvest

• Veg Bed #1
• Green toms - only 2, I think
• MG [Morning Glory] has 2nd real leaf
• Other 2 vining things reaching for the sun - about 2" tall
• Veg Bed #2
• Alaskan Fancy - 10+ green tomes, some have turned that pre-ripening light white green
• Tom that I thought was a yellow pear has decidedly round fruit forming
• Stunted sun flower blooming under Marigold and Cosmos
• Buds ready to open on Marigold
• Many tiny wax beans
• 2 Cukes growing strong
• Veg Bed #3
• Black eye peas - more nearing harvest; only a few blooms now
• 2 two little yellow squash and 1 zuke ripening
• 2 sunflowers blooming - took pictures - they are about 3 ft tall with 4 inch blooms - need to find out how long it took from seeding to flower. [later, undated note] 2 months from seed to bloom
• 10+ green toms of various kinds
• Lemon basil ready to shear back again
• Regular basil ready for another harvest
• Flower basils are pretty much done [2013-08-11] I usually plant some basils in strategic places around the garden and let them bloom - they attract enormous amounts of pollinators - and in the desert, we need to bring in as many as we can find

Journal

• watered orchard & veg beds
• Took lots of photos - some at night
• Apple Tree Thoughts for Fall Planting
• Grand Gala (pol. grand gala, granny smith)
• Sept Wonder Fuji (pol. grand gala, granny smith)
• Red Fuji (pol gran gala, granny smith)
• That's about $70 for 3 trees
• Sunflower saving strategy - cover ripening heads with paper bags sprayed with deer-off

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Journal Entry 2006-08-14

Gardening in the High Desert

• Some of the hybrid popular [trees] are 3 feet tall. So hard to start holding back on water, but if I want to see them next year, I better! [2013-08-11 I presume this is so they will harden off for the winter]
  
• Mulched the ones along the south fence, but still need to mulch the ones against the west (2006-09-03) [Presume that the date in parenthesis refers to when I mulched the ones against the west fence]
• Need to keep pinching flower buds back on the basil.  They looked so naked after I harvested my little bit, but I hear they will grow back with a vengeance.
• [Check marked] Buy bleach, rubber gloves
• MDH flattened out and graded where the chicken house will be, and also the area he wants to put rock in to store his cars
• I so don't want to work today.  Just want to sit in the mellow sun
• Mulch tress n. of metal building 9/6/2006
• Make concrete Garlic signs 9/2/2006 Made a wood one [not concrete]

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Journal Entry 2006-08-14

Gardening in the High Desert

• Some of the hybrid popular [trees] are 3 feet tall. so hard to start holding back on water, but if I want to see them next year, I better! [2013-08-11 I presume this is so they will harden off for the winter]
• Mulched the ones along the south fence, but still need to mulch the ones against the west (2006-09-03) [Presume that the date in parenthesis refers to when I mulched the ones against the west fence]
• Need to keep pinching flower buds back on the basil.  They looked so naked after I harvested my little bit, but I hear they will grow back with a vengeance.
• [Check marked] Buy bleach, rubber gloves
• MDH flattened out and graded where the chicken house will be, and also the area he wants to put rock in to store his cars
• I so don't want to work today.  Just want to sit in the mellow sun
• Mulch tress n. of metal building 9/6/2006
• Make concrete Garlic signs 9/2/2006 Made a wood one [not concrete]

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Journal Entry 2006-08-13

Gardening in the High Desert
Bloom/Harvest

• Something is eating my lovely pepper
• Basil blooming nicely
• Tom blooming, bust still no fruit
• Harvested one small Ziploc [bag] of regular sweet basil and one of the giant, curly leafed one
• Beans blooming, but only one very slender one out yet

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