Almost Summer

Of course I didn't get everything out that I wanted to; however, we are coming down to the wire.  Mid-to End of June is the last possible planting from seed for plants that will take 120 days to mature.  Means pumpkins and winter squash and sweet potatoes.  Not as many planted out as I could have, but with names like Rogue vif d'Estampes and Musque de Provence, I had to plant out at least a few pumpkin seeds.  These are my little Rogues.  The largest leaves are about the size of my hand.  Eventually, they should have leaves the size of a dinner plate or larger.  Planted too close together, of course, and I don't have the heart to thin.  I should know that in this climate I should get near 100% germination, and I know to space them further apart... knowing and executing are different, though... The clippings are from my wildly overgrown Sweet Marjoram, spread around the base of the pumpkins in hopes that it confuses the senses of that arch nemesis, the Squash Vine Borer.  There is also a tiny Lemon Balm tucked in there for the same purpose - and because I just love Lemon Balm.  I even love the Latin name, melissa officinalis.  

Rogue vif d'Estampes with melissa officinales

My Musques were planted on June 5th and broke ground on June 9th, right after the rains, just as expected.  I know the gardening is easier if I can time things to work with Mother Nature, but that doesn't always happen.  Luckily, last Saturday, I was able to put out some more seeds in anticipating of the drenching rains and slightly cooler temps (in the 80's F instead of 90's F).  The Musques, zuchhini, and Waltham Butternut Squash that I planted are all up and out of the ground.

Something I did plant out early enough, were peppers.  And while most still only have tiny little nubbins of peppers on them along with bountiful blooms, a few have some nice looking specimens.  I believe this is a Texas A&M (TAM) Jalapeño.  The canopy of the plant really does shade and protect the peppers - for the sake of the photograph, I am holding the upper leaves away from the fruit.

Texas A&M Jalapeño Peppers

 Did I mention rain?  And heat?  And humidity?  The Summer Crops are loving it.  So is the free mulch that I've been able to gather from the city.  These delicate sliver-gray mushrooms are barely and inch tall on slender stalks.  They bloom in clusters of 2 to 50 in the wood mulch on the overnight after a rain.  By mid morning, they are starting to fade, like the one on the right.  By the time the late morning sun touches them, they are gone, only to reappear after the next storm.

My "rainy day" mushrooms

Other wild things to delight the senses are these roses.  Simple, sweet, and growing with abandon everywhere, if we let them.  I am sure that they will happily and easily fill the whole garden and pasture given even 1/10th of a chance.  I give them the fence line by the house.  That's probably too much.  But I am gullible and taken in by their simple beauty.  Still, thank goodness for a husband with a riding lawn mower...

Wild Roses - thorny and invasive, but too sweet to totally eradicate

Early June

I never see these little butterflies until I water. And everywhere I water down the mulch, they arrive by 10s and 20s and more, to extract water from the wood chips. They drink from droplets, but more commonly, they unfurl their slender proboscis and send it deep into the mulch.  Ten minutes later, they have all disappeared.  I think they are a type of Hairstreak butterfly.  Worms in my beans and peas - possibly caterpillars for these tiny beauties.

Tiny butterflies flock to the freshly moistened mulch to sip water.

Clary Sage: Blue Monday and Pink Sunday. They are fresh and pretty in the warm sun of late Spring. They will not look so good after the heat of a July Summer Sun. They are both open pollinated. I wonder if they cross-pollinated, and if so, will I see their progeny?  I have enough seed to grow this again next year.  The pink and purple bracts are not the actual flowers.  The actual flowers are small and barely noticeable.  Bumblebees loved these.

 

 I love the garden this time of year.   Everything is new and fresh, and the possibilities are still endless.  The days are warm, but the nights remain mild, with mornings sunny but still with a cool light breeze.  The torrential rains and hot, humid days of Summer have not yet arrived.  And the weeds have not yet rallied and taken over.

This year was a year of trials - I planted a lot of varieties, but not much of anything.  See what survived and thrived, and what limped and wimped out. 

Little Critters

Had fun with my Camera stalking some little creatures.  More can be found on my Facebook Photography page, along with other photos of our property.

Soldier Beetle - One of the "Good Guys"

Same Soldier Beetle - on Cilantro Bloom

Less than 1" long Grasshopper on Tomato Leaf

1/4" long Grasshopper on the edge of a Pepper leaf.

Pollinator on a Snow Pea Flower

Garden Update Bed #2

Bed #2 is part of the Northern set of beds, and is the second from the East side.  Most people in North America would probably have numbered their beds from left to right; however, there is a method to the madness.  I numbered them in the order that they were created, and I created them East to West.

Bed #2 is the first of my herb beds.  As such, while it contains some extra tomato and pepper plants, and also has a little row of petunias, it has a lot of perennial herbs, such as lavender and oregano.  If it looks like there was no plan, just remember that "no plan survives the battlefield."  Bed #2 is about 8 feet long and about 3 feet wide.  The beans were an after thought attempt to fill some extra spaces so that weeds would not fill those areas.  Don't know yet if that tactic will be successful.

The pictures in this blog are actually quite large.  You may have to have your browser open in a new window, and you may have to change your browser setting to "show images full sized."  This is different for each browser, so changing those settings is beyond the scope of this post.

Bed #2 - The First Herb Bed, 30 May 2015

 

Plant Key Below

1. Weedy pasture, mostly mowed; however, I have let the Daisies and (what I think is) Queen Ann's Lace grow and bloom.  What I am aggressively working to eliminate is the Honey Suckle and Multifora Rose that is trying to take over.
2. Tomato
3. Tomato
4. Beans
5. Cilantro
6. Bee Balm (not really visible in this photo) - It's a sun-lover in some areas, but since we get some brutal summer sun, it seems to be happy hiding under the tomato plants
7. Several Pepper Plants
8. Dark Opal Purple Basil - 2 or 3 plants
9. One red onion - you can see one of its thin leaves in this photo
10. Upright Rosemary - also not visible - hidden by peppers - it probably needs more sun and I probably planted things too close
11. Beans
12. Petunias - they are just laughing at the heat.
13. Mrs. Burns Lemon Basil - far superior than Sweet Danni Lemon Basil in my opinion.  It is starting to bud out.  I pinched the first set of buds off a few weeks ago; however, I'm going to let this set flower.
14. Difficult to see, but there are two Ozark Beauty strawberry plants.  I've harvested 6 small, sweet strawberries from them so far.
15. White Sweet Alysum - there's a purple one in there, too, somewhere.  They are both doing really well in fairly dense shade.  There is also a Creeping Rosemary in there.  It seems to be happily creeping into hidden sunny spots.
16. Hidecote Lavender #1 is in there somewhere along with Greek Oregano
17. More Beans and Petunias
18. Hidecote Lavender #2
19. Lemon Thyme
20. More Peppers (I had a lot of extra peppers from Bed #1.  In retrospect, I probably should have just made a whole second bed for them.)
21. Sweet Marjoram
22. Sheep Nose Pimento Peppers - the one on the right was a "barely surviving, late to germinate, runt" - and it has almost caught up with the size of all of the other Sheep Noses.
23. I've begun "pegging out" the Sweet Marjoram to produce more plants.  It and the Lemon Thyme are both growing so vigorously that I should have many baby plants by mid-June.

Fruit Tree Planting & General Update

It's been exciting watching the trees and weeds "wake up" enough for me to begin to identify them.  The bare tree in the backyard has turned out to be a lovely deciduous magnolia.  There are many blooms on the north side, and I think that is because that is where the sun strikes it most.  Many crossed branches and a perennial vine growing through.  It looks healthy, but definitely can use some TLC.

Deciduous Magnolias in their full glory.

Center of a Deciduous Magnolia.

The Driveway Trees, as I call them, are currently nearing peak bloom; however, as I snapped these pictures last week, they were just barely starting to bloom.  Some tiny red leaves are also emerging.  This is definitely not a "Smoke Tree" - but I don't know what it is, yet.  My $1 used book store Trees of North America field guide is going to get a work-out!

Blooms are barely as big as my thumbnail.

Driveway Trees.

Adding to the delightful surprises of Spring - woodland daffodils!  Somewhere along the line, someone loved this place enough to plant a clump of daffodils at the edge of the woods.

Never truly Spring until the Daffodils have sprung!

Tomatoes, peppers, herbs, and willow & hybrid poplar cuttings have been outside during the day both yesterday and today.  Some didn't make it inside tonight because of - spiders!  One jumped out at me while I was situating a tray back onto my shelf.  Sorry, panicked and killed it.  Another on raised it's pedipalps at me when I went to pick up a tray.  I was paying more attention to that tray, after having panicked at the one in the house.  I left that tray alone. It's supposed to stay in the high 50's tonight, so probably everyone should have stayed outside, anyway.  Gave all the plant babies a good drink of water.  Some are in, some not.  Going to dip into freezing territory at night later this week, however, so I will need to do something to de-spider them before bringing all of the plant babies inside.  Currently 56*F at 11:30 at night.

Warm tomatoes are happy tomatoes.

Planted out trees!  Yay!

Row 1 -  Hardired Nectarine  -  Grand Gala Apple  -  Carolina Bell Peach

Row 2 -  September Wonder Fuji Apple  -  a slab of rock  -  Granny Smith Apple

This list of trees does vary somewhat from the original plan; however, one needs to be flexible and take advantage of pricing and specials.  Ordered 5 trees to start.  Both for budgetary reasons, and because the ground is not really ready for tree planting.  These are planted in the least optimal conditions: separated, in the middle of an open field, no wood mulch, pretty much water logged pure clay.  We did choose the highest points in the field to plant them, and I did plant clover and peas around them.  Hopefully I will be able to get a load of free mulch/compost from the city this week, and mulch around them.  I will be planting daffodil and maybe garlic in a circle around each tree this fall, as well as providing them with beans for nitrogen fixing during the summer.  Beginning of the food forest...

Doesn't look like much now, but just you wait a few years!

 That does look suspiciously like Red Georgia Clay under that mulch of weeds...

More seeds in my seed starting trays

It's the beginning of March, therefore it must be time to plant herbs. The first set of peppers and tomatoes have already germinated. In fact, some are ready to be transplanted already.  

Seeded one row each (two rows of dark opal basil), with each row containing 6 cells.  Generally speaking, I sowed one seed to a cell except for the chives.  Set the tray on my warming mat.  Hopefully they will be up in a few days.  Then I will really need my light set up. 

After midnight, and I should be sleeping, so pictures today; however, maybe pictures later this week.  For now, just my planting notes.

• Mrs. Burns Lemon Basil
• Sweet Marjoram
• Large Leaf Basil
• Plain Chives
• Dark Opal Basil
• Italian Parsley
• Garlic Chives
• Pink Sunday Sage
• Anise Basil
• Blue Monday Sage
• Lavender Lady

"Blue Monday" ornamental sage from Baker Creek.

Journal Entry 2015-02-24

Gardening in Middle Tennessee

Record-keeping has been spotty this year as we have been moving. Hope to catch up on that this weekend. I am happy to see that some of my tomato seeds from 2006 and 2007 have germinated, even if rates are low as expected. If I can get tomatoes off of one or two plants, then I can have fresh seed. I am also pleased that peppers are doing well.

I put seedlings under lights this last few days. They have turned from pale yellow to green. Today will be their first full day in light. Hopefully they are a dark greens you in a day or two. 

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How did this entry get here? What are Journal Entries? https://www.thelittlebiddyhenhouse.com/2018/12/combining-blogs.html

Ice Storm

I am saddened by the branches that have splintered from our tall trees, and losing hope that the buds on some of our smaller trees will bloom.  For sure when I have a small orchard, I will be out there with blankets and heat and I don't know what to protect my fruit trees.  I know it is the cycle of life and death, and that Spring will still be amazing even though there are some things that will not make it.  And yet, there was a part of me - the photographer in me, no doubt - that marveled at the beauty of it all.  So when the temps made it up to 20*F, I donned insulated coveralls, heavy jacket, double socks, boots, and gloves, and took my camera out to survey the world.  The day was full of gray skies, but that didn't make the day dreary at all.  I walked outside the property, for the most part, not wishing to step on something frozen that might have made it if I had not have crunched it with my boot when it was covered in ice.

For the most part, over exposed by +1.3 to +1.7,  More photos to eventually be posted on my Facebook Page.

Fat, fuzzy buds in January 2015

Now encased in ice.

January vista looking towards the road.

February view from the driveway looking in.

Patterns in the tree branches.

A hungry visitor awaiting its turn at the feeder.

Snowflakes (from my Facebook page)

View of the field and the neighbor's trees.

Seed Starting Craziness Begins

Costoluto Genovese, Pomodora Roma Nano - the names of these tomatoes conjure up the aromas from an Italian kitchen.  Travel from the Old World to the New World, and peppers like Arroz con Pollo, Jalapeno, and Habanero makes one salivate for all foods "South of the Border."   Here in the Middle of Middle Tennessee, we are blessed to be able to grow all of it.

I seem to always over-dream the number of amazing plants that will delight the senses in the garden - but I am pretty sure that is the only way I make it through February - by dreaming, planning, and starting seeds.  Today I will start 32 pepper plants (4 each of 8 varieties), and over 50 tomato seeds (representing 13 different varieties).  A first year garden probably cannot absorb that many peppers and tomatoes, so, as in years past, I am likely to give away some (many?) plants to friends and coworkers.

I used to use the Miracle Grow version,
but the last few years, I found sticks and rocks in it,
so I've switched.  I like the Jiffy Mix so far.

The Peppers - I did not try and grow peppers for the last few years since I did not have sufficient space or sunlight.  Now I have both, but probably not enough time!

Sweet Peppers

• Sheepnose Pimentos (Google Photos) - because, presumably, they look like sheep's noses?  70 days to ripening from transplant.  There is a pepper called Bull's Nose, too.  I am imagining they are much larger? 
• Mini Yellow Bell (Google Photos) - because they are cute, and yellow, and I have been unsuccessful in growing these in the desert? I want to make bite-sized tuna-stuffed peppers.  90 days to harvest from transplant.
• California Wonder - you know these ones - if you get green peppers from the grocery store, this is likely the one you are getting.  I love green peppers.  I might not share these.
• Golden Bell (F1 hybrid) (Google Photos) - Been trying to grow this one since 2006.  Seed might not be viable any more, but I'm going to give it one more shot.   Seeds are almost 10 years old, so if I get 25% germination, I'll be happy.

I used to grow in "six-packs" and I probably will continue to do so for some seeds,
but peppers and tomatoes can take a certain amount of abuse, so this method works with them.
These containers have been reused for years now.  Don't recall where I got them.

Hot Peppers

• Arroz con Pollo (Baker Creek) -  Looks like an orange Habanero - but with spice instead of searing heat.  To make Chicken and Rice, of course.  80 days from transplant.
• Cayenne, Long, Thin - (Baker Creek) - Spicy hot - hopefully not as hot as the Thai chillies.  Planning to dry some to add to home made taco seasoning. 
• TAM Jalapeno  (Wikipedia) - From our friends plant friends at Texas A&M (Go Aggies! Love that Marching Band!... but I digress...), a mild Jalapeno purported to have all of the flavor, but only some of the heat.
• Peach Habanero (Google Photos) - looks a lot like Arroz con Pollo, except that this one can sear your face off.  Gotta grow at least one of those high-temperature beasties, right?

Issues with color-coding arrows; however, I'm not redoing the photo. 
Peppers like light to germinate, so keeping these misted, and covered with a clear top.

Tomatoes - Did I mention my love affair with tomato plants?  And my growing interest in making home made salsa and spaghetti sauce?  And that freezing tomatoes requires no blanching, skinning, or slicing and dicing?  And, of course, there are tomato on Wonder Bread with Best Food's mayonnaise sandwiches like my Daddy made (only here in Tennessee, those sandwiches are on Bunny Bread with Hellman's Mayo).  Good stuff!

Roma or Paste Tomatoes

• Polish Linguisa (Burpee) - a large paste tomato. Good for stews and freezing for winter use.  Rinse, pat dry, and freeze whole in zip lock bags.  When ready to use, put in a plastic colander or strainer over a glass bowl.  Collect the thawed juice for later.  When the outside has thawed a little, the skin will slide right off.
• Speckled Roman (TomatoFest) - a multi-colored roma type.  Probably not going to make a huge color difference in a sauce, but might look pretty on the vine or cut up in a salad.
• Roma - Just plain old Roma that has been grown for generation - no V, no F, not hybrid, just the Roma from our grandma's day.
• Pomodora Roma Nano (Ferry-Morse)- you know I had to buy this one just because of the name.  You know some Marketing person is enjoying how they have hooked me in.  Hoping to do a taste test this summer.

Cherry and Grape Cherry Tomatoes

• Red Pear (Google Images)- not the "Mexican Hat" that I remember growing with my Mom during my youth, but a little burst of cherry tomato goodness to pop in the mouth just the same.  I have seed from 2007 and seed from 2011.  Will be growing both out to see if the 2007 seeds are still viable.
• Tennessee Yellow Cherry (TomatoFest)- Looking forward to seeing how this Tennessee cherry stacks up against my other "snacking" cherry toms.
• Hssiao His Hung Shih (Baker Creek) - Say that one 10 times really fast.  A yellow grape shaped/sized cherry.  One year I went on a binge and bough a bunch of yellow cherry styled tomatoes.  This was one of them.  Growing for the first time this year.
• Yellow Pear (Google Images)- Thick skinned, and not as sweet as some cherry tomatoes - but what endears me is that this tom will grow and ripen anywhere - and still have better taste than a store bought tomato.  My old reliable - I bought this seed back in 2005 to grow in the desert (one of the few to thrive and set fruit when it was 99*F!) - and last year I still got excellent germination.  This year I'm going to save some seeds from this work-horse variety.  10 year old seed that was not nicely stored, and still viable.  Life is tenacious!
• Mexico Midget (Totally Tomatoes) - little round cherry, barely a 1/2 inch in diameter.  Another one that laughs at the desert. Thinner skinned than Yellow Pear.  Maybe under sweeter circumstances it is a sweeter tom?

Other Tomatoes

•  Costoluto Genovese (TomatoFest)- "Fluted" (ribbed) Italian Heirloom.  I grew one in a 5 gal bucket in the shade last year - really sub-par conditions for a standard tomato.  Still, she gave me three of the reddest, tastiest toms.  They were just over 2 1/2 inches in diameter.  I am hoping with better growing conditions that she will give me basket-fulls of bigger fruit this year.
• Anna Rusian - a heart shaped, red tomato, but not as big as the "ox hearts"
• Amana Orange (Tomato Fest) - An orange Beefsteak style tomato. I'm still kicking myself for not saving some seed from the mild, luscious orange tomatoes from the farmer's market last year.  Might have been a hybrid with lousy progeny... might have been an open pollinated wonder to save for generations.
• Bradley (TomatoFest)- An heirloom slicer - one of my friend's favorites.  I try and give her at least one every year.
• Spears Tennessee Green (TomatoFest) - Late compared to everything growing in the shade in a bucket last year - frost came before it ripened.  We'll see how it does with sunshine.  Turns from "green tomato green" to a lighter green with darker green shoulders when ripe.  Hopefully I get some ripe ones this year.

I have about another 20 varieties of tomato seeds stashed away.  Maybe next year I will grow some of them out, too.

Where to Buy - These are some of my favorite seed sellers.  Over the decades, I've probably spent over $100 at each of them.  I purchase nearly all open pollinated seeds with the idea that I could save seeds if I wanted to.  The companies I deal with do not sell GMO seeds. Rating: §§§§§ = awesome! None = don't go there.

• §§§§§ TomatoFest - The Famous Gary Ibsen and Dagma Lacey tomato duo.  Still the best quality seed with an amazing number of varieties - on a pleasant and easy to use site.  Many, many of my tomato seeds originate from here.
• §§§§§ Baker Creek (Note: The website is http//:www.rareseeds.com) - not a tomato or pepper site, per se; however, they have all kinds of wonderful things.  Mostly heirloom seeds. All (I believe) open pollinated. Their catalogs are pieces of photographic heaven. A tad pricey - but you gotta support photographic beauty somehow!
• §§§§ Totally Tomatoes (Note: The website is http://www.totallytomato.com/) - They seem to be moving towards hybrids, and while I have nothing against hybrids, open pollinated is the way to go for those wishing to save seeds.

Ok, there are more places to buy these seeds from; however, I'm going to stop now or I'll never get this posted.

PS It's still quite too early to plant out beans, but I have about 100 foot of temporary fence to cover... stay tuned for the Bean and Cowpea trials!

Food Forest Dreaming

Plans and more plans.  I'm sure this isn't the final plan, either.  But, still, good entertainment while I am still house bound with this dastardly cold.

Year One, of course, we have a lot to do, and probably not enough time or money to do things with, so going to start with a few fruit trees and a small, sunny garden (orange areas).  Also, going to need to observe the shady (blue) area cast by mature trees directly to the west of that area.  Not sure what to do with it yet; however, hoping a year of observation will help.  Everything will need to be planted on raised beds due to the 50-60 inches of rain that we get a year, so in addition to the raised beds for the garden and the first fruit trees, will also build the raised berms for additional trees and beds and cover crop them with a variety of clovers and bush beans.

For the trees, I am envisioning

• Remove top soil where the trees will be
• Dig shallow trench - 1-2 feet deep
• Fill trench with thin branches, wood chips, and trench soil
• Build mound up about 2 ft tall and 5-6 feet wide
• Replace topsoil
• Plant to cover crop
• When planting trees, put card board around them and mulch
• Put tree protectors
• Stake for the first year

Year 1 - Shape Beds & Plant 9 fruit trees

First Year Trees to include all of our favorites, as it will take 2-4 years for them to begin producing. 
Apple - Fuji September Wonder - Semi-Dwarf - Ripens Sept
Nectarine - Hardired - Standard - August
Apricot - Goldcot - Dwarf - Early July
Apple - Royal Gala - Semi-Dwarf - Late August
Peach - Carolina Belle - Standard - Mid August
Pear - Moonglow - Standard - Mid August
Apple - Golden Delicious - Semi-Dwarf - Late Sept
Pear - Red Sensation - Standard - Ripens Late August
Apricot - Wilson Delicious - Standard - Ripens Early July

Still need to research what guilds well with these trees.  If possible, year one, build all the beds that need to be built using tractor so don't need to bring the tractor in again.  The sunny (orange) areas will continue to be the yearly vegetable garden.

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Year Two, continue adding trees, but also add berry bushes to the various trees to begin rounding out their guilds.  Continue to chop and drop cover crops and to add mulch.

Still not sure what to do with the shady area.  After year 4 or so, it will get shade from both the East and the West.  Not sure what to do with it.  Could that become a plant propagation area?  Also, perhaps there will be enough sunlight for greens - lettuces, spinach, cabbage, kale, bok choi and the like.  Do I see snails and slugs in my future?  Hopefully an army of Robins will move in and keep the place slug free.

The sunny beds (orange) to the North are 15 feet long - almost 200 feet.  And then the fence line - that will be mostly sun for the first several years, with the lower Eastern side eventually getting more shade.  Should be enough for a home garden.  Not so sure about enough for a market garden.  The shade beds in between where future trees will go will be sunny places to plant on while waiting for trees.  Even the tree berms can be planted to row crops during this time.

Year 2 - Add 8 More Trees

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Year Three still adding lots of trees.  But the plan gets more fuzzy as we look out over time...

Year 3 - 8 More Trees

Year 4 - First trees should be producing; Add 8 more trees

A decision in years 4 - 5 will need to be made concerning adding the last two rows of trees.  If I don't add them, will there be enough sunlight to continue growing row crops there?

Year 5 - First 2 sets of trees should be producing - Add 6 more trees.

Year 6 - Many trees should be producing; Add the last of the main trees

Year 7 - Most trees producing; add additional trees to fill in gaps