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A Little Rain – Finally

September 29, 2011

Bishop Beans, Gardening, mulching, Vegetables , , , , , , Leave a comment

A week or so away from a fresh green bean

Today we had a nice line of storms come through and bless us with about a half of an inch of rain. Now we are only about 21.5 inches behind. Even better is the fact that a front hits tomorrow and our temperatures will drop significantly! The stress from the heat has been a real pain in the butt! Some of my attempts to direct seed have worked and others are not doing so well. Most of the lettuces are not showing up. I will reseed them over the weekend. The old reliable, the radishes are flourishing as are the beets, turnips, carrots and peas – well most of the peas….

The previously planted pole beans are climbing and now blossoming. I have zucchini beginning to develop and the bush cucumbers may actually produce before it gets too cold. I munched on some late sprouting asparagus shoots this week. Wow, so sweet straight from the garden.

Rain, rain come and stay!

Seeing the water gushing down and out the drain is a good thing. Haven’t seen much of that since early spring. Forecast is for another chance tomorrow. Fingers are crossed, prayers made and maybe, just maybe we will put a small dent into this lingering drought. I will do my part and gather the neighbor’s leaves and shred them for leaf mulch/mold. They must think I am nuts when I go up and down the street gathering leaves……Am I nuts? – Don’t answer that!

Nice Time of Year to be Out in the Garden – Quick Update

September 24, 2011

Bishop Gardening, Vegetables , , Leave a comment

The yard is zooming with these little guys

Yard work and gardening chores are a bit more enjoyable now …. several reasons;
The break from the brutally hot summer we have been having. It is the worst we’ve experienced since our arrival in 2004 and apparently one of the worst on record.
The plus side – the hummingbirds are heading south and passing through. They seem to be lingering a little longer than last year. It has been so dry that they are reluctant to leave the feeders in the yard.
It is a joy to see these guys zooming all over the yard. The bigger bullies are always chasing away the less aggressive hummers and while chasing others sneak in for a drink. I have to duck on a occasion as they zoom past my head.

Now for the garden update. I was off in Covington,Louisiana this past week working for Chevron….I sometimes miss the old company and friends. Good bunch of rain early in the week so the plants were happy. Kathy kept the plants well-tended in my absence. My experiment with home-made seed strips appears to be working. I will keep up the staggered plantings to see if I can extend the harvest.
The pole beans are acting like Jack’s magic beans and don’t seem to know when to stop going vertical. I added extensions to my tepees and they have gone beyond the 10 foot height. I hope they start flowering soon. My sugar snap peas have popped up this past week and will be climbing soon.
Looking good. A longer post soon.
TTFN
Bishop

Before and After – Ready for the Fall Season

September 8, 2011

Bishop Beans, berrries, Gardening, mulching, Solarizing, Vegetables , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Well it has been brutal working in the garden, adding the extra touches and prepping for my fall growing season. As always I will be experimenting a little – it is all about learning.

When we returned from vacation the gourds and the indeterminate tomatoes had gone wild. There was not a clear and easy path down through the middle of my two biggest beds. Then there was the ankle biting Bermuda grass. You know, Bermuda grass is not so bad when you want it for your lawn, but in a vegetable bed…. it is insidious! I had tried to mulch the Bermuda out but it is just amazing how it can find a little light and burst out. I promise, scouts honor, to not let it get ahead of me this year. Yes, I was a Boy Scout…..not like my nephews that made Eagle Scout – congratulations Wesley and Wade, but I did make about 12 merit badges.

I recently scared off a potential convert. I had been negotiating with my friend John to add a 4X4 bed to his existing 4X4 raised bed. Once he saw my jungle at the end of July and followed my efforts to reclaim/re-tame my plot he backed off. I think we can get him to do another 4X4 – walk before we run.

So, the experiments; I planted tomatoes in August in order to get another bountiful blessing before first frost. The Carmello variety is setting some nice big flowers that may bear fruit. The jury is out on the others. The pole beans are climbing like crazy so I am optimistic for them. The Serrano Pepper plant is loaded with blossoms – 100’s. They just need to set. After solarizing my problem bed for 5+ weeks, I pulled the plastic off a couple of days ago and have begun planting it. I am trying Bush Cucumbers, Swiss Chard (always does well), the first of some staggered lantings for my beet rows, sugar snap peas and I will get some carrots going this weekend. I will continue to stagger plant beets and carrots about every 3 weeks. I have a couple of recently planted squash plants that have not shown signs of distress so I am hopeful. Lettuce will come in another few weeks. I have 150 strawberry plants being shipped the first week of November. I had very few survive this brutal summer.

I also poured a walkway down through the middle of my large beds. I used one of those forms that looks like irregular stones .Kathy wondered why I was pouring during the 105 deg weather and not waiting until December. I didn’t have a good answer other than I just wanted to get it done!  I think it looks good and should keep the mud away…..if it ever rains again. We are over 20 inches behind.

Here is a link to a cool site for backyard farming;

http://www.homefarming.com/

Look for another installment in a couple of weeks.

TTFN

Bishop

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