September 29, 2011
Bishop
Beans, Gardening, mulching, Vegetables
asparagus, beans, beets, carrots, gardening, lettuce, vegetables
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!
September 24, 2011
Bishop
Gardening, Vegetables
beans, hummingbirds, vegetables
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
September 8, 2011
Bishop
Beans, berrries, Gardening, mulching, Solarizing, Vegetables
beans, berries, carrots, garden, lettuce, peppers, solarizing, strawberries, tomatoes, vegetables
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
August 6, 2011
Bishop
Composting, Gardening, Vegetables
asparagus, beans, compost, gardening, tomatoes, vegetables
I lost count of the T-shirt changes to get my garden make into some sort of change, but, it is well above 25. I went a little beyond but it will be worth it down the road. I pulled out the old 2X4’s used for the raised beds and went with 5/4X6 corral board to give me a little extra depth.
Rented a roto-tiller to speed the process up and sweated like a big dog. I worked some aged compost in both beds while I was at it. The right hand bed was the worst of the worst of the 4 for Bermuda grass invasion. I pulled out a huge pile of Bermuda grass and roots. Unbelievable how the roots run. Next week I will tightly cover this bed with clear plastic and “solarize” the weeds – i.e., kill them without toxins….. I like a chemical free garden for my veggies.
I have planted two tomato plants visible in the far left bed. They have been in for 4 days and seem to be handling the heat pretty well. I will add some fall potatoes in the day or so to this same bed. I have wanted to experiment with trying to grow some fall potatoes. I have about a pound of fingerling potatoes, cut and scabbed – ready to go in the ground. All of the commercial sellers look to be sold out so I am using store bought….. Not the best choice but it is just a $3.00 experiment.
I you look to the far back right in the photo you can see the dense growth of asparagus ferns. It appears that I should have a great harvest next year. I added a handful of 2 year old crowns the the existing bed in an effort to create a long term asparagus bed. If managed well this bed should produce for 20 years or more.
I also planted two mounds of zucchini squash. I have never had any luck but heard that if started in the heat of summer I may avoid the dreaded squash beetles. The other tip I heard was to plant hundreds with the likelihood the beetles will get some but not all of the vines. Well, my beautiful and loving wife has not approved the land purchase so I will be forced into plan C, D of F as I try my squash growing skills. The poles you see on the left will support my Kentucky Wonder pole beans. I love fresh green beans and they seem to produce well here in the Hoston area.
TTFN
Bishop
July 28, 2011
Bishop
Composting, Gardening, Vegetables
asparagus, compost, cucumbers, garden, gourds, peppers, tomatoes, vegetables
A month away from the garden and strange things happen! My
daughter Ashleigh is to be commended for her diligent hand watering of my
backyard patch. So, thank you Ashleigh. As a result the cucumbers survived the
brutal July heat, the tomatoes limped along, the asparagus ferns look stout,
the eggplant did well, but the real stars were the gourds. Wow is all I can
say! They literally overran the garden, over the fence and up the wall of the
garage.
The weight of the big gourds pulled my Creole tomatoes to the
ground and smothered the vines. Up until we left on vacation the Creaole vines were prolific producers. The upside is that I have some very interesting and very large
gourds for ?????????????? Maybe our friend Beverly can think of a themed
painting scheme to go along with the shapes.
The 150 strawberry plants I put in the ground the first of June all perished before we left on vacation. I will try a fall planting to see if I can get them well established prior to next summer’s heat hits. I would sure like to get a few of those Santa Maria patented varieties. The problem is the minimum order is 10,000 plants……. Just a few more than I need. I have considered hiring one of the midnight suppliers to rustle up a dozen or so. I could then begin propagating my own! Dangerous but it could be worth the effort.
Started the garden clean up yesterday – it is going to be a lot of work. Managed to get the gourds and vines out – just a two t-shirt day. Piled them up and shredded the vines with the mower before putting them into compost bin today. Today I pulled out 5 past their prime tomato vines and transplanted a bell pepper over into one of my wine barrels. I tidied up some drooping cucumber vines, pulled a bunch of weeds, gathered up some new red potatoes that I nearly forgot about and made a cucumber salad with blackberry balsamic vinegar. All in all a good day.
It will probably be another few more days before I can display the after pictures. I promise that they will be PG rated, suitable for all gardeners.
(click on an image to enlarge)
TTFN
Bishop
May 7, 2011
Bishop
Gardening
beans, fresh, marinade, Speckled Trout, vegetables, worms
Too many green beans.
I returned home to my garden, my refuge, my place of calm and inner peace after two weeks in California. My wife took very good care of the veggies and berries in my absence, save for the green beans. The beans went wild.
I had planted poles in such a way as to lean forward from the fence to the front of the raised bed. I had hoped it would make picking a lot easier. In theory it looked like a success in the days before I left. I had lots of blossoms, a good number of early beans and many more on the way. In my absence the growing conditions must have been ideal. The vines hit the end of the 7 foot poles and still wanted to reach for the sky. The result was a mass of twisting and twining vines that drug the support poles down and snapped several off.
I picked a load of beans my first day back, had tons that went well beyond the stage to eat or can. I also had some bush beans planted in the area. They too were loaded. I have more beans than I can possibly eat fresh. I hope my worms can process large tough bean pods.
I was thinking back to what my gardening friend Jane had told me about fresh green beans…….she got $8.00 per pound for them. I probably had 8-10 pounds, excluding those that were no longer tender eating size. I can see how a market grower could have a great cash crop with beans…….as long as they manage them well.
So, why the picture of my son Joe holding a nice fresh caught Speckled Trout? Last night I grilled the trout after marinating in a mixture of olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, fish rub with garlic and some sea salt. We had the grilled filets with my wonderfull fresh green beans and broccoli. A simple yet an elegant meal. I paired my meal with the Imperial Stout Ale I recently brewed.. I was joined for dinner by my daughter Lisa. We had a nice visit and spent the evening watching the Mavericks put the Lakers into a deep hole. Kathy was off to New York City and Joe won’t eat what he catches.
I am planning a new technique for a bean tower. Last year I made a teepee structure and it worked well. So, why mess with success? I guess I have a need to know firsthand what doesn’t work so well! Hmmmmmmm, what can I come up with next? Maybe I need to consider the concept of “design of experiments” and use a control to test against…..the teepee? No that would take the fun of failure away!
TTFN Folks
Bishop
June 5, 2010
Bishop
Uncategorized
berries, cucumbers, herbs, tomatoes, vacation, vegetables
I am back limping into the garden and enjoying the veggies. The weeds got a little ahead of me but the Gecko is keeping most of the bad bugs scared off.- I wish LOL. He still looks good even if he does not eat much.
Everything is growing so well! My Roma and Juliet tomatoes are kicking butt. Unfortunately my Brandywine plants are green, healthy and tall – but won't set tomatoes. They taste so good but I may not get any this year.
At least the blackberries are doing very well. Lucky for me that my wife Kathy is out in California because she loves fresh berries. I do too but I really like to gather enough to make jam. I have a gallon in the freezer, have snacked on the fresh ones and will probably get another gallon or two before we head off to Australia. The strawberries have slowed down but there is an increase in blossoms so I should have another round of the luscious red delights very soon.
A cluster of green Juliet tomatoes. They do incredibly well in the Houston heat. One plant will overwhelm a family so that's all I plant. They are so tasty and look a lot like a miniature Roma tomato. I hope the Brandywine's will at least set a few for me!
Now another bounty! The cucumbers are kicking in and as always I have planted more than we can eat. So friends and neighbors bet to share in the bounty.
My experiment in my friends backyard is doing OK. It was doing very well, his dog was ignoring it until …….. until I added some fish emulsion. Well, his Golden Retriever Pismo dug up the spots where I placed the fish emulsion several times but now the scent is gone and the plants are undisturbed. John has used some of the Rosemary and we have a few tomatoes setting as well as the cucumbers beginning to stretch up toward the supports. Salad components soon!
I'll be back!
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March 30, 2010
Bishop
Uncategorized
gardening, soil, transplants, vegetables
An obsession; a burning desire. The undeniable passion or love for someone or something.
"Basketball Jones, I got a basketball jones, I got a basketball jones ooh baby…"
Well, I got a gardening jones and just gotta have it, ooh baby…..!
The picture looks out of place relative to the title…. but just keep reading!
I have been traveling and have not been able to get my hands dirty in my little patch back home in Kingwood TX. I have called my wife to check on the plants, worms, rain/weather and – oh yeah – how she is doing and how the soccer match went and to tell her that I love her and miss her!
I spent a couple of days with my mother in Los Osos CA doing a few honey-do's around the house and in the yard. I trimmed some run away ground cover, repaired some sprinkler heads and tried to unclog the rain gutter conduit out to the street….. got some flow but it needs to be pulled up and properly flushed and reset. As I was working I couldn't help but notice some wonderfully bare ground ……….. That bare ground, let me tell that story and then I will get back to my jones for this bare ground.
June of 2009 my mother had a wonderful 80th surprise Birthday party that she had spent months planning – LOL – Her children attended with spouses, her grandchildren (15) and two of the three great grandchildren were in attndance. And yes, there were a few great grand children in the oven. She invited 100 or so of her friends from the park she lives in….. great bunch of friends that will always take a free meal and hope that Grammie Glo will entertain them… Well the family provided a very large work crew to do some clean-up at Grammie’s place the next day. Now the story….
My brother-in-Law Bill was on a chain saw massacre mission. I thought that maybe the nieces and nephews would get a chance to witness how badly flesh can be damaged by a chain saw… no such luck for flesh but before the chain bound up there was considerable damage to vegetation and the drip sprinkler system (well maybe he just added more drip locations????). Several months later the remnants of once healthy plants were removed, eg. The lush green juniper to the left of the chainsaw in the picture.
There is now a bare area just begging for seeds and transplants. It is deep sandy loam. I wanted so badly to get some carrot seeds and create an edible border coming up the walk. Those carrots would have had lush green tops and nothing to put those ugly forks in the roots like I have with the Houston clay that makes it so hard for me to grow carrots…( run on sentence). It just screams at me to create an edible landscape…. But, I left jonseing for a chance to give that bare spot some love – Mom said no and like a good son I resisted the urge. She said something like the deer would eat it…. I would share… wouldn’t you?
OK – next I stopped at my daughter Melissa’s house and she shares my jones….. I felt better after getting some Camarillo dirt on my hands, seeing the berry plants, checking out her new raised beds and the veggies taking root. I feel better now!!!! I may be able to hold off until I get back to my little patch now.
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February 20, 2010
Bishop
Uncategorized
gardening, seeds, strawberries, sunflower, vegetables
Sunflowers always remind me of summer. As much as I dislike the humidity that comes with a Houston summer I sure like to see the plants just jumping up. This variety of sunflower grew to over ten feet in height. Wish I could remember the name of the variety…..maybe I saved the seed packet. I will probably plant a few this spring…
I think next weekend will be warm enough to put some more seeds in the ground. More lettuce, green beans, beets, cucumbers maybe either direct seed some peppers or buy some plants. My early tomato seedlings all passed away so I put one Celebrity and one Big Boy tomato plant out yesterday.
I expanded my strawberry patch and got immediate feedback on the expansion from my lovely wife. It wasn't all that pleasant but once they take off I think it will pass her inspection in the "visible" yard. My veggies have to remain tucked away and out of sight. I put in 25 Honeoye and 25 Ozark Beauty June bearing varieties yesterday. I have a lot of established everbearing strawberries but they tend to be on the small side. Hopefully the new ones take off and fill in nicely as well as bear a lot of bigger berries.
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February 9, 2010
Bishop
Uncategorized
blackberries, garden, sunflowers, tomato, valentines day, vegetables
I have been wanting to give it a try for about a year and a half. Being semi-retired and just working part time I should have plenty of time but just never found it (really the answer is did not make the time). I got talked into opening a Facebook page a few weeks ago and it has not been anything I want to devote much time to so I thought I would try this.
Gardening, i.e., growing a few good veggies has been a passion for many years. So, I will start there. I was finally given a patch after hurricane Ike to have as my own spot in the back yard. It is not ideal from a sun perspective as well as being a tad damp…. but it is mine. I salvaged some fence from the Ike damage and screened my patch to my wife's delight. She has even provided a couple of cutesy touches and I gave he the pleasure of post the signs near the entry.
I expanded the square footage a little this past fall and crept out in the yard with 4 blueberry bushes….. I took some heat but I think they will not be an eyesore in a year or so.
This was June, 9 of 2009. Things are looking green. The sunflowers became 10 footers, the green beans were wonderful, the cucumbers huge, tomatoes ran wild, peppers galore and the cantaloupe were large but bland.
I will try some new tomatoes this year, Brandywine, two types, Arkansas Traveler and Oxheart. I will plant a Juliette variety of plum tomato shaped like a small Roma and at least on Celebrity…. does well in the heat.
My blackberries look primed for a good year. They are three years old now.
Another couple of weeks and I can direct seed the beans and cucumbers without too much concern.
It has been a wet and cold Houston winter and as much as I love the cool weather, it is hindering my planting. Can't have my cake and eat it too!!!!!
Valentines weekend is coming up – I need to plan the garden efforts and something to let my wife know how much I cherish her tolerating my whims in the garden and elsewhere!
TTFN
Bishop
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