Visited Stark Bros. Nursery yesterday

We had a family outing yesterday.  I can’t believe it has been 3 years since we went to the Stark Bros. Nursery last.  We came home with a truck full of awesome plants.

My wife got the best ferns ever. They are in 12 inch hanging baskets, but are so big and bushy they are about 4 feet wide. It might be a pain to keep them watered. I wonder if we could get them a bigger hanging pot?

I came home with an apple tree that is going to be espaliered. I wanted a McIntosh, but they didn’t have that variety, so I settled for Honey Crisp, which is also delicious.  I have room for 2 espaliered apple trees, so I’ll add the McIntosh later.  I got the bottom two rows of training wires set up against my back yard fence on the inside, but we still need to plant the tree.  That will probably happen tomorrow evening. I really hope this works out, but I think it will. I’ve done a lot of reading and have a good grasp on the concept and process.

I also bought some six packs of tomato seedlings, because I killed most of mine in the seed starting room this year by overwatering them.  I have backup seeds started, but they haven’t even germinated yet.

It was an excellent weekend outing and was just what we needed to make a cool overcast day better.

Working outside in the garden

After weeks of work, this is what I have to show for it.  A garden that is just beginning to look ok for the year, with a new 100 square foot area being used for 1 year as a three sisters garden.

I am slowly but surely changing the layout in a barely noticeable way.  One by one, the beds made with pine boards back in 2008 and 2009 are rotting away.  I am replacing them with cedar frames, but I will also be resizing them from their current 6 foot width to a more manageable 8×4 feet.  Basically it’s just going to be a whole bunch of digging and moving dirt.  It’s actually a great workout.

Do yourself a favor if you’re reading this in time.  Make your garden beds 4 feet wide or less.  6 foot width is NO GOOD for raised beds in most cases.

I planted some herbs out and I am hardening off everything else when the weather cooperates.  I hope to plant some tomatoes this weekend, probably.

The garlic is growing well, both in this yard and at my off-site garden where I planted 4 rows as a test last fall.

And if I can get my hands on some reasonably priced apple trees, I will be attempting to create a two-dimensional fruit tree.

Planning Three Sisters

This weekend I put in another 12 or 14 hours getting things squared away in the back yard.  I cut down and hauled away three truckloads of arborvitae.  The place looks bare, but at least there isn’t any more dead brown showing.

There was a big dead spot in the yard where the tree house used to sit, so my wife and I decided to install a 10 x 10 three sisters garden there this year.  I tilled up the whole area, and then put a brick border around it.  I made 15 hills in there; 7 for sweet corn and pole beans, 8 for various vining squashes.

The lack of arborvitae bushes to conceal my large (ugly) compost piles (from my 5 backyard neighbors) meant that the piles need to be rethunk.  I removed one completely and took down the sides and fence from the other one, leaving a minimal amount of nearly-finished compost that I won’t add to this year.  I’ll use up the pile as I can in the garden and then perhaps build an attractive enclosure at some point in the future when I feel like spending money.

It is already time to mow in some spots, especially after today’s rain. The forecast doesn’t look dry until next Friday or Saturday.

A few weeks ago I potted up my bareroot Gooseberry bush delivery, and several of them have now put on new leaves.  I have been in love with Gooseberries since they were growing at my Grandfather’s house in the early 80s.

The plants in the basement need to come outside to begin hardening off, but the patio is a huge mess.  I’ll have a place for everything after I get that new little shed built.

Hibernation over

It’s spring. Time to wake up the blog again. I need to shake the dust off.

I’ve been outside adding compost to the asparagus and cutting down last year’s dead ferns.  I’m replacing rotten garden bed frames with new wood and removing one completely to make room for a shed.  The seeds for new herbs and tomatoes have been growing under lights for a few weeks and I received an order of Gooseberry bushes from eBay.  Most of my arborvitae died after their second year of drought, so those will have to get cut down and hauled away.  $$$$$ Oh well.

I’m looking forward to post again this spring, summer and fall.  Thanks for reading!

Paper Seed Packet Template

I have dried out two batches of tomato seeds and I am fermenting a third batch. After all 3 are ready, I will make sure they are viable by sprouting a sampling in a wet paper towel.  Then it will be time to pack them up and ship them out!

Sorry I haven’t had much to say lately, but life happens from time to time.

 

26.5 ounce Cabin Tomato

WOW!  I have never grown such big fruits from this variety before!  If you just joined this web site, let me fill you in.  I have been saving seeds from “Cabin” tomatoes and regrowing them for the last few years.  The plants seem really disease resistant, and I love the taste!

I have saved one batch of seeds, which was about the amount that covered a small dinner plate.  Those are in the freezer now, and will be tested for viability soon.

I have a second batch of seeds fermenting in a quart jar right now, and that should provide another few hundred seeds.

I plan to send out up to 50 (give or take) envelopes of seeds for this variety of tomato to folks willing to send in a picture of their efforts to grow it in 2013, and who will try to save seeds for the next season.

Some have already sent me their addresses (thank you!), and I hope to collect a few more.

It’s dead, Jim.

Cucumbers

Sweet Potato Vines

 

Brussels that didn’t sprout

Gourd Vines

I am giving up on much of the garden for the next few weeks. Isn’t it nice that when there is a drought I can just run to the grocery store instead of worrying about how I’ll live until spring on a few gourds?

Yes, I am done watering everything except two of my four tomatoes, and MAYBE my sweet potato hills, we will see.

Drought Stricken Tomato Giving Up

One of my two Cabin tomato plants is giving up the fight for water!

The basil is badly gone to seed as well. It’s hard to convince the plants to play nice when they are seeing extreme weather and all they really want is some water.

However, on the other other end of the patio, this Cabin tomato is looking healthier than ever.  It’s basil is horrible, yes, but the tomato is doing FINE.  It has just reached 8 feet tall and I expect it to live through fall.

Large Cabin Tomatoes this Year + Saving Seeds Round 1

I have been seeing some Cabin tomatoes that are much larger than the last 3 years.  I guess when they get full sun they produce at a better size!

I saved seeds from these two tomatoes. They are fermenting in this jar on my counter. Soon I’ll clean them and dry them.

Only 4 of the 8 people who said that they wanted to grow Cabin tomatoes next year have sent me their mailing address.  If you are interesting in growing Cabin and you didn’t reply to my e-mail last week, please comment here.

 

Ripe Tomatoes mean 2012 Salsa…soon

My first 6 pounds of ripe tomatoes.  They’re an ugly bunch, due to the weather, but they’ll taste fine when I make them into salsa!

I didn’t even see the squash bug in person. I only noticed him in iPhoto.  This is a Cabin plant.  I’ll be saving a whole bunch of seeds soon.