today’s garden work
Remove old dead pear tree and plant new pear (Kieffer) to espalier on fenceMove tomato supports to new locationDirect sow carrots: Mokum and St ValeryDirect sow radish: French BreakfastDirect sow another package of Crimson Flowered Fava Beans (from Dan)Transplant onion seedlings to plotTransplant 6 broccoli seedlings and 6 collard seedlings
plant corn when oak leaves are as big as squirrels ears
This season is going so fast I can’t keep up with it! Already the oak leaves are opening. I am planting more by my calendar than phenology, just because I can’t seem to keep up this year. The dandelions have been open a week and I still haven’t finished planting my potatoes and I haven’t started planting my carrots. I will keep trying to catch up. Here’s some other phenology advice:When red winged blackbird females return its time to plant peas.When the chickadees build their nests, plant peas and spinach.When…
seeds planted today
Today I planted: Pumpkin, Jarrahdale (Botanical Interests)Pumpkin, Long Island Cheese (Territorial)Pumpkin, Baby Pam (Fedco)Pumpkin, Big Rock (Johnny’s)Pumpkin, Galeux D’Eysines (Territorial)Winter Squash, Waltham Butternut (Sand Hill Preservation)Winter Squash, Delicata (Botanical Interests)Cucumber, DivaCucumber, North Carolina Pickling (Sand Hill Preservation)Cucumber, Boston PicklingCucumber, Tokiwa (Sand Hill Preservation)Cucumber, Sweet Success (Burpee)Summer Squash, patty pan Benning’s Green Tint (Territorial)Summer Squash, patty pan Starship (Johnny’s)Summer Squash, patty pan SunburstSummer Squash, Zephyr (yellow straight neck) (Johnny’s)Summer Squash, zucchini Cashflow (Johnny’s)Watermelon, Crimson Sweet (25 lb) (Burpee)Watermelon, Red Sugar Baby (Johnny’s)Melon, Anne Arundel (Sand Hill Preservation)Melon, Crane (Sand Hill Preservation)Melon,…
my side yard garden
Lots of chores after returning home to my gardens: – To all side yard beds, added composted, turned and buried irrigation lines – Potatoes planted in far left bed: All Blue, Cobbler, Green Mountain and Butte Russet. I’ll leave the irrigation line above the soil for now in this bed. – Marigolds planted along front of cold frame – Spread old salt hay between beds (not quite enough – I’d like to get more) – Admired all the green in the cold frame
White House vegetable garden
I was in Washington DC for a business conference (AACR) this week and had one tourist location I made sure to find time for: the White House Vegetable Garden! I wasn’t able to get a tour, but did peek through the fence and take photos. It seems to be planted nicely already. What do you think is in? I think I see onions, and broccoli. The poles are maybe for a pea trellis? Maybe rhubarb in the raised beds at the left? Probably salad greens too. There is a big…
preparing Mom and Dad’s garden
Yesterday I went up to my parents house and enjoyed a day in the dirt. I had ordered a truckload of compost to be delivered. I was expecting a morning delivery, but as my luck had it, it was a 5:30 pm delivery. So I had time to do a lot of raking and prep work, but had to scramble to get the dirt spread and turned before dark. My parent’s garden plot is about 15 by 50 feet, by my guess. It is against the woods with a westerly…
cold frame lettuce
My seedlings in the big new cold frame are doing really well. I’m starting to think about getting the salad bowl ready. As soon as the water is turned on at my community plot (last year this was April 24), I will transplant them out there.
new plots
These are a couple of the new plots we cleared last weekend during our community garden work day. These plots were used years ago, but then abandoned when interest dropped about 10 or so years ago. We removed a large buck thorn tree that had overgrown the area and lots of raspberry canes. Then the soil was rototilled. One of the plots had become a compost area and the soil there looks incredibly good. I believe we will be assigning these plots in the next week or two – our…
This is a journal of my vegetable gardens. Skippy thinks the garden is his, even though I do all the work. We're located near Boston, in USDA zone 6. I have bees, chickens, fruit trees and berry bushes, too. I use all sustainable organic methods and strive to grow all of my family's vegetables myself. -Kathy
weeks and counting until my last spring frost
My garden this week
Skippy’s vegetable of the month – Egyptian walking onions!
