soil test results say the compost was the problem

 
 
I think the results from my soil testing are pretty clear. It’s not looking good for the compost… I did the testing because my tomato plants had terribly curled and leathery leaves, tall spindly growth, and very few fruits this year. I had brought in purchased loam and compost this spring, since we have a new property and I don’t have my own compost yet and needed to new fill raised beds. For the test, I planted the same tomato seeds in samples of 4 different soils: 1) purchased compost,…
 
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imagining a new pantry for storing vegetables

 
 
I have this vision of a pantry full of stored homegrown vegetables. Shelves full of canned pickles and tomatoes. Baskets full of winter squashes and potatoes. A fridge with carrots, beets and cabbage. And a freezer with pesto and red sauce. Onions, shallots, garlic and dried chili peppers and herbs hanging from the ceiling. And jars of dried homegrown herbs on the shelves. In our old house, I used a section of the basement for my winter pantry. Some years I filled it up pretty well with potatoes and squashes.…
 
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late blight hit my tomatoes

 
 
My curled leaved tomatoes have been hit a final blow, late blight. I picked all the red and green fruits and cut down the plants. I’ll bag the infected plants soon and let them heat-kill in the sun for a few days before disposing in the trash.   I was able to harvest a good bucket of tomatoes to use for a few weeks. Here’s hoping for a better tomato season next year!!
 
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new chickens

 
 
I just picked up my two new chickens at the post office. They (McMurray Hatcheries)shipped them much nicer this time, in a box twice a big as last time (for 3 chickens last time) and this box had a divider between the birds. I got two pullets (hens 15-22 weeks old). A Barred Rock (black and white) and another Black Australorp. I was warned by Linda not to put them with the full grown birds right away, but to use a dog crate at first. SO I am using one…
 
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red sauce

 
 
My tomato bowl filled up again today, so time to make red sauce. When I make red sauce I peel, seed and chop tomatoes, then simmer about an hour. More detail: I boil a big pan of water and then put a few tomatoes at a time in it for about 1 minute till their skin starts to split. Remove and cool. Then peel skin. I squeeze out as many seeds as I can, then chop the pulp. I put all tomato pulp in a big pan and simmer, stirring…
 
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garden in the rain

 
 
I went out in the rain today to check my garden. I got totally soaked because I couldn’t just check the garden fast as I had planned. Once there I had to weed and take pictures. I only had my cell phone, so they aren’t the best photos. Skippy and Suzie came too and played while I wandered in the garden. We all got soaked. The photos remind me of things I need to do in the garden. – The old pea vines need to come out. I’m waiting to…
 
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popcorn silks

 
 
It is amazing how fast corn grows. Just a few days ago the tassels started showing and now full size tassel and silks.
 
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ordering pullets

 
 
I’m ordering a couple pullets tonight. Another Australorp and a Cuckoo Maran. From McMurray Hatchery. For arrival next week.
 
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lost chicken

 
 
My black chicken disappeared today. The three chickens were out in the side yard, foraging, and I was in the front yard setting up some agility equipment for my dogs. I heard chickens Ginger and Bertha squawking so loud that I came over to see. It was just the two of them so I went to look for Penny, the black Australorp, my favorite. Usually if there’s squawking, it’s one chicken who got separated from the other two. I’ve watched before as one chicken squawks, the other two will mosey…
 
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Kathy Martin
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

What I planted recently

Jan 21
thyme, lettuce, escarole

Feb 21
celery, celeriac, parsley, leeks

March 11
cabbage, kale, arugula



What I'm planting soon

April 1
peppers, eggplants, marigolds, beets

April 12
tomatoes, basil, sunflowers

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My garden this week

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17 years of archives!

Check out the food pantry farm I helped to start up:

Aurelia's Garden

Flickr

Skippy’s vegetable of the month – Egyptian walking onions!

“I envision a day when every city and town has front and back yards, community gardens and growing spaces, nurtured into life by neighbors who are no longer strangers, but friends who delight in the edible rewards offered from a garden they discovered together.” – Greg Peterson

"What can happen to a seed is a miracle."

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