...and the taste was very good!
I'd say it was a 10 pounder or so.
Special thanks to Dan for planting them. There are also a few pumpkins but they are quite small and already turning orange; the largest is maybe 5 lbs.
Keith
Handsome Leo :-)
Friday, July 24, 2009
First watermeleon!
See attached....
...and the taste was very good!
I'd say it was a 10 pounder or so.
Special thanks to Dan for planting them. There are also a few pumpkins but they are quite small and already turning orange; the largest is maybe 5 lbs.
Keith
Handsome Leo :-)
...and the taste was very good!
I'd say it was a 10 pounder or so.
Special thanks to Dan for planting them. There are also a few pumpkins but they are quite small and already turning orange; the largest is maybe 5 lbs.
Keith
Handsome Leo :-)
Garden Bulletin
First of all, wasn't that a nice feast we had! I really enjoyed all the food. Thanks everyone!
Anyway, we've been blessed with a lot of rain recently and that is good, but... actually we are getting a bit too much water on the gardens. There are a few things to watch out for:
(1) there has been quite a lot of erosion. This is especially problematic in clay-heavy soil because the clay stays put and the good stuff just runs out. So we need to replace what is lost as best we can. Over the next few weeks, it'd be good to bring down some compost and put it around the new plants, mixed in with topsoil. It'd be especially good to distribute some topsoil around the new winter squash plants, which could be productive into November if we take care of them. A dilute mix of coffee, topsoil, and compost would be helpful there, just please try not to put it directly on the plant. Too much coffee can burn the plant.
(2) if you see areas where dark topsoil has run off, please scoop it up and replace it. We have to do this continuously when we have a lot of rain!
(3) about the squash and cukes, they are getting some powdery mildew. It looks like white powder spots on the leaves. I have been treating it nightly with water and milk spray, which works well and it is staying under control. But... I have to spray again it every time it rains or after we water. So... please let's not water the squash or cukes for a day or two, they need to dry out some. If you do water at all over the next 2-3 days, please water low to the ground (do not use the sprinkler) and generally we should only water in warm sunlight- that keeps the humidity lower around the leaves. In a drought we might water at night to prevent evaporation, but now that it is so humid and moist, there's no reason to do that and it's better to water in sunny weather so the water can evaporate off the leaves- the plants like that. Most of the water will run off down into the soil anyway. In any case ground watering is a very good solution whenever mildew comes in and if you want to invent some kind of ground irrigation lines that'd be great.
(3) In the near term, we really need to try to clear out any weeds or overcrowding (dead leaves, brown tomato branches, whatever). We have to be especially ruthless in the top garden, there is much too much crowding there. It's okay to take out borage and whatever if an area is too crowded. I took out quite a few marigolds. The more air gets in there and the drier the leaves stay, the less mildew damage we will have. If we don't clear things out then we will have all kinds of diseases come in, on the tomatoes too. Generally if you see mushrooms then chances are that that area is too wet and not draining quickly enough. Especially at the top of the top garden, the carrots are overcrowding the tomatoes and basil and they need to come out. Tomatoes *really* need to be pretty dry from the soil up. The carrot patch on the west side is fine and very productive, but the area near the sunflowers is way overcrowded and it will just become a big mess if we don't take action!
It's an unusual problem for us, to have too much moisture, but it won't be too much of a problem if we are extra careful to avoid over watering. If we have a good rain then we don't need to water for two days at least.
Thanks!
Keith
Anyway, we've been blessed with a lot of rain recently and that is good, but... actually we are getting a bit too much water on the gardens. There are a few things to watch out for:
(1) there has been quite a lot of erosion. This is especially problematic in clay-heavy soil because the clay stays put and the good stuff just runs out. So we need to replace what is lost as best we can. Over the next few weeks, it'd be good to bring down some compost and put it around the new plants, mixed in with topsoil. It'd be especially good to distribute some topsoil around the new winter squash plants, which could be productive into November if we take care of them. A dilute mix of coffee, topsoil, and compost would be helpful there, just please try not to put it directly on the plant. Too much coffee can burn the plant.
(2) if you see areas where dark topsoil has run off, please scoop it up and replace it. We have to do this continuously when we have a lot of rain!
(3) about the squash and cukes, they are getting some powdery mildew. It looks like white powder spots on the leaves. I have been treating it nightly with water and milk spray, which works well and it is staying under control. But... I have to spray again it every time it rains or after we water. So... please let's not water the squash or cukes for a day or two, they need to dry out some. If you do water at all over the next 2-3 days, please water low to the ground (do not use the sprinkler) and generally we should only water in warm sunlight- that keeps the humidity lower around the leaves. In a drought we might water at night to prevent evaporation, but now that it is so humid and moist, there's no reason to do that and it's better to water in sunny weather so the water can evaporate off the leaves- the plants like that. Most of the water will run off down into the soil anyway. In any case ground watering is a very good solution whenever mildew comes in and if you want to invent some kind of ground irrigation lines that'd be great.
(3) In the near term, we really need to try to clear out any weeds or overcrowding (dead leaves, brown tomato branches, whatever). We have to be especially ruthless in the top garden, there is much too much crowding there. It's okay to take out borage and whatever if an area is too crowded. I took out quite a few marigolds. The more air gets in there and the drier the leaves stay, the less mildew damage we will have. If we don't clear things out then we will have all kinds of diseases come in, on the tomatoes too. Generally if you see mushrooms then chances are that that area is too wet and not draining quickly enough. Especially at the top of the top garden, the carrots are overcrowding the tomatoes and basil and they need to come out. Tomatoes *really* need to be pretty dry from the soil up. The carrot patch on the west side is fine and very productive, but the area near the sunflowers is way overcrowded and it will just become a big mess if we don't take action!
It's an unusual problem for us, to have too much moisture, but it won't be too much of a problem if we are extra careful to avoid over watering. If we have a good rain then we don't need to water for two days at least.
Thanks!
Keith
Monday, July 6, 2009
...Where it all came from...
I just thought I would put forth a little of my own story; my mini-farm story. I was quite new to the "Art" then, thus, please do not be so harsh on the judgment.
I just cannot wait, however, for the whole garden to be covered entirely with fresh green 'lives'. Everything just look so much better in green.
What were your first experiences like?! I wish to know. Whatever the case may be, it never too late to do something green to save mother Earth. Thank you, Hereford for understanding that.
-Joel
I just cannot wait, however, for the whole garden to be covered entirely with fresh green 'lives'. Everything just look so much better in green.
What were your first experiences like?! I wish to know. Whatever the case may be, it never too late to do something green to save mother Earth. Thank you, Hereford for understanding that.
-Joel
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
Coriander drying...
I removed the cilantro and hung it up to dry in the greenhouse, to collect coriander. The row was then rebuilt with fresh topsoil and compost and mulch, and Chen added basil. A few tomato plants were left in place in the row. Jim and Elaine are working on the neighboring row.
-Keith
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
New mounds
The new mounds in the middle garden are now installed with pumpkins, watermelons, eggplant (likely an unfortunate trap crop for these two), and several beneficials including nasturtiums, yarrow, marigolds, and oregano.
Special thanks to our new interns Leo and Joel, and to Chen who has taken the involvement of Brown College into his own hands.
In other news... our year's first zucchini was harvested, from the bed adjacent the greenhouse in the middle garden:
I shall personally savour this first zuke tonight with pesto and linguini.
The top row of peas in the top garden were removed after finally becoming bitter after several weeks of fantastic production. They were replaced with cherry tomatoes well started. The new bed was supplemented with basil and pickling cukes. Borage flowering in this bed (and many others) remains very strong and beneficial.
Thai peppers were added to Nancy's experimental biodynamic tomato row in the top garden.
Jim and Elaine will likely dismiss their (now bitter) peas from service next week and start napa there.
I discovered some unplanted bean starts and distributed those amongst the amazing fish-fertilized corn in the lower garden.
-Keith
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