Weed and Feed Part 1

Today begins a two-week "weed and feed" schedule (1st and 15th of the month) that will be carried through the rest of the growing season. I will weed, pinch off insects, dead head blooms, thin seedlings, trellis climbing vines, tie tomatoes, eggplants and peppers and harvest crops, as well as apply epsom salt, compost, compost tea and pelletized organic fertilizer where needed.  My goal is to not let the garden look "shabby sheek" as it usually does by the end of July.

The "weed and feed" cart will be trailed behind me; it will be garaged in the hoophouse to be ready at hand!

The miscellaneous chores that I did today included:

• Moved a Principe Borghese tomato container plant to the traditional row garden bed #3.  I buried it three inches deep.  The container itself was struggling to keep up with the watering needs of the tomato so hopefully this will help.  I am experimenting with only one of the two tomatoes of this variety. 
• I cut back the Russet potatoes that were overgrown. This was a suggestion from Ray, a gardening blogger that I follow. 
• I transplanted four thai basil to the hoophouse from the container on the deck. 
• A few more potato beetles were pinched off the potato plants in the container outside the hoophouse. 
• I placed stakes around the Mammoth sunflowers on the east side of the foundation. 
• I cultivated the remaining free bed in the traditional row bed #3. Not sure what will be planted next. 

Postscript #1 - The tomato suckers showed absolutely no sign of wilt!

Sowing Seeds and Tomato Suckers

Remaining drizzle from yesterday's storm kept me in the hoophouse early this morning.  I sowed Long Island Improved Brussels Sprouts, Waltham 29 Broccoli, Arugula Roquette, Cilantro, White Bush Lebanese Squash, Green Arrow Peas and Baby Romaine Lettuce.

The Principe Borghese tomato plants in containers did not look well this weekend and, in fact, I had quarantined them on Sunday. However, after the torrential rain, the leaf roll, in particular, has disappeared and I returned them to their spot near the other container tomatoes. 

I snapped off three suckers from these tomato plants and planted them in a 6-inch pot.  I expect the suckers to wilt over the next few days but, hopefully, they will develop roots to become a clone of their parent plants. My success rate with this method is typically 40 to 50%.  Last year, I ended up with a total of twelve clones and they produced tomatoes in the hoophouse well into November. 

The fennel, collards and parsley in the photos below are doing well in the hoophouse. I had just harvested the parsley a few weeks ago and it's almost time again. 

Plant Labels and Pickled Turnips

The venetian blinds in the guest bedroom were updated; the old ones became good candidates for plant labels. 

Using turnips and beets from the garden, I made three jars of pickled turnips. The recipe is below:

Turnips
Salt
White Vinegar
Beets
Garlic

Boil water and allow to cool.  To each cup of water, add 1 tablespooon of salt.  To each 2 cups of water, add 1 cup of white vinegar.  Wash turnips thoroughly and cut into small pieces and place in jars.  Add a few cloves of garlic if desired and some slices of beets.  Pour into prepared brine.  Cover and allow to set for a couple of weeks.  Refrigerate.

Another Strawberry Harvest

Before another considerable storm passes through tonight, the HH and I picked seven and a half pounds of strawberries.  Monday I will can strawberry jam, no excuses allowed. 

Friday Morning

I enjoyed the quiet of the morning in the garden. I organized seeds in the hoophouse and decided which ones will be sown outdoors and in 3-inch pots. I tidied the shed area and organized the pool equipment and toys.

The Back Yard

What a day!!  Eighty degrees, blue sky, light breeze, ahhhh!

After mowing the lawn and watering the gardens, I puttered in the back yard:

1. Weeded hoophouse carrots
2. Planted Ringmaster onions in the hoophouse raised beds
3. Tied up containers tomatoes in the hoophouse with twine
4. Transplanted Greek Oregano and rosemary into hoophouse raised bed
5. Tied and trimmed bottom leaves of all tomatoes in outdoor beds
6. The basil in the "Max and Luc" pots was thrown away. 
7. The cilantro in the deck containers bolted and were thrown away. 

The Front Yard

This morning I concentrated on the front yard gardens and was able to complete the following tasks:

1. Finished weeding flower garden
2. Deadheaded pansies, oriental poppies, columbines, etc. 
3. Weeded periwinkle border above rock wall
4. Weeded marigolds and morning glories around lamppost
5. Finished weeding alpine strawberry beds
6. Thinned peach tree for the third time and picked up fallen peaches
7. Weeded asparagus bed
8. Weeded brassica bed

Paving the Paths

An objective today was to line the paths in the traditional row garden with grass clippings.  Our dear neighbor saves his grass clippings and fall leaves for us.  I am particularly fond of the clippings, they have so many uses in the garden.  They decompose readily into compost, provide mulch between plants and, of course, line garden paths. Even though I prefer to line paths with straw and wood chips for esthetic reasons, they inevitabley get mixed into the garden soil, a major no, no in my book; they take very long to decompose. I work hard to incorporate only a small amount of clippings and finished or partially finished compost into the beds at the season's end.

I harvested over twelve pounds of strawberries, another big day!

I also thinned the Nantes Carrots in the large container.

The BEFORE

The AFTER

Here's a view of the garden looking west from the traditional row garden:

And to think I wasn't going to plant African Daisies next year! They are such a cheerful flower, and so easy to grow!

The photos below hardly captured the wonderful yellowy-orange glow from overhead thunder clouds. A "real" camera, rather than a cell phone camera, would be fun to experiment with.

Play Yards

What a productive morning!! Up at the crack of dawn and on the starting line.

I first yanked out two play yards that had been acting as compost bins. Some of the nearly finished compost from the pile behind the shed was used to hill up the potatoes in the nearby raised bed. The rest of the compost was left there to continue decomposing.  The material in the other compost bin behind the hoophouse was moved to various locations: some to the two raised beds behind the hoophouse, some to the original compost bin #3 on the hill and about ten inches was left behind to establish a new bed.  Since this bed will be shady, it will become my new "greens" bed.

I rescued a tray of Nasturtium Gleam mix from one of the compost bins and created a large container to situate around the pool. The balance of the nasturtiums were planted in the oval tomato bed.

Over three ounces of cilantro was harvested from the hoophouse.  More seeds should be sown now in order to have cilantro for salsa season.

The hoophouse was tidied up and watered.

The pea structure in the hoophouse was not tall enough to support the Super Sugar Snap peas.  Resting them on the shelf prevented them from "snapping" until they are finished producing pea pods.

The carrot seedlings in the hoophouse will be ready to thin shortly.

The flower garden in the front yard was weeded and spent flowers, i.e., oriental poppies, sweet williams, dianthus pinks, etc. were clipped off.

Seven okra from this container was transplanted to the traditional row garden #3. The leeks also found a home in the same bed.

One of the potato plants in the large container behind the hoophouse is starting to flower.

An American flag was placed in the African Daisy/Crystal Palace Lobelia tub today.

It's time to consider where and how the hoophouse tomatoes are going to be trellised.

Rainy Sunday

Spent time in the kitchen: crumbled thyme into a dry seasoning and cored strawberries for the freezer.

Rainy day photos:

First tiger lily of the season.

Another wash out of the window box - need to ask the HH to clear the gutter ASAP. 

Shh!  The slugs haven't found these brassicas yet. 

Don't look too closely at the weeds, enjoying the new growth in the asparagus bed.

Saturday's Doings

The ever-bearing alpine strawberries flanking the brick path received a good weeding and trimming. They have certainly matured into a wonderful hedge. Their small berries have a very concentrated sweet flavor and they look beautiful as they delicately hang off each plant. The berries are highly perishable, so I generally snack on them when I'm out in the garden or bring them in immediately to garnish my oatmeal.

It was a banner day for the June-bearing strawberries, harvesting over eight pounds of beautiful, large fruit. Tomorrow I will freeze most of them and retain some for strawberry shortcake. I'm hoping to freeze three gallons of strawberries in total and then make strawberry jam out of the rest of the bounty.

I planted Jade Bush beans and Blue Lake pole beans in the traditional row garden #3 and also transplanted three cantelope Delicious 51 seedlings from a border location to an interior spot. 

The Hubbard squash is doing the best of all squashes planted a few weeks ago.

 The corn will surpass a foot high by the 4th of July, a personal goal.

I couldn't pass up a lady bug sand box found at a yard sale yesterday; hopefully, she'll entice other lady bugs to join her in our yard.

Time to train the morning glories up the railing of the deck.

I'm trying to do a better job keeping my container tomatoes watered and nourished this summer.  So far, so good. 

I've come to appreciate portulacas, I particularly like a mix-color arrangement, but I have highlighted a pink one in the photo below.

The Mammoth Sunflowers are gaining some stature.  I seem to forget those gardens tucked in the front yard near the foundation.

The window boxes are holding their own but they are drying out very fast this year.  I will take out a plant or two this coming week and add more potting mix.