Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Delays and potatoes
I'm embarrassed that I haven't updated the small surburban farm blog. Trying to finish writing a novel is my excuse and I'm sticking to it. Luckily said book is finished for the most part so it's freed up some time to write something other than a supernatural saga. So here I am.
We've done alot here at chez small suburban farm since my last post - a day out with Joel Salatin, a class on pest mgmt, grafted some trees, seeded and planted three vegetable gardens and a whole host of things that I've completely forgotten. As I go through the pictures on my laptop, I will no doubt write a whole slew of blog posts to catch up on what was a busy Spring season. For now, I just want to get up to date on the vegetable situation.
The Veggie Patch
I'd like to say that we have a bumper crop of veggies this year, but sadly, this would be a lie. This time last year we were swimming in tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, and cantaloupes. Right now, we harvested tons of potatoes (thank you darling husband), kale, spinach, some carrots, and perhaps a handful of beets and tomatoes. Cucumbers have been a real bummer so far and this is the first year that I've actually lost cucumber plants. As usual the vine borers are taking out squash and melon vines left, right, and center. I've got to come up with some sort of solution for those little evil maggot worms or I'm going to scream (please, please send me advice if you've got any).
The good news is we've still got time to harvest and so we might still get some decent crops before the October frost. I've put more beans in, have transplanted some tomatoes to sunnier spots and have tried to stay on top of the weeding/bug issue. Vine borers and deer seem to be enemies no. 1 & 2 this year with flea beetles right behind them in 3rd position. Funny enough the slugs and stink bugs haven't been overly bad (ed. - knocks on wood).
Anyhow, here's a picture of Jon with our potato crop, a mix of Caribe, Yukon Gold, Russian and English fingerlings. We got almost 2 five gallon pails full.
And a few carrots and tomatoes, too!
We've done alot here at chez small suburban farm since my last post - a day out with Joel Salatin, a class on pest mgmt, grafted some trees, seeded and planted three vegetable gardens and a whole host of things that I've completely forgotten. As I go through the pictures on my laptop, I will no doubt write a whole slew of blog posts to catch up on what was a busy Spring season. For now, I just want to get up to date on the vegetable situation.
The Veggie Patch
I'd like to say that we have a bumper crop of veggies this year, but sadly, this would be a lie. This time last year we were swimming in tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, and cantaloupes. Right now, we harvested tons of potatoes (thank you darling husband), kale, spinach, some carrots, and perhaps a handful of beets and tomatoes. Cucumbers have been a real bummer so far and this is the first year that I've actually lost cucumber plants. As usual the vine borers are taking out squash and melon vines left, right, and center. I've got to come up with some sort of solution for those little evil maggot worms or I'm going to scream (please, please send me advice if you've got any).
The good news is we've still got time to harvest and so we might still get some decent crops before the October frost. I've put more beans in, have transplanted some tomatoes to sunnier spots and have tried to stay on top of the weeding/bug issue. Vine borers and deer seem to be enemies no. 1 & 2 this year with flea beetles right behind them in 3rd position. Funny enough the slugs and stink bugs haven't been overly bad (ed. - knocks on wood).
Anyhow, here's a picture of Jon with our potato crop, a mix of Caribe, Yukon Gold, Russian and English fingerlings. We got almost 2 five gallon pails full.
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| clock-wise left to right: seed potatoes, damages, keepers |
And a few carrots and tomatoes, too!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Grow and make your own Luffas
So while I deal with broken blocks and mounds of washed out dirt and gravel, I thought it would be good to post a link to a site my husband, Jon, sent to me about home-made luffas:
Home-made Luffas
We've bought our luffa seeds from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange and are planning on growing our own luffas this summer. They need quite a long growing season so we'll be starting our seeds in the greenhouse.
It's a great little blog article and I think even the most apprehensive would-be gardener would get a kick out of giving it a go. So have a look and see for yourself!
Monday, January 31, 2011
Orchards and diggers
With the holidays, etc. sucking up most of my time in December and January, I didn't get a chance to post the pictures of the orchard. Or the pictures of the digger destroying part of our yard. It was quite exciting. Enjoy!
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