Sunday, August 5, 2018

Problems and solutions. We carry on.

The deer did it again. He destroyed some plants I had in containers.

These pots had healthy plants growing until the beast attacked. I feel worst about the blueberry bush (leftmost), now mawled, and also grumble about the tomato plants that were in the other three pots. I moved some containers to the deck. And encouraged the dog to spend the night out in the back yard.
We have had strong monsoons for a couple of weeks, and the hail that has fallen a few times has done its damage, too. The squash leaves are particularly affected. Nevertheless, there is good growth there.

Butternut, delicata, and yellow squash (left to right--not to scale).
I have been digging a fairly large hole to transplant my Fuji apple into, but the terrain does not drain at all. It hasn't rained in three days, but this morning the hole looked like this:
there are 6 inches of water here--not good for tree roots.
In the greenhouse two of my tomato plants are dying. The base of their stalks has shriveled and turned brown. I'll have to figure out what this is. The tops, of course, are wilting away.

And so life goes on at the micro farm. Some setbacks, some challenges, some remedies, some successes. Just like the rest of life.

Monday, July 9, 2018

Update

Today is my mother's 115th birthday--she left this world 30 years ago, but I still stroll with her in my garden, as I did this morning, checking things out. I had neglected my garden most of June, but then on the 21th, I got back to work. The beans I had planted had been overrun by the squash that grows in my compost. I uprooted the squash, and transplanted several tomatoes, also volunteer. As of yesterday I have harvested 200 grams of fruit, and today I will make that crop a part of our evening meal. This is what the wagon garden look like today:
A survey of the greenhouses revealed spent favas, a volunteer bok choi and a couple of tomatoes (on one of last year's plants--still growing and producing, btw). This is what I got:
 

The dry favas will be next spring's seeds; the fresh ones have been eaten, as have the bok choi, the baby tomatoes, and the squash flower.
I have enough other squash in the penitentiary to harvest what I need:
Back from my neglect I found some sprouting yellow potatoes in the cupboard, so I prepared a patch, including an anti-deer wire above the patch, and look what's happening:
I also found that my carrots are going to seed (I learned that it takes two seasons to get there), and I am waiting to harvest the seeds as soon as they are ready:
And so I have lots to do and enjoy doing... 

Saturday, April 28, 2018

Petunias

These bədúniz wintered in the greenhouse, aided only by an occasional squirt of water. They are beautiful!


Friday, April 27, 2018

Winter survivors and spring failures

These carrots in the window garden survived the winter and are thriving. I will collect their seeds in due time:























This tomato, on the window sill of my shop all winter, in now ready to be picked:
So I will now consider the 2017 season closed, and this is what my vegetable plants produced:
Zucchini: 22 specimens weighing Kg. 5.1
Green beans: Kg. 6.832
Melon cukes: 6 specimens weighing 341g.
Lemon cukes: 7 specimens weighing 401g.
Carrots: 115 specimens weighing Kg. 3.182
Winter squash: 21 specimens weighing Kg. 16.936
Heirloom tomatoes: 89 specimens weighing Kg. 18.290
Campari tomatoes: 192 specimens weighing Kg. 4.678
Now the spring failures.
A couple of weeks ago, early in the morning, I saw the contents of our humming bird feeder frozen. I had been watching the weather forecasts closely, and that night the forecast low was 35. I had not covered any of my trees. And now, one by one, all the nascent fruits are falling off the apricot and the peach trees. A real disappointment.
What's not known yet is how the plum and apple trees are doing.
My first crop of this season will be fava beans, currently thriving in my greenhouse, and here is a sample pod:
ready to be picked and eaten, raw or sauteed in butter... we'll see.
My Fuji apple graft took and is doing well:
Yesterday I planted green beans in the wagon garden. In the next few days I have lots to do...

Sunday, April 1, 2018

Peach flowering time

Baby Peach
Baby Peach
Today mama and baby peach trees are in flower. What a sight!


Mama Peach
Mama Peach


Friday, March 30, 2018

Updates

Two days ago I moved the few plants I had kept in the shop to the greenhouse. Two such interest me because they have been quietly keeping their fruit alive through the winter. Here is the eggplant, with fruit approximately 5 inches long; next to it the tomato, apricot-sized:


The favas are doing well, as is the parsley:

I like plants. They are easier (and more fun) to deal with than some people.

Friday, March 23, 2018

Flowers and favas

Spring is here, and life is springing up all over. The apricot is in flower,
Unfortunately below freezing temperatures are forecast starting Sunday, and for three nights after. I have built a protective (from the deer) enclosure around the tree, and this will make it easier to pull a tarp over it.
I also want to graft to one of the branches a scion I got at a nice grafting workshop I attended in early March. I think I will wait til mid-week to try this experiment.
The peach trees are giving early signals that they want to break into flowers; not the plum nor the apple.
I have planted spinach seeds in one of my raised gardens; I have prepared another bed for the seedlings I want to raise there starting next week.
The fava beans are doing well, and they, too, are breaking into flowers, distinctively white and black,
Lots of exciting things to do in the next weeks!

Sunday, February 11, 2018

Signs of Spring

On Jan 7 I put a couple of dozen fava beans into the greenhouse trough. One month later they are sprouting. I hope the plants will help with nitrogen fixation, and who knows, maybe with a few pods. I like fresh fava beans; not so crazy about dry ones. The sprouts look healthy and happy:

Saturday, January 27, 2018

Carrots

At the end of January the carrots in the window garden are still producing. Smaller in size, delicious and healthy otherwise. The 11 babies I pulled out of the soil today weighed a modest 153 grams. Enough for a couple of healthy snacks.