Back to the old blog

Yep, I'm writing there again.....

 http://engineeredgarden.blogspot.com 

Moon and Stars

Probably gonna need to get out the netting for this little heavyweight. It's quickly stretching the knee highs to their limit. Lol

In all, I have 4 melons slung already.

Behind on blogging

Ever since starting this new job, there just hasn't been any time for blogging. With driving included, my workdays are now 14.5 hours long. The garden is being kept up, and I've now given away at least 8 Walmart bags full of squash away. However,  I did pickle some the other day while making bread and butter pickles.....That should be interesting.

The corn is coming in too, and is so good! I'll have to get a picture if it for ya.....

Towering cucumbers

The cucumbers have already grown to the top of their makeshift trellis - reaching around 6 feet tall, I guess. As can be expected, the vines are really producing fruit now, too. I'm making pickles tomorrow.  :)

More harvests

This is what's being harvested from the garden every other day, and I guess we'll just have to break down and make a few pickles this year...

Two ears per stalk

Most of the corn planted in the largest raised bed has at least 2 ears per stalk - which is non-existent on the crop being grown in the self watering containers......It makes a person stop and wonder why? Hmm......

Anyway,  all I can say is that it is welcomed!

Fourth harvest of squash

Yep, this is the fourth one of this size already,  and all four have been given away to friends and family. But, this one has cucumbers included * which is a new addition. Anyway,  just wanted to let everyone know that stuff was getting harvested, and I know that Granny is salivating right now.......

*Please disregard the anatomically correct yellow squash!!!! Haha.....

Plum jelly

Most of you know that I make tons of jelly each year. Well, my preserving has officially started - with these jars of plum jelly. Even after everything I've been through, I've still got it! Yeehaw!!!!

New planter

Well, I quit my job yesterday and was kinda just sitting around waiting on potential employers to give me their best offers (me and brother can do that, Ha!), and decided to build a new planter to help pass the time away.

Three more weeks

And I'll be eating corn. Yeehaw!!!!!!!! Silks are beginning to show everywhere,  and I can't wait to have some fresh from the garden.

Jude

It's hard to get a decent picture of her, because she hardly ever sits still long enough. Just ask my brother, he can tell you......Anyway, I got her attention for a nice shot over the weekend.

Critters

Most of the garden is critter proof, but of course the 4x8 raised bed is wide open to possible damage from animals in the area. It's hardly ever a problem,  but just look at this corn plant that has been eaten......My guess is a rabbit. All I know, is that Jude better get to work,  or I'm gonna move her water and food bowls out to the center of the garden. Lol.

The 4x8 raised bed

It's used for growing watermelons each year, and as you can see in the picture - the vines are climbing the wire mesh already. I've also tucked a few corn into the same bed, and hope the inter-planting will work out okay.

A short video

 Watch "First yellow squash ready to pick" on YouTube 

Fruitset on squash

I must be pretty good at hand pollination, because there's several squash almost ready to pick now. Yum!

Plums growing too fast

Man......if it ain't one thing it's another. The plums on one of the trees have grown so fast, they are splitting wide open...... Not good at all - especially since I can't spray for the plum curculio bug now.....to do so would expose the edible part of the fruit to the agricultural pesticide I use called Imidan,  which I don't care to ingest.....Oh well, at least the other tree isn't experiencing the same problem.

Had to tie up the corn

It's reached a height of around 5 feet tall, I guess, and can easily be toppled by a strong gust of wind. So, it was tied up on Sunday afternoon before storms arrived that night. It was a good thing too, because the storms were pretty significant.

Butternut squash in May 4th

I haven't talked about these in a while, so decided to do a post on the current progress. There's 4 plants in this 4x9 raised bed - all growing toward the center, and the plan is to let all four vines grow the full length of the box. This will be a first, but I just know it'll work.....I'm hoping for at least 10 butternut squash harvested later in the season.

BTW, I wanted to point something out.....most of you know that my twin brother has a gardening blog now, but you should really check out his other one sometime. It's http://mayaruinsonly.blogspot.com  . He just started it a while back too, and I know it would interest you.

Squash flowers

An abundance of female flowers have shown up on both yellow crookneck and zucchini, but very few male - and no sign of a bee anywhere....... So, I did a little bit of hand pollinating this morning, and tomorrow will do the same. Anyway, these two were done, and I hope they turn out OK.

Megabloom

This information is really for my brother - as most other people that visit here already know that typically the first blooms to develop on a Cherokee Purple tomato plant are called megablooms, and rarely ever establish fruitset. Anyway, here's one of mine right now, just so you know what to expect.

Corn update

It's still growing nicely, and is the tallest in the county. With 3 separate plantings throughout the landscape, there are 97 stalks in all. That's alot of peaches and cream for the freezer later.....

Old compost system

I spent a little time over the weekend fixing up the old compost bin system that had almost fallen apart from 4 years of prior use. A few boards replaced here and there - might just allow another composting cycle to be processed before having to replace the pallets.

First time for apples

The apple trees are in their 4th year now, I think - and will finally produce a crop, it appears. Nothing remarkable - maybe around 20 or so fruit in all. But hey - that's a big deal to me.......Anyway,  here's one of them forming.....

The squash

The main squash section is doing pretty good, and tomato baskets have already been put in place to keep them in check. No bugs yet thankfully, and it'll be quite some time before any show up.

Cucumbers

They've began running finally,  and I've started helping the tendrils make their way to the wire baskets so that vertical growth can take place.

The onions to the left are also beginning to flower, and will be harvested very soon. Sadly, no nice bulbs have formed - despite the fact that heavy applications of nitrogen have taken place over the past month.

One compost pile

It's taken 6 months and constant attention, but the contents of two large compost systems is now contained within one.

Before mounding this pile over, it was packed very tightly and watered well over the previous month.

Next spring, this will be about 200 cubic feet of completely finished compost that should last me between 3-5 years in the garden. Now, I can finally rebuild the other bins......Yay!

There will be peaches

I planted a couple of peach trees last year, and would you ever guess that they're producing fruit in their 2nd year? I sure wouldn't..... But, it's the truth. Oh well, I'll take anything I can get.

Fireblight on a pear tree

It shows up every year - usually on one tree, and only a single branch. However, this time it's on several branches of the same tree. The only problem is - it's the tree that actually had pollination occur, which means that the disease will need to be left for the entire year If I want any pears......

Man, a massive pruning will take place next February - unlike any that has been seen before on the property. Oh well......gotta do it.

Different look

Got fixed up to go out for dinner and took a self -portrait.  Hey, I don't look like a backwoods redneck all the time. :)

Beating the elements

The temperature read 31 this morning when I awoke, but thankfully The protection provided last night for the garden kept everything alive and well. Here are the cucumbers.......

Jude and her frisbee

That dog sure does love it, and one only has to hold it above her head to see the anticipation in her eyes in hopes that it'll be thrown into the air. She's my girl......

Rooting sweet potato slips

I took the opportunity to root a bunch of sweet potato slips today in some moist soil,  then promptly carried them indoors. I normally keep them outside during this phase, but it's gonna be 32 degrees tomorrow night. I'll likely lose every squash, cucumber, and melon plant in the garden.  :(

Cold snap on the way

Just as I figured, mother nature isn't finished with cold nights yet. It's gonna be 36 degrees tomorrow night, and most of the cucurbits such as the squash in the photo above will likely perish, I figure. Backup seeds have been planted beside them, and III new way or another things will get back on track again.

In other news, my brother has started a gardening blog and I hope that you will check it out. The link is http://southcarolinahumuinic.blogspot.com .

Back from camping

If you've missed me, I've been on vacation camping at one of the beautiful lakes by where I live. In all, I caught and cooked 40 of these largemouth bass that were so good.....Anyway, it's good to be back.

The main squash section

With upside down tomato baskets in place - ready to keep the unruly plants in their 2ft x 2ft alotted space, this section of squash will be engulfed with growth in a few weeks.Watermelon seedlings at each end should beginning attaching themselves to their respective trellises in upcoming weeks too.....

Developing plums

The plums are plumping up nicely, and although there is evidence of bug damage - it doesn't appear to be from the plum curculio. Still, another spraying of Imidan will be applied in about a week - just to make sure they don't mess things up.....

New japanese maple seedlings

Every year I try to take a few Japanese maple seedlings that have just germinated and place them into 3 gallon containers to grow until they're ready to transplant into someone's yard. So, here's the new arrivals of 2012 - seven tiny Bloodgood variety, that'll stay with me for at least 2-3 years.....

True leaves on butternut squash

Butternut squash are being grown in the 4x9 raised bed next to the woods, and have begun to get their true leaves already. In all, there are 4 plants growing,  and I hope to get around 8-10 squash from them later....

Squash in containers

I'm growing several summer squash plants this year - 9 total, and will simply give most of the harvest away to friends and family as it comes in.  Of these, 3 will be grown in large containers - as seen in the photo above. It should be an interesting location for the squashbugs to congregate later.....

I got bored

So, I built a homemade self-watering container. This one has a float valve installed, and only needs a constant water supply connected to it for virtually hands free gardening. It'll be given away to someone, I'm sure - but who will the lucky person be? I don't know......

Jude and the snake

Jude has encountered a few snakes before( which always bothers me),  because she usually locates them before I do, and of course thinks they're something to play with. But not this one. She walked right by it 3 or 4 times without even noticing it. However, once I poked at it with a stick it climbed a small tree - then the chase was on......sheesh. Way to go Jude.........turdhead.

Crimson sweet watermelons

A total of four are evenly spaced in the 4x8 raised bed, and can be seen by the little seedlings protruding from the soil. They'll be allowed to climb the trellis attached to it of course.......

Corn is doing well

Thankfully, the squirrels haven't dug any up yet, either. Although, there's signs of their mischief elsewhere in the garden. You would think that Jude would patrol this area since being turned free, but apparently not......big butthead.

Another form of relaxation

Fishing. I've been doing lots of this lately, and thankfully the crappie have been biting pretty well. This one was caught at Little Bear Creek Lake yesterday evening after work, and in all - 9 total were caught.

Making sweet potato slips for this year

Around the middle of March it's time to suspend a sweet potato in a jar filled with water so that homemade slips can be grown for the summer garden. Four toothpicks keep it in place, and with the water being changed weekly - produces nice slips in about 45 days. This one is well on it's way to doing just that, it would seem.....

Apple blossom

The apple trees are always the last to get in on the parade of showy early spring flowers in the orchard, and it would appear that there will be a few apples to enjoy this year, hopefully.  The trees are only about 4 years old, so quite young as far as producing anything significant yet. Anyway, the blossoms are gorgeous.....

Cucumbers germinated

Direct sown into the garden, and will be allowed to climb inverted tomato cages for maximum yield. I might make pickles this year, but we'll just have to wait and see.

Butternut squash germination

Wintersown, of course. Any winter squash is a serious space hog, so I always try to grow them either vertically - or completely by themselves. Anyway, these seedlings are ready to be transplanted into the 4x9 raised bed next to the woods.

Corn has sprouted

With the warm temperatures as of late, it didn't take long at all for the corn to germinate. I just hope the stinkin squirrels don't dig them up, because they're prone to dig up everything this time of year while looking for acorns.

Blueberries

They will be plentiful this year, and most will actually find their way into the freezer for later use. It's gonna be interesting, because there's never been a bumper crop like this one before on the property..... I can't wait. :)

Tomato seedlings to give away later

The wintersown tomatoes have been placed into cellpacks now, and in all come to 36 total plants to be given away in about 4 more weeks. Half are Better Boy, the other half Early Girl. These in the picture happen to be the latter of the two......

Planting some things in the garden

Although it's 4 weeks early for it, I succumbed to the pressure of planting some things into the garden. Seeds are cheap, and I have tons at my disposal anyway( since I save nine from the previous year), so went ahead and took a gamble with planting squash, cucumbers, and watermelons. As indicated in the picture above, a couple of Early Girl tomato seedlings were even transplanted. There are plenty of those to go around, too.......

Time to plant corn

Regardless of the strange weather as of late, it's time to plant corn where I live. I always start mine in cellpacks, so that they can easily be moved indoors should freezing temperatures arrive. Anyway, here's my longtime favorite Peaches and Cream about to be covered, then watered well for germination to occur later.