May 2, 2009: This Week in the Garden

Sunday I thinned the spinach patch. I hated to rip out those lovely plants, but who knew nearly every seed would germinate? I was going to toss the thinnings into a salad, but decided to try transplanting them instead. The next day it looked as though all but six or seven were going to grow. Those that didn't survive were planted next to the peas in the dog kennel garden, where the birds are annihilating all the greens, not to mention nipping off the tops of the pea vines. I wouldn't dare try bird netting there, as the peas would be a tangled mess in the mesh.

Monday I made the final two SWCs from four buckets. I filled one and planted it with a Persey tomato that was looking rather sickly. The brassicas I moved into the north tomato garden looked fine, but the ones in the west garden looked as though they are being eaten by something, and I see dog footprints around them. One was so bad I just pulled it out. I really don't care if these leftover plants grow or not, as I think the small garden might be a bit crowded with all the tomatoes, cucumbers, basil and flowers.

Tuesday it was really cold and rainy, and the tomatoes that were still in their containers looked horrible. I brought all the plants inside, put the shelves back in the plant window and got them all on shelves, except for the two large tomatoes and the four big pepper plants. I gave them a couple days of rest before taking them back outside to the patio. The free tomato seeds arrived from Campbell's Soup, and I saw they are a virus resistant, determinate variety. Since the heirloom plants are looking so bad right now (with a few exceptions), I decided to go ahead and start a new batch. I planted 9 seeds in soil blocks and set them on a rack on the heat pad to germinate. I'm hoping they grow large enough in 3-4 weeks to go out in the garden. I picked 6 ounces of salad fixings for dinner, which included Red Romaine, Red Sails, Buttercrunch and Prizehead lettuces, with lots of baby spinach and a sweet onion. The Red Romaine and Prizehead are especially lovely lettuces, I want to be sure to grow them next year.

Wednesday I checked the seedlings on the heating pad and found the newer heat pad gets much warmer than the old one! The temperature in the tomato container was 100 degrees! I moved it off of the pad and set it on a heat vent, where it has since been maintaining a temperature of 80 degrees in the daytime. I planted three soil blocks of Petit Gris melons and three of Savor F1, both from Dan's Urban Vegetable Garden, and set these on a rack on the old heat pad. Then I planted three soil blocks each of Buttercrunch and Red Romaine lettuce, and set them in the plant window. I planted out the Brandywine that looked so sickly. I figure it will probably die one way or another, so I might as well see if planting it out perks it up. A hill of squash germinated. Unfortunately, I didn't note what kind of squash was planted where. I know the yellow crookneck is under the ladder, and I THINK the front hill is the butternut, and the one that is showing. It's either butternut or zucchini, but I'm almost sure it's the former.

Thursday I picked 2 ounces of radishes, then gave most of the garden a dose of higher nitrogen liquid fertilizer since the bush beans are still looking a bit pale. I filled in empty spots in the parsnip rows. It looks like the parsnips have been eaten by birds, as the rows were full last week. I planted a few icicle radishes in the bare spaces in the radish rows. The fourth (last) SWC was planted with a beautiful Russian Persimmon tomato. Then I transplanted 11 other tomatoes, 4 determinates in the east fence garden and 7 in indeterminate tomato bed. That leaves room for four more determinate tomato plants in the main gardens. Any surviving leftovers will probably get stuck out in the corner behind the compost pile.

Yesterday it was warm and sunny, a perfect day for working in the garden. I transplanted four Golden Calwonder and four Quadrato Rosso D'Asti peppers, then built drip system for the four SWCs and a pot of cucumbers. That was pretty simple, as I had brought my old drip tubing and emitters from Arizona, and all I had to do was purchase a fitting to attach it to the garden faucet. I didn't even change any of the connectors, as I know the sagging tubing won't even show once the plants get larger. All I have to do to water all the containers at once, is to turn on the faucet until the water runs out of all the overflow holes.



My younger son came over in the afternoon, so he helped me turn the compost pile. It had completely cooled down, after getting up to at least 130F last week. We also pounded in another fence post and moved the small wire fence to enclose the compost area so the dogs can't get to it. Of course, there is a small space between fencing and shed, as I have to trim back a bush to be able to make the span. And Annie has found the space. I had to barricade it temporarily, with a spading fork and a shovel, to keep her out of the garden.

I dug the planting hole for that large Tumbling Tom tomato. The last time I measured it, it was 52" high, and by yesterday it almost reached the ceiling when it was sitting on my dryer, so it must be planted outside soon. I raked the last of the leaves from the east side of the yard and mowed/bagged them, along with part of back lawn, for compost material.

I pulled one of my garlic plants for last night's dinner. I chopped it fine, then sauteed it lightly in some real butter. I sprinkled in a pinch of red pepper flakes, then tossed in a bunch of lightly steamed broccoli florets. I heated everything together, and it was delicious. Two of the grandchildren were here, and I had to fight them off for my share of that broccoli!

Today it was rainy, and I was rather glad, as my body felt like it had gone through a ringer after all I did yesterday. This afternoon the sun came out, so I transplanted 4 Jalapeno, 4 Quadrato Rosso, 2 Golden Calwonder and 2 Calwonder peppers into the east garden beds. I pulled two sweet green onion's for tonight's potato salad, and then I planted the giant AZ tomato plant into the garden. If she dies, she dies. And she's not looking good right now. Another hill of squash germinated today, and it is definitely the yellow crookneck.

Now...where am I going to plant the other big AZ tomato? I need a farm.

23 comments:

  1. LOL yup I feel that way too. Where is the farm when you need it? If you want to take your tumbling tom outside any longer you won't be able to get it out the door. That tom is huge.

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  2. Granny...you already have a farm! How many sqft are you up to now? 250? I guess if you count the new corn planters, and butternut swc, I have 210 sqft. It was a busy week for you, indeed!

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  3. Daphne, the huge T.Tom is in the ground. Now we just wait and see if it survives.

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  4. EG, I guess I'll have to figure out that square footage.

    22x4= 88
    3x4= 12
    22x3= 66
    1x8= 8
    2x7= 14
    1x5= 5
    2x6= 12
    4x8= 32
    4x8= 32
    4x8= 32
    Round= 26?
    Oval= 6?
    3 barrels= 9
    1 lg planter= 2
    1 lg planter= 2
    4x12= 48

    Looks like about 394 sf now. That doesn't count behind the shed, where I'll put all the leftover plants and just let the go wild.

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  5. That's an impressive set-up with the SWCs. You and EG together would be dangerous.

    I wonder if your Campbell seeds were packaged differently than mine or if I just plain missed the ID. Where'd they put the info on the package about the disease resistance and the variety?

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  6. Cheryl, it wasn't on the seed packet, but if you Google for that variety it shows two Campbell varieties; Campbell 1327 and Campbell 33. Both are described similarly:

    Campbell 1327-69 days. Lycopersicon esculentum. Plant produces good yields of red tomatoes. Perfect for making tomato soup. Does well under adverse weather conditions. Crack Resistant. United States Department of Agriculture, PI 341132. Disease Resistant: VFA. Determinate. pk/20

    Campbell 33- 69 days. Lycopersicon esculentum. Plant produces good yields of red tomatoes. Perfect for making tomato soup. Does well under adverse weather conditions. Great for sandwiches and salads. Excellent processing tomato for market growers. Disease Resistant: VF. Determinate. pk/20

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  7. Cheryl, also on the Campbell's website, they say about their tomato seeds:

    In California we are at the forefront of developing Fusarium Race 3 resistant varieties and continue to develop new commercial lines with resistance to Spotted Wilt Virus and Late Blight diseases. There is more to come as we continue our efforts to deliver value added new varieties.

    I would assume the seeds we got are the same as they use, as they do sell their seed commercially.

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  8. Really, you're making a lot of us look lazy......
    :)

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  9. LOL, Sue, with the exception of the one day that gave me a few aches and pains, the other stuff really didn't take much time or work. It just sounds like a lot when it's put down in writing! I wouldn't even think twice about it if I weren't putting it in a journal to reference for next year. And you must remember, I'm retired and have only the pups and Mr. H to look after. I have a lot more spare time than many others do.

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  10. I too planted out the tomatoes today. They look very good! Of course I planted them at an angle so I hope they start growing up soon. I burried as much as I could in my SWCs.

    Good for you getting all that work done. Sorry you're sore, but at least you know you were productive.

    And that drip system rocks! Too bad my SWCs are spread out all over the yard, hehe.

    I'd love that recipie. I assume you mean the stems that you chopped up like green onions. I am afraid to chop them off for fear the plants will die. The garlic isn't ready for several months now.

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  11. Sinfonian, I used the bulb of the spring garlic, which was about the size of a large green onion (it hasn't started forming any cloves). It wasn't very large, but very good and fragrant, and I had mine planted too closely together so they need thinning out. I just used the white part and chopped it really fine, then softened it in about a tablespoon of real butter (you could also use olive oil, I was out) in a frying pan. Cook it really slow, don't let it brown. Toss in a pinch of hot pepper flakes, if desired. In the meantime, steam a bunch of broccoli, fresh or frozen, until it is just beginning to get tender-crisp. I do mine in the microwave in a covered dish, with a couple of tablespoons of water, for about 5 minutes. Drain well and toss it in with the garlic mixture, add salt/pepper to taste and heat it through. Man, it's some good stuff...and the grandchildren loved it, even though the hot pepper flakes gave it just a bit of a bite.

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  12. Granny, keep us updated about the Campbell's seeds. I haven't checked the thread on GW lately but the last time I looked, everyone who received them had 0% germination! Sounds like you get what you pay for. I received mine last week and I wasn't even going to bother trying them.

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  13. Jen, as of this morning, I think three of the nine had germinated. But they look so tiny! The little sprouts are about as thin as a thread. I have them under the lights now, so I'll keep you informed as to what happens with them.

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  14. You said the birds were eating your peas and greens, but I can see where peas and bird netting wouldn't work. Do you think net material from a fabric store would work? I mean that stuff like they make scrubbies with. Forget what they call it, but I used it once for bug protection, and it worked fairly well...for the big bugs, anyway. Do you think peas would still manage to tangle themselves up in it, even with the tiny spaces?
    BTW, EG is right, you do already have a farm!

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  15. Hope your melons germinate well. I need to start them all too, maybe tonight. Nice watering system.

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  16. I just checked the thread...2 people have had germination success but subsequent failure or really slow growth. I hope yours fare better. I might try to germinate some, just to see if they work, even though it's pretty late to be starting tomato plants now.

    Here's the link to the thread:
    http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tomato/msg030911126601.html

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  17. Too late, SB. I salvaged four little lettuce plants yesterday, and transplanted them elsewhere. The others were completely gone. I think the peas will soon be tall enough that they won't nibble the tops any more. I hope.

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  18. Wow your gardening makes mine look lazy, lol. Great Job annie's granny. I'm glad I looked you up again. I want to plant into my sqfg but I ran out of starting soil and can't get more till my daughter's room is drywalled. So I'll watch the tom sprouts I have out now and encourage them to grow.

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  19. Jen, I think mine are zilch. Just three tiny thread-like stems sticking up, no leaves. Out of nine seeds. Bummer.

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  20. Dan, I planted three seeds of each, and two of each germinated...strong, healthy looking little seedlings. I'm hoping to be able to plant them in about two weeks.

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  21. Twitter, Granny!? Really? I just don't get it.

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  22. Ribbit, I enjoy tweeting with a few friends, but this is my first public twitt...er...tweet, LOL So far all I've done is ban people who want to be my friends! I thought it might be fun to get a few of my garden buddies to drop a tweet occasionally, but some really weird people always want to join in. If it gets too annoying, I'll drop it like a hot potato!

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