Grandpas Garden

Efundies Staff

September 01, 2022 (Last Updated: March 06, 2023) | Reading Time: About 1 minute

GrandpaÃ¢ÂÂs Garden is a collection of hints and tips to help you get more enjoyment out of your garden.

Grandpa in his native habitat - the garden.

Suggested Grandpa's Garden Articles

You Know You're A Gardening Geek If

I strap mine on first thing, no matter what I'm planning to do, because I will inevitably kneel on a rock, sharp stick, thorn or wet spot. There is always something close to the ground that needs inspection.

I Scored a Whole Wheelbarrow Full of Wet Hay

It's a welcome looking contrast to all the melon mounds that are encircled by leaves. I don't have any leaves in storage for spring yet because I keep finding more places for them.

Growing Corn

I checked Frostdate and found that an August planting can yield you a crop so in they went. I know I'm pushing it for mid August planting but I don't really need the ears because my wife's horses get the stalks as treats.

Malabar Spinach and Brussels Sprouts

I was surprised until I googled " possum tracks " and saw how similar they are to raccoon tracks. I've been misreading sign for many years.

The Leaves On My Beans Are Turning

I've never experienced this before so I ran to the internet for some answers. As usual I ended up with more questions than answers.

I Got To Put Fresh Straw Around The Melons

It sure brightened up the garden. I hadn't noticed it was getting a bit dreary because as the cleanup continues more light gets in.

The Small Three Foot Area That I Hand Weeded

There were twenty or so grass sprouts emerging attached to eight inch runners. It's hard to believe I could miss so many.

Bugs in the Garden are Good

If this is what global warming is about then bring it on. Just kidding, I know it can have catastrophic consequences, but it sure would be nice to garden all year long.

I Mixed Up a Strong Solution

Lo and behold they were gone. I couldn't believe it.

October Is The Beginning Of What We Call the Holiday Season

I guess we need excuses to dress up and party during the bleakest time of the year. Just because it's cold and rainy weather doesn't mean the gardening is done though.

My Shovel Felt Heavy Yesterday

I looked to see if mud was caked on the blade but it was clean. I've never noticed it being heavy before so I wondered why.

The Swiss Chard That I Planted Along the Back Fence

It also germinated a bunch of seeds in front of the pathway. I don't think small plants like they are will overwinter, but I'm going to put my mini greenhouses over them when it gets cold and give it a try.

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It's Time To Make Up Your Christmas List

The stems that came out from your main plants, touched down on the ground and rooted, are called daughters. You can cut the stems and dig up the plants, replant the daughters, and double your strawberry patch.

The Garlic and Onion Sets Are Already Coming Up

I'll move my mini greenhouses over them when the weather turns cold and see if we can't have chard all winter again like last year. It's been such a warm November that all the cauliflower came to head and the two rows of transplanted Brussels sprouts are forming sprouts.

The Most Colorful Thing In the Garden

They seem to be taking over the fence line from the grapes. They don't lose their leaves in the winter so I'm getting more and more seclusion.

Green and White Bird on White Flowers

A Flock of Sparrows Dive Bombed

They were everywhere, covering all the plants, and scarifying the ground.

We Can Go Ahead And Plant Beets, Carrots, Green Onions, And Lettuce

I'll probably plant it April 15th like I used to do before our zone change. I'm going to slide everything back because climate change is causing unpredictable weather.

No Gardening Got Done On Christmas Day

Once you get out of the house and start moving around lots of things will dispel your cabin fever. Being cold makes you want to go back in but a fire keeps you entertained.

Remember What Peace There May Be In Silence

The fog has replaced the shadows, and gray is in the air. Dormancy abounds and the gardens life is muted.

December Gardening Is, You Guessed It, A Lot like November Gardening

If you've been getting your compost spread, mulch applied, weeds removed, bushes trimmed, vines cut back and areas cleared for spring planting, you are probably running out of things to do. I start my spring garden in six packs, in the house, on a seed starting mat, on January 1st, so I'm looking at the garden differently this month.

I Trapped Another Rat In The Same Place

It was the same size too, and I'm wondering if I got two adults or two adolescents. I guess I'll find out by resetting the trap and waiting.

We Had Kale Last Night

I guess the cold nights that sweeten up the brussels sprouts also make the kale more tasty. Dunno, gonna pick some more today.

The Double Row of Beets

The answer is yes, but I couldn't find it. It may have gotten too brittle from all the sun exposure and I didn't save it.

Green Grass Under Blue Sky

While Removing the Bermuda Grass Runners

They followed the 'sweet spot' in the black, decomposing straw on top of the ground.

Try Eating the Leaves of your Broccoli

There was nothing in the water after the first rince. I don't know how long it will be before we eat them because the cook turned her nose up at them.

The Carrots are Up

I've been holding off until warmer weather to plant summer crops, but it rained today and I had my choice of kneeling down in the rain weeding, or sitting on the rug in front of the fake fireplace planting seeds. I realized that I want the perpetual spinach to be mature by the fall so I can cut it back to overwinter, so I needed to get it started now.

Grandpa in his native habitat - the garden.

Grandpas Garden

Grandpas Garden is a collection of knowledge from an avid grandpa who happens to have an amazing garden.

I Picked the Last of the Artichokes

Some of the chokes were wilted. I'll add artichokes to my list of wilted veggies.

Who wouldn't want to sit in this bench, surrounded by tulips.

Gardening

Gardening is a perfect hobby for automation. You can automate your watering, heating, fans, and temperature sensors.

You Can Mulch With Shavings

I've seen little yellow birds in the spring doing that and named them Chard Birds, but I've never caught sparrows at it before. I cut off all the large outer leaves and covered the plants with the pop up mini greenhouses I got for Christmas.

Winter Tree Pruning

The sap has retreated to the roots so there is less bleeding from the cut. It's also a good excuse to build a burn pile.

The Only Problem With the Incredible Amount of Kale

I'm going to try putting Apple Cider Vinegar on it to kill the taste. It's the jagged leafed purple and green kind that used to taste more like spjnach.

Snow is a Good Insulator in the Garden

All my "pretty pictures" are gone as if someone wiped the whiteboard clean. It reminds me of a moonscape and it's still coming down.

Another Warm Sunny Day and I Begin Thinking

I did the first batch of them on February 10th last year and struggled to keep them alive through innumerable freezes and relentless rain. Our last frosts we're on May 7th, May 18th, and I heard the wind turbine early on May 25th.

A Giant Jackrabbit Was In The Garden

It leaped up onto the compost pile and over the fence. Such a large, strong, athletic and mobile adversary left me a bit stunned.

Planting Onions and Garlic

The planting diagram on the package showed you should make the holes 5"deep and 4" wide. The planting instructions said to plant them "only deep enough so that the tops of sets are covered with soil".

Good News All You Pizza Lovers

Now that tomatoes have risen on the nutritional scale so has pizza, because tomato sauce counts. If you put onions, peppers, mushrooms and olives on it you get health food instead of junk food.

The Lettuce That Got Transplanted

Shout out to fish emulsion, which always moves the plants along at top growing speed. I didn't even used to grow lettuce until my son introduced me to Deadline.

Well the Frost Was On the Pumpkin

It seems early, but with 70°days in the extended forecast, maybe I'll get my Indian Summer after all. I don't actually have any pumpkin again this year.

Artichokes are a fun and easy to grow plant.

The Artichokes That I Divided Are Growing Already.

The leaves are spreading out and the plants are getting taller.

Garden Chair

I move it from sun to shade and do most of my prioritizing from it. From this throne I can see when the corn leaves are starting to turn dull, or the zucchini leaves wilt and know it's time to water.

My Discomfort With The Scattered Around Swiss Chard

With every rain squall that causes me to take refuge in the greenhouse, a bunch of sparrows decend upon them, eagerly ripping at the leaves in haste because they know I'll be back shortly. They must wait in the surrounding grape and blackberry vines for me to disappear.

Leggy Veggie Starts

Sometimes I intentionally "test" one theory against another, and sometimes nature forces that test on me.

2 Liter Bottle Hydroponics

2 liter bottles make excellent hydroponics containers and they're cheap. I've had excellent results growing lettuce in them, and you don't have to water very often at all.

Now That the Leaves Have Fallen Off

It's much easier to see where you want to cut . I don't think there's a right way or wrong way trim them unless you're a commercial grower.

Corn's Up - I Was Surprised

I was surprised. I only looked under the board to see if there were pill bugs or slugs hiding.

Hands on a Pile of Dirt

I Keep Hauling My Garden Trimmings

It's much easier to trudge through the mud with the cart than try to burn wet sticks in the rain.

Green Peas on Black Round Plate

PGIF (Peas Go in First) Spring Planting

(Peas Go In First) Spring planting is hearlded by the planting of the peas.

I'm Delighted To Have A Coyote Patrolling The Garden

Every garden invader is at risk now. Mice, gophers, rats, possums, raccoons, rabbits and squirrels are all prey, so I should be having fewer invasions.

Brown Black and Blue Bird Sitting on Brown Tree Twig

I Don't Have the Heart to Cover

The birds are voraciously fighting over them as if they are in a life or death situation.

It's Time To Get Your Winter Squash

Acorn, spaghetti, and butternut squash will start to mold if they sit on the damp ground for too long. Cut them from the vines leaving an inch of stem, wipe them down with a 1% bleach solution, and put them in a cool place that doesn't freeze.

I've Always Liked Bringing the Cauliflower In

That won't be the case anymore. Each of the four cauliflower heads that I just harvested had between 6 and 10 cabbage moth cattapillers hiding up inside.