GrandpaâÂÂs 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 Mulch Your Garden in the Fall Before I could get angry I realized how fortunate I am to be able to live where wild animals dwell. I saw a cougar down by the pond awhile back, a red fox in the woods, a bobcat in the creek bed, and a coyote on the hill. Whelp I Did It Again - Rigged Up My Shade Cloth Rigged up my shade cloth and got a huge chunk of ground cleared. I was glad I had watered it the day before because it took only about 15 min. I Was Surprised the Overwintered Kale Has Bolted It seems too early for that to happen. Then I realized that they are on the cycle to get their seeds formed, dried, planted, germinated, and the plants grown large enough to overwinter. The End of January Is When We Start The oak buds have turned the cranberry color of the apple buds so you know what that means. I don't either but I'm calling an early spring because that's what I do every year no matter what I see. My Weeping Water Wand Is No Engineering Wonder It's creation was the result of what was available from an old drip line. All I could find was a hose connecting T and some half inch tubing. I Never Did Get My Horseradish Harvested The freezing nights came and killed the leaves, they fell to the ground, the earthworms came up at night and ate them, and now there's just stalks radiating from the base. I guess I could go ahead and dig some of the roots up, wash them and peel them with a potato peeler. Plant Your Peas People the Old Adage Plant Your Peas People the Old Adage Letting All The Volunteer Swiss Chard Grow I have swung back to a more formal preference, with defined borders. I would prefer the chard plants all in a row somewhere, but they are so deep rooted that transplanting them could be a disaster. In Response To Our Forecasted Triple Digit I'll be gardening under it and moving it wherever kneeling work can be done. If it gets too hot I've got a mist setting on my hose nozzle and will try suspending that above me. 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. More Than Half The Tomatoes Ripening In The Cardboard Box Can confirm, not as tasty as vine ripened, but still a treat. It's like forbidden fruit that nature intended to be decomposing on the ground. I Went To Pick Up the Dead Leaves Ladybug nymphs look like little black and orange alligators, and are more voracious eaters of aphid than the adults are, so I left the leaves alone. I'll let nature take its course. More Gardening Articles
