Time To Mulch

I Got A Row Of Peas Planted

The puppy's name is Anny, and my garden may never be the same. She thoroughly enjoyed running up and down the bird netted trellis, barking and biting at it.

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.

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.

Three Of My 10 Tadpoles Came Out Of Hiding Today

Three Of My 10 Tadpoles Came Out Of Hiding Today

It Got Down To 20°F Last Night

I've got a clean raised bed in the greenhouse that's just begging to grow something. I even dragged two furrows 10" apart in it because it looks better that way than flat.

I Found a Wilted Corn Patch Today

90° temperatures and full sun all day so I shouldn't be surprised. Watering is becoming an every day necessity now, and I'm glad the plants can tell us when they need it.

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.

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.

Grandpas Garden

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

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.

Now Is A Good Time To Get Rid of Bermuda Grass

When the soil is soaked down to eight inches or so you have better luck with not breaking off the runners as you pull them up. Each runner has a tuft of roots every inch along it, and a nub for stem development, and can grow underground for two feet.

Had a Prankster Visit the Garden Last Night

I found the zip lock bag that I keep my bar soap in shredded. Half the bar is missing and what's left is full of teeth marks.

While Removing the Bermuda Grass Runners

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

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.

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".

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.

I Don't Know Why Weeding

Winter gardening can be an emotional rollercoaster ride.

I Made a Funny Discovery Today

With a week of rainy weather forecasted I would be wise to postpone my traditional April 15th planting of corn. I planted it on March 20th last year in my over abundant optimism at being re zoned at 8b, and had 10 frost nights all the way up to May 20th in which they required covering.

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.

PGIF (Peas Go in First) Spring Planting

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

I Got a Bag of Fir Shavings

It smells nice too.

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.

A Flock of Sparrows Dive Bombed

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

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.

Hydroponic Pea Shoots

Pea shoots are one of the best crops to grow in hydroponics.

It's Time To Pick Out That Perfect Pumpkin

I've not always had pumpkins but I've always been able to find something to decorate. One year it was an old watermelon that refused to ripen.

Gardening Resolutions

Im'a gonna get more exercise. I think we Grampa gardeners could all get on that bandwagon.

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.

I've Never Had Aphids Up In the Florets of Cauliflower

They got up into the tiniest crevasses and sucked the plants juices until they got too fat to get them out. I kept breaking the head into smaller and smaller pieces and spraying them with the hose until I got down to quarter inch florets with aphid still stuck inside.

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.

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 Picked the Last of the Artichokes

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

I've Gotten Tired of Picking Broccolini

It's not crop rotation because cruciferous plants should not be planted in the same spot for two years. My rows get an 18" wide by 2" thick covering of fine compost three to four times a year so the soil I'm planting in is always changing.

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.

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.

All of the Garlic Are Up Now

I've had to weed the patch already to, not because of weeds , but because of a plethora of poppies plants. When poppies finish going to seed their stems are tan colored like straw mulch, so when they fall to the ground I leave them, hence I'll never run out of poppies.

There Is No Place For Antibacterial Hand Soap In the Garden

Why kill the bacteria before washing them off your hands. They have a job to do wherever they're going.

I Still Haven't Gotten My Onion Sets Planted

All of our local suppliers don't have any. They think there was a crop failure, and I immediately think global warming.

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.

I Got a Fourth Planting of Lettuce

Why so much lettuce you might ask. Well, truth be known, my third planting didn't come up.