I'm Glad I Decided To Leave

Bob Bauer

March 31, 2017 (Last Updated: March 06, 2023) | Reading Time: 1 minutes

March 31, 2017

I'm glad I decided to leave the plastic on the corn because last night we had a frost. The warm air coming up from the ground through the holes in the plastic kept the corn shoots from freezing until I could get down there this morning and cover them up. The last two seeds germinated last night also so I got 100%..

I also started more zucchini under a plastic covered mound because my transplants are girdled by sow bug and pill bug bites, and I don't know if they will be able to recover. It turns out those insects aren't bugs at all, but are a land dwelling crustation that will ceace to be a problem when the water goes away..

April 01, 2017

We had another frost last night but the corn is fine. It can actually take a frost until it's sixth leaf forms, because the center of growth is still below ground. The top of the plant can get burned and new growth will emerge from below. The butternut squash came up too, so our soil is warming..

That was my cue to plant watermelon, cantaloupe and honeydew seeds in mounds that have been covered for two weeks under plastic. I noticed all the mounds where my melon transplants went are on the wet side of the garden. This didn't used to matter, but now if increased rainfall is going to be the norm, which global warming may be causing, I'll have to spring plant the other side of the garden first..

April 02, 2017

The first week in April you can direct seed everything except squash and melon. I put in another row of lettuce because I might have a lettuce fetish. I've got two ten foot rows in the greenhouse, two ten foot rows of transplants, and still have half a pack of seeds left. I think I'll plant a row every couple of weeks until they run out. I eat it by the handful, and it's a great habit to get into..

I used to think eating lots of fruit was the best way to stay healthy, but then started learning how we get so much sugar in our processed foods that eating the recommended amount of fruit might be too much fructose for us. Now I eat lots of lettuce and salsa. Salsa rocks..

More from Efundies

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.

Gardening Resolutions

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Extend Your Artichoke Season

New shoots should come up now and produce a fall harvest. Around them are 4" thick flakes of moldy hay that I put down last winter under which is a teeming mass of earthworms and sow bugs.

Lettuce and Zucchini

The lettuce are getting dappled sunlight, not complete shade , so they can continue to photosynthesize. They also enjoy the extra humidity when I sprinkle water on the stalks.

Hydroponic Dutch Buckets

I've never had as wonderful growth as I've had in dutch buckets. The results are simply amazing.

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.

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.

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.

Photo of Pathway Surrounded By Fir Trees

I Got a Bag of Fir Shavings

It smells nice too.

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.

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'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.

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.

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.

Plant Snow Peas in January

Peas get planted in there this month so I have to start closing the door. February 2nd is outdoor pea planting time here but I get to start them a month early in the greenhouse.

I Caught A Third Rat In The Same Spot

Same size too, so either he was a visiting uncle, or I'm working on a family of siblings. I've got to rethink my piling garden waste mixed with blackberry vines and grape trimmings along the fence lines because it's way too enabling for them.

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.

December is Time to Think About Next Years Seeds

One of the first things you learn about gardening is the importance of crop rotation, and you will try to follow it, and be destined to failure. I never have enough room to rotate effectively nor do I think it's required in small backyard gardens.

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.

Bad News On the Home Front Today

The ground has been frozen for a couple weeks and the cats have found easy digging on my compost rich garden mounds. They leave their deposits under a little pile of dirt so I can easily go along and remove them, but it's not a warm fuzzy feeling to add to my spring planting pleasure.

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.

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.

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.

It's Time To Pull the Mulch Back

Encircling them with Deadline is always a Spring chore for me. I can usually put my cold frames over them to keep the cats from stepping on the bait, but this year they are way too big.

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'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.

Grow More Greenhouse Review 2018

I recently purchased an 8x12 EasyGrow Greenhouse from LittleGreenhouse.com. I chose the EasyGrow kit mostly because of cost.

November Is a Good Time To Get Garden Pathways Mulched

Leaves are plentiful this time of year so that's what I use. They stay in the low spots, which my pathways are, so l don't need to continually rake them back.

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.

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.

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.

Hydroponic Lettuce

After discovering bus boxes from the restaurant industry I think I've found the best possible solution. They are food grade plastic and nice and deep.

I got to Fish Emulsion my Crucifers Today

Plant asparagus once, and harvest it for 20 years. If everything in the garden was as easy, we'd have nothing left to do except weeding.

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.

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.