tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34385806861510310812024-03-13T11:51:35.462-04:00Rick's Roots - A Gardening BlogThis is my blog about gardening in North Carolina, and experimentation with Hydroponics, both indoor and outdoor, upside down and container gardening, and other gardening and landscaping topics.Rick Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00557118986977630256noreply@blogger.comBlogger60125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3438580686151031081.post-88119443419288179652014-04-14T07:46:00.000-04:002014-04-14T07:46:04.480-04:00Container Pickles - Growing Cucumbers in the "City Pickers"I'm a big fan of self-watering containers, like the Earthbox, but I'm not a big fan of the Earthbox price at around $50 on Amazon and considerably more in local retail stores.<br />
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I blogged about a method of making <a href="http://www.ricksroots.com/2011/04/how-to-make-cheap-self-watering-bucket.html">cheap self-watering containers</a> using buckets, but I've also found that I like the <a href="http://www.homedepot.com/p/CITY-PICKERS-24-5-in-x-20-5-in-Raised-Bed-Patio-Garden-Kit-with-Watering-System-and-Casters-2340D/202563845" target="_blank">City Pickers</a> self-watering garden kit that Home Depot sells for $30.<br />
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They show it being used for tomatoes, but I wouldn't recommend that. Even if you choose a smaller variety bush tomato, like a Patio Tomato, you'll find that tomatoes have vigorous root systems and you'll probably have nutrient problems. The "trellis" that comes with it isn't particulary suitable for much either.<br />
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This year, I'm going to try growing pickling cucumbers in this planter. and with that, I've found yet another use for an inexpensive product I found at The Home Depot called "mason ladder". Don't bother googling this term, it won't do you any good. Mason Ladder is a 10' section of heavy gauge galvanized wire, about 4" wide with cross connectors every 12". <br />
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Anyway, I stuck a couple of these mason ladder pieces in my City Pickers planter, and I think it will make an excellent cucumber trellis. Here's a pic!<br />
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<br />Rick Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00557118986977630256noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3438580686151031081.post-10338145527111434092014-04-14T07:31:00.002-04:002014-04-14T07:31:23.899-04:00Stringing your Tomatoes - How to avoid the falling tomato plantI've been using the <a href="http://www.ricksroots.com/2011/04/best-way-to-grow-tomatoes-vertically.html">string trellis method</a> to grow my tomatoes vertically for 3 years now. And with much success. One problem I've faced every year is the twine breaking, and my tomato plants falling down when they get laden down with heavy tomatoes. Usually string breakage hasn't been a problem for my cherry tomatoes, but it's definately been a problem for every other variety.<br />
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The first year, I only used a single strand of twine. The second and third years, I doubled the twine, with no better success. Twine just doesn't last very long when exposed to the elements.<br />
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So, this year, I'm using some small yellow nylon rope that I picked up at Home Depot. I suspect it will NOT snap like the twine does!<br />
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I planted my tomatoes on Saturday. I see a low of 36 in the forecast for Wednesday night, so I'll have to keep an eye on that!<br />
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Here's the tomato garden!<br />
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<br />Rick Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00557118986977630256noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3438580686151031081.post-78453784693905675482013-05-01T09:07:00.004-04:002013-05-01T09:07:56.794-04:00More spring plantingI don't have any pictures this time but I did feel like writing something about gardening and what's been going on lately in my garden.<br />
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I planted some zucchini seeds about 10 days ago and they haven't come up yet. I wonder if the seeds "expired" while sitting in my shed since last spring. At this point I'll probably just buy some seedlings at the farmers market.<br />
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Speaking of the Farmer's Market, I did make a couple trips there this past weekend. Saturday, I purchased and then planted two varieties of cucumbers for my garden trellis - one side of the arched walkway trellis will be Straight 8 slicing cucumbers, which have always been my favorite variety. The other side will be some variety of pickling cucumbers. Mom said she had plenty of relish still so I'll probably try to make some pickles with my harvest.<br />
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Sunday, I bought some more herbs - Pineapple Sage, Orange Thyme, and Greek Oregano. The Pineapple Sage is a fast growing and fairly large plant that smells wonderful and has beautiful red flowers. I don't really use sage, so I'm actually just growing this one like a flower. The orange thyme also smells wonderful and will look cool in my sidewalk herb garden. The sidewalk garden (called that because it's right next to the sidewalk in the front yard) also has lemon thyme, creeping thyme, garlic chives, onion chives, rosemary, and one of the new pineapple sage plants. Most of these are actually cold hardy perreniels that I planted last year.<br />
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This weekend, if I have time, it's time to get some peppers in the ground. I'm planning to reduce my varieties and grow only Jalapeno, Habanero, and Bell Peppers this year. I may also plant some corn, because corn is cool.Rick Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00557118986977630256noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3438580686151031081.post-38659426763236511282013-03-16T11:38:00.001-04:002013-03-16T11:38:43.292-04:00First Garden Post of the Spring!Well, as usual I stopped blogging half way through the gardening season last year. Actually it was a tough summer - very hot and wet. Many of my varieties of peppers and tomatoes didn't do as well as previous years - except the Ghost Peppers, which grew like a damn tree!<br />
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Well, here it is, March, and gardening season is upon me again!<br />
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I'm curtailing my gardening activities a bit this spring because of shoulder surgery I underwent about 5 weeks ago. Luckily I'd managed to turn and prep most of my garden beds prior to the surgery and covered them up with landscape fabric so they'd be ready for planting come April and May. I'm not doing as much early spring gardening this year.<br />
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I did start some sweet peas about 6 weeks ago - they're coming up nicely, as you can see here:<br />
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I also have yellow onions that I planted in the fall and they've overwintered quite nicely and look like they're picking up the pace again - they're still pretty small, I do not expect to harvest them for several months still. This particular location in my back yard is about the only place that gets full sun all winter long. Most of the rest of the back yard is heavily shaded by my house in the winter.<br />
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I also picked up some lettuce starts at the farmer's market this morning and planted them today. I got two varieties of leaf lettuce - one green (buttercrunch) and one red (don't remember). We are right in the middle of lettuce planting season here in Raleigh!<br />
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I also planted some Cilantro from a seedling a month ago and it's doing very well. Cilantro is a cool weather herb that is an annual but it does easily re-seed itself in the heat of the summer and so you will often find it "coming back" every year.<br />
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Here's a few more pictures from the garden today too.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heather in bloom - it started blooming about a month ago. It's nice to have some color in the yard in February!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Strawberry Plants - they look like they're still mostly dormant, it's been chilly.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Camilia - also a nice late winter flowering plant.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Helibore flowering and looking very nice along with the groundcover I planted last year. It's not doing much covering yet.</td></tr>
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<br />Rick Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00557118986977630256noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3438580686151031081.post-54092966164031033392012-06-08T10:15:00.002-04:002012-06-08T10:15:34.242-04:00Work Garden Update<br />
My patio garden at work is going fairly well.<br />
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Here is a "front" and "back" photo of my rubbermade tote garden... containing SIX cucumber plants (Straight 8), a Muncho Nancho jalapeno, and Genovese Basil.<br />
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And here is a potted Sungold tomato plant growing vertically on a string tied to the rafters of the patio roof.<br />
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I also have a Celebrity tomato in the same size pot.<br />
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These plants all get direct sunlight from sunrise to around 1pm, and then they are shaded by the building the rest of the day. They seem to be doing very nicely, given that they only get 6 hours of sun.<br />Rick Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00557118986977630256noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3438580686151031081.post-24164491930332620572012-05-29T11:57:00.005-04:002012-05-29T11:57:47.771-04:00Weekend Landscaping ProjectGetting the back yard sodded last week motivated me to finally do something about the completely dead "yard" on the side of the house. It gets almost no sun, and not a lot of rain either because of the tree coverage. The ground is so hard I could not even get the tiller to dig into parts of it. We've been talking about putting a walkway of some kind in for years, and so that's what I'm doing.<br />
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Three trips to Home Depot yielded 100 gray landscape blocks, and 50 rectangular caps. I dug out part of the hill in order to flatten the path some, and then laid out the blocks and caps. Another trip to American Soil and Mulch to procure a yard of their compost blend garden soil to fill in the area on the house side of the path, and to prepare the back of the side yard to receive sod, and the weekend is over.<br />
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Obviously, I'm not done yet! I think we're going to do a gravel path here, some crush and run undernearth and then maybe a nice screened gravel on top. TBD!<br />
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Here's the pics...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The back of the path will be finished off with sod.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A few of the path from the front of the house. On the right we're going to plant some hosts and shade loving ground cover.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view of the path from the back yard. AGain, the area up front in the picture will be finished out with sod, and then the rest of the path will be gravel.</td></tr>
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<br />Rick Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00557118986977630256noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3438580686151031081.post-43306133319493889342012-05-29T11:49:00.004-04:002012-05-29T11:49:45.757-04:00Vines: Onward and Upward!I have a number of vining plants that are vigorously growing in the heat of late spring here in North Carolina, and I thought I'd share some photos here.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5-5z7UihDoM/T8TpQTjt07I/AAAAAAAAJlQ/vEOL92dYSdo/s1600/100_0119.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5-5z7UihDoM/T8TpQTjt07I/AAAAAAAAJlQ/vEOL92dYSdo/s400/100_0119.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If you look closely, you can see the ornamental gourds on the left are starting to reach for the lower branches of the oak tree. On the right, the cucumbers are going a little slower, but they were started later too.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The morning glories on the right have already started to cross the top of the bench. The cardinal climbers on the left are a little less vigorous, but they've finally started going too. I guess I won't be moving this bench again for the rest of the summer!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Champion Pumpkins, which I planted too early. Look, I already have a pumpkin!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So I have six cucumber vines in this planter. That's at least two too many. They are really sucking up the water and I am they need a full dose of water every day! I feel like I should give them some hydro n utrients!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Newly installed cattle panel trellis for the pole beans. I need to use some rope or something to straighten it up a bit. Just planted the beans this weekend. I also planted a tomato and some sweet bell peppers here.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is another Champion Pumpkin, growing in a 5 gallon bucket!</td></tr>
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<br />Rick Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00557118986977630256noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3438580686151031081.post-72826733334213016132012-05-23T09:17:00.003-04:002012-05-23T09:17:24.964-04:00I say Tomato... you say Tomato...Something is lacking about the blog entry title.. I guess it doesn't translate well into text!<br />
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So, my tomatoes are doing very well so far! Even the one that fell over a couple weeks ago before I strung it up seems to have survived the stalk crease, no worse for the wear. As expected, the Early Girl variety already have big plump tomatoes on them. These two plants started as fairly large seedlings that I purchased from the Farmer's market, so they had a bit of a head start on my own seedlings.<br />
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My other seedlings planted in the "String Garden" are also doing very well, as are the eggplants as seen in this picture:<br />
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I also have several "Celebrity" tomatoes growing in containers that are doing very well. If you're unfamiliar, the Celebrity variety is a hybrid, determinate variety that only gets about 3 feet tall, making it perfect for containers. It has medium sized slicing tomatoes on it that I've found to have very good flavor. Here's a picture of one of these in a 5 gallon self-watering bucket planter:<br />
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You can also see my pickling cucumbers next to it there, also doing fairly well.Rick Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00557118986977630256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3438580686151031081.post-43223380750656606162012-05-22T14:55:00.004-04:002012-05-22T14:55:53.662-04:00New Sod!Tired of of the summer heat killing various parts of our fescue lawn every year, we opted to swap out the fescue for bermuda!<br />
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We did the back yard (inside the fence), along with all parts of the yard outside the sidewalk. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the second floor.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New sod!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We haven't had grass HERE in 5-6 years!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I didn't actually intend for them to do the part on the right... but it looks nice.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another view of the back yard.</td></tr>
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<br />Rick Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00557118986977630256noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3438580686151031081.post-26975566811445735992012-05-08T09:25:00.001-04:002012-05-08T09:25:14.107-04:00Garden Photo UpdateHere are some photos from the garden this morning! Click on the first one and you can enlarge and go through a slideshow.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rubbermade Tote with cucumbers, basil, and a "Mucho Nacho" jumbo jalapeno.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Celebrity Tomato</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First tomatoes, as expected, on the "Early Girl" variety.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V2nkkwXG1Ng/T6kOLXybt9I/AAAAAAAAJRc/ENoABq54FOI/s1600/101_0076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V2nkkwXG1Ng/T6kOLXybt9I/AAAAAAAAJRc/ENoABq54FOI/s320/101_0076.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blueberries galore! One of these plants is doing better than the other.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sgusVIKgrLA/T6kOMKQ-MUI/AAAAAAAAJRk/be1dcROfVXA/s1600/101_0079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sgusVIKgrLA/T6kOMKQ-MUI/AAAAAAAAJRk/be1dcROfVXA/s320/101_0079.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tomatoes are strung up and ready to reach for the sky, peppers and eggplants caged.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LFRiafI8Uc4/T6kOMc2tf8I/AAAAAAAAJRo/ZD5Wy55VueA/s1600/101_0080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LFRiafI8Uc4/T6kOMc2tf8I/AAAAAAAAJRo/ZD5Wy55VueA/s320/101_0080.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zucchini, only three weeks after transplant! Dill and Lemon Basil along the back.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Kqv1Cj4aOqs/T6kONQMeVvI/AAAAAAAAJR0/xoLOHYoIOSg/s1600/101_0081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Kqv1Cj4aOqs/T6kONQMeVvI/AAAAAAAAJR0/xoLOHYoIOSg/s320/101_0081.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First zucchini!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7CBqPOgPFpI/T6kONyJAVZI/AAAAAAAAJR8/uS3X3qXINas/s1600/101_0082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7CBqPOgPFpI/T6kONyJAVZI/AAAAAAAAJR8/uS3X3qXINas/s320/101_0082.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slicing cucumbers "Straight 8"</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Celebrity Tomato in the pot, bunching green onions, garlic chives, yellow onions, a couple peppers, and "Better Bush" tomatoes.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VgbUOO_75N4/T6kOOnlPIgI/AAAAAAAAJSM/8VjCfXNTfVA/s1600/101_0084.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VgbUOO_75N4/T6kOOnlPIgI/AAAAAAAAJSM/8VjCfXNTfVA/s320/101_0084.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tallest pea vines ever! Plus Broccoli, Oregano, Garlic Chives, Dill, Rosemary, and Cabbage. Also planted two little nasturtiums next to the broccoli.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mOynGD_AicM/T6kOO4Uc4JI/AAAAAAAAJSQ/83-8XITGyfY/s1600/101_0085.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mOynGD_AicM/T6kOO4Uc4JI/AAAAAAAAJSQ/83-8XITGyfY/s320/101_0085.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Broccoli.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vng-Vtb9doc/T6kOPmr37TI/AAAAAAAAJSc/0W6KAH7szfE/s1600/101_0086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vng-Vtb9doc/T6kOPmr37TI/AAAAAAAAJSc/0W6KAH7szfE/s320/101_0086.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pumpkin Buckets</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jIiYf1v3FtE/T6kORPOsYiI/AAAAAAAAJSk/4xTYDj1woxM/s1600/101_0088.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jIiYf1v3FtE/T6kORPOsYiI/AAAAAAAAJSk/4xTYDj1woxM/s320/101_0088.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zucchini, slicing cucumbers by the trellis, and catnip.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Same as above.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g-qmkEPqMcE/T6kORXpgRGI/AAAAAAAAJSo/1JrqbBGP0jk/s1600/101_0090.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g-qmkEPqMcE/T6kORXpgRGI/AAAAAAAAJSo/1JrqbBGP0jk/s320/101_0090.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the trellis, ornamental gourds, plus sage, parsley, and texas taragon.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R-xJfPKn6gM/T6kOT4HL2uI/AAAAAAAAJS8/5ifZJYcGjH8/s1600/101_0091.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R-xJfPKn6gM/T6kOT4HL2uI/AAAAAAAAJS8/5ifZJYcGjH8/s320/101_0091.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pumpkins</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PclQRj1myug/T6kOTsvVeKI/AAAAAAAAJTA/0Y-q3asLFwg/s1600/101_0092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PclQRj1myug/T6kOTsvVeKI/AAAAAAAAJTA/0Y-q3asLFwg/s320/101_0092.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pickling cucumbers and a Celebrity Tomato</td></tr>
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<br />Rick Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00557118986977630256noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3438580686151031081.post-77694968999034969152012-05-08T09:15:00.001-04:002012-05-08T09:15:51.083-04:00Peppers Purchased, Planted...Good morning gardening friends! I haven't posted much lately, but the gardening is going very well so far this spring! We had some 90 degree heat last week for a few days, and several of my plants soaked it up and went bananas - particularly the zucchini, which will have harvestable fruit on it in probably a week!!<br />
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I bought a bunch of hot peppers at the Farmer's Market last weekend to fill out my garden - I purchased Cayenne, Jalapeno, Poblano, Thai Dragon, Habanero, Carribean Red Hot, and Bhut Jolokia. The latter is also known as a Ghost Pepper, and from time to time has been known as the world's hottest pepper. I also have a couple of Big Bertha bell peppers, and I have two Jupiter bell peppers that I haven't transplanted yet.<br />
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<b>Hot Pepper Heat - The Scoville Scale</b><br />
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The Ghost Pepper rates anywhere from 350,000 to over 1 million on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoville_rating" target="_blank">Scoville Scale</a>, a system that measures that amount of "heat" a pepper has. Habaneros, which are the hottest peppers you can buy in the grocery store, usually rate between 100,000 and 350,000 - I have eaten habaneros straight before, and I made some really awesome jelly from them last year. More recognizable, the Thai Chili scores a 50,000 to 100,000 ... cayenne from 30,000 to 50,000, Jalapenos from 3,000 to 8,000, and the Poblano only 1,000 to 2,500.<br />
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Bell Peppers have no heat at all and score a 0 on this scale.<br />
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Honestly, I don't know if I'll try eating the Bhut Jolokia peppers. I doubt it. I bet they'd make some hellishly spicy jelly though!!<br />
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<b>Finally, a use for Tomato Cages</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rry0f-5znF4/T6kbv15fvdI/AAAAAAAAJTw/Qf8rmfxoQUs/s1600/caged_tomato.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rry0f-5znF4/T6kbv15fvdI/AAAAAAAAJTw/Qf8rmfxoQUs/s320/caged_tomato.jpg" width="195" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Click to enlarge!</i></td></tr>
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I don't subscribe to caging tomatoes. The tapered tomato cages you see at the big box stores aren't anywhere near big enough for a tomato plant, as most tomatoes will get 5-6 tall or higher. They are suitable only for caging "determinate" tomato plants or "bush" tomatoes. These types of tomatoes will usually only get 3-4 tall. I have several varieties of bush tomatoes planted. Two of them are "Better Bush" which will allegedly get about 4' tall and the main stalk is so sturdy that they won't even need to be staked. I don't know about that - we'll see! The other are "Celebrity" which I grew with good luck last year in the garden. This year I have them in large containers, and these do need some support, as they will be quite laden down with heavy tomatoes! Since they only get 3-4' tall, the standard tapered tomato cages work fine for these. Just make sure you know what kind of tomatoes you have and how tall they will get. If they are "indeterminate" they will almost certainly outgrow these types of cages and you'll be left with a wrangled mess!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ol8AB6KMfmk/T6kb65lCfnI/AAAAAAAAJT4/-YiPUkmzURk/s1600/caged_peppers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="224" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ol8AB6KMfmk/T6kb65lCfnI/AAAAAAAAJT4/-YiPUkmzURk/s320/caged_peppers.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Click to enlarge!</i>
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I have found, however, that peppers and eggplants can use some level of support, especially as they get older and get heavy with peppers. Even the branches of the smaller cayenne and jalapeno can droop under the weight of a bountiful crop! And certainly eggplants need lots of support!<br />
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Since most pepper plants only seem to get 2-3' tall, these tomato cages are perfect!<br />
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<br />Rick Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00557118986977630256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3438580686151031081.post-86791139587545638512012-04-23T09:31:00.000-04:002012-04-23T09:31:28.971-04:00Egg Shells for your Garden: Use the Coffee Grinder!Tired of finding huge chunks of egg shell in your compost or garden beds, long after putting them in? If you're like me, you do your best to crush up the egg shells before throwing them in the composter, but they hold together pretty well, even after cooking in the compost tumbler for a few months!<br />
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Someone, somewhere, gave me the idea of using the coffee grinder to make "egg shell dust" and I've found this method to work very well. A food processor would probably also work fairly well, but I'm afraid the egg shells might be hard on the blades. We don't use the coffee grinder anymore since my wife started using the Keurig, so the coffee grinder is perfect!<br />
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I mixed the resulting finely ground egg shells directly into the garden as I planted my tomatoes this spring, to help combat blossem end rot. I also had tilled some bone meal into the bed during its initial preparation a few months ago.Rick Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00557118986977630256noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3438580686151031081.post-43294722923610480012012-04-23T09:19:00.001-04:002012-04-23T09:19:42.786-04:00Building up the Asparagus BedI planted asparagus crowns in an old unused raised bed a few weeks ago. This bed gets partial shade in the summer - sunlight really from mid day through evening, and doesn't get a lot of sun in the winter. while I love asparagus, I don't like plants that take up a lot of year round growing space without a lot of production, as I'm limited in space. I'm hoping that the asparagus does well here, but if it doesn't - oh well! <br />
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The bed is a little over 2 feet wide and 8 feet long. It's also 8" deep. Underneath the 8" of soil is clay and pine tree roots. Not the friendliest of environments probably. I didn't amend the soil really when I did my planting, though it's loose and filled with organic matter - a mixture of bark and dead roots from previous plantings. Not sure how rich the soil is. <br />
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I planted the crows about 6" down (I didn't want them sitting right on top of the clay base). Several of the crowns have started growing and have popped well above the soil. I need the bed to be deeper, so I spent a few dollars at Home Depot for a 12' 2x8 and an 8' 2x8, so I could make an 8" tall addition to the bed. I'd only planted asparagus in about 6' of the bed so I'm leaving the other 2' at its normal depth.<br />
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After completing the additional frame, I laid it on the bed, and carefully added more garden soil. In a few weeks, I'll probably top this off one more time with some good rich compost, in hopes that the nutrients will soak down through the layers of the bed.<br />
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Here are some pictures!<br />
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<br />Rick Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00557118986977630256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3438580686151031081.post-21678115799861472642012-04-16T13:03:00.001-04:002012-04-16T13:04:44.852-04:00Cattle Panel - Multipurpose gardening helper!Before I few weeks ago, I'd never heard of Cattle Panel. Now, I know it as an immensely cool thing to use in my garden!<br />
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To start, cattle panel is approximately 4 feet wide and 16 feet long. It is made of galvanized, heavy gauge wire - much sturdier than your average garden fencing. It's galvanized so it won't rust like concrete reinforcing wire.<br />
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It's not typically sold at Home Depot, but here in the Raleigh area, it's sold at both Tractor Supply and Agri-supply for between $20 and $25.<br />
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As for the uses, well, obviously, it's suitable for use as a arched trellis - I've already done this in my yard:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4G6jnsQ_adE/T4Gmj6YDZ0I/AAAAAAAAIyU/k5tO9e0gDn0/s1600/2012-04-08+10.12.02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4G6jnsQ_adE/T4Gmj6YDZ0I/AAAAAAAAIyU/k5tO9e0gDn0/s400/2012-04-08+10.12.02.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Cattle Panel Arch Trellis in my garden.</i></td></tr>
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Of course, it would make an excellent vertical trellis for just about any vegetable, but especially so if you're growing heavier fruits vertically, like canteloupe and those sugar baby watermelons. If my wife would let me, I'd put in a 2'x16' bed and use this as a cucumber trellis.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wnGP_2tMDqs/TWnI2b39iKI/AAAAAAAAII0/-tx2xA9vov4/s640/CIMG0122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wnGP_2tMDqs/TWnI2b39iKI/AAAAAAAAII0/-tx2xA9vov4/s320/CIMG0122.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Cucumber Trellises made from Cattle Panel</i></td></tr>
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But what I hadn't considered were its uses as building material. For example, check out <a href="http://www.ericsprojects.com/?page_id=228" target="_blank">Eric's Projects: Greenhouse made from 2x4s and Cattle Panel</a>:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ericsprojects.com/cpg/albums/userpics/10001/normal_DSC02244.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.ericsprojects.com/cpg/albums/userpics/10001/normal_DSC02244.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Greenhouse made from Cattle Panel</i></td></tr>
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This makes me wish I had a bigger yard, I want a cheap, low cost greenhouse too! Eric also built a chicken coop out of Cattle Panel.Rick Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00557118986977630256noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3438580686151031081.post-19551749997113170122012-04-15T20:47:00.000-04:002012-04-15T20:47:07.991-04:00A Weekend Out in the GardenFollowing a brief trip to the state farmer's market Saturday morning, and a few hours volunteering at the community garden, I spent most of the rest of my weekend out in the yard, planting stuff! Rather than write all about it, I'll just post some captioned pictures...<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--JP-EuwuHR0/T4swzG3YnlI/AAAAAAAAI5s/_--HduFKFwk/s1600/IMAGE_C6AC5967-8353-4B24-9EC5-109746346189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--JP-EuwuHR0/T4swzG3YnlI/AAAAAAAAI5s/_--HduFKFwk/s400/IMAGE_C6AC5967-8353-4B24-9EC5-109746346189.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Zucchini, dill, and lime basil on the left. Cucumber seeds planted below the trellis on the right, along with some empty space. Celebrity tomato in the pot.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--rTS-CMevhQ/T4sw3Dcf73I/AAAAAAAAI50/8qOStlm2jVs/s1600/IMAGE_201DE863-8405-4BA8-9A15-BD3E99363FDF.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--rTS-CMevhQ/T4sw3Dcf73I/AAAAAAAAI50/8qOStlm2jVs/s400/IMAGE_201DE863-8405-4BA8-9A15-BD3E99363FDF.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Bunching green onions, yellow onions, romaine lettuce, one cabbage plant (Early jersey), and two newly purchased "Better Bush" tomatoes.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-e43fRyXN4Hg/T4sw8bjm21I/AAAAAAAAI58/VPdEPqVnMqk/s1600/IMAGE_3A191104-BA71-4A17-A352-E3A44F30766F.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-e43fRyXN4Hg/T4sw8bjm21I/AAAAAAAAI58/VPdEPqVnMqk/s400/IMAGE_3A191104-BA71-4A17-A352-E3A44F30766F.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Peas with lots of blooms! Hope they finish up soon as I need this space!</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9buz9R7gbu4/T4sxA5iot2I/AAAAAAAAI6E/3diP_AbCVLg/s1600/IMAGE_4FBB43E7-AB1E-409C-9848-55D1503530E7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9buz9R7gbu4/T4sxA5iot2I/AAAAAAAAI6E/3diP_AbCVLg/s400/IMAGE_4FBB43E7-AB1E-409C-9848-55D1503530E7.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>On the left, small fruited ornamental gourds, parsley, some "Big Smile" sunflowers, and a Champion pumpkin. On the right, straight 8 cucumber seedlings, zucchini seedlings, and a catnip plant.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_7i-j0KsDDg/T4sxExi2MSI/AAAAAAAAI6M/C4D1x4kGCZI/s1600/IMAGE_6499D5DC-29CB-4FFE-8278-810C1603DDE9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_7i-j0KsDDg/T4sxExi2MSI/AAAAAAAAI6M/C4D1x4kGCZI/s400/IMAGE_6499D5DC-29CB-4FFE-8278-810C1603DDE9.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Added more wall here and filled it in with good compost blend garden soil. Along the front edge, I planted creeping thyme and onion chives, with a row of Zinnie's behind that. Along the right, 2 rows of Big Smile dwarf sunflowers. Might put some kind of trellis in empty space there and plant a climbing rose.</i></td></tr>
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I also built four more pickle bucket planters, two of which now contain pumpkin vines. I will probably have pumpkins in August, as I've planted them too early :)Rick Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00557118986977630256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3438580686151031081.post-33956434006287247452012-04-12T09:48:00.000-04:002012-04-12T09:48:10.423-04:00It's planting time for (some) Summer Crops!With patchy frost last night, and forecast low of 35 degrees tonight, this is "winter's last gasp" I believe. While there was frost on my car this morning, there was none on the ground. Some of the more delicate plants may have suffered damage if I hadn't covered them up though. Frost is less likely tonight, and so I will probably only cover the items that are most susceptible, like the fig tree with its leaves far from the warmth of the ground, and the potted tomatoes.<div><br />
</div><div>But then, the weather really turns to late spring and even gets a bit summer like! Take a look at the <a href="http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/Apex+NC+27502" target="_blank">10 day forecast</a> for Apex. 77 on Saturday, then 84, 87, 85, 78, 75, 78, and 77! Yes, I want my plants in the ground for that kind of warmth!</div><div><br />
</div><div>Most of my seedlings have already spent some time outdoors in the sun, so I think they are "hardened off". So I will plant all of the following items this weekend:</div><div><ul><li>tomatoes (6 varieties)</li>
<li>cucumbers</li>
<li>ornamental gourds</li>
<li>pumpkin</li>
<li>zucchini (2 varieties)</li>
<li>Purchased herb starts: Parsley, Onion Chives, Sage, and Catnip</li>
</ul><div>I will NOT be planting my peppers yet, as they like warmer soil. Plus my pepper seedlings are still kind of weak following their transplant from the peat pellets to the 3.5" peat pots. They need a couple of weeks to recover! Quite honestly, I'm concerned for their health. They just don't look as good as they did last year.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Yesterday, I added three 50 pound bags of Black Kow (composted cow manure) to my tomato beds. I'm also going to pick up a truckload of compost on my way home today and mix it into the tomato bed and the place where my cukes and zukes will be planted, and various other locations (such as next to the arch trellis I built last weekend.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I may also make a new 2'x16' raised bed along the back of my yard for climbing vegetables, and get another piece of cattle panel to use as the trellis. Have to get Adrienne's permission for that!</div><div><br />
</div><div>And finally, it's another Saturday work day at the Simple Gifts Community Garden in Apex.</div><ol><li><br />
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</ol></div>Rick Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00557118986977630256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3438580686151031081.post-48710636119337403922012-04-09T10:38:00.000-04:002012-04-09T10:38:46.625-04:00Volunteering at the Simple Gifts Community Garden in ApexSaturday morning I went up to the <a href="http://simplegiftsgarden.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Simple Gifts Community Garden</a> in Apex to volunteer. I arrived right at the same time as Sandra, who was the scheduled "attendant" for the day. Sandra kindly gave me a tour of the garden. It was a very nice, large layout consisting of numerous raised rows, all protected by nice tall deer fencing. The garden itself was probably bigger than my entire yard! They were plumbed into the pond on the property for drip irrigation, and the crops in place were looking pretty good.<br />
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I want to say about 10-12 people showed up to do various items from the list. I helped put up a couple of pea trellises, weeded a row of peas that needed weeding, and helped amend, turn, and widen an empty row to make it ready for an upcoming planting.<br />
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I met some nice people and enjoyed getting a little dirty and spending some time out in the garden. My own garden isn't quite big enough to really require significant amounts of work, so I can get my fix this way! <br />
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It was an enjoyable experience, and I'll be heading back on a regular basis!<br />
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Here are a few pictures:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZxIeH59SnFs/T4Lz-HSqRcI/AAAAAAAAIzg/TzOzJLxZkFM/s1600/2012-04-07+11.36.24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZxIeH59SnFs/T4Lz-HSqRcI/AAAAAAAAIzg/TzOzJLxZkFM/s400/2012-04-07+11.36.24.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Nice looking garlic!</i></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GnQu7z8HFSk/T4Lz-OqddwI/AAAAAAAAIzg/_023qlfUb1Q/s1600/2012-04-07+11.31.19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GnQu7z8HFSk/T4Lz-OqddwI/AAAAAAAAIzg/_023qlfUb1Q/s400/2012-04-07+11.31.19.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Two rows, ready for something! Newly widened and amended with compost.</i></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BnHELQBn9_Y/T4Lz-FS83rI/AAAAAAAAIzg/zvckQEMV0HY/s1600/2012-04-07+11.36.11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BnHELQBn9_Y/T4Lz-FS83rI/AAAAAAAAIzg/zvckQEMV0HY/s400/2012-04-07+11.36.11.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The row of strawberries really looks fantastic!</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Rick Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00557118986977630256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3438580686151031081.post-77384178508469471062012-04-06T10:51:00.002-04:002012-04-06T11:07:24.979-04:00Community Gardens Share Nature's BountyThe "Southwest Wake News" shows up on our doorstep twice a week, whether we we want it or not. We're not newspaper subscribers, though I do tend to at least glance at the front page of this one as it usually has articles pertaining to Apex, Cary, Holly Springs, and Fuquay-Varina.<br />
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In this case, the big front page story was an article about a new community garden at the Kraft Family YMCA, and how community gardens share fresh produce - year round - with local food pantries.<br />
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Here is an excerpt (or <a href="http://www.carynews.com/2012/04/03/55488/gardens-share-natures-bounty.html" target="_blank">read the full article</a>)<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq"><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i>When food charities call for help, donors head to the supermarket for boxes of pasta, jars of peanut butter and cans of soup and vegetables. Yet admirable and essential as these efforts are, few would choose to live solely on this nonperishable bounty.</i></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i>The freshest, tastiest and most nutritious produce is often the hardest for local pantries to provide because of expense and inconvenience. For example, the Holly Springs Food Cupboard has few consistent sources of fresh produce.</i></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i>That’s where community gardens step in, where even a not-so-green thumb can lend a helping hand. Shared plots have proliferated across the Triangle in the last decade, and almost all send crops to local charities.</i></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i>For example, the recently laid community plot at the Kraft Family YMCA will soon send seasonal bounty to the Holly Springs pantry, and downtown Cary’s Pocket Community Garden donates hundreds of pounds of produce each year to the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle.</i> </blockquote></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><blockquote class="tr_bq"><a href="http://www.carynews.com/2012/04/03/55488/gardens-share-natures-bounty.html" target="_blank">Read the full article at carynews.com ...</a> </blockquote></blockquote>There is a food pantry in Apex - the <a href="http://www.wwcm.org/">Western Wake Crisis Ministry</a> - perhaps I'll look at donating some of my surplus to them.<br />
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Of course, if you're going to donate produce to a food pantry, you should make sure you're growing food that people want. Hot Peppers don't have the greatest appeal, but tomatoes, squash, greens, beans, squash and other such veggies would be popular choices.<br />
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I'd love to start a community garden in Apex. I wonder....<br />
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<b>UPDATE:</b> There is a community garden in Apex, the <a href="http://simplegiftsgarden.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Simple Gifts Community Garden</a>, operated by the Apex United Methodist Church. We are former members of this church (we transfered some years ago to Fuquay-Varina United Methodist Church). I will check them out on some upcoming work day!Rick Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00557118986977630256noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3438580686151031081.post-61215897628253984472012-04-06T08:02:00.000-04:002012-04-06T08:02:01.767-04:00Cauliflower Buckets - Amazing!So some of you know that I have made these self-watering planters out of green Chic-Fil-A pickle buckets (<a href="http://www.ricksroots.com/2011/04/how-to-make-cheap-self-watering-bucket.html">howto</a>). This spring, I decided to use them for some cauliflower plants that I purchased as seedlings from the farmer's market. I planted three of them in the buckets and one in the garden. I didn't take a picture of the one in the garden, but trust me, the ones in the buckets are at least 3 times the size of the one in the garden. There are a variety of reasons for this. Although my garden soil is fairly rich - amended with fresh compost a few months ago, the buckets are filled with Miracle Gro Moisture Control Potting Mix. Also, the buckets are in a location in the front of the house that gets probably 20% more sun than the garden does.<br />
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Anyway, I took some pictures of the buckets on March 20th and posted them to my Spring Garden Photo Update block entry on that day. I took another picture yesterday, April 5th - so we're talking about 16 days. Here are those pictures:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5CCTyhJt5_8/T2iX1g6PxoI/AAAAAAAAIU8/H3_mD-RrF_o/s1600/12+10%253A44%253A20+AM" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5CCTyhJt5_8/T2iX1g6PxoI/AAAAAAAAIU8/H3_mD-RrF_o/s640/12+10%253A44%253A20+AM" width="476" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b>Cauliflower Buckets - March 20, 2012</b></i></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Pj1LHuHHrt4/T34NUZO39dI/AAAAAAAAIvc/rElPXoxbqBA/s1600/2012-04-05+17.20.28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Pj1LHuHHrt4/T34NUZO39dI/AAAAAAAAIvc/rElPXoxbqBA/s400/2012-04-05+17.20.28.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b>Cauliflower Buckets - April 5, 2012</b></i> </td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
I think we can all agree that these plants are doing extremely well!!.<br />
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I am having my friends at the local Chic-Fil-A save me some more buckets!Rick Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00557118986977630256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3438580686151031081.post-4590654099408520282012-04-05T09:18:00.000-04:002012-04-05T09:18:36.326-04:00Seed Starting Notes for Next SeasonSo, I started a LOT of seeds this year, with some success and some failures. I might as well start with the failures.<br />
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Attempting to start foxgloves and creeping thyme from seed was extraordinarily unsatisfying. They grew very very slowly, and I think I had some trouble with moisure levels and the seedlings suffered for it. I ended up composting all of them. I bought some thyme starts at the farmers market. I had very similar problems with most of the small, slow growing herbs that I started, and like the others, these also all ended up getting composted. I simply don't have the patience for things that don't pop up fairly sturdy from the beginning. I'll stick to buying herbs at the farmers market when I need them.<br />
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Onto the success stories. As always, I found the tomatoes and peppers and basil fairly easy to start and not too troublesome. I started the peppers in jiffy peat pellets and recently transplanted them to 4" pots. Germination rates varied from 40% to 100%. Two varieties were the poorest germinators - the Asian Sweet Peppers that I got from one of Adrienne's co-workers (specific variety unknown!) and the NuMex Vaquero - a jalapeno variety from the New Mexico Chili Pepper Institute.<br />
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I did have a little problem with some of the peppers where they are yellowing a bit. I think this might be due to a lack of some nutrient either from over watering or not transplanting into actual soil soon enough. I might use regular seed starting mix next year instead of peat pellets.<br />
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The tomatoes are growing fabulously. I purchased one of the large Jiffy "tomato starting kits" which has larger peat pellets suitable for the fast growing tomatoes. I also started the basil in these, even though they are slower growing. The only variety that didn't germinate as well was the Amish Paste. I ended up planting a couple more seeds in the pellets that didn't germinate and they finally came up.<br />
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For the final seeds that I started a few weeks ago, I decided to use the more standard cell packs with seed starting mix instead of the peat pellets. This has worked out incredibly well, though the seeds I started are typically fast growers - zucchini, cucumber, sunflowers, morning glories, cardinal climbers, ornamental gourds, and pumpkins. The pumpkins are actually in 4" pots rather than the cell packs because they do start out pretty fast and pretty big. They would outgrow the 72 cell packs far too fast!<br />
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the cell pack method worked really well and might actually be a better choice for me in the future than the peat pellets. I will probably do all my seeds next year in the cell packs.<br />
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All that being said, here are some pictures!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g4RPHMprR3Q/T3yDHRDKiTI/AAAAAAAAIr8/n2B--wRHGoI/s1600/2012-04-04+13.18.13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g4RPHMprR3Q/T3yDHRDKiTI/AAAAAAAAIr8/n2B--wRHGoI/s400/2012-04-04+13.18.13.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Transplanted Pepper Seedlings</i></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ctao-MMVYus/T3yDRfQ-miI/AAAAAAAAIsE/WYzMe-tcTXU/s1600/2012-04-04+13.19.25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ctao-MMVYus/T3yDRfQ-miI/AAAAAAAAIsE/WYzMe-tcTXU/s400/2012-04-04+13.19.25.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Yellowing of leaves on pepper seedlings.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ljjNkbhZoDI/T3yDXphPkqI/AAAAAAAAIsU/DaggB0oCrdQ/s1600/2012-04-04+13.20.05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ljjNkbhZoDI/T3yDXphPkqI/AAAAAAAAIsU/DaggB0oCrdQ/s400/2012-04-04+13.20.05.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Sunflowers, Ornamental Gourds, Zucchini, Cucumbers, Cardinal Climbers, and Morning Glories</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wiP10lG_RbY/T32WRG3MnGI/AAAAAAAAIuA/T50kGaX6Bmc/s1600/2012-04-05+08.54.18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wiP10lG_RbY/T32WRG3MnGI/AAAAAAAAIuA/T50kGaX6Bmc/s400/2012-04-05+08.54.18.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Champion Pumpkins (planted only 7 days ago!)</i></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-q99qSHTnIK8/T32ZbJDOVeI/AAAAAAAAIug/n9sZG88REp4/s1600/2012-04-05+09.08.06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-q99qSHTnIK8/T32ZbJDOVeI/AAAAAAAAIug/n9sZG88REp4/s400/2012-04-05+09.08.06.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Tomatoes and Basil</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Rick Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00557118986977630256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3438580686151031081.post-47411786678498916432012-03-20T11:16:00.000-04:002012-03-20T11:16:04.610-04:00Spring Gardening Photo Update<b>Ebbings Silverberry (Elaeagnus)<br />
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<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-uncPZSuUvpE/T2iYrXmH-xI/AAAAAAAAIVc/1SZ3uAi1Ur4/s835/12+10%3A47%3A52+AM" target="_blank"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-uncPZSuUvpE/T2iYrXmH-xI/AAAAAAAAIVc/1SZ3uAi1Ur4/s835/12+10%3A47%3A52+AM" width="450" /></a></b><br />
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<b><b>Hanging Strawberry Basket<br />
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<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-X7-yGH03dhw/T2iYZIiHPDI/AAAAAAAAIVU/77ElfHBemjE/s705/12+10%3A46%3A41+AM" target="_blank"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-X7-yGH03dhw/T2iYZIiHPDI/AAAAAAAAIVU/77ElfHBemjE/s705/12+10%3A46%3A41+AM" width="450" /></a></b></b><br />
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<b>Early Girl Bush Tomatoes in 7 gallon pots<br />
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<a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-3QxxFiSG1WI/T2iYOvV9ieI/AAAAAAAAIVM/kUjeX6KUYnQ/s835/12+10%3A46%3A03+AM" target="_blank"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-3QxxFiSG1WI/T2iYOvV9ieI/AAAAAAAAIVM/kUjeX6KUYnQ/s835/12+10%3A46%3A03+AM" width="450" /></a></b><br />
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<b>Bulbs Arising!<br />
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<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-sJRQN_CDAC0/T2iYDEbKBDI/AAAAAAAAIVE/rHm4zD1hRh8/s835/12+10%3A45%3A15+AM" target="_blank"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-sJRQN_CDAC0/T2iYDEbKBDI/AAAAAAAAIVE/rHm4zD1hRh8/s835/12+10%3A45%3A15+AM" width="450" /></a></b><br />
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<b>Strawberry Patch and Cauliflower Buckets<br />
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<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-5CCTyhJt5_8/T2iX1g6PxoI/AAAAAAAAIU8/H3_mD-RrF_o/s705/12+10%3A44%3A20+AM" target="_blank"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-5CCTyhJt5_8/T2iX1g6PxoI/AAAAAAAAIU8/H3_mD-RrF_o/s705/12+10%3A44%3A20+AM" width="450" /></a></b><br />
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<b>New Bird Bath<br />
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<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-1o0Okh-Kxzo/T2iXpo5b77I/AAAAAAAAIUw/VTj_C3KY_Ls/s835/12+10%3A43%3A32+AM" target="_blank"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-1o0Okh-Kxzo/T2iXpo5b77I/AAAAAAAAIUw/VTj_C3KY_Ls/s835/12+10%3A43%3A32+AM" width="450" /></a></b><br />
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<b>New Tomato Trellis (not fully installed!)<br />
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<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-y5wXGj9ZLqY/T2iXaVHtIkI/AAAAAAAAIUo/tr-zoex5Hww/s835/12+10%3A42%3A39+AM" target="_blank"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-y5wXGj9ZLqY/T2iXaVHtIkI/AAAAAAAAIUo/tr-zoex5Hww/s835/12+10%3A42%3A39+AM" width="450" /></a></b><br />
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<b>The light green grass here is a variety of annual bluegrass. It will be dead by mid summer and my lawn will look like crap again.<br />
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<a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-UCOh683d4Jo/T2iXS2sUPpI/AAAAAAAAIUg/Xu-orPDA0Zc/s835/12+10%3A42%3A05+AM" target="_blank"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-UCOh683d4Jo/T2iXS2sUPpI/AAAAAAAAIUg/Xu-orPDA0Zc/s835/12+10%3A42%3A05+AM" width="450" /></a></b><br />
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<b>Starting with bottom left and going clockwise: Cabbage starts, dill, garlic chives, oregano, broccoli starts, peas, Rosemary, and Cilantro in the middle. The rosemary and oregano are left from last year, both completely cold hardy. The cilantro started to come back in late January.<br />
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<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-5fClN48IJqs/T2iXGnHMTKI/AAAAAAAAIUY/VK3ZEDBzxIk/s705/12+10%3A41%3A18+AM" target="_blank"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-5fClN48IJqs/T2iXGnHMTKI/AAAAAAAAIUY/VK3ZEDBzxIk/s705/12+10%3A41%3A18+AM" width="450" /></a></b><br />
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<b>Sweet Peas planted in late January looking good!<br />
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<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-I6U2bIorVaM/T2iW3LRuorI/AAAAAAAAIUQ/HrE2is4ZwZA/s705/12+10%3A40%3A13+AM" target="_blank"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-I6U2bIorVaM/T2iW3LRuorI/AAAAAAAAIUQ/HrE2is4ZwZA/s705/12+10%3A40%3A13+AM" width="450" /></a></b><br />
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<b>Spinach, Romaine Lettuce, Garlic Chives, bunching green onions (and bottom left is yellow onions). The garlic chives are cold hardy and left from last year.<br />
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<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-O0bkYaE9E3I/T2iWnWF4a9I/AAAAAAAAIUE/WCsytNwNo2w/s705/12+10%3A39%3A14+AM" target="_blank"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-O0bkYaE9E3I/T2iWnWF4a9I/AAAAAAAAIUE/WCsytNwNo2w/s705/12+10%3A39%3A14+AM" width="450" /></a></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b>Rick Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00557118986977630256noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3438580686151031081.post-4133913834816636502012-03-12T11:13:00.000-04:002012-03-12T11:13:22.544-04:00Spring is in the AirSo, I haven't blogged recently because I've had relatively little to report. My seedling process is going fairly well, although the creeping thyme and foxgloves are going VERY slowly. I got my peppers and eggplant started about 2 weeks ago, and last Thursday, I started a tray of various herbs. The foxgloves and creeping thyme are in a sunny window now while the other two are still here at my desk under the lights.<br />
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I did buy a couple of seedlings at the Farmers market this weekend - I planted three "Early Jersey" cauliflower, three "Packman" broccoli, and four cabbage whose variety I don't remember off the top of my head. The cauliflower is actually planted in my self watering bucket planters, while the cabbage and broccoli is in one of the raised beds.<br />
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I also found what I think might be fire ants in one of my gardens. Going to have to figure out how to deal with them without using nasty stuff like Amdro.<br />
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My daughter helped me plant a strawberry patch as well. The farmer's market didn't have strawberry plants due to renovations limited the number of vendors there, so I ended up getting 8 plants at Home Depot. I picked them clean of flowers and fruits and we put them in the ground and mulched them. I'm gladd too, because the weather is looking gorgeous this week! Sunny and 72 is the coldest day in the 10 day forecast, the strawberries should love that!<br />
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The lettuce and spinach is coming along nicely, as well as the onions and garden peas. No sign of the carrots yet. I'm starting to wonder.<br />
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Friday I am scheduled to get my tomatoes, basil, and pole beans started.Rick Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00557118986977630256noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3438580686151031081.post-81659957907865611322012-02-06T08:15:00.000-05:002012-02-06T08:15:00.999-05:00Weekend LandscapingIt was a somewhat miserable, cold and clammy weekend, but that wasn't going to stop me from getting more yard work done. I got up early and headed up to American Soil & Mulch to order 10 yards of triple shredded pine bark mulch delivered, and also filled up the truck with a yard of compost blend garden soil. They were slow so the delivery truck followed me home.<br />
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I started up the rototiller and tilled up the clay in the front corner of the wild area, where the figs and camelia used to be. I had already removed most of the legitimate soil from this area, and mounded it elsewhere. After I tilled the clay, I emptied the entire cubic yard of compost blend soil, spread it out and tilled this in, making for a nice mix to plant stuff in. I also mounded it up away from the sidewalk and driveway. I also decided to use my leftover landscaping blocks to build a nice little wall - the very front corner of the wild area would make a very suitable location for our succulent garden. So I removed pretty much all of the soil here, dug down into the clay and removed some of that, then Adrienne and I filled it in with a mixture of black soil, sand and gravel. We mounded it up nicely for drainage then Adrienne planted all of her succulents. We finished it off by mulching it with pea gravel. <br />
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Here's a picture of the finished area, including a Black Cherry Tree that we planted (which you can probably barely see because it's small and has no leaves or anything yet).<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mBSe21KTROw/Ty6dyHDCCjI/AAAAAAAAIG8/6oUo3PD8XUM/s1600/2012-02-05+10.07.50.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mBSe21KTROw/Ty6dyHDCCjI/AAAAAAAAIG8/6oUo3PD8XUM/s400/2012-02-05+10.07.50.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Succulent garden and newly planted Black Cherry tree.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>You can also see a partially finished raised garden bed that my daughter insisted on for strawberries. I don't know how well this location will work for strawberries but we'll see. The soil should be well drained and rich especially after we build it up a little more. I just need to get some more 6x6 lumber to finish squaring off the bed, which will be about 4'x4'.<br />
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The other thing worth mentioning is that I used some extra 8 foot 6x6 lumber to square off the garden bed in the wild area - sort of like a retaining wall. In this area I also planted a "Black Mission Fig" which I picked up at Home Depot yesterday for $20 - they are hardy to Zone 8A and we're in 7B so it may not last! I also replanted another one of the knockout roses here, and Adrienne wants to put a bird bath in the middle.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YwnCtN_ca1M/Ty6dqi4NIDI/AAAAAAAAIG0/aZJHl97-REQ/s1600/2012-02-05+10.08.36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YwnCtN_ca1M/Ty6dqi4NIDI/AAAAAAAAIG0/aZJHl97-REQ/s400/2012-02-05+10.08.36.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
I also did a LOT more mulching and some weeding. Didn't really do anything in my "gardens" proper, but I figured that was enough for one weekend.Rick Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00557118986977630256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3438580686151031081.post-54811518853855331322012-02-03T09:38:00.000-05:002012-02-03T09:38:43.981-05:00Seed Starting Schedule - Start Planning Now!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4piGR3I_wvA/TyvxN5Un2HI/AAAAAAAAIE8/hPNRloTcCn4/s1600/seedlings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4piGR3I_wvA/TyvxN5Un2HI/AAAAAAAAIE8/hPNRloTcCn4/s1600/seedlings.jpg" /></a></div>If you're planning to start any or all of your gardening items from seed this year, now is the time to start planning your planting schedule! In fact, depending on your location, you might be behind the ball already.<br />
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Johnny's Selected Seeds has a really nice seed starting calculator to get you started. You simply enter the date of your last frost, and it gives you indoor seed starting dates and outdoor planting dates for transplant.<br />
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<a href="http://www.johnnyseeds.com/e-PDGSeedStart.aspx??source=HomeSeedCalc0112" target="_blank"><b>Johnny's Seed Starting Calculator</b></a> <br />
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I created an Excel spreadsheet containing all the things I would be planting, along with the first seed starting date and the first "set out" date that the seed calculator gives me. Then, Some seeds that I have were not listed (some of the herbs, for example) so I had to do a little extra research. I then made a few adjustments to the schedule so I was planting certain things at the same time, and I've scheduled almost everything for a transplant date of April 27, which is one week after my last frost. This allows me to set things out early if I need to (if they are getting too large for their starting container). It's okay to set out transplants early as long as you keep them protected from the possible cold.<br />
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Ultimately, I came up with the following schedule:<br />
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<ul><li>LAST WEEK - plant Thyme and Foxglove. I'm a little behind on the Foxglove, I will plant that Monday probably.</li>
<li>February 24 - Plant eggplant and peppers. These items will not be planted outdoors until May 4th, and this will give them 10 weeks to get established. I will start them in small peat pellets, and transplant them into 4" pots after about 6 weeks probably.</li>
<li>March 2 - HERB DAY! I will start Parsley, Mexican Mint Marigold, Catnip, Oregano, Chives, Cilantro, and Dill.</li>
<li>March 16 - Tomato, Basil, and Pole Beans</li>
<li>March 30 - Cucumber, Pumpkin, and Zucchini, along with my two flowering vines, Morning Glory and Cardinal Climber.</li>
</ul><div>I've already direct sown my lettuce, spinach, green onions, and yellow onions under a cold frame in one of my raised beds, and my peas have already been sown in another raised bed. I will also probably direct-sow my carrots sometime in late February (NC State says I can plant them from February 15-March 1).</div><div><br />
</div><div>So, aside from getting my Foxgloves started ASAP, I have four big planting dates - February 24, March 2, March 16, and March 30.</div>Rick Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00557118986977630256noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3438580686151031081.post-72131504404479630722012-01-31T15:54:00.000-05:002012-01-31T15:54:18.519-05:00Additional Seeds Ordered<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.johnnyseeds.com/images/Product/medium/3817G.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.johnnyseeds.com/images/Product/medium/3817G.jpg" width="305" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Amish Paste Tomato</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>I was looking at my tomato varieties and I noticed that the Juliet and Olivade tomatoes, which I purchased for "sauce making" are rather small. In fact, the Juliet's are "grape" tomatoes weighing at only about 1oz each. The Olivade apparently are 3-4oz each, which should be more tolerable for making sauce. I may or may not grow the Juliet variety, as I've already got "Sun Gold" for my small tomatoes. I have purchased a packet of "Amish Paste" heirloom tomato, which are supposed to be 8-12oz each and very meaty. I could make a batch of sauce with only 4-5 of these! The less peeling I have to do, the better!<br />
<br />
In addition to the new tomatoes, I also ordered packets of the following:<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul><li>Mexican Mint Marigold - an herb that can be substituted for French Tarragon, but I'm planting it for its insect repellant properties. It allegedly repels aphids. And it's pretty!</li>
<li>Big Smile Dwarf Sunflower - Adrienne doesn't like sunflowers. I don't care. These are short (12-24") so they shouldn't be too obnoxious.</li>
<li>Champion Pumpkin - large pumpkins. I may not have space to grow this but I'm gonna try!!</li>
<li>Morning Glory - Flying Saucers Mix - a vigorous vine to clime up on my bench.</li>
<li>Cardinal Climber - another vigorous vine for the bench.</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div>Rick Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00557118986977630256noreply@blogger.com0