New England June 2014

\"NHGardener wrote:About the rain, I remember a gardening class once where they told us the garden needs 1" of water a week. I don't have a guage, but it helps to remember that a couple of sprinkles do not make an inch. I probably do need to water today.

I transplanted the vines day before yesterday. So far, so good. There were already some growing out there from my last transplant batch, and they look healthy. Pretty soon will be time to throw a tunnel over them. Don't let us forget when the time rolls around! Don't want to deal with the SVB this year...

yeah, I heard about the 1 inch a week thing, too. My s f g gets a lot more than that twice a week. It's so dry here! But I haven't been watering anything except the veggies and the fruit trees. So I'm hoping that little bit of rain may have been helpful for something because it seems like everything is drooping around here despite being covered with wood chips.

About svb, I'm thinning my squash tomorrow night and covering with tulle. I'll bungee it down on to the pots and hand pollinate once the flowers appear. I'm not taking any chances with timing. I noticed in last July's new england thread that I had posted a photo of the svb around july third or so even though gdd says mid to end of July for me.  I've had it with that critter, and all I want to do is be able to grow enough zucchini that I need to sneak the excess through car windows when no one's looking, as marc put it in another thread. Lol

Oh, I got pea flowers today! I also had to cut out some garlic scapes as well as some flower bud stems on the shallots.  Had a yummy smelly bologna sandwich for lunch!

Guess that's it for our first time in the 70's at my house!  
CC

Given how crooked a couple of those trellis poles are, maybe she drank them already!  

I was thinking that, but am way too polite to say it.

it seems like everything is drooping around here despite being covered with wood chips.

I'm seeing that too. I'm thinking it takes a while for the woodchips to "become one" with the soil enough to keep everything moist.

Wow, CC--I just saw my first pea flowers today, too!  Does that mean I'm caught up to you or are your peas late?

NHGardener wrote:I didn't go to Agway for peppers today, but I did go to Blue Seal, which is closer. "We had LOTS of bell pepper plants earlier this week..."

UGH. Peppers are conspiring against me. I may have to make do with the few measley plants I have out there.

they will catch up, no doubt!

NHGardener wrote:I don't see ANY cocktails in those photos.

lol, yeah, they didn't last long.

If I had to do that much weaving (I cheat and use store bought trellises), I would need a cocktail!   

mollyhespra wrote:Wow, CC--I just saw my first pea flowers today, too!  Does that mean I'm caught up to you or are your peas late?

I'm behind. This time last year I was eating peas and strawberries and harvesting oodles of greens. Should catch up in a week or so.

I'd like to learn how to weave a trellis. Camp, how did you learn to do that? are the instructions online somewhere or do you have a book that you recommend?

Off to build a box for more beans this morning and hopefully weave a trellis for them since I don't have any more left.

CC

sanderson wrote:If I had to do that much weaving (I cheat and use store bought trellises), I would need a cocktail!   

It took about half an hour to do both this trellis webs, not long at all.

CC, I'll see about making a tutorial w/pics. No one taught me how to do it. I saw one in another garden years ago and I figured it out from there.

Nice trellises Camprn. I like the idea of cocktail hour in the garden, will have to try that. 

Another beautiful morning in New England. Picked some more strawberries this morning. It seems they need picking twice a day. We're getting a couple dozen a day, but we eat them as fast as we pick them. Was hoping to get enough to make my jam with but looks like I may have to go to the pick your own strawberry farm.

Got to get those black turtle beans seeded, but I decided I need to rebuild that bed first. Got my work cut out for me today for sure! 

Have a couple cabbage plants that look like this. Cabbage worms did a number on the centers of them. Will they form a cabbage or should I just pull them out? First time growing cabbage so not sure what to expect. 

PEPPERS!!

While at the grocery store this morning, I popped to the hardware store next door, and voila, in their small garden section outside, 6 paks for $2.99 each. I got one 6-pak California Wonder (green bell) and one "Red". That's all it said, red. Ha.

So 12 healthy looking pepper plants, let's see what happens.

CapeCoddess wrote:

yeah, I heard about the 1 inch a week thing, too. My s f g gets a lot more than that twice a week. It's so dry here!

I must be like a desert then!

RJARPCGP wrote:

CapeCoddess wrote:

yeah, I heard about the 1 inch a week thing, too.  My s f g gets a lot more than that twice a week. It's so dry here!

I must be like a desert then!

Yeah, the lawns are brown, the perennials are droopy, and everything is dusty and loaded with pollen. the lake across the road is lower than it's ever been this time of year. Right now I'm actually letting the hose drizzle its icey cold city water on each tomato plant outside the SFG for 10 minutes. I have a timer set sitting next to me so I know when to go out and switch to the next plant. I need to get a hose filter. Not much I can do about that cold water but at least I can filter out chlorine.

whoops, there goes the timer. Gotta go switch...

I agree, CC! It's been dry. You wouldn't think so because it seems like we had a lot of cold, dreary weather, but I don't think it rained very much. Today I watered the garden, which in spring, you really wouldn't think you'd have to do so often... As the garden gets bigger, it's getting pretty cumbersome to get to everything. I had to drag the hose thru the onion plants today.

I planted dried beans today. There was a 1 lb. bag of mixed dried beans at the farmer's market this winter. I kept buying those, but I kept using them in soups! I forgot to save some to plant in the garden, so today I ran to a local place where I had seen this farmer's beans, and I bought a 1 lb. bag, and voila, they are in the garden (some of them). You plant those 2" apart, but by the end, I was kind of grab-bagging them all over the place, which probably means I'll have to do major thinning, but I wasn't sure how well they'd grow. I believe they're bush beans for the most part, and not pole.

Anyone planting dried beans? This is my first attempt. If it works, it would be fun (and nutritious) to have dried beans thru the winter for soups.

I am growing pinto bean but am not sure if I am going to pick them fresh or let them dry.  Last year I did black turtle beans.  But I am in the south with a long growing season.

That's really cool, NHG. I think we talked about planting mixed beans on the forum last year. Don't know if it was in the New England thread or another one. But someone said it could be done. Keep us posted on how it goes. I wish you'd get a camera going. I'd join you doing this because I built 2 new boxes today but I don't have anything to fill them with unless I use unfinished compost. Do you think the beans would grow in unfinished compost? are you going to trellis them or just hope that they are bush beans?

Which leads me to another problem. I need to cover the potatoes again but I don't have any more wood chips. Do y'all think it would be okay to use some bagged leaves from last year? Or should I use unfinished compost? Which would be better?

CC

CapeCoddess wrote:

Yeah, the lawns are brown, the perennials are droopy

During August last year, my hibiscus plant kept drooping! I had to keep watering my hibiscus plant. I was wondering if it was because of there not being enough root growth.

I had to keep pouring water right at the base.

CC - Can you get a bale of hay/straw for the potatoes? I think I'd use that before I used unfinished compost. Altho I think the leaves would be a good idea.

Yeah, I need to get a camera going. I still can't find that cord. Believe it or not, I just never get to the store (except for food and of course plants ) It's half an hour to anywhere and it always seems like I have something else to do.

I have a trellis along the row where I planted the beans, not realizing they were probably all bush beans. I looked up Vermont Bean Company or something like that and read the descriptions, they would say: grows 24", etc., and plant 2"-4" apart, so I think that pretty well rules out pole beans.

Hmm. Fill for a new box is a major undertaking! And so important.

Ditto on the straw CC. Unfinished compost may promote scab on the tubers.

You know what's really fun? Looking back on last year's threads to see photos of how our gardens were doing compared to this year.

I am putting a camera HIGH on my priority list.

Unrelated to this thread, but camprn, my Russian hive swarmed, right after I split them on Saturday. What a bummer and a half. Good news for them, bad news for me.

Hooray, I'm done transplanting and sowing seeds.  Finished all the pots today and added a spot for little Alibi cukes (they grow 2" for gherkins) and replaced a pepper that was eaten but with another yellow one, a Mini-yellow for the Mohawk.  The peas are growing by leaps and bounds but not pods yet.

I have several tiny tomato seedlings outdoors hardening along with some parsley, a couple peppers and some flowers.  If I can find a space for them anywhere, in they'll go but I've pretty much used all spaces today.

Now it'll be a matter of watering and weeding as needed.  My body thanks me.  I was so tired of aching every nite before bedtime.

Harvested more asparagus and Cherry Belle radishes.  The rads will help make my tomato and radish salad tonite.  I don't know why, but I love the combination of the two.  I don't have my own tomatoes yet, but lots of buds popping up here and there on different plants.

Enjoy your gardens everyone.

NHGardener wrote:You know what's really fun? Looking back on last year's threads to see photos of how our gardens were doing compared to this year.

I am putting a camera HIGH on my priority list.

Unrelated to this thread, but camprn, my Russian hive swarmed, right after I split them on Saturday. What a bummer and a half. Good news for them, bad news for me.

well..crap! Do you know where they went? Were there any swarm signs you noticedwhen you split?

I just use the camera on my phone these days.

Yeah, I still use an old Tracfone but I CAN use the daughter's iTouch camera. I'll try that.

I saw queen cups on Sat. when I split (Russians) but I thought they were "just in case". Guess not. I watched them (they swarmed today) move from 100' up the pine tree, cloud over me, then over the trees, then over my neighbor's trees, like so many dollar bills flitting in the air... I did drive around, but that's like trying to find a needle in a haystack. I hope they're cozy somewhere, or that a beekeeper catches them.

Good for you, QB, finishing your planting!

By the way, one more story, I was spreading woodchip mulch on the onion bed today when I saw a COYOTE in the driveway (eyeing the chickens). I yelled and moved, and it could care less. I ran and got the dog, and it was still unimpressed but did leave.

Love all these posts and pictures!
Coming along nicely here in Northern Michigan !
Harvested rhubarb for my dump cake and my sweet tooth husband loved it!

CHIPMUNKS!!!

(I'll post a picture in a minute of the destruction.  I just had to vent...)