Re: PNW: May 2013

Nonna.PapaVino 5/27/2013, 1:59 am

Rose and Debs, Our thoughts and prayers are with you. Nonna and PapaVino

**gwennifer** 5/27/2013, 3:15 am

Okay I finally had time to catch up and read everything thoroughly.

boffer I sure am enjoying your participation in the forum - so nice to have you back. I appreciate your thoughts on the small gardens vs. the larger ones - how with the smaller samples it may be hard to figure out what's normal. I certainly plant small quantities (three broccoli's, two tomatoes, etc.). I did have one pea plant that grew all yellow - looked like an albino plant. That was odd, all surrounded by healthy green ones.

As far as corn goes, the one year I planted a corn patch I started the corn indoors first and planted out healthy six inch tall sprouts. It was beautiful. Then I watched from the kitchen window as a squirrel dug one up and scored the corn kernel at the bottom of the plant. I ran out and chased it off but quickly realized it was futile. Within two hours the whole patch had been dug up.

Rose, what a journey you are on. My heart and prayers go out to you and your family as you work on getting your little guy healthy.

Eight years for Round-up affected soils to heal? How come the weeds come back in just a few weeks then? *sigh* What a mess. Have to remind myself that we all are doing the best we can with the information that we have. Lots of positive progress has been made through the decades too.

My youngest (2 1/2), with his eczema and apparent dairy allergy has me on a journey of re-learning how to feed my family and grow/buy/prepare whole, unprocessed foods. Some things are easy but my latest goal is to eliminate sugar (other than from fruit) and that's so overwhelming.

LittleGardener 5/27/2013, 3:55 am

Goosegirl wrote:
LittleGardener wrote:
gwennifer wrote:
Love it when Mother Nature does the watering for me. Seems like this is good weather for the cold weather crops.. How are everyone's lettuces and spinach doing?
Good idea having this Temp chart here. Thanks!
(tho not all of us even have lettuce+spinach going.) Should I post in here, or
is a new thread "Share gardening-adventures" better?
See, family said "Let's build a Green-house & you(little me) do it.
We'll give you the plans; wait til March" (March+April now past), I said to heck with that, I wanna garden...so at our favorite farm-stand plants were crying to be adopted, which (sans a garden-spot no less) I did:
on kitchen-counter, sink, windowsills, by the french-doors, on the porch, where ever, are now still in their pots:
3 Pole-beans (I wanted Bush beans, instead)
3 butternut squash
6 Broccoli
3 (long/English) cucumbers
2 curly parsley
3 cherry tomatoes (2 Heirloom: SugarLump +YellowPear, & 1 SweetMillion)
3 (personal-size) Watermelons
-------------------------------------aside the above 23,
also 23 Flowering plants most already planted.
Soo, now to get them (out in the cold) happily planted. A wonderful 'artistic' lady at Lowe's helped me find the parts, to inexpensively get this project started. - Boffer said in the 2000sq.ft. thread "$4 per square foot, that's $64 for a 4x4 box ready to plant." Well, either I wait until I have all those ingredients, or I start with what I can amass, & go from there. I decided to do the latter so for $33 a 5x7 ft. spot I noticed in that "Construction Block" thread. - Then for half that much more, it will turn into a HoopHouse as well. - Do you like it?
The current garden spot is in the SE-corner with a 3-5 ft. chain-link-fence on each side.
The S-fence also has those metal vertical strips. Since last year three compost-piles in various stages are growing...
(gave up on bought tumblor-gizmo :scratch: for now).
The west is interrupted by a mostly-completed TALL shed, against which food can grow Trellis-style on E+W-sides.
So how close? together would you plant these above, & other, critters.
---
The real west-boundary (100 ft. total), will in the autumn sport:
2 apples, cherry, fig/plum, pear, & filberts, & blueberries & raspberries,
a very experienced NW-nursery person is educating me in.
Plus a neighbor (who I've been helping food-wise), has agreed to dig holes for these plants for a small fee.

What do you think? Suggestions welcome
Love the post here, but a "Gardening Adventure" thread would be fun as well!
GG

Thanks! GG. Even just one Sunny person's flower

encouragement means alot.
And why I choose spending more time at neighborhood YMCA...friends are so loving BIG hug

there.

GWN 5/27/2013, 9:18 am

Rose and Debs
There is a muscle condition that the children of those who were exposed to agent orange get......., or the children eating the food grown in soil exposed to agent orange (not that much grows there)
There is a hospital in Vietnam called "The Friendship Village" and all of the children in this hospital have a muscle condition caused by agent Orange. The hospital is completely funded by veterans from the US, Germany, Australia and Vietnam. (all these committed veterans fund raise) (and Canada) I think it is a way for these veterans to heal themselves too.
Many of these children were born normal, but the muscle condition then presents.
LINK FRIENDSHIP VILLAGE

Sorry to have hijacked this topic.... back to gardening... They grow all their own food, they have fish ponds etc....

**gwennifer** 5/27/2013, 11:35 am

GWN wrote:...Sorry to have hijacked this topic.... back to gardening... They grow all their own food, they have fish ponds etc....

Don't be silly. This wasn't a hijack - there's no specific topic in our monthly threads. I appreciate everyone's input and the variety of topics that come up.

Nonna.PapaVino 5/27/2013, 12:04 pm

The June/July issue of Mother Earth News has an intriguing article on choosing types of crops specific to the region you live in. The choices for each of eight regions are limited. So it occurred to me to ask those of us here in the Pacific Northwest to recommend vegetable varieties that did very well for us. For example: Mother recommends--Cabbage: Danish Ballhead and January King; Kale: Lacinato Rainbow and White Russian; Dry Beans: Good Mother Stallard and Pinto. You get the idea. But what worked for you? Nonna, who grew Good Mother Stallard last year and got a great harvest of a very good-tasting bean.

GWN 5/27/2013, 12:08 pm

thanks Nonna.... I LOVE MENews. Side note, my potamarrons are growing like crazy, obviously the hardiest winter squash of the lot, and thanks to your encouragement, I am growing MANY winter squashes.. Turks Turban, Potamarron, Thelma Saunders, Australian butter squash, Golden Hubbard..... Looking for a great winter eating winter squashes and dried beans. I will have to search out the newest edition, however they never include Canada Sad

From Janet..... who is taking my thelma saunders seeds which have sprouted from the seeds I saved from the plants that grew from the seeds you gave me Very Happy

Lavender Debs 5/27/2013, 12:08 pm

gwennifer wrote:
GWN wrote:...Sorry to have hijacked this topic.... back to gardening... They grow all their own food, they have fish ponds etc....
Don't be silly. This wasn't a hijack - there's no specific topic in our monthly threads. I appreciate everyone's input and the variety of topics that come up.

Thanks gwennifer..... we have all seen the warnings that seem to come off the wall, from names we do not know in colors that say the post has authority. We know that they are not really off the wall, but like the IRS, they scare us.

Thank you nonna!! we are doing all right (ray and I) but prayer is ALWAYS accepted with joy. You are an amazing soul!

Rose I hope your family soon has an answer and positive direction. Your baby sounds like he brings delight to your home.

Nonna.PapaVino 5/27/2013, 12:25 pm

GWN, this article in Mother does include Canada--your area appears to fall in the western edge of North Central and Rockies/eastern edge of PNW; and the article recognizes Maritime Canada. So glad the potimarron squashes are doing well, being a favorite of ours. Which brings up the afore-mentioned article where none of my favorite winter squashes are mentioned, though I have grown and liked the Sweet Meat Oregon Homestead variety they do tout (we liked it, but not as well as we like potimarron). Want you to know, I planted 7 seeds of the Alicante tomato, and all sprouted. They're still in the greenhouse, but will go out into the new tomato bed this coming weekend--and all have blossoms on them! okay

Nonna

GWN 5/27/2013, 12:36 pm

Well then all of my Dagmas Perfection have also sprouted and have tomatoes on them. I have many of them and have given them to many friends and told them to keep track of them.
BTW. I was given some VERY OLD seeds from a family whose mother died 12 years ago. She was working on the project at that time saving seeds to establish some very early varieties from the Kootenays... in bC, however people from Oregon were also working on this project.
I have been coddling the seeds along and thus far have 2 varieties of beans growing well. Black Spaghetti beans, (which apparently grow pods up to 2 feet long) and Giant Oregon beans ( which I have only managed to sprout one of and I go out and check on it every day) Both of these varieties do see rather hard to find. have you heard of them Nonna

Nonna.PapaVino 5/27/2013, 1:51 pm

Wow! What a gift. No, the bean varieties are new to me--though I've heard of a pole bean called Oregon Giant, we've not grown it. Would love to see if they really are giants. And, speaking of beans, we're trying another variety of dry bean called Ireland Creek Annie from Seed Savers Exchange, and described as "English heirloom grown since the 1930s on Ireland Creek Farm in British Columbia. Superb flavor, makes its own thick sauce when stewed." Since our cattle panels are all occupied with pole beans and peas, these bush-habit Annies are planted alongside the corn. So, is Ireland Creek anywhere near Scotch Creek? Nonna

Nonna.PapaVino 5/27/2013, 2:23 pm

Should have talked to PapaVino before the above post. Years ago, before we met, he grew Oregon Giant pole beans and says some pods were 8 to 10 inches long, a few were a foot! Good beany flavor, but were not stringless, best harvested at the 8-9" length. Perhaps your neighbor was attempting to select the least stringy but tastiest cultivar. Let us know what you discover. Should be named Kootenay Giant, right? Nonna

GWN 5/27/2013, 2:32 pm

never heard if Ireland creek, and have lived most of my life in BC. Will have to look it up, sounds like it would be a great one.
Most of my seeds came from seeds savers exchange this year.

GWN 5/27/2013, 2:40 pm

Looks like Ireland Creek farm was in Quebec, and it is now a guesthouse with another name... the plot thickens.

Thanks for the heads up about the oregon giant. Did you ask him about the black spaghetti beans?

Nonna.PapaVino 5/27/2013, 2:47 pm

Never heard of Black Spaghetti beans. Wonder if it's related to the oriental yard long beans? Perhaps a variety with black seeds? And just as I was beginning to believe everything Seed Savers Exchange tells us, they can't even get the province correct, right? From the way these exchanges are flying back and forth, you must be having too much rain to work outside, too. Just guessing. Nonna

FamilyGardening 5/27/2013, 5:19 pm

gwennifer wrote:
GWN wrote:...Sorry to have hijacked this topic.... back to gardening... They grow all their own food, they have fish ponds etc....
Don't be silly. This wasn't a hijack - there's no specific topic in our monthly threads. I appreciate everyone's input and the variety of topics that come up.

+1 me too..........I love our group Very Happy

hugs
rose

FamilyGardening 5/27/2013, 5:43 pm

Thank you all for the well wishes for our little guy
BIG hug

he is very special and we are thankful he is a typical 6 year old boy...smart, funny, climbing tree houses and swinging on rope swings...loves to dig in the dirt and find worms $BB\'s happy face$ to put into our garden beds or pots....he loves to help in the gardens and has made some friends that we call *Pixi*....(humming birds) he is very much a nature boy....he enjoys WA weather as it allows him to play in lots of mud puddles happy2

he has his own self watering container that he decides what to plant in and he is the one that takes care of it.....this year he planted Dino kale, carrots for carrot week, lemon cucumber, green onion and chives

he also planted a BIG pumpkin in a wooden container for the BIG veggie contest this year that Josh puts on Smile

he loves to see pictures and video's from everyone here on the forum....he really enjoys seeing and listening to Deb's nuggets and her puppy Bomber Razz

I could go on forever about him.....he is a great kid!

hugs
rose

Nonna.PapaVino 5/27/2013, 5:54 pm

Oh, Rose, I'd love to see his self-watering container with its plantings. thanks for the update. Nonna

FamilyGardening 5/27/2013, 7:12 pm

here ya go Nonna Very Happy

our son built this with his daddy's help and our son mixed up his MM for the container Very Happy

he was 4 at the time and loved it!...below is three years of his gardening Very Happy

May 2013....carrots, green onions, Dino kale, chives and lemon cucumber...its a bit wind blown and he will need to replant more carrots as the ones he did plant are not doing well...*stupid carrots* that's the one veggie he really wants to grow big.....cucumber looks sad too....we can always go and get more starts at the store... Razz

June 2012 ....carrots, sugar snap peas, sweetie cherry tom and green onions

PNW: May 2013 - Page 4 Dscf0910

May 2011..carrots, sugar snap peas, beans, sunflowers, cucumber and some other flowers

PNW: May 2013 - Page 4 06_07_10

hugs
rose

GWN 5/27/2013, 8:24 pm

very beautiful little garden.

Nonna.PapaVino 5/27/2013, 8:39 pm

Rose, congratulations to your junior gardener! He's already beyond most adult beginners. Love the auto-watering container, too. Nonna, who's in awe.

FamilyGardening 5/27/2013, 10:14 pm

Thanks again Smile

his kale is doing good and we took a taste test today and its yummy Very Happy

....his container looks a bit sad though compared to last years at this time....but we will fill it up....he loves to go seed and plant shopping Razz

happy gardening
rose...who was able to take a 15 min walk thru the gardens today between the rain break....

FamilyGardening 5/27/2013, 10:41 pm

GWN wrote:Rose and Debs
There is a muscle condition that the children of those who were exposed to agent orange get......., or the children eating the food grown in soil exposed to agent orange (not that much grows there)
There is a hospital in Vietnam called "The Friendship Village" and all of the children in this hospital have a muscle condition caused by agent Orange. The hospital is completely funded by veterans from the US, Germany, Australia and Vietnam. (all these committed veterans fund raise) (and Canada) I think it is a way for these veterans to heal themselves too.
Many of these children were born normal, but the muscle condition then presents.
LINK FRIENDSHIP VILLAGE

Sorry to have hijacked this topic.... back to gardening... They grow all their own food, they have fish ponds etc....

its pretty neat what they are doing there Very Happy

thanks for sharing the link Smile

hugs
rose

happycamper 5/28/2013, 10:45 pm

The May garden update includes lots of bees buzzing around. I have lots of bumble bees with orange this year to go with the honey bees buzzing around the fruit. Too much lettuce planted and the chickens get some every day.
Spinach, arugula, kale and radish are bolting (I think that mini heat wave is to blame). I have successive crops that were planted weeks ago that are growing to take their place and can be harvested as baby greens but I will hold off. I am saving one square of each bolting item for next years seed.
I am just seeing color on the strawberries and have had a few peas to snack on so far. I "tasted" the error of my ways, this one berry tasted better that the organically grown California ones I bought a few weeks ago.
PNW: May 2013 - Page 4 First_10

These are the Progess #9 peas and the Little Marvels are right behind them. The green beans all look good and are about 8-10 inches tall. So far the cucumbers are still growing and I haven't lost any to cutworms. I will try and get pictures of the squash and beans to post.

**gwennifer** 5/29/2013, 12:44 am

Hi happycamper, always nice to hear from you. Our first strawberries are just about ready. I bought half a flat from a farmer selling on the roadside near our home the other day since we don't have many at home and the weather has been so wet we don't want to do the u-pick farm yet. We made strawberry ice cream and sorbet. Yum! They were saying on the news that the April/May heat wave brought on the earliest strawberry season ever, but the rain ever since is causing all the berries to rot.

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