New England ~ May 2014

RJARPCGP wrote:I'm seeing signs of a possible record wet May.

(The wettest since 2006, where weather stations reported 8 inches in Vermont for May alone, which compares to the southeast!)

I had to water the garden today  

camprn wrote:

RJARPCGP wrote:I'm seeing signs of a possible record wet May.

(The wettest since 2006, where weather stations reported 8 inches in Vermont for May alone, which compares to the southeast!)

I had to water the garden today  

It's what's coming the day after tomorrow.....

I had to water today too! I was so mad. But I transplanted a lot of stuff and was nervous.

Only 40% chance of rain in my extended forecast...

By the way, I saw a nice big garter snake in my garden today. Yay! I've been wanting a snake to help reduce the slug population. And I'm hoping he might take a liking to voles. Anyone know if garter snakes eat voles?

Okay, almost everything is now planted. I re-seeded the peas because only a few are coming up that I can see, and I reseeded the carrots too. I always have a problem with carrot germination, I think my soil might not be fine enough. Anyway, I planted the pole bean seeds, the vine seeds (forget transplants, at this stage direct seeding is probably better), just for kicks I threw celery seed on the bed with the anemic celery transplants. That bed will probably be available for other use pretty soon.

So I noticed when I planted today that the top of the soil is very dry, which is probably why I'm having germination difficulty of the carrots and peas. Where is the spring rain?? I had to call a plow guy once a week in the winter for the amount of snow we got, but once the warm weather arrives, the moisture packs up and moves elsewhere. Grr. When planting seeds I hate to water because the hose, even on its weakest setting, seems too strong for the seeds. I'd rather the mist of nature do it.

So I'm holding out hope that this weekend will be rainy and dreary. Come on, rain and drear!

NHGardener wrote:Grr. When planting seeds I hate to water because the hose, even on its weakest setting, seems too strong for the seeds. I'd rather the mist of nature do it.

Do you have a garden sprayer?

Excellent idea, camprn! Mine has a bleach mixture in it (they're great for spraying the shower), but it's worth getting another.

NHGardener wrote:...Grr. When planting seeds I hate to water because the hose, even on its weakest setting, seems too strong for the seeds. I'd rather the mist of nature do it...

I still water with wands.  I have different heads for different applications.  I love this mister head for watering seeds.  I use the 1 gallon/minute model.  

http://growerssolution.com/PROD/fogg-it-nozzles/foggit

I use a long wand on a mist setting too. Easier on my back and easier to maneuver with. It's a little harsh on the very youngest seedlings, but I'll raise it higher to make its effect milder when I need to.

" http://growerssolution.com/PROD/fogg-it-nozzles/foggit "

Oh nice - fits right on the garden hose. 

You learn something new every season... you don't need a mister until you need a mister. Probably can put it away for 50 weeks out of the year, but still.

I use my water wand all the time. Boffer has some snazzy homemade ones. Boffer, can you show us your wands please?

I use a wand so I don't have to bend over except to pick out the tree seedlings from next door's spring drop.

I use the shower setting mostly, but Plantoid suggested mist for carrots & beets after I complained about the seeds bunching together after I watered them.  Seems to work better.

AtlantaMarie wrote:I use a wand so I don't have to bend over except to pick out the tree seedlings from next door's spring drop.

I use the shower setting mostly, but Plantoid suggested mist for carrots & beets after I complained about the seeds bunching together after I watered them.  Seems to work better.

Speaking of tree seedlings---I have never seen so many as this year.  There were tons in my SFG and too many to count in my lawn!  Anyone else?

cpl100 wrote:

AtlantaMarie wrote:I use a wand so I don't have to bend over except to pick out the tree seedlings from next door's spring drop.

I use the shower setting mostly, but Plantoid suggested mist for carrots & beets after I complained about the seeds bunching together after I watered them.  Seems to work better.

Speaking of tree seedlings---I have never seen so many as this year.  There were tons in my SFG and too many to count in my lawn!  Anyone else?

Always.

Planted the semi dwarf Bartlett pear today. Thanks to the FTA members for their support.

Looks VERY nice, Lyndeeloo!

 

cpl100 wrote:

AtlantaMarie wrote:I use a wand so I don't have to bend over except to pick out the tree seedlings from next door's spring drop.

I use the shower setting mostly, but Plantoid suggested mist for carrots & beets after I complained about the seeds bunching together after I watered them.  Seems to work better.

Speaking of tree seedlings---I have never seen so many as this year.  There were tons in my SFG and too many to count in my lawn!  Anyone else?

Cottonwood by the tens of thousands, and also ... hmm ... forget the name LOL but there's another one that cast its seeds right after, all over. Kind of a plague.

I still water with buckets and a watering can. Ouchie Wawa! I will be watering for the 4th time in 12 days tomorrow.

This is where we part ways weather wise for a while, New England. The Cape probably won't get out of the 50's today and 50's/60's for the next few weeks with lots of fog. The nights won't be above 50 until next Thursday from the looks of it.  Great for my greens, not so great for the  summer veggies. 

The indoor tomatoes are getting Neptune today because they are ready to go out and looking stressed.  I planted one sacrificial Roma in a pot last weekend. It's now out there getting blown to death by the high winds and chilled at night.  I'm going to plant a sacrificial black cherry Tom in the old school SFG today. I'll pour warm water in the hole before planting to heat the soil up a bit.

Has anyone ever heard about planting slices of cucumber to grow starts? I seem to remember reading that somewhere along time ago. I did it the other day with some Persian cucumbers and they are now on the heat pad along with a couple of market more and burpless beauty seeds. I've never had any luck with indoor started cucumbers and squash so we'll see how it goes. hopefully I'll be able to plant them out in 3 weeks along with some direct seed.

I have lots of photos to share but I'll wait till I get on a regular computer to do it, maybe this afternoon. would love to see anyone else's photos! Please?

CC
PS Go Lyndeeloo! I'm going to fertilize my dead fig tree today to see if it comes back. there seems to be some green left in the stems. Got my fingers crossed.

CC - Planting slices of cucumber! What a great idea! Let us know if they grow. Also, actually a watering can is a great idea. The hose is right out there, I could just fill the watering can with the hose and slightly dowse the seedlings that way.

Actually, I found my shower wand that I didn't use much last summer. But it doesn't have a mist feature. It has a knob that turns from less to greater pressure.

And Lyndeeloo, wow, that tree is so leafed! I also like how you staked it.

Sacrificial plants. LOL. My tomoato and pepper plants are so far doing fine out there in the garden. I noticed that I transplanted the eggplant into the SFG one day, and then the next day it had holes in 2 leafs. Can you believe that? I served someone lunch.

I also have 3 monster sized black fly bites that have me scratching 24/7. Grr. BEWARE. They're here.

And rain! Glorious rain. Nice light mist yesterday, coming down a little heavier today. Doesn't look like a whole lot is expected, but enough to soak the seedlings I think.

Yesterday was too chilly to do anything, today it should be in the 70s and stay there for a few days, so YAY. (sorry CC) Then back to the 60s for days.

That's the Garden Report here.

Finally done turning the monster compost pile.

camprn wrote:Finally done turning the monster compost pile.

  
Are you sore?
I had to eat half a bag of ginger chews just to get through mowing the lawn today. (That's what I use for pain relievers these days.)

Camprn the new pile looks great. Hope you're ache and pain free!

 Today started out in the mid 50s, gray and drizzling. Took off to Connecticut to visit Mom. Got up to 86° here today and humid while I was away. Realized frantically I hadn't taken the cover off the greenhouse. Panic set in on the way home. Thankfully the seedlings were just really dried out and not cooked. It was 96° inside the greenhouse when I got there. Had just enough time to open it up, water it and put the cover back on before the high winds and thunderstorm hit. Now it's 66° and raining. Boy the weather was up and down today. Tomorrow looks like a great day to work in the garden.

Found some nice looking veggie plants while picking up Mom's mother's day fuscia plant this morning.......so here's what followed me home. 

Bok choy, cubanelle peppers, tomatillos, little fingers eggplant and some really lovely heirloom tomatoes.  Love the names. Hillbilly, purple Calabash, bloody butcher, cosmonaut volkov and black cherry. Along with my seedlings of black krim, Brandywine and mortgage lifter, if they do well there will be an extravaganza of tomato flavor this summer.  I've never grown heirlooms before,  so I thought I'd try some this year. Can't wait to see how it all turns out. Any pointers on heirlooms would be happily accepted and appreciated!  Thanks

Camp, I'm in awe!   

camprn wrote:Finally done turning the monster compost pile.

Good grief, that looks like about three 4x4 bins.  Where do you get all the stuff to make that much compost ?  I am in awe. 

Camp - Looks like you're going to have some happy plants this year!

Lyndeeloo - SIGH... What are we going to do with you?    How are the rest of us supposed to behave ourselves when we know you're out there buying more stuff???