Mid-South: October 2014

Hi everyone.  Sorry I haven't been around lately.  Things are busy, busy here!  And I've been remiss in keeping up w/ stuff.

Drove thru N GA & SW NC mountains last weekend.  Very pretty.  Leaves are falling down, deer are wandering the mountains.

The National Gardening Assn has decided to not post monthly gardening chores anymore.  Very sad.  So here are the chores suggested for this month from the Old Farmer's Almanac website:

http://www.almanac.com/gardening/tips/GA/Buford/October

It says Buford, but it's for the entire SE US area.

My luffa sponges finally decided they wanted to grow.  The vines are at least 20 feet long & are reaching for the neighbor's boat, our Airstream and the rest of the garden!  I've counted at least 8 sponges growing.  The bees & wasps are going nuts on the flowers & nectar. 

Looks like the sweet potatoes are about ready to harvest.  Okra & broccoli have gone to seed.

Was hoping to get out there this morning and work, but it's raining...  gee, golly, what a shame...
 
The weather has hit the point where we run the heater in the morning and the a/c in the afternoon.  I saw that my peach tree is budding and we have some blueberry flowers...  It got JUST cold enough to set them off when it warmed back up.



That's it from here.  What's going on in YOUR corner of Mid-South heaven?

Hi Marie!

Wow, you have a lot going in your neck of the woods. 

I have been puttering around.  I have 48 enormous cloves of garlic planted (in EarthBoxes) as of a few minutes ago.  I have some "rejects" and my wife wants me to plant them here or there (where ever I've worked the ground).  

Not all my planting area is perfect MM.  It is in the spirit of MM in the sense that 5 composts are used to amend the soil.  I just can't afford MM for every corner.

Of course, my raised beds and EarthBoxes are pure MM.  Sadly, the only thing I've planted is the garlic.  However, all my beds are cleared out as of this morning.  I just need to add compost mix and I'm good to go.

I've decided to dedicate four of my EarthBoxes to long term commitment plants.  I have an asparagus box that is doing beautifully.  Also, I've decided to have a strawberry patch EarthBox.  I have some strawberries that were in hanging pots.  They actually survived our winter without me ever having to bring them in (frankly, I forgot about them).  I figure I can move the EarthBox if the strawberries are showing excessive signs of distress (otherwise I will cover them with a tarp).  I planted a Johnny Jump Up between them 'cause my family really likes those little guys.  Oh... and then two EarthBoxes are garlic.

I have a yellow bell pepper and a Black Beauty eggplant ... they are still going like gang busters.  I am going to keep them until the cold makes it impossible.  Also, the only tomato plant I have not cleared out is my Sungold... it's still going and we love it!

One big reason my veggies have been getting minimal attention is that I am trying to beautify our front yard for my wife.  I've planted mums, dianthus, pansies and irises.  The deer loving pansies are close to the house though.  Daffodils, Allium and Crocus bulbs going in soon.

I made this planter around our mailbox:




I don't need to tell you how hard it is to carve something into our clay and then level it on a slope.  It took me days.  A lot of neighbors asked me if I would do it for them too... my immediate response was:  "Absolutely not!"  -- with a grin of course.

I knew it would settle, so after that really heavy rain a while back, I compacted the clay and reset the blocks.  I felt like I was back in my high school ceramics class.  The photo above is "pre-compacting."  It looks very level now.

My plan for the immediate future:  Plant carrots, spinach, kale and hopefully fennel (I hope it's not too late!!).  Oh, and also lots of cold resistant lettuces.

My veggie operation is pretty small scale... but I'm having fun with it.

So that's my little neck of the woods... thanks for reading my long rant!!!  

Hi yourself, Windmere!  Good to see you too!

The mailbox looks great!!  And sounds like you're able to get in the garden a lot more than I am right now... 

My strawberries didn't make it.  So I'll try them again at the beginning of next season instead of buying dried-out stuff and hoping they'll revive, lol.

Never did get garlic ordered...  Got too many other things happening...

Talk to you later!

Windmere, I also like your color spot around the mailbox. Gosh, that dirt looks impossible to work, so your project is even more special.

Windmere, that looks nice. I love your response to your neighbor!

Nice job - the mail box pole area looks lovely.

If Ga red clay is like Va red clay - I'm doubly impressed:D

Thanks for the kind words everyone.  Yeah, that red clay was quite something.  It was an accomplishment for me because I'm not very handy.

No pics (sorry!!), but thought I'd update you on what's happening in my garden.

Tomatoes still going strong - picked 5 quarts yesterday and saw lots of green ones & some flowers.

Okra almost done, but still have a few going.

Potato leaves are still green.  Not quite sure when to harvest...

One watermelon is regrowing and trying to bloom along with a cantaloupe.

Some beans & cowpeas coming back up.

FINALLY, my bee balm is getting ready to bloom.  I think...

Greek Basil looks fantastic!  Nice & tall.  Was hoping it would flower so I could get some seeds, but nothing yet.  But I have lots for the dehydrator.

Corn's done, of course.

Luffa gourd - Oh My Goodness!  They are taking over everything!  Yesterday I had to redirect a couple of vines that were trying to lock the gate shut and grab the house!  I told my neighbors to cut it if they see it grabbing for their boat or cars again.  There's at least 12 gourds growing right now.  Probably more behind the big leaves!  The bees & wasps are using the flowers to sleep in.  I guess it's for an instant breakfast.

That's about it.  Still fighting with the Virginia Creeper.  Have a few blueberries in bloom again, which the bees love.  Broccoli in bloom.  Again, leaving it for the bees.

Wow, sounds like you did well this year.  When did you plant your potatoes.  Are you growing this as a fall crop otherwise I don't see how the leaves could still be green.  Also, the Broccoli.  When did you plant that and did it head up.

Thanks, Yolos. 

Planted the potatoes in late spring.  The sweet potato leaves are turning yellow, but everything else is still green.  Of course, I've got tomatoes spreading in there too, so who knows what's under the leaves...

I planted the broccoli in spring.  It didn't really do much but really started taking off when it got cooler.  Only have 2 heads.  Wanted to see what it would look like grown...  pretty flowers!  Bright yellow.  It did head, but I really didn't get much from it...

Nice, AtlantaMarie. You're doing real well. Are you going to eat those luffa or use them as sponges?

Marie, I love to hear success stories (and it's even better if it's a hometown gal!).  Please keep us posted on your progress.  I have high hopes for our kale.  We are using more and more.  In fact, my wife is making a dish with some as I write this.  The kale at the DeKalb Farmer's Market is so expensive though!!

Marc Iverson wrote:Nice, AtlantaMarie. You're doing real well. Are you going to eat those luffa or use them as sponges?

I got a nice chuckle out of that Marc!