December

Got all the tubers timely.  Got 14 loads of leaves and a couple of chips in Dec.

November status

Finished cutting off dahlia stalks on Friday.  They'd been nipped by frost, but not killed.  Compost bin is full.  Something is still burrowing under the bin, despite the hardware wire I put in the bottom.

The fall seedlings are doing well.  The winter cover mustard under the one end of the tomatoes is about 8 inches high, the rest of the seedings aren't showing much.  Put clover on the compost I put in bed 2, it's sprouted but not growing. --too late probably.

Lisa's relabeled the dahlias, will try to get the tubers tomorrow.

Cleanup and October Update

The fall greens have gotten past their bug problems.  Today took down the tomato netting and dug up the glads.  I think they did pretty well filling more of the pan than last year's.

I've cleaned the compost bin and dumped in bed 2, sowing seeds on top the the compost, which seem to have germinated.  Digging the glads destroyed whatever clover had been sowed, there's some mustard at the end of bed 2.

We had 5 inches of rain when we came back from Rhinebeck, and the dahlias were bent over.
Still holes under the compost bin.

Fall Crops

Lisa set out her fall seedlings over the last 5 days or so. Problems with cabbage worms. Dug up the glads in south quarter plot and it's all planted now, plus the west end of quarter plot north.  Tomato vines look ugly, but still some leaves and green tomatoes.  Dahlias are doing well.  She cut the asters, which had been beaten down by the storms.  The leeks are doing the best ever.  Peppers did nothing.  I want to leapfrog them ahead of the tomatoes next year.  Eggplants did well.  Italian squash has about 3 left on it, some nibbled by voles?

Want to hardware screen in bottom of compost bin to keep out animals--I'm sure there's something tunneling in it.

Tropical Storm Lee

Gave us at least 6" rain during the middle of the week. 

Sept 5

Supposed to have a bunch of rain coming.  Got 3 yellow glads (last 10 or so blooms have all been yellow)

Sept 2 Update

Had several yellow glad 3-4 days ago, probably the last of the year.  The dahlias are coming in, even Juanita according to Lisa. During the week I sowed mustard under the west third of bed 2 under the tomatoes and basil. Also crimson clover among the glads in north quarter plot.  Lisa's gotten one yellow summer squash and a fat zucchini.  The Italian zucchini is prolife: Lisa did soup with one, very good, and may do bread this weekend.  All but one of the sunflowers are down.  Continue to get good eggplants from the plants.

Have about 10 ripe tomatoes on the counter, been eating one most days for lunch. 

Worked a little on the landscape blocks--rain seems to come off the roof next to the azalea.

August 23 Update

Lisa is planting lettuce (planted some brassicas a couple weeks ago). Below Prince has some nice romaine seedlings under their sunflowers which may have gone in the end of July.

The tomatoes are still yielding, though the 2" of rain last Thursday or Friday seems to have reinvigorated the early blight.

The peppers are doing absolutely nothing--trying to research what's wrong--looks like planting after tomatoes is part of the problem but a number of different possibilities for cause.  Need to deep dig beds.

Trying to figure out how to plant some winter cover while we still have summer and fall crops and while doing some fall tillage.

The Italian zucchini has gone to town--Lisa has 2 big ones here and two more on the plant.  The asters are starting to bloom.

August 15 Status/Lessons on Tomatoes

Gathered a lot of tomatoes this morning.  Had some rain over the weekend.  No glads--they seem about played out.  The second planting of glads in late May? didn't do well at all.  I think planting over a month between mid March and end of April is best.

The leeks are doing very well, Lisa pulled the stocks, the asters have buds on them, the Italian squash is bearing well, the okra is shading the beans and peppers, which aren't doing well at all.  Lisa says she won't allow volunteer sunflowers next year.

On tomatoes: first, don't put basil and tomatoes in same bed--the netting interferes and isn't needed for basil. Second, watering the center of the bed is difficult with the netting. Third, take out poles that go higher than the netting posts.  Fourth, secure the cages well--a number leaned this year.  Fifth, cut short pipe pieces to hold the horizontal pipe within the bed.  Sixth, have the sides of the bed higher than the soil if possible. 

August 1 Status

Still dry and very hot.  Watered this morning after pruning early blight affected branches.  Some on most of the plants, even the PP which seemed to recover.  Not sure whether to do copper treatment again.

Harvested maybe 6-8 more tomatoes, we have two or more bowls full on the counter.  Also some glads, mostly yellows and oranges this year, a couple blues although Lisa didn't like the looks of one I cut.  Most of the peppers are looking thriftier.  The Italian zucchini is climbing the support, need to add one for another branch. Lisa got a couple more eggplant 2-3 days ago.  The sunflowers are blooming and the okra are taking off.

July 26--Zucchini support

Had 1.25 inches of rain yesterday, today is cooler and a lot drier but just a couple degrees lower.  Harvested tomatoes and put up support for Italian zucchini--left it way too long and may have damaged one runner in trying to train it to the support.

Hot Hot July 23

Heat index 120 yesterday, 105 plus 78 dewpoint.  Lisa harvested 2 eggplant yesterday, the vermi...  wilt doesn't seem to be too bad and lots of fruit on the plants. Pruned tomato branches of early blight.

July 19

Getting about 5 tomatoes a day, plus some glads.  Still some early blight on some tomatoes.  Lots of eggplants. Gave one cabbage to Caroline today, one to Ann-Marie earlier in the month, have 2 left.  Volunteer sunflowers are blossoming but Lisa doesn't like the blooms.

July 13 Storm

Storm dumped 2.65 inches in about 30 minutes Wed. evening. 3 eggplants 2 peppers and 3 tomatoes were tilted over--need to be sure to stake them next year. 

Lisa's resown beets and more beans.  The chard is growing, leeks looking good. Still early blight on the MH at the end, though the PP at the other end seems to be revived.

Tomato Netting Lessons

Got the netting over the tomato bed.  I need to do it earlier next year--some vines are already pushing into the net.

For next year (goal is to have the netting look like a christmas package wrap:

take down the posts used for pea netting
put up the uprights for the cage, leave room for the bottom horizontal to rest in the bed
tie the tomato cages to the uprights securely--do a better job than this year
put up the horizontals
put the netting over the top
stretch it out and secure it on top
do the ends and corners
do the bottom horizontal.

As of July 13 I harvested 3 tomatoes, one with bites out of it.  Plus a lot of glads.

The dahlias aren't doing well, although I cut 3 different blooms.  Lisa's gotten a lot of beans for the few plants we have, the eggplants look to be doing well.

July 9 Tomatoes and Voles

Ann Marie and Caroline both lost beets--Ann Marie is sure it's voles.

Got 1.6 inches of rain yesterday.  Went over this morning, taking the tarragon pot.  It may not have gotten enough sun near the house.  We've harvested 3 tomatoes through yesterday.  There were 3 more today, but all eaten.  Ann Marie would say chipmunks.  I covered part of the tomatoes with netting, after pruning back the early blight branches.

The Morton hybrid by the path produced the earliest tomatoes.  The PP at the other end is the tomato almost killed by early blight.  There's a PP, I think, in the middle which had 2 tomatoes eaten.

Put out the plantcam, next to the compost bin.  Need to check it regularly.

Began harvesting glads around the first of July, now have 3 vases full.

Stolen Beets

Lisa went to the garden last night and discovered someone had stolen our beets, almost all of them.  They clipped off the tops very neatly. I need to get the time lapse camera out there.

I went over this morning (we got about .1 rain this morning), putting some water on the tomatoes and harvested one ripe tomato, which had split and something, maybe birds, had eaten at the split.  Had part for lunch--very tasty.  It looks as if the copper  may be helping on the tomatoes.

Hosta

Some of the hosta have problems I think from this arachnose--I need to avoid midday watering, which I just did yesterday (July 3)  Some of the clusters hostas have died--not sure of the cause.

Eggplant July 2

Eggplants are showing damage to lower leaves, Lisa thinks early blight, internet seems to say verticillium wilt.

Rodale says use mustards as cover crop may help.  Soil fumigation is alternative but maybe not organic.

June 30

Did second application of copper to tomatoes.  One Purple P? is close to gone, though one low branch seems untoucher.  The tomatoes in the center of the bed 2 seem to be doing better than the end ones.
Note for next year: do the copper like June 1, no later.

Leeks in bed 4 look good, as do the eggplant.

Purpose

To serve as a record of our gardening.