Well, another 1.10 inches of rain - Thanks be to God!
Four Rows of Blue Lake Green Beans have been planted and were just showing prior to the rain. With this good rain it is a fair bet that I will have a fall harvest of about 300 pounds of green beans. That should keep us till next spring.
Also, four rows of summer squash were just showing prior to the rain. If all goes well I should be able to harvest 430 pounds of squash. Everyone should keep the window on their cars closed, I may slip some squash into open car windows!
Next week the main fall/winter crops will be transplanted into the garden. Looks like I should get about 100 pounds of Broccoli, about 100 cabbages (280 pounds), 100 cauliflower heads (300 pounds) and some Brussels sprouts to round things off.
Since I have not mentioned it before, the five new keets are well and growing fast. They have moved out of the shop and into a kennel that has been renamed the "G" shack. More as they develop.
SDG
Friday, September 17, 2010
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Preparing for Fall
Rain glorious rain. For two days now we have been blessed with rain. The fall tomatoes were transplanted into the garden in August and needed watering everyday through that month. Our 'highly mineralized' well water keeps the plants alive, but they become anemic looking. Pathetic really. However, with these rains the plants are looking much better and already beginning to bloom.
As for the black-eyed peas...they were planted mid-August and came along very well, until the Vandals hit them. It is interesting that for two or more years (even with the great drought of 08-09) the deer were not interested in the garden. However, this year they found it. It seems that due to a good spring the local doe population have all twined. As a result they are hungry! They ate corn, black-eyed peas, tomatoes, pumpkins and even the leaves off of the red okra. Of course, I had to declare war! After several attempts at reinforcing the fence, I settled on electricity.
Fence charger and insulators were less than $30.00, whereas a roll of barbed wire was over $60.00. I already had the electric fence wire so it was a simple afternoons project to secure the garden. I am pleased to report that the vandalism has stopped and we are well on our way to a good fall/winter harvest.
The pepper continue to produce at a good rate and should meet the expected goal of 320 peppers by the end of the season. The sweet corn and Lima beans planted last week are already coming up. The rows of corn should produce about 450 ears and the Lima beans about 250 pounds of beans. This week the green beans are being planted in the garden. This summer we harvested about 200 pounds of green beans. I am putting in the same amount for the fall, so we shall see if we are blessed again this year. In the grow beds we now have the starts for broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and cauliflower. These will be transplanted into the garden by mid-September for harvesting to begin in November.
Our table should be burdened and our pantry full for this coming winter.
SDG
As for the black-eyed peas...they were planted mid-August and came along very well, until the Vandals hit them. It is interesting that for two or more years (even with the great drought of 08-09) the deer were not interested in the garden. However, this year they found it. It seems that due to a good spring the local doe population have all twined. As a result they are hungry! They ate corn, black-eyed peas, tomatoes, pumpkins and even the leaves off of the red okra. Of course, I had to declare war! After several attempts at reinforcing the fence, I settled on electricity.
Fence charger and insulators were less than $30.00, whereas a roll of barbed wire was over $60.00. I already had the electric fence wire so it was a simple afternoons project to secure the garden. I am pleased to report that the vandalism has stopped and we are well on our way to a good fall/winter harvest.
The pepper continue to produce at a good rate and should meet the expected goal of 320 peppers by the end of the season. The sweet corn and Lima beans planted last week are already coming up. The rows of corn should produce about 450 ears and the Lima beans about 250 pounds of beans. This week the green beans are being planted in the garden. This summer we harvested about 200 pounds of green beans. I am putting in the same amount for the fall, so we shall see if we are blessed again this year. In the grow beds we now have the starts for broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and cauliflower. These will be transplanted into the garden by mid-September for harvesting to begin in November.
Our table should be burdened and our pantry full for this coming winter.
SDG
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