Squash Blossoms

Fat, orange, delicate squash blossoms herald the arrival of yellow squash! I also picked a squash bug off one of the leaves and scraed and destroyed the eggs she was depositing. My plants are still small compared to the ones on the farm, only the tomato plants seem to be thriving. They are full of tomatoes and are dragging over the tomato cages so that I have to keep setting them upright again.

The broccoli and lettuce is almost done and I will be pulling it soon, probably replacing it with kale and some other summer fruit. It might not be too soon to start thinking about fall squashs and gourds, too. The cucumber plants are getting stonger and soon I will need to trelliss them as well. I scraped back some dirt and saw some fat, if still small, carrots. Another few weeks and I hope to see the roots pushing up from the soil. The okra plants are budding too. The collards don’t seem to be getting any bigger, and something is nibbling a lattice of holes in the leaves. Because of the heat (I presume) the spinach never developed beyond a row of sprouts.

After this season I’m tearing down this garden and rebuilding it and I’m going to take a better look at the kind of soil, the pH, the composition, the balance… to see what is causing plants that I put in the ground in my yard to grow slowly and remain stunted compared to the farm garden plants, which are crowding each other out, trying to grow. The principle difference is that I used a blend of organic compost and topsoil in mine, while we turned the soil at the farm and added in a few hundred pounds of horse manure compost. We chose compost from a pile that was well broken down, probably been there for a year or so. They both get plenty of water, and equal amounts of sun. The farm garden ran wild with weeds, but weeds and grass have not been that much of a problem in my garden, and I think that is telling me something.

As to water, after Thursday’s rains my rainbarrel would have been full, except there was a leak around a metal handle on the outside of the barrel. I siliconed it and sealed the leak, but the barrel is only about 1/3 the way full now. I hooked up a hose with a soaker hose and ran it to the garden, but got no water. Seems gravity is working against me. The garden is uphill from the barrel. I thought the weight of the water in the barrel might compensate and push it up and through the hose, but at less than 1/2 full, that doesn’t seem to be the case. I will try it again when I have a full barrel. Failing that, I’m going to look into finding a small motor to drive the water up the hill.

Catch a Falling Raindrop

I ordered a rain barrel kit online, and converted our old 60 gallon garbage can into a receptacle. A funnel-type device diverts water from the gutter spout into the can, with a faucet attatchment near the bottom to attatch a hose to. I have to fiddle with the elevation a little more, putting the can up on some cinder blocks.

With this I was able to accomplish 3 things: I made use of the old garbage can that the company never came and picked up when the county switched services (they snooze, they lose!), I’m able to collect free rainwater for my garden, up to 55-60 gallons, and I’ve made our house just a little more green and environmentally friendly.

My only slight concern is whether the can will hold that much water without bursting. That's almost 500 pounds of water when it is full, and will probably get quite warm in the sun, being a black plastic container. I’m considering strapping it with some metal bands, but I’m going to wait to see what happens once it gets some water in it.

Now, we just need some rain. Naturally, there is non predicted for the entire coming week.

Of Goats and Collards

The last thing you see before a baby goat takes you down!

I visited the farm on Saturday and pulled a few more weeds, put down some seeds, and harvested some radishes. They are going great, practically pushing each other out of the ground. Everything is growing well there so I’m feeling that the 500 pounds of horse manure/compost we mixed in with the dirt was well worth the sweaty, stinky effort. The squash have doubled in size since one week ago, and long green blossom hulls are forming all over the vines. I put some tomato baskets around them to help direct them upward, vs. invading the other beds, but I don’t think the baskets are going to contain them. The collards are 18” tall and have a great collard taste. The sunflower sprouts have thickened and are climbing upward as well.

In my own garden things are progressing more slowly. Maybe it has to do with my garden not getting as many hours of direct sun everyday as the farm garden. Or it might be the mix of dirt and compost I used. Both gardens have plenty of earthworms in them, and neither appear to be beset by pests. Both get plenty of water. Of course the older crops in my garden are doing the best, the lettuce, the tomatoes, the broccoli, even the carrots are sprouting up healthy, bushy tops. Everything else feels like it has paused in the unseasonably cool weather, waiting for some hot days to grow. The nasturnums have bloomed, and I see bees, wasps, and butterflies around the flowers. The tomatoes have swollen on the vines and there are still many blooms. I know I should probably cut some of the fruit-clusters down to only one or two fruits, but I just can’t right now. I’m going to let them grow and see who develops and how fully.

After I visited the farm garden I wandered around the farm, checking out the bee-hives they had placed earlier in the week, and visiting the goats, mules and chickens. The baby goats have tripled in size and at least one is sporting horns. I took some photos of the mules and felt something tugging at my shorts. I looked down and saw a baby goat trying to eat the hem of my pants. When I walked away he gave me the butt routine… that is, he butted me in the butt. Everywhere I stopped he tried to eat my pants, and everytime I walked away he reared up on his hind legs and thrust his head at me. Too cute.

Ravishing Radishes

I’ve decided that if there is one vegetable to keep in my garden year-round and never buy from the store again, it is radishes. They are hugely prolific, sprout and mature in a matter of weeks, and probably grow as effectively in containers and terrariums as they do outdoors. With proper lighting and temp, I’m going to try and grow them indoors and out all year.

This handful came out of the farm garden, barely a month after we put seeds down. The first batch I pulled a couple of weeks ago was to thin the radishes because they were piled together and not forming properly. I still have 3X this amount left in the ground, now with more room to expand.

Radishes are known for being great in salads, but people overlook the greens, which can be eaten the same as their kale and cabbage cousins. Plus the greens are high in Vitamin C, as are the roots. The radish roots also have folic acid and other trace minerals. They have a sharp peppery taste and when they come from the store they are usually dry and a bit woody. Nothing like a radish fresh out of the ground. I was amazed at the sweet-pepper flavor and the moisture. They’ve been used for centuries as an herbal medicine, too.