From the pages of my garden journal

Someone told me that it was good to keep a garden journal.
That was a smart person!!

I am just beginning this blog thing, so my first few posts are going to be out of order.

March 17, 2010
Sunny, close to 70 degrees.

Kel and I decided to 'rename' this holiday to Planting Day. It's 'green, and it makes more sense than going out and drinking until you turn green!!

This year, I set up tables in the basement, with florescent lights 6 inches above the plants.
It was something new. Thought it was a good idea. Hind sight is SO 20/20.

** Note to self. Clean yard in fall. This was a TON of work. I could have been doing so much more, and more productive work had I cleaned the yard in the fall.

Trimmed back the raspberry canes. Did not do a drastic trim, some canes are still about 3 feet tall.
Patches of the yard are turning green!!!

March 28th 2010

Reseeded about 2/3 of the tomatoes.
Will be moving upstairs.

WTH. The basement was too cool....or I don't know what. I am having the hardest time with starting tomatoes from seed.

March 31 2010

Soil test.
Ph Normal to high
N low
P low
K low
None of this is a surprise.

April 4 2010

Reseeded, again.
Built raised bed boxes today.
Brought all seed starts OUT of the basement and put them in the window upstairs (south facing picture windows.

April 6th 2010

Bought Texas Sweet yellow onion sets. Planted them in the new raised bed box. The soil temp in the box was 60 degrees.

April 11 2010

Watered onions. 1/3 of the tomatoes started from seed have their 2nd set of leaves. They are tiny and pathetic looking.

April 12, 2010
Planted purple potatoes
Eyes grew in the basement over the winter about 6-8 inches tall....
Planted in box, in hills.
Watered taters and onions.

April 13-15 2010

Bird watered everything for me while I was out of town.

April 17 2010

Planted 2 apple trees and 1 pear tree. All dwarf from Stark Bros. Mulched around new trees. Watered onions and potatoes. Onions look good. I can see a couple of potato sprouts!!
Raspberry canes are FULL of leaves. All canes are alive. About 10 gazillion new raspberry starts.
Grass is cray long.
Seed starts look.....decent.

April 19 2010

Planted horseradish out front. Lots of potato plants popping up. Transplanted 1/2 of my tomatoes to larger pots. Bought organic fertilizer from Whole Foods. "Orgainicare Pure and Natural Plant Food" In a white bag with green print. Smells like chicken poop.......wow.
6+6+5+8% Ca (whatever that means)

April 21 2010

Transplanted 8 bell peppers out of small pots into 5 inch pots
Used the organic fertilizer.
Transplanted more tomatoes
total tom plants 50
total pepper plants 15
Will split more toms tomorrow.

April 22 2010

Transplanted the rest of the tomatoes. 78 total

April 28 2010

Started cucumber seeds
Tallest tomato plant is 2 inches. Stem is the size of a pencil led.
Most are smaller
69 total plants. Thinned out the weak ones.

April 28 2010

Heavy Frost.
Grrrrrrrrrrr
80% of potatoes look fine, but they didn't get covered and the tops turned purplish brown.
Onions did fine.
Tilled a garden spot for kel. The ground is like concrete.

May 2 2010

Planted carrots and radishes.
Soil was wet when I planted
Good hard rain May 3

May 5 2010

SOOOOOOPER windy
Planted red beans and black beans.
Too windy to put out any starts
Rye is about 3 feet tall.
Raspberry bushes are full. Lots of leaves and starting to see berry starts.
Lots of bees!!
Onions look great
Potatoes look great. Very green tops. Frost didn't kill any!!
All new trees showing leaves!!

May 6 2010

Planted cucumber starts
The boy and I made a trellis. It's wobbly, but we'll see!
Planted 6 total plants.
Discovered I am a total tool. Planted beans and radishes on top of carrots. Nice.
Planted 4 tomato plants and put water bottles over them act like mini green houses.

**NOTE to self. Don't shove water bottles deep into soil. When you pull them out, it rips the whole plant out.

May 10 2010

Planted 24 tomatoes. The big ones (about 2-3 inches tall)
Put grass around them, watered them.
Covered with plastic.

**NOTE to self. Don't cover with plastic.

May 16 2010

Took the plastic off on 5/13. Plants were fine. 80% looked healthy.
Smaller ones turned purple and looked like crap or were dead.

Cukes look great.
Everything planted, looks great.

May 20 2010

Yesterday, went into my fenced 60 x 60 garden. Walked through the 3 foot section with no fence, only to find the &$@(& skunk did the same. And he ate my tomato plants and pepper plants.
Guess who needs to build a gate?
Rolled extra fence in the entry of the garden.
Unbelievable.
Red beans coming up strong.
Black beans, sporatic, but good.
Cook this week...high in the 60's lows in low 50's.

May 25 2010

Let the panic begin.
Bought 6 San Marzono plants from Whole Foods. They are about 2 feet tall, with a big thick healthy stem....
Planted them. Grassed around them
Also bought Pineapple Sage, basil, sage, peppermint, and oregano.
Went to Hortons and bought Jalapeno plants, red bell peppers, zuchinni and squash(crook neck).
Planted all and grassed the bed (all the above went into the same bed)
It was HOT and humid. Almost 90 for the last 3 days.
Moved compost tumbler into garden.
Moved all pots off deck and into garden

**NOTE to self. Deck is SCREAMING hot and will kill any plant trying to grow on it.

May 27 2010

Added 200lbs of bagged topsoil to potatoes
Hilled it up.
Weeed my bean beds. Takes about 20 min a bed.

**NOTE to self. OMGosh weeding is SO easy in raised beds.

Bought at Lowes today: Parsley. Planted it with other herbs. Also bought 24 Rutgers Tomato plants (Heirloom Tomato). Planted those too. Did not mix those with other existing planted tomato plants. They got their own bed!
Weeded bed with zuchinni.
Not a lot of rain, been watering.
Potato plants look AMAZING and are starting to flower.
All plants look GREAT.