The month-long absence of any rain has sure made things dry and crispy around here, and a simple job of mowing the lawn causes most people around here to wear a dust mask - due to the dust flying around. However, this morning brought with it a long, soaking rain finally - the kind that's really good for plants and trees. It sure is welcomed....
Everything that was growing in swc's has been removed now, and the only tomatoes left are the ones growing in the main raised bed. Oh, and they're still setting fruit like crazy, too!
Anyway, I wanted to show you some of the newest things in the garden right now - as i've certainly been pretty busy.
Photo below - here's the rhubarb growing in the really large homemade container that is filled with homemade compost. It's still hanging in there, but i've really had to water the thing over the past 2 weeks. I really hope that it makes it through the winter, because we should be able to harvest some stalks next spring.
Photo below - here's some lettuce that is being kept on the worktable out back. A daily watering was necessary last week, because the searing heat dried the seed-starting mix out, if not done so. They really need to be thinned out soon, then potted up into something bigger.
Photo below - Here's nine 4-gallon swp's with "premium crop" broccoli planted in them. Since the broccoli started from seed a while back is still really tiny, I resorted to purchasing transplants. Nine plants @ $2.98 is really cheap, though. This cultivar of broccoli is advertised to produce heads between 10-12" in diameter.
Photo below - here's one of the transplants in its' swp that uses the lid as mulch. About half of the swp's are covered - the others not. It's just a little experiment I wanted to try during the cooler months, to see if mulch is actually necessary during cool weather conditions...
Photo below - after planting any swc's/swp's, the soil moisture level is measured the following day - to see if any capillary action is taking place. For the record, I usually don't wet my growing medium as the swp is being filled - just fill the water reservoir afterward, then the allow the capillary action to do it for me. This is usually accomplished in less than 24 hours (contrary to what one "expert" says). Anyway, this reading of 7 was measured about 8" down into the mix, and is right on target for broccoli....
In other news, there's still okra, green beans, tomatoes, and sweet potatoes growing from the spring planting. I'm harvesting a gallon bucket of green beans once per week, and the tomatoes are slowly being harvested, too. The okra is being left to go to seed, so if anyone wants any later - just let me know. The remaining sweet potatoes will be harvested on October 2nd, and of course i'll video it, too. Maybe I can get Jude to behave this time. Hehe...I seriously doubt it......
Oh, progress is being made on the live squirrel trap too, and I hope to have it ready in a couple of weeks. Surprisingly, the trigger mechanism has been really difficult to design, and probably the most challenging obstacle i've been faced with in a long time on a project. I sure hope it works! Heh.
Well, that's about it for now,
Take care, and happy gardening!
EG
6 comments:
Can you believe fall is already here! I wish it felt like it some more since it's still in the 90's here, and we've been so dry like y'all. We're expecting rain tomorrow, so I'm hopeful things will cool down after that.
I hope your rhubarb stays strong enough to survive the winter! I'm also interested to find out if the plants in covered swp's do better.
Oh, and I have some really newbie questions about your lettuce seedlings. What is the best way to get seedlings out of those 9 cell or 6 cell packs without injuring the delicate seedlings? And when you thin them out, do you repot the thinnings, or do they get sacrificed for the stronger remaining ones?
ribbit - I know it! Before long, it'll be jacket-wearing weather. I'm ready for it, though.
Thyme2garden - Me too, this is my first time growing rhubarb, and I really don't know what to expect.
I discard the smallest seedlings, and just dump the whole cellpack into open hand. (I've got pretty big hands, though)
The way you are planting your broccoli is very interesting. I am curious to hear your future thoughts on how well the lid works in helping to retain soil moisture. This would be a great set up for some of our extra plants in the spring, allowing me to plant them up and grow them in an out of the garden location but not have to constantly be worrying about watering them. I'm off to check out your contruction post.:)
I so wish I had broccoli in my garden this year. Next year I intend to. I think I'll go without the SWCs though as I'm looking outside at the new garden and thinking to myself, "Oh my God, how am I going to keep that large garden up?" lol the last think I will need next year is a pot I think. My mindset may change as time goes on though and we have some really nice pot areas I could use.
Mr H. - I grew it like this last year, and it worked really good. Also, the plants were brought inside on a couple of nights, because the temps were falling below 24 degrees...That was really handy!
Daphne - fall is the only time it can be grown here, because warm temps arrive too quickly in the spring. I think you're doing great with the new garden, and can't wait to see what you come up with next year.
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