Put Me In Coach II

You’re on deck, so dust off and get ready to be “put in” -

Put Me In Coach

No vampires in this old barn, just bundles and bundles of tomato stakes -

Someone's Shy

Aww, an embarrassed Black-eyed Susan -

Spring Garden Prep Ritual

It's that time of year, garden prep time, aka a good workout and full body soreness...

As I do every spring, I turned (tilled) my large vegetable garden yesterday afternoon!  I spread some compost before started and turn it and the winter rye, that had taken off, all into the soil.

There were oodles of sunflower seedling that had started to grow from last years crop, that I transplanted along the top edge of the garden, about (25) of them.

Now we wait a little bit longer until it's safe here in New England to get veggies in the ground.

New Fir Bed

Today was a beautiful spring day with temps in the mid 60s. It just so happened to be my day of too, so I took advantage and got outside in the yard, after my walk.

However, I started my day at Lowe's first thing, where I picked up some new lumber to replace an old rotted raised bed, see finished product below -

This is my Tennessee thorn less black raspberry bed.

Once the new bed was in place, I added some fresh compost, which I also added to a couple of my other raised beds too.

I'm getting ready for planting season!

Snowy Garlic

I took this pic yesterday morning before heading off to work.

Again, snow on April 12th, UGH, but it shows how well my garlic is doing despite the crazy ups and downs in temps we've been having. All (33) cloves I planted in the fall have survived and doing well!

So, I Sowed Not Sewed, So There!

You can't tell from these pictures but I planted my Winter Rye yesterday.

I sow it like I'm feeding chickens, just toss it around, then lightly rake followed by a good watering and now we wait.

Wanted to take advantage of the nice weather we've been having, so the rye can get established.

Doesn't look like much but I will post some follow up pics once it starts to grown and then again in the spring when it really takes off.

That's A Wrap!

I harvested my carrots on Saturday!

I would have preferred to let them go a bit longer, with nice weather predicted for the coming week, but something started eating the tops, so I opted to dig them.  That officially closes out my vegetable gardens for the season.

This was my third planting of carrots.  My previous two didn't have much of a chance with the darn wild rabbits, however.  As you can see, still not the greatest harvest, as most are tiny with the bigger ones still small but no worries.

I washed them, cut them up and into the crockpot them went on Sunday morning with other veggies and a nice turkey breast!  A terrific early afternoon meal!

A little hanky-panky going on with these two but they did form a lovely heart -

 

Garlic Planted!

Busy day today and making quite a bit of progress on the ole "to do" list!

I got my garlic planted this afternoon!

(33) cloves planted - (3) rows of (11).

I used a half dozen of garlic bulbs that I grew and harvested this past fall!  Just look how beautiful those cloves look in the first pic and they're SO delicious too!

I gave the bed a good watering before calling it quits for the day.

Now we wait!

"What's Up Doc?"

The only vegetable I have left in my garden are the above carrots!

I've cut and removed all other veggie plants and remnants from my gardens and moved them to the compost bin.

This carrots are my third planting of the year.  The rabbits did a number on my previous plantings, UGH!  Hoping I get enough to fire up the old crockpot to make a nice beef stew.

I'll do a closer inspection this weekend to see if there are in fact carrots under those tops.

Almost Winter Rye Planting Time

I took a ride the other morning to the Ventura Grain Co, Inc. feed store in Taunton, MA to pick up my winter rye.

I used to buy this right here in Franklin at the Agway but sadly the store went out of business and closed earlier this year.

The nice thing about the Agway, besides be just a couple miles up town, was that you could scoop and fill your own bag with the amount you wanted.  I always did 3-pounds, which was more than enough for me, The smallest bag that Ventura Grain had was a 5-pound bag, so I'll have extra and perhaps it'll last till next fall.

It's still a little too early to plant now but soon, as the evening temps have been dipping into the upper 40's, brrr....

To Die For! SO SO Yummy!

I went with the Greek tomato salad, like my mother used to make!

I like to peel the skin off of the tomatoes before cutting them up and tossing them in a bowl with feta cheese, red onion and Kalamata olives.  Add some salt, pepper, olive oil and balsamic vinegar, stir and let chill in the fridge.

OMG!  It was SO delicious and I ate the whole thing in one sitting!  And yes, of course I used some fresh bread to "buta buta" and soak up the scrumptious juices!

I'm heading out shortly to see if there are more ripe tomatoes out there in my garden so I can make another salad.

First Of The Season!

Seems like I planted my tomato plants several weeks ago but in reality it's been several months!

My hard work, hand watering and dotting is starting to pay off with signs of the fruits (pun intended) of my labors.

Here are the first tomatoes of the season, picked yesterday evening!

Can't wait to dig in and enjoy these bad boys but undecided on how, BLTs or a play on the Greek tomato salad (feta and red onion) that my mom used to make...

Consequences To Ones Actions

Frye's garden NOT McGregors but same rules apply!

Although, this youngster was not the one responsible for eating my carrot and bean plants, see below, I can assure you it will never have the opportunity to do so in the future -

I even installed a fence around my raised vegetable beds specifically to keep the rabbits and deer out, which makes the damage and loss that much more frustrating!

One section of my beans and one example of the damage done, GRRR -

Similar example but with my carrots, double GRRR - 

They even do a number of my Rose Campion plants, triple GRRR -

For such small critters, it's amazing the damage they can do and in such a short time.  I can look out off my back deck and often see 2, 3, 4 or 5 rabbits at a time.  There are oodles of them this summer, far too many.

Garlic Garlic Everywhere!

Time sure is flying...

That being said, it was time to pick my garlic; the garlic I planted back in November.

And they look and smell DELICIOUS!

I planted 33 cloves in the fall and just last night picked 28 BIG beautiful bulbs!

They're hanging in my garage per usual for a couple weeks to dry.

“What's up, doc?"

There are scads of wild rabbits this year here in New England!  I don't recall ever seeing SO many.  Guessing it might have something to do with the mild winters we've had the last couple of years.

As many folks view these rabbits as cute, I find them a nuisance in general but more so when you're having to battle with them to keep them destroying your flower and vegetable gardens.

There are about a half dozen of these vermin in my backyard alone.  They disappear during the day but come out in the evenings and early mornings when it's cooler and do constant damage, GRRR

This Rose Campion is one example, where they eat parts of it snapping the flowering stems off -

They like to give themselves dirt baths, so any bare spots are attractive to them.  They'll get in those spots, dig and roll around making a mess, especially if in one of my veggie gardens.  Smaller, up and coming plants like my carrots and beans don't stand a chance.

If they survive that onslaught, well then its the taste that attracts them.  I even installed a separate fence around my raised beds specifically to keep these vermin out but they still find a way in, and once in they make short work of eating plants to the ground.  You can see what they've done to my bean plants - 

But fear not for my persistence has paid off, GOTCHA!

This trapped pest was the one who had an acquired taste for my bean and carrot plants, which proved to be his downfall!

One down and SO many more to go and like Carl Spackler said in Caddyshack (just replace "gophers" with "rabbits") - 

"Licensed to kill gophers by the government of the United Nations. A man, free to kill gophers at will. To kill, you must know your enemy, and in this case my enemy is a varmint. And a varmint will never quit - ever. They're like the Viet Cong - Varmint Cong. So you have to fall back on superior intelligence and superior firepower. And that's all she wrote."

Memorial Day Weekend Plantings

This past weekend I got my vegetable gardens going!

I planted some seeds and some plants already started, that I picked up from a local nursery.

(8) California Wonder sweet peppers

(4) Broccoli

A row of bush green beans &

A row of carrots -

Last falls garlic plants, doing awesome -

Installed a temporary fence to keep the darn deer and rabbits out -

(4) Brandywine Red tomatoes

(4) Jet Star tomatoes

(50) White sweet corn seeds - I'll plant two more batches, each about 2-weeks apart

A row of mixed sunflowers

Now I water and wait...

It's Right Around The Corner!

I picked up some veggie seeds this past weekend, can't wait!

I'm starting to give some thought to what I'm going to plant and where.

These items here I'll plant directly in the soil when the time is right.

Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and perhaps some others, I'll pick up at a local farm already started.

Eggplant Overrun!

I am being over run with oodles of eggplants!

This is my first year growing and they have done fantastic. They have loved the rainy, hot and humid weather we've had.

I bought (3) good looking plants from a local farm and they took off almost as soon as I got them out of their pots and into the soil.

If I only liked eggplant, alas...

My dad planted them every year and my folks enjoyed them, but being the fussy eater I was growing up, I never ventured even a taste.  So, here we are many, many years later and I've still never ventured even the tiniest bite of eggplant.  Perhaps, some day.

Tater Tower Bust

Yesterday was the day I decided to harvest the potatoes I planted in my "tater tower".  

I've been super curious to see how growing potatoes in this fashion would turn out.

I like the concept, as well how little space a tower actual takes compared to planting them directly in the soil in rows.  Also, a lot less work utilizing a tower versus in the ground.

All that being said, I must admit that I'm disappointed in the end results - not nearly as many potatoes as I was expecting or hoped for!  I thought there would be more potatoes growing along the stalks that got covered as I added sides and more compost but that too was not the case.

Two of the four sides removed -

Here is the harvesting results.  Just barely covers the bottom of a 5-gallon bucket, with the majority of the taters about the size of a golf ball, BOO - 

I "harvested" about as many grubs, in my tater tower, as I did potatoes!  These grubs were jumbo sized too -

As disappointed as I am with the turn out, I'm thinking I'll give this one more try next season but time I'll plant a different type of potato.  Seems that these Yukon Gold, which are so delicious, might not be the best.  

I saved all the tater tower pieces and will rebuild again come next season.  Stay tuned...