Planted tomatoes

Well, I gave in and planted the tomato plants that I mail ordered.  They sent them almost three weeks ago when it was way to cold to plant.  Still steamed that they did that.  I read Adrian Higgins in today's Washington Post and he said it was just about ok to plant as of last weekend.  Since my plants were looking peaky I decided to go ahead.  I had thought to myself to wait and go to DeBaggios Herb Farm to get tomatoes, but did not.  Of course Higgins suggests that they have the best toms because DeBaggio doesn't sell them until the time is right.  Next year I will listen to myself and Higgins or try from seed again.  Or do both!

Too cold for tomatoes and peppers?

I ordered some tomato plants from a seed company and they sent them to me a week or more ago.  It is still too darn cold to plant them and I really don't have a great place, like a greenhouse to keep them until they are ready to go totally out side on their own.  Darn you nurseries and garden centers.  I know you want to make room for other plants but really, it i still getting down in the 50's at night! Anyone else find this annoying?

Neem Oil: Update from Garden Remedies Page

I did use neem oil as anti fungal and for pest control.  I think it helped, but you must under take other measures.  First, for fungus, especially blackspot on roses the best help is to remove old mulch, debris from plant and any old leaves or twigs from around rose in the spring and replace with completely new, fresh mulch.  Also try spraying ground arond roses before mulching after clean up with mycorrhizal fungus.  This may help give rose plant a fighting chance against fugus and critters.  As for insects, spraying at the right time makes a big difference.  If you want to keep squash bugs from killing plants or japanese beetles from eat all of your roses and raspberries spray while eggs are laid in late May early June.  The neem oli covers eggs and keeps larvae from hatching.  Also, look for adult bugs to catch and kill preventing them from laying eggs.  Planting geraniums (pelagorums) seems to help with Japanese beetles.

Wow!  It has been many months since I have posted. But spring is finally here and I can take a break from gardening to write about gardening! This year the tulips did very well.  I planted more last fall and boy are they beautiful and they all seemed to come up even though there are a lot of squirrels in the hood.  I think buying them from a very good source helps.  I bought from Brent and Becky's Bulbs here in Virginia.  I am always a bit skeptical of bulbs bought from big box stores that are in boxes and bags.  You just do not know how long they have been stored and in what conditions.  Speaking of bulbs, my dad and I planted garlic last September using organic bulbs from the farmers market and they are growing like crazy!  In a previous attempt we used bulbs from grocery store, not organic and the did not grow well.

We have had a cool spring so far but my tomato plants ordered from Park Seeds came last week!  Too early to plant tomatoes.  So I will have to stick them in cold frame for a while.  Annoying.  But almost all garden centers already have tomatoes and peppers and other warm weather veggies for sale.  Shame on them. People will plant them and they will probably live but they won't produce very well.

This year I am going to try using liquid mycorrhizal fungi to assist plants roots in absorbing nutrients from the soil and added fertilizers.  The product is called Alpha Thrive and I have high hopes for the benefits of mycorrhizal fungus.
It helps legumes so why not other plants? I have not used it yet because the soil temperature has to be above 45F, and I am not sure it has warmed up that much yet.  Will keep you posted.

Fall is here

The leaves are starting to turn, going to plant garlic and other bulbs soon.  Hoping the giant mustard starts to get bigger, still too small!  Not sure if it is too late to start Brussels sprouts from seed but will try anyway.  Wish me luck on growing winter/fall vegetables.

Garden Shed

Finally I have a new door and steps to garden shed!  Here it is!

Well fall is on its way and I am raring to go with the fall veggies.  I may actually get some carrots from my planting in late July.  Soon I will plant garlic, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, red kale, more mustard and all sorts of other stuff.  But first I have to finish off the green beans, okra and zucchini.  I have a killer recipe for vegetable gumbo (vegan and non-vegan).  Finally, i had someone add real steps to my garden shed.  Now I am in less danger of breaking a leg when I go in and out of the shed.  Miss Maddie, my terrier-corgi-fox-rabbit-woodland creature-dog, can manage the steps too.  I have learned a lot about when to plant stuff this year.  They were mainly negative lessons, but I am learning. I am adding more garden beds and berries.  Next year I hope to add a couple of fruit trees too.

I cannot express how much joy I feel when I look at my garden.  Thanks to my generous parents and family I am living my dream of my own piece of Eden.I am one of the luckiest people in the world.  Now if I could just get those nasty insects to leave my melons alone...