Everything is Coming Up....Everywhere

Well, as we thought, we have green beans and corn coming up EVERYWHERE! I made a row of corn to give them a chance. I planted them in the same row as the sunflowers in hopes to add protection from the wind. I may even be able to make another row with the little ones coming up!

I was able to add a few orange peppers. I got my sunflowers after all, YAY! And let's see....oh, I see the potatoes coming up. This is very exciting. Everything is coming up that we planted.

This month May 2010 is the rainiest month in TN history. Hopefully things will become a little more balanced as the summer approaches. I'd be quite frustrated if the tomatoes got blight again this year.

Every year I manage to find a yard sale that is selling potted plants. This year I got some miniature hollyhocks, and two other plants (I don't know the name). I can't wait to see them come up!

and Re-Planted

For those who don't live in middle-TN, you may or may not have heard of the horrible flood that has come through the region. Not only did it destroy my precious little garden (a small loss compared to most) but also temporary shelters are at capacity, missing people are unaccounted for, many homes are under water, we're in a water conservation emergency, much of Nashville's economic base is threatened by flood damage, etc, etc. Please contact the Red Cross to Help.



So, my mother planted three rows of tomatoes that survived the flood, they were planted outside of the water path. I managed to save 5 plants (one sweet pepper, one jalapeno and three tomatoes). Just yesterday, we found many bean sprouts that washed away to another part of the property. I expect to see corn, potatoes, pumpkins and who knows what else cropping up. Or perhaps you may see my seeds cropping up where you live....

So, the flood washed away a lot of topsoil, so much so that we aren't going to plant the whole garden this season. Therefore, I was able to get 2 rows, but they are long because they are plowed horizontally rather than vertically. I replanted most everything except corn and sunflowers. There just wasn't enough room. That will be next year.

Our plan for this year is to get a load of topsoil for parts of the garden that lost it. We hope after harvest to plow and plant clover.

Even though it was washed out and we had double work, I have hopes that it will mean good things for the garden. More nutrients perhaps? We'll see....keep in touch for more.

Planted

The garden is planted, let the blog begin.

Mother and I planted our garden on April 29th. Beautiful. The soil, ohhhh the soil, was so spectacular it made me want to go back to my childhood and make mudpies. I planted:

Potatoes (new for me)
Sunflowers
Pumpkins
Corn (again, new for me)
Jalapeno Peppers
Sweet Bell Peppers
Tomatoes (Beefmasters and Bradley's)

2009 Recap, what I learned:

I tried to tame it down this year. Last years crop was such a disappointment with all the rain and the blight. Last year the poor tomatoes. It grieves me so to even talk about my poor tomatoes. Let's just say I harvested 2 tomatoes and had a couple ROWS of them. Darn BLIGHT!

Also, I enjoyed Pumpkins in 2008 that I thought I MUST plant many, many in 2009. Sometimes more is not better. Live and learn.

It was a spectacular jalapeno season last year...almost too much so. We had so many that 100s died on the plants. We just couldn't keep up. I tried the Sweet Peppers in planters last year. A place where they got PLENTY of sun, and that was successful. For what ever reason, sweet peppers don't do exceptionally well in the garden. I know this but I can't resist peppers, I just LOVE them, so I try year after year.

The Sunflowers were beautiful last year. Also, the little Baby Boo Pumpkins were adorable...I needed to plant those later in the year, though. The were ready too soon in the season.

NEW THIS YEAR:
Corn. I am so excited to try this. I understand that I must plant at least three rows to prevent the wind from knocking them down. I think I will put sunflowers on either side of them additionally for extra protection. BUT, I do know it grows. My grandfather grew it all the time.

Potatoes. I watched a Reading Rainbow episode a couple years ago about growing potatoes. I have been curious ever since. (Reading Rainbow? Yes, I have children.) This is the year to try out potatoes. I have started it late in the season, but I am trying to plant them in a shadier area, so we'll see.

Peppers are being planted in a different part of the garden, in hopes of finding the RIGHT place for peppers.

2010 Garden Season fast approaching.

So I guess my last post was my unofficial end post for the 2009 garden season. I have written a list of plants to try this year. They are as follows:

Sunflowers...they are just too easy and so pretty. I also hope to feed them to the birds this year.

Orange Peppers, I will be growing these in pots at my house rather than in the garden. The sun just isn't quite right in the garden. Additionally green and red peppers.

I am going to try carrots this year. I will probably have to container grow these since our soil is quite rocky. My granny told me that when my brother tried carrots they were very crooked.

I want to try potatoes. This may also take some new soil that isn't so rocky, but I am most eager about this gardening endeavor. I MAY grow some sweet potatoes, too. We'll see.

I will do pumpkins this year, but just one basic Jack O Lantern variety and not very many.

I may grow some corn.

And tomatoes. I will not start these from seeds, however. I will buy hardy, blight-resistant plants.

Talk to you again in a few months when we get this baby started.

Has it been three weeks???

I am heartbroken to show you the sad pictures of the tomatoes. I personally harvested two ripe tomatoes. That is horrible since I planted a row and a half. Mother got more tomatoes, but she planted her plants earlier than I so they had more time to produce. As I drive by other folks gardens to see the same, it just frustrates me. It would seem that a nice wet summer would be wonderful, but it goes to show that even though hot dry summers are sometimes miserable to endure, there are good things that come of it.



I was so proud of myself. This year I actually canned something. My husband and I had a great time doing this together, too. I felt like a true gardener. Sure it's fun to plant and harvest the fruit, but to preserve it and use it during non-summer months is exciting. I canned the False Alarm Hybrid Jalapenos. My husband says they aren't hot at all. I was hoping for a slight bit of heat, but non at all? So, I canned a hot jalapeno in each of the jars in hopes of adding some spice. We'll see. They should be just about ready to try.


So I as so excited about preserving my peppers, I wanted to get a start on my pumpkins. BAD idea. Although they looked like they were ready, they were not. I am eager to try and can some of the pumpkins for pies and muffins. Looks like I need to hold off until at least the end of August early September. We'll see.







Though my orange pumpkins weren't ready, my Baby Boos were ready. Lesson learned, DONT plant these until mid-to-late June. I now have all those adorable pumpkins sitting in a shoe box on my table. Hopefully they'll hold out until fall so I can decorate with them.


This is my volunteer gourd/pumpkin/squash mystery plant. It decided to grow right up onto our porch. It is thriving, hopefully the yard guy won't hit the plant with his weed-eater tomorrow. I don't know where this came from, but I am going with it. Who knows what we'll do with these oddities.

Rain Rain Go Away...

Check out this article on the Late Blight Crisis affecting our tomatoes. The main cause is all the rain and humidity. Our crop has never fully dried out. We have hardly watered the garden at all. This is very unusual for mid-July!

Blight

Our poor tomatoes have blight. Last year our garden was perfect. So perfect that we canned a ton of tomatoes and even gave bushels away. This year, we don't know what happened. Mother says that she didn't try so hard last year and maybe there is something to that. This year she stepped it up and fertilized and spent more time on them. I on the other hand stuck my tomatoes in the ground and hoped they'd make it. Both ways, the tomatoes are dying. HUGE BUMMER! It rained a lot this year, I don't know if they plays into it or not, but either way we're just hoping the tomato plants we have will live long enough to allow the fruit to ripen.

On the other hand our blackberries and pumpkins are growing very well!

My children and their buddies picking blackberries!

And here are the pumpkins:

Pollination in its true form.

Cinderella Pumpkins hanging from the trellis.

Pretty little fancy gourd!


We also have loads of green beans. Mother and Granny have canned over 100 jars of beans.

This is my tiger lily. I bought a box full of plants from a yard sale for $5. I think I got my money's worth for this shot alone.