tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47904699728419423022024-03-13T18:33:03.690-04:00From Seed to ScrumptiousGeorgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15005917822282749127noreply@blogger.comBlogger382125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4790469972841942302.post-30373507517961941292021-03-03T17:01:00.001-05:002021-03-03T17:43:20.070-05:00Spring is Coming<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3B6sz-N0qg35DF5GB-dG2JilnHXKEUQABOm6R7WLgsbBKfw1i4GqUvKoWz3AEXpj2o_OzEzuV4IZAiw_1X50IKH7i6RKxNb_XT2-pWicVGC0bUE1jo0B8QtwEo0jnSBfIPNehQlsE8Lg/s2048/DSCN0738.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3B6sz-N0qg35DF5GB-dG2JilnHXKEUQABOm6R7WLgsbBKfw1i4GqUvKoWz3AEXpj2o_OzEzuV4IZAiw_1X50IKH7i6RKxNb_XT2-pWicVGC0bUE1jo0B8QtwEo0jnSBfIPNehQlsE8Lg/s320/DSCN0738.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p> March 3, 2021. A glorious day, high of 57. Snow drops as indications that spring will soon burst upon us. A forecast of days to come, without rain. Maybe not as warm as today, but beautiful none the less. The snow drops are the earliest of my spring bulbs to bloom, easily beating out the crocus and daffodils.</p><p> Snow drops are part of a group of plants known as ephemerals. They have a short growth season, often in early spring before trees leaf out. They take full advantage of early spring sun light, then die back to nothing as trees leaf out and block the light. These snow drops self seed, so the patch gets bigger and bigger for the spring spectacle. I have crocus, wood hyacinths, and grape hyacinths which are also ephemeral, and should bloom in a couple of weeks.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiabhqxwSSHDds74r1CFFIlqcdEchmx9mdpr8XhEdemDn6fi4qrWvz_Tj4_Rh9vqB5JLItej-gFKkMzcaqXJmD9F-hxAe8erITr_1j7yg44jJNZaa_s1PNzWc56-ZHO3iwH7c4z7DdRd08/s2048/DSCN0739.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiabhqxwSSHDds74r1CFFIlqcdEchmx9mdpr8XhEdemDn6fi4qrWvz_Tj4_Rh9vqB5JLItej-gFKkMzcaqXJmD9F-hxAe8erITr_1j7yg44jJNZaa_s1PNzWc56-ZHO3iwH7c4z7DdRd08/s320/DSCN0739.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjce6BYCwjUAjw1oAf9RD9GzxqX1S2eRluXVs248ptTdpq4R6NEKJ9TRQZ9xy1GW9sRTaeiy_U056BQHFwcOqGwYjZ-lFHnVO8ND5YlmQJEYIRKh8VKd_55LXPPHAHZBwK3dyYNAY2mJvI/s2048/DSCN0740.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjce6BYCwjUAjw1oAf9RD9GzxqX1S2eRluXVs248ptTdpq4R6NEKJ9TRQZ9xy1GW9sRTaeiy_U056BQHFwcOqGwYjZ-lFHnVO8ND5YlmQJEYIRKh8VKd_55LXPPHAHZBwK3dyYNAY2mJvI/s320/DSCN0740.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div> <br /><p><br /></p>Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15005917822282749127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4790469972841942302.post-37770918450923419222021-02-25T10:47:00.000-05:002021-02-25T10:47:15.094-05:00A bit of Paradise<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA3hxnKEbRpEtwJy4wlNcs4-qVZ6ZabD1GISKDcFO9wIG9TYik1Om-z2DxqNcwqP5VqGnpluWhsmAKXlWaKIvAvBuF6KvMrAPb6lMku18Fr1eeDl3EGYyrsCB5u6RismVEMPTl_L6lwKE/s2048/DSCN0726.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA3hxnKEbRpEtwJy4wlNcs4-qVZ6ZabD1GISKDcFO9wIG9TYik1Om-z2DxqNcwqP5VqGnpluWhsmAKXlWaKIvAvBuF6KvMrAPb6lMku18Fr1eeDl3EGYyrsCB5u6RismVEMPTl_L6lwKE/s320/DSCN0726.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> February 25, 2021<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhot2dH-Wn8YBN90hMyAxnWlw_PV44BJxQHMk6J3dRz4fpzhdAqsFQjSn42gwDBkbeern3Go5bG6VhXwZknK2eSGwL5BzHMywXF3FNYbNAsL_siTmwzV0o8XHo8kQYa1gjyJfdr_BBGOT8/s2048/DSCN0721.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhot2dH-Wn8YBN90hMyAxnWlw_PV44BJxQHMk6J3dRz4fpzhdAqsFQjSn42gwDBkbeern3Go5bG6VhXwZknK2eSGwL5BzHMywXF3FNYbNAsL_siTmwzV0o8XHo8kQYa1gjyJfdr_BBGOT8/s320/DSCN0721.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFuu0l1fsHoP-s2z8SAxME1n4UwZQFXZk6qHHt6FZRBfOzy98w_ovQxlVxB8vY9PncwswjdJF3b7t-uYtjNG-D_26XIP4NpwT3Ou1KkhQYRvN5fy8UsYUAaKZlqHTLKCKvjv-FnxuLaag/s2048/DSCN0725.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFuu0l1fsHoP-s2z8SAxME1n4UwZQFXZk6qHHt6FZRBfOzy98w_ovQxlVxB8vY9PncwswjdJF3b7t-uYtjNG-D_26XIP4NpwT3Ou1KkhQYRvN5fy8UsYUAaKZlqHTLKCKvjv-FnxuLaag/s320/DSCN0725.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p> A bit of Paradise in February. Still with snow outside. Cindy and I brought a small Bird of Paradise plant home from a trip to Hawaii in 1986. It apparently did not mind it's trip back east, as it has thrived and now bloomed for many years. It starts blooming in December, and continues for months on end. This year had only two blooms whereas most years there are five. It loves to spend the summers outside, but only well away from frost dates.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><br /><p></p>Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15005917822282749127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4790469972841942302.post-38248837197268330992021-01-05T16:44:00.000-05:002021-01-05T16:44:12.749-05:00Lettuce starts update 1/5/2021<p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguvLVqsRkhCR40Dn8mHJBmRPoMNDh__e6xzRD0BaO8xXVbiJ2WODYLMq4CTewyNhjw0byk9EvOjbXGGl-WLt8ltZ2Bbk9yE256VFfTqbpW8G7gSX5mwCbONjMuDfy7VEvozetWsJzkmWM/s2048/DSCN0706.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguvLVqsRkhCR40Dn8mHJBmRPoMNDh__e6xzRD0BaO8xXVbiJ2WODYLMq4CTewyNhjw0byk9EvOjbXGGl-WLt8ltZ2Bbk9yE256VFfTqbpW8G7gSX5mwCbONjMuDfy7VEvozetWsJzkmWM/w339-h280/DSCN0706.JPG" width="339" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mixed lettuce from seed 10/17/2020<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> The lettuce starts shown above were started from seed on October 17 of 2020, with the intent to</div><div style="text-align: left;">move the small plants to a cold frame to winter over. This pot was outside and survived a low of 26 </div><div style="text-align: left;">degrees on December 7 th. By mid December this and a second pot were moved to our single pane enclosed porch. </div><div style="text-align: left;"> Yesterday on 1/4/2021, I painstakingly moved tiny thick stemmed chinese mustard seedlings that had hair like roots from a wet paper towel start of maybe a week prior wetting. Pak Choi seeds were also sprinkled over dirt yesterday. Today I also started six Golden Treasure Pepper seeds on the damp paper towel method. Pepper seeds take me forever to germinate, and are also slow growers, hence the very early attempted start.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></p>Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15005917822282749127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4790469972841942302.post-39526241079889822082017-12-01T17:45:00.000-05:002017-12-01T17:45:25.531-05:00Planting Garlic in December I have heard a saying about planting garlic on the shortest day of the year. Well I am pretty close to being that late so I am hoping for the best. I would certainly expect a great crop of green garlic.<br />
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At the bottom of the northern most tomato trellis I planted almost two dozen Russian Red garlic cloves from my last year's harvest. These were some of the largest cloves that I saved especially for next year's crop.<br />
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In the new tomato trellis near the middle of the garden, I planted one dozen Music cloves from last year's harvest. These were premium cloves that will hopefully provide next year's seed stock.<br />
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This bed at the park was heavily planted by casting cloves on the slightly disturbed soil. The dried grass clippings were then lightly spread over the seeds. It felt good to be out in the garden today. And the forecast for next week is wintry cold, so I am happy to be done with the garlic.Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15005917822282749127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4790469972841942302.post-6259262591852873752017-10-17T15:03:00.001-04:002017-10-17T15:03:42.273-04:00October 17th Harvest I have not written a post in so long, I may not remember how to do the picture pasting. At least the garden did not forget how to produce. But on October 17th, this picking is getting to be near the end. Maybe frost will hold off some more.<br />
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Wow, what a haul for the middle of October. I had great success with the peppers that I grew in the compost pile at the park. The elevated peppers did much better than those in the ground, and also better than those in pots. Will certainly repeat that experiment next year.</div>
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Here is everything spread out. The cubanelle peppers are on the left as well as the one orange cubanelle on the right. The near to the last of the large tomatoes are in the upper middle, with the chocolate cherries just below them. The pretty red balls just below the cherries are sweet cherry peppers. New to me this year, they have kind of a smoky flavor. I have kept some of the abundant seeds for next crop in 2018. On the right are four bell peppers. The long yellow peppers are sweet, and similar to banana peppers. Sorry to see it all the fresh produce nearing an end.<br />
The ten day forecast shows no indication of frost, so there just might be a chance to pick summer veggies into November! Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15005917822282749127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4790469972841942302.post-90451344939005329272017-03-04T17:33:00.000-05:002017-03-04T17:33:43.371-05:00Early, Early Asparagus I have heard that the mostly mild or even outrageously warm weather this winter has our area about a month ahead of normal seasons. And yet, it was still a huge surprise to see asparagus spears breaking ground in late February! By early March:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">March 3, 2017</td></tr>
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<br /> The purplish or pinkish spears are just barely visible in this planting. In this next shot of a different hill the spears are more easily seen.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">March 3, 2017</td></tr>
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With a few more days of nice weather, I might have enjoyed the first taste of asparagus in early March. But alas, winter has moved back in. While the asparagus roots are perennial and can survive weather to zero or lower, the shoots above ground are quite tender, and will be killed back in freezing temperatures. The forecast for this morning was supposed to be 22 degrees, so yesterday I went to the park to cover the baby asparagus with shredded leaves. Tomorrow morning lows are supposed to be around 16 degrees. Bad, bad weather for brand new spears.<br />
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Ah, hopefully that will be better. In a couple of days I will gently peel away the leaves and look for some of those scrumptious first spears.Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15005917822282749127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4790469972841942302.post-47402128552720285112017-02-27T10:47:00.001-05:002017-02-27T10:47:15.740-05:00Perfect for Pansies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A large chunk of the old Beech tree at the entrance to the Bellevue Park community gardens broke off, showing the necessity to take down the whole tree. Turns out it was rotten in the center to a height of about ten feet. The inside was filled with beautiful black dirt, probably the result of years of squirrel goop and nesting leaves. To some enterprising gardener, it presented the perfect opportunity for a stealth raid to plant some pansies before the stump planter was cut down. Hopefully the park people will leave the new gardening statement standing.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">February 24, 2017</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brightens things up a bit after a cloudy winter</td></tr>
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<br />Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15005917822282749127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4790469972841942302.post-67148643246449452272016-11-23T16:53:00.001-05:002016-11-23T16:53:36.957-05:00Atta boy, Tatsoi I love the look of the low growing Chinese green known as Tatsoi. It is very cold resistant and is great for cold frame growing as it does not get much taller than 6 inches to a foot. If you let it throw flower spikes, it may even self seed for you.<br />
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This is a volunteer. So what you say. This was not a transplanted volunteer, but rather popped up in the dirt that I used from my compost pile. The pepper planted in this pot died, but this volunteer tatsoi has thrived. And for that effort, it has won a place in the salad to be made for the Thanksgiving feast.<br />
I bought this neat growing pot this spring. Bought three different sizes, three gallon, five gallon and ten gallon. The handles make them pretty easy to move around. They are made from fabric and recycled plastic bottles. The manufacturer claims they have a life span of five to six years. I bought mine from this link:<br />
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http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/category/growing-pouches-and-bags<br />
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I bought the brown bags which are said to last the longest time. Have been very happy with them. They would also make a great tote in the garden for harvesting veggies or even for collecting weeds and trimmings. These are known as the "Root Pouch".<br />
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Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15005917822282749127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4790469972841942302.post-87851131216829061322016-11-03T14:15:00.000-04:002016-11-03T14:15:06.057-04:00Last of the Limas The Dr. Martin lima beans have had a very productive run, but the colder weather and shorter day length has pretty much done them in. Here is a picture of the last picking on October 30th, then shelled on November second.<br />
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We have a lot of the beans frozen, as they just kept coming and coming.<br />
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Even the large beans are tasty. Dinner was pork chops, lima beans, and butternut squash from the garden. Scrumptious.<br />
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A nice way to end the lima season. Does anyone have a recipe for baked beans using fresh or dried lima beans? I would love to give it a try.Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15005917822282749127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4790469972841942302.post-21749643100747902522016-10-03T17:14:00.000-04:002016-10-03T17:14:32.390-04:00<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still picking, October 3rd, 2016</td></tr>
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We are about one week away from the normal first frost date. Luckily the weather and the gardens are not aware of that. So please do not inform the tomatoes that they should not still be this productive and delicious. I will go to the kitchen shortly to taste test some of the Purple Cherokees pictured.<br />
Garden on! Till a hopefully delayed first frost date.Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15005917822282749127noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4790469972841942302.post-81875231346089456272016-04-25T09:55:00.000-04:002016-04-25T09:55:39.304-04:00Dr. Martin Lima Beans A few years ago, some of the gardeners at the park introduced me to Dr. Martins Lima Beans. The vines grow huge, and although the beans are very large, they are delicious. The only problem I had was getting the dried beans to sprout. A lot of the literature suggests to soak the dried beans overnight. All that did was to result in planting mushy beans in flats that resulted in a rotting mess. With some years of experimentation, I have come upon a simple method.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr. Martin starts, April 25, 2016</td></tr>
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Five days ago I filled these four cell packs with soil, and soaked the trays in water. Poured off the excess water and planted one dried bean per cell. Actually one FROZEN dried bean per cell, as these beans are from my dried crop from November 2015 that has been stored in the freezer. Who would think that frozen beans would germinate? Not only do they germinate, I think I will get all 16 seeds to sprout. How about them beans?Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15005917822282749127noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4790469972841942302.post-17507407764413533052016-02-09T14:41:00.000-05:002016-02-09T14:41:10.497-05:00Paper Towel Germination Update<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Upper Rack</td></tr>
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Last month on January 4th, I started germinating some seeds using the moist paper towel method. At the time I believed that the forecast for a big El Nino winter suggested that we would have a mild winter here in the Mid Atlantic area. I should be able to get starts out early in the cold frames, right? Not so fast. I have been cold, and we are looking for a low of 3 degrees overnight on Saturday!!! Not exactly early gardening weather. Now back to the moist towel method.<br />
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Germination<br />
On January 4th, I started: Results<br />
Asian Pak Choi Livingston for 2013 Good<br />
Mizuna Mustard GWD seed for 2012 Good<br />
Dwarf Chinese Cabbage GWD seed for 2012 Good<br />
Bloomsdale Spinach Bulk seed from Alexanders, Year ? Zip<br />
Forellenschluss lettuce Fedco for 2012 Zip<br />
Winter Density Lettuce Fedco for 2012 Zip<br />
Lettuce Red Sails GWD for 2011 Zip<br />
Romaine Lettuce Livingston for 2008 Zip<br />
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On January 5th, I started:<br />
Radish Burpee's French Breakfast for 2015 90 % +<br />
Beedy's Camden Kale Fedco for 2010 Good<br />
Radish, Purple Plum Lake Valley for 2015 90 % +<br />
Swiss Chard Livingston Bright Lights for 2015 Only fair<br />
Romaine Lettuce Fedco Winter Wonderland for 2012 Good<br />
Arugula GWD but unlabeled Zip<br />
Hardy Mild Mustard GWD for 2012 Good<br />
Curly Kale GWD for 2011 90 % +<br />
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On January 6th, I started:<br />
Sylvetta Arugula Fedco for 2010 Zip<br />
Roquette Arugula Livingston for 2009 Fair - Okay<br />
Chinese Mustard GWD Thick Stem for 2014 Good<br />
Purple Kohlrabi Lake Valley for 2015 Very good<br />
Savoy Cabbage Fedco var Deadon for 2012 Okay<br />
Swiss Chard Burpee's Rhubard Chard for 2014 Good<br />
Lacinto Kale Fedco for 2012 Nero di Tuscana Good<br />
Radish, Watermelon Livingston for 2015 Good <br />
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What did I learn from all of this? Early January is too early to be starting fast growing crops. Had it been a very mild winter, the starting time could still have been delayed for probably two weeks. The seeds for year 2012 seem to be the tipping point for germination. Prior to that there were a lot of zero germinations. For 2013 and later, only the Livingston Bright Lights was spotty. So a little later this spring I should use up all of my 2012 seeds, and only carry forward 2013 or later. And maybe work hard to use up the 2013 seed as well. The results also suggest that my own GWD saved seed have done quite well.<br />
With the exceedingly cold forecast for overnight Saturday, I am going to have to bring the starter trays back inside for some period of time. Bummer<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Middle Rack</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lowest Rack<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">
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<br />Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15005917822282749127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4790469972841942302.post-90779740785207898412016-02-09T11:33:00.000-05:002016-02-09T11:33:24.543-05:00Organizing the Seeds I have tons and tons of seeds. And in many places. Old seeds, new seeds, labeled seeds, and nearly useless unlabeled seeds. My paper towel project was a start to test the viability of some of the older seeds, so I could see what to keep for next year. This project is an attempt to get them all in one organized spot.<br />
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The pile on the left is total seed chaos. The seeds were kept in a box that had no internal dividers. Paper bags containing seeds were all battered. The soda sleeves on the right are 5" by 5", and a box I found from a holiday delivery was a perfect 15" by 15". I cut that down to a depth that I thought would be correct, then cut the soda boxes down to 5" tall with the fourth side 6" tall. That will allow me to write a label on the taller 6" section. After putting the seeds in some order:<br />
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Wow, that is much better. Nine little boxes fit snugly in the big box, but are large enough to hold a lot of seed packets. There are squash and cucumber seeds in one box, lettuce and various salad green seeds in another, herbs in one, and flower seeds in another, etc. Something accomplished on a snowy day.<br />
Did I mention that the price was great for this organizer?Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15005917822282749127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4790469972841942302.post-63907644681727376522016-01-20T14:13:00.000-05:002016-01-20T14:13:05.392-05:00Early Veggies, What to Do?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Veggie starts, January 20, 2016</td></tr>
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What happened to the warmer winter forecast? El Nino was supposed to bring us a milder winter. So I pushed the envelope and started seeds early, maybe too, too early. I had moved these trays to the porch for more light and cooler temperatures. But not brutally cold temperatures. The porch stays about 10 degrees warmer than the outside temperature, so I figure the porch is alright for a forecast low of 18 degrees for these cold hardy starts. But for back to back lows of 14 and 17 degrees, I figured these flats should vacation for a couple of days in the basement. Now with the lowest prediction of 23 degrees over the next four mornings, these flats are going back outside today. Just in time for the foot of snow predicted for Saturday. That should make for lots of snow reflected sun light.<br />
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The flats are all back on the porch for now. I believe that the cold temperatures on the porch prevent the starts from getting leggy from growing too quickly. That is why I wanted to get them back to the porch as soon as possible.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Radishes</td></tr>
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These little plants are Mizuna Mustard. Despite the mustard in the name, they are really quite mild. The frilly leaves are absolutely gorgeous in a salad and delicious to boot.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ruby stemmed Swiss chard</td></tr>
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Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15005917822282749127noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4790469972841942302.post-13860648027093902542016-01-06T17:09:00.001-05:002016-01-06T17:09:45.755-05:00 Last year I may have started some tomato plants from seed, but nothing else. Just never had the proper urge to get started. The problem is that the lazy method gets expensive having to buy all of the veggies as starts, and it may be difficult to find wanted varieties. With all the news about a milder El Nino winter, I believe cold weather crops will be able to go out to cold frames very early this spring. As in a couple of weeks. Gasp. Well anyway, that is my theory and I am sticking to it. Plus I have tons of old seed that needs to be used or tossed.<br />
So it was time to start paper towel germination on January 4. Not tomatoes, nor peppers or anything like that. Lettuce, kale, arugula, pak choi, and similar seeds.<br />
Here is my method:<br />
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First, take a paper towel sheet and cut it in two, yielding two smaller sheets that are 7 x 5.5 inches. Place seeds in the middle of one of the sheets, Lacinto Kale being shown here. Dampen the area around the seeds with water from about 1/2 of an eyedropper. Just dampen the towel, don't flood it.<br />
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Fold the bottom third of the towel over the seeds to start enclosing them.<br />
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Fold the top third down. Note the eyedropper used for dampening the sheet.<br />
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Lastly, fold a little bit of both ends over to make an enclosed packet. A drop or two more water on the fold overs helps to hold them in place. I bought tons of little 2 x 2 plastic bags at a party store, and use them to store seed or in this case, hold labels to keep them dry. The label and the dampened envelope go into a "snack" baggie for the germination process.<br />
So how long does that take? I started damp towels of eight different seed varieties on January 4th, and here on the 6th I had to plant out some Pak Choi. Wow. I will now be busy.<br />
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Here are the Pak Choi seeds which have broken through the shell and started to send out roots. Using the little tweezers shown, I tease out baby plants, and put them two to a cell for grow out. If you wait too long, the roots grow into the towel, making the baby plants difficult to capture. If and when that happens, just plant little pieces of towel along with the babies.<br />
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You can see a couple of the little Pak Choi plants in this picture. I believe I got 100% germination for this seed packed for 2013. Though this method may seem a little tedious, ypu can find out quickly if you will get seedlings without spending weeks waiting for flat after flat of supposed seeds to do something. Been there, done that. Wasted a lot of time.Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15005917822282749127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4790469972841942302.post-14001037207597112532015-12-27T17:54:00.000-05:002015-12-27T17:54:39.330-05:00Delicious December It is quite unusual to be be able to pick many different veggies fresh from the garden in December. But then again, not every winter has an El Nino believed to be the biggest in history. Maybe harvests will continue awhile longer for the cold tolerant crops. All pictures below are from today, 12/27/15.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGFNURCUnrL-4Avu15Ki5GWg2PM1H89Yx19tPsAN1LTsfBCJdNp5zkZ0jAyHRligS30_lZzL7ohzNw7bH0fcChK_xHOf4YC2kGs4DzOuTgo45mg1RzZx9zYr6bdIX0cB08Q8jjN_j3KME/s1600/KaleInAquarium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGFNURCUnrL-4Avu15Ki5GWg2PM1H89Yx19tPsAN1LTsfBCJdNp5zkZ0jAyHRligS30_lZzL7ohzNw7bH0fcChK_xHOf4YC2kGs4DzOuTgo45mg1RzZx9zYr6bdIX0cB08Q8jjN_j3KME/s400/KaleInAquarium.jpg" width="386" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flat Leafed Kale</td></tr>
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Here are two more kale plants that volunteered from under a stack of flowered and seeded plants that were piled here in late spring. It is actually surprising that there were not dozens of volunteers. This strain seems to be very cold hardy. I am hoping for them to survive this expectedly mild winter.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXo9XQ_H-GmIvbR5JCfb0AKGsHFPRiah7ZR0TFtchXl3hd5deft4OXVnDMroRYnFkY74PmKYDNiS6gy3gwHUtwkne_YfahTlafLOwDRhbRZ3nMfif50QUxEqjW-h-sZ0bWBEB60EUkNxY/s1600/KaleLacinto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXo9XQ_H-GmIvbR5JCfb0AKGsHFPRiah7ZR0TFtchXl3hd5deft4OXVnDMroRYnFkY74PmKYDNiS6gy3gwHUtwkne_YfahTlafLOwDRhbRZ3nMfif50QUxEqjW-h-sZ0bWBEB60EUkNxY/s400/KaleLacinto.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lacinto Kale</td></tr>
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The darker kale in the middle of this picture is one of the kalette plants that I cloned earlier in the spring. The lighter kale surrounding the kalette is Red Russian kale. From the similarities in the leaf form, I believe that Red Russian was the kale used in the cross with brussel sprouts to make kalettes.<br />
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These plants are Florida Broadleaf Mustard that volunteered. I even have some growing in the lawn where they seeded. If only we would remember to harvest and eat it once in awhile.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMZFaDi13D7PqpPBuBd7cUs8g-JIGAX-AenpIUvd55ahgtE8OHycxjmKplp8k0vE-ZPUaJCL9rr0D-Tvj3dkEdTKetlsKhmjbWggM5BW9QzWNwgumiXQalp0tY63SJUUGb407xjwEsWvU/s1600/SwissChard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMZFaDi13D7PqpPBuBd7cUs8g-JIGAX-AenpIUvd55ahgtE8OHycxjmKplp8k0vE-ZPUaJCL9rr0D-Tvj3dkEdTKetlsKhmjbWggM5BW9QzWNwgumiXQalp0tY63SJUUGb407xjwEsWvU/s400/SwissChard.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The voles missed these two Swiss Chard plants<br /></td></tr>
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These are Russian Red garlic plants that have sprouted from bulbs that never got harvested in July. They will be needed to be transplanted in the spring to assure a crop for next summer. Some will be eaten as green garlic over the winter.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leeks, not garlic</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fresh mint still available</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Smaller cold frame</td></tr>
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The cold frames have not been necessary so far because of the warmer weather. However the deer have not figured out how to pull off the glass, so our lettuce is protected. There are three tatsoi in the above frame. Let's take a closer look.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They are beautiful</td></tr>
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<br />Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15005917822282749127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4790469972841942302.post-20779011295057001092015-12-27T15:37:00.000-05:002015-12-27T15:37:43.229-05:00Bountiful Broccoli Sometimes pure dumb luck is just better than being smart or knowing what you were doing. Last fall I bought a six pack of broccoli starts. Good move. Delaying the planting and leaving them unplanted was a dumb move. Then dumber the longer I left them around. I can't even remember when I finally planted them, but the garden police could not have been happy with my laziness. I never expected that they would mature when I finally put them in, but I never expected that El Nino would come to my rescue.<br />
This morning I put on my brand new boots, then slogged my way to the garden. And was thrilled that I took the trip.<br />
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Look at that broccoli. And a couple of days after Christmas! Oh how lucky I am. Dumb lucky.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0GVywm4vbPtLfs5p157W7LhsC8KujCOis-F5ou-A5mV2cCWJ0DQD9eiMdxcxKXR4KHVnnRGpBNkJ_P9JS4n7FVwXkRs0A2MEBXH1NgiLqiwy4241mS7NUfOFxnh1_MQEuhlSfQFrIFTk/s1600/Broccoli2Heads.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0GVywm4vbPtLfs5p157W7LhsC8KujCOis-F5ou-A5mV2cCWJ0DQD9eiMdxcxKXR4KHVnnRGpBNkJ_P9JS4n7FVwXkRs0A2MEBXH1NgiLqiwy4241mS7NUfOFxnh1_MQEuhlSfQFrIFTk/s400/Broccoli2Heads.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A different view</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Never a better harvest</td></tr>
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I failed to mention that I got even dumber. I had found more broccoli starts, and yes I bought them. And admired them in their little container. At some time they went into the garden with absolutely no chance of maturing. But yet...<br />
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Dumb, even dumber. If you look real closely, you can see small heads developing. I never thought these would make it. El Nino, bring them on.Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15005917822282749127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4790469972841942302.post-45255273562935722042015-12-22T17:49:00.001-05:002015-12-22T17:49:53.627-05:00Smokin for Christmas About four years ago I joined a neighbor to do some smoking on his specially built grill smoker. I made the mistake of smoking salmon, which was so delicious and well received, that Pop Pop can no longer attend Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners without providing a huge salmon slab. So today, rain or shine, was to be smoking day for Christmas dinner.<br />
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On the right is a 3 lb, 8 oz hunk of salmon smoked to perfection. Grand son Wesley could easily eat half of it and would given the chance. A pork loin is on the left, that will be for lunch on Christmas. The little piece of meat in the middle is a small London Broil that had spent too long in the freezer. Me and Mrs. Claus will take care of that tonight.<br />
Smokin buddy Rick had a log from a pecan tree that just happened to be in his garage. We cut the log into one inch circles, and used those plus some oak for the fire. For whatever reason, the pecan was great, giving us a long burning, slow smoking fire.<br />
Oh, the back splash in the photo above is the subway tile from our kitchen redo. My wife used some stencils with "Glass Wax and food coloring" to decorate with totally removable seasonal touches. Maybe pumpkins next fall and fireworks for the Fourth of July. Makes a nice change of pace.<br />
Wishing you Happy Holidays. The GPS for Christmas dinner is "mx12ktsp" Sorry, I am no good with that tech stuff. I will stick to the smokin.<br />
<br />Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15005917822282749127noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4790469972841942302.post-41594342099761971672015-11-29T12:19:00.001-05:002015-11-29T12:19:57.844-05:00Digging Potatoes Our potato supply had dwindled to essentially nothing. I had planted lots of potatoes in March, but had not dug them as needed in July or August because it was too stinking hot. The tops then all died off, and it was very easy to forget about the potatoes. I threw in some leaves where the bed was, and hoped the vole damage wouldn't wipe out everything. In early fall, my grandson Wesley helped me dig a section of the bed and we did quite well with a harvest.<br />
Never having left potatoes this long in the garden, I was fearful when I invited Wesley for a potato hunting adventure when Barb and Emily and all the kids and hubbies were here yesterday. Wesman and I raked backed the leaves and I started to dig. Bingo, we soon had a hit. And then another. Some big, some small, some whoppers. Wesman was scooping up potatoes, and throwing them in a pile. As we moved along the bed and away from the pile, it made sense to bring the little green wagon into play. Then Wes took the wagon by the kitchen to show everyone. At that point Ella joined in the digging, so I had two eager helpers.<br />
The haul was much better than any of my expectations. Our supply has gone back up.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyG7QjIBlW3Qw2nEatdahL2VB9trDvufswYfmOsAepuCy2c7KhnPJ6-VzOkM2xyfLtyuTT6oIdf5VoNi7ZM-5LWM1qCjGUx85D4Y0E6UPfFUXPdpiDXUVe_D6deom57b-ZZVBagFtZzNo/s1600/DSCN0176.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyG7QjIBlW3Qw2nEatdahL2VB9trDvufswYfmOsAepuCy2c7KhnPJ6-VzOkM2xyfLtyuTT6oIdf5VoNi7ZM-5LWM1qCjGUx85D4Y0E6UPfFUXPdpiDXUVe_D6deom57b-ZZVBagFtZzNo/s400/DSCN0176.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Potato haul, November 28, 2015</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wesman, the Potato Man</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX5xeMpRcMo6b5j0bg9WI-fco_J8Torm2HL3lF4NrEnL4j7Q6WIx975m7dNPbq7q3iXYir6H8VwBvnRfPH1UnNI2yXwnTWPEN2FBpyeL2xQ_ecHz_mgts8-db5X1mG_SuNIHtEGZI-73k/s1600/DSCN0178.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX5xeMpRcMo6b5j0bg9WI-fco_J8Torm2HL3lF4NrEnL4j7Q6WIx975m7dNPbq7q3iXYir6H8VwBvnRfPH1UnNI2yXwnTWPEN2FBpyeL2xQ_ecHz_mgts8-db5X1mG_SuNIHtEGZI-73k/s400/DSCN0178.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Do you think he had fun?</td></tr>
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Wesley and family did take some of the potatoes home, but I will move the rest to the basement for storage. And, did I mention that all of these potatoes were free? They were started from left overs from last year that sprouted and were then planted in March. These are scrumptious Kennebec potatoes. I will keep a bunch that have some vole damage for seed potatoes for next year.Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15005917822282749127noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4790469972841942302.post-6352354440055823122015-11-10T15:42:00.001-05:002015-11-10T15:42:40.579-05:00Lettuce Bonus I have lost track of the last time I visited or tended my park gardens. Weeks at the very least. I got a call this morning from the gardener who tends the plot next to mine. He told me there was harvestable lettuce at the back of my garden, and he wondered if he had thrown some seed back there. This is part of what I found from my visit.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5VXMeVDM8_AxIGG5g_uzjOx3Mk4HvVG9WNmoTrztBN203ZvaDpV6KWdJt_oTXVlbBF44hIKDgnKybTfZduu_t3xUxuSbX2EhZyuiezzHH-BmKcZ1nptxv0s80_JXSxIqle9iw8S3UMKo/s1600/Park+Lettuce.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5VXMeVDM8_AxIGG5g_uzjOx3Mk4HvVG9WNmoTrztBN203ZvaDpV6KWdJt_oTXVlbBF44hIKDgnKybTfZduu_t3xUxuSbX2EhZyuiezzHH-BmKcZ1nptxv0s80_JXSxIqle9iw8S3UMKo/s400/Park+Lettuce.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Park Lettuce, 11/10/15</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Wow, I was able to pick enough for a salad tonight, as this was just part of the plants. And no, he had not scattered the seed. Instead this is a result of my having been lazy and leaving in the spring crop. It went to seed, germinated, and now is providing me with a free surprise lettuce bonus. I hope to transplant some to cold frames to extend the harvest even more.<br />
Instead of calling this lettuce by its name Black Seeded Simpson, I will prefer to think of it as Self Seeded Simpson.Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15005917822282749127noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4790469972841942302.post-16902059347545913142015-10-16T17:42:00.000-04:002015-10-16T17:42:22.970-04:00Mid October Update It is October 16th, 2015, and we have dodged the first frost bullet so far. Though early Monday morning is forecast for about freezing, so many things will be blitzed. Till then we still have these pretties:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiW68EqSMtybUqBoxVB84iTdk41Uy5GBViVmWdQ7fUNZmVGAuRwq7KW9uok0hzXkL7bK97lLJZN8Hx3KQDWCZ3_0Y265zYzukDu5SGtN0Z5PYeUDZmcwgQ16PxdwrIlcCHtonuKCD0V6s/s1600/ButterflyweedC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiW68EqSMtybUqBoxVB84iTdk41Uy5GBViVmWdQ7fUNZmVGAuRwq7KW9uok0hzXkL7bK97lLJZN8Hx3KQDWCZ3_0Y265zYzukDu5SGtN0Z5PYeUDZmcwgQ16PxdwrIlcCHtonuKCD0V6s/s640/ButterflyweedC.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mexican Butterflyweed</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN3oKCXx9yn2QHnXhInbYOtSBvpbeYpkblXx-ADb1dIMDYaFN1cebl_UBQ_izUJWHORDYusfEKaspMaMSIPC1pKiDOaE3ipUg5qDPc7lvQcimQdH6gQsnnLgdnbKfopMKtDhptXcwrQVI/s1600/ButterflyweedB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN3oKCXx9yn2QHnXhInbYOtSBvpbeYpkblXx-ADb1dIMDYaFN1cebl_UBQ_izUJWHORDYusfEKaspMaMSIPC1pKiDOaE3ipUg5qDPc7lvQcimQdH6gQsnnLgdnbKfopMKtDhptXcwrQVI/s640/ButterflyweedB.jpg" width="486" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More Butterflyweed</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje-XfO2Prt0A3rmSQe7SQcoY-zEP5Zm4Rfw-EK5BcyjySphoK2BOdIKzzgpoHo6FCg4rdqI11-Jnrb-8DELH1wtPaqwrl7hBwu9Ge9zUQsNQBPC_Xw1aGMSDN8oWZl1n0-oiUEBMNi_AY/s1600/BrownEyeA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje-XfO2Prt0A3rmSQe7SQcoY-zEP5Zm4Rfw-EK5BcyjySphoK2BOdIKzzgpoHo6FCg4rdqI11-Jnrb-8DELH1wtPaqwrl7hBwu9Ge9zUQsNQBPC_Xw1aGMSDN8oWZl1n0-oiUEBMNi_AY/s400/BrownEyeA.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brown Eye Susan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRWb06Z4saoKVEDMblX6X16s_5iR7piQWAxDWpOmZ9GUyEkdV7Yze7rQMp1UdhTRoX5hWf6yJOor1_gqx-TmFI1EdxoluNgZzOQlcx5uguVYSDNXeNRHEBIk5sRS0532YwJjlzsPtTPSU/s1600/BrownEyeB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRWb06Z4saoKVEDMblX6X16s_5iR7piQWAxDWpOmZ9GUyEkdV7Yze7rQMp1UdhTRoX5hWf6yJOor1_gqx-TmFI1EdxoluNgZzOQlcx5uguVYSDNXeNRHEBIk5sRS0532YwJjlzsPtTPSU/s640/BrownEyeB.jpg" width="428" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And another two Brown Eyes</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuMm9YWLIWAoK6DiU6HshZuhZ07LdSL3xynSoGhbWTsxQiYddLCreILZ28gkHWP1zwE_sj0cZDmuX8TP8VldyNPC8NVbR8DN3rE-_F_HmgpUCfgxfdj1WvzCO1jLEXhtYPwsQ5j4VlApY/s1600/CosmosE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuMm9YWLIWAoK6DiU6HshZuhZ07LdSL3xynSoGhbWTsxQiYddLCreILZ28gkHWP1zwE_sj0cZDmuX8TP8VldyNPC8NVbR8DN3rE-_F_HmgpUCfgxfdj1WvzCO1jLEXhtYPwsQ5j4VlApY/s400/CosmosE.jpg" width="328" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cosmos</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTHs0iNecF2SivhOncnWtE2pn3_PFRMDnzN961rhbkD11_ECgwc1C9T6UR6j0UTcwIpi1SDyTL4MXZmdPKIE2wyjNia9bwAr1jOrFEokGug7uT87bSlcPj1al80-lUo2gckVgyYgLdgFY/s1600/CosmosD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTHs0iNecF2SivhOncnWtE2pn3_PFRMDnzN961rhbkD11_ECgwc1C9T6UR6j0UTcwIpi1SDyTL4MXZmdPKIE2wyjNia9bwAr1jOrFEokGug7uT87bSlcPj1al80-lUo2gckVgyYgLdgFY/s400/CosmosD.jpg" width="341" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cosmos Again</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0QyDcpKTmZjJ8AFyOxxbIGvFnxkotgyJuelB2vRKCjvsdTzcpKdJ_zuOQY67ayvng55P4jTurqhX5SIFMCFU5NUI5NC4NE4oWKjPLn7ag1HfpYPnNkCfAVClN7kgXDcuR6UmHnawivbg/s1600/CherryB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0QyDcpKTmZjJ8AFyOxxbIGvFnxkotgyJuelB2vRKCjvsdTzcpKdJ_zuOQY67ayvng55P4jTurqhX5SIFMCFU5NUI5NC4NE4oWKjPLn7ag1HfpYPnNkCfAVClN7kgXDcuR6UmHnawivbg/s640/CherryB.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cherry Tomatoes are still producing!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUMhe1UMermz6pWf9ZZfhjPB6JfvplcSUXNVVhlTP-2dw6RNatc3yfk5kTuigEp4dBJj1e_jHkw0K0sLMBI2zYNkHwcs2_NJJ8qS0vu5o7qkGQHSNKMs4h3AVQg6f7HiHf7D11LbURiD8/s1600/CherryA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUMhe1UMermz6pWf9ZZfhjPB6JfvplcSUXNVVhlTP-2dw6RNatc3yfk5kTuigEp4dBJj1e_jHkw0K0sLMBI2zYNkHwcs2_NJJ8qS0vu5o7qkGQHSNKMs4h3AVQg6f7HiHf7D11LbURiD8/s640/CherryA.jpg" width="502" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And they are oh so good</td></tr>
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<br />Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15005917822282749127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4790469972841942302.post-70531925155307042372015-09-24T18:30:00.000-04:002015-09-24T18:30:27.984-04:00Fabulous Fall The new fall weather is delightful. It is a joy to be out in the garden without sweat salting on my glasses. Lots of flowers are in, and harvests of tomatoes and beans are still going strong. The following pictures are all from September 23, 2015.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ4wfiP-pRVe5fa2m-MuP7o6Bv-gSe53sHqMj7a2dDUQsbSlUEdROzmp5qIFPKrLX6Mie-jT0dw0-HomA9_rlAZjfSI1Rg_HVqe9U2SwaHF-UufzjNgS4PPnD3cC4OM_jTRkO8RDOeqpw/s1600/Cosmos-Two.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ4wfiP-pRVe5fa2m-MuP7o6Bv-gSe53sHqMj7a2dDUQsbSlUEdROzmp5qIFPKrLX6Mie-jT0dw0-HomA9_rlAZjfSI1Rg_HVqe9U2SwaHF-UufzjNgS4PPnD3cC4OM_jTRkO8RDOeqpw/s400/Cosmos-Two.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cosmos</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmPQyuqZOBAD_7fT65cqVAcrEkBInq2HfEhO1bwBfeciauOAH6PuRlONJaixUKmJh5E8Rb_bOVkXfWWlnPgmxX06876F8-GkdejXHrhcEnErjc9w7HfZftX4JpqfCBvDpzb-eSYS2_JKM/s1600/CosmosOne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmPQyuqZOBAD_7fT65cqVAcrEkBInq2HfEhO1bwBfeciauOAH6PuRlONJaixUKmJh5E8Rb_bOVkXfWWlnPgmxX06876F8-GkdejXHrhcEnErjc9w7HfZftX4JpqfCBvDpzb-eSYS2_JKM/s400/CosmosOne.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cosmos with Striping</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYRvv08SIpTQ0LTSFNsr14USlKxPQAJomvWtBBwTB9P6NSc5Sp2vuMdZ6Q_AYF4Evv3iJZ-9cRdBvkQQVxxqa-OZlvkFcp31ztwNOmClzReHi8MltO0TWfi7ZUPVjLqaceC_ZRtxkrxII/s1600/Zinnia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYRvv08SIpTQ0LTSFNsr14USlKxPQAJomvWtBBwTB9P6NSc5Sp2vuMdZ6Q_AYF4Evv3iJZ-9cRdBvkQQVxxqa-OZlvkFcp31ztwNOmClzReHi8MltO0TWfi7ZUPVjLqaceC_ZRtxkrxII/s400/Zinnia.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful Speckled Zinnia</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv8GL23zR6YTNzJsUGjsYr5C9h2Iabon0mA1InVZLZJ4tphlRFyoxBNKVJIzNV3v95wOH7m6MP8DtRyvIj6ZZfGHxLs2P7Y1chvbt0GXwlnvnKEeRpRltNhztabtAK0GxNfsW8s0NgCpc/s1600/MexicanButterflyweed-SoldierBeetle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv8GL23zR6YTNzJsUGjsYr5C9h2Iabon0mA1InVZLZJ4tphlRFyoxBNKVJIzNV3v95wOH7m6MP8DtRyvIj6ZZfGHxLs2P7Y1chvbt0GXwlnvnKEeRpRltNhztabtAK0GxNfsW8s0NgCpc/s400/MexicanButterflyweed-SoldierBeetle.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The shot above is of Mexican Butterflyweed. It does indeed attract butterflies And aphids, yuck. If you look very closely at this picture, there is a Soldier Beetle on the flower, near the top. He is sitting horizontally with his head to the left. Thanks to the soldier, this plant is probably aphid free.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUqA_PGRIg7v0k10bteZdoB6w4LcMG86F9BuUN4q7NIV5fCGbaIePCaLSRpEfV6VSM8DbnqnqS1O7e3I-hVpyT799lgdmRe7HEGM112rvG_2UWfG4l5NIsIP_r90XpD8ynXDxU6MTiWuU/s1600/AmericanBeautyBush.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUqA_PGRIg7v0k10bteZdoB6w4LcMG86F9BuUN4q7NIV5fCGbaIePCaLSRpEfV6VSM8DbnqnqS1O7e3I-hVpyT799lgdmRe7HEGM112rvG_2UWfG4l5NIsIP_r90XpD8ynXDxU6MTiWuU/s400/AmericanBeautyBush.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Grapes? Don't I wish. This is American Beauty Bush, which get these pretty little purple berries. When the winter is cold and long, the birds will strip the bushes. Natural bird seed.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6cnyOENPO0fL2SRdpnoL2ViCetmqlqYsWN3fWpKBO7kiXzsK69zt4En6Etgf-7HSvwQtD8JaDg62TnIE12gFR4o7koPVeknOfBDkqErA-jDmwfVd5mfhuyUIoVuWZ0AJQj7yqH53MnUM/s1600/Canna.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6cnyOENPO0fL2SRdpnoL2ViCetmqlqYsWN3fWpKBO7kiXzsK69zt4En6Etgf-7HSvwQtD8JaDg62TnIE12gFR4o7koPVeknOfBDkqErA-jDmwfVd5mfhuyUIoVuWZ0AJQj7yqH53MnUM/s400/Canna.jpg" width="345" /></a></div>
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Last winter was long and hard. Killed the canna lily bulbs. But not the seed. So the canna lilies are back in full force, and attract hummingbirds all day long. I would like too find more attractive canna flowers, but this variety has been with us for a long, long time.<br />
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These cherry tomatoes are probably Sweet 100's. Here is a closer shot:<br />
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These are Sungold Cherry Tomatoes. Beautiful mixed in with red cherries and Chocolate Cherries. This plant is a volunteer growing up into the Dr. Martin Lima beans.<br />
Well, that is enough for now. Every plant shown is a volunteer. It is nice to have free plants, but you need to pull them where they start to takeover.<br />
<br />Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15005917822282749127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4790469972841942302.post-70799343032514283602015-09-15T14:19:00.001-04:002015-09-15T14:19:15.036-04:00A Light of its own Just after lunch today I looked out at the garden and saw this Gloriosa Daisy shining like a beacon through the shade of the Pin Oak tree. This is the first shot of my new Nikon Coolpix camera. The old one was having lens extension problems. Hopefully I will be able to get back to some picture documentation for my blog.<br />
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The gloriosa daisies have been a little prolific in their volunteer efforts this year. Some of the plants have a definite orange tinge to the flower petals.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This plant has orange near the center</td></tr>
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And this last plant has far more orange/red to the flowers. The flowers are about double the size of black eyed Susan, and are very light self seeders. So light,that I do not often offer them for adoption during my plant give aways. Maybe next year will yield enough to give away.Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15005917822282749127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4790469972841942302.post-44420029894835113762015-07-24T15:19:00.000-04:002015-07-24T15:19:48.490-04:00Back Garden, July 24, 2015 It was a good deal cooler this morning. A comfortable time to stroll in the garden.<br />
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It is early enough that the sun is casting the shadow of the white ash across the lawn. The major flower players in the garden on this date are the white or pink phlox, the African daisies, and cleome.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gloriosa daisy and phlox</td></tr>
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After suffering poor germination rates in the spring, the surviving beans have done quite well. These are Blue Lake bush beans in the center, with Lacinto kale on the right. The recent rains have drowned out most squash, but I am hoping the patty pan and zucchini in the back ground will make it.<br />
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I first tried these rattlesnake pole beans last year and got only one plant to survive germination and plant out. Pole beans are much harder for me to get started, but once they are going, they are prolific and easy to pick. The rattlesnake beans are attractive, tasty and round like bush beans. I much prefer them to the flat pole beans. Four or five plants are producing this year, so there are plenty to eat and will also be plenty to save as next year's seed.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Swiss Chard and kale</td></tr>
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Our next door neighbor has always fed wild birds, but this is the first year that we have benefited in 10 to 15 volunteer plants from lost seed. Growing from the top of this sunflower is a climbing Dr. Martin lima bean vine. Those beans are heavily producing flowers, and some have started to pod.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Butternut Squash</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And another</td></tr>
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Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15005917822282749127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4790469972841942302.post-50454273067964709692015-06-27T06:50:00.000-04:002015-06-27T06:50:45.176-04:00Fourth of July Tomato How often do you get something that is better than advertised? I bought a Burbee's Fourth of July Tomato plant this spring. I thought I would try one plant as August first or later is often my start of the tomato season. Well when I checked on the progress of the plant last week, I was shocked and pleased to see a tomato ripening! Not willing to let birds or slugs or deer get the first tomato of the year, I picked the little devil on June 26th. Yes, in June.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First Tomato picked June 26, 2015</td></tr>
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And oh so scrumptious. Not like a mid August Black Krim, but not like anything I have had in eight months. The plant is a hybrid, so I won't try to save seed, but I will certainly look for the plants again next year. As an indeterminate tomato, it has been said to produce well into October or November. I am going to root some cuttings to aim for that late crop. I may even try to bring in a late plant to try to have stems for rooting next year.Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15005917822282749127noreply@blogger.com1