I was in my porch - contemplating how nice it will be to bring out all the plants that overwintered inside. Outside, where the wind and beneficial insects control aphids and other issues that loom large in the closed ecosystem of the porch.
You see, the ladybug larva - have mostly molted into adults now. There are a few larva left - there were at least 2 hatchings - but the number of adult ladybugs is not as large. I think they have escaped out of the house - in the manner that their parents escaped into it for the winter. Though sitting out there for a few hours last night I saw more than I thought were left..
However, larva eat more aphids than adults - and they are confined to 6 legs - and can't fly towards the florescent lights. So the aphids are beginning to increase again..
All the area in my established garden is planted. And I've placed clear plastic on another section to solarize it. I still have plants to plant, seeds, asparagus, and seed potatoes.. So I need more room.
All the stuff in my garden has frost protection, if it's not frost hardy except for the marigolds. So the couple of heirloom tomato plants I bought when I was unsure if I could find a pack of mortgage lifter seed - Walmart switched to Ferry-Morse seed this year - and Kmart didn't have it in the heirloom selection - only Menard's had it locally. But now the aphids are a returning concern on the porch...
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
April Showers...
This has been a very wet spring in my area - though not quite as bad as in others - my house didn't get destroyed by flood waters. However, this means that there have been few opportunities to plant so far this spring - for peas, spinach, potatoes, and lettuce. Also, after several years of "trying no till" aka not getting the old rototiller to work and planting anyway, I set to trying to make the aged beast run. See, it's a 1985 5 HP Briggs and Stratton motor on a Quality Farm and fleet rototiller, front tines. And the last time it worked was about 6 years ago. A week of work and a new magneto got it to the point of having a spark. And now its carburetor seems to be the next hurtle. But as there were torrential rains predicted for Wed., and a friend wanted to expand his garden, a rental was called for.
Expanding a garden/breaking sod is hard work. Most advice will say some version of smother the grass, then start next spring. There is a reason for this - sod is a survivor. After 4 passes with the rototiller - grabbing out clods of grass and raking smooth in between - there were still places that didn't seem to have been touched. However, it was far too much work - with the only available tiller - a 6 HP front tine - to contemplate another pass.
My homegarden - compacted clay as it is - was a breeze in comparison - 2 passes 90 degrees from each other and my soil was airy and begging to be planted. Hopefully even happier since I've finally added some admendments to the soil - besides the mowed down plants and some leaves left to rot over the winter. I must say though, I can't understand if anyone actually adds 2 inches of peat moss or other admendments every year - how gardening could be frugal.
So I've started a real compost heap - rather than just a pile in the corner - I've got old pallets holding in a pile of leaves and kitchen veg scraps and weeds piling up. Perhaps this will break down in time to use it next year.
But adding to the soil was a must this year. Last year my crop of tomatoes was pathetic - of course we had way too much rain, too much heat, and there was more shade on the garden than in years past, plus a late start. But adding to the soil is something I can control - and tilling to see if I can grow properly shaped carrots was just about pride.
But the kicker is - my garden is fully planted - not really frost safe - but full. I have zukes, yellow squash and watermelon under row cover. 3 Early Girl tomatoes in Walls of water. 1 cuke in a Wall of water, and one basil. The herb corner has been mulched and added to with transplanted chives, 4 types of thyme, the afforementioned basil, and parsley - with a juice jug cloche over cilantro seeds. And I used cocoabean mulch - which looks pretty, and smells like cocoa.
I'm out of space. And there are no green or lima beans - or any heirloom tomato plants - or swiss chard. So there is a spot south of my garden between two tall fir trees - that is pretty much hidden - and seems awfully tempting to convert from weedy lawn.
So solarization with clear plastic - then perhaps a run of the tiller - if the carb can be cleaned to work? A challenging prospect - yet very tempting.... But not worth renting again - can't justify the cost there. Last year we had a frost May 25. If I stake out clear plastic, there's still about 2 weeks until that date. Perhaps... But the shade - and I've already got a full set of weeding...
On the other hand - there are a lot of weeds in that grass. :)
Expanding a garden/breaking sod is hard work. Most advice will say some version of smother the grass, then start next spring. There is a reason for this - sod is a survivor. After 4 passes with the rototiller - grabbing out clods of grass and raking smooth in between - there were still places that didn't seem to have been touched. However, it was far too much work - with the only available tiller - a 6 HP front tine - to contemplate another pass.
My homegarden - compacted clay as it is - was a breeze in comparison - 2 passes 90 degrees from each other and my soil was airy and begging to be planted. Hopefully even happier since I've finally added some admendments to the soil - besides the mowed down plants and some leaves left to rot over the winter. I must say though, I can't understand if anyone actually adds 2 inches of peat moss or other admendments every year - how gardening could be frugal.
So I've started a real compost heap - rather than just a pile in the corner - I've got old pallets holding in a pile of leaves and kitchen veg scraps and weeds piling up. Perhaps this will break down in time to use it next year.
But adding to the soil was a must this year. Last year my crop of tomatoes was pathetic - of course we had way too much rain, too much heat, and there was more shade on the garden than in years past, plus a late start. But adding to the soil is something I can control - and tilling to see if I can grow properly shaped carrots was just about pride.
But the kicker is - my garden is fully planted - not really frost safe - but full. I have zukes, yellow squash and watermelon under row cover. 3 Early Girl tomatoes in Walls of water. 1 cuke in a Wall of water, and one basil. The herb corner has been mulched and added to with transplanted chives, 4 types of thyme, the afforementioned basil, and parsley - with a juice jug cloche over cilantro seeds. And I used cocoabean mulch - which looks pretty, and smells like cocoa.
I'm out of space. And there are no green or lima beans - or any heirloom tomato plants - or swiss chard. So there is a spot south of my garden between two tall fir trees - that is pretty much hidden - and seems awfully tempting to convert from weedy lawn.
So solarization with clear plastic - then perhaps a run of the tiller - if the carb can be cleaned to work? A challenging prospect - yet very tempting.... But not worth renting again - can't justify the cost there. Last year we had a frost May 25. If I stake out clear plastic, there's still about 2 weeks until that date. Perhaps... But the shade - and I've already got a full set of weeding...
On the other hand - there are a lot of weeds in that grass. :)
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Rain, rain, go away...
Soil too wet to play with - again. Though the beds that I got to this weekend look very happy in the rain. However, this also means I have several hosta splits that need planted, and I don't know where to plop them.
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