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I got home from work today, popped open a bud light lime and sat on the couch for a moment then thought- “Oh shit, the garden!” I learned from last year NOT to ignore it -or else!”  I went up there and was glad I got my ass off the couch. I tied up the tomatoes with hemp twine- not plastic stretchy stuff. Decided to stop consuming plastic when possible.  I got halfway through the row and took this picture. SO MANY FLOWERS translates into- hundreds of pounds of organic tomatoes. Realized my lawn clipping mulch is as good for my knees as it is for the plants. I was extremely comfortable scooting along on this mat of dried stuff. Def a great thing to do.  Started raining so I’m outta there but took this pic of the rows I did not have enough clippings for  Many dead and unhappy cabbages. I wouldn’t want to scoot along that path either. No mulch = no good.  Extreme happiness=extreme growth  I’m a dog man. But meow meow is converting me.  Yup. It’s hot. Good thing I’m a cat. Had my pandora station in my earbuds whilst up there in the garden when this song came on. Not bad!
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I wondered tonight "what’s in the fridge," forgetting that there might be something in the garden to prepare for dinner. I hauled my tired soul up there (all of a 150' trudge).  When I got to my oasis I was amazed at what I saw. Plants had quadrupled in size since I was there last (two days prior). I collected a ton of stuff for salad. Beet greens (never ate them before), romaine lettuce, three types of kale, each with their unique taste, and cabbage leaves. I saw the seeds that I planted for carrots, radish, cilantro, arugula had all come up in nice straight rows. I couldn't believe how fast they germinated. I'm a fan of seeds now- they are CHEAP and the varieties beat the hell out of varieties available as bedding plants.   Black cats are GOOD LUCK!!!       Left really early this am to go fishing for porgy- Montauck. Sunburn n fun with kid. I looked back at the horizon and saw my beautiful ginkgo backlit by the dawn’s early light.
Brought home fish I can add to my salads for a while. Last year I saved thousands of dollars because I got creative with my garden/kitchen. This is year I am going to save even more because I planted earlier and have more experience. We shall see. MAKE TIME TO GARDEN FOR FOOD- it’s all good and gaining in popularity as our stores offer more expensive and more dubious food. I just wish growing this stuff could be more year round!  Bok Choi just picked. Handsome sturdy foliage. Fast grower n trouble free.  Onions garlic olive oil slow searing and done in THREE MINUTES  Lettuce in absurd abundance for salad  Everything brought outside to eat in the beautiful late afternoon weather
 Zucchini plants looking awesome. This year, I'm gonna keep 'em looking great. Tonight is the second spray for squash vine borer!  Potato trench. Tonight I'm tossing more soil on top of the plants.  Tying the tomato plants on to the supports happening tonight also  I was hungry last night after dark so I went up to the garden n harvested romaine lettuce, had Paul Newman's caesar salad dressing in the fridge. Wasn't hungry for long!  By far, the lettuce is the fastest out of the gate!  Romaine lettuce healthier than I have ever seen in my entire life. Caesar salad, here we come!  Last year at this point the deer and the rabbits had eaten a LOT but in my second year I've learned and outsmarted them! HAAA! Ever seen Bok Choi this green and healthy? Bet not! could be in your back yard too.  Can't BEET THIS! Beets- eat the entire plant. Beets and beet greens- what a cool plant  Potatoes poking their heads up through the soft tilthy soil. Notice the wood chippy soil. I mix the soil like this intentionally. "Feed the microbes" is my mantra. Healthy soil=healthy productive plants  Yellow squash looking as good as any plant I have ever seen, and I've seen a LOT. Combination of excellent horticultural practices- food/soil/mulching with lawn clippings/watering and above all, Harrell's fertilizer.  A row of red and white onions. The row to the right (my first priority this year) is jalapeno/habanero/cayenne peppers planted exclusively for the purpose of making insane amounts of hot sauce. I am going to need new processing cookware to speed up the process, last year was inefficient but really popular!  Sunday morning I set up the supports for the tomatoes. at that point, none of the plants had reached the first support but here it is on Wednesday and it looks like it's time to start tying the plants to the wire.  Order, organization, planning, and the beauty of the plants themselves all add up to an incredibly satisfying gardening experience. I'm not even thinking of the food at this point, all I am striving for is a hugely productive commercial/professional experience in this garden, and I'm off to a good start. I have three or four more rows of something else to plant. Corn is cool but not really good for you, so that's out.  Last year’s failed staking idea- belongs in the garbage. Plants were planted too close and I underestimated how big tomatoes grew and how heavy the fruits were.  Use your head and be creative and intelligent when doing projects. It's amazing how simple solutions can make your gardening experience enjoyable! This spool with bamboo slid through the fencing fed the twine to me in the simplest and easiest way. cool!  I use weed whacker string for a lot of projects (but I have a "no weed whacker" rule for myself- too much pollution, noise and time. If you need a weedwhacker, something is wrong with your garden design). The string is tough and stretchy and I use it like twine, rope, and wire.  The spacing of the stakes is about 9' and the spacing of the twine is ~16," hope its sufficient. If not, I'll fix it  The first twine height is about 18" off the ground  The end result surprisingly looks exactly like I visualized.  Low tech security system for getting into the garden. It will not keep out the asshole neighbor who snuck in and stole food last summer from me but it's good enough for now. I'm considering putting up a sign "Just for him!" If he has no problem stealing my food I figure he has no problem stealing everything else too! Absolutely unbelievable! |
AuthorDavid Benjamin- horticulture degree North Carolina State University graduated 1983, has worked at the nursery since 1976. Somewhat tired of eating grocery store food. Archives
April 2020
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