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  • From: "Lynn Wigglesworth" <lynnw1366 AT hotmail.com>
  • To: <homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] How's your garden?
  • Date: Thu, 30 Apr 2009 11:38:51 -0400

Rob; Your garden sounds great! We are still a month away from our last frost date, although the weather has been very unseasonably warm. I've got all my cool-weather crops out...the garlic from last fall, onions, peas, first planting of lettuce, spinach, potatoes, got seed in for carrots, parsnips, mangels. I have Broccoli Raab and Kale started, but it isn't big enough to plant out yet. I have a dozen 3-year-old plants of Blue Scotch Curly Kale that are putting out new leaves. It was right where I wanted to plant peas, so I had to move it, and it continues to grow in its new bed. Amazing stuff.

My friend's rhubarb bed is on the shady north side of her house, and is doing extremely well. Mine was just limping along in full sun, so I moved them to a new bed on the shady north side of the house, next to the currant bushes. I hope they like it better there. I planted Jerusalem Artichokes in the old rhubarb bed.

I put in half a bed of Contender beans that I started in flats to see if I can get some early green beans. I can cover them if we get frost. I also put out a bed of early tomatoes (Coldset and Stupice)...I filled in the empty spots with one of each type of tomato I have started, just to see how they will do. I'll have to run out and cover them if it gets cold. I'm taking a chance because I could lose the whole bed if it gets really cold (which it might).. I used up all my old seed this year, and the tomatoes germinated well, so I'm up to my eyebrows in a large variety of tomato plants. I've started a lot of winter squash in cell packs, to be planted out at the end of May. I've also started a few eggplants and peppers (using up old seed), some cucumbers, and a lot of bee-attracting flowers and herbs.

A friend gave me a DVD about Victorian walled gardens in Britain, where, besides the gardens, they had the fig house, the melon house, the forcing house, etc I'm now inspired to do more with my greenhouse. I have a lot of fig trees in there already (they won't survive our zone 4/5 winters outside, but the unheated greenhouse is about a zone 8). I planted all my old melon seed (from 2 years ago) in the greenhouse; I've gotten about 50% germination on most varieties. I'm looking forward to having melons in little hammocks hanging from the rafters, just like the Victorian melon houses :-)

I splurged yesterday and bought myself a large Redhaven peach tree. It's probably 7' tall and might bear a few fruit this year. I have fruit trees already, but had given up getting fruit due to insect damage. A couple years ago I tried Surround, an organic kaolin spray. It's not toxic at all; it just coats the fruit with clay and the insects don't like the feel, so move on. It really works, especially on peaches. I got a great crop from my Reliance peach tree last year, so I'm adding the Redhaven (we love peaches). My pear trees did well, too. My apples didn't pollinate well last year (too wet when they were blooming, I think), but I have high hopes for this year. I've been a wuss about pruning them, and haven't gotten good crops. Now that I've found a way to keep the insects off, I pruned them hard this year, and fertilized them well, so we'll see.

Lynn Wigglesworth
Tioga Co. PA

----- Original Message ----- From: "Robert Walton" <waltonrp AT gmail.com>
To: <homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Thursday, April 30, 2009 10:18 AM
Subject: [Homestead] How's your garden?


Hey all,

I suspect that most people are busy at some stage of gardening. What
are you planting?

I set out 50 or so tomato slips yesterday, Brandywine, Arkansas
Traveler for slicers, Pittman Vally Plum, San Marzano and Heinz for
canners. Unlike last year, my tomatoes started well and I've got
enough plants left over for everyone on the road. I hate not planting
them all, I've been caring for them for so long. But.. everything's
got it's limits.

Set out peppers sweet and hot also, maybe 10 hot and 30 sweet.

Thankfully, the heat wave ended on Monday, it's about 70 for a high
here, a little warmer this weekend. Chance of rain all weekend and
tomorrow. Would be a great time to get a good shower. Today is cloudy
and that's great, lets those slips get set in a little before they get
sun.

I put in a bed of Georgia Rattlesnake watermelons, Crenshaw Melons,
Ananas Melons, and a green fleshed melon. A few summer squash are in
and a good row of snap beans, I might put in another later, but
probably will put a couple of rows in in a few weeks for a big canning
rush of beans.

Corn is going to be late this year, I'm putting that back in the field
that is crimson clover right now. I'll probably be planting deer and
raccoon food back there, but it's worth a try.

This morning I set out a few flowers that I'd started. Don't forget
some flowers!

I ate a few radishes last night with some spinach mustard and goat
feta. Nice start, hope to eat a little lettuce in a week or two.

Has anyone planted New Zealand Spinach? I got a few seeds from a
catalog. It sounded like a source of summer greens.

Rob - Va
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