Fruit retrospective

Some images of fruit from this past season. This was the first year for peaches and grapes.

Autumn greens, willow, and apples

My daughter started some kale, lettuce and chard for me in a pot on September 5. As the photo from October 6  shows, the seedlings grew well through the fair weather of September; however, something devoured all of the lettuce shortly before transplanting. Fortunately, the kale (~40) and chard (~12) made it into a garden frame and under cover before the cold weather started (Oct 20). We won't be able to pick any of the greens this winter but we will have an early start in the spring. The kale would need to be planted in late July/early August in order to be mature enough to nurture and harvest through the winter cold. Maybe next year...

I ordered several varieties of willow this spring, but didn't get it planted until September. After spending several months in the refrigerator I didn't hold out much hope for them, however more than half of the cuttings sprouted leaves and appear to be thriving.

We picked about 50 lbs of Gala and Braeburn apples from our trees in late-October. They have a lot of blemishes but these are mostly skin deep and the sweetness and crunch of the apples once peeled is unexcelled. These apples will last us into January with daily consumption. The best place I have found to store apples is in the produce drawer of the refrigerator. Technically the best storage conditions are 32 degrees F and 90% humidity, but the refrigerator will keep them in good condition until we have finished eating them in January.

Rising from the ashes...

I guess it is fairly obvious now that I had to take a break from gardening this year. We have a new property in North Buffalo that came with raised beds that were overrun with weeds. After the move, I couldn't stand waiting any longer and spent five hours reclaiming the garden last weekend. My hope is that we will be able to nurture some lettuce, kale, and other greens to maturity before the really cold weather hits in November. Stay tuned...

Eggshells for slug control

I noticed an article on LifeHacker that references a Popular Mechanics article stating: "Crush eggshells into small pieces and sprinkle them on top of the soil. Slugs, cutworms, and other insects are put off by the crunch when they crawl over the sharp edges and will leave for softer pastures. You can also toss the crushed shells into your compost heap. They break down quickly and give your plants a much-needed dose of calcium, which can help with bottom-end rot, a calcium deficiency found in some plants." I will have to try that out when I get back to the garden.

Last view of winter garden

We will be harvesting what is left from the winter garden (except for the garlic which will be harvested in July). These plants all made it through temperatures approaching zero F (-18 C) for several days under a simple protection of one layer of ag-cloth and one layer of plastic.

Flowers everywhere

Kwanzan cherries are full of beautiful pink blossoms today. The forsythia are a nice mix of green and yellow with a compliment of purple vinca at their feet. The red flowering quince will be in full flower any day now and look very nice surrounded by blue forget-me-nots. The lilacs that I nurtured from the brink of oblivion several years ago, are finally blooming this year. The apple trees, peach and pears are also full of blossoms. This has been a perfect spring for flowering and fruiting plants with a clear break between freezing cold and warm sun-drenched days. My first order of business this spring has to be providing an automated way of watering. I expect that if the current weather pattern continues, we will soon be in a drought.

I saw the first beech leaves from the seedlings last weekend.

Update (May 9): Daffodils are fading and it wasn't long before the magnificent cherry blossoms were competing with the new green leaves. I took some photos around my office yesterday since I didn't manage to capture any of the blooms earlier this week.

On your mark, get set...

I am late getting started this year, I hope to plant lots of lettuce, kale, chard, parsley and other greens this weekend and start setting up an automatic watering system.

Forsythia, daffodils and hyacinth are in full regalia. Emerging peonies and lilies are about 4" tall.

Spring has arrived

I checked in on the gardens this past weekend, removing the plastic covering, refilling slug traps and doing a little weeding. My overall feeling is that the winter garden was a success and I am confident that with proper timing, I can provide a good supply of greens and root vegetables for the family next winter.

All of the veggies that survived the winter are now becoming vigorous. I am especially pleased with the garlic, it looks like we will get a good harvest this year from the small cloves that were transplanted last summer. Signs of spring are abundant. Many things are flowering and many buds are swelling. It was especially good to see so many people out enjoying the 70 degree weather yesterday after a long, cold winter.

Checking in on the winter garden

We had a brief thaw last weekend which allowed me to check in on the winter garden. There was good news and bad news. The good news is that the lettuce in frame 3-1 and the carrots in frame 3-3 survived the deep, extended cold temperatures that we had in January and February (we saw a low of 1 degree F on January 25 and 7 degrees F on February 10). Also, the spinach that was planted in mid-January in frame 2-3 is about ready to put on a second set of leaves.

The bad but not unpredictable news is that the chard in frame 2-3 was killed by cold temperatures when the cover blew off in heavy winds in January, and the radicchio in frame 2-1 was burned severely due to the outer cover not sealing off the inside of the frame completely. However, in both cases, the kale appears to have survived.

There have been many sightings of birds returning and crocuses blooming in spite of temperatures expected to fall into the teens later this week.

Interminable Winter

It has been six weeks since I last looked in on the garden frames. Unfortunately, highs only in the 20's are expected again this weekend. I am looking forward to seeing how the plants have survived the extreme cold temperatures. Maybe next week...

Winter gardening

Note (2/20/13): This post is backdated to match the photos

We had temperatures twice dipping below 20F in the first week of January. I checked in on the frames mid-month when we had a thaw. Under a layer of ag-cloth and a layer of clear plastic, everything appears to be doing well. The slug traps were emptied and refilled and I planted some Tyo spinach to see if it will grow in these conditions. I also harvested some carrots which were the sweetest I have tasted from our garden.