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My 2017 Gardening Journal

9K views 102 replies 8 participants last post by  larabelle 
#1 ·
Well, it's time to start my gardening journal for the year. Hopefully, I'll do a better job than last year but 2016 was a rough year for me. Right now, there's nothing really to be done until March at the earliest. I'll start turning over the soil then once I sign up again for the garden. (I have a 10x20' plot in a community garden.)

Other than that, I do plan on putting in more tomatoes than I did last year since I started making tomato sauce. Will likely also put in peas/beans and maybe try the cabbage again this year. Other than that, I don't know. I have hit or miss success with cucumbers and carrots.
 
#53 ·
Forgot to get some cabbage this past weekend at the farmer's market. I didn't sleep well Friday night so ended up sleeping in later than expected Saturday morning. So the next attempt at Sauerkraut will likely be next weekend.

Did get some weeding done on Sunday. There were at least three yellow finches flitting around the sunflowers while I was there. I think they were finches. They were about a few inches long and mostly yellow with some black. I think it was an American Goldfinch based on a quick Google search. I don't recall seeing them before at the garden. I've seen cardinals, blue jays, and red tailed hawks regularly there, though. Then again, we've started planting herbs and flowers just outside the fence to the plot area the last three years so that probably attracted them.
 
#54 ·
Here is the recipe I used when I made my first batch:
How To Make Homemade Sauerkraut in a Mason Jar | Kitchn
It's a small an=mount but I just double/triple/....the recipe for the amount of cabbage I have. It's super simple. I've learned that you can add carrots, purple cabbage, caraway seeds...all kinds of stuff.

We planted corn last weekend on saturday and its already 2-3" tall. I didn't mark the seeds I planted and ended up planting 3 zucchini in a cluster like you do melons. I hope that doesn't matter and we actually get some zucchini this year. We puled the last of the tomato plants out today and new 1-2" tall plants are ready to go in the ground. I also have pumpkins and watermelons ready to plant but it's been raining yesterday and today and we can't get into the garden because it's too wet. Oh, 2 celery came up!! None did this spring when I planted it so I'm happy with 2. If no more pop their cute little heads up this week I'll plant a few more. DH uses a lot of celery when he cooks.
 
#55 ·
Haven't gotten the courage to try celery yet although I'm not sure I will. I don't use it enough to justify planting it. I did plant broccoli for the first time this year. I think I'll plant it again next year. I've enjoyed snapping off the broccoli florets and munching on them as I go around my plot. This is also the second year I've planted cabbage, although this year I bought some already started. I planted some more cabbage seeds and planted them last week. Also planted more peas. I normally plant a new batch of peas or (more usually) beans at the beginning of July (near July 4th) but the peas held on this year until the end of the month. It's been a cool year, compared to previous summers.
 
#56 ·
I see goldfinches every single time I go to the garden plots. Someone gave me a plant she called "patio celery" a couple of years ago. It is very prolific and has reseeded itself. It is mostly leaves, the stalks are very thin. But definite celery taste. I have added the leaves to salad and started freezing some for use in soups later. I threw the stems in with the leaves for soups.
 
#57 ·
The peas and new cabbage seeds haven't sprouted. At least not that I can see. Do have a looooootttttt of weeds, though. I've been doing the pull and drop method of weeding - just leaving the weeds around the bases of the established plants to decay/mulch down into compost.

Looks like the tomato plants really like the cooler weather we're having in my area. I have a whole bunch of green tomatoes on the plants. Sad thing is, the new gardener in the plot next to mine seems to have abandoned it. Then again, she did say she was only trying it out for the season to see if she wanted to actually commit to gardening before she dug up sections of her own yard on a more permanent basis. That was smart of her. But it's sad because she and her husband put so much work into creating the 1-foot garden spaces and then planting all the seeds and starters. There are a ~lot~ of tomatoes on her vines.

On the other hand, I finally picked up a head of cabbage at the farmers market since I didn't have enough left at my plot to make a batch of sauerkraut. This time I made sure to add water to it as well as salt it very liberally. I think it's working because the water's getting a little bit cloudy (like you'd see in a jar of kraut in the store). And there are bubbles now. I tapped the jar when I first filled it to make sure the air bubbles were out of it. But there was evidence of it bubbling this morning as well as more bubbles floating to the surface when I tapped it again. So I'm happy with it so far.
 
#58 ·
I rarely use celery but I married a Southern man and their holy trinity of cooking is celery, green peppers and onions - he uses it in everything! If I have too much in the garden I just cut it and freeze it. Only 2 pllants have come up so I'm going to plant more seeds today - 2 plants will not be enough.

Yesterday we put a good day of work into the garden. We pulled the yardlong beans, turned dirt to plant another patch of the yardlong beans, weeded the pineapples, raked 10 wheelbarrows of grass clippings and heavily mulched the corn, watermelons and zucchinis. We used over half the grass clippings and still meed to mulch the pumpkins, cumbers, peppers and pineapples. Hopefully my SIL will mow some more today. She doesn't cut her grass very regularly and it gets quite tall -she mows over an acre. We also planted 8 tomato plants.

Plans for today are low key, probably just going to reseed peat pots that the seed didn't take.
 
#59 ·
I rarely use celery but I married a Southern man and their holy trinity of cooking is celery, green peppers and onions - he uses it in everything! If I have too much in the garden I just cut it and freeze it. Only 2 pllants have come up so I'm going to plant more seeds today - 2 plants will not be enough.

Yesterday we put a good day of work into the garden. We pulled the yardlong beans, turned dirt to plant another patch of the yardlong beans, weeded the pineapples, raked 10 wheelbarrows of grass clippings and heavily mulched the corn, watermelons and zucchinis. We used over half the grass clippings and still meed to mulch the pumpkins, cumbers, peppers and pineapples. Hopefully my SIL will mow some more today. She doesn't cut her grass very regularly and it gets quite tall -she mows over an acre. We also planted 8 tomato plants.

Plans for today are low key, probably just going to reseed peat pots that the seed didn't take.
 
#60 ·
LOL - I've heard the 'holy trinity' of cooking being usually onions, carrots and celery but it looks like that's mostly European cooking from what I just looked up. Although I do like green peppers, the bell ones that is. I tried growing bell peppers in my garden but they never grew. I've seen other gardeners in my community garden grow other kinds of peppers though.
 
#61 ·
My cherry tomatoes are about finished. I had 7 plants grown from seed. They did well and gave me a lot. I put 3 Q of diced tomatoes in the freezer. I also used a lot in cooking. There are 2 plants left because each has a few green ones. I have a volunteer cherry tomato in another spot and may get a bit from that. The bush beans are mostly done but the pole beans are now producing. Got a quart bag from each group today that went in the freezer. I have okra to blanch and freeze tomorrow. I have eaten all the okra so far and it is just coming on. Squash, zucchini and basil were not good this year. I planted beets, turnips, and spinach today, maybe I will get something. Will plant lettuce in a few more weeks.

I have been good about drying some herbs also - thyme and summer savory. The thyme surprised me how much it tries to spread, it has popped up in various nearby locations so I transplanted some to to my yard. I was also surprised how easy it is to dry in the oven. Just put the stalks on a wire rack on a cookie sheet. Preheat oven to about 250 and turn off. Put the cookie sheet/rack in the oven and leave for several hours. Then strip the leaves off the stems.
 
#62 ·
My cherry tomatoes are doing well still. Or at least I have some more left to harvest in the next week or so. I know I've post probably more than I should by not picking them but that's ok. Looks like my peas and cabbage seeds didn't sprout but that's probably because I haven't been watering them and it's been dry recently. Oh well.

I've been pulling weeds and making a compost pile on my plot. I'll use that to cover my plot over winter. Whatever doesn't compost over winter, I'll just pull back when I loosen the soil in spring. I will either use it again to put around new transplants or (more likely) bring it to the street for compost pickup. I will probably forget my own composting plan, come spring. lol

Speaking of drying herbs, I've had good luck using mesh fruit/veggie bags. The bags were marketed for use in buying/storing fruits and veggies but I've put fresh herbs in them, hung them up, and let the herbs dry in those. The mesh is small enough that no leaves, etc, fall out of the bag but open enough to let air pass through.
 
#63 ·
My plot is a mess and needs to be weeded badly. It's pretty much at the end of its season so I'll slowly work through what's left and do a pull-n-drop method of weeding. I'll use that as a winter cover. Hopefully, it will mulch a bit over the winter and compost into the ground.

On the other hand, I picked up a pot and some potting soil for my apartment. I bought some fresh ginger root last fall for the winter and I had one piece left over. It started to sprout so I planted it over the weekend. It's a self-watering pot with a reseviour at the bottom. I think it's still a bit overly damp so I'll let it dry a bit. I do like ginger in winter teas but it can get expensive to get the fresh stuff, if you know where to find it. One of the local vendors at my farmer's market sells fresh, young ginger roots, which is where I got this one. So I'm hoping it will root and grow and I'll have my own source of ginger going forward.
 
#64 · (Edited)
I keep meaning to try ginger. Good luck. I have the alfalfa seeds that I have not tried sprouting yet. You can garden in the winter that way!

My plot is still producing pole beans & okra. I planted beets, turnips, spinach. I need to do some weeding and clearing and put in lettuce. Our first frost date is around Halloween so possibly may keep getting some produce. Another gardener was kind enough to share squash and says I can have more for the asking.

I planted the peppers in pots and am going to try to over-winter them. That would save me $$$ in the spring. I read it can be done. They will drop their leaves and go dormant but revive in the spring.
 
#65 ·
Please let me know how the peppers do in the spring. I've tried peppers in the past but never had any luck with them. The ginger's holding on so far. I think it may have even grown a little bit. Since the bag of soil I bought didn't fill the pot by a good amount, I'm putting in veggie scraps to compost. Not around the one ginger spike, though. :lol:
 
#66 ·
Finally did some weeding in the garden. I'm going to be doing a lot more over the next few weeks since what I do have is almost finished. I should try and put in some more cabbage seeds since it's cool. Then again, it's been a generally cool summer in my area that they may not sprout. I tried a month ago but it may have been too warm. I've gotten fond of cabbage now that I've had a chance to have some fresh.

Moved the ginger plant pot into a sunnier area than it was before. The stalk was too low to get much sun where it was before, since I only used one bag of potting soil. I probably could've used two bags. Oh well. I think putting in fresh veggie scrapes and letting that compost will bring the soil level up some. I do also use a lot of loose leaf tea that I can put into the pot as well. Since there's a good reservoir at the bottom to keep watering the soil without rotting out the roots, the leaves should drain well.

I think the ginger is starting to thrive. I only planted it a week ago and it looks like the stalk is starting get bigger and put out more leaves. The root was pretty dry when I planted it, so I guess it's finally perked when I planted it. I'm looking forward to seeing if it grows and puts out more stalks. If that happens, it means the rhizome (the ginger root) is growing as well since it spreads that way.
 
#67 ·
My ginger plant is definitely growing. So I think I got it planted in time. I think only one or two of the previous ginger roots I bought sprouted but not to the point that this one did. I'm glad I planted this one. Now I just have to be patient and let it grow on its own terms. I haven't seen any other stalks sticking their noses up above the soil just yet.

Added some veggies and tea leaves to the pot. I think it's a bit too cool to really compost quickly but that's ok. It probably won't compost too quickly in the winter either, given I tend to keep my place cool. But the pot's black so it should absorb the sunlight and keep the soil warmer. (Another reason for the veggie/tea compost-mulch.)
 
#68 ·
The tomato plants are really hanging on, with the cooler weather. Been pulling weeds but more keep coming. I think the broccoli plants, which are pretty much done, will have to wait until they're really dry before I can pull them. Still getting some cabbage leaves here and there but they'll be pulled soon as well. Been piling up the weeds on my plot in preparation for using it as a winter mulch cover. I think more people are doing that this year as well for the same reason. One fellow gardener has been doing the 'chop and drop' method of compost/mulch throughout the year. It's a way to improve the soil by making sure the nutrients in the plants don't get lost by composting somewhere else.

The ginger plant is definitely coming along. It's grown a couple of inches since I planted it. And it has a second stalk/spike. I can't wait to see how many more come up. The vendor said they only get a few stalks but I wonder if that's because they tend to harvest it relatively quickly for sale. He never replanted the ginger but had customers ask if it could be done.
 
#69 ·
I have been trying to figure a cover crop to use, nothing sounds really appealing. I have given away the last 2 pickings from the pole beans to neighbors and fellow gardeners. Okra only producing a few pods, I guess it is too cool now. I pulled the sweet potato & vine up (planted a grocery store sweet potato back in the spring) and got some very interesting/weird looking roots but just 1 small edible potato. Oh well, it was a free experiment.
 
#70 ·
dircpa, sorry the potato didn't pan out. (Ok, pun slightly intended!) I've seen seed potatoes for sale at my local Lowes and I think at at least one grocery store. I think it was a Weis (north of me) but I will likely keep an eye out next year. I think they're normal potatoes, not sweet ones, but I think they have them in different colors. I seem to recall purple ones.

I don't actually use a cover crop. We have a lot of grass around so the seeds spread into the garden. But I started using the weeds/grass I pull as a cover mulch last year. It worked out pretty well. So I'm doing that again this year. I then take the weed cover away in the spring when I start to dig up the plot. Not sure if I'll simply move it to one side next year or take it to the curb.
 
#71 ·
My ginger plant is really coming along. I think it's grown over an inch in the past few days. Then again, it doesn't have any competition in the pot. :LOL: Still only two stalks at this point and the second stalk is also growing quickly. Can't wait to see if there will be more stalks sprouting soon. That means the root is growing. Which is definitely what I want it to do. :)
 
#73 ·
The recent weather has put my tomatoes back into project as well. I've been pulling weeds and the broccoli though. Once the tomatoes are done finally, I'll pull those stalks and smooth my mulch pile over the plot for the winter. I think most of the gardeners are doing something like that these days. I guess it's because it's easier than hauling it to the curb. Although if they do haul the weeds to the curb, the township picks them up quickly since the garden's near the municipal center and they want it to look 'neat'. Then again, they were pretty good about getting us the compost when we asked for it this year. On the other hand, we have been giving them some produce from the giving garden plot.

The second stalk on my ginger plant is coming along better than the first one. It still only has these two stalks but I'm kinda hoping that root will start growing longer soon. But both stalks are peeking over the top of the pot now so they're getting sunlight. Seems ginger likes shade so I moved it to a shadier part of my apartment but where it still gets some sun to grow. Otherwise, I've been very good and haven't pulled it out to see if it's grown longer. :lol:
 
#75 ·
My ginger plant seems to have stalled. I had it in my kitchen and that may have been part of the problem. I heard that ginger likes shade and now that it's getting darker, the kitchen probably isn't the best place considering I turn on the lights in there. On the other hand, the place I have it now does get some light in the morning but the windows face northeast-ish. So once the sun's up, the light doesn't shine in through the windows and it's more shady. I put the pot in a place where the light from the kitchen doesn't directly shine on it either.

Sigh. It's time to clean up the garden. I've been doing that slowly the past couple of weeks. I think I may have to move most of the weeds to the curb to deter the critters from making a home there over the winter. But I'll definitely keep some to cover the plot. But since I got a good amount piled up, I can just shove them into a bucket so it won't be that bad. Still kinda odd to have the season nearly over. This year went by fast.
 
#76 ·
Moving the ginger plant out of the kitchen and back into the living room area looks like it was a good idea. It seems to be perking up again. I think the regular on-off of the kitchen light after dark confused it. But it doesn't get direct light where I finally put it, either from the kitchen or the windows. Still only the two stalks so far, which means that the root probably hasn't grown any further. If the vendor has any ginger this week at the farmer's market (they sell to restaurants as well), I'll pick up some for use in the winter and some to plant.

Still 'cleaning' up my garden plot. A couple of the tomato plants have been hanging on and putting out new cherry tomatoes. Once they die off, I'll pull the stalks. I covered the rest of the plot with the weeds I pulled earlier. Looks like it had been composting down over the season since I found some that looked like it had turned to dirt again. Yay. That's pretty much what I wanted it to do.
 
#77 ·
We got the notice that plot inspections begin around Nov 6. So I guess I will pull some things down tomorrow. I have been leaving the pole beans and okra on the plants to produce seeds. But it has been raining a lot so no chance to dry out. I'll decide what to do tomorrow, probably bring some beans home and spread on wire mesh inside somewhere.
 
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