Hooray For Leaves

Leaves offer some good fun and benefits to everyone. First and foremost, the kids love when mom and dad rake them into huge piles and the kids get to jump in joy, this has always a great time of year for my sister and I. It offered fun and enjoyment but then we had to re-rake them so it taught us the importance between work and fun as well.

Now we get to the gardening section of this post. Leaves provide a great number of nutrients when they begin to break down. They are a great way to begin a compost pile since there is always and abundance of leaves everywhere you look. You can take a few loads and dump them into your compost pile, or take my method which works great for me.

I rake all my leaves from the front and back yard into my freshly tilled garden. When they are all on top of my garden, I try to spread them out evenly over the entire plot. I have a fairly good sized garden so I have room for all my leaves. If you don’t have a big garden, just use enough to cover the entire garden with an inch or two. This is the easiest part. Just leave the leaves all winter on top of your garden. They will begin to compost themselves. Also, over the winter earthworms come to the surface and eat the leaves which then turn into waste and nutrients put back into to soil. It’s a natural way of composting.

When spring comes and you can work the soil, just till the remaining leaves into your garden and keep tilling until your soil is worked enough to plant.

This is a great way to dispose of your fall time menace and put them to good use. There is nothing better than recycling and there is nothing better than free!

Next Years Growning Ideas

Every year when my garden comes to an end, I go through my seed catalog and see what sounds good to grow next year.  This is a sad but also exciting time for me.  I hate to see the garden season go but I love planning for next years.  Here are my ideas for next years garden.

Crop                                 Variety
Beets.................................Kestral
Beans................................Blue Lake 274
Broccoli.............................Packman
Carrots..............................Sweet Baby Jane
Cauliflower........................Snow Crown
Cucumber..........................Marketmore 76
Eggplant............................Classic
Lettuce..............................Buttercrunch
                                         Green Towers
                                         Royal Oakleaf
                                         Danyelle
Peas..................................Sugar Snap
                                         Green Arrow
Peppers.............................Poblano
                                         (many more but I have not decided what yet)
Radish...............................Champion
Spinach.............................Tyee
Zucchini............................Elite
Yellow Squash..................Superpik
Tomatoes..........................Jet Star
                                         Big Beef
                                         Babycakes
                                         Sugar Plum

This is a great start for me and I still need to figure out my pepper selection.  My garden should be great this coming year and I will be sure to post many pictures throughout the season from tilling to planting to growing to harvesting.  Check back soon for pepper selection and leave comments of what has worked for you!

Frost

Hi all,

Summer is coming to an end and fall will be in full swing.  This means the first widespread frost for many northern areas.  This is the time to really watch the weather forcast and check for frost so you can get the last of the cold sesitive fruits.  Things such as peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant will all die hours after a hard frost.  It is best to pick them the day before so they don't go to waste.  It has been a great season for many different vegetables.  My bean swere fantastic.  I had so many I did not know what to do with them.  I gave so many away to family and friends and even froze a bunch for this winter.  Nothing better than veggies out of the garden when the snow is on the ground.

Many of you I'm sure had success stories this year as well.  I would love to hear them if you don't mind sharing!

There are some crops that can stand a light frost.  Some lettuce varites can such as a hardy green romaine.  The variety I planted is called "Winter Density."  It's a great tasting lettuce as well.  Beets, radishes, carrots, and other root crops will withstand a light frost and actually, beets become sweeter after a frost!

I can't believe it is coming to an end already.  I'm not ready for the snow and long winter.  Again I will be anxious to get back outside and plant when spring hits!

A Very Long Time

Hey everyone!  It has been a very long time since I have blogged.  It has been so busy at work all summer and now leading into fall with the apple harvest.  I would like you all to know that I have made a new goal.  That goal is to be an avid blogger.  I will stick to my blog and write several days a week give tips and hopefully answering your questions if you have any.  I really enjoy gardening and working on the farm amps up the enjoyment even more.  It's gardening on a larger scale!  Well, I am now back so feel free to ask any questions and I will be posting new information soon and tips on how to make your garden spectacular!

Thats all for today!

Enjoy

A New Light

This week brings great weather to the shore of Lake Ontario in Williamson, NY.  The weather forcast is calling for plenty of sunshine and 70's all week.  This is just coming off the bad week of cold lows at night and damage to many crops in the area.  Tomorrow is the day though.

After work tomorrow, I will till up my garden plot for the last time and begin to plant my strawberries.  I just recieved twenty new plants and I am very anxious to get them in the ground.  The problem with strawberries is that you must wait a year before they produce like they should.  But that doesn't matter because it is a very easy crop and very tasty when ready. 

Oh, I have a great success story about blackberries as well.  There are tons of wild blackberries throughout the back woods and I dug a few runners from the ground.  I prepared a small strip and planted them in the yard.  This year they grew to five times the size and are beginning to bloom.  There will be many berries on there this year and I have just planted more.  Free is always great!

Soon, the frost free date will be past and the frost sensitive crops can be planted.  This is the best time of the planting season.  The tomatoes and peppers can go in the ground and with the right amount of care, they will grow to become very tasty vegetables.

This year I thought I would try somethinig different as well.  I am trying out some cut flowers to sell to the local florist.  We will see though how that turns out.

One last thought for the night.  I plant on using weed free fabric for the peppers and tomatoes.  This will prevent weeds but still allow water to soak through for optimal watering.  Many people use mulch to surpress weeds and it makes your garden look very atractive but in my case I would spend so much in mulch it's worth just weeding what I need to.

I can't wait for tomorrow afternoon to begin my planting.  I will try to get some pictures up of what I am doing.  Keep checking back for updates.

Summer Is Around the Corner

Summer is coming and the plants and flowers are looking great.  This is the time when you stop by the local garden shop and browse the plant selection whether it be for your vegetable garden or flower bed.  I personally ejoy the vegetable aspect.

On the farm, we just finished the first round of planting.  This included many things such as broccoli and cauliflower to radishes and beets.  Everything took very well and should be set from here on out.  The fruit looks great too.  Most of the apples have set and many of the peaches, cherries, plums, and apricots have fruit on the trees.

This is my favorite time of year when you can notice thigs beginning to grow.  Let me know what you love about this time of year and let me know if you have any questions!

Fertilizer and Seedlings

Hey Larry this one is for you.  Many others I'm sure are wondering the same thing as well.  The question here is whether or not to use fertilizer on seedlings and when and also what is the best kind of soil to use for re-potting from peat pellets.

I also start my seeds in peat but many say potting soil is better.  In my experience, I disagree.  If you are going to re-pot then peat is a good starting medium.  When you go to re-pot into larger containers, I would switch to a well balanced nutrient rich potting soil for vegetables.  This will ensure you have the correct amount of nutrients for your seedlings to grow. 

As far as using fertilizer, I have never used it on seedlings.  My advice is to not use any until your plants are hardened off and planted in the garden.  Young seedlings are very delicate and the fertilizer can potentially burn them in a way and end up hurting them.  There are many kinds of potting soils out there with low doses of fertilizer mixed in which will provide enough during that critical growing time.  At the same time though fertilizer is meant to promote either blossoms or better fruit.  Applying fertilizer to a seedling could make the plant become spindly and lanky.  This is something we do not want our seedlings to do.

My advice is to wait on the fertilizer until your can move things outside.  This will ensure your plants are ready for the doses you are about to apply. 

Hope this helps, let me know if you need any clearification.

Plant Spacing

Plant spacing is an essential part to planning your garden for the upcoming season.  There are some tips and secrets you might not know and are worth a try.

Most vegetable plants have requirements and recommendations for spacing right on the package.  For many of you, just like me, I can bet are trying to maximize space to fit more into your garden.  Here are my tips and secrets.

For larger plant types such as tomato and pepper plants, I space each plant 1 foot apart and rows 2 feet apart.  After 3 rows, I leave a space large enough for me to walk down making it easy to reach all the plants for harvest.   This essetially makes a block of three rows.  Try to keep varieties together so you don't get confused.  This method works well for me and provides maximum space and pollination.  Some people say every plant can self pollinate which is true but I find with the plants closer together, they produce more.  Just remember to not plant too close or competition will occur.

For small bush plants such as beans and peas (bush or pole), spacing is quite different.  I space my beans and peas 3 inches apart and keep the weeds down as much as possible.  For some reason, beans and peas attract the most weeds in my garden.  I plant the rows 1 foot apart so i can stradle a row to pick.  Here you don't need to leave a larger space since you can walk over the plants without damaging them.

For head crops such as broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage, I recommend lots of space.  These crops require alot more nutrients for large growth.  Stick to the recommended spacing on the package.

For root crops such and radishes, onions, and carrots, spacing is much like the beans.  These can be planted in rows and then thinned to 2 inches between each plant.  For carrots, you must have at least 12 inches of deeply loosened soil for them to grow straight and large.  For radishes, you must stay on top of them.  Most only require 24-30 days to harvest and can become spongy and pithy fast.

These are the basic crops for a beginners garden and my tips and secrets for such crops.  I plant all these in my garden every year with these methods and have great success.

Snow Storm

I feel really bad for all of you in the mid Atlantic states who are recieving all that snow.  I live on the coast of lake Ontario and we just have the cold, no snow.  It really makes you anxious for warm weather and to start your garden.  I'm itching as well. Check out this blog for some pictures and info about the storm.

http://www.blogcatalog.com/blog/gotta-garden

Seedlings

Seedlings are very delicate.  They need ample light, plenty of water, and some TLC.  You must be careful though.  Too much water will turn the seedlings yellow and begin to show root rot.

Here are some good tips on lighting amounts and when to water your seedlings.

Lighting:  The bottom line is seedlings need light.  It is recommended that seedlings recieve around 16 hours of light and 8 hours of complete darkness (they need to rest just as you and I do).  To do this, I put mine on a timer which turns the lights on and off providing the right amount of light at the right time.  Florecent lights work just as well as those expensive grow lights!  I place my light right over the surface of the soil and move the lights up as the plants grow up.  This helps them grow straight toward the light and promotes strong stem growth.

Watering:  A good test for watering is the pinky test.  Stick your pinky about a half inch into the soil.  If the soil is wet then hold off watering for a day.  If the soil is dry then I would give the seedlings a good drink of clean water.  The reason for this test is to be sure you dont drown your seedlings.  Even though they need plenty of water, they can recieve too much.  You must monitor them closely and be sure to watch for any signs of wilt or rot.  Seedlings will turn yellow from too much water and will begin to wilt and flop over if too little.  Root rot is a common issue with too much water.  Just follow the pinky test and you will be fine.

Any questions on this just e-mail me and I will be glad to help you out!

Seed Saving

Everyone has questions about how to store seeds.  Well peppers are about the easiest seed to save for next season.  To do so follow these steps.  First, you must let the pepper fully mature.  If you pick it green the seeds will not do anything because they have not fully developed.  Next, pull out the seeds and place them in a container that holds water.  When you have all your desired seeds (keep varieties sepearte), fill the container with water.  It is said that all the seeds that float will have better germination rates and I have found this true (I did my own test last year between the floaters and sinkers).

When you determine what seeds you are going to use, place them on paper towels on a baking tray and place in a sunny windowsill for a few days.  This should dry them out nicely.  To determine if your seeds are dry enough, they should snap and break when you bend them not just bend.  When the seeds are dry, place them in a brown paper bag and label the bag because over the winter it's hard to remember what is what.  The bag provides a place that won't collect condensation and does not allow in light.

Now place the bag in a cool, dry, dark place and begin to look forward to next planting season!

Review of last year

So looking back at last year, I think of things different to do this year.  I caught the tomato blight last year and it killed every plant i had.  Something was also wrong with my peppers but I was never able to figure out what happened.  If you were unfortunate to catch the blight and it was late blight, then you are ok to plant in the same place.  The disease cannot hold through the winter.  Early blight will stick around and I suggest putting the tomatoes somewhere else.

So far I have decided to plant a few different tomato types, some different peppers, radishes, beets, carrots, and corn.  When planting, plant in short rows.  This will ensure proper pollination and save room by planting the similar rows closer together.  Corn I will plant in three rows the length of my garden.  Make sure you plant your corn east to west so when it grows to full height it won't block the sun from other crops.

I also decided I will get a load of manure (horse or cow) for organic fertilizer to start.  If needed, I will apply more during the season.  Make sure the manure is broken down and dirt like so it has the vital nutrients.  You can test the soil if you want.  Many plants like nitrogen or phosphorous.  Read the label to decide.  Let me know what you are going to plant!

I will be posting much more interesting posts when my seed stating begins.  If you have any questions then let me know and I will be glad to answer them!

Seed Starting

Everyone has those pesky little questions about how to begin your own seeds.  Step one is to build yourself a seed starting stand.  Yeah you can go buy one for 200 dollars but i built one for just about $70 including wood, lights, power strip, and timer.

I decided to make my stand 4 feet long by 2 feet wide.  This will fit up to 4 standard trays on each tier.  My stand is also 4 feet high with two tiers.  I took 2 x 4s and ripped them in half.  This is what I used for all my lumber (cost effective).

Here is the list of supplies I used:

5  -  2"x4"x8' ripped in half
4  -  Florecent light fixtures
1  -  Box of florecent light bulbs
1  -  Power strip
1  -  Wall timer

You can figure out quite easily how to build the stand and ill post a picture soon so you can take a look.  I have had great success with my stand and as a result my garden has grown leaps and bounds.  Not to mention it is very satisfying growing your garden from nothing but the seeds of every plant.

Please give me your questions and I will gladly answer them.  Keep checking back!

Can't Sleep

I recently was hired full time at the local fruit and vegetable farm as help and in the future hopefully to co-own the place.  I am so excited for the new growing season to arrive I just can't sleep.  With the farm work beginning and my own garden taking off, spring is a very busy time.  I will bring ideas and working methods from the farm to you through this blog as well as my own experiences.  I hope you can find my information useful!

Keep thinking about what you might want to plant.  Ill post my list soon!

Spring is Coming!

Hey everyone! Today is groundhog’s day and with that comes little hope for a short winter. This my friends did not happen. The good old gopher saw his shadow indicating we must all wait for the snow to melt and spring to come a bit longer.

It’s hard to do with the anticipation of warmer weather and the ground becoming soft enough to till. But for those dedicated gardeners out there, seed starting is approaching fast. Now is the time to plan. Figure out what you have room for and remember what worked last year. now is a good time to order seeds since they will keep dormant in a cool, dry place. It’s better to have them early than miss your transplant date.

You must also think of what you might want to do for preparation. Do you want to fertilize or are you going organic? Will you run soaker hoses or go water yourself. What about plastic? Plastic can do all sorts of wonders to a garden. Ill save that for another post.

Well leave comments and your own posts and come back often for more gardening information.


P.S. I do all my seed purchasing through Park Seed!