weekend work

This was a busy weekend but I managed to get some things done on my
mini-farm. I set out all my zucchini and summer squash in the raised
bed garden - 6 of each. In the front garden I made mounds and planted
my 2 Howden pumpkin plants, 1 Crimson Sweet watermelon, 1 Charentais
melon, and 5 Waltham butternuts. Obviously, I'm hoping for a lot of
butternut squash! I also stuck some Alaska nasturtium seeds between
the mounds.

Finally, I put my peppers in their large pots that they'll live in on
the porch, as well as my biggest cotton plant. Tomorrow I'm hoping to
get my manure turned into the tomato bed so I can set them out, too.

Tomato flowers!

Hopefully the nights are warm from now on because these babies need to
go out! The Cherokee Purples and Box Car Willie's have flowers and the
pumkins are about to!

I harvested all of the bok choy to make room for the zucchini. Some
insect pest was eating lots of holes in it and then it started bolting
in this heat. I probably won't grow it again. It was incredibly
delicious but we don't eat that much bok choy.

I also planted half of the sunflower seeds. A dozen Russian Mamoth, a
dozen Goldy Honey Bear, and a half dozen Elve's Blend.

My husband and I both hate weed-wacking around the beds so I decided
to put straw down hoping it would keep out the weeds.

first harvest - radishes!

Yesterday I picked a couple dozen 'easter egg radishes'. They
probably could have stayed in the ground another week but I needed the
space to plant some green beans. My daughter helped me lovingly pick
them all, saving the big guys and washing them off in the sink. They
were all different colors and really beautiful. Too bad we both hate
radishes! I only grow them because they're always the first thing
ready and it's instant gratification. Luckily my mom likes them or
they would have all gone to waste.

I also got my hands on some sweet corn seeds and decided I should
plant a few since they're Beverly's absolute favorite. I germinated
them indoors and then set out the promising ones. They're all coming
up nicely! I planted about 14 butter and sugar variety in the back
beds that I've put pole beans at the base of. Then I put about 6 of a
bicolor variety called Quickie in the front patch.

Indoors the tomato plants and squashes are getting huge and
spending most of their time on the deck (along with my cotton, melon,
and peppers). The nights are supposed to get down in the 40s this
weekend so I'll have to wait a bit more to set them out.

the growing grid

Just what I wanted but absolutely don't need - another bed! Jim just
built it from some scrap wood which dictated its 1' x 8' size. I think
it looks awesome. I planted a dozen gladiolus bulbs and will probably
continue with flowers this year. Maybe next year it will be little
Bev's garden.

I spent a good hour pruning our beastly wineberry bushes as well as
sticking a few experimental shallots in the ground.

Our most exciting project this weekend is that Jim has starting
building me a little veggie cart for the end of the driveway!

80 degrees!

It's a hot one today and the plants are as anxious as I am. It seems
like everything is blooming overnight. With all of our flooding last
week and then the Easter weekend, I'm a little behind on my indoor
planting. I had hoped to start my zucchini and yellow squash by now.
But I think I will have to buy a set of grow lights for my lower shelf
first because the tomatoes are getting so big so fast! The butternut
squash seedlings are going strong and the pumpkins are just poking
their heads up. Here are a couple of shots of the happy seedlings
sunbathing on the porch today.

As for outdoors, I've finished planting the potatoes and onions in the
raised beds - that makes a total of 75 onions and about 54 potatoes! I
also have a ton of daffodils to plant. On Easter my uncle went to our
old farm and dug up a few clumps for me. I separated the bulbs
yesterday. There are about 115!! I've already given away about 35. I
suppose I should be a good New Englander and plant them along our
stonewall.

potatoes & onions

I just planted 23 seed potatoes and 24 onion sets. They're all in the
bed in the foreground. I dug three trenches for the potatoes, set them
in and covered them lightly. I'll continue to fill in the trench as
they grow. This is my first time trying the trench method. It's more
labor than the "square-foot" method in my raised beds but I'm hoping
it will be easier to fill them in, rather than carting wheelbarrows
over to mound up around the plant.

I planted 11 Yukon golds and 12 red Pontiac. I'm new to Pontiacs but
they should be a good keeper. This is also my first time planting
onions. Hope I did it right. They are Stuttgarter variety. I set them
about 4 inches apart and left the little point exposed. It seemed kind
of shallow but I think it's supposed to peak out. I planted 12 on
each end, capping the potato trenches.

let's talk about cotton

I'm growing cotton because Sand Hill offers it as an ornamental and I
thought that was incredible. I chose Egyptian Green. Here's a
description from the catalogue - "115 days. Beautiful flowers on 3 to
4 foot tall plants followed by bolls that produce pale green cotton".

There's very little info on the web that doesn't deal with major
commercial cotton growing so I've been growing these the old fashioned
way (without the comforting touchstone of Internet examples). I'll try
the library.

Anyway, when I poured the seeds out into my hand and got those fuzzy
green pellets I was really startled and instantly in love. However,
they are a real mystery to germinate. I sowed four seeds right
alongside my tomatoes and have given them the exact same treatment.
Only two germinated by the time I was transplanting everything up.
Sand Hill usually has awesome germination rates. I figured the other
two rotted (maybe as a southern crop they like it dry?) or more likely
they are slow to germinate. So I stuck two more seeds in a damp paper
towel to sprout. That was weeks ago and nothing's happened.

The seedling in the photo is the champ. He was first to poke out of
the dirt. Get a load of the cotyledons on this one! Hubba hubba. It
looks like a satellite! I'm assuming that the little green shoot in
the middle is a true leaf. The other seedling is close behind him but
still holding on to the seed.

I'm planning to keep them potted on my back porch that gets tons of
sunlight. I've also read that cotton plants can be brought in as a
houseplant for the winter months. I really hope I get at least one
strong plant. I love watching the different stages when I have no idea
what to expect!