Experimental Garden Log: Stardate 06162010

Hey GREENTHUMBERS!!!!

"Experimental Garden Plot #1-A41110" has been growing, big surprise huh? Well once again the "Dirt Bags have been producing lettuce, onions, spinach and a few more radishes. I expected more from the radishes but when it got hot they went to tops and stopped forming bulbous roots. Maybe I watered them too much or gave them too much fertilizer or something. In conclusion the radish in the bad was only semi-successful. I have replanted two "Dirt bags" with 6 Broccoli plants and a 3rd "Dirt bag with Yellow Bush Beans, which are already peeking their heads up. I still have lots of lettuce, onions and beets to harvest. The beets look very healthy but we will have to see how they grow in their rather shallow container. Okay now on to the straw bale portion. It looks sad, very sad. I fertilized and then it rained for a week. I plan to fertilize more tomorrow. One of the Pepper Plants looks a little better but nothing is thriving. I was finally able to get the ground worked in the traditional garden bed and I planted Pole Beans, Bush Beans, Red, White, Blue & Yellow potatoes, Yellow Peppers, Yellow Tomatoes, onions, cucumbers and some Rhubarb plants too. I still have about 4 dozen Sweet Potato plants to get in if it ever stops raining long enough. I read about a sweet potato producer in Iowa who does not plant until mid-July. He says sweet potatoes love heat and he has great success waiting until then. If I can get mine planted by mid-July I will feel like I also succeeded. In the traditional garden the beans and onions are already up in less than a week. I planted all colors of beans, yellow, purple, green, pole, and mottled. I have also added to the experiment with some Patio Containers. I had 3 planting boxes that have water reservoirs underneath and one of those hanging planter thingies. My friend and Cubical-mate Sue gave me the hanging planter. It is meant for impatiens or other flowers and not necessarily tomatoes. However I really like the design better than other upside down tomato planters I have seen. This one has a hard plastic bottom so excess water has to overflow the 2" sides. I think this design helps to retain moisture better than if it just had holes in the bottom. I planted a couple of black tomato plants and several Marigolds in the sides of the planter. The tomatoes are growing like weeds; they are very happy and full of blossoms. 2 of the planting boxes also have 3 tomatoes each and the 3rd has 6 yellow pepper plants which all seem to be thriving. You may have noticed I have a lot of yellow peppers; I got a whole flat of 36 plants for only $4 at the Chana Auction Barn. The Chana Auction Barn has a sale every Tuesday all year round. It is very “rural” and a little “hillbilly” but where else can you buy poultry every Tuesday? This is where I acquired all of my babies. In fact this past Tuesday I brought home 15 more Indian Runner Ducklings. I now have 41 ducks, 22 chickens, 6 geese and 15 turkeys and one 55.5 pound Miniature Dachshund. I will be building more fences tomorrow to go around the new Duck House. We let the 13 baby turkeys out of their crib today for the first time. They immediately tried to fly out of the pen. The 2 older turkeys ran over and calmed everybody down and I was able to get 2 that made it to the outside back on the inside. Tonight everyone was put to bed inside the Chicken House and hopefully everyone will remember where home is tomorrow and not try to wander beyond the chicken yard. I will have to say the Ducks and Geese have had an impact on the bug population however the Mosquitoes are still winning the battle. I guess I just need more ducks!

Happy Gardening and Whispering!

Dale