Red Clovers and Pullets Update July 2020

Gardening is finally full on. Took some time and persistance with the crazed weather and temps. But corn is three feet tall now, just starting tassels and I have put the last dose of manure on them before I switch over to the bone meal and potassium. I pulled about 30 apples, either sick looking, had worms or there were simply too many in a bunch.  I think there will be about 70 left to harvest later. I threw those apples into the compost pile. Sun has been too hot for the tomatoes so I now have a shade cloth for mid to late afternoon, then I take it off after 5 as the peak heat has hit and the sun is headed west. The clover that we planted in the first batch is nice and lush. I'm happy with it. 

Red Clover, Red Clover, Send.... 

Pullets, are just about ready to start laying.  These ladies are super friendly. Love their treats. I need to concoct some type of nesting boxes for them.  I'm hoping that the square buckets that I ordered will be large enough.  

I'm speculating that the Rhodes will being the first or second week of August, while the Barred may not start laying until the end of August or even the first of September.  We reallyl don't know their hatching dates, so that will make it a bit harder to determine their ages when they start. 

We moved them onto fresh grass last night, and they seem quite happy with the fresh cool blades of grass under their feet.  The Barred are super smart and curious. They are a fun breed to have. Collectively, they are a bonded flock now, but there is still a special connection between the two Barred Rock within the flock. 

Barred Boot Inspection	Rhode Boot Inspection
My Good Buddy Barr	I Want Pets too
Rhodie Buddies	Curled Neck Feathers
Barred Buddies	A check in
A different check in	All check in

Testing a Temporary Tomato Greenhouse July 2020

Two of the most difficult factors of growing tomatoes in our area is 1) wind, and 2) rain.  If we can keep the disease away, the bugs will usually also stay away. But the rain both over waters the roots and damages the leaves, while the wind will whip them around until they fall over on the ground. I don't want to put the tomatoes in the soil because of the underground pests that I have to also contend with. So keeping them in the five gallon buckets works best. This year, we dug some holes to put the buckets into to help keep the roots cooler during the hottest days and so that we do not need to water too much. I want to have them outside rather than in the greenhouse because it is too difficult to regulate temperatures (heat) in the greenhouse.  

The greenhouse is great in the spring and fall, but not in the summer. So, I created a temporary outdoor greenhouse space facing the south that allows the air to flow easier, protect the plants from the worst of the winds, and I can easily cover when it rains. So far, so good. I used PVC for the North wall with clear vinyl table protectors.  It is spendy, but allows the sun unobscured access to the plants in the greenhouse. On the west and south walls, which are about three feet tall, I used the milky clear plastic sheeting (cheap stuff) more to protect from the winds, allows some light to get through, and can be adjusted easily when I need to throw shade cloth or plastic over them to protect from the intense sun and/or the rains. 

I do need to lay down a bit more black plastic to keep the weeds back since it can't be mowed in there. It's a work in progress.  but the fact that I have some actual tomato fruit started has me super excited. There are 10 small tomatoes on the two taller plants.  I plan to keep them topped out at about 3 feet in hopes of promoting stronger branches. 

As I mentioned, I wanted something temporary in this build because I don't want to put the time and resources into something permanent if this isn't really going to help with the tomatoes. We dont' have the best or consistant tomato growing seasons, (like this year) so if I can figure out a way to improve my tomato crops in our region, and that does not cost a lot of money to do, that's my mission. If this works, I have a plan of action for next year to build a better space on the south side of my green house that is "outside" and better for my tomatoes. 

Tomato Space from the East	Tomato space from the West
Some actual Fruit!

They Caught Up! Barred with the Rhodes.

Remember when I thought the Barred Rock pullets might be bantams?  Well, they are not. I truly think that their health (or lack of) was contributing to their stunted size relative to the Rhode Island Reds.  They are all very curious and inquisitive pullets at the moment. The new feathers are shining and they appear to all be very healthy now. What a difference a little nurturing does.

Rhode Island Red 15 wks	Barred Plymouth Rock 13 wks
The Shiny Rhodies	What is that thing you brought?
The Curious Barred	What's Over There?
Side by Side for Size!

Almost a Month Later in July 2020

So it has been almost a month.  Remember I thought I had one peach on the "peachtree"? Well, turns out it is a bing cherry tree.  Shock! Probably better in the long run for us. But now we need to replace the peach tree that we accidentally mowed over a couple years ago. So I picked that one lone now ripe cherry. Cool. 

Apple trees are heavy with apples this year.  We will need to thin it out again.  I don't want to thin too much, but at this rate, it will probably be about 50% of the current apples being pulled off to make room for the remaining.  One tree has a lot more apples than the other, but we should have plenty of apples this year for canning, freezing, and dehydrating. 

Last week, I harvested thyme, marjoram, and parsley for drying. I may need to replant the parsley later. I can't seem to get it to stop trying to bolt. We also have a ton of sweet pea pods.  I'll pick more tomorrow to see if I can freeze them for cooking later. 

Peapods

I have not had much luck with the cucumbers. I have tried one more time. Fingers crossed, they look like they will survive. I'll take what I can get. The acorn squash plants are doing very well.  I had planted extra because I thought they wouldn't survive, like the cucumber, but they actually did much better. Trying to give away the spare starts to others who might want them.  

Acorn Squash

Green bean bush plants are doing fairly well, flowering, etc.  The hardest thing on them, at this point, is that the extreme weather conditions change from hot to cool, then rainy.  It has been difficult for most of my plants.  

Bush Green Beans

Our corn actually is doing well.  I had put extra steer manure around them about a week after transplanting them, and so the soil is "hot" compared to the actual temperatures. I'm glad I thought to do that, early on. 

Corn Transplanted end of May

My onions have been spectacular this year. Apparently the perfect weather for them? Or a change in the type of fertilizer. Regardless, this is the best little crop of onions I have EVER had. 

Walla Walla Sweet Onions

Broccoli has finally started to put out nice sized florets. These were planted/started early April, transplanted in the ground mid April, and yes, 12 weeks later, I finally have something to show for all the hard work of protecting them from the strong winds, the nasty cabbage moth, and other things. I almost waited too long on a few of them since they want to bolt with the few warm days we have had.  They need to be cooked right away. We have enough for a meal with more in the garden that should be ready very soon.  Cauliflower has been on the slower side, but it does not look bad, or attacked by the bugs. Just slow to mature. 

Broccoli Florets	Another Broccoli Floret
Broccoli Ready to Eat	Cauliflower Plants

Today, I finally transplanted the dill, basil, and lavender in the new garden bed.  I had them in the grow tent for a couple of weeks to ensure that they would (probably) survive outside once I could get them out there.  Again, the weather has been less than helpful. Since the plants are still tiny, I circled them.  The basil sprouts are the hardest to see because of the light but the circles are faintly in four areas where the little tiny sprouts are located. 

Lavender Sprout	Basil Sprouts
Dill Sprouts

Some Big and Little Growth Spurts 2020

First off, the Broccoli and Cauliflower were outgrowing their hoop covers as shown in earlier posts. So we created a tent with PVC and were able to wrap the cover around them to keep the vicious cabbage moths away. Those critters will ravage the small plants in a matter of days. When the plants are larger, we will take the tent down. I'm betting neighbors are wondering what on earth we are growing in there.  But I want to keep these plants protected because with all the rain, there is nothing "natural" that I can treat them with, without the treatment being washed away in the rain. I refuse to use crop pesticides. Won't do it.  I didn't want to cut all the PVC down, so that top support piece, is 10 ft long.  The plants outside of the tent are my bush beans that are finally looking a bit better.  They were quite yellow and shriveled a little over a week ago. Used Blood Meal the first week, and then 10-10-10 this week, brought their coloring and new growth back in line.

Tent to protect broccoli & cauliflower

Other side of tent

Next, the lettuce plants in the buckets in the greenhouse are, absolutely, to die for.  I've been using the special liquid 10-10-10 on them, as well. I honestly have never had my lettuce looking this wonderful.  That's one seed, yes one plant per five gallon bucket! The cilantro is also doing very well this spring.

Buttercrunch Lettuce	Salad Leaf Lettuce
Two Red Sails	Cilantro

Struggling still with the squash and the cucumber plants.  I planted more in the cloth pots in the green house, while also planting some in small pots in the new "mini" growtent that we got on sale. The special light is helping to start our plants indoors MUCH better. As you can see from the green house pots, only the squash in one (of two) buckets came up, and there are two cucumbers, one in each bucket that came up. And let's just say I OVER planted the seeds in there this time.  Part of the issue is the inconsistant temps, too hot, too cold and not enough sunlight.  Then, compare them to the seed I started in the growtent, and Santa Vaca, what a difference.  Today, I planted some dill, basil and lavender seeds in an egg carton. Will see how long that takes for them to sprout and then I can put them out into the garden soon.

Greenhouse Acorn Squash	Greenhouse Cucumber Start
Growtent Cukes & Squash Starts	Just plantes Dill, Lavender & Basil

Potatoes are starting to bloom, so that's an indication that they are almost done.  The Strawberries are starting to get ripe.  I think we will actually get some this year.  I had to put petroleum jelly on the bottom lip of the buckets to keep the ants out.  So far, so good.  Again, used the special organic liquid 10-10-10 on these berry plants, and we should have some nice sized berries this year.

Potatoes are Blooming

Berries are turning red!!!!

Chicken Coop Wind Panels 2020

In our area, we have some strong winds and it can really whip up trouble for our chickens. In the past, we have leaned scrap pieces of plywood against their runs.  Their coops are designed in a way that the wind has no impact, except for occasional rain being blown in through an exposed vent.  In a wind storm, moving these pieces of plywood can be really difficult, especially if they are rain soaked.  I decided to try something different.  I  had some old material left over from a camper trailer cover that had aged out.  But there was still areas that were in good shape.  As you can see, I just  created a long rectangle with light-weight PVC and "corners."  

So far, it was worked well.  The winds will "knock it over" if coming from the opposite side, through the run, but it has not been sent flying into the sky, like plastic does. This one is eight feet by two feet.  I did end up putting a support piece in the center (about four feet into the length) because the heat from the sun was causing the top piece to droop down. 

Wind and Sun Panel for Chicken Runs

Wind Panel in place against the run

Early June Garden Updates 2020

I truly don't have as much planted as I hoped.  We have had some rather crazy weather. But plants are happening, little by little.

On May 30, there were thunder storms and downpours.  So I covered the most delicate of the plants to keep them from getting knocked down.

Protecting beans, broccoli and cauliflower	Protecting Corn
Protecting Onions and Garlic

Monday was great. I was able to get the tomatoes transplanted into buckets. This year, we are going to put the buckets into the ground (as shown in photos below) and put plastic tarps and bark mulch around the buckets so that we don't have to mow around them, and can protect them from the winds and rains during the summer months.

Comparison of plants	Cloned Starts are almost 3x larger
Keep Ants/Slugs away from Strawberries	Corn was started inside this year!
Oregano thriving 2nd Cutting	Potatoes starting to bud/bloom
Creeping Rosemary transplanted