New Hampshire Underground

Here is some info on planning for a garden next year.  Please add more useful tips and info for those who are new to gardening or want to try for the first time.

I know this isn't the time of year most people think of gardening but you should.   Quite a bit of work can be done now in prepping the garden for next year.  Most of them are low cost and very effective organic methods.

I just mulched all of our leaves that fell this fall and dug them into my garden beds for compost.  The worms will feast, the soil will be ready in the spring and I no longer have a yard full of leaves.  I will mulch the beds down with straw for the winter to keep things warmer for the worms to work and for the soil to warm up faster in the spring.   In the spring the straw comes off and goes into the compost pile.  I will need to test the soil and add any nutrients the soil needs.  Then loosen with a pitch fork and I'm ready to plant.   

This winter I will plan the lay out of the plantings and hopefully build some cold frames.  I have a small yard with 3 raised beds that I plan on having crop rotating from March to November next year.  I will also do some container gardening on the deck.   Flowers and herbs will go in the beds in the front of the house.  The beds in front still need a lot of work which will get done in the early spring since I still have flowers blooming.   They will need and inch or two of compost spread over the whole bed.
This gets mixed in to the top couple of inches to improve the soil and feed the plants.  Some of the compost will come from what I made this year and the rest I will purchase.

I plan on starting my plants from seeds to keep costs down.   I used solo plastic cups with hole punched in the bottom to grow the seedlings in.  This was very effective and low cost.  I put them in plastic tubs so I cold move them in and out of the house easily.  I watered them by pouring water in to the bottom of the tub to keep the seedings from getting too wet.  Most seeds if stored properly they are viable for more then one year.  I picked up a bunch on clearance this fall.  I paid as little as $.10 a packet.

Check you transfer station for plastic pots.  I have seen stacks of then for free.  You need to go look now before it snows.  The will need to be washed with water and bleach before you use them.  10 Parts water to 1 part bleach.  There are plant diseases you don't want in your garden so always wash you pots.   For large cheap pots get use plastic tubs that hold kitty litter or cut 2 litter soda bottles in half.  Drill holes in the bottom and you are good to go.

Use sterilized potting soil for your seedling to minimize plant diseases.  I purchased some on clearance from the big box stores and have it sitting in the basement till I need it late winter.  The very large bags are a better deal than the smaller ones.  Shop around for the best price.

The town of Hudson has a Technical high school with a farm and green houses.  Is a self funding school.  They have a plant sale in early may with great deals on seedlings.  The prices run $1 to $1.50 per container of plants.  The selection varies from year to year based on what the students decide to grow.  I purchased cooking herbs a dollar a plant.  They made great mothers day gifts and house warming gifts along with filing my garden.  They also had vegetable 6 for $1.50 which I filled my garden with and  then gave extras away.   

Local people will sell perennial plants in the spring for a buck or two a plant.  This is way cheaper than the nurseries sell them for.  Check Craigslist and look for signs along at People's houses.  For those who don't know perennial plants come back each year.  Quite a few flowers and herbs are perennials.

I suggest reading up on gardening now instead of waiting till spring.
My new favorite gardening book.
The book was given to me by a Free Stater that had an amazing crop of veggies this year.
The Vegetable Gardener's Bible by ED Smith.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/160342475X/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=1580172121&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=013JH4VQQQERAC9CA860 (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/160342475X/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=1580172121&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=013JH4VQQQERAC9CA860)
The author has his garden in north east Vermont.  So what he does is very applicable to NH.
Great information for all levels of gardeners.  He is very easy to understand and it full of really good information.

Another good book for those of us with very little room is All New Square Foot Gardening: Grow More in Less Space  by Mel Bartholomew.
He talks about raised beds, container gardening and maximizing the space you have.


Kate

I am a big believer in raised beds. You don't walk on them so,you don't have to till them. You can add supplements aimed at what you plant in each bed. Human nature and ergonomics make actually getting around to planting a raised bed more likely than at ground level.
If you plan on any footings or gravel to support your raised bed, you could get them in before the ground freezes. Keep the snow off of them and you can assemble the walls over the winter.

What you build a raised bed of depends on how it has to look, how permanent you want it to be, money and available of cheap material.
At a height of, say, 3 ft. a bed 12 feet long by 5 feet wide is almost a 100 square feet of wall.
Ideally you would have walls made of mortared up stone or brick(cordwood!). If you had a lot of that material and the skill, that would look great.  You couldn't do it in the winter, though.
Real, not landscape, railroad ties even with rot where the spikes went through makes a nice raised bed.  I have seen some along the Rail Trail that are harvetstable. I took the train from W.R Junction to CT and saw what looked to be near perfect used ties along the route. Your RR tracks may vary.
A raised bed can be just a box, each a different depth for what you want to grow in it sitting on top of something.  Two feet would be a really deep box. Twenty inches should be the deepest box that you would need.
You would have to  make what would have to be a strong support of some kind to hold the weight. Soil weighs between 70 and 100 lbs per cubic foot.
You could make it hollow and store stuff under the bed or grow mushrooms.
Here is a chart covering the root depths of garden vegetables. The numbers following apart (9" to 12") are the depths:

Beets 3" apart 9" to 12" Broccoli 12" apart 12" to 14" Beans 5" apart 16" to 18"
Leaf Lettuce 6" apart 9" to 12" Cabbage 12" apart 12" to 14" Cucumbers 12" apart 16" to 18"
Onions 3" apart 9" to 12" Cauliflower 12" apart 12" to 14" Potatoes 6" apart 16" to 18"
Radishes 1" to 2" apart 9" to 12" Cherry tomatoes 12" apart 14" to 16" Summer Squash 18" apart 16" to 18"
Spinach 5" apart 9" to 12" Eggplant 12" apart 14" to 16" Tomatoes (cherry) 18" apart 16" to 18"
Swiss Chard 6" apart 9" to 12" Peas 3" apart 14" to 16"
Peppers 12" apart 14" to 16"
Carrots 2" apart 9" to 18" (depends on the length of the carrot)

i started thinking about gardening for next year .... last spring
right now I am thinking about Kat pulling weeds 2 years from now
aint i thoughtful? ;D

I like this book:  The Four Season Harvest (http://www.amazon.com/Four-Season-Harvest-Organic-Vegetables-Garden/dp/1890132276).  The guy is in Maine, so it's good advice for our climate too :)  I have two cold frames out there.  One, I enclosed around the kale I've had going all summer.  The other is a fall planting on the hillside.

Eliot Coleman, the man that wrote "The Four Season Harvest" was a neighbor to lengendary Back-to-the-landers Scott & Helen nearing, who got his greenhouse plan from their book "The Sun-Heated Greenhouse".  Their stuff is great reading, especially for all of you anarchists. ;D

The Nearings were my favorite Commies! ;D

Thanks a lot for all this info, will be doing this at my new place. YEA!!! PL

Here's my kale, despite snow on the ground for the last month.  :D

(http://welcometotheshire.com/sites/default/files/images/IMG_0784.JPG)

Rather than run them thru the compost heap, Rich is broadcasting the coffee grounds where the garden will be. The garden is going to be, pretty much, coffee grounds.

Kat I love the cold frames.  I am hoping to build some this spring.

Lloyd I have a friend near DC that gets coffee grounds from local coffee shops and has a beautiful garden to show for it.  He used to bring in blooming Azaleas to work in October and early November.  Coffee grounds are good stuff.

Sometimes you see bags of  spent grounds available near the counter at Starbucks.

Aren't they acidic? I didn't know extra acid was needed in NH. We have oak trees.

I guess we will have to balance it out. I doubt the garden will be entirely grounds.
There is a chart in 'The Complete Book Of Composting' by Rodale. Here is what they have for coffee grounds, all in percent:
                            MOISTURE      ASH       N           P2O5      K2O

Fresh:                          62.5             0.5       1.84         0.03          0.12
Composted:                  58                -         1.65          0.22          3.0

I just got the All New Square Foot Gardening: Grow More in Less Space! (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591862027/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0878573410&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1T4VZTT212SJCX58SNCR) and will start with one 4x4 vegetable garden this spring. Next year will be more.

http://www.squarefootgardening.com/ (http://www.squarefootgardening.com/)

Pat I love the square foot gardening book. 
I will be using it and the Vegetable Gardeners Bible  for my garden this year.
I only have raised beds so I want to maximize my yield.  ;D

Yes the grounds are acidic.
Some of my friends plants needed that.
The rest he balanced the PH in the compost pile with lime.
Starbucks was were he got most of the coffee grounds. 

Quote from: Pat McCotter on December 30, 2009, 04:48 PM NHFT
I just got the All New Square Foot Gardening: Grow More in Less Space! (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591862027/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0878573410&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1T4VZTT212SJCX58SNCR) and will start with one 4x4 vegetable garden this spring. Next year will be more.

http://www.squarefootgardening.com/ (http://www.squarefootgardening.com/)

Neat!  I have the old version of this book. :)

Kate, or anyone, roughly when does one start planting the seeds inside, in the trays, ie start growing them for later transplant to the outside garden? Thanks!

Late March - ish.

2010 Jan 26 Steve Whitman Intro to Permaculture, Keene Public Library 6:30-8pm FREE

Quote from: George Donnelly on January 17, 2010, 12:56 PM NHFT
Kate, or anyone, roughly when does one start planting the seeds inside, in the trays, ie start growing them for later transplant to the outside garden? Thanks!

The seed packets tell you when to start the seeds for example we had the kids at Scholars academy pant some seeds this week that need to be started 8 to 10 weeks before the last frost.   They should be ready mid April which is still to early to plant them here in Manchester.  I figure we will be starting seeds every two weeks at the school so the kids can see how they progress and then sell them as a fund raiser.   I will be starting mine for the garden around March like Kat.

Kate

I started a bunch of seedings this weekend.  I know it is still on the early side.  I started all  the stuff that needs 8 to 12 weeks before last frost.  Peppers, Leeks, Green Onions, Chives, Broccoli, Alpine Strawberries, some Tomatoes and some cooking herbs.  I also started some of the lettuce to try and do succession planting this year.

I want to make a cold frame out of one or more of My raised beds with 1/2" bendable PVC pipe and clear plastic sheeting.  Here in Manchester last frost is usually by May 15th.  I am planning on starting planting  at the end of march.  I have a big tree that causes partial shade in the summer so I want to see how early I can get a way with planting before those leaves fill in.  In the fall I need to have someone come and trim the tree back.  Unfortunately There are buildings and power lines in the way so it will be a tough job. 

I have some tulip, daffodil and crocus bulbs that need to get planted as soon as the ground isn't frozen. (I have extra if anyone wants some)  I also have garlic and onion sets on the way.  I know garlic is supposed to be planted in the fall around here so I found a soft necked variety that should do very well planted in early spring.

I need to find a place with organic compost around Manchester.  I need 2 yards for all my beds.   
I have 2 compost bins but I don't have any grass clippings to ad to it.
The leaves take for forever to break down.  I need to find straw.  That will help the compost bins and be great mulch.
I waited too long to buy it in the fall and couldn't find it anywhere.

I still need to test my soil, get a soil thermometer, and maybe a moister tester.  I need to be much better about watering than last year.  First it got way to much rain than I under watered it.  I did pick up a rain gauge. 

I also need to decide when to take out the two ugly pine trees in the front of the house. 
One of the is getting too big.  Come to think out it there are several ugly shrubs that need to go.
Hmmmm.  If I take out the two shrubs in the back yard I could either plant a couple of berry bushes or have a couple of potato towers.   Space is at a premium in my yard since it is only 20' x 22' and I have 3 12 feet by 4 feet raised beds in it already!

As I learn more each year I hope to be able to grow a surprising amount of veggies in my little garden.

One day I will have a larger property with a nice big garden.

Kate

A rain gauge. I had no idea there was such a thing. Thanks for these posts, Kate. I really enjoy them.

maybe you can add cardboard instead of grass clippings
our worms like them in our compost bin

we could trade you extra bulbs for extra seeds or some produce during harvest time

since your place is really small, maybe you could help in a bigger garden nearby and share the fruits

I would love to give you some bulbs. 
What kind of cool seeds doe you have for this year?  I have extra too so we could trade some of them too.
I need to figure out how to get them to you.  Is there anytime you are heading south? 

it is too late to head south for the winter, but not too late to visit for a day

Sorry I didn't mean to imply you needed to leave the shire.
I must admit going to the tropics in January was nice.

Alec and I would love to have you over.
I sent you a message about it.

anyone ever order plants from places like Gurney's Nursery?   http://gurneys.com/product.asp?pn=80888&bhcd2=1267545993 (http://gurneys.com/product.asp?pn=80888&bhcd2=1267545993)

I saw an ad in the paper and thought they might be good for my yard, some blackberries, strawberries, and blueberries.  I just don't know what quality they are, just curious if anyone has used them or can suggest a nursery that's even better.  I bought two blueberry seedlings last year and they barely grew at all (from Home Depot).

Already started my first seedlings and getting ready to build the boxes for my raised bed garden.  2 or 3 for the regular veggies and 1 for the herbs.  Can't wait... :D

Hey scott :)  How did your gogi berries turn out last year?  I've tried to start some this year.  Very curious to see what happens with them  :o

Quote from: AntonLee on March 02, 2010, 10:11 AM NHFT
anyone ever order plants from places like Gurney's Nursery?   http://gurneys.com/product.asp?pn=80888&bhcd2=1267545993 (http://gurneys.com/product.asp?pn=80888&bhcd2=1267545993)

I saw an ad in the paper and thought they might be good for my yard, some blackberries, strawberries, and blueberries.  I just don't know what quality they are, just curious if anyone has used them or can suggest a nursery that's even better.  I bought two blueberry seedlings last year and they barely grew at all (from Home Depot).

Most of my friends who planted blueberries had to wait a few years before their blueberries produced well.
I would also recommend getting the soil tested to see if it is what your blueberries need.
You can't go wrong adding compost to your soil.  It helps everything.

Kate

Quote from: AntonLee on March 02, 2010, 10:11 AM NHFTtwo blueberry seedlings last year and they barely grew at all (from Home Depot).

hey ... growing at all is better than dying
do you guys have lots of trees especially pine dropping stuph on your yard? then blueberries will be happy. You could put pine needles on top to keep down weeds, keep moisture, and assure the acid it likes. It worked for us in Keene.
For things like berries, maybe you can buy them from someplace close that lets you pick them. You can also pick up wild raspberries and blackberries from our place. They were growing in 2 inches of soil (probably tree droppings) on top of old cement by our greenhouse construction site. I bet they would grow anywhere. :)

We moved our first plants out into the greenhouse yesterday. I will have to bring them into the basement if it gets below 20 at night though.

They blossomed real well and I got a couple of berries.  I trimmed them back and have read up more on them.  I expect to get quite a bit this year.  I will definitely keep everyone posted. 8)

I'll also be doing Sqauare Foot Gardening in my raised bed containers.  It will make it easier to keep up with, and I won't have to kneel on the ground to keep up with the garden.

I made my beds with 2 x 12 boards.  It is much easier on the knees. 
I will also be doing container gardening on the back deck.   The deck will have the peppers this year.   
I was thinking of putting a few containers by the garage and planting them with morning glories so they cover the ugly fencing.

I have nothing but pine trees in the yard.  Thanks for the suggestions Kate and Russell!  I shall share in my bounty at some point.

then blueberries might be your best bet :)

I have been trying to get a damn Steak tree to grow for
years now with little success.

Bacon tree, very pretty
and the bacon flower is sweet
but the fruit of the poor bacon
is impossible to eat!

Porcupine Gardener's Creed:

'hey ... growing at all is better than dying'

that is a good creed.  I will have to fight the birds for the blueberries I planted in Massachusetts last year.  I might just cut my losses.  I wonder if my park will allow me to forget growing grass and replace it all with berries and veggies =O)

maybe .... i have seen people with small yards that are all cultivated with flowers and edibles, you could have paths between them

or you could be like patk and have an animal grazing until fall and steak time

Quote from: AntonLee on March 05, 2010, 06:57 AM NHFT
that is a good creed.  I will have to fight the birds for the blueberries I planted in Massachusetts last year.  I might just cut my losses.  I wonder if my park will allow me to forget growing grass and replace it all with berries and veggies =O)

Grow in containers. :)

* I think it's a good idea to grow Kieffer pear trees, because the fruit is prolific and bugs almost never bother them, so they don't need to be protected from bugs. They're good for fruit dishes and making vinegar etc. You can get them wholesale from Stark Bros nursery. A few days ago they still had 27 left. Their minimum order is 30 trees, so the rest would be another kind of tree. Fifteen of the Kieffers are 1/4" caliper which are $ 6.00. The other 12 are 3/8" caliper which would be $ 9.70 each.  Shipping would be under $50.
* If you want them, they need to be ordered right away for early spring planting. Otherwise they're also planted in the fall. I'd be willing to chip in to help buy them, because I'd like to see NH folks grow them. They grow in zones 4-9 and that includes all of NH.
* Get more info from info@starkbros.com, 800-435-8733, or 888-485-3220.

Anton
To protect your blueberries from birds and deer use netting.  They make netting just for this purpose.  I know a family that uses them and it is the only way they get to eat any of their blueberries.  You can find them at most nurseries and Agway stores.
 
I will be making cages out of chicken wire to protect my strawberries from being a backyard buffet for the critters.
Luckily I don't have to worry about deer where I live.

Luck
I would love to have fruit trees.  My yard is too tiny for them.   

In NH the only person I knew with pear trees discovered that moose really enjoy them.
She would have moose in the yard several times a week.  The trees were between the drive way and the front door.  It made for some interesting moments.
Also one dear would take a bite or two of one and leave it on the front porch every morning.

I'd wondered why there were no pear trees here.

There is one at Jerry's.  We made juice from it.

Anton.

It sounds like containers or smaller raised beds would be the way to go.  I'm sure you can get away with both if you make them look good.

You can make these great earth boxes.  They water from the bottom and people I know have had great success with them here in NH.
Paint them or just buy pretty colored bins to make them out of.

http://www.gardenguides.com/90706-make-easy-earth-box-planters.html (http://www.gardenguides.com/90706-make-easy-earth-box-planters.html)

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/contain/msg0501044214330.html (http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/contain/msg0501044214330.html)

I like this site even better.

http://grow.lot-o-nothin.com/self-watering-container-instructions (http://grow.lot-o-nothin.com/self-watering-container-instructions)

Quote from: Lloyd Danforth on March 09, 2010, 05:31 AM NHFT
There is one at Jerry's.  We made juice from it.

Jerry's place has Tu pear trees!

What you do is put some land mines around
the Pear tree, then you get Moose steak and
Pears. Just step carefully!

kat's earth box works great .... the dirt stays moist and we don't have to have holes in the bottom
i bet you could keep the deer and moose from eating all your fruit in a trailer park Anton :)
nothing ate our blueberries last year, but we had a great blackberry patch that we were going to munch on when it was just right .... then a couple days after we checked, every singe one was gone. Some critters were incredibly efficient.
I figure if the deer eat a lot of our stuph this fall, one of our local riflemen could fix the problem

our (still not completed) greenhouse is keeping things from freezing each night. It was 10 last night outside, but 29 in the shaded corner, so our plants were still happy. We have been taking in our tomato and pepper little ones in each night, so they don't get below 50. Last night was much colder than it has been for a while.

my worm composting is going well. we started them up 2 weeks ago. when people visit they can check the operation out and start their own before next winter. by summer i should be able to sell extra worms

In cleaning up the flower beds I was very happy to see a bunch of plants from last year come back.
This year cleanup was much easier than last year.  Not only do I have flowering bulbs this spring but the pansies have come back and are blooming already.  So I have daffodils, tulips blooming that I planted last fall.  The crocus are finished.  The irises are coming up too.
I had thought that I had killed the Rhubarb, thyme, and sage last year and was very happy to see them come back.
The rosemary didn't make it.  The mums from my wedding and bridal shower are starting to grow back too.  I do need to start pinching them back to get more blooms.  Though I am not sure quite how to do it.

I am going to mix a bunch of annual flowers and herbs in the front beds.  I planted some tulip and daffodil bulbs left over from last fall this week.  We will see if they come up next year of not.  Spring was early and Liberty Forum ate up too much of my time to get them in earlier.

I know I will do the peppers in containers on the deck this year so they get more warmth and sunlight.

I am still trying to figure out what to plant in the vegetable beds this year.  I want to build a cold frame for one of my raised beds.  I have to figure out what I am going to put in it first.  It will be made out of PVC pipe bent over the bed and covered with clear plastic sheeting.  I will have to open it each day to keep it from over heating.  I bought a nice large thermometer for it.  It will be 12' x 4'.
I figure I can start lettuce, kale, broccoli, bunching onions, leeks, carrots, beets, radishes, and spinach.  I don't know what else would be good to put in there this early.  The snow peas could go in early too.  I don't want to cover them since the need a trellis. 
The onion sets and garlic bulbs wont be here till late April.  They will go in as soon as they arrive.

Any other suggestions for early planting?

I salvaged a whole bunch of cinder blocks left from the previous owner and created a new raised bed that looks quite nice if I do say so myself.   I was dying to put something into it, so I went and got a raspberry and blackberry plant each.  I'm in the process of creating a walkway through my yard following the previous owners' former flowergarden with a nice young tree and a rododendron in it.  Mulched that up after breaking up the soil a little and mixing in some fertilizer.  Threw up one of those yellow japanese bushes (I don't know the name, it was given to me, and it is blooming now everywhere).

I don't care if it's against the rules, I'm planting a few rhubarb plants in with my rododendrons  :icon_pirat:

veggie gardens I've barely thought about yet, but I have the perfect spot.  I know I'm going to try onions, rhubarb, tomatoes, garlic, cucumbers, red onions, brusselsprouts and some herbs I'm sure.  Celery did well last year when everyone told me it wouldn't but I left MA before harvest.

My rhubarb is mixed in with flowers.  :) 
I plan on mixing flowers and herbs in that bed since it is in the front of the house.
I don't want to plant tempting veggies where people can just walk by and steal them.  I have had that problem in a community garden near the pool in a previous apartment complex.  Two and four legged thieves would steal whole plants and ripe goodies.  I was very frustrating.

The back yard is fenced in so I have my own private garden.

Quote from: AntonLee on April 07, 2010, 08:45 PM NHFT

I don't care if it's against the rules, I'm planting a few rhubarb plants in with my rododendrons  :icon_pirat:

Illegal rhubarb tastes the best!

Rhubarb is the first fruit you get to enjoy from your garden.

But!...But!...You need Strawberries to make it palatable!

(http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonists/rte/lowres/rten90l.jpg)

I found a cute planner for laying out raised vegetable beds.
http://vegetableplanner.vegetable-gardening-online.com/ (http://vegetableplanner.vegetable-gardening-online.com/)

It doesn't let you split up a 1ft block for inter-planting but it sure makes it easy to figure out where to put everything.
It also doesn't have all the plants I want to plant.  So I picked similar pictures and will update my notes to the varieties.

I have three 12' x 4' beds that I need to rotate the plant locations from last year. 
I figured out how to lay them out to make rotation easier for next year and how to lay out beneficial plants near each other.  Here is the layout for my garden this year.  I haven't done any of the second planting beds yet.  You can see that bed #1 will be ready to have quite a bit of it replanted in the end of June.
 
Kate

cool
all of our beds in the front yard are 4x8 or 4x12
some of them actually look like they might grow more than small stones  this year :)

We used the first of Russell's worm compost today :)

Smoothies(question mark)

Gross :puke:

What's wrong with your question mark?

Button and the little rubber cone popped off

Quote from: Pat K on March 05, 2010, 12:04 AM NHFT
I have been trying to get a damn Steak tree to grow for
years now with little success.

Tom and I planted 5 BEER plants today!

How exactly does that work(qm)
Do you dig up long necks when they are ripe or just pick them like corn(qm)

Tom and I planted 5 BEER plants today!
[/quote]

Hopps?   They are very cool looking vines. 

I have found the biggest threat to my garden plans is Chantal. ::)
My cat thinks my seedlings are her personal salad bar.   
She almost wiped out all of the broccoli.  She tried taking out the kale too.

Bines

Cats ate the catnip seedlings.  ::)   

I'm just about to start harvesting spinach and the lamb's quarters that came up with it.  The grow boxes are working great!

http://www.seattleoil.com/Flyers/Earthbox.pdf

I tried cat nip last year and I had every cat on the block in my backyard howling for two days till they devoured it all.  I didn't even try to plant it this year.

I was very happy to see my lettuce seedlings didn't die with the light snow last Friday.  The romaine lettuce and the radishes have sprouted.  I should see the spinach, peas and beets soon.

I just received my onion sets and garlic.  I know garlic should be planted in the fall but I am trying it anyway.  I found a variety that should do well being planted in the spring.  I planted it this afternoon along with the first batch of carrots.   

Tomorrow I will plant the raised bed that I put the row covers on.  I made the bed into a little hoop house out of pex tubing and clear plastic sheeting.  I have been warming up the soil and I am going to attempt to plant the bed a month early and see what happens.  I will have to open it up during the day since the temperatures have been over 90 degrees during the day.  I bought a soil tester to help monitor the soil moisture.   I love the raised beds.  This year is so much less work than last year.

I want to plant the broccoli and kale.  I need to wait till they get a few more leaves since the cat ate them.   I just hope we don't get solid rain till July this year.  Last year was awful.  I didn't even get a single zucchini from the garden.
Kate

Kat how is the green house doing?

It's just awesome what Russell did.  The rock and log-end walls really do hold the heat in.  Even though it's freezing outside at night, the greenhouse hasn't fallen below 40 degrees in ... I don't know... maybe a month and a half?  All my plants are doing great in there.

Quote from: jerry on April 14, 2010, 07:29 PM NHFT

Quote from: Pat K on March 05, 2010, 12:04 AM NHFT
I have been trying to get a damn Steak tree to grow for
years now with little success.

Tom and I planted 5 BEER plants today!

All 3 of mine have sprouted!

Quote from: Lloyd Danforth on April 22, 2010, 04:56 AM NHFT

Quote from: jerry on April 14, 2010, 07:29 PM NHFT

Quote from: Pat K on March 05, 2010, 12:04 AM NHFT
I have been trying to get a damn Steak tree to grow for
years now with little success.

Tom and I planted 5 BEER plants today!

All 3 of mine have sprouted!

We'd like to get some hop vines any extras to share?

Quote from: Tom Sawyer on April 22, 2010, 06:52 AM NHFT
We'd like to get some hop vines any extras to share?

Mine are all underground, but they are reasonably priced at :
http://www.freshops.com/cgi-bin/shopper.cgi?search=action&category=RHIZ&keywords=all&template=PDGCommTemplates/rhizomes.html

Quote from: jerry on April 22, 2010, 10:07 PM NHFT

Quote from: Tom Sawyer on April 22, 2010, 06:52 AM NHFT
We'd like to get some hop vines any extras to share?

Mine are all underground, but they are reasonably priced at :
http://www.freshops.com/cgi-bin/shopper.cgi?search=action&category=RHIZ&keywords=all&template=PDGCommTemplates/rhizomes.html

Cool, thanks. :)

Presumably, the ones we have planted will spread and, in the future, we will be able split the Rhizomes.

Is that anything like split peas?  :P

Is that the best you can do:qm:

Yeah.

I have this mental image of the hops spreading like Kudzu and Jerry and Lloyd trying to hold it back with flame throwers to get rhizomes to share.  :)

Now I'm picturing them passing flaming rhizomes around a circle.

Quote from: Lloyd Danforth on April 23, 2010, 05:28 AM NHFT
Is that the best you can do :qm:

You need a space before it to make the "qm" work. See :qm:

:qm:

Yes

Is it too late to start planting tomatos inside?   I was going to put them on the deck after they started growing a little bit in the house, is that the right way to do it?        Will bears try to eat them on the deck?

No. When they see the tomatoes on the porch, they will realize people live in the house and go in and eat them.

I hope they eat tomatoes, I'd love to get that photo!   I'm going to topsy turvey my whole deck

Quote from: Lloyd Danforth on April 27, 2010, 07:48 AM NHFT
No. When they see the tomatoes on the porch, they will realize people live in the house and go in and eat them.

Yikes!  :o

Quote from: AntonLee on April 27, 2010, 08:11 AM NHFT
I hope they eat tomatoes, I'd love to get that photo!   I'm going to topsy turvey my whole deck

I hope they leave my tomatos alone, they are Beefsteak tomatos, nummy!   Did you ever see the picture I posted of the 3 bears in my front yard?  That was wild.   They have come back already this year and took the trashcan up the cliff because Rick forgot to put it in his shed.  ::)     I don't go in his shed because I'm sure there are mice in there.       

I was going to buy one of those Topsy Turvey things but Lil' Ricky told me not to because he said they lie so I listened to him.  Let me know how yours turn out please.    Then I can bust Lil' Ricky's chops.  >:D

I bought a better version (I think) it doesn't look like paper with a hole in the bottom, it's a plastic bowl with a hole in the bottom =O)

I bought it at the Wal-Mart for $7.  The Topsy Turvey things are like $10.  The Wal-Mart version can grow tomatoes in the top, and coming out of the bottom.

I'll have to let you know.  I'm going to set up buckets as well to see if I get anything better there.  I just hate having buckets in the yard.

Quote from: Lloyd Danforth on April 23, 2010, 05:28 AM NHFT
Is that the best you can do:qm:

At least she didn't say you were "like a Rhizome Cowboy" in her best Glen Campbell voice.  :P

Quote from: Lloyd Danforth on April 27, 2010, 07:48 AM NHFT
No. When they see the tomatoes on the porch, they will realize people live in the house and go in and eat them.

Spit snapple all over.

The beer plants got snowed on last night, but the cold temperatures allowed me one last chance to cut back the grape vines.

Did the police come and cordon off your beer plants?  :o

That's just 'Crime Scene' tape left over from my Home Improvement business.

 >:(

I discovered a nice blight on my tomatoes and Peppers today.  I started them way too early and I started putting them outside to toughen them up and the in the last to days the spots started.  All in the trash they went.   Luckily I will be going to the plant sale at the high school in Hudson next week.
There will be quite a bit of hot water and bleach in my world this weekend.

This thread is turning into my gardening journal or at least part of it.  I wish I had a bigger yard.

So I purchased new tomatoes and Peppers.  Half of them will be planted in the garden bed and half in containers.  I have about a dozen tall heavy weight florist buckets that I will drill holes in and use for these plants.  They are nice since they are about as tall as a 5 gallon bucket but prettier and they are left over from the wedding.   I have other pots I will fill with plants.  I am running out of yard.

I put the soaker hoses on the raised beds today.  What a pain in the but.  Next year I have to remember to put them in before I plant.  I broke a bunch of onion leaves.  They will be cooked in tonight's dinner.  I also need longer garden staples to hold them down.  The ones I got at Walmart are too short and didn't work well.

I still need to remove the cramped Rhododendron from the planter next to the side porch.  Anyone want it?   I am going to put an herb garden in the 3' x 2' bed.  I also need to plant the strawberries in the other planter.  They will have to be caged the entire summer if I want to eat any strawberries. 

I also have some space in front of the Rhubarb.  It was planted last year and it is still pretty small.   When we can reside the house both of the front beds are going to get an overhaul.  I want lilacs and Hydrangeas where the two ugly pine trees are.  They are getting too big to be so close to the house so they have to go.

I am still debating on when to plant the tomatoes, peppers, herbs, and flowers.  I am still afraid of a frost.  I can still cover everything up until I put the rest of the trellises up. 

I am also putting Mylar on the wooden privacy fencing in around the garden to see if it increases the light in my partial shade garden.  I get 4 to 6 hours of light due to buildings and trees.  I will let you know how silly it looks and if it does any good.

Pine Tree hatred!

Save the Pines!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

blueberry planted a few days ago
azalea too

waiting for it to stop freezing for a bunch of other stuph

the greenhouse is awesome

Is it too late to plant blueberry bushes????   
I think I can fit a couple in the back yard. 

Quote from: porcupine kate on May 14, 2010, 07:57 AM NHFTIs it too late to plant blueberry bushes????   
I think I can fit a couple in the back yard.

If you're planting established bushes, it's nowhere near as date-sensitive as planting seeds or even established annuals.

Make sure the ones you get are hardy in this climate.  A lot of the big stores sell bushes that are shipped in from southern climes, so even if the species is cold-tolerant, that particular variety may not be.

Joe

I ordered Blueberry plants.  ;D
I have 2 high bush varieties good in "zone" 4 and 5. 
I looked a the low bush and decided I needed something taller so they would get more sun.

Alec is excited.  He went and ripped out the ugly struggling shrubs for me. 
Now I have to get the soil ready before they arrive.

I really need more yard.

Kate

We have some of the "need more yard" folks sharing ours, this year.  Which means we have a much larger garden than we've had in the past.  Should be interesting, if we can keep the groundhog and the deer from decimating it.

Joe

I hear that, my trailer is surrounded by pine trees, very large ones that are owned by the park.  I've been trying to grow my blueberry bushes in my yard but I get really crappy amounts of sunshine.  Gurney's told me it was perfectly fine to plant in half whisky barrels.  I've been told since that if they're not in the ground they'll freeze through in the winter. 

The three I bought from them were turning red.  I got worried and started moving the buckets around.  I couldn't seem to get a good 6 hours of light in any spot except near an old oak tree.  I bought two additional matures and after some hacking away some roots, digging out the rocks they call fill. . . they're in the ground and I hope they do well. 

I've read that preparing the soil should include acidic materials, highly organic.  Peat Moss (sphag), pine needles help.  Good fresh horse manure at the base I'm told really helps them bloom.

Joe good luck with the larger garden. 
How big are you making it and how many people are working on it?
What goodies are you planting?

Anton
Gurney's has a dwarf low bush Blueberry that will survive down to -45 degrees.  The recommend it for containers.
http://gurneys.com/dwarf-northsky-blueberry/p/68071/ (http://gurneys.com/dwarf-northsky-blueberry/p/68071/)

Quote from: porcupine kate on May 15, 2010, 05:09 PM NHFTJoe good luck with the larger garden. 
How big are you making it and how many people are working on it?
What goodies are you planting?

It's a bit over 30x40, and we have two other families helping with it.

The list of plants is quite extensive, and Denise is in charge of that.  I just dig holes and put in fencing, and such.  I think I'm going to install a couple tall posts so we can put sprinklers on top of them, which will increase the range of the sprinklers and let them get the whole area without drenching the nearer plants.

Joe

(http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/pictures/irrigation.jpg)

Quote from: Lloyd Danforth on May 16, 2010, 06:06 AM NHFT(http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/pictures/irrigation.jpg)

Yeah, just a wee bit smaller, and home-made.

Joe

i would think that blueberries do better in the ground where it is wet and acidic, but i guess you could make it work.
we planted one in the summer, but then we had to baby it.
I figure using pine needles as mulch will help them out. The one we just planted has pine bark and such around it and tons of mulch and getting water every day it doesn't rain. :)
We have low wild bushes growing on the edge of our swamp in the woods, so I know those kind don't need much sun. If you want to come grab a bush and try it in your woods Anton, maybe it will work. They look great and get a few berries on them.

Anyone that wants to plant a garden at our place can. If you start a new plot, the soil would be lousy, but you could build it up or build on top like Kate was planning.
If you can't tend your own garden here, then you could help with planting, weeding, harvesting in our garden and get a share in the harvest. For anyone that lives close or wants to visit a few times this summer, this might be a good opportunity to learn a little more about gardening, get some sun, and eat a few good veggies.

Quote from: porcupine kate on May 15, 2010, 05:13 PM NHFT
Anton
Gurney's has a dwarf low bush Blueberry that will survive down to -45 degrees.  The recommend it for containers.
http://gurneys.com/dwarf-northsky-blueberry/p/68071/ (http://gurneys.com/dwarf-northsky-blueberry/p/68071/)

that's actually the one I bought.  It came in a three pack with a northblue as well.

I figured I would need to baby the blueberry plants.    I need two so I bought four just in case.  I am planting them behind my raised beds so they will be easy to water.  I have some straw and a few pine needles that I can mulch with.  I have a bunch of decayed leaf hummus I plan on mixing the the ground too.  I need to do a pH test this weekend to see if the soil is acidic enough. 

my buckets of blueberries are doing okay right now, their leaves are turning from a reddish hue to green.  It looks less "twiggy" and more alive, ie- the stems aren't rigid and brittle, they're lush, green, and bending over. 

I planted some bulbs late this spring in hopes they would come up next year.  In stead I got lucky.  I have Daffodils blooming right now in the bed on the side of the house.  They look great with the irises I planted last year.   :flower:
Kate

I am planning on no more frost. I have everything in the ground, transplants and seeds. Crossing my fingers.

Me too.  I put out most of my starts.  All I've got left is some peppers and tomatoes that I'll probably transplant into something in the greenhouse.  There's only one bed delicate enough that I'd cover if it were going to freeze.

I haven't even started my tomatoes yet, indoors that is. :P  In fact, that reminds me I have to water my houseplants today, poor things are drying up! :)

Raineyrocks. 
I would just go and buy started tomato plants at this point.

I agree Rainey, I think you said you got the topsy turvy thing.  I wouldn't even bother trying to sow those seeds that came with it right now.  The ones I got looked pretty bad in my package.  I went and got a cherry tomato plant for the top of my topsy turvy and on the bottom I got a best boy.  This is my first year doing gardening at my own place, so it's tryout time for everything and I'm no expert.

I got some bloom coming to my rhododenrons.  A couple beautiful pink/purple have come through.  I can't wait for them to all bloom so I can move them later on this summer!  I'll post pics, since we have 10! rhododendrons from the previous owner.

I have a Rhododendron with lavender flowers that I would love to find a good home for.  It is in a small bed on the side of my house and it really need a better home so I can plant cooking herbs in that bed.

If it is flowering now, it might be a  a PJM  Rhododendron. There is probably a good time and a good method of digging it up. Needless to say, you have to get as much of the roots as possible.

Moving it will have to wait till next spring.  It should be pretty straight forward  to get the roots since it is crammed in a 3' x 2' planting box.  I don't think the soil is much deeper than a foot.

if no one nearer wants the bush, we can always use one more here
we are starting a row that has lilacs separated by random bushes
i have been putting rhododendrons in some shade though

Quote from: porcupine kate on May 18, 2010, 11:13 PM NHFTI have a Rhododendron with lavender flowers that I would love to find a good home for.  It is in a small bed on the side of my house and it really need a better home so I can plant cooking herbs in that bed.

I created a plant swap list (http://nhunderground.com/forum/index.php?topic=20752.0).  Figured that might help to organize such things.

Joe

Quote from: porcupine kate on May 18, 2010, 02:59 PM NHFT
Raineyrocks. 
I would just go and buy started tomato plants at this point.

Yup, I think so too.  :D

Quote from: AntonLee on May 18, 2010, 03:57 PM NHFT
I agree Rainey, I think you said you got the topsy turvy thing.  I wouldn't even bother trying to sow those seeds that came with it right now.  The ones I got looked pretty bad in my package.  I went and got a cherry tomato plant for the top of my topsy turvy and on the bottom I got a best boy.  This is my first year doing gardening at my own place, so it's tryout time for everything and I'm no expert.

I got some bloom coming to my rhododenrons.  A couple beautiful pink/purple have come through.  I can't wait for them to all bloom so I can move them later on this summer!  I'll post pics, since we have 10! rhododendrons from the previous owner.

Nope, I didn't get the topsy turvy because Lil' Ricky said they suck and I was waiting to see how your topsy turvy did.  :D   Your idea is neat though about getting plants for the topsy turvy instead of using their seeds.  Will you let me know how that works?  :)

so far so good!  both sides get nice sun and there's lots of room for root growth.  I'll keep ya posted  ;)

TOMATO WATCH dum dum dum

Quote from: AntonLee on May 21, 2010, 05:02 PM NHFT
so far so good!  both sides get nice sun and there's lots of room for root growth.  I'll keep ya posted  ;)

TOMATO WATCH dum dum dum

Good I'm glad it's working out, thanks! :D

I got the peach trees in the ground today.
Planted them just downhill from the apple and pear trees.

That's a blueberry bush in the center and the grapes are on the left.
The large pine in the left background is next year's firewood.

Jerry I love the trees.

I have all the flowers and seedlings in.  Now I just need to receive the blueberry bushes. 
I've got the spots ready in the back yard.  I just need to move a few plants in the side bed and get that ready.

After that I need to take down a couple ugly pine trees, trim a lilac and plant some more in the front yard.
Lilac, azalea, and Hydrangea.  I know it is a little late for them but I am being gifted them so in they go.
I've also started some late herbs for the side bed and for containers.

I need to finish hooking up the hoses for the irrigation in the back yard.  everything is laid out.  I just need to hook it up and rearrange the hoses so I can still water the deck plants.  The Mylar still needs to go up in the "dark" corner of my garden.   It will be interesting to see how that does.  Hopefully I can get that done tomorrow morning.


 

i think most stuph is out of the greenhouse that was waiting for frost free nights

we are happy that the greenhouse doesn't overheat too bad on these 94 degree days

Russel
Are you going to grow some hot weather stuff in over the summer in the green house? 

cat has the tomatoes and peppers in there

anything that she grew in Texas seems like it needs the greenhouse :)

I know it is early in the season but my tomatoes in the containers are a third larger than the ones I planted in the bed.
I planted half of each variety in contains and half in the beds.  The deck is gong to feel very crowded in a few weeks.   :butterfly:

My earliest lettuce has been harvested.  I cut the heads off so hopefully they will regrow.
I need to check my nitrogen levels in the beds.  My radishes either have too little sun light or too much nitrogen.  I have beautiful greens and no radish.  Since I have a lot of composted horse poop in my beds and partial shade it could be either one. Either way I am not planting anymore. 

My blueberries are in.  I have two in full sun and 2 in partial shade.  Both high bush so they will be nice looking shrubs too.
I will be planting some short creeping thyme and roman Chamomile as ground cover in the back yard.  They will be starting from seed.  I hope it isn't too late to get them started.

Alec is taking out a pine tree today!   So I will be planting an azalea that I was giving.    Eventually I will get rid of the other ugly over grown pine tree and plant a Hydrangea and another lilac in the front of the house.   

heep big job for today

I prefer the radish greens to the radishes anyway :)

You can eat the greens?  Well that will solve my problem.

Yup.  They're quite tasty.  One of the few green things I will eat directly.  (usually, I insist that greens be converted into meat before I eat them)

Joe

Quote from: MaineShark on May 29, 2010, 07:38 PM NHFT
Yup.  They're quite tasty.  One of the few green things I will eat directly.  (usually, I insist that greens be converted into meat before I eat them)

While I'm with you on the conversion process, I love raw mustard greens, radish greens, onion tops, etc. Not to mention lettuce and raw cabbage.

Or, you can combine the two: "wilted lettuce" is Sothren parlance for various fresh loose garden greens (lettuce, mustard, what-have-you) doused with a panful of hot bacon grease, and the crumbled-up bacon.

Nummy!

Make the greens taste like they have been converted ;D

got my raised bed in finally.  Planted 3 Green pepper, 3 cukes, 2 yellow pepper and a jalapeno (far away).   Got two tomato buckets going now as well as my topsy turvey.  Hope I get enough to share because my neighbor handed me two freshly frozen fish he got from the river and I need to hit him back.

cool

I live in the heart of Manchvegas and I have been planting various things in my tiny garden since mid April.
This past weekend I went to visit friends in Andover and at the Bardo Farm.
I know they are later in the season and have more frost issues but I was still surprised at the difference between the gardens in my neighborhood and the two I saw over the weekend.  It is even more striking to the neighbors gardens that have full sun here in Manchvegas.  So many of the seedlings were smaller and many things were just sprouting that are 6" to a foot tall in my garden.
I do still need to come up and see the Hoyt farm. 

ladies and gentlemen.  I see blueberries.  I see them.  My mouth is frothing.  My girlfriend thinks that I will turn into a big blue version of the hulk when I eat them.

I want to build a railroad station on the Winnepesaukee/North Conway railways.  Blueberry Junction.  A big blue railroad station with blueberry bushes all along the tracks...

and then I woke up.  But it was ok.  Because I see blueberries.

I've been to Cherryfield, Maine.  They claim to be Blueberry Capital of the World!

Quote from: porcupine kate on June 01, 2010, 05:28 PM NHFT
I live in the heart of Manchvegas and I have been planting various things in my tiny garden since mid April.
This past weekend I went to visit friends in Andover and at the Bardo Farm.
I know they are later in the season and have more frost issues but I was still surprised at the difference between the gardens in my neighborhood and the two I saw over the weekend.  It is even more striking to the neighbors gardens that have full sun here in Manchvegas.  So many of the seedlings were smaller and many things were just sprouting that are 6" to a foot tall in my garden.
I do still need to come up and see the Hoyt farm.

You're certainly welcome anytime.  :D

Anton ... i was picturing you as the kid in charlie and the chocolate factory

Quote from: Lloyd Danforth on June 01, 2010, 07:16 PM NHFT
I've been to Cherryfield, Maine.  They claim to be Blueberry Capital of the World!

Wow, I'd think their name would be Blueberry, Maine not Cherryfield, Maine.   :D   

this weather is great for our greens .... not for all the grass i have to mow

Quote from: Russell Kanning on June 02, 2010, 05:16 AM NHFT
Anton ... i was picturing you as the kid in charlie and the chocolate factory

You mean Violet Beauregarde, who chews the 3-course dinner gum and turns into a giant blueberry.

Bryce in Utah

if that were to happen I would be afraid I'd eat myself

Something has been eating my tasty leafy greens in my garden and it is not me.  They decimated my spinach, beets, radishes, lettuce in a matter of two days.

I wasn't sure what was eating them.  I kept looking for slugs and digging around for cutworms and didn't see any till this morning. 
I found both.  Yesterday I had cleared out all the damaged stuff and replanted seeds in those places. (don't worry I rotated crops) I set out two beer traps and caught 2 slugs in one of them.  I also found a beautiful romaine lettuce seedling about 5 inches tall completely devoured except for a few bits of the leaves.  This time digging around in the dirt near where the plant was I discovered a very fat and happy black cutworm.

I had put out diatomaceous earth late last week before all the rain.  That slowed down the carnage but it didn't last since we had so many days of rain.  So today I went out and covered all three beds in diatomaceous earth.  My garden looks like it has a weird dandruff problem.  I hope this works.  I sprinkled it all over the ground on all three beds and was careful not to get it on any of the bigger plants with flowers starting to bud.  I do not want to kill the bees.

some of our rhubarb has been eaten by bugs
our greens are amazing right now with all the rain
we saw a big black bear headed for the far garden today .... he might be the one that eats the blackberries before me

I would fight a bear for my blueberries.

(http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee277/jefferyhodges/Black_bear_large.jpg)

Burp- Antons with blue berries are delicious says local Bear.

Shit... Anton is bigger than that bear... I think Anton will eat him.   ;D

Never underestimate the rage within.  My rage within might come alive at the sight of someone molesting my blueberries.  I can picture myself as a fat lilywhite Rambo crouched in a corner saying "they drew first blood not me"

You need a new flag, pirate themed, "Don't tread on me blueberries"

(http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs081.snc4/35408_127663350600398_100000702021060_187794_4362751_n.jpg)

I love the flag.  :icon_pirat:
Hang it at your campsite at Porc Fest.

Just be glad that cutworms do not eat blueberries.  I found 2 more of the little bastards today.
Good news I also found several little tomatoes forming on the early girl and the Roma plants.

Nice, Anton.  I want one of those. :D

Quote from: Kat Kanning on June 15, 2010, 02:23 PM NHFT
You need a new flag, pirate themed, "Don't tread on me blueberries"

Would that make him Captain Bluefingers?

you assume I eat them with my hands and not fill a hopper and strap it to my head like a feed bag.

what's sad is watching me at a pick  your own.  Picture a guy knocking over old ladies and kids to get to a foul ball at Fenway Park.

Quote from: AntonLee on June 15, 2010, 06:04 PM NHFTyou assume I eat them with my hands and not fill a hopper and strap it to my head like a feed bag.

what's sad is watching me at a pick  your own.  Picture a guy knocking over old ladies and kids to get to a foul ball at Fenway Park.

I think I should tell you that there are some blueberries under this stack of rocks I need moved. :)

Joe

Well....it's a flag.....and it's about Blueberries, but it's not very Piratty.

Avery Martha Stewarty type flag.

Quote from: AntonLee on June 15, 2010, 08:26 AM NHFT
Never underestimate the rage within.  My rage within might come alive at the sight of someone molesting my blueberries.  I can picture myself as a fat lilywhite Rambo crouched in a corner saying "they drew first blood not me"

If blueberries were salmon (and Anton were John West)....

John West Salmon "Bear Fight" ad (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVS1UfCfxlU#)

I guess it is a good thing that my blueberries are to new to worry about a raid from Anton.

I think I need to put some sort of fencing around my onions.  It looks like something just decided to lay down on a third of the onion plants.
The one thing the cutworms aren't going after is a bed for some critter.

I would never aggress against someone's blueberries since I would never want to have someone aggress against mine.   I practice the Non-Bluegression Principle.  I am a Bluebertarian.

I've been noticing strawberries missing.   I think it's squirrels.  :cocks 22:

(http://images.spiderpaws.com/looney/images/elm6.jpg)

Can't see your picture.

I liked the reference to the NBP.  :)

Quote from: AntonLee on June 16, 2010, 10:21 AM NHFT
I would never aggress against someone's blueberries since I would never want to have someone aggress against mine.   I practice the Non-Bluegression Principle.  I am a Bluebertarian.

I've been noticing strawberries missing.   I think it's squirrels.  :cocks 22:

(http://images.spiderpaws.com/looney/images/elm6.jpg)

Good to know you are a Bluebertarian.  I can share blueberries with you.

For your strawberries I would recommend getting 1 inch chicken fencing or some similar material and build a cage to go over the strawberries.  last year the critters got every last one of my strawberries.   This year they are coming along nicely with their big green cage to protect them.  Turkeys also love strawberries too.  They make a nicer dinner than the squirrels do. 

the strawberries are in a basket hanging, for a while it was a little too close to the birdfeeder for my liking.  Someone suggested cheesecloth draped over and tucked into the basket would do the trick for the hanging basket.

Photo update on the gardening.
The peaches are looking peachy.
The blueberries are turning blue.
And the hops are starting to flower.

That's the good news.  Bad news to follow in the next message.

This is a photo of THE apple on my apple tree.  I guess I'll have to buy some apples for the Apple Harvest Cider Making Festival.
The last frost occurred just as the trees went into full bloom.
The pear trees fared even worse.  I couldn't find even ONE to take a picture of.

the few blueberries I got (1st year) were shared by me and birds.  My strawberries seem to be growing faster than squirrels or birds can eat them.  Some of them are plain old retarded looking.  They do taste good though.

my peppers, tomatoes, and jalepenos are coming in nicely.

Being gone fro 3 weeks has done a number on the garden.  Most of it was watered while I was gone.  I came home to find most of my pansies called it quits in the heat.   I need to trim back the pole beans they are trying to take over the cherry tree.  One of the zucchini plants needs to go.  I don't have room for 3 of them.  I will take it out tomorrow and put something else in that spot. 
The onions have all fallen over so I need to dig them out.  The garlic has also all started falling over.  I don't think either have done well this year.  I need to get more light in the garden.  So much of the garden has suffered from not enough sunlight.  I just don't have any other option to have the garden anywhere else.

My tomatoes are doing great.  Most of them are 6 feet tall at this point and are setting fruit.   I discovered a little blossom end rot on 2 of the plants I forgot to give Epsom salts to.  I removed the tomatoes and gave them lime, Epsom salt and organic plant food so they should be just fine.

The celery and the Swiss chard look great.  The peas are just about done which is good since I need the space to plant the fall broccoli and Kale this week.  I am trying succession planting this year.  The peppers are a little slow but I know with my shade issues that was going to happen.  The carrots are slow too. 

I can't grow pumpkins.  First critters kept digging up the seeds than I come back from NJ and find the seedlings gone.  I think I will plant something else in that pot.  It still has one nasturtium plant.  I might put cucumbers in it.

This fall I need to seriously trim back some of the trees so I can get more light.
I am going to hold off building cold frames till I can trim back the trees.

The broccoli is sprouting and is quite tasty.  I wish I had planted more of them. 

Well, you can call me the lazy gardener. I wanted to see what grows all by itself without over encouraging anything. I watered and sometimes I pulled a few weeds, but that is about it.

Radishes - I got more greens than roots, but they tasted good.

Onions - I love seeing those green tops. The sets grew from tiny large pea size to a bit bigger than large pearl size. 40 or so slightly bitter.

Tomatoes - I put out 6 plants, 5 took. The first ripe tomatoes came about 2 weeks ago. We have had about 8 nice ripe ones to eat so far and have another dozen or so that I hope ripen. Not enough to freeze.

Green beans - ended up with 8 or nine bushes that produce not quite a meals worth of beans every other day. Awkward amount. I have been throwing them in salads and casseroles, blanching and freezing small amounts here and there.

winter squash - that stuff grows and flowers like crazy, but where are my squash????? I have had one small acorn squash and see another small butternut growing.

guess what???? cantaloupe seeds in compost may sprout! We got this little cantaloupe!

hey didn't I plant some hot peppers and eggplant?!?!?!?  oh well.

Flowers w/ no fruit...needs epsom salts.

Things did fairly well, considering that our garden was fairly neglected for the latter half of the season. Have a few Hokkaido squash and Spaghetti Squash sitting on our kitchen table... Still have more turnips, carrots, and Hamburg Parsley/parsley root to harvest, need to dig and see what the Jerusalem artichokes produced, have a couple of leeks (have to see if I can find the couple of celeriac I planted too), and a couple of red cabbage to harvest (I'll direct seed those next year). The tomatoes did alright (yellow pear did the best), Tomatillos did rather well (much better than I'd expected, I'll plant them again next year), Broccoli did well (need to collect more seedpods, variety was Calabrese), Cucumbers did well, super sugar snap peas did reasonably (saved a few seeds, probably need to get some more for next year), Asparagus/yard long beans didn't do well, but I've saved a few seeds, to see if it was just getting acclimated to our climate. Got a few Turkish eggplants (little and orange), probably need to start them a month earlier indoors (they should have had tennis ball size fruit, ended up with ping pong ball sized). Lettuce did well, beets/chard didn't (soil here probably needs boron), peppers also had issues, but those that did fruit were good (some of the Paprika peppers were hot, some mild, not sure on the variation). Only got a couple of Acorn squash (small but tasty), zero pumpkins, one tiny Sugar Baby watermelon (which was tasty!), Zucchini did fine, Used the last of it, plus my tiny Turkish eggplants, carrots, turnips, parsley root to make a large pan of roasted veg with balsamic vinegar and olive oil... Mmmm.
If anyone wants to assist with digging up some of the root veggies, I'd be happy to share the harvest.
My apologies for the run-ons, baby is slowly working on making his/her appearance, so I'm sort of distracted.

I still have celery, arugula, parsley, sage, and thyme in the garden beds.   
The mums from the wedding last year did great.  They are still flowering and the white ones are huge.  They are approximately 2' x 2'.  They are twice the size they were for the wedding.  I hope they come back next year.

I have more herbs potted in the house along with lettuce.   

I planted the same peas Denice did in August.  They did great.  I love doing a spring and fall planting of peas.  I just wish my yard didn't have such a powdery mildew problem.  Any good ideas on dealing with Powdery Mildew?   

My orange mint, flat leaf parsley and garlic chives all went to seed.  I'm going to replant those and see how they do.
I also need to plant more basil.

I picked up more planters last month to do more container gardening next year.   I wonder how much I can squeeze out of this tiny piece of property.  The deck and porch will be full next year along with the beds.

I will need to find a good deal on delivered compost in the spring.

I still need to do the final clean up of the garden and deal with the leaves.  I haven't yet since my backyard is a little micro climate.  The leaves on the blueberry bushes in the back yard turned red two weeks later than the ones in the front yard. 

I was given 3 old storm windows to make cold frames out of.   I'm going to build them for spring.

I do need to trim some trees soon to get more light in the backyard and remove an overgrown pine in the front yard.

cool stories
kat is still getting tomatoes in the greenhouse even though we have had quite a few nights of 15-20 degrees outside
our yellow ones did well also
we loved our peas this spring .... it would be cool to plant some for the fall :)
our neighbor dug up a big new garden for us nearer the house
I think Kat would welcome city folks who would like to garden to plant some stuph somewhere at our place. Contact us if you have no land to work with.
Our worms are making compost for us and Kat repotted her grow boxes. The eggplant was still alive, but wasn't going to grow any new ones, so she planted something else in the bucket.
the carrots are only getting better

(http://i647.photobucket.com/albums/uu197/DarthSlater_photos/100_0182.jpg)

sometimes you just can't kill them

So....the guy was welding and it suddenly occurred to him that his Tomato plant was a threat?

to all of humanity

Quote from: Lloyd Danforth on November 17, 2010, 07:25 AM NHFT
So....the guy was welding and it suddenly occurred to him that his Tomato plant was a threat?

Hey, it happens.

(http://campademics.wdfiles.com/local--files/attack-of-the-killer-tomatoes/attack_of_the_killer_tomatoes.jpg)

A friend sent me a link to Skyhorse Publishing, and this was on the front page:

http://www.skyhorsepublishing.com/details.php?TitleID=209 (http://www.skyhorsepublishing.com/details.php?TitleID=209)

(http://www.skyhorsepublishing.com/Images/Covers/Large/209.jpg)

AUTHOR
Brett L. Markham  is an engineer, third-generation farmer, and polymath. Using the methods explained in his book, he runs a profitable, Certified Naturally Grown mini farm on less than half an acre. Brett works full time as an engineer for a broadband ISP and farms in his spare time. His Web site is www.markhamfarm.com (http://www.markhamfarm.com). He lives in New Ipswich, New Hampshire.

Neat :)

Cool!  I know New Ipswich is tropical compared to Grafton, but Artichokes?

(http://chzdailywhat.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/702b11f2-97f3-4f53-998e-c8a13b8a1677.jpg)

patk is busy planting in snowbanks

Ain't been no snow here for weeks now.

That is the sort of talk that attracts major spring storms!

AH some more or less snow now, really ain't gonna make a difference.

see even patk gets a rosy outlook on life when spring comes

I am shoveling and I blame PatK

he is supposed to bellbop the storms away

Quote from: cathleeninnh on March 22, 2011, 09:57 AM NHFT
I am shoveling and I blame PatK

Um I think I am getting to much credit.

Any interest in a plant swap sometime next month up here in Grafton? I have planted quite a few winter sown seeds, and things are starting to sprout :-) (Tat sai, rhubarb, amish bottle onion, a couple of others thus far). Let me know :-)

one of the crazy things here in texas is .... they are all almost done harvesting their wheat

We've got our first little green tomatoes.

I ate my first garden tomato a couple days ago  :)  Been picking peas, lots of beans and greens, zucchini.

I have tomato seedlings... last frost date is June 6th, hopefully will get "early" tomatoes by the end of July, late ones before the end of August... I've got to container start my squash and scarlet runner this week so I'll have some ripe enough to harvest by 1st frost in Sept. Fun fun!

avoiding the frost is always a joy isn't it?
in wyoming i don't think there was a frost free month

Things are not going too well in the backyard here in Southern Tropical Grafton. 
The high temps in March combined with late freezes pretty much devastated the apples and pears.

There is ONE peach on one tree. picture attached

The early blueberry bush is ripening, but sparse.  The late bush is loaded (see picture)

The grapes are malformed and only a few per bunch.

The winner is the hops plants.  One vine is already ten feet tall.

Gardening is tough... nature giveth and taketh away. Upside the plants are still alive and without the fruit will put the energy into growth.

I've been wanting to grow hops.  8)

sad but then very cool
last summer was murder on plants in texas ... hottest summer ever killed all the corn and most of the cotton. some of my tree plantings and transplants survived so they are going great this year with all the rain
kat has tomatoes growing wild everywhere she has been

Quote from: jerry on July 03, 2012, 06:29 PM NHFT
The winner is the hops plants.  One vine is already ten feet tall.

Put the hops to good use, and you'll forget about the rest.  8)

Quote from: KBCraig on July 03, 2012, 10:45 PM NHFT

Quote from: jerry on July 03, 2012, 06:29 PM NHFT
The winner is the hops plants.  One vine is already ten feet tall.

Put the hops to good use, and you'll forget about the rest.  8)

Just last night I threw some of last year's harvest in to a batch of George Washington's Small Beer.

On my way back from checking if the hops are ready for harvest (maybe next week) I spotted some mushrooms in front of the shed that looked exactly like potatoes.  Anybody know what they might be?

Eat them, if you live you are not a witch!

Definitely a puffball. Beyond that, I don't know. Most puffballs are edible at this stage (before the spores ripen), and aren't poisonous.

The hops are in the drier, the blueberries are in the freezer, the handfull of grapes have been eaten and the peach got knocked off in a windstorm.  Better luck next year.  Barbara wants to try a raised bed vegetable garden, so Ill be working on getting that ready before the snow hits.  I don't understand why.  It's not food.  It's what food EATS.

Here's a couple shots of yesterday's first frost in southern tropical Grafton.

Quote from: jerry on September 20, 2012, 10:05 PM NHFT
The hops are in the drier

More important: when do they go into the beer?

And, at least we know Jerry didn't sucuumb to the mushroom.  8)

Jerry is trying to kill me with those frost pics.

It got down in the sixties

It's 40 degrees and raining here in Southern Tropical Grafton, but that hasn't slowed down the latest infestation.
Pictures attached.  Turkeys in the front, pheasants in the back.

It's a DIY Thanksgiving kit!

You can stuff the turkey with the pheasant!

Quote from: Pat K on October 14, 2012, 02:35 PM NHFT
You can stuff the turkey with the pheasant!

A phearkey!  ;D

Cool

Quote from: Becky Thatcher on October 14, 2012, 03:03 PM NHFT

Quote from: Pat K on October 14, 2012, 02:35 PM NHFT
You can stuff the turkey with the pheasant!

A phearkey!  ;D

;D ;D

PatK ALERT!  The following pictures may cause emotional distress.

28 degrees here in southern tropical Grafton this morning, and there's some white stuff on my front lawn.

I just got the compost pile started.

AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK Pat, you're safe for another season.  No more frost pics.

Here's the hops raising their little heads.

The apple and pear trees are in full bloom and the bees are buzzing around in them.

Oh, and there is a moose standing at the top of the hill.  Just a young cow....no horns.  She was considerate enough to use the camper as a backdrop for good contrast.

 ;D Nice pics.

See ya next month.

(http://nhunderground.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=19577.0;attach=8674;image)

Put a saddle on that moose. You come riding into downtown Graftonshire on your moose. They be sayin' "He's a bad mother..."  "Shut your mouth." "But we talkin' bout Jerry the Moose Rider." "We can dig it!" "Right on!"

I want some cuttings from your hops.  8)

way cool Jerry
we are sweating in Texas and dreaming about spring in the Shire

Quote from: Tom Sawyer on May 17, 2013, 08:04 PM NHFT


I want some cuttings from your hops.  8)

Here you go.

Quote from: jerry on May 20, 2013, 06:03 PM NHFT

Quote from: Tom Sawyer on May 17, 2013, 08:04 PM NHFT


I want some cuttings from your hops.  8)

Here you go.

Awesomeness!  :D 8)  Thanks!

(http://nhunderground.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=19577.0;attach=8677;image)

Great shot too.   ;D

Oh good job Jerry, now ya got Tom all hopped up.........

Thanks Jerry for the hops plants... they are rooted well and we have transplanted them into soil in pots and have them in the shade to become acclimatized.  :D 8)