My Pitiful Garden

I am getting a really slow start this year. I started seeds two weeks ago tomorrow, and they are just now starting to germinate, and the germination rate does not look that hot. Because of the way that I garden, I can not direct seed into the ground, but must transplant seedlings instead. It has been on the cool side here in the Bluegrass, so I guess that has a lot to do with it. I guess that I should have started my plants inside, but it was warm when I put the pots out Friday before last.

I practice intensive gardening, using a very small patch (about 16 by 16 feet, exclusive of running space for vines), but pack a lot of material in it. My trick is to cover the entire plot with black polyethylene (polythene for some folks) sheeting, and cut cross slits where each plant goes. No weeds, no hoeing, and no dirt on the vegetables. I only have to till and add humus every other year, and the water from rain is funneled into exactly the right spots, so none is wasted. In fact, except for twice last year when it was really dry, I only need to water for a few days just after transplanting.

This year I am planting tomatoes, of course. I have a few plants that I bought already started, and need to get them in the ground, but it has rained all day today. I also have some heirloom seed that my son gave me for Christmas that I am starting and will set out if and when they sprout. I love tomatoes, and eat them with great relish in any way I can get them. I grow enough to can them, and to give away to neighbors.

All of the tomato varieties that I grow have to be supported. I have never found a commercial tomato hoop type support that was sturdy enough to last more than a season or two, so I now make my own. If you have a welder it is really easy, but you can also use stout wire to make them. Buy a roll of reinforcing mesh that is used for concrete work (the kind that I have is very heavy gauge and has 6 by 6 inch openings). Decide on the diameter that you want, then multiply by 3.14 (pi) to determine how many running inches you need. Cut to length (this stuff is so stiff that bolt cutters are the right tool) and curve the edges together and weld. Alternately, you can wire the edges together. If you paint them with a rust resistant paint, they will outlast you.

Another crop that I love is purple hulled peas. They are not a proper pea, but rather a cowpea. They have the unique property of having the shells turn a deep purple when they are ripe, making it easy to know when to harvest. They also are relatively everbearing if you keep them picked, so the season is long. This year I am going to stagger my plantings by a month to lengthen the season even more. In the heat of summer they need a little supplemental water to keep bearing unless it is a wet summer. Very few people outside of the Deep South seem to know about them. They are very similar to the more familiar blackeyed pea, but are sweeter and more flavorful, and self indicating about ripeness as I already said.

These have to be staked, since they are climbers (I know of no bush variety). Once again, back to the reinforcement mesh. Just unroll a row’s worth, cut, and stake upright. It takes a little work to uncurl it, but it is not too hard. No fooling around with string, wire, trellises (I guess that technically this is a trellis), and after the season is over it is easy to lean them against the shed for next year.

Lima beans are on the menu, too. I bought a bush variety and those seeds are germinating pretty well, so I can probably set them out next week early. Like the peas, I will do two staggered plantings to prolong the season. I got a variety that purports to be good for baby limas, since I am not fond of the big ones, what we from the south call butter beans.

Okra is another favorite. In gumbo, added to any sort of savory soup or stew, and especially fried (one of the few fried foods that I eat very much of anymore), okra is just wonderful. There are varieties that are supposed to grow well in even northern latitudes, so try some out. At worst you will decide that you do not like it, but I do not think so. Okra is, like tomatoes, very prolific. If you keep harvesting it, a dozen plants will provide much more than an average family can eat. If you do not keep it cut, productivity slows significantly. It is best at three or four inches. I slice, roll in seasoned corn meal, and freeze excess for winter. UPDATE: Wear long sleeves and gloves when cutting okra. The plants have very irritating hairs on it, and you can itch for hours if you get enough of them in you. I remember my Mum almost frantic with itching after cutting a large bunch when I was little.

Peppers are in store, too. This year I am doing green bells, jalapeños, habeneros, cayenne, and sweet bananas. Peppers are easy to freeze, and can also be dried. I do not like to can them because all of the processing ruins their texture, making them rather mushy. To freeze them, just chop up, put on a large cookie sheet one layer thick, and freeze. After they freeze, working quickly, use a spatula to transfer to prelabeled freezer bags and pop back into the freezer. You do not want to let them thaw while bagging, so work fast. To dry, just spread on a clean surface and place in the sun. I like to take fibreglass window screen and suspend it, put the food on top, and lay another piece of screen on top. That was insects are not too much of a problem and sir circulation is good.

Of course, squash in going in the garden. I have both zucchini and yellow crookneck for my summer varieties, and acorn and butternut for the winter ones. I plant them at the periphery of the garden, and train the vines to run away from it to maximize space.

For fun, I always plant watermelon and cantaloupe. Like the squash, they to at the periphery and are trained to run away from the garden. I never get very many, but they are fun to watch develop, and the few fruits that I get are always wolfed down rapidly.

Not actually part of the garden proper, I have morning glories (Heavenly Blues) and Nightflowers sprouting. I affixed climbing wires on the sunny side of my shed, so they will go there when the time for transplant comes. I like that combination, since I get almost 24 hour coverage of blooms from the combination.

Finally, also not really part of the garden proper, I am string to germinate some catnip. I like mints (the place here has lots of lemon balm), so I am going to try catnip this year.

I am not a strict organic gardener, but I am pretty faithful. I have nothing against “chemical” fertilizers, and use them as I transplant. This is the forth year that I have gardened here, and still have over 40 pounds of the 50 pound bag left. I use about a teaspoon at the very bottom of the hole that I use to transplant the seedlings, add an inch or two of soil, then the planting. I do not broadcast anything, so the little that I use is focused exactly where it needs to go. I suspect that very little leaching occurs doing it this way. I also till in composted lawn clippings every other year.

As for pesticides, I once again am not averse to them, just averse to the abuse of them. Japanese beetles are bad here, and the LOVE okra. When I notice them, a very light sprinkling of rotenone dispatches them, and it is a natural product. I never practice preemptive insecticide use, just defense. I have been aware that there is a statistical link between rotenone and Parkinson’s disease, so I always wear latex gloves and stay upwind while applying it. It photodecomposes rapidly and is not absorbed by the plant, so with proper precaution is safe to use.

Well, so much for my gardening update. If it quits raining, tomorrow I will pull up last year’s okra stalks, plant my “store bought” plants, and fix my darned string trimmer starter cord. I am going to cook a bit of dinner now, but will check in from time to time to respond to anyone who thinks that this diary, my first on PolitiCook, is worthy of such.

Second update:  I said that I would pull up last year’s okra stalks.  It is not that simple.  Okra has a huge root system, and one can just pull them up.  If it stops raining, I will take a cordless drill with a screwdriver bit on it, drive a three inch drywall screw through the stem just above ground level, then take a chain and a hydraulic jack (supported on a piece of plywood so the rollers do not bury up in the soil), and jack them out.  Perhaps three for four very burly men could pull one out, but not one person.  They are tough!  Warmest regards, Doc.

Warmest regards, Doc.

Tags: First Diary Here, Garden, Intensive, Purple Hulls, Tomatoes