farm report

[khrisday]

We have been in an apartment for 9 years now, and for the last 4 or 5 we have said we would get a plot at the community garden, but this is the first time we actually have. I am so excited by our progress that I just have to share. (first of all let me tell you that the people who run the garden told us- but not til after we planted, that the soil there is no good, if you don't use a good fertilizer you won't grow anything, and that you have to transplant because the cucumber beetles will eat anything growing from seed. Of course we hadn't mixed in fertilizer, and we planted everything from seed)

We have zucchini's getting fruit, a watermelon vine coming up (which we had completely given up on), sunflowers (two of which have actual flowers now), tomatoes which are starting to get fruit and flowers, pumpkin vine starting, pole beans starting to get beans, more lettuce than we can give away, Zinnias (which we were told were planted too close together and would choke each other) blooming, and I just added some herbs. The herbs, zinnias and some chamomile (which are thge only things that have died) are the only things not from seed.

Not bad for a city girl!

Share your garden success

[karenpl]

YEAH Khris!!! That sounds great. This is my first year of putting in a serious garden in our yard and it has been so much fun. Just watching everything grow and develop. Now if only I had planted a tad less radishes... I just love grabbing a cucumber from our own garden to eat for dinner, things like that!

Karen

[Mneek]

I started the garden when 8 months pregnant (ds was born 4/26), so we were a little behind in getting tomato and pepper seedlings out of the attic and into the dirt. Sugar snap peas were somewhat disappointing this year -- a cat dug up half of the rows, so they ended up pretty ragged and haphazard, with bare spots. Last year the climbing sugar snap peas were great. This year, we used a variety (Sugar Ann) that wasn't supposed to need trellising, but it sure looks like it WANTS it. One plant also seems to have reverted to shell peas, which are good, but not enough to do anything with.

Started two kinds of cukes, long burpless and Kirbys. Something ate almost all of the Kirbys before they even got true leaves -- I've got about 1 and a half plants left. The long ones are doing fine. We should have a few of both kinds by next week. Zucchini is going great guns -- we have a few that will be ready by tomorrow or the next day, and tons of beautiful male blossoms (anyone have any good non-deep-fried recipes for them?). Both zukes and cukes (started outside, BTW) are being plagued by nasty cucumber beetles, which I'm picking off and smushing every time I see them, though it doesn't seem to make a dent. I sometimes use Rotenone against them, which works, but it seems I never get to use it until right before it rains.

Bought a couple of pepper plants (jalapeno and paprika), and started lots of green bells. Had to give most of the seedlings away. There are four in the garden, just barely developing buds. Started many eggplants, but put the plants out too soon, and most of them got eaten by slugs or cutworms. Fortunately, I had spares, and now have 3 plants (inside cutworm collars) that look like they might make it. They sure grow slowly, though. I suspect eggplant is gonna be too much trouble for Maine.

The only tomatoes I started were Romas. I had about a million seedlings, most of which I gave away. I ended up with just two in containers, which are now flowering. However, last year's tomatoes are volunteering all over, and since I had a shortage of non-plums, I'm just letting most of the volunteers grow. I'm letting these plants fill in the sad, empty holes in my snow pea and Kirby cucumber plots. These, too are flowering and pretty robust, and since most of the crop last year was hybrid, this year's are a mongrel bunch. I'm really curious to see what comes up -- some of the plants are potato-leaved; some aren't, so they're gonna be a variety. Should be interesting.

Green bean vines (Kentucky Wonder, natch) have reached the tops of the sticks I gave them to climb, but no blossoms or beans yet. I hope they double back over, and that they turn out to be more than just leaves.

Bugs have been vicious this year -- lost a whole row of beans, almost a row of cukes, and entire crop of bok choy, whose sad skeletons are still getting chowed on. Grass clipping mulch seems to be helping the basil, since the plants now have a few leaves that are being allowed to grow. And something is eating my MARIGOLDS! Haven't seen Japanese beetles yet, but I'm waiting.

[khrisday]

Mneek,
Your garden sounds great! One tip I learned about cucumber beetles- putting some coffee grounds around the plants seems to help to dissuade them a bit. We have a huge problem with them in our agrden as well, but the coffee grounds has helped some.

[Mneek]

Thanks, Khris! Coffee grounds are something we definitely have in great supply.