Comments | lothiriel_1: First full day back in VA

lothiriel_1

First full day back in VA

Jun 08, 2009 18:49

Had a very pleasant visit back home, with good (if a bit cool) weather to top it off. Didn't go on the whale watch, but I did eat a plentiful amount of seafood during my week + stay - pad thai with shrimp at a restaurant in Newburyport, boiled lobster at Barnacle Billy's in Ogunquit, fried clam strips at Woodman's in Essex, and baked haddock at ( Read more... )

updates, gardening, life in general, home

Comments 5

the_samosaurus June 9 2009, 00:05:05 UTC

Haha, I was just on facebook wishing for pictures of your teeny green beans, and here they are!!! It all looks awesome! :D

reckless_saturn June 9 2009, 15:53:22 UTC

The garden looks great especially how you designed it. Very beautiful. I am stealing your cucumber trellis idea. I haven't found one that I am happy with What are the flowers? Marigolds? I have heard they are good at keeping the pest away and I wanted to see what other people thought ( ... )

lothiriel_1 June 13 2009, 10:59:58 UTC

Okay, to answer your questions...

Yes, the flowers in the corners are marigolds, and they are there to help repel pests.

I've been using an organic insecticide called Captain Jack's Dead Bug Brew (got it at a local nursery). It seems to be working pretty well. I fertilize with Neptune's Harvest fish and seaweed emulsion, and Jobe's tomato plant food stakes.

The timbers of the raised bed are made from composite materials, specifically recycled plastic and wood. The timbers won't rot, and (unlike railroad ties) won't leach harmful chemicals into your garden soil.

I've got 5 corn plants that seem to be doing well. I'm kind of looking at this year as a learning year. I've never done a vegetable garden before, so I planted a whole bunch of things to see what I like and what growing methods work (and don't work) for me and the space I have. For instance, I already know that I will be doing the cucumbers differently next year, and using better tomato/other vegetable supports.

reckless_saturn June 16 2009, 14:24:41 UTC

What are you going to do differently with the cucumbers?

Excuse my interest. But I like talking gardening because you never know what different answers you are going to get.

I am learning a lot about how to time my planting, so that I can get more than one or two harvests and so everything doesn't get ripe at once. Normally I wait to long to put the seeds in the ground. I am starting to realize that you can't be lazy with a garden and waiting a day or two can make a big difference in the amount of produce you can get.

I just learned to put tums in the ground with the tomato plants because it stops rot at the roots and in the flowers.

Thanks for sharing.

reckless_saturn June 9 2009, 15:56:20 UTC

Also I have never done corn before. Too nervous about it fitting in the garden. How much did you plant? Will you let me know how it goes. I would be interested in trying it next year and wondering if it would be worth the trouble.

We have a tiny bell pepper, but your puts our to shame. Happy gardening!!

Also you can collect seeds from your lettuce and spinach plants if you let them flower and go to seed. Saves you money for next year. If you want more information on that I can give it to you too.