Changes of latitiude

I realize that I have been remiss in updating this blog, and I have no excuse. However, it will be changing and perhaps even changing URL. I will update the URL as necessary.

The changes are being brought about by my loss of my lease. I will be leaving behind the most productive garden I have ever created, against my will, for the open road. The next year roughly will be spent traveling the US working for friends and family (and on their gardens) while I make my way to my new home. This may be a rural farm in Canada, or the same in Arkansas.. time will tell. Either way, life has rather suddenly and dramatically changed, but promises new experiences, new opportunities, and new outlooks. For those who have borne with me, I thank you. There will be a reward at the end..

Until then, keep on digging those gardens and enjoying the fruits of your labors. I wish I could leave my gardens to one of you to enjoy, but this is not to be, so I leave all of the wild fruits and vegetables I might have harvested to those of you remaining to enjoy.

I will post updates as I can from the road..

Winter work

Usually this time of year is a great time for gardening in Central Texas, as we have mild temperatures and can grow many of the cool season crops that are usually out of reach during the warmer seasons. This year however is a bit different, at least for me.

We are still in a drought, with burn bans in place state wide. The sadly neglected soil in the garden is almost powdery where it is not dried hard as a rock. However I aim to change this. Today I put the first batch of leaves covering one of the garden beds about 4 inches deep. Also I have begun watering the soil, though nothing beyond a single turnip, which sprouted from a store bought turnip, is growing there. I hope to get enough moisture back into the soil to make it workable, without completely destroying the soil structure. At the same time I am planning on a run to the local compost dealer for a pick up load of compost, or perhaps two for the beds. To this end, and to save my aching back, as well as to avoid the constant problem of the uninflated wheelbarrow tire, I will be looking at getting a garden cart of some sort. This way I hope to move at least as much as I do with the wheelbarrow, but without the strain on my back.

So for now, much is still in the planning stage, but a few glimmers of hope are on the horizon.

Revisiting the lost but not forgotten garden

This has been an unusual year, which anyone who has been following this blog already knows, but the difficulties have not ended quite yet. I have just returned from another 5-6 weeks of traveling for work, with the only thing remaining alive in the garden being some lemon verbena and a few sprigs of oregano (actually glad to see the oregano dying off as this variety has been invasive and does not offer much in the way of flavor).

So with over 200 square feet of empty garden beds, I am essentially starting over going into the winter, albeit the mild winter of central Texas, months. Having been reading more about intensive planting methods, I am taking this opportunity to do the major ammeding and preparation that is seldom possible in a climate where we can garden almost all 12 months of the year.

First on the agenda is to bring in large amounts of compost. This is the plan for the early part of next week.

From there I will begin a more formal planting plan than I have used previously, so that I might be able to get an automated watering system in place this next year before I am left to travel again for 5-6 weeks at a time.

absence makes the garden grow.. old..

My long absence from the garden, due to work and the failed attempt at a vacation led to a dead garden. I returned to harvest two tomatoes which were questionable at best. I suspect that the plant died and these ripened on a dead vine. The only thing remaining alive in the garden was the oregano, which I am convinced will not die. None of the squash survived, no other herbs, nothing at all.. so as loathe as I am to admit it, I am going to have to write off the fall season (and some winter crops) because I will again have to leave for some time in about a month. This certainly lends support to the notion that I need to get a watering system in place.

But all is not lost. I am going to be adding as much organic matter as possible and planning on ways to improve and experiment in the garden for when I return.

All the best my gardening friends,

Brian

Returning again from afar..

So again it has been far too long between posts, and for that I am truly sorry.

The weather turned around a bit, offering some rain here and there so that supplemental watering was not absolutely necessary. The latest round of squash plants are doing well enough, though the germination rate was quite low, and some of the plants have remained small for some time. I am trying to refrain from watering them given that I believe I caused the early demise of the first crop by overwatering, a common problem. The root source in that instance is the fact that the soil in the new beds is all clay and I did not take the time to add sufficient organic matter to moderate the water retention.

For this fall crop I have utilized the secondary beds, the ones that get less sun, but which have been prepared for years, in hopes of getting a sustained fall crop. I reused the new beds after mixing in more manure and compost, and will simply hope for the best.

The last major event is that I have left the garden to nature's whim for some weeks as I travel for work, and a short vacation. So for the next month or so I will be out of my own garden, though hopefully enjoying the gardens of friends far and wide, ranging from Arkansas, to Kansas, to Canada.

Speaking of Canada, there is an amusing difference in perceptions that is easily seen with the dramatic differences in climates. While folks here (as well as Michigan as I passed through) complained about the "high temperatures" and "extreme heat" I felt wonderfully comfortable. These "high temps" are all of 85F or so... For Texans this is a cool day.. One of those differences that becomes apparent when we radically change our gardening locale.

As always, all the best to my gardening friends. Feel free to share your own stories here and to offer any suggestions or comments.

Brian

Summer heat

Far too long has passed since my last post. While struggling with work issues, I found that I was also struggling in the garden as well. After enjoying a few harvests of squash, I began losing plants quite quickly. I am now down to only one of the original plants, and it is not producing any fruit. I have replanted, but even at this, I find that there is something which is pulling up the seedlings and leaving them lay on top of the soil. Apparently I am not meant to be growing squash. Nonetheless I will continue to try.

I planted the winter squash and have begun to see a few sprouts. With luck I will be able to reap a fine harvest from these when the time comes. I believe that because the water from the main garden drains into the squash beds, those beds never got the chance to dry out, so the roots rotted killing the plants. I have added more organic matter to the beds to help with drainage, and removed the soaker hose to those beds.

Tomatoes are coming on strong, but I have a tomato theif eating the tomatoes just before they get ripe. Though I have have grown tomatoes here for a few years, this is the first time I have had this problem. I may hang a cd near the plants to deter any birds, but from the looks of the tomatoes I suspect one of the squirrels.

Nothing else of note in the garden other than we have gone a month with high temperatures and no rain at all. Makes gardening all the more challenging.

The first signs of tomatoes..

After a couple of dry months, where supplemental water was necessary, we finally got a bit of rain the last couple of days. The first round of thunderstorms bent over the tomato plants which I had neglected to tie up as they grew. Fortunately I believe that they will all be alright, though one did lose a major branch. The squash were also bent over, but they seem to have recovered on their own and are still putting out a number of blooms and more squash is on its way.

This last week the cukes took off and seem to grow several inches every day. They have also been blooming but no sign of actual cukes coming on as of yet.

Not much else to add.. the parsley has all been removed, and the tomatoes now receive a bit more of the sun so hopefully they will thrive now. I am still pondering what to plant next, hindered by the ongoing projects at work which demand all of my time. However no excuses..

I am looking for a water timer so that I can care for the garden even while I am out of town working, but thus far no luck on something that seems to fit the bill. Soon the winter squash will need to be planted, at least the first round of them, so that I can get a bountiful and ongoing harvest for those leaner times. At more than $1.00 a pound for winter squash, double that for organic, these plants will easily produce enough to compensate any effort I put forth. Though of course I am growing them as much for the pleasure of the task, and for the flavor not found in store bought produce, as for the savings.

The second round of yellow straightneck gets ready for the steamer.. :)

The first scallop squash is nearing harvest..