We went to a library sale a couple weeks ago (yes, it has been that long since I’ve been able to set aside time to write an update!) and I thought I’d share my haul with you. A grocery bag of books for $3 makes you forget to edit your selections before you buy.
The most….well….unusual book would be “Unusual Vegetables”. There are 79 suggestions of uncommon veggies to grow if you get tired of tomatoes and peppers. I haven’t read the whole thing yet, but there are some interesting suggestions with in depth descriptions of nutritional advantages over more common varieties and instructions of how to grow them successfully.
I also picked up a book called “Carpet Gardening”, which I thought was about low growing alternatives for grass, but it turns out it’s about how to use actual carpets in your garden as mulch. Uh, I don’t think so.
The same day I picked up an extra large garlic roaster and a couple of old ball jars with their seals for $2 at a church sale!
I just received a timely blog posting from the UCONN extension blog about floating row covers that I thought some people may find useful.
Hello, ladies and gentlemen! I’m back after a bit of a hiatus. I’ve been preoccupied with some personal issues that have taken a toll on my physical and mental energy levels for a few weeks. I’ve been reading the comments I’ve received on some older posts, and I thank you for all of your input. Never fear, I’ve been more or less keeping up with the garden, I just haven’t had the desire to sit down and report on it. No reflection on you, of course….I’m sure all five of you are waiting with bated breath to find out how my peppers are. And the answer to that hot button question is, they’re doing beautifully!
I got them in the ground a couple days ago, after the 3 month long struggle to keep them alive in the P-E-A-T pots. Shhhh…..I refuse to say that four letter word again. Ones I transferred them to the large plastic cups that I had my tomatoes in they absolutely flourished. I hate to think how much bigger they’d be if I hadn’t lost so much time in the beginning.
I’ve finally started harvesting lettuce too. Yay!
I’m only grabbing enough for the two of us at a time, so my harvest weight isn’t too big, but it sure is nice to walk outside and grab a handful of greens, walk inside and serve them. I made a caesar salad for myself yesterday.
I’m not having such good luck with my brassicas. None of the cauliflower has started to form heads yet, and I’m assuming they won’t. I know they’re very finicky, and they need ideal conditions to grow, which we absolutely have not had this year. Massive temperature swings, tons of rain…..the leaves look beautiful, but you can’t eat the leaves! And I was so proud of myself for saving the one that flopped over on its side using a drinking straw around the stem. Watch out, MacGyver! I don’t have anything else to put in their place so I guess I’ll just leave them and see what happens. I also have small broccoli heads that are already starting to separate due to the hotter temperatures we’ve been having. And only one of the two varieties is forming heads at all. I guess I know which one to focus on next year. Packman all the way.
All of my tomato plants are either in the SWCs or have been given away to friends. I’m so pleased with the way they’re turning out. They were doing very well inside and didn’t seem to be screaming for more room, but once they went out they really started to take off.
I’ve even got a few babies on the Mortgage Lifter. I know I should probably take them off so the plant can gain some more height first but I just can’t!!!
In the bulb bed, the garlic just keeps growing and growing! The plants are so beautiful I think I’m going to stick some in other parts of the yard this fall.
And the onions from Dixondale Farms are still plugging along. I really need to get in there and do some weeding.
The cukes have sprouted! I hope they do well, I’m anxious to try to make pickles.
The squash seeds didn’t take very long at all to germinate. I had started some inside a couple weeks ahead of the direct sown seeds but the seeds quickly outgrew the starts. I don’t think I was too late in direct planting so I’m just going to stick with those. I had row covers over everything because I had read that it was a good approach to keeping the squash bugs away for as long as possible. I read to only remove the covers for a brief period while the flowers are in bloom to let the bees have a go at them, and then to cover them right back up. However, with the rain we’ve had I think the row covers might be doing more harm than good. Is this Powdery Mildew?
It doesn’t scrape off, and I don’t see the spots I had last year when it devastated my crop. But it does have that powdery look, although it seems to be starting on the veins. I’m really not sure.
I’ll have to come back for a second post later tonight to show off some flea market finds!
I hope everyone is well and enjoying a plentiful harvest. 🙂
The Gumshoe Gardener 