Tag Archives: Raspberries

Running out of Room

I was out in the garden a couple of times this year so far. I was able to get in before the last set of rains came and plant some early veggies. Then came the torrents. My seeds are probably over in the church parking lot by now. At least the parishioners will have fresh veggies.

I have been slowly trying to build up my fruit supply. I ordered 6 more raspberry plants (I put 6 out last year) and put them in pots (ground too wet by the time I got them). I did get the 25 Ozark Beauty day neutral strawberries in the ground though. The 2 filberts and 1 gooseberry (lots of thorns, never tried them, hope they are good) went in to containers as they came in. I am going to end up putting the filberts in half barrels and will deal with the gooseberry if anything comes of it.

The rhubarb I planted last year is coming up and the blackberries are sending out leaves. I have 260 leeks in float trays, a head of elephant garlic and a couple dozen shallots waiting for the soil to dry. I have some walking onions on order and that is all I am waiting on this year.

I have carved my non perennial garden from about 40×60 to two spots. One is 12×15 and the other is about 15×40. Just enough room for some of the annual veggies. One area is fenced in as I can’t get the beans, spinach and lettuce over about an inch tall with the rabbits around here. They usually don’t bother the tomatoes and peppers as long as I allow some weeds to grow in the garden at planting. If I till it bare they repay me by eating what ever I put in the ground.

The local high school put an announcement in the paper calling for residents wanting to play in their greenhouse. They have a beautiful 2 year old greenhouse and for $10 we can sow seeds to our hearts content. It gives the kids something to take care of and gives us green house space for the next month. A good time is had by all. If everything I have sown comes up I’ll need to till up that church parking lot

It Begins Again

A quick look at the Weatherbug yesterday morning planned my evening. It was calling for rain yet again this weekend and if I didn’t get some tilling done it would probably be too late by the time the garden dried out again. So… in the ground went some direct seeded lettuce, radishes, spinach and beets along with a row of peas from my Great Aunt Mallie. The lettuce, radishes, spinach and beets were broadcast in 3′ wide rows about 15′ long, radishes, spinach and a little lettuce in one and beets and lettuce in the other. When the radishes and lettuce come out it should be time for the green beans to go in. I also tilled some ground for 6 more Heritage raspberries and everbearing strawberries I have on order.

As daylight was leaving I decided to start digging the hole for my inground composter. I got the idea from a Mother Earth News article I found on the web. A large metal trash can is buried almost completely and composting materials are added as you have them. The article talked about a 2 can setup. I decided to start with one can now and the other can wait. I was able to get the can in the ground and get the holes punched in the sides and bottom. I scattered some broken cement block pieces in the bottom of the hole for drainage. My only concern is that the hole will fill with water during a good rain. I may be able to find out soon as we had some rain today. It was much easier punching the holes in the can (using an old screwdriver and hammer) when the can was in place than before it was set in the hole and soil packed around the outside. I purchased some flat black paint to give it a good coat once it dries off, that should help keep the temps up. I am hoping that since the top will be black and the bulk of it is buried the soil temps will help keep the biological processes going during the winter. All in all it was a VERY productive day.

This morning before the rains came I was able to get the rest of the garden tilled. I also planted the rest of the leeks for a total of 264. Not bad for an order of 60 leeks. Many are very small and may not make it but we should have leeks to spare for pretty much everyone we know