Thursday, August 27, 2009

Fall garden goes in

Whew (wiping sweat from the brow). Just got done planting some lettuce, kale and chard in the available beds in the garden. Red Russian Kale, Bright Lights Chard, Seoul Ruby lettuce, Rouge D'Houvre lettuce... I think that was it for today. Yesterday I bought a bunch of galvanized wire from Seagrove Hardware store while I was picking up some veggies, meat and eggs from Green Acres Ranch and Edge of the World Farm; and today I used the wire to make hoops for row cover.
It seems to be working great - inexpensive way to keep the row covers off the plants, yet sturdy enough, and will be easy to store when not in use. I prepped the land by pulling out some basil and tomato plants that were on their last leg, loosened up the soil with a pitch fork and added a layer of composted cow manure. A sprinkling of wood ash and DE on top is supposed to keep the bugs in check. Hopefully. The row cover is supposed to help with that too. Previous experience shows that row cover is quite effective. Eventually some bugs and slugs will get under and live there, but the quantities are far less. Wood ash has to be used sparingly and DE has to be applied frequently. I have not noticed Neem Oil to be very helpful, and as it is harmful to bees, as well as pests, I will stay away from it from now on, I think.

Since the Habanero peppers are not popular with my CSA members - I end up taking them all home, as I can't stand waste. Last week the huge bowl full of cleaned Habaneros, Jalapenos and some other hot peppers boiled down along with some sweet bell's, tomato sauce, garlic and a mango and turned into delicious spicy hot sauce. So far the reviews have been 100% positive.

My eggplants have just not been happy this year. I don't quite know what the deal is. I've heard similar accounts from other gardeners this year. Must not be eggplant year. The peak in tomato production is over by now also. We'll keep getting them, but the biggest juiciest fruits are gone.

Well. More ground to prep for fall, more seeds to start and seedlings to transplant.

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