It's been waaaaay too long since I posted here. It's funny how life can get soooo busy. And, I have been busy. Not all of it has had to do with the garden and that has impinged on my postings and such things. Hopefully, I can get back to my earlier routine.
On the gardening front, there have been many challenges. The biggest challenge of all has been figuring out where exactly the weak link was in my gardening practices. As a recap, in the fall of 2019, I totally revamped my garden. What resulted was several newly located beds that were never garden beds previously. At the end of 19, I spread a generous amount of compost and other additives and sowed in a cover crop. When I planted them in 2020, most of my plants were strong going in and then they just failed. My results were meager as the plants did try to recover but the damage was just too much for them to overcome. This set me on the quest to right the ship this year.
After extensive research over last winter, I settled on a blend of soil additive ingredients that many "experts" highlighted. After going full in on this, the new plants were better but there still was something a bit off. This was very frustrating for a gardener who produced many great gardens over many years. But, I had to remember that this is part of the gardening experience. So, the quest continued but at least this time, the plants were doing better and progressing.
So, I watched several videos on Youtube to see if I could glean the pearl of info that would set my plants on a better trajectory. After countless viewings, I found one where the presenter was mentioning that when you are buying composted manure, make sure it actually was fully composted. He said that if it isn't, the manure could continue to breakdown in your beds and this would result in a locking up of the available nitrogen in your soil as the manure will absorb the nitrogen at high levels. He recommended a brand of manure that was available in my area.
I immediately bought several bags and started using it versus my earlier manure. I took the new mix and heavily loaded up the open beds in my garden. Additionally, I used the new mix setting up several plastic pots and mesh grow bags. Along with this, I side dressed the existing plants to hopefully spark more vibrant growth. And, I have to say, the results have been very noticeable.
Weather has been the second biggest challenge this year. We have had some really crazy intense storms that have hampered the garden. It has, as of late, steadied itself. And the garden is looking better for it. All of the plants have taken off and they have begun to offer veggies. Here is a picture that shows the present state of the garden.
A much better garden than I had last year.
Here is a picture of my potted plants which I started a little over a month or so ago. I can't say enough about the black mesh bags versus the orange plastic containers. The mesh bags are definitely superior as they hold water in the soil better than the plastic pots. I have struggled with those plastic pots during the heat wave we had over the last two weeks. Seems like I just kept watering throughout the day with very little payoff. I have a total of 12 of the mesh bags to use next year as I tried the three as an experiment. You can see the difference from these pictures.
Much of my efforts in the last week or so have centered mostly around my fall garden. I applied a good layer of my soil additive around the trellises I built for peas. I soaked my peas last Sunday and planted them Monday. Soaking is supposed to produce seedlings faster and get better growth. This is important as the actual pea pods aren't bothered by a frost but the actual plant is. My understanding is that peas do much better in the fall so I am hopeful.
I also began a planting of 20 spinach seeds in a converted hydroponic system. Instead of using vermiculite, I substituted my garden dirt mix with some vermiculite added to enhance drainage. The plants are growing rapidly so I am looking forward to many harvests.
Knowing that 20 plants were not enough to get a healthy heaping of spinach, I took a vertical fence unit and again, used the soil mix and planted the pots with more spinach. My wife loves spinach for her home made breakfast egg casserole and her muffins. So, there is a need for them.
Speaking of spinach, I ordered two plants of what is called longevity spinach two days ago. I recently viewed a video and this variety was touted as the best spinach to be had. It is chock full of micro nutrients and vitamins and reduces metabolic sugar levels among other benefits. I was unable to buy seeds as it is only sold as plants in the US. It originates from China, Asia and Africa and is a perennial. So, I thought I would give it a try. I'll check back once I get the plants.
I also bought self pollinating cucumber seeds and planted them Saturday. I did this because I was noticing that there weren't that many bees around my plants. This is another of my wife's and my favorite vegetable. As it turns out, after I planted these seeds, there was a resurgence of bees and this move many have been unnecessary.
It should be interesting none the less to see how they perform late in the year. Here's their present progress in the greenhouse.
There is so much going on that I could write much longer. I have planted about 50 bean sets which have come up and are well on their way. I still have to plant beets and another crop of beans. While doing all of this, I naturally am attempting to bring the summer veggies to finality. I have a hot house which I will be setting up in the near future. There is also the need to reconfigure my greenhouse for winter production. Whoever said that once I retired, I would have a lot of free time, was not accounting for the fact of how I garden.
Please continue to read this blog and, if you get the chance, check out my instagram account at veryenthusiasticgardener for more threads. Until next time, Happy Gardening everyone!
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