2006 diary
5/13 - 20 yards of dirt were delivered to make the planting areas for bed #28. I was sick with the flu so I didn't move any of the dirt.
5/14 - 6 inches of rain fell in Rhode Island over the last few days. The weather only broke for a few minutes on Sunday which allowed me to plant seedings of lettuce, rabe and Chinese cabbage in bed 9.
5/16 - Baby rabbits made a home in bed #9. They ate most of the seedlings grown indoors. The bok Choi survived. Karen and I removed the rabbits with a snow shovel so as not to disturb them too much. All six ran in different directions. Later, their mom (I assume it was their mom) was looking for them.
5/20 - The 20 yards of dirt that were delivered to make the planting areas for bed #28 has turned to mud and cement due to all the rain. I moved 15 yards to make the raised areas in bed #28. Four rows of raised loam about 60 feet long each. My back is broken.
5/27 - Five yards of compost delivered. I dig planting holes for 40 tomato plants and 15 egglants seedlings and fill them with compost. Then, I plant all the tomatos, tomatillos and eggplant (three varieties including ghost white, Japanese and a variety with streaked purple on the flesh). Later I put compost in beds #1, 2 and 6. Bed #6 has asperagus in it. I am prepping the others for potato seed and beans which I will plant shortly.
The next step is to pull back the plastic on the other raised beds and fill them with compost. Over the last couple of years, the level of the dirt has gone down so the beds now have a few inches of space near the top for compost. Karen assists by spreading the compost once I put it in the beds using the wheelbarrow to transport. It is not too hot, but very humid so we work early in the morning.
Later, I plant the basil, chili, watermellon, zucchini and squash seedlings in the newly prepped beds. I will sleep well tonight
5/28 The grapes have broken buds. They will be leafing out soon. The pear, peach and cherry trees are starting to set fruit. I will need to protect them to prevent the birds from getting all the fruit like last year. I did use a net umbrella for one cherry tree and although it did protect the fruit, the device was too unwieldy to use on the seven other trees. I will need another solution.
Last year I used pie tins tied to the grape trellis to keep the birds away. It must have worked because I got over 80lbs of fruit!
6/3 There is a cold front stationed over the northeast this weekend. We got some rain last night and it will rain most of the day today. Sunday it should clear out. During a break in the weather I prep bed #5 by creating three hills and plant sweet potatos. I then plant winter squash (buttercup, spaghetti, gourds, patty) in beds #11, 16 and 21. I will plant beet seeds in bed #25 tomorrow, hopefully. I would also like to plant rocket and lettuce mixtures in beds #22 and 26 as well as #9 (the bed the baby rabbits turned into their own personal buffet).
The bean seeds in bed #1 have germinated after only 7 days. I will have to figure out how to protect them until they get bigger. Most of the chili seedlings look very healthy and are growing. I did have to remove one that did not make it. The basil also looks healthy, but some plants are going to have to be removed. I tried to separate a few that had two seedlings in a single pot and those did not seem to make it. That'll teach me to be cheap. The tomatos and eggplant look great and the tomatos are doing especially well. The tomatillos have a pest that is eating the foliage. I will have to apply some soap to get rid of them. I am not too worried, however, since this always happens with tomatillos and they are very tough and always bounce back.
I still have a few yards of compost and about 5 yards of loam to move. It doesn't look like I'll be getting to that this weekend with the rainy weather.
6/9 Another 5 inches of rain fell this week (more in northern RI and on the cape). There are flood watches for the weekend and several rivers have already gone over their banks.
6/10 It rained until 2pm. After that I moved the rest of the loam to create 6 rows for planting in bed #28. Four rows are fully planted. The birds got all the cherries, but it looks like some pears and peaches are still on the trees. Strawberries are just starting to turn red. It is going to be a very late year for strawberries. Carrot tops are 2 inches high. Potatos have sprouted. So has the arrugula.
6/17 Picked a bundh of strawberries and processed into a half gallon of jam. The jam didn't set. I think it's because of the heat and humidity. We saved some strawberries to eat fresh. Weeds are taking over the strawberry patch even though I put hay over the soil. I think the hay I bought had a lot of weed seeds in it. The plants didn't produce as many berries this year and they were smaller. One reason is likely the rainy weather. There was an article in the paper where people were complaining about the poor crop of strawberries at the U Pick places. I also found the berries to be soft and moldy. Also, these plants are 3 years old and likely at the end of their cycle.
6/26 Another 3 inches of rain this weekend. No time in the garden
7/2 Weeds, weeds and more weeds. All the rain has weeded everything over. Spent all weekend weeding. Still not done. The tomato beds are not finished. I put tomato cages over the blueberry seedlings when I saw a rabbit eat one to the ground. Then I surrounded the cages with bird netting. That should do the trick. Pruned the grapes. They have nice clusters beginning to form. I will have to do something to keep the birds away. I picked another big load of basil and made pesto and froze it. I added arrugula to the pesto this year for some added flavor. The carrots are starting to form. Next week I will have to hill the potatos. Almost all the squash seeds have germinated. The pumpkins are doing great. Several pepper plants died. I am very disappointed. Maybe I should try to plant some seeds in their place before it is too late. It may already be too late. Picked a large load of Salad Bowl lettuce. Karen said it was the best she has tasted. Picked two very small eggplants. Karen said they were good, but they tasted a little green to me. Tomato clusters are forming. It won't be too long now before we're inundated with tomatos.
7/23 Rainy and overcast this weekend. That shouldn't be a surprise during a summer when it has either been unbearably humid or torrential rainstorms. The tomatos are not doing well, but I did get a bunch of cherry tomatos. The eggplant is also very slow. On the bright side the lettuce is doing very well. I donated huge bags of lettuce to the Martin Luther King Center in Middletown. I picked a bunch of arrugula and basil and made pesto. I also dried more camomile. The grapes have set very nice clusters. I think I will get even more than last year. I will likely only make white wine and use the red grapes for jam. The squash is going crazy and I'm doing my best to keep the runners out of the other beds. Most have begun to set fruit and we are picking zucchini every day for dinner. The watermelon looks like it will be setting a lot of fruit as well. The tomatillos (from 2 years ago!) set seeds in the paths between the beds. I am letting them fruit to see what happens. The cherry tomato from last year also set seeds and I am letting those seedlings mature as well. I picked a carrot and they are getting bigger everyday. It should not be long before they are ready to harvest. The corn is 5 feet tall and I should have corn soon. The shelling beans are setting pods. The beans inside are very small, but growing. I took out all my strawberries as they were getting tired. I will plant new seedlings this fall or next spring. Once the radishes were harvested, I let the tomatillo seedlings take over in bed #24. We hilled the potatos. No sign of potato beetle yet. The chilis have been a big diappointment. Something is killing the seedlings. The ones that survived are doing well and several have set a bunch of fruit. However, we need a nice long stretch of hot weather for them to get happy. It is supposed to be hot and humid this week.
8/5 Picked a bunch of carrots, beets, basil and herbs and sold them at the South Kingstown Farmer's Market. Squash is getting hit bad with stink bugs, so I dusted them and they are under control. Crooked neck squash and cucumbers are doing very well. Winter squash will be ready soon. Pumpkins are getting big and so are the watermelon. I picked tomatos and will make salsa. They look sad. But my transplants are doing well in the raised beds. I don't know if we will have enough warm weather so they can get ripe. Anaheim chilis are doing real well. I'm going to get lots of pods this year. Eggplant is almost dead. Major disappointment.
8/12 I sold twice as much carrots, beets and basil this week. I also brought shelling beans and sold out of them as well. I will have to bring more to the farmer's market next week. I planted more carrots to take up the space where I harvested. I pulled the lettuce that bolted. Some new red lettuce seedlings are sprouting. Anaheim chilis are starting to turn red. Tomatillos are setting fruit. Grapes have black rot. I cannot treat it this year. Will have to wait until next spring. This could be devastating. Corn is getting close to maturity. Beans are almost done. Basil is still going incredibly strong. I picked all my peaches (about 20) and made almost a gallon of peach jam.
8/27 More rain this weekend. Fall lettuce and beets have germinated. I picked lots of carrots, but had to give the basil another week to grow. Pumkins are turning orange and so are the haberneros. Pretty soon I will be swimming in hot peppers. Roma tomoatos are almost done. I pulled out several plants. Major disappointment this year. Winter squash is nearly ready for harvest. I picked a watermelon and had half with Karen and my brother, his fiancee and my neices. I gave the other half to Heather Place at Fenner Hill Farm. I'm hoping the eggplant might make a late season comeback. Potatos are ready to harvest. Sunflowers are blooming everywhere.
9/10 Weather has been mostly dry and cool. The exception being some rainfall last week as the remains of Ernesto rumbled through. Peppers are doing very well as they are turning red. I have been drying Anaheim chilis for chili powder. Watermelons are ripe and pumpkins are turning orange. I have been picking a few cherry and grape tomatos from the plants that popped up from last year's discarded fruit. Some animal (looks like it may have been a deer, even though I didn't see any tracks) has eaten several tomato plants. Winter squash is done. Butternut squash turned out great and spaghetti squash is excellent according to Karen. Cranberry beans are done. Picked the last of the carrots last weekend. I planted a fall crop and hope to get some before the ground freezes. Dug up potatos. Crop was disappointing although the flavor of the fingerlings was good. I will go back to the seed seller in CT next year. Fall lettuce is coming in nicely. Fall beets have germinated. Arrugula is bolting. Grapes are starting to turn color. I hope I got rid of the fungus that was attacking them so the harvest can be saved. Sunflowers are blooming like crazy. Tomatillos are beginning to grow. I am concerned that we will get a frost before they fully mature. You cannot pick tomatillos before they fill out their skin, so it is possible this could be a lost crop. Basil is still going strong.
9/24 Pumpkins are done. Corn has been harvested and is drying. I will then grind it into corn flour. Harvested shell beans and dried for soup. Red and green lettuce is doing well. Harvested quite a bit and added in some beet green when I thinned out the beet crop. Peppers are doing great. I havested a bunch of jalapenos and canned them. Dried a bunch of hot chilis for chili powder. Cherry and grape tomatos are doing well. I harvest a half pint almost every day. Grapes have turned color, but are still sour. Several more weeks before they are ready to harvest. I will continue to monitor their sugar content. Tomatillos are filling out their husks. Maybe next week I will be able to harvest some. I pulled out the rest of the roma tomoatos. That was a lost crop. I covered the rows in plot #28 with weed block and weighted them down with hoses to they won't blow away. This fall or next spring I will permanently weight down the weed block with mulch. I will need to move some fruit trees when the weather gets a little cooler.
10/1 Corn stalks were dried and set up with pumpkins, hay bales and mums for a fall display by Karen. Harvested more lettuce (red and green) and harvested a couple of carrots for lunch. I'm letting the Arrugula go to seed for next year. Beets are coming along. Tomatillos are ripe and harvested quite a few of them for the farmer's market. One variety of tomatillos is not ready to be picked quite yet. However, it is interesting that the shoulders of the husks are purple. Once they are ripe, I will taste them to see if there is any difference in taste. Habanero, Anaheim, and Hot Portugual chilis are still going strong. Huge harvest of chilis this year. Jalapenos are almost done. I harvested quite a few gourds. I took several and am drying them for use as bird feeders and planters next spring. I can taste the grapes getting sweeter by the day. However, it will be a few more weeks before they can be picked and crushed. Beans are pretty much done, but because of the rain today, I couldn't pick them. They need to be dry when I pick them. I will definately grow more shelling beans next year. Ordered some row covers to protect the plants from the frost. Basil is almost done. I may get only one more harvest. I was only able to get about 10 bunches this week. I am still getting a half pint of cherry and/or grape tomatos every day or so. I am looking at another area on the property where I would like to grow squash (summer, winter, gourds and pumpkins) next year.
10/14 Hard frost last night. I covered the tomatillos, basil, and lettuce with row covers to protect them. The tomatillos and lettuce came out fine, but the basil succumbed. Uncovered peppers, tomatos and eggplant all died back. I picked the remaining tomatos and peppers and made green tomato salsa. Gourds liked the frost and are starting to change color. The gourds that I harvested earlier are drying in the garage. Leaves from the grape vines are falling off. A few more cold nights will raise the sugar content to the point where the grapes can be picked. Karen and I dug up sweet potatos from bed #5. We got about 50 and some are pretty big. We'll be having some of them for Thanksgiving along with the fingerlings that we harvested earlier. I dried beans on a screen in the basement and garage. Most of them are completely dried so I put them in an air tight container in the pantry. We'll make soup this winter. I moved a pear tree from the back yard to the front yard. I then pruned all the fruit trees. There are now two pear trees, one cherry tree and two apple trees in the front yard. Hopefully, I will have time to move the other cherry tree and two peach trees before the ground freezes. Sunflower heads are almost completely dried. I will save the seeds for next spring. I want to try a bunch of other sunflower varieties next spring along with dallias. I picked some white radishes from the bed with the fall carrots and radishes (bed #8). Karen put it in a soup with butternut squash and carrots. I planted garlic in bed #4.
10/29 Torrential rain (almost 5 inches) forced the cancelation of the last week of the farmer's market. I made 5 gallons of grape jam (chamboucin and vidal blanc grapes). Then, I made 5 gallons of tomatillo salsa. Guess what the family is getting for Christmas? I pulled out the bolted arrugula and stray squash vinees.
11/4 The wind blew the weed cover off of the rows on bed #28 even though they were weighed down with bricks and rocks. I replaced 3 of the 6 rows and put 2 yards of mulch on them to weight them down. So far, so good. Karen and I planted bulbs and did general clean up. The beds look much better. We moved a couple holly bushes that were not doing well from the front yard to the back yard. They are now out of the drip line of the gutters and should do well like the holly bushes on the side of the garage which have grown to 5 feet in one year. There are still trees to move, but I don't know if I'll get to that before the ground freezes. I have to finish mulching the weed block on bed #28 before winter. Can't have those weed blocks blowing all over the neighborhood.
