Memorial Day Weekend - Journal Entry

These past 2 or 3 days have been cold and rainy.  Just a few minutes ago, I stepped outside to see how my plants are all doing.  What I saw was a little discouraging.

First, I went over to see my basil plants.  I noticed one of the seedlings had been eaten a couple of days ago, and then last night I discovered another plant was missing.   I suspect rabbits.  So, last night I put some clear plastic covers over the plants.  I have 4 basil plants left.  Yikes!  I plan on growing more seed, but I'm going to have to put some sort of protective cage around them.

Next, I walked over to my vegetable garden, half planted.  I had gone out last night to check the temperature of the soil and plants, because it was a very cold evening - 39 degrees.  As I was checking the temperature, I noticed that one of my eggplant seedlings had been ripped out of the ground and was just laying there.  When I went to replant it, I discovered the deep hoof impression that can only belong to a deer.  I hate deer.

So. I ran to the garage to grab a bottle of coyote urine that I bought to deter these pests.  One of my former instructors from WMMGA insists that it works, so I'm giving it a shot.  I soaked the cotton balls in the 3 vials that were provided with the urine and set them outside - one by the basil and 2 by the vegetable garden.  Because that didn't seem like enough, I dribbled more urine around the perimeter of the garden.

Today, as I inspected the garden, I can see that the plants are having a rough time.  The tomato plants actually look pretty good, but everything else looks a little battered.  Between the deer, rabbits, insects, cold, wind and rain, these little plants are having a rough beginning.

I'm just going to have to build a fence.  Eight feet high!!  It's not going to look great, but I don't care.  I'm tired of fighting these deer.  And coyote urine doesn't cut it.  After I came back in the house, I discovered that Shadow smelled disgusting!!! Apparently, he likes smell of coyote urine, and he managed to get it all over his fur.  Jamie had to sleep with him in the family room so that he wouldn't smell up the rest of the house, and then this morning gave him a bath.

On the positive side, the perennial garden looks beautiful!  There are a dozen plus alliums in bloom, and they look lovely with the small, yellow irises.  The taller, showier purple/yellow irises are also in bloom, and the purple midnight salvia looks magnificent.  Also in bloom are the pink geraniums, and the peonies, and white Japanese iris are about to bloom.  My new purple baptisia plant is also in bloom.

Photo courtesy of Treefarmsystem.org



Need to Clean Things Up - Front of House

 

 

I have so much work to do up front:  Besides pruning the azaleas, I have to lay down new weed cloth before I can mulch, because the gardens are being over-run with grass, mint, weeds, and lily-of-the-valley.

 

I also need to get those new trellises painted so I can tie the climbing rose to it.  It's been spilling all over the place for the last couple of years.

 

And I need to do something about all the mint growing by the rosebush.  It looks like it's going to choke the bush if I don't get to it soon.

 

I'm not sure what to do with our walk-way.  It really needs to be replaced, as the bricks are crumbling and it's overgrown with weeds.  Maybe next year.

Hardening Off

After it was suggested that my plants have "fungus mites", I was told to start bringing my seedlings out into the light and air.  So, I decided to start hardening them off.

 

 

I know the goal of hardening off is to get the young plants gradually used to hotter and colder temperatures.  The other night, I left the plants out until it reached 50F.  The tomato plants looked like they were cringing:

They did recover, and I've been putting them outside and keeping them there until the temperature hit 48F.  When I brought the seedlings in, the eggplant seedlings, cantaloupe seedlings and cucumber seedlings didn't look so hot.  They looked very pale, and like they were losing their green color.

I went on line to see if I could find out more about hardening off.  I learned that certain plants should not be kept outside in temperatures below 60F, because they are tender.  I also read that the hardening off process should begin a week or 2 before planting day.

I have decided to bring the plants in when it gets down to 60F, and take a couple of weeks to fertilize the plants a bit.  I am starting with Super Thrive.

Recommendations Taken From Washington State University

1. Harden off gradually, so that seedlings become accustomed to strong sunlight, cool nights and less-frequent watering over a 7-10 day period.
2. On a mild day, start with 2-3 hours of sun in a sheltered location.
3. Protect seedlings from strong sun, wind, hard rain and cool temperatures.
4. Use an automatically opening cold frame, if you have one.
5. Increase exposure to sunlight a few additional hours at a time and gradually reduce frequency of watering, but do not allow seedlings to wilt. Avoid fertilizing.
6. Keep an eye on the weather and listen to the low temperature prediction. If temperatures below the crop's minimum are forecast, bring the plants indoors or close the cold frame and cover it with a blanket or other insulation.
7. Know the relative hardiness of various crops. Onions and brassicas are hardy and can take temperatures in the 40's. After they are well hardened off, light frosts won't hurt them. Warm-season crops such as eggplants, melons and cukes prefer warm nights, at least 60° F. They can't stand below-freezing temperatures, even after hardening off. (See chart below for more detail.)
8. Gradually increase exposure to cold.
9. Root-prune plants in flats a week before setting out. Use a sharp knife and cut down to the bottom of the flat between the plants. Water thoroughly.
10. After transplanting to the garden, use a weak fertilizer solution to get transplants growing again and to help avoid transplant shock.

Recommended Minimum Temperatures

Hardy	40° F.	Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, cabbage, onions, leeks, parsley
Half-Hardy	45° F.	Celery, Chinese cabbage, lettuce, endive
Tender	50° F.	Squash, pumpkin, sweet corn
	60° F.	Cucumber, muskmelon
	65° F.	Basil, tomatoes, peppers

 

This chart has been taken from Washington State University

 

 





Potting Soil

This is the first year that I have ever had any success with growing plants from seed, but what a learning experience it has been!

One of the challenges I always face is "damping off" , or "root rot", due to over-watering.  This year (aside from my first try at pepper plants) everything has gone really well, thanks to peat pellets. I tried 2 different kinds, peat and soil pellets and like the peat pellets better (I lost a whole flat of marigolds using the Jiffy pellets).

I noticed that the seedlings I transplanted first have done so much better than the seedlings I did in the following weeks.  I think it's because of the potting soil.  The first potting soil I used had a slow-release fertilizer incorporated in it.  Then, when I ran out, I was tempted to buy a really cheap potting soil called Jolly Gardener.  Well, this gardener isn't feeling too jolly!

The second potting soil was damp in the bag, and felt really heavy.  I think the dampness hurt the roots, because the plants have pretty much stopped growing.  I have tried a new potting soil called Fox Farm Ocean Forest (FFOF) which has been touted all over gardening forums.  Still, my seedlings seem dejected.  I think the longer the seedlings sit around in their peat pots, the more they lose energy to grow.

One of the biggest questions I have had is how and when to fertilize the plants.  Again, the first potting soil with the slow-release fertilizer seems to have worked best.

Last week, I started getting extremely concerned because I noticed some of the tomato leaves looking a bit shriveled, and I discovered some tiny bugs floating around.  Someone at the garden center told me that I probably have fungus mites, due to dampness.  Darn that Jolly Gardener! Her recommendation was to bring the plants up out of the basement to get some air and dry off.  So that's what I did.

Any way, here is a photo comparing two tomato seedlings, both sown on April 6th.  What a difference!

In all fairness, the plant on the left was sitting in a peat pellet for at least 2 weeks while I waited for it to develop true leaves.  I'm not sure why some of the plants grew so much quicker than the others.

Update on Blueberry Bushes

I put in my blueberry hedge in September.  Well, it didn't take long for the critters to discover them, and they immediately devoured the tender stems:



I recently surveyed the damage and could see that if these bushes are going to survive, they are going to need protection of some sort.  This picture shows nibbled branches:

I also needed to amend the soil, because the soil test reported that this soil is too alkaline.  I added some "Holly Food", which is good for blueberries, too.  It needs to be applied again in a couple of months:

So, I picked up some wire mesh and constructed some "cages" yesterday (April 22).  After I amended the soil, I buried the bottoms of the cages in the soil and covered them with some dirt and mulch, to help keep them anchored:

Today, I went out to inspect them, and I discovered that some creature was trying to dig under the cages!!! Four of them!!!!

I was glad to know that I had protected these plants.  Well, later in the day, I caught the creature in the act:







Guilty!

"Who, me?!"

Yes, you!

I had to put Shadow in the house after he did it again.

Anyway, like the fruit trees, I never got around to pruning the older blueberry bushes, and will have to make it a priority next March.  It's not the end of the world, but neglecting the bushes sure won't bring much fruit.

Incidentally - one of the biggest mistakes I made was buying such immature plants.  I should have paid more to have bigger plants, then we'd be eating blueberries so much sooner.  I'll be lucky if I get blueberries in 3 to 5 years!

Too Late for Pruning Fruit Trees, and Other Mistakes

Unfortunately, I have been so busy for the past couple of months that I never set aside enough time to prune my fruit trees.  This is unfortunate, because this is their second year in my yard, and I have never pruned them.  Fruit trees need to be trained while they are still young to encourage good framework.  They will be healthier, stronger and more fruitful in the long-run.  Fruit trees are supposed to be pruned while they are still dormant, but I saw today that all of my trees are in bloom.  The ideal time to prune fruit trees in Massachusetts is late March.  I have no choice but to wait until next year. This is already on my March To-Do List, but next year I will be sure to make it a priority.

I did take time to examine all of my trees today.  So many issues.  For starters, I have the wrong pruners.  These have a blunt edge.  I need to get pruners that have 2 sharp edges.  Also, I'm supposed to keep these things clean!

 

 

I noticed that most of the trees have multiple central leaders instead of one, and that most of the trees have very narrow crotch angles, which means that the trees are susceptible to breakage in storms.  This tree needs to be thinned out, but it already has buds.  Also, I need to start putting weights on some of the branches to encourage them to drop, creating wide crotch angles:

 



This tree has multiple leaders and needs to be corrected next year:

I also discovered other signs of abuse and neglect.  For instance, I just got around to removing the tags from all my trees.  Shame.  Also, I need to put mulch around the trees to protect them from weed-wackers and lawn mowers:

 

 

Lastly, I need to get some tree wrap to protect the trees from deer, mice, and sun.  My plum tree has suffered from either deer rubbing against it or sun-burn - not sure which.  I intend to wrap them as soon as possible and put wire mesh around all the tree trunks.  Also, some of the trees trunks are being chewed by mice or voles:

 

 

 

The pests can be brutal.  I didn't realize baby trees were so vulnerable.

 

Before I went out to prune the trees, I reread my post from early April about pruning fruit trees.  However, I didn't feel like I had enough information, so I did a little more research.  Here are some other useful sites:

 



http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/sheets/pruneapples.html

 

http://learningstore.uwex.edu/assets/pdfs/A1959.pdf

 

http://www.weekendgardener.net/how-to/prune-apple-trees.htm

Pepper Seedlings and Damping Off

April 1, 2013
Well, these peppers have been very challenging.  I have already discovered a couple of mistakes that I have made, but not before I have lost almost a dozen seedlings.

First, I waited too long to uncover the seed flat, turn off the heating pad, and place it under a grow light.  As a result, the seeds that emerged experienced root rot, or "damping off".  I didn't realize that I have to do this when the seedlings first emerge.  I thought I had to wait for most of them to emerge.

Second, I was watering the plants too much.  The problem actually began when I first sowed the seeds, because the planting medium was difficult to water.... the water floated to the top.  In the future, I will moisten the medium before I plant seeds, and then I will water from the bottom.  The first time I watered from the bottom, I filled the flat 1/2 full of water.  This saturated the soil, which is not good! Now, I pour only a little bit of water underneath.

I went to Sixteen Acres Garden Center to purchase a fungicide, because one of my books recommended it; however, I couldn't find anything that is specifically for seedlings.  Someone at the garden center said to put the seedlings in a sunny window to let any fungus dry out.  I did exactly that when I got home.  Thankfully, it was a sunny day, and the little seedlings responded beautifully.  They seem to do better in the sunlight than under the grow light. 

I was very discouraged at one point and almost threw the whole flat out, but this morning I discovered that many new seedlings have emerged.  So, even though some of the seeds germinated in just one week, many of the other seeds required two weeks to emerge.  I'll need to remember this when waiting for any seeds to germinate! 

The other day, when I was feeling discouraged, I picked up a new packet of pepper seeds and a tray with pellets.  I'm not giving up!  I am determined to learn how to grow healthy pepper plants!

April 2
Still discouraged.  The seeds continue to sprout, but the leaves and roots continue to rot.  I picked off 3 more seedlings today out of the flat, and saw fungus on one of them.  The soil looked dry, so I added a little water, but it turned out to be too much water. I still have roughly 30 seedlings/sprouts.  A few look really healthy.  I'll be happy if I can get a half dozen healthy plants.  We'll see....

April 5
I have decided to scrap the whole tray, except for 3 seedlings that seem OK.  The rest all show signs of rot.  Very depressing.  I took the 3 remaining seedlings and stuck them in a jar with some damp paper towels and put them in a sunny windowsill.

April 6
I am going to try to plant each seedling in its own pot and see how they do.  Not expecting much.

Discouragement

I felt a little discouraged today when I discovered that 7 of my little pepper seedlings have already bit the dust.  They were only 11 days old (sniffle).

I quickly reminded myself that this is a life-long adventure, and nobody said that I have to do everything perfectly this year.  That goes for next year, and the year after, and the year after that.

My goals include gaining gardening knowledge and skill over time.  I know I know more this year than I did at this time last year.  I need to keep going.