End of 2015 season

2015 garden season is coming to a close.

I'm finally happy with how my garden produced, and all it took was a little better organization, more water and some fertilizer. Oh, sure, more water would have helped. 
I planted onions, peppers (about 5 types), kohlrabi, 2 types of squash, zucchini, 2 different tomatoes, brussel sprouts, and flowers. No sunflowers this year, which I do regret...but some petunias, marigolds, snapdragons, etc. The marigolds did really well. 

As of Oct 8, I'm still harvesting everything. I think the squash ran a little dry and quit a little early, but maybe not, maybe they did exactly what they are supposed to do. I have yet to harvest a sprout, since they're not ready yet....but getting there. Maybe they need more water.

The property owner has listed the lot with a realtor. The realtor's name is Clay. Do you see anything funny about that? I don't know if we'll have a garden or not next year. It's be awful to get it planted and then taken away in July....

So there are the beginning pics. My, have they grown. Those pics will be in the next post.

2015 garden season

The Sunnyside NA needs gardeners for the available garden plots. We have 2 available.....

put to rest....lying fallow

The garden is sleeping, so to speak.  Dick mowed the grass and the vegetation on the garden plots, then tilled them; 4 of them.  2 of them weren't ready yet; the people still had not pulled the stuff out...so they will wait till spring for tilling.

Recap of my garden....I did a terrible job with it.  I didn't get a zucchini planted, so I was sad about that all summer.  Only 2 squash survived and produced 6 buttercups between them.  The tomatoes did really well, but timing sucked so I wasted a LOT of them at the end.  The peppers did pretty well, too, but same story, a lot went to waste.  The peas...hey, guess what?  A few of the peas I harvested actually were consumed, but most went to waste.  

It was good exercise, as I would walk to the garden, carrying my hose and a bucket or basket to harvest the stuff.  I left some tools over there, a hoe, rake and the pitchfork the neighbor gave to us.

2014 Garden update

Sunnyside Neighborhood Ass'n Garden

Nothing too exciting has happened in the garden, other than most are planted, most are fenced, and we've got a mower on site.

We sort of maybe have a water agreement with the neighbors to the west. I hear they plan to move this summer, so that will be great....having to renegotiate a water agreement either with the landlord or with the new tenants.

I planted peas, onions, dill, tomatoes, 4 or 5 different peppers, taters, and 4 different squash (including zucchini). I was last over there on Saturday, and some onions were coming up. We got some decent rain over the weekend, and again tonight, so I'm sure I need to hoe and rake.

Here at home I've planted some flowers, just annuals, since it seems perennials don't like me. (other than iris, peony, lilac and that rose bush). My iris are blooming now, kind of a light blue. I didn't really see my lilac bloom, my bush needs trimmed terribly bad. I may plant a rhubarb between my peonies, see how that goes.

I'm going to plant a bunch of flowers at the garden, maybe next year if all goes well, I'll leverage a friend and use her little greenhouse to start my own plants from seeds...I just don't get enough sun here to do stuff like that....and I prefer it that way, keeps my house cool.

Problems!

We've recently had a few reports of problems.

One Gardener said someone has been stealing her produce.

One Gardener says that another gardener dumps their garden debris in her garden and on the divider paths.

I've probably mentioned this, but since no one cleared off the divider paths they can't be mowed...there are chunks of concrete on them, and I'm not willing to submit my mower to that.

I'm disappointed by all of this, I had hoped our neighborhood was better than that.  

First tomato

The first tomato was actually over-ripe by a day or 2.  The elusive little bugger was way inside the plant, dead center.  Hard to get out, but worth it, because even though it was over-ripe, it was still good.  Roma, in case you were wondering. 

I washed it with water, sliced it, sprinkled some salt and pepper on it and ate it.  I chased it with some raw peas also picked today, about the 3rd (small) harvest of peas.

Overall, the gardens look good...except mine, of course.  Mine is still half crab grass, which looks terrible.  Luckily, it's at the end where only one other gardener has to look at.

my "bush" squash plants are both looking great, with a couple of squashes on each.  My peppers look good, all 5 are loaded with peppers, sadly the 4 that are not spicy hot are just little bells, so I hope they ripen to not green.

We got a nice rain last night and today, so everything will grow some more.  yay.  

More good news:  2 gardeners have mentioned mowing the grass at the garden, but one has an electric mower, and of course since there is no house, there's no power.  The other person has a new car and isn't willing to put her mower in it.  I understand that.  (What I don't understand is why she doesn't just push the thing over like I do.) (I guess I live a little closer) But the point is that they seem to care.  Thanks, ladies...I appreciate that.  maybe I'll mow this week...it looks pretty terrible.

Mid July update

Mid July, nothing much appears to be happening in the garden. 

But there is a lot of growing going on...my peas and squash are growing fast, the tomaters are looking good, there are blossoms on the peppers, and of course, the weeds are doing great.  There are a couple peppers on the pepper plant, as well.

Lori's garden is really amazing...all of her plants are growing like my weeds are, and she has no weeds.  She's put down sheets of newspaper, which must help somehow.  

I mulched with an old hay bale that I picked up when we cleaned up around the Hardee's and with shredded paper that Dick got from the Kasson bank.  I think the shredded paper works better than the sheets of paper, because it stays right where it's placed, unlike the sheets, which blow around and lift up.  But her garden looks 100% better than mine, so who am I to question?  

I will say that if I decide to participate in the garden next year there will be a schedule made out in advance:  I'm not going to be the only one mowing next year.  Mowing and trimming my lawn, trimming the ditch along Broadway, trimming the grassy area along 12th street AND tending the grass around the garden is getting old.

Yes, I'm lazy.

If you love to mow, please step forward to help.  I'll pay you with tomatoes, assuming some grow.