Harvest Farm Gardens

Plant Those Tomato Seeds

noreply@blogger.com (Wildman) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 16:20:00 +0000

Yes, the time is now. Plant those tomato seeds. Claudia has started her "Better Boy" seeds. and today she will plant the "Romas". Better get to work, Spring will arrive, and the sooner we start preparing for it, the sooner we can get this hard Winter behind us.
There are plenty of different kinds of seed mixes available, but we like to make our own. It is important to sterilize any pots, and trays with a mild bleach solution, and just as important to use new planting mixes to avoid any soil borne problems.

Our mix is made from:
1 part Peat Moss
1 part Perlite
1 part shredded Sphagnum Moss

January is a Dull Month for Gardeners

noreply@blogger.com (Wildman) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 12:55:00 +0000

At least the seed catalogs are starting to arrive, and we can dream of gardens yet to be. It will soon be time to begin planting tomato seeds indoors for Spring transplanting. Just a few more weeks to go.

Yesterday and Today

noreply@blogger.com (Wildman) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:03:00 +0000

No, not an album by The Beatles, but a reference to the nice weather of the last 2 days. The thermometer registered 72 degrees yesterday, so it must be broken, as the official weather report called for 65 degrees. I really tried to go outside and get one last day in. cleaning up the gardens. It seems my heart just wasn't into it. Any work done this time of year would benefit next year's gardens, but it just seems like an investment in Winter.
In case you thought this was a post about The Beatles, and you are disappointed, this is for you.

Bromeliad Centered Social Network

noreply@blogger.com (Wildman) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:18:00 +0000

I have just created a new "Social Network" centered abound Bromeliad collecting. You can visit it, or even become a contributing member by clicking here.

Planting Bulbs in the Fall

noreply@blogger.com (Wildman) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:40:00 +0000

Now is the time to plant Spring flowering bulbs. They are now available at garden centers and other stores now. Place similar bulbs together for a mass of color, or mix them all together, then plant. Be sure to pay attention to the proper planting depth for each type of bulb, and if planting against a wall or foundation, pay attention the the growth height characteristics. A simple rule for bulb planting depth is three times its size. In other words, a 2 inch bulb should be planted 6 inches in the ground.
Do it now, most bulbs reproduce quickly, and will give lasting pleasure for years, far more than the time and expense it takes to put them in the ground. Plan to dig up and divide the bulbs about every three years, as they will flower less as they become crowded.
For more information we have just added a section about bulbs in our Gardening Store.

Harvesting Herbs

noreply@blogger.com (Wildman) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 11:07:00 +0000

Well, the herbs are overgrown, and needed a trim, so we havested some for drying for use through the Winter. Today, we cut some mint, lemon basil, lime basil, oregano, dill, and cilantro. You need to do this to keep the herbs contained in their own area. or they will drift around and become a tangle. We use bricks to contain them, but some herbs such as mint will just send roots under, around, and through spaces between the bricks.

Collecting Bromeliads

noreply@blogger.com (Wildman) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 16:03:00 +0000

Bromeliads are epiphytes which means that they mostly grow in the canopy of trees. There are also types that grow in soil, or on rocks. Bromeliads are also native to the western hemisphere, and are mostly from Central and South America. Also, in the U.S. they are native to Florida, California, and Hawaii, anywhere they have good light warm temperatures, and humidity. I have managed to collect about 40 of these plants. One of my favorite sources has a nice video on youtube, so watching it is the best way to see why these plants are so popular with collectors. If you buy from them, you will be extremely pleased with both the plants and service. Here is the video.

End of Year Clean-up

noreply@blogger.com (Wildman) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 01:50:00 +0000

Well, the first frost date in our area is about 2 weeks away, so there is much to do. We have begun to gather any vegetables that remain, and continue to prop up the green bean vines, weighed down by the abundance of beans. We have to cut back the herbs, and raspberry vines, and grapevines. We need to bring the Dahlia and Canna bulbs inside for storage through the Winter. Remove any weeds that remain in the vegetable bed so they cannot reseed for next year. Clean and sharpen your gardening tools, using some WD40 on the metal parts to help them resist rusting. Clean up dying plants and put them in the compost pile.

Iris in September?

noreply@blogger.com (Wildman) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 23:34:00 +0000

Well, here it is September 7th, and all the reasonable Iris plants have stopped flowering at least a month ago. And here in the garden, by the rear door, are 2 white Iris in full bloom. What a thing to see in September!
(And for an update... The last Iris bloom of the year was on Sept. 15th.)

Time to...

noreply@blogger.com (Wildman) — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 18:30:00 +0000

Time to weed, and weed, and weed. Get rid of the weeds before they re-seed for next year. Time to rip out the spent cucumber vines, and prop up the pole beans after yet another wind storm. Time to get rid of the lettuce that has gone to seed, time to turn the compost. Time to tie up some more growth on the tomatoes. Time to watch the green bell peppers turn red. Time to feed the birds. Time to rest, time to do it all over again...

Finally Some Rain

noreply@blogger.com (Wildman) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:39:00 +0000

We finally got some much needed rain today. That should fill our barrel up. Having a way to trap and store rainwater is a real necessity for any gardener. Not only does it make good economic sense because most of us pay for water, but the plants prefer the rainwater. It comes in real handy for those weeks with no rain in sight.

Declining Output From the Garden

noreply@blogger.com (Wildman) — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 12:12:00 +0000

Well, here it it, the middle of August, and the garden is already looking a little worn out. The beans have been blown over by a storm, the lettuce is bolting, cucumber vines dying back, and other signs of a garden in stress. The garden can still be coaxed to produce more food before Winter arrives. If you haven't done it yet, now is the time to do some late season planting of lettuce, radishes, spinach, beans and some other items. Especially if you are located in a more Southern location than our own, in central Maryland. Make the most of the time left!
Please visit our gardening store!

Here's Judy, in her Garden

noreply@blogger.com (Wildman) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 19:30:00 +0000

Here is our friend Judy, a convert just this year to growing her own vegetables. She undertook a fairly large project, attempting to grow a lot of different things her first time at it. Take a bow, Judy!

Another Lost Saturday in the Garden

noreply@blogger.com (Wildman) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 12:11:00 +0000

Being in the retail business, I envy those that have the luxury of working in the garden on a Saturday morning. With coffee in hand, I wander into the garden on some Saturday mornings, and make plans, only to have to go off and run the business. With retirement years away, I long for the day when I can spend Saturdays with nature, not a cash register. Those of you that have free Saturdays, make the most of it, you are one of the lucky ones.

My Little Helper

noreply@blogger.com (Wildman) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 02:11:00 +0000

This year, Claudia has been slowly showing more interest in the garden. This year she took it upon herself to grow over 100 tomatoes from seeds. We just ate the first one today, 6 months from when they were planted on February 1st.
She even did the transplanting of the tomato seedlings to larger pots as they were starting to grow.
A few days ago, I arrived home and noticed a shiny bright green plant that she had just proudly potted up, after finding it growing under the maple tree. Can you guess what is?

Thank you Claudia for the Poison Ivy, you did a good job of transplanting it!

Planting for the Fall Season

noreply@blogger.com (Wildman) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 22:00:00 +0000

Many vegetables have a short season to mature, or perform better in cooler weather. A good example of this is lettuce. It does well in the spring, but when real hot temperatures arrive, it "bolts" or goes to seed. When it gets hot, we shade the lettuce to slow down the process.
So, when July and August arrive, it's time to re-plant some crops to mature just before the first frost on October. We have re-planted, beets, lettuce, spinach, radishes, and 3 kinds of beans for harvest in early October. The crops you can plant in your area may differ. The seed packets give the amount of days to maturity for each vegetable, so find out what your first frost date is for your area, count back the number of days for maturity, add about another week or so, and that is when you plant the seeds.
Re-planting seeds for Fall harvest is a great way to get the most out of a garden the entire season. We see so many gardeners enthusiastically plant in the Spring, pick vegetables as they mature and leave the garden to the weeds as the Summer rolls on. Plant a second crop.

Vegetables in August

noreply@blogger.com (Wildman) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 01:53:00 +0000

We've finally hit the height of the season. So far, this season, we've enjoyed:

beets
collards
cucumbers
green beans
green peppers
garlic
herbs
kale
lettuce
onions
radishes
strawberries
swiss chard
turnips
tomatoes
yellow squash
zucchini

Severe Storms Generate Useful Mulch

noreply@blogger.com (Wildman) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 23:27:00 +0000

We've had some violent winds and thunderstorms lately. It brought a lot of trees down, some useful for firewood, others not. But our interest is in the leaves, pine cones, pine needles, and small branches. We have borrowed a chipper shredder and intend to chip everything that we can to use for mulch. Mulch gotten this way should not be used near buildings, but can be spread among trees to keep the weeds down.
If you are patient it can also be used for compost, but will not be decomposed enough for another year. All we are doing by chipping it all up is just speeding nature along in the decomposition process.

Garden Envy

noreply@blogger.com (Wildman) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 19:42:00 +0000

It seems that everyone we know has a vegetable garden this year. Perhaps out of economics, health reasons, or trying to be more "green", vegetable gardens are everywhere. It also seems that everyone has lots of vegetables already, while our zucchini is just flowering and our tomatoes still green. We are guilty of garden envy, and will try to learn from the sucess of others and apply what we learn to next years plan. Some beginners we know are doing better than some old-timers. Maybe it's beginner's luck, or better soil, or setting plants out instead of seeds, whatever reason, it's encouraging to see so many beginners doing well growing their own food.

Sykesville Farmers Market Starting July 23

noreply@blogger.com (Wildman) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 23:32:00 +0000

Yes, it's time to get your locally grown produce at the local farmers markets. The Sykesville Farmers Market begins this Thursday, July 23 at 3:00.
Complete information is posted on Facebook:

A Great Weekend for July

noreply@blogger.com (Wildman) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 15:16:00 +0000

It's hot here, like it is every July, but the humidity is low, so it feels great outside this weekend. We have harvested cucumbers, lettuce, turnips, beets, swiss chard, radishes and small onions.
The lettuce has started going to seed, so we start to shade it, which keeps it cooler and slows down the process of going to seed. This gives us about 2 extra weeks of lettuce production. Late in August, we will plant more lettuce for fall harvesting.
Lots of tomatoes are starting to form, but no red ones yet.
The yellow squash and zucchini are beginning to produce.

Compost Tea

noreply@blogger.com (Wildman) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 19:38:00 +0000

It is time again to empty the composter. Before doing that, we made some "Compost Tea". Our composter is raised off the ground so we can push a wheelbarrow under it for emptying. It also has drainage holes in the bottom. What we did was place a plastic bin under it and spray a couple of gallons of water in and let drain. This makes a smelly "tea" full of nutrients, that can be used to fertilize the vegetables. Use about 1/4 of the "tea" and 3/4 water. We used it on the tomatoes, it should give them a nice growth jolt.

Teaching Others to Enjoy Gardening

noreply@blogger.com (Wildman) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 00:47:00 +0000

Our friend, Judy called today to see If we had received the bag that she hung on our front door yesterday, which we had. Inside was her first cucumber, her first string bean and her first crop of cilantro, which was her way of thanking us for getting her started with her first garden. Judy, like most of us, is struggling with the high cost of food, and wanted to grow some of her own. She is now hooked on gardening after witnessing the miracle of the power of seeds.
Really, here she is, barely more than 29 years old and never had a vegetable garden? She says she is now a gardener for life! Perhaps she will add a comment here about her experience as a first time gardener.

Summer Farmers Markets

noreply@blogger.com (Wildman) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 00:19:00 +0000

With Summer comes an abundance of vegetables, and an effort to sell them at local markets. We attend the Sykesville Apple Butter Market to sell plants, and it always has several farmers selling fresh goods. There is no better flavor than the food that can be bought fresh at markets and roadside stands this time of year. Please support them, you will be healthier for it.

It's Finally Summer!

noreply@blogger.com (Wildman) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 01:16:00 +0000

Summer has finally arrived, and with it arrives hot weather and frequent thunderstorms. Most vegetable plants will not perform well until the hot weather arrives. Since we've had such a cold and wet Spring, they have a lot of lost time to make up for. The plants will perform well if they receive enough water, but go easy of the fertilizer, as they do not need it as much during the Summer.

Don't forget to stake or cage the tomatoes, and any other plants that need something to grow on such as pole beans, cucumbers and other climbing plants.