The raspberries that I planted last year are mostly doing fine. They have started to grow out from the roots and there are 10 plants now. I need to weed so they aren't competing as much. I wonder how much mulch the suckers can grow through… Ok one source on the internet says yes.
I planted a few seeds this evening. In Garden #1 I planted a square each of spinach and carrots next to the garlic.
In Garden #2 I planted lettuce, celery, sugar snaps, watermelon, Old German tomato and bell pepper. I was careful to not plant the tomato and pepper too close to where I had the tomatoes last year. The watermelon seeds are left over from the watermelon that grew last year.
I forgot to update on the rain barrel. It works quite well for me. The gutter system captures less than a quarter of my roof area but even an inch of rain fills the barrel. I think I have space to add an additional barrel if I could find one on the cheap.
I picked up extra bricks to raise up Garden #1. My wife and I picked out some plants for the long section. I borrowed a friends truck and bought a ton of soil and picked up a half ton of mulch. I had to dig up the plants that I already had growing so that I could replant them at the new level. After filling up both gardens with dirt we planted and then covered with mulch.
A quick note about the mulch. There is a yard wast dump in my town that anyone can go to and take a load if they want. Mostly it's shredded leafs but today I noticed a pile of finely chopped wood chips. The mound was about 7 feet high and not too tightly compacted. As I got into the pile I found that it had started composting and was quite hot and steamy inside. When I got it back I made sure to add a couple buckets full into my compost pile to see if that would get things moving.
Here are the before pictures:
And after:
It's spring time again. I began the process of weeding out my gardens this weekend. It's not too bad and with the loose soil I left most of the weeds came easily. Next year it would be a good idea to mulch again once the growing is over.
The mint I planted survived the freezing winter. The larger one required a lot of pruning but it's coming back nicely. As expected the garlic survived and has sprouted again.
In Garden #2 I decided to open up more room to planting.
As is usually the case, I haven't even started to seed yet. Hopefully in the next week or two I'll have it done. I expect the risk of freeze is over.
The apple tree I started survived the winter and whatever it is that likes to nibble on it. I pruned it and it might be time to look for a place to put it permanently.
The compost pile turned to soil better than I was expecting. However, our kitchen scraps don't seem to be doing enough to produce the amount I'm looking for. I'll leave it this year and find an extra source to fuel it.
This time I took pictures along the way. You can view it here at my flickr page.
October 4, 2008
Started Scuppernong #2. Used 15 lbs fresh picked grapes, very ripe & 21 lbs frozen grapes (picked this season.) Cleaned with vinegar water mixture. Next time, should clean grapes before freezing, very cold on the fingers.
October 6, 2008
Racked, SG = 1.086
January 6, 2009
Racked, SG = 0.996
April 28, 2009
Racked, SG = 0.992 @ 75ºF, Which gives roughly a 12.7% alcohol
There was not too much sediment on this racking. This wine is probably ready to bottle. We'll give it 2 months to see how much sediment drops out.
We added about 1 Tbsp of sugar to possibly allow the yeast culture to grow once more.
This time I took pictures along the way. You can view it here at my flickr page.
October 4, 2008
Started Scuppernong #2. Used 15 lbs fresh picked grapes, very ripe & 21 lbs frozen grapes (picked this season.) Cleaned with vinegar water mixture. Next time, should clean grapes before freezing, very cold on the fingers.
October 6, 2008
Racked, SG = 1.086
January 6, 2009
Racked, SG = 0.996
April 28, 2009
Racked, SG = 0.992 @ 75ºF, Which gives roughly a 12.7% alcohol
There was not too much sediment on this racking. This wine is probably ready to bottle. We'll give it 2 months to see how much sediment drops out.
We added about 1 Tbsp of sugar to possibly allow the yeast culture to grow once more.
I've been steadily watering my garden, except during out latest rainy spell. Anytime you want to feel good about gardening toss some beans in the ground. They do well almost anywhere.
I have a dozen or so tomatoes that are still green, I'm sure they'll come along eventually. I picked a cayenne pepper, it's doing OK despite being shaded out by two tomato plants. I have a tiny watermelon growing! I'm excited to get at it eventually. The pumpkins seem to be getting ready to make a fruit here or there.
The corn didn't turn out too well. Not very many kernels were fertilized. I don't really have the space to do it, and I might not next year, unless I do a whole bunch in a larger area.
We've recently had some rain after the rain barrel finally gave out.
Everything is looking pretty good, except the Sugar Snaps which have dried out.
I planted my peanuts about 3 weeks late, but they seem to be coming in well enough. The corn and pumpkins are all doing well.
I weeded over the weekend and took out tons grass that I had been neglecting. It looks pretty good now and I'll try to stay on top of it better in the future.