Vacation garden explosion

Gardeners know what happens when you aren't there watching your garden on a day-to-day basis.  You do everything you can possibly catch up on before vacation in hopes that you will return to a garden plot that just needs a little tweaking when you return.  Gardeners are a delusional bunch of happy souls.
I left my plot in reasonable shape as I had a trusted caretaker to watch over the water duty while I was gone.  My garden was treated to several days of 80 degree plus weather in my absence.  When you add water to plants and add heat, they grow exponentially.  Weeds do the same.  

I soaked and planted the rest of my bean seeds before I left to make up for the miserable showing on the first sowing.  Mid-July is not a usual time for sowing, but you have to improvise when the situation dictates.  I weeded the areas around the new rows to allow as much water and light to encourage my new seeds.  I did not have enough time to do the whole area.  This is the one spot in my garden that had not been covered over with weed barrier and it shows.  I should be down on my hands and knees right now, but the weeds will wait while I enjoy my Saturday morning coffee.  I need to have a day where I don't dive into work the moment I open my door.  I had a sister that asked me once what do I do so my garden is so clear of weeds.  I told her that I weed them.  She thought I was guarding some trade secret, a chemical miracle, that would make her life easier.  I was finally able to convince her that all the large pots stationed in corners of my yard were indeed for quick weed disposal when I pull during my garden walks and not a Frisbee golf course for the athletically challenged.  This year is the first time I ever purchased a product called Preen.  It does cut down on the germination of new weed seeds.  It does not stop rooted or rhizome weeds from making their way back to the surface though.  You also cannot use it on gardens where you are trying to germinate seeds as it will effect those the same as weeds.

 The good thing about garden explosions is the vegetables and fruits that start to produce in tremendous force in your absence.  During the young growth period, most of use wander through the rows eagerly anticipating the first fruits of the season.  When you take a vacation during this initial period, you miss the first fruits as the trickle in.  After unpacking the trailer, I took my garden walk without a bucket or basket.  Pretty soon I was balancing too many cucumbers and squash and had to head back up for a vessel to hold it all.  The heat has continued through the week after vacation.  I take a bucket with me every time now.

My biggest surprise of the garden explosion was the recovery and growth of my cruciferous crops.  The cabbage had suffered greatly from spending too much time in the cell packs and not enough time in the garden.  They were stunted and leggy along with all the other cole crops I started in the greenhouse.  I almost didn't put them in thinking they were too far gone for any recovery.  I was proven wrong.  This was one of those garden hope moments that came through with big results.  I just need to keep a careful eye on them for cabbage moths and others that would love to do great harm to these babies.  The kohlrabi is even putting on some girth after the move to the soil.  
I better finish up my coffee and get a start on the weeds.  I am glad for the quiet morning moments when I get to sit and enjoy the garden.  The birds have encouraged me to get up and get something done.  Here are a few more photos from the garden explosion.

Zucchini 8 Ball

Zucchini and pumpkins co-mingling

Fairy Tale Eggplant

Basil and peppers

Lancelot leeks

Dinosaur kale, salsify and parsnips

Successes and Failures

It happens to the best of us and those of us who are usually pretty good at gardening.  I think I have been beat this year and will not enjoy my own garden beans.  I did everything the way I usually do, but I have a few miserable sprouts coming up.  I have them fenced to protect them from the big critters and covered them for the little.  Still there are a few lousy plants and some that look like they were eaten by something.  This is unprecedented in my gardening years.  I will put more in, bush beans that are short season.  I hope to enjoy some fresh beans before the growing season runs out.  My pole beans and the elaborate growing structure appear to be a futile attempt at gardening.

Instead of tender sprouts, I have a bed full of purslane.  Purslane is edible, but they aren't beans.  On the other hand, peas were very successful.  I grew both sugar snap and garden shelling beans.  I enjoyed cooking up three different meals from the last picking of shelling beans alone.

I went out and picked again before work this morning and got almost a full pail of both types.  They are starting to dwindle in number so there is probably just a meal left to grow in on the vines.  I am leaving some on to try and get some for next year's crop.

I am also pretty happy with the onion crop.  The tops are starting to get brown tips so they should be starting to shut down and start hardening up for harvest.  We have enjoyed several pullings of fresh onions that I have cooked or used fresh.  Garlic is also starting to brown at the top. The leeks also look pretty good, but those are still growing.  I put in carrots, but only those shaded by the adjacent plants actually germinated.  I think they got too dry when they needed it most.  We have not been getting timely rains this month.
I also enjoyed the first four blueberries on my bush today.  It is not going to be much of a crop.  I just bought the plants last year.  They were in pots all last year and through the winter.  I have them in a large above ground planter now that is filled with peat and compost.  In our alkaline soils, we can only grow blueberries in an artificial environment like this.
Fencing of some type still needs to go up.  I did get down soaker hoses around the tomatoes and peppers last week.  I am also going to put some around the squash just to cover my bases since I do have a few left.  I haven't peeked at the corn coming up under the floating row cover, but I can see some shoots pushing up the fabric.  Okra is small and in desperate need of weeding.  I do have to get busy in the weeding department as I know they will need it again when we come back from our first vacation.
I try not to linger on the failures and enjoy eating the food that is coming from the garden.  Lettuce is at it's end, so I need to enjoy salads this weekend rather than send it to the compost pile for lack of interest.  It is also time to forage for berries.  Enjoy summer as it is short.

Seed catalog morning

It is a cold, snowy morning.  The sun isn't even close to coming up.  For the first time this season the Christmas lights are shining off of snow.  It is the perfect day to look over seed catalogs.

You would think by now I would have had my fill of plant catalogs.  I had a very able assistant who lined up most of our annual orders and took care of setting up our deliveries.  Still, this past couple weeks has found me knee-deep in confirmations, delivery dates, order adjustments and additions to our present level of service to include some hot house vegetable crops.  This has not dimmed my desire to open up my own catalogs and seed box to start planning MY GARDEN!
I am excited about the prospect of having a much larger space to use this year.  Neglect and repeated sowing of weed seeds are going to make this space a challenge.  I am sure that I will not be whizzing through my beds like I was at home in my tidy 4x8 raised beds.  
I will be able to grow some of those crops that I didn't have the room for.  I will be able to put in some squash and pumpkins in hopes of harvesting from my own plot.  I will also be able to rotate my crops to their best advantage, provided the soil doesn't already harbor some of the nasty diseases I am hoping to avoid.  
I am also excited to open up my seed box and take inventory.  I know that I will have some new items to choose from even before opening a catalog.  Our summer trip to Decorah, Iowa and Seed Savers Exchange put more seeds in my box in mid-summer than I would normally consider adding.  First, Seed Savers participated in the Nordic Fest parade in Decorah and handed out packages of their 2014 seeds.  Not a problem as most seeds have viability for several years when stored in a cool, dry environment.  After the fest, we went to visit their facility where I loaded up on some of their 2015 seeds.  These are all heirloom varieties with stories from whence they came.  I highly recommend a trip to Seed Savers when you find yourself in northeast Iowa.  It is beautiful farm country with rolling hills.
I also have my hold overs from my usual crops.  It will take a bit of inventory to decide what still needs to be added to the mix.  I left my herb garden behind with few exceptions, so I guess that is one place to start.
My new garden has another consideration in its design.  I know that I will have to deal with woodchucks, rabbit, rodents, and deer (we have a few still inside our deer-exclusion fence).  There will have to be a lower fence dug in to keep out the small critters and a higher blockade for the larger critters.
I will have to work the soil as it is very hard.  The trailer full of composted cow manure barely made a dent in the area that I needed to cover with some organic matter.  My plan is to rake up raised beds from the ground.  This way I can still square foot garden without putting in a wood-sided raised beds.  This is a temporary place for me after all.  I will save the time and money for a place we can call our own again.  I will mulch the paths heavily to try and keep some of the weeds at bay.  Hopefully, I can plant dense enough to help shade out some of those noxious weeds.  I do plan on putting in a cover crop to add some green manure to soil as well.
So with hopeful heart and seed catalog dreams, I will plan the perfect garden.  If wishing only kept out the weeds.

A reprieve from weeds

I have this kind of crazy job that keeps me very busy from spring to fall.  I have to tell other people to cut their grass, trim their bushes, and take care of their dead and dangerous trees.  It is crazy to me because I love to garden on a scale much more than mowing the lawn and trimming the hedges.  I spend A LOT of hours going through properties that would make you shudder.  It is obvious how quickly a city would disappear in the foliage if humans disappeared from the planet.  Some homes are consumed in just a few short years before falling to the backhoe.

Each year I pull hundreds of unwanted seedlings from my yard and my adopted footage of neglected public lands.  I go through on hands and knees yanking out buck thorn, box elder, maples, garlic mustard, thistles, burdock....you get the picture.  If I didn't do it in short order, my yard and the lilac border would be over-run with these rogue plants put there by wind and rain.  I just keep the wild grapevine (which has never had grapes) in check as there are a couple of ethnic populations that harvest the leaves for grape-leaf wrapped meals.  Talk about making lemonade out of lemons.  I take this task on as a stewardship to the land that I share with thousands of others.  It gives us all something worth having.

 I have said it before and I will say it again:  Attitude is everything.  If you approach a task as distasteful, overwhelming, or beneath you it will become just that.  If you approach a task as a worthy endeavor which is not a waste of your time, efforts, or intellect, it can become a more pleasant activity.  The choice is yours.

There are bright spots in my crazy job.  I meet people who really want to learn to garden.  I meet people who have a real interest in making the community a better place to live.  I get to see a slice of life that most people pass by or don't get anywhere near it.  Somethings can really make me smile.  A flower may poke up through a tangle of thistle.  A chicken may be perch on a picnic table.  Chihuahuas may be running the streets.  It can take you by surprise what beauty is hidden in unexpected places.  I get to travel among historic neighborhoods that are seeing new life breathed into them.  I pass under the shadow of some beautiful churches and even one basilica.   Street venders offer up a smile when I pause to get a frozen treat from their push cart.  Sometimes, there are children that benefit from a couple spare dollars in my pocket on a hot day.  The smile I get in return is payment enough.

On bad days I have to refocus on the little things that make my job interesting.  I have to think about the people that have learned a little bit about what are weeds and how to start a garden.  Sometimes these days seems too far apart to matter.  I just have to remember to stop and put it all into perspective.

More heat, no rain

It is sounding like a broken record (for those of you who know what vinyl sounds like when it's broken) with our weather in Southern Wisconsin.  There is no vacation time without lining up a neighbor to tend to the garden while you are not.  Clouds built up on the horizon Friday to give some a tease while most sat dry after they passed.
I have found it necessary to take two things with me while watering.  I need a bucket to pull the weeds as the ground gets soft from the water and scissors to dead head everything that is going into survival mode and trying to produce seed.
Normally a single cutting on my herbs prevents them from flowering and seeding.  I think this is the fourth time I have trimmed the thyme, oregano, and mints this year...so far.
It is also necessary to dead head flowering annuals so they do not give up and stop flowering all together.  If plants start putting the effort into seeding, they slow or stop producing flower heads.
I have seen large amounts of seed production by trees this year.  Everything is going into survival mode by trying to reproduce.  The linden trees produced the largest seed brackets I have ever seen.  They looked like large white flowers laying around the trees and in the streets.  They sure have blown around in the wind with the large sails they have on their seeds.
If the grass is yellow but the weeds are green it is all about the roots.  Many weeds have a good tap root and are pulling up moisture from levels below the grass zone.  Some of the really annoying ones like burdock and thistles can be stopped in their tracks before they seed over your whole garden.  They are starting to flower now so cut them down to the base.  This will kill the plant all together in most cases.  Stop weeds from seeding whenever possible.  If you don't have time to weed the whole garden, pull out the ones that are flowering and seeding first. Do what you can as you can to save yourself from a bigger problem later.
If you are on water restrictions or your well just can't keep up anymore set your priorities in the garden.  Save the trees first.  Shrubs are easier to replace and will grow to size much more quickly than your shade trees.  I would save my vegetable garden before my flowers.  Grass is on the bottom of my list.  Choose wisely.