tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68710350907040054082024-03-05T03:16:37.526-05:00Mike's Bean PatchGrowing vegetables in raised beds. Wildlife habitat. Building things. Location: SW Indiana.gardenvariety-hoosierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02823437033502199023noreply@blogger.comBlogger438125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6871035090704005408.post-81084354731528770912018-08-23T10:36:00.000-04:002018-08-23T10:36:18.466-04:00Japanese Honeysuckle, or The Invasive from HellI haven't posted much lately since there hasn't been much reason to post. Tomatoes succumbed to blight, a product of the sustained wet, overcast weather, and they have all been removed. It's also been a bad year for snap beans. First rabbits, then Japanese beetles, then lately bean beetles, have all taken their toll. I've been working on the lot adjacent to my property, gardenvariety-hoosierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02823437033502199023noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6871035090704005408.post-82489983095899012862018-08-06T16:22:00.002-04:002018-08-06T16:26:50.771-04:00Monday August 6A lot of plants aren't doing so great this year, like green beans. Between the rabbits and the Japanese beetles, the beans are having a rough go of it. But the Green Tiger zucchini is doing great, in fact I've had to throw a few oversize squash into the compost bin. Just can't keep up, and it's only one plant. Eggplant and okra aren't all that healthy this year, but I'm gardenvariety-hoosierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02823437033502199023noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6871035090704005408.post-18106625147086625502018-07-30T17:29:00.001-04:002018-07-30T17:29:34.942-04:00Monday July 30Harvests of okra, eggplant and beans have been trickling in. I usually eat the small Mountain Magic tomatoes on the spot so they never get their picture taken. What I'm showing here are the ingredients for a batch of salsa. First, about 9 pounds of Health Kick sauce tomatoes. I'm really liking these tomatoes, they are productive and early.
That's not enough tomatoes to gardenvariety-hoosierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02823437033502199023noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6871035090704005408.post-55638817170419604472018-07-25T11:14:00.002-04:002018-07-25T11:14:32.129-04:00Digging up the potatoesLast year I did not grow potatoes. The rodents had chewed up so many of them the year before that it seemed wise to take a break from growing them. I grew sweet corn instead, which I'm not growing this year. Sweet corn is a pain, and I can buy good sweet corn anywhere around here.
I planted the potatoes at one end of the squash bed. Not much, just two rows of Red gardenvariety-hoosierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02823437033502199023noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6871035090704005408.post-30508964561777194642018-07-16T10:06:00.001-04:002018-07-16T10:08:27.682-04:00Monday July 16Harvests are definitely picking up here. The Green Tiger zucchini finally made a squash that did not rot, and once the first one was ready they just kept coming. The zucchini, eggplant and okra went into a stir fry, also the Health Kick sauce tomato. This is the first time growing this tomato, and it's a winner, productive, tasty, and early.
A few days later, another squash, gardenvariety-hoosierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02823437033502199023noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6871035090704005408.post-2420290262233513512018-07-09T12:44:00.001-04:002018-07-09T12:44:24.103-04:00Monday July 9Despite the poor weather at the start of the season, it's shaping up to be a good year for summer crops. Tomatoes and peppers are looking great, as well as the winter squash. After harvesting the last broccoli and cabbage, I decided to pull up the two remaining cauliflower, even though they will be ready in about 10 days. I need that space for shell beans.
Speaking of gardenvariety-hoosierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02823437033502199023noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6871035090704005408.post-55311704929506441722018-07-02T13:46:00.001-04:002018-07-02T13:46:08.655-04:00Monday July 2A bit more this week. Garlic is out and drying in the pole barn. In its place I seeded another Green Tiger summer squash. I still haven't gotten the first summer squash from the plant that was seeded in May. Most summer squash don't last the season, and I like to plant a new one every month or so.
Late last week I harvested more cucumbers, both picklers and agardenvariety-hoosierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02823437033502199023noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6871035090704005408.post-82621989187868611252018-06-25T08:59:00.000-04:002018-06-25T08:59:24.104-04:00CucumbersMost of the summer crops are still in a holding pattern, but I did get cucumbers. Last week I picked enough Vertina picklers to make a jar of refrigerator pickles. There's enough volunteer dill in the beds, maybe too much, to make lots of pickles as long as the vines stay healthy. I used fresh dill, including the flower, dill seeds, mustard seeds, coriander and peppercorns in a gardenvariety-hoosierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02823437033502199023noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6871035090704005408.post-71364382859258870622018-06-23T16:56:00.000-04:002018-06-23T16:56:16.501-04:00Emerald ash borerThere are a lot of ash trees on my property and I've always been concerned that the emerald ash borer would reach this area. A few years ago I read that it was identified in Morgan-Monroe state forest, about 25 miles from here. I had hoped that it would take it a while to make the jump over farmland to this area, which is about 50% forested. Maybe I just haven't noticed the gardenvariety-hoosierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02823437033502199023noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6871035090704005408.post-79149915386230544662018-06-18T10:49:00.000-04:002018-06-18T10:49:29.058-04:00Monday June 18It seems like this area went from winter to summer without stopping for spring. Yesterday I was reading an article in the Bloomington paper that noted that April was the 3rd coldest April on record while May was the hottest May on record. That's quite an abrupt transition. It's been a real heat wave for several days. I took this picture at sunset on Saturday evening, whilegardenvariety-hoosierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02823437033502199023noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6871035090704005408.post-18901971626612737052018-06-09T11:13:00.000-04:002018-06-09T11:13:04.209-04:00Pest control and preventionEarly in the growing season, it's critical to establish some sort of spraying program to control insects and fungal infestations. Cultural methods for protection - rotation, removal of debris, pruning - are also critical and something that is done year 'round, but that is for another post. Here are the chemicals that I use that I consider safe when used properly and get the job gardenvariety-hoosierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02823437033502199023noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6871035090704005408.post-55729224767725719792018-05-16T12:58:00.000-04:002018-05-16T13:00:03.760-04:00New developmentsWell, it's official. I bought the property adjacent to mine. The guy who wanted to put in three trailers on the lot put it up for sale after losing his petition for a zoning variance. I felt I had to do something to protect my pond, since a part of the pond lies in the adjoining lot. If a new owner was to graze horses or cattle close to the pond, or even worse, allow gardenvariety-hoosierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02823437033502199023noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6871035090704005408.post-23681826137650027412018-05-03T17:16:00.001-04:002018-05-03T17:16:43.339-04:00Mid-spring update, May 3Yesterday's weather was mid-80's in the afternoon, with little shade because the trees hadn't leafed out. I think yesterday's warm weather jumped started the leaves, because they are unfurling at a rapid pace now, and things are moving along at a good pace in the vegetable garden too. The rhubarb, planted last year, is sizing up nicely. I know that you are supposed to cut off gardenvariety-hoosierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02823437033502199023noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6871035090704005408.post-70893224853783513952018-04-30T20:39:00.001-04:002018-04-30T20:41:20.370-04:00Monday April 30It's the last day of April and some goodies are appearing. Some of the asparagus plants have been sending up spears, and I'm more than happy to take them. Fresh asparagus and home grown lettuce make for a nice salad.
I've been pilfering spinach leaves every few days, but later in the week picked a small head of spinach. It went into an omelette of spinach, baby bella gardenvariety-hoosierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02823437033502199023noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6871035090704005408.post-12192014240475159162018-04-26T11:59:00.001-04:002018-04-26T11:59:58.612-04:00It's like a storm has passedI've lived in this place for ten years now. Six acres in the country, with a pond, woods and a pasture. The most notable feature of this property is the pond, built by damning a ravine. It's a 1/2 acre jewel, deeper than most farm ponds. When I moved here I realized that the best way to maintain the pond was to NOT maintain most of the shoreline - just let it go wild. gardenvariety-hoosierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02823437033502199023noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6871035090704005408.post-64792744032670237532018-04-23T09:48:00.001-04:002018-04-23T09:48:22.804-04:00Monday April 23Finally, something to eat from the garden. I had forgotten just how good fresh lettuce tastes. Buttery, flavorful - there's just no comparison to supermarket lettuce. I grow lettuce in an Earthbox, which is in the coldframe right now. I usually get about 5 pounds of lettuce from an Earthbox before it bolts, and it's very clean. Last week I got the first picking:
gardenvariety-hoosierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02823437033502199023noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6871035090704005408.post-32806287349159459272018-04-18T17:10:00.000-04:002018-04-18T17:12:06.453-04:00It's looking like the growing season has actually begunand the weather has finally turned a corner, into more normal temperatures for this time of year. After a dusting of snow and some miserably cold temps on Monday, the ten day forecast looks pretty good. Today it's 70 F and I'm seeing a lot of trees blooming and the bushes leafing out. Nature was just biding its time, and now it's full speed ahead.
Yesterday I transplanted aboutgardenvariety-hoosierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02823437033502199023noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6871035090704005408.post-10245055506347853752018-04-10T11:09:00.000-04:002018-04-10T22:18:31.494-04:00Too cold to plant and the LED lights updatedIt's April 10 but the weather has been more like February. There's 10 cole crop seedlings under the lights that could have gone into the ground a week ago, but with some nights reaching into the low 20 degree F I've chosen to leave them inside until the weather improves. That will be tomorrow when the temperatures go to something like average and stay there for awhile.
I bought gardenvariety-hoosierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02823437033502199023noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6871035090704005408.post-22384178883654597362018-04-03T09:29:00.000-04:002018-04-03T09:29:47.421-04:00This is always scaryLast night it stormed all night. This after a round of rains that ended a few days ago. The ground is saturated and the water drains quickly into the pond. It over-topped the levee for the first time since the massive rains in 2008.
Most of the water is going through the overflow, but that sheen of water on top of the levee will spill down the backside and create channels.&gardenvariety-hoosierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02823437033502199023noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6871035090704005408.post-10330994768119852242018-04-01T22:59:00.000-04:002018-04-01T23:09:54.302-04:00Early spring, or is it late winter, tour?It's snowing right now. It's not going to snow much, but still, it's April for God's sake. Last weekend, it snowed 3 inches. Sure, this will be gone tomorrow, but. . . it's April. The temperatures will be whipsawing from cold to tolerable for several more days. The mean temperature for March in this area was 41 F, for February 39 F. Only 2 degrees difference, and gardenvariety-hoosierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02823437033502199023noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6871035090704005408.post-48756059320412497362018-02-26T12:00:00.001-05:002018-02-26T22:04:44.427-05:00It's late winter but feels more like springLast week's rains finally ended on Saturday, and Sunday I started doing some preparatory tasks in the beds. The rain gauge showed 4 1/2 inches last week and with temperatures more like April, it was unusual to say the least for February. It was warm like this last February and this pattern is looking like the new normal - a warm spell in late winter then later a killing gardenvariety-hoosierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02823437033502199023noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6871035090704005408.post-13761634772674647302018-02-19T11:09:00.000-05:002018-02-19T11:09:02.279-05:00Snips!With the unusually warm weather in February the parsnips that were grown last year were starting to send up green fronds. When they do that the flavor usually goes south, so it was time to dig them up. These are Javelin, from Johnny's. I've found that this variety outperforms the Harris Model that is commonly seen.
I like parsnips, but they don't produce a lot, especially gardenvariety-hoosierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02823437033502199023noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6871035090704005408.post-183115138129059292018-02-14T17:19:00.001-05:002018-02-15T09:47:56.585-05:00Introducing the LED grow lights<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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gardenvariety-hoosierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02823437033502199023noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6871035090704005408.post-85175399012091674722017-10-30T11:27:00.000-04:002017-10-30T11:32:46.201-04:00Monday October 30With frost predicted later this week, it was time to harvest the remaining peppers. I got another nice batch of ancho peppers, along with some Carmen and Giallo sweet peppers. All of these were put on the grill. The anchos went into a final batch of harissa, while the sweet peppers went into a Buttercup squash soup. A lot of green anchos were left on the vine.
gardenvariety-hoosierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02823437033502199023noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6871035090704005408.post-17830725777586840252017-10-23T13:12:00.000-04:002017-10-23T13:12:08.735-04:00Monday, October 23There are still harvests to be had from the beds. There are enough ancho and other peppers to make another batch of harissa. I meant to pick them yesterday before today's rains set in but couldn't get to it. The forecast calls for the first fall freeze on Saturday morning, and I'll get them in sometime this week. There's also a 4' x 4' patch of parsnip, and I'll start gardenvariety-hoosierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02823437033502199023noreply@blogger.com4