Sunflowers and Nesting Tree Swallows

Welcome back.

A week or so before the end of May, I planted another personal favorite of mine, sunflowers.  I have enjoyed growing sunflowers since I was 8 or 10 years old, and it was what got me hooked on gardening. Of course, I owe the majority of my love for gardening to my Mom & Dad, as well as my grandparents.

With my Mom's help, I started growing sunflowers to enter mail-in contests for the largest seed heads. Back then, I grew mostly the Russian Mammoth variety, which are known for producing enormous heads. Of course growing the sunflowers for seeds was related to another hobby of mine that I started at a young age also:  bird watching.

Russian Mammoth Sunflowers

The sunflowers I usually plant now are the decorative type.  They take up less space and provide a great variety of color when they bloom.  There are many varieties to choose from these days.  What I have been doing the past several years is mixing a few varieties together to create a great assortment of colors.  This year I used the and Evening Sun and Autumn Beauty varieties, which are common ones available at most stores that sell seeds:

Evening Sun Sunflower

Autumn Beauty Sunflower

The seeds germinated well and the plants have been progressing nicely.  The other day I thinned/moved some of them around as to ensure they are evenly spaced.  I always plant extra seeds in case they don't germinate well.  Ideally the plants should be about a foot apart, however in this case they ended up about 6 or 8 inches apart.  This will create a nice thick grouping.

The Sunflower Crop

Moving Sunflowers

Moving Sunflowers

Sunflower Patch is Complete

The sunflowers are at the point now where they will grow quickly.  They are currently about 6 inches tall.
If you want to grow the Russian Mammoth or other seed variety, I would recommend spacing them further apart as those types are much larger and require more space.

Finally, I was able to get a fairly good photo of a tree swallow.  As promised in an earlier posts, I said I would talk about the nesting boxes I have on my property.  I have 10 total, 3 of which are near the pond, spaced about 50 feet apart.  Every year these 3 bird houses are inhabited by tree swallows.

The tree swallows are fascinating to watch.  They frequently skim across the surface of the pond in search of insects, and are very acrobatic.  They also are fairly tame, as I was able to get pretty close to this  one:

Male Tree Swallow

Until next time, thanks as always for reading.

Potato Update Sweet and Otherwise

Welcome back,

This year I decided to plant a few sweet potatoes as an experiment to see how well they would grow in this area.  I have only tried to grow them once before, quite a few years ago, without success.  I may have planted them too early in the season as sweet potato plants are sensitive to cool temperatures.

I ordered them from the Jung Seed Company.  The variety I decided to try is Centennial, described as follows:

America's leading sweet potato for northern climates. Sturdy field-grown plants mature early before frosts. Bright copper skin with deep orange flesh. Fine-grained, moist and delicious when baked.

Centennial Sweet Potato

Unlike regular potatoes that are planted as seed potatoes, sweet potatoes are started as plants.  The live plants are shipped at the time that is appropriate for planting in your area.  They may be wilted when you receive them but this is normal.  The plants are very hardy and will survive the shipping process.

I planted them in a small garden I have down behind our pond.  It's just a little spot where I usually plant a few extra tomatoes (imagine that!) or whatever i have extra of.

I planted them about 6 inches deep and about a foot apart.  I then gave them adequate water and protected them with wood shingles until they get adjusted to the hot sun and outside conditions.

Sweet Potato Plants

The Plot is Ready

Sweet Potato Plants

All Finished

Back in the main garden, the "regular" potatoes are coming up nicely.  An important step in growing potatoes is "hilling."  It is a process of loosening the dirt around the plants, then mounding up the dirt to a height of about 8 to12 inches to give the potatoes plenty of soil to develop in without being exposed to the sun.  If the plants aren't hilled properly, many of the potatoes will be above ground and will turn green as they are exposed to light.

Hilling the Potatoes

The final step is to add grass clippings or some other mulching material,  This isn't absolutely necessary but it cuts down on weeding tremendously, holds the moisture in the ground, plus keeps the soil from baking hard in the sun.

Mulching With Grass Clippings

Note:  I ended up planting a third variety of potato in addition to Kennebec and Yukon Gold.  For more information on these two varieties and planting, see my post of May 30, 2014 (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com/2014/05/in-with-potatoes.html).

The new variety I am trying this year is an heirloom called German Butterball.  I ordered these from the Jung Seed Company.

German Butterball Potato

This superb potato says 'butter' and it's better than excellent. It has yellow, slightly flaky, melt-in-your-mouth flesh with butter-rich flavor. One taste and you'll know why it won first place in Rodale's Organic Gardening 'Taste-Off' contest. Disease-resistant plants produce high yields of large, round to oblong tubers with lightly netted golden skin. A good keeper. Late season.

I am looking forward to trying these!

In my next post I will talk about planting peppers and an update on all of the delicious greens we are enjoying.

Thanks for reading.

The Tomatoes Are Planted/Killdeer Photo

Welcome back.

Over the last few weeks I have been gradually planting what I consider to be the "main attraction" in my garden: the tomatoes.  All the tomato lovers out there will know what I mean.

Each year I look forward to starting the plants from seed, nursing them along until they reach garden size, and ultimately transplanting them into the garden. It's fun to chose the varieties you like and to experiment with different ones, especially now in the age of heirloom tomatoes.

Planting tomatoes is a fairly simple process, now that the soil has been prepared for some time now.  One of the most important factors to consider when planting tomatoes is temperature.  After many years of experience, I have learned not to plant them too early in the season.  It is better to wait a few weeks to ensure that the weather will remain consistently warm for the season.  Here in central NY State, it is best to wait until late May or early June.  

The first step is to dig small holes about six inches deep in which to place the plants.  My plants are currently in 3 inch peat pots, so the hole should be large enough to accommodate those, and deep enough to provide enough support to the stems.  This year I am placing composted manure in the holes to mix with the soil.

Preparing to Plant Tomatoes

Mixing in Composted Manure

Next, simply place the tomato plant in the hole.  I normally peel off the bottom of the peat pot to make it easier for the roots to grow.  This step isn't necessary as the roots will grow through the peat pot as it decomposes in the soil.

Make sure to fill in enough dirt around the plants to ensure adequate support of the stems. Also be sure to water them to ease the shock of transplanting.

To provide additional support, I use tomato cages that support the plants as they grow.  Proper support is especially important as the pants develop tomatoes.  They become heavy and will topple if not supported. The tomato cages are fairly inexpensive and can be use for many seasons.

Placing Tomato Cages

Another step that I add to ensure that the plants are protected is placing wood shingles around them. This is an old school technique that provides both shading and wind protection for the new transplants.  I typically will remove these after a couple of weeks.  I first talked about using the wood shingles in my post on May 10, 2014 (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com/2014/05/planting-more-early-season.html).

Wood Shingle Protection

The final step is to add grass clippings or some form of mulch around the plants.  This step is optional of course, but I find it cuts down tremendously on the weeding and also keeps the ground moist throughout the summer.

The Tomatoes Are Planted!

By now you are probably wondering which tomato varieties I transplanted.  The varieties I started this year from seed were detailed in my posts on March 25, 2014 (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com/2014/03/its-tomato-starting-time.html) and April 7, 2014 (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com/2014/04/planting-more-tomatoes-more-heirlooms.html).

The actual varieties that I have transplanted thus far are:

Artisan from the Jung Seed Company:

Artisan Tomaoes

Unique Appearance - Exceptional Flavor
Whether you're a master chef or a home cook, you'll love all the options these tomatoes bring to the table. The breeders of Artisan's focused on combining excellent flavor with unique colors and shapes. The results are these beautiful and tasty, round and elongated, striped and blushed cherry-type fruits that range from 1.5 to 2 inches in size, resist cracking and keep well. Indeterminate plants stay healthy and extremely productive over an extended period.


Grappoli Carbarino, an Italian bunching and paste tomato:

Grappoli Carbarino

Heirloom Rainbow Blend, from Park Seeds:

Contains Aunt Ruby's German Green, Dixie Golden Giant, Black from Tula, Brandywine Red, Big Rainbow, and Cherokee Purple.

Cherokee Purple:

Cherokee Purple - an old Cherokee Indian heirloom, pre-1890 variety; beautiful deep dusky purple-pink color, superb sweet flavor, and very large sized fruit. Try this one for real old-time tomato flavor.

Big Rainbow:

Big Rainbow - the flesh inside is marbled with red in the bottom half of the fruit. It has a big, lumpy beefsteak shape with a very mild and sweet flavor. It's a knockout on a platter with slices of other tomato varieties. The large fruits (often 22 oz.) are borne on tall plants.

If I find room in the garden I may try to squeeze a few more plants in!  However, I'm rapidly running out of gardening space as is usually the case every year.

Finally, as promised, a photo of a Killdeer that I spotted on the lawn last weekend.  These are interesting birds, a member of the plover family.  They are know for there signature run-stop, run-stop behavior as they try to stir up bugs to eat as they run.  We usually have a pair every summer.

Killdeer

Until next time.  Thanks for reading.

Planting Cucumbers/A Visit From Turkey Vultures

Welcome back.  I hope your garden is growing well.  So far this year mine is coming along nicely, as the weather has been favorable so far this Spring.

On May 23, 2014, I started my gardening adventures with planting cucumbers from seed.  We use a fair amount of them during the summer in salads and pickles.  So this year I planted 4 varieties.

The first is an heirloom variety called lemon cucumber from Burpee (also available from other sources).  I have grown these for several years and I keep returning to them since they are so good.:

Lemon Cucumber (www.burpee.com)

Lemon yellow cucumbers are tender and sweet, excellent for salads and pickling.

Don't be fooled by this heirloom's unusual shape—these bright yellow balls are excellent for salads and pickling. They have a clean, crisp taste and are never bitter. Normal-sized vines yield heavily and for a long time.

The other 3 varieties I purchased at a local farm store (seeds).  They included Marketmore, White Spine, and a burpless cucumber.

Marketmore

A favorite slicer for the home garden. These long, slender, dark green cucumbers have been the standard for American slicing cucumbers in the Northeast.  Resistant to scab, cucumber mosaic virus and mildews.

White Spine

White Spine Cucumber is a classic slicing variety from which many other newer slicers have been bred; this variety was developed and grown before 1800. Fruits are medium green, often lighter at one end, with white spines, and are usually around 7-8 inches in length. May be used for pickling if the fruits are picked very small.

Burpless 

Burpless cucumbers, both American and Asian types, contain low or no cucurbitacin, the compound that causes bitterness and increases one's susceptibility to 'burping' after eating the fruits

I normally plant cucumbers in hills, however this year I decided to try using a fence to allow them to climb. The fence I am using is about 30 inches high which should be adequate.  This will actually save space in the garden, compared to the traditional hill planting method since the plants will climb as opposed to crawl:

Cucumber Fence

I prepared the area by loosening the soil with a hoe.  Of course I previously had rototilled, some areas more than once since the soil over time begins to compact again.  I then added a layer of composted cow manure which I am using more extensively this year.  I talked about this in more detail in my post on May 17, 2014 (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com/2014/05/transplanting-onion-and-leek.html).

Then I used a rake to level the area and partially mix the compost with the soil.  The fence simply pushes into the soil and is hinged so it can be installed straight or at various angles.  I chose the angled approach to fit even more plants in the same amount of space.

I then laid the seeds on top of the soil making sure to remember which varieties are planted along each section of fence.  I can usually remember, but it also is a good idea to label which plants are which.

Cucumber Seeds Ready to Plant

Cucumber Seeds Ready to be Covered

Finally, simply press the seeds into the soil to a depth of about one inch, making sure that they are covered properly,  Usually, gently tamping the soil with your hand will ensure this.

As promised, last weekend we were visited by some turkey vultures in our neighbor's field.  He had just finished the first cutting of hay and the vultures discovered a treat there.  For those of you who have never seen these birds, they are definitely creepy, although they are fascinating in their own right.  I manged to get a few photos, although they are not the best due to the distance from our house and the size of my zoom lens:

Turkey Vultures

Turkey Vultures

Until next time.