The other grapes

[13-Jul-2008] Are ripe already. Im talking about the unidentified purple ones. Since I have the day off Tuesday i may try and go to the Famu vinyards over on Mahan and see if they can identify them. Oh i have Tuesday off to put in the new French doors and replace the cable with satellite. DSL is already in place, and working. Its not the 5mb promised so i have to call about that. One problem is i will have to find some way to externally change the satellite receiver with the dvr somehow.

Want a pumpkin?

[09-Jun-2008] I have a nice pumpkin Any one want it? Its a bit early for halloween. That one took about 90 days so at the end of July Ill plant another in the same spot for halloween. There are other pumpkins on the trellis that are coming along nicely but its hard to see in the photo. I had to spray them, some sort of work was drilling onto them while i was in Tampa. Both the ripe one and the big one here are Jack of all trades pumpkins. The strawberries are done, i get a few off the festivals every so often and im starting to pot the runners from the earlyglows. I think next year im only going to grow the earlyglow. The yield is so much less but they are so much better tasting. Blackberries are coming in. The Kiowa is the best, big juicy sweet berries, but i cant stand the trailing and it produces so little. The Choctaw isnt bad but its got lots of thorns. The ones from Mr Huggens are sometimes pretty tart but the bushes are nice and upright and produce pretty well. Im thinking about moving the entire blackberry operation to the grassy area on the other side of the french drain. Its just so hot right now i dont want to go out there and work. The Huggins blackberries also have not really started sending up next years canes which is starting to concern me. Blueberries are also coming in. A few more than last year. I put the flashy bird tape up and dont seem to have a problem with birds. Also used some of it around the blackberries. The electric fence and moving the corn closer to the house has solved the tree rat problem. The smaller tomatoes are ripe. Larger ones still green. The unknown grape will produce a lot this year, noting lie the muscudines but much more than the 2 clusters from last year. Im not sure what im going to do with it when i move the blackberries. It will probobly have to stay in place and i will rework the trellis to not go so close to the patio. The orange tree leafed back but now has some problem. The leaves are curling and developing trails. I did some research and it might be leaf miner or too much water. Either way i took it out of the pot and planted it next to the blackberries and the patio, another reason i need to move the blackberries. I hope as close as it is to the ouse i wont have any cold problems, the grape fruit seemed to handle it with covering so it should too. My onions simply dont bulb. Im sure i have short day ones so i dont know whats wrong.There has been plenty of time i planted them in dec and it june. Well past the 110 days needed. Next year I will try the sample from http://www.dixondalefarms.com/ maybe a different short day will do better.

Finally its spring

[29-Mar-2008] After a freeze last week had to replace some plants. All the peppers in the overflow bed, one of the Sweet 100 tomatoes, and the watermelon. All were covered. Most the other cherry tomatoes have frost damage but look like they will make it. The beans started sprouting, I had given up on them. I removed the lettuce and planted more in the remaining squares. Filled in the empty spaces with marigold seeds and nasturtiums. Planted some nasturtiums around the apples. The sun flowers in the flower bed had sprouted. As has most the corn. The two squash in the corn are about done. I wont replace them. Found out that the seeds from pumpkin from last year had sprouted out by the apple tree. Unfortuantly this was just after i sprayed it with roundup (it was green and in the wrong place, then i recognized the leaves). The watermelon in the blueberries vanished. The potatoes have taken off, again i was about to give up on them. Cleaned out the old straw and leaves from the iris bed, replaced it with pine bark. Planted 4 sweet potatoes in the grape lines, for mulch not for potatoes. The pumpkin out at the first apple is doing well, the other so so. Bluebessies have flowers, apples are starting to form. The orange tree is alive and greening out, thought it was dead. Put netting on the earliyglow starberries, they have really shot up recently. Starting to get a few festival strawberries. Im not having good luck transplanting seedlings. Most dont continue growing. Except the corn, which isnt supposed to be a good transplant. The beans, peas and corn planted directly in the garden are doing fine once they started to sprout.

Planting has begun

[03-Mar-2008] I started the outdoor planting this weekend. Its not supposed to freeze again so I hope it will all make it. Put the corn in the ground, the cherry tomatoes and a couple of peppers. Replaced one of the pumpkins that was lost despite being covered over the last week. Guess that even covered they can do 26 degrees. I will hold off on the regular tomatoes until next weekend so they are a little larger. None of the pepper seeds I planted outside have sprouted, nor the beans inside. I will try with some more seeds this week but by the 15th if they havent sprouted ill buy plants. put some corn seeds in the ground to fill out the squares. The peas did sprout and are about 2 inches high. The Earlyglow strawberries came in and I got them planted so the strawberry bed is full again. The potatoes are also planted half in the towers and half sprouting inside. Replaced some of the roof shingles. There was a whole group above the garage that had broken off. Rewired the electric fence so its not in the way when working in the garden, and the plants do touch it. Not sure its placement is much better since I've tripped on it twice now already.

Yard Work

[18-Feb-2008] Finally got a full weekend to do work on the garden. Built 2 potato towers out of cage wire and landscape fabric. Waiting for the seed potatoes to arrive. Built a box to cover half the strawberry bed also out of cage wire. The old system of bird netting is annoying so maybe this will be better. Still have to do something about the other half but the plants arnt here yet. Installed the electric fence around where the corn will go, squirrels ate it all last year so maybe this will help. Had to build a box for the energizer for the fence, its for indoor use only. Who uses an electric fence indoors? Picked up fertilizer for the fruit plants. Fertilized the blueberries and azaleas.

2008 Garden

[10-Feb-2008] Got back from NY. Built the trellises along the long side of the veggie bed (10 ft), the house side of the overflow (5ft), the strawberry bed (7ft) and the veggie bed (3dt). I plan on using them for tomatoes, peas, watermelon, and pumpkins. Planted some of the pepper seeds directly in the garden. Put up the maps of the current and planed garden for this spring. Ive got a lot of space left since I dont have a full strawberry bed. Replaced the Pink Lemon. It froze. Also lost the Spanish Oregeno while I was out of town. Everything else looks good. The grapefruit is wonderful and fully ripe. Apples have started to flower already.

Roomba
[30-Dec-2007] The roomba robotic vaucum cleaner my mom got me Christmas works great. I did have to strighten some things up but it runs all over the living room and bed room without problems and does a good job. Its much slower than normal vaucuming but since you dont have to do anything it fine. African violet is starting to bloom again finally.

Winter Garden

[13-Dec-2007] I have really fallen down on both working on the garden and updating about it. A while ago I planted onions, about 50 scattered in various beds, carrots and lettuce in the overflow bed, and peas and broccoli in the veggie bed. I got new Festival strawberries from Tallahasse Nursuries and ripped out the old ones. Only half the strawberry bed is planted, they only had 4in pot and were just to expensive to but the 50 I needed. The orange tree has about 30 oranges. Pick on back in Nov but it was rather hard, like no water in it. Im waiting till christmas to pick the grapefruit. The grapefruit tree is large enough that I cant use the frame ive been using for the last two years to cover it. Im just throwing a frost blanket over it when needed not, it still has the christmas lights on it but I might have to buy more next year since it getting bigger. Im ground killing the wild flower bed. Its attacting too many bugs that eat my tomatoes. Ive got to do something else there. Other than that im waiting for the leaves to fall off the grapes and apples so i can trim them but with the weather being as warm as it is its not happening.

Grapes and Jelly

[25-Aug-2007] I just picked the mass of grapes, a gallon and a quarter of Carlos (more a left unripe), a gallon and 3/4 of southern home, and a mix of the unknown and nesbit that doesnt amount to much. Monday I picked almost 2 and a half gallons of Nobles. In addition to eating grapes almost all day everyday and giving them away I made some jelly like the kind Grandma Moore made from the nobles. It turned out to taste perfect. Its a little think, I thin if I cook it less it wont thicken so much. Going to make some more from the carlos and southrn home.

Another grape problem
[22-Aug-2007] The plant I got labeled Florida Fry isnt. Its supposed to be a bronze but all the fruit is black.

The unknown grapes

[30-Jul-2007] Got a photo now and talked to the buyer at Tallahasse Nursuries. He feels it may be a UF hybrid and suggested lookng online. Of course I can find nothing online about the UF hybrids except Southern Home, which I have already and this isnt a Southern Home grape. Ate all the grapes pictured Saturday, the number of seeds vary from 1 to 4, the skin comes of easily and the inside has that pulpy muscudine feel, but not the muscudine taste. The nursury in Jax (Halls) where I bought it isnt sure what it might be and said they would call the distributor and ask about them.

Last of the apples
[26-Jul-2007] I picked the last apple today. A nice red Golden Dorset. Yea I know that doesnt make sense. The azaleas from rons look like they will live. It was cool and cloudy a few days which helped and I watered them like crazy for the first few days. There are one or two Noble grapes that are purple.

The Last Azaleas

[22-Jul-2007] Ron removed the log from the tree he cut down over 3 years ago and has started to clean up his yard so I needed to get the last azaleas out. Took 5 more, 3 around the oak, one at the side of the house, and one on the berm. I dont have room for anymore unless I build new beds somewhere. Hopefully these will live, it the wrong time of year and really hot. It keeps thundering for hours but wont rain which would help.

Unknown Grapes
[19-Jul-2007] I came back from D.C. and while looking over the garden saw that the Thompson seedless grapes had turned purple. Not a bad purple but a ripe purple. Ate one, its ripe and has seeds so between that and the color clearly are not Thompsons seedless. They have 4 seeds and are a bunching variety. I need a camera to take pictures of them before I pick them so I can identify them later.

Picking Day
[22-Jun-2007] Picked today: 23 Apples, about 3 lbs 2 lbs of onions 1 lb of Jalepeno 1 lb of clown, bell, datil and tabasco peppers 1lb 8oz tomatos 6 potatos a giant zuchinni a pint of strawberris Making hot stuff again. Will have jars available Sat afternoon if anyone wants any.

Home briefly

[12-May-2007] Im home for the weekend. Been in D.C. all week for McCain and will return next Sunday for most of another week. I didnt get to see anything in D.C. except after work on Wed. Managed to get to the Mall and see the WWII memorial which wasnt there last time I was in DC. Pictures will come later, left the camera at home. Its was really hazy here when I got back but didnt smell like smoke. It finally rained today for the first time in months, just after I finished watering everything (one of the reasons I came home). Gary has been picking strawberries all week so there arnt any ripe. The first blueberries and blackberries ripened while I was gone. So I got to eat a handfull of them last night. Actually the first blueberry was last week but it was only one.

Plants, Spring 2007
[25-Apr-2007] And finally photos of all the large plants around the house.

More Azaleas
[21-Jan-2007] Moved 5 more azaleas from Rons. This is most likely the last group. I dont really have a place for more until I get all the trees down and the roots out. Id like to run some down the property line but the roots from the trees are going to be a problem. Started seeds for beans, tomatos and peppers inside.

Strawberries
[19-Jan-2007] Picked the first strawberry of the year. The birds already got 2 so I need to put the netting up this weekend. There will be many more berries in the next few weeks if it doesnt get too cold. The Festivals are just full of unripe berries. The extra strawberries planted out front, and the one beneath the apple tree are fruiting too.