The Yellow Farmhouse Garden

February 15, 2013

Russell Page — Education of a gardener

Filed under: Books — bob @ 5:20 pm

There is not much to do in the garden this time of year. That means I have some time to catch up on my reading. It still gets dark early so I don’t feel guilty sitting inside reading during the evening. When spring arrives, I’ll be spending all of the daylight hours outside in the garden.

The book I’m currently working on is called “The Education of a Gardener” by Russel Page first published in England in 1962. And when I say “working on”, that’s exactly what I mean. This 5″ x 8″ book has 363 pages of dense writing printed in a small font with just a few black and white photos.

Page’s descriptions of his landscape and garden projects paint detailed  pictures in your mind. I’m not necessarily a poetic kind of guy but this is exactly how it is written. Just about every sentence adds another piece to the puzzle,  which is why it is taking me so long to read it — I’m only about a third of the way through.

He also lists plant species for each project. Many of them I know, but others I have to look up. It is quite a contrast to all of the colorful picture books that are being published these days.

I have my daughter Robin to thank for this reading project — she gave it to me as a birthday present.

My plan is to keep reading at the same pace and not try to rush through it.

Bob

February 1, 2013

Warm days may have left plants susceptible to winter cold damage

Filed under: Weather — bob @ 2:55 pm

The warm weather we had earlier this week was a welcome break from the winter temperatures, but it may have caused problems for some plants.

During the winter, a couple of days in a row with abnormally warm temperatures, will cause dormant plants  to lose their tolerance to cold.

If a warm spell is followed by a quick drop in temperatures down to the single digit range, damage is likely to occur in some plants.  The temperature in many locations in our area did drop that low — well over a 40 degree difference.

Plants will get back their cold tolerance if the winter temperatures stay cold.   We’ll have to wait until spring to find out if any plants actually were hurt.

Bob

January 25, 2013

Organizing stored seeds

Filed under: Seeds — bob @ 2:23 pm

I finally decided to tackle a job that I’ve been putting off for quite a while — sorting my old seeds. This is a good time  of the year to do it since things are on-hold out in the garden.

There’s a large storage tub full of seed packs that I’ve been accumulating for years. At one time I had them pretty well organized. However, during the past few gardening seasons, I’ve rummaged through the tub looking for particular seeds and was not very careful putting them back in the right place. Now they’re getting disheveled again.

There are quite a few packs that have never been opened. Many of those are professional-grade packs that have the original factory seal and are air-tight. Some of those contain hundreds of seeds.

A sheet of plywood on a pair of sawhorses make a good temporary table for a big job like this.

I know many of the seeds are too old and are no longer viable. I’ll have to toss them out. Others are still OK so, those will go back in to storage.

As for the seeds I’m not sure about, I plan to do a simple germination test. Here’s the way I do it: 1) take a set number of seeds and roll them up in a damp paper towel; 2) put the rolled up paper towel inside a plastic zip-lock bag; 3) place it in a warm spot and check them once a day.

If the seeds are good, they will usually sprout in a several days time. Then I count the number that germinated and calculate the germination percentage. That gives me a rough idea how well the seeds will perform this spring.

Once this project is done, it will be a lot easier to keep track of my surplus seeds in the future.

Bob

January 11, 2013

Still harvesting kale from the garden

Filed under: Vegetables — bob @ 11:50 am

I’ve been harvesting kale from the garden since fall and there is still plenty left to pick. Even after the those cold nights in December, when the temperature dipped down to the single digits, my kale still is green and fresh with no signs of freeze damage. I knew they were very cold tolerant, but I’m still pleasantly surprised how well they’re holding up this winter.

There are 11 plants left. They are almost three feet tall with a deep green top of curly leaves. I don’t know what variety they are.

The lower leaves are gone from the plants. I picked those as they matured. It was obvious early on that we were not going to be able to eat all of that kale ourselves. So, a lot of  the crop went to feed the chickens. They love it —  especially now in the winter when no other leafy greens are growing.

Our chickens are hoping I toss them a few kale leaves as a winter treat.

Kale is more than just a garnish for the buffet table, it’s probably the most nutritionally dense vegetable we grow in the garden. I like to add it to vegetable soup. I don’t eat it uncooked very often but I know many people that do.

I look at kale as the easiest way to greatly extend the gardening season with the least amount of cash expense.

Bob

December 21, 2012

Picking radishes in December

Filed under: Vegetables — bob @ 3:22 pm

I picked the last of my radishes today — the first day of winter.

Even though we had some night time temperatures dip into the teens, we’ve had a mild fall season overall.  The radishes seemed to do quite well under those conditions. They grew slowly but did manage to reach harvest size.

The radishes are about one inch in diameter -- big enough to eat.

Earlier this fall I planted them as an afterthought and forgot all about them until now. The bed they were growing in is not covered or mulched and  is directly exposed to the weather.

Sometimes it pays to spend some extra time in the fall to sow  leftover, cool-season seeds. Most years, nothing finishes growing before it gets frozen.  But in years when you do get a crop, it really is a pleasant surprise.

Bob

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