Finally!

So, it appears that the system I came up with for attaching the solarium sheeting is working. Finally! 

In previous years, when the winds picked up, I would wind up with at least small sections developing holes which had to be repaired. This time there has been a few days of fairly strong winds and no holes have appeared. 

However, this year did involve more planning, work, time and money. Tried to put such into it in previous years but it never quite worked as planned. Then I wound up throwing plastic sheeting up and attaching it however I could. 

Not complaining. I learned from previous attempts, which led to the current configuration. 

I haven't quite figured out what to do with the well pump. Only thing I can think of is building a small extension out to cover it, bringing it into the solarium so it doesn't freeze. And so the dogs have less access to it. It would also make it more attractive. I'll have to get that done in spring, though. It's going to take a lot of work to build access points for water lines and maintenance. Probably have multiple doors but still need to be insulated. Plus I still have the pump sitting on an old picnic table bench, so need to build a dedicated support. Before I can do that I have to fill in the cave the dogs dug around the pipe. And yes, I mean cave, not just a hole. I was considering putting concrete down but if I build the housing the concrete won't be necessary. I just want to be able to use the pump in early spring and have it in winter as an emergency water supply. 

I may start planting tomato seeds this month in the house. Use the old office, where I have shelves by one window. By late Jan to early Feb it will be just warm enough to move the seedlings out to the solarium. Small containers at first and moving to increasingly larger ones. By April or May, they should be quite large enough to move into the garden and have a decent year. If I do things that way, I may be able to coax out tomatoes by late May or early June and a bumper crop by July and onward. 

Improvement

Got the gas space heater up and running in the solarium. That means the night temps have remained above freezing. Unfortunately, not warm enough for the tomato plants. However, warm enough for cool weather plants.

The dogs are not helping the situation. They were pulling at the wire on the outside of the main door to open it. I eventually had to put a hook and eye latch on the inside. So, they started jumping against the door until the latch came loose. Some people would call this smart. Really? No. It's just destructive. Right next to the main door is a very generous size dog door which they only have to push with their noses to enter. They won;t use the dog door. In their minds, they are not opening the latch or the door, they are breaking it. When I latch it again, to them I am fixing it. So they would prefer to try and destroy the door rather than enter through a swinging door which offers little chance for destruction. If they but their heads against it, it just swings open. So I had to add a piece of duct tape to the latch.

Of course, the problem is that the heat is released when they do this. 

These are also the same dogs that will not stay in the solarium in front of the heater. It's probably about 70 degrees right in front of the heater. Instead, they stay outside, huddled together while the temperature is as low as 12 degrees. That is regardless of whether they force the main door open or they have to use the dog door. 

When I can keep the door closed, I'm still seeing gains of about 40 degrees. It reached 99 degrees today and it stays around 40 at night. Measured at an area behind the space heater. 

Started seeds for spinach, purple carrots, cilantro, dill and cucumbers inside the solarium today. I think most of them should grow. Cucumbers are questionable but the rest all grow well in cool conditions. Plus the broccoli is already reaching the point where I can transplant it into larger containers. 

If I make it through December without frost damage the ambient temperature should increase by late January. Then I'll be able to start getting a few long growing crops like tomatoes started from seed again. 

Good and bad

Well, since completing the solarium it has helped the temperature inside the house. Mostly by blocking the wind from the west wall. It has also allowed solar gain during the day. However, temps have been dropping as low as the low teens at night. Since I didn't have a decent auxiliary form of heat for night, the temperature went below freezing inside the solarium. 

As a result of that, the tomato plants went dormant. I don't think they died off. It didn't stay below freezing long enough to damage the roots. I think they'll come back once the temperature remains above freezing in there for a while.

I set up a gas space heater in there last night. More effective and less expensive to keep going than the electric space heater. 

Still, I have some cilantro seeds planted in containers with other plants and started some broccoli seeds last night. Think I'll also start some lettuce seeds. Potatoes are still going in their container. Those things will grow even if the temperature stays below 50. Maybe get some spinach started, also. 

I think what I need to do is add another layer of plastic sheeting to the top, on the inside. That can be less durable than the outside film but would help reduce heat loss at night. It would also reduce light coming in but most cool weather crops don't need that much light. 

Sealed up

Finally got the solarium sealed up. The north wall isn't as I would like it to be in the end but had to conserve finances for now. Have a major expense next week. So, I applied tarps to the north wall on the outside to seal out the wind.

Got on the roof this evening and covered up a small opening where cables run through. It was only about 8" square. Plus a smaller space around a plumbing vent pipe. 

Installed a thermometer this week which records the highest and lowest temps every 24 hours. The ambient high temperature today was 64. The high inside the solarium was 107! Now, that was at about 6' elevation. The apex reaches about 12' high, so the temperature is much higher at the apex. 

I haven't installed the improvised heat pump system yet. That will just be black PVC, flexible vent pipe and an inline fan but I think should seriously recycle the heat. I'm thinking of letting it blow into the crawl space, so it warms the house from the floor up. I already have a thermal switch so it will turn on at 85 degrees and off when the temperature drops below that. 

The tomato plants are loving the warmth. They were fading out until I brought them in. Now they've perked up surprisingly! They had stopped flowering but I found new flowers on it today. That's a nice surprise when the outside temperature at night has been in the 20's. I am keeping a radiant heater pointed at them on low setting at night (several feet away) and have a Mylar blanket behind them, to catch and reflect the heat back. 

Planning on applying more Mylar blankets to the inside of the north wall. Since the sun shines from the south, that will reflect the heat and light coming in back and amplify it inside the solarium. 

Probably going to be a little while before I get the rocket stove built. But until then I think I'll move the cinder blocks for it into the solarium. Just the mass should help absorb more heat during the day. If I direct some of the air flow from the heat pump system toward the cinder blocks, it would increase and extend that effect. Of course, the goal here is to not have to keep the electric heater running but still retain as much heat as possible. 

Little more

Got most of the north side of the solarium closed up this evening. I still have one section and the door to go. Should be able to get those parts done tomorrow. I do still need to install some wood panels as joints between the panels, since I used different kinds of wood that don't meet perfectly.

Pretty sure I'll be done with the entire thing this week. Weather permitting, which seems to be the case. 

The closer it gets to completion, the more the dogs seem to be competing for maximizing their stench inside the solarium. Then they stay outside in the cold and rain. Dumb..as..rocks.

Sigh.. Not sure I have enough lumber. Have to prioritize and probably make a trip to Home Depot after dark one evening this week. Oh, well. I'll work on getting the north wall finished, then anchoring the top. If I run out of time this week, I can finish the bottom section next week using the portable work light. But it is only Monday, so see how fast I can get all this done. 

I started letting the chicken out of the coop today. Drove the dogs insane to see the chicken wandering around. But the chicken was doing an excellent job of eating grasshoppers and other bugs. Kinda wish I had a flock of them! Maybe next year I'll do exactly that, once the dogs are desensitized to chickens being present.

The ramp in front is hardened and I was able to dampen it to help keep it hardening more. Necessary with concrete. But doing so rinsed dust away from the building process, so I was able to see that it looks pretty nice! It will look better once I apply some sealant.   

Slow season

I haven't been writing a lot this year because this has been such an odd and slow growing season. Cold weather ran late. Dogs made it into the garden and destroyed plants. Grasshopper and squash bugs were bad this year. Only now getting a couple of pumpkins on the vines. Not even sure those will gain enough size to be useable for Thanksgiving before the first freeze. 

Had a few potatoes, green beans, couple of watermelon, a few small cantaloupe. 

There were an amazing amount of flowers this year. The bumblebees were really happy and numerous!

Past couple of weeks, I've been working on upgrading the solarium. Installing formal greenhouse film. It's 6 mil, five layers, including light diffraction, UV protection and anti-fog additives. Supposed to last for up to four years. This time I installed it with insulating foam underneath and 1x2's with silicone caulking on one side to prevent slippage. 

I extended the solarium a few more feet. Sank three more upright posts with concrete. Total length is about 30 ft. Reaches to the top of the roof and extends about 16 ft out. So, ground space is about 480 sq ft. I'm moving the picnic table into one end and have the electric dog fence setting boundaries, so the dogs have access to the other end but plants and such will be safe. 

On that note, I should be finishing the whole thing this week. Then I can move the potted tomatoes into the solarium and keep some of them going most or all of the winter. Plus it will give me a better place to get seedlings started before spring. 

From prior incarnations, I know it will also help keep the house warmer in the winter. It serves the purpose of trapping solar heat and insulating the west wall of the house at night. I'm also adding an improvised heat pump, made with back PVC, ducting and a small fan with a thermocouple connection. The thermocouple will turn the fan on at a certain temperature and off below that temperature. 

I am also going to build in what is called a rocket stove mass heater. That's going to take a lot of concrete and masonry work (hence the "mass" part of the name). That's on top of lots of concrete work I have been doing in front of the house, setting a concrete porch and ramp. For that, It will have an estimated weight of 2700 lbs when combining concrete and cinder blocks. In all, it's probably more than that. For the rocket stove, I have to build a concrete base, then cinder block frame, fire brick combustion chamber, stove pipe, sand between the cinder block and pipe for expansion, concrete filling for the cinder block, stucco for the outside and mortar and tile for the top seating area. 

In the spring, I'll have more work ahead of me for the solarium. Have to convert several sections of the top to vents. However, before doing that, I want to try converting the heat pump from a recycling system to a vent system. If the theory works out, pumping the heated air out will allow cooler air to flow in and help cool the house. In any case, I am also going to try adding a sump and recycling pump to cause a swamp cooler effect in addition to a solar chimney effect. The water pump will be solar powered. 

I installed insulation in the ceiling. That was a big job but should really help with controlling the indoor temperature in all seasons. I may have messed up on that one. I'm pretty sure the big living room already had insulation in the ceiling but I don't remember. So, have to drill a test hole to confirm. I know the walls are insulated, so it would make sense that the ceiling is. But making sense doesn't mean anything in Albuquerque. Better to check and confirm. 

So, hoping for a cold winter to kill off lots of insects. Hoping the solarium lets me start things early next year. And that I can control the weeds better next year. Made some good progress this year in bringing some of them under control. 

Grapes

I picked the red grapes last couple of nights. Looks like the birds really like the grapes. That's okay, they could only reach the ones on the outside and there were plenty they couldn't reach. I still left lots of partial bunches on the vine which they can reach. Still came away with about 12 lbs of grapes.

These taste good but too small to make goo table grapes. However, they do make good juice and jelly grapes. 

After picking, ran them through the food processor, strained them using a colander and nylon netting. However, didn't have enough pectin and wanted the low sugar kind. Wound up having to go to three stores to find one that carried it and had it in stock. Finally succeeded. Then I was too tired to complete the process. Didn't feel like sterilizing all the jars and equipment. So, have to finish the jelly tonight. I boiled the juice for a short while last night, the stuck it in the fridge.

Been playing with the giant sunflowers for a few years now, especially the ones that bloom multiple flowers. This is my best one yet. It stands about 15 ft tall and between old blooms, current blooms and unopened buds, has a total of at least 52 flowers on the one plant! Cool!

Daughter and I harvested carrots and had a good harvest this year. About 20 lbs of carrots (not counting foliage). 

After that, I sprayed the mounds with grass killer, then did the fall planting couple of days later. Pie and giant pumpkin, dill, purple carrots and lots and lots of spinach.

Tomatoes are finally producing. Only one ripe so far, a cherry tomato. Quite a few on the vines and more flowers blooming, though. Have a total now of 14 plants, 12 in containers and only 7 producing yet. But I hope to get the solarium enclosed and move many of them inside, so may be able to keep them going for a while. I hope. Otherwise, going to try and grow some cool weather crops in containers in the solarium. 

Going to order some formal greenhouse film as a covering this time. One sheet to cover the whole thing. Cushioned and well anchored. This film has 5 layers and IR/UV and anti-condensation additives. Supposed to last for up to 4 years. I'm hoping!

Lots of cuttings

I have a lot of cuttings in pots, trying to get those to root. Purple Crape Myrtle, blueberry, pomegranate and green seedless grape. Nothing happening yet but it does take some time.

After doing some reading, decided to try honey as a rooting aid. One article I read included very well done scientific experiment which showed processed honey to be more effective than natural honey, aspirin and rooting hormone (also known as "willow water"). It's harmless, inexpensive and well worth the try. 

Cantaloupe and watermelon vines have stretched out and are flowering like crazy! Not seeing fruit yet but keeping an eye out.

Tomato vines are forming some fruit. Not nearly like last couple of years. However, I'm happy to see a few tomatoes on the vines. 

All the rain has still been making weeds run rampant. Spent an hour pulling weeds this evening and still didn't get to some areas. Plus the fact that I've been spraying a whole lot of weed killer. The newer one I was using wasn't very effective, so went back to generic glyphosate. It may be slower but is much more effective.

Grapes are doing awesome! Red grapes remain small but are ripening and taste really good. The green grapes are huge by comparison to previous years and also taste great! 

Plums are ripening and coming off the trees. Going to pick all of them this weekend, while daughter is here. 

Apples are still green, still growing and many are easily twice the size of most Albuquerque apples! 

Getting twice as many zinnias growing this year over last year. 

Fewer sunflowers. Part of that is intentional. Trying to control weeds that grew crazy last year because I couldn't reach them between and behind sunflowers. Rains has toppled some of them. Weed killer overspray killed off some smaller and younger ones. 

Okay, time for some sleep.

Slow year

The garden is growing so slow this year!! It's frustrating!
Finally getting more flowers. One indicator of the problem this year if that the Gladiolus is still blooming new flowers. Which means the temperature really has been abnormally low in the garden this year. Normally Gladiolus has bloomed and dropped the blooms by now. Not complaining about that. There do seem to be more of them than previous years, so the existing ones have formed new bulbs which have matured.
Marigolds are finally blooming. They always bloom late. I think I'll start Marigold seeds around January indoors for next year and see if I can advance their bloom date. Same thing with the Cosmos. They usually produce tons of flowers but late in the summer into fall.
The tomato vines are finally getting bigger. Should be big enough to produce something soon. 
Several watermelon and cantaloupe vines coming up. Not big enough to produce anything but getting there.
Grapes are maturing. The red grapes are turning red. Still small but bigger than previous years. Should be good for grape juice and such. I think next year I'll keep the vine more restricted than this year. I actually saw new flowers on the red grape vine this week. Another indication of low temperatures because they will only flower in a certain low temperature range. Green grapes are getting bigger. 
I noticed this morning that the hummingbirds are eating the grapes. Not going to prevent that. Lots of grapes and they mostly go after the red grapes, which are far greater in number. Although, I only see them fluttering around the grape vines, so it may be they are eating the tiny flies (guessing fruit flies) that abound there. 
I did just read that hummingbirds are attracted to grape jelly, though. I may try putting some out in a dish and see what happens. 
All of the temperature issue may be causing the garden to mature late this year but in general is a good thing. This has been an abnormally cool and humid summer here. Then my back yard has been noticeably cooler than the general area. Which means in a normal summer it will remain better temperature controlled and maintain a better average temperature for growing and just be more comfortable. 
I have lots of green and increasing color in the yard but haven't been posting pictures because I have such a weed problem plus have some maintenance issues I have not yet addressed. Makes it less attractive. Trying to get to that. Mostly been focusing on things which reduce repetitive work, like weeding. Once the bush green beans are done, I'm going to bomb that area with grass and weed killer with a short half-life to try and bring things under better control. 

I did have to ramp up the chemicals. All the rain made the weeds go insane and I could not bring them under control. So I had to go from a slower and more biodegradable weed killer to one that shows results in as little as 3 hours. Sprayed that last evening and am starting to see results this morning.

Insects are also a problem. Massively increasing ants plus leaf damage all over indicated an aphid problem. Squash bugs killed one pumpkin vine and damaged another. So I had to get some poison granules. I only applied it at the base of the pumpkin vines and directly to the ant colonies. The granules are about the size of sawdust, so shouldn't get the attention of birds and I sprinkled it sparsely, not in piles. So it mostly blends with the soil. Not placed anywhere that it should have wide effect on other insects. Not going to apply any more except to ant colonies. If I have to apply there again, I'll breach the surface of the colonies and apply it directly into the colonies to minimize any effect on other insects.

What the hell?!

It's official. Every single one of my tomato plants are now dead! What the hell?! This makes no sense at all! I had wondered if the pray I made was contaminated with grass killer. However, the stray grass in the same area is just fine and would have been exposed. It's the same formula I used in previous years, so that's not the problem. I've also sprayed other plants with the same spray which are doing fine. 

The only other thing I can think of is that the mulch contains back walnut or something else which is toxic specifically to tomatoes. 

Can't be the soil or immediate area, because  this is the same area where tomatoes thrived last year. 

So, my only options now are to start new seeds, buy a few plants already started and grow in containers this year. Have to clear the mulch out. That's a bummer. 

A couple of pumpkin plants bit the dust from squash bugs. Not a lot of them but they hit the main stem on those plants. Planted some new seeds. I did use some insecticide around the base of the main stems of remaining plants. Keep controlling them manually on the outer stems and leaves. 

Yep

So, one night of really heavy irrigation showed a really positive response. Leaves which were patchy and pale are turning greener and I already see new growth occurring. Leaves that were curled have mostly opened up. So, going to do it again tonight and keep doing this until I see signs that it's becoming detrimental. However, couple more of the smaller plants seem to have died off. I don't have any more started, so think I'll go buy some more small ones and hope they have time to mature and produce this season. On average, tomatoes keep producing here until October or November. Think I'll try some Celebrity variety tomatoes.

Trimmed grass tonight. 

My dill hasn't come up this year at all. Not sure why. Going to try growing some in a container. 

Have to harvest all the lettuce and kale this week. Getting ready to bolt. Should have melons and pumpkin plants coming in soon. 

Intentional over-irrigation

I have been suspecting that salt remains a problem for the tomatoes this year. Looked up pictures and symptoms. It's confirmed. Leaf burn, curl and stunted growth. 

Guess I've made a few mistakes this year. Tilling probably brought sodium back to the surface where I had hoped it had leached deeper than it had. Then I did not flood irrigate as much earlier this year as I did last year for the tomato patch. Now the signs are really there with the plants still small and the current heat level, causing the salt to concentrate in the leaves. 

Not too late to recover. Going to try drastically increasing irrigation for a few consecutive nights and see what happens. If I start seeing a positive response, I'll keep doing it until the plants are large enough to handle it better.

Now, that probably means I may have to increase frequency of acid application. Not sure. Increasing irrigation and decreasing salt concentration may cause a more beneficial pH balance. I'll try just water at first. 

Taming wild ones

Taming the wild tomato plants. I dug up the random tomato plants which were springing up and replanted them where some other plants had failed. So, I'm up to about 15 tomato vines now. Last couple of years, my major crops came from an average of 7 vines. Of these current ones, about 3 are questionable if they'll survive. They're all looking a lot better since I sprayed for white flies. I'm just taking the safe route and spraying insecticidal soap every day. Keeping it isolated to the tomato vines, especially at the soil surface. 

Doing much the same with pumpkin and cucumber vines. Trying to keep squash bugs and cucumber beetles at bay. I haven't seen cucumber beetles but see some signs they're around. No signs of squash bugs this morning but caught two adults this evening. No eggs from them and the adults are now dead. 

I may have to separate the cucumber vines into different containers, to give them more space. 

Haven't planted green beans yet. Have to plant them this week. Going to use containers for them, also. Just to make it easier to keep weeds controlled. It will also help me avoid building large trellises this year. Stick with poles instead. Maybe a ring of containers with poles between them. 

White flies

I rather spaced a problem from previous years. Several of the tomato vines I planted out have died and others have been growing agonizingly slowly. Then I thought about the white fly problem in past years. 

Made up a solution yesterday. Insecticidal soap, nicotine and garlic. Soaked the ingredients, strained them through a disposable paint filter into one of the garden sprayers and sprayed the vines. By this evening, I was seeing a positive difference. I sprayed again this evening. Added more soap but thinned the nicotine. 

Used the same solution on pumpkin plants which are already growing. I've seen one adult squash bug which is now dead. This evening, sprayed a patch on one leaf of baby squash bugs. I'll check that plant again in the morning to be sure I got them all. It would be awesome if I can deter them now, while they are small and susceptible to organic poisons and I only have 4 pumpkins plants growing so far. I planted more which are starting to sprout but not yet large enough to get the attention of the squash bugs. 

Peppers out

Last night, I planted out the scorpion peppers. They've been in the window with lots of sun, so didn't have to be hardened off against sun, only wind. 

Tonight, got the large tomato plant (Park's Whopper) planted out. Had it outside for a couple of days in sun and wind. It showed no signs of scald or other problems, so I went ahead and planted it out. 

Pulled weeds. Almost completely bindweed free! Ones I have found were all small and weak. On the other hand, grass between plants is growing too tall. Only choice is to pull by hand. Definitely going to solarize after final harvest this year. 

Trimmed the grape vines. They're growing new extensions so fast I could probably trim them daily if I had the time. One of the good things about that is that it adds some major amounts of green material to the compost. With the placement of the vine, it results in a complete cycle which will last for years, even if I moved the compost bin. It's near one vine, so the roots absorb the runoff from the compost and then the leaves and vines feed the compost. Grapes on both vines are looking pretty decent, still gaining size and lots of them! I still think the red grapes will remain small, it's just the variety. Green ones started getting big amazingly fast after they flowered. Not as many, though. Red ones will probably make good grape juice, wine or vinegar if I get to it this year. Maybe jelly?

Back yard

Got the grass trimmed in the back yard tonight. Patched the irrigation system (because I knocked some pieces apart with the weed whacker). Pulled weeds manually.

So far, I seem to be keeping ahead of the bindweed. Been able to prevent any of it from setting flowers or seeds yet. Not sure just how long I may win this battle. Seems the seeds can remain viable in the soil for up to 30 years. Making the best way to eradicate it to encourage the existing seeds to grow, then pull and poison the plants before they set seed. 

I have other weeds coming up, also but they are less of a direct threat because they don't strangle plants. However, they do consume nutrients and divert them from crops and more desirable flowers. Others are real nuisance plants, various species of goat heads. Trying to keep those controlled before they go to seed. Doing okay so far. 

Had to replace batteries in the dog's collars tonight. Started to walk outside and one of the dogs was in the garden. He had crapped and chewed some things up but luckily I caught him before he did any digging. I walked out there with good timing. No punishment but he started to head toward the garden right after I replaced the batteries and got the idea quickly. (No shock, he turned back when his collar beeped at him.) 

I've started running the irrigation an extra cycle here and there. I may just set the whole system to run an extra cycle each night. Lot of plants are growing really slowly and showing what I take as signs of sodium overload. Curled leaves, slow growth, pale color. Maybe it would help if I ran acid more frequently and in smaller amounts. I think the extra water should help some. The garden grew like crazy last year when we had all the rain. Maybe I should take that as an indicator.  

Seeds located

Found the cantaloupe seeds I had misplaced. At least, one bag. These are from 2009, so I'm not really sure how many will germinate. There was another bag from 2012 which I could not locate. Any way, I did plant some of these out a little while ago. Not sure of whether any are sterile, I planted two for each hole instead of one. 

I also planted seeds for giant watermelon, which are from 2012. Many of those grew last year, though not quite as large as the first year. There could be a lot of reasons for that. 

Last thing I planted tonight was pie pumpkin seeds. I have a couple of giant pumpkin plants growing. I may plant some more because of past squash bug problems killing my giants. 

Trimmed the grape vines. Here's a good thing- as the grapes are gaining size, the vine growth is slowing slightly. The green grapes always mature later than the red ones and in fewer numbers. The red ones already appear to be larger than ever before. Slightly. None are turning color yet, so I'm hoping they're going to keep growing larger. 

Had to get out and spray for weeds again this morning. Same areas keep springing back with huge numbers of weeds but the number is slowly decreasing as the existing seeds sprout and then get killed off. I am keeping ahead of them going to seed for once, so that's a huge advantage. I haven't yet won the war but have definitely turned the tide in my favor. 

Getting frustrated with how late things are getting started, I looked back over years prior to last year. Seems things are pretty much on track for this time of year, for a normal year. Last year was exceptional. Previous years I wrote about things only being a few inches tall at this point, except corn and sunflowers. So, nothing much to be frustrated about. I know from last year that I could plant more seeds now and have at least a partial or small harvest from what I planted now. 

The paper seed containers were a bust. They fell apart before being able to plant them out. Maybe I'll try some brown cardboard instead. I've done that before as separators but not actually trying to make containers. It would be worth a try. Would not expect them to hold together like peat pots but if they hold well enough to contain plants until transplant time, that would be okay. If they fell apart during transplanting that would be okay, too. They could always be composted. 

I'm getting pissed off at the fact that there are mosquitoes in my yard. Absolutely no chance a single one is from my yard. There are no containers holding water in my yard, so that means they are coming from a neighbor's yard. I think the next door neighbor. I'm going to check out his yard while up on the roof this week and see what he has holding water. It's not asking for too much for him to dump the water or spray poison. Hell, I'll give him the damn poison and lend him the sprayer if necessary. 

Misplaced seeds

I misplaced my cantaloupe seeds which I had stored. Rather sucks because I had a couple hundred of them. Tried to go buy some at Walmart this evening but their seed section, as usual, was trashed. This store near me doesn't take care of things very well at all in many sections.

Oh, well. Two options. Buy some at Home Depot tomorrow after I drop daughter off or save seeds from a fruit in the fridge (which would take at least a week to dry the seeds). I'll try both approaches tomorrow and hope for results. Plus keep looking for the bag of seeds I had.

Found the pie pumpkin and giant watermelon seeds. Plant some of those tomorrow.

Temperature reprieve tonight, as low as 63 degrees. Absolutely no complaints here! 

Transplanting

Got around to transplanting things out tonight. Had to divert attention again from daughter's room to something else. Lot of the container plants were getting too big, roots were crowded and they were dying off. It was divert attention or start over and maybe have nothing in the garden this year. 

Pulled the plastic off the area I was solarizing and mulch from the tomato mounds. I did leave some mulch by itself in place at a distance around the tomato plants to help regulate soil temperature and moisture loss (which should help keep the soil more loose). 

Changed around some of the irrigation lines for the flowers I planted out. 

Still have a lot of other things to transplant plus need to plant some more seeds for the year this coming week. 

Phosphorous

Phosphorous was delivered today. Checked the label. I'm probably going to need more. The label says to use as much as 5 lbs per 200 sf. I'm applying to a much larger area than that. But not going overboard. 

I used half the bag, dissolved it in water mixed with ammonia and acid. The ammonia provides nitrogen plus helps the acid along. Then the acid helps the phosphorous absorb. So, I'm expecting to see a big difference very quickly. I ran it through the fertilizer injector. Because of the filter system, I expect any particles which didn't dissolve immediately will get caught in the filter and dissolve more slowly and be applied with subsequent watering. 

Not all of it dissolved (in the time I let it sit), so I saved the part which didn't dissolve and will apply it manually more selectively to the rose bushes and flowers in the front yard tomorrow. Not that it's needed all that much. There are an amazing number and size of roses growing this year! On the down side, they don't last long. They start degrading the same day they bloom. That's because of the salt. Getting better but still a ways to go. It's obvious salt is the problem because of the burned look to the edges, sometimes before the roses completely open. The more water and acid I apply, the less I see the problem. I just don't want to go too far with it and wind up damaging roots. 

One down side I am aware of. Applying the phosphorous will probably cause the lettuce and spinach to bolt faster. But with temperatures hitting 100 degrees or close, it was going to do that, any way. I'm not sure what effect it will have on potatoes but again it's getting so hot I'm going to have to harvest them soon. Hope they got to be a decent size!

On the up side, I'm really hoping it has a positive effect on grapes, tomatoes, apples and so on.

Change of tactics

Tomato plants are not doing so great. Remaining really small. So, I think it was an error to place weed fabric and mulch around them. I think it's stealing nitrogen from the plants and keeping oxygen from the soil. So tomorrow going to pull the weed fabric and mulch from the mounds. Hoping it has been there long enough to help kill off some of the grass and weeds to the surrounding soil. 

Of course, I can't be completely sure. It's a strange year. The Cosmos, which grow at around the same time and rate as the tomatoes are still only inches tall and they're not mulched. Maybe I should wait a few days. Or remove the mulch from a few tomato plants and leave others mulched and see which ones benefit most. 

Going to get up early tomorrow and plant out the remaining tomato seedlings and maybe some pepper seedlings, also. I did note a wild tomato plant or two coming up again where they were last year. Not taking them down but may move them once they gain a little more height.

Because of the heat, I increased the irrigation and made it twice per night in one zone which had been one time per night. Hoping it helps the plants handle the heat better. 

Pulled weeds tonight. Have to trim grass sometime this week.It wasn't completely conscious at first but I noticed today that as I get one kind of weed under control, I am focusing more on other types of weeds. I am getting ahead of some of them. Not all but hoping to get there soon.

Heat has arrived

The hottest time of year has arrived. Over 90 degrees yesterday and today. Expected to hit triple digits in a week or two. So, no question the lettuce is going to bolt. No real harvest this year of lettuce or spinach. Glad the carrots are going. That's it for cool weather crops.

Still one of the worst things about the environment here is how dry it is. Humidity is only 5 percent. That means the temperature doesn't drop very effectively when the sun goes down and there is no such thing as dew in the morning. 

Took a long time for me to realize that the temperature doesn't affect me as much as the low humidity does. Trips out of state and to different areas which were hot but more humid demonstrated that to me. 

Doesn't help in the house so much but for the garden, the irrigation schedule helps simulate cooler temps and morning dew to a good degree. I have timers set for late afternoon and early morning. 

Good side of the increased temperatures are the warm weather crops are perking up more. Not sure we'll see a crop of cilantro at all. Tomatoes are picking up speed a bit. Potted zinnias are gaining size. 

The increased heat helps with the area I've been solarizing. I can pull the plastic off and start planting out this week. May have to harden off a couple of things which have been in partial but not complete sun so far. Have to give them a trial before planting them out.  

Finally got a new filter for the pipe going to two zones which hasn't had a filter for a while. Though when I check the filer still in place, it was pretty much clear. Seems suspending the pipe higher and adding a cap seriously increased the water quality. I did still insert additional material to the center of the filter to help remove as many minerals as possible. 

I'm seeing more effect from the weed killer now. This weed killer can be a bit slow but it's thorough and effective. I'm seeing fewer and fewer immediately evident weeds everywhere. For the moment, it's looking like I may bring the weeds finally under control this year. 

One thing I can state I have accomplished. I have areas which are growing where nothing grew previously. Some of those spots I wasn't completely sure I would ever see grow anything but weeds because it was almost pure clay. Still fighting weeds there and the weeds which are growing indicate the pH is still too high. But that's improving all the time. 

Now I need to get out this week and trim the grass while watching out to not injure toads. I also need to take the chain saw out, trim lower branches of the remaining elm trees. Then take the cordless drill, drill some holes and pour some pure acid in them. At this point, the larger the fruit trees become, the more the elms will limit their growth by crowding roots and stealing nutrients. 

Impatient

No sign of life yet from the red crape myrtle. One possible leaf bud on the new grape vine but so small I can't say for sure. However, it's only been like 3 days since I got them. Of course, it's very likely the crape myrtle was stored in refrigeration, so it has to maintain a growing temperature and conditions for a while before it will awaken. 

So many grasshoppers here this year that a swarm of them showed up on weather radar this evening. There are quite a few on my side of town but most of them are on the north/northwest side. Maybe that's why the toad in the back yard is so chubby already. 

Ordered triple super phosphate today. The soil is lacking phos, so this should help produce more flowers and larger fruit. I checked and this form is water soluble, so I can apply it with the fertilizer injector. Increasing acidity has increased availability of existing phos but phos absorption by plants is definitely pH dependent and increasing acidity does not increase the phos which is present. So I will apply it in conjunction with acid treatments. Really hoping it increases the size of the tomatoes!

Cucumber vines in the containers are starting to look pretty good. One looks like it's starting to vine. 

Some of the apples on the tree are starting to gain a fairly decent size. That is, compared to apples normally seen here. (I am guessing the typically small size is related to the alkalinity of the soil.) 

As of now, I have easily applied 5 times the amount of acid so far this year as I applied all of last year or the year before. With only positive effects seen. Going to keep applying it once a week.  

New respect

I have a newfound respect for vineyard keepers. If you look up information on pruning grape vines, you most often find information telling you to prune the vines in late fall or early spring. The part they leave out is the constant trimming necessary to focus the energy on grape production. 

The way I have come to think of it is this. There are two parts to grape vines. Grapes and vines. You may think if you grow a grape vine that you will soon be eating lots of big grapes. Wrong. First of all, it takes a vine started from a cutting at least 3 years to produce a single grape. Second, you're thinking of growing grapes. The grape vine has other ideas. It tries to keep growing more vine and expends most of it's energy doing this. So, it is necessary to trim the vine at least weekly to keep the vine's energy focused on the grapes. 

One thing I have learned and been surprised about. Grape vines grow really, really deep roots. Like 20 ft deep! My soil here is really hard clay beneath the surface. But below that, the water table is only 5-6 ft deep. The indication I see is that the vines which were here when I moved in probably never had consistent irrigation, allowing more than a small portion of the roots push down to the water table. That explains why my vines are pretty much exploding this year. They've had consistent irrigation the last couple of years (along with fertilization), allowing the roots to expand and grow deeper. Same is true with the plum and apple trees. 

Think I'm overdoing it with trees, unless I keep them topped to small proportions. Which I pretty much plan on doing. First, to keep the fruit trees so fruit is in reach and (I hope) larger size. Second, so be able to grow a larger variety. Last and far from least, I kind of figure that if the water table is that close to the surface, that means larger trees will be less stable. Think I need to talk to my neighbor with the 100 ft tall tree to my west. 

Got the red crape myrtle and the green seedless grape vine today. Both came in dormant but that's okay. Soaked them both in water in the tub for a few hours, then planted them both in buckets. Crossing my fingers that they grow! 

Misconceptions

Been working through some misconceptions I've had from year to year. Biggest is that the garden was doing so much better last year at this time than it is this year. 

Part of that is misconception. Looked back at old blogs and found we had our first ripe tomato last year in mid-July. However, I looked at pictures from last year and saw that the tomato plants were considerably larger this time last year than they are right now. 

There are a couple of influences involved in that. One is that the weather has been considerably cooler this year. Spring came early last year. Another is that I had a lot more time to work on the garden last year. It was around this time last year that I got the job which took me out of town so much. The first job, that is. The effort is less important than the weather, though. Pics from last year this week show the sunflowers and Cosmos were also much taller than they currently are.

Any way, things are starting to catch up now. We had lots of rain this past weekend but the weather is warming up. Not too much, so cool weather crops look like they'll last for a while before bolting. 

So, I guess we should expect our first ripe tomatoes coming in somewhere around late July this year. Still hoping new seedlings will develop rapidly enough to get in the ground in the next 2-3 weeks, so they won't be too far behind. 

Slow progress

Got out and sprayed a lot do weed killer this morning. They're growing unbelievably dense in some spots. I may just have to kill everything in those spots and replant. Just glad I had a few hours this morning with no rain so I could spray and it had a chance to soak in to the applied plants before it rained this afternoon. 

Also sprayed all around the outside of the house for insects, still trying to get rid of ticks. Seen a few other bugs inside the house but nothing in big numbers and all were dying already. Doesn't hurt to extend the barrier further and make sure it lasts longer.

Daughter was happy with picking lettuce and eating it today. 

Remain ain't tomato plants are looking much better. The new seedlings are starting to sprout and the seedlings still in containers are looking a little better than they were. 

Still fairly amazed at just how well the grape vines are looking. Though think I will do a bit more reading on how to grow grapes and see if there are any extra steps I can take to improve the crop. 

Happy to see that hundreds of carrots appear to be sprouting. Should be a good year for them. Also a good year for potatoes, comparatively. Better than any previous year I've planted potatoes. Cilantro is coming along slowly. 

The spring garden hasn't done very much this year. Trying to be sure I have other things started so the summer does much better. 

The cucumber vines are looking pretty good in buckets. Lots of pepper plants to transplant out soon. Only a few watermelon vines, thanks to the dog I gave away this last week. Have to start more of those plus cantaloupe this week. 

Pride of Madeira is sprouting. That's excellent, since some sources say it can take up to 6 weeks to sprout. Been less than 2 weeks since I planted the seeds.

Rains and weeds

Been getting some rain this week here. Unfortunately, it's causing the weed population to run rampant. Going to have to get out and spray a lot this weeks to bring it under control because some areas are seriously dense with weeds now. Have to catch them before they seed. I may wind up killing off some flower sprouts in some area which are too densely populated to even see the flower sprouts. But I can replant the flowers. I have plenty of seeds saved over. 

Planted out the honeysuckle vine this afternoon near the back gate. It was looking sad in the small container.

Ladybugs same in the mail today. Daughter and I released them this evening after running the sprinklers and it had rained earlier. They arrived with good timing, on the weekend while she is here and just when needed because the aphids are running wild and doing lots of damage. 

Pissed off

Yesterday I punished the one puppy for eating a flat of plants. The result? Last night or this morning, the same puppy chewed up part of another flat of plants. Right now, that dog is very unhappy. Not harmed but very not happy. 

I hate people who claim dogs are smart creatures. Maybe in comparison to the owners who have that belief but otherwise, not so much. Mice and rats learn faster than dogs do. 

Poor memory

I'm pretty sure I go through the same memory issues every year. Thinking things were growing earlier the previous year. That's where my blog comes in handy for me. Looked back over last year's blogs and found I had tomato plants only 1" above soil surface this time last year and didn't have any tomatoes until July. So, that helps me cool my heels and stop having unreal expectations or disappointment. If anything, I actually am ahead of last year for what tomato plants have survived. 

Once again, dogs have done damage. The one puppy without a collar for the invisible fence has been getting in the garden and doing damage. I'm currently down to 8 tomato plants. She has been pulling the weed fabric out from under the mulch and destroying tomato plants in the process. She also ate an entire flat of plants today. She goes tomorrow. Her mother goes probably Thur morning.

Got out and pulled weeds this evening. I'm still winning the battle so far this year. Getting most of the bindweed pulled before it gains any strong roots. Long as I can keep it pulled before it goes to seed, I'll have that particular war won at last.

I also trimmed the trees some more. Especially the plum tree. Twined the two remaining trunks better and tied them more. The plum trunks are thin and flexible, so it should help strengthen the tree as it grows. Trimmed all the lower branches to encourage the formation into a tree instead of a bush. Twined one very long branch of the apple tree around the main trunk for the same purpose. 

I'm impressed and happy with the apple tree this year. I've spotted 17 apples growing on it so far. Only had one or two last year. Still hoping they grow to a decent size but I'm not completely sure apples will attain a good size in the heat we experience here. Guess I'll find out eventually. 

Plums are gaining a decent size already for plums. Again, not sure just how big they will get but they look promising.

Phosphorous

Not too much done today but I did trim most of the grass in the back yard. Need to drag the outdoor electric cord from the front into the back yard and combine the cords to reach the far side of the yard. Looks better, though.

Fixed the fertilizer injector this evening. It came a apart a few days ago and got some new parts yesterday. Ran a mix of fertilizer, ammonia and acid through the lines (which I had mixed last week and was trying to run when the parts failed). 

I really need more phosphorous for the garden. One of the biggest reasons for the fertilizer. I have nitrogen via the well water and ammonia. The soil tests high for potassium and that remains in the soil for a long, long time. 

I could obtain manure but my concern is salt content. For that reason and not having a way to transport manure, I think it better to buy rock phosphate.

This does bring acidity back as an issue. Availability of phosphates to plants is pH dependent. Most sources say 6.0 to 7.0. However, I suspect the main key is that it remains unavailable if the environment is too alkaline. There may be phosphates present in the soil which have been unlocked by the acid treatments I've done. The more acid I have applied, the better the results I have seen. Mixing acid and ammonia has had amazing results. More flowers, more fruit. 

I'm really hoping for some extreme results from the tomatoes this year. If they ever get really growing. Really starting late this year because of the temperature swings. But so is everything else. I'm just now seeing lettuce forming into small heads truly identifiable as lettuce. 

In any case, I am looking at buying some super phosphate for the garden to increase yield. 

Fruit!

Went out to check the fruit trees today and see how they're doing. We have fruit forming!

The red apple tree has at least 15 apples forming and the plum tree has at least 2 dozen green plums! 

No, this year begins the task of training all of the trees. Nearly all the trees are growing ancillary trunks. Conventional wisdom says to trim them back to one trunk. But I tend to enjoy taking a different approach. I did trim away most of the ancillary trunks but left two for each tree. The ancillary trunks are all very flexible, so I wrapped them around the larger trunks and tied them in place with twine. I've seen trees grow with entwined trunks in nature, so I know it's not a problem. and they will remain healthy this way. My thinking is that this will make the trees more interesting in appearance plus stronger in the 65 mph winds we get here. 

Plus, growing for fruit and preferring short, stout trees that produce decent size fruit, I'll top the trees off at 12-15 ft tall. Not full grown but not miniature, either. I think they should grow full size fruit at that height, while being primarily in reach. 

I ordered a Thompson Seedless Grape vine this week. Most people enjoy seedless grapes for eating, so it makes sense. Not taking down the seeded vines just yet but may in the future if I can propagate the seedless vines. If that happens, it will take a few years. 

Less lazy

Weather is fairly decent today. Talked myself into getting out and getting a few things done. Pulled weeds. The war of the bindweed continues but so far I seem to be winning this year. So far..

Removed the old swamp cooler motor after confirming that was the problem. Yep. Have to get a new one this weekend. Had hopes when it ran for a minute but then it threw the breaker. Oh, well. At least I can afford a new motor and, even if not, have the window units. 

Trimmed the grape vines. Not a small job. Trimmed enough off to form a whole other vine! Mostly trimmed back to where the grapes are forming but still had to cut off some small grape bunches which were forming. Just too many of them! That's a huge change from when I moved in here. When I moved in, neither of these vines were producing grapes at all. I actually did not know they were grape vines for the first year or two. The one on the north I did not know until two years ago. Each year since I've learned this, they have done a little better. Obviously, when I moved in, they had been seriously neglected for years, even decades. Still kind of pisses me off that the neighbors cut one whole vine down. Noted it was more on their property but what the hell? I had started taking care of it and it had started producing grapes with huge numbers on their side of the fence. I'm not sure if that was just territorial or what but giving up free grapes just to be petty is really sad. Not like I asked them for anything because I never have. Nothing. Ever. Fucking pathetic. But that's the "culture" (sic) here. 

Nice weather

The weather appears like it will be nice for the next couple of weeks. No higher than 80's and no huge wind storms in the forecast. 

Only one day in the forecast with rain stated as possible. Meteorologist on the news the other day said the El Nino probably won't cause any rain during this summer, instead cause rain and snow in fall and winter. So that pattern will have to remain in place through next spring and summer to bring rain during those times.

Oh, well. The water reservoirs here are at their highest levels in at least 14 years, due to rains last year and runoff from further north. (So most of it is from CO.) Locally, I think it could rain non-stop for the next two years and they would still declare NM in a drought because they're acting like to be out of drought the rain has to catch up with past deficits. And because they can be dramatic about it. And the water utility can keep adding extra charges. 

Still rather cool this morning due to the cold front that came through. Just glad I got no frost. Everything survived. 

Definitely have to trim back the grape vines. Took a closer look this morning and they are sprouting massive numbers of new vines. Have to trim them back to where the grapes are growing to increase the size of the grapes. Lots of those!

Going to keep the tomato plants trimmed a bit more this year to try and grow bigger tomatoes, too. May be fewer in number but shooting for larger in size. Hoping the mulch helps, also by decreasing plant stress and maybe increasing soil quality. Should be good for earthworm environment under the mulch. 

Checked the water line to the compost. Happily, the dogs did not chew up the line. So, want to see how the plastic does for speeding up the composting process. Water line in place and black plastic on top should retain more consistent moisture. I did add some ammonia last week for Nitrogen. 

Started the Pride of Madeira seeds in containers last night. Keeping those to a minimum because the plants grow really big. But the flowers are large and pretty and attract lots of pollinators. Won't see any flowers from them this year. They don't bloom until at least the second year of growth. From what I've read, they grow rather quickly. 

I'm happy with my schedule right now. Not picking up a lot of extra hours this week, so more relaxed. It does mean a little less money but sometimes that has to take a back seat. Been on a push for the last few months to bring the mortgage current. Did that a month ahead of even my own projections, so I feel good about it. (The bank seriously hates it!) I can afford to relax a little for a short while. Then start working extra again to attain other goals. However, those goals will be more substantial, moving forward rather than catching up. That's a nice feeling!

No gardening today

Not really cold but abnormally cool for this time of year this week. Some parts of the state and even the city had snow last night and this morning. Some areas have freeze warnings tonight. There is a freeze warning for my area but I have serious doubts about that. So do several weather forecasters.

Haven't been doing all that much outside so far this week and have lots to do inside. Though I do need to get out one evening and trim grass. 

I did go out and spray weed and grass killer. There was grass peeking through gaps in the weed fabric and mulch. Gaps are there because I did the mounds and trenches separately. So I did go ahead and spray the grass where it's not too close to the crops. It's also a short acting herbicide. Did that while the wind was calm. 

I see sunflowers and Cosmos sprouting lots of places now. So, hoping to get lots of flowers this summer. I have lots of additional flowers starting in containers for transplant later. Marigolds, Zinnias and Blue Bonnets. Lavender and Gladiolus are pretty well developed but not blooming yet. Not lacking on pollinators so far, for what is growing at this point. 

Grape vines are looking kind of shaggy! Just trimmed them a few days ago but they keep sprouting off new runners. Going to have to keep those trimmed if I want some decent size grapes this year. Watching closely to be sure I'm not cutting off new grape growth. 

Saw some small baby apples starting to form the other day. Only had like two last year but think we may have more this year. Hopefully a decent size, too. May lack until the other apple tree gets big enough to flower, for cross-pollination. Not seeing any plums yet. The tree has been kind of young before but hoping for at least a couple of plums this year.  

Confused tomatoes

This finally seems like it will be the year! Only a limited amount is growing so far but what is growing is actually the shade of emerald green which has been my goal. I've had limited and isolated success last couple of years in different spots but but this year the results are looking a lot more consistent. 

The cool weather continuing (somewhat) is helping some things. Especially the carrots. I see lots of them coming up. Daughter should be really happy about that! 

On the other hand, the warm weather crops are seriously confused. I guess all the crops are confused. Getting too warm for cool weather crops and too cool for warm weather crops. 

So, things are off to a late start this year. Probably also means a short growing season this year. However, good chance it won't be such a hot summer and there is a greater chance of rain this year. So, even if it's a short season it should be a good one. 

Still a bit of a battle with weeds but it's getting slowly easier. It is taking application of lots of weed killer outside the main garden. Just have to stick with hands and knees tactics inside the main garden. Grass is still fairly rampant. Can't quite keep up with that too well. Not too much of a problem yet, as it acts as a natural living mulch for deeper root crops. Not so great for more shallow and younger crops. It does help regulate soil temperature and surface moisture, though.

The puppies have been invading the garden and tearing some things apart. One is a follower and one is a leader. I had one more collar for the invisible fence, so I put it on the leader. Haven't had a problem since. The collar is slightly large for him but only slightly. Wasn't much else to do, since chasing them out of the garden wasn't teaching them anything except to try and not get caught or to get out of the garden when I walked out the door. 

A lot of other tasks to work on, not garden-related. So, gardening time is limited. Hope to have most of the other stuff done in a few weeks. 

Some success

It's looking like I'm having some success slowly with the acid for the elm trees. Lower branches are dying off and leaves are slowly curling up. Another treatment or two should do it. I have enough on hand for one treatment but have to buy more for a second treatment. The effect hasn't reached the upper parts of the trees yet but watching for it. As it is, it's a lot easier to take out the chain saw and cut off the lower branches to get closer to the trunk. 

Some of the tomato plants in the ground are looking better, greener. Took until the temperatures were staying above 50 consistently. The mulch may have helped a little but not all that much, as late as I got it in place. May help more next year. Still going to try and have some kind of shelter in place for at least part of the garden before next spring. Not my first line priority, though. Would be cool to have tomato plants mature enough to produce by March, though. And/or producing into December.

I know I won't be able to keep tomatoes going all year but a shelter which maintained a temperature just above freezing would be good for cool weather crops like lettuce and broccoli in the winter. 

Lots more seedlings looking good. The size of many of the containers I have them in reduces or eliminates transplant shock. Watermelon plants will be ready to plant in soon as the lettuce is fully harvested. 

I still keep working toward the goal of having the majority of my basic foods coming from the garden. Especially the more expensive produce. 

For the first time, I've kept two blueberry bushes alive for several months. That is keeping them in containers but that's acceptable for now. A few strawberry vines are still alive in containers, as well. Hoping to expand on those by harvesting runners. 

Kale is coming up but still pretty smal for the moment. 

Happy with things so far this year. Just have to keep the weeds controlled this summer. 

Success so far!

The paper planters I made are showing some success so far! Sprouts coming up in a whole bunch of the paper planters that I started last week. These are intentionally large planters, so there's plenty of root space, so no need to rush to get them in the ground. These are pretty much all flowers and they could potentially remain in the planters and bloom as they are. However, these are planned for the flower bed which is currently going through the solarization process. 

Things are greening up! Unfortunately, a large part of the green in the garden is grass and weeds. Need to get out and pull a bunch of stuff. As usual, it's difficult so far to tell some weeds from some crops, until the bindweed starts vining, then I can tell the difference. Guess my biggest goal this year is to remove the bindweed before it goes to seed, so it will be easier to control next year. Keep that process going until it's gone. Same with the grass. 

I am making progress by different steps. Acidifying the soil decreases or kills some weeds. Mulching decreases area they have the ability to grow. Decreasing the growth area means less space to have to control. Chemicals applied around the garden means fewer seeds blown in. Keeping the dogs out means fewer weed seeds tracked in. 

 So, if I get down to the manual pulling and keep up with it in the areas where I can't mulch, the conditions should get better year upon year. 

I will get out and do some work in the garden this week but not too much. I have some other projects indoors which need attention. Hoping I can accomplish that/those in one or two evenings. 

Daughter has been trying to talk me into getting a Honeysuckle bush for a while, so we got one of those this weekend. Now we just have to pick out a spot for it. 

Cool spell

I am winding up not too upset about the cool weather we've been having. It has slowed down the growth of some things. However, it has allowed more lettuce and spinach to germinate, so I'm seeing a lot more coming up now. 

On the down side, seeing a lot more grass and weeds coming up. Going to be no small battle this summer, even with other steps taken.

Got the last bag of black mulch for the one trench which needed that. So, all the walkway trenches are mulched. I probably will lay down fabric and mulch for the edge trenches. Once I get this done, it should be good for at least two years with only a little extra mulch added next year. May last longer. 

The pumpkin plants I transplanted out all died. So I planted some more seeds for giants this evening. Picked some of the dampest soil for the spots, where they tend to do best. 

Yet more mulch

Have all the trenches mulched now and some of the mounds. Still a bit more to do with the mounds but it's looking pretty decent. 

Lettuce is slowly coming up. Tomato plants are struggling because the temperature is swinging wildly. I may start a few more tomato seeds just in case. They would be late to mature but they would produce this season. 

Unexpectedly, potatoes are looking pretty good so far. 

Gave another shot at using acid to kill off the Chinese elm trees tonight. Mixed acid, ammonia nod water. Used at least 2 1/2 gals of acid. Poured the mixture in the soil, let it sink in and kept spraying more water until the ground was saturated, which should let it get down to root level. I'll keep repeating that process until I see some results. It's still the least toxic approach I can think of. 

All of the trees I've planted are now doing really well. So are the rose bushes.

So it looks like I'm actually learning something and the work I've done is producing some results! Yay!

More mulch

Got the second big row covered with weed fabric and mulch this evening. 

Planted the rest of the tomatoes I had started. Some kind of small but hoping they survive. 

Planted out peppers. Pretty sure most of them will make it.

Most of the things I planted out today aren't mulched yet. However, the ground is well irrigated and the plants are hardened off. Long as there isn't too much sodium in the soil for them, they should survive. 

Lettuce is coming up. Still quite tiny. 

Pulled quite a bit of bindweed. Thousands more coming up but can't reliably tell the difference between that, lettuce and spinach yet. Have to pull it as it grows to an identifiable point. Going to be a big job all summer. If I don't seem to win the battle during the summer, I'll solarize the whole garden in the fall, when it's still warm enough to do so and just keep the fall crops to a minimum.