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.