Update On The Garden

      I called my county extension agent again, and she offered to send some of my plants to the college to see whats going on with them... for free. Cant beat free. She said it would take about a week. I have about 1/2 of my tomato plants left. The ones that are thriving, are growing hug. I am 5'6" tall, and there are a few starting above my head. There are also lots of blooms and baby toms.

My first little baby hot pepper for the season. You can barely see it. It's all of about 1/8" across.

One of my garlics are blooming.

My first time growing cauliflower, broccoli, and cabbage. Sorry, I already picked the ready cauliflower  :)

My second time growing peas. My first time trying Super Sugar Snap  Peas. I ran out of room in the garden for now. I will try some more later in the season.

My newly sown herbs: Cilantro, Basil, Marjoram, etc. I placed them at the base of my water fountain to keep them moist for sprouting..

As you can see I am babysitting three of my grand daughters for the past couple of days. Far left, I put in 3 quick rows of Pole beans. Stringless Blue Lake. Next to the right, is my Kennebec potatoes. They grew to over 3 ft, then flopped over and grew at least a foot more. Still waiting on blooms. I have seen 2-3.. Then farther right is the tomato bed with T-frames. Some of these are pushing 6 foot tall already. Then there is the enclosed garden. In the front of the fence I have some cantaloupes,  and watermelon.

I love the baby blues and hint of green in this Hydrangea. There are only a few places I can grow it to get bloom. It blooms on old wood, and I am pushing my zone with it. If I leave it in an unprotected area, the branches die, come back next year, but wont bloom. This one is growing in the back of my house, protected from cold winds by the house.

I like the multiple petals of  this pretty Rudbeckia.

Beautiful pink Powderpuff Hollyhock.

Disease and More Disease! When Will It End

I have determined it was not actually a calcium deficiency, but disease effecting my precious tomatoes. Out of the 80 I have had to pull approx 10 plants. removed diseased limbs. I am somewhat sure I have the dreaded Fusarium Wilt (no cure), and some Early Blight as seen in pic 5. Also possibly White Mold, according to the county extension agent. I have sprayed everything twice with a bleach spray which is a combo of 1 gallon of water and 5 oz bleach. Most of my plants look good. I am just praying that Fusarium doesnt spread around to everything thats left. I am going to purchase Copper Dragon per extension agent recomendation,and probably Mancozeb as well per someone's advise from a tomato forum. I had such high hopes for my garden this year. I am getting quite a few bloom on the tomatoes and also some setting fruit.

Calcium Deficiency?

Somebody Ruined Our Paint Job

      My husband pressure washed out back porch to remove lose paint, and we added a fresh coat of paint. First we applied the white to railings and trim last night. Then this morning My husband rushed right in and did the Darker stain to the deck and steps. Everything looked so clean and fresh. He then placed the ladder in front of the steps to try and deter the cats and dogs.

                                                        Well the dogs got the hint.
 And cats do, as cats please. I don't think they cared one way or the other. Actually I should say "cat" singular. Because the fella was caught in the act. My husband said yesterday, no one would bother it except our black male. He figured he would end up rolling in it, just to prove he could. Well, close.
He left his little gray paw marks all down the upper railing:

  Then over the next railing:

Then down the hand rail:

Then down the landscaping timbers framing the walk

But dont feel too bad for the poor kitty, he did finally get his feet cleaned off:

 His finished his little trail of destruction down the landscaping timbers then if you look closely you can see where he left the last of it in the grass.
                                    Now it's time for a nap. Funny, he don't look too guilty.

T-Frames For The Tomato Supports Installed

     My husband finished building and installing the T-Frames into my tomato bed this morning. All thats left is to put in the tie wire at the base of the plants and tie them up. Things are really looking good. We plan on finishing the irrigation this weekend as well. The potatoes on the far left are now a whopping 2 foot tall and growing.
     

This shows the two big beds outside the potager fence, and the T-frames installed in the one bed.

This bed is 5 feet wide so the top of the frame extends a foot on each side. As you can see, he placed 3/4" conduit on the edges between the frames instead of the traditional 2x4's. He thought these would tend to sag less over time. If you were going to make this into a high tunnel or greenhouse sometime later by installing hoops at the top with the pvc, then you would need to use boards. Next year I am only going to place the hoops at the bottom for a low tunnel for an earlier start on the tomatoes.

Potato Comparison, 3 Days Later

     My potatoes continue to grow like crazy. The plants look very healthy and lush. Some of them are already about a foot tall. I just took another updated photo.

the pic added to the far right, shows the plants as they are today. Three days after the middle pic. You can't eve see the irrigation pipes now.

I also gave all 80 of my tomato plants about a tsp of calcium nitrate today. I will gradually move them up to about a tablespoon every 10 days.

How Much Does Mittleider Costs?

     You may have looked at the growfood website, and thought the Mittleider Method was going to be very expensive. I want to tell you, "It's Not". You can make it as expensive as you want tho. There are only a few materials needed. some can be purchased locally at your stores. The only thing "required" to be bought through growfood.com is the Mittleider Natural Mineral Fertilizers. Found HERE. It costs $13.95 plus shipping but should last the entire season. They are simply essential micro-nutrients that get expended out of the soil that your plants need.

This provides two bags. You sinply mix one of these bags with your 25 lbs of fertilizer bought from Lowes, Walmart, Home Depot, etc. They recommend 13-13-13, up to 19-19-19. Most people buy fertilizer anyway for the garden, so this really isnt an extra expense. Also add 4 lbs of Epsom Salts which can be purchased at Walmart for a little under $3. This will make up your "Weekly Feed" which will be applied weekly at a rate of 1/2 oz per linear foot in an 18" wide bed. So not a lot required.

Then for your "Pre-Plant" mix, you will use 40 lbs of lime or gypsum, depending how much your average rainfall is.  If you get more than 20 " rain per year, then you apply Lime, If less, then apply gypsum from the concrete department of your home improvement store. add this to 2 lb of Epsom salts, again under $3 for 4 lb bag. also add 1/2 lb of 20 Mule Team Borax for the boron , which can be found at walmart or other stores in their laundry supply area. for about $4 for a large box.

Now for the "Recommended". Most will recommend you purchase the  "Mittleider Gardening Course" book. For a full understanding of the program. It ranges from $14.95 for a downloadable E-book, to the $19.95 paperback book. some people like that they can take this in hand right to the garden with them.It can be found HERE.


Others like the wonderful SEARCHABLE pdf version which is $59.95. It can be found HERE.

So for a re-cap you need:

20 Mule Team Borax.....about $4

Epsom salts...................about $3

Fertilizer...for 40 lb bag..........$16.99

Micro Nutrients..... ...............$13.95 plus shipping

Lime ( or gypsum) for 50 lb.......$3

So for around $40 you can fertilize your entire garden (depending on size) for the entire growing season. Plus reap the benefits of healthy, strong plants, and dramatically INCREASE your production from the vegetables and fruits you plant. Making the little expense more than worthwhile.

As for raised beds, you dont HAVE to make raised beds or use the soilless mixes, just plant directly into your current garden soil. You also dont have to have the irrigation, you can just water by hand. So why not test this method out for yourself?

Huge Growth Of Potatoes In Just 3 Days!

      I tell you, a picture really is worth a thousand words. I have been admiring the before and after pics showing plant growth in the Mittleider facebook  FORUM for a few days. Then I would look at some of my vegetables and think I havent noticed much change. I wasnt going to bother taking a pic of my potatoes since it had only been 3 days since the last, and I really didnt "see" any change. Then I thought, "what the heck", take it anyway, then you can compare later. So I did. Then I went ahead and played with Pait, and placed them side by side for an accurate comparison. Whooaa! Look at the change in just 3 days!. I think this Mittleider method, is what I have been looking for. Plants look very healthy, and the growth rate already is unbelievable, literally. I know some will say, its probably just due to the nitrogen, but that doesnt mean you will have an increase in harvest, but look at my strawberry blooms I posted previously. I can't be more pleased.

3 Days! Unbelievable!

Automatic watering System Going In

   We have been working all weekend on getting this system in. Remember in a previous post I showed my plans for the system.

The first two beds to the far left are done. still working on the long narrow one on left side of potager, and the side on the far right. The first two center 4x8 beds are done, but need more connections to finish the 4x8 ft bed on right and the piping to the front of the garden. 

This is the 5x16 ft bed on the far left. It has three irrigation lines running down it, with potatoes planted on each side. The Mittleider system usually uses a single line in an 18" wide bed, or 2 lines in a 4' wide bed. But my husband wanted two 5' wide beds, so thats what we did.

This is one of the 4x8' beds in the center with 2 lines. I tend to plant pretty thickly trying to get as much in as possible. This is the bed with the huge  garlic.

Information on how to cheaply design and install your own irrigation, check out my other Mittleider posts, and the LINK to the left at the top of my right side bar.

ps: We are expecting temps down to 31 degrees for tonight and tomorrow night, so I got as much of the garden covered with tarps an plastic as I could. Praying my precious plants survive.