Green Dragon's 2024 Grow

[GreenDragon]

Inspired by Bob's careful yearly planning of each year's grow, I took some time to graph out the garden to facilitate planning for 2024. I generally try not to plant the same species in the same bed two years in a row, so I charted out our 2023 garden to aid in crop rotation for 2024. I then replicated and cleared it for planning this year. Right as I was finishing this, a large box of seeds (1 cubic foot) was delivered by UPS for my wife. I may be growing in Home Depot buckets this year...

I've been diligently working on the garage the past couple of weekends to get it clean and organized enough to set up my spring seed sprouting station. And of course, as I can never do anything simply, the initiative to just organize it evolved into epoxy sealing the floor, re-organizing everything, purging unused stuff, painting the storage shelving, and then putting everything back where it belonged! Hopefully will finish this weekend.

 

[deluxestogie]

I usually plant pumpkins or heavy, vining squash at the end of a bed, since they always misbehave.

Bob

 

[GreenDragon]

Progress update for the new year's grow. I finally got around to sowing this year's seeds consisting of five varieties: Glessner, Little Dutch, Japan 8, Pergeu Brazil, and Ostralist.



Negotiations on garden space and species continues between the Wife and I, but here is where we are at as of today.



I've also been working on ways to reduce crop loss due to the depredations and uncouth potty habits of our three dogs. With the addition of the third dog last year losses have increased from 20% to almost 50% for our winter plantings (see image below of recent carnage). This is due to 1) Trampling seedlings, 2) Death by dog pee ("It burns!!!"), and 3) outright eating my crops. They especially like cabbage and collards. So I purchased an invisible fence to keep the critters out and hope to install it this coming weekend. I've lost two weekends to torrential rains and last weekend to a nasty stomach flu.

 

[GreenDragon]

Time marches on and progress continues. After several rainy weekends and a bout of stomach flu, I finally was able to get out in the yard and work on the garden. I laid out the invisible fence and tested it (all good), now just have to have a few training sessions with the puppers. Then I weeded several of the beds and topped them off with fresh soil & compost. As you can see in the front bed the shallots and garlic are doing well, along with the rainbow chard and collards in the background. While removing the dead canes of my asparagus I found several sprouts popping up out of the ground. And this morning I noticed that the maple trees have broken their buds already - I guess spring is on it's way! Finally I have some baby 'baccy seedlings coming in.

 

[GreenDragon]

Unfortunately not a grow update today but one of a more personal nature. We had to put our cat Koko down this morning as he suffered a stroke over the weekend. We adopted him and his brother 10 years ago from a local rescue. We named them Quinn and Koko AKA the good one and the a** hole. As you can infer from their names one was an angel and the other one had a surplus of “personality”. This personality included stealing the Thanksgiving turkey off the table, stealing whole loafs of bread and sticks of butter from the counter, getting stuck in an 80 foot pine tree for several days in a winter storm… the list goes on and on. He was also my constant lap buddy during Covid when I worked from home and loved to sleep on my chest weekend mornings. We lost his brother Quinn about six months ago to kidney failure, and Koko passed today. Here is a picture of them napping together in better days.

 

[deluxestogie]

Ten years is a long time.

Bob

 

[FrostD]

Condolences brother on you & your family’s loss.

 

[GreenDragon]

So far so good. I finally got germination on all 6 varieties that I planted, and the babies are doing well. This pic is a few days old, and I will be thinning them tomorrow.

I also doubled the size of the terraced area of the garden (200 retaining wall bricks - those things are heavy!) over the weekend. Thankfully #2 Son helped haul them into the backyard. The wife is already recalculating what and where she wants to plant in the spring garden.

 

[GreenDragon]

This weekend I thinned out the seedlings to 2-3 plants per cell. I'll wait two more weeks and cull down to one per cell. Also direct seeded luffa, sweet pea, purple hyacinth vine, morning glory, and hollyhock seeds in the yard this morning after a soak overnight. Peach trees started blooming this morning. Hope we don't get a late freeze again like last year!

 

[Old Gasman]

Your garden looks lovely but I'm intrigued by the sky, what colour do you call that .

 

[GreenDragon]

Your garden looks lovely but I'm intrigued by the sky, what colour do you call that .

LOL - we call that Sunshine Blue

 

[GreenDragon]

Seedlings are doing well. The slow germinating varieties are catching up with the rest. I took the opportunity to thin the tobacco to one seedling per cell, then set everything out to start hardening off.


Garlic and shallots are thriving. Highly recommend interplanting with clover - they really seem to do well together.


My shade garden is waking up. It's hard to tell from the picture but the Hostas that are planted next to the house wall are getting ready to explode upwards. Can't wait to see it in a few more weeks.


As is the asparagus! Will definitely have to divide it this winter. No sign yet of the rhubarb, which is usually the centerpiece of this bed.


Visitor on the peach tree.


I used the last harvest of collard greens to make some sauerkraut and was able to get three quart jars out of the batch. I love the green color over the traditional pale white of cabbage. Tastes great too.


And finally, let's not forget what time of year it is!

 

[deluxestogie]

Your visitor is the Virginia state insect:

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly

Tiger Swallowtail, Butterflies of Northern Virginia, as described by the Prince William Conservation Alliance

www.pwconserve.org

Bob

 

[GreenDragon]

I did my ecological duty today. My son and I cut down 3 more Crepe Myrtles from the back yard, making five of six that were in the yard when we bought the house. Why do I hate them so? They are a non-native species that is semi-invasive here in the south. They grow super fast (which is why people buy them) but once they are a couple years old they will take over the postage stamp sized yards that are standard now. This forces people to trim them every other year (usually badly - we call it committing “Crepe Murder”. Doesn’t kill the tree but it looks awful for six months or so.). I’m getting old, and my philosophy now is that if it grows in my yard it has to earn its keep by either attributing to the aesthetics of the yard, being edible, or worth any effort I have to put into it.

Anyway, now I have room for more fruit trees! I replaced a dead apple tree today with a Brown Turkey Fig, and will be planting some pear trees tomorrow.

The wife ordered some Paw Paws and Persimmons online that I planted last week, but I’m skeptical they will grow. They were literally twigs (2’ x .25”) that had a few bare roots. Stand by for updates.

Pictured is #2 Son breaking down the trees into two piles. One are the small limbs and twigs we will burn tomorrow. The other is for the more substantial trunks that we will cut down into firewood for next winter and some will be made into walking sticks. Shown are two of three trees processed. The wood is very light when dried but very strong - makes great walking sticks.

Note: The Lab decided help and started moving the sticks between the two piles. Apparently he decided we were not grading them correctly.

While it’s going to get into the 80s F the next few days it’s going to dip into the 30s again later next week, so will wait another week before planting out.

 

[GreenDragon]

Yesterday was planting day! All the seedlings found a new home out in the garden. I also remembered to plant some "extras" in a safe space, just in case.



The rest of the garden is doing well also. Celery:


Herb Bed


Taters in grow bags


Scallions and Garlic

 

[manfisher]

Unfortunately not a grow update today but one of a more personal nature. We had to put our cat Koko down this morning as he suffered a stroke over the weekend. We adopted him and his brother 10 years ago from a local rescue. We named them Quinn and Koko AKA the good one and the a** hole. As you can infer from their names one was an angel and the other one had a surplus of “personality”. This personality included stealing the Thanksgiving turkey off the table, stealing whole loafs of bread and sticks of butter from the counter, getting stuck in an 80 foot pine tree for several days in a winter storm… the list goes on and on. He was also my constant lap buddy during Covid when I worked from home and loved to sleep on my chest weekend mornings. We lost his brother Quinn about six months ago to kidney failure, and Koko passed today. Here is a picture of them napping together in better days.

View attachment 49847

A little late but I’m sorry to hear this! We lost ours several months ago too, so I know that heartache (also kidney failure). If you get new cats remember, you’re not replacing or forgetting your old ones, just adding new members to the family

 

[GreenDragon]

Tobacco transplants have settled in and are starting to take off.


Tomato and Pepper beds.


Potato, lilies, and berries.


Nectarines. Had to prop up the tree after taking this picture it was leaning so badly.


Roses are doing great this year.


My buddy playing in the clover lawn.

 

[deluxestogie]

 

[GreenDragon]

The T babies are doing well and the Cicadas have arrived! The ones here in NC look and sound very different to those I’m used to in central Texas. These are black and red in color and their call is a weird droning whiring sound very much like a sci-fi movie sound effect (alien mind control ray, etc). While odd the calls are not too annoying - rather they make you stop and say “what is that”?

The ones in the Austin area were larger (isn’t everything in Texas?), green, and the call was like a buzz saw. Two or three together in a tree would literally make your head hurt the sound was so loud and dissonant.

 

[MadFarmer]

I'd appreciate a recording! I could return the favor in a month so the forum can hear the difference.