Plant Project

I experienced some success last year with my indoor vegetable plants. We had yummy lettuces for ages from those plants. This fall I bought two potted herbs, Basil and Rosemary. I potted them and put them in my sunniest window. It faces south west so it gets about 5 hours of direct sun light during this time of year.



The middle plant is a Money Tree given to me as a birthday present by a friend.

Last night I found a parsley plant at my grocery store and bought it to expand my window garden. I also found some lettuce seeds in my stash and am going to start a potted lettuce bed.

I did plant radishes last year but they never did bulk up in the root but the greens looked good.

One day I would like to expand into some hydroponic growing and try tomatoes, or cucumber, maybe peppers. But ultimately I would like to use a system that runs on solar, storing the energy for use at night. Here in Canada, the northern hemisphere we are only getting 8 hours of sunlight, IF it's not overcast, which our winters usually are. Because of the location of my window I am lucky to get as much sunlight as I do for my herbs.

I use the herbs on chicken, in soups and the parsley is a must have for a gluten free Shepard's Pie recipe I use to make all the time. Maybe I will try drying some herbs for longer storage.

Tomato Season

I came home from a 10 day vacation expecting my garden to be toast. I had canned 8 jars of tomatoes before we left so I figured I would be lucky to be able to do a few more once I got back. The plants looked a little worse for ware, all limp and brown with only a few tomatoes left on the vines but once I started rooting though and picking good (as in non-squishy, non-rotting) tomatoes I filled basket after basket. All the baskets were full and I had only gone through half of the garden.



So the last 5 days have been a flurry of blanching and canning. I processed 10 more jars of tomatoes and then I made 13 jars of salsa.I also picked another wicker basket full but I ran out of canning jars. I think I probably have enough for 15 or more jars.



This is very exciting. I have never had such a prosperous garden. Some things went wrong this year but a fair number of things went right. I still lost a fair amount when we went away and those tomatoes are waiting to be worked right into the soil for next year. I still need to harvest my carrots and parsnips. I am also happy to report 6 smallish pumpkins have turned orange.

Can It!

This post is long overdue but hey, better late than never. In July I attended a canning workshop at my most favourite organic farm, Everdale. I have taken a bee keeping course there, a soap making course and now I can add canning to my list. I have been canning at home for a few years now but wanted to take the course to pick up a few pointers I might not have already known. This water bath canning course is a pre-requisite for the Pressure Canning workshop they are offering in November so it's a win-win.







During the day we canned Garlic Scapes. I have never tried these before, hadn't even heard of them before and I must admit I am a little scared to try them. They look lovely in the jar though. The process of these is similar to pickles, with raw food going in the jars and then adding a brine.



We also made rhubarb strawberry jam which tasted de-lish during our end of session taste testing, so I can not wait to open the jar I was allowed to take home.







The workshop was exactly what I needed to jump start my canning season and get me back into my canning. I am gearing up to do some tomatoes before we leave on our vacation in a week. I am headed to the States for a writers retreat which we have tacked on a family vacation. I am fairly busy right now with writing critiques and working on my novel. I hadn't accomplished as much canning as I would have liked and I have sadly neglected my garden beds. There is always next year.

Corn on the Cob

Nothing beats fresh from the farm corn on the cob but blanching and freezing that corn is a good second best. I started blanching and freezing locally grown corn a few summers ago. Once I figured out the technique I was blanching everything I could find.



Blanching is like semi-cooking food, halting enzyme production which ultimately spoil food over the long run. It is a better technique than just washing vegetables and throwing them in the freezer. Blanching creates a nicer texture while simply freezing vegetables can make them stringy, too soft and just not palatable.







So here's what I do:



De-husk corn and remove silks. Wash and set aside.



Boil a large pot of water on the stove. Once at a rolling boil add as many corn as you can fit. Let corn sit in the boiling water for 2 minutes, no more. Then immediately removed and plunge in ice cold water to stop the cooking process.







Now you may cut the corn into niblets or leave on cobs and freeze whole. I use to use individual bags but found it very wasteful so now I use larger freezer bags.







These two bags equal approximately 18 cobs of corn. I did the math last summer and found this to be very cost effective vs the frozen corn purchased from a store.

When Good Tomatoes Go Bad: Round Two

I have made an unpleasant discovery among my tomato plants this week. The ones which turned orange first have an unmistakable rotting spot on the bottom. I picked nearly an entire basket of rotten tomatoes from my 30 plants and just about cried. I still have more ripening as I type and upon inspection they all seem to be doing fine, so what the heck happened to this first round of tomatoes.







Apparently I have a crop suffering from Blossom Rot, which is a condition brought about by lack of calcium in the plant and surrounding soil. This can also be an issue for plants experiencing a higher than normal dry spell because moisture helps the plant soak up calcium.



I don't think my problem was the soil, more than likely the root of the cause (no pun intended) was the three week period when we had a municipally imposed watering ban. For nearly four weeks in July we experienced less than 2 inches of rain fall. This would not have been an issue had I installed rain barrels but as it is, rain barrels are on my extremely long list of household needs and I simply had not gotten there yet.



As I was canning pickles and jams, I let my canning "bath water" cool before spreading it over my plants. I did whatever I could to keep them alive and prayed for rain lest I loose my whole crop. It seemed to work because the plants are alive but the fruit is lacking calcium.



A suggested cure is sprinkling Epsom salts while planting next spring. Another source suggested egg shells. I shall have to try this in the future and see how my tomatoes fair. For now I shall watch and wait, hoping I get enough to can whole or even mix in to make salsa. Only time will tell.



In other news I harvested some more goodies from the garden; a cantaloupe (musk melon), three green peppers and some more onions hiding in the dirt. Not all is lost. It's still been a great year.

Garden of Eatin'

I am amazed at how much food my garden has provided me this summer. I spent a number of hours in the spring building raised beds, hauling soil and planting but after that, harvesting is the easy part.



This is a basket I brought to my sister with homegrown potatoes, onions, and carrots. I included some jars of homegrown, home canned pickles and jams.

Last week I harvested my onions. The tops fell over signalling their finished state. I let them dry on my deck at first but then brought them inside because of threatening rain.













The tomatoes are almost ready and the melons too. Corn is nice and tall but I think I planted them too close together so next year I will spread them out more.



Pumpkins

cantaloupe

The potatoes have finished as well. I waited for them to flower but they never did. The green tops just fell over so I dug them up. They are very tasty and ever so easy! I am definitely planting more next year.





I also found a fully grown apple tree in my backyard. This was a delight to find. We planted three trees in the front (and two pear trees) but currently we only have two apples on one of the trees. They will take a while to produce. This one in the backyard is bending under the weight of the apples. The apples are small and I think the tree needs to be pruned but it's still a young tree, no more than 7 years so I should be able to bring it back to life.



All in all, my new garden at my new house is doing excellent!

Sensational Summer

I am already feeling really good about my garden this year. I have never harvested so much in so little time. Every day I head out to the gardens I am floored by the progress. The greens are flourishing and I have already had many salads. It's great to be able to take my bowl out and fill it up with nutritional goodness.



The radishes are divine. I planted them for my husband who eats them like a carrot. I, on the other hand, slice them up for salads and force them down because I know they are good for me. I planted my radishes between my rows of onions. By the time the onions really take off these radishes will be eaten. I am going to plant another small patch of radishes and try to keep the supply lines moving all summer. Radishes only take 20 days to reach maturity so they are a very fast and easy addition to the summer garden.



The broccoli has been threatening to flower so I cut them off and I am now searching for recipes to use them in. There is not enough to freeze. I will have to try my hand for a fall crop and see if I can get some more.




Things are moving along tickety-boo. Going out to my garden is not a chore. It revives me and makes me happy.

These Hands

I spend a lot of time working with my hands and this passed weekend was no different. I received 6 cubic yards of top soil to fill my raised garden beds with. That's a lot of shoveling, pulling and dumping. Each section of garden (10 ft by 4 feet) took 6 to 8 trips to fill. Each trip with the wagon took about 15 shovelfuls to prepare and one big push to get the container to spill over into the garden beds. That's 120 shovelfuls for each raised bed, and 1320 shovelfuls for the whole garden.



I received some help from the kids and hubby but I think even they knew, this was my baby. I did the lioness' share. I kept going when my legs begged me to stop. I kept shoveling when the blister formed on my palm. I needed to get this done. I need to plant roots at this house or it will never feel like a home.



I did it. I filled the beds with topsoil to spare and now I can start planting. It feels good to be so 'accomplished'.




This whole time, after the blister formed and I still kept pushing on, I was thinking about my hands and how much they have helped me accomplish. I've held my babies in these hands and showed them they were loved. I've held my husband's hand when he was in a coma and encourage him to come back to us. I've planted tiny seeds and gave them room and water so they could flourish and provide us with food. I have hugged friends in need, and wiped away the tears I cried for those I could not hug. I've touched trees in the forest, pick up someone else' litter and rushed spiders outside.

My hands wash dishes, prepare food, fold laundry and clean floors. My hands help me write this blog and my novel, which are both huge sources of pride for me. My hands hold books and turn pages so that I may learn and grow as a person. Right now I have a cat curled up in my arms with one hand petting her and the other typing away.

I am proud of these hands, each line and future callous, each dry patch and wrinkle. These hands do many things and they are a testament to how much I have truly lived.

On My Mind...

Some days it's two steps forward one step back and that is the way it has been for us lately, until yesterday.

Yesterday was so beautiful and warm that when my husband came home from work he asked if I wanted to finish building our raised beds. That is exactly what I was hoping he'd say. We have been trying to get these raised beds together for weeks but our efforts have been thwarted by rain, holidays, prior commitments and equipment failure. We did manage to get the 3 8x4 beds done and painted but that was it.

Yesterday we hit a grove. We finished the other 8 beds (10x4). I drilled holes while my husband transported the boards outside. At about the same time the drilling was done, he had finished constructing one of the beds, so we moved it into place and I started painting them while he kept building them. Took us about two hours and they are done.



This picture is roughly the formation I want them in. 4 L brackets around 3 tightly spaced beds in the middle. There will be enough room for a wheelbarrow to get through and I will be able to reach all sides. It's 416 sq ft of garden space. It's HUGE! Can't wait to get my fingernails dirty. I have seedlings that are just itching to get outside.

I am not sure I want them in this particular spot. I will probably have to move them farther back into the yard. We plan to reconfigure the deck and patio in a year or two so I would hate to go through all this work just to have to move them next year. A little bit of planning now with save me a gigantic headache later.

That's what's on my mind...

Apple and Pear Trees

Today we planted our three apple and two pear trees. About two weeks ago my local garden store had these trees on sale. The first thing I did was scope out which trees they had in stock and then came home to research whether those trees would fit my needs. Most fruit trees need a pollinator, another tree of the same species (apple to apple, pear to pear) and they must bloom at the same time. However you may also want to make sure your trees give you early season apples, mid-season apples or late season apples.



Making sure you have the same blooming times and the right harvesting time can be tricky. I did however find some useful info in my book, The Farmer's Wife Guide to Fabulous Berries and Fruits. I also found a few websites that helped to chart which blooms when and which trees they would be compatible with. In the end, I choose Granny Smith for their good baking and ability to store over winter, Spartan for their excellent eating and Cortland, another good baking and storage apple.

My husband and children love pears so they twisted my arm into getting two pear trees. We got a Barlett and Bosc variety. I plan to use some for storage and can the rest.

Trees need to be placed at least 10 feet apart but no more that 100 feet since they need each other for cross pollination. We can help the bees along by keeping them fairly close to each other. We spaced them out in their pots to visualize and measure. Once we decided where everything should go we got to digging.

To plant an apple tree you must dig a hole as deep as your pot but twice as wide. Loosen your tree from the pot and break away some of the dirt around the base of the tree. After you refill the soil around the planted tree, water the base of the tree with at least a watering can full of water.



John Seymour, author of "The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It" said the best way to ensure a tree reaches it's maximum potential is to "bury a dead dog underneath". I can see the use for good decomposing matter but I just didn't have one on hand. So barring that, I used some plant food supplied by my garden nursery who would guarantee the tree would live for an extra year (over their standard 1 year warranty) if I used it. What the heck? They'd give me a new tree if these ones ever died.

I also added a layer of mulch to the base of the trees to keep the moisture in the soil since moisture is essential this first year.

Here's some tips for Planting Apple and Pear Trees:

- plant in spring to give the trees a full 3 seasons to mature before winter.
- Apples do best in colder climates because they need a bit of winter chill to ripen correctly.
-do not plant them near a pond or wooded area as these places attract frost which will cling to your young apple trees and kill the blossoms.
- do not plant at the bottom of a hill. It is best to plant in high ground as frost tends to go to the lowest part of the landscape.
- add compost to the base of the tree in the fall.
-water each week if you have not received at least an inch of rain.
- prune in fall when required.

Before planting you must contact your local utilities to get what's called a "Locate" this is where they go around your yard and mark where the water, gas, hydro, phone lines are so you don't accidentally damage something. You could be held liable if you dig without doing this homework. It also gives you an accurate picture of where your plants will flourish and not get it's roots tangled in anything down below. Most areas have a One Call company that handles this for all the utilities. You can see in my one picture where there is red spray paint (water-based, lead free). I had to wait a week before I knew where the power lines were but it was worth it because in the end I did not have to worry.

Next Order of Business

My indoor radish experiment was a flop. The radish leaves did great but the actual radish was nonexistent. The lettuce on the other hand has done rather well. I am harvesting baby greens right now using the "cut and come again" method. This is a method of snapping off leaves but leaving the main plant intact so it can continue to grow and flourish throughout the season.

Today the kids and I planted some more seeds. Each of them chose some seeds a few weeks ago to plant in their own square foot garden. I think it's interesting that my daughter has chosen flowers (morning glories and corn flowers) to grow while my son went for the vegetables. He wants peas, carrots and cucumber, with sunflowers mixed in.



Because my daughter wants morning glories we have to soak them for 24 hours before planting. We dampened some paper towel and placed the seeds inside. We planted the cucumber and sunflowers. I also started my broccoli and tomato plants.

I know I am a bit behind. I should have planted them a few weeks ago but I don't even have my raised beds constructed yet. The lumber has been purchased and is sitting in garage waiting for a sunny weekend to piece them together. I decided to paint the outsides of my boxes, not the insides that touch the soil that touches our food, just the outside to keep the wood from rotting and looking dingy over time. The paint is also waiting patiently in the garage.

Fruit trees are on sale this week at my favourite garden store. I went yesterday to see what varieties they had and came home to hit the books. One of my favourite resources is The Farmer's Wife's Guide to Fabulous Fruits and Berries. I picked it up last summer at a second hand store for three bucks! It's an excellent reference book with how-to's and recipes. Covers everything from choosing varieties, planting, maintaining, harvesting and preparing and/or freezing.



I used this book and a few others to determine the best varieties of apples for my needs. Not all apples are created equal. Tonight I head back to purchase the varieties I chose but I will post about that another time, once I have some pictures.

So far so good on my little homestead in the suburbs.

On my mind...

I'm joining in on a "On my mind" photo feature hosted by Down to Earth. http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

On my mind this week was my garden. Where to put it, how big to make it, what to grow and how on earth am I going to get everything done? I should have constructed my raised beds last weekend when the weather was gorgeous but we were elbow deep in green paint doing up my son's room (post to come soon). This past week I have been kicking myself for not making my gardens a priority but right now I very much feel like I am being pulled in so many directions.

I need composters and rain barrels and cold frames (oh my!). Slow and steady it will all come together but you know me I am a very impatient type of gal.



The juncos have been making quick work of our yard and sent out a grid pattern search party...what they are searching for I have no idea but it was neat to watch them fan out. In the picture you can see them all around the willow tree.

So Far So Good

A week and a half ago, I planted some lettuce and radish seeds with plans to keep them indoors until maturity. I used large compostable pots, potting soil and compost. So far so good. I water every other day as needed. And keep them tucked away in a portable greenhouse which is currently in my living room. Within another week or so I should have a few radishes and lettuce leaves to munch on.

I will need to add some fertilizer or compost tea to keep the soil nutrient level up.



I am currently looking for a book on exclusive greenhouse growing, My plan is to attempt to grow lettuce and other plants that require little sunlight in the house throughout winter, without the aid of hydroponics.



So far my little experiment is going well though time will tell if these adorable baby plants actually deliver the goods.

Seed-sational!

I have been eying seed packages for a while now and just today put in my first order. I am trying something new this year and deciding to use only local, certified organic, heirloom seeds.

Heirloom varieties are plants and seeds that are original, traditional and unmodified. They have not been genetically engineered or altered like hydrid seeds, the standard seed found in garden stores. Those commonly found hybrid seeds are the result of years of engineering by seed companies to produce a mono-cultured plant. These plants do not produce viable seeds. You simply eat the resulting fruit/veg and buy more seeds next year. This keeps gardeners coming back year after year.

Heirloom seeds are varieties that were used by our ancestors centuries ago. There is far greater variety in colours and flavours of the resulting fruit. They tend to be hardier, better suited for natural gardens. By planting heirloom seeds we are encouraging genetic diversity and protecting our seed resources for generations to come. If we only ever planted one variety of corn and then a disease developed targeting that variety we as a nation would be in a hard place to produce enough food for the hungry. By planting a genetic variety we are diversifying our success.

The genetic diversity of the world's food crops is eroding at an unprecedented and accelerating rate. The vegetables and fruits currently being lost are the result of thousands of years of adaptation and selection in diverse ecological niches around the world. Each variety is genetically unique and has developed resistance to the diseases and pests with which it evolved.

-Seed Savers Exhange

I found an Ontario-based heirloom seed company called The Cottage Gardener. They have such an array of choices it was truly hard to choose. For my first foray into heirloom seeds I decided to keep to the basics.

Broccoli
Carrots
Melon
Peas
Pumpkin
Paste Tomato
Tomato
Parsnip

I also will be getting lettuces, corn, cucumber, radish, spinach, beans, onions and peppers from another local source.

Becoming an Urban Homesteader

It's been a few years since I embarked on this journey and this spring has got me truly excited. I have so much more sunny land to work with. There are so many more possibilities.

I want to concentrate on Organic Heirloom Vegetables and Herbs. I want to start seed saving and conduct experiments within my little suburban farm. We have an acre of land with a sprinkling of trees. I need to remain mindful of our septic tank. All in all though I have an excellent blank canvas for living work of art.



I started planning out my raised bed. I plan to construct 10 inch high borders and fill them with compost, peat moss and soil. I wanted to make the configuration of my raised beds interesting, unique yet functional.



The three rectangled beds in the centre will be permenate installments for plants like strawberries and herbs. The outer L-shaped beds will operate on a rotating basis. There are 3 foot aisles all around, but that may change depending on the width of my wheel barrow or wagon that I want to use.

This design has over 400 square feet of gardening space. But I am not finished there. I would like to construct another set of raised beds at the back of the property for vine plants like pumpkin, cantaloupe and maybe watermelon (one of my planned experiments). And I would like to make a larger herb garden for things like Chamomile and other medicinal type plants on the opposite side of the deck.

All in good time, all in good time. The trick will be to slow myself down at this point. Watch out...I'm an urban homesteader!

Varmits!

Last year it was the deer. This year I am battling the raccoons. In my farthest raised bed I have been growing corn and cantaloupe, with a few extra onion bulbs just to see what would happen.



Yesterday I went out to check on my nearly ripe cantaloupe and found my 'mini' corn field decimated. The stalks were knocked over, the ears ripped off and the the little nibbled on cobs were left lying in the dirt. My heart fell. They were almost ready. They had been doing so well.

It is hard when I have spent a number of hours preparing, and planting, weeding and watering only to have an uninvited guest come and help themselves.

On Monday we stopped by a local farm, one of our favourite farm stands and bought two dozen corn cobs that we blanched and froze for winter. We will probably have to do that at least one more time before September. Last year, I froze just one dozen and it barely lasted until Christmas. The ones I was growing in the back were an experiment, something we could eat and offer to neighbours at a barbecue. Not anymore I guess.



Perhaps a scarecrow would have worked. I may try that next year.

Today I did end up harvesting one cantaloupe and hope it is ripe and ready since I really have no idea what I am doing. There are four others that are not quite ripe.



The pumpkins are growing still, the strawberries as well. Tomatoes are ripening as I type but other than that the garden is coming to a slow close. Next year I will try harder at extending the harvest but while we are still living here, there is very little I can do. For now we make do visiting farms, buying local produce and freezing, or storing for winter.

Cucaloupe... or is it Cantacumber?

Who called it? Someone a month or so ago said I may end up with hybrid vegetables after mixing up my cucumber and cantaloupe seedlings. I was skeptical but low and behold I found this is my garden this passed week.



Notice how the one on the left is very yellow compared to the one on the right. Both these specimens are quite large as well. Pretty much all of the other ones are still tiny at this point. Some area farms and markets are already selling their pickling cucumbers so I am secretly whispering to these guys to hurry up because I have pickling to do.

Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

They come in all shapes in sizes too.




Nature makes no mistakes, she just gets creative once in a while.

Blueberry Bushes

This year I have found myself growing tired of me saying, "I can't do such-and-such because we are moving to our homestead next season anyway." The list of homesteading things I can't start at the rental house is extensive. I can't have chickens, or a bee hive. I can't plant any fruit trees or berry bushes. I can't do extensive gardens like I want. I can't build a deck. I can't, I can't, I can't.

Well this year I had enough and I started to think outside the box to conjure up some ideas of how I can get things started here and transplant them to our permanent home once we get one. Fruit trees can be bulky. Constructing extensive gardens is costly and would take a lot of effort to move. I wanted to see if Blueberry bushes could grow in pots and I found this video.



The key is peat moss since blueberries like a more acidic soil. Each year I will add some compost to the pot to keep the soil healthy.



Over the next season or two, my blueberry bushes can grow and when we are finally moving I can bring them with me. I wasn't sure I would get any berries this year but there are about 20 or so on my two tiny bushes. This gets me started on a few projects while still waiting to get really moving on my homestead. It's a small step but a step nonetheless.

How Does My Garden Grow...Now?

The garden seems to be doing great this year.

In the upper garden, some of the lettuce has been harvested and tastes great, the handful of strawberries we have collected are superb. The broccoli is still growing but shows no signs of florets. I fear the weather has turned too hot for broccoli which prefer the cold.



The peas are still blooming so nothing is ripe yet. And my pumpkin plants are just starting, so I am not sure they will be ready come October.

In the main garden, however, my tomato plants are flourishing with lovely yellow blossoms all over. I have had to plant then all around the outside, the main area where the deer travel in. I ran out of tomato cages and staked a few. The two that were not staked or caged yet have been nibbled on, most likely by the deer. I had to stake the cucumber plants in order to train them away from the tomato and pepper plants. It seems to be working.



The other week I was weeding in my main garden when a neighbourhood dog came bounding through five backyards to come visit. He was a fairly large, heavy set Labrador 'teenager'. He went straight through my garden. I tried to minimize the damage by holding him back but he was too strong and he bounded through my onion patch (left side of picture). When the owner finally came to claim him, he didn't even apologize! If it happens again, I have some choice words to say.

My lower garden, the one closest to the forest is a bit touch and go at the moment. The corn planted on the outer edges are growing but the inner seeds never did sprout. In place of the invisible corn I planted a few late pumpkin seeds, just to see and then two days later I found the pumpkin seeds dug up and all piled up on the edge of the garden bed, very neatly, might I add. Something strange is afoot in that garden, but I haven't quite put my finger on it.



My two cantaloupe plants have been nibbled on some but the blossoms are still very much alive so we shall see what kind of fruit I have in the end.

Nothing is ever boring in the garden. There is always something new happening. A freshly sprouted plant, a new danger to protect them from or a new technique to try. I really do love working in my garden. When I head out each morning I never know what to expect.

How Does My Garden Grow?

Actually, it's growing rather well at the moment. I have to say I am very pleased with how much I have learned since I began my vegetable gardens two summers ago. This year is my biggest garden yet and everything is thriving at present.

Last weekend marked the end of frost in these parts. I finally planted all remaining plants and I have to say it's looking pretty good.



I made a nice path through my larger garden, something which I had neglected to do last year. I also overcrowded my plants last year. I am not convinced I didn't overcrowd again this year but I am on limited space and... well it's hard to be a gardener and limit yourself!



On the smaller patch is my radishes and onions. On the opposite side of the path is my "pickle bed" or cucumber patch. I have tomato plants lining the entire outside of the garden. I am using the tomato cages as a deer and neighbourhood dog deterrent. There is one bubbly puppy that lives a few houses down who bounds toward me or the kids every time he is out the same time we are. All the produce that the deer like to munch on are quite close to the house so I am hoping they will not risk getting so close and eating my broccoli and peas again this year.

The farthest raised bed has corn, cantaloupe and my left over onion starters. I read that corn pollinates through the wind so they should be planted in a bunch, not in a straight row. I am really hoping they go well, but I would not be heart broken if they don't grow since corn is so cheap just down the road. I am hoping I can train the cantaloupe down the hill. I used sheep manure (compost) in the beds, and I added peat moss to the bed by the house and the main garden, especially around the tomatoes.

I still have pumpkins to plant in the compost pile and too be honest I am more excited about that experiment then any other I have tried this year.