This and That

Well now, what's up on the homefront here? Clearly I have been very lazy busy, because I haven't been around much, have I?

I heard there have been problems across the blogosphere with commenting on other blogs, or maybe it's commenting on Blogger blogs, or bloggers who blog on Blogger commenting {huh?} but all I know is I apparently fell out of that loop because I've not had those problems, well so far, with the blogs I have visited. I use Chrome, if that makes any difference & somehow I do feel like it sounds like it's a browser issue.

I think I mentioned this last time, but I took all three cats to the vet for their check-ups & shot updates, and had Smoky, the newest member of the feline family neutered. It really calmed him down substantially, thank goodness because he had some behavior issues that were troublesome not to mention aggravating. Boo, my dog, got his neutering surgery done too, but somebody forgot to tell him, because he hasn't changed a bit.

My neighbors on both sides are still driving me crazy, although it comes in spurts. Been kinda quiet overall on both sides lately to be honest & so I'm counting my blessings!  Have you ever noticed that once somebody gets on your nerves it seems that their mere existence gets on your nerves?

My garden. Well, we had a nice period in early spring that enabled me to get some vegetable plants established before the early summer furnace was turned on. Now I'm dealing with drought since we've had almost no rain in at least 2 months now, and also such a severe sun already that it killed a few of my younger cucumber plants. I have been going out a couple of times during the hottest period of the day to spray the plants to help keep their leaves hydrated and keep them from suffering with blossom drop. There's been some, but so far not like last year.

I decided that was crazy and set up - or at least started and will finish this weekend - a sort of misting system on an automatic timer to come on during those hottest times of the day and just sort of spritz the plants for 10 or 15 minutes, 2 or 3 times between noon and 2:00 p.m.  I know that overhead watering is not the best way to do things, but this isn't for watering, but more to keep the plants cooler during that high noon period. This extreme heat from last year caused major blossom drop and really hampered production on everything. Even with the misting, it seems like the squash is getting too much water because the fruit just gets squishy and falls off. Probably one of the most prolific producing veggies there is, I can't manage to get one to grow for me!

The things we do for a garden - and I tell you what. To do it on such a small scale as this backyard garden - I really don't know if it is worth it! You really have to fight for every inch.

I have learned a couple of things in this process of doing my veggie gardens the last couple of years, the first being, that living in the coastal south, I should have doubled the boards on my raised beds. I planted some cucumbers in containers and they are doing miles better than the ones that are left in the garden, so I'm planning to add on to the beds before the beginning of the next season.

I also learned that whether I get a small greenhouse or not, I'm going to have to figure out some way to get my seeds started in the winter so that I can get healthy seedlings in the ground around February/March and harvest about now. It is just too hard fighting the heat in such a small garden.

T-ball and soccer are over and with this oppressive heat, I'm kinda glad. The last game on Saturday liked to have done me in, and frankly my grandson wasn't all that into either game quite yet anyway. Hard to hold a 3 year olds attention long enough, but it was fun going out to watch his games and getting to see the kids and my son and daughter-in-law. It was not fun having to compete for time with the grandbabies over my ex-husband and his wife. In situations where we are all in the same place, they seem a bit oblivious that there is another set of grands around and they use candy to bribe and monopolize the kids. Annoying.

My granddaughter uses two words predominately these days - no and mine. Actually she has a much larger vocabulary then her brother did at her age - she'll be 2 in a few months and he'll be 4 - but those two seem to be her favorite words. She's adorable, though a bit moody here lately too, and very clingy with her father who I told to cherish these moments because in about oh, 10-12 years, she'll hate him. Until she needs money or to go someplace.

My husband went shrimping twice with his dad, though the season opened earlier than usual due to the fresh water flooding from the Mississippi River washing into the Gulf of Mexico, and so, of course, the catch was smaller. They still need time to grow. Just as well really, as my freezer is full, stuffed with I don't know what, and really needs a good going through anyway.

We went out on the shrimp boat for the Blessing of the Fleet this past Sunday. Thankfully it was not too hot, and a bit cloudy, which was a good thing because I forgot my sunscreen. It looked like we were gonna get into a storm, which trust me, you do not want to be out on the Gulf, in an old wooden shrimp boat, in a thunderstorm, but it never did rain on us more than a few sprinkles, so we got blessed and made it back to the harbor in one piece.

I've been hit with what I call mini-migraines because they are heat-induced headaches and near about impossible to get rid of. My sister in law has been suffering with debilitating migraines for awhile here - the kind that really put you down and keep you from being able to work or function. The doctors can't seem to figure out why, because all they do is just pump her full of different drugs which apparently don't work. For me, it's been keeping hydrated, drinking Gatoraide, using a little aromatherapy and good ole Excedrin. I remember my mama suffering with headaches - that's actually where the Excedrin comes in for me - so I sure hope it's not a hereditary thing & something that I'll get to look forward to from here on out.

Course I'm still plugging away on the food blog, developing and writing recipes - some I've been pleased with, a few I've remade, most I've very far behind with typing up. I do enjoy the developing and cooking process the most, so much more than I enjoy the behind the scenes editing and coding parts of it all. And when you do it all, it is pretty darned time consuming. So much easier to just steal somebody else's tried & true recipe, change one or two insignificant ingredients, cook it and post it as my own without crediting them, than to do all this. Don't worry. I'm not going there, promise. Just wanted to see if I could raise your eyebrow for a second.

I guess that's it! A bunch of boring banter about stuff nobody but me cares about and frankly, I'm not even  sure that I do. Thanks for stopping by to visit & hope your life has been at least a tiny bit more exciting than this.

Happy summer!
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Little Sprouts in the Jiffy Greenhouse

Maybe I'm a simpleton, but it really excites me to see a little seedling sprout up from seed.

Granted, it's certainly much easier (but more expensive) to start off with well established plants sold in those little cell packs at the home store than to remember to get seeds started. And then there's the whole issue of having a safe space to set up seed pod trays inside - away from curious cats, in my case.  That whole old-timers disease I call CRS always seems to keep me from getting seeds started on time, because... well, I just forget!  (And actually, I'm a little behind for my region) So, I do usually cave into the easy shortcut and buy the plants and then cringe, especially like last year, when they do not produce as they should. Not very cost effective - and in truth? Just flat out expensive.

Well, I'm trying to be a bit more frugal these days (God only knows what could happen in this country financially tomorrow) and it is certainly much less expensive to start a garden using seed, but... it does take a bit of planning. 

If you don't have an actual greenhouse, the small Jiffy Greenhouse units are super easy to use, and factoring in that you can potentially use them year after year, very reasonable. The units are made of plastic and not very sturdy plastic, so you will have to be mindful about storing them, so they aren't damaged.

A week ago I decided to drop some seeds in the 25-Plant Jiffy Greenhouse pictured at the top. I also have two of the larger 72-Plant Greenhouses and later today, I'll be planting some annuals, and a few other vegetable seeds in one of them.  I really do love these little greenhouses - they are easy to use and they make a nice enclosed, warm and cozy environment that are perfect for the seeds.  If you've never seen these before, the pellets are pretty cool too. They start out looking like this:

Linked to smaller disks for the larger greenhouses

They are compressed disks loaded with a peat and fertilizer mixture that you pop into the bottom recesses of the plastic greenhouse.  You can usually find these in the stores (if unlike me you actually leave home from time to time), but if you decide to order a greenhouse online and order extra pellets at the same time, make sure you get the right sized refills for the greenhouse you choose. The larger greenhouses have smaller pellets and the smaller greenhouses have larger pellets, which I think are called Jiffy-7 pellets.

Once you get all of your pellets settled into the recesses, you then add warm water and wait until the pods soak up most of the water.  This is the larger 72-Plant Greenhouse.

The pellets will expand and grow tall in the netting that encloses them. After the water soaks in and the pellets have expanded, you'll pour off the extra water, and then you'll pull apart the netting at the top and drop in seeds. 

They recommend planting 3 seeds per pod so that you can select the strongest seedling that comes up, then just clip off the other two at the base and plant the whole netted pot right into the soil.

The smaller tray pictured at the top is mostly all tomatoes - Romas and Big Boys - with the exception of one back row of herbs.  I have one raised bed square foot garden dedicated pretty much to herbs, but since I managed to save my rosemary, thyme and mint from over the winter, I only planted seeds for flat leaf parsley and basil in the smaller tray. The larger tray has a variety of flowers, herbs, and vegetables. You do need to keep the greenhouse out of direct sunlight, so the best place for me to put it was to set it on the table right next to the AeroGarden that I have by the window. I kinda figured the residual grow light might help it anyway.  

A couple days ago the greenhouse started sprouting and I popped the lid, so that it was still covered but slightly ajar. I've got a few seeds still working on coming up, so after that I'll uncover the whole tray and then begin to harden them off outside to get them used to being in their future home environment before I transplant them.

All that "hardening" means, is that you have to acclimate your plants to being outside from their comfy little environment inside your house a little bit at a time - so they can adjust to the changes in light, temperature and general environment. You do this by bringing them outside either in the early morning or late afternoon, a little at a time, beginning with a sheltered area and eventually toward the garden area where they will live. Each day you'll gradually increase the time they are outside and depending on your climate, this could take a week or more before you can actually begin to transplant them.

Tomato seedlings generally need to be about four inches tall, and have a second set of leaves to be ready to transplant.  Tomatoes actually do better if you transplant them first to larger containers, sort of like I did with the seedlings I found growing out of the compost pile. This gives them time to develop a strong root system before the next transplant into the garden. I'm not sure I have enough pots though.

I always plant Blue Lake Green Bean seeds because I love them, but those will be sown right into the garden, and spaced apart by about 2 weeks to keep them going.

Homemade Greenhouse:  I already had these greenhouses from several years ago and have managed to keep them well, but since you only need the covered environment long enough to sprout the seeds, you could potentially buy the pellets and use a disposable aluminum roasting pans that comes with a cover as a greenhouse. You'll probably need something like a tray under it as a support, and pouring off the water may be a challenge because unlike the Jiffy greenhouses, there's no recess to sort of hold on to the expanded pellets as you tilt the pan.

Images and Content ©2011 Mary Foreman/My New 30. All rights reserved.
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Late Winter Pre-Spring is Springing!

Flowers in bud

I think this is an evergreen type of bridal wreath

A potted plant that was gifted to me last year coming back. I kept it covered during the freezes - not sure what it is though!

Hoping for some lemons this year - I've had a bee hanging around so fingers are crossed!

This deciduous Bridal Wreath Spirea has leafed out the past two weeks and will be blooming soon

Azaleas are ready to spring to life

More Azaleas waking up

Volunteers I pulled from the compost pile - most are probably bell peppers

More volunteers from the compost pile - you never know what you'll get!

Some lilies peeping out a bit here and there

Hydrangeas coming to life

Even the fig tree is coming out of its winter nap

Just a little peek of things to come (hopefully)!

Last year because of The Hatefuls and their excessive leaf burning (and my sensitivity to the chemicals burning leaves put out for days), I wasn't able to even be out in my own yard, much less to spend any of the early spring (or late winter pre-spring) outside in the garden.  I lost so many plants to the summer heat because I couldn't give them a healthy start in the spring, but I am hopeful and praying for a peaceful spring this year.
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Harvesting Blue Lake Green Beans

I harvested the first of my green beans today! Those heavy storms we had over the weekend and earlier this week, one after the other, pretty much had beat them up, and they were near about laid over in the garden, so I figured it was time to check them. A couple of good waterings from Mother Nature can work wonders for plant growth over spigot watering I'm telling ya!

Just a few ounces under a pound of them for now, but most of them came out of the first square I planted, with a few extracted out of the one I planted a week later. I've got another two squares planted weeks apart that will come in at different times, so between that and the continued production on the plants I just picked from, hopefully there will be plenty more.  Green beans are one of my most favorite veggies, so easy to grow and nutritious to eat, so seeing them in the garden makes me happy!  I'll probably prepare this batch for the freezer unless I decide to cook some of them up for supper tonight - maybe some southern style green beans with potatoes, since The Cajun loves them cooked that way so much. 

It's not always easy to tell when a green bean is ready to be picked because there's a fine line between being too young, ripe and overripe.  Well, at least we don't have to string 'em anymore is all I can say, thanks to the improvements made in the bean itself.  When it gets close to time for harvesting, just check your beans regularly and pick as they mature to keep your plants productive. Harvest when it's warm and dry though, so that you don't disturb wet foliage and take a chance on spreading bacterial blight, a disease that will cause serious damage to bean plants. Generally speaking, look for them to be right about the thickness of a small pencil, and somewhere between 4 to 6 inches in length. The bean should be fresh looking, plump, firm, with a velvety feel, and be a bright green color. Don't wait until they are bulging in the pod, because by then they are overripe and not very tasty.

I prefer to use kitchen shears to cut them off of the plant, since the branches of the bean plant are a bit delicate and can bend easily if you try to pull or snap the beans off. Scissors are just so much easier.

Store, without rinsing, in green bags (love those) or regular food storage bags, in the crisper for about a week or so. Wash them just before preparing them to eat. Beans can be canned, or pickled, and are an excellent candidate for freezing, which is what I do with them.  You can blanch and freeze them whole or cut them up into bite size pieces.  Blanching will kill bacteria and stop the ripening process, but blanch only about a pound at a time by dropping them into a pot of water that is at a full rolling boil, cover them and then boil for 4 minutes. Remove with a spider and transfer immediately to a large pot of ice cold water to stop the cooking process.  Drain well and lay out on a thick towel until fully dry, then flash freeze on a lightly sprayed baking sheet, until frozen. Transfer to a large, zippered freezer bag, removing as much air as possible. Double bag to avoid freezer burn or, even better, use a vacuum sealer.

Cooking

Smaller beans are more tender and can be eaten raw with a dip, or added to a salad.  They can be steamed, boiled, or stir-fried and seasoned with salt, pepper, butter, cooked and crumbled bacon, with a variety of herbs, especially chopped parsley, or even sprinkled with cheese. They are an excellent addition to soups, stews and to mix in with other veggies, and leftover beans are great to marinade in Italian dressing for a salad, or to use as a sandwich relish.  Be sure to check out some of my recipes over at Deep South Dish.

For more about Blue Lake Bush Green Beans click right here.  To read about my square foot gardening adventures, or check up on my Topsy Turvy, click right here.

And last, I am a simple home gardener, struggling through my failures and relishing in my successes.  If you are thinking I am any kind of expert, you might want to read this little ole disclaimer right here.

Thanks for visiting!

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Tomato Blossom Rot and Epsom Salt

First things first.  Should anybody have the mistaken belief that I am any kind of gardening expert, may I please first refer you to my Gardening Expertise Disclaimer. Back? Good. Now that we've got that out of the way...

So, you've carefully planted your tomatoes into a perfect soil blend you mixed up yourself and into environment friendly raised beds, or nice, roomy planters, and tenderly fawned over them, watching them every day as they grow, sprout blooms and then shortly after, little buds of tomatoes. You beam with pride and joy.  Until, one morning you wake up, grab your cup of coffee and wander into the garden to admire your handywork, only to find this.

Akkkk! What the heck?

Blossom rot.  When a tomato grows, first you have a blossom, from which behind the fruit comes. Blossom rot is what occurs when the area where the blossom was, begins to turn black and rots, destroying the entire fruit.

What is blossom rot?

Well, first of all, and thankfully... it is not a plant disease. It is a physiological response by the plant that is primarily thought to be caused by a calcium deficiency. Usually this is induced by variations in the water supply to the plant due to root damage, acidic soil, high humidity, or over watering - either by human sources or by mother nature.

One of the best ways to control Blossom Rot is to monitor your soil pH levels by testing, and applying dolomitic lime {if the soil calls for the adjustment} several months before planting your tomatoes. You can also help to retain moisture by using a mulch source around your plants - shredded newspaper, straw, and pine straw are good sources.

Yeah. I'm probably not gonna do all that, soooooo, in my own personal, albeit limited, experience of growing tomatoes, I have found that using Epsom salts has pretty much eliminated problems with blossom rot. Some experts will tell you not to use Epsom salts unless you have tested your soil and found a deficiency. So, while it's certainly advisable to do soil testing if you have both access and the time, I disagree. I feel that line of thinking applies when you are talking about major deficiencies in a large crop garden - not a simple, tiny, backyard garden like I have. But again, that's just my opinion.

Despite the name, Epsom salt is not salt! Not in the sense that we think of salt being that is. Regular salt, like table salt is deadly to a plant! In fact, if you want to get rid of some grass or plants somewhere, treat it with a heavy dose of regular salt and see how fast it dies.

Epsom salts are actually a chemical compound containing magnesium and sulfate, both very beneficial to plants, and which may help to increase chlorophyll production, helping plants to transform the sunlight into food for the plants. The blend also may improve both the phosphorus and nitrogen uptake, making your fertilizer work better, and make your plants grow bushier. It also has been shown to help seeds to germinate.

As a sidenote, years ago, I started using Epsom salts on my roses and ever since, it seems that the plants are just so much more bushy and beautiful and loaded with flowers than they were without it. {if only Epsom could eliminate black spot, but that's another post}

But, I also sprinkle Epsom salt around my tomato and pepper plants. Epsom salt is not persistent, so you just really can't overuse it and honestly, in my personal experience and opinion, using it results in bigger and stronger pepper plants and since I started using it on my tomatoes, while I can't prove it is because of the Epsom, I've not had a problem with blossom rot at all {crossing fingers.}

Generally I sprinkle a little bit of the Epsom salts down into the hole where I am planting, along with a little granular fertilizer and scratch that into the soil. I also top dress the tomatoes with Epsom, about every other week.

The best way to keep up with your planting and fertilizing schedules is to pick up a garden journal or a calendar to use for your garden! You'll never remember when you planted what, or when you fertilized what. Just get a calender dedicated solely to your garden and make it easy!

To use Epsom salts, use 1 tablespoon for every foot of height on the plant, and simply sprinkle it all around the outer ring of the plant, just as you do with the granular fertilizer. Be sure to thoroughly water them in. I only use Epsom salts on my tomatoes and peppers in the veggie garden. Nothing else.

A WARNING: Definitely do not use Epsom anywhere near where you have sage planted! For some reason sage and Epsom do not get along and Epsom salt will kill your plant.

By the way, once a plant contracts blossom rot, it will not repair the area that is infected. Pluck it and chuck it. I know... it hurts to see an otherwise perfectly good tomato go like that, but if you leave it there hoping to eat it when it ripens, you are making your other vegetables vulnerable since the damaged area on the tomato can act as an entry point for other tomato diseases that can take over your entire crop!

If you find your garden is affected by multiple cases of Blossom End Rot, you can treat the plants by spraying them with a calcium solution (4 tablespoons of calcium chloride or calcium nitrate per gallon of water) 2 to 3 times a week when the second round of blossoms begin to appear. If you live in a hot climate like I do with daytime temperatures exceeding 85/90 degrees, be advised that calcium chloride can burn plants. Use calcium nitrate instead.

As always, with any gardening advice on this site, take it all with a grain of well, epsom salt! :)  I am certainly no expert, and I'm simply sharing my experiences. Please see my disclaimer. 

 

Recap - How to Build a Raised Bed Vegetable Garden

Step 1: Build a Box
Step 2: Dirt Mix
Step 3: Add a Grid (for Square Foot Gardening)
Step 4: Planning the Plants

Click HERE for all the Year One 2009 Square Foot Vegetable Garden Updates

Planting Grid Update and My Turtles

Time for a planting grid update.  Several pepper seeds I planted never took, or else they were dug up by those pesky squirrels who seem to be having far too much fun digging in my garden on a daily basis. Plus, I added a few other things.  I do still have the garden gates up around the edges of the gardens, which seems to be doing the job to keep the puppy from plowing through them like he was.

That is a picture of a patio tomato that I am growing in a container and already has a few tomatoes on it - aren't they sweet? I've seen a bit of blossom drop on it also though, since our evening temps have been temperamental and got down in the 50s again a few nights.

I also made a mistake. Imagine that!  Since I didn't do a full planting on all the squares as soon as I put the grids down, it took me awhile to notice I had laid out the grids incorrectly on the 4 x 8 bed and shorted myself out of 4 squares!  I didn't really want to try to shift things around since I did have some plantings down already, so I'll take it as a loss and a lesson for this year. Silly as it seems, when you go to lay your grids out, make sure you eyeball to see if you have all your rows laid down before planting, or better yet, measure them out! In other words, count. Which apparently I can't do.  ::rolls eyes::

Last year I messed up my green bean planting, got frustrated, pulled everything out and the new plantings of them never took. This year, since I did not plant any of those square stealing bush squash plants, I had a lot more squares to work with, so I've done several succession plantings of green beans a week or so apart. Hopefully this year, I'll see a few green beans. 

I ran across some lettuce seeds today and snatched them up, and while its really too late for planting down here, I thought I'd drop some in an area of the garden that gets shaded early and see what happens anyway. It gets hot here pretty fast, so it may be a complete bust but it'd be cool to see if they even begin to take! Hopefully I will remember to plant them again in September for fall.

When I went out to piddle in the garden today, look who was there to greet me!

I don't mind telling ya, she scared the beejeesus outta me when I saw her little head poking out of those leaves in one of my flower beds!  I just glanced down and there was this little head sticking up. I think she changed spots after I took her picture because I didn't see her there a few minutes later - turtles can  be temperamental like that.

She finally came out of hibernation about a week ago.  This is her 3rd spring with me and I'm really surprised that she is still here frankly, because there are plenty of escape routes under the fence. I knew she was a female by her tail the first year, but I really knew when I saw two little baby turtles last year.  I have only seen one of them this year - it's about twice as big as it was last year and I don't think it quite knows what to think about me. Since its a young un, I'm not expecting it to hang around long, but I caught him/her through the glass of the patio door the other day. Only about a couple of inches long - ain't it just cute? I hope it hangs around.

BED #1 - 4' x 4'

1 Creole Tomato (3/30)	1 Creole Tomato (3/30)	1 Creole Tomato (3/30)	1 Creole Tomato (3/30)
Superfresh Lettuce (Seed 4/22)	Mystery Plant from  Compost (3/30)	4 Marigolds (seed) (4/6)	Superfresh Lettuce (Seed 4/22)
Romaine Lettuce Mix (Seed 4/22)	16 Sweet onions (3/30)	1 Chive (3/30)	1 Flat Leaf Parsley (3/30)
1 Basil (3/30)	1 Oregano (3/30)	1 Rosemary (3/30)	1 Thyme (3/30)

Containers Behind the bed - 1 Meyer Lemon, 1 Eggplant (3/30), 1 Patio Tomato (3/30), 1 Roma Tomato (3/30), 2 pots of Lavender (3/30), 1 Mint



BED #2 - 4' x 4'

1 Better Boy Tomato (3/30)	1 Better Boy Tomato (3/30)	1 Better Boy Tomato (3/30)	1 Better Boy Tomato (3/30)
Flat Leaf Parsley (3/30)	16 Sweet Onion (3/30)	Sweet Long Pepper Mix (4/22)	9 Blue Lake Bush Green Beans (4/13)
Sage (4/22)	4 Marigolds (seed) 3 Green Bean (4/13)	16 Crimson Giant Radish (Seed 4/22)	Lemon Thyme (4/22)
16 Crimson Giant Radish (Seed 4/22)	9 Blue Lake Bush Green Beans (4/6)	9 Blue Lake Bush Green Beans (4/6)	Dill

In pot to side: 1 Jubilee watermelon (seed) - 1 Moon & Stars watermelon

BED #3 - 4' x 8'

I had to split Bed #3 up into two separate charts to fit it in the blog post. The top section of 4 Rows represent the Left Side of Bed #3; the bottom section 4 Rows represent the Right Side of Bed #3

LEFT Side of 4' x 8' Bed:

Cucumber (seed  3/30)	Cucumber (seed 3/30)	RESERVED	Row Unavailable
Jalapeno Pepper (Seed 4/6)			Row Unavailable
9 Blue Lake Bush Green Beans (4/6)	Carnival Mix Sweet Peppers (seed 4/13)		Row Unavailable
9 Blue Lake Bush Green Beans (4/6)	Carnival Mix Sweet Peppers (seed 4/13)	16 Sweet Onion (3/30)	Row Unavailable

RIGHT Side of 4' x 8' Bed:

Cantaloupe 2 Squares (seed 3/30)	1 Better Boy Tomato (3/30)	1 Creole Tomato (3/30)	1 Creole Tomato (3/30)
	Sweet Long Pepper Mix (Seed 4/22)	16 Sweet Onion (3/30)	1 Yellow Bell Pepper (3/30)
	Sweet Long Pepper Mix (Seed 4/22)		1 Big Bertha Bell (3/30)
9 Blue Lake Bush Green Beans (4/13)	Sweet Long Pepper Mix (Seed 4/22)	Sweet Long Pepper Mix (4/22)	1 Big Bertha Bell (3/30)

4/22 - Veggie fertilizer on all the veggies and epsom on the tomatoes

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Here are my two primary gardening books - I highly recommend both but especially the "new" square foot gardening book, if you want to try this method.

All New Square Foot Gardening

Guide to Mississippi Vegetable Gardening - available for your state too! It's a perfect guide to tell you what to plant and what works best in your region, and also when to plant. I love this guide!

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Soil Refresh for Year Two Raised Bed Square Foot Garden

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I have been so busy chasing squirrels, avoiding my "smoky" leaf burning neighbors, and making Trisha Yearwood dips, that I'd forgotten I had not put up a post about the soil mix I used to refresh my raised beds this second year of my attempt at square foot gardening. Thanks to a reader who wrote to ask what I had used, I am getting this post up finally! {Thanks Tracy!}

One thing that I did not do, but wished that I had, was to pull the dead plants and cover the beds for winter. Granted, for us this winter was unusual and unusually long, but not cleaning up and covering the beds made for much more work pulling out dead plants, and pulling up plenty of break-through weeds, plus the soil was very compacted when I got ready to plant this spring.

       This is the 4 x 8 bed - what a mess it was!                 This shot is the turned soil.

My first duty was to pull up the grid markers and then pull weeds. I actually cleaned the grids since I knew I would be photographing them for the blog.  Not sure I would have bothered if I weren't blogging about it, but admit, it does make the garden look neater.  After that I used a shovel to dig into the existing soil and turn the dirt. If you used a landscape fabric under layer, you'll want to take care not to tear into it with the shovel, so don't dig in too deep. I then took a hoe and cultivator to work through and break up the soil.

Since I was refreshing the existing soil, I was able to mix the soil up in the wheelbarrow. I simply started with the primary Jungle Growth mix, and then added in the other elements, turning with each addition.You can click here to see the original soil mix I used year one.

Last year I was unable to find the vermiculite for the original soil mix, so I had hoped that the vermiculite contained in the Jungle Growth would be sufficient. Pretty soon as the summer heat and humidity took over, I discovered it wasn't. I could not find vermiculite again this year, but I did use some perlite - a little less inferior than the vermiculite that Mel recommends, but I'm hoping that it will help.

In this picture above, you'll see some plants already in. I had a few herbs that survived or came back from last year, so I worked around them when adding the new soil in one of my 4 x 4 foot beds.  Oh and don't forget!  Now is the time to string in your drip line if you plan to use one. I decided to add one in very late last year and what a pain that was to work in with all the plants full grown!

Soil Refresh for Year Two
Raised Bed Square Foot Garden

I mixed everything in a wheelbarrow this year and used the following refresher soil mix for one 4 x 4 foot bed and doubled the mix for the 4 x 8 foot bed.

• 1 full bag of Jungle Growth Flower & Vegetable Mix (2 cu. ft. bag)
• 1/2 bag of Black Kow manure (50 pound bag)
• 1/2 bag peat humus/compost (40 pound)*
• 2 big overflowing shovelfuls of peat moss
• 1/2 of an 8 quart bag of perlite

*Of course, where you have your own home compost that has been breaking down awhile, definitely use it!!  If not, just grab the bags. Remember the original soil make-up suggested at least 5 separate sources of compost - from your own compost pile, from different types of manure, humus, mushroom compost, worm castings, soil mixes and boosters and such. You can use any of those sources or a combination of them for the compost portion of the refresh.

When you add the perlite or vermiculite, sort of dig a hole into the soil in the wheelbarrow to pour it in. It's very light weight and can take off on you with a slight breeze!

I mixed all of that up and dumped it into the bed, then turned all of the soil together to mix the old with the new and followed up with the cultivator to smooth it out.  This should bring the soil right about up to the top again.  Then replace the grid markers and plan your new plantings!

While the soil has settled somewhat, I'll probably top dress with a bit more Black Kow or compost as needed, which technically since I've had the squirrel issues, I've pretty much already been having to do anyway. {In addition to the thorny deterrent I'm using, I am trying something new for this and will report back on that!}

Check These Out Too!  -  Building the Square Foot Garden

Step 1: Build a Box
Step 2: Dirt Mix
Step 3: Add a Grid (for Square Foot Gardening only!)
Step 4: Planning the Plants

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Here are my two primary gardening books - I highly recommend both but especially the "new" square foot gardening book, if you want to try this method of raised bed, square foot gardening.

All New Square Foot Gardening

Guide to Mississippi Vegetable Gardening - it's probably available for your state too! It's a perfect guide to tell you what to plant and what works best in your region, and also when to plant. I love this guide! A very helpful companion.

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Blue Lake Bush Style Green Beans and Those Pesky Squirrels

I have been struggling with squirrels this season. They just will not stay out of the fresh soil in my veggie garden. I don't know that it's necessarily that they are digging up my plants or seeds, or digging to bury their own food, but it's about to make me crazy! I put down some thorny rose bush trimmings but find that I apparently need many more to cover up all of the squares. (If anybody has a doubt about how I feel about squirrels, or any animal really, please read this and this and maybe this, before calling judgment on me for using thorns as a deterrent.)

I did decide to skip the square stealing squash plants this year - 1 bush style squash, like zucchini or crookneck, takes up a full 9 squares - at least.  Last year I found that it spilled over into the other squares even and choked out pepper plants I had planted nearby. So instead, I thought that I would plant more bush style green beans since I love them so much and I could space out the plantings, so I get beans apart from each other.  

I started with two squares of Blue Lake bush green beans in one of my smaller boxes at the end of March and within a day or two, found holes dug up where I had planted! For square foot gardening, a square can take 9 bush type bean plants.  So I stuck more bean seeds in the spaces that had been disturbed and a few days later, planted two new squares of 9 seeds each in the larger bed.

Couple days later, more holes dug. Both places. More seeds planted. Darned squirrels. I thought for sure there'd be no beans this year I tell ya, so when I saw the first set of beans finally poking through, minus only a few seedlings, and then shortly after that, the next sets were popping up, I was thrilled! Yay!

Last year, I ended up overcrowding my squares with too many bean plants that I then failed to divide, and then when they got so thick that I later tried to divide, I only ended up pulling everything out in frustration ... right about about the time I should have been harvesting beans. You see, beans apparently don't transplant well at all. Consequently, I had not a single decent green bean from my garden last year. I didn't make that mistake this year, so I'm looking forward to hopefully having a harvest this year.

For more about my square foot gardens, click here.

A one cup serving of green beans provides Vitamin A (15%), Vitamin C (30%), Calcium (4%), Iron (6%), 4 grams of fiber and about 34 calories.

Growing Beans

Presoak beans in warm water for about 30 minutes for faster sprouting.  Seeds should be planted in an area that receives no less than 6 hours of sunlight a day and should begin sprouting anywhere between 5 to 10 days, depending on how warm the weather is. Cold soil will shock beans, so the best soil temperature for beans to germinate is somewhere between 60 and 85 degrees.  For continuous harvest, plant new squares about 2 weeks apart, throughout the spring and summer. Bush beans have a tendency to want to flop over. If yours are falling into adjacent squares, using a small plant support to hook or tie them to, or tie a thick string around the entire plant group to corral them together.

Watering

Beans should have regular watering - about one inch minimum per week - but don't let the soil dry out. Try to keep the leaves dry, so avoid overhead watering, since wet leaves encourage disease.


Common Problems and Pests

Aphids, Japanese and Mexican beetles, and wildlife (squirrels, deer, birds & rabbits).  If the leaves on your plant begin to curl up and pucker, look for ants nearby.  Ants are attracted to the honeydew excreted by aphids.  For light infestations of aphids, at the first sign, begin treating plants with an insecticidal soap. You will know that you have beetles when you see holes appearing in the leaves. Use an approved insecticide to control beetles. 

Bacterial blight, evidenced by brown spots on the leaves, or water-soaked spots on the pods, can be a problem with beans, but cannot be treated. Plants will need to be pulled up and destroyed.  They can also be affected by mosaic disease, which turns plants a yellowish green and can hamper bean pod production. It also cannot be cured and plants will have to be destroyed. Don't put diseased plants into your compost - bag them and throw them away. 

Harvesting

Beans need about 58 days for production before harvesting.  Don't allow the beans to grow until the seeds bulge though because they will be past their prime and can also cause the entire plant to stop producing. Pick beans when they are still small and tender and pick regularly so they will keep producing. Cut the stems while holding the bean pod, and avoid pulling the plant. They don't keep well, so should be used or stored by freezing or drying immediately.

In exceptionally hot weather they may stop producing, but once the weather moderates, they will return to producing.

Freezing

Beans are an excellent candidate for freezing.  You can freeze them whole or cut them up into bite size pieces.  Then blanch before freezing to kill bacteria and stop the ripening process by dropping them into a pot of water that is at a full rolling boil, cover and boil them for 4 minutes. Remove with a spider and transfer to a pot of ice cold water to stop the cooking process.  Drain well, and lay out in a single layer on a pan covered with a towel to dry completely.  Flash freeze on a lightly sprayed baking sheet, then transfer to a freezer bag, removing as much air as possible. Double bag to avoid freezer burn or, even better, use a vacuum sealer.

You can also dry beans, but I've never done that before, so I'm afraid you're on your own there!

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Here are my two primary gardening books - I highly recommend both but especially the "new" square foot gardening book, if you want to try this method of raised bed, square foot gardening.

All New Square Foot Gardening

Guide to Mississippi Vegetable Gardening - available for your state too! It's a perfect guide to tell you what to plant and what works best in your region, and also when to plant. I love this guide!

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I am a simple home garden struggling through my failures and relishing in my successes. If you are thinking I am any kind of expert, you might want to read this little ole disclaimer right here.

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2010 Square Foot Garden Planting Grids and Garden Notes

I have been busy with the food blog and with trying to work outside, between the neighbors burning leaves that is - so not much posting occurring over this way lately. I recently posted a wonderful Strawberry Buttermilk Sherbet at Deep South Dish, so if you haven't seen that, be sure to check it out. Oh, and check out that All American Burger too - hello yum! Makes me want another one just thinking about it!! Anyway, the last few days have been simply gorgeous and I have fortunately been able to {finally} open up the house and let some fresh air flow through the past two, since nobody is burning leaves. Yay! {I could post an entire Southern Style Hissy Fit rant about neighbors right now, I swear.}

It took me awhile to get the three beds cleaned up, turned and refreshed with new soil. Seems I move much slower these days, but the two 4 x 4 beds and the one 4 x 8 bed are all ready, and while I've gotten a few things planted, I'm still trying to decide what else I might plant.

You'll notice there is something new around my beds - some garden fencing. That's because of this "innocent" looking thing. {I still don't know his breed... anybody??}

He was climbing up into the veggie beds and while he can actually fit through these pieces, I'm hoping it will at least discourage him a bit.

I'll do a separate post on how I refreshed the bed soil this year since this is year two and I already had the beds established. I still have a 'what I'll do different' post coming about the end of this season that I didn't do at the end of last, and that sure would have made things a bit easier on me starting up this spring. Anyway...

As far as planting goes, last year I planted 2 crookneck squash plants in my larger 4 x 8 foot bed, and since with square foot gardening, each plant absorbs 9 squares out of the bed, those two plantings took up most of that bed. I think I've about convinced myself not to plant those this year. While I did get some squash out of the two plants before they succumbed to "something," I really don't think the return was worth the land investment. I love them, but honestly they are pretty cheap at the grocery store when they are in season.  If I plant one, I may do it out in the midst of the yard somewhere in spot of its own. At any rate, that leaves me lots of extra squares to plant other things so I've got to decide what else I want to plant. My mind seems so sluggish here lately for some reason, so I haven't been able to think or decide!

I did pick up an onion set from the garden center that just said "sweet onion" on it. I have no idea how that will do here, but I thought at the very least maybe the onion would help to act as a repellent for bugs. I know that Jerry Baker uses pulverized onion in some of his book formulas, so maybe... though, I might be dreaming. :)  The Square Foot Book says to do 16 per square - seemed hard to believe to me, but okay. We'll see what happens!

I found a couple of mystery plants growing in the compost pile, so I pulled them and stuck them into a bed just to see if they grew, and if they did, what they are!  I love mystery plants.

I kept my mint in a pot again, though for now I've just set the pot onto a square in the herb garden and actually this is the same mint plant from last year that I've managed to keep alive.

I also put one Better Boy tomato plant in my Topsy Turvy planter this year and moved it onto a plant stand in the middle of the yard, though it's actually a new planter.  Note:  Do not just leave your Topsy Turvy planter out in the elements over the winter, even if you have mild winters, or it just might dry rot.

The tomatoes in the Topsy didn't perform well last year on the edge of the eave of the house, though I'm not really certain why it didn't, but I did want to give it another shot.  I'm hoping that moving it out to the yard on a plant stand will help, but it is pretty heavy and bending the rack forward quite a bit. I hope the stand is going to be able to hold up without collapsing and dropping and breaking my plant like last year when it fell!

The tomato in a bag of Black Kow last year didn't yield a single tomato at all! Doubt that I will try that again. Course, ya never know with me.  I sure hate to admit defeat.  ;)

Click right here for my past Square Foot Gardening Quick Links - how to build a square foot garden from scratch, day 1, the trials & errors.

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Here are my two primary gardening books - I highly recommend both but especially the "new" square foot gardening book, if you want to try this method.

All New Square Foot Gardening

Guide to Mississippi Vegetable Gardening - available for your state too! It's a perfect guide to tell you what to plant and what works best in your region, and also when to plant. I love this guide!

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Here is the chart of what I have planted so far in my 2010 square foot garden beds- more to come as I make up my mind!

BED #1 - 4' x 4'

1 Creole Tomato	1 Creole Tomato	1 Creole Tomato	1 Creole Tomato
Spearmint in a Pot	Mystery Plant from  Compost	4 Marigolds (seed)	Mystery Plant from  Compost
Mystery Plant from  Compost	16 Sweet onions	1 Chive	1 Flat Leaf Parsley
1 Basil	1 Oregano	1 Rosemary	1 Thyme

In pots behind the bed - 1 Meyer Lemon, 1 Eggplant, 1 Patio Tomato, 1 Roma Tomato, 2 pots of Lavender



BED #2 - 4' x 4'

1 Better Boy Tomato	1 Better Boy Tomato	1 Better Boy Tomato	1 Better Boy Tomato
	16 Sweet Onion
	4 Marigolds (seed)
	9 Blue Lake Bush Green Beans	9 Blue Lake Bush Green Beans

In pot to side: 2 Jubilee watermelon (seed)

BED #3 - 4' x 8'

I had to split Bed #3 up into two separate charts to fit it in the blog post. The top section of 4 Rows represent the Left Side of Bed #3; the bottom section 4 Rows represent the Right Side of Bed #3


Left Side of 4' x 8' Bed:

Cucumber (seed)	Cucumber (seed)	AVAILABLE	Reserved (cantaloupe)
9 Blue Lake Bush Green Beans	Carnival Mix Sweet Peppers (seed)
9 Blue Lake Bush Green Beans	Carnival Mix Sweet Peppers (seed)	16 Sweet Onion

Right Side of 4' x 8' Bed:

Cantaloupe (seed)	1 Better Boy Tomato	1 Creole Tomato	1 Creole Tomato
		16 Sweet Onion	1 Yellow Bell Pepper
		Chile Pepper (seed)	1 Big Bertha Bell
		Chile Pepper (seed)	1 Big Bertha Bell

More to Come Soon!