Volunteer Squash and Effective Microorganisms

Though it’s a beautiful, sunny, mild morning, June, overall, has been cool and drizzly.  The cabbage, beets, peas, onions, leeks, and carrots have loved it.  The tomatillos, squash, and peppers, not so much.  The tomatoes are keeping a stiff upper lip but are hoping for consistently warmer and sunnier weather soon.

On the upside, we haven’t had to do much watering in recent weeks.

Our kitties enjoy sunbathing in the garlic patch, where they think nobody can see them.  Here is Little Lou at the edge of the garlic patch (North garden).  Cabbage is under floating row cover, more to protect it from deer than cabbage moths.

 

 

 'Green Beauty' snow peas at the edge of the South garden.

 

An Anaheim pepper, trying its best!

 

 

 Kale seedlings (I believe this is 'Frilly' kale, probably from Annapolis Seeds).

 

Batch of EM-1's ('Effective Microorganisms') mixed in April and allowed to ferment.  The garden will be watered with a diluted version of it in the next week or so.  

 

The recipe I used for the EM-1 mixture (written version at the end of this blog post) is from this video:

 

 

 

Early this week, R. discovered one of the tomato plants ('Kim’s Civil War Oxheart') in the East garden – the garden closest to the street – had the top bitten off.  That is a new one for us.  It must have been one of the young deer passing through with its mother.  It was one of three varieties I’d agreed to grow out for a tomato seed bank, so I will do what I can to nurture those plants through the summer.  We covered those tomatoes with floating row cover and trellised the other tomatoes in that garden (a shorter, determinate variety) with enough twine to hopefully discourage any further midnight snacking.

 

 

The winter squash transplants ('North Georgia Candy Roaster' and 'Burpee’s Butterbush') have been planted in raised beds.  Watermelon ('Blacktail Mountain') were planted in the middle of the East garden.  We’ll see how the watermelon fares; it will need more heat than we’ve been getting, and the transplants have remained quite small.

North Georgia Candy Roaster, with a few sunflowers coming up along the edge: 

 

Bachelor Buttons have begun to bloom, as have the few purple irises in the bathtub flowerbed.  

 

 

Bachelor Button

 

Two of the green zucchini ('Fordhook') have FINALLY germinated and shown themselves.  Still waiting on three others.  Older seed + cool temperatures = zucchini seeds giving me the plant kingdom’s version of the middle finger. The yellow zucchini ('Saffron', from Le Potager Ornementale de Catherine) germinated within days of being sown and the plants are going strong.

Most of the dry bush beans, the romano pole beans ('Early Riser' – also called, 'Nor’Easter' or 'Northeaster'), and snap beans have begun to sprout.  On a whim, I decided to plant a variety of bush bean I’d never grown before called 'Woods Mountain Crazy'.  It was older seed I’d received in a trade in 2016 or 2017.  I planted the beans in a window box.  I wasn't sure they would germinate but knew it would allow me to grow out the variety if even one plant matured.  To my surprise, all of them germinated.  A nice surprise.

The dry pole bean variety I planted ('Good Mother Stallard') was also older seed.  Unfortunately, none of that germinated, so I replanted with 'Dolloff', an heirloom variety descending from the classic Horticultural Lima bean.  I last grew it in 2019 and hope it is still viable enough to grow out this summer.  Originally purchased through Heritage Harvest Seed.

I planted beets on a whim and sowed them thickly, thinking the seed was too old to germinate.  Wrong!  The beets, kale, and other greens have had to be covered with netting to keep the sparrows from picking the leaves to pieces.  I don’t know if they actually eat the bits of leaves and petals they clip off, or if they’re just doing this for their own amusement.

 

 

The skirret is coming along nicely.  I am surprised the deer and sparrows have left it alone (*touch wood*…).

 

The potatoes are all up and looking good.

 

 

Three volunteer squash plants are going strong in one of the compost bins.  We are just going to let them grow.  Frankly, they look healthier and stronger than the ones I started from seed and planted in a raised bed.   Chances are, they are either Lower Salmon River or Galeux D’Eysines.

 

 

Several of the tomato plants have already started to grow little tomatoes:  Scotia, Amber, Favourie de Bretagne, Japanese Black Trifele, Javelin, and Katja.

 

Favorie de Bretagne

 

Katja

 

Japanese Black Trifele

 

Javelin

 

The summer savoury germinated really well this year (woohoo!) and bits have been transplanted into several raised beds.  I love the scent of it, and love the clouds of tiny pink flowers it produces towards the end of the season.   The marjoram did not germinate well this year, so I only have a few sprigs growing in a yogurt container for now.  It’s a fragile herb, so I’ve never put much effort into preserving it.  I do love the scent, though, and pinching off bits to add to salads.

 

Summer Savoury

 

Chives

 

Pineapple Sage

 

Sage in the corner, Jacob's Cattle beans coming up to the right.

Marjoram

Helpers

 

 

 

 

North garden (garlic patch, Katja tomatoes, Copenhagen cabbage, Fordhook zucchini, Queen of Malinalco tomatillos). 

 

 

 

Bags and pots: EM-Champion tomatoes, Scotia tomato, feverfew, carrots, potatoes. 

 

 

 

More pots, window boxes, and containers: dry bush beans (assorted varieties), romano pole bean ('Early Riser'), potatoes, and tomatoes ('Amber').

 

 

 

Pots along the north fence - tomatoes, Faux tomatoes, a few Anaheim peppers, Swedish Red cooking peas, and a zinnia or two.

 

 

 

 

EM-1 (Effective Microorganisms) Recipe

 

INGREDIENTS

 

A

 

·       1 L unsulphured/blackstrap molasses

·       1 L purified water (no chlorine – can be bottled water, rain water, etc.)

·       1 L Greek yogurt (live cultures, no additives)

·       3 egg whites

·       2 Tbsp dry yeast (mixed in some warm water to dissolve/activate)

 

B

 

·       1 gallon (4 L) purified water

·       2 cups fertile soil from your area/garden

 

EQUIPMENT

 

·       2 large glass or heavy plastic bottles/jars with lids (e.g., ~ 3L capacity each)

·       Fine sieve

·       Round coffee filters

·       Large, clean plastic bucket

·       Several plastic water jugs (4L capacity) and/or pop bottles (2L capacity)

·       2 or 3 large brown paper bags

 

PROCEDURE

 

1.     Combine base inoculant ingredients “A”.

2.     In a separate container, combine ingredients “B”.  Mix thoroughly and let settle for 2-3 hours.  Strain liquid and then add this liquid to the containers that are already holding the “A” mixture.

3.     Let combined mixture sit in a dark place for 1 month.  (Can cover jars with heavy grade brown paper bags to help keep out light.)

4.     Burp containers daily to prevent gas build-up.

5.     At the 1 month mark, mixture should smell sweet/sour.

6.     Pour mixture into several plastic water jugs or pop bottles, filling to ~1-2 inches from the top.  Store in a cool, dark place.  Burp every day or two to prevent gas build-up.

 

This mixture can be diluted and applied to the garden or houseplants.  (Different dilution rates for different purposes.  Check online for recommendations.

 

 

May Notes: Garlic Casualties & What's Coming Up

   It is sunny, mild, and blowing a gale out today!  I am overdue with an update; here are my fast-and-loose garden notes from the past month.

   Nights are now generally above zero, in the low single-digits.  A cold dip is coming early this week, with an overnight (or two) forecast to be around 1 or 2 degrees.  I'll bring transplants inside for those nights until the cool spell has passed.  Days have been mild, with temperatures in the low to mid teens.  The cool temperatures and windy days are making hardening off the tomatoes a little tricky and it is taking longer than in recent years.  The transplants have been toughening up, but what they really need is some exposure to heat before they can safely be planted in the garden.

   R. pruned two trees in front yard by the south garden, as they were casting half the garden in shade.  I don't know what kind of trees they are, but they have prickly stubs along the branches and get tangled easily.  The prickles/stubs get caught in one's hair, clothes, and the cutting tool used to prune the trees.  It is a welcome relief when this task is finished.  R tied and stacked the branches to dry over the summer and the bundles will be burned next Spring.

 

   Most of the herb seeds I started (sown in small containers indoors and in milk jugs outdoors) germinated and grew well, the exception being lemon balm.  I have Russian tarragon, curly parsley, summer savoury, sage, feverfew, dill (‘Bouquet’), and a wee bit of marjoram on the go.  I transplanted the summer savoury and parsley in several raised beds this week.  Having recently read up on Russian tarragon (a very hardy but less flavourful variety than French tarragon), I expect I will be sharing it either with people who have the acreage to allow it to spread or who are willing to watch it like a hawk to prevent it from taking over their gardens.  Once the days are consistently warm, basil seed will be planted in a raised bed.

 

   In the last two weeks, these seedlings have been planted in the garden: cabbage (Brunswick and Copenhagen), kale (mixed), leeks (Giant Musselburgh), skirret, green bunching onions, and Rossa Lunga di Firenze onion starts (both look similar to leek seedlings). 

 

Cabbage, kale, calendula, and feverfew

 

   R bought some onions sets at Canadian Tire (mixed – yellow, white, and red) and these were planted April 28th.

 

Onion bed (from sets) - May 24th

   Two varieties of dry cooking peas (Gold Harvest and Swedish Red) were sown, as well as snow peas (Green Beauty), carrots (Red Chantenay, Jaune Obtus du Doubs, Scarlet Nantes, Pusa Asita Black, and Cosmic Purple), and zucchini (‘Dark Green’ and ‘Saffron’).  I also sowed spinach (Bloomington), lettuce/greens (Crisp Mint, Frilly Endive, Blushed Butter Oak, and Rouge D’Hiver), and beets (mixed and Detroit Red).  

   Pineapple sage, Mojito mint (both overwintered from last summer), Indian mint, and Pineapple mint (the latter two purchased at the local nursery this past week) were planted in large pots two days ago.

   Most of the carrots are planted in raised beds.  Keeping the sandy soil we have in the beds moist enough for the carrot seed to germinate can be a challenge, even when the patch is covered by boards or burlap.  We decided to plant some older seed in large plastic containers with tops as an experiment.  They kept the moisture in perfectly and the seed planted in these containers germinated much more quickly than the seed in the raised beds (still waiting for most of the latter to germinate, frankly).

 

Carrots (assorted varieties) - May 24th

  

   AmaRosa potatoes from last summer and two potato varieties R. bought this year ('Red Thumb' and 'Red Potato', from Canadian Tire) were planted early in May. 

 

Potatoes coming up - May 24th

   In a jumping the gun moment of optimism, I planted two Pendulina and 3 Dwarf Emerald Giant tomato transplants in the last few days.  I did not expect days of gusting wind to follow!   

Six skirret seedlings were planted in the East garden around May 17th.  

 

Skirret seedlings

‘Blacktail Mountain’ watermelon was started indoors under lights and on a heat mat on May 7^th.

 

Blacktail Mountain watermelon - May 24th

  

   North Georgia Candy Roaster (C. maxima), Lower Salmon River (C. maxima), and Burpee's Butterbush (C. moschata) were sown May 20th.  The seeds were started in tall pots set in the south garden.  There isn't room this Spring to start them indoors under grow lights; the watermelon is under the grow light and there simply isn't room in the plant room, as the tomatoes, peppers, and tomatillos still have to be brought indoors every night.  

   After hearing a friend talk enthusiastically about the abundant harvest of tomatillos she had last summer (not to mention the many batches of salsa verde that followed), I decided to try my hand at growing tomatillos this year.  Two varieties were started in mid-April: Toma Verde, a round, green, “classic” variety, and Queen of Malinalco, an elongated, sweet, rare yellow variety.

   I started hardening off the tomatoes, tomatillos, and peppers on May 1^st.   The weather seemed to be on track for a warm month, but it turned cool again by the second week.  

Tomatoes & peppers - early May

 

Anaheim peppers - early May

 

Tomatoes & peppers - May 14th

 

   The garlic in the garlic patch is now all up (Mother-of-Pearl was the main straggler).  The Gold Harvest and Swedish Red peas have all come up as well.

   Volunteer garlic has been popping up in the East and South gardens as well as in several of the raised beds for the last month!  At least 20 of them (we stopped counting).  They have been relocated to a flower (now “garlic and flower”) bed and to two raised beds along the driveway.

   The night of May 15^th,  R came home to find a young moose curled up in the garlic patch.  The moose got up, nibbled on the apple tree behind the house, then left...only to return later in the evening to sleep in the garlic patch again.  I love the moose and deer that visit, but you can imagine the damage it often does to what’s growing.  A large portion of three rows of garlic (mostly Red Russian) were mightily squished.  I packed mulch around their bases the following day and cross my fingers that they will rebound.

 

Garlic patch - May 14th

 

Moose in the garlic - May 15th (click to enlarge)

 

   In an effort to keep the deer from eating half the garden, we have covered some crops (lettuce, cabbage, beets) with floating row cover, and have put plastic mesh around others (peas, strawberries).  I am prepared to cover the tomato plants nightly well before frost is an issue to keep the deer from eating the tomatoes.  Two years ago, the deer feasted on the determinate tomatoes planted in the East garden toward the end of the season.  Last year, I covered tomatoes starting mid-summer.  One does what one has to do.  It certainly adds a lot of extra work.  The straightforward planting-watering-harvesting of the garden that we used to do every summer is a thing of the past.

 

Strawberry bed - May 24th

Gold Harvest cooking peas - May 24th

Gold Harvest cooking peas - May 24th

   Blossoms are out on the apple tree and crabapple trees and buds are just appearing on the ornamental cherry tree near the south garden.  Dandelions are everywhere, and are hundreds of volunteer sunflowers seedlings.  Bachelor Buttons and poppies have come up, self-seeded from last summer's flowers.  Hoping that the bees that were merrily buzzing about in early May come back soon.