Just Waiting...and Fertilizing

We're now at a point where we're just waiting for our veggies and herbs to grow.  I still have about two dozen seedlings of good size...mostly peppers, cucumbers, and summer squash.  I planted more squash seeds because some of the others I planted in the straw bales haven't made it.  Maybe it was the Mother's Day night cold snap, or maybe they're just fragile. Even though I only planted four in my front yard bales, I want to keep several seedlings around in case I have to replace more.

Several of our strawberries have ripened, but some culprit has made off with most of them. So I bought some netting to put over them...hope that keeps them safe.

Eau de Fish Emulsion

On Tuesday, May 28th, Dad and I fertilized again with fish emulsion.  That stuff sure is disgustingly potent!  We mix about 2 Tbs. with a jug of water...one jug for each bale...and put it on every two weeks.  I can't stand the smell, but we want to stay organic as best we can.  It is a very gentle "no-burn" fertilizer (5-1-1), and is recommended highly.  I dread every other Tuesday -- our fertilizing day.

All the veggies are looking great, but I am particularly excited about my herbs.  I bought a book to see if I can determine when I can start using them.  They looked ready to use when I bought them -- and they're growing well -- so I don't know if I should let them continue to grow or start using/drying/freezing.

When I checked the seedlings that were still in one of my greenhouse trays, the squash were getting pretty big, so I went ahead and put three in bales by the garage (replaced one and added two more) and two in the bales by the front porch.  I was only going to have two summer squash, two zucchini, and two tomato plants on each set of bales.  That's what was recommended as far as spacing...but I am going to be guilty of over-planting.  Live and learn.

My next post will have some "now/then" comparison collages of each of the straw bale locations, along with drawings on graph paper of each bale's veggies.  Even though I showed a proposed layout plan on my April 22nd post, these will be more legible and detailed.  The early plan was pretty-much spot-on...there were a few adjustments...and, perhaps, some over-planting here and there.

Because we are done with everything now except watering and fertilizing, I've decided to reclaim a long-lost hobby -- gourd crafting.  OK, don't laugh.  About 18 years ago, when a friend asked if I would go with her to the "World's Largest Gourd Show," an annual event held in Mt. Gilead, Ohio, I laughed...a lot!  But I went.  And I fell in love with gourds that were made into bowls and vases and were stained to show the gourds' natural burled richness. Envision burled walnut...that's what a wood-stained gourd looks like.

The burled look comes from mold.  As gourds dry after harvesting, the outer "skin" molds as moisture is leaving the shell and inside the gourd.  The gourd continues to dry and harden over the winter, and the first step of crafting them is to wash off the dried skin in warm water. 

Some of the gourds I liked at the "World's Largest Gourd Show" had southwestern Indian petroglyphs (primitive cave drawings) or other natural decoration.  Nothing garish.  Oh, there was plenty of garish stuff there -- painted gourds made into penguins and ducks, table lamps, snowmen and jack-o-lanterns and other weirdness...but that's not what grabbed me.

Southwestern Gourd Art
(not my work...I'll post some pix of mine soon.)

I bought a couple dozen dried gourds and -- like any other number of activities that capture my attention -- I dove deeply into the craft.  I made bowls (some with lids, some open) and birdhouses.  The bowls often were functional -- holding potpourrie or glass-held candles. 

Sometimes I engraved petroglyphs into the gourd, but most often, I just stained them and let them show their natural beauty.  If I didn't use the top of the gourd, I always finished off the rim of the bowl with a wrap of long pine needles, grape vine, raffia, or jute.  

The gourd bowl shown above is just something I found online -- it's not my work -- but of the ones I saw, probably most resembles the simple work I do.  Some of the "southwestern look" gourds are very elaborate -- with colored stains and/or paint, intricate carving, and other accents (such as feathers, stones, and Indian animal fetishes).

When I make a birdhouse, I generally don't do anything to them, other than drill a hole for the birds to get in and small drainage holes on the bottom, and add a perch.  Birds really like gourd birdhouses.  I have quite a few wooden birdhouses in my back yard, but birds really seem to go for the gourds first.
 
I made the birdhouse shown here a few days ago and hung it in the back yard.

Big boxes with my gourds and plastic storage tubs with my crafting supplies were in the garage and basement.  It's been fun pulling everything out and seeing all the gourds I still have, plus the drills, stains, rim wraps, and other decorative accents.  

I used to sell my gourds.  I had a website way back in the early days of the world-wide-web -- White River GourdWorks -- and four stores sold my gourds, one in downtown Indianapolis, one in Castleton, one in Muncie, and one in Florida.  As I mentioned above, that all started 18 years ago.  I don't sell gourds now...but I will gladly make them as gifts for friends and family.
 

Final Touches...and DONE!

Mother's Day was chilly outside, but sunny.  Even though I couldn't plant flowers for fear of overnight frost, I just couldn't stay inside all day, so I weeded and mulched the flowerbed on the west side of the driveway where I have two straw bales next to the garage.  My lilac bush in the flowerbed dominates everything there, but it is lovely...at least for a few weeks of the spring.

A Lilac Bouquet

Monday, I did some work outside:  planted 15 geraniums next to the front yard sidewalk, then raked and weeded next to the east side of the house.  I have low shrubs, hostas, and other shade-loving perennials there...and I put in three kale seedlings.  There are several more, but they need to grow a little more before transplanting. That area will get 4-6 hours of sun, but not the afternoon heat that (I read) would make kale (a "winter crop") bitter.  I want lots of kale, so I'm happy to make that east planting area productive, instead of just pretty.

Tuesday was fertilizer day.  We hadn't applied any fertilizer since the end of the bale cooking/conditioning process...that was April 20th.  But now that all the veggies and herbs are planted, it's time to give them a nutrient boost.  Because I'm trying to keep everything organic, I'm using fish emulsion -- 2 Tb.+/- with each gallon of water.  If I thought there was an "ick" factor using Dad's pee as our high-nitrogen, organic fertilizer when we were first cooking the straw bales, that was NOTHING compared to the sludge that is fish emulsion...charcoal grey goo that smells AWFUL!!!  I gave up measuring it.  I just shook up the container, poured some goo into our pee jug, and Dad filled it with water from the hose.  I used at least a jug on each bale.  It even smelled worse when it was diffused with the water.  We'll fertilize with it every two weeks...if I can stand it. 

Dinner Plate Hibiscus
(last summer)

Wednesday was another flower-planting day.  I put the remaining geraniums I had, plus some dianthus and celosia, in front of my lilac bush.  I have three dinner plate hibiscus -- one on each side of the lilac bush and one in front of it -- that will start sending up bushy stalks in a few weeks, so I planted in front of them.  The huge hibiscus blooms won't pop, though, until mid-late July/August.  There are lilies, coneflowers, yarrow, and other perennials throughout the flowerbed -- plus the newly-planted annuals -- that will be providing color long before the hibiscus. 

Thursday morning, I cut holes in the front side of the straw bale by our front porch and put the same dianthus/begonia rows there.  

And you know what?  WE'RE DONE!!!

West-Side Front Flowerbed and Straw Bales -- DONE!
Woody hibiscus stalks from last year poking through.

Dianthus and Begonias Decorate Front of Straw Bales 
They're a little droopy right now, but should perk up in a day or two.

Front (next to porch) Flowerbed and Straw Bales  -- DONE! 
Memory stone in front of bird bath was given to me after Mom died in August, 2011.
I have three "extra" tomato plants in front of the birdbath,
and moved the "extra" summer squash to the west-side bale
(one over there didn't make it...frost maybe?)
Stonecrop and lilies of the valley line the sidewalk behind the flowerbed.

Dianthus and Begonias Decorate Front and Sides of Straw Bales

Straw Bales Behind Shrubs in Largest Front Flowerbed -- DONE!
I think of all my straw bales, I'm most excited about these.
Maybe it's because they're my "secret straw bales" (hidden from view from the street)
or because I love what's planted there -- with the exception of two eggplants,
it's all tomatoes, peppers, and herbs.  SALSA just waiting to be canned!  YUM!!!

Back Yard Straw Bales -- DONE!
Six acorn sqaush planted in sides of bales. 
As we've been doing "spring clean-up" raking, we've piled leaves
around the straw bales to cushion the eggplant and squash vines.

 Now it's time to watch everything grow! 

 

Countdown to Mother's Day

This past Wednesday, I went to Arbor Farms Nursery and Do It Best Hardware to look for herbs.  I found everything I wanted except catnip.  I will check at other stores when I can.  I sure don't want to start it from seed!  All I know is that with our feline family members, catnip is a MUST!

Arbor Farms was really busy, as expected.  The weather here has just been beautiful, and a lot of folks are planting early. The nursery was just getting its annuals and veggies in this week, and I was pleased with the herb selection.  I got basil, cilantro, oregano, dill, rosemary, and stevia.  Yes...STEVIA!!!  I was so thrilled to see that.  I am very eager to try it in tea, my protein shakes, and lots more!  I also couldn't resist getting a beautiful hanging basket with pink verbena, white snowflake bacopa, and pink snowbell petunias...oh, also got a Boston fern.

At Do It Best, I bought begonias, alyssum, and dianthus (Sweet William) to put in the south-facing sides of the straw bales that are by the front porch and garage.  I checked through the inventory of veggies again -- I would like to get starts of acorn squash -- but didn't find any (there or Arbor Farms), so I picked up a 4-pack of butternut squash.  Also bought one cayenne pepper.  We are going to have SO MANY peppers!  I love it!!!   I bought a bag of hardwood mulch for the area in front of the birdbath where I planted the "extra" tomatoes and yellow squash.  I'll need more bags of mulch for the flowerbed on the west side of the garage (where I have two more straw bales), but that's all I could load on this trip.

Wednesday's Haul
Herbs, annuals for the sides of the front yard straw bales,
butternut squash, hanging basket, Boston fern, and mulch.

My Combo Beauty
Pink verbena, white snowflake bacoba, and pink snowbell petunias
make a gorgeous hanging basket for out front.

I got all the herbs -- plus the butternut squash and cayenne pepper -- planted on Thursday.  When I got home with everything on Wednesday, I read about growing butternut squash.  I was relieved to learn it vines up to 15 ft. instead of growing in a "hill" clump like zucchini or summer squash.  I don't know where I would have been able to put it if it didn't vine like the eggplants will.  As of now...I am OUT OF SPACE on my straw bales...except for the flowers on the sides of them. 

Front Yard:  Bales in Flowerbed Behind Shrubs -- DONE!
Herbs in front two rows.
Eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes fill the rest of the bales.

On Friday morning, I picked up my friend, Staci, and we did some "errand" shopping and lunch.  Our first stop was Menards.  Staci went one direction, and I headed all the way to the other end of the store -- to the lawn and garden section.  Still no catnip! 

The Watering Hole
This time, Mama Lucy is ponied up to the bar.
Just another reason I need heavy-duty catnip!

But I did find acorn squash -- HOORAY!!!  The young plants were big and sturdy, and they came in a 6-pack...which was fine, of course, but 2-3 healthy seedlings were in each section.  Since I was able to put most of my herbs on top of the front yard bales, I cut six holes in the front sides of the back yard bales and planted most of the seedlings there (2 seedlings/hole) and the rest on the ends of the bales.  These will also trail like the eggplant and butternut squash.  My original plan was to put one or two acorn squash plants in the side of one of the back bales -- so, obviously, I was a bit overwhelmed to come home with 16 seedlings! 

More Early Planting

With Dad helping and watering, I have done a lot of planting over the past week.  It has been, perhaps, a little warmer than is typically the case for late-April, early-May, making it 99.99% safe to plant before Mother's Day...and both of us have been eager to get things in and get things growing!  You saw in my last post that we got some strawberries planted, as well as "climbing" pole beans and peas.
I have enjoyed starting many of our vegetables from seeds inside.  However, I have not been happy with the herbs and green onions -- they are so frail when started from seed, making it difficult and (I imagine) time-consuming to thin and transplant to bigger containers.  Other snafus --  I mentioned earlier that my summer squash plants had shoots that snapped easily or were too frail to withstand the early "hardening" nights out.  And my first round of zucchini seeds did not germinate, so I'm trying again with a new package of seeds.  It's been a week -- still nothing popping through.  

But a remedy to my frustration came unexpectedly.  One day last week, I had to stop by the hardware store to pick up a sliding lock for our back-yard fence gate, and their young veggie plants had just been delivered that morning.  I think I was the first person in to check them out -- and I bought summer squash, zucchini, Romaine lettuce, five types of tomatoes (Brandywine, Early Girl, Roma, grape, and Sweet 100 cherry), red and green bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, salsa peppers, eggplant, and thyme.  I didn't see some of the other herbs I wanted, but I will be stopping by Arbor Farms Nursery later this week.  My advice:  take a pass on starting herbs from seed.  My disappointment from wasting time and money on starting herb seeds is trumped by how healthy and strong the store-bought, young herbs look and how much farther along they are compared to my unidentifiable, thread-like herb seedlings.

As of today, April 7th, we are about done with planting.  I still need to get my banana peppers and four more kale plants in -- they are currently in the seedling bed, getting a little bigger before moving them to the straw.  And, of course, I'll plant more herbs as soon as I buy them.

Backyard Straw Bales DONE!!! 
Finished planting on April 6th (except for herbs on sides of bales).
Pole beans, peas, and cucumbers along back row (with trellis for vines).
Back bales (in front of beans/peas/cucumbers):  Green and red peppers,
eggplants, and Romaine lettuce: 
Front-left bale:  Kale (too small to see) and Romaine lettuce.
Front-right bale:  Strawberries.

Having read a couple of days ago that kale doesn't like a high-heat environment, I am changing plans on where to put the other four seedlings.  Instead of putting them on the south-most "front row" of the four bales behind my front flower bed shrubs (where the seedling pen is currently), I'm going to plant them on the east side of the house.  I have border shrubs and perennials there.  That side of the house gets good morning sun -- enough that the kale should do well there -- and be out of the hot, afternoon sun and heat.

So that kale will be ground-based, as will one extra yellow-squash plant and two Grape tomato plants -- extras that I separated when planting the others from their "4-pack" containers.  Today I emptied potting soil in front of the bird bath from several old hanging basket containers.  I planted the squash and tomatoes there.  I am curious to see which plants do better -- the ones in the straw bales or the ones in the ground!

Here are some pictures of the other straw bales on the front-side of the house to show you what things look like at this point:  

Front Yard:  Bales Behind Flowerbed Shrubs
Still keeping remaining seedlings there until bigger.
Back row:  Roma tomatoes
Next row:  One eggplant at edge (for trailing on ground), grape tomato,
Sweet 100 cherry tomato, jalapeno pepper, salsa pepper.
Front: Another eggplant at edge; thyme.
Since remaining kale will go on east side of house,
I'm putting other herbs on front edge with thyme.
Banana pepper seedlings will go behind herbs.

Front Yard:  Bales Beside Garage
Back Row:  Early Girl tomatoes and yellow squash..
Front Row:  Zucchini and yellow squash.
Herbs and flowers to be planted on sides.

Front Yard:  Bales Beside Front Porch
Back Row:  Brandywine tomatoes and yellow squash..
Front Row:  Zucchini and yellow squash.
Herbs and flowers to be planted on sides.

Front Yard:  Bales Beside Front Porch
Extra grape tomatoes and yellow squash planted in front of birdbath.
I also split off some young hostas and moved there too.
Only thing left to add is mulch later this week or next.