a tale of two blackberries

apache blackberrieswild blackberriesMy thornless upright Apache blackberries left, and wild blackberries growing on the slope behind my garage right. Look for a compare and contrast post in a few months. …continue reading

watermelon update

watermelon-2009-05-22-01.jpgIt’s been an interesting year so far on the watermelon front. I direct seeded Congo and Crimson Sweet about 5 weeks ago, one hill each with 7 seeds. Five of the Congo sprouted and now have their second set of leaves. However, only one of the Crimson Sweet sprouted and this morning I discovered that something had nipped it off at the stem. So no Crimson Sweet this year. Obviously I picked up a bad batch of seeds (Burpee take note!).  Luckily, my wife also …continue reading

raspberries, yum

raspberries-2009-05-23-02.jpgI tried growing raspberries last year without much success. I had purchased smaller canes at Lowes, both red and black raspberries, but my choice of location didn’t offer enough sun. This spring, only 4 of the 12 canes reemerged. My success with the blackberries I planted earlier this year gave me confidence to give raspberries another try. So when I found these beauties at …continue reading

watermelons

watermelon-2009-05-22-01.jpgWatermelons are such luscious plants. If you plant them in a raised bed the vines just pour out, cascading over the sides of the bed and threatening to take over the garden. Last year was our first stab at growing watermelons. My wife started some Moon and Stars from seeds. We also bought some seedlings of Charleston Grey from Lowes. Both …continue reading

grape trellis built

grapes-2009-05-02-001.jpgA fine weekend plus a little motivation can yield results. I planted a grapevine about 8 years ago but the location wasn’t as sunny as it should have been and the vine grew slowly. I finally pulled it two years ago and have had it in the back of my mind to find a nice sunny south-facing location to give it another go. My blackberry project last weekend turned out so well that I thought I’d replicate it for my grape project. I went again with …continue reading

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from our galleries

blackberries bucket 2 - trace a circle around the top of yogurt cup on bottom of the bucket our sole bunch recapturing a runaway my lawn after aeration, fertilizer and overseeding a Costco rotisserie chicken container makes a nifty mini greenhouse emergent garlic my electric lawnmower