Rain Barrel Improvements

By John, on April 23rd, 2011 | One comment

oops...I dropped this custom fittingThis past weekend the rain barrels were set up, though not without mishap. This is always a bit of a chore because it involves the not-so-nice task of climbing a ladder and cleaning the gutter of all the rotting debris that has accrued through the fall and winter. The barrels were righted and the fittings were all re-taped and reseated to ensure a water tight seal…except that I dropped one of them and the threads cracked. Sadly, this is a composite part consisting of a slip elbow and a union. So I schlepped on down to Lowes and purchased the requisite pieces only to find out on my return home that the PVC cement that I thought I had was actually CPVC cement. Crap! …continue reading

Category: Rain Barrels

Garden Week in Review

By John, on April 18th, 2011 | 5 comments

mid-April asparagus, 2011On Monday I went out to the asparagus bed and counted eight spears poking their way up through the soil. By the weekend that number had tripled and most of them look to be nice and fat. I’ve read that asparagus planted too shallow will result in thin, spindly spears. Planting deeper yields fewer but fatter spears.

With asparagus, the third season is supposed to be the first full harvest. Last year was our third season but, after a promising start, it ended up being disappointing with a lot of thin and misshapen spears. I’m praying that we don’t have a virus. I lavished some extra attention on them over the season last year in the hope of coaxing them into a better harvest this year. Within a matter of weeks I’ll learn whether those efforts have paid dividends or whether our asparagus has a problem. So far, so good. …continue reading

Category: Asparagus, Gardening, Rain Barrels, Tomatoes

Warming Up the Greenhouse

By John, on March 5th, 2011 | 3 comments

In the greenhouse, buckets of water act as a heat sink.What a difference a year makes. Last year, Phyllis planted peas on February 28th. This year, it’s early March and my beds are all frozen and half are still covered in snow. Meanwhile, my fellow New England gardening bloggers have been furiously posting about the seeds they’ve started and torturing me with tantalizing photos of seed trays bursting with lush new life. You see, I don’t have a basement or spare room to turn over to seed starting, we’ve always done it in our detached and currently frigid garage. Besides, according to my planting planner, I’m not supposed to be starting anything until mid-March anyway.

So it was a relief when I received a newsletter from my CSA stating that they themselves had just received their shipment of starting mix. I realized that I’m not behind the eight ball. Heck, if a professional farmer hasn’t started her seedlings yet, how wrong could I be? Feelings of inadequacy averted.
…continue reading

Category: Gardening, Green house, How-To, Seeds and Planting

a 3-zone irrigation system

By John, on May 18th, 2010 | 3 comments

rain barrels connect to a transfer pump4 zone manifoldThe last few years we have been watering the east garden by hand, which was manageable but tiresome. Earlier this year I experimented with some old soaker hoses I’ve had lying around but the results weren’t acceptable. Soaker hoses just don’t …continue reading

Category: Garden Structures, Rain Barrels

Greenhouse Growing

By Phyllis, on May 14th, 2010 | 2 comments

Juliana Mini 3 Greenhouse

Temps in the greenhouse have been reliably about 10 to 20 degrees higher or more  than the air temps, and I want to see if I can extend our season  into fall.  An extra 10 to 20 degrees means that we may be able to have fresh tomatoes long after the summer crop is finished.  By the end of June I’ll start fall tomato seeds in the garage under grow lights to get them big enough transplant into large containers by end of july in order to do …continue reading

Category: Garden Structures, Green house, Seeds and Planting, Vegetables
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