I spend a lot of time fretting over seeds that are not germinating or plants that are not doing well. I need to give equal time to the delightful surprises that the garden brings almost every day. Today:
Garden surprises
Author: Catherine
Camp story
It looks like we are moving forward with the camp remodel.
We demolished the add-on bathroom. Now there’s a hole in the back wall.
I have mixed feelings about this process.
I’m forever grateful to Ray Storman for selling us the camp. It was the anchor that got us to Maine.
Yet I have a really different vision of what I want it to be. I want to obliterate most traces of Ray’s ownership.
I feel guilty for being so overprivileged to have a summer camp. It will go to Sam’s son when we’re gone.
I’m impatient to get it done. But I won’t let myself be impatient. It will take as long as it takes.
I have vivid memories of staying there during the transition from Connecticut to Maine. With and without Sam. It was at once cozy and horrible.
The lake is so beautiful. Especially in the fall when it starts to get cold. I love it so much.
I want to be a good steward. But there’s so much building and overbuilding going on. Human presence does not feel trustworthy.
We don’t need the rental income. I think about offering camp stays to poets, writers, activists in need of respite. How would I do that? Is it safe there for everyone?
Asparagus
We’ve been eating some asparagus. Not a huge amount but a good steady harvest of spears.
Problems though. Asparagus beetle has shown up. We’re trying to control it by picking off the beetles and spraying water on the fronds that have larvae and eggs. We had these pests before, a few years ago. They seemed to be eliminated by cleaning up the beds after the fronds died completely during the winter. Maybe they’re a cyclical pest? Or maybe they’re living in the wood chips?
Also, the raised beds are deteriorating and the productive roots seem to be migrating toward the edges of the bed, sometimes even outside the bed. We’ll probably have to rejuvenate the plantings at some time in the future. Hard to do, as we’ve just come to rely on it.
Potatoes
I did some potato research prompted by a Facebook group post on hilling with a link to this article:
Determinate and Indeterminate Potatoes
I had never heard of this distinction. But it seems pretty important because determinate potatoes are not worth hilling. They do benefit from mulch to keep the sun off tubers that form close to the surface.
So in the interest of this year being our big potato year (as well as our big tomato year, and a big year for a lot of other things), I worked on the potatoes as shown:
“Keepers.” Late varieties, but it turns out they are mostly determinate. Mulched them with straw waste from the chicken coop, mounded up good. Includes from bottom: Adirondack Red, Caribou, Elba? (Elba may be indeterminate, this is not an exact science!)
“Keepers,” continued. Sam built a frame of old boards screwed together. I piled it full of leaf mulch + reclaimed soil, then a light layer of hay. We expect to get extra tubers from the Katahdin planted in there, which specified “hill well” on the packaging. There are also some Kennebec at the top which are determinate (oh well).
New raised bed for “Early” varieties. They are growing tall and somewhat floppy but according to the article, they are determinate varieties. Blue Gold, Chieftain, Dark Red Norland, and Satina. They received a heavy application of hay mulch. They’re so tall you can hardly tell.
Fingerlings. Some of these were frost bitten on June 1, but recovered well. French Fingerlings, Magic Molly, and Amarosa. The Amarosa may be indeterminate? Not sure that makes sense. I treated them all the same with a light application of hay mulch.
No flowers yet. No sign of potato beetle either. I’m expecting a huge infestation like we had last year. Stay tuned.
A few flowers
Pleasures
A quiet morning in the garden while the world suffers the realities of systemic injustice, brutality, disease, and death.
Fruit yard
Two big improvements so far in the fruit yard: a new raised bed and a thick cover of wood chips for weed control. We got two huge dumps of wood chips free from a local tree service looking to get rid of them. Then Sam made many trips to deliver them over the fence into the fruit yard with the tractor, and raked them all out.
We inherited these next three long rows. They are so narrow – lots of wasted planting space 🙁
This area needs attention but it’s making slow progress.
We don’t spend a lot of time in the fruit yard, but we do enjoy it. Maybe the wood chips under foot will make it less weedy, more pleasant. I’m really looking forward to a lush crop of berries someday.
Beginning of June 2020
A hellish spring continues in the US and the world. But the garden is growing, starting to take shape.
More photos from fruit yard on next post.
Community garden planted
I put the squash plants in at the community garden. Planting is done there! Now I’m waiting for the plants to do their thing while I nurture them as best I can.
There’s also a nice perennial sunflower and echinacea plants, not in bloom yet.
June 1 frost
Adding to our sense of disorientation and confusion – a late frost on June 1st. And temps in the 30’s on June 2nd. Lost a few tomato plants. Some other tomatoes and some fingerling potato sprouts got burned.
I covered the summer squash, ground cherry, cucumbers, and the beds in the hoophouse where heat-loving crops are planted. Those plants survived fine.
I’m posting this here as a reminder to the future that the last frost dates cannot be trusted. When in doubt, cover!