WR's 2014 Spring Garden

[w_r_ranch]

Thanks everyone, but yesterday's storms were pretty bad here... While we welcomed the .9" rain (we probably had more, but when it's nearly horizontal it doesn't go into the rain gauges very well) the wind was pretty damaging. The average wind was 22.8 mph & there was a gust that registered 115. The corn is pretty much laying flat & there are a lot of shredded leaves on the garden plants that will need to be trimmed off. At least the tomatoes made it through with minimal damage... We'll see what stands back up when the sun works it's magic for a few hours.

This has been a challenging year thus far...

 

[ErnieCopp]

Picked the last of the Kumquats and sliced for marmalade, will pick the last of the loquats tomorrow, Most everything is growing well, but weather has cooled off, 70 high, 48 or 50 low, so worried tomato blossoms will not set fruit from the cool nights, Have plenty now but hope they keep starting steady. Will pick first Zukes tomorrow, and some Beet Greens.

Trapped another rabbit today, and saw a long yearling coyote in neighbor's yard. Only gun i have here is a pellet rifle, will sting him if i get a chance, as we have small dogs. Saw the biggest coyote i have ever seen, big as a small wolf a couple of weeks ago. We live at the bottom end of a creek before it goes into town, and lots of varmints follow down it as the foothills dry out, so we get quite a few animals down here. It looks like a lot of Coyotes and Birds will starve this summer for lack of food from the drought.

Ernie

 

[ErnieCopp]

Wrote the above post yesterday but did not click the button to post it. Picked all of the loquats i want today, they are so big, i have a lot left for my helper. Finished irrigating the lawn.
Kohlrabi, and Okra planted last Sunday are coming up, built a sunshade for an East window. Neighbor has 80 Foot Eucalyptus, and one fell, three more had rot in them so had to be taken out, That lets a lot of hot sunshine hit the East end of our house, so needed shade over a bathroom Window. Either shade it or turn it into a Sauna, and the Shade was the easiest choice.

Seeded and sliced the Loquats and Linda will make compote or pie filling from them. Kumquat marmalade much better this year than some i made about 30 years ago. Wish i had an inch or two of that Rain Sam got too much of. Lots of bad weather all around the Country.

Ernie

 

[majorcatfish]

sorry to hear about this... corn is very resilient, if left alone it will right itself..
thunderstorms can be very damaging to a garden.....

 

[w_r_ranch]

It's on!!! The melons started popping up this afternoon (persian, honeydew & watermelon), hoping the nutmeg cantaloupe show up in the next couple of days!!!

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[w_r_ranch]

Here we go again, more bad weather starting tonight & tomorrow... Predicting the winds to be about 17 mph & up to 5" of rain. The challenges just keep coming...

Special Statement as of 5:55 AM CDT on May 12, 2014

...locally heavy rain possible late tonight into Tuesday afternoon...

A potent upper level storm system coupled with a surface cold front will trigger scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms across southeast Texas tonight into Tuesday afternoon. Although there are still some differences in the models...confidence is growing that periods of showers and thunderstorms will begin to develop west of a Columbus to Trinity line around midnight. The line of storms will only slowly push their way to the east. Training of storms is also expected. At the current time...widespread rainfall accumulations are expected to average between 1 and 3 inches northwest of a Columbus to Trinity line with isolated totals between 3 and 5 inches possible. Further east...rainfall totals are expected to be considerably lighter with rainfall amounts generally around an inch or so.

 

[w_r_ranch]

I need to spray again, but I'll hold off until the next storm passes. Here's the progress as of today...

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[ErnieCopp]

Sam,
I hope you do not get hail again, or damage of any kind for that matter. I am sure the Nutmegs will sprout, as mine did, but i have two volunteers from seed left in the ground from last year, and both are amazing. They are farther along, of course, that the ones i sowed, but they are already covered with blossoms, while the Hale's Best and Persian volunteers have not set blossoms yet.

We had a cold spell here, that slowed growth down, but back up to 88 today, so i am sure it will begin again. Still concerend about a gap in my tomatoes. Have not noticed any new babies for ten day or more.

 

[majorcatfish]

very impressive growth in your garden......

 

[w_r_ranch]

Weather is getting more ominous... Lots of lightning & thunder. Going to disconnect the internet router to avoid possible damage to our systems. See you when this is over.

Special Statement as of 8:44 PM CDT on May 12, 2014

...Significant weather advisory for northwestern Austin...Brazos... northwestern Montgomery...northwestern Waller...Walker...northern Colorado...Burleson...northwestern Polk...northwestern San Jacinto... Trinity...Washington...Houston...Madison and Grimes counties until 945 PM CDT...

At 842 PM CDT...Doppler radar was tracking a line of strong thunderstorms along a line extending from near Brenham to Madisonville to near Apple Springs...and moving east at 25 mph.

Dime size hail and winds in excess of 30 mph will be possible with these storms.

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[w_r_ranch]

Total rainfall last night was 4.85", accompanied by non-stop lightning/thunder. Forecast for today is 90% & 40% for tomorrow. The stock tanks are getting close to their spillways... another couple of inches & they'll be pretty much topped off. Mrs Ranch's 'pet ducks' (pair of blue-winged teal) disappeared & she's been looking for them, LOL!!!

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Personally, I was more concerned about the garden... it seems to have come through last night's storm pretty good, although some of the corn & the potatoes are leaning over (they'll recover once the sun comes back out)... The good news is that many more of the melon seeds have sprouted, including a number of the nutmeg cantaloupes!!!

 

[45 ACP]

Garden is looking good Sam! Hope you get through these storms without too much damage.

 

[Mike]

Garden looks phenomenal.

 

[w_r_ranch]

Thank guys.

Today was 'Spray Day'... to knocked the caterpillars back. They are bad this year.

 

[ErnieCopp]

Funny how our garden problems change with the weather. I am really short of bugs this year, and my birds are just really having a hard time finding enough to eat. The first and second years we were here, we had enough we could have raised a good crop of Organic Chickens with out buying feed.
This hot weather will probably kill the few bugs we do have, and it may kill me too. Local weather forecast for today is "SMOKE". and we will probably have more of that this Summer.

I need to spray some foliar Fertilizer, but I have either been too busy or the weather has been too hot.

I did finally see some new tomtatoes this morning, that have set, but need to see a lot more of them. Black berries are the only thing i am harvesting now, so only need to be out changing sprinklers on the grass and refilling the Picker Box reservoirs, as they need filling every day.

I willl probably put a timer and refill those automatically next year. I have my potatoes in 15 gal Nursery pots sitting under drip hoses in the garden, and they are very happy. So that may be the easy way for me to go for all root veggies, as my natural soil, rich as it is, just sits up too tight to grow Beets, carrots, etc.

Ernie

 

[whistech]

Mr Ranch, your garden looks Outstanding! Glad you and your bride came out alright with the storms.

 

[Mike]

Hey Sam, I noticed you had a fence for what looks like squash to grow up on. Is this needed for squash as this is my first year growing it?

 

[w_r_ranch]

Spaghetti squash are not like other squash, they grow on a vine... much like cucumbers. That's the reason I installed the bull panel trellises.

Besides tasting so good, they store well & will last well into winter for us. We normally harvest 25-30 per year.

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[Rahab222]

Sam; Your garden looks great despite the severe weather that also came through the Houston area. My rain gauge measured 6 inches of rain before it overflowed, so my section got 6+ inches of rain from 1:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. Same lightening show here and LOTS of thunder that shook the house. By 4:00 a.m., the water was pouring off the roof in sheets. Living on the bayou, I was concerned about it coming out of its banks as the rain came so hard and so fast, but it didn't. I went out to check the garden on Tuesday evening and I won't know what will pop back up until some of the water soaks in or drains down. I was going to pull weeds on Thursday evening, but when I opened the gate, my garden dog charged through in pursuit of squirrels and my eyes landed on a rat sitting on the first rung of the ladder just inside the gate. He must have been sick, because he didn't run off when I opened the gate and the dog charged past him twice. His head was kind of bobbing up and down and when I hit the side of the ladder with the handle of a hoe, he didn't budge. Plus, he was out in the daylight, just sitting there. I called my Lily back out and shut the gate, deciding I would give him a chance to die and then throw him over the fence and onto the bayou. I described it to my brother and he said, "You've just described a Norwegian rat. He must've gotten into someone's poison." I'm hoping to get back to the garden tomorrow. That's another disadvantage of being on the bayou, you never know what's going to crawl up in the yard - especially after a heavy rain. I do know my Yukon Gold potato plants are dying, so I should have some potatoes in about three weeks. The red potatoes are still growing well, except the winds that came threw blew the heck out of the leaves. I also saw about 20 red nymphs of the stink bugs on one tomato, following the rain. So the battle with the stink bugs is coming early this year since we've had a relatively cool spring. The stink bugs usually don't come until the tomatoes start getting a blush. Well, heck, they've come early. Guess they just couldn't wait. You're right, it's going to be a tough gardening season with multiple problems. At least we're not dry like a lot of other areas in the nation. I'm thankful for the rain and cooler weather; though the winds could die down a bit.

 

[ErnieCopp]

Sam, I am not sure of the protocol or rules, but i feel like i may have violated your thread with the post a few spaces above. I intended that for the" What Did You Do in Your Garden Today" thread.
And it that is so, then i apologize.
Ernie

 

[w_r_ranch]

Not an issue at all Ernie, we are all like family here... Hope all is well for you in regards to the smoke from the wildfire...

 

[ErnieCopp]

Lots of smoke but none right on us. Saw four fires burning Wednesday on the way home, including the one in San Marcos that got a lot of TV time, but only one huge one burning on Camp Pendleton Marine Base today. Santa Ana Winds have died down so that helps the fighters.

Country so dry we will have a lot more this Summer and Fall. Those bone dry 80' tall Eucalyptus next door will burn like a Kerosene torch if they get a spark, so keeping our fingers crossed.

Ernie

 

[w_r_ranch]

Tied up the tomatoes for the 4th time... 13-17 MPH winds again.

 

[w_r_ranch]

The garden seemed to appreciate the rain that fell here over the last week, especially after the nighttime temperatures returned to the upper 60's/lower 70's!!! The tomato plants put on some good leaf cover (thus sheltering the tomatoes under the protective canopy) & the corn also showed a good growth spurt. The eggplants & peppers are flowering/setting fruit, as are the green beans. The okra & all the melons are 'holding off' until it gets hotter, although they seem happy for now.

With all the new growth, I am keeping an eye on everything for the inevitable insect invasion, as well as possible fungal problems... Here are the pics of this week's progress:

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Continued...

 

[w_r_ranch]

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