The Howard "Bantam" Rotavator Rides Again!

[Oberon]

Here's a gardening story told in picture form.

I spend much of last week and almost all the weekend working on this item:

The problem, as it turns out, was this part right here:

...but I couldn't fix it, because this part was messed up:

But I had ordered a replacement one with a rebuild kit and some other parts off of e-Bay, and as of Sunday afternoon it looked like this:

And a little while later, my garden looked like this!

 

[PuddleRiver]

Yay! I've got to get mine dug up soon. I have raised beds though. I couldn't get that stud in one of my beds. I'd like to have a single row garden for some things. Happy gardening!

btw, what all do you grow?

 

[Oberon]

btw, what all do you grow?

That Mohawk of green stuff in the middle of the garden is last year's Swiss chard, which surprisingly wintered over. We've already enjoyed two meals out of it this spring, so that was nice.

In addition to the chard, we've already planted some herbs... a salad green mix, and some sweet basil. I dearly love basil in all its forms, and will stuff a couple of fresh leaves into a sandwich like lettuce if the opportunity arises.

However, the serious planting is yet to come. We will likely put in a couple of different kinds of squash, a couple of rows of tomatoes, several varieties of hot peppers, and some flowers for Anna (my five-year-old). Oh, and maybe some more Swiss chard, since it's been such a success.

If you cut out the stems, the chard can be used wherever you would use spinach. We routinely include it in lasagna. With the stems in, it goes great in soup.

 

[cafe]

I was hoping to rent a tiller and get the yard dug up last weekend, but we ended up setting up an older computer for the kids instead.

I've got the INTP tentatively reserved for next weekend. I have my plants started in one of these babies and they are looking pretty nice so far.

I can hardly wait to pop the peas out of their pods and into my mouth and don't get me started on home grown tomatoes!

 

[Oberon]

I hope to plant some spaghetti sqash this year. That stuff is awesome.

 

[cafe]

I wish could get my family to eat squash. The only squash I'm planting is zucchini. I need fried zucchini and I don't care if I'm the only one that eats it because if they tried to eat my fried zucchini I might have to take their hands off with my spatula.

 

[Oberon]

I wish could get my family to eat squash.

Chop it fine and put it in the vegetable soup. They won't even notice.

 

[Randomnity]

Looks like a nice big garden.

I planted peas and beans last weekend! I suspect they'll die since I usually don't plant them until May (it's been extremely warm here the past few months, about a month ahead of normal weather...really bizarre). But I couldn't resist! Soo beautiful out. I'll wait for the cuc/zucc and tomatoes though.

 

[PeaceBaby]

A story with a happy ending ... I love those!

 

[Oberon]

I have a packet of heirloom cucumbers I'll be trying out. I'll probably plant them over by the chain-link fence, and trellis them.

 

[PuddleRiver]

I like the yellow squash, I think it has more flavor (fried in butter) although you can't use it much in cooked dishes; it falls apart and gets mushy. Zucchini is great for that. I can't wait for the tomatoes either. My ENTJ just spent $2.00+ for one the other day and I just about passed out. Hard, tasteless red round thing that only looks like a tomato.

The swiss chard sounds great. My grandmother used to grow it. I loves me my spinach too. I'd love to grow romaine lettuce but it gets too hot here too fast to grow them full grown, meaning I have to pick the young leaves off for salad instead of having fully grown plants.

As for corn, the stores around here wanted $27.00lb for corn seed. I told them to forget it. I've got some old seed around here somewhere. It won't germinate as well but I'll risk it.

 

[Oberon]

If you're going to plant a small plot of sweet corn (just two or three rows) I recommend you hand-pollinate them. Because corn is wind-pollinated, if you don't get enough plants together in one spot it won't pollinate itself very well, and you'll get corn ears without many kernels on them.

Hand-pollinating is simple to do.

 

[Oberon]

The swiss chard sounds great. My grandmother used to grow it.

Last night my son made dinner... it was a Swiss chard and chickpea stew. Start with chicken broth, add sliced potatoes and onions, chopped chard, a can of chickpeas, and a few fresh cayenne pepper pods. Season with turmeric and garlic. Dandy stuff... I brought the last of it for my lunch today.

 

[SoAndSo]

that sounds yummy!

 

[Oberon]

Yesterday at my request my patient wife planted a row of cucumbers against the neighbor's chain-link fence. We'll trellis them if they prosper well enough. Today I have high hopes of putting in some sunflowers.

 

[PeaceBaby]

Hand-pollinating is simple to do.

And sexay too!

Just kidding; it does kind of feel like being mother nature and spreading life across the corn rows though ...

 

[Oberon]

So you've done it, then? Hand-pollinated corn?

 

[PeaceBaby]

I grew up on a farm and yes, we would walk along and shake the tassels ... some people seem to think it increases cob size too. I don't know about that, but I believe it increases yield just because more silks receive the love ...

Two methods of pollen transfer may be used with corn. Cut an entire tassel, and use it as a wand, shaking pollen grains (dust) onto the silks. Alternatively, strip the tassel and deposit the pollen from the anthers directly onto the silks. Either way, the pollen is transferred. Be thorough when dusting the pollen onto the silks, so chances for a bountiful harvest are increased.

Source: HS1149/HS398: Home Vegetable Garden Techniques: Hand Pollination of Squash and Corn in Small Gardens

 

[Oberon]

When I did it, I would shake the pollen from three or four tassels into a paper lunch sack, then brushed it on the tassels with a new, clean paintbrush. Sounds like I did rather too much work.

 

[PeaceBaby]

How precise of you! It's like any act of procreation - you can take your time or go for the quickie!

You can even carry two tassels and do a dance while you're pollinating ...