We had blight up here last summer, but we also didn't have any sun to speak of- it rained more last summer than I have ever seen. Mud all year long. So, I don't know if blight got the tomatoes or the mud did. I may just do some in pots on the patio this year.
I have been wondering when to "harvest" the castings. The worm place I bought my set up from had a block of coconut mat to start the bins with. How do I know when they have digested it to the point that it needs to be removed? I do know my worms have multiplied!
OK, so who's counting us??
I start my browsing on BYC, move down the link-line here, then Sufficient Self, then BYH. When I have time- mostly on weekends.
I spend a lot of time stamping out pokeweed from my pasture and property- they are almost impossible to get rid of. I'm not sure you could pay me enough to try eating them. I have heard that you can get the toxin through your skin while pulling them up.
One of my catalogs I got this spring had Amaranth seeds for sale. The flowers looked pretty, and apparently you can make gluten free flour from the seeds in the fall. Anyone done this? Will the plants grow in a short Vermont growing season? How many plants to get any appreciable amount of flour-...
I just finished my first ever raspberry jam last weekend. I don't like raspberries as well as strawberries, but strawberry season here was just awful.
It came out very seedy. (this is the first time I have tried seedy fruits). I was surprised, but I hate straining and making jelly. I always...
Oh, yes, I almost forgot the poor eggplant. It is NOT happy. I heard it likes hot weather...
I went out and uncovered my poor hot pepper plants and the eggplants. Trellised up a few tomatoes that were out of control- they seem to be outgrowing the weeds, too. The kale is fantastic! My red...
OK, I am starting to despair of ever having an actual summer. It is 50 degrees and still raining. For the last month. The grasses and weeds have taken over the poor veggies. What might still survive and produce something? I put in hot peppers, tomatoes, pinto beans for drying, butternut squash...
I tried to feed the beetles to my chickens last year- I dropped them into a baggie of water. They really were lukewarm about them. A couple of them ate some of them, but not really a big favorite. I was thinking of getting one of those plastic bag beetle traps with the attractant hanging it on...
This year I have learned that the only things that grow without sun are the weeds. We have had only 27% of available sunlight this month according to the news last night. The weeds have taken over and buried my squash plants that the groundhog left me. I can't find my baby blueberry bushes. I...
For the first time this year I bought onion sets, as well as garlic, to try in my garden. My problem is- how the heck do you weed around the plants?? I try to pull up the weeds and it disturbs the dirt and the bulb roots to the extent that the poor plants topple over. I re-planted them, but how...