-
Planning the 2020 Garden
Months ago my sister redid her retaining wall and only this past week did I finally get around to playing building blocks with them. After some basic math there was enough complete blocks to create 4 corner beds . to frame the garden. This left me all the top pieces to make a center bed. After some trial and error we settled on creating an oval with some accents at all compass points. We’ll be planting a new variety of strawberries in here next year. The inner pedestal still needs some work but I do like how the sundial is the center piece. Added bonus is I need to know…
-
A Harvest of Henson Cherries
The Henson Cherry bushes were a bit of the splurge when we planted the first year. The color was what made we grab them, with the caveat that they would also produce cherries! Not that I’ve ever had a Henson cherry or know what they taste like. Well that question is now answered. We had our first harvest of cherries from the bushes… and the verdict is they remind me of concord grapes. When ripe they have a nice tangy sweetness but the texture is very pulpy. Which is 100% how I remember a concord to taste. Looking forward to future harvests where I can turn these into a pie,…
-
Revenge of the Japanese Beetles
Spent a week down in the Outer Banks… came home to find my Cherry Trees and Grape Vines decimated by the late emerging Japanese Beetles. Captured 300+ of the little scarabs in a quick 15 minute picking, then another 100+ an hour and a half later. Yes, traps exist but from what I’ve read and seen they attract more than they trap. We’re going to move ahead with several routine pickings throughout the day and see if it gets back under control. The only question is what can I do the next time we go out of town… … at least the chickens had a good snack.
-
Keeper’s Log : 07-21-2019
Haven’t been posting lately will need to back fill with all the pictures from last year and this spring… first we’ll need to wrap up a few tasks that are in progress. Clean-up Brush Pile Migrate Stone Pavers to the Garden (Heavy!!! 80lbs each) Build remaining 3 raised beds in Garden Clean-up and remove old pallet compost bin Expand Grape beds (min 12 inch footer to reduce weeds) Clear Coat Grape Arbor Weed plant beds around walkway Weed plant beds below bay window. Remove weeds from brick patios/paths Trim Trees (raise above head 6 & 1/2 feet minimum) The list goes on and on of course but lets not make…
-
Migrating Plum Trees
One of the unforeseen issues with planting Trees. Location is key, although the plum tree would be great as shade tree by the road it removes access to our front yard. Something that was sorely needed when replacing the septic. At least it was only planted a year ago and hadn’t fully established itself in the yard. Welcome to your new home, 50 feet East North East of your last one. More travel than most trees do in their lifetime. It will be interesting to see how the displacement impacts its growth as the roots re-establish themselves.
-
Raising of the Grape Arbor
This year’s big project was building a Grape Arbor that would also serve as the future entrance to our garden. Last year I found these plans while searching around and thought to myself you know two of these would span the entire width of our garden. If you are going to do something might as well go all out. Step 1 – Preparing the Foundation As with most projects it isn’t as simple as cutting and nailing the wood. First is measuring the locations for the posts and digging some 2 feet deep holes for our cement footers. Doesn’t help that it is April so the ground is still a…
-
Boundary Lines, Surveying for future plantings
According to the deed we’ve got just under 1 acre of land. However last year I wasn’t able to find any of the steel boundary markers. Using the survey and a metal detector last year I turned up nothing, all I knew was the 1 marker on the southern border that is visible above ground. However I was pretty certain our neighbors are encroaching 10-15 feet on the North East Corner. I’m playing with ideas for Asparagus beds and other plantings so today was the day to final settle where the boundaries are once and for all. So with Survey, Measuring Tape, Metal Detector, Stakes and August (my assistant) its…
-
Pre-Summer Fun in Cazenovia
Spent a nice Friday lunch in Cazenovia. We’ve been talking of going to Empire’s Farm Brewery for awhile and finally made it out. Worth the trip as they had great food (they even have charging stations for electric vehicles), however I really enjoyed some time at the lake with August and Elaine. He really is one cute kid. The day was perfect for tossing stones and doing a little wadding. There are several little parks in Cazenovia and we found the perfect one for a future summer picnic with the family. A little bar-b-q, fun on the playground and splashing in the water.
-
Apples!!
Our First Apples?? Only time will tell but there are over 2 dozen pollinated Red Rome Beauties growing. We may get some shattering this year with the tree only being 1 year old (since planting) but it is great to see some fruit forming on even one of the trees. It’ll also be interesting to see how this tree grows comparing to the other ones as it will be putting energy into the apples on top of new growth.
-
Eternally Multiplying Strawberries
Looks like I didn’t need to move the strawberry seedlings after all as the original plants are running. The migrated plants have twice as many runners as the original plants but I’m thinking we’ll go from 2 original rows (20) plants to 5 or 6 rows (~80) plants by the end of the year. I’ve been told strawberries grow like weeds but I’m just starting to grasp what that means. I’m seeing 100+ berries already on our just the original 20 plants so it boggles the mind how many we’ll end up with in a year or 2. U-Pick at the Ridge may just be in order. Currently we’ve got…
