1/2" of rain - I'll take it!

Finally, Mother Nature threw this old dog a bone and gave us some rain! Yipee! So much is going on in the garden. We have lots of tomatoes, squash, and birdhouse gourds. We have cucumber, a watermelon and pumpkins are forming and starting to stay on the vine.

Bees are so covered with sunflower pollen they can hardly fly around and the black-eyed susan's are robust! Figs are trying to get bigger and the strawberries are still sending out lots of daughters. The greens on the horseradish are huge (which I hope indicates huge roots!) and the eggplant continues to bloom, but has yet to set fruit.

Hopefully some forecasted cooler weather and rain will further help our plants rebound from the recent hot and dry spell.

Rain?

Rain? What is that anyway...

Wow, things are parched but watered. We could use a slight cool spell and some help from mother nature - just a little rain, not hurricane style, or gully washer style. Just a nice, soaking inch or two.

We have Okra. I found it today. I know I capitalized Okra and it shouldn't be, but I am excited. We have Okra. And more Okra blooms which look like marshmallow blooms, or hibiscus blooms - very pretty.

We also have tomato, squash, eggplant blossom, lots of pumpkin blossom, many peppers (hot and sweet), and lots of birdhouse gourds.

The flowers are gorgeous. Sunflower, marigold, all of the natives, cut and come again zinnia (remember, cut not pull), black-eyed susan. Did I mention we have figs growing?

The cukes and the watermelon or trying so hard.

Stop by and see all the bees, butterflies, and assorted pollinators at work, they make us look lazy!

Hot again

After a brief, but enjoyable, cool spell it has been very hot and humid the last couple of days. Near daily watering has been the norm. Everything look great. Harvested a huge squash and we have a bunch of birdhouse gourds growing. The hot peppers are coming into their own while the sunflowers grow taller daily.

The pumpkins are trying hard - we will see if we get any. The zebra tomatoes are doing well and the strawberries are loving the frequent watering. They are sending out so many daughters, way too cool. Blossom end rot seems to enjoy showing its ugliness - argh!

Folks have found the cut and come again zinnia... remember cut and they will come again, pull the plant out of the ground and they become one and done zinnia - just sayin'! Ahh, vermin!

Blossom End Rot (BER)

So you wanted to know, so did I. It seems it is caused by a lack of calcium uptake. The leading causes for the lack of calcium uptake seem to be; a lack of calcium in the soil, pH being out of optimum range, drought stress, or too much water.

SO, what is our problem? I don't know. We have had drought stress, in some containers we've had both drought stress and periods of too much water. pH seems to be o.k. We just moved the soil to the new farm this year - and as much as I meant to have it analysed after the move...

We are getting lots of green growth and forming flowers, so time will tell. Watering has become consistent and we are getting tomatoes, squash, and peppers - but we are also losing the same to BER. So far the Birdhouse gourds, pumpkin, and watermelon are the most negatively affected. Lots of flowers, lots of forming fruit - then nada...

Keep posted.

It was June, Now it is late July!!!!

Wow is it hot! Our 4th day in 100+ degree temps - though in some weird way I am enjoying the high humidity with this heat wave because the humidity is keeping the water in the soil from evaporating so quickly...

As usual we started our planting late this year in hopes of a greater fall harvest when the students return. I get anxious because other farmer's crops are coming in in droves and ours are just cranking up.

I don't get the whole blossom end-rot thing. One day, beautiful forming produce the next wilting, dying produce... argh! We are getting squash, cucumber, strawberries (few, small and sweet). Birdhouse gourds are forming as are pumpkins, watermelon, peppers and tomatoes. Eggplant are blooming, okra is growing but no blooms yet. We lost our one watermelon so far - blossom end-rot - is it possible?

Marigold, cut and come again zinnia, sunflower, black-eyed susan, cone flowers, weeds, and natives are all blooming. I love the morning glory on the fence but despise it within the garden.

Tomorrow I will tame (tie up) the tomatoes, and give the native/butterfly garden a good weeding. I weed while watering, but I need to give a good yank and cut to some pesky crawlers.

I have to remember less is more when planting - those measurements on the seed packets are important and I can't seem to get that in my head. They are so small - plants and seeds -when you start.

Our planters for Belair-Edison front porch farmers are suffering. They dry out so quickly and maybe too little food to start - we are organic, but I won't lie and say I don't think about a good dose of miracle grow right now - I know shame on me!

Any who - swat them skeeters and get to watering. see ya in the garden!

Vegetable are going in...

Friday I swapped out cool weather crops for warm weather crops in the canoe garden. Out with the lettuce and in with yellow squash, sweet peppers, and cucumber. Yum.

Thank goodness for the rain today. The rest of the farm will be getting warm weather transplants and direct sows this week. It is on!!!

If you live on Kentucky, Cardenas or Brendan remember to call into BENI to become a Belair-Edison Farmer. We are starting to plant that farm too this week.

See ya in the soil.

I am a Belair-Edison Farmer

The community partnership consisting of The Green School of Baltimore, Belair-Edison Neighborhoods, Inc., Blue Water Baltimore and Real Food Farms won a grant through Healthy Neighborhoods, Inc. to start a community front porch farm in Belair-Edison (B-E). This year 25 B-E households will receive containers, potting soil, vegetable plants, organic fertilizer, instruction and guidance to grow their own vegetables. Of the 25 households 10 will also have rain barrels installed to capture rainwater for their front porch farm, and keeping that water out of the storm drain system and watershed.

Starting in mid-July the residents and the partnership will meet once a week to swap veggies, watch and taste from cooking demonstrations, trade growing secrets or woes while enjoying each others company. Additionally, residents will be paired with 4th and 5th graders from The Green School of Baltimore. Residents will be keeping basic weather and production data that the students will compile and analyse. Lessons learned this year will be applied to next year's growing season. The students will also be bringing produce from their own farm that they keep up at school.

GSB is excited that their curriculum is spilling out into the neighborhood giving residents and students an opportunity to further interact in such a positive and social way.