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Mike's Garden Blog - 2007 Archive Posts
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Subscribe Subscribe to receive email notifications of new postings. Home About Just a little bit about me and what I do. Terms of Use A few simple guidelines for the use of our site. Links to Previous Posts An Introduction Posted June 9, 2007 Its June and It Is Still 70 Degrees Posted June 12, 2007 12:18:18 Using Green Manure Crops Posted June 12, 2007 13:01:18 Let the Soil Rest A While Posted June 12, 2007 14:07:48 Growing Potatoes Posted June 15, 2007 09:23:56 Its Summer and it Rained Today Posted June 23, 2007 13:44:58 Keep the Coons Out of Your Sweetcorn Posted June 25, 2007 08:38:45 Where Do You Buy Your Garden Seeds Posted July 2, 2007 10:32:55 The Heat is Starting to Build Posted July 6, 2007 18:06:20 Small Garden Energy Production Posted July 8, 2007 15:42:38 Rabbits Love Green Beans Posted July 9, 2007 14:02:38 Big Rain This Afternoon Posted July 9, 2007 17:43:35 My First Mess of Okra Posted July 11, 2007 18:52:18 Big Storm Rolling In Posted July 17, 2007 10:01:07 Tilling Down the Buckwheat Posted July 23, 2007 14:44:17 How About Those Potatoes Posted July 29, 2007 10:23:57 We Need a Rain, Bad Posted August 2, 2007 13:48:18 Making a Trash Can Rain Barrel With Spigot Posted August 14, 2007 16:55:29 Dry Weather Planting Cool Season Crops Posted August 24, 2007 13:46:30 A Simple Clothesline Will Do, Thanks Posted August 30, 2007 14:18:35 Growing a Buckwheat Green Manure Crop Posted August 31, 2007 13:35:59 Wild Ginseng Posted September 15, 2007 10:03:10 The Ethanol Hoax Posted September 18, 2007 12:44:49 Energy Production, Consumption, and You, or Me Posted October 12, 2007 09:42:47 My Garden is About Done This Year Posted October 12, 2007 11:02:38 December in the Garden Posted December 16, 2007 13:51:54 |
December in the Garden Posted on December 16, 2007 13:51:54 Number of comments 0 It has been a long time since I have posted anything on the site. I spent the last 6 weeks first working on a barn for the horses trying to get it more suitable for 2 horses to stand around and eat or loaf when the weather is bad. Also spent the remainder of that time finishing a room in the house that was built several years ago to use as our home office. Happy to say I am now typing this from that now nearly finished room................. Read More ....................................................................... My Garden is About Done This Year Posted on October 12, 2007 11:02:38 Number of comments 1 Right now I still have some tomatoes, green peppers, and okra left in the garden from the summer crops. I have a large patch of volunteer collards growing and have the remnant of an attempt to plant some fall salad crops that amounts to only a few feet of lettuce. The continual heat in July with no rain almost finished everything off. Only mulching and a little water hauled in kept things going................. Read More ....................................................................... Energy Production, Consumption, and You, or Me Posted on October 12, 2007 09:42:47 Number of comments 0 Corn for ethanol is mostly a waste of time, energy, and land. If we want to get serious about making fuel for engines we should be looking at using cellulose rather than grain. The difference is large. We can receive about 8 times more energy per acre than corn. The continued development of corn for ethanol production is just about a dead end. At the current rate using corn for ethanol production will replace about 3.7% of imported oil by the year 2017. That is according the The U.S. Department of Agriculture, an agency that is not necessarily prone to trashing ehtanol production and agriculture in general. ................ Read More ....................................................................... The Ethanol Hoax Posted on September 18, 2007 12:44:49 Number of comments 1 Corn to ethanol is big business. The Federal Government pays ethanol producers 50 cents for every gallon of ethanol they produce. Corn farmers are riding a boom in corn prices not seen in their lifetimes. All sorts of groups, consortiums, corporations, and communities are trying to get on the gravy train................. Read More ....................................................................... Wild Ginseng Posted on September 15, 2007 10:03:10 Number of comments 0 Ginseng is one of those plants steeped in lore and mystery. It has been attributed with all sorts of powers, both medicinal and spritual. The ground up root is used for tea and is an additive in an assortment of supplements, tonics, and in capsules by itself. Almost over harvested in recent years the plant is approaching membership on the endangered species list in some areas and making a comeback in others................. Read More ....................................................................... Growing a Buckwheat Green Manure Crop Posted on August 31, 2007 13:35:59 Number of comments 0 I like to use buckwheat as a green manure crop. It grows fast and will germinate in rather dry conditions. This summer has been especially dry so growing a crop to turn into the soil was a challenge................. Read More ....................................................................... A Simple Clothesline Will Do, Thanks Posted on August 30, 2007 14:18:35 Number of comments 1 A couple of years ago our daughter thought we should buy a gas heated clothes dryer. Having moved into apartment life during graduate school she thought having to carry the laundry out to the line was just too much work for her mother since she was getting old, or at least older. I reminded her we were only in our fifties and really not doing too bad yet, and besides, I carry the laundry baskets out to the line and back in when everything is dry. It is not her mother that does the lugging................. Read More ....................................................................... Dry Weather Planting Cool Season Crops Posted on August 24, 2007 13:46:30 Number of comments 0 We wanted to have some fall garden going but it was getting too late and the weather has been hot and dry. Since I have the rain barrel that I made I can go into town and get water so I dedided to try something to see if I could get some things going for a fall garden................. Read More ....................................................................... Making a Trash Can Rain Barrel With Spigot Posted on August 14, 2007 16:55:29 Number of comments 3 We live in the country and have a well that supplies our water. Consequently, I do not feel like I can water my garden. I should have built this a couple of months ago because it is hot and dry now. But, anyway, I decided to build a rain storage barrel using a plastic trash can. It has a spigot in the bottom so I can hook up a hose to get the water out................. Read More ....................................................................... We Need a Rain, Bad Posted on August 2, 2007 13:48:18 Number of comments 0 We have not had a good rain for about a month now. By a good rain I mean one that saturates the ground. With temperatures climbing into the 90's every day it really puts stress on my garden plants. You can see in the pics below what the heat does to some plants................. Read More ....................................................................... How About Those Potatoes Posted on July 29, 2007 10:23:57 Number of comments 0 I dug a row of potatoes a couple of days ago and am very happy with the way they turned out this year. Of course there are potatoes of all sizes but there are a lot of nice baking potatoes in each hill. When it is dry the potatoes come out of the ground almost clean................. Read More ....................................................................... Tilling Down the Buckwheat Posted on July 23, 2007 14:44:17 Number of comments 0 It looked like the buckwheat was ready to be worked into the soil on Saturday so, with it being such a nice cool morning I got out the tiller and went to work. Also worked in the standing sweetcorn stalks and some weeds................. Read More ....................................................................... Big Storm Rolling In Posted on July 17, 2007 10:01:07 Number of comments 0 It is 10:51 AM and there is a big line of storms rolling in. I have been watching the radar online and it almost looks like it is kind of splitting and going around us. The rain is starting to pick up but I think the heaviest rain will miss us................ Read More ....................................................................... My First Mess of Okra Posted on July 11, 2007 18:52:18 Number of comments 0 I cut my first mess of okra yesterday. There wasn't much of it but this is just the beginning. It will continue to produce until it gets frozen later this year. The plants have little spines all over them that get in your skin when you brush against them while cutting the pods. You will see on seed packages the word spineless but even those have it to some degree................. Read More ....................................................................... Big Rain This Afternoon Posted on July 9, 2007 17:43:35 Number of comments 2 We had a big rain this afternoon. After one storm missed us to the south after lunch the clouds opened up about 3:30 and we got about an inch of rain in about 15 minutes. We had a brief shower early this morning also but it was dried off by noon. But this afternoon wet things down pretty good................. Read More ....................................................................... Rabbits Love Green Beans Posted on July 9, 2007 14:02:38 Number of comments 0 This year the rabbits just love my green beans. I would try a different variety if that would make any difference but I doubt it would. Early the rabbits were not much of a problem but I think it is young ones out there eating now. There are a lot of half grown out in the lane along the corn in the evening and I think there are more half grown ones lurking in the tall grass and weeds during the day waiting for evening or night time to come out and dine................. Read More ....................................................................... Small Garden Energy Production Posted on July 8, 2007 15:42:38 Number of comments 0 I have been wondering about something for a while. How much would it take to grow maybe soybeans and press them for oil to make biodiesel? After some reading I found that soybeans produce about 48 gallons of oil per acre. Sunflowers are a little over double that amount at about 102 gallons of oil per acre................. Read More ....................................................................... The Heat is Starting to Build Posted on July 6, 2007 18:06:20 Number of comments 0 Summer is really starting to move in. It was up to low 90's today and is supposed to stay that way for a while. At least the humidity is not too high. Daily storms build up and blow away. We have not be fortunate enough to be underneat or in the path of one. They are just isolated storms that build up in the daytime heat. With the heat the summer vegetables really start to grow................. Read More ....................................................................... Where Do You Buy Your Garden Seeds Posted on July 2, 2007 10:32:55 Number of comments 0 Over the years I have purchased my garden seeds from a number of different places. I have ordered seeds and I have purchased them over the counter. If you order seeds you need to do it well in advance to be ready when the ground is ready to work in the spring. Nothing worse than ordering seeds and not have them when things are ready in the spring. ................ Read More ....................................................................... Keep the Coons Out of Your Sweetcorn Posted on June 25, 2007 08:38:45 Number of comments 0 For years I have employed an electric fence to keep the coons out of my sweetcorn. This year they had already pulled down some stalks to check it out before there was even anything on the ears. So a couple of days ago I put up my fence. I turn it on in the evening and turn it off in the morning. There really is not anything else that works to keep them out................. Read More ....................................................................... Its Summer and it Rained Today Posted on June 23, 2007 13:44:58 Number of comments 0 As of a couple of days ago it is summertime. And today it has rained several times. We needed it. It probably has been about a month since we had more than a tenth of an inch at any given time. There have been some times when good rains went around us and just missed................. Read More ....................................................................... Growing Potatoes Posted on June 15, 2007 09:23:56 Number of comments 2 Everyone likes potatoes, or, at least I think they do. They certainly do around here. We like them baked, and mashed, and cut into wedges with seasoning and oil and baked on a cookie sheet, and all those little potatoes I get when I dig your crop wind up in a steamer. I don't grow as many as I used to but even a couple of rows can be a lot of work. So, here is what I do to cut down on the labor involved in growing potatoes................. Read More ....................................................................... Let the Soil Rest A While Posted on June 12, 2007 14:07:48 Number of comments 0 I intend to expand the size of my garden this summer. When I was younger it was probably about three times bigger than it is now. Part of it has been incorporated into horse pasture and the rest has just been growing grass. It is the grass part I intend to cultivate again................. Read More ....................................................................... Using Green Manure Crops Posted on June 12, 2007 13:01:18 Number of comments 0 I really like the idea of green manure crops. You grow some vegetative crop up to a certain point and then take your tiller and work it all into the soil. This operation probably takes a rear tine tiller like one of the Troy Bilt series tillers. I think it is a wonderful thing for the soil................. Read More ....................................................................... Its June and It Is Still 70 Degrees Posted on June 12, 2007 12:18:18 Number of comments 2 June and it is still 70 degrees. It has been pushing 80 today but overall it has been very nice weather. Spring was slow to start and we had a very bad freeze in April, down to 18 degrees, two nights in a row that killed the uncovered cabbage and broccoli plants but my early planted spinach and lettuce was covered with a sheet of plastic and it survived................. 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