If you’re new to the Blind Pig, I post a monthly growing calendar during the summer/spring months which shows my favorite days to plant according to the zodiac signs.
Our garden is coming right along-tomato plants in bloom, corn almost 5 inches tall,
along with all sorts of running vining going on from the peas-beans-cukes-squash-cantaloupes-and watermelons. The Sow True Seed Sugar Snap Peas are just beginning to come in-truthfully-not many of them ever make it into the house as they are a perfect snack to grab when working in the yard.
Remember me telling you about the salsify blooms that surprised me? The blooms have gone-and left the neatest looking seed heads.
We’ve been enjoying lettuce and onions from the garden for a few weeks. Sadly this is the first year our beets and radishes have been a total flop. Both grew beautiful tops-just no roots to enjoy eating. We’ve never had a problem with either before-I wonder if it was the colder spring? I replanted the radishes-but they don’t seem to be doing any better the second time around.
Most of our Blueberry bushes are the late bearing type-and most are at least 8 years old. The last 2 summers my production was pitiful-part of it was caused by late frosts-but part of it seemed to be the bushes were going down hill.
One day last fall I was out working in the yard when I got a wild hair to trim back the blueberry bushes. As I begin to cut the larger branches I could clearly see there was decay on the inside. I cut the bushes back to no more than 2 and half feet from the ground. I thought “Well, I’ll either kill them or cure them-one or the other.”
The bushes are now covered with new healthier looking growth-and although I won’t have any blueberries from them this year-I’m hoping by next year my production will be back to normal. Paying closer attention to the bushes also made me take note of the few early bearing blueberry bushes I have-like the one in the photo above.
So how is your garden growing?
Tipper
Sow True Seed – Check them out!
Sue-Ive always heard you should weed on a day that is under a barren signe like Aries, Gemini, Leo, Virgo, Sagittarius, or Aquarius. Thank you for the comment-have a great night!
Tipper
Blind Pig The Acorn
Celebrating and Preserving the
Culture of Appalachia
http://www.blindpigandtheacorn.com
Tipper since you plant by the signs you probably know the answer to my question. Is there certain times of the month that if you pull weeds up they won’t come back ? I have a jungle in my flower bed and need some help. Thanks so much.
I’ll just bet the girls and Ben did knock’em out in Nantahala! Someday I hope to hear her play “Cheatin’ Heart” on that fiddle!
Hi Tipper,
We have been having a really weird spring! First in April we had 2 weeks of 80+ weather which is over 20 higher than normal for here that time of year…and since then it has been cold, unseasonably cold…the weather man said the other night that we are 20 degrees below normal and have been for the last 3-4 weeks. Needless to say the garden is not doing too hot. The squash haven’t bothered to come out of the ground. I’m hoping the seeds didn’t rot. The green beans and corn are about 3 inches tall. (this is the second set as the first set all died in the 80 degree weather. My parsley plants are not looking too happy and are wanting to go to seed. The Tomato plants don’t have a flower on any of them yet, and haven’t grown at all since they were set out about 3 weeks ago…in fact when I was out there on Wednesday, I swear one of them was asking for a fur coat!! Yesterday it started warming up a bit in the afternoon to the 60s. Today it’s supposed to get up to mid 70s and stay that way all week. It’s 71 right now. I’m hoping that the veggies will wake up and start to grow. My iris are almost done blooming, and my bachelor buttons, purple sage, and roses and california poppies and calla lilies are blooming. My little cherry tree that I planted last year had a whole 6 blooms on it this year…so I don’t think we’ll have any cherries…but will look forward to that for next year. I planted blue morning glories 3 weeks ago and they have their first set of leaves finally and the cosmos are starting to peak out of the ground too. The calendula have their second leaves opening. Nothing else has felt like poking it’s head out of the ground for me yet. My horehound, rosemary, and licorice didn’t make it through the winter. I have a new rosemary started and I planted a wild currant that seems to be doing ok so far. I’m hoping that the columbines, astilbe, and huechera will decide to come up. Usually huechera has already bloomed by this time here. (hmm…maybe it’s blooming underground where it’s warmer…LOL) Have a totally wonderful day!!!
Our tomatoes and corn are coming along nicely. Like you, our beets and radishes were hurt by the colder spring we had. I can’t wait to taste that first tomato!
Tipper,
Glad you’re putting out a garden again this year. My mom and grandparents always planted their gardens according to the signs. They really believed in this. Hope you have a real good harvest of lush, vegetables.
My beets here in Central Texas are behaving strangely as well – the root is cylindrical instead of the ball I expected (and the seed package “promised”) – onions are coming slow also. I still don’t have beans or peas even after replanting the disappearing beans; and my runt tomatoes just won’t bloom! (Maybe I need more epsom salts?) – However, I’m hoping that we are getting maybe enough rain for the wild mustang grapes to make a good showing toward the end of July. (We’ll need to get rain throughout June for that to happen.)
Definitely not the best year for me to claim I have any kind of a green thumb!
Tipper,
Last night was a blast! I was so
proud to see Chitter and Chatter
and Ben on Stage all by themselves.
The girls took turns explaining
those oldie songs before singing.
I especially liked “Crazy Arms”
and even Ray Price would be proud
of such harmony.
My garden is so late this year, but everything looks good now.
Thank you for those beautiful
tomato plants, they’re doing fine
too. I usually have everything
planted by the 15th of April, but
not this time. We’ve had too much
rain and the cold lasted a whole
lot longer than usual…Ken
Tipper,
and Ed…I found several references to onion buttons and bulblets…We used to plant bulblets, but now we plant slips.
Purchased from a Texas Onion grower..just wonderful onions..
Thanks Tipper,
PS….Look under Onion bulblets, buttons and slips…
PS….
I didn’t make the first round of the spellin’ bee!
That is raccoon not racoon..!
In myown defence this keyboard is missing taps and skips sometimes…
Thanks Tipper,
By the way, I’m loving the new playlist with the new songs added!
After a late spring and flooding rains, the ground is finally dry enough here to plant something. My tomatoes and peppers are in and doing well, but no blooms yet. The volunteer squash from last year are doing great. I fact they are scaring me already. My corn and cukes just got in the ground last week. I sowed a bed of onions. That is new to me. I usually do onion buttons. We’ll see how that works!
The Catawba River is still running red muddy. Rhodhiss Dam is still overflowing. There is all kinds of trees and trash piled up at the base of it and even some on top that can’t seem to make it over. Lake Hickory and Lake Rhodhiss are both full of boating hazards. All the rich people in their fancy smancy boats have to be extra careful. If they even venture out.
PS: Google don’t seem to know what onion buttons are. You do, don’t you?
I have a netting over the blueberry bushes as the deer and other critters kept eating the fruit. However, this year Ihave not noticed anything happening to them other than having green leaves. I wonder if I will have any goodies to eat. It is early. My Amaryllis plants are just gorgeous this year – the best ever.
Tipper,
Our garden is pitiful, just pitiful! At least for the most part. If it wasn’t the rain, it was too cold to plant. By the time it was in the ground, it turned frosty again! So far all that is growing well is some cucumbers, a few peppers, and flowers…We planted late beets, and radishes and right now they look good, but the leaves are very small. Hope they make before the heat waves set in.
The betterhalf trapped one marauder of our chickens, last night. The night before all “Hello Bill” broke loose, sounded like a herd of baby racoons. They were chattering etc. tearing down the bird feeders. The next morning, a slice was in the chicken house screen, and chickens were gone.
This is the first time for racoons in the chicken house. He climbed a 6ft fence, thru a netting on top, climbed the house, and slit the screen.
One of them is in the trap this morning. We trapped three last year. Mainly hawks have been our problem with out chickens…
Later,
Thanks Tipper, Will we see any of the show later in the month. Hope you all had a good time.
Those tomato blooms sure look healthy. There will be lots of tomatoes this year.
I don’t have a garden but my friend Saleh has a world of blueberries coming this year. Last year the frost killed the blooms so he had almost none, this year it’s a bumper crop. He also had beautiful early lettuce and kale.
Tipper, it’s funny how some things just have off years, like your radishes and beets. I wonder what causes that to happen.