Monday, May 23, 2011

A Cool, Damp Summer to Come?

Our island postmistress Linda has predicted that we will have a summer like the one two years ago--"no summer at all," as she put it. That was a no-summer that rained from about mid-May through late June, making it impossible to get much of a garden in. What did get in, mostly rotted--although I'd never had bigger potatoes. The rest of the no-summer was mostly cool and damp, with some sunny days in July and August. The tomatoes did fairly well, too, until they got a bad case of late blight that year. First and only year that I've had it. Beans are usually very easy to grow but not in those conditions. There is an empty space in the pantry where the jars of dry beans stand--for the year 2009. I wonder how subsistence farmers here (or anywhere for that matter) were able to survive after a growing season like that back in the day. I suppose they stored up supplies for more than a year, if they were careful. 

Linda, by the way, is a resourceful and serious gardener herself. She has a greenhouse, and grows her vegetables in raised beds. Whether she has a crystal ball as well remains to be seen. The last two days were cloudy and the grass dried off enough for me to mow the lawn (which had gotten to be nearly a foot high in only two weeks) yesterday afternoon. The rain held off today although it was damp and cloudy, and I managed to get some cabbage transplants into the ground. At any rate, until the jet stream changes we're on track for exactly what Linda has predicted. Ironically, central Europe and the southwestern US are quite dry. The public radio program which highlights environmentalism in Europe pointed out, in today's broadcast, that central Europe has gotten only about 40% of it's normal rainfall this year. We'd be glad to send some of our rain over there if only we knew how to do it.

 

Friday, May 20, 2011

Rain, fog, rain

It's been raining and drizzling and raining with fog and mist for the past two weeks and the ground is wet through and through. Nothing has come up yet in the gardens where I planted except for weeds and witch grass. No more planting is possible till the soil dries, which won't be for at least a few more days I imagine. although I may try to get some transplants (cabbages, lettuce) in this weekend. The birds do seem to like this wet weather, though. More greens do need to get in as soon as possible. Planting time for tomatoes and beans is usually around June 1st. This year is about 10-14 days behind last year, which means it's more or less a normal year, though this much rain at this time is unusual. The early apple blossoms are at the full pink stage waiting for the first sunny day.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Potatoes, Onions, Shallots and Greens


Potatoes, onions, shallots, lettuce, spinach, and beet greens went into the gardens today. I’d hoped to get them in a week or so earlier but it was too wet to work the soil last week. In fact the weather report was for rain all weekend except for this morning, so I was up early to do the planting.
Three rows of Dark Red Norland and Satina potatoes went into the garden next to the barn. Having tilled the soil yesterday, I used a wheel hoe to mark the rows and dig shallow trenches. With a pointed shovel I dug small holes about 5-6” below the soil level for each seed potato, about 75 in all, and put some composted chicken manure into each hole, put a bit of soil on top of the manure, and dropped in a seed potato. In all it took a little more than an hour to do this. 
After thirty years of gardening here I’ve tried to be efficient, but certain inefficiencies of scale persist. If I were growing potatoes for market, I’d have to use a furrower attached to a walk-behind tractor to get the rows deeper without shoveling. This would be more efficient, given enough feet of row; but without enough, the time taken in fitting out the tractor for use would make up for any time saved by not shoveling in the trenches. I’ve also tried various kinds of fertilizer and found that putting composted chicken manure into the holes (or trenches) works best and leaves the soil in good shape year after year. For potatoes, it’s important not to lime the soil or drop wood ashes on it from the stove, as this causes scab. It’s a good idea to give the potatoes constant moisture during the growing season if there’s not enough rain; a side dressing of more composted manure before the first hilling helps increase the size of the tubers.
One 30 foot row of Stuttgarter onion sets and one row of shallots were what I planted next in the morning after resting for about fifteen minutes. These go in shallow rows, and again composted chicken manure goes in first. As with the potatoes, given the small amount that I grow now, it’s most efficient to dig out the rows with a wheel hoe and then to plant by hand, making sure the sets are in the soil properly, and then to fill in the soil around and just on top of them, so that the hard rains don’t push them out of the soil. Onions also need continuous moisture and do well with a side dressing of manure after a few weeks. The way onions perk up after a good rain is noticeable. Planting onions for me is hands and knees work, and as my knees are not in the greatest shape, I’ve learned to wear knee pads. These cushion my knees against the stony soil on the sides of the rows, and allow me to scrabble around without feeling knee pain the next day—all day. After the onions and shallots, a quarter row of Early Wonder Talltop beets for greens, a quarter row of Tyee spinach, and a quarter row of Red Sails lettuce; the beets and lettuce will be succession planted every couple of weeks thru June. Altogether the planting took about 2 and a half hours. The weather was mostly sunny with temperatures in the sixties and a light wind.
In past years I’ve planted peas, and later corn, but these days I seldom do, as they take up more space than I think they are worth, particularly now that I’ve cut down the total square footage of garden space. Corn also is bothered by earworms and raccoons. Prevention measures take a good deal of time—and don’t always work.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

More skunk cabbages!

I promised some more pictures of the skunk cabbages as they are growing. On April 17 the green cabbage leaves were beginning to appear.
You can see the green leaf unfolding benow the maroon spaethe in the center of the photo. The spaethe is about six inches tall. The spadix is visible inside two of the spaethes. I have yet to see an insect crawl in. Now here is a photo from April 30, with several cabbage leaves unfolded.
The cabbage leaves tower over the spaethe--as the next photo shows.
It is most impressive. Here is a group of three cabbages on April 30:
And here, finally, is how a lot of them appear in the drying streambed:

Photos of skunk cabbages © 2011 by Jeff Todd Titon
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Skunk Cabbage by Jeff Todd Titon is licensed