December 10, 2008:
     It has been almost a month since I wrote here.  Thanksgiving is past, Christmas is only a few weeks away and the weather has been quite cold and/or unsettled.  I have been using my fireplace a lot which means plenty of wood ashes for the garden. This eliminates the need for limestone in my acidic Long Island soil this Spring, plus a nice dose of potassium, magnesium and some micro-nutrients that wood ashes provide.     Actually, today got up to almost 65, but a new cold front is coming in tomorrow.  The garden is done for the year, the soil has been amended and put to rest for Winter, so what is an avid gardener to do this time of
year?
     Now is when I start earnestly planning next years garden, beginning with my seed order. I have the 2008 catalogs from Burpee’s and Johnny’s Selected Seeds in front of me (my two favorite seed companies). Their new 2009 catalogs won’t go out for a few weeks, but I like to start early, and then compare my selection against the new offerings to see if there is anything better to change to.
     I start by drawing a map of my raised beds, and noting where I plant to plant what. This way I can make sure to rotate my plantings and have a written list of what seed I need to order.  I don’t place the order until I go over the 2009 editions.
     I haven’t planted potatoes in some years, but will be putting in a 4’ x 10 raised bed of them this Spring.  All the seedsmen now sell seed potatoes, but I like to buy them from my old standby, Ronningers Seed Potatoes”.  I always get great results from their stock, and they are a bit less expensive.
     I am also going to buy my tomato seed from a new company this year - Totally Tomatoes!  I will be trying their Early Golieth tomatoes, and their Super Milton cherry tomatoes.  They carry a plum tomato variety I love called “Viva Italia”, which is know for it’s sugar content.  
     I also plan to plant a few other veggies that I usually don’t plant because . . . well, just because! I want to grow them - Hercules Carrots and Touchtone Gold Beets, both from Johnnys!  I will be trying a new melon offered by Johnnys called Sarah’s Choice, and another old favorite, Maestro Green Peas from Burpee.  Another “newbie” for me will be Nardia Eggplant and Tigress Eggplant, and an old friend, Beauregard Sweet Potatoes, all from Johnny’s!  I saved some seed from Burpee’s Long Red Slim
Cayenne which did a great job for me last year.  Why not post on the “Board” what you will be growing next year!

November 8, 2008:
     Back in early Spring I planted some “Long Red Slim Cayenne Peppers” from Burpee because I wnated to make my own crushed red pepper.  I only planted 3 plants since I really don’t need much for my own use.  They produced very, very well and grew to almost 4’ tall on 3/4” stalks.  They were amazing. 
     About 3 weeks ago, I picked them clean because we were expecting a frost, and dehydrated the whole lot of them. Green or red, they do their job in chili and such. So here it is November, and I happen to go out to the garden, now put to rest for Winter, and these pepper plants are not only still alive, but produced another dozen or so peppers.  Peppers live heat and don’t do well in the cold, but this variety just won’t quit.  Once again, I picked them clean, but I would not be surprised to find more fruit over the coming months.  If you want nice hot Cayenne’s that produce for a very long time, I highly recommend this variety.  I have saved seed for next years crop, which I will be starting indoors this March. 

October 22, 2008:
     We have had a couple of light frosts here on Long Island over the last few days, so I am expecting a hard frost any time soon now. So today, I harvested the last of my “Long Red Slim Cayenne - Hot Peppers” from Burpee.  They are still green buy will dry and taste just as good as after they turn red. I harvested about 2 1/2 quarts from only 2 plants. This variety is very prolific on very larg plants (almost 4’ tall) , but takes a long time to turn red. Last season, I started them indoors on April 21st. I saved plenty of seeds (these are not a hybrid) and this coming season, I plan to start them indoors in early March, to give me an additional 6-weeks or so of growing season. They grow very slowly for about 2-months, so managing them indoors is no problem.
     I highly recommend this variety for drying to make crushed red pepper.  I dry mine in a dehydrator, crumble them up and them put them in a blender to make a course powder because I prefer not having all the seeds to deal with.  They are plenty hot, and will be the base for many a good chili and Italian dish this Winter!

October 10. 2008:
   The only thing still growing in my garden is my “Long Red Slim Cayenne” hot peppers, some Italian parsley and one cherry tomato plant.  Every few days, 4-5 of the peppers turn red, and I pop them into the dehydrator to make my crushed red pepper for chili and other tomato dishes. At the first chance of hard frost, I plan to pick all the green peppers and dehydrate them too.  They are exactly the same as when they turn red, only not as pretty.
     This week, I got my garden beds ready for Winter, and next Spring planting. I removed all the spent plants, leaving only 3 pepper plants, one cherry tomato plant and a few parsley plants.  Each 4’ x 10’ raised bed received a heaping wheelbarrow full of partially rotted organic matter from my compost piles, which I turned into the soil. I then spread another wheelbarrow full on the soil surface, and they are ready for Winter. I tied the branches of my new, small fig tree together.  When all the leaves fall off, I will place a plastic garbage can over them, weighted down with a couple of heavy cobble stones, which should protect it from Winter winds and ice. A little more clean up work, store my garden tools & wheelbarrow in the shed, and I can start daydreaming and planning next years garden.  The new seed catalogs should be coming out toward the end of the year.
     I also bought a new splitting ax today. My son has a good amount of well seasoned cherry logs in his yard that he doesn’t need.  It been a while since I split wood, and I am getting older, but I could use them in my fireplace this Winter.  I’m hoping I can get my 2 teenage grandsons to help “Pop Pop”!!

September 29, 2008:
     The weather has been very wet, rainy and damp . . . much like the Summer months.  I usually leave my sweet potatoes in theb ground until around mid-October, but given there poor season and recent constant soaking, I figured I better dig them up before they rot in the ground. The vines were still green, but I would not expect much, if any, further tuber development.  This year, I only planted 2 short 3’ rows . . . just for the heck of it. I turned in about 1/2 wheelbarrow of partially rotted organic matter in the spring, along with a generous amount of bone meal.  I dug up about 7-9 lbs. I estimate, in that small bed.  Most of the sweet taters were med. and slightly larger, and of course there were a number of small roots too. I was happy with the results, especially considering growing conditions this year.  Oh yeah . . . the variety I planted was Beauregard, an old standby for short season areas.
     I still have a lot of peppers on my hot pepper plants, which have slowly been turning red.  Whenever I get 4 or 5, I slice them up and pop them into the dehydrator where they will be crushed into homegrown hot red pepper. Don’t confuse this stuff with that blacd crushed red pepper you find in the supermarket.  This stuff will put hair on your chest . . . so ladies, be wary!  I made a small pot of chili last week and put in about 1 teaspoon full, and it had some bite to it.  Oh yeah!! The variety is “Long Red Slim Cayenne” from Burpee!  I’m hoping that I have enough time left for them to “red up” before our first frost.  If not, I will dehydrate them green.  The taste just as good, just not as pretty!! :-)

September 12, 2008:
     The weather turned Fall like over the last few days, which was just the excuse I needed to whip up a vat of my “famous” Vegetable Beef Soup! (recipe is on our Recipe Page)  It there is such a thing as the “perfect food”, then this is it!  Low fat, low calorie, highly nutritious and tastes Oh So Good.  I make a complete meal out of it, along with a crusty piece of fresh Italian bread!
     The late planting of bush beans is up, but I am wondering if there will be enough time left to produce a crop.  Spinach is also up, but germinated poorly, probably due to the late heat spell.  My sweet potatoes are still growing like crazy. I have never seen such vine production. I am only hoping that there is a good crop of tubers growing under the soil. I am going to wait until the top grpwth starts to die off before digging them up.
     This has been a strange year for my tomatoes. There are plenty of green ones still on the vines, but they just don’t want to turn red. They have been very slow to ripen, and the crop has been way off this year.  My cukes & melons are spent, as is my zucchini.
     I’m going to start doing my Fall chores pretty soon, weather permitting.  I have 2 compost bins full of partially composted organic matter that will get turned into the soil, with enough saved to put a layer on top.  I don’t like leaving the soil bare over Winter. I will do a good garden clean up, move some trellis around so I can rotate my plantings for next year, and put my garden to bed.  I am already thinking about next years garden, what to plant and seeds to order from where. To me, gardening is a year round thing!
    

September 1, 2008: (Labor Day)
   It’s a beautiful, warm & sunny day with temps in the mid 80’s here on Long Island.  Perfect weather top be out in the garden. Today, I pulled out the spent cork stalks from one of my 4’ x 10’ raised beds, raked off the mulch covering & fed the compost pile.  Then I turned over the top 4-5 inches of soil, added some blood meal to replenish the nitrogen used by the sweet corn and raked it out.
     I planted half the bed with Space F1, a smooth leaf hybrid spinach (39 days), and the other half of the bed with Medinah, a snap bush bean (53 days) both from Johnny’s Selected Seeds, my favorite seed company. Both of these should have plenty of time to mature and bear a good crop before hard frost, which usually doesn’t come here until November. I also plan on planting some Green Forest, a romaine type lettuce, but it does not germinate well in soil temps over 75 degrees.  We are expecting temps close to 90 this week, so I wait another week or two for some Fall weather to settle in.
     This past Spring, I planted the two most prolific varieties of green beans that I ever grew.  They were “Jade” from Johnny’s Selected Seeds, and Roma II from Burpee, an Italian flat podded type.  Usually I pull out my bush beans in early August, and replant for Fall, because they pretty much stop producing. These two varieties are still going strong.  I planted a 3’ x 5’ bed of each, and they produced enough for my wife and I, plus an unbelievable amount that we shared with family.
     I planted a new variety of plum, sauce type tomato from Burpee called Big Mama which were touted as being huge and plentiful.  I found them to be a big disappointment. They produced late and sparsely, and have mostly died off already because of wilt. The fruit was large, but I have grown Roma tomatoes just as large that produced better and were were more resistant to disease.
     A quick comment about this blog!  I have received some E-mail from a few kind folks that pointed out some errors in grammar and/or spelling. OK, guilty as charged. That has never been my strong suit, so if you are looking for perfect grammar and spelling, you are in the wrong place.  If you are here to talk gardening, learn, share ideas and experiences, and can overlook an occasional error, then this is the place for you. Blessings,

Ron

August 30, 2008:
     It’s Labor Day weekend, raining out and it was only yesterday that I launched this Blog!  A lot is happening it the world as I write this.  There is a serious hurricane bearing down on the Gulf states, both political candidates has selected running mates are are about business trying to discredit each other. I have never been into politics much, but I am concerned about the direction society and our country are headed in. It seems like our values have eroded and our faith and belief in the creator have become “out dated”! That’s a real shame! It appears that under the guise of “political correctness”, we have cast aside all the things that have made this country great, and blessed.  I am kind of wondering how much more God is willing to put up with??
     The Olympics are over for another 4 years, the world seems on the verge of economic collapse and most of use are real concerned about the cost of fuel oil with the Winter not far away. Where did this Summer go so quickly!
     With all the insanity and travail in the world, my garden gives me a place of refuge and peace. When I’m out there tieing up tomato plants or melon vines to the trellis, or picking cukes and zucchini, I can put the cares of the day aside and relax.  Communing alone with nature has a way of doing that to a person! Is seems like all I have to worry about is keeping the squirrels out of the garden . . . and that’s another story!  I think we tend to take ourselves to seriously sometimes, and we forget about the little things that the God of creation blessed us with.
     I was hoping to start my Fall garden clean up today, but the rain put the stop to that! The melon’s are spent and the vines ready for the compost pile.  Poor year for melons for me.  I only harvested two large lopes’ which are sitting in the fridge as we speak.  My sweet corn was a disappointment too! Since I only have small raised beds to plant in, there was not enough for good pollination, and the squirrels feasted on what was there. I may have to forego sweet corn from now on. Because of the very wet conditions, wilt was a problem this year with the melons, tomatoes and cukes. Next year I will be opting for more wilt resistant varieties, and doing some rotation of the crops.
     On the plus side of the ledger, I had a banner year with green beans, both regular and Italian flat podded varieties. I usually pull them our around mid August and replant for a Fall crop, but this year they just kept coming, so I left them in.  They still don’t show any sign of giving up! Zucchini were plentiful, as were the sugar snap peas.  My sweet potato vines are growing like weeds, and I am hoping for great tuber growth underground. I grew a couple of hot pepper plants this year so I could dry and crush my own red pepper.  The first batch is in the dehydrator right now.
     I’m looking forward to getting into the garden tomorrow to start the clean-up and planting some spinach for this fall.  I’m already thinking about what varieties of seed to order for next Spring.  I guess I must have green blood!  Blessings!