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It was a Hard Year
25 Sep 2024 08:43 pmto grow anything. The year isn't over but the count is awfully low. As of today, we harvested 54 pounds of produce. In years past, we would be over 200 by now. The drought ended with yesterday's rain. It switched to cool and wet on a dime. Hurricane Helene may give us even more water. It is supposed to rain on and off for a week now. Just in time for my next event. I only hope that I don't get stuck in the mud in the parking lot. The next event is Shenandoah Valley Fiber Fest, located in Berryville, VA. They did not experience the same dry conditions we did. Hurricane Helene is huge though and even after landfall, will contribute to the rainfall. Last year, the same event (SVFF) was held during Hurricane Ophelia. It did not affect attendance, although gusts did blow over a few tents outside.
Since the rain held back a bit today, I transplanted all my fall garden seedlings. In the front, I planted more lettuce and spinach. I had already planted carrots and peas at the end of August. Leeks got transplanted then too. But one day of rain on August 31st does not make up for a whole summer without.
In the backyard garden, I harvested beans and carrots today. I even found 2 beets. According to Seedtime, they should have been harvested back in June. Ha, ha, hah! It's truly amazing what heat dome after heat dome will do. Fortunately, they were in dappled shade. I did not get the 24 beets I planted though. Just 2. The Napa Cabbage got transplanted into the zucchini patch after I added some amendments (coconut coir). I also transplanted 5 parsley. It was nice to use the water from the rain barrel again.
Despite full sun and never enough water, the Thai basil is looking good and so is the thyme. Mediterranean plants like this weather. I am not quite so fond of it. A Wool Gathering was so hot I overheated during setup. It was 95 on Friday. Saturday was 94 degrees and Sunday 90 degrees before the storm came in at 3 pm. This is what it looked like:
My soil report came in while I was at the event. That was exciting for me. You may not be interested but I need it written down because webpage reports are useless. I can't print the one they sent me. Thank goodness for screen captures. The only question is: "did those excess minerals come from the air or from the tap water? Or, did they come from whatever country Starbucks sources their coffee from?" It looks to me like the overabundance of minerals could be from the local steel industry. I plan to test another bed that did not have coffee grounds added. It will be an interesting comparison.
I am slightly confused on the recommended additives. Nitrogen has a cycle. There was no nitrogen test. There is an ammonium version of nitrogen that is more fungal based (from wood chips for perennials) and another that is nitrate based that supports bacterial based soil (annuals). The calcium is also a little low. Lettuce needs calcium and so do strawberries. I will just give them my whey - leftover from cheese making. I also have crushed eggshells. Those crushed shells will wait to be added until spring since they keep away slugs. Slugs aren't a winter problem. The lab doing the test wanted to know what kind of garden this was. Perennials don't fit into their worldview. Regardless, they recommend feather meal, 12-0-0 by Down to Earth (organic).
Drought Survivor
May you always have thyme
Since the rain held back a bit today, I transplanted all my fall garden seedlings. In the front, I planted more lettuce and spinach. I had already planted carrots and peas at the end of August. Leeks got transplanted then too. But one day of rain on August 31st does not make up for a whole summer without.
In the backyard garden, I harvested beans and carrots today. I even found 2 beets. According to Seedtime, they should have been harvested back in June. Ha, ha, hah! It's truly amazing what heat dome after heat dome will do. Fortunately, they were in dappled shade. I did not get the 24 beets I planted though. Just 2. The Napa Cabbage got transplanted into the zucchini patch after I added some amendments (coconut coir). I also transplanted 5 parsley. It was nice to use the water from the rain barrel again.
Despite full sun and never enough water, the Thai basil is looking good and so is the thyme. Mediterranean plants like this weather. I am not quite so fond of it. A Wool Gathering was so hot I overheated during setup. It was 95 on Friday. Saturday was 94 degrees and Sunday 90 degrees before the storm came in at 3 pm. This is what it looked like:
My soil report came in while I was at the event. That was exciting for me. You may not be interested but I need it written down because webpage reports are useless. I can't print the one they sent me. Thank goodness for screen captures. The only question is: "did those excess minerals come from the air or from the tap water? Or, did they come from whatever country Starbucks sources their coffee from?" It looks to me like the overabundance of minerals could be from the local steel industry. I plan to test another bed that did not have coffee grounds added. It will be an interesting comparison.
I am slightly confused on the recommended additives. Nitrogen has a cycle. There was no nitrogen test. There is an ammonium version of nitrogen that is more fungal based (from wood chips for perennials) and another that is nitrate based that supports bacterial based soil (annuals). The calcium is also a little low. Lettuce needs calcium and so do strawberries. I will just give them my whey - leftover from cheese making. I also have crushed eggshells. Those crushed shells will wait to be added until spring since they keep away slugs. Slugs aren't a winter problem. The lab doing the test wanted to know what kind of garden this was. Perennials don't fit into their worldview. Regardless, they recommend feather meal, 12-0-0 by Down to Earth (organic).
Drought Survivor
May you always have thyme
