Mon, 31 Jul 2006
What's Wrong With Jack's Garden?
Rain! Rain! That's what's wrong with Jack's garden! Too much water. Although this photo shows some healthy plants, the amount of rain we've had lately has just about sunk Jack's garden.
posted at: 08:09 | path: /JacksGarden2006 | link for this entry
Tue, 25 Jul 2006
What's Wrong With Jack's Garden?
Water. That's what's wrong with Jack's garden. Too much water. His soil is so heavy with clay, the rain just doesn't drain. His garden soil is somewhat better this year, but it is still holding too much water. We've had a good amount of rain this summer so his garden is showing the effects.
posted at: 17:01 | path: /JacksGarden2006 | link for this entry
Thu, 20 Jul 2006
What's Wrong With Jack's Garden?
Jack planted three red raspberry bushes. They are a bit fussy about the soil they live in. The Ph of Jacks' soil has been too high, so a couple of the plants did not tolerate it at all. This one, however, looks like it might make it.
posted at: 08:37 | path: /JacksGarden2006 | link for this entry
Wed, 19 Jul 2006
What's Wrong With Jack's Garden?
Look at these vines. They look good! Jack has been concerned that things aren't growing quickly. This year's garden is better than any he has ever had, at least I think so. As long as he keeps up with the baking soda and water to control the powdery mildew, his harvest should be nice.
posted at: 10:12 | path: /JacksGarden2006 | link for this entry
Mon, 17 Jul 2006
What's Wrong With Jack's Garden?
One thing troubling Jack's garden is powdery mildew. It can be seen on the leaves in the photo. If your garden has this malady, as my does, don't worry. Just spray your entire garden with a mixture of 2-3 Tablespoons of baking soda dissolved in a gallon of water. It works wonders. Repeat every 7-10 days and the powdery mildew, and a host of other bad items, will leave your garden and your plants will be healthy and happy.
posted at: 08:22 | path: /JacksGarden2006 | link for this entry
Sun, 16 Jul 2006
What's Wrong With Jack's Garden?
I'm hoping that all this hot weather we are having will dry out Jack's garden so his cucumbers and zucchinis stop rotting and falling off the vines. His lettuce should be ready to eat - at least some of the outer leaves could be harvested and enjoyed.
posted at: 13:07 | path: /JacksGarden2006 | link for this entry
Sat, 15 Jul 2006
What's Wrong With Jack's Garden?
Jack's tomatoes are well, although Jack thinks they should all be taller. Jack as added aluminum sulfite to the garden soil to help correct the Ph problem and he has treated with baking soda and water spray to eliminate the powdery mildew.
posted at: 14:53 | path: /JacksGarden2006 | link for this entry
Fri, 14 Jul 2006
What's Wrong With Jack's Garden?
Jack's melon vines are moving along well. His garden is extremely wet. Most plants don't like too much moisture. His newly formed zucchinis are falling off the vines and rotting. This is from too much moisture. Jack's soil doesn't drain well, although since adding the composted material this spring, it drains much better than it ever has. However, the soil still holds too much water and the rotting zucchinis are the end result of this. Depending on the weather, he may still get a crop of zucchinis. We'll hope Mother Nature doesn't drop too much rain on his garden.
posted at: 07:34 | path: /JacksGarden2006 | link for this entry
Wed, 12 Jul 2006
What's Wrong With Jack's Garden?
Jack's peas look pretty good. I'm afraid they may bolt with the summer heat. They have a nice set of flowers and have been eagerly climbing the fence.
posted at: 08:56 | path: /JacksGarden2006 | link for this entry
Tue, 11 Jul 2006
What's Wrong With Jack's Garden?
Jack planted four grape vines this season. He installed a very nice trellis sysstem for the vines. The area is a little shady, but the vines are doing well. He won't see grapes this year, but as long as the vines continue to thrive, next year he'll have more grapes than he can imagine right now.
posted at: 08:31 | path: /JacksGarden2006 | link for this entry
Sat, 08 Jul 2006
What's Wrong With Jack's Garden?
Jack has been saying that his garden seems to be in a state of suspended animation. He feels nothing is progressing. I couldn't disagree more. His garden is doing wonderfully well, especially compared to last year's efforts and any years before that. He has a spot of powdery mildew, which I'll show in upcoming entries. This is easily controlled. His plants seem to be slow growing. This, I believe, is the result of soil quality. Jack's soil is heavy, the Ph is too high and there seems to be an excess of nitrogen. All in all, his garden is doing well.
posted at: 08:11 | path: /JacksGarden2006 | link for this entry
Fri, 07 Jul 2006
What's Wrong With Jack's Garden?
Jack used a home soil test kit and found the Ph of his garden soil to be 7.5 - 7.7. If this seems high, it is! The lab results from last year's tests showed the same. This is unusual for this part of the country. We are usually try to sweeten our soil, not the other way around. Jack needs to add sulfur to his soil to acidify it. The other results of his home test kit where difficult to decipher. If you want to test your soil, I recommend having a lab do the tests. Contact your local county extension office for a list of labs.
posted at: 08:02 | path: /JacksGarden2006 | link for this entry
Sun, 02 Jul 2006
What's Wrong With Jack's Garden?
Jack's bean plants appear healthy and happy. Jack left me a phone message on Friday saying he used a home soil test kit and the only thing in his soil is phosphorous (why the garden is glowing - ha ha - he said). I'm pretty sure I don't trust the results as two labs tested Jack's soil last year with very different results. I haven't been able to reach Jack yet to discuss all of this, but it should be interesting. Stay tuned!
posted at: 19:45 | path: /JacksGarden2006 | link for this entry