Bio

Have we ever had the rain this year. Since September, 2002 we have received over 100 inches of rain. We usually get between 30 to 40 inches per year. But through all of the wet weather, the garden did wonderful. Others around here that garden with the row system lost everything. I have been able to harvest some of the best cabbages I have ever grown. The only thing that did not do well was the carrots.

They forked and cracked from too much water. I think next planting season for carrots I am going to try to make the beds higher to keep them from being flooded. I did find out that my new chicken coop has to have fill dirt put in it to keep the chickens dry during a really wet season. I am glad the chickens have not arrived yet. They should be here in the next few days. There is good and bad in every situation, and I have learned to look for the problems and fix them before they are really needed.

I planted red potatoes and the next day we got one of the worst rain storms of the year. All of the potato cages were under water, and I am waiting to see if the potatoes are going to rot before sprouting. I still have until the 14th of March to replant if I have to.

The strawberry bed is ready for the plants to arrive. We made the beds out of 4X4 timbers and filled them with compost. They are 3 tiers high. The bottom section is six foot by six foot and is 2-4x4's high. This gives us 8 inches of compost that we can plant in. After killing the grass and weeds with vinegar, we laid down a layer of wet newspaper then we placed an 8 inch layer of shredded leaves over the newspaper.

The bottom bed is about 16 inches higher than the surrounding area. The next bed is inside of the lower bed and is four foot by four foot square. Again this is 4 inches high and filled with compost. The third and final bed is inside of the 2nd bed and is two foot by two foot. It too is filled with compost. That makes the entire thing about 24 to 26 inches above the ground. This is just a trial bed to see how successful strawberries are in this climate. If they do well, we will probably install several more beds next year to have strawberries to sell in our vegetable stand.

We are also working on an asparagus bed. Asparagus is not recommended for our zone, but I love it so much that I want to try to grow it. I think you need to be willing to try things that are not supposed to grow in your zone. Some things work and some do not. You will never know if you do not try. Mostly you can grow things that are recommended 2 zones north of where you garden but only 1 zone south of where you garden.

I saw the first blooms on our Ponderosa Lemon tree yesterday. This is a tree that grows lemons the size of a softball!

We are so fortunate to have a climate where we are able to garden all year. The temperatures here now are in the 70's during the day and the lower 50's at night. Soon we will be setting out 400 tomato plants and 200 pepper plants. Corn will be going into the ground and then the rest of the crops will follow. Before long, we will be enjoying the wonderful taste of fresh picked sun warmed tomatoes.

Here is a tip for watering your tomato plants. Cut the bottom off of gallon milk jugs. Remove the caps from the jugs and bury them in the ground next to your plant with the necks down. To water or fertilize your plants all you have to do is fill the jug with water or liquid fertilizer and it will gradually soak into the ground around the tomato plant. This saves a tremendous amount of water and still gives the tomato plants plenty of moisture. It directs the water to the root zone of the plants.

Happy Gardening

Byron Tumlinson

Cari-T Farm

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