What's Blooming in the Garden - End of October

It’s the end of October and there’s still

a little activity in the garden.

Little being the operative word here…

The reblooming irises next to the front porch

have finally bloomed!

The toad lily must have 50 blooms on it but

they are so tiny that the effect is kind of lost.

A couple of Morning Glories tough out

the early morning frosts.

A perfect rose along the neighbors back fence.

Some tomato hopefuls that will get picked

this weekend before the hard freeze.

A tiny lone purple pepper waits to be

picked before the freeze.

Note: I work for a gardening catalog company and some times I get free flowers. (I know, right!) These irises were given to me 2 years ago and I planted them next to the porch so I could enjoy them in the spring and fall. We still sell these and others here:

here

and

here

This week I am linking to:

http://fishtailcottage.blogspot.com/

17 Companion Plant Combos for the Vegetable Garden



This is another wonderful article from Small Town Living. Like people, some plants don't always get along. Companion plating in the vegetable garden will save you and your plants a lot of stress.

Two days ago I planted seed for tomatoes, peppers, okra, and carrots. Not such a big deal really, but I planted them all together in the same raised bed area. I know your probably thinking “whoa, can all of that be grown together in the same area?” And the answer is “yes, as long as you learn what types of plants work together compatibly.”
Of course there is a bit of an art to learning what types of plants work well together and are actually of benefit to each other. This afternoon I plan to plant corn, cucumbers, and some beans together.

There are quite a few benefits to learning about companion planting and what does and doesn’t work well together.

Companion planting allows the plants to benefit from being able to help each other deter pests, attract beneficial insects, helping to boost the growth of the plants by which they have been planted. For example if beans are planted next to corn they work to add nutrients to the soil ,namely nitrogen, which the corn feeds upon to grow strong. Likewise, peanuts (which are an underground legume) can also be planted next to corn to add nitrogen to the soil.



There are also beautiful flowers that can be interspersed throughout your vegetable garden, not only to help make your vegetable garden a thing of beauty, but the flowers also help to attract beneficial insects and to deter bad insects, and some flowers even help to ward off deer and rabbits.

For instance marigolds can help keep deer away and also repel nematodes. Plants in the mint family will keep aphids at bay and are not only good for the vegetable garden, but how about planting them in your rose garden to keep the aphids away? Basil also works well planted near tomatoes and can serve to keep mosquitoes and mites and funguses away.
Nasturtiums work very well around the garden to repel whiteflies and squash bugs. Plant it around your pumpkins and tomatoes for a pretty look, and the added benefit of nasturtiums is that the pretty flowers can add a peppery taste to your salads.
Here is a list of plants that can work together in your garden, not only to be of benefit to each other, but also to beautify the vegetable garden a bit as well. You may later find that there are even more plants that are compatible or non compatible within these groups. This list just serves as a starting point to help you along the way to discovering “The Art of Companion Planting”



Beans

Friend: beets,celery,corn,cucumber,marigolds,eggplant,melons,potatoes,strawberries,brassicas(cabbage family plants such as cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts,etc.)
Foe: garlic,onion, fennel
Beets
Friend: carrot,cucumber,dill,fennel,lettuce,onion,brassicas
Foe: pole beans
Broccoli
Friend: bush bean,cabbage, chamomile,corn,garlic,potatoes,rosemary
Foe : strawberries, tomato,pole bean
Cabbage
Friend: celery, corn, dill,onion,peas,potatoes,rosemary, fava bean
Foe: strawberries, tomato, pole bean
Carrots
Friend: chives, leeks, onion,lettuce, peas,tomato
Foe: dill
Corn
Friend: beans,lettuce,marigolds,potatoes,brassicas
Foe: tomato
Garlic
Friend: beets,cabbage,lettuce,roses,strawberries
Foe: beans,peas

Lettuce
Friend: beets,carrot,cucumber,garlic,onion,radish,strawberries
Melons (such as cantaloupe, etc., other than watermelon)
Friend: beans,corn
Foe: potatoes
Onions
Friend: beets,brassicas,carrot,lettuce,strawberry,tomato
Foe: beans,peas
Peas
Friend: brassicas,corn, eggplant,legumes,potato
Foe: garlic,onion
Pole Beans
Friend: corn
Foe: beets,broccoli,cabbage
Potato
Friend: beans,cabbage,corn,eggplant,marigolds
Foe: melons,tomato
Pumpkins and Squash
Friend: corn,legumes,nasturtium
Foe: potato
Strawberries
Friend: bush beans
Foe: brassicas
Tomato
Friend: basil,carrot,celery,nasturtium,peppers
Foe: brassicas,corn,potato
Watermelon
Friend: potatoes
Foe: tall vegetables (any kind)


Happy gardening!
 
 
Small Town Living

Tips on Starting a Garden

Small Town Living has some excellent tips on starting your garden. Click the link below!

Small Town Living

Understanding Your Seed Catalogs

Every year I anticipate my seed catalogs arriving in the mail. I consider this the first sign of spring! Yippee! If you are new to gardening or new to starting your plants by seed, some of the abbreviations may leave you perplexed. What is an heirloom? What does open pollinated mean and do I want that?

Smalltownliving.com has put together a wonderful article explaining what these seed terms mean.

The seed catalogs are starting to pour in and the excitement is in the air to get growing. But…when you look at the catalogs you see a variety of seeds ..some marked hybrid, some marked open pollinated, some marked organic, and some marked heirloom.
Just what is the difference here.

Hybrid seed is seed that is derived from mixing different traits from various plants to come up with a new/unique variety. Alot of times when seed is planted from this type of plant..it may/may not grow true to the parent plant. (In your seed catalogs you’ll see hybrid seed is listed with numbers like F1 and so forth on the description.)

Open pollinated seed means the seed is allowed to grow as nature intended…all heirloom seed is open pollinated seed.Open pollinated seed is then classified as both heirloom seed and open pollinated if the strain of seed has proven to grow “true to type” for 50 yrs or better.

Heirloom seed is seed that has been passed down from generation to generation and is seed that is at least from a 50 to 100 year strain of seed that has proven to grow “true to type” meaning that what you plant seed wise will look like the parent plant.

Organic seed does not necessarily mean that you are getting an heirloom variety of seed..organic simply refers to the methods/practices by which the seed has been grown..usually with minimal chemicals. Both hybrids and heirlooms can be grown organically.

Happy gardening!

The Garden is in...or is it?

Finally, the garden is in. Well, most of it, anyways. The important part is in. Well, okay, maybe not all the important part is in because the basil and dill and cilantro are not in. But the yummy heirloom tomatoes, like Mr. Stripey, Cherokee purple amd black Brandywine (THE best tomato EVER!) are in, as well as hot & mild peppers, spicy radishes, colorful lettuce and red & gold beets. Oh, and Yukon gold potatoes. Plus the perennial herbs.

But not the annual flowers because winter, or early, early, cold & early spring persists…grrrrrr. Give it up ol’ man winter, warmth will prevail!

 
 

 
 

Looking forward to you, Mr. Stripey!

 

 

Happy Gardening!