Full 2009 Garden Journal

by

Below is the full 2009 garden journal that I kept in a notebook.  I’m also placing it online in an electronic form for ease of access and to share with others.

 March 5 – 7 – Approximately 10 weeks before the 10% chance of frost date – May 11

  • Construction of 2 x 16 foot raised bed on driveway and 4 x 20 foot bed along the front driveway
  • Filled the front bed 2/5 full with a compost/manure mix from the local compost facility
  • Temperatures in the 60’s during the day
  • Planted three plantings of the following (to ensure they would grow in the mix from the compost facility)
    • Carrot (Burpee A#1 Hybrid)
    • Broccoli (Green Goliath)
    • Radish (Crimson Giant)
    • Lettuce (Simpson Elite)
    • Pepper (California Wonder)
    • Cauliflower (Snowball X)
    • Bush Bean (Tendergreen Improved)
  • Took a soil test of the manure mix
    • pH of around 7.7 – 7.9 (seems way too high)
    • Nitrogen – medium to high
    • Phosphorous – medium to high
    • Potassium – medium to low

March 9 (Exactly 9 weeks before 10% chance of last frost on May 11th)

  • Dug out strawberry beds and removed underlying Zoysia sod
  • Placed landscape fabric under the beds and black plastic around the sides of the bed
  • Put existing soil (regular topsoil that was purchased in bags last year) in the front driveway garden

March 10

  • 3 lettuce sprouted overnight (3 days – 100% germination)
  • 1 radish sprouted overnight (3 days – 33% germination so far) 
  • 2 radish srpouted during the day (3 days – 100% germination)
  • Fluorescent lights were turned on from 7 am to 7 pm daily
    • Consisted of two 4-foot standard shop lights
    • One GRO-LUX bulb was placed in each light (40 watts)
    • One Cool White Plus bulb was placed in each light (40 watts)

March 11

  • Removed all rock from the bed beside the house and moved it to the new rock bed right next to the garage to make an additional gardening space
  • Removed the clear plastic covers over the seedlings

March 12

  • 1 cauliflower sprouted overnight (5 days – 33% germination so far)
  • 2 broccoli sprouted during the day (5 days – 66% germination so far)

March 14

  • Planted 10 Green Goliath broccoli in 16 ounce cups
  • Planted 10 Snowball X cauliflower in 16 ounce cups 

March 15

  • Planted 10 California Wonder peppers in the self-watering tray
  • Planted 12  Simpson Elite lettuce in the deeper six-packs

March 16 (Exactly 8 weeks before 10% chance of last frost on May 11th)

  • 2 carrots sprouted overnight (9 days – 66% germination so far)
  • Planted the radishes in the front garden (experimental – frost/cold hardiness)
  • 1 cauliflower sprouted overnight (9 days – 66% germination so far)
  • Transplanted the two broccoli that were seeded on March 10th into 16 ounce cups
    • Soil fell apart around the roots causing them to be exposed.  This was because the manure/compost mix that was used to create the potting mix was finely filtered through patio screening mesh

March 17

  • 1 carrot sprouted overnight (10 days – 100% germination)

March 19

  • 2 Simpson Elite lettuce sprouted overnight (4 days – 16% germination so far)
  • Professional soil test results received from KSI Lab
    • pH – 7.2
    • Phosphorous – 310 lbs/acre (optimal is 50 lbs/acre)
    • Potassium – 800 lbs/acre (optimal is 300 lbs/acre)
  • Added 1/2 pound of sulfur to the front garden where the soil test was taken
    • Lab said to add 5 pounds per 1000 square foot (front garden is 80 square feet)
  • 2 Snowball X cauliflower sprouted during the day (5 days – 20% germination so far)
  • 3 Green Goliath broccoli sprouted during the day (5 days – 30% germination so far)

March 20

  • 1 Snowball X cauliflower sprouted during the day (6 days – 30% germination so far)

March 21

  • 1 Green Goliath broccoli sprouted overnight (7 days – 40% germination so far)
  • Purchased a heated growing container and placed California Wonder pepper seeds within it (none have sprouted yet)
  • 1 Green Goliath broccoli sprouted during the day (7 days – 50% germination so far)

March 22

  • 1 Snowball X cauliflower sprouted overnight (8 days – 40% germination so far)
  • 3 California Wonder peppers planted on March 10 sprouted in the day (15 days – 100% germination)
  • Planted five each in the self-watering trays
    • Best Boy Tomato
    • Roma Tomato (seed already a year old)
    • Red Cheerry Tomato (seed already a year old)
  • 1 Snowball X cauliflower sprouted during the day (8 days – 50% germination so far)

March 23 (Exactly 7 weeks before 10% chance of last frost on May 11th)

March 24

  • 1 Green Goliath broccoli sprouted during the day (10 days – 60% germination so far)
  • Replanted 10 Simpson Elite lettuce in place of the other 10 that did not sprout (only 16% germination rate on the previous batch)

March 26

  • Garden behind the garage was mixed in with manure/compost mix from the compost facility and was tilled up

 

March 27

  • 4 California Wonder peppers sprouted overnight (11 days – 40% germination so far; 6 days in heated container)
  • 3 Simpson Elite lettuce sprouted during the day (3 days – 30% germination so far)

March 28

  • 4 Simpson Elite lettuce sprouted overnight (4 days – 70% germination so far)
  • 3 California Wonder peppers sprouted overnight (12 days – 70% germination so far; 7 days in heated container)
  • 1 Best Boy tomato sprouted overnight (7 days – 20% germination so far)

March 29

  • 1 Simpson Elite lettuce sprouted overnight (5 days – 80% germination so far)
  • 2 Red Cherry tomatoes sprouted overnight (8 days – 40% germination so far)
  • 2 Best Boy tomatoes sprouted in the day (8 days – 60% germination so far)

March 30 (Exactly 6 weeks before 10% chance of last frost on May 11th)

  • 1 Best Boy tomato sprouted overnight (9 days – 80% germination so far)
  • 1 Best Boy tomato sprouted during the day (9 days – 100% germination)
  • 4-foot high green plastic fencing was placed around the back of the garage
  • 41 Dwarf Gray Sugar peas were planted five inches apart next to house
  • 65 Dwarf Gray Sugar peas were planted five inches apart behind garage

March 31

  • Re-planted 5 Roma tomato seeds; so far there has been 0% germination of them
  • Re-planted 4 Green Goliath broccoli
  • Re-planted 5 Snowball X cauliflower
  • Watered all seedlings very well
  • Three of the original Simpson Elite lettuce planted on March 10 are turning light green and shriveling up

April 1

  • Simpson Elite lettuce that was shriveling up recovered well after a healthy watering

April 4 – Date of a 90% chance of frost after this date

April 5

  • 2 Roma tomatoes sprouted overnight (5 days – 40% germination so far)
  • 1 California Wonder pepper sprouted overnight (20 days – 80% germination so far)

April 6 (Exactly 5 weeks before 10% chance of last frost on May 11th)

  • 2 Green Goliath broccoli sprouted overnight (6 days – 50% germination so far)
  • 1 Snowball X cauliflower sprouted overnight (6 days – 20% germination so far)
  • Received 1 inch of snow; overnight temps 28 – 30 degrees

April 7

  • 1 Green Goliath broccoli sprouted overnight (7 days – 75% germination so far)
  • Overnight freezing – 28 – 30 degrees

April 9

  • 1 Snowball X cauliflower sprouted overnight (9 days – 40% germination so far)
  • Continued cold freezing temperatures overnight
  • Approximately 4 Dwarf Gray Sugar peas have sprouted (10 days – 4% germination so far)
  • Planted 3 of each in the front driveway garden
    • Simpson Elite lettuce
    • Green Goliath broccoli
    • Snowball X cauliflower

April 10

  • 3 Snowball X cauliflower sprouted in the day (10 days – 100% germination)
  • Approximately 3 – 6 Dwarf Gray Sugar peas sprouted in the beds (11 days – 8% germination so far)

April 11

  • Put deer netting over the front garden
  • Planted about 30 – 40 yellow onion sets next to the house
  • Planted about 30 – 40 white onion sets next to the house

April 12/13 (Exactly 4 weeks before 10% chance of last frost on May 11th)

  • All but one Dwarf Gray Sugar peas in the bed next to the house has sprouted (total of 41 planted – 98% germination in 13-14 days)
  • Planted approximately 400 Burpee A#1 carrots in the 2 x 16 raised bed on the driveway

April 15

  • All Dwarf Gray Sugar peas in the bed next to the house has sprouted (total of 41 planted – 100% germination in 16 days)
  • No Dwarf Gray Sugar peas have sprouted behind the garage (total of 65 were planted – most likely due to the warmth of the house allowing for quicker germination for the bed next to the house)
  • 3 Green Goliath broccoli were planted in the front driveway garden (total of 6 now planted)
  • 3 Snowball X cauliflower were planted in the front driveway garden (total of 6 now planted)
  • 9 Simpson Elite lettuce were planted in the front driveway garden (total of 12 now planted)

April 17

  • Approximately 11 Dwarf Gray Sugar peas behind the garage have sprouted recently (out of 65 planted 18 days ago – 17% germination so far)
  • Temperature got to around 74 degrees with full sun today

April 18

  • Transplanted all California Wonder peppers and the three varieties of tomatoes to 16 ounce cups
  • Approximately 21 additional Dwarf Gray Sugar peas have sprouted behind the garage (19 days – 50% germination so far)
  • Temperature high was 70 degrees, fully cloudy and light sprinkles

April 19

  • Approximately 11 Dwarf Gray Sugar peas sprouted behind the garage (20 days – 66% germination so far)

April 20 (Exactly 3 weeks before 10% chance of last frost on May 11th)

  • Approximately 12 Dwarf Gray Sugar peas sprouted behind the garage (21 days – 85% germination so far)

April 22

  • 1 Dwarf Gray Sugar pea sprouted behind the garage (23 days – 86% germination so far)

April 23 (Average last frost date with a 50% chance of frost after this date)

  • 2 Dwarf Gray Sugar peas sprouted behind the garage (24 days – 89% germination so far)
  • 2 Green Goliath broccoli were planted in the front driveway garden (total of 8)
  • 2 Snowball X cauliflower were planted in the front driveway garden (total of 8)

April 24

  • 1 Dwarf Gray Sugar pea sprouted behind the garage (25 days – 91% germination so far)
  • Very warm day – about 82 – 84 degrees

April 25

  • A few Burpee A#1 carrots are sprouting (13 – 14 days)
  • 25 Crimson Giant radishes were planted between the onions and peas in the bed next to the house

April 27 (Exactly 2 weeks before 10% chance of last frost on May 11th)

  • Several (majority) of the Burpee A#1 carrots have sprouted (15 – 16 days)

April 29

  • Planted 252 Sugar Dots corn seed; mixture of seed of a year old and brand new seed
  • Approximately 313 Burpee A#1 carrots have sprouted (About 78% germination in 13 – 18 days)
  • 23 Crimson Giant radishes have sprouted in the bed next to the house (4 days – 92% germination)

May 2

  • Planted 8 California Wonder peppers in the front driveway garden
  • Seeded approximately 83 Bush Blue Lake 274 green beans in the front driveway garden – spaced 6 inches apart
  • Planted two each of the three types of tomatoes behind the garage at approximately two feet apart for the Roma and Best Boy and three feet apart for the Red Cherry tomatoes (Roma and Best Boy are determinate and will only grow so far – Red Cherry tomatoes are indeterminate and can continue to grow)

May 3

  • Planted 24 additional radishes between the onions and peas in the bed next to the house

May 4 (Exactly 1 week before 10% chance of last frost on May 11th)

May 6

  • Approximately 10 Sugar Dots corn have sprouted (8 days – 4% germination so far)

May 9 (First Harvest of lettuce and green onions)

  • Approximately 27 Sugar Dots corn have sprouted (11 days – 15% germination so far)
  • All 24 Crimson Giant radishes planted have sprouted (6 days – 100% germination)
  • Harvested one leaf of lettuce from each of 11 Simpson Elite lettuce plants (3 ounces)
  • Cut a few green onions that were bent over (1/4 ounce)

May 10

  • Approximately 5 Sugar Dots corn have sprouted; most that has sprouted is the new corn and not the seed that was a year old (12 days – 17% germination so far) 
  • Planted 3 Marketmore 76 and 3 Burpee Pickler cucumbers behind the garage
  • Planted 24 Crimson Giant radishes

May 11 (date of 10% chance of last frost)

  • Approximately 48 of 83 Bush Blue Lake 274 green beans have sprouted in the front driveway garden (9 days – 58% germination so far)
  • 1 Sugar Dots corn sprouted (13 days – 17% germination)

May 12

  • Approximately 3 Bush Blue Lake 274 green beans sprouted in the front driveway garden (10 days – 61% germination)
  • Harvested one leaf of lettuce from 11 Simpson Elite lettuce plants (3.75 ounces)

May 15

  • Most of the third set of Crimson Giant radishes have sprouted (5 days)
  • Planted the 42 Sugar Dots corn and seeded about 128 new Sugar Dots corn seed at the garden at the in-laws house 

May 16

  • Harvested 11 7/8 ounces of Simpson Elite lettuce

May 18

  • A healthy lettuce plant died – not sure of the cause as it was located in close proximity to all of the other lettuce.

May 21

  • Harvested 1 pound, 6 7/8 ounces of Simpson Elite lettuce

May 23

  • Planted 24 Crimson Giant radishes between the onions and peas in the bed next to the house

May 25

  • Most of the third set of Crimson Giant radishes have died (were planted on May 10th) – possibly due to sunlight problems or that they were planted too closely to the Dwarf Gray Sugar peas

May 26

  • Harvested 2 pounds, 6.75 ounces of Simpson Elite lettuce
  • Several Dwarf Gray Sugar peas have sprouted purple/white flowers
  • Harvested 7 Crimson Giant radishes from the first batch planted – 31 days
    • 9.75 ounces including foliage; 1 7/8 ounces without foliage (very poor)

May 29

  • One Tri-Star strawberry was picked

May 30

  • Harvested 1 pound, 8.25 ounces of Simpson Elite lettuce 

May 31

  • Harvested 6.75 ounces of Tri-Star strawberries 

June 5

  • Harvested a few Dwarf Gray Sugar peas (approximately 67 days from seeding)

June 7

  • Harvested 1 pound, 1 ounce of Tri-Star strawberries
  • Harvested 2 pounds, 2.5 ounces of Simpson Elite lettuce
  • Harvested 5.5 ounches (14) Crimson Giant radishes 
  • Three of the four potatoes in the potato bin have died
    • One that survived was growing faster than the other three
    • Most likely died because the potato plants were almost fully covered with soil
  • Only about 22 Sugar Dots corn (of the 128 seeded) have grown at the in-laws garden
  • Only about 11 Yukon Gold potatoes have grown at the in-laws garden

June 8

  • Harvested 5 1/8 ounces of Dwarf Gray Sugar Peas

June 9

  • Harvested 6.75 ounces of Tri-Star strawberries
  • Tied up the outer leaves of 1 Snowball X cauliflower plant as the curd is forming
  • A head on each of the 8 Green Goliath broccoli plants is forming
  • Tied up posts on each side of the Dwarf Gray Sugar peas and put string across
    • Peas are well over three feet tall (2-foot high chicken wire fencing was used to support the peas – and was placed about six inches from the ground)

June 10

  • Harvested 6 7/8 ounces of Dwarf Gray Sugar peas 

June 12

  • Harvested 5 1/4 ounces of Tri-Star strawberries

June 13

  • Created the PVC irrigation system and set for 30 minutes at 7 am every other day
    • While there are not further notes on this, 30 minutes was too long and was reduced to 15 minutes
    • Automatic timer was used on the bed beside the house and the bed behind the garage
    • A manual timer was used for the front driveway garden
  • Harvested 1 pound of Dwarf Gray Sugar peas

June 14

  • Harvested 2 pounds, 2 1/8 ounces of Simpson Elite lettuce
  • Harvested 2 pounds, 5 5/8 ounces (3) Green Goliath broccoli
    • 12 3/8 ounces
    • 13 5/8 ounces
    • 12 5/8 ounces

June 15

  • Harvested 1 pound (1) Snowball X cauliflower 

June 16

  •  Harvested 1 pound, 7 3/4 ounces (2) Green Goliath broccoli
    • 12 7/8 ounces
    • 10 7/8 ounces
  • Harvested 1 pound, 12 1/2 ounces of Dwarf Gray Sugar Peas

June 18

  • Harvested 2 pounds, 8 3/8 ounces of Dwarf Gray Sugar peas

June 19

  • Harvested 14 ounces of Dwarf Gray Sugar peas 
  • Harvested 3 1/2 ounces of Tri-Star strawberries

June 21

  • Harvested 1 pound, 5 7/8 ounces (2) Green Goliath broccoli
    • 11 1/8 ounces
    • 10 7/8 ounces
  • Harvested 1 pound, 9 5/8 ounces of Dwarf Gray Sugar peas

June 22

  • Harvested 4 7/8 ounces of Tri-Star straberres 

June 23

  • Harvested 7 1/2 ounces (1) Green Goliath broccoli (finished all broccoli)
  • Harvested 1 pound, 4 3/4 ounces of Snowball X cauliflower finished all cauliflower – only one good curd)
    • 1 ounce
    • 2 3/4 ounce
    • 3 3/8 ounce
    • 6 3/8 ounce
    • 7 3/8 ounce
  • Harvested 1 pound, 12 1/4 ounces of Dwarf Gray Sugar peas
  • All Snowball X cauliflower was pulled up and put on the compost pile
  • All Simpson Elite lettuce was pulled up and put on the compost pile (lettuce was very bitter)
  • The last week has been extremely hot – 90+ degrees\

June 26

  • Harvested 4 ounces of Tri-Star strawberries
  • Harvested 14 3/8 ounces of Bush Blue Lake 274 green beans (first harvest since planting 55 days ago)
  • Harvested 12 7/8 ounces of Dwarf Gray Sugar peas

June 27

  • Planted about 70 green beans in the front driveway garden where the broccoli/cauliflower/lettuce was (not sure if it was Bush Blue Lake 274 or Bush Blue Lake 74)

June 28

  • Harvested 15 7/8 ounces of Bush Blue Lake 274 green beans
  • Harvested 5 3/4 ounces of Tri-Star strawberries
  • Planted 96 Sugar Dots Corn in plastic six-pack containers (all new seed this year) 

June 29

  • Harvested 1 7/8 ounces of Dwarf Gray Sugar peas
  • Weather has cooled back down into the lower 80’s for the past few days and will for the rest of the week.  Was in the 90’s with heat indexes over 105 degrees for a week

June 30

  • Harvested 6 ounces of Tri-Star strawberries

July 1

  • Harvested 2 pounds, 1/8 ounce of Bush Blue Lake 274 green beans
  • Approximately 5 -7 green beans have sprouted (4 days – 9% germination so far)

July 2

  • Approximately 30 Sugar Dots Corn have sprouted (4 days – 31% germination so far) 
  • Approximately 30 green beans have sprouted so far (5 days – 43% germination so far)
  • Harvested 7 ounces of Tri-Star strawberries

July 3

  • Approximately 54 Sugar Dots Corn have sprouted (5 days – 88% germination so far) 
  • Planted 65 Peaches and Cream Corn in plastic six-pack containers
  • Planted approximatley 29 green beans where the others have not sprouted in the front driveway bed (not sure if it was Bush Blue Lake 274 or Bush Blue Lake 74)

July 4

  • Approximately 5 Sugar Dots Corn have sprouted (6 days – 93% germination so far)

July 5

  • Harvested 1 pound, 1 3/8 ounces of Tri-Star strawberries
  • Harvested 2 pounds, 2 3/8 ounces of Bush Blue Lake 274 green beans
  • Approximately 4 green beans have sprouted (8 days – 49% germination so far)

July 7

  • Harvested 14 1/8 ounces of Tri-Star strawberries
  • 28 Peaches and Cream Corn have sprouted (4 days – 43% germination so far)
  • Harvested 6 3/4 ounces of Dwarf Gray Sugar peas from behind the garage
    • Pea production has mostly stopped and therefore the Dwarf Gray Sugar peas behind the garage were tore down (also getting in the way of the growing tomato and plants)

July 8

  • 25 Peaches and Cream Corn have sprouted (5 days – 82% germination so far)

July 9

  • Harvested 11 5/8 ounces of Tri-Star strawberries
  • Harvested 1 pound, 10 ounces of Bush Blue Lake 274 green beans
  • Picked 10 3/8 ounces of Dwarf Gray Sugar peas beside the house (last harvest of peas for the year)
    • Pulled all of the Dwarf Gray Sugar peas out
  • 10 Peaches and Cream Corn have sprouted (6 days – 97% germination so far)

July 10

  • Planted approximately 37 green beans in the bed beside the house
    • 20 Bush Blue Lake 47
    • 17 Bush Blue Lake 274

July 13

  • Harvested 1 pound, 5 3/4 ounces of Tri-Star strawberries
  • Harvested 2 California Wonder peppers (first harvest of peppers this season)
    • 6 5/8 ounces
    • 2 ounces
  • Harvested 9 3/8 ounces of Bush Blue Lake 274 green beans
  • Harvested 1 7/8 ounces of Red Cherry tomatoes (7 total – first tomato to ripen)
  • Harvested approximately 18 pounds of the Burpee A#1 carrots (100% harvested – took about 106 days from seedling emergence to harvest)
  • Planted approximately 70 Bush Blue Lake 274 green beans in the 2 x 16 raised bed on the driveway (where the carrots were)

July 15

  •  Approximately 10 green beans sprouted in the garden next to the house – mostly all Bush Blue Lake 274 but no other data (5 days – 27% germination so far)

July 17

  • Harvested 11 7/8 ounces Bush Blue Lake 274 green beans
  •  Harvested 14 3/4 ounces of Tri-Star strawberries
  • Approximately 16 green beans have sprouted in the garden next to the house – mostly all Bush Blue Lake 274 but no other data (6 days – 43% germination so far)
  • Plans to plant the Sugar Dots and Peaches and Cream Corn fell through at the in-laws house after it was found to be a total loss.  The corn was root-bound in the six-packs and needed to be planted, so room was made
    • About 39 Sugar Dots corn was planted in the 2 x 16 raised bed on the driveway
    • About 24 Sugar Dots corn was planted in the front driveway garden
    • About 48 Peaces and Cream corn was planted in the garden next to the house
  • All yellow and white onions were harvested
    • 36 white onions – 5 pounds, 12 3/8 ounces
    • 28 yellow onions – 5 pounds, 11 1/4 ounces

July 19

  • Built a new 8 x 4 raised bed on the driveway next to the patio.  This will be used to transplant all of the green beans that were planted in the side garden and the 2 x 16 raised bed on the driveway where the corn had to be located
  • Approximately 25 Bush Blue Lake 274 beans sprouted in the 2 x 16 raised bed (6 days – 36% germination so far)

July 20

  • Harvested 1 pound, 1 7/8 ounces of Tri-Star strawberries
  • Harvested 4 5/8 ounces of Bush Blue Lake 274 green beans
  • Harvested 10 3/8 ounces (1) Best Boy Tomato (first harvest of Best Boy and seems to have ripened quicker than Roma)
  • Harvested 6 5/8 ounces of Red Cherry tomatoes

July 22

  • Harvested 13 1/2 ounces of Tri-Star strawberries

July 23

  • Harvested 3 pounds, 3 7/8 ounces (6) Best Boy tomatoes
  • Harvested 10 3/8 ounces of Red Cherry tomatoes
  • Harvested 10 1/2 ounces of Bush Blue Lake 274 green beans
  • Harvested 8 1/2 ounces of Tri-Star strawberries

July 24

  • Harvested 7 1/2 ounces of Tri-Star strawberries

July 26

  • Harvested 7 ounces (3) Roma tomatoes (first harvest of Roma – but last to ripen of the varieties of tomatoes) 
  • Harvested 7 3/8 ounces of Red Cherry tomatoes
  • Harvested 1 pound, 3 ounces of Tri-Star strawberries

July 28

  • Harvested 2 pounds, 12 1/4 ounces of Bush Blue Lake 274 green beans
  • Harvested 9 1/2 ounces of Tri-Star strawberries

July 29

  • Harvested 4 3/4 ounces (2) Roma tomatoes
  • Harvested 3 3/4 ounces of Red Cherry tomatoes
  • Harvested 5 3/4 ounces (1) Best Boy tomato

July 30

  • Harvested 1 pound, 7 1/8 ounces (2) of cucumbers (first cucumber harvest of the year – not sure but most likely was Marketmore 76 cucumbers)
  • Harvested 1 pound, 1/8 ounces (3) Best Boy tomatoes
  • Harvested 3 1/4 ounces (2) Roma tomatoes
  • Harvested 4 pounds, 11 1/4 ounces (15) California Wonder peppers

July 31

  • Harvested 1 pound, 1 ounce of Tri-Star strawberries
  • Harvested 1 pound, 1 1/4 ounces of Bush Blue Lake 274 green beans

August 2

  • Harvested 2 pounds, 3/4 ounce (3) Best Boy tomatoes
  • Harvested 7 ounces (3) Roma tomatoes
  • Harvested 1 5/8 ounces of Red Cherry tomatoes
  • Harvested 6 7/8 ounces of Tri-Star strawberries
  • Made 7 quarts of salsa
    • 12 pounds tomatoes
    • couple of shakes of oregano
    • 7 or 8 green peppers
    • food processor full of onions
    • 2 tablespoonds of salt
    • 1 tablespoon and 3 teaspoons of minced garlic
    • 3 tablespoons of chili powder
    • 2 teaspoons of pepper
    • 2 cups lemon juice
    • 4 – 6 ounce cans of tomato paste
  • Planted 21 Simpson Elite lettuce in the self-watering tray

August 3

  • Harvested 14 1/4 ounces of Bush Blue Lake 274 green beans

August 4

  • Harvested 11 7/8 ounces of Tri-Star strawberries
  • Harvested 2 pounds, 1 5/8 ounces (5) Best Boy tomatoes
  • Harvested 1 pound, 9 1/8 ounces (11) Roma tomatoes
  • Harvested 4 ounces of Red Cherry tomatoes

August 5

  • Harvested 3 pounds, 3/8 ounces of Bush Blue Lake 274 green beans
  • 13 Simpson Elite lettuce has sprouted (3 days – 62% germination so far)

August 6

  • Harvested 14 ounces of Tri-Star strawberries
  • Harvested 1 pound, 6 1/8 ounces (3) cucumbers 
  • Harvested 3 pounds, 8 ounces (6) Best Boy tomatoes
  • Harvested 1 pound, 13 1/2 ounces (13) Roma tomatoes
  • Harvested 3 7/8 ounces of Red Cherry tomatoes
  • 6 Simpson Elite leettuce has sprouted (4 days – 90% germination so far)

August 7

  • Harvested 1 pound, 7 7/8 ounces of Bush Blue Lake 274 green beans

August 8

  • Harvested 9 7/8 ounces of Tri-Star strawberries
  • Harvested 2 pounds, 3 5/8 ounces (4) Best Boy tomatoes
  • Harvested 1 pound, 2 3/8 ounces (10) Roma tomatoes
  • Harvested 3 ounces of Red Cherry tomatoes

August 10

  • Harvested 4 7/8 ounces of Tri-Star strawberries
  • Harvested 5 pounds, 7 7/8 ounces of Bush Blue Lake 274 green beans
  • Harvested 1 pound, 1 3/8 ounces (3) California Wonder peppers

August 11

  • Harvested 2 pounds, 8 3/4 ounces (4) cucumbers
  • Harvested 2 pounds, 11 5/8 ounces (21) Roma tomatoes
  • Harvested 5 1/8 ounces of Red Cherry tomatoes

August 12

  • Harvested 4 1/8 ounces of Tri-Star strawberries
  • Harvested 2 pounds, 11 1/2 ounces of Bush Blue Lake 274 green beans

August 13

  • Harvested 2 pounds, 15 3/8 ounces (10) California Wonder peppers 
  • Harvested 1 pound, 1 1/4 ounces (2) Best Boy tomatoes
  • Harvested 1 pound, 7 5/8 ounces (12) Roma tomatoes
  • Harvested 3 ounces of Red Cherry tomatoes

August 14

  • Harvested 2 pounds, 3 5/8 ounces of Bush Blue Lake 274 green beans

August 15

  • Harvested 1 pound, 6 1/4 ounces (3) Burpee Pickler cucumbers
  • Harvested 1 pound, 14 3/8 ounces (5) Best Boy tomatoes
  • Harvested 1 pound, 12 7/8 ounces (16) Roma tomatoes
  • Harvested 2 1/2 ounces of Red Cherry tomatoes

August 17

  • Harvested 5 pounds, 9 1/8 ounces of Bush Blue Lake 274 green beans (At this point, it has been about 50 days since the sowing of the second batch of green beans in the front garden and the second batch of green beans should start to produce)
  • Harvested 7 3/8 ounces (1) Burpee Pickler cucumber
  • Harvested 6 1/4 ounces (2) Best Boy tomatoes
  • Harvested 1 pound, 14 3/4 ounces (17) Roma tomatoes
  • Harvested 1 7/8 ounces of Red Cherry tomatoes

 

August 19

  • Harvested 1 pound, 1 3/8 ounces (3) Best Boy tomatoes
  • Harvested 1 pound, 10 7/8 ounces (14) Roma tomatoes

August 20

  • Harvested 7 7/8 ounces of Tri-Star strawberries
  • Harvested 3 pounds, 15 1/8 ounces of Bush Blue Lake 274 green beans

August 21

  • Harvested 1 pound, 2 3/4 ounces (2) Burpee Pickler cucumbers
  • Harvested 7 3/8 ounces (2) Marketmore 76 cucumbers
  • Harvested 1 pound, 1 ounce (9) Roma tomatoes
  • Harvested 9 3/8 ounces (2) Best Boy tomatoes
  • Canned 3 quarts of pickles using the Ball pickle mix
  • Canned 6 quarts of tomatoes

August 22

  • Harvested 11 3/8 ounces (3) California Wonder peppers (green/red picked; all peppers before this date were all picked as green peppers)
  • Harvested 2 7/8 ounces of Bush Blue Lake 274 green beans
  • Pulled up some of the original Bush Blue Lake 274 green beans at the northwest side of the front driveway garden and planted 12 Simpson Elite lettuce
  • Approximately 8 Sugar Dots Corn have begun pollination
    • Tassels were cut off for pollen to collect in a bucket
  • Pollinated 4 Sugar Dots Corn

August 23

  • Pollinated 2 Sugar Dots Corn
  • Harvested 14 ounces (4) Marketmore 76 cucumbers
  • Harvested 6 3/4 ounces (2) Best Boy tomatoes
  • Harvested 1 pound, 15 1/4 ounces (23) Roma tomatoes
  • Harvested 7/8 ounce of Red Cherry tomatoes
    • The second and last Red Cherry tomato plant was pulled up (not sure of the date of when the first was pulled)
  • Harvested 1 pound, 12 3/8 ounces of Bush Blue Lake 274 green beans

August 24

  • Pollinated 13 Sugar Dots Corn

August 25

  • Pollinated 17 Sugar Dots Corn

August 26

  • Harvested 4 1/2 ounces (1) California Wonder pepper
  • Harvested 1 pound, 7 7/8 ounces of Bush Blue Lake 274 green beans
  • Harvested 5 1/4 ounces of Tri-Star strawberries
  • Pollinated 8 Sugar Dots Corn
  • Harvested 1 pound, 11 7/8 ounces (20) Roma tomatoes
  • Harvested 4 7/8 ounces (2) Best Boy tomatoes

August 28

  • Pollinated 3 Sugar Dots Corn
  • Pollinated 4 Peaches and Cream Corn

August 29

  • Pollinated 6 Peaches and Cream Corn
  • Harvested 5 3/8 ounces (1) California Wonder pepper
  • Harvested 1 pound, 9 3/4 ounces Bush Blue Lake 274 green beans
  • Harvested 9 7/8 ounces (2) Burpee Pickler cucumbers
  • Harvested 1 pound, 1 3/4 ounces (12) Roma tomatoes
  • Pollinated a second ear on a Sugar Dots corn
  • Peaches and Cream corn is over 7 feet tall in the garden next to the house
    • Most of all the pollen has been released by the tassels and very few ears have put on silk to catch the pollen
  • Harvested 4 1/4 ounces (1) California Wonder pepper

August 30

  • Harvested 3 ounces (1) California Wonder pepper
  • Re-pollinated 12 Peaches and Cream Corn
  • Pollinated 2 Peaches and Cream Corn

August 31

  • Pollinated 1 Peachss and Cream Corn

September 2

  • Harvested 15 3/4 ounces of Bush Blue Lake 274 green beans
  • Pollinated 7 Peaches and Cream Corn
  • Harvested 5 3/8 ounces (2) Burpee Pickler cucumbers
  • Harvested 1 pound, 8 ounces (22) Roma tomatoes

September 3

  • Harvested 4 3/8 ounces (1) California Wonder pepper
  • Pollinated 2 Sugar Dots Corn
  • Pollinated 6 Peaches and Cream Corn

September 6

  • Rained yesterday and wet today – no corn pollination but about 15 need pollinated
  • Harvested 3 pounds, 8 ounces of green beans that were mostly in the new bed (combination of Bush Blue Lake 274 and Bush Blue Lake 74)
  • Harvested 11 /8 ounces (9) Roma tomatoes
  • Harvested 3 5/8 ounces (1) Burpee Pickler cucumber
  • Pollinated 10 Sugar Dots Corn

September 7

  • Marked 7 Peaches and Cream corn with the date – no pollen was available for pollination

September 8

  • Harvested 8 7/8 ounces (2) California Wonder peppers
  • Marked 3 Peaches and Cream corn with the date – no pollen was available for pollination

September 9

  • Harvested 2 pounds, 10 ounces of green beans
  • Harvested 3 7/8 ounces (1) California Wonder pepper
  • Harvested 4 3/4 ounces (1) Best Boy tomato
  • Harvested 15 ounces (14) Roma tomatoes
  • Harvested 1 ounce (1) Burpee Pickler cucumber

September 10

  • Harvested 4 3/8 ounces (1) California Wonder pepper

September 12

  • Harvested 8 7/8 ounces (2) California Wonder peppers
  • Harvested 2 pounds, 3/4 ounces of green beans

September 14

  • Harvested 1 pound, 1 3/4 ounces (4) California Wonder peppers
  • Picked Sugar Dots Corn
    • 4 that were pollinated on August 22
    • 2 that were pollinated on August 23
    • 13 that were pollinated on August 24
    • 1 that was pollinated on August 29 (Not good)
  • Overall, 3 pounds, 10 ounces (18) Sugar Dots corn were kept (out of 20)
    • Very bad, small ears
    • Corn was planted approximately 12 inches apart in rows and between rows
  • Tore down all Sugar Dots Corn stalks that did not produce a single ear
  • Picked 1 Peaches and Cream Corn that was pollinated on September 6 (Deer ate it)
  • Pulled down the two cucumber plants
  • Pulled down the Roma tomato plants
  • Pulled up one Kennebec potato plant that was planted right next to a Roma tomato plant
    • Yielded 2 pounds, 13 3/8 ounces of potatoes

September 15

  • Harvested 3 pounds, 1 1/4 ounces of green beans

September 16

  • Harvested 1 pound, 4 5/8 ounces (6) California Wonder peppers

September 17

  • Harvested 1 pound, 5 7/8 (4) California Wonder peppers
  • Picked Sugar Dots Corn
    • 17 that were pollinated on August 25
    • 7 that were pollinated on August 26
    • 1 that was pollinated on August 28
  • Only 13 out of 25 picked were productive and had kernels; 2 pounds, 4 7/8 ounces

September 19

  • Harvested 3 pounds of green beans

September 20

  • Picked Peaches & Cream Corn – 2 pounds, 4 3/8 ounces – total of 9 out of 12 picked were productive
    • 1 that was pollinated on August 26
    • 5 that were pollinated on August 28
    • 6 that were pollinated on August 29

 

September 21

  •  Harvested 1 pound, 11 7/8 ounces (6) California Wonder peppers

September 22

  • Harvested 1 pound, 14 1/2 ounces of Peaches and Cream Corn – all 9 were productive
    • 1 that was pollinated on August 28
    • 2 that were pollinated on August 30
    • 1 that was pollinated on August 31
    • 5 that were pollinated on September 1

September 23

  • Harvested 1 pound, 15 5/8 ounces of green beans

September 24

  • Harvested 1 pound, 15 ounces (8) California Wonder peppers

September 26

  • Harvested 2 pounds, 8 3/8 ounces of Peaches and Cream Corn – all 13 were productive
    • 7 that were pollinated on September 2
    • 6 that were pollinated on September 3
  • Harvested 11 5/8 ounces (3) California Wonder peppers
  • Harvested 2 pounds, 8 3/8 ounces of green beans
  • Pulled out all of the Bush Blue Lake 274 green beans from the front driveway garden 

September 28

  • Harvested all remaining corn – 1 pound, 8 7/8 ounces – total of 12 “good” ears
    • 8 that were pollinated on September 6
    • 7 that were pollinated on September 7
    • 2 that were polinated on September 8

September 30

  • Harvested 3 1/8 ounces of green beans
  • Harvested 10 3/8 ounces (4) California Wonder peppers

October 5

  • Harvested 11 1/8 ounces (2) Best Boy tomatoes

October 7

  • Harvested 1 pound, 8 3/4 ounces (7) California Wonder peppers
  • Harvested 4 3/4 ounces of Simpson Elite lettuce (first batch of lettuce for the fall crop – very bad production and the lettuce plants did not grow as vigorous as they did in the spring)

October 11

  • Harvested California Wonder peppers (no note on the weight)
  • Night temperatures are very close to freezing over the past few nights

October 12

  • Harvested 11 pounds, 10 ounces of Kennbec potatoes in the potato bed next to the house 
  • Harvested 2 pounds, 2 3/8 ounces of potatoes from the potato bin (only one plant survived and all of the potatoes produced were in the very top portion of the bin.  Bin was about 2.5 feet tall and the potato stemp was fully rotted about a foot down)

October 20

  • Harvested 9 pounds, 3/4 ounce (42) California Wonder peppers (last harvest of the year)

October 25

  • Harvested 4 7/8 ounces of Simpson Elite lettuce 

November 8

  • Found one Kennebec potato in the potato bed beside the house – 15 3/8 ounces
  • Harvested 3 1/2 ounces of Simpson Elite lettuce

November 26

  • Harvested 4 3/8 ounces of Simpson Elite lettuce
    • The lettuce has sustained several nights below freezing and hard frosts 

2009 Journal Notes

  • Last frost date was earlier than typical; about a 75% chance of frost after the April 7th week
  • Extremely hot temperatures early June.  August and September were cooler than typical
  • Began storing seed in the refrigerator this year; seed that was a year old was not stored in these conditions and therefore was hampered
  • Putting out seeds extra early (such as the peas) did not gain any additional benefit because the soil needed to warm up before germination occurred
  • Using the heat mat to start some seedlings (was used for only peppers this year) is beneficial and helps germination by around 4 days.  House temperature ranged from 60 to 64 degrees typically
  • The radishes do not grow well at all unless they have direct sunlight. They were in the garden next to the house where they didn’t get very much sunlight and there was an extremely poor harvest from them
  • The garden at the in-laws house was abandoned.  Germination rates and growth quality suffered severely
    • Most likely because the soil is very hard and full of clay – was very hard to even till a small area to plant potatoes
  • Even though you can buy “dwarf” varieties of peas, don’t plan on them staying small.  Dwarf Gray Sugar peas grew to at least four feet tall – and even taller if there was additional support.
  • Blanching (boiling) of vegetables before placing in freezer storage was a complete waste.
    • The peas became very hard and frozen together, were flimsy, and lost their color and flavor.  Peas that were not blanched were crisp, had better flavor, and were not frozen together
    • Broccoli and cauliflower that were not blanched before freezing was fine.  However, the broccoli and cauliflower needed to be immediately cooked and used – if it was put in the refrigerator to thaw, they had a very foul smell and tasted bad
  • While not noted in the above log, only one each of the Marketmore 76 and Burpee Pickler cucumbers germinated out of the three each that were planted 12 inches apart from each other.
  • Germination for Bush Blue Lake 274 was superior to the more expensive Bush Blue Lake 74 seed that was purchased.  The Bush Blue Lake 74 seed was more expensive because it was noted as a “customer favorite” from Burpee.
  • Although there were 6 more white onions over yellow onions harvested, the weight was within 2 ounces and therefore it seems that the yellow onions produced better.
  • The Red Cherry tomatoes succumed to a disease (most likely fusarium wilt) very early in the season and produced horrendously.  One of the two plants was pulled up mid-way through the season because it was almost fully dead – and the other plant was pulled up a few weeks after.
  • The Best Boy and Roma tomatoes also suffered from wilt.  It did not affect the fruit, but the leaves from the bottom-up were turning yellow and then brown.  The Roma plants held up better than the Best Boy plants, however.