Gardening Books: Crockett's Victory Garden

Crockett's Victory Garden
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

Written 28 years ago and discovered last summer in the depths of my parents' basement, this is my primary gardening resource. It's wonderful. Jim Crockett is to Michael Weishan as The Sugar Hill Gang is to Kanye West. He was the original host of the Victory Garden and blazed a trail for subsequent hosts including the homeless-looking dude with a beard and the current host who's a bit irritating.

1977 was a different time indeed. Carter was president and was urging Americans everywhere to swaddle themselves in wool in an effort to stick it to OPEC. We were making peanuts while Jimmy was growing them. And, judging by Crockett's book, pesticide use wasn't too big of deal back then. He loves the stuff. Slap it on some bread, rub it on your face, and gulp it down, because Crockett seems convinced that there truly can be better living through chemistry. Despite warning readers not to eat food from pesticide-treated plants for up to 14 days (scary!), he seems quite comfortable with pesticides, some of which (see Diazinon) have been later banned by the EPA.

Crockett's pesticide evangelism aside, this is a fabulous book. Laid out by the month, instead of by plant, this book provides a nice summary of the challenges each month poses. Crockett writes with a friendly tone and never pretends to be God's gift to gardeners. His passages about his failures are perhaps the best parts of the book.

As a bonus, he has lots of pictures, all of which seem to have been shot on the set of Three's Company. While I have yet to spy my erstwhile TV buddies, Jack Tripper and Chrissy Snow, in the pictures, they are fun to look at. My fav shot is on page 182, when Crockett boils compost, not as a prank but because he wants to pasteurize it. Sweet.

In summation: this is a great book. It has loads of useful information. Skip your copy of the New York Times for a day and buy this book. Used copies go for $0.75.

Late Delta, Rome, NY

Late Delta, Rome, NY
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

No. Upstate New York is not the Grange and the Grange is not Upstate New York. Nevertheless...

Constructed in the early 20th century as part of an effort to ensure a constant supply of water to support barge traffic on the Erie Canal, Lake Delta covers a little more than 4 square miles. Built on the headwaters of the Mohawk River, five miles north of Rome, New York proper, the lake, which is held back by an 1,100 foot dam, has an average depth of about 23 feet. The lake bears the name of the town which was razed during construction. A 1904 USGS map clearly shows the town of Delta and the valley which now holds the present-day Lake Delta.

Killing Freeze Arrives on November 11, Ending Growing Season

St. Paul's Cemetery
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

On November 11 temperatures dipped below freezing for several hours, choking the remaining life out the grange, and marking the end of a productive and enjoyable season.

Over the weekend, I performed a few last chores out in the garden and will soon be making plans for the spring. The lettuce and spinach continue to grow and might make it to Thanksgiving.

Between now and then, photos not necessarily related to gardening or the grange will fill the pages of the blog, serving as reminders of warmer weather.

Bright Colors and Freezing Nights

Autumn upon St. Paul's Cemetary
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

Aside from the marvelous fall foliage, it's been a slow week in the grange. Had plans to pull up the tomatoes and clean out the containers, but those were dashed given how busy I've been.

Last weekend, we harvested just about all of the lettuce and spinach and had a huge salad of mixed greens. It was tasty as all get out. As an experienment, we left behind a few leaves to see if the plants would keep growing. Sure enough, the lettuce and spinach bounced back and will probably provide at least one more salad.

Now that the season's just about over there are a few last items that need to be taken care of in order to put the garden to bed for winter. The garden bed needs to be weeded, the hoses taken in, tools put away, dead plants removed from containers, and finally, rinsing out old containers.

Quick Snowfall Marks End of Growing Season

Snowfall
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

Yesterday afternoon, as temperatures hovered near freezing, a dusting of wet snow signaled the end of the growing season for almost all of the plants in the grange.

While temperatures have yet to actually dip below freezing, it's probably safe to assume that the all of the flowers, basil, and tomatoes have packed it up for the season. The lettuce and spinach should keep growing for a little while longer however.

Lessons Learned: Lettuce

Romaine, Day 53
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

We've learned a thing or two about growing lettuce this season. Having grown a looseleaf variety like Black-Seeded Simpson and a head-lettuce variety like Romaine, each plant requires different levels of attention.

Black-Seeded Simpson is a very delicate plant. It likes cool weather and did not grow well this fall. Heavy rainfall is particularly damaging to the plant, causing it to droop and hang low the ground, which invites leaf rot and pests. Consider providing some sort of protection if rain is forecast. Making two or three small harvests rather than waiting for one large harvest seems to take weight off the main stem and allows the plant to remain upright. Next spring, we'll plant several containers of Black-Seeded Simpson. The cooler weather will likely make a big difference. The best part about this plant is its wonderfully delicate taste and texture. It's unlike anything found in big supermarkets.

Romaine, on the other hand, is a lot easier to grow. (Actually, the pictured lettuce may not be romaine. This plant grew from seed labeled Boston Bibb. Obviously the seed company made a mistake, so I'm not too sure what variety this is.) While it does take more time to reach maturity, it is far more resistant to the weather and requires less maintenance. As with the Black-Seeded Simpson, this plant grew better in the spring than in the fall.

Fall Flowers

Fall Flowers
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

It's hard to say when these flowers emerged. It could have been anytime since last week. Aside from stumbling around the yard in a Grateful Dead tye-dye and black denim slacks, drunk, yelling at feral cats who relentlessly taunt and judge me, I haven't been outside much because of the rains (and the increasingly caustic rhetoric of the cats).

These are some good looking flowers and are some sort of daisy, perhaps chrysanthemum leucanthemum or ox-eye daisy. They typically bloom in early-fall and might stay in bloom through month's end.

Mailbag: The Grange and You, Arm & Arm We Walk to Unknown Adventures

Leaves
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

Question: Are you saying the Grange is kaput for the season?

Answer: Far from it. There are a few weeks left in the growing season, so there will be lots of stuff to talk about, at least until the first hard freeze.

After that, the plan is to write about the lessons learned and preparations made for winter and the following spring. By November or so, the number of posts will surely dwindle. Things should pick back up by the first week of March. Thanks for the question! There are lots of topics in the works, so please keep reading!

The photo was taken about two weeks ago, about an hour before sunset.

Under Tupperware Skies

Departing Storm
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

Capping off eight straight days of rain, this weekend brought nearly six additional inches of rain to the grange. Few things hold up well to a half-foot of rain, not to mention the 40 mph winds left in the storm's wake. The marigolds have just about had it and the tomatoes look downright haggard, which is probably for the best because the neighbors are starting to talk, bandying about words like eyesore, public nuisance, and ship box. Why they think my plants have anything to do with shipping is beyond me.

Stormy Early-Fall Weather

Black-Seeded Simpson, Day 46
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

As the front moved through and the winds swung around to the north, temperatures fell almost twenty degrees in less than two hours. Three-and-a-half inches of rain over the past two days combined with a forecast of rain through the end of the week certainly presents a fair number of challenges.

Delicate plants like black-seeded simpson don't stand up well to heavy rain. An old window frame provides plenty of protection and is big enough to shelter two plants. As seen in the picture, the plant outside the window has been beat up by the rain while the other plant remains vigorous.

The romaine (not pictured) withstands the weather considerably better than the black-seeded simpson, but it too has started to droop from all the water.

Black-seeded simpson is an heirloom variety of lettuce and has been around for well over 150 years. It has a very light taste and delicate texture.

Bolting Spinach & Tossed Tomatoes

Early-October Tomatoes
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

Although warm weather is great, it does make it difficult to grow cool-weather crops. The spinach has recently started to bolt.

A fickle crop to begin with, Spinach likes cool weather and will bolt in the heat. Spinach has two life-cycles: the vegetative stage and the bolting stage. During the vegetative stage Spinach puts out tasty leaves, which emerge from the base of the plant.

The onset of heat, however, causes Spinach to send up a seed stalk (bolting). During this phase the leaves become pointy, the stem grows rapidly, and taste deteriorates. When the plant bolts, the leaves should be promptly harvested and eaten.

In other news, high winds last week tossed three tomato plants. If this hadn't happened before, it would've been fairly traumatic. But, tomato plants are resilient. After a quick pep-talk and affirmation session, they were set right-side up and were no worse for wear. The picture above is of a plant that took a header. Just look at all the tomatoes it has.

Global Warming A-OK: Grange Experiences Warmest Two-Month Period in 121 Years

Pollination
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

The average temperature of 68.9 F over the past eight weeks marks the warmest August/September in 121 years. The warm weather allowed the tomatoes and flowers to keep producing. In fact, the bees are still out and pollinating. Getting the growing season to last until early November looks encouraging.

Black Seeded Simpson: Day 37

Black Seeded Simpson
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

Now that the hot weather has passed, the cool-weather crops like this lettuce and as well as the spinach are starting to come along. Growing lettuce in the fall has been harder than expected. The heat really made things difficult, especially considering how warm September was. One major problem was wilting. No more how much protection the plants had, once the heat of the day set in, these plants tended to wilt and droop.

Another challenge has been getting adequate sunlight. With the sun rising lower in the sky with each passing day, surrounding trees cast more shade, which wasn't a problem back in July and August because the sun was higher in the sky. Additionally, the low angle in the spring wasn't much of a difficulty because the trees had yet to bloom, so there was not much shade.

Nevertheless, with cooler weather to stay and at least several more weeks of the growing season left, these plants should produce enough to harvest at least a few good salads.

Rose of Sharon

Rose of Sharon
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

Situated in the front yard, the landlady planted this, but, gosh darnit, I watered the thing all summer so it rightly deserves an honorary spot on the grange. Hibiscus syriacus is the scientific name although the popular name, "Rose of Sharon," can refer to any of several plants. This is a hardy plant and puts out nice-looking flowers in late summer and early autumn. When it's not in bloom, it's not much to look it, however.

An Update Upon Fall's Arrival

Early Fall Early Morning Colors
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

Fall arrived sometime this afternoon, well after "The View" but before "Days of our Lives."

Although it is about a week until October and candy corn, the tomato plants keep growing, despite the rapidly shortening days, cooler weather, and weaker sun. For the first time since late July, with yarn in hand, I tied up several stems of new growth. New flowers are emerging and fruit still sets. Once the cooler weather returns for good, the plants will likely head south, never to return. By Columbus Day, surely these plants will have stopped yielding anything meaningful.

What's good for the tomato's goose is not good for the lettuce's gander. As the tomato plants bask in the warmth of early Autumn, the lettuce weeps and droops. This is certainly caused by the heat. After a cool night the plants look bright-eyed and bushy tailed but soon fade by mid-afternoon. Saturday's high temp of 66 should put these plants in their climatological sweet spot.

In other parts of the garden, the basil keeps plugging along while many of the flowers -- especially the petunias and zinnias -- have largely packed it in for the season. The chives look really good, but they might be phoning it in as they haven't done much over the past few weeks. They've got a long stretch of rough weather ahead of them as they'll be spending winter on the grange outdoors. (More on this in later posts.)

Incidentally, the picture at right was taken in the front yard yesterday morning.

Spinach Update: Leafminer Control

Spinach, Day 43
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

It if weren't for the leafminers, we'd be enjoying this spinach. Nevertheless, the plant is on the mend now that some leafminer controls are in place. To head off future infestations, each leaf is quickly inspected for leafminer eggs, which are almost always on the underside of the leaf. Any eggs are easily whisked off with a finger.

If any leafminers make it inside the plant, they can be squished while actually in the leaf. You'll be able to feel them inside. Of course, that leaf shouldn't be eaten but it doesn't have to be removed either.

Overall, this approach seems to be working. A few leaves look less than edible but the new growth appears to be leafminer free. Big up.

Enter the Dragon: Serpentine Spinach Leafminer

Spinach Leafminer, Serpentine
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

Sometimes it seems like I'm doing nothing more than creating really swell plants for insects to gnaw on. Hearken back to Wednesday's post bragging about my spinach where I was all:

"My spinach brings all the neighbors to the yard,
And they're like 'It's better than yours'
Damn right, It's better than yours..."

Well, actually, that post was written on Sunday, filed away, and posted on Wednesday. Between Sunday and today, the leafminers hit.

The spinach leafminer (pegomya hyoscyami) starts out as tiny eggs on the underside of a leaf. They hatch, burrow into the leaf, and hang out like it's the Old Country Buffet on social security check day. While considered to be one of the most destructive pests known to spinach, other sources say, over the long term, they rarely injure the plant. Leafminers are easily recognized by the marks they leave. Some are serpentine (see photo above) while others are blotchy and oddly translucent.

For the small-time, Bartles & Jaymes sippin' gardener, they can be controlled by removing the eggs as they appear. Infected leaves should be removed and thrown into the neighbor's yard. You can also squish the larva while it's actually in the leaf, perhaps mentally noting not to eat that leaf come harvest time. Row covers or some other sort of garden cloth will prevent adult leafminers from depositing eggs.

Life on the grange is, indeed, wild and woolly.

Spinach, Day 35

Spinach, Day 35
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

35 days into it and this plant is really looking sharp. It's responded to its move into a semi-shaded area with lots of vigorous new growth. See what the plant looked like nine days earler.

The seeds came from Burpee and are called, "Spinach Salad Fresh." Bizarre name aside, it's described as a bolt-tolerant, semi-Oriental variety that stands up well to harsh weather for a long, high-yield growing season. We shall see, Burpee.

"Suckering" Tomato Plants

Late-Summer Cherry Tomatoes, Day 110
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

Here's a cluster of big, late-summer cherry tomatoes, day 110. These are from a plant I continually "suckered," which means that I repeatedly sold it junky cars at an over-inflated prices through craigslist in the hope that it'll never be able to find me when the wheels falls off.

Actually, suckering is the process of removing extra growth in an attempt to keep one continuous mainline stem. The idea is that this allows the plant to devote more nutrients toward the fruit at the expense of overall yield. Think: quality over quantity. Suckering helps to keep the plant manageable. This is important if the plant is grown in a container. In some plants, suckers bear fruit while in others they do not. Suckers usually appear not at the tips of the plant but lower down in areas where the growth has already happened. Here's a page about how to prune tomato plants.

The alternative, letting the plant grow naturally like a bush, may result in a larger yield but perhaps smaller fruit. All of this is highly debatable, however.

Anecdotally, tomatoes from suckered plants on the grange have been larger but there have been fewer of them. The unpruned plant produced gobs of tomatoes, but most of them have been small. Then again, this might be because the extra growth drained nutrients from the container faster than the suckered plants did. Either way, you can't go wrong. For more gardening tips, see the rest of my blog. In particular, here's a post about how to grow tomatoes in containers.

Black Seeded Simpson, Day 19

Black Seeded Simpson
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

Apparently this is one of the best-selling varieties of leaf lettuce over the past 150 years. It's an heirloom vegetable, which must mean it has some quasi-historical significance, much like a '72 Ford Gran Torino with antique plates. Sure, it's an old car, but, antique? C'mon, now.

Nevertheless, it's an heirloom variety and it's growing pretty well. As with most seedlings in the grange, it looks a little top heavy but it should straighten up. It's a cool-weather plant so the next few days of 90 degree weather will certainly be a challenge. With plenty of water and a little shade, it should pull through.

Yellow Marigolds

Yellow Marigolds
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

Oddly enough, the marigolds are doing better now than ever before. Pinching back dead flowers when they appear has kept this plant looking great. Marigolds are really easy to take care of and bugs seem to avoid them like I avoid the five-oh.

Did you know? The petals of the Pot Marigold (Calendula officinalis) are known to cure skin problems from burns to acne. Yeah, even still, I think I'll stick with with my tub of Proactiv. I'm really quite happy with it. Seriously, ask anyone in homeroom. They'll tell you.

Early-September Update

Tomato Harvest
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

What an interesting time late summer is. Sure, temperatures are leaning toward the cooler end of the dial and the days are noticeably shorter, but how the plants have reacted is nothing short of, well, interesting.

Moving over into the slow lane, the tomato plants seem to be getting ready to make an exit by month's end. Who can blame them? Outside since May 22, they've done an admirable job, surviving searing heat and several storms.

The lettuce and spinach are thriving, however. By mid-September, we'll be able to harvest some of the spinach, and, if it's anywhere near as frost-tolerant as folks say it is, we'll be enjoying fresh spinach easily through the end of October. After that, there probably won't be enough sunlight to sustain growth, what with all the trees around the grange. To help everything along, a fresh dose of Miracle-Gro was applied early this morning.

Pictured is a fairly typical daily harvest. While we no longer see daily yields like that (this was taken back in early August), we can still get a similar harvest every four or five days.

Heavy Rains Cause Several Tomatoes to Split

Split Tomato
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

Nearly an inch of rain spread over two days caused many tomatoes to split earlier last week. Caused by a sudden change in watering practices, the tomatoes were unable to handle the influx of water -- and resulting new growth -- and burst under the pressure. While perhaps unsightly, the tomatoes are, in fact, still good to eat.

Spinach, Day 26

Spinach
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

The spinach is finally beginning to show signs of life now that cooler weather is here. During the recent hot weather these plants went limp and appeared to be treading the line between life and death. With cooler temperatures, the spinach has perked up and is doing much better. To help it through the remaining hot weather, it now hangs out under the canopy of tomato plants, which provides excellent shade. The seed packet says that within about 45 days the plant should be ready for harvest. It'll probably take a bit longer considering how much the hot weather slowed its growth. However long it takes, it'll be worth it.

On Growing Basil

Basil
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

Basil is easy to grow and just about the only plant that's been nice enough to give me a real sense of accomplishment.

We've grown basil from seed, tended to a neighbor's established plant, and transplanted a plant from the supermarket. Although difficult to control for differences in soil, the plants grown from seed are the strongest. Pictured here, these plants are hearty and grow like weeds. Growing from seeds allows you to select the strongest plants through successive thinning.

Lacking a good basil taste, the plant from the grocery store is a disappointment. It grows slowly and often looks anemic. Given how easy it is to grow from seed, we'll likely sow all of our basil next year.

Basil likes, nay, loves hot weather. It also likes to be on the dry side. Be sure not to over water it and grow it in well-drained soil. Our best basil grows in a small, plastic planter box that can't be more than 6 or 8 inches deep. Paired with fresh tomato and a little olive oil, it's absolutely wonderful.

Finally, pinch off any buds that pop up. Once seeds have formed the plant will stop producing new growth, thinking that it's accomplished its reproductive mission.

Fun With Invasive Plants: Hops

Hops
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

Well, isn't this a treat! A neighbor of mine -- the one with a dog the size of a Shetland Pony -- is growing hops and they've jumped the border into the Grange. With open arms, we welcome you, Hops, and are proud to call you our comrades in arms.

Back in day, before stores would lawfully sell me beer, I dabbled with home brewing, which is fun but a ton of work. Milling your own flour could be a lot of fun, too, but, then again, why fire up the ol' grist mill when you could have a bag for a dollar?

Neat fact: "Wild hops are also relished by cows, horses, goats, sheep, and pigs." Looks like someone just figured out why that dang dog next door is the size of small Volkswagen. Interestingly enough, despite the dog's demonic physical proportions, he's surprisingly well-behaved, which figures because "dried female buds have a high methylbutenol content, which has a mild sedative effect on the central nervous system; it is used in the treatment for insomnia, tensions and anxiety." Quotes courtesy of Wikipedia.

Garden Update, Late August

Marigold
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

This past week revealed the first hint of changing seasons as overnight temperatures bottomed out in the high 50s, a number probably not seen since June. The sun isn't as high in the sky anymore and it tends to cast more shade on the garden.

Nevertheless, the plants look pretty good. Tomatoes keep putting out lots of fruit. The basil looks wonderful and has really taken off with the drier weather. All of the Marigolds filled out, but the petunias and zinnias haven't fared quite as well.

Phlox

Phlox
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

About two-and-a-half feet tall and in bloom for the past few weeks, these flowers look and smell wonderful. They actually smell like Flonase, if that's a useful reference point for you. While I wish I could take credit for these plants, my landlady planted these some years ago and faithfully tends to them. From me they merely get some water and the occasional nod.

Cooking on the Grange: Grilled Pizza

Finished Pizza
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

Here's the finished product. It's incredibly tasty and fairly simple to make, especially if using supermarket dough. This is a great recipe for using up all of those garden-grown tomatoes and basil.

Cooking on the Grange: Grilled Pizza; Toppings

Ingredients
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

Light toppings seem to work best on grilled pizza. Instead of tomato sauce, cherry tomatoes seem to work well. Asiago cheese is a better choice than mozzarella, which tends to be overpowered by smokiness of the grill.

Once assembled, cook the pizza for another 5 to 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the crust is nicely browned.

Cooking on the Grange: Grilled Pizza; Cooking the Dough

Pizza Dough Stage 1
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

Dust the stone with some cornmeal and lightly drape the dough on the pizza stone. Place the cover on the grill and bake for about 5 minutes or so. Check the dough after a few minutes in case in case it has to be defalated. Cooking the dough before adding any toppings will help keep it crispy.

Cooking on the Grange: Grilled Pizza; Setting Up the Grill

Pizza Stone
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

Arrange your charcoal using an indirect set-up. This means putting your charcoal off to the sides so that the grill functions more like an oven.

Once the charcoal ashes over *gently* place a pizza stone on top of the grate and let it heat up for 20 minutes or so. Using a stone buys you a lot of time. Instead of frantically flipping doughs and sliding them around every 30 seconds, the even and measured heat of the stone buys you a lot of time. The crust comes out nicely browned and crispy.

Cooking on the Grange: Grilled Pizza; Making the Dough

Pizza Dough
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

The following series of posts detail a novel way for making grilled pizza.

Grilled pizza seems to be as popular as all get out, but after attempting it several times my pizzas always ended up burned. The conventional way calls for making it directly over a bed of coals, which means that you've got about a 20 second window between undercooked and charred.

To start, you need some good dough. Supermarkets sell raw dough for a buck or two and it'll render a pretty good pizza. Or you can make your own using,

1 C Water
2-2.5 C Bread Flour
1 tbsp. Olive Oil
1.5 tsp. Kosher Salt
2.25 tsp. active dry yeast

This seems to be a good starting point for pizza dough. Everything is approximate. Making dough is often more art than science. The goal is to create a fairly hydrated "wet" dough that'll be easy to stretch into thin pizzas. It's too hard to acurately describe what the perfect consistency is, but if you are a beginner, it'll probably be "wetter" than you think it should be. A rolling pin is quite useful in rolling out a super thin crust. The recipe above should easily be enough for four to five personal pizzas, provided that they are all quite thin.

Spinach Seedlings, Day 11

Spinach Seedlings
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

Planted a week-and-a-half-ago, these seedlings took five days to germinate. To help things along the container was placed in the basement where the temperature is more or less constant. Of the eight seeds sown, four sprouted and three are alive today. By mid-September the first of the spinach should be ready for harvest.

It's Tomatoes All the Way Down

Supersweet 100s, Day 79
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

Right on time. Three weeks deep into the season and the granger is just starting to get sick of these little guys. Even the wounded plants put out tomatoes like they were going out of style. (see photo at right.)

Fun with Backyard Insects: Tomato Hornworm

The tomato hornworm, which blossoms into the ever so lovely five-spotted hawk moth, is the largest caterpillar found in these here parts. If this thing got any bigger I'd have to throw a leash on it and toss it a Frisbee.

Some people love these critters so much they'll even eat them for dinner. Remember folks, "[take] care not to rupture the cuticles of each insect under high heat." Doing so just might uncork a whole mess of tasty odors. See more photos here.

Fun with Backyard Insects: Bee

Even though the backyard grange is in a predominantly urban setting, bees abound and help pollinate our tomatoes, squash and flowers.

There are over 16,000 described species, and possibly around 30,000 species in total. Bees carry an electrostatic charge, which aids in gathering pollen. More information on bees can be found here.

Squash Plant Dies, Age 76 Days

Just when things were looking up, beetles appear to have attacked the very base of the plant, choking off life for this once grand plant. Godspeed, squash plant.

We get very little feedback here, so when any comments do come in, it's a banner day. Here's a moving elegy of sorts from an inspired reader...

Squash is the color of yellow mustard.
The kind I like on my boiled hotdogs.
The beetles have gotten Ted flustered,
the squash are thought of while writing this blog.

Container Garden - Second Week of August

Container Garden - 8/8/2005
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

Damage from Friday's storm is readily apparent in this picture. The plant on the far right as well as the plant on the far left collapsed. They were pruned back heavily and restaked. Despite almost snapping in two, these plants seem to be doing okay now and continue to send up suckers.

Although difficult to see in the picture, the rearmost plant survived intact and is doing very well. Using bungee cords and fastening four stakes to the outside of the bucket, we've been able to fashion a makeshift cage, which provides plenty of structural support.

Boston's First Freeze Date Calculated

November Snowfall
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

Twenty years of climate data from the National Weather Service shows that the grange typically gets hits with its first freeze on or about November 9th. Since 1985, the earliest freeze came on October 23 while the latest didn't get here until November 23, however, by that time surely the lack of light and near-freezing temperatures had all but closed the growing season.

Trouble on the Grange: Buffeted by Winds, Some Plants Break From Supports, Two Feared Dead

Fallen Tomatoes
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

High winds today got the better of two tomato plants, both of the Supersweet 100 variety. Gusting to over 20 mph, the winds proved to be too much for the stakes, which broke on two plants causing them to topple over. Within an hour a rescue plan was underway. Consisting of yards upon yards of yarn and new, sturdier plastic stakes instead of the bamboo which had cracked, the plants were carefully restaked and radically pruned.

"Pruning these majestic plants was heartbreaking," said a spokesperson. He continued to say that the fallen plants were severely cut back in an effort to preserve the integrity of the mainline stems. "We hope that by removing some vegetation, the plants will have less weight to support. With any luck, this will save the season."

Preventative measures were taken with two other plans even though they had not fallen down. Given how far off center they were leaning, it made sense to aggressively prune them back. "It's akin to amputating a limb to save a life," the spokesman explained.

Currently, the plants are in rough shape but are expected to rebound. Estimates of tomato production have fallen greatly, but it remains too soon to tell just how severe the impact will be.

One plant, another supersweet 100, however, withstood the winds quite well and was not pruned. Instead, it received several more supports. The next few days will be critical. Cooler temperatures and light winds should make recovery easier.

After Being Lead Astray, Summer Squash Returns to the Flock (and Resumes Bountiful Ways)

Summer Squash - Day 70
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

The veritable Clydesdale of the gardening world, the squash keeps plugging along, faithful as ever. Whether it was the shot of penicillin in its butt or discovering Jesus, the plant appears to have finally overcome a rather persnickety bout of rot.

Went to the equivalent of an organic 7-11 today (think: tofurkey instead of slim jim) and saw some pitiful looking squash being sold for a $1.50 a pop. Yowsa! The store was a big yawn in that everything was overpriced and the clerks had more angst than a 1000 misunderstood teens at a Korn concert.

Container Garden - 1st Week of August

Container Garden - 1st Week of August
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

Much like this blog, nothing too exciting has happened this week. The tomato plants keep putting out more and more fruit but still have yet to hit their stride. Within a week or two, there should be a tsunami of tomatoes.

Although the basil was growing quite well, I killed a bunch of it. It's survival of the fittest and it looked like the planter box was too crowded. Don't push me, basil, because I'm close to the edge.

Tips on growing container tomatoes.

Plans for Fall Crops Announced

Bibb Lettuce
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

While it's not even August yet, the Backyard Granger is making preparations for sowing a fall crop. Seeds for radishes, beets, and spinach should be arriving shortly. Having never done anything like this but knowing that fall crops like cool weather, we'll try to sow a few seeds during the first week of August and then repeat the process every week or so until the seed runs out.

Pictured is a head of bibb lettuce, which, all things considered, was my favorite plant grown in the grange thus far. Sown indoors sometime in mid-march and moved outside about a month later, this plant yield several servings before succumbing to the heat sometime in mid-June. We loved ye like a brother and you will be missed. Godspeed, bibb lettuce.

Supersweet 100s, Day 63

Supersweet 100s Ripening
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

Right on schedule, and perhaps a few days early, the supersweets are starting to ripen. From the first sign of color to actual harvest seems to take only scant few days.

Container Garden - 4th Week of July

Container Garden - 7/25/05
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

The past week has been an active week for the backyard Granger. The first of the tomatoes are starting to ripen and today I had the first fresh tomato of the season. Tasty.

With joy comes some heartache. Watering is more and more critical, especially now that a heatwave is forecast to begin tomorrow. High winds continue to twist the tomato plants into new shapes and occasionally tip a plant over here and there. The weights on the containers seem to be working fairly well, however. Even with gusts over 30 mph today only one plant went sideways.

The flowers along with the chives and basil seem to be plugging along and are virtually maintenance free.

Yellow Straight-Neck Squash, Day 60

Squash
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

Planted just sixty days ago and grown in the "back 40" -- in reality a 20 square foot patch of dirt -- this plant has produced several squash already. A prolific producer, from flower to food seems to take about ten to fourteen days. Recent production has dropped off as several squash succumbed to some sort of rot. The plant seems to be back on track, however, with this latest offering.

Red Geranium

Red Geranium
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

Having overwintered in the basement, this plant looked rather sickly in the spring, but with some water and a bit of fertilizer it perked up and has been flowering for weeks.

Petunias and Marigolds

Container Flowers
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

These were recently picked up on sale and planted in a container. All of the plants are thriving and setting new flower buds. As they fill up an entire container, they don't seem to need much watering.

Supersweet 100s, Day 58

Supersweet 100s
Originally uploaded by tpl108.

These cherry tomatoes seem to be taking forever to ripen.