Garden Photo Update

Avocado's are starting to flower

First blossom on the Santa Rosa Plum this year

Purple Pole Beans beginning to sprout.

Blueberries are all flowering (this is a southern highbush) but all of the early rabbiteye are in bloom as well

Flame seedless grapes are starting to leaf out. Rain barrels in the background are empty since we havent had rain in a few weeks.

Overall things are progressing nicely in the first two weeks of spring weather here in New Orleans. Unfortunately, hot humid weather most likely will continue till October. I hope yalls gardens and orchards are doing well.

Harvest Monday and busy weekend

Wow. Another busy weekend. Lot's of yard projects and fishing.

Friday evening and Saturday were spent laying a gravel pathway around the back of my house to connect two patios. We have one patio off of the den of the house and another outside the master bedroom. The yard between the two (due to too many shade trees) has always been a muddy mess. Very little grass would grow there and the constant patrolling of the yard by our dog Schatz kept the area messy. Composite edging is a pain to use. It breaks too easily. Of course by the end of the project I finally got the hang of it. After a full day of digging and hauling gravel by the bag-load (my back is still sore) I completed it late Saturday evening. This area is my new fruit orchard. A galaxy peach, blood orange and three plums (Santa Rosa, Methley, and Black Ruby) have already been planted. I will attempt to follow a rigid pruning schedule to keep the plants manageable. My two potted avocados will also have a new home here along with numerous landscaping plants. The area will be mulched. This new yard already has a built in sprinkler (thanks to the former owners) but it will give me a chance to expand my rain barrel set up. I also found a 250 gallon tank to add behind my large garden barn shed (seen at the rear of the picture).

Of course the boy had to watch daddy working in the garden, and wherever he goes so does Schatz.

Sunday, I had a friend visit from Austria. I spent a year at the University of Innsbruck studying geography and he was one of my professors. He visits every year for a business meeting. Yesterday I took him fishing in the Louisiana marsh. He hadn't been fishing in 35 years and that was in Europe.

Klaus and his Redfish

Busy weekend!

Out with Winter, in with Spring

With highs in the upper 60's and lows in the 50's, it seems as though spring is finally here in New Orleans. This weather is forecast to continue the next few weeks. Perfect for working on and in the garden.

The last of the broccoli was harvested over the weekend. The 12 heads harvested this winter is the most ever grown or harvested for me. They were all medium sized heads grown from transplants. Next year, I will start my own broccoli seeds and grow from there. I've been reluctant to do this in the past since it just doesn't feel right started fall/winter seeds in the middle of summer.

Yesterday, I harvested the first of my cabbage and some carrots. Cabbage will be used for stir-fry tonight and the carrots were taken for lunch by the wife today.

Chores continue in my backyard to get an orchard setup. A few hackberry (quick growing and invasive) trees were removed to make way for a new peach tree, blood orange, low-chill apples and a couple low-chill plums. The yard already has two 30' pecan trees, a 6' Southeastern Brown Turkey Fig and a 7' FloridaPrince Peach tree.

Berries include blackberries and blueberries. The two blackberry vines are trellised along the south-facing wall of the house. I believe they are Navaho and Apache (both thornless). Native blackberries grow in vacant lots around town so i usually get my supply from some urban foraging. I have five rabbiteye blueberries, and this year Ive tried a few of the new southern highbushes in containers. All of the blueberries are beginning to show signs of flowering. Let's hope the weather holds and I don't lose any productivity from late season frosts or as EG mentioned, a loss from the cold creating a lack of pollinating bees (this was my problem last year).

I will update with pictures tonight or tomorrow.

Welcome

I have been reading a number of gardening blogs over the past year and have enjoyed reading the trials and tribulations of urban (or other small scale) gardening and urban/suburban homesteading. Having just turned 30, newly married (a couple years) and my first child (son - Nicholas) being born in November 2010 I have gained new perspectives on life and gardening. Being an urban gardener as well, I decided it was now my time to join in on all this blog fun.

Growing up, I always managed to plant a tomato or pepper plant in my parents garden or in a pot on the patio. I remember being so excited when picking the 3 or 4 tomatoes it produced or the abundance of humidity-loving peppers from a single plant. I loved the oranges that the navel orange tree I had potted at my parents house produced, it survived in a large container from 1993 until Katrina in 2005. I moved into my current house in Metairie (a suburb of New Orleans) two years ago and have spent that time slowly adding to the amount of space to garden and clearing trees for a small home orchard.

New Orleans has many challenges facing its residents, but the challenges facing its gardeners are even harder. The high heat and humidity (avg summer humidity is 85-90%) lead to problems with diseases and infestations. Not to mention the sheer disdain for spending time outside of air conditioning. Gardening here is all about timing. With our average last frost date quickly approaching (February 20), things pick up quickly for the next few months. Tomato and pepper seeds were started in January and a few have a couple sets of true leaves. Eggplant and tomatillo seeds were started last week. My seed orders are finally beginning to arrive.


Tomato and Pepper seed starting tray

Tomatoes - I am finally trying my hand at some heirloom varieties this year. I decided to stick with the staples, Brandywine and Cherokee Purple, for my first year.  These should go nicely alongside my other varieties Creole, Ace and Celebrity. I have always been hit or miss with cherry tomatoes. This year will be my first year growing them, so I chose a small variety, Neat and Sweet, for container growing. They are supposed to grow to 12" and then branch out and continually produce all spring and summer, but we shall see. After April and May, tomatoes here begin to suffer from the heat and humidity. They become much more susceptible to wilt and blight in the humidity. I usually try to keep one or two alive into June and July. Last year I had one producing a second crop when the weather turned cooler in October.

I will try to discuss my other 2011 crops, orchard plantings and let yall know some more about previous experiences with them.

Thanks for viewing my blog.