A LOT has happened since the last time I posted. The softneck and hardneck garlic that I ordered arrived in the mail, I'm biting at the bit to harvest the sweet potatoes that are growing in my garden and the "tomato fairy" left us a surprise among the mums growing along the walkway in our front yard!
First things first: I ordered garlic from Green Mountain Garlic up in VT, and am making preparations to plant the cloves in a raised bed. The folks at Green Mountain Garlic have a great how-to page on their website, but if you need a visual tutorial on planting, harvesting and storing garlic, you can watch the videos below by the nonprofit group Kitchen Gardeners International (KGI):
My happy tomato plant! :-) So, towards the end of the summer, my hubby and I noticed a pleasant surprise growing along our walkway. Somehow, what appears to be cherry tomatoes found their way into the chrysanthemums...and they seem to be quite happy!
The picture posted here was taken today with my smartphone. I'm excited to see how well they do this late in the season, and will definitely be doing some research into this, but if you have any information to share, please do post them in the comments section below. Thanks! :-)
The picture posted here was taken today with my smartphone. I'm excited to see how well they do this late in the season, and will definitely be doing some research into this, but if you have any information to share, please do post them in the comments section below. Thanks! :-)
And then there are the sweet potatoes...
Near the beginning of the summer season, I had planted a handful of slips from a couple of organic sweet potatoes that had sprouted in my pantry closet. Of the several that were planted, only two plants survived.
It's been great watching them grow and flourish. I especially love seeing the pretty white and purple flowers that look a little like morning glories. I have another organic sweet potato that is sprouting in the pantry closet that I'm going to try to grow as an indoor houseplant.
The only problem I've had with growing them is that something is eating at the leaves. Overall, the plants are very healthy, there's just several holes scattered throughout the leaves. I'm still trying to figure out what is causing it--some type of insect would be my guess--and a safe, organic method to resolve the situation.
According to various resources, the best time to harvest sweet potatoes is when the leaves start to die back--usually around October. Many of the websites I came across reiterated the same information reprinted from Rodale's Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening; however, there is some really useful information that I found on VeggieHarvest.com that you can read for yourself.
That's all I have for today. In my next post, I'll share the results of my experiments with getting chrysanthemum and African violet plant cuttings to root in water, along with any other horticultural updates.
If you enjoyed what you've read, please do share the link to this blog on your favorite social media site and sign up for my newsletter to receive updates on what I've been digging and learn a few tips and tips along the way! Feel free to post comments related to all things gardening below. Thanks so much!
Happy digging! :-)
~ Dirt Momma
Near the beginning of the summer season, I had planted a handful of slips from a couple of organic sweet potatoes that had sprouted in my pantry closet. Of the several that were planted, only two plants survived.
It's been great watching them grow and flourish. I especially love seeing the pretty white and purple flowers that look a little like morning glories. I have another organic sweet potato that is sprouting in the pantry closet that I'm going to try to grow as an indoor houseplant.
The only problem I've had with growing them is that something is eating at the leaves. Overall, the plants are very healthy, there's just several holes scattered throughout the leaves. I'm still trying to figure out what is causing it--some type of insect would be my guess--and a safe, organic method to resolve the situation.
According to various resources, the best time to harvest sweet potatoes is when the leaves start to die back--usually around October. Many of the websites I came across reiterated the same information reprinted from Rodale's Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening; however, there is some really useful information that I found on VeggieHarvest.com that you can read for yourself.
That's all I have for today. In my next post, I'll share the results of my experiments with getting chrysanthemum and African violet plant cuttings to root in water, along with any other horticultural updates.
If you enjoyed what you've read, please do share the link to this blog on your favorite social media site and sign up for my newsletter to receive updates on what I've been digging and learn a few tips and tips along the way! Feel free to post comments related to all things gardening below. Thanks so much!
Happy digging! :-)
~ Dirt Momma
RSS Feed