Blog

27Dec 2017 by RagingAdmin
Prepping the soldiers for battle

Prepping the soldiers for battle

Tomatoes
You have to love the week between Christmas and New Years. Four gardening catalogs arrived today. They will need to be especially convincing, as I only have space for two new varieties of tomato this year. I also need to figure out how to handle my grafting stock, now that I'm committed to grafting at least half of my tomatoes onto Estamino rootstock. Last year, the ten unlabeled seedlings were Estamino... destined for beheading. Six weeks to seed sowing. [caption id="attachment_2661" align="alignnone" width="640"] 2016's tomato seedlings. The unlabeled pods to the left were Estamino, grown for rootstock.[/caption]
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27Dec 2017 by RagingAdmin
When the vines hit their stride this summer

When the vines hit their stride this summer

Uncategorized
Between a weirdly cool and wet spring, and my bias towards varities that tend to be late-season tomatoes, we didn't start hitting bumper crops until August, but it was well worth the wait. This is a mix of Brandywine OTV and Chocolate Stripes, with a Paul Robeson hiding in the back. I'm fond of the OTV strain of Brandywine. Red, instead of pink, for me it has better flavor and vastly better productivity.
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25Dec 2017 by RagingAdmin
Lycidas cares not that it might be winter

Lycidas cares not that it might be winter

Uncategorized
Should anyone be wondering about the winter hardiness of English roses, consider this Young Lycidas -- seen here leafing out on Christmas Eve, after several weeks of temperatures dropping into the 20s or even lower. This variety hates the heat of New Jersey summers, sulking and battling blackspot from the moment temps start staying above 80, but apparently winter freezes hardly matter to it at all. Look at these saucy leaves: now that's attitude. [caption id="attachment_2508" align="alignnone" width="640"] Young Lycidas, waking up on Christmas Eve[/caption]
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24Dec 2017 by RagingAdmin
The nuclear weapon of organic pest control

The nuclear weapon of organic pest control

Pest Control
The best way to keep insect pests at bay: foul the area with something so noxious they'll never know what hit them. Enter the cayenne pepper. In this case, you're looking at ground Ristra Cayenne pepper from my 2015 crop. Unfortunately this particular batch happened to be so delicious to me that I chose to keep it for my[caption id="attachment_2450" align="alignright" width="350"] Ristra Cayenne pepper, about as potent as non-chemical pest control gets. [/caption]self, but the concept is sound. Aphids, whiteflies, rose slugs, and a variety of other insect pests will absolutely hate it when you dust your plants with hot pepper. Just fill a spray bottle with water, mist the plants so the pepper flakes will stick, and sprinkle them onto the leaves. At the risk of having the…
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23Dec 2017 by RagingAdmin
Keeping the horses happy

Keeping the horses happy

Fertilization, Plant Care
One of the best natural fertilizers this side of dung is, well, the other side of dung. Alfalfa pellets, widely available at livestock stores, are about as good as it gets and can be used in a number of ways. Sprinkled lightly into the soil and worked in, they decompose slowly, adding a range of nutrients and organic matter A cup or two soaked for a few days (or longer, if you can bear the smell) in a large pail of water, in which case they create a sort of "compost tea"i was driving away vermin with the odor of this fermenting grog for weeks at one point last spring I learned about this trick for use with roses, and promptly experimented on tomatoes as well, with equally strong results.…
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21Dec 2017 by RagingAdmin
One James Galway down

One James Galway down

Diseases, RRD (Rose Rosette Disease)
[caption id="attachment_2333" align="alignright" width="350"] Unusually bristled, disfigured growth is a sign of RRD[/caption] There isn't much more unpleasant to a gardener than watching helplessly as a young plant develops symptoms of an incurable disease. Last fall, one of my James Galway shrubs started showing telltale signs of RRD (Rose Rosette Disease), a virus (spread my a microscopic mite) that can decimate and disfigure roses. Unfortunately, once you are reasonably sure of the diagnosis, there is nothing that can be done to help the plant -- it needs to be removed, before the disease spreads to others nearby.  I'll be posting more about this topic (in particular because an unrelated, potted plant developed a case of it this year, and likewise also had to be put down). But for now, there…
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20Dec 2017 by RagingAdmin
Arrival… Because they do look a bit like aliens

Arrival… Because they do look a bit like aliens

Planting, Uncategorized
This happy little ganglion is actually James Galway #3, replacing a year-old plant I had to put down the previous fall after it contracted Rosette (aka RRD), a virus that terminally disfigures roses.  [caption id="attachment_2213" align="alignright" width="640"] An own-root James Galway[/caption] Thankfully,this happy critter is healthy as kale and ginger smoothie. This is a perfect example of what an own root rose looks like before planting, and David Austin's nurseies sent me a particularly mature one. Since I needed to quarantine the location of the original location for at least a year to ensure the disease doesn't spread, when this arrived in April of 2017 I planted in a large pot alongside the garage. It grew surprisingly large and strong there in one season -- probably also because it's a…
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18Dec 2017 by RagingAdmin
Clematis Venosa Violacea

Clematis Venosa Violacea

Uncategorized
A complete surprise (I ordered a different variety), Clematis Venosa Violacea has been a strong performer in its second year. The only negative of purchasing this plant is its unfortunate name, which doesn't sound at all out of place in some very different contexts. "I'm sorry I can't come to work today. I have a bad case of Clematis Venosa Violacea." [caption id="attachment_2140" align="alignnone" width="640"] Clematis Venosa Violacea, typical blooms[/caption]
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