Trapp Garden Co-Op

liquid sunshine and the slow moving bandidos

2008-06-17T13:18:00.000-07:00

Well rain is usually helpful in a garden but 3 straight weeks of the stuff is not. Certain seeds need heat/sun to even germinate (sprout) and corn is one of them. Beth planted a ton of corn but only a handful have appeared and those only popped up this week. "Knee high by the forth of July" is the old adage for how tall your corn plants should be for them to be ready in time. Ours will be nowhere near that. I've noticed that farmers around us are having the same problem. They're growing feed corn (for animals or fuel, not for human consumption) but even it is tiny and yellower than I remember it last year.
Corn is a tough crop to grow here in the NW. It needs a fair amount of nitrogen in the soil and a long hot summer to really mature. I tossed some nitrogen rich fertilizer in there at the end of the season last year so that should be good but there's nothing I can do with this weather. If the weather stays cool and overcast and rainy then it looks like our corn will be a bust.

We're not giving up! I love to grow corn, its a part of my childhood. I would spend hours in my folk's garden as a kid out in the corn rows playing with my Hot Wheels cars in and around the stalks. I can't really imagine doing a garden without corn but I am starting to wonder if its a feasible crop to grow out here. We're not out of options yet though! We're going to either plant some more seeds or buy some starts to help get us back on schedule. We'll see how it goes. I just wanted to give you all a heads up so that you know our corn production might not be as good as we'd like it to be...

Sadly the weather isn't the only thing that's causing problems with our garden. Slugs are out in force this year. We had a bit of trouble with them last year but nothing like this. They have taken the greens off of almost all the onions (I've been told that the onions will continue to grow without them), they've devoured the little ball zucchinis we had growing and they even took out an entire zucchini plant! There is a "beer method" where you pour some beer into a cup or bucket that is level with the ground and the beer attracts them to the cup where they either drown or get hammered and die I'm not sure which but it sorta works. I wanted a stronger method so I have put a line of snail bait right at the foot of our fence. It shouldn't interact with the veggies at all since we're not planting anything there. Yesterday I checked and at least a couple slugs were reduced to goo because of that line of death. Tanis and I also noticed that they're also getting to the other zucchinis that are in the middle of the garden. since its in the center and not the edge I will employ the beer method. Hopefully the neighborhood cats will leave it alone and not start a kegger next to the carrots.

On the flip side from a weed standpoint the garden is doing awesome! You guys are doing such a great job and keeping them at bay that there hasn't been a real outbreak yet! Woot!

Also the peas and the beans are popping up all over the place! Well not all over the place but all over where they were planted. If everything goes right we'll have lots of beans and peas.

Here's a question for ya! Why is it that snails/slugs don't eat weeds? How awesome would that be if that's all they did eat?! but noOoOoOoo they have to go after the stuff you plant and water, nurture and throw all of your energy into...and when do they attack? At night!!! the bandits!! So annoying!!!! k, I'm done...

Scott

PS - how many people are now picturing slugs with little sombreros on?!....just me?

Three's a charm

2008-06-17T12:41:00.000-07:00

Well after about a week and a half of grow time and maybe even some sun the garden had produced more weeds! If it would only product corn as well, Oi!

Saturday Stephanie and Ivy came over and while Ivy, Dylan and I tortured our chronically scared dog with attention and petting Tanis and Steph gave the garden a good once over. They were able to get rid of all the weeds around the corn, yes corn! (more on that later). Again this is more of that detailed weeding that is crucial, time consuming and harder to see which makes the accomplishment feel some what less I'm afraid. No matter tho! They did a great job!! And Ivy carried an impressive amount of pots all at once. very coordinated!

Fabulous job ladies! All three of you!

steady hands

2008-06-17T12:25:00.000-07:00

They just keep coming!

Having found a strange attraction to the garden (or a need to have dirt under her nails) Kerri came back in the evening this time bringing with her fellow co-oper, Deana. They were able to do get a lot of detailed weeding done. This is the type of weeding that frequently gets overlooked because its not as flashy as some of the others. Getting down in between the newly sprouted peas and carrots to get rid of those sneaky camouflaged weeds is an important job and they did it incredibly well. I imagine its a little like brain surgery... only replace the brain with little pea starts and the scalpel with slender female hands...Also post op is probably way cleaner! Well it is dirt but I still think it's cleaner.

Good job doctors.. I mean weeders!

"Form of a pitch fork!"

2008-06-17T12:17:00.000-07:00

Yet another one...

Wednesday afternoon or early evening or even what some might call dusk... Amy and Anna came out and weeded the whole section between the strawberries and cedar tree so that we can plant there now! I heard Kerri say no less than three times, "I can't believe they weeded all that!" . I had to agree. their weeding proficiency does seem to be above that of normal humans. I have not found out if they form some sort of super weeder only when together (like Voltron or the Wonder Twins) or if they are each individually exceptional... More observation will be needed...

Great job ladies!

Here comes the sun...

2008-06-16T15:04:00.000-07:00

Here's another delayed update on the garden!

A couple Wednesdays ago (the 4th) Kerri came over in the morning and Tanis and her weeded the peas, onions, and cucumbers! Not only did they do that but they de-slugged the garden. I wish I could say that was the last of those viscous villains but their numbers seem to exceed comprehension...

Way to sling those slugs!

PS - I prefer squishing them instead of throwing them just so I know that that one at least isn't coming back.

Tut tut it looks like rain...

2008-06-04T15:48:00.000-07:00

Rain rain, go away, come again another day...

Seriously...just stop now...

perfect lawn

2008-06-02T12:51:00.000-07:00

To all of you who have used rolls of turf or sod to create the perfect lawn I say to you...

YOU CHEAT!!!

That was all...

Scott

Peas a poppin!

2008-06-02T12:23:00.000-07:00

The peas are already starting to come up and the ball zucchini have little balls on them!...I probably should have worded that differently...

Tanis and I grabbed a couple more tomato plants this weekend which brings our total up to...uhh... a lot. four or five.. I'm not sure.

We also grabbed some more cucumber starts which still need to be planted and some lemon thyme (which Tanis got for the yummy smell).

While Tanis is off in Spokane with the boy I've been trying to get a bunch of work done in the yard but have yet to get in the garden. :-) I have it on my giant list of things to do but its slipping down the roster since I have more pressing matters to attend to. Like fixing the screen door that the cats busted through or weeding our sad excuse for a front flowerbed that everyone and their neighbor sees. Besides, I don't wanna hog all the fun of weeding! What kind of host would I be?!

Which reminds me. If you are under the assumption that since it's early there aren't any weeds to be dealt with yet you would be mistaken. They're small but numerous, like leprechauns! So feel free to schedule a weed time.

And so it begins...again

2008-05-28T12:43:00.000-07:00

Year two!

The garden has been tilled and things are being planted as I type... at least I think so. Tanis planted the onions, zucchini, cucumbers, radishes for Seed's Farmer's Market booth and some of the peas about a week back. We have two tomato plants, but we're hoping to get a couple more here soon.

Today Beth and Kerri came over and helped finish up the planting. Seems like every year (all two of them) we're planting later than we had liked, but I think we're still ahead of last years planting..*quick check at last years post to see when we planted* good gravy we're only two days ahead of last year!! How do ya like that!? I'm personally a little bummed. I blame the weather! Stupid rain, then more rain, then snow, and then even more rain!

anywhoo... mad props and whatnot to Beth and Kerri!

A word from the Mrs:

This morning Kerri and Beth came over and really got the rest of the garden planted! Together we put in another row of peas, carrots, three rows of corn, a row of zucchinis, and planted the green beans! The garden is really ramping up! The little girls did great playing in the yard and Dylan was happy in the exersaucer most of the time. It's always a little more tricky with kids but today was just perfect!

So...now that the garden is mostly planted the next step is making sure it gets watered and weeded. Kerri and Beth planning to come back next Wednesday at 10am and Kerri is coming back with Deana in the evening. I will be gone Sunday afternoon-Tuesday night, but will be back to help on Wednesday. If you want to come over and do some weeding there is definitely work to be done now. The planted rows will need a little time to get established but the strawberries need weeding and also an area between the strawberries and tree. We can plant there once it's weeded. If you have any extra pots sitting around that you'd like to share, we could use them for herbs. Scott got dill, basil, mint, maybe some others that we can plant. I need to get more potting soil...i should be making a list for myself :o)

back to me:

On a posting note I'll do my best to keep this blog updated with the latest from the garden. If I had a better grasp on technology and mass quantities of time on my hands I'd create a garden cam but...that's not going to happen. Instead please enjoy the time-lapse header...which is grossly out of date...sigh...

New member of the family!

2008-05-28T12:38:00.000-07:00

So I wanted to introduce the newest member of the family…no not Dylan, everyone knows him.

<- Pic of her to follow shortly ->

This is Bernice. She’s a 6.0 hp Troy Bilt Super Bronco tiller (whew). For people who want the gist, she makes the garden pretty and the dirt soft all while burying the weeds in a shallow grave.

A more detailed spec of her:

• Counter-rotating tines for easy use and greater control
• Cast-iron transmission with bronze gear drive
• 1 forward speed with power reverse
• 16" tilling width
• 10" tine diameter
• Adjustable tilling depth up to 6"
• Just One Hand operation
• 12" ag tires for easier manueverability
• Limited lifetime warranty
• 208cc Troy-Bilt engine (lies! It’s a Tecumseh engine.)

<- Insert Tim Allen grunting here ->

The one hand operation is a bit of a stretch, at least when your garden has a fair amount of weeds in it, which ours did. I was able to operate her with one hand but that was after the garden had been run through a couple of times. So yeah, sure, if you’re dirt is loose and sans-weeds then yes you can do it one handed, but not before then.
We actually got her a couple weeks ago and I should have taken a picture of her when she was brand new clean but I forgot. Now she’s dirty and probably always will be, but she’ll wear it like a badge of honor! I have zero buyer’s remorse which is nice (and rare). I did find a couple design flaws but they’re really minimal and don’t effect the ability of the tiller. Only thing I wish it had is a Briggs and Stratton engine (B&S is the best) and the ability to attach a plow to the backend. The next tiller size up (the Pony) can add a plow which makes raised rows for you. A super nice feature but mine apparently can’t handle it even though there’s only a 0.5 hp and about 2” tilling width difference between the pony and bronco. *rolls eyes* Oh well. Maybe I can jury-rig something.
Starting the ol’ girl is a bit of a chore. I seem to always flood the engine. The first time I tried to start it I spent 15 minutes yanking on it’s cord and cursing the fact that it is a Tecumseh engine. I read and re-read the manual to make sure I didn’t have to pull, push or twist something else to get it going. In the end I just pulled the air filter off and cranked it again and that worked. Seems like the choke doesn’t give it enough air at the start…or I don’t have enough pull. Either way it’s a simple remedy and once it’s warmed up it’s easy to get it going again.

Well that was probably more information than you wanted to know about some random yard equipment but now you’ll totally nail the Jeopardy category “Sign of the Tines”

The leaves are falling, falling as from way off, as though far gardens withered in the skies

2007-11-14T08:21:00.000-08:00

Wow I haven’t posted anything in a long time, my sincerest apologies. I would go out and take pictures of how the garden was doing and then never post them or make any comments. Sigh… Being an unmotivated lazy person has its disadvantages...

The time has flown by and I want to thank you all for being a part of this adventure! The garden truly wouldn’t have made it without you! Although the garden had its share of failures - cantaloupe plants being eaten by slugs, zucchini and sunflowers never seeding, and pole beans that were mislabeled - I feel that nevertheless the garden co-op was a success and hopefully you feel that way too. I think one of the best things that came from all this wasn’t actually related to growing vegetables and that was the Weed and Feed concept. I loved that people would come over, do a little gardening, let the kids run around and play and then we’d all come together after a bit of hard work and eat, enjoying good food with good people. My favorite moments over the summer came primarily from those gatherings.

The Co-Op has definitely been a learning experience for Tanis and I and with that comes the realization that we could have done some things better. I think we planted some seeds too late in the season and some we didn’t even get to plant because we were too lazy. The pumpkins took over too much real estate in the garden and that was mostly my fault. I let them grow wild when I should have thinned them out and reined them in better. We probably weren’t the best teachers either but I think we’ve learned from this and will make next year even better!

Which brings me to my final point. The Trapp Garden Co-Op will be available next year for those of you who want to join. It's completely voluntary of course and I wont feel bad if you don't want to do it again this coming year. :-)

Again I want to thank you for your time, commitment and friendship.

beans beans the magical fruit

2007-07-05T11:41:00.000-07:00

You guys rock! People keep coming over and helping out. It's weird! It's like some sort of co-op or something...

This week Heather and Amy came over Tuesday morning and weeded a couple rows of corn with Tanis. They did a super job of rediscovering the corn and saving it from the encroaching weeds. In writing this I imagine a 1920's archaeologist (possibly named after a US state) hacking through a heavy tropical jungle, reaching the top of a hill where the underbrush isn't as thick and discovering there under the jungle canopy the remains of an forgotten ancient civilization. Course Amy and Heather didn't have to hack through heavy jungle underbrush or worry about diphtheria and snakes...and they didn't find an ancient civilization either...just corn...but still a great find in my books!

"It belongs in a museum!"

In any event, well done ladies!

That evening the Dortch family came over for a weed and feed. We BBQ'd first and weeded second. Kerri and Tanis weeded the green bean area while Eric and I watched the boys and once they were done Eric and I used our engineering skills to design and build two wood based Isoscelesolian External Support Systems (IESS). Also known in some circles as "teepee's". extraordinarily well built teepee's mind you!... Once we got those in we planted the bean sprouts around the posts and called it good. Great job Dortch's!!!

Weedtastic

2007-07-05T11:34:00.000-07:00

So I've been behind in my updates, I apologize.

First off Kerri came over with the boys and did some much needed weeding a week or so ago!! Tanis and she were able to clear a sizable section of the garden path that was being overrun with tall weeds! Great job Kerri!

In a sad bit of news, the cantaloupe was eaten. *heavy sigh* I had no idea that slugs liked cantaloupe…curse them!! If I had know I would have made a trench around the plant filled to the brim with slug bait and laughed maniacally when I found the goo strewn remains of those evil creatures!

In ripe news the strawberries are done (man they went by quick) and we’re now on to raspberries! They’re coming on fast so swing by if you want to pick some.

Lastly the beans have sprouted and are taking off! We had them in little pots because last year we lost quite a few to some unknown villain. Since they’re well on their way to growing up and out they should be safe and will be moved to their garden location shortly.

On the weed front we’re losing. What with Tanis and I being gone the past two weekends coupled with my watering and the semi sunny weather they have taken off!

We named the dog Indiana

2007-06-22T08:57:00.000-07:00

This has absolutely nothing to do with gardening but I don't care, it's INDIANA JONES!!! This is the first picture of Harrison Ford dressed as Indy for the new film! Reportedly it was taken by Spielberg himself.

Harrison looks pretty good. I have to admit I was worried that he was going to be too old to play Indy but judging by this picture it looks like he has enough life in him to kick some Nazi butt a few more times...or at least shoot them.

The only thing that saddens me about this flick is that Sean Connery has opted out of it. I was really looking forward to the two of them going back and forth and what with Shia LaBeouf being the third generation Jones, I imagined all sorts hilarious conversations ensuing.

"Nazis... I hate these guys."

No Comment...

2007-06-21T09:17:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody!

Tanis just let me know that the comments were enabled only for registered users and that's not what I wanted, so I relaxed the security and now anyone and everyone can comment on the posts. So feel free...but don't feel like you have to...it's just...for every post that goes by without a comment I die a little inside... but you know, no big deal...sigh...

Have a good one!

Strawberries

2007-06-16T09:48:00.000-07:00

We have defeated the slow moving enemy!

I poured some slug and snail bait in front of and in the middle of the strawberries and a few days later all that was left of their burgeoning force was goo. I have picked out a couple that seemed to have been wiser than their friends but for the most part the area is clear of them! This has given the strawberries a chance to ripen and be picked! I doubt we'll have enough to share with everyone but if ya happen to come weed sometime soon and see a ripe one in the patch feel free to eat it!

I get by with a little help from my friends…

2007-06-13T14:03:00.000-07:00

This week saw the first of the co-opers pitching in to help!

We had a bunch of people come over this week and make a big difference in the garden. Since I didn't take a before and after picture I had to create a graphic representation of what it looked like before they came and helped (shown on the left). Okay, okay, it wasn't that bad but it was close!

Cathy came over on Sunday and helped Tanis plant the zucchini and beans into little pots in front of the garage. We put them in little pots instead of planting directly into the garden because an unknown threat devoured most of our bean seedlings last year and we had to replant them all. Once they get their secondary leaf they’ll be safe and in the clear, at which point they’ll be transferred to the garden. Cathy and Tanis also weeded the peas and planted the sunflowers in the NW side of the garden which I had weeded shortly before. Cathy deserves a fair amount of pity because she had to wear my garden gloves which, honestly, sort of smells like a squirrel that has decomposed in a rain barrel (trust me I know). In any event, great job Cathy! And umm….sorry.

Tuesday afternoon Jess came over with Jude and Natalie. While the kids played in the yard, she and Tanis weeded the SW section of the garden where they planted her cantaloupe, transplanted some more pumpkin plants - because some of the ones I moved looked a little droopy - and got a mound ready for planting the zucchini! Thanks Jess!!

And last but not least, the Hjertager clan came over Tuesday evening to do their part. Pork and Steph took turns watching Ivy - who seemed pretty content to hang out on her blanket in the grass – while the other went and gardened. Steph and Tanis weeded the corn rows while Pork and I strung up the peas, created a mound for the mini pumpkins, got them planted, and weeded the raspberries. Awesome job guys!

Once we were done with all that, we put some burgers on the grill and they showed us a new and awesome way to cook corn on the cob! I’m hoping I’ll be able to do it to the corn we get from the garden!

This idea of coming over and gardening and then staying for some grub seems pretty cool and if anyone is interested in doing this Weed and Feed let me know!

Again thanks to all of you who helped out so far and don’t worry those of you who haven’t yet, we still have plenty of weeds to go around…

Berry Update

2007-06-06T10:35:00.001-07:00

The strawberries and raspberries are doing well. Our concern with the strawberries is that the snails don't get them. We have what some might call a snail problem. I've been trying to thin their ranks but their force out numbers the stars...

The raspberries should be fine. The only problem we had last year was not picking them often enough. I don't know if we'll have the same problem this year since I trimmed them back but its possible. I still think we'll get a pretty good harvest from them.

Corn!

2007-06-06T10:14:00.000-07:00

The corn has appeared! It's actually come up far faster than I expected, but then again I did get the early variety. So the two inner rows are the Peaches and Cream variety and the outer two (closest to the garage) are the (*)

*fill in when I remember what the early variety is called.

Cantaloupe Antelope

2007-06-06T09:45:00.000-07:00

Kinda wish I had a boat...

Okay, so Jess's cantaloupe dream lives on! Who says you can't grow them around here! BAH to them I say! BAH!! I've had these little guys in our garage next to the pop out window and I was a little worried they wouldn't make it but once they got that secondary leaf (the spiky looking one) I felt like they were in the clear. The garage is a nice starting area for seedlings. It gets lots of sun and warmth and keeps them away from predators and the cold temperatures. I'll be putting these guys into the ground shortly. I wish I could separate them into individual plants but I don't want to risk hurting them in the process. so I'll keep them together. They'll keep each other strong! watch each others back and sing songs about the sea! Aye the sea! because that's what a cantaloupe thinks about day and night. Many a man has called the cantaloupe soft but they were wrong! Why I've seen one knock a man clean out with one swing!

CANTALOUPE! A stronger melon exists not...

Pumpkins a Poppin'

2007-06-06T08:43:00.000-07:00

So last year we bought a really nice sized pumpkin for me to carve. Great color, great shape... I never carved it. It sat in our living room for months! The cool thing was that it never ever showed any sign of decomposing! It sat in our house at room temperature for a really long time and didn't mold or even get soft and squishy! In the end I chucked it into our garden which Tanis wasn't exactly happy about but I figured it'd at least add some fertilizer to the soil and if the seeds happen to grow all the better, since it seemed to come from some great stock.

Well tilling the garden was just what those seeds needed apparently. I went out into the garden last week to check to see how things were doing and was met with this! seedlings a plenty! they're really strong looking too! I'll be relocating some of them shortly since they're not exactly where we want them to be but I think it's pretty cool that the pumpkin I didn't carve is living on, and maybe this year I'll be able to carve one of its seedlings.

Rows and the seeds that are in them

2007-05-30T14:11:00.000-07:00

Two weekends ago I got the remaining rows formed and planted with two varieties of corn. Now all that needs to be done is some weeding along the edges of the garden and planting of the non-row plants (Pumpkins, cantaloupe, zucchini, and sunflowers). Hopefully this weather will really kick start the garden. It got a good bit of rain on Sunday and now it has the warmth and sun to get everything growing. I did see some peas starting to poke their heads out so the rest should be soon to follow! I also saw a gathering of little weed seedlings starting. Their forces are many and we are but a humble few. (I apologize for this. I just saw the movie 300 so bear with me) I stood there stolidly in their presence and said in my best David Wenham voice,

"And so it begins!..."

They announced to me, "The 1000 species of weeds decend upon you! Our dandelions will blot out the sun!"

I smiled and said, "Then we will weed in the shade!"

Time Lapse

2007-05-26T22:31:00.000-07:00

I took a before and after shot of the garden cause...I like doing that. It's a problem I have. I take before and afters of things no one will ever want to see from some of the smallest projects I've ever worked on, but I get a kick out of them so I just keep making them. I think it's because I like to see my progress, makes me feel like I accomplished something. So I made this one into an animated gif. I'm hoping that as the season goes on I'll continue to update this photo to show the progression of the garden all the way up till harvest!

I know...I'm a geek.

Tilled!

2007-05-26T22:21:00.000-07:00

The garden has been tilled. I rented the 9hp tiller from Hertz and made about three passes before my two hour time limit was up. It did a pretty good job! It definitely had the umph to dig deep and rip through even the toughest weeds.