The good and the bad

13 years ago

The garden is moving right along with the season and have had some nice surprises, one of which is the tenacity that the tomatoes are hanging on in this oppressive heat. They had started to look a bit ragged but lately have perked back up and are still blooming and setting fruit which does surprise me. The cages are 6 feet tall and guessing the plants are 9 feet. A few pics of them.

The Cantaloupes and cucumbers both a before shot from a couple weeks ago and a shot of the patch todqay. They are coming to the end of the line. There are still a few 2 inch cucumbers and a few that are about harvestable. Both cukes and melons are still blooming as you can see in the picture, though drooping in the noon sun and the vines are about shot. The cantaloupes ended up providing 47 melons so far, there may be another 5-6 out there yet, I picked 35 and the raccoons picked the other 12. You can see in the after

picture how many cucumbers I missed...just could not see them in that dense foliage until the plants started to go down hill and by then they were huge and it was too late

but they return to the soil. The watermelons provided 13 melons, I picked 11 and the coons 2.

Picture of one of the Alphonse Karr(multiplex) clumping bamboo with 4 brand new culms just emerged from the ground. I started with just a few and have propagated them each spring. This spring I took 35 single culm divisions and of those 33 survived including the one in

the picture. I potted them and once established they were moved to the fence line. Eventually there will be about 1000 feet of them one every 5 feet and next spring should

be able to propagate 100-150 or so which will get me close to finished with that multi year project. The pot in the pic is there to be a backstop for the micro sprinkler so

more water hits the young plants root zone and is removed when the rains become dependable.

I pruned the Blueberry plants around June 1. Pruned both the tops and removed some large canes in the cane renewal / rejuvenation process on the older bushes. You

can see in the picture how much it stimulates the bush to produce new canes. In the second BB picture you can see 5 green new canes that have popped out in the last week as well as all of those red bumps which are new canes just emerging from the bush base. Summer pruning encourages the plant to make "bull" shoots that get very large and will grow to 3-4 feet in a matter of weeks. This coming spring they will not produce but the following spring they will be loaded.

A few shots of the peppers which are just now turning red. Both the bells and the cubanelles. The peppers are still blooming and producing many new peppers but the

fungus has come and has to be treated as is the case each summer.

This shot is the other two rows of peppers (and a Matts tomato) that I started when the first set of peppers and the toms were moved outside to harden off.....(only

have so much room under the lights.) They are a unknown type of bell pepper. I had been snapping the peppers off them as they formed so the energy went to the plant sizing up but they are now on their own and loaded with peppers. All of them will be allowed to mature and will be roasted.

A shot of one of the two basil patches as well as a still living and invading cantaloupe vine, the Basil is used by us but mostly for the rabbits. I just trimmed the front row this morning for the rabbits.

Speaking of rabbits even they are miserable in the heat. This bunch just opened their eyes, though in the picture they are all sleeping lol think there were a couple more by the doe so 8 little ones in total, had 3 new litters in the past 10 days. Normally the litters would spend more time in the nest but with this heat they prefer out in the open air even before their eyes open which means I have to place them back in the nest come evening or the doe won't feed them (the doe only nurses them once per day, as a rule at night and if they are not all together some don't get fed).

The Mysore Black Raspberry is STILL blooming, have to love it's long bloom and harvest season as it lasts for months.

This is the Ice Cream banana pup Coffee Mom so kindly gave me this spring, has put out 8 pups in the last couple weeks.

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Comments (13)

goldenpond
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Looks like a HOPPY garden!
Our AG agent raises bunnies and she says they are VERY heat sensitive.
She freezes soda bottles of water and keeps one in their cage replacing as needed.The bunnies snuggle right up to it to cool off.
tanya
whgille
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Bamboo,

Your garden looks fantastic! And I think your tomatoes might make it to fall, everything looks good and the rabbits are so cute!

About the peppers, what kind of fungus are you talking about? I have not notice any maybe because mine have the kaolin spray? lol

Keep up the good work!

Silvia
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Pieonear
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I am amazed by your huge tomatoes! The baby bunnies are so cute.
imagardener2
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thanks for the photos, fun to look at others gardens.

And thanks for the BB pruning tips. My previous BB's died due to salty irrigation so I'm trying again (no irrigation for now). One purchased is maybe 2 years old so maybe I'll take a branch down from that one.
User
Original Author
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Imagardener,

I wouldn't take any canes off your bushes.....that is something you do only for older 7+ year old bushes that have old wood that is less productive and have the reserves to rapidly regenerate. You can and I would recommend that you prune the tops though. Don't go nuts but trimming the branches back 6 inches or so to shape the bush will promote a new flush of growth and that is a very good thing.
User
Original Author
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Goldenpond,

I don't use the ice bottles unless a bunny shows distress which has only ever happened once but mine are in full shade and I have never lost an adult to the heat.

Silvia,

They look good now but they can collapse fast as you know. The fungus is Frog eye spot and bacterial spot I can control them and as the weather cools it will go away. Next year I am going to try resistant types as the ones I grow now seem very susceptible to it.

Mammie,

Thanks but it is the rabbit manure not any skill of mine I assure you.
sunnystate25
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I am very impressed!
thonotorose
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Rabbit,

I'm wondering.... I have experienced wonderful results from using pelleted alfalfa on my roses. They have always responded with new basal breaks.

I just spread some around again last Thursday and believe I am already seeing new growth. The Rose Buds over at the antique rose forum talk about alfalfa having a natural growth hormone in it. Some of them make elaborate combo teas, but I just spread 1/2 to 2 cups around the base of the plants and water it in. The pellets dissolve in two days.

Anyhoo, I am wondering if the rabbit food you use, which probably has a alfalfa base, is also one of the reasons for your great results? Perhaps the through-the-rabbit method does not affect the hormone and it is still viable.

I will be trying alfalfa on my veggies this fall. I am told it can burn due to high nitrogen, but have not experienced that myself.

Veronica in Thonotosassa

PS I asked on Free cycle and found a source of horse manure within a ten minute drive. Bought a van full home today and already spread it. Two new rose beds going in.
User
Original Author
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Veronica,

I feed my rabbits an alfalfa pellet based diet and a high end one at that. Alfalfa is the #1 ingredient in the bag. I go through about 50-60 lbs of pellets a week. The rabbits also are free fed quality grass hay from our farm in PA, I get a trailer load a year as well as natural foods from the garden and I feed some comfrey and Bidens Alba which is a local plentiful weed. The rabbits love the Bidens Alba, I probably feed 100 lbs of it a week and it is edible by us humans as well. The alfalfa could be the reason the manure is so rich but unlike the alfalfa pellets you can dump the fresh rabbit manure on the garden with no worries of burning. I don't put the manure on fresh as after it drops through the wire it goes in to containers where black soldier fly larvae consume the waste and what goes to the garden is basically their manure. It comes out as a rather odd soil like substance, kind of dry and very crumbly. I give it to all the plants, well most all the plants except the blueberries (it is too alkaline). In my opinion though the rabbits break the food down and the end result (pun intended) is better than just using the alfalfa. I guess an easy way to find out would be to use just alfalfa pellets on some plants and the manure on the others. I know some people sell the rabbit manure for absolutely silly prices but it can be bought cheaply and even acquired for free as a lot of people have pet rabbits.

Great idea on the new beds. For what it is worth I think most of the trouble people have here is simply due to the poor soil. The plants get stressed because of the conditions be they soil or temps or humidity. Once you hit that tipping point of survival the game is over. I can't control the temperature and I can't control the humidity so I concentrate on building the soil. If the time and effort is taken to first build the soil and feed it the garden grows itself and makes you look like you know what you are doing.

I was talking to Silvia about this and I was telling her I get no nematode damage at all on my plants roots, not even a little. I guess they do not like the rabbit manure at all.
thonotorose
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
>>>If the time and effort is taken to first build the soil and feed it the garden grows itselfThis is what I have always heard from those gardening sources I respect. What time I have available is now spent in this effort.

I have just recently passed a homestead in the Kathleen area that has bunnies for sale. I turned around and took a good look and their set up is similiar to your picture of yours that you posted here. I did not see dropping ramps or buckets, but I do have the phone number, so that call is on my to do list.

The people on this list is so inspiring and encouraging!

Gratefully,

Veronica
User
Original Author
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Veronica,

There is something satisfying about raising the food for your family and more importantly knowing what is in your food. Rabbits are easy to raise and at 12 weeks they head to freezer camp.
thonotorose
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Just saw rabbits at Sweet Bay, 10 bucks each. They were small and from China. Wonder what else is in them.

Bidens Alba is Spanish Needle! Who knew?!?!
User
Original Author
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Veronica,

If you want to try rabbit and don't trust the Chinese meat (who would) Publix sells rabbit under the name Sealys Ark and they are from a commercial grower just a few miles from me. That is where I cought my breeding stock ancd she produces 3,000 fryer rabbits a month. I warn you though it is not cheap running over $7 a pound which is like $14 for half a rabbit. She also sells manure very cheap, think it was $40 a pickup truck load.

Bidens Alba has a lot of names lol, here they call it beggar tick. The bunnies love it and frankly I love it to. Just pick the top tier of leaves off, it is quite good. The bunnies are not as particular and crunch down stems and all.

The good and the bad

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