The Productive Backyard 2013 January to June

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Harmony
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Re: The Productive Backyard 2013 January to June

Postby Harmony » Tue Mar 19, 2013 1:22 am

I am impatiently waiting to get better so I can replant some things. I'm still getting a little bit of broccoli and a tomato or two now and then. There are a few nice green ones out there now. I still have lettuce and something is growing, I can't remember what, hoping it's a cauliflower plant. I love cauliflower and it's so expensive in the stores, I've been trying to grow it. It's almost past time to replant veggies. If we get them in too late, they cook in the heat of the summer. I also have 2 poinsettias to plant also. They are pot-bound and really need to spread out.

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Re: The Productive Backyard 2013 January to June

Postby Harmony » Mon Mar 25, 2013 11:20 pm

So, my backyard is still productive. I'd not been out there to look at the garden for over a week. Last time there was just a few green tomatoes and no broccoli. DH has been bugging me to get out there the past 2 days and today I did. Brought in a huge bowl of broccoli and about 8 tomatoes of varying sizes. I processed the broccoli and figured it yielded about 10 servings. Half the tomatoes are getting riper on the counter and a couple in the refrigerator. You can guess what we had for dinner tonight!

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Nancy
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Re: The Productive Backyard 2013 January to June

Postby Nancy » Tue Mar 26, 2013 11:01 am

We are supposed to hit 71* here this Sun. so I've been trying to get the yard in shape doing what I can working towards that. Yesterday I picked up the toys and kid tools after we used them.

Hens were out and chicks got to explore the run a bit, hens are getting use to the new routine going in to the back of the nest box had to put a couple in there one found it on her own and another just used the lower one before it was time to get out of the run.

The yard is over grazed so will be getting some contractors orange fencing fabric to put up and keep them on specific areas to give the other part of the yard a rest. Having them next door part of the time does not work very well. The only want to be over there a short amount of time or if we are there putzing or playing in that yard.

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Nancy
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Re: The Productive Backyard 2013 January to June

Postby Nancy » Mon Apr 01, 2013 11:11 am

My goal is to do one thing each day to get the yard patio and other out door spaces in shape cleaned up planting etc. done. Got the fencing and need stakes for putting that up is today's goal.

Clean off stacking chairs done! Yea for progress.

It's trash day so getting that rounded up and ready to go is a goal.
I have a branch to prune off the plum tree that gets in the way when I mow or am out doing yard work.

Figure out where the fabric fencing will go and how to do that and clean the chicken run is on the list.

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Nancy
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Re: The Productive Backyard 2013 January to June

Postby Nancy » Tue Apr 02, 2013 12:47 pm

What kinds of tomatoes are you growing this year?

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Harriet
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Re: The Productive Backyard 2013 January to June

Postby Harriet » Sun Apr 07, 2013 9:45 am

Nancy, I want to go with Burpee Supertasty if I can get it, because it has a good reputation for taste, it's determinate so it doesn't grow too big to contain, and it has mature fruit in 70 days, which is a week earlier than some of the others I considered. Also, the reviews on it say it doesn't give much problem with disease or blight, etc. I dropped in at the Home Depot and the same size plants there that Burpee sells themselves are the same price. You would think you would get a bargain there, but I guess not. I'll just get a few.

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Nancy
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Re: The Productive Backyard 2013 January to June

Postby Nancy » Sun Apr 07, 2013 2:32 pm

Thanks Harriet that's great info. to know!

I got first lady tomato plants, I'd not seen them before and some sweet 100's had great luck with them one year, but not the next yr. every one had trouble with theirs that year so it was not me good to know.
Also early girl they only had two packs left so I got one of those now I have 14 plants in the dining room :roll: b/c it's too early to put them out the green house said when we were there trying to locate sod. Not the first time I've done that. Did not go to home depot called and they were out of sod. Kind of wished I'd went there anyway.

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Nancy
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Re: The Productive Backyard 2013 January to June

Postby Nancy » Thu May 16, 2013 2:20 pm

Tulips are done now so I was able to move the poorly placed ones by the patio last night. I'm so glad to have that done yea! Hens were happy to get the bugs sort of got in the way in their eagerness sigh when will I learn to do that when they are not out in the lawn for free range time.

Sod we took out and replaced is doing nicely. Not the temp. fence is not very durable so thinking about what to do to replace that with.

I have more bulbs to move but need to prep. the ground first before digging them out of the chickens pen.

Some of the old sod still needs to be hauled off.

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Harriet
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Re: The Productive Backyard 2013 January to June

Postby Harriet » Thu May 16, 2013 7:49 pm

Tomatoes - Early Girls are such a reliable favorite. I don't know anyone who wouldn't want plants of those! I so enjoyed growing Sweet 100 one time - children just love those plants. Hope you have great good luck, Nancy! I did get the SuperTasty and those are the ones I planted in big containers, so they are a trial run. Never did that before. They are supposed to stop growing at 36 to 40 inches, so should be alright. The Big Boys were actually planted in the ground. Hoop cages around all these - the Big Boy's will have to be braced. A hoop alone wouldn't handle them. HRH already has the metal posts for that from a previous project.

Flowers - Another experiment here is trying some mini-annuals to find some that will be pretty in containers year over year with the regular annuals I like. I've been writing about it in Creative Home, too. Of these, my recommendations would be white bacopa (the variety I have is Calypso) which is a pretty trailing filler of little white blossoms that should work with anything. Also Cherry Star calibrachoa (mini petunia).

I have enough Spry marigolds to plant beside every tomato (old tradition because nematodes don't like marigolds, but I do it more because I like marigolds!) Spry means the coloration that is yellow centered and maroon outer petals. I'm just questioning whether I should do that beside the container tomatoes - may not be enough room.

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Nancy
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Re: The Productive Backyard 2013 January to June

Postby Nancy » Thu May 16, 2013 11:36 pm

So far the fryers & hens have not dug out the stuff I planted the other day yea. I still have seeds to plant deciding where to put those.


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