by Noel | Oct 25, 2022 | CobraHead, Gardening
I’m sure I’ve mentioned before that potatoes may not be the best value for work input for a home grower. High-quality organic potatoes from the market are quite inexpensive, and certainly a better pure cost value than our homegrown spuds. However, I have no doubt that planting two beds of potatoes every year is a good fit for my garden. Potatoes are usually a very reliable crop. I’ve got my planting scheme down, and I see the rotation of potato beds through the...
by Noel | Sep 14, 2022 | CobraHead, Gardening, Vegetable Growing
The picture represents a very small fraction of the total tomato yield. I have forty plants growing in two beds. The 20 different types I grow our mostly heirloom varieties and a lot are started from saved seed. One hybrid I have grown for a lot of years is Sungold. This small yellow/orange cherry tomato is always the first tomato to produce and it remains very productive right up until frost. We grow several varieties of cherry tomatoes, different paste...
by Noel | Aug 30, 2022 | CobraHead, Gardening
For our first, and probably last, annual award for the worst weed in the garden, this year goes to bindweed, hands down. Weed of the year requirements are simple. What weed is causing me the most grief or the most work to control in the garden? This year bindweed is way ahead. It’s hard to kill, it has deep tap roots that easily snap off. After breaking off the plant from the root, the root quickly puts out new growth. The stems wind around other plants and can...
by Noel | Jul 31, 2022 | CobraHead, Gardening, Sweet Corn, Vegetable Growing
We had an excellent corn harvest. Unfortunately, raccoons ate about two dozen ears due to my negligence in leaving the garden gate open one night Nevertheless, we still had a lot of corn to eat and freeze. We froze 16 bags of corn, each 1.5 cups for a total of just over 12 pounds. We are stuffed with sweet corn, right now, and we’ll have delicious frozen corn to carry us through the winter.
by Noel | Apr 27, 2022 | CobraHead, Gardening, Vegetable Growing
The vernal equinox of March 20th was supposed to mark the beginning of spring. Somebody forgot to let Wisconsin know. It’s the end of April, and we are just beginning to see weather that in any way lends itself to gardening. Indecent weather and the fact that I missed March totally while on a vacation in Texas have put me behind in the garden, but I’m working to make up for time lost. I direct seeded onions and leeks into a hoop tunnel. They are sprouting and...
by Noel | Jan 31, 2022 | CobraHead, Gardening, Vegetable Growing
January Garden While this may not have been the coldest January we’ve seen, it was still pretty cold. Depending on your gardening attitude, the frigid Wisconsin winter can be good, or not. I rate it very good, and other lazy gardeners are in my camp. There is absolutely nothing to do. Everything outside is snow-covered and the ground is hard as a rock. Who would want to be out there, anyway? Nevertheless, even lazy gardeners have to do some planning, and January...
