Monthly Archives: August 2013

Corn in the square foot garden

corn-on deck ear

I’ve grown corn in our gardens many times in the past.  There are some things I like about it and some things I don’t.  I don’t like the fact that it takes up so much room for so long.  And it’s so cheap in the summer I always ask myself why I even attempt it.  Last winter Burpee’s came out with this “container” corn that I wanted to try.  Instead of taking up valuable squares in the garden, I could now plant this in a large container.  Well, I did, and it was great.  Easy and very sweet corn.  I had some extra seeds so I stuck them in the garden to see if they would grow and they did.  This is “On-Deck” corn-a sweet SH2 variety that you might consider for next year.  Burpee’s claims you’ll get 2 or 3 ears per stalk.  I’ve gotten one per stalk so far, and the one’s I’ve pulled have been excellent.  The things I like about growing corn yourself is that just picked fresh, sweet taste.  The other thing I like about it is that I can use the stalks for fall decorations in the garden and then they become “brown” compost material that I shred.  The taste of this corn was excellent.  The stalks didn’t get overly tall, and I was able to easily grow 4 stalks per square.

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Sweet corn-looking good

corn 081913Corn can be successfully grown in a SFG. This is a brand new variety from Burpee’s called “On-deck.” It’s specifically made to be grown in containers where it’s worked very well. I had some extra seeds so I stuck some in the garden-4 per square. This is a sweet corn-SH2-that has at least 1 ear per stalk. Burpee’s says you will get more than that, but I haven’t seen it yet. It would be nice if that turns out to be the case, but even if it doesn’t-nothing beats the taste of corn plucked right from the garden. This is the time when all your hard work starts to pay off in the final harvest of the summer. Parts of the fall garden have already been planted-carrots, beets, kohlrabi, spinach, and a few varieties of lettuce. With temperatures in the high 90’s this week(when will it end?!)I’ll hold back on direct seeding of all the other fall crops until next week. I have my 2nd “Fall Crop SFG” class this weekend. We’ll have a lot of fun with the added benefit of a selection of Johnny’s Selected Seeds for sale. Hope you can join us..[ois skin=”below post”]

Enjoying the summers harvest

spaghetti squash3 080913This time of year I begin to slow down a little and enjoy the harvest of the season. In about two weeks our weather will begin to cool off, and then the gardens really start to produce even more than they are right now. I’ve already planted a few squares to prepare for a fall season in the spaces I have open. I’ve been experimenting with a few things this season. Here’s a picture of spaghetti squash growing vertically on a simple piece of PVC. It works very well-it’s being held up by velcro. This is a variety called Pinnacle by Johhny’s, and it’s excellent. I’ve been able to get about 4 or 5 per plant before the frost dates usually ends it’s production. Right now it’s tons of squashes, zucchini, beans, cucumbers, lettuce, chard, and cherry tomatoes. Corn looking good and should be ready in a couple of weeks.

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Making great compost-it’s easy and free!

spaghetti squash 080413Sorry if this picture looks a little dark-I snapped it this evening and should probably have taken it tomorrow morning in sun.  But it’s been over a week since my last post.  I’ve had a lot of friends and neighbors who have struggled with their gardens this year.  Even SFGers.  Of all the basics of the SFG, getting the soil right is probably the most important.  After the initial purchase of the mix ingredients you won’t ever have to buy them again-if you make your own compost.  Besides being a great medium to grow in(actually the best), a good blended and finished compost also helps you to control other things like bugs and critters.  It’s not the total answer but it’s just another resource of things you can do to help in that area.  Making compost properly at home will be better than anything you’ll ever buy in a store.  It won’t even be close.  You can notice the rich black soil that I’ve just added to this box.  You can see why they call it “black gold.”  It hasn’t been watered at all in this picture.  Even though the pepper plant(left hand corner)and the spaghetti squash plants are doing fine, this added boost of fertilizer will make it grow even bigger and stronger.  There’s not one tablespoon of dirt in this soil.  It’s all kitchen scraps, straw, horse manure, spent garden produce, and leaves left over from fall.  If you’d like to learn more of the specifics of my compost operation, I cover this topic in my ebook which you can find on my site.  I think my results speak for themselves.

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