October 19, 2012

The gourd vines finally died. FINALLY! Now I can walk around. It was a little thrill to pull the vines and while simultaneously cutting off the gourds where I found them. I kept finding gourds that I had not noticed. I was also interesting to see where the gourds decided to grow. Well, the pictures below will explain everything.

This is the second level.

All of the gourds can be seen in these images; they are the same image. The top image was cut and aligned in order to prevent distortion. It takes a little practice to orient your eyes to the alignment points.

 This image was photomerged. Again, as with the others in previous posts, the distortion is extreme.

Exactly where I found them. 

 The Three Amigos.

I think that the total count was fifty-seven, and that was from just one plant.

THAT is a pile of vines, both watermelon and gourd.

I'm amazed at the size of the base of the watermelon vine. It looks like something from a fantasy movie.

Suburban Hermit of Fayetteville, signing off.

October 16, 2012

Well, the season is over. Since I can't really plant anything outside, I've decided to try planting in vases and take them inside when the weather gets chilly. Unfortunately, this is the darkest house you can imagine. My only indoor spot for most of these will be the front bay window with the tiny ledge. It's already crowded with a big potted plant and several cacti. We'll see what happens.

Peas. Started well. I have yet to be successful with peas in the yard. But, honestly, I didn't give them much of a chance. Hopefully, they'll do better in the window.

 Beans. Same story as the peas.

 Peppers. 

Carrots. Th

 Broccoli and kale.

The carrots and broccoli/kale combo will remain outside. They are cold-weather plants. It'll be a good experiment. If you noticed the domed lids on the plastic cup in the background, and in the next picture, those are milkshake cups from a popular fast-food chain. My grandfather loves them, so I have a nice stock to use. I'm wondering if the dome will work as a mini-greenhouse. Already, it's obvious that it holds in a nice amount of humidity. But it's way too early to tell.

I've saved my carrot tops and celery butts just for growing fun. I've learned that regrowing the carrot tops is how one collects seeds for premium specimens. 

Some of the carrot tops that I've already started. Honestly, I just like growing things.

Suburban Hermit of Fayetteville, signing off.

October 12, 2012

I'm continually amazed at the contrast in how quickly some things in nature change and how some things don't. In the past seven days, the watermelon vines have completely died off. 

The melon that was growing on this ledge weighed in at a whopping 33.5 pounds! Sure, there are bigger melon types out there, but, considering that all of the others from this seed stock came in at 20 pounds or less, that's HUGE.

So, this is my harvest from my first season of growing watermelons. Not bad, if I do say so myself. I don't believe that most are ripe, though. It was just too late in the season, and melons need HOT weather to really reach their peak. FYI, watermelons originated in Africa, thus, the genetic need for heat. And I read that the melons don't ripen off of the vine; meaning, that once the vine dies, or if picked too soon, that's it. Well, they should make good compost, at least. If I had chickens, they would be feasting right now.

The gourds, on the other hand, are still vibrant. I keep having to cut off new shoots. I don't believe that the gourds themselves will get any bigger, so cutting the new shoots shouldn't stimulate their growth. I simply don't want more vines taking up walking space.

My very-late-season squash is doing amazingly well. Hope it makes it.

Suburban Hermit of Fayetteville, signing off.

October 5, 2012

The back neighbors moved...and took their crazy dog with them. PHEW! So tired of it barking at nothing. Anyway, the property owners decided that it was a good time to clean the yard. WOW! What a job they did. Many trees were felled, and all the scraggly shrubbery was cleared out. Sadly, the old brush pile was cleared out, too. Sad because I believe that the rabbits were living there. Well, when I get everything growing, I'm sure that they'll be back. They can't resist a nice garden.

I created several panoramas for today. Can't do much, so I might as well take pictures. Again, wish I had been this thorough when I first got back.

This is a 90 degree panoramic. 

 This is actually a 180 degree view. The above image was shot in front of the door that is on the extreme right edge of this photo.

This is next shot is from just to the right of the blocks on the far left, middle, of the top image. It, also, should explain why my work has been so limited; no place to walk.

 This next image wouldn't stitch with the software, so I just layered them. Its position is from the very far left and extreme back, in perspective, of the 180 degree panorama.

 The next three are sections of a 360 degree panorama. The views move from left to right. The blocks on the left of the top image can be seen on the right of the third image.

 This is a 90 degree panorama, if you can believe it. Crazy distortion.

 The next two images are of the same location. Ground view. Top-ish view. But looking in opposite directions.

Wildflower. Would like to know what it is. Hope I have more next year.

This watermelon is getting HUGE. Hope it makes it.

This white mold is killing my squashes, again! I've since learned that this probably indicates that my squash are getting too much water. I was informed that squash and melons should be planted on mounds. I'll try that next season for sure. There are some organic methods to combat this, too. Murphy's Oil Soap mixed with water and sprayed on the leaves, topside and underside. Or milk mixed with water, applied the same way. But both methods are best used BEFORE the mold gets this bad.

If you ever wonder, red okra and radishes - no picture - LOVE North Carolina soil. I'll surely plant more of these next season. The leaves and flowers belong to the bean vine that's wrapped its loving self around the okra stems.

Wow, I can actually see the neighbor's house. Not sure if that's a good thing. But the loggers did give me a nice volume of logs. I'm going to use them as a water/energy bank by burying them and then planting crops and flowers on top. They should last about 5 years before rotting out.

Suburban Hermit of Fayetteville, signing off.

September 25, 2012

Because it's so late in the season, I'm worried about the cooler night temperatures keeping the watermelons from ripening. Taking a lesson from Sepp Holzer, an Austrian permaculturist, I'm going to use some of the urbanite as heat sinks. Let's see what happens.

The gourds are robust; no heat sinks necessary. Too bad such an aggressive grower isn't also edible.

It's hard to see - along the midline, slightly to the lower left and another to the slight upper right - but the tomato plant that got eaten completely grew back new stems and leaves. Amazing. Glad that I didn't pull them out.

 It's even producing fruit.

Suburban Hermit of Fayetteville, signing off.