Growth Notes: August 1st, 2011
I’m quite pleased with how the garden is shaping up this year. Despite the fact it was a barren wasteland of morning glory, ivy, oregon grape, and other sundry weeds and annoyances when we first moved in. The weather has been cool here, and rainy, and to my shock and awe, plants have not succumbed to blight or any other various diseases, *knocks on wood*. There’s a bit of a problem with powdery mildew on some of the bee balm and columbine, but even the squash only have minimal tellings of it. Things are going pretty damned well, and I thank the excellent natural soil of the area, and a bit of hard work to keep it all going.
Now, for a few updates!




All the tomatoes have had at least some flowers isolated now, and are growing fruit. I had some problems with a few, most notably ‘Coracao di Boi’ and ‘Antonovka’ with blossom drop. Once again, hard to tell if this is weather related or not, but since it’s been warming up and days haven’t been so cool, both are setting fruit much more easily.
Site update!
I thought it was high-time to start producing a quarterly newsletter. In it we’ll have updates on the bank, new additions, and special projects and plans. There’ll also be things that are announced there first (like looking for growers for instance!), as well as highlights and features on varieties in the bank. I’m even hoping to feature one family heirloom per newsletter with stories, historical info, growth info, etc. Imagine it like a mini magazine that finds its way to your inbox!
Of course all information will be kept strictly private, I’m not even using a third-party service to keep the email addresses, they’ll be stored with me, and I will never release them.
The first issue will be in October of this year – and yes I would love to feature your family heirloom! If you have one, please use the contact link located in the side bar to get a hold of me.
Want to sign up? Here’s the form (all fields required):
I’m excited about the first issue, which is already being worked on as I type this.
Stay tuned for more growth notes from the gardens coming this week.