New link added - Cucurbit Disorders - 28 October 2004

New link added - Cucurbit Disorders

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/cucurbit/intro.html

Does your pumpkin have a problem? To find out what's noshing on your squash, click through the images on this pest management "online problem solver" for cucurbits (plants of the gourd family).

Found on the 'net: A vegetable garden plan - October 26, 2004

Apparently this information comes from the U.S. Peace Corps but the link is dead. I have seen the same details in books. Remember those.:-)

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/urbanwild/message/56


TABLE 1 Seeds per ounce and Germination Rates

Table 2 Spacings For Intensive Method Of Growing Plants In Beds Crop Spacings

Plating Centers Per 100 Sq. Feet

Table 3 A List Of Common Garden Vegetables With Their Companions And Antagonist

Table 4 Time Required To Raise Vegetable Seeds To Transplanting Size

Seeds To Start In Planting Beds

Seeds To Plant In Seed Beds And Transplant

Table 5 Cool Season And Warm Season Crops
[No Table - No info]

Table 6 Estimated Yields Per 25 Ft. Row

Table 7 Estimated Yields Per 100 Sq. Ft. Bed

Table 8 Row Crop Spacings

Table 9 Estimated Yields Per 1 Acre Of Intensely Planted Ground


Technorati Tags: garden, plan, seed, planting, produce, yield, urbanwild

Not posting but not unbusy - Monday, October 25, 2004

Not posting but not unbusy - Monday, October 25, 2004

Getting back online after an abscence is not esay. So much has
happened and yet nothing has changed.

I have borrowed a digital camera and that makes it easier to
document my projects, but it takes longer to process
an entry.

So in the next few days, I'll be posting updates on my garden
locations, including a new one added a few weeks ago.

A new location - October 25, 2004

Construction zones are intersting places to grow things.

In Vancouver, when a building is constructed the trees on the
boulevard must not be cut down, so they are protected







The site is guaranteed not to be disturbed for as long as
the construction is ongoing, allowing for long term growth and
observation. One of my hopes is that if it is attractive enough
when the barrier is removed, people may not disturb it

When I first saw this site it was one of four trees and it had the
most open ground before the leaves fell. I had a small prescription
vial that I had filled with White clover, red clover, crimson clover
and spread it out of the area.

This is a picture from about a week later






You can see the clover starting to sprout.

Here's a picture from yesterday - October 24, 2004







Here's another side, also from yesterday:

Road Island - Seedballs sprouting Sunday October 10, 2004 [Pics]

The seedballs that remained intact are starting to sprout!!



The difference between the seedballs sprouts and the ones that
fell apart after the first rainfall is striking. They are about four
times the size since they started inside the growing medium.

I'm convinced.



.
.

Walking beside winner of 2004 Nobel Peace Prize - October 9, 2004

Walking beside winner of 2004 Nobel Peace Prize - October 9, 2004

Sandy Gillians, writer of Pollenatrix, one of the sites on
my blogroll wrote an entry that mentioned an environmentalist
winning the Nobel Peace Prize

The Nobel Peace Prize 2004

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the
Nobel Peace Prize for 2004 to Wangari Maathai for her
contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace.

Then I started looking a bit more closely at what the Green Belt Movement does:

The Tree Planting Program (Phase 1)- Tree planting on private land (farms, schools, churches, etc)

In Phase 1 of the project (1977-1997), GBM focused on planting trees on farms with women groups as the main
implementing agency...By 1997, over 20 million trees had been
planted and survived.

The Tree Planting Program (Phase 2) - Tree planting on public
lands (parks, forests, road reserves, etc)

The stakes are much higher in Africa, but still it is a great
feeling 'cause I'm doing that too!!

My first seedballs ready - October 2, 2004 and updates [Pics]

Update: October 10, 2004 - New entry with pics. Seedballs sprouting!!

Update: October 6, 2004 - rained a few days ago. Many of the
smaller seedballs have disintegrated. I can see the clay debris
and the seeds open on the ground. The larger ones are intact.
Next time, I will make sure they are more compacted before
considering them done.

Update: October 3, 2004 - put the seed balls on the road island. Using the guideline of ten balls per meter I covered about three meters on each side. It is a long road island. So, I am probably going to need about 200 - 300 seedballs to cover it all.

===

I found a potter on Granville Island who sold me some red clay and a few days ago I made them. He said it was a brand/type called Redart

I used the instructions on the Path to Freedom page [that's their picture too - not direct linked!!], because they used measured quanities, 1 1/4 Cup clay 3/4 Cup compost, 1/4 Cup seeds.

There is a road island

that I found on my way to work and a few weeks ago, the city cut the weeds that were growing in the cracks. I figure if the "weeds" are pretty enough, they may not cut them as often.

I used the seeds I received from Cristina [see Wish List] and made a mixture of

Wildflowers [shade tolerant]
California Poppies
Mint
Red Clover
Crimson Clover

It all went very well. I made the mixture and sprayed it with water until it started sticking together. In the end, I had a ball about the size of a large apple - about 4-5 inches round.

The balls I made are a bit smaller than what was recommended, since I knew that they were going into a crack in the pavement. so while the recipe suggests I should get 40 - 50, I probably have around 70 - 80.

The smaller ones break under the pressure of my fingers giving them a tight squeeze. I'm not sure if it has to do with the size
or that I didn't compress them enough.

The weather outside is sunny so I put them outside to dry and
realized that I could do that just as easily on top of my 'fridge when the weather is not so good.

I'll "plant" them on Sunday.

See also Replanting Stanley Park with Seed Balls July 18, 2004

......