SeanInVa 2019
 

Just documenting some of what we're doing here in Gloucester, VA this year. We're on 2.2 acres and call our plot "GF Family Farm". It's more a glorified garden at this point, but our goal is to be more self sufficient and teach our kids that you can grow/raise your own food. You might call it a hobby farm, with extra emphasis on the "hobby" :)
The "GF" is a play on both the two last names in our household, as my wife had a young daughter from a prior marriage when we met - so she hyphenated her name to include our daughter. We also have a son between the two of us. It's also a combination of the two words in the name of the road we live on. Neat how that worked out.

We have chickens, a couple ducks and a goose that won't leave. We also have rabbits and soon - goats. Apple trees, peach trees, pecans, strawberries and blueberries. Raspberries that we never maintained and a whole yard full of weeds - mostly cow parsnip, ragweed and broad leaf dock!

My wife bought me a cheap greenhouse a couple years ago and I finally got it up this year, so now I've sprouted probably way too many seeds. here's what we've got going so far

Greenhouse
[img]https://imgur.com/ofxQAo1.jpg[/img]

This was our first crack at no-till/lasagna beds. Cardboard + rabbit and chicken poop + maple leaves + chicken poop/bedding from coop cleanout + mulch and one more coop cleanout on top after this picture was taken
[img]https://imgur.com/wO0t8gK.jpg[/img]

And extended this past weekend. Cardboard, rabbit poop + black kow + peat so far
[img]https://imgur.com/Y691dL8.jpg[/img]

New strawberry bed this year. I miscalculated the amount of peat I needed. Oops!
[img]https://imgur.com/0RWOHAL.jpg[/img]

Terrible picture, but 15 plants. First time trying any kind of plastic mulch. Varieties include Sweetie, Pink Bumblebee, Mortgage Lifter, Pineapple, Marmande Garnier Rouge, Tennessee Suited and Marzano Fire. These got a rough transplant as I just dug holes in the clay, added some garden soil and black kow and watered them. Whatever survives is what we will grow. I had to sub out one of the Pink Bumblebees for another plant (which I forget now) as it was not doing well at all.
[img]https://imgur.com/aPqRfAt.jpg[/img]

more of the above. The taller ones in the front are Sweeties, our first growout from saving seed. Taters in the back in bags
[img]https://imgur.com/qUXBfmj.jpg[/img]

More of the maters, Mortgage Lifter, Pineapple, Marmande Garnier Rouge and a Tenn Suited
[img]https://imgur.com/ujOJyaL.jpg[/img]

More - Marzano Fire in the front
[img]https://imgur.com/p3EMvP0.jpg[/img]

More - Tennessee Suited (all three) - our first Dwarf tomatoes! Excited for these
[img]https://imgur.com/LLzWLie.jpg[/img]

Planted in the lasagna bed. Pineapple. Also tossed in some extra rabbit poo/bedding and dumped our ash bucket on top
[img]https://imgur.com/MTdxrR3.jpg[/img]

Mortgage Lifter in the lasagna bed
[img]https://imgur.com/wcVE780.jpg[/img]

Squash/Zucchini in the lasagna bed. They absolutely LOVE it despite the hard clay underneath
[img]https://imgur.com/Kunduov.jpg[/img]

Some shots from the greenhouse.
Various things started - including some flowers
[img]https://imgur.com/Bbe7mBt.jpg[/img]

I don't know why, but flies and other flying buggers loved it in here. So I had to take some measure of control. Notice I'm using MG Moisture Control, the oft-loathed potting mix. It has worked fantastic for us, and even works well to start seeds w/o damping off.
[img]https://imgur.com/jj2wtZk.jpg[/img]


These two went into our raised bed this past weekend. Pink Brandywine and German Queen
[img]https://imgur.com/iOLjbAo.jpg[/img]

And here they are all settled in
[img]https://imgur.com/JKhJ5m6.jpg[/img]

Maglia Rosa, which I mistook for an indeterminate before I double checked. AFTER staking and pruning. Doh! Have another on the other side of the bed that I did the same too.
[img]https://imgur.com/SLfG0t2.jpg[/img]

Carrots and peppers
[img]https://imgur.com/YS7fjnK.jpg[/img]

Would you like some blueberries with your weeds? I can't keep up!
[img]https://imgur.com/cawVAyf.jpg[/img]

Soon....as long as the deer stay away. Caught one going to town on the mulberries yesterday :twisted:
[img]https://imgur.com/c5hh2dB.jpg[/img]

Looking great! I'm jealous that your tomato plants are actually growing OUTSIDE instead of shivering at the thought of leaving the house!

Linda

Looks great! Great looking blueberries too.


Good to have another Virginian on site!

[quote]Looking great! I'm jealous that your tomato plants are actually growing OUTSIDE instead of shivering at the thought of leaving the house![/quote]
Thank you! We got lucky with a pretty mild winter. I've gotten bitten in the past by trying to get a jump before the LFD, but this year I was able to get some stuff in the ground a good or more before.

[quote]Looks great! Great looking blueberries too.


Good to have another Virginian on site![/quote]
thank you! I think I saw in another post you use the lower and lean method for tomatoes? I may have a few questions for you on that, as I am hoping to establish a permanent home for the indeterminates.

Sean:


I do use lean and lower, grafting, hugelkulture and a bunch of other stuff. Ask away!


Let me know if you get close to historic Jamestown - you would be welcome to stop over.


Jeff

Things are growing well so far this year. Apples got hit with Cedar Rust again, and the dang deer keep eating the tips. Peach trees are infested with oriental fruit moth again. Bleh

Squash are loving their lasagna bed
[img]https://imgur.com/2UqMgWj.jpg[/img]
[img]https://imgur.com/ePcFqe4.jpg[/img]

Potatoes are peaking out. Have three more varieties to plant yet!
[img]https://imgur.com/pNGz5vS.jpg[/img]

Pink Bumblebee
[img]https://imgur.com/RvciazK.jpg[/img]
[img]https://imgur.com/UynjBEf.jpg[/img]

Sweetie - of the three in the ground, this one is growing like a weed.
[img]https://imgur.com/pW5dyY9.jpg[/img]
[img]https://imgur.com/GT2Lxma.jpg[/img]

Marzano Fire
[img]https://imgur.com/wI090S8.jpg[/img]

Mortgage Lifter
[img]https://imgur.com/7lyPYmk.jpg[/img]

Pineapple
[img]https://imgur.com/1bTdnZu.jpg[/img]

Plot #2. Started by covering with a tarp for ~1 month. Removed the tarp, dug holes, threw on some Black Kow and covered. Four open holes, and just off screen to the left is a watermelon
[img]https://imgur.com/E45rug2.jpg[/img]

Plot #3. Soon. This will probably house a lot of determinates.
[img]https://imgur.com/NYujlni.jpg[/img]

Plot #4. Prepped yesterday. Tilled, cleaned out and then covered with Peat + Black Kow, and then plastic. This is where I will try lean + lower using 4x4x10 end posts, 2x4x4 as cross beams and run #9 wire. I've ordered some spools from Johnny's to help with leaning them around. Likely will house Brandywine, Delicious, Red Cherry, Beefsteak, Garden Leader Monster, MoneyMaker and maybe some more Sweeties
[img]https://imgur.com/TXy1gXi.jpg[/img]

Maglia Rosa
[img]https://imgur.com/P9Yz6Rt.jpg[/img]

German Queen
[img]https://imgur.com/431jHY3.jpg[/img]

Pink Brandywine
[img]https://imgur.com/AcyXRqf.jpg[/img]

Raspberries I'm trying to save
[img]https://imgur.com/Emfkuy3.jpg[/img]

Strawberries. Picked a ton of flowers, and still getting some red berries in the first year. Gosh darn chickens keep jumping on to the bird netting I've laid over them.
[img]https://imgur.com/RyKylvi.jpg[/img]

Blueberries!
[img]https://imgur.com/3XSthQN.jpg[/img]
[img]https://imgur.com/6YRyiXC.jpg[/img]
[img]https://imgur.com/O2do0Kj.jpg[/img]

Have a TON of things going in the greenhouse, but no pictures of that today

Wow. Your garden looks great!

My tomatoes and squash are coming along at a good pace too.

I'm digging a few new beds this weekend for some extra squash this year and tomatoes next year. I'll post some pics if I get the time . . . but I sure do appreciate seeing yours!

Jeff

Oh, I've thought of getting one of those green greenhouses at the end of season before.

Have you ever had any problems with overheating? My wife and I work so someone is not always home - if a forecasted cloudy day turned sunny I wondered if my plants would be roasted?

Jeff

[QUOTE=jtjmartin;736413]Wow. Your garden looks great!

My tomatoes and squash are coming along at a good pace too.

I'm digging a few new beds this weekend for some extra squash this year and tomatoes next year. I'll post some pics if I get the time . . . but I sure do appreciate seeing yours!

Jeff[/QUOTE]
Thanks for the comments :)
Would love to see some pics of how things are coming along for you.

Based on I think one pic I've seen of your A-Frames, it looks kind of shady in your garden area? Is that so?

[QUOTE=jtjmartin;736414]Oh, I've thought of getting one of those green greenhouses at the end of season before.

Have you ever had any problems with overheating? My wife and I work so someone is not always home - if a forecasted cloudy day turned sunny I wondered if my plants would be roasted?

Jeff[/QUOTE]



It's really hard to keep a consistent temp. I don't have anything in there as a heat sink. That said, when it's 75+ and sunny, if it's closed or only the top vents open, it will hit 110-120F pretty quick.

I work from home 3 days a week, and go into the office the other 2. So far, I've not cooked anything - but that's really thanks to a SensorPush bluetooth thermometer I have sitting in there.

Unless raining, I open it all the way up around 7:30AM and close it around 7:30PM. Especially when going into the office. I just open it up as I'm leaving for work.

I just got it up in April, so I didn't have any experience during colder weather. We'll see how this fall/winter goes. I will try and post some updates around that time here.

Looks great, may want to space ur maters further apart. I have a really cheap and efficient gh design that has held up to 60mph winds and 6 inches of snow. Built it 4 years ago and haven't had to do anything to it since. I'll look for the post on FB where I go over its construction.

Your garden is looking good!
How does Pineapple do with your humidity? I love it and grew it in Mass. but haven’t attempted it in N. Florida.

[QUOTE=BigVanVader;736447]Looks great, may want to space ur maters further apart. I have a really cheap and efficient gh design that has held up to 60mph winds and 6 inches of snow. Built it 4 years ago and haven't had to do anything to it since. I'll look for the post on FB where I go over its construction.[/QUOTE]

Would love to see it!
Maters are definitely close. About 20inches apart in the rows. The intention was to only do 1 or 2 stems per, but then they look so healthy and I think...1 or 2 more won't hurt :lol:

[QUOTE=PlainJane;736450]Your garden is looking good!
How does Pineapple do with your humidity? I love it and grew it in Mass. but haven’t attempted it in N. Florida.[/QUOTE]

Thanks. This is my first year growing pineapple. So far the plant itself is doing fine. Seems to be taking longer to get flower trusses vs the mortgage lifter and brandywine. I planted one for my mother as well and she only had one truss on the first 4' of the primary stem. I'm due to go over there this weekend and check on them.

We'll see how they do through the season

Got the taters all done. The Kennebec and Irish Cobblers are starting to grow in the first row. From left to right after that are Caribou Russet, Dark Red Norland and Yukon Gold

First time trying them in bags.

Time for an update - pics from today 6/16/2019

Strawberries. A few didn't make it, but still not bad. We've pulled a few berries so far. I gave up on plucking flowers. I've wasted more than we've eaten as slugs or bids are still getting to them despite the netting
[img]https://imgur.com/Pb2T1xs.jpg[/img]

Brandywine. Phenominal growth, and set fruit even during the hot dry spell we had a few weeks ago
[img]https://imgur.com/nqv2UCV.jpg[/img]

Bush beans - that's maybe 5 plants - seed was a few years old, so only had about a 20% germ rate
[img]https://imgur.com/3EWTDCY.jpg[/img]

Maglia Rosa in the background, and Straight Eight cuke in the fore, and one lone garden pea plant in the extreme foreground
[img]https://imgur.com/JKl6d9i.jpg[/img]


More of the Straight Eight
[img]https://imgur.com/GLKt93r.jpg[/img]


One more. This was from a single planting from a Bonnie start. Had two plants in the cup. it's getting out of control.
[img]https://imgur.com/NzLbsQi.jpg[/img]


Maglia Rosa with the Straight Eight in the background. Despite my best efforts, the cuke is growing into the tomatos
[img]https://imgur.com/ZvdyRS9.jpg[/img]

A second Maglia Rosa. We've harvested a few so far. Both of these went nuts, even after I "suckered" them (and they are determinates... whoops!)
[img]https://imgur.com/8Jilx7b.jpg[/img]

Cornflower is finally blooming. Now if only I could take the time to clean out the front-yard bed these were meant for
[img]https://imgur.com/KxnN3K9.jpg[/img]

Various younger plants in the greenhouse. The big one in the back is a Mortgage Lifter that I was protecting. The stem split towards the base and I'm scared to plant it now :(
Some Red Robins in the fore, Beefsteak and Sweetie in the back
[img]https://imgur.com/QF39t1d.jpg[/img]

Some backups, and some other peppers I need to split out
[img]https://imgur.com/0pyUdIA.jpg[/img]

First attempt at lean-and-lower. Might need to consider a middle support post. #9 wire isn't the easiest stuff in the world to tighten/secure. Six spots left for Black Krim and Beefsteak. Currently planted: Delicious, Money Maker, 4th of July, Brandywine, Garden Leader Monster, Red Cherry, Gardener's Delight
[img]https://imgur.com/ROyUs1F.jpg[/img]

Saved seed grow outs of Burpee Best Boy F1. Really just an experiment to see what I get out of them. Just planted yesterday, so I still need to clean up my digging mess.
This is a new 18-spot plot, most of which will eventually be filled with Tennessee Suited
[img]https://imgur.com/k53KIfr.jpg[/img]

Marmande Garnier Rouge - these finally set fruit after the hot dry spell. Have two planted, this one looks better :)
[img]https://imgur.com/fMMV6oP.jpg[/img]

Marzano Fire - 3 plants. They said it took well to a trellis, so tried a Florida Weave. Out of control. Hornworms love these, and so do the squirrels :x
[img]https://imgur.com/4AFt45p.jpg[/img]

And more (hit the image limit for a post)
Mortgage Lifter - this is the one near the squash, and it gets some shade. Not sure if its the shade, the ground (the lasagna bed test) or less bees over here that is resulting in low fruit set
[img]https://imgur.com/5S2WLNV.jpg[/img]

vs this Mortgage Lifter which gets all day sun and is near all the others. Sweat bees like this area.
[img]https://imgur.com/aO3Sj9o.jpg[/img]

PlainJane was asking about Pineapple. This one is a dud. Next to the squash in the shade. Seemed unhappy from the get-go. Think it's the lasagna bed. It's has exactly one fruit set so far, and it was on a sucker stem I had to get rid of....
[img]https://imgur.com/8vrBo8r.jpg[/img]

But like the ML, this Pineapple is setting fruit ok (finally, it did take forever). It gets full sun.
[img]https://imgur.com/SiynEH7.jpg[/img]

Pink Bumblebee. I have been trying to prune to 4 stems. This one got an extra to the front left, and I have another one that's split to two off to the right....
[img]https://imgur.com/hMIe1KD.jpg[/img]

... which you can kind of see here. The empty spot originally had a Pink Bumblebee and that wilted, then I put in a Cherokee Purple and that wilted. So I'm assuming the spot is haunted and I will just stake up some suckers from the thriving PB :)
[img]https://imgur.com/98jVDKm.jpg[/img]

Squash and Zucc slowly succumbing to the squash bugs
[img]https://imgur.com/ZLfOXEH.jpg[/img]

Sweeties. Squirrels like these too. Little buggers. Mortgage Lifter in the background of the last two
[img]https://imgur.com/SQcShTR.jpg[/img]
[img]https://imgur.com/OLmJQOM.jpg[/img]
[img]https://imgur.com/8IvmGFp.jpg[/img]

Tennessee Suited. These took a little while to flower, but are doing great now
[img]https://imgur.com/VWsfybb.jpg[/img]
[img]https://imgur.com/y9kvz5m.jpg[/img]

And a bit better look at some of the fruits - as you might can tell, Septoria is our main disease pressure here, with a touch of early blight

German Queen
[img]https://imgur.com/Zw0LyE0.jpg[/img]

Brandywine
[img]https://imgur.com/WQ2LFND.jpg[/img]
[img]https://imgur.com/KCUv0Q1.jpg[/img]
[img]https://imgur.com/sy7QG2I.jpg[/img]

Maglia Rosa
[img]https://imgur.com/nMZS0I9.jpg[/img]
[img]https://imgur.com/lwe5NSF.jpg[/img]

Tennessee Suited
[img]https://imgur.com/lOx6OY2.jpg[/img]
[img]https://imgur.com/U2tgFKb.jpg[/img]


Marzano Fire
[img]https://imgur.com/Z3AnfNd.jpg[/img]

Mortgage Lifter
[img]https://imgur.com/OkevAtq.jpg[/img]

Sweetie
[img]https://imgur.com/pDZV8Sh.jpg[/img]

Pineapple
[img]https://imgur.com/3DjnCbO.jpg[/img]
[img]https://imgur.com/Q81RYRJ.jpg[/img]

Marmande Garnier Rouge
[img]https://imgur.com/aFRh8pT.jpg[/img]

Pink Bumblebee
[img]https://imgur.com/rkBRCri.jpg[/img]
[img]https://imgur.com/M5gHFnb.jpg[/img]

[QUOTE=BigVanVader;736447]Looks great, may want to space ur maters further apart. I have a really cheap and efficient gh design that has held up to 60mph winds and 6 inches of snow. Built it 4 years ago and haven't had to do anything to it since. I'll look for the post on FB where I go over its construction.[/QUOTE]

Finally found it, you'll probz have to join that group to see it.

[url]https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10214787322586353&set=p.10214787322586353&type=3&theater[/url]

Looking good Sean, making me think more about my seed sowing coming up in roughly a months time. Always enjoy the photos of you northern folk, even if I cannot get the seed of some varieties you grow to OZ legally.

[QUOTE=BigVanVader;739872]Finally found it, you'll probz have to join that group to see it.

[url]https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10214787322586353&set=p.10214787322586353&type=3&theater[/url][/QUOTE]

I had been toying around with putting something together like that, but also with a permanent front door with some wood. Good to hear it's holding up well :)

[QUOTE=Whwoz;739885]Looking good Sean, making me think more about my seed sowing coming up in roughly a months time. Always enjoy the photos of you northern folk, even if I cannot get the seed of some varieties you grow to OZ legally.[/QUOTE]

thanks and that's a shame :(

I added endwalls and a door later. I actually like to keep the sides rolled up and both ends open 90% of the time.

Single-stem lean-and-lower experiment is going well. I've got to learn how to tie #9 wire tighter and probably install a middle support post. Wire is tied to ends at 8', and it's sagging to about 5.5' in the middle. These are "Delicious"
[img]https://imgur.com/bns02Jr.jpg[/img]


This "Delicious" went a little squirrely. If you follow the main stem from the bottom, you see on the right where I plucked a sucker. The on the left, a sucker I've not plucked, and then the main stem. It's got a flower truss, then a stem of another truss that looks like it wants to keep growing, but has another flower truss starting just one branch up. Weird growth.
[img]https://imgur.com/G0e4dJQ.jpg[/img]


I grew three Marzano Fire plants. Two of them produced the these longer, more traditional fruits....
[img]https://imgur.com/WjZlhZM.jpg[/img]

While the third produced nothing but these half-size things. Growth pattern of the plants were near identical with this one growing a bit stronger earlier in the season. Also not as attractive to hornworms as the other two. Maybe a bee cross? Seed source is Artisan Seeds.
[img]https://imgur.com/qDB6xvk.jpg[/img]

And the two sizes compared
[img]https://imgur.com/EQ404eM.jpg[/img]

I cooked these down into a sauce. My first time ever making s'getti sauce. THink i needed to cook the tomatoes down some more. I mixed in some peppers and squash too, and didn't de-seed the tomatoes. A bit salty, and chunky. But, tastes ok. Next time, I think I will just cook the tomatoes down by themselves first. Anyone have any tips? :)
[img]https://imgur.com/vxH8rjL.jpg[/img]

Also, having this issue with a lot of our tomatoes. I suspect stink bug damage, but if that's the case, those little buggers are getting around. I have only seen a few of them, but two whole plants of Maglia Rosa was like this. Brandywine and Pink Bumblebee also have these spots
[img]https://imgur.com/GFGKUCn.jpg[/img]


And in other news, we had a hen disappear a bit ago, and we'd see her out in the AMs sometimes eating by herself. We figured she went broody. Lo and behold, she's out in the yard this morning with not 1, not 5, not 10 but 13 of these little things in tow! Holy moley! Wife and I got them scooped up (while battling a very ticked off momma hen who kept charging and jumping at us!) and put into a box. We've since moved them into the run and blocked it off and covered it to give them some safety and weather protection
[img]https://imgur.com/RCWaiWh.jpg[/img]

[img]https://imgur.com/vU4JIzH.jpg[/img]

And the momma (who certainly did NOT lay all these eggs)
[img]https://imgur.com/vSBDLMY.jpg[/img]

[QUOTE=SeanInVa;740741]Anyone have any tips?[/QUOTE]



[B][SIZE=5][FONT=Garamond]My first sauce-making experience taught me to not salt the sauce until it is cooked down to the consistency that I desire. I ended up having to make a non-salt batch later that day and blend them together to fix my error.[/FONT][/SIZE][/B]

[B][SIZE=5][FONT=Garamond]I also now shun the stove-top method in favor of a 300 degree (Fahrenheit) oven. Leave it in for an hour and then stir. Repeat the process until the sauce is cooked down to your liking.
[/FONT][/SIZE][/B]
[B][SIZE=5][FONT=Garamond]I put my sauce in ziplock-style freezer bags (not too much - keep it somewhat thin) so they freeze quickly, are easy to stack, and thaw super fast.[/FONT][/SIZE][/B]

[SIZE=5][FONT=Garamond][B]Other than that - experiment and enjoy![/B][/FONT][/SIZE]





[SIZE=5][FONT=Garamond][B]BTW - How big were your Marzano Fire plants?
[/B][/FONT][/SIZE]

[QUOTE=Koala Doug;740757][B][SIZE=5][FONT=Garamond]My first sauce-making experience taught me to not salt the sauce until it is cooked down to the consistency that I desire. I ended up having to make a non-salt batch later that day and blend them together to fix my error.[/FONT][/SIZE][/B]

[B][SIZE=5][FONT=Garamond]I also now shun the stove-top method in favor of a 300 degree (Fahrenheit) oven. Leave it in for an hour and then stir. Repeat the process until the sauce is cooked down to your liking.
[/FONT][/SIZE][/B]
[B][SIZE=5][FONT=Garamond]I put my sauce in ziplock-style freezer bags (not too much - keep it somewhat thin) so they freeze quickly, are easy to stack, and thaw super fast.[/FONT][/SIZE][/B]

[SIZE=5][FONT=Garamond][B]Other than that - experiment and enjoy![/B][/FONT][/SIZE]



[SIZE=5][FONT=Garamond][B]BTW - How big were your Marzano Fire plants?
[/B][/FONT][/SIZE][/QUOTE]


Thanks for the tips! Definitely lesson learned about the salt!

The plants were grown with a florida-weave support system, and got to maybe waist high on my 5'7" frame. so.. 3-3.5 feet or so?

Cute chicks Sean!!!! I hope they do not turn out to be all male!

Linda

Well no pictures for this update. I'm a little miffed at the overall situation

We live on 2.2 acres and have all kinds of nature in the area, and the last few years the rabbit population has surged, despite one of our indoor/outdoor cats best efforts (he likes to eat the babies up and leave the heads/appendages in front of the front door)

It started with a tomato here, and tomato there that would get eaten or chewed on. OK, we didn't fence them in and I don't mind sharing some. I walked out to the lean/lower patch and these varmints have done gotten into over a dozen tomatoes. Green, yellow and orange and every where in between. I've not kept up with it as much as I should recently between work, rain/storms and that crazy heatwave. *cocks pellet gun*

One Pineapple plant wilted overnight, and the other started growing like crazy. Checked it today and there were ~6 half-ripe tomatoes. Most had splits from the rain, all but two were devoured by..... something. A bit high for rabbits, but doesn't look like chickens. Deer maybe? :twisted:

Started checking the taters and this was a very big disappointment. I'm sure I planted late, but I'm only getting a few that are maybe silver-dollar size. These are from plants that have been heeled up, flowered already and are dying back.

I still have a Pink Bumblebee producing, a Brandywine and German Queen I just nabbed the 1/2-3/4 ripe from. The Sweetie cherries are plentiful, but taste awful, I assume from all the rain. I have a few more I put in late, and those are just starting to turn with one or two ripe fruits. *those* taste ok. Best Boy Hybrid I saved seed from aren't quite blushing yet and I grabbed a few 1/2 ripes from the Park's Improved Whopper. Now let's see if I can actually get anything from the lean/lower!

So I suppose between this season and next I need to work on some fencing! :))

Deer, possums, racoons, squirrels and rabbits definitely loved my tomatoes down the road in Williamsburg! The first year I ended up with *no* big, delicious heirloom tomatoes. I spent the winter watching some commercial on Hulu for home-delivery-meals that featured heirloom tomatoes. Ugh!

Fenced with Tenax with a supplemental "lead shield" (pellet gun) and now I have an overflow!

Good luck with your planning!

Jeff

Took some pictures yesterday - the sun was out and I couldn't see a dang thing on my phone, so the quality isn't very good. But here we go - and yes I know I need to weed around my plants!

Best Boy Hybrid - These were from saved seed last year, experimenting to see what I got from them. Sepotoria hit them hard last year, and you can see some here as well, already. These are from three separate plants in total. One has some fruits with a nipple on them
[img]https://imgur.com/NQLxIen.jpg[/img]
[img]https://imgur.com/PWHQjEP.jpg[/img]
[img]https://imgur.com/XQ3GjUq.jpg[/img]
[img]https://imgur.com/ppuuLj5.jpg[/img]

The last patch I planted. Dwarfs to the left are Tennessee Suited. To the right is 3xSweetie (front) and 3x Best Boy Hybrid saved seed. In the back are my blueberry bushes hiding in the weeds :(
[img]https://imgur.com/XOBxEZN.jpg[/img]

The lean and lower system. Wire is tied off at ~8', and sags to 4.5' or so at this point. Bleh!

These are Gardener's Delight - seem to be bigger than what the internet says they should be.
[img]https://imgur.com/q41EV1X.jpg[/img]
[img]https://imgur.com/izvBc8V.jpg[/img]

Garden Leader Monster
This one, a rabbit took a liking to
[img]https://imgur.com/fXedyQj.jpg[/img]

And this one, a worm
[img]https://imgur.com/F4zkhfN.jpg[/img]

Safe - so far
[img]https://imgur.com/OR7UGx9.jpg[/img]


Brandywine (first three on left). Rabbits think they are tasty
[img]https://imgur.com/IFPyAIJ.jpg[/img]

Showing the sag. Money Maker and 4th of July
[img]https://imgur.com/tVs6sMN.jpg[/img]

Money Maker and Delicious - more varmint damage
[img]https://imgur.com/YQNNe8a.jpg[/img]


Delicious - yet more damage
[img]https://imgur.com/CwlN1jJ.jpg[/img]

These two are the Mortgage Lifter and Pineapple I planted near the squash in the lasagna bed. They went gangbusters after all the rain we had. I stopped pruning and just tied the stems all together. I'm sure this will result in lots of disease, but we'll see

Mortgage Lifter
[img]https://imgur.com/6wdpbCn.jpg[/img]

Pineapple - this on is throwing these apple shaped fruits (for the lack of a better way to describe them)
[img]https://imgur.com/Qvfr8cG.jpg[/img]


And, and update on the chicks!
Here are our baby dinosaurs with momma dino.
[img]https://imgur.com/Hq2WTks.jpg[/img]
[img]https://imgur.com/eONMbhC.jpg[/img]

And their daddy, Charlie
[img]https://imgur.com/e39detY.jpg[/img]

Sean:

Again, beautiful pics.

I had never seen chicken runs covered before. My niece in Charlottesville said the hawks were so bad that they keep theirs covered. Gloucester too?

My wife wants to move out of Williamsburg so we can keep chickens and maybe a pygmy goat or two!

Jeff

[QUOTE=jtjmartin;742553]Sean:

Again, beautiful pics.

I had never seen chicken runs covered before. My niece in Charlottesville said the hawks were so bad that they keep theirs covered. Gloucester too?

My wife wants to move out of Williamsburg so we can keep chickens and maybe a pygmy goat or two!

Jeff[/QUOTE]

Come on over here! :)

Yes, we have a breeding pair (at least) that hangs around the general area. Along with foxes, possums, etc.

In fact, my wife had been nursing a polish after something attacked its back. Not sure what, but she had a nice deep open wound. Had this bird in the bathtub for darn near 3 weeks, then she moved her out to a metal dog crate under one of the maple trees out front, where we hang bird feeders. She did great for about a week and a half.
Then my wife came home, while I was not 25 feet away in the office working, screaming and crying running up to the door. Seems a hawk was sitting next to the cage eating her neck up. That was my wife's favorite chicken, and she was really sweet. Here is a pic of her, with her floppy mop feathers tied up so she could see