Day 46: Presidential Peas Please

We, The Mayne Gardeners...fancy ourselves "amateur historians" as well as "amateur gardeners". Of particular interest to us is the 3rd president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson. Not only is Jefferson the author of the Declaration of Independence, he was also an avid gardener...like us.

Of all the vegetables in Jefferson's garden his favorite was the Pea. Throughout his life Jefferson took fastidious notes and he kept a detailed account of the many vegetables planted in his garden. According to the Massachusetts Historical Society "Peas are mentioned frequently, in fact, two-thirds of all the pages of the AGArden Book (44 of 66 pages) include Jefferson's notes about various types: frame peas, Hotspur peas, cowpeas, marrowpeas, blackeyed peas, and Prussian blue peas." 

Some historians believe Jefferson's interest in peas was more than just epicurean and actually sprouted (excuse the pun) from a local contest. The Monticello Association website states that Jefferson often particiapted in an annual contest "to see which farmer could bring to the table the first peas of the spring".

In honor of America's greatest founding father The Mayne Gardeners also planted peas. Truthfully, Jefferson wasn't our only motivation...the fact is we love to eat peas too. On many summer afternoons we've sat on our deck overlooking the Webhannet River shelling peas purchased from Chase Farm on Rt 9 in Wells and on many evenings gobbled them down at dinner. Funny thing though...we often found ourselves eating a large quantity of the raw bounty right from the pods while shelling.

If you look back at our Day 1 inventory post, you'll see we planted five pea plants, but in addition to this we also sowed three rows of pea seeds. Our 30'X3' planting bed limited us to one varity of snap pea, nothing compared to Jefferson's varietal indulgence.

Day 46:

Coming soon

Day 45: Stand Alone Planting Bed

We recently saw this stand alone, raised planting bed in a local nursery. It is 36" high, 38" long, 25" wide and about 11" deep and is made of cedar wood. We liked it so much we plan on making a similar one over the winter to be used in conjunction with the Mayne Garden. It was constructed using simple wood joinery, so it shouldn't be a difficult project nor an expensive one.

Day 44: I Wouldn't Quite Call it...

I wouldn't quite call it a Thanksgiving, but...

While checking the Mayne Garden last night, we noticed one Zucchini and one Yellow Summer Squash ready to be picked (and eaten). This weekend we planned on harvesting all of the Turnips, so we'll pick the squash at the same time. Once the Turnips are out of the ground (which are growing out of control), we will fill that area with a second planting of carrots and beans.

I wouldn't quite call it Godzilla, but...

     Some"thing" is eating our Brussell Sprout leaves...we think it is a leaf cutting worm of some kind. Why do we think so...because we saw it (green ugly fellow). We decided not to touch "the thing" with hands, but rather to blast "it" and any of "its" friends with bug spray next weekend.

      We feed The Mayne Garden last Sunday with a liquid fertilizer and cultivated the soil. We can see the difference. 

I wouldn't quite call it a victory garden yet, but...

Over-all, at this point we have some nice successes (Turnips, Zuchini, Summer Squash, Eggplant) and some not so nice successes (Beans, Peas, Carrots, Fennel, Brussell Sprouts).

Day 31: Weekend plans

This weekend we'll be pretty busy in The Mayne Garden or at least hope to be if the weather cooperates. There are a number of essential "chores" (or labors of love) that need to be done. Over the past few weeks the Wells area has experienced unusual amounts of rain which prevented adequate servicing of The Garden. This rain washed away the remaining fertilizer we spread several weeks ago... So this weekend our three main goals are to cultivate and fertilize The Garden and then consume a nice juice hamburg on the grill.

Day 29: Carrot Crisis?

Over the weekend we discarded one Eggplant which was unquestionably dead, but  the majority of the other vegetable plants in The Mayne Garden look pretty good. Of course, since we are worrywarts we are concerned about some of Garden plants...We are referring to our Fennel and Carrots. We planted both of these from seed only four weeks ago and they are very small, not good for cool weather vegetables with the summer here.
      When we planted these seeds we knew it was late, but we figured considered this kind of an experiment.  "Let's see what happens", we thought. Regardless of success or failure of these, we decided to sow a second crop of Fennel and Carrots in mid-July for a Fall yield.
      Still, we find the fact that our Turnips are doing well even though they too are a cool weather vegetables like Fennel and Carrots.  

Day 26: The Webhannet River

If the saga of The Mayne Garden was made into a movie the main character would be the Webhannet River. Located on the banks of the river in Wells, the success of The Mayne Garden ebbs and flows with the river itself. If you follow this blog you know the behavior of the river is the major influence on the health and survival of our Garden. All said...it is the unpredictable nature of the Webhannet that makes living (and growing a garden) on its banks so invigorating.
 


Here are some interest facts about the Webhannet River:

1. The Webhannet River is approximately 8.3 miles long and its body lies entirely in the town of Wells, Maine

2. Pope's Creek, Depot Brook and Blacksmith Brook are the three main tributaries of the river.

3. 1,167 acres of river estuary, salt marsh and uplands are protected by the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge

4. US Army Corps of Engineers.built the two jetties located at the mouth of the Webhannet river in 1961. When built the north jetty was 580 feet long and the south 920.

5. In 1963 the north jetty was extended 200 feet. And in 1965 both jetties were extend again, north to 1,225 feet-south to 1,300feet.

Day 24: Assessment

We inspected The Mayne Garden last evening. Some plants look good and others not so good. Here is our quick assessment:

We are pleased with the growth of the peas (planted  from seed), the zucchini and in particular the turnips.

But  right now we are concerned with about half of the eggplants, the bush beans and the half of the tomato plants. It seems the Jet Star variety tomatoes are not doing as well as the Better Boys. We are not sure if this discrepancy is the result of differences in the varieties or because the Jet Star were planted closer to the Webhannet River than the Better Boy.

    There is still little to nothing happening with the gourd seeds (we have no idea why). And the peas that were planted from seedlings look worse each day. The cucumber plants, which were also planted from seedlings, are a little yellowish, but we think they'll make it.

 








 BTW, the lettuce plants are finally coming into their own. 

Day 23: Sunshine

We are finally expecting some warm, sunny weather here in Southern Maine. Forecasters are predicting temperatures in the upper 90 range for both Wednesday and Thursday.

This is good news.

Some of our gardening friends in Massachusetts are "stating" their vegetable plants have grown significantly over the past ten days, unlike The Mayne Gardens' which have grown, but only a little. We keep rationalizing that the difference is the more temperate climate in Mass and the additional sunshine provided in a non-coastal area.

So as the said back in the 1960's... "let the sunshine in".

Day 22: Recap

Flowering Zucchini Plants
 
We started this blog because we wanted to create a record of the events that took place in The Mayne Garden from Memorial Day to Labor Day 2012. We will use this log to guide us in future gardening along the Webhannet River. With this in mind we decided to make this entry a simple list of observations and facts from the past week (June 9-June 16).

1. We find cultivating the garden every third or fourth day very helpful.
2. The Beans and Peas we started from seeds directly in the bed are doing better than the seedlings we purchased.   
3. Once four leaves appeared we thinned our Turnips to one every three inches and they seemed to have taken-off since.
4. Unlike our Turnips, our Fennel and Carrots are growing very slowly.
5. We purchased Brussell Sprout plants on sale from Chase Farm in Wells on June 10 and planted them in the river side of the bed, an area that has been struggling.
6. Twice we planted Gourd Seeds and so far have had little success.
7. We saw our first Zucchini flowers on June 9, no flowers on the Eggplant, or Yellow Squash.

Day 13: Turnips and Beans Break Through

Hey, those are our beans popping through the soil...

And they are looking good!

Hey, those are our Turnips popping through the soil...

       And they are looking good, too!
 

Day 11: Desperate Decision

OK, so we were desperate and desperate people can do, well desperate things.

Last Friday before the heavy rains started in Wells, we checked The Mayne Garden and what we saw concerned us.The tomato plant leaves appeared a little yellow with some black spots. We traveled to a big box store looking for an organic pest control substance. We found nothing we liked.

Confused, concerned and not knowing what to do we bought a container of Sevin (remember, we were desperate). We sprinkled some of the powdery stuff on the tomato leaves and the ground around the plants.








We are guessing the weekend's rain washed most of the Sevin away and with it any protection it might have given.

Fortunately, we found a totally organic pest control product on Sunday.    

Day 10: Follow-up to Day 5

Through my research, I have found two solutions for our pest control issue. One is insecticidal soap which should be safe for use on our types of vegetables. The other is a BT solution. BT is a disease that occurs in insects that can be controlled and used to infect and eliminate other pests. The following is a list of insects that can be affected by BT.

Insects Controlled by BT

Kurstaki strain (Biobit, Dipel, MVP, Steward, Thuricide, etc.):

• Vegetable insects
• Cabbage worm (cabbage looper, imported cabbageworm, diamondback moth, etc.).
• Tomato and tobacco hornworm.
• Field and forage crop insects
• European corn borer (granular formulations have given good control of first generation corn borers).
• Alfalfa caterpillar, alfalfa webworm.
• Fruit crop insects
• Leafroller.
• Achemon sphinx.
• Tree and shrub insects
• Tent caterpillar.
• Fall webworm.
• Leafroller.
• Red-humped caterpillar.
• Spiny elm caterpillar.
• Western spruce budworm.
• Pine budworm.
• Pine butterfly.

Israelensis strains (Vectobac, Mosquito Dunks, Gnatrol, Bactimos, etc.)

• Mosquito.
• Black fly.
• Fungus gnat.

San diego/tenebrionis strains (Trident, M-One, M-Trak, Foil, Novodor, etc.)

• Colorado potato beetle.
• Elm leaf beetle.
• Cottonwood leaf beetle.

Colorado State University Extension entomologist and professor, bioagricultural sciences and pest management.

Day 9: HighER Tide, Again!

Water water everywhere
All the boards did shrink
Water water everywhere
Nor any drop to drink.
             Samuel Coleridge "Rime of the Ancient Mariner"

        Another day,  another night, another high tide...Monday night brought another incredibly high tide on the Webhannet River in Wells. Unfortunately, this time the surge caused more damage than either of the past two.

Water flooded and destroyed six pepper plants and three basil plants that we had  planted in a small portable unit on the side of The Mayne Garden (yikes... and they were hot peppers too, my favorite).

     Yesterday we posted a picture displaying a water-mark on the side of  The Mayne bed about ten inches high. This morning we observed another water-mark from last night's tide closer to 18 inches high.

    When will it end?

Click image to enlarge

Day 6, 7 & 8 Storm Damage

      Heavy rain over the weekend was just one of our problems for The Mayne Garden, but I'll get back to that later.
     First Saturday and Sunday night brought incredibly high tides in Wells. This morning as we traveled along Webhannet Drive we were amazed at the damage caused by the night's pounding surf. The storm even ripped off the front railing on a house along the ocean near Eldridge Rd. We saw debris of all kinds littering the road: a set of metal stairs, lawn chairs, wood and sea rocks just to mention a few. The violent ocean also throw seaweed in heavy amounts on various parts of Webhannet Dr..
       And of course, the storm surge elevated the tide along the Webhannet River. Our eyes couldn't believe it when was saw The Mayne Garden covered with ten inches of water. The extent of damage to our vegetables is unknown at this time.
      Now back to the heavy rain. Since forecaster were predicting bad weather for Saturday we staked and tried our tomato plants for protection Friday evening. The best way to describe Saturday's weather... it poured and poured and the wind blew strong. When we inspected The Mayne Garden on Sunday morning the damage was less than expected. The rain toppled one tomato and two pepper plants. We easily reseated these.

    Unfortunately, there is more to come tonight!
  
 
  The water-mark on The Mayne Garden planting bed shows the incredible height of the tide


 Rain pours out of a neighboring building Saturday

Day 5: The Inevitable Pests

We spent a few hours this morning investigating how to control/eliminate the inevitable pests that will soon be invading The Mayne Garden. The Mayne Garden is our first attempt at vegetable gardening in thirty years, so when it comes to pest control we are admittedly out of touch. Back in the “olden days”, Diazinon was the product of choice for home gardeners. But today, Diazinon is no longer used residentially.

   It is important to us to keep The Mayne Garden organic. We began our search for a pest control product by asking other novice gardeners (like us) what worked for them. The first suggestion came from a friend who uses Neem. Neem “is a vegetable oil pressed from the fruits and seeds of the neem (Azadirachta indica), an evergreen tree which is endemic to the Indian subcontinent” (this explanation came from Wikipedia. We don’t even know what half of it means). 

       Another friend mentioned lime-sulfur as a control substance. Finally, we googled the phase “organic pest control in a vegetable garden. Through this search we found information on Thurcide, Dipel and Pyrethrins.

   We still don’t feel completely comfortable with our choices. It looks like we need a trip to local nursery here in Wells.

Day 4: The Mayne Garden by the Numbers and Lettuce (Get It)

Facts about The Mayne Garden

The full planting bed is 20 inches high, 30 feet long and 36 inches wide, constructed from pressure treated, yellow spruce wood purchased at Morse Lumber on Rt One in Wells. 

These long, narrow beds yield approximately 90 sq ft of planting area (check my math, its not my strongest subject). 

The structure is actually three separate beds, seamlessly connected at 10’ intervals.

The frames are held square by 4x4 beams (PT also) attached to the sides in each corner by 3 inch screws.

We lined the bottom of the bed with a light, porous material designed to drain water but stifle weed growth (sure).

Lawn Salon owned and operated by Cory Chase filled the beds with loam then mixed in four bags of  fertilizer.

In our "Day 1 inventory post" we reported planting over 100 individual flowers and vegetables, a sizable number for a bed this size.

In addition, the center bed has three, five foot high 4x4 posts used to support a simple (cheap) wire trellis. We planted our beans, cucumbers and peas along the trellis to make use of vertical space. We plan to replace the wire trellis next Fall with a more decorative wood structure.

The bed sits in an area that provides ample hours of unobtrusive sunlight (I can taste those wonderful, sun-drench tomatoes already).

The Mayne Garden is located along the edge of the enchanting Webhnannet River.   

Day 3: Heavy Rain

Last night around 8:30 PM a heavy rain storm moved into Wells, Maine and descended on The Mayne Garden. We are not  quite sure how long the blast lasted but, early this morning Webhannet Drive which runs close to the beach was littered with small puddles. This standing water is a  good indication that last night's rain was very heavy.

Young gardens, like The Mayne Garden, can easily be damaged by a heavy rain storm. The newly planted vegetables sit shallow in the soil making them unsteady on "their feet". A good gust of wind combined with a good drenching is the perfect formula to cause seedling damage.

Of course, this morning we were a little apprehensive when we checked The Mayne Garden. Truthfully,  we didn't know what to expect. Fortunately, the storm felled only two tomato plants which were easily restored to vertical with a push and press.


Just A Little Damage

Looking Good

Day 2: A Little Concerned

It is only the second day of our Mayne Garden adventure and Mother Nature is already giving us a little scare. Early this morning we received a text alert from seacoastonline.com warning us of the possibility of flooding in York County. The warning is the result of severe thunderstorms in the area. Hopefully, these will bypass Wells. Right from the beginning we knew flooding could be a threat to our riverside garden, but we certainly didn't expect it so earlier in the process. Unfortunately, even though we constructed our planting beds twenty inches high, the newly planted vegetables have shallow root systems  and could be easily toppled by heavy rain...but we feel confident things will be OK.

Day 1: The Mayne Garden

This afternoon we planted our vegetable garden along the Webhannet River in Wells, ME. It was a bright and sunny Memorial Day so we jumped on the opportunity to begin our gardening adventure. We took a trip to Jo Ann's Nursery and "two" to Chase Farm (forgot the tomatoes) and stocked up on seedlings. As we worked the sun was hot, but a cool breeze from the Rachel Carson Estuary kept us comfortable. After several hours we completed the first step in our "Mayne Garden".  Below is an inventory of our planting bed.      

•   9 Zucchini 
• 6 Bell Pepper
• 3 Yellow Summer Squash
• 12 Eggplant
• 5 Snap Peas
• 5 Pole Beans
• 4 Cucumbers
• 6 Butter Crunch Lettuce
• 6 California Wonder Peppers
• 18 Tomatoes
• 23 Marigolds
• 4 Rows of Carrots
• 4 Rows of Turnips
• 1 Row of Fennel