revdorothyl: missmurchsion made this (Default)
Add MemoryShare This Entry
I had to break down and water some of my plants today, after the rain I'd been expecting since Thursday failed to materialize (the tomatoes are well-mulched enough and planted deep enough that they weren't wilting yet, and the raspberry canes were just looking a tad dry, but my pots of basil on the patio were bone dry and awfully limp), and I was thrilled to find that there were not only some unripe raspberries hiding under the greenery, but also one ripe red one and four ripe golden raspberries.

Maybe this year my raspberry patch -- which is pretty huge at this point -- will actually produce enough fruit to harvest and use, rather than simply eating as I come across them.

Meanwhile, the tomatoes are all looking extremely healthy, and there are green tomatoes of various sizes on most of them. Last year, I started a bunch of tomato plants from seed and ended up transplanting them far too close together and right next to the raspberry patch, where they struggled to survive (though I got some nice yellow pear and brown berry tomatoes for a week or two, before too much rain and too-close quarters resulted in a rampant case of rot that also took a severe toll on the raspberry canes). This year, I bought seedlings, garden soil, and mulch, and made sure to dig deep and far apart all over my yard when I set them out, so I hope that even if one or two of them get sick or insect-infected, the others will be isolated enough to survive. (I hope!)
There are 2 comments on this entry. (Reply.)
 
posted by [identity profile] cousinmary.livejournal.com at 02:24am on 07/06/2010
Wow, your growing season is much longer than mine in Idaho. My berries (black, blue and huckle) are just _starting_ to flower. Forget about the tomatoes, no flowers yet at all. -sigh-
 
posted by [identity profile] revdorothyl.livejournal.com at 04:42am on 07/06/2010
Yep, middle Tennessee has a very long growing season, usually (as well as a very long air conditioning season, usually starting before the end of March, though I think I made it almost through April before having to turn it on this year).

To be on the safe side, I try to stick to plants that are hardy through zone 6, though I suspect that the sheltered nature of my backyard makes it more like zone 7 at times, but you're probably, what, zone 4 in Idaho (http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/hzm-nw1.html)? (Depending on where in the state you are -- at least, according to that national arboretum map, there's a lot more diversity in growing season in your state than I'd expected.)

October

SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
1
 
2
 
3
 
4
 
5
 
6
 
7
 
8
 
9
 
10
 
11
 
12
 
13
 
14
 
15
 
16
 
17 18
 
19
 
20
 
21
 
22
 
23
 
24
 
25
 
26
 
27
 
28
 
29
 
30
 
31