Archive for the 'Gardening' Category
What To Do With That Koi Pond
You bought a house. As part of the landscaping, it has a Koi pond in the back yard. It’s nice and all, but you’re really not that interested in taking care of the Koi and you’ve got small kids that are going to use it alternatively as a swimming pool. Not good.
So, what are you going to do with these fish? And then what are you going to do with the resulting hole that’s left over once you’re done with the water feature?
I know this might seem odd, but I’ve had a handful of people ask me about this exact issue. We get close to the closing and they say “Can we ask the owner to take their fish with them?” This is a delicate subject because the home owner is typically very proud of their Koi pond and see it as a selling feature for the house. What the buyers typically see it as is a headache. And unfortunately the seller’s next accommodations usually aren’t equipped for the fish. The little finned friends stay, much to the dismay of the buyers.
My recommendation for getting rid of the fish, and really anything house-related that you don’t want, is to post it for free on Craigslist. Or Freecycle. Time and again, someone will reply and come get whatever it is that you don’t want. Swing sets. Used furniture. Old windows. Extra scrap wood. Even fish. You know the saying, “one man’s junk is another man’s treasure.” It certainly holds true.
And what about the hole that’s left after the Koi pond is gone? Turn it into a sandbox. Or go to Craigslist or Freecycle and look for someone looking to get rid of fill. Continue the reuse cycle!
And please, don’t flush the fish down the toilet or leave them outside without the heater on so they freeze. That’s just cruel and unnecessary. There are plenty of people out there that will take your stuff.
Small Victory in the Tomato Experiment
Maybe you’ve been following our tomato experiment. A couple of weeks ago we were rejoicing about beating the neighborhood critters. Well, now our plants have succumbed to the blight. Eh.
Our five remaining tomato plants still have tons of tomatoes on them, it’s just that we lose about 15 tomatoes for every 1 we harvest. These are some ugly tomatoes…
This past week we did declare a small victory, as we were able to save one nicely-sized, non-blighted tomato. We promptly put it to good use. There’s another one that should be ready for picking tomorrow. Not the bumper crop we expected about a month ago, but enough of a victory to plant again next year.
Proud Parents
They sure do grow up quickly! It seems like just yesterday we were preparing to raise our very own little ones. Carefully preparing the bed, gathering the necessary accesories, and mixing the right amount of food. And now, just look at them, we couldn’t be prouder.
This has been our best tomato crop ever – by a large margin. The small plants pictured in our late-May post have grown to the size of small shrubs and are overflowing with green tomatoes. But rather than letting all this success go to our heads, we have to give considerable credit to Mother Nature for diligently watering the crop through June and July.
We’re also keenly aware that a tomato in hand in worth two on the bush – actually more on the bush. The last time we grew tomatoes most of them were stolen by one of our woodland friends. We found many of the fruits in the garden bed with a single miniature bite taken. Far more of the crop permanently disappeared. Needless to say, the criminal was neither identified, captured, nor prosecuted.
The most experimental portion of this year’s effort was deploying a Topsy Turvy for one of the plants. Although we were impressed with the growth of the plant, it seemed to be a victim of its own success, hanging lower and lower the more it grew. Most of the plant is now resting on the ground, which works against the theory that a hanging plant is better protected from the above mentioned predators than one grown in the traditional manner.
Over the next month we hope to be able to enjoy at least a few of our homegrown tomatoes. Ideally we’ll be able to combine them with the homegrown basil to create delicious tomato-basil-pesto pizzas, which is the ultimate goal of our gardening effort.
Our Topsy Turvy Tomato Experiment
Kyle and I are both originally from Vermont. I think this means that we are supposed to have green thumbs. My theory comes from the fact that when I was in college just about every person that learned I was from Vermont asked “Did you grow up on a farm?” To set the record straight, neither Kyle nor I grew up on a farm.
Perhaps as a tribute to our “heritage,” each year we try and grow our own vegetables. We certainly try to prove our thumbs are green, but the various critters in our neighborhood (squirrels, raccoons, and the occasional opossum) and lack of adequate sun in our yard always seem to do us in. We have yet to yield a successful crop of anything besides basil. Weak, I know. Some would call us stubborn, others thickheaded. We think we are persistent and just haven’t found the best method yet. Besides, who really wants to lose some Darwinist experiment to squirrels? Not me.
The past couple of years we have decided to focus our attention on growing just basil and tomatoes. We think we have the basil down. It grows in pots on our porch and seems to do relatively well. Critters aren’t interested, the porch is sunny enough. The tomatoes are another story.
We’ve tried various gardens dedicated to tomatoes, moving them to different places each year to try and get them the maximum sun in our mostly shady yard. In most cases it worked. Until the critters decided to eat our entire crop, usually when the tomatoes got to a nice size, but were still green. Well, I guess “eat” isn’t the correct word, “waste” is probably more appropriate. Apparently taking one bite from each tomato, dropping it on the ground, and then moving on to the next and repeating the process is the preferred method of animals trying to break human spirit. *Sigh*
So, will this year be any different? Will we officially give up and resort to the local Farmers Market? Uh, no. That would be the sane thing to do. This year we are putting our eggs in the Topsy Turvy basket, along with a few other methods. Some of our neighbors are also doing the Topsy Turvy experiment. Here you can see our dueling Topsy Turvys…
During the summer months we’ll give you Sunday updates on our progress on which method is working best. Our fingers are crossed that Year 5 of the tomato experiment finally yields positive results. For us, not the animals…
Knox Parks Foundation Plant Sale- May 29-30
We’re entering into the perfect time to be working on your gardens and the perfect time to support a great organization!
The Knox Parks Foundation will be hosting its annual plant sale next Friday and Saturday at 75 Laurel Street in Hartford. Stop by between 9:00am-6:00pm on Friday, May 29 or 9:00am-2:00pm on Saturday, May 30 to purchase annual, perennial, herb, and vegetable plants for your gardens.
Knox Parks works in partnership with residents, businesses and government to build stronger, greener and more beautiful communities in Greater Hartford, with a special emphasis on the Capital City itself. This event is a fundraiser to support the Knox Green Crew, an AmeriCorps Program where members work with community volunteers to beautify the city of Hartford while learning about the environment.
The Green Crew carries out a wide range of projects throughout Hartford, including fee-based landscaping services for local nonprofits and labor assistance for Knox activities. The conservation corps is a team of out-of-school youth who are trained in landscaping and gardening in order to develop marketable skills while improving the appearance and productivity of Hartford’s green space. Programs involving the Green Crew include Hartford Blooms, a collaboration with the Greater Hartford Arts Council; creation of community gardens; and maintenance of public spaces such as the Ancient Burying Ground, as well as other beautification projects.
So if you’re going to be beautifying your home’s landscape in the upcoming weeks, why not support a great cause in the meantime? Please stop by next weekend!