Author Archives: Brian Gallimore

Peppers, More Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Melons, and More Planted 4/5/2019

I picked up some pepper plants and another tomato plant from McKinney Feed and Seed yesterday, and planted them today, along with some lime beans and bush beans.  Sometime last week, I planted cucumbers, cantaloupe, and watermelon.   I took pictures of my new trees also.

Tomatoes Planted 3/8/2019

I planted 2 tomato plants today, even though it is a little early according to local vegetable garden planting calendars.  I’m hoping to get the grown nice and tall before the summer heat sets in this year.  This is the first year to use the Walls o Water / Season Starter covers.  They should protect the plants from any low temperatures we have from here on out (I hope!)

Three New Raised Beds Created 3/2019

With the help from a den of Cub Scouts, we set up 3 new raised beds.  They are 4′ x 4′ and made out of treated 2×12 lumber.  I filled them with planting mix from Texas Pure, which contains 50% compost, 25% sand and 25% top soil/loam.

Everything Survived the 17 Degree Low Temperature

All of the vegetable plants made it through the recent low temperatures. This morning just before sunup, it got down to 17.6 degrees F. I didn’t cover anything up, and the plants look like they are all OK this morning. I was most worried about the sugar snap peas that just started popping up from the ground, but they look completely unharmed. Strawberries look completely unharmed. Onions look OK. Brussels and broccoli did get some damage, but they should survive.

Carrot Harvest

The rabbits left us a few carrots. Five to be precise. Adjusted for size, it amounted to one and a half. They were very tender and delicious though. I hope I have more room next fall for a lot more. And I need a fence!

Plum Trees, Blackberries, Strawberries Planted 1/31/2019

The order I placed in October from Pense Berry Farm arrived yesterday, so I planted it all today. The blackberries are a special variety bred by the University of Arkansas that grow fruit on the primocane, so they grow fruit the first year. The strawberries Chandler variety and are supposed to withstand southern climates. One of the plum trees is a special variety from Auburn University that is very disease resistant.

Tree Placement at The Gallistead Home

18) Santa Rosa Plum
22) AU Roadside Plum
near 1,2,3) Prime-Ark Freedom Blackberries (quantity 6)