My 2014 Spring Garden

[Travis_R]

I'm gonna try and post pics, progress, and updates on my Spring garden this year. I'll also be able to use this thread for future reference. This is the main reason I'm doing this but feel free to comment anytime! I plan on posting pics this evening. Stay tuned! ;-)

 

[DJ54]

You Southern fella's drive my buddy crazy posting stuff about planting this time of year. He's doing the Farmer's Market thing, and wants to be the first to have Sweet Corn, etc. to get the premium prices on early items. I told him he needs to pack up, and move about 1,000 miles south.

I don't get too excited here, unless it's the cool weather items until the second week of May. Can't seem to get him to understand the frost date here is May, 15th. Well, except last year. He planted Sweet Corn the 1rst week of April, and it was looking good, until we had a near killing frost on Apr. 20. It did survive, but looked pretty funky. His second planting the first week of May passed it up by 2 weeks, producing ears.

I'm getting the fever though, so DO post pics..!!

 

[motocephalic]

I'm getting ready to plant indoors, not sure if that counts but frost date here is near the end of May. I plan on starting my indoor plants next week though and will post as it comes along. Man am I ready to get out of this snow drift. This was my first year back in snow country in 25 years, not too sure I can last though.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Last year I think everyone around me had to replant due to planting too early. We had a warm spring and everyone had plants growing my end of March but somewhere around end of April, we got a killing frost and everyone lost everything. All the good bedding plants were already planted so the remaining runts was what everyone had to contend with. No one made a decent crop off of anything last year at least in Ark and Houston Texas area.

 

[Gordon Gould]

Please post your pics - I would love to see that spring is actually coming somewhere. We plant after Memorial Day, so it will be a while. Here is a picture of a corner of our garden last week. The fence is a 5 footer to keep deer out. Snow to the top of the picnic table. We got 7 or 8 inches since then so it is even deeper now

 

[Travis_R]

Well y'all don't need to feel too bad about the spring garden just yet! Lol I only planted a row of red Irish potatoes because it was way too wet to get in the garden in February, and it's too early to plant anything else because of the chance of a frost. Hopefully I wasn't too late by planting the potatoes yesterday but I had no other choice. As for last year's garden, I took that chance on planting early and it come back and bit me! Frost bit that is.. Had to go back and re-plant everything. I vowed to never plant that early again!! I chisel plowed 3 days ago and tilled yesterday. Supposed to be a lot of rain coming this weekend and I'll have to re-till. But that's ok because I had to get that grass out of there. Here are some pics... Fixing to cover up the planted potatoes with the row hipper. Potatoes are planted! Potatoes are covered! Opened up the furrow with the middle buster

...sorry I messed up in the order of the pics.

 

[Travis_R]

Please post your pics - I would love to see that spring is actually coming somewhere. We plant after Memorial Day, so it will be a while. Here is a picture of a corner of our garden last week. The fence is a 5 footer to keep deer out. Snow to the top of the picnic table. We got 7 or 8 inches since then so it is even deeper now

We dream of snow down here and Im assuming y'all dream of summer up there!

 

[TerryR]

My wife got tomatoes and peppers up early this week.... under the lights in the basement.

They will go in the greenhouse in April and outside in mid to late May after the chance of frost is past.

Terry

 

[Travis_R]

My wife got tomatoes and peppers up early this week.... under the lights in the basement. They will go in the greenhouse in April and outside in mid to late May after the chance of frost is past. Terry

I can't eat tomatoes except every now and then on a BLT. I may be alergic to them or something, not sure. The acid leaves blisters in the roof of my mouth! But I'm not missing anything because I don't care for tomatoes anyway. The only way I like them and can eat them is when paw paw fries 'em when they green. (And Fried Green Tomatoes is a good movie too!) Paw paw bought his tomato, squash, and pepper plants the other day. But hasn't set them out yet. Paw paw and daddy grow their own hot peppers (Caribbean Reds, habanero, and Bhut Jolokia?) and bottle it up in small whiskey bottles. Sometimes they sell, sometimes they trade. But they mainly keep it for themselves. I just don't see how they eat that stuff! Now I like a little spice in my life but nothing like that!!! I mainly like planting Funks G-90 sweet corn, yellow strait neck squash, dasher 2 or straight 8 cucumbers. I'll sometimes plant red beans or cranberry beans. I may end up planting a row of string beans this year though. I'm trying a patch of watermelon and cantaloupe this year again also. But haven't had any luck with those 2. Watermelon is my favorite fruit. Trying Black Diamond this year. I don't really care for cantaloupe but family members do. But if I can get it to produce, my mouth ain't gonna turn it down! lol

 

[Travis_R]

Ok we finally got lots of rain today and I'm pretty sure more is on the way!! We're currently under a tornado watch and Lord knows we don't want that but all I gotta say is GROW LITTLE SPUDS GROW!!!

 

[motocephalic]

those are the kind of pics we like, I am still under a snow drift and frozen to the core. My plants indoors don't even like it, and are refusing to come out of the soil. I am in desperate need of spring like never before.

Please post your pics - I would love to see that spring is actually coming somewhere. We plant after Memorial Day, so it will be a while. Here is a picture of a corner of our garden last week. The fence is a 5 footer to keep deer out. Snow to the top of the picnic table. We got 7 or 8 inches since then so it is even deeper now

 

[Travis_R]

those are the kind of pics we like, I am still under a snow drift and frozen to the core. My plants indoors don't even like it, and are refusing to come out of the soil. I am in desperate need of spring like never before.

Man I know how u feel! Well not exactly because of the snow, but about not being able to get out and do things we like to do in the yard. I cut my grass for the 1st time last week and it certainly needed it. This week it's been so cool the grass hasn't even thought about wantin' a cuttin'! lol
This haas been the most 'messed up' winter here in South LA that I can remember. It's been a very hard winter here.
The next time it dries up enough to get in the garden with the tractor, I'm gonna till, row it up, fertilize and plant. I think I'll be safe enough to do it. So hopefully within the next week or week and a half I'll be planting everything. Everything except maybe the okra seeds.
Last year I planted too early and the frost got it. U talk about aggravating!!! Had to go back and replant everything. Maybe had 1 squash plant to survive but that was it. Boy I was some mad. I made a vow not to plant early this year though!
I never planted potatoes in March before either. I sure hope they do well. Or at least some would be satisfactory to me. I bought the last picking of seed potatoes from the hardware store. I got 14.445 pounds for a row that's about 105 ft. long. I had just a single handful left and gave them to my paw paw for his small garden.
This will be the second time I planted potatoes in my life. I planted them on the same row 3 years ago and they did well in my opinion. Will probly side dress them this year with 13-13-13 before I hill them with the row hippers. Somebody said sulfur may be good too.

 

[TerryR]

...but all I gotta say is GROW LITTLE SPUDS GROW!!!

We received a package of seed potatoes yesterday with water dripping out of the box, and half of them mushy. Seems they were sent from Washington state by UPS, and got well frozen by the winter storms coming across the plains.

Terry

 

[jenkinsph]

Travis,
Your garden looks like it is off to a great start.:thumbsup:

Curious what town are you near in La.?

 

[Travis_R]

We received a package of seed potatoes yesterday with water dripping out of the box, and half of them mushy. Seems they were sent from Washington state by UPS, and got well frozen by the winter storms coming across the plains. Terry

I'm sorry to hear that!! Man that'll turn u against it won't it. Could u possibly get a refund from the seed company or UPS? Or maybe have them ship u more, with no charge?

On a positive note, even though it won't help your situation, you made me realize I could order seed potatoes if it's too late to get them around here. It never even crossed my mind til your post. I thought about ordering other seeds before, but not seed potatoes. Thank You!!

How much u reckon it'd cost to ship about 15 pounds?

 

[Travis_R]

Travis, Your garden looks like it is off to a great start.:thumbsup: Curious what town are you near in La.?

Thanks! I'm close to Walker off I-12.

 

[xtruckerbob]

The man who farms our land left me 12 rows 800 feet long for our garden. Thats a lot go garden but it gor 3 families.

 

[TerryR]

I'm sorry to hear that!! Man that'll turn u against it won't it. Could u possibly get a refund from the seed company or UPS? Or maybe have them ship u more, with no charge?

The seed company would be happy to send more, but say they don't have any more. We're waiting for the office manager to return Monday to see what they can do.

On a positive note, even though it won't help your situation, you made me realize I could order seed potatoes if it's too late to get them around here. It never even crossed my mind til your post. I thought about ordering other seeds before, but not seed potatoes. Thank You!!

You're welcome. My wife orders her seed because we enjoy having a number of different varieties - fingerlings, reds, blues, bakers, etc. So we only order the minimum amount of each one. Given that this company says they are sold out, I don't know well you would do ordering them not. Probably some companies still have stock.

Terry

 

[Travis_R]

The seed company would be happy to send more, but say they don't have any more. We're waiting for the office manager to return Monday to see what they can do. You're welcome. My wife orders her seed because we enjoy having a number of different varieties - fingerlings, reds, blues, bakers, etc. So we only order the minimum amount of each one. Given that this company says they are sold out, I don't know well you would do ordering them not. Probably some companies still have stock. Terry

Oh no I didn't word it right. I'm bad about that haha... What I meant was I already have my potatoes planted. 1 row about 105 ft. long... 14 1/2 pounds... Almost didn't find them around here because it was so late when I planted. Couldn't get in the swampy garden LOL.

But it was just good to know that I could order them from somewhere if I ever need to.

 

[Travis_R]

I'm fixing to post a few pics of an implement that is Extremely Versatile and strong. If a person has a tractor then I Highly recommend investing in this implement, or one like it 'FOR' the future, not 'IN' the future... If you catch what I mean.

Going to a birthday party in a little while. Hopefully I will get the pics up by this evening.
Matter of fact I got a video on my phone of me and my 1 1/2 year old son Garrett 'cultivating' turnips. He wanted to ride with "dada" on the tractor and I needed to make adjustments on the cultivator.
Let's see if it will upload...

Sorry I couldn't get it to upload. But I'll get the pics!