My 2014 Spring Garden

[Travis_R]

As long as the rain does not hang around they should survive very well. That's my bet.

Yes I believe they will also. But it haas gotten pretty cold out there too. One day this week it's supposed to be in the 30s!!

 

[Travis_R]

A little below 45 degrees here this morning! The potato plants will be fine but I have a concern about the rest of the seeds. Especially the sweet corn seeds. Sure hope they germinate and don't rot. All the water is drained off the garden
Good news is the rain is over with but we have a 40% chance Thursday and 30% Friday.

 

[sixdogs]

Just a note on seed potatoes. When I first planted spuds decades ago I was not aware of how many eyes to plant in one spot so I did one eye per plant and it worked great. One eye per plant has been working excellent for many years and I get more that I could ever use. Just my two cents on that.

Also, when you use a cultivator to keep weeds down in the rows, a little Preen weed preventer in the immediate area surrounding the plant makes life a lot easier. It eliminates all the tedious hand weeding close to the plant.

Finally, we often have used the disc-type implement shown below. We make a pass with it and it leaves a ridge and groves on either side. We plant down the middle of the ridge and the excessive rainfall fills the grove on the sides. Works great.

 

[Travis_R]

Just a note on seed potatoes. When I first planted spuds decades ago I was not aware of how many eyes to plant in one spot so I did one eye per plant and it worked great. One eye per plant has been working excellent for many years and I get more that I could ever use. Just my two cents on that. Finally, we often have used the disc-type implement shown below. We make a pass with it and it leaves a ridge and groves on either side. We plant down the middle of the ridge and the excessive rainfall fills the grove on the sides. Works great. <img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=370721"/>

I was told a few years ago to leave 1-2 eyes per cut potato. I've left 2 eyes. Never tried just 1 eye but it's a thought.

I leave a ridge with my row hippers just like you're referring to and it makes a small furrow depending on speed what and gear the tractor's in. If I'm not pushed for time I'll go ahead and bust the rows open a little, then run the EarthWay down the middle to plant. But if I'm pushed for time, then I just push the EarthWay down the row where the hippers made that small furrow. It's really simple.

The toughest thing I have found to do is attaching and unhooking implements over and over and over all in a day to get the correct adjustment set up for my tractor. From tilling, rowing, cultivating, adjusting, re-tilling, and doing it all over again many more times.

But I didn't give up and I don't suggest anybody else to either! Just pay attention to what you're doing and how the attachment is functioning and how the attachment and tractor are working together with each other in the type of soil they're in. Stop, clear your head, and think about what adjustments could be made to the attachment AND tractor to get the best performance out of the task you're trying to achieve NO MATTER HOW LONG IT TAKES.
I also recommend to get a pen and paper and take those notes!! I did just that. Trust me, it helps a lot.

 

[sixdogs]

Travis--the answer is esy. You just need a few more tractors to use with implements that are difficult to set up. Short of that, a quick hitch can make life easier. I know I hate setting up my planter every year and have to wrestle with it and try to figure out how it goes. Takes me n hour to set it up and 15 minutes to plant.

 

[Gordon Gould]

Really looks good. You are doing well staying one step ahead of the weather. Is all that rain fairly normal ? Or is this an unusually wet spring for you ?

 

[Travis_R]

Really looks good. You are doing well staying one step ahead of the weather. Is all that rain fairly normal ? Or is this an unusually wet spring for you ?

It's actually pretty normal I guess. The winter is what was unusual.
It's been cold here the last couple mornings. Done had a frost earlier this week. The old timers around here call it "An Easter Snap". I don't know where they got the name though.
The frost did affect the potato plants. They don't look as green and tall as before. But I think they gonna be just fine and come on back up.

I did get very lucky today and picked up an implement for the tractor. It's another set of old and heavy row hippers! I jumped on the phone first thing this morning and told the man I was coming to get them. So now I got 2 sets of 1 row hippers, but I'm not keeping both. 1 of them has to go, just ain't made up my mind which one.

I'm gonna start a new thread in the "attachments" forum to get some opinions.

 

[Travis_R]

Ok here are a couple fresh pictures of the garden I just took a few minutes ago. Potato plants looking very good. The corn was planted 6 days ago. Hasn't sprouted yet but the top of the furrows are starting to crack open and from my experience, that's always a good sign that "something is going on under that dirt!"

 

[motocephalic]

very nice looking, I tilled my moms place today, and may till a neighbors this week, waiting for them to decide where. Last year my PTO was the right length , seems like it grew over the winter months, cause I had to cut it off by an inch. Radishes and onions are up but in a cold frame.

 

[Travis_R]

very nice looking, I tilled my moms place today, and may till a neighbors this week, waiting for them to decide where. Last year my PTO was the right length , seems like it grew over the winter months, cause I had to cut it off by an inch. Radishes and onions are up but in a cold frame.

If you can make a PTO shaft grow an inch over the winter, there's no telling what you can do with vegetables!!! LOL

 

[Travis_R]

I cut grass most of the day today. Had a chance to get in the garden for a few minutes. I had to dig down some just to see what a seed was doing. I couldn't resist.
I thought I was on a corn row but once I gig down I realized I was on the bean row after the sprouted bean presented itself!
Yes, it kinda made me scratch my head..

I also did some cultivating again on the potatoes. Just wanted to loosen the soil up because I'll be hilling at the beginning of next week.




The "corn seed" I was expecting that ended up turning into a snap bean.



The cultivated potatoes

 

[TomSeller]

I cut grass most of the day today. Had a chance to get in the garden for a few minutes. I had to dig down some just to see what a seed was doing. I couldn't resist.
I thought I was on a corn row but once I gig down I realized I was on the bean row after the sprouted bean presented itself!
Yes, it kinda made me scratch my head..

did you not note what you planted where? If it wete me, I like beans better than corn anyway.

 

[Travis_R]

did you not note what you planted where? If it wete me, I like beans better than corn anyway.

Oh yes I know what's planted where, I just accidentally picked the wrong row.

I love snap beans too but I'd have to say sweet corn is my favorite. My fiancé and our baby love corn and green beans. They are the reason I planted green beans this year.
I got her to eating squash too and she loves it. The baby loved squash in the little baby food jars but he's never had the chance to eat it home grown yet.
So far I guess I could say he's like me when it comes to eating because he doesn't like red sauce or hot dogs.

 

[Travis_R]

HAPPY EASTER TO EVERYONE TODAY!

 

[sixdogs]

You don't really love sweet corn until you can eat it right out in the row and just picked. No cooking. It's the best corn I ever had. Next best is to boil and cook in the hull and then lay the whole thing on the BBQ for a while to pick up that smoky smell. Wow is that good. You guys are making me hungry.

 

[TomSeller]

I got one and a half rows of onions in today. Peas are doing well, have not got to much else yet.

 

[TomSeller]

I got her to eating squash too and she loves it. The baby loved squash in the little baby food jars but he's never had the chance to eat it home grown yet.
So far I guess I could say he's like me when it comes to eating because he doesn't like red sauce or hot dogs.

You are a great dad to feed her real food from a garden, not from a box.

 

[grnspot110]

I just started my greenhouse a few days ago, one flat of mixed tomato varieties & seven flats of flowers, mostly Marigolds. First Marigolds sprouting this morning! ~~ Lowell

 

[Travis_R]

You are a great dad to feed her real food from a garden, not from a box.

Thanks Tom. But we have a son not a little girl. He loves corn and squash but like me, when it comes to red sauce and hot dogs we don't late for it.
My fiancé never even tried squash til we got together a couple years ago and was hesitant to even try it. Once she tasted it smothered down with onions, she was hooked.

 

[Travis_R]

BAD NEWS TODAY.

I'm frustrated to say that every row except the potatoes has been re-tilled. From all that rain we got and the cold spell we had, all the seeds rotted.
Long story short, my Grandfather came to look at the garden. The crust on top of the rows was so thick the sprouts couldn't come thru even if they wanted to. We dug around and found no seeds. This makes 2 years in a row that I had to replant. Yes I'm aggravated and let down but it could be a whole lot worse. I have an aunt dying of pancreatic cancer, so having to re-plant a garden is nothing.

WHAT DID I LEARN? PLANT ON GOOD FRIDAY OR AFTER EASTER!!!

Told myself I was posting the good, bad, ugly, or whatever this year brings. So here it is.