My 2014 Spring Garden

[sixdogs]

Yes, plant a little later and odds improve. During the occasional hard rains and crusty soil. we have used watering cans to keep the soil wet and easier for the seedlings to break though. So far, it works for me.

 

[Travis_R]

Yes, plant a little later and odds improve. During the occasional hard rains and crusty soil. we have used watering cans to keep the soil wet and easier for the seedlings to break though. So far, it works for me.

I agree.
What I will eventually do is buy a set of 3 point pallet forks and a used "polly tote tank" that are always for sale locally on craigslist and add a long water hose to it.

 

[sixdogs]

I agree.
What I will eventually do is buy a set of 3 point pallet forks and a used "polly tote tank" that are always for sale locally on craigslist and add a long water hose to it.

You can also put plastic barrels in a bucket loader and tap them for a garden hose. I put three barrels in my JD5520 and can water everything that needs watering. One bucket in a smaller loader would work as well. Be careful not to flip over.

 

[Travis_R]

You can also put plastic barrels in a bucket loader and tap them for a garden hose. I put three barrels in my JD5520 and can water everything that needs watering. One bucket in a smaller loader would work as well. Be careful not to flip over.

Good idea but I don't have a loader. I have a couple 55 gallon drums but they had diesel in them. I also have a 16 gallon ATV spot sprayer that a water hose will hook to, but 16 gallons isn't near enough.

 

[sixdogs]

Good idea but I don't have a loader. I have a couple 55 gallon drums but they had diesel in them. I also have a 16 gallon ATV spot sprayer that a water hose will hook to, but 16 gallons isn't near enough.

Put on that thinking cap Travis...get one plastic 55 gallon drum ($5-$7) and put a drawbar on the tractor. Set as much of the bottom of the barrel on the drawbar and lean it towards the back of the tractor. Then chain it down. The barrel fits in the "nest" created by the 3PT hitch. Relax, I've done it.

Wait--first drill a hole in the side near the bottom and fit in a petcock and adaptor for a garden hose.

Now, fill that puppy with water, hook a hose to it and you have more water than you can shake a stick at.

 

[Travis_R]

Put on that thinking cap Travis...get one plastic 55 gallon drum ($5-$7) and put a drawbar on the tractor. Set as much of the bottom of the barrel on the drawbar and lean it towards the back of the tractor. Then chain it down. The barrel fits in the "nest" created by the 3PT hitch. Relax, I've done it. Wait--first drill a hole in the side near the bottom and fit in a petcock and adaptor for a garden hose. Now, fill that puppy with water, hook a hose to it and you have more water than you can shake a stick at.

My thinkin cap looks like it's been ran over by a Bush Hog several times. Man that is SUPER ADVICE! Never thought about that. I've had a drawbar for about 5 years and it's been used maybe 3 times. So thanks to you now I'll have a use for it. I have plenty chains and chokers. Just gotta find a barrel now. THANK YOU.

****EDIT****
I have a 55 gallon plastic drum with a lid but it has a little old diesel in it. Not sue how to get it clean or if it's even worth trying to clean it.

 

[DJ54]

Have you ever tried Compost Tea..?? Here are some pics of bird house gourd vines I applied it to. These particular batch's were made from composted horse manure. Although the garden spot was at optimum nutrient levels according to the soil tests, there was no chemical fertilizer used here. As you can see, it did pretty well. The last picture of the vine heading out the row was the last I got of it. However, it grew another 25-30' in length. The only reason it stopped, was the frost killed the vine. I estimated total length of about 80' long.

I also experimented with composted leaves from a local village, and bagged mushroom compost from a big box store. All did wonders for what I grew. A batch can be made every 3 days. I graduated from 5 gallon buckets, to a 35 gallon trash can. May get one of the 350 gallon totes from a buddy of mine, and make enough to do the whole garden at once. Neighbors have a spring that flows 400,000 gallons in 24 hrs., and have no problem with me getting water. Figured it would be a lot easier on things to fill it with my high output sump pump, than my well pump. Same water, as I'm tapped into that seam of water.

Just trying to get away from using chemical fertilizer if I can, at least on the garden.

 

[grnspot110]

My onion sets are sprouting & the first peas are just breaking ground today! ~~ Lowell

 

[sixdogs]

Travis--Not positive on this but I think hot soapy water and a scrub brush will take the diesel out. You'll have to try it. Liquid dishwashing detergent such as Joy works the best. I sort of think this will work.

 

[motocephalic]

OK, I'll post my bad news: I was wondering why my seedlings were so leggy getting no sun I have big windows and they have the whole window to bask in. My mothers plants, were flourishing growing at twice the rate : I figured it out why, my windows are the new-fangled low E ,argon filled windows and blocks the sunlight from getting through. lesson learned, build a greenhouse with regular glass.

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.

 

[Travis_R]

Travis--Not positive on this but I think hot soapy water and a scrub brush will take the diesel out. You'll have to try it. Liquid dishwashing detergent such as Joy works the best. I sort of think this will work.

The lid doesn't come off. And that's my luck.

 

[plowindeeper]

Drain the old fuel out put a 1/2 bottle of joy and fill half full with water throw a log chain in it and roll it around drain and wash it out.

I'm also replanting my corn it came up good but we had a frost hit it.

 

[sixdogs]

Drain the old fuel out put a 1/2 bottle of joy and fill half full with water throw a log chain in it and roll it around drain and wash it out.

.....

This will probably work and you can get cheap dishwashing detergent at Sam's Club. Use hot hot water. Or, just find another blue barrel and start over. Around here all those blue barrels are empty soy sauce containers and come from either WI or MI. There are untold thousands here and they go for just a few dollars up to maybe $8 each. Just figure it out and get one.

If you plan on drilling a hole on the side near the bottom for a plastic petcock, start looking for a slender guy with 36" arm inseam to reach inside to put the petcock through the drilled hole. That could be the hardest part.

You don't need the water right now anyway but come July-August you better be ready. We watered hundreds of tree seedlings this way. We drlled a 3/16" hole in the bottom of a five gallon bucket and used the blue barrels in the loader to fill the bucket once a week. I can't recall losing even one tree.

Here's my loader setup with three buckets. Works for me. The flimsy strap shown was just for use with empty buckets so get a stronger one too. If anyone reading this does the loader and water thing, know they can slip out and kill someone or something. Like a dog or kid that doesn't know to steer clear. You can also tip over on turns so keep the bucket low to the ground when moving.






Oh, and Travis...get a loader. Just buy one, write the check and post some pics. You're going to need a loder eventually and we needed the pics to look at yesterday.

 

[Travis_R]

This will probably work and you can get cheap dishwashing detergent at Sam's Club. Use hot hot water. Or, just find another blue barrel and start over. Around here all those blue barrels are empty soy sauce containers and come from either WI or MI. There are untold thousands here and they go for just a few dollars up to maybe $8 each. Just figure it out and get one. If you plan on drilling a hole on the side near the bottom for a plastic petcock, start looking for a slender guy with 36" arm inseam to reach inside to put the petcock through the drilled hole. That could be the hardest part. You don't need the water right now anyway but come July-August you better be ready. We watered hundreds of tree seedlings this way. We drlled a 3/16" hole in the bottom of a five gallon bucket and used the blue barrels in the loader to fill the bucket once a week. I can't recall losing even one tree. Here's my loader setup with three buckets. Works for me. The flimsy strap shown was just for use with empty buckets so get a stronger one too. If anyone reading this does the loader and water thing, know they can slip out and kill someone or something. Like a dog or kid that doesn't know to steer clear. You can also tip over on turns so keep the bucket low to the ground when moving. <img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/files/owning-operating/371878-my-2014-spring-garden-003-jpg"/> Oh, and Travis...get a loader. Just buy one, write the check and post some pics. You're going to need a loder eventually and we needed the pics to look at yesterday.

If you make the check out to a dealer for a loader and mail it to me I'll gladly hand it over. LOL.
I do need a loader but my tractor is 2WD and I'm not putting a loader on a 2WD tractor. I wanna eventually get a bigger a Massey 4WD but that won't be anytime soon. Plus I'd hate to part with my 231.

I will need to know exactly what kind of fittings I need for the plastic 55 gallon drum. I'm finding a few on craigslist.

 

[Travis_R]

If the Good Lord's willin and the creeks don't rise (AGAIN!) I'll be planting this evening.

Wish me luck!! We all know I need it haha!

 

[sixdogs]

If you make the check out to a dealer for a loader and mail it to me I'll gladly hand it over. LOL.
I do need a loader but my tractor is 2WD and I'm not putting a loader on a 2WD tractor. I wanna eventually get a bigger a Massey 4WD but that won't be anytime soon. Plus I'd hate to part with my 231.

I will need to know exactly what kind of fittings I need for the plastic 55 gallon drum. I'm finding a few on craigslist.

OK, so lemme get this straight. I pay for the loader and find the exact parts for your project? Maybe, if it's not too much trouble I could swing down there and then install it for you.... only kidding, relax. The hobby ag thing is OJT so you have to redneck this with trial and error. Every TBN'er should have this as a water setup since it's so easy and so useful.

You need a way to get the water out of the barrel so you need a plastic "ball valve" and the bigger the better. It will look like this LDR 3/4 in. PVC Ball Valve - Tractor Supply Co. EXCEPT one end will be internally threaded and one external. Lowe's sells them for less $$. You'll have to drill the correct size hole in the barrel--I think my drill was 1 1/4" and the thread size of the bung fitting was 3/4" but that's a guess.

You will also need this "bung fitting" that will fit through the hole you drilled in the barrel and will have two threaded pieces and a gasket to seal against leaks. One end of the bung fitting will be flush with the inside of the barrel and the female end will stick through the barrel so you can thread the male end of your plastic ball valve into it. Some ag places sell ball valve and bung fitting combinations as a package.

Now, the end of the ball valve will be internally threaded to accept a garden hose. Get a garden hose and you're good to go. Fill with water and look for dry things. If you happen to find any huntable doves, quail or whatever please send directions with a map, the names of some local diners and a letter of introduction so I can hunt for free.

Good luck, keep me posted and ask if you need more help on this valve thing.

 

[Travis_R]

Got everything re-planted yesterday. Since I wasn't rushed I actually done it right this time.

1 row (100') of Dasher II Cucumber and Early Prolific Yellow Crookneck Squash on same row

3 3/4 rows (375') G-90 Sweet Corn

2 rows (150') Contender Bush Snap Beans

1 row (75') Cowhorn Okra

1 row (75') Russian Mammoth Sunflower Seeds

1 row (75'?) Black Diamond Watermelon

1 row (about 5 or 6 hills) Hales Best Jumbo Cantaloupe

***I do not like cantaloupe but if It'll grow for me I'm gonna eat it! Lol***

Here is a picture of the "new" 2014 Spring Garden, for the second making...

 

[Travis_R]

The cucumbers, squash, watermelon, and cantaloupe ARE FINALLY ALL UP!! With the hot weather we've had lately, everything was up in only 5 days.
Checked the garden before I left for work this morning and there were only a couple sprouts of different seeds. Checked it this evening and every hill that was planted except 2 was UP! To me it's just absolutely amazing how hours of daylight can draw those little plants out the ground.

There's 2 or 3 sprouts of corn and a couple bean sprouts but too soon to take pictures. Will probably be more of them up by tomorrow evening. Especially if we get rain tonight and tomorrow.

I may be able to have pictures tomorrow evening. Not sure what time I'll get in.

 

[Travis_R]

Every hill of watermelon, cucumber, and squash are up as of today! Forgot to check the cantaloupe but the corn is coming up well on 1 of the rows.
Im guessing in the next 3 or 4 days the corn and snap beans should all be up. Probably sooner if we get rain.

I've been watering the watermelon, cucumber, squash, and cantaloupe.

 

[Travis_R]

...accidentally made duplicate post.