Gardens/plots for 2018

[Sonny580]

Anyone thinking about the ole gardens for 2018??? Join in here and post your ideas on equipment, varieties, etc.
What do you usually plant, how much, etc. Thanks; sonny580

 

[snowbelt geauga]

Ordered some of the seeds for planting from Johnny's on Tuesday got my order on Friday. Only 3 more orders to place. Start transplants in March.

 

[tcreeley]

I like potatoes and I used to be out every day killing potato bugs. I don't like pesticides and the organic type don't work well. This year I tried potatoes under row covers. The wind caught them but that was due to not using enough dirt to hold them down. They do work. I would get potato bugs landing on the covers trying to get in.
I think this will be a better year. The covers and the hoops come from Johnny seed. We use bio degradable plastic to hold down the weeds.
Here is a pic from last summer.

 

[/pine]

Last chance of frost at this elevation is usually 5/1...there is no rush for cold sensitive plants...by the time I'm ready to plant them my early peas, lettuce and spinach will be about done for the most part...

 

[snowbelt geauga]

How do like the degradable mulch? I used for a couple of years and I am not impressed it doesn't break down and tears very easy. I went back to using the 1 mil plastic mulch.

 

[oldballs]

For this part of the country, I plant potatoes on or about Saint Patrick's day....around March 17th. It reminds me of why us sorry Irishmen came over here and how desperate they must of been. Anyway, that beetle is not a problem here and my Irish Cobblers love my TLC with just a hoe.

Then there is all the other optional early crops as mentioned by /pine...peas, lettuce, spinach, radish etc. Then, after the last frost, (sometime after May 1st) is when the corn, pepper plants, tomato plants, cantaloupe, watermelon, cuke, okra seeds go in.


Did I mention Swiss Chard, beets, carrots....herbs ....:licking:

Good Wishes for your garden,
Mike

 

[Sonny580]

In this area we have found that any mulch or ground cover only invites mice/voles/snails/etc., and makes ground slimy and hard!---Wish it would work because it does have a big benifit for the ground.











Here are a few pix. of some of our 2017 garden harvest. thanks; sonny580

 

[oldballs]

Well Sonny........you aren't a beginner. I love that Honey Cross corn variety.

My garden fever is up right now, but as I age, that fever diminishes.

Cheers,
Mike

 

[TnAndy]

I like potatoes and I used to be out every day killing potato bugs. I don't like pesticides and the organic type don't work well.

This is the one I use... organic rated and works GOOD. I use a backpack sprayer couple times during the season and ended my potato beetle problem.

Colorado Potato Beetle Beater Concentrate - 1 Pint [62719-314-4/687] - $17.95 : Keystone Pest Solutions, Low price herbicides and pesticides

 

[tcreeley]

This is the one I use... organic rated and works GOOD. I use a backpack sprayer couple times during the season and ended my potato beetle problem.

Colorado Potato Beetle Beater Concentrate - 1 Pint [62719-314-4/687] - $17.95 : Keystone Pest Solutions, Low price herbicides and pesticides

I'll have to try this out in some other locations! We always have some potatoes we just stick in the grounds where we have a hole and just leave them. They can be our potato test plots!



re the weeds, We tried thick hay mulch and that encouraged the snails and slugs. They hate hot bio mulch. I have to find a way to use the tractor to flip the dirt onto the edges!

We eat potatoes all winter and the left over ones with their eyes go back into the ground for the next crop. We've done that the last few years - red pontiacs, red norlunds, and russet. The pontiacs are my favorite! The last frost used to be in June, but lately it is early May.

 

[TnAndy]

We eat potatoes all winter and the left over ones with their eyes go back into the ground for the next crop. We've done that the last few years - red pontiacs, red norlunds, and russet. The pontiacs are my favorite! The last frost used to be in June, but lately it is early May.

We eat on ours all winter too. Here is how I store mine in the root cellar, on some home made screen racks. The small ones in the sacks on the wall are next year's seed. We raise white Kennebec and yellow Yukon Gold.

 

[tcreeley]

We eat on ours all winter too. Here is how I store mine in the root cellar, on some home made screen racks. The small ones in the sacks on the wall are next year's seed. We raise white Kennebec and yellow Yukon Gold.

Those are some nice looking potatoes!

 

[Sonny580]

Nice racks too!!! We use some "harvest boxes" that I made. They seam to work ok

for us.--Made them from 1/2" thick wood, spaced the slats an inch apart for air movement and made them 24" x 15" x 15" (or so) and the spuds do well in them all winter in the basement, (45 to 55 degrees)
We can and freeze a lot too.--Really have good luck wit both methods. --Freezing is probably the quickes't way.
Just had a quart of home canned tomato juice, from the basement and it's gooood!!!





More corn pix for corn lovers!!!! LOL!!!! thanks; sonny

 

[oldballs]

Me thinks that Sonny and Andy are going to lead the pack in the Gardening forum. Those are healthy looking crops.

Cheers,
Mike

 

[TnAndy]

Good looking corn there Sonny !

 

[Sonny580]

More of the sweet potato harvest!
Didn't get any pix. of the pumpkin and squash or tomato harvest from last year!

We now have 1 case of onion plants, ( bout 5,500 plants total) and 500 sweet potato plants on order for 2018!--Still working on seed order.
Will try to start another 2 or 5 hundred sweet potato plants from our saved varieties.

Would like to get the transplanter attachment made for the creeper! ---- LOTS to do and weather now still 0 and and minus 0 degrees, so outside work is very limited for me due to health problems, (and probably age!!) Thanks; sonny580

 

[Sonny580]

Seed orders are coming and saved seed is being tested for germination at this time.--seed flats will be started last of Feb. or first of March.
Anybody getting things in order yet??? LOL!!! thanks; sonny

 

[Zippo1]

I spread (sorta) 30 yards of manure on the garden plot today. Ground was pretty wet - too wet, really - and too soft but at least it was a start. Thankfully, I managed to not get the tractor stuck. We just bought the place last year and found that the garden was very heavy clay so it's going to take a lot of work and amendments to make it useable.

 

[TnAndy]

Zippo1,

New 1/4 ac garden space we cleared below the house in 2007.....LOT of clay in it as well.

Same space few years later. I've added three 20 ton loads of sand and 3-4 tandem loads of chicken manure to it, and it could still use more sand. Clay takes a lot to build up.

 

[Zippo1]

Thanks. I've heard that one has to be careful with sand - that it can turn clay into something similar to concrete. We needed a temporary place to hold some small trees so I augered some holes around the edge of the plot. When I looked into one of the holes the sides looked like a smooth clay pot that had been fired in a kiln!