2020 gardens

[Sonny580]

Anybody thinking about the 2020 season yet? Ideas you have that you want to try? varieties, methods, fertilizers, etc?
Not going to be able to have my 4.5 acres this year. MIGHT be able to do this little yard garden, don't know for sure yet! The big garden will not be planted so I probably need to plant a crop of some sort for plow down green manure in it. -- either that or mow every 3 days, which I am not able to do!
Still fighting prostate cancer , trying to recover from that and so far still no bladder control so I am limited how long I can stay outside before diapers run over and down the legs! lol! bout an hour and a half, tops, so not much getting done!

We still want to plant a few onions, cabbage, spinach, tomatoes, green beans, etc, AND of course the sweet corn patch for our neighbor! lol! he gets the seed, I plant and spray, then harvest, so not a lot of time spent on that area.
We won't have the 5,000 onion plants or 900 sweet potato plants like we usually have, and there won't be the great give-a-way that we have done for the last 25 years!

 

[RalphVa]

Just garden bottomless. Yeah, I do that this time of year. Even gardened naked with a catheter in place.

I’ve a couple new areas where I want to put a couple inches of the local Panorama Paydirt down and even atop a couple raised beds. Used a couple inches of it in 2018 on an area and got 23 butternut squash from 2 vines.

Gonna try some blood meal as N on okra.

Ralph

 

[ovrszd]

In regards to bladder control. My Cousin was struggling with this. Had minor surgery and a "valve" implanted. When he needs to go, open the valve by pressing his finger on it. Let off and the valve shuts. No dribbling or diapers. Might want to ask your Doctor about this?

 

[ovrszd]

Hopefully my good friend Mike (oddballs) will come along soon and join in this conversation. He's a Master Gardener!!!!

 

[RalphVa]

I'm a master gardener and still volunteer one morning a week on the horticulture helpdesk.

Don't know what you're spraying on corn. The main, and generally the only, problem with corn are the ear worms. You take care of them by going around and putting vegetable oil onto the silk after it turns brown (e.g. after pollination), with an eye dropper.

Here in central Va, we plant our potato pieces and pea seed on St. Paddie's Day. One month later, the corn seed can start, 2 rows at a time spaced out about 10 days between 2 rows of seeding until around mid June. This is unless you want it all harvested at once to have a huge effort in harvesting, husking, removing corn, canning. We just picked ears as we needed them to eat. This spreadout of seeding gives you corn for a long period of time.

Of course, you can start your cole crops growing inside around mid March to mid April. Then your tomato plants. I've had so much trouble with bugs in the cole crops that I skip them: you have to be really dedicated to putting BT on about every week, etc. to keep the bugs off cole crops. Also buy my tomato plants from the MG plant sale. Only need 2 or 3, as we don't can them. Tomato plants seem to be the favorite of clients who call in.

Only fertilize with non chunky mulch (like from leaves or near compost) or compost. Otherwise, vegetables will just grow lots of top growth and be too happy to bear fruit. Get calls about this all the time. If you use "Miracle Grow" or similar fertilizer, you'll be married to it, because it kills all the microorganisms in your soil.

Water good but don't over water. Use your finger into the soil to tell how wet/dry it is.

Ralph

 

[Sonny580]

I worked in parents garden when young, later had my own little patch, then had a big garden ever since so I do know my way around plants. Farmed til I got down too.
Plan this year is the small 65x100 or so garden here close to the house. It will do for us and there will be no give aways this year. For the last 20 years we always grew extra produce and hauled it to the mission and 2 food banks. This year, can't do it.
One of the Amaryllis here is blooming. Will start a few tomato and cabbage seeds during March. usually have good luck starting them here in the house then transplant when weather warms up.

 

[mapper]

Sonny, a friend of mine has had a similar problem since his prostate surgery, he recently switched to an external catheter, it has taken a few weeks to figure out the best one for him, but he is much happier with it than with the pads and diaper route.
Getting old is not for the weak!

 

[RalphVa]

I worked in parents garden when young, later had my own little patch, then had a big garden ever since so I do know my way around plants. Farmed til I got down too.
Plan this year is the small 65x100 or so garden here close to the house. It will do for us and there will be no give aways this year. For the last 20 years we always grew extra produce and hauled it to the mission and 2 food banks. This year, can't do it.
One of the Amaryllis here is blooming. Will start a few tomato and cabbage seeds during March. usually have good luck starting them here in the house then transplant when weather warms up.

View attachment 642815

"Small 65x100" garden? Ouch.

Don't forget the diluted urine I mentioned in another post. Very good source of natural nitrogen, plus a few other things in it. Correct that post: dilute your urine 10/1 before using it to take the N down to below 2%.

Ralph

 

[Sonny580]

Ya, 65 x 100 is the baby garden ,--- our regular garden is 4.5 acres that we have had for the last 14 years. --- Before that it was 1 acre, That's why we moved to this place so we could have space for gardens.
I plant rows from 4 feet apart to 6 or 7 feet for sweet potatoes. Regular potatoes, sweet corn, onions,beans all get 4 feet. Bigger tiller goes down these rows and plants have room to spread later which they do. I don't crowd stuff!

This doctor wont do any other control methods so I am stuck, oh well.---- also I am stuck with him as he is the only one around doing the prostate work.

 

[herm0016]

We got our seeds yesterday, and will be setting up the kitchen garden for starting them soon. everything is planed out for where and when. we have a 12x28 in the ground, 2 4x8 raised and a 5x12 raised. several squashes, several tomato, onions, egg plant, greens, giant green beans, melons, several peppers, among others.