2020 gardens

[Ford850]

DJ those look delicious! This is really late in the season to have peas producing.

 

[DJ54]

Thanks..!! Yeah they were pretty tasty..!! Yes, I'm surprised they've held on this long with the temps being in the 90's for quite a spell, as you well know, being from Ohio. They are firing up from the bottom. I'll be surprised if they last another week.

 

[DJ54]

Tomatoes are finally coming on. They are ripening slow this year, I'll assume due to heat stress, and little rain. Glad I mulched around them to conserve moisture. Plants are loaded with good sized tomatoes, and still lots of bloom showing. I have several friends that want some to put up, so there should be plenty.

I didn't realize there was a canning lid shortage. I normally buy about 3/4 of the amount of lids I'll need early, then as I use them up, replenish as needed, and always have 2-3 dozen extra ,in case I want to do some winter canning, like bean/vegetable soup etc. Something to do on cold snowy days.

Went to my local Meijer grocery yesterday to get some Citric acid for the tomato canning, and thought I'd pickup 3-4 dozen more lids. Where there is normally 10-12 bottles of citric acid, and 4-5 big boxes of lidson theshelf, there were 3 bottles of acid left, and "0" lids. Checked numerous local stores online,and allbut a few show "out of stock". I'd checked Meijeir just acouple hours before going, and it showed they had them in stock. When I checked a couple hourslater, they did show out of stock. A local Wally World shows they have some, so headed there in a bit to see. They are 'burb of Columbus, and mostly upscale neighborhoods, whereI doubt much canning is done. If you don't have all of your supplies to can, might be an idea to start looking. I did find several bulk suppliers, with supposedly 70% discounts, buying 12 dozen lids at a time, but they are $5 per dozen. Anywhere local they are $2.28-$2.49 per dozen.

 

[Ford850]

Nice tomatoes DJ. Mine are slower than normal too, and they are much lower quality than yours. Lots of scabs, scars, and cracks. I do use leaf mulch but this year the long dry periods are tough on them.
In past years when I've had a difficult time finding lids, I found them at places I didn't think to check at first. Menards, Rural King, TSC, Ace Hardware, and Target stores carry them. So if your grocery stores are out, widen your search.

 

[jjp8182]

Not just canning supplies from what I've seen, bags/rolls for vacuum sealers also seem to be in short supply along with most food preservation equipment.

Was recently looking to buy a pressure canner, and the website for All American pressure canners is opening stating: "Attention: Due to very high demand orders for All American Pressure Canners (910, 915, 921, 925, 930 & 941) will not ship until December."

Definitely seeming like a year to be planning ahead ----or finding ways to improvise and otherwise just make-do.

 

[Thomas]

Decided grow couple cherry tomato again this year but close to the house instead because of the wildlife,darn things like the soil and still growing.

 

[herm0016]

we just spent a bunch on the fancy jars, because that was all we could find and have stuff waiting to go into cans. and about 1 dollar per lid! holy heck. crazy times indeed.

 

[cqaigy2]

Just starting to get a few ripe tomatoes, slow cool spring.

 

[RalphVa]

Anyone have any ideas what I should do about this POS plot that I created and then skinnied up. Still doing awful. Only ever grew volunteer cherry toms well, and an Italian butternut squash filled it in entirely once.

I've put photos of another new are using same new soil I put in the skinnied up plot.

Here's some more text. Have written an article for our next newsletter.

This could be entitled: how to create a new climate zone area, because I think I did this. No, it痴 about 2 garden sites with identical new Panorama Paydirt soil. One site has a long history. I created it in May of 2006 when I moved asparagus out of the rhubarb patch.
Here痴 the new asparagus patch where I had failures of 3 different asparagus that I tried in it. It would grow volunteer cherry tomatoes like gang busters. It also had an Italian butternut squash fill it completely. So, it was good for these, but NEVER succeeded in producing ANY asparagus and was limited in producing much of anything else. (My best asparagus is one I missed in the current rhubarb patch, and asparagus is growing nicely in 5 of my 6 raised beds.)

You can see the new green asparagus heads, one of 3 batches that disappeared later.
One problem with this patch, I determined, is its width. I had to step into it to get to all of it. So, last year I made it less wide. I then removed 3 or 4 inches of soil from it and refilled with Panorama Paydirt.
I stacked the excess concrete blocks behind the skinnier patch. That may have been a mistake. Those blocks may be overheating the plot. I知 still not sure what to do about the blocks or the plot. It bore a bit of snow peas growing up the fence at the back in front of the concrete blocks, but it was not a winner among 3 other sites where I had snow peas. That greenery up the fence in back is wild Burr Cucumber that insects love; the back fence should be loaded with 2 kinds of pole beans, incl. asparagus beans, that I planted at its base: not happening. Okra seeds planted in it just never germinated. It is getting plenty of water from a multi-looped soaker hose that appears wet all the time as I switch from one set of rain tanks/barrels to others. I知 getting almost no production from it.
By comparison, an old Knockout rose site near my outside shower was converted to veggies with new Panorama Paydirt is doing GREAT.

Even the bush beans on both sides of the stepping stones are bearing in the July heat. Whereas, bush beans everywhere else, just stopped in the heat. There are even 3 or more okra plants growing taller than I致e ever gotten okra to grow since stopping my big garden in Ivy Creek overflow area. I致e hopes of maybe getting more than a few pods of okra this year. The okra on the other side of the stepping stones has come up as well. I致e hopes that it値l also grow big enough before the high summer sun goes away with lower fall sun. This site is easy to water from the users of the outside shower. There痴 also a drain from the shower that dumps water in the upper part of it (near those okra plants). The 3 summer squash here are my healthiest and biggest but no female blossoms yet.


Ralph

I ripped out the awful plot and removed its more involved hooved rat protection in front. Threw in snow pea and nasturtium seeds and covered with a bit of mulch/compost.

Only put 2 wires back, one at 4 ft and the another at 2 ft spaced about 18" to 2 feet from the inner 4 ft one. Hooved rats have awful depth perception.

Ralph

 

[DJ54]

Nice tomatoes DJ. Mine are slower than normal too, and they are much lower quality than yours. Lots of scabs, scars, and cracks. I do use leaf mulch but this year the long dry periods are tough on them.
In past years when I've had a difficult time finding lids, I found them at places I didn't think to check at first. Menards, Rural King, TSC, Ace Hardware, and Target stores carry them. So if your grocery stores are out, widen your search.

I checked all of those places via the internet, and all showed out of stock. Menards is where I normally get supplies, as they are less there than anywhere. I did find some at the local Wal-Mart early yesterday morning. Had to buy the regular's with bands, for like $3.18, which some of the old bands were getting gnarly from years of use, so that worked out. They had a nearly full box of wide mouth lids on the shelf, so got 3 boxes of those.

All that's left to make this year is Pizza sauce, using the Mrs. Wages mix. I use 1/2 pint jars for 1 person servings, but uses up lids pretty quick. Should have enough to do that, and make some bean soup later this Fall, when things cool down, and weather turns nasty. That takes 90 minutes in the pressure canner, but worth it. There are days when a person is in the notion for a good ole' bowl of bean soup, but don't want to wait all day to cook. Just heat, and eat, and not have several days worth left over.

 

[CADplans]

I ripped out the awful plot and removed its more involved hooved rat protection in front. Threw in snow pea and nasturtium seeds and covered with a bit of mulch/compost.

Only put 2 wires back, one at 4 ft and the another at 2 ft spaced about 18" to 2 feet from the inner 4 ft one. Hooved rats have awful depth perception.

Ralph

Ralph, don't blame yourself totally for the poor garden,,
We bought EXPENSIVE Wetsel snow pea seeds,, I planted, nothing happened,,
I germination checked them after that,, (wet paper towel, zip lock plastic bag) the seed must be 10 years old,,
The seeds that germinated were VERY weak,, I think I really only had 2 out of 20 that I would consider good germination.

Wetsel was bought out, someone in Ohio,, so I heard.
Several hardware stores in my area quit handling that brand of seed, because they have received SO many complaints,,

The same with Wetsel green beans, nothing,,
luckily I went to another seed carrying hardware,, they had a different brand of green bean seed,,
I got three varieties, two did great,,

On another note,,
we learned, over a decade ago, that if we get heavy rains, we have to fertilize EVERY TWO WEEKS,,,
One year my garden was looking REAL bad, I visited a neighbor gardener,,
His garden looked like it was growing in the middle of the Amazon, EVERYTHING was perfect.
I asked him his trick,, he watered with Miracle-Grow a couple times a week!!

We gave up on any other fertilizer schedule,, EVERYTHING gets fertilizer on a two week cycle,,

All that time, and effort, if I gotta waste a little fertilizer, so be it,,
We have had very good garden results EVER since the two week feeding started,,

My sweet corn has (well mostly gone now) ears close to 6 feet off the ground,,
the sweet corn plants are 9 to 10 feet high to the tassel,,

We get 19-19-19 at Rockingham COOP,, that is the cheapest way we have found to feed,,
IT DON'T TAKE MUCH! but, you kinda gotta learn how much is enough,,

We even feed the tomatoes like that,, but, VERY little,,
I use an empty plastic 1 liter mouthwash bottle, fill it with the fertilizer, and sprinkle right out of the bottle.
YEP, we feed green beans like that also.

I have WAY TO MUCH $,$$$ invested in gardening to let $10 worth of fertilizer frustrate me,,,

 

[RalphVa]

Well, my 2 HUGE squash plants by our outside shower have finally started growing squash. Only had male blossoms during all the heat. Guess the break in the heat brought out the female blossoms.

I NEVER use Miracle Gro or any chemical fert. Once bought some Miracle Gro soil. Had a great garden that 1st year. Then it was DEAD for the next 4 years because I didn't use any more Miracle Gro, just mulch and compost. Miracle Gro and similar chemical ferts kill all life in the soil. Gotta use it to give the plants anything to grow with. All spelled out in Levinspeil's (sp?) book who used to be a big proponent of Miracle Gro.

Soil I have now has some chicken manure in it, part of their recipe for making it from leaves, limbs, etc. they get from the city of Charlottesville. I've bought some additional dried chicken manure. May buy the 25 # bag of it next year at TSC.

Ralph

 

[oldballs]

As a rule, I fertilize once at planting...using slow release 10-10-10. IIRC I used to side dress corn as it came along. Potatoes get 0-45-0 when seed is planted. This year I've got bumper crops of cukes, tomatoes, peppers, onions, snap peas,....and now the cantaloupe and watermelon are getting ripe.... and the zucchini squash have been coming on for a couple weeks. Carrots and beets are OK , if you can find them in the weeds.

The potatoes were healthy, but not that big....some had little side spuds growing on the main spud...never saw that before. More than average rainfall this year, in between dry spells ...in which case, I have to water with the garden hose...............which is one of the easier and relaxing parts of gardening. I use wheat straw mulch under tomatoes and peppers......and hand hoe the rest of the garden for weeds....as a rule...but sometimes use the walk behind tiller.....and sometimes the weeds get away from me.:confused3:

This year, planting was late due to excess rain, then the distraction of the Covid thing....and then I got a bad case of Shingles

I'd post pictures, but this new computer has me befuddled.

Cheers,
Mike

P.S. The Bag Worms on my Cedars are really bad this year. ...I didn't get them sprayed earlier as usual in June....about 1000 feet of trees.

 

[RalphVa]

Bag worms are fun to take out with a small torch.

Should have gotten the shingles vaccine if you had chicken pox. We've both had both shingles vaccines.

I used to never fertilize anything. Didn't need to in that creek overflow soil down below. Found out the dried chicken manure works well here in the raised beds and will continue to use it in future in these newer areas where I put the Panorama Paydirt which has chicken manure in it.

No chemical fert. Use dried blood and sulfur and peat moss mix on the blueberries. Would work on azaleas, too, but why fertilize them? Trees in the forest don't get fertilized.

Ralph

 

[oldballs]

If one pulls the bag off and then squishes it between one's fingers, wouldn't that kill it? On the lower branches I have done that thinking it was worth the effort. Of course a heavy infestation on a 35 ft Cedar tree can't be accomplished this way. It's just a little revenge for me.

Cheers,
Mike

 

[Sonny580]

Been busy canin green beans and yellow summer squash in jars. --Also finished the onions in the freeze-dryer and now have white patty-pans in it. We did a couple runs of yellow squash last week. The freeze-dryer has been runnin non-stop for the last 4 weeks.
greenbeans just picked

in the jars

squash in the jars--never did them before, so will see how this goes!lol!

Tha cabbage is doing fairly good so far---harvested 3 decent heads and put them in the freezer.

 

[CADplans]

--Also finished the onions in the freeze-dryer and now have white patty-pans in it. We did a couple runs of yellow squash last week.
The freeze-dryer has been runnin non-stop for the last 4 weeks.
[/ATTACH]

Do you have a pic of your freeze dryer? How many CFM is your vacuum pump?

As far as the price of the freeze dryer, I doubt that I will even spend $3,000 on store bought vegetables in the rest of my life,,
so, i am trying to figure out how to justify the machine,,,

 

[Sonny580]

Pump is a 7 cfm size
We got this unit 2 years ago as a year end close-out at half regular price--on a one day-one time offering. ---Even at regular price it dont take much use to pay it's way at the price of everything.
Freeze-dried stuff is costly to buy.
The thing we like is that this method helps us have summer squash year-round, and is the ONLY way to store onions. Sweetcorn is another thing that is good.--we can a few pints and have a bit in the freezer but the freeze-dry corn can be eaten like popcorn right out of the bag for snacking.
The dried stuff will last a lot longer than any other method. ---- We tried de-hydrating and it dont work for us--to me everything tasts toasted/burned and is hard textured. Freeze-dried stuff is light and fluffy, full flavor and no burned taste.
Payoff has to include the advantages as well as the dollars invested. That new car/truck parked in the driveway will never pay for it'self---ever think about that???
It kinda amounts to individual preference!