2026 Gardens!

[HawkinsHollow]

Once you go soil block you never go back. So convenient! I have been using them for years now. Made a really good mix this year, held together great! Except I used sifted compost from a local food waste recycler and composting company. More weeds popped out of my blocks than I would have like. I blame it on the compost.

Our greens, radishes and onions are off to a great start, been in the ground for 3ish weeks now.

I have some tomatoes, basil and cukes I am going to plant Monday.

I also have 4 fig bushes I am excited to plant this week. 4 different kinds. 1 Celeste that is 5 or 6 years old in a 30 gallon pot. I expect that one to do pretty well for me this year. And 3 babies out of 1 gallon pots; an LSU Purple, Brown Turkey and a Negiri. Excited to have an avalanche of figs for years to come.

Also about to put 2 more blueberry bushes in the ground as well. I have lost a couple of young bushes each year for the last 3 years. The guy I bought these from plants them a little different. He digs a shallow hole 4 inches deep mixes the existing dirt with that soil conditioner you can get at most garden stores, which is just mostly decomposed pine bark. Then he just plops the whole plant on top of this and covers the roots with more soil conditioner. He says my plants are not doing well because they are staying too wet in those deep holes. We will see how this new method works.

 

[Oaktree]

Still waiting for the snow to melt & ground to thaw here.

 

[Torvy]

We've already hit 90 a few times. I'm buying plants instead of the seeds the wife has tried.

Tomatoes and hot peppers are our primary garden crops. We doubled our blueberries and they are about done blooming. The blackberries are looking strong.

I prepped two plots and need to do 2 more. Had to turn the soil by hand...I hate small engines.

We've been busy helping our older kids. Oldest gets married in May and 2nd one is in the process of moving to their first home. Spent Wednesday afternoon helping to load a 25 ft Uhaul. That all cuts into plant time.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

I prepped two plots and need to do 2 more. Had to turn the soil by hand...I hate small engines.

I bought a broad fork a couple of years ago. So nice for breaking up the soil at the beginning of the year without overdoing it like a tiller does.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

I'd like to do it by hand... But 1/4 acre is a lot even for me

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Once you go soil block you never go back. So convenient! I have been using them for years now. Made a really good mix this year, held together great! Except I used sifted compost from a local food waste recycler and composting company. More weeds popped out of my blocks than I would have like. I blame it on the compost.

Our greens, radishes and onions are off to a great start, been in the ground for 3ish weeks now.

I have some tomatoes, basil and cukes I am going to plant Monday.

I also have 4 fig bushes I am excited to plant this week. 4 different kinds. 1 Celeste that is 5 or 6 years old in a 30 gallon pot. I expect that one to do pretty well for me this year. And 3 babies out of 1 gallon pots; an LSU Purple, Brown Turkey and a Negiri. Excited to have an avalanche of figs for years to come.

Also about to put 2 more blueberry bushes in the ground as well. I have lost a couple of young bushes each year for the last 3 years. The guy I bought these from plants them a little different. He digs a shallow hole 4 inches deep mixes the existing dirt with that soil conditioner you can get at most garden stores, which is just mostly decomposed pine bark. Then he just plops the whole plant on top of this and covers the roots with more soil conditioner. He says my plants are not doing well because they are staying too wet in those deep holes. We will see how this new method works.

Im using 3 parts Pro mix moisture, 1 part native clay loam (pasteurized), and 1 part worm castings.

 

[MAX-24-Dean]

Im using 3 parts Pro mix moisture, 1 part native clay loam (pasteurized), and 1 part worm castings.

Curious about your thoughts with the worm castings? How much do thye help?

 

[Eaglesfate]

Planted more peppers, tomatoes and have some blocks waiting for cucumbers! These stats this year are doing great.View attachment 5336786View attachment 5336787View attachment 5336788

I have the block maker (somewhere) I just never got the mix right. I may try the 3 parts Pro mix moisture, 1 part native clay loam (pasteurized), and 1 part worm castings. @CloverKnollFarms do you dig the clay from your farm?

 

[jyoutz]

It looks like they are forecasting El Nino this summer... I'm planting all early maturity plants this year, and starting seeds early. Hopefully I can beat the drought if it comes

Interesting. In my area El Niño equates to a very wet July-September.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Interesting. In my area El Niño equates to a very wet July-September.

Yeah, not in the Ohio valley

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

I have the block maker (somewhere) I just never got the mix right. I may try the 3 parts Pro mix moisture, 1 part native clay loam (pasteurized), and 1 part worm castings. @CloverKnollFarms do you dig the clay from your farm?

I do dig the clay. Actually it’s the clay that lies under a 20 year old manure pile. I then pasteurize the soil to kill any noxious seeds and biological crap. These blocks have better structure than my first that were only ProMix Moisture.

Also add water until you can squeeze a handful and it holds it shape, without having water drip out of your fist. I can drop a soil block from 6” and they won’t crack.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Curious about your thoughts with the worm castings? How much do thye help?

So, they did help improve the soil block structure over just using ProMix. They are supposed to provide some nutrients, but I dont know that I’ll see a difference.

 

[ponytug]

I bet clay from under a 20 year old manure pile has a good slug of beneficial everything.

All the best, Peter

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Last week I had an old timer buy a beehive from me, and we were talking about about gardening. He said he had 80 tomato plants last summer… I asked how the hell he picked all those tomatoes! He said he uses the Florida weave, which I’ve never heard of. This year I’m going to give that a try!

I bet clay from under a 20 year old manure pile has a good slug of beneficial everything.

All the best, Peter

I’m hoping. My first blocks were only ProMix. So, it will be interesting to see what we get from this new mix. I’m just excited that my plants aren’t all dead like last year

 

[ponytug]

Good luck!

I never had much luck with Florida weaves, but I've seen it done successfully by others. Either I'm not a good enough gardener, or you need the right variety, or both.

We use round or square cages 10-12" square/diameter. The main stalk is inside and the fruit is well supported and hanging out in plain view. The lore is that it ripens quickly. I can say that it reduces rot and insect damage.

All the best, Peter

 

[jyoutz]

Good luck!

I never had much luck with Florida weaves, but I've seen it done successfully by others. Either I'm not a good enough gardener, or you need the right variety, or both.

We use round or square cages 10-12" square/diameter. The main stalk is inside and the fruit is well supported and hanging out in plain view. The lore is that it ripens quickly. I can say that it reduces rot and insect damage.

All the best, Peter

I do the same. I plant my tomatoes in a round cage made of concrete reinforcing wire. The cages are 5’ high and the tomatoes grow out of them by mid summer.

 

[DJ54]

I use heavy duty cages, plus the Florida weave. I drive a T-post every 5-6 plants to tie the 3 runs of weave off to. These produce so heavy it will even take the HD cages over if I don't. I save the twine off my round bales for twine for the weave. Rows are 6' apart, otherwise they grow together so much you can barely walk down between the rows.

I got a deal on the cages 6-8 years ago when a factory that makes the cages caught on fire. A salvage company was selling the cages that were slightly "damaged' because some plastic had dripped on them. Bought them for 50 cents apiece.

Between my neighbor and a buddy who works for a lawn service that collects leaves I have enough again this year to mulch around plants, looks to be enough to mulch the entire garden again. I have to cultivate and hoe around plants until they get tall enough to mulch, usually mid-June. After that, I may walk through everything to take out an occasional weed that may have come up though the mulch, but that is rare. In the picture you can see a couple stalks of corn that came up from corn left on cobs that we shelled off at our tractor clubs corn shelling display. It may be a little work intensive putting the leaves down in cooler weather but sure pays off when it turns hot. Conserves moisture when it turns dry and sheds a heavy rain or at least soaks into the leaves and keeps everything moist below.

Another plus, red worms and night crawlers feed on the leaves from underneath and leave castings which fertilize plants 24/7. Leaves pretty well break down through the Fall and over the winter and plow down very well in the Spring. I'll probably be plowing in about 2 weeks and will be starting some plants next week. Target date to set them out is the 3rd week of May, a week past the average frost date. Soil should be warm enough for everything to take off and grow, even direct seeded veggies.

For giggles I tested the soil temp. earlier this week when the temps were in the 70's here, soil temp was at 50º, so a ways to go here, not getting too excited yet.

The 4"-6" of mulch also makes it nice to be able to walk out and spray after a rain, or pick tomatoes also.