Compost for Garden

[MChalkley]

What kind of beans are they? Are they a small lima, or "butter bean", as they're known around here, or something else? Maybe I'll get some for my Dad to try.

Mark

 

[TomG]

A friend in SW Ontario on the Detroit River had clay so bad that the first year, the carrots came out like marbles (maybe an exaggeration). He tilled in sand, peat and vermiculite. I think it was vermiculite in an ag preparation rather than the insulation stuff. In a few years the carrots returned to normal, and my friend went on to become a Master Gardener. I don't think organic material on its own makes much of a dint in serious clay.

Of course, this same person was trying to grow blue grass in El Paso when I first met him. It's a good bet, but I think I'd check on the vermiculite stuff before applying.

 

[Bird]

No, Mark, I'm talking about green beans or "snap beans", not shelled. I like lima and butter beans, but haven't ever grown any of them myself. The Blue Lake beans are a very small white bean, maybe half the size of Pinto beans. I buy my seed in the Spring from 3 or 4 different places and some simply have them labeled as "Blue Lake" and others as "Blue Lake 274" so there may be different varieties, and I've just never found a difference.

Bird

 

[MChalkley]

Interesting info, TomG. I think I'll talk to the local county ag agent down there and see what he says about vermiculite. Thanks!

Mark

 

[MChalkley]

Ok, Bird, I'm with you now. Dad grows them, too. I think I'll pick some up for him. Thanks for the tip!

Mark

 

[gordon]

Mark if your dad lives pretty close to you here is something to try. Before a builder clears the lot run over it with your tiller to a depth of 6 inches in a wooded area.
Then bucket it up and add it to your dads soil. Sort of a peatmoss organic mix. This worked well for me and I live in Delaware with a clay sand mix soil.
This makes a light fluffy mix add it into the clay along with some sand and before you know it KING garden---hint-it takes alot to make a dent into the clay, but it will be worth it in the long run.
Gordon

 

[MChalkley]

Gordon - Thanks for the suggestion. It certainly sounds like it would do the trick. I'll see what I do about finding some. It won't be easy because most of the builders around here haul off all the topsoil before they start construction. That way, they can sell it back to the homeowner later when he finds out he doesn't have any and can't get anything to grow...

Mark

 

[Bird]

I just planted two rows (each 83' long) of those Blue Lake beans, and today I picked a little over 4 gallons from one row, and the other row (from which I got 2 gallons Friday) already needs to be picked again. In addition to the beans, I picked, pulled, cut, or dug (and washed) 5 gallons each of yellow squash, zucchini, potatoes, turnips, and beets, then smaller quantities of carrots, cabbage, cucumbers, bell peppers, and blackberries for our daughters to take home for themselves and their in-laws.

Unfortunately, it looks like it's going to be a short growing season in central Texas again this year. Last year, we had the drought and a locust plague (grasshoppers) that would have made Moses proud, then we had a mild, warm winter and I'd heard the grasshoppers were going to be bad again, and sure enough millions of them have descended on us in the last few days./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

Bird

 

[MChalkley]

Bird - Bummer about the bugs. Is there nothing you can do to combat them? Other than the "throw the baby out with the bath water" approach of using a flamethrower?

It sounds like you approach gardening the same way my Dad does: Grow enough to feed everyone within 100 miles, then you know you'll have enough for yourself.

You certainly can't complain about your yield from your garden. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

So you grow blackberries, too? As in domestic ones? How well do they do and how do they compare to wild ones? That's all we have around here that I know of - I've never heard of anyone growing them in a garden.

Mark

 

[gordon]

Bird I don't know if you realize this or not but you do not have a garden you have a small plantation. Is there any way to control those grasshoppers or do they just take over everything?
Gordon

 

[Bird]

Unfortunately, there is really no practical way to control grasshoppers apparently. Our county agent has a regular column in the local newspaper and last year, he described a number of concoctions for killing them, but the bottom line was that you can kill the ones you apply it directly to but there'll be a new bunch back tomorrow.

And while I make no pretenses of being a genuine "organic" gardener, I don't use any chemicals or insecticides on my vegetable garden. I figure seed's cheap; plant enough for us, family, neighbors, and the bugs. Hopefully, it'll be like last year; they destroyed the garden early, but by that time my wife had canned 19 cases of vegetables and filled both freezers, in addition to what we gave everyone else.

And Mark, I've just got a little 50' long by about 4' wide strip of blackberries in the back yard, separate from the garden. And I learned from the county agent that there are several varieties of domestic blackberries, and I don't even know which variety I have. We have quite a few of the wild ones along the road and on the Corp of Engineers property around the lake that anyone can pick, but the ones in my yard make berries that are two to three times as big as the wild ones, and it seems, to me at least, a little juicier. I usually get about 50 quarts a year off my little patch, and they'll be through producing about the middle of June. They would probably produce a lot more if I hand pruned them after they quit producing, but I've never done that; I just mow them down with the brush hog, then apply a granular fertilizer, and water it in.

Bird

 

[MChalkley]

Thanks for the info, Bird! That's good to know. I never thought about it before, but I think I'm going to plant some blackberries! I can just taste the cobblers now... /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Mark

 

[Bird]

Mark, you made me curious, so I had to pull the sheet out of the file cabinet and it lists 13 varieties of blackberries that are suitable for growing in Texas (goodness knows how many total there may be). To get some started, you need to buy commercially, or find someone who has them and dig up "1/4" to 1/2" diameter roots cut in 4 to 6" lengths" in January or February (in Texas) and plant them in February or March (and keep them moist from the time you dig them up until you plant them).

And it works; 2 or 3 years ago, I dug up some of my roots and gave them to a neighbor to start him a patch.

I do like the blackberry cobblers, and blackberry jelly is my favorite jelly./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Bird

 

[tjsutton]

Bird -

The blackberries will not be ready for another 4-6 weeks in N. Texas. Thanks for the warning about the grasshoppers. I haven't seen them yet in North Texas. Wen and I will have to watch for them. I have a friend who has several Guinea around his farm house that helped control the grasshoppers last year (and they make great watch dogs). If the grasshoppers are worse this year than last year they may eat the Guineas.

 

[JimBinMI]

Guys,Guys,Guys,

Many nutritionists lately have been raving about the healthy effects of "BLUE" berries. Will they grow in Texas? /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Jim "Blue" inMI

 

[W5FL]

Nope, No BLUE tractors or BLUE berries around here. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[W5FL]

Grasshoppers not back here yet (Weatherford, TX). There are baits with sevin, but they are hard on animals. Got an organic grasshopper bait that doesn't hur birds or animals and stops the grasshoppers growth pattern. After baiting for fire ants and grasshoppers, it is going to be a poor profit year again. /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif Also hasn't rained here in 10 days, but the weather forcasters are calling for rain at the middle of the week until the weekend! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif Hope it drowns the grasshoppers.

 

[Bird]

My grandparents had Guineas when I was just a little feller, and I'd like to have some myself, but I'd want them to be free ranging; not penned, and I gave up on that idea because the neighbors behind us had several when we bought this place; until the coyotes ate all of them./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

Bird

 

[Bird]

JimBinMi, according to some very abbreviated information from Texas A&M, "Rabbiteye blueberries" are gaining in popularity in the south, but require a very specific soil ph. I've never seen any in my part of the country, so don't know whether they exist or not down here.

Bird

 

[Bird]

I don't know a lot about the propagation and spread of grasshoppers. They were thick at my brother-in-law's place about 4 miles from here two weeks ago, but I hadn't noticed more than a few around my place until yesterday. Most of them are about a half inch long right now, but as you know, they eat a lot and grow fast./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif My green beans look great and have just starting producing well, but my brother-in-law told me yesterday that the grasshoppers have already eaten all the leaves off his. And it's really dry here, too. I watered the garden a bit yesterday afternoon, but wonder whether I'm just wasting water.

Bird