How does your garden grow?

[Larro Darro]

I waded into the remains of my {ten year idle} tree growing hobby this morning to recycle pots and maybe some dirt for the tomatoes. I got sidetracked re-potting a few Sago Palms. {Most of my palms are whatever kind grows on the Chipola River} I came across this Skank {blue tail lizard} when I retrieved a trash can lid. He will have to hunt for another home now.

 

[Rustyiron]

I plowed (the snow off) part of my garden yesterday:laughing:

 

[Larro Darro]

I plowed (the snow off) part of my garden yesterday:laughing:

One good thing about that. You know you will have a certain amount of hydration coming soon.

 

[TomSeller]

Got a second planting of peas in, the first planting is about 2" tall. Got 3 rows of seed potatoes in the ground, some carrots by seed and some rutabagas by seed. Also 1-2/3 rows of onion starts. A "bunch" which is a good handful of about 4" onion starts which makes about an 70' row was only $2.99 at the co-op. So I grabbed 2 bunches. Onions by seed get lost in the weeds so I am transitioning to using the starts.

Some of my 16 apple tree grafts from this spring are starting to break buds so I am hoping the grafts take. None of the 6 grafted pear trees have broke bud yet. I started a new apple orchard from the last 2 years of grafts the week before last and they are breaking bud now. Most of my grafts come from a family orchard dating back to 1880 where the trees are failing fast.

 

[Larro Darro]

The continuing adventures of Larro, the Midday Plowboy. Everything from the 3-25-15 planting, but the Iraqi cucumbers, is coming up now. I plowed over the whole garden. Looks like I'm going to have a good stand of the Silver Queen sweet corn. The melons are just cracking the dirt. The purple hulls are doing nicely. I have a good stand of field corn and Asian pole beans, but they are going to be very grassy. When they get a little more height, I'll go ahead and side dress them, then I will take the sweeps and plow out the middles.

So far nothing from last week's planting is coming up. We could use a good slow rain.

Larro

 

[farmer2009]

Larro. Looks like your ground crust pretty bad. I thought your area was very sandy. Does your crust get hard enough to effect emergence?

 

[RalphVa]

I had to down size, e.g. give up my 50x75 foot garden down below. Have 8 raised beds now up here behind the house. I've 3 of them sown in peas. Just gonna let them sprawl like last year in one bed.

In another bed, I have short rows of lettuce, spinach and mustard. In yet another, I've planted solely carrots, spotting in some radish seeds to "mark" the rows. Diluted the carrot and radish seeds in sand and just poured the sand along little trenches.

Also sowed some broccoli seed in that one bed with the lettuce, etc. Just kinda using up my early crop seeds to get some covering. I'd covered the bed entirely with mulch last fall. This is my method of getting some green manure without the bother of having to cut down or turn over cover crops. Worms working the mulch will give some gently fertilization.

Also starting practicing saving at least 1 urinal of urine every day. Then I put it either in one of my rain barrels or in 5 gallons of water in a bucket, for sprinkling on growing plants to replace leached-out nitrogen. Need to keep it gentle. Over fert with nitrogen can cause all sorts of vegetable problems.

Ralph

 

[Larro Darro]

Also sowed some broccoli seed in that one bed with the lettuce, etc. Just kinda using up my early crop seeds to get some covering. I'd covered the bed entirely with mulch last fall. This is my method of getting some green manure without the bother of having to cut down or turn over cover crops. Worms working the mulch will give some gently fertilization.

Also starting practicing saving at least 1 urinal of urine every day. Then I put it either in one of my rain barrels or in 5 gallons of water in a bucket, for sprinkling on growing plants to replace leached-out nitrogen. Need to keep it gentle. Over fert with nitrogen can cause all sorts of vegetable problems.

Ralph

Daddy took a walking tour of France and Germany in 1944 {WWII}. He told us that most small farmers kept the livestock downstairs from where they lived, and had a drainage system to catch all their urine to use on their fields. In France it was called the pissoiry{sp?}. These days most factory farms use something similar.

Larro

 

[Larro Darro]

Larro. Looks like your ground crust pretty bad. I thought your area was very sandy. Does your crust get hard enough to effect emergence?

It is sandy, but if there is a really big rain after planting it can pack pretty good. Luckily we haven't had one like that this spring. Last year we had a 6' rain and it played havoc with my second planting of sweet corn, not to mention drowning a lot of the plants I had in cups waiting to transplant.

Larro

 

[Larro Darro]

I planted 15 bell peppers into the garden, transplanted 10 beefsteak tomatoes into pots, then sunk them in the garden and after skipping rows for more tomatoes and sweet peppers, planted 16 or 17 Jalapenos. I forgot to count, but the rows are longer toward the west end of the garden. They could have used a few more days for better root formation, but for the most part, they hung together long enough for me to get them planted.

Larro

 

[lakngulf]

Larro, your plants look really healthy. What is your secret for starting those good looking plants?

 

[Larro Darro]

Larro, your plants look really healthy. What is your secret for starting those good looking plants?

I'm not sure how much it matters, but when I can, I plant and transplant by the moon signs. A good quality, light potting soil does give quicker root growth. I start my seeds in trays in the house, catching the morning sun. I transplant the sprouts into cups when they are a little taller than the cup. Because I have so many trays in the house, I have to put the plants outside as soon as they go in cups. I set them under a tall oak so the midday sun doesn't shine on them right away. Even then I lose a few from too much sun. I don't give them any blue juice {plant food} until they are outside, and then only about 1/3 strength. I always give away many more than I have room to plant in the garden. I need to learn to plant fewer seeds.

I had the first sprouts of Cayenne peppers this morning. Also had a few more sprouts of my Chinese Orange trees. I have two of the trees at my river camp, and some years they make lots fruit. Last year there was only one orange and I planted all the seeds from it. I want to start some here at the house where I can remember to pick the fruit. This tree has an amazing amount of cold resistance.

Larro

 

[Larro Darro]

I did another row of the beefsteak tomatoes today. It was cloudy, but the tomato plants I put out yesterday was still pretty wilted. The peppers were looking good though.

Larro

 

[Tororider]

I have gotten about 300 seeds started this past week. Many varieties of tomatoes, peppers, watermelon, and cucumber.

 

[TomSeller]

I have gotten about 300 seeds started this past week. Many varieties of tomatoes, peppers, watermelon, and cucumber.

This reminds me, I have to get my seed pots started. I had a problem with insects eating the sprouts the last few years on the outside starts. I am going to try tanglefoot this year on the legs of the stands.

 

[Larro Darro]

Last night when I got in from work I transplanted three or four trays of sprouts into cups and set them outside. It hit 90F here today, and I wish I had room to keep the young plants inside for a couple of days. There were quite a few of the young ones laying over this afternoon.

We stopped by a local nursery yesterday afternoon. Margie's 1st cousin owns it and in addition to the flowers we bought, I brought home a bunch of black pots. I had been using some of my old ones for the tomatoes, but this will make it easier.

I worked everything in the garden with the stirrup hoe this morning. Even the Iraq cucumbers are coming up. It is finally starting to look like a garden.

Larro

 

[TomSeller]

Last night when I got in from work I transplanted three or four trays of sprouts into cups and set them outside. It hit 90F here today, and I wish I had room to keep the young plants inside for a couple of days. There were quite a few of the young ones laying over this afternoon.

We stopped by a local nursery yesterday afternoon. Margie's 1st cousin owns it and in addition to the flowers we bought, I brought home a bunch of black pots. I had been using some of my old ones for the tomatoes, but this will make it easier.

I worked everything in the garden with the stirrup hoe this morning. Even the Iraq cucumbers are coming up. It is finally starting to look like a garden.

Larro

I see you have been saving up your drink cups for a while.

 

[KevT]

I just found this thread, and am quite proud of my first garden. My squash and peas have flowers, but no sign of bees. Any suggestions?

 

[Larro Darro]

I see you have been saving up your drink cups for a while.

Most of them come from the Civic Center {where I work}. The customers will go around cleaning off the tables and stack the cups after an event, even if they have hired me to do the cleanup. So if they are easy to get, I'll dump them all in a sink of hot soapy water while I clean up. It's not uncommon to get a couple hundred at a time this way. But if you were to run the numbers on it, it might be cheaper to buy them. I get paid a fee for the cleanups, and I make between $25 and $75 an hour according to how fast it goes, so ten minutes washing cups might cost more than they are worth.

Larro

 

[Larro Darro]

Kev, welcome to the thread. You have a little head start on me, garden wise. I don't see very many regular honey bees up here anymore. I did have a wild bee tree in the yard for years, but they swarmed and left a couple years ago. There is a much smaller bee that comes around, as well as lots of wasp and other stinging critters. Also lots of butterflies. I plant a few flowers in the garden to draw more of them in. But so far I haven't had a problem with not getting enough pollen moved around.

Larro