How does your garden grow?

[Larro Darro]

Margie and I carried some plants to a friend's house after supper. Three each of beef steak, Roma, Rutgers and cherry tomatoes, and three each of Serrano chili, Jalapeno, bell, sweet banana and mini sweet peppers. I also gave a few away at my thrift store stops today.

When we got back we walked out to look at the gourds. One is almost six feet, and another was blooming.



Then I went on to the garden and hoed and plowed until it was too dark to see. There was a bloom on the bell pepper. A small pepper on one of the Jalapenos. And blooms on the Crimson Sweets.

 

[farmer2009]

Well mine is broke. I hope that counts.

 

[Sysop]

Thought I'd jump in on this thread. Last weekend I got the garden all ready to go for the first time in about 30 years. Most of it is planted, still have some more to get in the ground.

The garden is 100'x70' and was originally setup by my great grandfather in the late 1800s; it was used yearly up until about 30 years ago when my aunt decided to quit gardening. They had always done a good job of keeping up the soil. Most of the surrounding area is quite rocky and clay filled, but the garden is rock free and no clay. My aunt had horses, and after the garden was no more she continued to have all the horse stalls cleaned out and put into the garden and had it tilled a couple times. The horses left about 20 years ago and it has been mowed as part of the west lawn.

When I first broke ground and started getting things turned over and tilled it still stunk like it was fresh from the barn. I got some pelletized lime and spread, soaked it down a bit and left it set, tilled it in, then broadcast more. I left it set a few days, then last weekend I put together a hiller and tilled it into rows and got started planting. Between turning it over and breaking it up and the lime, by the time I hilled it and planted it wasn't nearly as stinky. Seems to be a good bit of worm and other activity in the soil, I think it is going to do well.

 

[Larro Darro]

Sysop, your soil should be in great shape. My Mamma swears by horse manure. And with that view, you should be able to find folks who would pay to hoe for you.

 

[Sysop]

My family always swore by it as well, I think the top 3-4 inches were probably nothing but dung and the sod was THICK. I have to dig down about 12-16 inches to get out of the topsoil.

Thanks for the compliment, it is a beautiful area. The previous owners were the Shawnee Indians; Native Americans always picked good land to live on.

 

[TomSeller]

My family always swore by it as well, I think the top 3-4 inches were probably nothing but dung and the sod was THICK. I have to dig down about 12-16 inches to get out of the topsoil.

Thanks for the compliment, it is a beautiful area. The previous owners were the Shawnee Indians; Native Americans always picked good land to live on.

I assume you turned it over with a plow. You sure have it looking free of grass roots for it being the first time as a garden in 30 years. Very nice.

 

[Sysop]

Yes sir. I ran the subsoiler across it deep to help equalize the moisture content (read that as dry up a couple wet spots) and the turned it with a 2x14. After that I tested a couple passes with my new 18x20 disc, and then switched over to the tiller with a homemade hiller on the rear to break it up even further and make my rows.

 

[DFB]

Well I put in all my gladiolus bulbs and direct seeded some Roma and Blue Lake bush beans. I am going to take a chance and put in my eggplant and peppers soon as the long range NWS forecast for my New England area is for unseasonably warm weather especially the nights. Normally the frost chance can reach out past the end of the month around here.

Tomato plants aren't even at full transplant stage yet and my 5 different summer squashes, Cousa, Costata Romanesco, yellow summer, golden and dark green zukes the seeds are just popping in the trays. Almost wish I had planted them sooner. But better stick to the regular scheduled programming. Probably will seed some cucumbers transplants today and I will set up some rattlesnake pole beans later.

It has been so hot so quick here in Vermont its outrageous. It has been in the upper 80's.

I've been rototilling for several farm operations besides myself and its so dry it is becoming dusty already!

Supposed to be T-storms all this week....

2 weeks ago April 28 I still had a snow pile

Should be a booming Mothers Day sale down at the greenhouse store glad I have the day off!

 

[crowbar032]

Tomato plants from seed ready to transplant this week. Too bad they aren't ripe yet.

 

[Larro Darro]

Tomato plants from seed ready to transplant this week. Too bad they aren't ripe yet.

Every time I have a new batch of tomato sprouts Margie ask me when will they be ready to pick.

 

[Larro Darro]

Blooms and baby cucumber. {these pictures were taken yesterday. I'm sure it has grown lots since then} Blooms on the big striped melon plants.

I did a lot of hoeing, then gave everything a good soaking yesterday. Ran up to Lowe's this morning for more grapevines and fruit trees. Too hot and sunny to transplant today, but might be able to get them in the ground tomorrow.

 

[lakngulf]

Ate some squash from these plants last night



Tomatoes have plenty of blooms and some fruit, and the beans will need picking before weeks end

 

[Larro Darro]

Ate some squash from these plants last night


Tomatoes have plenty of blooms and some fruit, and the beans will need picking before weeks end

I have picked my first squash, but your plants are much bigger than mine. Your tomatoes are too. But then I haven't been Johnny on the Spot with the water this year.

We have had four or five pickings of green beans, though.

 

[Daver1963]

Here's what I've been able to do in the last week. Now we'll have to wait.
Spread 294lbs of lime (25lbs/1000sqft) and 223lbs of triple 15 (19.16lbs/1000sqft)
Planted:
10 better boy tomato,
4 bell pepper,
2 cucumber,
4 cabbage plants
2 - 50ft rows Shelly Bean
3 - 50ft rows Speckled Butter Beans (Jackson Wonder)
3 - 50ft rows Purple Hull Peas (Pinkeye)

3 - 50ft rows Corn (Peaches & Cream)
3 - 50ft rows Green Bean (Blue Lake Bush)
10 onion sets
2 rows carrots (on paper tape)
6 hills of squash
10 potato sets

The shelly beans, speckled butter beans, purple hull peas, corn, and green beans have all sprouted out of the ground.

 

[Larro Darro]

The shelly beans, speckled butter beans, purple hull peas, corn, and green beans have all sprouted out of the ground.

To a gardener, there is nothing better than seeing sprouts break through the ground.

 

[Larro Darro]

There was all sorts of things happening in the garden this morning. Blooms and a little cucumber on the Iraqi cukes. The sweet corn is tasseling {and one plant is nose high}. I planted another row of Bell peppers. I had to use three from the peat moss cups to finish out the row. Not a big fan of those cups, but I had a bunch gave to me. Planted 2 {short} rows of Mini Sweet peppers on the west end of the garden. You can see {in the background} that I still haven't filled in the all the trenches of my waterline project. Saw the first melon on the Crimson Sweets. There is also little peppers on the Bells, but I didn't get a picture of that.

 

[DFB]

Frost warning tonight!

And tomorrow night too...

Good thing I held off planting the eggplant and peppers :confused2:

 

[Larro Darro]

I saw the first blooms on the Pink Eyed Purple Hull and the Filipino Pole {Yardlong?} Beans. We had a nice little thundershower, which the garden drank up. Had the first picking of the Sugar Snap Peas with supper tonight. This is my first time growing them, and I was a little late getting the seeds in the ground, but well worth the wait.

 

[tcreeley]

My gardens are tilled and hilled. I need to mulch with bio plastic, lay drip hose on one, then plant the two of them. I have last year's left over potatoes ready to go. This year I am using a 3 pt tiller. Legs are just too stiff for extra walking. I've got my regular small garden, and a new one I tilled out of the back field. The dirt will need some work to get it up to speed. My wife picked out up some trees at Fedco's south of us. We've been planting. I got her to buy only zone 3. Nothing worse than winter kill because the temp dipped too low! -25F to -30F is not that rare in a cold year. -42F is our house record.
We bought a 55 gal plastic water drum from Walmarts of all places! It has a hand pump and siphon set up and we have it mounted on our carry all on the back of the tractor. It works great for watering this far from the house.
-Had some of last year's canned beets for lunch today. I have to say that they are much better than the ones we froze, almost like they were just picked! I boil them and eat them in cider vinegar.
The leaves are just beginning to show on the trees. I can see that the apple trees will be blooming this year (sometimes it is an every other year)- little hints of pink in the buds. It has been a very late spring.

-I can't believe you guys picking and eating already!...I'm jealous!

 

[Larro Darro]

My gardens are tilled and hilled. I need to mulch with bio plastic, lay drip hose on one, then plant the two of them. I have last year's left over potatoes ready to go. This year I am using a 3 pt tiller. Legs are just too stiff for extra walking. I've got my regular small garden, and a new one I tilled out of the back field. The dirt will need some work to get it up to speed. My wife picked out up some trees at Fedco's south of us. We've been planting. I got her to buy only zone 3. Nothing worse than winter kill because the temp dipped too low! -25F to -30F is not that rare in a cold year. -42F is our house record.
We bought a 55 gal plastic water drum from Walmarts of all places! It has a hand pump and siphon set up and we have it mounted on our carry all on the back of the tractor. It works great for watering this far from the house.
-Had some of last year's canned beets for lunch today. I have to say that they are much better than the ones we froze, almost like they were just picked! I boil them and eat them in cider vinegar.
The leaves are just beginning to show on the trees. I can see that the apple trees will be blooming this year (sometimes it is an every other year)- little hints of pink in the buds. It has been a very late spring.

-I can't believe you guys picking and eating already!...I'm jealous!

My green beans are already showing signs of it getting too hot for them. Some of the leaves are turning yellow. I should have already had my second planting done. Last year the second planting just didn't do too much.