Starting garden yet?

[Ray2310]

Anyone starting their plants yet for the garden?

My wife and I have began the start of a new garden year. We started aproximately 100 tomato plants so far along with a few pepper plants. We also got 5lbs of onion sets in this past weekend

I took some pictures of some things we have going on at the moment.

I have included some pictures of the baby tomatoe plants, our aero garden (hydroponic) the plants are 11 week old (which should have tomatoes ripening any day now), and our new automatic composter we just got.

 

[Nasty135]

Ray, You have got an early start..and it really looks good.. I just finished tilling and put in my snow peas & kale... Taters & collards will be next...

Your aero garden makes me think of a green house...My wife would love a green house and I would kinda like one also but I'm not sure if I want another structure around the property to take care of..Just more work...Maybe something like your deal would be an easier plan... But as of this post one of our kids is working at a garden nursery so we will be getting our plants there for the maters & peppers ,most everything else we just plant the seeds....

That composter is very interesting, What is the turn around time and volume that it handles when full? The pics of what comes out looks great...

Spring really gets you psyched for playing in the dirt..



But

 

[Egon]

Early girls are a very nice tomato.

Maybe I'll start some seeds this week. It's -10C outside with a howling wind shaking the house. It will be a few days before it's plantin time here.

I just got in from clearing snow off the driveway!

 

[Ray2310]

Ray, You have got an early start..and it really looks good.. I just finished tilling and put in my snow peas & kale... Taters & collards will be next...

Your aero garden makes me think of a green house...My wife would love a green house and I would kinda like one also but I'm not sure if I want another structure around the property to take care of..Just more work...Maybe something like your deal would be an easier plan... But as of this post one of our kids is working at a garden nursery so we will be getting our plants there for the maters & peppers ,most everything else we just plant the seeds....

That composter is very interesting, What is the turn around time and volume that it handles when full? The pics of what comes out looks great...

Spring really gets you psyched for playing in the dirt..



But

We had a 9x15x4 deep plastic container of scraps that we put in on Sunday, I have attached a picture of the composting progress as of this evening (48hrs). It really breaks down the scraps quite quickly. I have not used it long enough to get a good estimate of how much compost it will produce per week. Nature Mill says you can put 5# of raw scraps in per day. I attached a link for the unit.

NatureMill: How it works

I aslo attached a picture of our indoor greenhouse we use for starting seeds before sending them out to the outdoor greenhouse.

 

[archerynut]

Ray you really are ahead of the curve. I just tossing arounf ideas for the new garden this year. I think the 2310 is going to make it a whole lot easier than previous years. I was thinking about doing something similar with raised beds like you did. Did you use treated landscape timbers?

 

[Ray2310]

Ray you really are ahead of the curve. I just tossing arounf ideas for the new garden this year. I think the 2310 is going to make it a whole lot easier than previous years. I was thinking about doing something similar with raised beds like you did. Did you use treated landscape timbers?

They are the 8' rounded edge, treated landscape timbers from Lowes. They usually start out the year at around $2.99-$2.49 each. For the last several years I have found them on sale for $1.79-$1.99.

I like the raised beds because you don't have to till (this allows me to get some stuff in early), easier to plant in, weed and if it rains you can still work in the raised beds. I do have a traditional garden that I also plant.

 

[jeffinsgf]

Define "Started your garden"

I've built some raised beds, set them where I want them, and put in a sprinkler system for them. If it ever stops raining, I'm going to get some soil mixed for them. Hope to have onion sets, lettuce, carrots and spinach planted by the first of next week.

EDIT: Forgot the link. I started a blog on my raised bed garden. Jeff & Nancys Veggie Adventure

 

[Egon]

Nice setup Ray.

 

[jinman]

Anyone starting their plants yet for the garden?

Now you've done it! I feel really bad about not putting in a garden this year. I'm stickin' to my plan and not doing it, but I do miss it. I'm already late at planting the tomato seeds you sent to me too. Maybe this weekend I'll get that done.

We've been so busy getting our properties on the market and getting ready for a May wedding for our youngest son. I'll just have to watch your progress and enjoy gardening vicariously for at least one year. By next year, I should be back into the swing of it.

Your young plants and fruiting tomatoes really look great. That aero-garden looks perfect for an indoor winter garden. You'll have to let us know how the tomatoes taste. What variety? Are they Early Girls too?

That composter is interesting too. I guess I'm lazy. I've always bought compost when I need it because it seems you work so hard for a small amount of material. You have to admit, $300 will buy an awful lot of cotton burr compost. You'll have to keep us updated on how well it works and if it keeps going trouble-free.

So keep posting Ray. I'll be lookin' over your shoulder this year.

 

[Ray2310]

jinman,

Everyone is sure going to miss your garden this year.

I don't know what variety the Aero Garden tomatoes are. They are a cherry tomato and I'll let ya know how they taste.

The composter was a little pricy although we got ours a little cheaper from Sam Club. But, you are right $300 does buy alot of compost. I look at as more of a luxury item.

Ray

 

[Ray2310]

Define "Started your garden"

I've built some raised beds, set them where I want them, and put in a sprinkler system for them. If it ever stops raining, I'm going to get some soil mixed for them. Hope to have onion sets, lettuce, carrots and spinach planted by the first of next week.

EDIT: Forgot the link. I started a blog on my raised bed garden. Jeff & Nancys Veggie Adventure

Looks to me like you've started. Nice looking set up. An irrigation system for my raised beds was in the plans for this spring. Unfortuneatly with all the rain we have been getting it looks like that project may be delayed until summer.

Ray

 

[jeffinsgf]

Looks to me like you've started. Nice looking set up. An irrigation system for my raised beds was in the plans for this spring. Unfortuneatly with all the rain we have been getting it looks like that project may be delayed until summer.

Ray

Yeah, we had the wettest March day ever recorded yesterday, and the 5th wettest March on record with just over half the month gone. I dodged rain drops to get the irrigation in. I had a tiny window last week between when the ground finally got dry enough to trench and when the next batch of storms was due. I trenched on Thursday and had about a quarter inch of rain Thursday night. Nothing collapsed and the mud wasn't too bad. I slapped pipe all day Friday (ran water up to the barn as well as the irrigation for the beds). It rained most of the day Saturday, but I managed to get the wiring in the trenches and did all the inside work on the controller in the barn. Sunday was nice and I finished the wiring, tested everything and then started backfilling and grading. That was a bit of an exercise in frustration. Backfilling with mud is not a lot of fun. But, glad I got it done, because it started raining Monday morning and didn't stop until a few hours ago (3am Wednesday).

 

[dmccarty]

I have been working to turn over the garden soil which took about 4 4-6 hour days spread over the last couple of months. Our soil is clay and rock so in 2006 we brought in some soil for a garden but the garden was small that year and not much happened. Then in 2007 we brought in more soil that enlarged the garden to 25x45. The soild was made from dirt and poultry house litter. When I spread the soil with the tractor it compacted real well.

Last year we only managed to plant about half the garden because the soil was like concrete once it dried out. I did not water the section that did not have plants. It litterally took a pick axe to break up the soil and make rows. Some of the plants did very poorly because of the compaction. Surprise Surprise Gomer.

So this year I went out and dug up every big of the bed that had soil. Now we have rows that are a good two feet deep and mostly broke up. I broke up as much of the clumps as possible.

Last year we put carrot seeds in on 4/1. Our last average frost is 4/15. We will plant again in early April. Because of my pick ax soil it took quite an effort to plant over last summer so the garden was ok but not as bountiful as expected. This year the soil is ready to go! We have one section that could use some more soil but I'll let the cukes and cantalopes spread over that section. But we are ready to go.

We dried the cheap soaker hoses last year but there just is not enough pressure to run 200 feet of hoses so I went back to the spray dohicky. This year I am going to try six hoses, we have six long beds, hooked to a manifold so I can water one bed at a time.

Just a waiting for some garden veggies!

Later,
Dan

 

[tony123]

Ray, I'm looking forward to following your garden thread! You're certainly more advanced than I am.

I have a small composter going that I throw kitchen scraps into. It's probably 40gal size. It's round and has a roller base. It has been really easy to use. However, Its only to play with....I got a whole truckload of mushroom compost for $40, so it hardly seems worth it to produce it myself. Heck, I could have gotten just leaf compost for $20.

Jinman, I too am going to miss your garden this year. I use your previous thread for inspiration and information and was hoping to have that benifet this year too.

 

[ToadHill]

Can't start the garden until the snow melts.

 

[charlz]

This year the soil is ready to go! We have one section that could use some more soil but I'll let the cukes and cantalopes spread over that section.

Thought about trying a cover crop on the unused area? Buckwheat is supposed to be really good at adding organic material to the soil. I have not used it (yet, gonna try this year) but supposedly you can turn it under every 30 days and replant which should add a lot to the soil by fall.

 

[charlz]

Ray2310,

Is that composter really as 'smell free' as they say? I saw it on TV a while back and was wondering. I compost on a large-garden scale and the kitchen scraps never seem to make it that far.... I do have kind of an issue with using electricity to help along a process that will happen by itself.

 

[sseelhoff]

I have the two raised beds (10' x 12') built, and filled with composted manure. Lettuce, tomatoes and peppers (bell, jalapeno and tabasco) are all in. We also put in a couple of rosemary plants. We'll be adding the zucchini, basil, and a few others in a few weeks.

 

[dooleysm]

We had a decent sized garden last year, about 12x45, but decided to branch out for this year. Last fall I got a good deal on a new King Kutter 5' tiller and tilled up another area about 35x80 so that we could stretch out and grow some 'viney' things like melons, pumpkins, and cucumbers as well as some sweet corn and potatoes. I had that area soil tested and fertilized it last fall. Now I'm waiting for my foot to heal up and the ground to dry out. I don't know how much rain we had over the past 2 days, but my wife poured out the rain gauge yesterday morning and it had 5 1/2" and rained most of yesterday too.

It'll be a few weeks yet before we get dry and warm enough to do anything.

 

[DUMBDOG]

I have been debating increasing the size this year from about 15 acres last year to 16 acres this year.