Starting garden yet?

[Jimmyp5]

lets see...corn is in., onions, tomato's, bush beans, water melon, cantaloupe, artichokes, cucumbers, and of course...tons of pepers of all types...had to put that new tiller to use. I just finished building a series of compost pits, three bins so when I turn it goes from one BX bucket to the new pile etc... no turning by hand!! And of course that just the first set in the ground., in three weeks a second set goes in, then a final set in another three weeks...have to have fresh stuff all summer...

 

[Ray2310]

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.

I've only used it a little over a week. Staring out there was some odor. After following the directions more closely the smell did nearly eliminate. Of course when you open it there is some odor but not as bad as you would think. They also give you a box of baking soda with it and you add a couple teaspoons if there is any odor.

They say it only uses aprox 50 cents worth of electric per month.

 

[groundcover]

"lets see...corn is in., onions, tomato's, bush beans, water melon, cantaloupe, artichokes, cucumbers, and of course...tons of pepers of all types...had to put that new tiller to use. I just finished building a series of compost pits, three bins so when I turn it goes from one BX bucket to the new pile etc... no turning by hand!! And of course that just the first set in the ground., in three weeks a second set goes in, then a final set in another three weeks...have to have fresh stuff all summer..."


Jimmy that's just wrong !! Still have several feet of snow here! Won't even think of starting seeds inside for a while !

 

[Deere Hunter]

Spent about an hour and a half behind a rear tine tiller this eveningis - a 3pt hitch model is in the future, but I just bought my tractor and had a fairly expense PTO rebuild, so implements will have to wait a while. I am getting the topsoil broken up in my garden after a year off. I hope to get the fertilizer and rows in tomorrow for the sweet corn. I might even plant a few rows of corn if time allows.

Here's a question for you gardeners. I have a pretty good sized garden, fenced to slow down the deer. The fire ants are thick this year, and I need to do something about it. What kind of ant-killer is safe to apply to a vegetable garden? I looked at several, and they aren't safe for use. What can I do to get rid of them? Year before last, they were in about half of the Silver Queen, and ruined a good bit of corn for me, not to mention the bites when hoeing/picking. I would like to treat the whole thing. The year-long pesticides sound great, but are they safe to use? Help!!

 

[dmccarty]

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.

I am going to try to put in a winter cover crop next fall.

Not really thought about doing it during the summer. I'll have to think about it. If its only a few inches tall it would work.

OTOH I really want to have to turn over anymore soil. That was a job I really don't want to do again. And I'm wondering if you really should turn the soil. Heard arguments either way.

Later,
Dan

 

[jinman]

Here's a question for you gardeners. I have a pretty good sized garden, fenced to slow down the deer. The fire ants are thick this year, and I need to do something about it. What kind of ant-killer is safe to apply to a vegetable garden? I looked at several, and they aren't safe for use. What can I do to get rid of them? Year before last, they were in about half of the Silver Queen, and ruined a good bit of corn for me, not to mention the bites when hoeing/picking. I would like to treat the whole thing. The year-long pesticides sound great, but are they safe to use? Help!!

Let me do some guessing. . .
Your garden soil probably has a lot of sand and is not heavy in organic matter. Am I close?

The reason I say this is that fire ants generally like sterilized soil without much competition from other bugs. If you have very good organic soil and lots of micro-biology going on, the fire ants generally don't stay around too long. For example, fire ants like the soil under concrete driveways and sidewalks. They do make mounds in the middle of the yard, but you can find them under almost all concrete slabs. They also love electrical boxes and other sterile "homes."

I would suggest trying to build up the organic content of your soil by adding a lot of compost and supplement that with dry molasses at a rate of 50 to 100 lb per 1000 sq feet. That much molasses will really get things going in the presence of good compost. You can also treat the mounds effectively with a mix of molasses, compost tea, and orange oil. Drench each mound with about a gallon of mixture. This is an organic method that will not hurt your garden. It's also no more expensive than insecticides. Try it in an isolated area to see how it works before you take my word for it. I've had good luck with the mound drench on pond dams and using heavily composted soils in flowerbeds. Be careful with the use of the dry molasses. If you put down too much, it will encourage too much activity and may burn your plants.

If you put out too much insecticide, you will kill not only the fire ants, but also your "good" bugs.

 

[MossRoad]

Today is good Friday. This is the day we traditionally start our seeds indoors for plants like tomatoes and peppers, broccolli, cabbage. If it were not snowing today, I would also plant radishes, spinach, carrotts, etc... directly in the soil. I will try to get them in this weekend.

We are making now compost bins, too.

 

[jinman]

lets see...corn is in., onions, tomato's, bush beans, water melon, cantaloupe, artichokes, cucumbers, and of course...tons of pepers of all types...had to put that new tiller to use. I just finished building a series of compost pits, three bins so when I turn it goes from one BX bucket to the new pile etc... no turning by hand!! And of course that just the first set in the ground., in three weeks a second set goes in, then a final set in another three weeks...have to have fresh stuff all summer...

Jimmy, if you have tomato sets in the ground already, you may need some help as I did last year. Lowes sells thin plastic in 12' wide rolls for those nights when we get our late frosts. April 15th is supposed to be safe here, but last year surprised me. Good luck! It sounds like you have a great start.

 

[DUMBDOG]

Today is good Friday. This is the day we traditionally start our seeds indoors for plants like tomatoes and peppers, broccolli, cabbage. If it were not snowing today, I would also plant radishes, spinach, carrotts, etc... directly in the soil. I will try to get them in this weekend.

We are making now compost bins, too.

You have to remember that Easter is earlier than most people will remember and ever will be again for those now living.

My transplants were started a week ago.

According to my German heritage, you plant potatoes on Good Friday. However planting potatoes in March would be a wee bit early.

 

[greenthumb]

no garden yet but I will get to clean up 8-12 inches of snow Saturday. What a great 1st full day of spring here in Michigan. I really hope global warming does not hurt our plants this summer.

 

[Deere Hunter]

Thanks for the tips on the fire ant problem. I hate to put too much insecticide in the garden. And you nailed it on the Sandy Loam, I didn't work the garden at all last year, and the Ant problem has intesified. I plan on starting a compost bin this year, and will buy some compost to add to the soil before I plant the remainder of the garden. Never heard of Dry Molasses, but will look into that also. I was going to use Sevin, but will hold off until I can test out your method. Where should I look for Orange Oil?

Put in three rows of Kandy Corn, two rows of Bodacious, and three rows of Silver King today, worked the whole garden last night and today, but will work it again before I put in the Butter Beans, Peas, Squash, Okra, Maters, Cukes, Melons, etc. I will not plant anything else until April, I think.

 

[Ray2310]

Deere Hunter,

As wet as it is here...I can only dream of when I will be able to get my corn in. How do you like that Bodacious corn? My wife and I love it. Thats all we plant now.

Ray

 

[Deere Hunter]

This will be my first crop of the Bodacious. I have heard rave reviews, and can't wait to try it out.

 

[ScottOkla]

I have loved Bodacious since I first tried in 5 or 6 years ago, but we cannot get a good stand here most years.

My local horticulture guy last year recommended Honey Select as a similar taste but better stand. He was right. If any of you have trouble with Bodacious, Honey Select is a great Plan B.

 

[jinman]

Never heard of Dry Molasses, but will look into that also. I was going to use Sevin, but will hold off until I can test out your method. Where should I look for Orange Oil?

Many feed stores/farm stores carry both dry molasses and orange oil. I don't think you will find it at TSC, but Amazon.com carries Greensense dry molasses in a 50 lb bag for about $17.50. You can find this and many other things at natural gardening centers. Here is a link to an article about dry molasses by the Dirt Doctor. I don't garden completely organic, but I do follow some of the guidlines when they work for me. You might also look into using BT (bacillus thuringiensis) for killing caterpillars. I don't think it will work on fireants, but it sure keeps tomato worms under control.

Dry Molasses

 

[Deere Hunter]

Dang Right! Thanks for the link. I absolutely despise fire ants. I may have to spread some on the entire lawn. I started on the first mowing of the year yesterday, got the front half done. Might get finished with the mowing tonight, and then I'll run the weedeater for an afternoon.

The forecasted rain for last night didn't make it, so the garden got its first watering yesterday while I was cutting grass. The forecast for tonight is now 30 degrees! But it will be 79 for the high on Friday!

Gotta spray the dove field soon, as the ragweed is flat growing. Want to plant Clearfield Sunflowers mid-late April.

 

[Ray2310]

Nice day today here in Western, PA. Got a chance to get in peas, spinach and more onions, radishes, bibs and leaf lettuce.

If the weather cooperates I may be able to get permenant water and power supply run to the greenhouse.

 

[charlz]

Still way to early to plant anything here.... except garlic which was planted last fall and is doing great.

I mentioned in another thread that I found a neighbor who will bring me horse manure/shavings from their stables by the dump trailer load... for free So last weekend I took one set of my pallet compost bins out in order to make a big bin. First I took out what compost I had left from last fall spread it on out the garden:



This shows my 'drive on' raised beds, there is a plan to put grass in between to keep the weeds down but we will see if I get to it this year. I incorporated the compost just to make sure it wouldn't blow away before 'spring'. I have a 50" tiller for my b7100 and it works perfect... if you can drive straight. The beds are fed water by a 1" main that runs along and 1/2" risers to the drip. I lay a rock on it to keep it out of the tiller and drive on/drive off. Takes about 4 minutes and all the beds with compost are tilled:



The manure I got from the neighbor was left where he dumped it, two loads end to end. I worked it twice with the 3pt tiller and restacked it with the loader. Once I had the new bin constructed I moved it into the bin.... the stuff is still cooking away.



The back of the bin is made of really long pallets I got from a granite countertop place, they are about 12' long. Two of them are set on their side over some T posts. The ends are regular pallets with half a pallet on top. Looks like I could have skipped the half pallets but I wasn't sure how big the pile would be once stacked in the bin.

This pile should be ready in time for planting... mid May or so. I have another two loads 'on order'. By the time they are ready for a bin this one should be empty.

Charles

 

[tony123]

charlz, thanks for the photos! Looks great! I wish I had all that compost.

 

[Ray2310]

charlz,

I am completely jealous of your compost pile. I need to get some manure for my corn patch but its been way too wet..and its raining today..tomarrow. It just dosent seem like its gona end.

Ray