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Posted: 4/13/2015 12:15:51 AM EDT
Year two for the garden is underway
Somehow spring snuck up without me having completed some of the planned upgrades (fencing, more beds, etc). Oh well - competing priorities. Prepped and planted most of the beds today with my "helpers"... I was late last year, early this one - fingers crossed our temps hold. New this year (not in the beds) are rhubarb, logan and blackberry, watermelon and corn.   |
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Posted: 4/13/2015 6:40:01 AM EDT
[#1]
Nice.
What kind of corn are you planting this year? Thanks to TRG all I plant is G-90. 
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Posted: 4/13/2015 7:16:08 AM EDT
[#2]
Looking good. It's nice to see that someone has green grass already. We still have snow covering much of the ground here
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Posted: 4/13/2015 8:23:21 AM EDT
[#3]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Nice. What kind of corn are you planting this year? Thanks to TRG all I plant is G-90. Burpee Heirloom Sweet Corn "Golden Bantam" and Silver Queen Hybrid from Ferry-Morse. It's still early here for corn so I'll check the ag store for G-90 and try a row of it as well. First time sowing corn - figure it will be a learning year. |
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Posted: 4/13/2015 8:25:18 AM EDT
[#4]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Looking good. It's nice to see that someone has green grass already. We still have snow covering much of the ground here Thanks - always amazes me how fast it greens here. We had 18" of snow one week and 75 degrees the next... followed by 8" of rain in less than 48 hours and another 2" 3 days later. |
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Posted: 4/13/2015 11:32:06 PM EDT
[#5]
Grasses here in the northwestern forested mountains of Arizona at 6000 feet, our grass is already 18" high. Our last snow was March 1st. I envy your flat terrain. My entire yard slopes down to the wash, then back up the other side. I've been terracing it by hand all winter preparing for our garden. I put seed in the ground mid February, and got sprouts about mid March after it warned up some. Mid April now, most are about 3" tall. First leaves have come on. I'm hoping some warmer days will put on some growth.
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Posted: 4/14/2015 7:07:54 AM EDT
[#6]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Burpee Heirloom Sweet Corn "Golden Bantam" and Silver Queen Hybrid from Ferry-Morse. It's still early here for corn so I'll check the ag store for G-90 and try a row of it as well. First time sowing corn - figure it will be a learning year. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Nice.
What kind of corn are you planting this year? Thanks to TRG all I plant is G-90. Burpee Heirloom Sweet Corn "Golden Bantam" and Silver Queen Hybrid from Ferry-Morse. It's still early here for corn so I'll check the ag store for G-90 and try a row of it as well. First time sowing corn - figure it will be a learning year. Don't forget to fertilize the corn at the right times. 
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Posted: 4/14/2015 7:50:54 AM EDT
[#7]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Don't forget to fertilize the corn at the right times. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: Quoted: Nice. What kind of corn are you planting this year? Thanks to TRG all I plant is G-90. Burpee Heirloom Sweet Corn "Golden Bantam" and Silver Queen Hybrid from Ferry-Morse. It's still early here for corn so I'll check the ag store for G-90 and try a row of it as well. First time sowing corn - figure it will be a learning year. Don't forget to fertilize the corn at the right times. IIRC, that's when it gets about a foot and again when it tassels... or ??? I planted the small plot in a location where I'd over-wintered one of my chicken tractors so I would think initial nitrogen levels should be pretty high but I haven't tested the soil to confirm. Not a terribly serious effort with the corn, but I was looking at the bare patch and figured why not - a learning opportunity for the cost of a packet of seed. |
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Posted: 4/14/2015 8:08:52 AM EDT
[#8]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
IIRC, that's when it gets about a foot and again when it tassels... or ??? I planted the small plot in a location where I'd over-wintered one of my chicken tractors so I would think initial nitrogen levels should be pretty high but I haven't tested the soil to confirm. Not a terribly serious effort with the corn, but I was looking at the bare patch and figured why not - a learning opportunity for the cost of a packet of seed. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Nice.
What kind of corn are you planting this year? Thanks to TRG all I plant is G-90. Burpee Heirloom Sweet Corn "Golden Bantam" and Silver Queen Hybrid from Ferry-Morse. It's still early here for corn so I'll check the ag store for G-90 and try a row of it as well. First time sowing corn - figure it will be a learning year. Don't forget to fertilize the corn at the right times. IIRC, that's when it gets about a foot and again when it tassels... or ??? I planted the small plot in a location where I'd over-wintered one of my chicken tractors so I would think initial nitrogen levels should be pretty high but I haven't tested the soil to confirm. Not a terribly serious effort with the corn, but I was looking at the bare patch and figured why not - a learning opportunity for the cost of a packet of seed. http://bonnieplants.com/growing/growing-corn/ Also some time the fertilizer to the number of leaves on the stalk. |
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Posted: 4/14/2015 8:15:16 AM EDT
[#9]
Thanks for the link!
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Posted: 4/17/2015 8:50:49 AM EDT
[#10]
Plantings are starting to sprout now.
Have a tray of seedlings I started inside that I need to harden off and transplant. Current layout (not to scale):  Yes, we eat a lot of greens - and surplus goes to the chickens. Still learning what to plant and in what quantities to best use the space... |
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Posted: 4/17/2015 5:59:29 PM EDT
[#11]
Good Lord man - absolutely gorgeous property. Looks like a great place to raise a family.
I also only plant G-90 and Silver Queen. Triple 13 when planting - Triple 8 to side dress twice - and ammonia nitrate when I 'lay it by'. Corn was up about a foot and I did my first 888 side dress and the rain started. Since 10 Apr I have 20+" here. Rain still forecast through Monday. Even when / if it stops it will be a week or longer before I can get my tractor in there - but - I will never complain about the rain. I would much rather deal with too much than none at all. |
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Posted: 4/18/2015 1:22:10 PM EDT
[#12]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Good Lord man - absolutely gorgeous property. Looks like a great place to raise a family. I also only plant G-90 and Silver Queen. Triple 13 when planting - Triple 8 to side dress twice - and ammonia nitrate when I 'lay it by'. Corn was up about a foot and I did my first 888 side dress and the rain started. Since 10 Apr I have 20+" here. Rain still forecast through Monday. Even when / if it stops it will be a week or longer before I can get my tractor in there - but - I will never complain about the rain. I would much rather deal with too much than none at all. Thanks - having a place where the kids could be kids and get their hands in the dirt was a big reason we bought the place. Will definitely get some G-90 and give it a go. Mini-me and the girls helping to prep one of the top-bar hives for a new package of bees: (ETA: the scratched up stretch in front of the hives is seeded with sweet yellow clover.)  Hardening off some of the veggies we started indoors:  |
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Posted: 4/24/2015 1:13:17 PM EDT
[#13]
Had two days of fairly high winds followed later in the week by two nights of frost with last night being a hard freeze.
The winds broke a few of my tomatoes that I was hardening off - guess the deck I had the seedling tray on wasn't as shielded as I thought. Weatherman thinks that should be the last of the frost... we'll see. Tradition here is to not plant till Mother's Day so I knew I was rolling the dice with an early start outside. I had enough lightweight row covers to protect 3 of the most heavily planted beds and they all look to have survived just fine. Most of the plantings in them are fairly cold hearty anyway. The only real loss looks to be my Kentucky Wonders. They had just surfaced a few days ago and their location along side the trellis didn't readily allow for covering and they are mush today. The 2nd of my three Rhubarb starts finally surfaced. I also planted three more blackberry bushes - a thorn-less variety that while not as flavorable should be more "kid picking" friendly. Frustratingly, the last load of compost I picked up seems to have a very high bermuda seed content. I couldn't have sown a better grass crop had I tried. Hopefully this will be the last year of having to buy compost... the chickens and sheep contributions should be enough moving forward. On another front, picking up 3 packages of bees this weekend to back-fill my winter losses. |
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Posted: 4/24/2015 1:50:29 PM EDT
[#14]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Had two days of fairly high winds followed later in the week by two nights of frost with last night being a hard freeze. The winds broke a few of my tomatoes that I was hardening off - guess the deck I had the seedling tray on wasn't as shielded as I thought. Weatherman thinks that should be the last of the frost... we'll see. Tradition here is to not plant till Mother's Day so I knew I was rolling the dice with an early start outside. I had enough lightweight row covers to protect 3 of the most heavily planted beds and they all look to have survived just fine. Most of the plantings in them are fairly cold hearty anyway. The only real loss looks to be my Kentucky Wonders. They had just surfaced a few days ago and their location along side the trellis didn't readily allow for covering and they are mush today. The 2nd of my three Rhubarb starts finally surfaced. I also planted three more blackberry bushes - a thorn-less variety that while not as flavorable should be more "kid picking" friendly. Frustratingly, the last load of compost I picked up seems to have a very high bermuda seed content. I couldn't have sown a better grass crop had I tried. Hopefully this will be the last year of having to buy compost... the chickens and sheep contributions should be enough moving forward. On another front, picking up 3 packages of bees this weekend to back-fill my winter losses. Go ahead and sow some more Kentucky Wonders. They sprout and grow fast if the temps are up.
How deep do you sow the seeds? I only go one inch. |
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Posted: 4/24/2015 1:52:22 PM EDT
[#15]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
The winds broke a few of my tomatoes that I was hardening off - guess the deck I had the seedling tray on wasn't as shielded as I thought. Some may be salvageable, if they broke off low enough on the stem and have enough stem left to let at least some "juice" flow through. Just replant them a little deeper, with the bent spot below ground level but at least some of the stem above that also underground. They should shoot out new roots from the stems, and will be as good as new in a few weeks. Better, maybe... they should have a more extensive root system from the extra rooting area. |
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Posted: 4/24/2015 10:15:34 PM EDT
[#16]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Go ahead and sow some more Kentucky Wonders. They sprout and grow fast if the temps are up. How deep do you sow the seeds? I only go one inch. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: Had two days of fairly high winds followed later in the week by two nights of frost with last night being a hard freeze. The winds broke a few of my tomatoes that I was hardening off - guess the deck I had the seedling tray on wasn't as shielded as I thought. Weatherman thinks that should be the last of the frost... we'll see. Tradition here is to not plant till Mother's Day so I knew I was rolling the dice with an early start outside. I had enough lightweight row covers to protect 3 of the most heavily planted beds and they all look to have survived just fine. Most of the plantings in them are fairly cold hearty anyway. The only real loss looks to be my Kentucky Wonders. They had just surfaced a few days ago and their location along side the trellis didn't readily allow for covering and they are mush today. The 2nd of my three Rhubarb starts finally surfaced. I also planted three more blackberry bushes - a thorn-less variety that while not as flavorable should be more "kid picking" friendly. Frustratingly, the last load of compost I picked up seems to have a very high bermuda seed content. I couldn't have sown a better grass crop had I tried. Hopefully this will be the last year of having to buy compost... the chickens and sheep contributions should be enough moving forward. On another front, picking up 3 packages of bees this weekend to back-fill my winter losses. Go ahead and sow some more Kentucky Wonders. They sprout and grow fast if the temps are up. How deep do you sow the seeds? I only go one inch. Yeah, I'll be replanting tomorrow. As for depth, I am pretty sure I was following the packet @ around 2" or so. I'll try 1" and see how it goes. Temps should be back up in the 70s this coming week. |
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Posted: 4/24/2015 10:18:53 PM EDT
[#17]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Some may be salvageable, if they broke off low enough on the stem and have enough stem left to let at least some "juice" flow through. Just replant them a little deeper, with the bent spot below ground level but at least some of the stem above that also underground. They should shoot out new roots from the stems, and will be as good as new in a few weeks. Better, maybe... they should have a more extensive root system from the extra rooting area. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: The winds broke a few of my tomatoes that I was hardening off - guess the deck I had the seedling tray on wasn't as shielded as I thought. Some may be salvageable, if they broke off low enough on the stem and have enough stem left to let at least some "juice" flow through. Just replant them a little deeper, with the bent spot below ground level but at least some of the stem above that also underground. They should shoot out new roots from the stems, and will be as good as new in a few weeks. Better, maybe... they should have a more extensive root system from the extra rooting area. Unfortunately they were pretty mangled when I found them so no chance of salvaging. I still have several indoors to fall back on. Anyone know if squash can be planted deep like a tomato? The squash/zukes I started indoors are tall and spindly despite having a fan on the seedling tray - so I am tempted to try planting them deep to shorten the amount of stem above ground. |
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Posted: 4/27/2015 10:07:11 AM EDT
[#18]
The warmth returns! I have to keep reminding myself than I jumped the gun by several weeks and really in progress right now was gambled. Turns out the frost didn't kill all the KY Wonder beans after all - maybe lost half or so. I've planted more to back-fill the losses:  Rhubarb is doing well. Need to box and mulch them in. The largest of the starts:  Not sure what to do with the strawberry - I stuck these in last year in a 2x4' area not expecting much and didn't get much (though the deer did slightly better than me). These guys all came back this spring despite getting browsed to nothing last year. What would be a reasonable sized planting area to get a decent crop?  Tomato bed is still vacant, pending the starts being hardened off and transplanted. I am trying some onion sets in the far 1/4" of the bed - no idea how they will play with the tomatoes but I had more starts than space to put them.  Next two beds are mostly various salad fixings and are doing well - should really put on some size this coming week with the expected shift back to sunshine:   Two varieties of peas and cucumbers for the trellis. Not determined if or how I'll support the peas. I know last year they did ok without support right up until they didn't and became a moldy tangle. The two dirt mounds between the boxes are the Rhubarb. The straw filled pit is an uncompleted bed I turned over and filled with partially composted straw from the chicken coops. Threw in a few pounds of potatoes for grins. Worst case is no crop and end of season I mix it all in and finally box in the bed.  |
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Posted: 5/3/2015 10:59:43 PM EDT
[#19]
Garden is progressing pretty nicely.
Despite the early jump on planting, my loss to frost was minimal. 2 of the 4 rows of corn I planted were no shows, but no surprise there - normal planting date is this upcoming weekend so I was 3 weeks early and ground temps were still low. Watermelon was similar with 1/2 still not sprouted. Will back fill both soon. Had some minor losses to deer, (some strawberry, blackberry leaves and a few destructive hoof prints in the beds) so I put up a temporary electric fence to deter a bit. Will need to run some taller strands on poles if they decide to jump in. Really regret not having found the time during the "off season" to put up the permanent fence. Oh well, next year.   |
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Posted: 5/3/2015 11:03:05 PM EDT
[#20]
Awesome! Keep up the posts!
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Posted: 5/4/2015 12:50:33 PM EDT
[#21]
Looks great!
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Posted: 5/4/2015 7:49:22 PM EDT
[#22]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Awesome! Keep up the posts! Quote HistoryQuoted: Awesome! Keep up the posts! Quoted: Looks great! Thanks guys! Never enough time to do what I want on these projects, but nice to see them progress nonetheless. |
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Posted: 5/6/2015 4:27:34 PM EDT
[#23]
Glad to see the frost didn't shut you down completely.
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Posted: 5/7/2015 7:58:41 AM EDT
[#24]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Glad to see the frost didn't shut you down completely. Yeah, I fared pretty well - luckily! My tomato starts are underwhelming - I'll probably end up giving in and buying some from the nursery. Kittie correctly diagnosed my seedling issue as too little light - yet another "will do better next year" item. I was also surprised to find my replacement KY bean seedlings under attack from both slugs and pill bugs. Slugs I expected and got back under control - but I had never considered a pill bug a threat in the garden before and had to google to confirm I was seeing what I thought I was seeing. I did notice an unusually number of them this year. |
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Posted: 5/15/2015 10:57:46 AM EDT
[#25]
Garden has progressed pretty well in the month since planting!
Here are the main boxes... already harvesting various greens. Black Seeded Simpson lettuce continues to be the rock star bug-free, high volume producer.  My first feeble attempt at corn... planted a few weeks too early, but seems to be doing pretty well. I plan on adding two more rows in the next few days:  The "I'm too lazy to box this one in properly so let's work the dirt a bit and fill it with chicken/sheep/straw/hay partially composted and toss in some potatoes and see what happens" bed:  Rhubarb doing well:  The mostly greens bed - black seeded simpson and carrots up front followed by spinach varieties, mustard, pak choy and chard.  Not much too see from the tomato and onions bed yet... but should be a nice tangle in a few weeks:  Squash, peppers and assorted other veggies doing well. The green jungle is two varieties of radish that I apparently spaced too close!  Some pumpkin and watermelon seedlings to fill some of the (temporarily) less used spaces:  The beginnings of what will be a 5 tree row of apples, using the high-density "tall spindle" method. Tree spacing will be 3' between trees, top wire trellised and topped around 9'. Alternating Honeycrisp and Fuji varieties.  |
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Posted: 5/15/2015 12:18:31 PM EDT
[#26]
Looks good buddy! I gave up on corn, did not plant any this year. Hope yours does well.
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Posted: 5/15/2015 12:20:30 PM EDT
[#27]
Really nice looking setup. What varieties of lettuce do you have going? Are any of them crisp/crunchy? I have grown a couple of different varieties this year and they are all tasty enough, but none of them has any real crunch. :(
Edit - just read back, black-seeded simpson. 
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Posted: 5/15/2015 12:31:15 PM EDT
[#28]
Looks good man.
I'm a little jealous of the lettuce it doesn't do well this time of year here. |
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Posted: 5/15/2015 1:30:42 PM EDT
[#29]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Really nice looking setup. What varieties of lettuce do you have going? Are any of them crisp/crunchy? I have grown a couple of different varieties this year and they are all tasty enough, but none of them has any real crunch. :( Edit - just read back, black-seeded simpson. No, nothing like an iceburg. I'm more of a soft greens fan. I keep trying different varieties to see what does well here and that we actually enjoy. What's been working: - Black Seeded Simpson - decent taste, zero pest issue and does well through the summer - Swiss chard various types - I like new growth in salads, older growth I prepare much like cooked spinach or steam in foil w/soy sauce in a foil packet on the grill - Spinach Long Standard and Espinaca - first year trying, off to a great start, no pest issues so far - Oak Leaf Red Lettuce - another pest free heat tolerant variety that does well here - Bib lettuce - first year trying, believe its a head lettuce - doing well so far without a beetle issue - Lettuce Rosalita - jury is out on this one. Some beetle damage but it looks like it's growth may out pace the damage enough for it to do well These I love, but not as much as the flea beetles and slugs. Since I'm not in to using pesticides on greens I am giving up on growing most of these in the ground here but will try again in a container, hydro or greenhouse later: India Mustard, Bok and Pak Choy, Senposai I actually meant to plant a block of mustard nearby to use as a sacrificial "trap" that I would nuke since it really calls the flea beetles in - but I forgot! |
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Posted: 5/15/2015 1:36:47 PM EDT
[#30]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Looks good man. I'm a little jealous of the lettuce it doesn't do well this time of year here. I'll trade you growing seasons! |
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Posted: 5/15/2015 1:38:36 PM EDT
[#31]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I'll trade you growing seasons! Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Looks good man. I'm a little jealous of the lettuce it doesn't do well this time of year here. I'll trade you growing seasons! 
NO! 
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Posted: 5/16/2015 7:19:58 PM EDT
[#32]
Couldn't resist pulling an icycle and standard radish while collecting eggs today... they are coming in nicely!
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Posted: 5/18/2015 7:22:37 AM EDT
[#33]
Not the best pic... but added a third tree (still looking for at least two more) and started tying the fruiting wood down to below horizontal.
Need to get a proper stake for the outer two and get the trellis up. Spacing is 3.5'.  ETA: Example of a commercial Tall Spindle row with tying:  |
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Posted: 5/19/2015 4:04:19 PM EDT
[#34]
Anyone up for a salad? I swear I am trying to get better about planting density, but I always over seed and under thin...  And this is after we've been harvesting greens for the past week! The weather has helped the boxes to put on a lot of growth:  |
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Posted: 5/19/2015 4:17:13 PM EDT
[#35]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Anyone up for a salad? I swear I am trying to get better about planting density, but I always over seed and under thin... <a href="http://s213.photobucket.com/user/kallnojoy/media/20150519_100116_zpsltavwr14.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc101/kallnojoy/20150519_100116_zpsltavwr14.jpg</a> And this is after we've been harvesting greens for the past week! The weather has helped the boxes to put on a lot of growth: <a href="http://s213.photobucket.com/user/kallnojoy/media/20150519_100104_zpss4jsjobl.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc101/kallnojoy/20150519_100104_zpss4jsjobl.jpg</a> Everything looks really good
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Posted: 5/19/2015 5:10:16 PM EDT
[#36]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Everything looks really good Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: Anyone up for a salad? I swear I am trying to get better about planting density, but I always over seed and under thin... <a href="http://s213.photobucket.com/user/kallnojoy/media/20150519_100116_zpsltavwr14.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc101/kallnojoy/20150519_100116_zpsltavwr14.jpg</a> And this is after we've been harvesting greens for the past week! The weather has helped the boxes to put on a lot of growth: <a href="http://s213.photobucket.com/user/kallnojoy/media/20150519_100104_zpss4jsjobl.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc101/kallnojoy/20150519_100104_zpss4jsjobl.jpg</a> Everything looks really good Thanks! Looking forward to updates on your many projects as well! |
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Posted: 5/21/2015 8:51:05 PM EDT
[#37]
That is a beautiful piece of land.
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Posted: 5/28/2015 11:31:08 PM EDT
[#38]
Quote HistoryQuoted: That is a beautiful piece of land. Thanks! Not much of it is flat, but is pretty! Took a few pics this evening before harvesting some greens and most of the radishes... The squash/zucchini of course decided to run the wrong way and my gamble that the peppers would get enough height to be neighbors with them isn't panning out so well. Oh well. Just north of the onions is a narrow/crowded row of bib lettuce that has exceeded my expectations. Where I thinned and gave it space it formed great heads and where I crowded them it made easily harvested bunches. The red splash northwest of the lettuce is a romaine variety that looks much like red oak leaf lettuce but with a thicker texture and a bit more pungent... wasn't what I expected, but is doing very well. The tall mess on the east is a few squares of regular and icicle radish. They did much better this year than last because I started them earlier and they had enough size to weather the later flea beetle onslaught. Northern most and unseen is row of pathetic flea beetle ravaged eggplant starts. I'm trying a few cycles of pyrethrin spray to knock the beetles back and hopefully given the eggplants a chance to put some size on.  The greens bed runneth over. First section is two rows of carrots, then black-seeded simpson, spinach, rosalita and a Japanese cabbage variety, mustard and a block I've reseeded with more bib lettuce then three bands of chard that is starting to put on size. The simpson got a serious hair cut after the picture (the chickens are eating well tonight) as did some of the spinach which was starting to bolt... I'll likely be clearing out a few blocks and reseeding them.  Tomatoes and onions are still putting on size, though they look underwhelming in this picture. I planted much fewer this year than last, hoping the decreased density will be easier to manage. The start in the pot obviously needs to get in the ground one of these days. I wish I had kept notes on what varieties are where... I mixed up my seedlings and have no clue as to who ended up where. Will be a surprise mix of heirlooms, hybrids and cherries.  Potato madness! Impressive greening - no idea if it will correlate to a decent harvest. I have sprayed them a few evenings with the pyrethrin dilution since they seem to be a major hot spot for flea beetles. A few buds are starting to emerge, so no more sprays since I also keep bees and they will be trafficking through more soon. Really want to try sweet potatoes next year - never did find a local source for slips.  A few strawberries that survived the local deer, carrots, KY wonders starting to climb the arch and a few mammoth sunflowers because why not. Stone "bed" is the rhubarb and a few potted herbs.  Same bed, reverse angle showing the sunflowers and beans starting up the trellis.  Camera freaked out on this one, but this bed is mostly peas runamuck, cukes starting to climb the arch, a pocket of heirloom cherry tomatoes fighting for sunlight and I think I may even have a melon or two in there as well.  My A#1 helper showing the scale of apple tree row (in its infancy).  The corn seems to be holding it's own. I did thin it back to one sprout per. Never did get the next two rows in.  |
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Posted: 5/29/2015 1:37:52 AM EDT
[#39]
Flea beetles sure do love eggplant, don't they? I have a few of them on some of my peppers and tomatoes too, but they are really hammering my eggplants.
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Posted: 5/30/2015 10:57:48 AM EDT
[#40]
Do you have a link for some suggested reading into the apple tree method you are trying?
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Posted: 5/30/2015 1:07:52 PM EDT
[#41]
Everything looks very lush! Nice job OP!
If you want to try sweet potatoes you can always buy a few from a growers' market or Whole Foods about 3 months before your growing season. Stick one end in damp dirt. As the slips get decent-sized, pop them off and pot them. You can start them suspended in water, etc, but I found I had less issues with rotting just using a small pot of damp earth. They take a long time to get started, but once they do look out!
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Posted: 5/30/2015 10:57:46 PM EDT
[#42]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Do you have a link for some suggested reading into the apple tree method you are trying? Sure! UMass has a ton of info http://extension.umass.edu/fruitadvisor/resources/tall-spindle-apple |
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Posted: 5/30/2015 10:59:55 PM EDT
[#43]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Everything looks very lush! Nice job OP! If you want to try sweet potatoes you can always buy a few from a growers' market or Whole Foods about 3 months before your growing season. Stick one end in damp dirt. As the slips get decent-sized, pop them off and pot them. You can start them suspended in water, etc, but I found I had less issues with rotting just using a small pot of damp earth. They take a long time to get started, but once they do look out! Thanks - was a good spring, now I need to get better w/summer crops. I will definitely try making my own slips next year! |
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Posted: 6/5/2015 12:42:09 PM EDT
[#44]
Was gone for a week - couldn't wait to see how the garden fared under the watch of my wife and kids... they did awesome!
Main area looking north:  Main area looking south:  Potatoes - no idea if they are making tubers, but the tops are doing great:  Tomatoes are putting on size and reminding me I need to cage ASAP:  Greens bed continues to rock. I gave the simpson a severe hair cut before I left and it sprung back nicely. Spinach is bolting some, but it was due to be pulled anyway. Certainly more greens than we consume each week - but the chickens love the supplement.  Squash is starting to fruit and the rest of this bed is doing really well too:  Harvesting some peas now as well. Cucumbers are progressing.  Backside of the pea bed showing the cukes  Rhubarb  Actually harvested a few strawberries. Beans are taking off.  Backside of the beans showing some sunflowers  Grapes reminding me I am overdue to cement the posts and run the trellis wires  Corn doing decent for my first "try" in unprepared ground. Discovered several volunteer tomatoes around them (and the compost bed) from using incomplete compost as mulch. May let them go as long as they dont interfere too much.  I have to go back and check my notes to recall if this was watermelon or pumpkin... i am thinking watermelon  Some more sunflowers  The sweet clover I planted (yellow) is doing well for the bees. The variety I planted last year is a towering variety seen behind the hives  I've sown various clover in several acres and let it run along with the native wild flowers  The two langstroth hives. One is all foundation-less and one I started on foundation. The others (not in this photo) are top bar hives.  Girls bzzzy working  |
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Posted: 6/6/2015 11:22:16 PM EDT
[#45]
Kallnojoy- My wife and I read up about the senposai since reading your post today and we think that it's something that we want to try in our zone 7 garden We have a local source for the seeds, based on your experience, is it to late to start from seed this year?
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Posted: 6/7/2015 10:23:58 AM EDT
[#46]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Kallnojoy- My wife and I read up about the senposai since reading your post today and we think that it's something that we want to try in our zone 7 garden We have a local source for the seeds, based on your experience, is it to late to start from seed this year? I would imagine it would do fine. It's 30 to 40 days to harvest size and heat tolerant - I'd give it a go! It does attract the same manner of pests as mustards and pak/bok choy, so be prepared for that (flea beetles, etc). |
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Posted: 6/7/2015 5:35:34 PM EDT
[#47]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I would imagine it would do fine. It's 30 to 40 days to harvest size and heat tolerant - I'd give it a go! It does attract the same manner of pests as mustards and pak/bok choy, so be prepared for that (flea beetles, etc). Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Kallnojoy- My wife and I read up about the senposai since reading your post today and we think that it's something that we want to try in our zone 7 garden We have a local source for the seeds, based on your experience, is it to late to start from seed this year? I would imagine it would do fine. It's 30 to 40 days to harvest size and heat tolerant - I'd give it a go! It does attract the same manner of pests as mustards and pak/bok choy, so be prepared for that (flea beetles, etc). Thanks, we will. I expect the spinach and arugula will give up during the next couple of weeks so it should fill the spot nicely. |
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Posted: 6/13/2015 10:48:37 PM EDT
[#48]
My three squash plants are starting to produce now. Cell phone in pic for scale:
 I did finally get around to pulling and resetting (in concrete) the posts for the grape trellis - will get some pictures after I run the wires. We also harvested and cleared half of the peas. A 2x4' patch yielded a little more than a can's worth of fresh peas after shelling. They were so sweet, many never made it in the house but were scarfed by my little pickers. A quick boil and a pinch of salt later and you would have thought it was sweet corn in your mouth rather than peas... awesomely good.    |
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Posted: 6/16/2015 10:42:31 AM EDT
[#49]
Some progress on the trellis... still some work left to do.  Two of my three squash plants - taking over 1/3rd of a box. Very productive so far this year and no sign (yet) of squash bugs.  Greens bed still doing well. Slowly taking out the bolting spinach, etc and trying second plantings of different varieties. Curious what if any greens I'll be able to start/grow in summer vs spring. Simpson is till doing great. Rosalita (new for me this year) is also doing very well and will get more space next year. Chard always does well here. One of a few plantings of carrots here too.  One year I will trellis/cage my tomatoes before they look like this - but obviously not this year! Several varieties here, as well as some onions.  Potatoes still doing well from what I can see - flowering has stopped. Had a fawn bed down in these greens two nights ago, but they sprung back up after.  Beans and a rogue cucumber taking to the arch well.  Other side has more cukes, some cherry tomatoes and the remnants of the just removed peas.  Cukes coming in... struck out completely last year with these - hoping for better this year.  And the pest of the day is "Rhubarb Curculio Beetle":  Corn putting on size. Hoe for scale.   Might even get a few blackberries from the new plantings.  |
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Posted: 6/17/2015 6:29:25 AM EDT
[#50]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Had a fawn bed down in these greens two nights ago, but they sprung back up after. Yup, you need to work on a taller fence system. With all that clover you planted I bet you have every deer within 20 miles lined up to use your place as a buffet. 
Cool little seat setup you built. Everything just cut at 45deg? |
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