Garden time!!

[okietreedude]

I started my 09 garden today. planted 3 rows potatoes (2 white kennebec, 1 red pontiac) and yellow and red onions. I think the potatoes ended up being about 37 starts.

I was at a local store today and noticed they are already selling tomatoes and peppers Its WAY to early for those here. later this week the weather liars are calling for temps in the 30's at nite. In fact, they also had out watermelons, eggplant and a few other things that wont do well until mid april at best.

Im about ready to start my tomatos and peppers inside. Im going from seed this year.

Anyone else started yet???

 

[MasterBlaster]

I wish.

 

[sotc]

folks are working in the greenhouses now, i usually buy starts or get them from my father in law. still to wet to work the ground here

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Green house here... We can't plant till after May 15th cause of the frost. And even then we can't always get in after frost. So we are starting everything in the greenhouse this year. Did use some of the spinach we grew this winter already

 

[Paul B]

MB, why no garden? I have no land here but we can do lots of #3 or #5 pots with stuff on our patio area. I am planning on doing some tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, onions, garlic and more.

 

[MasterBlaster]

It takes me 10 minutes to mow my lawn.

 

[squisher]

I'll be gardening, but not for awhile yet. Currently snowing with a couple feet of compacted on the ground still.

 

[stehansen]

I've been lax on my garden so far. I'll get moving here pretty quick.

 

[Al Smith]

Too early here ,still too cold .

We have a raised bed ,4 by 40 feet .Just some tomatoes ,cucumbers on a trellis ,peppers .Salad type stuff .

In a former life with former wife I planted between 100 and 150 pounds of spuds per year .That equates into as much as a ton of taters if they do real well .Irish cobblers ,Kennebec,Katadin and red Pontiacs .Occasionaly some Idaho russets .

I just gave away those I didn't use which was at least 2/3 of them . Just another hobby I once enjoyed .

 

[okietreedude]

Al,

on the potatoes, i read online somewhere it may be sept before harvest...is that really correct? ive always dug them in june just after flower. then or wait longer?

 

[Al Smith]

I usually plowed them out it late August .I had an old fashion potatoe plow I adapted for a three point hitch .I could dig up spuds like nobodies business .

Once the vines die they don't grow any more but you could wait until it frosts if you wanted to before you dig them .

I used to dig into hill in late June,early July and snatch a few young spuds . The skin is so soft you can rub it off with your hands . Cooked them with fresh green beans and a ham hock .Flat land hillbilly soul food ,so to speak .

 

[No_Bivy]

my wife has a long honey-do list for me......just spread chips for her, and all of my Bonsai are out......at least this week.

 

[hmm]

I do the containers - last year it was herbs and this year i will add tomatoes. there are to many WILD critters that would eat what i plant and i really do not what to fence the yard. so on the deck they go.

 

[Che]

I just transplanted tomatoes (German, Hard Rock, Roma, and Pink Girl), and Basil into some 6-paks. They'll go into the garden on Derby Day (around May 10th.)

I'll be growing half-runners up a couple cattle panels like I did last year. Worked great, I had two panels, and put heavy landscape fabric sat down in between them. Brought out the battery powered 'boom box' and a plastic lawn chair and picked beans sitting down.

I don't grow potatoes anymore but when I did...I remember you had two harvest times: first, when the potatoes got to be around the size of a golf ball, they call it 'groveling' here. second, just before the first frost....but I'm not positive on that one. The trick to groveling is to make sure you hill up the 'stem' as they grow so the new potatoes grow in nice loose soil...easy to get to.

 

[Al Smith]

I must have tater growing in my blood lines or something .

My maternal grandfather besides being a horse trader ,lumber man and general ornery cuss also raised potatoes . My mother said he literally sold them by the box car load during the 40's .

Did it all with horses,the taters and the logging . He did drive his automobile to the Elks club though where he spent a tad bit of time .

 

[Al Smith]

I'll be growing half-runners up a couple cattle panels like I did last year. Worked great, I had two panels, and put heavy landscape fabric sat down in between them.

For reasons unknown to me you just don't see half runners or Kentucky wonders grown around here .Maybe people don't like to put up the poles and string or some thing ?

I use a trellis for the cucumbers . Kinda neat ,a big old pickle hanging on the vine two feet in the air .

 

[Che]

For reasons unknown to me you just don't see half runners or Kentucky wonders grown around here

They don't like em cuz they're a royal PITA. I hate stringing them.....takes forever. You really got to zen out....then its not too bad. BUT....I finally had to admit that the flavor WAS better, so now I grow them.

Al...if you like trellising veggies...you should try these cattle panels.....I'm thinking they're about $30 each......very sturdy. I'm going to swap out for new ones and rotate these into what's used on the farm...then I don't have to clean off the old vines.

Setting them up is really easy...you pound in two metal T-posts (the metal posts that look like a T if you took a cross section.) I hooked the top over the post at each end and then just tied the bottoms to the bases. You could even use them OVER some kind of structure if you wanted your veggies to hang through.

 

[Al Smith]

What's neat about a trellis is the fact you can grow a lot of vining veggies in a small space .In addition cuces have a tendency to hide from you with the vines on the ground '

You don't see it them before you know it the damned thing is too far long to eat .Also growing on the ground they tend to get funky looking on the bottom not the nice green color being on a trellis .

When we lived in town I had one shoot down the raised bed about twenty feet ,grow up my shed and give birth to a pickle under my trim board and blow it clean off the shed . Tough pickle,that one .

 

[Newfie]

We planted 6 inches of fresh snow yesterday. Be lucky to plant veggies until memorial day.

 

[Al Smith]

We planted 6 inches of fresh snow yesterday. Be lucky to plant veggies until memorial day.

Which by the way is the traditional day of garden planting .