|
|
Post by emmsmommy on May 26, 2022 19:36:18 GMT -5
Although the majority of crops have went into the garden the last few weeks, I've actually been preparing since January with the sowing of the onion seed. Onions are looking pretty good and I can tell by their growth which beds are well-draining and which will need a layer of compost soon.
Just harvested my first mess of De Grace snow peas (unless you count that handful I threw in my salad last week) and I've determined that growing them as transplants really doesn't make sense as the direct-sown shell peas were sown outside the following day and already have snow pea-sized pods. The Tall Telephone or Alderman peas have yet to impress me as I transplanted twice and they're just now starting to climb the trellis and bloom. I hope to give fall peas a try again and may try transplants one more time next year except using deep cell packs instead of peat pots.
Radishes have done spectacular as I've harvested three pounds so far and have even developed a taste for them in salads. I really enjoy the radish mixes as it's a surprise every time I harvest. The Wasabi and Black Spanish radishes have yet to produce anything although they were all sown around the same time. This is my second year doing multi-sown transplants and will probably never direct-sow again. Beets were also multi-sown and I've again noticed a difference between beds. I'm growing Albino beets this year and already have one that could be harvested. Also growing five other varieties of beets including golden ones. I'll probably do a late summer sowing as well.
Lettuce has been producing well and I'm in awe by the deep rich color of the Merlot lettuce from Baker Creek. I'll let one plant go to seed as I want to grow it again. Spinach has produced better than last year and I really like the Guant Noble variety though I noticed one is beginning to bolt. Grew them all as transplants and realize that I'd need at least one entire bed devoted to Spinach to even come close to meeting our needs.
Cabbages are beginning to head and hoping the broccoli and cauliflower are soon to follow. I'm actually a member of a Facebook garden group for our state and notice several people already harvesting all three. Maybe I need to get then in the garden earlier next year. Kale is doing great! I had two curly kale and a Russian kale overwinter and have went to seed. Those three plants have provided kale for my omelets and salads for nearly two months now and I look forward to harvesting seed. The flowers have also brought in the bees. Kohlrabi transplants just went in the ground today. Brussels sprouts went in late as well and hoping I can get a reasonable harvest. Two late cabbage varieties still need to be planted.
Potatoes in pots are doing great! Still have some to plant as weather, time and an unfinished planting area has hampered my efforts. Determinate tomatoes went in a bed today and I planted a bed of indeterminates a few weeks ago. Still have some varieties to plant and haven't put any in pots yet. Peppers still need planted. I have determined that the transplants at garden centers can be no more than 3-4 weeks old as mine at 6-weeks are giant when compared. Think I'll hold off a week or two on sowing next year or else plan to pot up in much larger containers. I'm happy with the pepper growth though not happy that they're not in the ground yet.
Untangled the jicama vines today and hope to have them in the ground soon. Still wondering if it's worth it to baby them for months. Fava beans are producing and realize I have no idea of when to harvest them. Will be saving some for seed. I have noticed that they quit flowering when temps hit the mid-high 80s an when we had a few days in the 60s they started blooming again and have a few new pods forming.
Geraniums and impatiens from seed were a success! Will start the geraniums a bit earlier next time as I'm just now getting bloom. Marigolds did okay though I had one variety that didn't germinate and another dried out because I forgot I moved it and it didn't get watered.
I think the most important thing I've realized this year is that I'm not ready to begin selling plants for profit just yet. I've worked the heck out of the light stand and mini greenhouse this year. While I do hope to have the bigger greenhouse up by fall, there's still much to do and buy before it can be functional and I still haven't decided on a location yet. I'll sell or give away my extra plants but not planning to grow an excess to to sell until I get a better handle on organizing my time.
I'm in the process of filling another bed and hubby brought home materials to build two more and I still don't think I'll have enough room to grow half of the food we need. While I know few people who can actually say they grow the majority of their food, I would like to eventually be among them.
|
|
|
|
Post by Wheelgarden on May 27, 2022 16:05:18 GMT -5
I'm "just plain tickled to death" with how well things have gone so far. Almost everything grown from seed under the trusty light trays, other than some purchased flower starts, and everything is thriving. DS has done yeoman's work helping me out. It could be the GREATEST OF ALL TIME!  |
|
|
|
Post by lilolpeapicker on May 27, 2022 16:26:10 GMT -5
Even though I am more organized in my approach to the garden I find I have slowed down alot this year. I will finish up putting things in the garden over the next 3 days. There have been some things I am not doing this year. And I feel good about making the decision for that as I always push myself to do it all. Much effort went into making the last of the raised beds (I think). And I am working on some house projects as well. So in all things are going reasonably well.
|
|
|
|
Post by gardendmpls on May 27, 2022 18:38:04 GMT -5
No time for reflections this year until everything is in the ground. Hopefully within a week or so.
|
|
|
|
Post by desertwoman on May 27, 2022 21:46:42 GMT -5
It's an odd year. It was too warm in early spring and now too cool in mid spring. Garlic has been scraping for 10 days or so, way early; lettuces are doing well.
My starts of tomatoes , chiles and basil are so ready to be planted but I remain patient, as another cold spell is predicted for the early part of next week. Then I should be home free and ready to plant the summer garden.
I've decided I will start tomatoes and basil at least a couple of weeks later next year- maybe even 3 weeks later.
I'm strongly evaluating my perennial gardens , taking note of which plants are thriving in spite of the ongoing Extreme Drought (the worst level. They are named Abnormally Dry, Moderate Drought, Severe Drought, Extreme Drought, Exceptional Drought). I've started removing dead and dying plants and am and will be replacing with more of what I see is doing well. These are plants which are suppose to be drought tolerant. Some have lived up to that designation, some have not.
It's always been a bit of a challenge to garden on a high desert plateau, but after 41 years I've been quite good at it. This climatic change that has been progressing over several years is challenging me at a whole new level and this year is the year I have to come to terms with the change.
|
|
|
|
Post by datgirl on May 28, 2022 7:49:00 GMT -5
Have to start tomatoes later next year too. I've reclaimed parts of the garden and yard, but haven't put it to good use. This fall when everything is done, I'm going to evaluate the beds and make some changes I think. Like emmsmommy , we acquired a boatload of bricks from a new neighbor that tore down an existing garden wall. So far the plants look good. Hopefully the weather is starting to change for the better and the warm weather will stay. Hoping I have a a good crop of green beans and cucumbers, Green beans just started popping up. Last year I had a terrible time with something eating cucumber seedlings.
I'm really trying to not let some of the volunteers take over. I have a lot of Borage that reseeds and kind of takes over and sunflowers too. So I've been transplanting the sunflowers so they don't shade the garden like they usually do when I let them be. I've also dug out and thinned out a lot of Black eyed Susan. That was taking over a couple of sections of the garden too. So it's a work in progress. We'll see in the fall how it all turns out.
|
|
|
|
Post by raphanus on May 29, 2022 7:16:35 GMT -5
Wow I really enjoyed reading this! emmsmommy, I’ve seen one person transplant peas before, but direct sowing of all legumes seeds standard practice, I am curious about rhizobacteria inoculants and inoculated seed making a difference though. I didn’t have much luck with black Spanish radish, heard it’s spicy. I’m a daikon guy, but always plant some Crayon Colors radish mix, seed is crazy cheap in bulk, and pickle them with dill. I had never seen the Merlot lettuce until my buddy grew some this year, the color is spectacular. My reflections for this year so far: Carrots and lettuce were not very successful. I had them in 10, 15, and 20 gallon fabric pots on the driveway. This winter was one of the coldest I’ve ever seen in my life here, and spring was abnormally dry. I showed lettuce and carrot seeds in late December, early January, and didn’t have germination until mid February. By early May, it was over 90 degrees and all the lettuce bolted to flower. I ate a decent amount of lettuce, but it was bitter. Carrot yields were ok on some of the standard boring orange varieties like Danvers. Yields on the Lunar White and Solar Yellow were poor and the roots were like solid wood. Cosmic Purple did ok. Threw a bunch of lettuce away just because I needed the space for my peppers. I had the best spinach crop of my life this year. Been trying to grow spinach here for 16 years. It was one of the few vegetables my mom liked and I always tried and failed to grow it. It’s usually too warm and too wet here for spinach. With this winter being exceptionally cold and dry, I had boatloads of spinach, the first year Mom isn’t here go figure. It finally bolted to flower last month, I took a weed whacked to it all, added some compost, and transplanted in peppers on top. Same with strawberries, cold dry winter made for a bumper crop of strawberries. Of the 120 pepper seedlings I had inside, I’ve probably planted 90 of them. There’s a row in the front yard garden with the squash, about 3 dozen in fabric pots on the driveway, a dozen in a raised bed in the greenhouse for a heat stress project, and 2 dozen in raised beds in the backyard. Last year I was harvesting shishitos mid April. It’s almost June and I haven’t harvested any peppers yet. I love my chocolate bells, but I’m more excited about the new varieties I haven’t grown before like Marconi, Orange Sun, Monster Bell, Cubanelle, Buk Jolokia, Purple Cayenne, etc. Shishitos always put everything else to shame in terms of yields, but it’s nice to have a mix of varieties. Squash. Ugh. I never transplant squash. I showed seeds in little hills of compost right smack on top of invasive Bermuda grass with no tilling or anything as an experiment, and planted a ton of winter rye and crimson clover around the hills of compost. The squash came up super stunted and yellow, but after 3 large applications of chicken manure at the base of each plant, they are now large and dark green and cranking out fruit. The rye and clover successfully smothered out the Bermuda grass for a couple months, but then my neighbor complained to the city and code enforcement came out and harassed me and said I could have squash because that’s a crop but I couldn’t have rye and clover because those are “weeds”. I explained in detail how rye and clover are commonly used in organic systems as weed-suppressing cover crops, but the dude’s eyes glazed over and I ended up just taking a weed whacked to the walking paths right as all the crimson clover was in full bloom. Cities are such awful places. This used to be the country, but somehow turned into a city I’m the last few years. I’ve never really had a problem with squash vine borer before. I’ve seen them maybe once or twice here and there but never a real problem. Of my 60 or so,squash plants, probably 1/3 of them have been attacked by vine borer and quite a few have died. Vine borer even burrow into young squash fruits after they’ve destroyed the plant. I guess I’ll wrap the stems in duck tape or something next year as preventative. A friend told me to use a sewing needle through the lower stems to kill borers, but that’s a lot of work with 60 plants. And trying to figure out where I’m the stem the borers are is tough. I’m not sure if I will be successful in my squash breeding project this year. I’ve been trying for a few years to develop a variety that has powdery mildew resistance and good old fashioned strong squash flavor, but borers got in the way this year, last year rats ate my hybrid seed, also squash season is so short here because pickleworm is always active and attacking by June. Tomatoes are doing better than most years. I abandoned a lot of the ones in the greenhouse snd some have made baseball sized fruits despite being in tiny 4” seedling pots. Roots just grew through the pots and into the ground. They look awful but are producing lol. I stopped putting any effort into tomatoes a couple years ago, most varieties won’t tolerate our heat and humidity, I’d honestly be better off growing them indoors lol. Green beans are ready to harvest. Hoping to get 2 large harvests before the heat shuts them down. Then will be switching to cowpeas. Okra is sprouting. Didn’t plant eggplant this year. Ate my first ever homegrown peach the other day. Fruit size was small, but taste was epic. Some of the peach trees are 12-15 feet tall, but only make a dozen or so,fruits. They are 4-5 years old and in the shade under oaks and I’ve never pruned or fertilized or watered them. I’m afraid to prune them since they are in the shade, but maybe if I fertilize the, this fall and water them next spring I’ll get good yields next summer. I’m new to fruit trees. |
|
|
|
Post by binnylou on May 29, 2022 11:20:55 GMT -5
raphanus, there’s nothing like homegrown peaches. When you are growing your own, you can harvest when they are just perfect. Your garden plants look so lush…no insects chewing the leaves. You must be doing things right.
|
|
|
|
Post by Latitude33 on Jun 1, 2022 20:16:40 GMT -5
This far along, I should have inter-planted more flowers and herbs in with the veggies. There is still thyme!
|
|
|
|
Post by emmsmommy on Jun 3, 2022 8:21:18 GMT -5
raphanus, I've grown some of the peas as transplants for three years now and direct seed some as well. If I attempt to transplant any next time it will be De Grace as I probably have one more harvest left and then I'll harvest the rest for seed as Baker Creek no longer carries the variety and I really like it. The Lillian's Caseload peas are filling out nicely and I ate a few this morning-delicious! The Tall Telephone peas may impress me after all as the pods are huge and look to have 8-9 peas in them. Will need a week or two to make a final decision. Well I've had the best spinach harvest ever but that was only about a pound. It was all starting to bolt, so out it came and beans will be sown in their place. The slugs are my worst enemy when it comes to growing it. Hopefully I'll manage a fall and early winter crop this year.
|
|
|
|
Post by emmsmommy on Jun 20, 2022 22:32:35 GMT -5
Still have some tomatoes to plant into larger pots, but getting that last bed filled is priority as I have a second variety of corn soaking and will grow it as transplants as well. The broccoli in the backyard bed is about finished so I'll have more space for plants and may put what Hopi Blue corn sprouts there though I'm not sure if the afternoon shade will hinder it. So far I can see that I really need to increase the amount of broccoli I plant next time as we eat lots of it. Two dozen lettuce plants have kept me and mom in fresh lettuce for at least two months now. Will dedicate at least an entire bed to spinach next spring as a few plants just can't supply us with enough. Did an experiment in the bed with slow beet growth where I spread a handful of compost around the end clump of plants in every row. After a few rains I see a definite improvement and top-dressing that bed is a priority. So far I'm pretty happy with the harvest so far and found that I actually enjoy eating the radish seed pods.
|
|
|
|
Post by emmsmommy on Jul 17, 2022 10:55:10 GMT -5
So transplanted corn is growing good in its bed and have planted a few fat man beans amongst the first planting. I did have a problem with birds uprooting a few of the younger transplants. I ended up with a total of one Hopi Blue plant and have it in the main garden where I can keep an eye on it. I think if I have a real desire to grow it I'll secure fresh seed as the germinating old seed experiment was a bit of a bust. I'll. E transplanting some winter squash seedlings amongst the corn this week. Tomatoes were doing good in the main garden but I've been fighting bacterial wilt and trying to stay a step ahead of it. Now it looks like I have some white flies as well. I'm really impressed with Ten Fingers of Naples as the plants are absolutely loaded and it seems more resistant than the others. I did err and placed the tomatoes entirely too close which has created a challenge when pruning or spraying. The tomatoes in the new garden are doing remarkable though I've decided not to prune them much. I left sufficient space in between and they look really good. I did manage to give away over a hundred plants this year but if I intend to grow a huge amount next year I'll have to pot up more often and get them for sale before they start to get leggy. Peppers are doing okay and are starting to produce. As far as growing so many, the tomato rule applies. The chiogga and albino beets did spectacular but I attribute that to the bed that they were in. Other beets are on the small side but have done much better since I've added compost and increased the amount of water. The albino beets are a definite keeper and will be growing a fall crop as well as planting them again next year. Cabbage has been so-so though I look to get my biggest harvest ever this year. Cauliflower is at a bit of a standstill as it looks as if the leaves are in self-blanch mode but not producing anything. Been spraying Bt but am going to look into netting for next year as remembering to spray has proved to be a hassle. Broccoli was somewhat of a success as I actually had a harvest this year. All my beans were planted late and I'm actually still planting. Lots are in the bloom stage right now and enjoying the colorful blossoms. This morning I noticed purple, pink/coral and white blossoms. Still a few varieties I haven't planted and decided not to plant the runner beans this year as I think of them as more ornamental and am running out of room. Had poor germination with one old variety and well as a pack of new seeds but otherwise everything is doing great. So in general I need to address some issues with beds that drain too well and continue adding organic matter. I didn't have an abundance of leaves this year due to the chipper/shredder being down last fall through early spring and have been using grass clippings for mulch in some beds. Last year's compost is weedy but the difference it makes is worth going back and pulling the weed seedlings. The new compost bin is half-full and hoping by next spring I will have some great compost. We have been tackling lots of pruning jobs and hubby has been immediately chipping it. If it's predominately green it goes on the compost pile, while everything else goes into another pile to further break down. Paths in the new garden are simply being layered with cardboard for now. When we get into fall and winter pruning, those chips will be added to the paths. Watering has been an issue this year and I'm not looking forward to the next water bill. Doing what I can to collect rain water but with only 1/8" total in the last ten days, the collected rainwater is ancient history. I've added another 144 square feet of growing area which requires additional water as well. Prepping two 15 gallon water drums for greenhouse use and looking into some simple drip irrigation set-ups. So all-in-all the year hasn't been so bad. I feared I was starting to burn out but thankfully a few successful harvests have fueled my desire to get back out there. My downfall is planning. While I do a good job of recording when and what I've planted, the initial planning needs work as I'm often running around willy-nilly looking for places to plant stuff. While I do like planting in a polyculture fashion it needs to be a bit more organized. I do know that I'd like to be a bit more laid-back, in my gardening efforts next year (yeah, the inner me is laughing hysterically right now) and not spend all of my downtime this fall and winter thinking about and improving the garden (more hysterical laughter).  |
|
|
|
Post by desertwoman on Jul 17, 2022 12:01:11 GMT -5
Mixed feelings. All the rains have greened things up like it hasn't been in a few years. Yippee!
But so much has been munched on by what I now think are deer- a first for me in the nearly 13 years we have been at this property-chile plants are recovering but no chiles yet (though I saw the first flower yesterday), but my flower displays are disappointing, as they have mostly been eaten as well. So the gardens are lush and green with splashes of color but not the show I usually get.
Lettuces are still going strong and only one plant is starting to go toward bolting.
|
|
|
|
Post by gardendmpls on Jul 17, 2022 19:17:14 GMT -5
I did err and placed the tomatoes entirely too close which has created a challenge You aren't the only one. I spaced the tomatoes a fairly decent amount, or so I thought. Problem was, I decided to make cages this year, but didn't get around to it until a number of weeks after the tomatoes were planted. Meant stuffing the plants in the cages and stretching them up while trying not to break them. Not enough space between the double rows to walk with the cages touching back to back. In two of the beds I can reach the tomatoes from the outward facing parts of the rows, but on another the back row abuts my roses, which I will have to wiggle under and around (and they have thorns) to reach the tomato plants. Oh, well. Next year I will have the cages at the outset and place and space them while planting out. |
|
|
|
Post by datgirl on Jul 17, 2022 20:18:46 GMT -5
I just came in from the garden. While I was out there I kept thinking how pretty everything looks. Everything is green and growing. How could I be disappointed in anything out there. Oh yeah, the beets, or should I say the lack of beets. 1 beet came up this year. I will be trying again in a different spot. I too have planted the tomatoes too close to each other, I will try to do better next year.
I've decided to pull out the strawberries from the raised bed they are in now. There are a few random plants that have sprung up in the borders. They will serve their purpose next year. I'm going to have to do some soil work in that bed this fall.
Some times I just sit there and try to enjoy and absorb it all because I know that in a couple of months, it won't be like it is right now.
|
|
