Jim Inman's (jinman) Garden - 2007

[jinman]

Although I used my tractor extensively in the beginning of my garden this year, I haven't used it lately for much. So I'm moving my photos and thread from the Projects Forum to here because the projects forum is supposed to be mostly about tractor projects. I'll put a link in that thread to here and link this thread to that one also.

The garden is going great. We have produced so much we can't keep up with picking and other chores because the weather has been so wet we can hardly walk in the garden. My cantaloupes are starting to be grown up with weeds, but hopefully it will dry out enough for me to weed the melons by tomorrow.

This week, we have picked over 50 lb of squash, 50 lb of beans, and 10 lb of sweet peas. Today, we are going to pull all the turnips and rutabagas because we just can't leave them in the ground any longer. Also, each of our potato plants has 1-1/2 to 2 lb of potatoes under them. It's just to muddy to dig them just yet. If I scooped them up with my tractor's FEL, the mud and potatoes would stick in the bucket. I'll have to wait for some drying and just take some of the potatoes I planted under hay. I'll try to get some pictures of the turnip and potato harvest.

I'm attaching a few pictures I took this morning. Worth noting is the difference in the size of tomato plants. They were all essentially planted from the same size sets at the same time, so this is a valid comparison of size and growth.

Enjoy the pictures and feel free to ask questions. After looking at them all, you may be as sick of my garden as I am. Just kiddin'. I love this stuff.

Link to Projects Forum Thread

 

[Egon]

Jim: The sweet 100 tomato will easily grow over ten feet and have feeder branches all over. It can be staked vertically and horizontally. Up here bottom tomato sets have switched from the sweet 100 to the sweet million which is a later version.

They are just perfect for an all day snack.

 

[ToadHill]

What kind of ground is that, NO STONES. My garden grows stones better than anything else.

 

[pennwalk]

Hey Jim, What a beautiful garden. I'm thinking it looks more like a truck farm. Maybe you should hire some migrant workers and build a farm stand. Maybe you could get some neighborhood kids to tend the stand. Round here people make good money selling fresh produce.

Chris

 

[JC-jetro]

Hey Jim. As always you have my kudos, I shall follow this thread even if you move it to Timbuktu

JC


I just looked at all the picture.... they are simply marvelous. What a green thumb you have Jim!! I envy your neighbors

 

[jinman]

Egon: Sweet million? Oh no! If these grow 10' tall, the sweet million must be skyscrapers. I've got my work cut out for me to keep these under control for sure. Yesterday, I noticed roots trying to form at least 6" up the stalks. I buried them a foot deep, so I can't imagine why they would need more roots. Also, the limbs that have touched the ground immediately form roots. These are some agressive growers for sure.

Paul: Just about 100' from our garden is a natural pile of limestone rocks in soil so rocky I'd never be able to plow it. For some reason, the soil in this spot only has a few tennis ball sized rocks. I thought I hit a rock once while tilling, but discovered it was just a root. I've started to feel guilty about having so few rocks and weeds in my garden compared to others...but I'll get over it.

Chris: I really considered hiring someone to come help, but my grandkids will be available in about a week, so I'll "press" them into servitude. I'd sell some of this stuff, but there are two full-time vegetable stands within a mile of me and about five within five miles. They sell local and market produce. I suppose I might sell some of the stuff to them, but then it becomes too much like work to really enjoy. I'd much prefer to just give it away.

I actually thought about opening a small seasonal vegetable stand called Local Only. Then I thought about that for awhile and figured that "local only" sounds too much like "loco lonely."

JC: You can follow my garden threads, but only if you promise to keep posting pictures of your backyard garden and those tasty, yummy, pastries you make. I still have to go back and look at your photos about once a week for a "fix."

I'm on dialup right now...had a thunderstorm come through this morning and dropped 1-1/2" of additional rain. It knocked my high speed provider off the line (WISP) and so I'm back to dialup. When I can get online at high speed, I have some pictures of my turnip & rutabaga harvest yesterday afternoon.

 

[CDsdad]

Good looking garden, jinman. Are you having any trouble with blossom end rot on tomatoes? Are you using anything on them if you do?

The squash are really impressive.

 

[jinman]

Woohoo! Back on at high speed...

Here's proof that I did just fall off the turnip truck. I know the really big turnips will not be good, but I just didn't have a chance to harvest them with all the rain we have been having. However, the rutabagas seem to be consistently good no matter how big they are. The angle on the photos does not do justice to how many turnips are there. This is between 5 and 6 bushels.

...and no blossom end rot on the tomatoes. The plants are loaded and we have tons more that are being set on the vines. Our soil here is so high in calcium that tomato setting is normally not a problem.

 

[KaiB]

I'm glad that you're setting tomatoes, Jim. With all the rain we've had up here, we have a fair amount on the vines, but are also getting some blossom drop.

I will admit that the garden I rotated maters into is a bit clayey and holds water perhaps too well.

Maybe about 10 days till the first fully ripe tomato!!!

 

[TBDonnelly]

Thanks to JC-jetro on the Cattle panel turned tomato cage tip!

I went to two of my local Tractor Supply Company stores. One of the stores had a couple damaged cattle panels which they sold me at a reduced price. I just happened to have my trusty bolts cutters with me and cut them down to the sizes I needed on the spot which negated the need for a 16 foot trailer to transport them.

I attached a few pictures which shows the customization process.

The cages are very stout! I made 5 cages from the two panels at a cost of about $4.25 each. The largest cylindrical tomato cage sells locally for between $4.99 & $5.25. Not near as stout and they don't collapse for storage.

Now, I just need...OH.....about 25 or 30 more!

Don