How does your garden grow?

[robbyr]

 

[dragoneggs]

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:drink:

 

[herm0016]

eh. i like some nice dark greens. chard, kale, whatever. broke out a jar of pickled chard stems over the weekend, so tasty. made some fresh pasta with our canned whole tomatoes in the sauce. acorn and spaghetti squash are doing well in the cellar. our weird yellow hybrids are great in soups and storing better than expected.

My wife ordered our seeds and we planned out the garden. Still 6 inches of snow on the beds for now. start seeds in a few weeks. the kitchen window turns into a green house. Cant put most things in the ground until the weekend after mothers day. that is usually, but not always after last frost.

 

[goeduck]

Dang, it is that time of year. I need to get some peas in the ground at least.

 

[CADplans]

Does anyone use micronutrients?
One article said the minimum to grow a plant is 14 things, including oxygen, carbon, NPK that leaves about 9,,
does anyone add them, (eg, sulfur, boron, Mg, iron,,, and on,, and on,,)

What do you add?? and HOW??

 

[coxhaus]

I still have collard greens, radishes, and turnips growing. They over wintered since we did not have a hard freeze. The mustard greens have gone to seed and the bees are on them.

 

[goeduck]

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A few years back I had a garden on one of my prpoeties I rent out for cattle. I told the renter that he could have anything in the garden that looked to be going to waste. My kale grew really well but was loaded with aphid so I let it go. I mean loaded with aphid. One day I was in the garden and he came up to me and said he had been picking my kale and putting it his morning vegetable smoothies. :shocked:

I asked if he had been to an eye doctor lately and did he need new glasses. He asked why and I told him it was loaded with aphid. He just laughed and said he was getting protein in his smoothies. I did notice that he stopped picking the kale.

 

[Jstpssng]

Does anyone use micronutrients?
One article said the minimum to grow a plant is 14 things, including oxygen, carbon, NPK that leaves about 9,,
does anyone add them, (eg, sulfur, boron, Mg, iron,,, and on,, and on,,)

What do you add?? and HOW??

The first thing that you need is a soil test. Virginia Tech Soil Testing Lab | Virginia Tech Soil Testing Lab | Virginia Tech, which will tell you what if anything you need to add to your soil.

Why test? Plants can produce their own energy, but require a fertile soil or growth media to supply needed nutrients. Healthy, well-fed plants are better able to withstand diseases and insects and to compete with weeds. For a few dollars a chemical soil analysis can check your soil's fertility and determine if any corrective action is needed. A soil test is the best tool available for determining the lime and fertilizer needed for the best economic and environmental production of crops, gardens, and more healthy, beautiful lawns. Testing the soil takes out the guesswork and prevents you from under or over liming and fertilizing, either of which will cost you both in dollars and plant growth.

Don't Guess, Soil Test!

The routine soil test is all one normally needs for a fertility evaluation. Soil samples are analyzed and computer recommendations generated usually within 3 working days of receipt

Having said that, I add some type of manure with every plant, 10-10-10 to my corn potatoes and a few other things every 2 weeks; and need to add triple phosphate around my tomatoes when they bloom, to help prevent blossom end rot.

 

[Jstpssng]

Maybe I could plant some snow peas.

 

[CADplans]

The first thing that you need is a soil test. Virginia Tech Soil Testing Lab | Virginia Tech Soil Testing Lab | Virginia Tech, which will tell you what if anything you need to add to your soil.

I am sure the service changes over time,, but,, twice I used the VT service for soil tests,,
The samples were from 1) sandy soil (no organic matter) 2) heavily compost added garden soil,, and 3) typical lawn soil

The two times were 5 years apart,,

BOTH TIMES the results came back the same for EACH of the three sampled areas,,

something like " add XX pounds of 10-10-10 and consider adding yy amount of lime"

There is NO WAY those three locations should have the same recommendations,,
I am convinced they trash the samples, and mail back a standard form response.

Maybe they are different this year,, but, who knows,,

(NOTE, I am not negative on VT, I graduated from the school)

If anything, I may try a commercial testing service,,,

I was just asking to see if anyone has added micronutrients,,

There is really not much to read on the internet about them,, especially as far as results,,,
The stuff I have found mostly conflicts with another article that I find 5 minutes later... :laughing: