Time to start the garden...

[tacticalturnip]

I was thinking of posting a shot of how gross everything it here, but rustyiron beat me to it lol.

 

[masseyrider]

Tiller's on the tractor and tested it by tilling the food plot yesterday. I will remove fence ends on veggie garden, fertilize and and till it today. Yesterday's high temp was 78 and today's will be ~81, so time to get the early crops in the garden.

we're having a veritable heatwave this week. 45F and maybe some sun later in the week.
Our usual last risk of frost is about May 21 and over the years got burned on that once or twice.
Not worth trying to work up the soil yet. Too wet right now and if it dries out a little don't want to turn it into a quagmire later.
"Patience my sweet."

 

[cqaigy2]

Nice looking plot. Wow 2 gardens!

Heck i'd just make two small ones and have fresh all year long. Or maybe not. Couple days ago, slush/snow 32F, yesterday was nice 50s in the sun, last night 28F. Still too early and too wet. Kind of a strange short growing season here if you don't have enough water to irrigate. Second week of April is usually safe to start putting things in the ground, around late June or July, no rain till September/October the ground get biggish cracks in it and some trees die. So 9 months of rain, then nothing and not particularly cold, summers can have a week or so of triple digit temps or not.

I've gotten tomatoes a couple years and they were fantastic, but usually too short a season and they get rained out. Not to mention when it's too hot, they don't like it either. Can get two crops of cold weather crops usually and can plant garlic spring, then again after summer when it starts to rain.

 

[jyoutz]

Nice looking plot. Wow 2 gardens!

Heck i'd just make two small ones and have fresh all year long. Or maybe not. Couple days ago, slush/snow 32F, yesterday was nice 50s in the sun, last night 28F. Still too early and too wet. Kind of a strange short growing season here if you don't have enough water to irrigate. Second week of April is usually safe to start putting things in the ground, around late June or July, no rain till September/October the ground get biggish cracks in it and some trees die. So 9 months of rain, then nothing and not particularly cold, summers can have a week or so of triple digit temps or not.

I've gotten tomatoes a couple years and they were fantastic, but usually too short a season and they get rained out. Not to mention when it's too hot, they don't like it either. Can get two crops of cold weather crops usually and can plant garlic spring, then again after summer when it starts to rain.

After 30+ years of gardening at high elevation, short growing season areas, I have the answer for tomatoes. These walls of water allow you to set out plants early in the season when you are still getting frosts. It also warms the soil to allow early root growth. Where I live the soil isn’t warm enough or frost danger past until after Memorial Day. But I set out the plants in early May with these mini greenhouses, and by early/mid June, I remove them. The plants are large and well developed by then. They are spendy, but I’m still using some that I bought 15 years ago, so they are worth the cost. Give them a try. Sometimes I do find them at Walmart and Home Depot.

https://www.amazon.com/Park-Seed-Coats-Insulating-Protector/dp/B01NATWJI1/ref=sxin_21_pa_sp_phone_search_thematic_sspa?adgrpid=54477721885&content-id=amzn1.sym.37e3b3b9-8d0e-45b0-93aa-6b62717fdd17%3Aamzn1.sym.37e3b3b9-8d0e-45b0-93aa-6b62717fdd17&cv_ct_cx=wall+of+water+plant+protectors&hvadid=410004137996&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=9030431&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=10720178752629568339&hvtargid=kwd-380942393692&hydadcr=5657_10982806&keywords=wall+of+water+plant+protectors&pd_rd_i=B01NATWJI1&pd_rd_r=286ddd3d-fe82-4482-989c-549ea6a96ab0&pd_rd_w=w9DMY&pd_rd_wg=kIK7L&pf_rd_p=37e3b3b9-8d0e-45b0-93aa-6b62717fdd17&pf_rd_r=JFACJV662WFW0FC092BM&qid=1680718868&sbo=RZvfv%2F%2FHxDF%2BO5021pAnSA%3D%3D&sr=1-1-364cf978-ce2a-480a-9bb0-bdb96faa0f61-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFKTFE2MDFXQzNDMzUmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA2Mjg2MzUzVUFDOExGUThPOThEJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA0MzMwODRPVTRHSFdVMUZUQk8md2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfdGhlbWF0aWMmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl

 

[cqaigy2]

After 30+ years of gardening at high elevation, short growing season areas, I have the answer for tomatoes. These walls of water Allie you to set out plants early in the season when you are still getting frosts. It also warms the soil to allow early root growth. Where I live the soil isn’t warm enough or frost danger past until after Memorial Day. But I set out the plants in early May with these mini greenhouses, and by early/mid June, I remove them. The plants are large and well developed by then. They are spends, but I’m still using some that I bought 15 years ago, so they are worth the cost. Give them a try. Sometimes I do find them at Walmart and Home Depot.

Thanks! I might just have to see about trying one out, see how it goes.

 

[jyoutz]

Thanks! I might just have to see about trying one out, see how it goes.

I have had freezes to 22F and tomatoes do fine. Then when it’s warm and you remove the greenhouses, they are well rooted and grow fast.

 

[masseyrider]

Went through a heat wave end of this week. Broke records. Apricots are in full bloom, even saw a couple swallows.
People are out there mowing and prepping.
Wait till the shock of the new week.
Cooler, wet and gray. Even a small chance of snow over night although the predicted low will be a little over freezing.
Pack all your spring stuff back into storage a little longer.

 

[DJ54]

Got the garden rolled over last week, love that little hillside/2way plow..!! Temps hit 85º with a nice breeze the next day so got it disked down the next evening, after turning the "kids" out on the new Spring grass for a couple hours. Called for a good chance of rain on Sat. but it stayed 50 miles to the South, so got onions, peas, and some beets for some friends in.

Used the Sears ST10 with modified disk to make a hilled row for the onions, flattened off with a rake, then ran the dibbler wheel I made through the row, so onions would be spaced at 6" apart. Makes it so much easier to hoe in between the onions when evenly spaced, and plenty of room to grow. Then used the drop tube to drop the onion sets in the divots, so this old guy don't have to bend over to place them. 99% land right side up when dropped that way. Just took my toe and covered them.

Like much of the rest of the country, temps are dropping for a few days and calling for wet snow today, and maybe tomorrow. I need to get some plants out of the greenhouse and put in the heated shop until Wednesday. May start some tomato seeds today and get in the germination chamber. According to the moon phase calendar not supposed to do that until Apr. 29, so may try a couple dozenof each, then more around the 29th, and see if there is difference in how they grow. Doesn't take much to entertain me.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

I'm off to the races as of Saturday. Normally I have a cool weather crop garden started in early March, didn't get it started this year. And normally I start my own seeds, couldn't get my act together for that either. BUT, I did get some cheap starts from my schools FFA and bought a few more things and planted them.
12 Tomatoes, 5 pepper plants, and 4 zucchini. I might add some more stuff as well.

 

[masseyrider]

Last Friday and Saturday we broke records with 80 plus readings. People were crowding the local nurseries.
Today we'll be lucky to crack 40 and off on spitting showers.
This morning it actually snowed for about 2 minutes.
I'm guessing there are lots of new plants packed away into garages and back entrances.
Jealous eyes in the direction of you southerners walking about in your shorts and Ts.
Neighbor called me lazy for not getting a jump on the garden last weekend.
Not lazy (well... a bit) but I've been through this too many times to get over excited too early.