2024 garden season

kenmbz · Aug 29, 2024

BnRidge said:
Tried a couple new things this year. Some raised beds, and planting corn in hills vs rows. For the first time in many years the gophers, deer and coons were all confused and left everything alone. 100% crop vs no none at all. Gophers don't climb, so the beds were immune to them pulling seedlings out to get at the seeds. Sugar beets in a bed, apparently the deer didn't think to look up. Corn hills scattered all over, threw the coons off their game of marching down the rows pulling everything over. Plus the corn planting was staggered once a week. Sweet corn all summer long for a change, plus several dozen in the freezer. The dirt in the beds came from a decades old pile of topsoil - so no weeds for a change. And mulch - ordered a couple loads of arborist chips (40yards) for free. Everything was a game changer for the better.

Do you have pictures or layout? Sounds interesting,

CloverKnollFarms · Aug 29, 2024

We still have 28 pumpkin vines at work. Pretty low maintenance crop.

DJ54 · Aug 30, 2024

Mine have matured and vines dying back. I have some very nice pumpkins, but squash bugs are eating holes in the skins of some mature pumpkins.

I planted some 10-15 pounders with warts, they did very well. Plan to save seed from at least one for next year. Should have gotten a pic yesterday but didn't. Will try to get one in a couple days. Big swap meet today and supposed 80% chance of rain tomorrow. Sure can use it..!!

BnRidge · Aug 31, 2024

kenmbz said:
Do you have pictures or layout? Sounds interesting,

I do, but everything just looks like chaos. In the past I was concerned about looks, straight rows, sections of this or that. After failures of all kinds, this year I just stuck stuff in any old where there was an open spot, brought dirt in, made several 4x8 boxes from 2x10s, reduced the half dozen 16x16 plots to a couple small high intensity areas, and now produced more than we can use. One of the 4x8 boxs produced two cases of early pickled beets, and soon a second crop of late sweetcorn. Spent corn stalks in other places are just cut and dropped, and covered with chips. The hills of 5-6 sweetcorn plants self pollinate so can be stuck in anywhere. For some reason there are praying mantis all over this year. We never saw one ever before this. No potatoe or vine beetles for a change. Cross my fingers for now.

Sonny580 · Aug 31, 2024

The only vines alive here now are my canner pumpkins! I wanted a couple to get seed from to freshen up my seed supply of them.
No melons , squash, or other pumpkins this year at all.

kenmbz · Aug 31, 2024

BnRidge said:
I do, but everything just looks like chaos. In the past I was concerned about looks, straight rows, sections of this or that. After failures of all kinds, this year I just stuck stuff in any old where there was an open spot, brought dirt in, made several 4x8 boxes from 2x10s, reduced the half dozen 16x16 plots to a couple small high intensity areas, and now produced more than we can use. One of the 4x8 boxs produced two cases of early pickled beets, and soon a second crop of late sweetcorn. Spent corn stalks in other places are just cut and dropped, and covered with chips. The hills of 5-6 sweetcorn plants self pollinate so can be stuck in anywhere. For some reason there are praying mantis all over this year. We never saw one ever before this. No potatoe or vine beetles for a change. Cross my fingers for now.

I have a lot of praying Mantis again this year too. Seems like we get a ton of them every 2 years or so. Lots of bugs this year, mild winter. Lost some tomatoes so far.
Thanks for the description, got it now.

Sonny580 · Sep 3, 2024

only saw a couple mantis here this year. we usually have dozens of them. Not many dragonflys either and they used to be in swarms over the garden here. Tomato worms this year so far have only been a few early. They could still come before frost.
at least a couple roses made it.