Garden Time

[dooleysm]

The weirdest things I've grown have been martin house gourds (I've got about 15 of them drying in my barn) and purple bell peppers. I haven't gotten around to messing with the marten houses much yet. I thought that would make a great winter project. So far I've kept busy winterizing all my equipment (mostly gardening tools and implements, imagine that) and caring for beagle puppies (anyone want a bluetick beagle pup?)

The purple peppers were neat and tasted just like a green pepper.

I also tried some indian corn, which I had hoped to sell at the farmers market for decorations. I had a pretty poor yield and had problems with it cross pollinating with my silver queen so that's out.

I did some Black Diamond watermelons last year that are a very dark green, almost black, skinned variety. They did super and tasted great, so I'm doing them again. I think my biggest one was a 48 pounder.

I'm gonna drive myself crazy if we keep up this gardening talk...I love it!

 

[hunterridgefarm]

It's 25 and snowing here, but I just sent off my Burpee's seed order using a $25 gift certificate I got for Christmas. I held off as long as I could. I was ready to order seeds and get started about a week after I put the garden to bed last fall. I can feel the juice running down my chin from an ice cold watermelon on a hot August day.

I had a great year last year using my 5' tiller for the first season. I got a middle buster in time for the potato harvest and had great fun with it. After a banner day selling watermelons at the local farmer's market I came home and plowed up a big section of sod around the garden to make it that much bigger for this year.

Bring on the warm weather!

I get the same way this time of year, All those seed cataloges comming in and watching those gardening shows on HGTV, PBS, RFD. I usually have a four page list of seeds I want to order, then reality sets in and I narrow it down to one page.

I have ordered from Burpee and had good success with the seeds. I have also ordered from Johnny's Seeds and Harris Seeds. Harris has some good prices. Have not tried Stokes yet.

This year I plan to try some local seed from our Feed and Seed Store in town but will still need to order some from catalogs.

Anybody order from Harris or Johnny's?

 

[dooleysm]

Burpee's seemed a bit pricey to me, but I had the $25 gift certificate. Shipping and handling was like $9, so I signed up for their credit card, got free shipping, and used the extra $9 to order more seeds!

 

[charlz]

Funny isn't it? At the end of summer I am tired of working the gardens and can't wait to till it all under... this time of year I'm thinking of what to plant, new things to try etc. Soon I'll be sweating my %$# off weeding and wondering why I planted so much

If you like sweet corn try that 'Gotta Have It' from Burpees. It is a super sweet and stays sweet a long time, I can harvest one planting for almost two weeks. The stuff I blanched and froze on the cob in Sept is still good.

 

[jinman]

Interesting.

Have you seen the 'seed tape' that some places are selling. From what I gather it's a biodegradable material with small seeds stuck or embedded in it, spaced appropriately. You just lay the length of tape in a shallow trench, cover with dirt, and your veggies pop up. I've seen it for things like carrots and radishes.

I was thinking about making my own with a length of moist toilet paper. I thought I could lay out a length, space out my small seeds on it, fold it over lengthwise, and moisten the whole thing. Then I could take it outside and lay it in my rows. I just remembered coming up with that idea last fall. I hope I remember to try it this spring.

My normal method of planting those small seeds is to just scatter them in a prepared bed and lightly rake. I spend alot of time thinning then.

Now you got me brainstorming the TP idea. How about buying two-ply paper and unrolling 3'-4' and pull it apart. Place the seeds between the layers and then put them back together and roll them up on a used roll. Just work on a 3' section at a time and soon you should have a roll ready to put out in rows in your garden. Put 1/4' of dirt on top and moisten for germination to begin. The soft TP will easily be penetrated by the roots. All the neighbors will also get a hoot out of watching you unroll the Charmin in your garden.

I have got to get off my lazy duff and start planning my garden. The old garden spot just sold with my wife's old house and now I have to scout out a new garden location. I need to get my see plants going. I really should build a small hotbed or hothouse. Thanks for reminding me that time is flying by.

 

[hunterridgefarm]

I really should build a small hotbed or hothouse. Thanks for reminding me that time is flying by.

Here is a simple plan for a hot house / greenhouse.

 

[2manyrocks]

There isn't much to compare to breaking a garden in the Spring and smelling the fresh earth and being in the sunshine.

 

[forgeblast]

I am finishing a small green house, i am using the pvc palruf panels you can get at the box stores. I used plastic on the walls but it just ripped the first wind i have enough saved up to do it right now. Hopefully before planting season starts.

 

[Taylortractornut]

Last year I had my first great garden, grew up around gardening and always liked it but never realized how much. When I bought the place from dad we had a couple garden spots we hadnt done much to since he and mom divorced. I was engeaged to Amy at the time and had given up on my weekends at the bar lol. I have a 1/4 acre my neighbor lets me garden by my shop and one thats pue red clay from a scraped off hill. thats about 70 by 70 and one down the hill thats 40 by 50. The last one has alot of cchunks and rock in it from dad filling in when part of it was an old road bed, When I get a few hours ill takemy 24 inch scoop and put it on the 3000 Yanmar and dig out a few runs and dump them next to the end of the hollow. My neighbor has a small pond and told me if I could use it to get my water there. Im building a ramp down to it for the water wagon. The red clay garden closest to the house does great on plackeyed peas and greens and beans. Im ammendidnt the soil with compost I make at work plus Leafm old from the county leaf yard. I also and getting1by 1 boxes full of eggshells from the deli I get breakfast at to put under my tomato rows for calcium. I loosened it up alot down one side with compost and now bringing in 35 yards at a time to till into it. The garden by the shop Ill have to get permission from the owner to conpost it but I think its alright. my beans were late there and missed the rains also its wind blocked to. He told me I did so good on my other garsens he'd let me pick out any ammount of a 5 acre fiels he owns on the other side of me to save him from mowing it all. I also agreed to lime it to.
I plant all my big seeds with a Covington planter and cultivate with a Farmall Cub. Its one of the best cultivatrs there be. I need to have the mag rebuilt on it. Ima laso going to try my hand ar some raised plastic mulch rows. I have been building one this winter to lay some plastic mulch. I plan on using it for some melons and tomatoes and peppers. Ive also thought of some lettuce and cabbage Ive never grown any.
Last year we got a fair amount of rain and my early stuf did good I did lose alot to weeds as my cultivator was down. Im not fond of a rear cultivator either. I grew 25 rows about 60 feet long of Bush beans and 10 of the purple hull peas. 7 tomato plants and a few pepper plants I had mixed results on the butter beans, and my corn was late and burned up. That was in the neigbors garden. Seemed evertime I got the ground right it would rainand set me back a few days on it. In my lower garden I planted8 rows of okra 50 feet long and made a run planting long neck squash with a hopper full of seeds and ened up with 180 pants at on time I almost made neighbors mad hauling them squash and okra. I planted some sugar peas the yare a bush style Melting snow pean never had luck with them, I filled the hopper up with sunflwer seed from our bird feeder and made Amy something nice to see. Then I planted some late Yardlong beans/ asparagus peas they did good yust gat frosted on be fore all the pants made. What I did eat were good.
My biggest problem is I cant find bulk seeds, I can get some things at the local co op like beans and peas and corn and some squash reasonable. Like my yard long beans they came a few to a pack and had to be hand planted. I sold a great deal of squash and okra to local restaurants several bucket loads to them. Im wanting to start a small truck patch since I have more time since ive settled. Ima also building a greenhouse to start my tomatoes and pepers in Ive found suppliers from my starter trays and am nearly done with a 12 by 32 green house.
My green house is made from trampline hoops i got at the local scrap yard, I was geeting them whole hoops for 5 bucks each. I tacked them together in halves and used 1 and a half hoops to make 3 rings. I then took a 1 3/4 hole saw and started it through what was to be the midle hoop and let the trampoline leg pipes be my guides. I cut the 4 holes out and then ran a 32 foot section of heavy fence top rail through each hole and then took the 2 end hoops and used the pockets there to sticke to pipes in to. Ill use self tapping screws to hold it locked when I get it into the place I want it. I ll have to use clear plastic to cover it I looked at some of the 2 ply corrugated and almost freaked out. A commercial greenhouse owner showed me his was just visqueen that was layered with a space between it. He also told me not to heat the whole house just the beds. he uses an outside furnace to pupm water in the beds with piping and keeps the soil warm. Also has barrel heaters he made with 2 inch thin wall pipes for the flue it starts at one end of his table and goes to the other end of it then out he puts his pottin mix on it and set is trays i nthe mix then lets it heat it that way. one of his water heater was a gas water heater on top of a barrel with the pipe runnin up the center like one usually heats water and exhausts at and it circulates water through pex tubing under his beds. Neat old man I take nim Compost when Im up that way in my ton dump truck. I hope to post a few pics when I get time of my green house set up.

 

[meadowlarkponds]

There isn't much to compare to breaking a garden in the Spring and smelling the fresh earth and being in the sunshine.

I couldn't agree more. It is a real joy and priviledge to do that every year.

It's potato planting time around here now and the seed potatoes are available in the local feed stores. Nothing like new potatoes from your own ground.