Starting garden yet?

[Jimmyp5]

lets see...corn is in., onions, tomato's, bush beans, water melon, cantaloupe, artichokes, cucumbers, and of course...tons of pepers of all types...had to put that new tiller to use. I just finished building a series of compost pits, three bins so when I turn it goes from one BX bucket to the new pile etc... no turning by hand!! And of course that just the first set in the ground., in three weeks a second set goes in, then a final set in another three weeks...have to have fresh stuff all summer...

 

[Ray2310]

Ray2310,

Is that composter really as 'smell free' as they say? I saw it on TV a while back and was wondering. I compost on a large-garden scale and the kitchen scraps never seem to make it that far.... I do have kind of an issue with using electricity to help along a process that will happen by itself.

I've only used it a little over a week. Staring out there was some odor. After following the directions more closely the smell did nearly eliminate. Of course when you open it there is some odor but not as bad as you would think. They also give you a box of baking soda with it and you add a couple teaspoons if there is any odor.

They say it only uses aprox 50 cents worth of electric per month.

 

[groundcover]

"lets see...corn is in., onions, tomato's, bush beans, water melon, cantaloupe, artichokes, cucumbers, and of course...tons of pepers of all types...had to put that new tiller to use. I just finished building a series of compost pits, three bins so when I turn it goes from one BX bucket to the new pile etc... no turning by hand!! And of course that just the first set in the ground., in three weeks a second set goes in, then a final set in another three weeks...have to have fresh stuff all summer..."


Jimmy that's just wrong !! Still have several feet of snow here! Won't even think of starting seeds inside for a while !

 

[Deere Hunter]

Spent about an hour and a half behind a rear tine tiller this eveningis - a 3pt hitch model is in the future, but I just bought my tractor and had a fairly expense PTO rebuild, so implements will have to wait a while. I am getting the topsoil broken up in my garden after a year off. I hope to get the fertilizer and rows in tomorrow for the sweet corn. I might even plant a few rows of corn if time allows.

Here's a question for you gardeners. I have a pretty good sized garden, fenced to slow down the deer. The fire ants are thick this year, and I need to do something about it. What kind of ant-killer is safe to apply to a vegetable garden? I looked at several, and they aren't safe for use. What can I do to get rid of them? Year before last, they were in about half of the Silver Queen, and ruined a good bit of corn for me, not to mention the bites when hoeing/picking. I would like to treat the whole thing. The year-long pesticides sound great, but are they safe to use? Help!!

 

[dmccarty]

Thought about trying a cover crop on the unused area? Buckwheat is supposed to be really good at adding organic material to the soil. I have not used it (yet, gonna try this year) but supposedly you can turn it under every 30 days and replant which should add a lot to the soil by fall.

I am going to try to put in a winter cover crop next fall.

Not really thought about doing it during the summer. I'll have to think about it. If its only a few inches tall it would work.

OTOH I really want to have to turn over anymore soil. That was a job I really don't want to do again. And I'm wondering if you really should turn the soil. Heard arguments either way.

Later,
Dan

 

[jinman]

Here's a question for you gardeners. I have a pretty good sized garden, fenced to slow down the deer. The fire ants are thick this year, and I need to do something about it. What kind of ant-killer is safe to apply to a vegetable garden? I looked at several, and they aren't safe for use. What can I do to get rid of them? Year before last, they were in about half of the Silver Queen, and ruined a good bit of corn for me, not to mention the bites when hoeing/picking. I would like to treat the whole thing. The year-long pesticides sound great, but are they safe to use? Help!!

Let me do some guessing. . .
Your garden soil probably has a lot of sand and is not heavy in organic matter. Am I close?

The reason I say this is that fire ants generally like sterilized soil without much competition from other bugs. If you have very good organic soil and lots of micro-biology going on, the fire ants generally don't stay around too long. For example, fire ants like the soil under concrete driveways and sidewalks. They do make mounds in the middle of the yard, but you can find them under almost all concrete slabs. They also love electrical boxes and other sterile "homes."

I would suggest trying to build up the organic content of your soil by adding a lot of compost and supplement that with dry molasses at a rate of 50 to 100 lb per 1000 sq feet. That much molasses will really get things going in the presence of good compost. You can also treat the mounds effectively with a mix of molasses, compost tea, and orange oil. Drench each mound with about a gallon of mixture. This is an organic method that will not hurt your garden. It's also no more expensive than insecticides. Try it in an isolated area to see how it works before you take my word for it. I've had good luck with the mound drench on pond dams and using heavily composted soils in flowerbeds. Be careful with the use of the dry molasses. If you put down too much, it will encourage too much activity and may burn your plants.

If you put out too much insecticide, you will kill not only the fire ants, but also your "good" bugs.

 

[MossRoad]

Today is good Friday. This is the day we traditionally start our seeds indoors for plants like tomatoes and peppers, broccolli, cabbage. If it were not snowing today, I would also plant radishes, spinach, carrotts, etc... directly in the soil. I will try to get them in this weekend.

We are making now compost bins, too.

 

[jinman]

lets see...corn is in., onions, tomato's, bush beans, water melon, cantaloupe, artichokes, cucumbers, and of course...tons of pepers of all types...had to put that new tiller to use. I just finished building a series of compost pits, three bins so when I turn it goes from one BX bucket to the new pile etc... no turning by hand!! And of course that just the first set in the ground., in three weeks a second set goes in, then a final set in another three weeks...have to have fresh stuff all summer...

Jimmy, if you have tomato sets in the ground already, you may need some help as I did last year. Lowes sells thin plastic in 12' wide rolls for those nights when we get our late frosts. April 15th is supposed to be safe here, but last year surprised me. Good luck! It sounds like you have a great start.

 

[DUMBDOG]

Today is good Friday. This is the day we traditionally start our seeds indoors for plants like tomatoes and peppers, broccolli, cabbage. If it were not snowing today, I would also plant radishes, spinach, carrotts, etc... directly in the soil. I will try to get them in this weekend.

We are making now compost bins, too.

You have to remember that Easter is earlier than most people will remember and ever will be again for those now living.

My transplants were started a week ago.

According to my German heritage, you plant potatoes on Good Friday. However planting potatoes in March would be a wee bit early.

 

[greenthumb]

no garden yet but I will get to clean up 8-12 inches of snow Saturday. What a great 1st full day of spring here in Michigan. I really hope global warming does not hurt our plants this summer.