2020 How does your garden grow

[mjpchief]

Just replanted complete garden today. Little hiccup in bug spray issue. Seems I didn't get my sprayer cleaned out good enough and it had a weed killer residue still in it. Killed everything in the garden. Will be buying a new sprayer just for bug killer.

 

[SDSmlf]

Just replanted complete garden today. Little hiccup in bug spray issue. Seems I didn't get my sprayer cleaned out good enough and it had a weed killer residue still in it. Killed everything in the garden. Will be buying a new sprayer just for bug killer.

Hope you at least eliminated the weeds.

 

[Eutycus]

Hate it when that happens. I got two sprayers just alike.
One for herbicides , one for insecticide + "other stuff". Now I forgot which is which. It pays to label things instead of relying on a bad memory.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

We cut way back from years ago. A few tomatoes for eating fresh and freezing a few. A couple of pepper plants and a 2x6 ft raised bed of horseradish My Mrs. once would plant 50 tomato plants and slave over a hot stove to make her own spaghetti sauce. It wasn't that good and store bought is dirt cheap. Simply was not worth while. We did pick out first couple handfulls of blue berries. We have 50 bushes and get a lot preserved every year. (we have a large freezer just for berries. Blue berries, wine berries, black berries, Aronia, Goji berries, Josta berries and cranberries.

 

[Eutycus]

We cut way back from years ago. A few tomatoes for eating fresh and freezing a few. A couple of pepper plants and a 2x6 ft raised bed of horseradish My Mrs. once would plant 50 tomato plants and slave over a hot stove to make her own spaghetti sauce. It wasn't that good and store bought is dirt cheap. Simply was not worth while. We did pick out first couple handfulls of blue berries. We have 50 bushes and get a lot preserved every year. (we have a large freezer just for berries. Blue berries, wine berries, black berries, Aronia, Goji berries, Josta berries and cranberries.

I too am cutting back. My garden used to be bigger than it is now. I got a blg pecan tree on one end. The bigger it get, the shadier my garden becomes. Most of the stuff I grow likes direct sunlight.Plus it's becoming alot of work. Well, it always has been work, I'm just getting older. I can't take that "direct sunlight" like I used to. A homegrown tomato is almost worth it though.

 

[nkbj]

The peas got blossoms. Everything else is just green and climbing taller.

 

[TNGhost]

I'll have to admit to cutting back as well. Used to plant a lot of green and dried beans and much more sweetcorn than I do now.

Every year I plant another row of Wine grapes and that reduces the garden by about 10 feet annually. They are much easier to care for. No tilling, no seeding,no watering and no fertilizer needed. Also in the climate I live in disease is pretty much unknown. Biggest problem with them is losing a vine or two over the winter to way below zero temps.

 

[SDSmlf]

Have cut WAY back on garden size here. Critters, heat, poor soil make it tough. Have put a solid 4x12 foot raised bed build with retaining wall block into side of hill. Solid gravel base, 24” deep. Filled it with good ‘garden mix’ soil. Have temporary fence in place for deterring woodchucks and rabbits. Deer haven’t shown up yet. Primary electric fence posts in for a slightly larger area, call it room for expansion. Figure wires at 2”, 6”, 30” and 60” height, should hold most
critters back. Debating if I want AC or solar powered unit. Either would work. Many lightening strikes not unusual, so a bit apprehensive about an AC system tied to the house. Need to make decision this week. AC unit would mount in weather resistant box away from house (suggestions welcomed) or solar unit on a post. Leaning towards AC......

 

[zimmerstutzen]

Our garden is in a spot that was the poster child for the poor conservation practices of the early 20th century. I plowed the area, (about 15 x 25. The picked out the rocks and stones that were larger than a grape. 3 five gallon buckets worth. I brought in several loads of composted manure and rototilled that in, added about 10 forty pound bags of sand and rototilled that in. Picked more rocks and planted the garden. In the fall I got a couple loader scoops of horse manure mixed with saw dust and rototilled that into the garden. I now have a place that isn't all clay and rocks, the soil is actually a lot darker than the surrounding soil. I am still picking stones out every time I till the garden, but now it has been four years at that place. The old garden was almost 50 x 100 and was just too much work for the two of us to keep up with. The old garden is now in a cow pasture and the grass over that soil is noticeably darker and grows faster.

 

[Sean Gadhar]

It's been almost 2 weeks since I started this thread, thought I'd post a few update photos.

Most everything in the covered rows has doubled in size. There are a few green Tomatoes and buds on all the Tomatoes & peppers.

Three plantings of corn are all doing ok, but not great, still windy in the afternoons.

Squash are starting to climb

We lost a lot of the Goose berry & Current blossoms to frost, but the few that made is are big and tasty.

 

[Eterry]

My second planting of corn came up fine, planting deeper did the trick. It rained a half inch last night, that really helped .

 

[Eutycus]

I'm running out of counterspace!

 

[nkbj]

Turned one of the compost piles into a tater bed.

 

[Sean Gadhar]

I'm running out of counterspace!

Show off!

That looks Great, I hope to have the same problem about late July. Right now it's weed, water, and wait

 

[Eutycus]

Pictures can be deceiving, this is about the tail end of my garden. It was very productive a month ago. It's winding down and getting hot. If it weren't for the last few showers we were blessed with I'd have already pulled up probably all but the okra by now. Ever notice how rain is God's MiracleGro?

 

[sgtsquid]

I'll do my part to make this thread on topic. I've always wanted to try three sisters planting adn when I happened to get an apartment in Redding with a yard I decided to do it. This is my second year trying it and it looks good so far. The mounds are about 8 cubic feet of loose soil each, with bone and blood meal mixed in while forming the mounds. The corn is Supai Red from my attempt last year, where I got about half of an ear. The beans are "1500 year old cave beans" from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, and the squash is Lakota squash, also from Baker Creek. I planted the corn in early May, and planted the beans and squash about 2 weeks later. I set up an automatic watering system set to water every 6 hours, so my garden can survive the heat here in Redding. I never thought I would find a place in Norcal that is hotter than the Mojave Desert! As you can see I'm getting female flowers on the squash already, and the beans are starting to form buds.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

Nice three sisters garden. I'm always on the lookout for native seed and will have to check out Baker Creek. Ever try manual squash pollination?

 

[FishDFly]

The wife has a garden and I snuck in a couple of water melon plants, it seemed like a good idea, inject them with tequila They have gone crazy..

The have taken over (as in covered up) the tomato plants, covered up the pepper plants and I have now learned that water melon plants love to climb.. They covered up the hog wire fence and those who did not climb have run out into the yard.

In addition to the melons, I put in a couple of crooked neck squash plants. They are in a growing frenzy in competition with the melons.

I am not allowed to go to the feed store now.

 

[sgtsquid]

Nice three sisters garden. I'm always on the lookout for native seed and will have to check out Baker Creek. Ever try manual squash pollination?

I tried it last year, but I planted so late that I only got one small squash. I just realized that I have female flowers about to bloom, but no male flowers for about another week. I'm also out of town during the week so I have to depend on the bees to handle it.

 

[TNGhost]

No rain for the last 10 days, coupled with temps into the 90s. Not good for freshly trransplanted tomatoes and peppers although I am managing to keep them alive with watering.

To think that a scant two weeks ago it dropped to 30F overnight.