2024 Garden Seeds and Starts

[21incher]

Thanks  everyone.  Been a tough  couple  weeks.
Here is an old video when I built one of the baskets. Really  simple and mine each hold 1/2 bushel.  The end shape Really doesn't  matter but I found the radius is stronger and so far the wire cloth hasn't deformed.  They actually  make great gifts for gardeners and once setup only take a couple minutes to knock out. I made a bunch  of small 8 quart ones also. First cucumber today and another zucchini.  Vine borders got most of the zucchini plants.

[SwampDonkey]

Those are great, I have seen some old ones some folks had around their gardens. Berry growers will have a sort of 'flat' for a few aspen berry boxes full to be carried. 

[SwampDonkey]

Had 1-1/4" rain this week. Stuff sure is lush. I have to tie up the tomatoes some more, they doubled in 2 weeks. My sticks are 3-1/2' - 4' high. Almost half way up them now. Flowering, but have not noticed any fruit set just yet, but have not been close to them for 3 or 4 days to see much.  Keep in mind they are only in 3 weeks now, not 3 months.

[SwampDonkey]

Glad I got out the string and tied the tomatoes up more, they are more like 3' tall some 3-1/2'. I'm seeing some set, lots of blooms. Need sun and heat for a few days.  78° right now and sunny.

I had to cut 3 foot runners off the grapes, nothing grows faster than a grape vine. 

[randy d]

We had a ground Hog in our garden my wife posted up with her 22 he made a mistake and stuck his head up over one of the raised beds well he will not do that.  again Wife 1 ground hog 0.

[newoodguy78]

Had woodchucks eat all of my first planting of broccoli. I've trapped 5 out of the same hole so far,  none of them will bother it again. I kinda like seeing the chubby little things around but when they start eating the profits they're out. 

[SwampDonkey]

Hire a red fox. One cleaned up on them here. Never seen one in the yard for almost 2 years. They are around though, I saw one running in the drive way of an old building. But the fox here had a den in the back, I found it. She took her pups out a couple weeks ago and went along the field edge with them. They sure have grown fast. She even keeps the turkey out of the garden. And there is an old turkey hen around.

[thecfarm]

I have not seen a fox around since I got rid of my chickens. 
I know they are here. 
Guess I have to get an Candian red fox. 
The American ones don't eat wood chucks.     
  

[randy d]

It has been a long time since we have had woodchucks around we do have fox here but I have seen a bunch of baby cottontails this summer so maybe they not hungry

[SwampDonkey]

Yeah, they definitely eat'm. There's video of them doing so all over Youtube.   Go fox go!! I got resident foxes, and no resident ground hogs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_fox#Ecology

[SwampDonkey]

I see some cukes with flowers on the ends, so not long now.  Leaves the size of dinner plates.

[21incher]

I had  woodchuck do a lot of damage.  Dug a tunnel from the woods to the center of my wood pile about 75 ft long, then snuck in from there.  Couldn't get a shot and got tired checking every 5 minutes.  I thought  about flooding  the hole with propane and lighting it but didn't want the cops if it shook the neighbors houses.  So I grabbed a gallon of industrial  chlorine and dumped  it in the hole. Haven't seen him since and the cover on the hole still is there.  

[newoodguy78]

Checking some stuff this evening, must  be some of their relatives are still around. Woodchuck got most of the broccoli we planted last week. Thinking I'll stick a 3" irrigation hose down their hole and let it go until the pump's out of gas. Thought I had them somewhat under control but apparently not.
 If foxes and coyotes eat woodchucks I certainly couldn't prove it here. See plenty of both regularly and the woodchuck population is thriving.

[SwampDonkey]

Red fox here rely on them for food and for dens. Never seen a fox hole that wasn't a ground hog den around here. The back yard is full of old groundhog dens, plenty for the fox, and she used one, found it this spring. Was well hidden by chokecherry brush on the edge of the field. My dogs over the years would kill every one they could catch, but never ate them. Grab them by the neck and shake the life out of them. They are the easiest rodent to kill, doesn't take much. The buggers can climb like coons. I've got lots of photos of fox living around here. Wish I had a video of the one in the back of my RAV4 grabbing some wrapped chicken breasts. Better than Walt Disney because it's not faked. :D

[thecfarm]

We had a wood chuck move in at the hardware store I use to work at.
Told the boss I could get rid of that for him. 
He told me in a voice, Ain't bothering me!!!
I just walked off knowing what would happen.
Yep, next year, all the seedlings broccoli in the greenhouse for sell got eaten.  
Then the boss tries to do something about the wood chuck then. 

Them things are just like mice. Once you get them you always have them.

[SwampDonkey]

They are definitely around, just not in my yard, for now. They'll be back, that's for sure. Mrs fox will be right behind them. 

Was burning brush back there one April, clearing out old dead apple trees. Had a good fire going for days. All the sudden, one morning I look and saw a fox carrying her pups by the neck to a new location down in the woods. Didn't care for the fire and smoke near home, she was moving.  One has to watch where you step back there or a foot will land in a ground hog hole. Haven't seen as much as a groundhog whisker for a long while now. There are 3 old barns around here falling down, groundhog paradise, and coons. Some farmers let stuff fall down in heaps, dad always cleaned those old places up because you have unwanted tenants and it's an eyesore. Those barns falling down have owners with farm excavators and dump trucks and aren't contractors. Dad always had to hire equipment as you can't do it with tractors as well.

[SwampDonkey]

Been wanting to weed out the onions for awhile in the main garden. This morning was it. Got the overalls on, and the knee pads, and them weeds is gone from them onions now. I have beautiful onions so far, I don't want nut'n to change that.  A good drink of water coming over the next couple days off that hurricane. 

[SwampDonkey]

Picked a few peppers to saute with onion tonight. Bell, Carmen slender, and one flaming flare. I have a lot of small jalapeno fruit on plants, so there will soon be lots of those. Love sauted pepper and onions in butter. 

[SwampDonkey]

Still raining. Those onions I weeded out are looking good. The squash is a little laid down from the rain to the top right, she'll bounce back with some sun.   My tomatoes are trees, but setting fruit. Hopefully I can pick some by August. 

[SwampDonkey]

Trimmed up the tomatoes this morning, lower leaves and suckers removed. Tied them up some more as they are over the top of 4 foot stakes.



Seen the first bean flowers 3 days ago.



Been eating beat greens now for about 3 weeks, thinning them out. Thinned the carrots out a few days ago.

I think I will have to do some pepper relish this week.

[SwampDonkey]

Talon onions are doing great

[SwampDonkey]

First cucumber today from the garden. 

[21incher]

We are in full swing with tomatoes just starting.  Have to harvest  the onions soon with some really big ones again. Zucchini got hit by vine borders and I am glad about that.

[21incher]

100 pounds of onions from 2 small beds yesterday. 

[21incher]

Blue potatoes are wonderful and local corn has started.