Gardening, 2012

[Okrafarmer]

How is your gardening going? Of course people in different climates begin and end at different times. I got my corn planted Monday, and beans, okra, and watermelons yesterday. No time to work on it today (had an accident and not feeling too great). Still need to get cucumbers in and a few oddities-- I like to plant peanuts, cotton, and stuff like that too. I wanted to get going earlier this year but I never had time to get the pigs out of the garden until a couple weeks ago when I finally got the new pig pen built and the porkers moved. Unfortunately the pigs had become hogs over the winter (well, that's a good thing in its own right, but) and had  compacted the soil in the garden. A friend rented a tractor and 3ph rototiller to break in his new garden, and he let me borrow the tractor since his time hadn't run up, and I got it tilled Sunday afternoon. (I don't usually do stuff like that on Sunday, but my ox was in the ditch, so to speak, or there was a non-repeatable opportunity to do what needed to be done).

Last year I planted a single row of okra along the inside of the garden fence and the blamed sheep stuck their heads in and ate it all!  >:( But I sold the sheep in December, so that problem is eliminated. Three short rows of Star of David okra this year, Stowell's Evergreen corn, Royalty Purple Pod beans, and Mountain Sweet Yellow watermelons.

Who's doing what? Ok, some of you Michigan people are still looking at melting snow, right? Well, be patient, you'll get your chance!

[WDH]

Planted mine on March 26.  Forty tomatoes, two 50' rows of okra, cucumbers, green peppers, egg plant, straight-neck squash, cantaloupes, and carrots.  No corn or onions.  Corn is very cheap to buy, and I can't do any better than the sweet Vidalia onions that are grown close by.   

[Woodcarver]

25 degrees here tonight.  Won't be much warmer tomorrow night.  It will probably be at least a month before anything goes in the ground here.

[Okrafarmer]

You could plant peas, Woodcarver. They used to say poke them down in the mud as soon as you can't see any more snow, up in Maine.

[trapper]

Woodcarver I am about 70 mi east of you and my peas are in and aspargas is up also but it seems our temp are a bit warmer being closer to lake michigan even though it is still 40 mi away.
marv

[chevytaHOE5674]

I had about 19 degrees this morning with heavy frost and thick Ice on all the standing water and animals waters. Be a while before I plant anything.

[Woodcarver]

 

Peas do like cool weather. They don't do well in hot weather. The problem with our weather in this area is that it can swing from one extreme to the other abruptly. We sometimes have a snowfall followed by eighty degree temperatures a couple of weeks later.

We planted peas early one year when we had an unusually warm spring. We had a beautiful stand.  We had a frost on Mother's Day and they froze all the way to the ground. We replanted.  It turned hot and we didn't get much of a crop. That's generally been our experience with peas here.  If we plant early they freeze and if we plant late the weather turns hot and they don't do well.

Peas are grown commercially in Wisconsin, but most of the production is a hundred miles south of here where I grew up.  Potatoes are the big commercial crop in this area.  To the east of us it's cabbage.  Just south of us it's snap beans and sweet corn.

Potatoes will regrow if they freeze off.  That said I haven't seen any potatoes going in the ground yet. I have seen a few fields sown to grain. That's about all in this area.

The lake does make a difference Trapper.  Our asparagus isn't up. We are directly west of Appleton.  I have acquaintenances in the Appleton area who have zone 5 perennials in their flower beds.  We have trouble growing some of the more cold tender zone 4 perennials here.  We are in a little narrow valley between two moraines.  That adds to the problem a little because cold settles in our little valley.

[Okrafarmer]

It's too late for peas here. I'm not even going to try. I wanted to get them in a month or two ago.

[Okrafarmer]

Well today I planted some odds and ends-- black-eyed peas, Minnesota midget melons, mystery cantelope seeds (don't remember where they came from), cotton, peanuts, amaranth, buckwheat, and kamut wheat.

[WDH]

Amaranth was grown by the native Americans.  I have never had it before.  How do you prepare it?

[Taylortractornut]

I got a few things planted  about 300 tomato plants in the green house and   80 pepper plants,   I have 100 more  at a friends  place.     about 300 cucumber plants  Market more, Lemon, and pickling.          I have a few watermelon transplants.        1/4 pound of okra seed,    1 pound of  straight neck squash,  1/2 of  zuccini, and 1/4   of patty pan squash.       I have a few pounds of  peas and beans and   sweet and field corn to plant.   

I have a pepper/tobacco planter to put out  my transplants and a covington planter  for the rest. 

[Okrafarmer]

Amaranth was grown by the native Americans.  I have never had it before.  How do you prepare it?

I'm learning as I go, WHD. If I get any to grow to maturity this will be the first time. I do have a book somewhere  : that tells what to do with it.  :

[SwampDonkey]

Well it's been a sprinkling of snow here for 2 days. ;D The garden has been bare for 2 weeks, but it's not planting time. Harv's Hollow over on the ridge still has snow. That has to go first. ;D

[chevytaHOE5674]

16 degrees out there with crunchy frost and ice, talking snow on Monday and Tuesday. Garden is going to have to wait a little longer. Got a field all prepped and ready to go into Oats, but going to wait just a while longer.

[Woodcarver]

While we haven't been doing any planting, we have done some harvesting.  We've dug our parsnips and a little horseradish.

We usually do a fall planting of spinach for spring harvest.  Didn't get it planted last fall.  May not have worked well this season anyway with the sparse snow cover we had this winter.

[zopi]

I have pretty much everything in except tropicals...tomatoes and peppers wil go in in a week or two...my first planting of beans failed, so I just resowed them...but everything else is ok.

[Road Runner]

Okra, You are a few miles north of me and the temps tonight are to be in the mid 30s with a chance of frost which is very posible with light winds.  Also below normal temps for the next few days.  I don't plant summer veges till mid April and at least the 1st of May for Okra.  My experience is that it needs warmer soil to get started. 

[trapper]

Woodcarver the spinach I planted last fall is about ready to cut.
Marv

[Okrafarmer]

Road Runner, you're right, I probably jumped the gun. Well all I have up right now is six corn plants that I transplanted. I may have to reseed some things later, especially the okra and cotton.

[Okrafarmer]

Actually, they are calling for a low of 37 tonight. Hope they're right.

[SwampDonkey]

An anomaly in the weather has caused more than one to loose their britches. ;)

We haven't even had any rain yet this spring.

[bull]

Peas,raddished,lettuce,corn in the ground. Tomatoes.cuc's, summer,Zuchinni,&pattypan squash,lettuce,cabbage,cauliflower,broccolli,and more in the greenhouse..... Pic's on facebook and @ Pineofamilyfarm.com...

[Woodcarver]

We are behind on rain here, too, Donk.  We've had a little, but well below average for this time of year and that follows a winter with very little snow. Might be one of those years when we plant the garden and then water to get germination.

[Don K]

I planted part of my row crops Monday. Field corn pinkeye peas, zipper creme peas, texas creme peas, rattlesnake pole beans. Sidedressed my sweet corn and plan to plant some more items this week. I will grow the majority of my tomatoes this fall again. Late starting my seeds. We have not had any cold to speak of since first of Feb. Very unusual year. I was swimming in the gulf last week while on vacation.

Don

[Okrafarmer]

Got my potatoes in and transplanted 6 tomato plants I started from seeds-- don't know if they'll make it, though. They were quite small, maybe too small.