Well, my seeds for 2024 from Vesey's should be here in 3 business days, got the tracking number today.
I need to expand the garden a little bit to give extra room to the tomatoes and peppers this year, as well as onions. Not more than 15 x 25 feet though. Tomatoes, peppers, onions, and cukes are my biggest crops. I want to space the tomatoes more, not really grow more of them. Try to give them more light from all sides. I'll start my onion seeds soon and some winter lettuce, dill and basil. 8)
Happy gardening
Getting ready to fire up the grow tent next week for the winter lettuce.
I built my own tomatoe cages.
I used 1 inch cedar. Should of went with 1½ inches. But they work good. I think 16 inches across and 6 feet tall and 8 inch legs to go into the ground. Cross members every 6 or 8 inches. Them things do not fall over!!!!
I think I space them about 3 feet apart. Next year I'm going 4 feet.
Good luck with the seeds.
Yeah I make my own stakes to. Where I cut wood there are lots of maple and ash tops to make them. They last a few years actually. A handy electric saw like Jeff's he videoed (different brand) makes stake cutting a breeze. I use cotton twine tied around the stakes as the tomatoes grow up. My stakes are usually 4-5' above ground. I don't get particular on the lengths as long as I have around 4 feet above ground at least. But I have been planting them a bit close. I have one variety that I have quit this year. They used to grow maybe 24" tall, for some reason they are more like elderberry bushes. I don't think the seed is what it's suppose to be or else the ground is a lot richer here. The package says 24" in height. Even my squash is twice the size they advertise, so take it for what it is I guess. :D
A few greens coming along.
Radishes, lettuce, basil, beat greens.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/greens-Jan9-2023.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1704813643)
We have one Bing tomato that is going on 1 year old and some lettuce that is just starting to come up and a jar of lentils that we are sprouting.
Have had some lettuce, radishes, and basil this week from the grow tent. I've got some spinach started and more lettuce as well. :)
I just started some greens.
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Whowee got lucky twice
Bypassing the forum gallery?
Yes. I can upload to it but something goes wrong posting from it.
IMG_8822.JPG
Directly from the pc no problem
[url="https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/34694/DSC05131.JPG"]
From the gallery no but the link is active if clicked (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=147374)
Hot peppers, some blooms appearing.
hot-pepper-Feb16-2024.jpg
Second crop of radishes
radish-Feb16-2024.jpg
Peppers are setting some fruit.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/red-hot-pepper-set.jpg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=352728)
Talon Onions are starting.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/talon-onion-Feb28-2024.jpg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=352727)
I just started my Alyssa Craig onions. Last week we finished off the ones in the root cellar and they stayed real good for a big sweet onion.
I've still got about 5 lbs of garden onions from last season. The damp cold weather during the summer affected them greatly. Talons do best as transplants.
Not long now...hotter than jalapenos.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/hot-pepper-March7-2024.jpg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=352841)
...and no I didn't loose the tip of my finger. Just bent toward the camera.
Wow your green thumb is showing :thumbsup:. My onions broke through and almost time to move to big cups.
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Finally starting seeds today. Better late then never. Hopefully the weather breaks in the next 8 weeks.
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Planted some more radish the first of the week. This is the third crop. They are all up now. Been eating hot peppers off the plants for a couple weeks. They are not all that hot yet, none are fire red yet. I only grew two for now. I pick a few leaves of lettuce and dill for salad. And have some baby spinach leaves to mix in.
The onions are coming along. I planted a cuke for fun, I see some buds out now, the flowers will open soon and I'll Q-tip them and see what comes of it. ffcheesy
I won't plant stuff for out doors until Mid April for the peppers and May for the tomatoes and nearly June for cuke and squash sets. This gives the vine crops a 2-3 week jump and they transplant well. Nothing can be planted here before 15th of June except onions. Put them in in mid May. By the look of the rain all this week, it will all be hydroponic gardening this year. ffcheesy ffcheesy ffcheesy
I've had terrible luck in the past with seeds. They'll come up and be looking really good, then suddenly they all start dying. Tried the plastic covered grow trays, then no trays in my kitchen. Maybe the tent is necessary to keep a constant environment? And the grow light.
I watched your vid 21incher.
Starting to ripen, so that means things are heating up. ffcheesy Flaming Red.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/flaming-pepper-March31-2024.jpg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=353260)
Cukes on the vine soon. :thumbsup:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/cukes-April6-2024.jpg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=353342)
What "number" fertilizer do you add to the soil for good producing cucumbers?
The last couple of years I haven't had much for production, and last year we were dealing with some sort of blight!
I use triple 10 here, but I use lots of rotten manure mixed in. I lime to, I have enough lime in the barn in sealed bags for 15 years, maybe 20. ffcheesy I only grow a 4 x 8' frame worth and maybe half that again. Way more than I can use. I usually have to pick up a buggy full to toss into the compost heap by fall.
Quote from: Chuck White on April 07, 2024, 10:47:38 AMWhat "number" fertilizer do you add to the soil for good producing cucumbers?
The last couple of years I haven't had much for production, and last year we were dealing with some sort of blight!
Chuck it's almost impossible to pinpoint proper fertilizer without soil tests, that said a rule of thumb I go by is as follows. For vine crops the numbers of the fertilizer should increase as you read them. You don't want much nitrogen or all you'll get is leggy plants with not much fruit.
The first number feeds the plant, second feeds the flower and the third feeds the fruit. That's a very layman's description of what's going on.
In our soils I started using a 6-15-21 blend with phenomenal results. Paying attention to the plants and what stage they're at can pay big dividends in yield and plant health as well as saving money at the same time.
For instance if the plants are looking a little wimpy and setting flowers the need for nitrogen is very little, it's a better time to focus on phosphorus and potassium.
Good luck
I believe I will start my garden peppers this weekend.
So far, only one cucumber is fertile and growing. It's about 7 inches long now I think. I have just one plant. :thumbsup:
Finally got outside and started cleaning up. Best compost ever
Great looking compost 21.
We've been busy here trying to get veggies started earlier this year. Had some hiccups but we're getting through them.
Started pumping water and moving sprinklers before 3 this morning to try and save the first planting of sweet corn from freezing.Tried planting it through plastic then covering it with remay. Got decent germination considering this year's weather so far. Long term forecast seems to look warmer which will be nice. Hope everyone has a good season.
Quote from: thecfarm on December 27, 2023, 07:54:33 PMI built my own tomatoe cages.
I used 1 inch cedar. Should of went with 1½ inches. ...
I got maters in the ground, and 2 cedars stacked up next to the mill!
I was going to save those logs until I know What I'm doing with the mill... but I could gain a lot of practice making 1.5x's...
And there's easily a half-dozen of them just waiting for me to cut them down!
Beans and pea's started sprouting, corn went in the ground last weekend.
I'm trying a small batch of Barley this year. I have a pair of Crystal hops plants producing... I just need to find a special kind of friend, LOL!
I've tried the wine-making thing, I'm trying to avoid becoming a brewer, but it's like there's a pull of gravity or something?. If they legalize it down here I'll never get any work done! ffcheesy
-K
Sturon onion sets arrived today. I need to transplant my pepper seedlings to bigger pots this weekend. Every seed germinated. The older peppers seem to be having another flush of blooms. I have not eaten all of the first bunch yet, probably 6 or 8 left.
Happy gardening. ffwave
I did get a second fertile cucumber off the vine recently.
Here are my peppers coming along. They won't go outside for another month.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/peppers-May14-2024-1.jpg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=353799)
Hand for scale.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/peppers-May14-2024-2.jpg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=353798)
I'm pretty new to gardening, last year I had one 4x8 raised bed and this year I added another one. Everything that I planted from seed did pretty good and a couple store bought tomato plants. Last year I tried indoor starting a couple kinds of tomatoes, couple of peppers, and eggplant. Only had a little success with the tomatoes. That was coupled with experimenting with straw bales.
This year I am doing a little better with my indoor starts. They still don't look like they're as big as they should be by now. I have been starting seeds in small "greenhouse" type things. Should I be starting them in larger nursery pots? My setup is a wire rack shelf with grow lights and heat mats. I can easily turn that into a tent if I need to. A full grow room is not in the budget right now. Most of what I am trying to grow is seeds from Baker Creek.
Just looking for suggestions, thanks.
Are your plants root bound? Meaning if you pull one out it would look like a solid mass of roots. If they are that could definitely be holding them back.
Depending on your location and when they can be planted I might recommend transplanting them to bigger cells if that's the case.
FWIW when I pull some of our starts that will be transplanted to the field I'm looking for a nice healthy plant that pulls easily from the cell and a root mass that is a 50/50 mix of roots and soil. And everything stays in the shape of the cell.
That's the gauge I use.
Too early and you'll pull the plant with no soil on it too late it's a solid white root mass.
Also before putting them in the ground, setting them outside for a few days to acclimate helps take some of the edge off of transplanting. Good luck would be curious how your garden does this year.
Otis1 I did a little poking around looking at Baker Seeds. Pretty interesting stuff.
While I'm a fan of heirloom seeds and like to see people keeping them going, one thing you can't do is compare them directly to hybrid commercial type varieties.
In my experience heirlooms are different in how they grow and how they produce.
Just don't want to see you get frustrated with growth rates. The heirlooms you have most likely will not grow as fast as commercial varieties fed a lot of fertilizer that are more than likely what you see at your local garden center or box store.
Good luck with your plants. Don't over water them.
I planted a bunch of tomato seed on the weekend, 50 cells. I'll not plant all them, I pot over the strongest looking ones of each variety. I'll have more space this year, to space them out more. I'm guessing 36 plants will go in. More plum variety for sauce, last year they bore heavy. So don't the big beef variety I use, trouble with beef they take a long time to ripen unless we get lots of heat along with the water. ffcheesy
Thanks guys. I think the problem is that I have been comparing them to the ones you get at the garden center. You're right these are not hybrids and it makes sense that they will be slower growing. I think next year I will just start them earlier. I also think that this round was stunted because of the seed starting medium. I used a coconut coir and I think it just doesn't have the nutrients that a soil based mix has, I ended up giving them a small amount of fertilizer and once the roots were good I repotted them into a soil mix. It seemed to help.
In the future should I continue to start them in the small 1" x 1" cells or should I just start with a 2" pot? All my starting pots are clear so I can see the roots and moisture. How many hours of light should they get, I have mine set to 12 on & 12 off but I think maybe I should go to 18 & 6? I did about 12 of each plant planning on only using the strongest ones and maybe giving a couple away to friends.
I have a decent amount of experience with house plants so I know about not overwatering and being root bound, so I know that's not my problem. Sometimes plants are frustrating but I enjoy learning a little bit with each attempt.
Tomatoe plants, once they get some size to them, should do fine.
Unless they get some disease after they are planted.
In fact, the way the growing season has been here for the last 10 years, I almost could plant some in mid July for a late crop.
We had a greenhouse for 3 years, selling seedlings and flowers. A customer wanted the best tasting tomato. I directed to one of the heirlooms one. But told him they would not look like a store bought one.
He wanted nothing to do with that. :huh?
Part of the reason I'm trying the heirloom varieties is because my dad always says tomatoes don't taste as good as they used to and I agree. My grandma had a neighbor that grew one that he absolutely loved. I have no idea what variety it was and he is long since passed. I'm just trying to grow him some good tomatoes. This year I'm trying the mortgage lifter although it's not looking great.
Because I lack the experience, I have been using an app called Planter on my phone that lets you layout your garden and shows what plants are beneficial to each other or what plants are combative. It also shows calendar dates for starting and transplanting based on your location.
The trouble with gardening in our climate. if a mistake is made, it's too late for that year. :wacky:
Starting to see blossoms on the peppers.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/peppers-May26-2024.jpg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=353958)
Will pot over the tomatoes next weekend.
Going to put some garden seed in this week. Could see some rain this week. Looks kinda damp for several days.
Eating a lot of spinach, lettuce., radishes, and bok choy lately. Everything is in and looking good. Stir fry tonight.
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Neighbors kids helped me set out my grow tent plants Monday. I also has some vine crops started for sets, we kind burned some of them with fertilizer, a few survivors, and I planted to seed to fill in. There shall be lots. The tomatoes have really sprang into action since Monday. I also have several long slender sweet peppers I can pick.
I want some sautéed onion and peppers on rice with chicken. I'm hungry Amigos after 3 days of 16-20 hr fasting at the hospital waiting for surgery. I need something besides peanut butter and jam on toast after kitchen hrs. ffcheesy ffcheesy ffcheesy
I need a pan of fried biscuits tomorrow soaked in maple syrup with scrambled eggs and a sausage please. ffcheesy
Main garden in June
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/main-garden-June-2024.jpg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=354496)
Talon onions
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/talon-onion-June-2024.jpg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=354500)
peppers
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/pepper-june-2024.jpg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=354499)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/bell-pepper-June2024.jpg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=354494)
cukes
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/cukes-June-2024.jpg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=354495)
Berries and grapes in June
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/grape-vines-June2024.jpg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=354497)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/grapes-June-2024.jpg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=354498)
blackberries
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/black-berries-June-2024.jpg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=354493)
black elders are in flower now to. Everything is just hanging.
@21incher How's the garden doing my friend? We need an update. Not seen your presence for a few days. Don't give up on us. ffwave
Earwigs are bad here, finally the carrots, dill, beans got ahead of them in the main garden. I'm half tempted to lay down moth balls next year on the perimeter. The little garden beds up hill they don't bother much, more exposed to weather. They don't like sunlight. I've only got about 4 cantaloupe plants left, any I try reseeding they eat off at night. They did not seem to bother the new squash I seeded, but they did like the greenhouse sets for awhile. I don't see any cucumber beetles at all.
As for the rest of ya, get some photos and narrative up for us to see what's up in your world of gardening and farming. I know it is busy now, I get it.
Swamp, pulled the garlic yesterday and starting to cure it
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I haven't been logging in lately. Back when the adds started Chrome though they were dangerous and I let it make changes that don't allow me to log in with Chrome that I use for my browser. I have to use a different browser to log in now and check in every once in a while. We have had a tough couple weeks. Our last dog had to be put down a couple months ago and we decided it was time to adopt another. Our local shelter took in 120 dogs from a home that was a hoarding / puppy mill situation. We decided to help out and adopt a little border Collie mix.What a little sweetheart
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Well a week later she went through what appeared to be a growth spurt and then the next day started going potty every 20 minutes everywhere. Also got quite quiet. Next day lost use of a back leg and stopped eating. Spent a day at the vet getting iv and drugs then came home a tiny bit better. Next day still not eating and second back leg started going so back to the vet for iv, xrays, bloodwork, and expert review of everything trying to figure out what was wrong. After a day of iv medication she was able to stand and came home. By the time we got home her back legs were out and a front leg gave out. Her body started getting sensitive and she would squeal with pain when touched. We spent the night crying on the couch with her and had her put down as soon as the vet opened the next day. It was the toughest dog we ever lost. Vet and specialists couldn't figure it out but I found a NIH study about how Neuropathy can occur in border Collies if both parents have a bad gene. Well in that situation it was definitely possible and it occurs between 3 and 7 months with no cure. The adoption organization lollypopanimals.org was concerned and picked up the body for a full autopsy. They found absolutely nothing wrong and no toxics. It had to be in her genes.Well a couple thousand dollars later and we have an even bigger hole in our hearts. My wife is very depressed that is affecting her health. It's amazing how attached we got to her in a week.
Sad to hear.
What a shame.
Our animal friends give so much.
Sure a sad state for sure, looked like a nice little dog. Your garlic looks great. Hang in there. I use a clone to Chrome for a browser, Brave. You'd like it for web browsing.
Sorry to hear
@21incher , it's amazing how pets sometimes affect us more than people.
Great looking garlic, love that basket! I might have to make something like that for myself!
Cantaloupes have flowers now, cukes not far off, starting to run, so flowers soon enough. ffsmiley
Getting lots of water today and tomorrow. Had 1/4" in one thunder shower a bit ago, wasn't that long a duration. Started to rain again here just now. :wink_2:
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.
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. ffsmiley
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. ffsmiley
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. ffsmiley
I had to cut 3 foot runners off the grapes, nothing grows faster than a grape vine. ffcheesy
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.
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.
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. ffcheesy
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. :wink_2:
The American ones don't eat wood chucks. :huh? ffcheesy
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
Yeah, they definitely eat'm. There's video of them doing so all over Youtube. ffcheesy Go fox go!! I got resident foxes, and no resident ground hogs. :)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_fox#Ecology
I see some cukes with flowers on the ends, so not long now. Leaves the size of dinner plates. ffsmiley
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.
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.
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
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. ffcheesy
Then the boss tries to do something about the wood chuck then. smiley_huh2
Them things are just like mice. Once you get them you always have them.
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. ffcool
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. ffcheesy 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.
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. (https://forestryforum.com/board/Smileys/alienine/smiley.gif)
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. ffsmiley
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/peppers-to-saute.jpg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=354602)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/garden-july11-2024.jpg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=354605)
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. ffwave My tomatoes are trees, but setting fruit. Hopefully I can pick some by August. ffsmiley
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.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/tomato-trim-july21-2014.jpg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=354755)
Seen the first bean flowers 3 days ago.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/string-beans-bloom-2024.jpg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=354754)
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.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/pepper-July21-2024.jpg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=354753)
Talon onions are doing great
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/onions-july21-2024.jpg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=354756)
First cucumber today from the garden. :sunny:
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. ffwave
100 pounds of onions from 2 small beds yesterday.
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Blue potatoes are wonderful and local corn has started.
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Your onions look great. The blue taters are interesting, looks like a great meal. :thumbsup:
Onions!!!!
Great looking onions 21. Do you have a fertilizer program or is that strictly compost producing that kind of results?
Swamp your onions look to be coming along quite well too.
We battled the weeds in ours but well get a decent crop in the end.
6 pints of pepper relish fresh out of the canner. Uses 6 lbs of bell peppers and 1-1/2 lbs of onions. ffsmiley
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/pepper-relish-Jul-2024.jpg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=354834)
On my onions I use mostly rotten manure and very light fertilizer when planting and another light toss 4-6 weeks later. Triple 10.
Freezing eggplant today. Those Rosa Bianca are soo sweet and freeze excellent
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Quote from: newoodguy78 on July 25, 2024, 10:37:15 AMGreat looking onions 21. Do you have a fertilizer program or is that strictly compost producing that kind of results?
Swamp your onions look to be coming along quite well too.
We battled the weeds in ours but well get a decent crop in the end.
Compost. I put 5 buckets of compost in each bed. I tried some fertilizer from the Amish store a couple years ago and they grew too big too fast and did not store well or have the same crispness. Compost seems to be the best fertilizer and keeps them around 2 pounds with long storage and nice texture. The Ailisa Craig's will grow to 5 pounds but the bigger the shorter the storage life. I plant them so close there's no room for weeds.
Quote from: thecfarm on July 24, 2024, 08:58:31 PMOnions!!!!
You need some? They go great with steak when caramelized ffcheesy.
I'm going to do some hot pepper pickles later when my flaming flares turn red, mix with jalapenos. Love hot peppers on meat sandwiches.
21 your observations on compost vs fertilizer is great to hear. I've noticed the same when using compost and backing away from chemical fertilizer, the plants and the fruit they produce are simply stronger and have a better shelf life.
Been messing around heavily for the past 5 years trying to step away from conventional methods. I'm really starting to see drastic improvements in yields and quality of product. The commercial mindset when growing on large scale is quite similar to being stuck in a downward spiral. There's always a new product that will "fix" the current problem. What they don't tell you is the 6-8 other major issues that will arise because of it. Bringing it back to basics and focusing on legitimate soil health pays off, takes awhile yet in the end it's well worth it.
Yes, yields are much better with compost or rotten composted manures. My squash and cukes grow twice as large as advertised and yield more. Tomatoes yield more as well. My beans are big crops to, you couldn't imagine how many beans can grow on 2 - 15 foot rows. Way more than we can use and I eat beans most every day in season, we freeze some and can never use half of them. I have nicer onions to, and the kind I grow last until we've eaten them all, which is usually by April. Just look at the regenerative farmers, their yield is higher per acre and the soil isn't sterile. I use very little fertilizer. A bag lasts me years.
Quote from: newoodguy78 on July 26, 2024, 12:03:16 AM21 your observations on compost vs fertilizer is great to hear. I've noticed the same when using compost and backing away from chemical fertilizer, the plants and the fruit they produce are simply stronger and have a better shelf life.
Been messing around heavily for the past 5 years trying to step away from conventional methods. I'm really starting to see drastic improvements in yields and quality of product. The commercial mindset when growing on large scale is quite similar to being stuck in a downward spiral. There's always a new product that will "fix" the current problem. What they don't tell you is the 6-8 other major issues that will arise because of it. Bringing it back to basics and focusing on legitimate soil health pays off, takes awhile yet in the end it's well worth it.
Most people have no idea what food should taste like. Definitely higher quality with compost. Have to make your own and be sure no horse manure is used in it. I just use vegetation in mine.
Up here the big farmers just use gmo's, roundup, and heavy fertilizer applications to get tremendous harvests of crap that goes in commercial food products. I can't believe people eat the stuff. That's why we grow our own.
First string beans will be served tonight, with fresh carrot and beets. Been enjoying fresh cucumbers, and plan on doing 6 pints of dill pickles this weekend. ffsmiley Lots of tomatoes, none ripe yet. But they are trimmed up so sunlight and air can get through the vines.
Swamp nice work getting the tomatoes up where the sun and breeze can get them. As you know that job pays off. Time it takes is a small fee for the best fungicide and pesticide available...good ol' sunshine and breeze.
This weather has my corn going gang busters, can't stay ahead of it. Excellent eating good looking stuff too ffcool Had 330 dozen picked bagged and loaded before 5:30 this morning. Starting to get noticed by a few potential buyers which is nice.
The darn tomatoes get to be more like trees. Lots of tomatoes on them. But I'd prefer plants no more than 3 feet tall, not 5 or 6. They get very little fertilizer in the spring, no more than I'd use 40 years ago. That composted manure must be rich stuff, as they have grown like this now for the last 6 years. But there is more soil supplementation added besides manure. That old garden used to be pretty run out, not now. ffcheesy I see a few cantaloupe fist sized, I can only eat 3 or 4 when they get ready, man they are some sweet and juicy compared to imported hard tasteless things. ffwave I have not seen any cucumber beetles at all this year and last year they were few and far between. I don't spray any chemicals.
My onions from sets are dying down now. I blame the seed, I think it was full of disease. I was not too impressed by them. I think I got most of their trash bulbs. I won't buy any more sets, just start my own from seed. Way heathier onions.
I don't think local corn is quite ready here, but not too far off. The corn I see mostly is feed or oil seed corn and it is all cobbed out. The neighbor's garden corn might be ready now, he had it planted real early, we was just lucky we had a rare spring we didn't get late frost. His corn is also sheltered.
My garden is a disaster. Had 2 beds of beans ready to pick last Sunday ( at least 2 -5 gallon buckets) but I came down with that new covid that's going crazy in our area. Spent the whole week suffering on the sofa with a high fever taking Paxlovid and sleeping. This was no fun but today I may be able to make it to the garden to see if any beans are salvageable. My wife has covid just as bad now. Only good thing is I lost 8 pounds. I have 300 to 400 pounds of tomatoes turning red and have to try to get what the squirrels haven't chewed picked. Probably have zucchini sized cukes out there now. Being sick means we didn't eat the veggie drawers full of beans, squash, peppers, okra, and lettuce so that will all be heading to the compost. Harvest time is the worst time of the year to get sick. Good thing about gardening is what you can't use just goes in the compost to feed next year's crop. Thanks for sending us down more smoke this year.
Sorry to hear that you have been sick.
You are right on the compost part.
Like I say, there is always next year. :wacky:
I could smell smoke here, but they are also burning debris piles from land clearing and Christmas tree stumps/brush to. If we get a SE wind, the whole community is full of smoke off them land clearing fires. You guys must be getting something out of Quebec in NY. Nothing for forest fires around here currently, never been dry. Currently no fires on the fire watch site and can burn anywhere, no bans.
Hope you get over the dose, you've had it a few times, no virus is much fun. The worst I had was some flu about 45 years ago. The smell of food made me puke and toothpaste tasted really weird. I was out of commission for about 3 weeks, ached all over and taking a bath was a chore.
A batch of dill pickles. There's a pile of cucumbers down in the garden and will be a bigger pile as the smaller ones size up this week. Unbelievable yield.
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Dillweed, 5 feet tall.
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These cantaloupe are around 5" wide now. 3 this size and 3 around 3" wide. Got some more growing to do. :thumbsup:
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What variety on the cantaloupes, Aphrodite?
Halona. Heavy yielding of 5 lb fruit in 75 days from transplants. Intermediate resistance to Fusarium and mildew.
https://www.veseys.com/ca/halona.html
Have you ever tried sugar cubes? They do well for us. Much smaller fruit, a big one is softball size. They tend to be sweeter than others. Hardest part about selling them is getting people to try them initially. If you aren't familiar with them you'd think they were either picked too early or just didn't do well.
Once someone tries them they're usually hooked.
One of my favorite summertime treats is half a cantaloupe with all the vanilla ice cream it'll hold.
No I have not, and I have not grown cantaloupe for more than a couple years. I tend to use varieties that have been in trials by Veseys or McKenzie for our climate. They do sell a smaller cantaloupe. I don't get big into it because I'm only going to eat 2 or 3 cantaloupe to start with and give brother a couple, and maybe a neighour, depending on my mood and of course, yield. I'm on the microscale. ffcheesy
Is this thing a cucumber or zucchini? It's 15" long. I picked another variety the other day, it was twice as fat and just as long. ffcheesy And they ain't old passed due cukes either, still young and good eat'n.
I'm sure there are prettier faces to look at to. I'm not as beautiful as I once was. ffcheesy ffcheesy
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Depends on the taste. :wink_2:
The shape looks like the Japanese cukes we grow. Can get 2ft long. Seeds stay small. Good eating but not good for pickles
This one is a burpless cucumber, garden sweet, they are called. These are actually bigger than advertised. Which is normal for how stuff grows here. ffcheesy
Thought I'd throw this out to any members that might be interested in some sweet corn either for freezing or just to enjoy.
I'm kind of over run with it and will be through Labor Day unless something drastic happens. This is not an attempt to make money it's simply trying to pass it forward. If someone wants some and insists on paying they can send the money to Jeff and Tammy or I'll figure their address out and get it to them.
The corn is in southwestern Massachusetts. I can have it bagged and ready for pick up or show you where it is and you can pick.
Feel free to send a PM and I'll give you my number.
Mustard bean pickles, a 7th jar busted in the canner. Happens. :wink_2:
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Also made 6 pints of hot pepper rings.
6 pints of golden relish, chopped peppers, ground onion and cukes. Prepared the same way as what we locally called 'Lady Rose' relish. It's in the Bernardin canner book, probably Ball to, Grandma's Golden Relish. I had a pint left over for the fridge that I never put in the canner.
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Well finally got out in the garden today and found some nice stuffing peppers to freeze
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About 40 pounds of green beans have to go in compost because they are too big to eat or freeze. Finally started feeling better today after over 3 weeks. Last week had 2 almost good days and then the covid came back fast. I got something called Paxlovid rebound where it feels like covid is going away after finishing the Paxlovid and then it comes back fast and just as bad. Something that can happen from the Paxlovid my doctor didn't warn me about. I am done taking anything from Pfizer at this point.
I also picked a bunch of 3 to 4 pound tomatoes plus a bunch of small ones that just touched the surface. There are a couple hundred pounds of them ready to pick so hopefully next week will be sauce making time.I had to cut 3 feet tall weeds to get my garden gate open first. What a mess my yard is.
I have to drive to Rochester tomorrow to pick up a freight shipment that has been sitting at the terminal so that will surely be an adventure that probably does me in. Hopefully my new tractor will arrive in 2 weeks so I can get fall cleanup started and start moving wood up.
New tractor!!!!! ffsmiley
What kind, hp?
Attachments?
Quote from: thecfarm on August 14, 2024, 08:00:52 PMNew tractor!!!!! ffsmiley
What kind, hp?
Attachments?
I wound up going with Kioti. I sold my little old 20hp Deere in the beginning of July and started looking for a cab tractor. Deere and Kubota were not in my budget so looked at Kioti, Tym, and LS Korean tractors. It came down to a 48 hp TYM 474 cab DPF or a 25 hp Kioti Ck2620 cab model with no DPF were in my budget and about the same price with hydro, 2 rear remotes, a 3rd function, air, and heat. Decided to go with the Kioti because it is Kubota quality, fit, and finish with no DPF plus I like the dealer better. It has 1900 pound loader lift and is just over 5000 pounds with loader and loaded tires. Only 25 hp with mechanical injection but will work for my needs. Wanted a cab because ticks are a problem now and bad mosquitoes along with deer flies in the lower section I mow. Also too old to be cold in the winter when cleaning up snow anymore. I have a grapple sitting at a freight terminal for it and a set of real pallet forks ordered. Looking for a small offset flail bank mower now. My old sickle bar mower, post hole digger, box blade, landscape rake, and 3 point snow blower will work on it also.
Supposed to be at the dealers the end of the month and they need a week to assemble, prep, load tires, and add the 3rd function so should be delivered beginning of September. Took a while to convince my wife that I
needed wanted a tractor that costs more then out first house.
Those peppers will keep you busy. But sounds like the tomato crop will be keeping you busier. :thumbsup: ffsmiley I have had maybe 4 ripe ones so far off smaller varieties. Just now they will all turn and be getting busy. I made relish and pickles all last weekend, this weekend more blackberry jam will be made. I remove the seeds in the mill.
Them Kioti tractors are a good little tractor as far as I'm concerned. :thumbsup:
Yes, rebound from Prolaxid was reported a long time ago, even here in one of the COVID threads it was mentioned. Some people have taken it and never had the rebound. And la-de-da, as if it don't happen. Percentage wise I'd have no clue. They only want you to know so much, but would also depend on if it was recorded to whomever keeps score. ffcheesy
You will like that cab. :wink_2:
This year's garden has been the best ever. I attribute that to moving the garden to the area that was my brush and stump burning pit for almost 20 years. All that soil collected underneath the stumps must contain the right nutrients. Probably high in potash. We are 6 miles south of Canada about 50 miles north of Swampdonkey. Aroostook County is not known for growing watermelons yet we currently have 6 looking like will make it before frost. I read where tomatoes don't play well with others and isolated them in the old garden by themselves. Should have some next week. A neighbor gave me some extra spaghetti squash plants. Mine produced and their's didn't. :wacky:
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Yes, it's been an excellent year for garden up here. The onion sets didn't do well (poor sets to begin with), but the onions from seed I started are doing very well. I've used a lot in relishes already. The squash has overtaken the garden, and climbed 4 feet of fencing. Peppers have been a bumper crop, lots of tomatoes, but still mostly green. Lots of nice beats, pickled some, just eating them from the garden until we get tired of them. Carrots are excellent. Beans galore, picked a potato basket full last weekend and made mustard bean pickles, eating them every day. Dill weed here is like a forest. I can remember grandmother growing it, but it usually grows about 3 feet high, not 5 or 6. I should go in the dill pickle business with all the cucumbers and dill weed around here on tiny patches of land. We only make so much, have to be practical about it. What we have will last until next garden. I'm hoping them maters ripen soon, there's ketchup and sauce to be made. But I pick tomatoes here into October. Frost seems much later now in fall. I'm keeping my eye on the cantaloupe, probably be 3 more weeks before I chew into them. Hoping for 4-5 lbs size.
20240815_123604.jpg20240815_123625.jpgMater sandwich today. Had to use one of the smaller tomatoes to fit the bread. I can finally taste them :smitten:
I like to throw a ring of bell pepper in there on ham and cheese, nice and crunchy. I think better than lettuce. :sunny: :thumbsup:
My bigger tomatoes are a lb, possible 1-1/4 lb'ers. A 1 pounder is a huge tomato.
Froze 14 quarts of tomatoes. Just blanched, skinned, and chopped. Love those chamber sealers. No more spending hours canning.
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Next batch will make sauce and freeze. The big tomatoes in the garden started splitting open and rotting so lots will become compost now due to not picking on time.
I prefer canning. All those jars sitting there to look at. :thumbsup:
I'm noticing the cantaloupe are nearly 4 lbs now, another 2-3 weeks and they'll probably be ready. Sept 8 or 10 ball park. ffsmiley Going to get some nice rain here for 2 or 3 days, but on the cool side. Warm up by Friday.
Looks like the green squash is 5 lbs or so and the ripe ones look to be 6-10 lbs this year. Which is above average for the variety, package says 4-5 lbs.
Just went out to find this. 3 inches ffcheesy
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The last couple days have been really rainy. All the big tomatoes split open from it and are rotting now. O well, less to worry about.
Adopted a new dog Saturday. A Corgi that is 4 and extremely smart. She's my new garden helper. We got on a list at the adoption center after the last dog we adopted there 2 months ago had to be put down 2 weeks after we got her due to a hereditary disease with no cure. Perfect match for us because she doesn't like cats or young kids. That's why she was surrendered. Corgis have a tendency to try and herd young children :thumbsup:.
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3" is a good drink of water. Haven't had more than a few showers here so far, I think there is 3/10 "in the gauge so far. The woods was mostly dry today, water not getting below canopy. Pants were mostly dry. Seems do be a more substantial shower right now.
The tomatoes here have oranged up a bit, picking a ripe one now and again. Sauce making can't be too far away now.
Picked a 6 lb squash yesterday. I picked 4 gallons of tomatoes this week, will be that much more by Friday. Planning on some type of sauce, maybe ketchup, this coming weekend. Takes 24 lbs for the recipe, when cored, 6 pints. I've eaten a few this week, got one nice one I set aside today for ham sandwich with cheese in the bucket this week for the woods. All kinds of peppers, we'll freeze a few, probably give some to the Mexican crew working for my cousin next door. :sunny: :thumbsup:
Mother pulled some of the onions today, a few 1 lb'ers in there. There's some over a lb to. There's always a few smalls as well, but over all I'd say a good crop of nice onions. An old withered hand for scale. :wink_2:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/onions-August29-2024.jpg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=355357)
8 pint jars of ketchup. Waiting on some pasta sauce to boil down a little more, this batch is a hot one with some flaming flare red peppers in the mix.
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Hot pasta sauce bottled up, 5 - 750 ml jars.
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Quote from: SwampDonkey on August 31, 2024, 01:01:53 PMHot pasta sauce bottled up, 5 - 750 ml jars.
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Dang, you guys up there use metric canning jars :huh?. Do they use the same lids as ours?
Yes, same lids. Those are old pasta bottles we've saved over the years instead of buying. They are ~1.5 pints roughly. Our litre here is a little bigger than your quart. We often get stuff with weird amounts instead of 1/4'ers or 1/2's. Like 946 ml instead of 950 ml or 1 litre. That indicates a US product or US bottle. Same with your a pint, it's short of few ml. We can buy full 500 ml jars, we just call them pints. ffsmiley Also, an imperial pint is 20% bigger than a US pint. Everybody has to be different. It's the same way with spinning and plying yarn, the count and ply are reversed up here. 8/2 cotton is US, 2/8 is Canadian. Same yarn. The Bernardin canning book is a mix of metric and US measures.
My garden has turned out ok this year, 2- 4*8 raised beds and a couple small containers. I'm amazed at how much I can grow in a small space. I've grown:
Radishes, carrots, lettuce x 3 varieties, tomato x 3 varieties, bell pepper, jalapeno, poblano, yellow squash, zucchini, cucumber, dill, basil, red onion, green onion, sugar snap peas, garlic, winter squash, kohlrabi, spinach, and experimenting with eggplant, and marigolds.
I've canned 12 quarts of pickles with a quick mix, 2 more quarts of refrigerator pickles, and I'm working on a few quarts of fermented pickles now. The bell peppers and jalapeno aren't very big this year, wet cool spring. Tomatoes are finally getting ripe.
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Got any black buckets for the peppers? Or any way to lay down black plastic?
Peppers love the heat!!!
We've eaten a couple garden cantaloupe this week, gave one away to a cousin. They are some juicy and sweet. My goodness. :sunny: ffsmiley
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:thumbsup:
My Father would of liked to see them.
Got 4.5 gallons of tomato puree I'm boiling down for sauce this morning. ffsmiley
11 more 750 ml jars of mild spaghetti sauce today. ffwave
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This year's squash harvest off of my small patch. We picked and cooked 3 others the size of them at the top round of the wheel barrow. We made a couple pies to. They's dry squash when cooked up to, you almost need a lb of good butter on them. ffsmiley
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And the grand champion of the bunch this year is... ffcool
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BBQ sauce
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More 750 ml pasta sauce jars.
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This is the 2nd watermelon from the garden. I had given it to a friend yesterday and asked him to send me a picture of the inside when he got home. He said it was sweet and full of water. The first one we had last week was pink on the inside and some sweetness but not ready. It broke off the vine while I was inspecting the underside so had no choice but to try.
Cold nights are going to slow growth on the rest of them. Hope to get a few more before frost.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13635/1000008030.jpg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=355828)
We sure enjoyed this years cantaloupe. ffsmiley
Have some beans coming in. Scarlet runners are our favorite
https://youtu.be/nObDYeo8CuY
Nice crop of beans. We eat baking beans (we bake soldier or yellow eye). A friend just gave us big bag of soldier beans for this winter. Saturday noon dinner with biscuit or corn bread. :thumbsup:
Canned 6 - 1 litre jars of tomatoes this morning. Had enough I coulda canned 4 more, but 6 is plenty enough. ffsmiley
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/canned-tomatoes-Oct12-2024.jpg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=356051)