Garden thread.

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

I'd love to see people doing stuff like that, though to be honest, in the city here there are already a lot of plantings done...Ithink they're done by the city, though.  Usually it s wildflower plots, etc, though there are some done in bright cannas, redbuds, and bradford pears.  One is in the median of one of the exits right downtown in kind of a run-down area, and it's just gorgeous with red cannas.

[glenn kangiser]

Interesting link, Daddymem.

We get limited on space a bit by deer -- gotta remain inside the fenced area, although the dogs have really improved things.  I don't think we have lost anything here this year since our dogs are a bit hyper and see anything that moves.

[muldoon]

Hoping to get some help with a problem.  Nearly everyday when I get home from work I walk around the back and check out my garden.  The last 3 days I have seen the tomatoes messed with, some stalks pulled down, after re-fixing them and wiring another support back in last night I asked my kids if they had been back there, nope.  This morning at 6am I go check on my way out - same thing bent down - one broken stalk.  (So I know its not the kids) Something is climbing in them or through them.  I dont own any pets right now, but I have had cats, possoms, squirrles, raccoons in the backyard from time to time in the past - but I didnt figure they would be causing a problem.  Any ideas on how to find out whats going on, or at least how to stop it? 

[glenn kangiser]

Raccoons will shred a garden - either getting food or just playing - Peternaps game cameras will tell you what it is.

I would see possums more as a kind of gentler thief that may just walk in and munch on a few things but not tear things up as much.

Gophers will eat the bottom off - usually carrots etc and leave the top falling over to die.

[benevolance]

I am a dumbass...

Really... as my garden really starts to grow I realize that I had the rows too close together... everything is growing like mad and it is a terrible mess as it is too close together...I cannot pluck weeds...

Where I have 3 rows I should only have 2.... I did thin out as much as  I could... spaced corn stalks 12 inches apart pulled mega amounts of okra from the ground this morning... So hopefully what is left will do better.

Anyone else have this problem?...Okay I am watering the garden daily...and we have half a dozen tomato plants....a couple of them are the small sweet cherry tomatoes.... Well every day when I see one or two of them red and ripe...I pluck em and eat em as I water...So there is never any to bring inside... not yet anyways

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

Hee hee... I always tended to overplant when I did row gardening.  I decided intensive raised beds were the way to go as I was always crowding everything anyhow!  I remember one year we had something like 65 tomato plants in a VERY small area... it became the tomato jungle, and there were small "footholds" where you could sort of climb through it to try to get to all the ripe tomatoes without damaging the vines.     The mosquitoes were always terrible in the tomato jungle in the morning and evening hours, so I'd pick during the hottest or windiest part of the day.  Worse yet, I only had about 10 tomato cages at the time, so they were spaced out throughout the plot and became sort of tomato pillars... the rest grew like some sort of impenetrable forest.

[glenn kangiser]

Just fertilize extra heavy, Peter to feed the too many plants and hope they outgrow the weeds.  You can also try to transplant rather than throwing them away.

[Redoverfarm]

benevolance several years ago a friend who had a fruit market gave me two flats of tomatos that he didn't sell.  Took them home planted and cared for them and they were all Cherry Tomatos.  The darn things came up the next couple of years voluntarily after I plowed the first year.  Kind of hard to slice up for sandwiches.

[benevolance]

we made our garden this year where the cherry tomatoes were last year... There never was a garden here and the soil was dry hard and generally poor.... So the thinking by me was that we would turn some of it up... mulch in some leaves and potting soil and grow tomatoes... and then turn that section into the garden this year...And then next to the garden we built a compost bin where we put down several feet of leaves and we dose them with water in hopes to turn that into a garden for next year...

But yeah we have had several volunteer cherry tomatoes pop up in the corn this year

Cherry tomatoes are hard to slice for sandwiches... but they are like candy sweet juicy and delicious

[Redoverfarm]

~PLANTING BY THE SIGNS~
~FIRST QUARTER~
During the first quarter of the moon plant the following:
Asparagus, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Barley, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Celery, Cucumbers, Corn, Cress, Endive, Kohl Rabi, Lettuce, Leek, Oats, Parsley, Onions, Spinach and seeds of flowering plants.
Avoid the first day of New Moon for planting, also the days on which it changes quarters.
~SECOND QUARTER~
During the second quarter of the moon plant:
Beans, Egg Plant, Muskmelon, Peas, Pepper, Pumpkin, Squash, Tomatoes, Watermelon.
When possible plant seed while the moon is in the fruitful signs of Cancer, Scorpio or Pisces. The next best signs are Taurus and Capricorn.
~THIRD QUARTER~
During the third quarter of the moon plant the following:
Artichoke, Beets, Carrots, Chicory, Parsnips, Potatoes, Radish, Rutabaga, Turnip, and all Bulbous flowering plants.
~FOURTH QUARTER~
During the fourth or last quarter of the moon turn sod, pull weeds, and destroy noxious growths, especially when moon is in the barren signs, Gemini, Leo, or Virgo.
Planting is best done in the signs of Scorpio, Pisces, Taurus, or Cancer, all of which are fruitful signs. In addition, astrologers aver it is best to plant all things which yield above ground in the increase of the moon; and all things which yield below ground,when the moon is decreasing.

Never plant anything in the barren signs, as they are only good for grubbing, trimming, deadening and destroying noxious growths.

For grafting, cut your grafts from good bearing trees at any time while the trees are dormant, from December to March. Keep them cool in a dark place, although not too dry or too damp, until time to use them. Do the grafting just before the sap starts to flow, while the moon is from new to full (first and second quarters), and while it is passing through the fruitful watery signs of Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces or the earthy, productive sign, Capricorn.

Planting or grafting done on Sunday will probably not succeed, as this day is ruled by the sun, and therefore considered a dry and barren day.

As the Zodiacal sign, Libra, represents beauty in form and color, being also an airy sign, it is considered the best for flowers. The seeds should be planted in the first quarter of the moon unless seed from the plant are desired, in which case use the period between the second quarter and full moon.


~REAPING and HARVESTING~
Pick apples and pears in the old of the moon and the bruised spots will dry up, where if they are picked in new moon the spots will rot.
Harvest all crops when the moon is growing old. They will keep better and longer.

Dig foot crops for seed in the third quarter of the moon. They will keep longer and are usually drier and better.

Grain intended for future use or seed should be harvested at the increase of the moon.

Fruits and vegetables gathered just before Full Moon in the second quarter will usually stand shipment much better than others.

[Daddymem]

Eating some of my first ever grown broccoli.  Yummy.  Too bad our recent heatwave caused some of it to bolt so we had to clip it early.  Hope the side shoots do us well.  Just wrapped up one cauliflower, waiting for some more.  Eating stuff you grew is sooooo satisfying.

[glenn kangiser]

That's great, Daddymem.  Even the stems are good if not tough.  Sure beats the stor bought stuff.

Very mystic, John.  Anything to it?  Logical - scientific?

[Redoverfarm]

Yeah Glenn the avid gardeners from the older generation swear by the signs.  Some will not plant otherwise.  Myself when I planted a garden (before I got into deer country) felt that maintenance worked the best.  Constant weeding, thinning and etc.. worked the best.

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

Well, our container garden is producing pretty well, considering how few plants we actually have.  We are getting enough tomatoes for salads every day, and I picked three cucumbers this morning.  Have gotten a couple of bell peppers.  Still really hoping that by some miracle our house sells soon and we can buy a place in time to get a good fall garden going.  I hate renting and I really don't like living in town.

[muldoon]

redover, thank you for posting that zodiac information.  I was talking with a man at the feed store last year about getting rid of mesquite brambels.  Its a rhyzome-ish root based tree that is near impossible to kill and keep killed.  The taproots can go down 25 feet and alsways be in water is what I have read.  Anyway, he claimed that getting rid of it by the zodiac was the only way.  He said his father in law knew the rules and they did it one summer and it never grew back.  He of course did not recall the timing but did vouche for the effectiveness.  Next time I go to cut and burn the stumps, I'll let the stars be lined up correctly - cant hurt, might help. 

Homegrown - my containers are doing great too, simple design, great results.  I have at least 4-5 cucumbers a week at the dinner table and more serranos than I know what to do with.  The first batch of tomatoes are reddening up now (I was overwatering them keeping them green for a while).  My bell peppers never did anything, great green looking plants - never a single bloom, never a pepper.. no idea what went wrong.  Best part of containers - no weeding! 

[ScottA]

Maybe if I'm real still he won't see me. My wifes flowers are doing well after all the rain we've had.

[PEG688]

  Updated garden photos ,

Spud patch , for new potatoes,











  Climbing Rose out by the shop , flowered this year but it's gone wild and changed color , no big deal really.




Where on our third crop of spinach , and about the same on lettuce, radishes and onions. Peas are not doing much this year cold spring , summer got here yesterday , it may stay awhile now . PNW has been colder than normal strawberry's and peas and other warm weather crops have been slow all around I hear.

[glenn kangiser]

The garden's looking great PEG.

I think you have us this year.  We got some bad seeds or birds picked off the new plants on a lot of stuff --Still lots there but not like it should be -- and I am lazy and unmotivated this year it seems.

[PEG688]

The garden's looking great PEG.

I think you have us this year.  We got some bad seeds or birds picked off the new plants on a lot of stuff --Still lots there but not like it should be -- and I am lazy and unmotivated this year it seems.

Humm with all the doom and gloom I figured you'd be plantin for "the end" or beginning of the end. I wonder where the stock market will go tomorrow      

[glenn kangiser]

I think were ok for the end -- still lots of stuff there -- the summer squash have never appeared - half the corn but lots of volunteer stuff, then there's always acorn and wood rats.  Deer too.

[benevolance]

Well I have cukes up to my eyelids...And the tomatoes are great... My corn is about dead ... The Cukes ran sideways and the runners wrapped around the corn and pulled on the stalks and only a few corn stalks remain...I might get 2 dozen ears of corn if I am lucky...Might not get any...

Squash are getting huge...Only planted a few squash plants and we have maybe 15 squash going...They love to run... they are clinging down the bank to the creek.  Potatoes are growing like Mad and so are the sweet potatoes.

I learned that fresh jalapeno Peppers are not to be picked and eaten raw off the vine unless you want to die. I pick and eat the cherry tomatoes daily...and now that the peppers are doing really well I thought I would pluck a jalapeno pepper... one about 4-5 inches long...I bit it in half and chewed it up quick... and then I almost died... The flavour was amazing before the inferno went off inside of me....Will be good for cooking I guess. My wife wants to make Salsa with our tomatoes corn and peppers...I dunno if we can pull off that miracle this year though

[PEG688]

Well I have cukes up to my eyelids...And the tomatoes are great... My corn is about dead ... The Cukes ran sideways and the runners wrapped around the corn and pulled on the stalks and only a few corn stalks remain...I might get 2 dozen ears of corn if I am lucky...Might not get any...

Squash are getting huge...Only planted a few squash plants and we have maybe 15 squash going...They love to run... they are clinging down the bank to the creek.  Potatoes are growing like Mad and so are the sweet potatoes.

  Where was the gardener when this murder took place Your suppose to move those vines as the grow  so that doesn't happen eh 


We don't plant squash any more , people started to avoid us cuz we'd be tryin to give them more free Zucchini's 

[PEG688]

I pulled those two rows of spinach ( it had started to go to seed , we got about 4 to 6  meals for two out of that batch)  , along with picking some peas . The neighbor gave us some crab he'd gone out and caught so we threw a steak on the BBQ and had a nice supper.

  So I planted two more rows of spinach , we have two coming on  ready to pick late in the week , and filled in some holes with iceberg lettuce.

 


Strawberries are finally riping ,

 

Had those with some vanilla  ice cream  and whip cream  the past two nights man those are good 

And the Grapes seem to be doing really well this year , last year we got two bunches for the first time the plants 4 or 5 years old and last season was it's first time to have fruit , this year looks better , I've found  lots of Grapes bunches    , so I know theres more in there 

 

[glenn kangiser]

Garden looks great PEG.  I an nearly sure the birds are eating our squash as the grow out of the ground as I replanted and till nothing.  The rest is doing decent though.

Wish I had been there to see you eat that pepper, Peter.  A wisacre at the phone co. years ago said I didn't have any peppers he couldnt eat -- probably about 1973.  It was so funny -- he bit the tip off -- it was OK as the tips were a bit mild.  He took a big ol' bite, chewed it up and the fireworks started.  He was a lot easier to get along with after that too-- guess he learned a bit of respect or something.  Maybe he didn't want any more of those peppers.

[benevolance]

Peg

the corn stalk murder was one of those relentless things that happened very quickly... I was sorting weeding and removing stringers from the corn daily... but I went away for 4 days a couple weeks ago and that was the kiss of death for the corn patch...over night the cukes would entangle my corn stalks...that quick and that relentless.

I have no problems with bugs... and I use no spray or chemicals...So maybe the cukes are good for the corn that way...But I know now to leave twice as much space between cukes and anything else I plant...

At the new place next year I will try a raised bed and let the cukes run down like a hanging garden type of thingy.... I will do the same with the sweet potatoes and squash