***What's growing? The official garden thread***

PJPOWER

Think I’m going to try planting potatoes in the “potato bags”  this year too.  Any of you done this before?  Looks pretty uncomplicated.  I have some russet and Yukon gold seed potatoes waiting to be planted

lastexitlondon

I did potatoes in bags and it was a disaster. I found  they didn't  yield  much and  struggled to flower properly.  Maybe not enough water. But my main crop were great  in the  ground.

lastexitlondon

I have purple  sprouting. Broccoli and  sweet peppers growing at the  moment and seeds in for carrots. So far

PJPOWER

lastexitlondon said:

I did potatoes in bags and it was a disaster. I found  they didn't  yield  much and  struggled to flower properly.  Maybe not enough water. But my main crop were great  in the  ground.

Yeah, it will definitely be trial and error this go around.  I hear you do need to stay on top of the water.  We’ll see.  I’m just glad it is getting back into gardening season.  Gardening is so fulfilling and mood lifting (when it doesn’t get hailed out, lol)

rgambs

deadendp said:

rgambs said:

My spinach bed is ready to plant as soon as we get a break from the rain.  Quarantine is going to be pretty easy if we get flooded in lol
Got a half-ton load of compost that is waiting to spread, but first I'm going to run through with my weed dragon to blast out those weeds that are bouncing back from their winter roots.
Tiller won't start, so I'm going to have to get it fixed or I'm in for some rough weeks.

A weed dragon?! Tell me more!

I have some seedlings up. That middle section might get a transplant this weekend. 

Have you ever seen road crews doing hot-patch asphalt work with a big ass blow torch?  It's one of those.  It's a nice farm tool to have.  It isn't much use during the growing season, but it blasts the early weeds out, it's particularly good between tilling.  I also use it on my trap crops.  Separate and earlier than my true garden I plant brassicas and cucurbits.  I wait until the cucumber beetles and cabbage loopers come and get nasty and then I blast them all to ashes and then plant my cabbage and squashes.  It really cuts down on the annual infestation in a pesticide free garden.
https://youtu.be/5IT-0FRn8PY

Mine is bigger and more blasty than the weed dragon brand.  500,000BTU!

PJPOWER

rgambs said:

deadendp said:

rgambs said:

My spinach bed is ready to plant as soon as we get a break from the rain.  Quarantine is going to be pretty easy if we get flooded in lol
Got a half-ton load of compost that is waiting to spread, but first I'm going to run through with my weed dragon to blast out those weeds that are bouncing back from their winter roots.
Tiller won't start, so I'm going to have to get it fixed or I'm in for some rough weeks.

A weed dragon?! Tell me more!

I have some seedlings up. That middle section might get a transplant this weekend. 

Have you ever seen road crews doing hot-patch asphalt work with a big ass blow torch?  It's one of those.  It's a nice farm tool to have.  It isn't much use during the growing season, but it blasts the early weeds out, it's particularly good between tilling.  I also use it on my trap crops.  Separate and earlier than my true garden I plant brassicas and cucurbits.  I wait until the cucumber beetles and cabbage loopers come and get nasty and then I blast them all to ashes and then plant my cabbage and squashes.  It really cuts down on the annual infestation in a pesticide free garden.
https://youtu.be/5IT-0FRn8PY

Mine is bigger and more blasty than the weed dragon brand.  500,000BTU!

Nice!

rgambs

Peas, beets, spinach, and kohlrabi planted on Wednesday, and we got a nice warm rain last night!  My tiller is broken so I am doing all the ground preparation with a garden claw...good thing I have plenty of quarantime. Yuck yuck.

Seed starts for cabbage (very late, but oh well) peppers, tomatoes getting put together today.  
Need to get onions in the ground ASAP.  Little late already with such a mild winter and warm early spring.

deadendp

I cleared beds, weeded and pine needle mulched yesterday.  I can hardly move this morning.  The stuff I did looks great though! 

rgambs

deadendp said:

I cleared beds, weeded and pine needle mulched yesterday.  I can hardly move this morning.  The stuff I did looks great though! 

I need to feet and needlemulch my blueberries, maybe that's the excuse that will get me out of the next round of make believe with the 4 year old.

rgambs

Blueberry bushes are ferted and needlemulched.
The 'tiller is busted and the pandemic has gutted my garden budget.
No money to fix it or rent one.
The upside to no tiller is that hand turning is quiet, so I can hear the birds...or crank Gigaton through a pair of Marshalls and blast the birds right out of the trees.  

deadendp

rgambs said:

Blueberry bushes are ferted and needlemulched.
The 'tiller is busted and the pandemic has gutted my garden budget.
No money to fix it or rent one.
The upside to no tiller is that hand turning is quiet, so I can hear the birds...or crank Gigaton through a pair of Marshalls and blast the birds right out of the trees.  

I hear you. There's going to be some creative gardening going on. 

lastexitlondon

All to the sounds of gigaton

lastexitlondon

deadendp

Looks great, Rob!

rgambs

lastexitlondon said:

Hells to the YEAH good sir!  I love that natural tripod stake, I would throw a clear coat or some kind of sealant on that baby so it lasts...

rgambs

Shellac would probably be the most garden-friendly option.

rgambs

Or maybe just wax or teak oil or something.  It's just cool.

rgambs

rgambs

Raking out the spinach bed
Unloading compost
Composting the blueberries
Preparing the snap peas row

lastexitlondon

Its great medicine.  Yes good idea. I will wax it

vogonpoetbythelake

Wonderful to see your little one digging along.. that's a lot of soil to move!! You have inspired me to at least get my seeds started here...thanks for sharing!!

deadendp

Transplanting seedlings day!

deadendp

Chemlawn was at the neighbors today. In the 20+ years we have lived here, they have never had their lawn treated. Their yard borders our new garden bed. Perennials and vegetables. I now have to plant my vegetable plants in my flower beds in the backyard since I'm not a big fan of having my homegrown food sprayed with their chemical crap.

rgambs

deadendp said:

Chemlawn was at the neighbors today. In the 20+ years we have lived here, they have never had their lawn treated. Their yard borders our new garden bed. Perennials and vegetables. I now have to plant my vegetable plants in my flower beds in the backyard since I'm not a big fan of having my homegrown food sprayed with their chemical crap.

Yeah, I would be angry too.  That yard treatment shit is ignorant. I'll never understand the money and effort people put into their lawns, trying to eradicate dandelions and stuff.  

deadendp

Yeah, it was a big fat fuck you. He's most likely trying to kill everything I planted over there. (The fence we put up and the garden is all on our property.) He took down trees bordering our driveway and put up a big fat stack of wood along the neighbors garage...it a way that was leaning and was getting ready to roll right into our driveway and under our cars. The wood? It's from the huge oak tree that used to sit at the corner. It was 86' tall. He's a terrible neighbor. 

rgambs

This is my wacky setup.  I don't waste things so I've been using this half-deconstructed grow unit until the bulbs die and I can do something more conventional.  This is my last year, I'm done making do lol

deadendp

We completely understand using something until it is dead. 

I've got a lot of reuse going on. I have a garden window and a seedling warming mat. My husband bought it for me for about $4 maybe 15 years ago. Works like a dream. He said he had no idea what he bought, but it was flying off the shelf so he grabbed one. (At a discount store.) It would have been $25. Came with a window greenhouse tray and all of it sits into a styrofoam base. 

I am battling gnats. Never had them with my seedlings or transplants before. Everything is getting a gnat treatment tomorrow.  

Had to wait for the soil to dry out first. Have you ever had that problem? 

rgambs

deadendp said:

We completely understand using something until it is dead. 

I've got a lot of reuse going on. I have a garden window and a seedling warming mat. My husband bought it for me for about $4 maybe 15 years ago. Works like a dream. He said he had no idea what he bought, but it was flying off the shelf so he grabbed one. (At a discount store.) It would have been $25. Came with a window greenhouse tray and all of it sits into a styrofoam base. 

I am battling gnats. Never had them with my seedlings or transplants before. Everything is getting a gnat treatment tomorrow.  

Had to wait for the soil to dry out first. Have you ever had that problem? 

Ah, fuck, gnats, flies, mice, brown marmorated stink bugs...I live in a damn cesspool with all of them. 

hauntingfamiliar

Transplanted some lavender a few weeks ago into the earth from a neglected potted plant from the winter. I think it loves it's new freedom. The tips are turning bright purple and it smells amazing...

lastexitlondon

We have lavender under our apartment windows.  I love it.