Let's see those '11 gardens!

[jjirons69]

Great work there, Wayne!

I have ~100 yellow and white onion sets in the ground (a week now). Have crookneck squash starting indoors. I'll plant the squash, cukes, and pole beans by 3/19 or 3/36. The tomatoes and peppers will go in the week of 4/2 or 4/9.

[wayner123]

Originally Posted by jjirons69

Great work there, Wayne!

I have ~100 yellow and white onion sets in the ground (a week now). Have crookneck squash starting indoors. I'll plant the squash, cukes, and pole beans by 3/19 or 3/36. The tomatoes and peppers will go in the week of 4/2 or 4/9.

Do you find it takes a while for the peppers to germinate? Mine have been running at 2 weeks before I see anything. I know it has to do with heat and all, but still 2 weeks seems a long time.

[jjirons69]

Originally Posted by wayner123

Do you find it takes a while for the peppers to germinate? Mine have been running at 2 weeks before I see anything. I know it has to do with heat and all, but still 2 weeks seems a long time.

Sorry, Wayne, never checked back to the thread. It does take peppers quite a long time. Two weeks is not unusual. The warmer you can keep them, the better (75-80F). By now, you should have plenty of peppers...hopefully.

Planted everything on 4/9. Here's the list:

4 - Celebrity tomatoes (2 to the hill)
4 - Better Boy tomatoes (2 to the hill)
1 - Sweet 100 cherry tomato
4 - crooked neck squash (3 to the hill)
100s of yellow and white onions
1 - monster jalapeno (5+")
3 - jalapeno (2 to the hill)
2 - California bell peppers (2 to the hill)
trellised Marketmore cukes (30-40)
trellised 2-3' asian cukes (15-20)
1 - volunteer cannonball pumpkin from compost this winter

Thanks to Shiala's post a couple years ago, I've quit tilling. I put all my lawnmower clippings and fall leaf grindings in the garden. Have been doing this for 2 years now. The mulch is 3" deep in areas. Keeps the plants moist, the heat down, keeps the walking areas free of mud, and contributes to tons of earthworms. It's also a breeze to weed, when one can manage to poke through all the mulch. Planting is a cinch, as the soil is always moist, dark, and rich. Now I just loan out my tiller.

Also have a 4'x4' compost bin (2' deep in mature compost) that has 10-15 grown potato plants. I tossed old Irish potatoes in it this winter and they've thrived into mature plants. They should be ready to harvest in about a month. Novel idea I'll do again next year!



Onions have the mulch cleared back to prevent rot:



My mint and leeks garden:

Spearmint
Kentucky mint
Chocolate mint
Curly Mint

Love those mojitos!



Varmint guard dog and obsessive fetcher - Fritz

[OHRD]

This has been a blast to watch - our boys have loved it too. No idea if we got the right packet of onions - just whatever Lowe's had. We are in Middle GA...they are still inside but will go outside soon I guess - we've been having weather in the 70s here lately...

[wayner123]

Originally Posted by OHRD

This has been a blast to watch - our boys have loved it too. No idea if we got the right packet of onions - just whatever Lowe's had. We are in Middle GA...they are still inside but will go outside soon I guess - we've been having weather in the 70s here lately...

Check out the packet and see if it said what the onions were and I can try and tell ya if they are he correct variety for your area.

I started doing mine last year with my daughter and it's been fun. I have read and read and read a lot too. Asked some veteran gardeners around here their ideas too.

Lettuce with kids is always fun too. It grows very fast and does well in shade.

Knocked down the first layer of weeds. Spread a thin layer of ashes in all the boxes and worked it in. Got the manure in the back there ready to deal with.

[thebayratt]

I got a dozen or so of Lima beans comming up. About 50+ bush green been plants up. A few hundred carrot and oinion seedlings popping up. Got 5 cucumber vines and 4 bush cucumbers comming up. Just planted some asparagus in a new raised bed Tried soy beans this year for the first time; a few of them are sprouting up. I'm growing them to try and make some edamame.
Pics to come soon.

[wayner123]

Originally Posted by thebayratt

I got a dozen or so of Lima beans comming up. About 50+ bush green been plants up. A few hundred carrot and oinion seedlings popping up. Got 5 cucumber vines and 4 bush cucumbers comming up. Just planted some asparagus in a new raised bed Tried soy beans this year for the first time; a few of them are sprouting up. I'm growing them to try and make some edamame.
Pics to come soon.

What variety are you growing?

[Skywalker]

Looking good, Lance!

In my garden: The soil is ready, but only the strawberry plants are growing (they survived the winter).

I will be planting soon!

[thebayratt]

Originally Posted by wayner123

What variety are you growing?

Soybean Early Hakucho
Glycine max Early Hakucho

[shilala]

I got my seeds, but my light stand is in a pile in the basement. I don't have a garden yet, and I can't get it laid out until I move the shed down to the bottom of the back yard.
Quite honestly, if I get a garden in this year, it'll be a miracle.
If I don't, it'll be the first time in 24 years. I'm sure we'll figure something out. I need to get a move-on.

[Mr B]

Originally Posted by shilala

I got my seeds, but my light stand is in a pile in the basement. I don't have a garden yet, and I can't get it laid out until I move the shed down to the bottom of the back yard.
Quite honestly, if I get a garden in this year, it'll be a miracle.
If I don't, it'll be the first time in 24 years. I'm sure we'll figure something out. I need to get a move-on.

Scott, as a little encouragement, I missed a year of veggie garden 1 time in the 19 years I have been growing. It was the loneliest season my back yard has ever had lol.
I missed it so much. Try to get it going brother. You wont be sorry.

[Mr B]

Nice pics Lance. Jealous of the size of your garden space!
My back is not looking forward to working in the amendments.

[wayner123]

Originally Posted by Mr B

Nice pics Lance. Jealous of the size of your garden space!
My back is not looking forward to working in the amendments.

You should look into compost/worm tea. I don't have experience with it yet, but from what I have read, it should do wonders for less than stellar soils. It's much easier as well, until you can get your soil where you want it.

Here is a video on the comparison of tomatoes grown in "trash" soil: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fol5i..._order&list=UL

[Mr B]

Originally Posted by wayner123

You should look into compost/worm tea. I don't have experience with it yet, but from what I have read, it should do wonders for less than stellar soils. It's much easier as well, until you can get your soil where you want it.

Here is a video on the comparison of tomatoes grown in "trash" soil: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fol5i..._order&list=UL

Thanks for the link. I was following the Compost Tea posts form Richard (Tzaddi) last season. Will have to look into that.

Originally Posted by Mr B

Thanks for the link. I was following the Compost Tea posts form Richard (Tzaddi) last season. Will have to look into that.

I would be happy to share what I know regarding Actively Aerated Compost Tea. Clean de-chlorinated water, a healthy and diverse set of microbes contained in some quality compost, plenty of air, (2 lpm per gallon= aerobic) and a microbe (activator) food recipe)

I recently completed the design and construction of my first 30 gallon Brewer.


Here is a link to additional construction photos.
http://gallery.me.com/tzaddi#100913

As well a link to my friend and mentors page, containing links and information about said Tea.
http://reddingcomposttea.com/

With the new place here in Redding I have been moving slowly, having yet to establish my garden area.

It has been a while since I have participated fully but I will try and keep up. Fell free to contact me directly.

[wayner123]

Here is my row garden:



What I am most surprised at, is that I am getting anything to grow at all. Florida is mostly sand, and I barely did anything to remedy the soil before hand. I just keep adding compost tea and letting mother nature work.

As you can see, the early straight neck and the crookneck summer squash are already fruiting. I don't know how you guys get such large squash plants, but as long as mine keep producing fruit, I am ok with little green.

Almost all of my sweet peppers died. I don't know why, but I assume it was ants. Oh well, the bell peppers are doing ok right now.

You can't really see, but those pole beans are almost over my 7' high trellis. I am amazed at how those things grow.

My European melons are doing well now. It took a while for them to start growing, but they seem to grow an inch or more everyday now.

I'll have to get some pictures of my soybeans. I am not sure if they are going to survive. The entered the nitrogen fixing stage and seemed to have a hard time coming out of it. So we shall see.

[Smokin Gator]

Got my yellow squash, okra, and cukes in the ground. I put up an 18 inch chicken wire fence around the garden this year. We are letting our chickens free range a lot more know and they would love to eat these seedlings!! We went a little over board on the tomatoes this year. I may be canning lots of salsa and spaghetti sauce.

[thebayratt]

Left row is carrots. Back row is Lima beans. Rows 2-4 are green bush beans. The rest is soy beans.



Fist half is vibe cucumbers. Trying out a new trellis idea also. The back half is bush style cucumbers. The 1st half is for the family, the last half is for me (to pickle).



Asparagus plot. New this year, was unaware it grows for about 10+ years, and you not supposed to harvest the first year.

[thebayratt]

Plants are comming up quite nicely!



Cucumbers:


Beans:


Carrots, Beans, SoyBeans, Limas on back row


Asparagus:


The whole deal: