# 2022 gardens



## sonny580

Time to start the 2022 season garden thread guys! 
What are your ideas for this year? --- size of gardens, pots on porch, raised beds, containers, ---ALL are welcome here. 
Post your equipment, what varieties you like and what tillage methods you use and how you process and store your harvest. Thanks!


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## Abbeville TSI

After many years with no garden, I plan to have one this year. I have a few Troy-Bilt Horse tillers and a Wheel Horse 36" tiller and a couple of Wheel Horse tractors to mount it on. 
I want to grow kitchen herbs in big pots, and the usual row crops in the 30'x100' garden. Beans, cucumbers, caged tomatoes, okra &etc. Cabbage, collards and kale for cooler weather crops. 
God willing.


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## Backyard Lumberjack

our garden for 2022 is going full bore. as its 202 Fall Garden. lots of tomatoes still. sugar snaps did well. herbs doing great!


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## Backyard Lumberjack

these we picked green few weeks ago and put in bag with banana... it did the trick


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## Backyard Lumberjack

fresh sugar snaps and more to pick


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## Backyard Lumberjack

brussel sprouts, some cilantro, lettuce still in mobile nursery... some cilantro in ground. carrots continuing to do well... and harvested bok choy other day


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## Mad Professor

Far off for me . Below zero this week.

Last year was a real bad year. Too much rain. Voles were a problem too.

I have most seeds in hand. Tractor 2-bottom plow harrow 70s troybuilt.


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## Backyard Lumberjack

Abbeville TSI said:


> After many years with no garden, I plan to have one this year. I have a few Troy-Bilt Horse tillers and a Wheel Horse 36" tiller and a couple of Wheel Horse tractors to mount it on.
> I want to grow kitchen herbs in big pots, and the usual row crops in the 30'x100' garden. Beans, cucumbers, caged tomatoes, okra &etc. Cabbage, collards and kale for cooler weather crops.
> God willing.


i like my TB Horse. once i started following D. Raymond's gardening how-to's and guidelines... in his book The Joy of Gardening... i never needed another book other than to look at pictures once in awhile! lol. still have it. has been used for reviews thru the years. solid advice. it is still avail numerous sources. i highly recommend it, if only for adding to a good gardening library...






amazon

google Garden Way's Joy of Gardening

or the 'bay, etc


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## Abbeville TSI

Backyard Lumberjack said:


> i like my TB Horse. once i started following D. Raymond's gardening how-to's and guidelines... in his book The Joy of Gardening... i never needed another book other than to look at pictures once in awhile! lol. still have it. has been used for reviews thru the years. solid advice. it is still avail numerous sources. i highly recommend it, if only for adding to a good gardening library...
> 
> View attachment 957714
> 
> 
> amazon
> 
> google Garden Way's Joy of Gardening
> 
> or the 'bay, etc


That is a good book!


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## Mad Professor

Backyard Lumberjack said:


> i like my TB Horse. once i started following D. Raymond's gardening how-to's and guidelines... in his book The Joy of Gardening... i never needed another book other than to look at pictures once in awhile! lol. still have it. has been used for reviews thru the years. solid advice. it is still avail numerous sources. i highly recommend it, if only for adding to a good gardening library...
> 
> View attachment 957714
> 
> 
> amazon
> 
> google Garden Way's Joy of Gardening
> 
> or the 'bay, etc


Rhodales "Garden Problem Solver" is another good one


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## Backyard Lumberjack

Mad Professor said:


> *Rhodales* "Garden Problem Solver" is another good one


they put out some good ones, too.


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## esshup

I will be adding a few raised beds this year. Wanted to do it last year but the price of 2x12's scared me away. Then I found a way to make them from cinderblocks and I'll try that. Fill the blocks with dirt and plant marigolds in them too. My biggest problem is consistent watering, so I'll set up a drip system on a timer.


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## sonny580

Cinder blocks make excellent raised beds! --- also you can plant veggies in the holes around the outside of them. My friend does that in his and works great.
We usually plant wide rows that most people cant because of the lack of space. We do 4.5 acres so have room to wiggle a bit more.
The garden books focus on intensive planting which dont work for everybody but in a small garden it should do great.
The main thing that helps the most is compost, manures, etc. then plow it under deep. 
Tillage will depend on how much topsoil you have. Some only have 6 inches on top of bedrock where here I have 5 to 6 feet of black dirt on top of clay, so what I do here wont work for everybody.---like subsoiling 3 feet deep!
We have to develop a method that is compatable to the area we live in.
I love to see how the different areas have different seasons and crops! That is what makes this thread so interesting.


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## Backyard Lumberjack

today is brussel sprouts day. from mobile nursery to rows in the garden...

pick another trog of sugar snaps, too ~


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## Backyard Lumberjack

got my brussels in. 12 plants. seem to be off to a good start. liking this cool sunny weather. \










had been a row of a couple of tomato vines


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## farmer steve

Here's my list for planting this year. Cutting back to grow more soybeans.$$$$$
100 tomato plants. 
50 Roma tomatoes. 
About 500 green peppers and about 72 sweet Italian frying peppers.
4-5 acres of sweet corn.
About an acre of pumpkins and acorn squash.
1/2 acre of Indian corn. 
Around 100 zucchini and yellow squash.
Row or 2 of greenbeans.
Turnips.
Cucumbers and pickles.
Mixed bag of Cole crops for the fall.
The asparagus should start shooting up around mid April. (Planted that 26 years ago. )


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## sand sock

its realy early here to be even thinking garden yet. i want to try to do a better job mulching this year, so i dont need to weed. i have a bunch of loose straw up in teh mow. i'm thinking about backing a flat bed wagon in there, filling it up. then driving over tomatoes and laying the straw down, right after planting and see how that goes, for weed control.
plans for this year, is to put out a full flat of c alifornia wonder bells. maybe 12 tomato plants. other stuff gets added in as i can.

fertilizer is up 400% over last year locally. teh big guys are loading up a few acres of composting chicken manure. to put down for field corn this year for a nitrogen source. what ever is in my chicken coups, needs shoveled out and put on the corn fields. i have my piele on my feed lot of cow manure.to spread on my fields. i just need to selectively target my corn fields this year.


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## sand sock

grow something , you eat. i dont care what/






Farming Insider Warns The Coming Food Shortages Are Going To Be Far Worse Than We're Being Told | ZeroHedge


ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero




www.zerohedge.com


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## SweetMK

I have a TB Horse,, but, when I am REAL lazy,, the Gravely seems to be easier on me,, to operate.






The one on the left is a cultivator, which is what I use, mostly.
The one on the right is a rotary plow,,,,,,


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## SweetMK

Here is a pic of my SIL digging a ditch with a 8HP Gravely and a rotary plow.






When he bought that home, he needed all the ditches improved,, the Gravely dug hundreds of feet of ditch,,

We also dug several hundred feet of trench to put 4" pipe in for gutter runoff,,
The Gravely will dig 8" deep easily in two passes, perfect for gutter runoff, if it is just across lawn,,


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## farmer steve

sand sock said:


> grow something , you eat. i dont care what/
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Farming Insider Warns The Coming Food Shortages Are Going To Be Far Worse Than We're Being Told | ZeroHedge
> 
> 
> ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.zerohedge.com


I saw that on one of my farming pages. Scary to say the least. I'm trying to figure what to grow with the least input and still harvest a decent crop. Glad I have a barn full of sheep manure. Seeds on the other hand might be scarce for some. I plant soybeans in my vegetable crop rotation so i need to call my guy this week.


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## SweetMK

farmer steve said:


> Scary to say the least. I'm trying to figure what to grow with the least input and still harvest a decent crop.



For me,, and my soil/sunlight, corn, beans, and tomatoes always produce.
That is beyond the blackberries, and apple trees, which are basically zero effort, other than harvest.

I have a total of 14 family members that are close by, and benefit from my garden efforts.
If they want more than the basic 3,, someone is gonna have to kick in some assist effort,,, 

We will see who shows up,,,,,,,,,,,,


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## sonny580

Ya, its all over the internet about food shortages worldwide. Some is probably hype BUT with more waste that people are used to doing, --food will get scarce fast.
We have always had gardens , and put up our own food to run us from 3 to 5 years. Every year we add to the supply as needed during the growing season so we always have something to fall back on if we hit a barren year, --- and we have one every so often!
Its a lot of work, but the rewards are out of this world in flavor and the massive amount of what you can grow. Quality shows!
Help is non-exist usually, so one must factor that in as well.
I have 2 Gravely model L units, but only have the mower for 1 of them.
We have 10 tillers, mostly Horses. 1 TB Tuffy, 1 Econo Horse, 1 Simplicity 7016, AC 716 with the 36" rear mount tiller, and several front enders which dont get used much. The King-Kutter 72" does the heavy work before planting and the rest cultivate.
Also have a couple David Bradleys to cultivate with along with a cub and 1 row cultivator.
The biggest problem is with weeds and they grow the biggest right between the plants making hand weeding a must! And yes we have and use hand hoes!! LOL!!


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## sand sock

sweeet potatoes actually grow really well in our clay based soils. you till teh soil. then take a old fashioned rake and rake up the soil into a long raised furrow . as the season progresses, you run the tiller and rake up more soil a few times, till the runners take over. this is a full season crop and you have to dig them up at where you planted them. 

here is the catch on sweet potatoes. if you want them to store up. you have to get them dug up before the first frost.


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## Mad Professor

farmer steve said:


> I saw that on one of my farming pages. Scary to say the least. I'm trying to figure what to grow with the least input and still harvest a decent crop. Glad I have a barn full of sheep manure. Seeds on the other hand might be scarce for some. I plant soybeans in my vegetable crop rotation so i need to call my guy this week.


@farmer steve .

On the topic of seed.

I don't grow as much as You do but have been doing the garden/orchards since my parents taught me when I was a toddler. 

Local farm/feed store has bulk vegetable seeds which are way cheaper than the the packets, I buy by the ounce/pound. Some seeds last a long time, I buy a few years supply and store them carefully. Good to have as I remember 2020 when there was a run on seed due to covid/kung flu farce.

Get a good book on saving seeds. Some seed will last many years properly stored, others like corn don't last. 

The books will also tell you about pollination and weather it's easy or a PITA to save your own seeds. This only works with heirloom/non-hybrids. 

Things that are easy to save are lettuce, beans, parsley, spinach, .....tomatoes and peppers if you plant varieties a bit apart. Carrots and squashes will cross pollinate easily and are a PITA, carrots will cross with the weed, queen Ann's lace. 

I just started saving asparagus seed, long term effort as the first year plants are tiny and need care. 

Most brassicas are biennial except broccoli, and they can cross pollinate. The if you only grow one variety of non-hybrid broccoli you can save the seed and avoid cross pollination. I've also had good luck with kale, have same variety from my Mothers strain for many years. It's a biennial which you can overwinter ( I'm in zones 4-5). The 2nd year the kale will flower before the other brassicas get going and will produce pure seed. Two or 3 kale will produce enough seed for years (stores 5 years), and will also self seed and make "volunteer" plants you can overwinter.

Seeds that store long are: brassicas, squashes, beans, beets, lettuce, spinach, lettuce, raddish, turnip/rutabega, chard.........carrots tomato and pepper are intermediate but should be OK for at least 3 years, I've had them last longer.

Saving seed could be a whole sub-topic


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## farmer steve

@Mad Professor. Yes I store all my seeds in a freezer year to year. I have been saving Indian corn for at least 10 years. The Cole crops I buy plants just so I can get the varieties I want and they are ready to go in the ground. I found some grape tomato seeds that were more Than 7 years old and almost all sprouted this spring. I need to have viable seed so I'm in about a 3 year saving mode.


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## Backyard Lumberjack

sand sock said:


> *its realy early here to be even thinking garden yet.* i want to try to do a better job mulching this year, so i dont need to weed. i have a bunch of loose straw up in teh mow. i'm thinking about backing a flat bed wagon in there, filling it up. then driving over tomatoes and laying the straw down, right after planting and see how that goes, for weed control.
> plans for this year, is to put out a full flat of c alifornia wonder bells. maybe 12 tomato plants. other stuff gets added in as i can.
> 
> fertilizer is up 400% over last year locally. teh big guys are loading up a few acres of composting chicken manure. to put down for field corn this year for a nitrogen source. what ever is in my chicken coups, needs shoveled out and put on the corn fields. i have my piele on my feed lot of cow manure.to spread on my fields. i just need to selectively target my corn fields this year.


hi ss - think the weather channel said OH got over 15" snow.... omg


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## Backyard Lumberjack

SweetMK said:


> I have a TB Horse,, but, when I am REAL lazy,, the Gravely seems to be easier on me,, to operate.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The one on the left is a cultivator, which is what I use, mostly.
> The one on the right is a rotary plow,,,,,,


interesting


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## Backyard Lumberjack

Mad Professor said:


> Get a good book on saving seeds. Some seed will last many years properly stored, others like corn don't last.
> Saving seed could be a whole sub-topic


couple seasons ago i planted lima beans that were over 20 year old... solid germination, great beans.  kept them in refer all those years....


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## Backyard Lumberjack

my garden took a bit of hit due to cold temps/29f last nite. potatoes and bok choy limp. glad herbs in pots, they got brot in. but the brussles... lol, they seem to be saying... _'colder, please!'_ 

oregano seems unbothered, too.

cilantro covered, but cold rains now frozen... time will tell for them


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## sand sock

Backyard Lumberjack said:


> hi ss - think the weather channel said OH got over 15" snow.... omg


We had sustained drifts of 12 to 15. Maybe 8 real inches


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## sonny580

We had probably 8" total of snow, but drifts are something else! We have everything from bare ground to 12 feet deep, so no way to really say how much for sure other than a guess! lol!


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## Backyard Lumberjack

my carrot patch. some tops of carrot quarter size now...


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## Backyard Lumberjack

Texas 1015 onions doing well, too....




few days back. now thicker, larger and greener, too.


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## Backyard Lumberjack

bok choy


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## sonny580

Lookin good there! ---we just got over 3" of snow last night and tonights low s'posed to be 6* ! lol! I did get part of the onion garden raked off and ready to till when it dries off again. Onion plants will come the week of the 23'rd. --- may have to store them for a few days this year! lol!


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## Backyard Lumberjack

thanks! 

other day i got a surprise! packet said Brussels. got some time ago, but kept in cold storage... 

maybe it was a typo... lol
nope, not brussels


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## Backyard Lumberjack

last harvest from the sugar snaps patch... took close to an hr to be sure i got them. prob missed one or two. it was  time, too... lol






they have been on the dinner menu past couple nights....


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## Backyard Lumberjack

sonny580 said:


> Ya, its all over the internet about food shortages worldwide. Some is probably hype BUT with more waste that people are used to doing, --food will get scarce fast.
> We have always had gardens , and put up our own food to run us from 3 to 5 years. Every year we add to the supply as needed during the growing season so we always have something to fall back on if we hit a barren year, --- and we have one every so often!
> Its a lot of work, but the rewards are out of this world in flavor and the massive amount of what you can grow. Quality shows!
> Help is non-exist usually, so one must factor that in as well.
> I have 2 Gravely model L units, but only have the mower for 1 of them.
> We have 10 tillers, mostly Horses. 1 TB Tuffy, 1 Econo Horse, 1 Simplicity 7016, AC 716 with the 36" rear mount tiller, and several front enders which dont get used much. The King-Kutter 72" does the heavy work before planting and the rest cultivate.
> Also have a couple David Bradleys to cultivate with along with a cub and 1 row cultivator.
> The biggest problem is with weeds and they grow the biggest right between the plants making hand weeding a must! And yes we have and use hand hoes!! LOL!!


thanks for the glimpse! 

i have only one Horse! lol... still starts in less than one rev... and ticks over on idle sweetly and just purrs... B/S, swell machines...

(file pix)


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## Stonesforbrains

Finally got started on this years garden. Pepper seed started in the house and the wife has some herbs started. I have been growing a small batch of cabbage for the last couple years and those pesky cabbage worms have been really bad. Last year I tried the BT spray and it worked ok except for the rain washing it away. My wife bought me a used book last year called “Build it Better Yourself” I believe from the 70’s. Lots of great ideas in it and one of them was using a nylon mesh on a frame to keep those little white butterflies away from the cabbage heads. I used their idea to make my own type of mesh frame. I could not find nylon mesh so I got some fiberglass screen door mesh, $10 for a 4’x25’ foot roll. Built a frame from some scrap wood from my father in laws garage build and other crap laying around. Used a soaker hose to water with out having to disturb the mesh. I have know idea if it will work or if my effort was a complete waste of time. Planted 6 heads of cabbage and six cauliflower and some onion sets.


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## Backyard Lumberjack

Stonesforbrains said:


> Finally got started on this years garden. Pepper seed started in the house and the wife has some herbs started. I have been growing a small batch of cabbage for the last couple years and those pesky cabbage worms have been really bad. Last year I tried the BT spray and it worked ok except for the rain washing it away. My wife bought me a used book last year called “Build it Better Yourself” I believe from the 70’s. Lots of great ideas in it and one of them was using a nylon mesh on a frame to keep those little white butterflies away from the cabbage heads. I used their idea to make my own type of mesh frame. I could not find nylon mesh so I got some fiberglass screen door mesh, $10 for a 4’x25’ foot roll. Built a frame from some scrap wood from my father in laws garage build and other crap laying around. Used a soaker hose to water with out having to disturb the mesh. I have know idea if it will work or if my effort was a complete waste of time. Planted 6 heads of cabbage and six cauliflower and some onion sets. View attachment 973399


time will tell! when the bugs begin to rule, almost anything feasible is worth a try...


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## SweetMK

Backyard Lumberjack said:


> time will tell! when the bugs begin to rule, almost anything feasible is worth a try...


As far as bugs eating garden plants,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
*bugs are like humans, they prefer sugar to carbohydrates.
Who wants to eat broccoli, when you can have chocolate cake??*

I wondered why half of my potato plants were being eaten, and only the rows at the far end of the garden.
It turns out, that I had better prepared the soil at the near side of the garden. The plants at the far end were weaker, due to poor soil.

In researching, *I found that weak plants have MUCH more sugar in the top of the plant, trying to survive.
The healthy plants had the sugar stored down in the roots.* The healthy plants were LOADED with carbs, above the ground.
So, rather than "bug spray" the plants, I added nutrients to the soil.
That did it, no more potato beetles, they moved on as they were looking for sugar. *(THAT is why the bugs do not eat "weeds")

So, if you wonder why your garden has bugs, and your neighbor doesn't,,*
it might be time to *STOP putting chocolate cake out for the bugs.*
Make YOUR plants more healthy,* the bugs will move to someone else's plants!!*


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## Backyard Lumberjack

some tasty garden yields... fresh carrots, and arugula wraps...











green onion, onion patch onion leaf...


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## Mad Professor

Backyard Lumberjack said:


> time will tell! when the bugs begin to rule, almost anything feasible is worth a try...


f-in bugs still frozen here


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## Backyard Lumberjack

Mad Professor said:


> f-in bugs still frozen here


i wish! not here! clear indication Spring has arrived. already... mud dobbers, couple hornets, skitters, small night bugs....


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## John Lyngdal

I have 14 raised beds protected by deer fencing.
They got the rototiller last week and was able to plant onions, shallots, and peas yesterday.
Purchased a 16 lb. bag of triple 16 for $10 to supplement the contributions from the chickens and horses.


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## sonny580

Still raking and burning off last years stuff so we have clean ground to work with. Rain today but we got most of the 4.5 acres raked and burned. The onion area was the most important to clean up since it will be the first to be planted.
Guess we will start with 2 of the Horses and hope to have a few more fixed by late spring.
Most of the seeds we had to order have come, as has the jar lids , so we should be in decent shape for that. Now to be able to plant, weed, and grow something! lol!


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## Backyard Lumberjack

John Lyngdal said:


> I have 14 raised beds protected by deer fencing.
> They got the rototiller last week and was able to plant onions, shallots, and peas yesterday.
> Purchased a 16 lb. bag of triple 16 for $10 to supplement the contributions from the chickens and horses.


pricey fertz. well, imo... i always buy it at the co-op... 40# sack. 13-13-13. put some out about a week ago. for me, takes about 8-10 days to see the results. used to be around $12, but last i ck'd was 19ish... prob more now.


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## John Lyngdal

They always gig you for smaller quantities, but it doesn't hurt much if you just need a little.
I spread 10-20-20 on the pastures and I buy those in one tone totes at the co-op.
All in all, I think farmers are going to be facing significant price increases in agro-chemicals this year.
I was talking to the local hazelnut farmer and bulk round-up has almost trippled in price and it's not readily available even then.
I stocked up on pasture herbicides last year, and from the prices I'm seeing I'm really glad I did.


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## Stonesforbrains

sonny580 said:


> Still raking and burning off last years stuff so we have clean ground to work with. Rain today but we got most of the 4.5 acres raked and burned. The onion area was the most important to clean up since it will be the first to be planted.
> Guess we will start with 2 of the Horses and hope to have a few more fixed by late spring.
> Most of the seeds we had to order have come, as has the jar lids , so we should be in decent shape for that. Now to be able to plant, weed, and grow something! lol!


Ha! 4.5 acres is bigger than all my property! I wish I could rock a garden that big. Most of my 4 acres is woods with just about a one acre clearing for the house and yard. I keep making more and more of the yard that gets good sunlight a garden. Gave the 12’x12’ raised bed to my wife this year and plan on making a 12’x40’ plot of just peppers off to the side. I’m trying the deer fencing/ netting to keep the white tailed rats out of my peppers this year. They sure tore them up at the end of the season last year. Gardening is a lot of work but so fun and rewarding.


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## sonny580

Finally got dry enough last night to till the onion area so I got that done just as the rain came!--Now to wait til it dries enough to plant the onion plants since they will arrive tomorrow!
Always get a 30 bunch case and the guy over on the next road takes 12 bunches so that way we get plants at a lower cost. Price of the case did go up a lot over last few years, but the only way to buy them. Garden stores here wan $20. or more per bunch making them out of the question for us, so we order from the grower direct.
Looks like the strawberries have winter killed this year, only a few have survived and need to be moved to a different location.
Started catching water in my tanks for garden use this year so hope we can get enough to use without hauling any like we did in the past.


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## Mad Professor

sonny580 said:


> Finally got dry enough last night to till the onion area so I got that done just as the rain came!--Now to wait til it dries enough to plant the onion plants since they will arrive tomorrow!
> Always get a 30 bunch case and the guy over on the next road takes 12 bunches so that way we get plants at a lower cost. Price of the case did go up a lot over last few years, but the only way to buy them. Garden stores here wan $20. or more per bunch making them out of the question for us, so we order from the grower direct.
> Looks like the strawberries have winter killed this year, only a few have survived and need to be moved to a different location.
> Started catching water in my tanks for garden use this year so hope we can get enough to use without hauling any like we did in the past.


I go to local farm supply store, they have onion sets in barrels, sold by the pound, and you can pick through them and remove any culls.


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## sonny580

I only use plants here. sets and seeds just dont give us big onions, which is what I am looking to grow. --- WHY? -- cause it dont take as many to fill the freeze dryer trays PLUS easier for my stiff fingers to clean them. In the past we used sets and they are o.k. and did get fair sized in most years,--then one year I ended up with plants and stuck with them ever since!
More rain here today and plants have arrived. We can store them for up to 2 weeks without any loss, so we should have dryer ground before then.


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## Mad Professor

sonny580 said:


> I only use plants here. sets and seeds just dont give us big onions, which is what I am looking to grow. --- WHY? -- cause it dont take as many to fill the freeze dryer trays PLUS easier for my stiff fingers to clean them. In the past we used sets and they are o.k. and did get fair sized in most years,--then one year I ended up with plants and stuck with them ever since!
> More rain here today and plants have arrived. We can store them for up to 2 weeks without any loss, so we should have dryer ground before then.


Let them overwinter and pinch off the seedheads the following year


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## sonny580

finally got the onions planted a couple days ago, --- rain again today so they should be o.k.
I know it dont look like plants in the pic, but trust me---- there are 18 bunches planted in 6 full rows 130' long and part of the 7th row. the rest of the 7th row has beets, carrots and dill in it.


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## Stonesforbrains

got some rows of greens and beats, planted some strawberries in a half wine barrel. Got two rows of radishes in the front, and went ahead an put three of the pepper plant my brother-in-law gave in the garden. A Serrano, Red Savina, and a Scotch Bonnet. I am having a great time getting everything started in the garden. Hope everyone is doing great and look forward to all the pictures and reports!


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## Backyard Lumberjack

Stonesforbrains said:


> Ha! 4.5 acres is bigger than all my property! I wish I could rock a garden that big. Most of my 4 acres is woods with just about a one acre clearing for the house and yard. I keep making more and more of the yard that gets good sunlight a garden. Gave the 12’x12’ raised bed to my wife this year and plan on making a 12’x40’ plot of just peppers off to the side. I’m trying the deer fencing/ netting to keep the white tailed rats out of my peppers this year. They sure tore them up at the end of the season last year. *Gardening is a lot of work but so fun and rewarding.*


ha! you are right Sfb - spent the afternoon in mine yesterday. 3 bean plots and decided to do some corn again. corn never turns out well for me... never has oh, once... mis-seeds wrong packet... grrr! the field corn was spectacular!!  but my sugar snap patch just looked like a family sized corn patch... so, we'll see. too much work to turn it all, so i took the 'not too much work' route...


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## Backyard Lumberjack

sonny580 said:


> _Finally got dry enough last night to till the onion area so I got that done_ just as the rain came!--Now to wait til it dries enough to plant the onion plants since they will arrive tomorrow!
> Always get a 30 bunch case and the guy over on the next road takes 12 bunches so that way we get plants at a lower cost. Price of the case did go up a lot over last few years, but the only way to buy them. Garden stores here wan $20. or more per bunch making them out of the question for us, so we order from the grower direct.
> Looks like the strawberries have winter killed this year, only a few have survived and need to be moved to a different location.
> Started catching water in my tanks for garden use this year so hope we can get enough to use without hauling any like we did in the past.


my Texas 1015's doing well.... planted in fall of '21. Dixondale; sets


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## Backyard Lumberjack

sonny580 said:


> I only use plants here. sets and seeds just dont give us big onions, which is what I am looking to grow. --- WHY? -- cause it dont take as many to fill the freeze dryer trays PLUS easier for my stiff fingers to clean them. In the past we used sets and they are o.k. and did get fair sized in most years,--then one year I ended up with plants and stuck with them ever since!
> More rain here today and plants have arrived. We can store them for up to 2 weeks without any loss, so we should have dryer ground before then.


interesting. i use sets. easier for small home garden. i have over 50 growing. i watched a vid at utube-U on onions. the '19 vid the guy did used sets. then the latest he used plants he had grown from seeds. in 338-trays. i liked his philosophy for growing them that way. doubt i could, would... or should ever need 338 onions! lol


----------



## Backyard Lumberjack

338 cold  ones, dif story...

start of a seed-thot for the QB on grocery trips...

then raise plants nicely in garden....





put up well in storage


----------



## Backyard Lumberjack

sonny580 said:


> finally got the onions planted a couple days ago, --- rain again today so they should be o.k.
> I know it dont look like plants in the pic, but trust me---- there are 18 bunches planted in 6 full rows 130' long and part of the 7th row. the rest of the 7th row has beets, carrots and dill in it.


prob look like this in now time....


----------



## jolj

My garlic & nesting onions are doing well, going to plant my tomatoes & peppers this week.
I am trying rat tail radishes & more black Spanish radishes this year.
wonder if we will see the FOOD lines like POUS talked about.
Got late purple Irish potatoes too.


----------



## Backyard Lumberjack

pulled some carrots other day. cooked for dinner. garden fresh, yum!










cleaned them, into salted water to boil, then 2 1/2 mins... on med/low, covered. then with s/p, s cream and butter...

my opinion:


----------



## cookies

My roses are going into full bloom, the garden is growing along great. Our 8 year old was super excited about growing a garden and was very helpful during planting, watering and watchin for issues but I think reality struck when I showed him the broccoli getting big and asked how he wanted it cooked because we are going to have lots of it very soon LOL!


----------



## jolj

Edible Wildflowers from Seed - Laidback Gardener


Photo: SusaZoom, depositphotos By Larry Hodgson Here’s a perfect little project for a novice gardener: growing your own edible wildflowerContinue Reading




laidbackgardener.blog


----------



## jolj

I just repotted twenty of these bulbs, some where as small as a pea, others bigger than a hen egg.

Hippeastrum San Antonio RoseHippeastrum aulicum stenopetalumHippeastrum gracilis dulcinea Scarlet Baby
I also pot up six no name bulbs, that started as one bulb someone gifted me some years ago.
So I am ready for a bath & bed, being retired is hard work.
Guess I will do the walking Iris next.


----------



## Backyard Lumberjack

garden doing well. tomatoes to ripen soon. texas 1015 onions out. drying. to be tied. cukes setting. beans flowering. and the star of the garden is out Silver N Gold corn patch...

85 Texas 1015's...


----------



## Backyard Lumberjack

anybody use corn tassel bags and/or shoot bags, too?


----------



## sonny580

I dont use corn bags---- no time for that here! lol! This year I only have 5 rows of corn that came up out of 22 rows planted.
The short season onions are winding down---- probably be a week or more yet before they are ready to harvest.
Had first picking of greenbeans 2 days ago. Tomatoes have small green ones set. Summer squash plants all want to die! not sure if we will have any or not of them. --- several squash and pumpkin vines have died for some reason. Lost a few last year but not this many.
Potatoes starting to get bugs so spraying them every time I turn around. some small spuds about golf ball size set. now if they just grow full size without any trouble. 
Jap bugs arrived yesterday and destroying everything green. Cant spray it all so we see what we can save. grapes have a lot set but wont be ripe til September so something will destroy all of them again.
Sweet potatoes look the best so far and everything needs water again. I cant carry enough water to all of the garden fast enough to satisfy the plants.


----------



## Backyard Lumberjack

sonny580 said:


> I dont use corn bags---- no time for that here! lol! This year I only have 5 rows of corn that came up out of 22 rows planted.
> The short season onions are winding down---- probably be a week or more yet before they are ready to harvest.
> Had first picking of greenbeans 2 days ago. Tomatoes have small green ones set. Summer squash plants all want to die! not sure if we will have any or not of them. --- several squash and pumpkin vines have died for some reason. Lost a few last year but not this many.
> Potatoes starting to get bugs so spraying them every time I turn around. some small spuds about golf ball size set. now if they just grow full size without any trouble.
> Jap bugs arrived yesterday and destroying everything green. Cant spray it all so we see what we can save. grapes have a lot set but wont be ripe til September so something will destroy all of them again.
> Sweet potatoes look the best so far and everything needs water again. I cant carry enough water to all of the garden fast enough to satisfy the plants.


gardens are... a lot of work! yours echoes some of what i been dealing with, especially on hot days at 101f!+

we got some corn. happy enuff with the results. ate plenty and put up the rest. next year prob just get them frozen kinds at the grocery!!! [j/k]

50 or so ears in total. these were put into cold storage (refer) for 8 days... still very sweet! 16 row corn


----------



## Backyard Lumberjack

i have a smaller corn patch, too. it is about stage V5 and R1, some at R2. since easier to just buy seasonal sweet corn at grocery, even if 20-cents/ear or so... going to plant candy corn next year. can't buy that stuff at the grocery. gotta grow it...


----------



## Backyard Lumberjack

finally got my onions strung and hung in kitchen. what's left. ate some, gave some away... and such. have some smaller ones, too. they r not hung...


----------



## Backyard Lumberjack

Texas 1015 onions and Big Beef tomatoes from our home garden made some nice cheeseburgers...


----------



## Backyard Lumberjack

with some coaching from Corn School curriculum and late nite home correspondence course or two... we managed some good full pollination this year...


----------



## skeet88

Backyard Lumberjack said:


> with some coaching from Corn School curriculum and late nite home correspondence course or two... we managed some good full pollination this year...
> View attachment 999586


After some inspiration from you I decided to check out this thread to get some ideas Just curious,what is the the germination rate on the 338 cold ones Be Safe and Stay Cool!


----------



## Backyard Lumberjack

skeet88 said:


> After some inspiration from you I decided to check out this thread to get some ideas Just curious,what is the the germination rate on the 338 cold ones Be Safe and Stay Cool!


? ? ?


----------



## skeet88

Backyard Lumberjack said:


> 338 cold  ones, dif story...
> 
> start of a seed-thot for the QB on grocery trips...
> 
> then raise plants nicely in garden....
> View attachment 981173
> 
> 
> put up well in storage
> View attachment 981176


Sorry for the confusion,I quoted the wrong post .Hopefully this will clear things up. Be Safe and Stay Cool!


----------



## Backyard Lumberjack

skeet88 said:


> Sorry for the confusion,I quoted the wrong post .Hopefully this will clear things up. Be Safe and Stay Cool!




what was, is not, so what was not... now is!


----------



## Mad Professor

Backyard Lumberjack said:


> what was, is not, so what was not... now is!


No fair.

We still can get frost/snow end of May. Mater are small as are peps. 




With I'll leave you this.


----------



## blades

couple of those got me last year - i did get revenge on at least one. bambi was in on it also but alas no revenge there last year.


----------



## Backyard Lumberjack

Mad Professor said:


> No fair.
> 
> We still can get frost/snow end of May. Mater are small as are peps. View attachment 1000043
> 
> 
> With I'll leave you this.


hi MP
no chance of 'Caution - May Be Ice On Bridge' here!
i'll leave u with yesteday's garden pickings...


----------



## Mad Professor

blades said:


> couple of those got me last year - i did get revenge on at least one. bambi was in on it also but alas no revenge there last year.


I've got voles, rabbits, chucks, deer, B bear, besides the bugs..........

Right behind the ear, red wet spot ~30 yds


----------



## Mad Professor

Nice cukes. You do pickles?

I do natural ferment with brine mix, low temp canning < 185 oF.


----------



## sonny580

I got a ton of dill for your pickles!!!! LOL!! stuff grew like weeds this year and I usually cant get it to grow!!!!!!!!! go figure!!


----------



## sonny580

got a few pix last night. been hauling water to the gardens all summer trying to keep things alive. Today we have a light rain so maybe that will help for a while!


----------



## Mad Professor

sonny580 said:


> got a few pix last night. been hauling water to the gardens all summer trying to keep things alive. Today we have a light rain so maybe that will help for a while!


That there is one big watering can! and garden. 

How does the straw work for the tomatoes? Don't have to stake them? I usually stake them and put down hardwood leaves as a mulch. We've had problems with vole population explosion last 2-3 years, little bassturds love to hide under mulch........

My garden is good sized for a home garden. I use a real tractor/2-bottom plow/harrow to prep it. I have a rain catchment system from the house downspouts to 275-gal plastic totes, I can gravity feed down to the garden to more totes. I start filling them as soon as they won't freeze early spring.

My early stuff is just coming in well, late getting transplants out: broccoli, lettuce, summer squash, cabbage............have 100 taters in, 50 tomatoes, 50 peppers, that are growing well. 


sonny580 said:


> I got a ton of dill for your pickles!!!! LOL!! stuff grew like weeds this year and I usually cant get it to grow!!!!!!!!! go figure!!


My cukes are doing good, and whole patch of dill I'll have to transplant. I do some batches of pickles with garlic and horseraddish besides the pickling spices.


Backyard Lumberjack said:


> hi MP
> no chance of 'Caution - May Be Ice On Bridge' here!
> i'll leave u with yesteday's garden pickings...
> View attachment 1000059


My biggest tomatoes are just green golf balls now.


----------



## sonny580

Ya,-- I LOVE that watering can! LOL! ss and will never rust,-- has only had clean water in it since new, so I made out o.k. on it at the auction last week! 
Tomatoes about the size of golf balls too,---be a long time til ripe.
The straw helps a lot and here it's more to hold moisture in and weeds down. does good for that and ya rodents years ago were why I quit using anything. The last few years they kinda moved on so this year I found some straw and started putting it down. Have enough for a few more rows but not the whole acre of tomatoes. 
We do total of 4.5 acres in garden. Why??? when you figure out a good answer let me know as I have no idea why so much gets planted! lol!


----------



## skeet88

sonny580 said:


> Ya,-- I LOVE that watering can! LOL! ss and will never rust,-- has only had clean water in it since new, so I made out o.k. on it at the auction last week!
> Tomatoes about the size of golf balls too,---be a long time til ripe.
> The straw helps a lot and here it's more to hold moisture in and weeds down. does good for that and ya rodents years ago were why I quit using anything. The last few years they kinda moved on so this year I found some straw and started putting it down. Have enough for a few more rows but not the whole acre of tomatoes.
> We do total of 4.5 acres in garden. Why??? when you figure out a good answer let me know as I have no idea why so much gets planted! lol!


Why? Good therapy,keeps you young and the food taste better than store bought! Great looking garden! Be Safe and Stay Cool!


----------



## sonny580

We pig out on fresh veggies for sure! We freeze dry onions and sweetcorn every year. can a little of this and that. Make horseradish for a 6 month or so period. 
The hot muggy weather will return tomorrow from the sounds of it. The light rain we just had was only about 4/10'th's or so. ground under taters wet only 2 inches down then dry and hard.


----------



## Backyard Lumberjack

Mad Professor said:


> How does the straw work for the tomatoes? Don't have to stake them?
> 
> My early stuff is just coming in well, late getting transplants out: broccoli, lettuce, summer squash, cabbage............have 100 taters in, 50 tomatoes, 50 peppers, that are growing well.
> 
> My cukes are doing good, and whole patch of dill I'll have to transplant. I do some batches of pickles with garlic and horseraddish besides the pickling spices.
> 
> My biggest tomatoes are just green golf balls now.


----------



## Montana_Sam

Our 2022 plot….lots of borage, nepeta, calendula, taters, asparagus, onions, garlic and so on. Experimental “food forest” in the back where I have lilacs, butterfly bushes, comfrey, berries, bulbs and fruit trees all growing in a jumble…it’s all about 1/2 acre and keeps my little family and close friends fed most of the year. Add onto that a few deer, an elk, huckleberries and some trout and our cuisine is pretty decent!


----------



## sonny580

wind storm yesterday here --- only 12 drops of rain from it here! 13 miles North of us got 3" in one hour with the winds that peaked at 70 in some places. They were excess of 50 here cause the turbines shut down at 50 and they did shut down!
been working on sweetcorn and onions. Weeds are about to get out of hand this time of the year. A lady from town came out and picked greenbeans, sweetcorn,yellow summer squash,and onions to take back to some of her friends. The left just before the storm hit.


----------



## farmer steve

sonny580 said:


> wind storm yesterday here --- only 12 drops of rain from it here! 13 miles North of us got 3" in one hour with the winds that peaked at 70 in some places. They were excess of 50 here cause the turbines shut down at 50 and they did shut down!
> been working on sweetcorn and onions. Weeds are about to get out of hand this time of the year. A lady from town came out and picked greenbeans, sweetcorn,yellow summer squash,and onions to take back to some of her friends. The left just before the storm hit.


That's some ominous looking storm clouds Sonny. It tried to rain here last evening but like you only about 12 drops. Running drip lines 12 hours or so every day.


----------



## Del_

6-9-2022


----------



## Backyard Lumberjack

Montana_Sam said:


> Our 2022 plot….lots of borage, nepeta, calendula, taters, asparagus, onions, garlic and so on. Experimental “food forest” in the back where I have lilacs, butterfly bushes, comfrey, berries, bulbs and fruit trees all growing in a jumble…it’s all about 1/2 acre and keeps my little family and close friends fed most of the year. Add onto that a few deer, an elk, huckleberries and some trout and our cuisine is pretty decent!
> 
> View attachment 1003439


looks good MS - especially all that asparagus!! 

my Kentucky Wonder pole beanss couple days ago! ....


----------



## sonny580

getting dry here too. squash and other vine crops are turning dead. cant haul/carry enough water to everything.


----------



## sonny580

a couple onion pix for you! onion harvest is done. sweetcorn first planting done. second and third planting gave not one stalk of corn!---not a kernel ever came up! fourth planting is shoulder high now and with no rain it wont make anything.
a lot of the onions this year weigh 2+pounds which aint half bad.
one of the beets I cooked----- some of them are big and the whole row did good.
Carrots are still doing great, --- been eating them on a regular basis and they are tender and sweet this year.
had a good dill harvest too. Tomatoes just starting to give us a few, ---- been making juice out of them.


----------



## jollygreengiant

Man, you guys with your awesome looking sweet corn are making me very jealous. My first planting didn't come up worth a darn and none of my second or third plantings came up at all. I figure it was a combination of insects and being very dry. 

I should get some pics though. Tomatoes, potatoes, onions, garlic, and the brassicas all look pretty good so far. This year was the first year with a raised bed too, and everything in it is doing really well.


----------



## Montana_Sam

Do most of you guys have root cellars? How are you storing all your carrots, beets, potatoes, etc?


----------



## Backyard Lumberjack

sonny580 said:


> getting dry here too. squash and other vine crops are turning dead. cant haul/carry enough water to everything.


i am loosing stuff even with plenty water. have an evergreen ground cover, snipped some pcs when down in Galveston over 40 yrs ago. planted, grew big. now down to on section, and i see yellow starting in its center, too!


----------



## Backyard Lumberjack

sonny580 said:


> a couple onion pix for you! onion harvest is done. sweetcorn first planting done. second and third planting gave not one stalk of corn!---not a kernel ever came up! fourth planting is shoulder high now and with no rain it wont make anything.
> a lot of the onions this year weigh 2+pounds which aint half bad.
> one of the beets I cooked----- some of them are big and the whole row did good.
> Carrots are still doing great, --- been eating them on a regular basis and they are tender and sweet this year.
> had a good dill harvest too. Tomatoes just starting to give us a few, ---- been making juice out of them.


onions doing well in refer. had to take down the string in kitchen. cooked up 3 other evening with dinner....


----------



## farmer steve

Some corn the deer didn't get and a few maters. On the fine Dixie China.


----------



## Ethobling

I'll have to post something proper here, at some point. I actually run a business selling tomato/pepper plants and we have a large garden, as well. Here's a few pics of my pepper plants, a cool squash, and a "white" cucumber (supposed to be green, but there must have been a mutation in the genes).


----------



## farmer steve

Happy Zucchini day to all you veg heads.


----------



## Backyard Lumberjack

Montana_Sam said:


> Do most of you guys have root cellars? How are you storing all your carrots, beets, potatoes, etc?


hi MS-

i do fall carrots, eat them. beets. have done. but prefer pickled best. and so canned from store just fine for me. spuds... have grown reds here. lasodas. but never so many that normal care can't keep them. no root cellars. in fact, hardly ever a cellar. not like homes when i lived in PNW~


----------



## Stonesforbrains

First time growing a canary melon patch this year. Turned out pretty good, nice, sweet and juicy. Melon in the second picture was 13 pounds. Hope everyone has their fall crops planted and is doing well!


----------



## singinwoodwackr

Pulled most of the Shallots today…sliced, including the tops, 2ts butter, handful of shrimp, salt, pepper…o my…
ok, the local beef NY wasn’t bad either…
tomato and cucumber salad…mmm.

our melons have a way to go yet…those look fantastic!q


----------



## jollygreengiant

I finally dug the onions and garlic last week. They did surprisingly well considering how dry it's been this year. The onions did very well, I think it really helped getting them planted the 1st week of may. 

We've been getting a lot of heavy dews and pop up showers lately so drying in the garden was a no go. Spread them out on a piece of plywood in the shop. 






I should get some pics of the rest of the garden, we are right in the peak of summer production here. Tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic, zucchini, sweet corn, potatoes, beans, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, apples, peaches from the family, and even a few strawberries are coming off right now. There is food everywhere in the kitchen and our fridge is stuffed full! It is a good problem to have though.


----------



## sonny580

One year I had white cucumbers. They are called white wonder and are actually quite good! ---A bear to peel cause the skin and the insides are the same shade of white!! lol!!
Been super busy trying to do watering to the crops as they mature and have been making tomato juice and my version of v-8 juice. 
4'th try of sweetcorn looks promising this time. I had to spray water on it when it started to bloom so the pollen would stick to the silks and it looks to have helped. Pulled a test ear last night and it has a good fill.
Been digging potatoes by hand a few at the time and they are not as good as years before but they will eat.
Sweet potatoes are not getting enough water so they wont be worth diging at this point, but its a long time til frost so we see if anything develops under them or not.


----------



## jollygreengiant

Did the every other day picking of tomatoes tonight, they are really coming on strong now. Also pulled some carrots and dug some potatoes. I was really surprised by the potatoes; everything in that basket came from one plant. That was the first plant I dug from the main garden, and the soil there isn't as fertile and doesn't hold water as well. With it being so dry here I wasn't expecting much but maybe they will actually be pretty good. 

I did remember to take a pic this time. Not pictured is the 1/2 dozen 16" long zucchini and the small bowl of everbearing strawberries.


----------



## farmer steve

Some pepper picking Monday. This is about 4 bushel. Taking them to produce auction. I sort by color and size.


----------



## Del_

Heirloom Dr Martin pole lima beans. 13 ft. tall.

Trellis starts with a 'T'. 
Hellis start with a 'H'.

Here's our hellis from yesterday.


----------



## jolj

Del_ said:


> Heirloom Dr Martin pole lima beans. 13 ft. tall.
> 
> Trellis starts with a 'T'.
> Hellis start with a 'H'.
> 
> Here's our hellis from yesterday.
> 
> View attachment 1019138
> 
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 1019139


DW wants to know how you get the beans at the top of the fence/row.


----------



## Del_

jolj said:


> DW wants to know how you get the beans at the top of the fence/row.



I use a ladder and those I can't reach I save for seed and dry limas. 

I also have one of those 'trash picker uppers' that people use along the roadside I sometimes use.


----------



## Stonesforbrains

farmer steve said:


> Some pepper picking Monday. This is about 4 bushel. Taking them to produce auction. I sort by color and size.
> View attachment 1016033


Pepper picking Thursday here, a pound of Scotch Bonnets off of the one plant that’s producing. ****** hot peppers!
I don’t eat any of the habaneros but I tasted the mash I made for pepper sauce and holy shomoly it was hot! Hope everyone is having awesome fall gardens!


----------



## sonny580

Bet I could pick them beans with my 70' Hi-Ranger!! LOL! -- lookin great guys! We had a hail storm here that took out most of everything. 5" of rain, high winds took down a lot of field crops too.
Been trying to dig sweet potatoes in the mud and the quality is not too good this year either. too dry all summer and I wasnt able to haul enough water to them when they needed it.
Did get some nice carrots this year.
Salvaged some of the roma tomatoes and made 1 batch of 6 pints of thick sauce out of them. wanted to do more but time has run out for that.


----------



## Backyard Lumberjack

not sure what our plans are for the fall garden! QB went to the nursery with the g/ks yesterday afternoon... no fall tomatoes! prob have to start s couple of seeds myself. did find a renegade cilantro other day. so plan to see if it can continue on. garden fresh cilantro is one of my favs. but takes time and 35-cents a bundle at grocery hard to ingnore...

thess do pretty well during fall months


----------



## Backyard Lumberjack

Del_ said:


> Heirloom Dr Martin pole lima beans. 13 ft. tall.
> 
> Trellis starts with a 'T'.
> Hellis start with a 'H'.
> 
> Here's our hellis from yesterday.
> 
> View attachment 1019138
> 
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 1019139


wow! impressive to say the least. not sure i have seen plants like that, not even in the seed cats or sites.


----------



## Del_

Backyard Lumberjack said:


> wow! impressive to say the least. not sure i have seen plants like that, not even in the seed cats or sites.



Thanks!

One problem with pole limas is how tall they get. If you have an 8 ft. trellis they grow to the top and back to the ground again. The take a long growing season and we didn't get any until almost the end of august. 

In my home town a local fireman was a gardener and grew big beaned pole limas and some would get on the powerline guy wires and grow up so tall that the city electric company would come by and trim them away with a bucket truck. This went on year after year and the city electric company employees, the police and firemen were all a tightly knit group.


----------



## jolj

Backyard Lumberjack said:


> not sure what our plans are for the fall garden! QB went to the nursery with the g/ks yesterday afternoon... no fall tomatoes! prob have to start s couple of seeds myself. did find a renegade cilantro other day. so plan to see if it can continue on. garden fresh cilantro is one of my favs. but takes time and 35-cents a bundle at grocery hard to ingnore...
> 
> thess do pretty well during fall months
> View attachment 1020041


What is your night temperature with this tomato plant?
Looks good.


----------



## sonny580

I want a couple seed of that bean to try!!!! LOL!!! LOVE it!!!!


----------



## Del_

sonny580 said:


> I want a couple seed of that bean to try!!!! LOL!!! LOVE it!!!!



I can help you with that.

I'm sitting here shelling some dry seed as I type.

All I ask is that you save seed for yourself the following year and offer seed to one other person, or more people if you like.

Dr Martin take a long growing season. I start mine in 3 inch pots and they have to be almost 'birthed' to get going. The seed is planted with it's back just 1/4 inch below the potting soil level and once the seed swells and starts to move I did around it just a little bit to help out. If soil is not removed often the small emerging leaves rot in place and the bean plant dies. I lose maybe 25% to this leaf rot. I don't do as well planting directly in the ground plus the small plants are very easy to lose to pest.

The bowl to the right is dried seed and only about 1/3 of them will be good seed for growing. The other 2/3 will be eaten as dried lima soup. I do the culling in a few weeks. Any distortions or dark spots go in the soup.

My offer is good to people who are participants in this thread.


----------



## pdqdl

But how tasty are the beans? They certainly look plump and beany.

My wife runs from the kitchen any time I cook up lima beans. She won't eat 'em, and I think they are just great. I make a BBQ'd lima bean recipe that's just great, but it kinda depends on liking Limas.

In fact, I haven't found a bean I don't like. I'd guess black beans are my favorites. Even Taco Bell is offering black bean servings now. I got black bean tacos saved as a favorite.


----------



## jolj

Del_ said:


> I can help you with that.
> 
> I'm sitting here shelling some dry seed as I type.
> 
> All I ask is that you save seed for yourself the following year and offer seed to one other person, or more people if you like.
> 
> Dr Martin take a long growing season. I start mine in 3 inch pots and they have to be almost 'birthed' to get going. The seed is planted with it's back just 1/4 inch below the potting soil level and once the seed swells and starts to move I did around it just a little bit to help out. If soil is not removed often the small emerging leaves rot in place and the bean plant dies. I lose maybe 25% to this leaf rot. I don't do as well planting directly in the ground plus the small plants are very easy to lose to pest.
> 
> The bowl to the right is dried seed and only about 1/3 of them will be good seed for growing. The other 2/3 will be eaten as dried lima soup. I do the culling in a few weeks. Any distortions or dark spots go in the soup.
> 
> My offer is good to people who are participants in this thread.
> 
> View attachment 1020847


I can do that, I can give a few dollars & pay postage.


----------



## Del_

pdqdl said:


> But how tasty are the beans? They certainly look plump and beany.
> 
> My wife runs from the kitchen any time I cook up lima beans. She won't eat 'em, and I think they are just great. I make a BBQ'd lima bean recipe that's just great, but it kinda depends on liking Limas.
> 
> In fact, I haven't found a bean I don't like. I'd guess black beans are my favorites. Even Taco Bell is offering black bean servings now. I got black bean tacos saved as a favorite.



They are very tasty. Most all other large seeded lima beans turn white when mature but Dr Martin stays green more like baby limas do.

If you chase her from the kitchen just cooking lima beans.....

Then these large seeded limas will have her fleeing the family room a few hours later.

Not to be eaten in the same meal with hard boiled eggs for sure.

I like black beans too.

Our favorite pole string bean is an Italian type named Hilda. A very wide bean, quite large and stringless. We save seeds.












One of our ammo cans that we use to save seeds. The jars are silica jell that we dry in the microwave and it turns a bright cobalt blue. Pink when it needs drying out.


----------



## Del_

jolj said:


> I can do that, I can give a few dollars & pay postage.



You're in!


----------



## jolj

Del, a lot of people here in Midlands of S.C. do not like big lima beans, just the small butter beans & butter peas.
But Mother always bought dry large lima beans, one of the few vegetables we did not grow.
I really am looking forward to growing them & eating them green, after eating them dry for fifty years.


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## jollygreengiant

Managed to finally get the potatoes dug last weekend. A surprisingly good crop considering how dry we were. All together we should end up with 2/3 of a rubbermaid tote of Russets, a full tote of fingerlings, and a 1/3 tote of both mixed together that we will be eating first.






We had a frost advisory early this week so I picked all the squash and everything else that wouldn't like a frost. Unfortunately the squash weren't nearly as good as last year, only half the crop.


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## jollygreengiant

What, no posts since my last one?

Still picking a few carrots every week as needed.







Harvested my first ever crop of sweet potatoes.


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## sonny580

Got the rest of the sweet potatoes dug and hauled to the food bank! Over 3,000 pounds total for the 5 rows about 200 feet long. No where as good as we normally do but this was not a normal year and we were lucky to have anything this year!
The biggest this year was 7.5 pounds and last year it was 10.5, so we were down a bunch. And yes the big ones are great eating!!
This load was 2,500 pounds that went to the Midwest food bank and over 500 pounds were given to friends. I kept a half dozen of the big guys for us.


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## jolj

Filaree Garlic Farm sent me a email that my *GEORGIAN FIRE & MARTIN'S HEIRLOOM *will be shipped 11/03/2022.
That late for S.C., but it is still hot here in the day, like 75-80F.
My plot is Fallow ground, so I will need to remove the weeds & turn it once with compost first.
I am trying Martin's Heirloom to see how it does in 8a zones Spring heat, I harvest in early to late June here.


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## farmer steve

jolj said:


> Filaree Garlic Farm sent me a email that my *GEORGIAN FIRE & MARTIN'S HEIRLOOM *will be shipped 11/03/2022.
> That late for S.C., but it is still hot here in the day, like 75-80F.
> My plot is Fallow ground, so I will need to remove the weeds & turn it once with compost first.
> I am trying Martin's Heirloom to see how it does in 8a zones Spring heat, I harvest in early to late June here.


I'm planting some in the next week or so. I had some old Koreans show me how to grow it a few years ago but i lost touch with them. I bought some rocambole pink skin at produce auction this year and will be planting that. It was about $.50 per bulb.


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## jolj

Great price!
We had garlic as a kid, but it grew in a clump.
What little I know, was taught to me by growers.
1) eat small cloves, plant biggest cloves, because the bigger the cloves the bigger the bulbs.
2) work in compost/ organic matter every year at least three weeks before planting cloves.
3) plant cloves 1-1.5 inches deep/ 25 to 38mm deep
4) plant cloves 6 inches apart/ 150mm in beds or rolls, I do beds.
5) as soon as the cloves leaf/blades pop up an inch or two, mulch them with straw or ground dry leaves to keep weeds down & to protect cloves from cold freeze.
6) water every few days if there is no rain.
7) harvest when the blades/leaves are 1/3 dry on the Garlic stock.
8) dry on screen in the shape, some people leave garlic & onions out in the sun, I do not do that.
Tell me what I missed or got wrong. No one knows everything & I know less, so I am always looking for another point of view.


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## Del_

Helianthus angustifolius (Narrow Leaf Sunflower, Narrow-Leaved Coreopsis, Sunflower, Swamp Sunflower) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox


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## jolj

7 Perennial Sunflowers That Bloom Year After Year​By: AuthorSherra Vorley








7 Perennial Sunflowers That Bloom Year After Year


Choose perennial sunflowers for a perfect fit. They are easy to care for. They also have long lasting, fall blooms. Late in the season, perennial sunflowers are an ode to the beloved summer’s end. Perennial




www.bloomingbackyard.com





I heard of the swamp Sunflower, but that the best photo I have ever seen.
Nice Fig Trees in the background, behind the garden.


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## farmer steve

Took a couple of things I grew to our annual Farmers Fair this weekend. Thought I had more pics.


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## jolj

Congratulation, farmer steve.


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## Backyard Lumberjack

farmer steve said:


> Happy Zucchini day to all you veg heads.


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## Backyard Lumberjack

farmer steve said:


> Happy Zucchini day to all you veg heads.



we really like them grilled!


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## Backyard Lumberjack

jolj said:


> What is you night temperature with this tomato plant?
> Looks good.


sets nicely around 55f. fall temps at nite go from freezing and below to 50's ave


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## Backyard Lumberjack

sonny580 said:


> I want a couple seed of that bean to try!!!! LOL!!! LOVE it!!!!


like jgj's one plant spud harvest, one seed mite be enuff! lol


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## Backyard Lumberjack

pdqdl said:


> *But how tasty are the beans? * They certainly look plump and beany.
> 
> My wife runs from the kitchen any time I cook up lima beans. She won't eat 'em, and I think they are just great. I make a BBQ'd lima bean recipe that's just great, but it kinda depends on liking Limas.
> 
> In fact, I haven't found a bean I don't like. I'd guess black beans are my favorites. Even Taco Bell is offering black bean servings now. I got black bean tacos saved as a favorite.


i _bean _meaning to ask, too!

one of my favs! i do like limas. but not as a kid!  canned/tin... frozen/grocery, but garden fresh best! all, imo

kidney mine


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## Backyard Lumberjack

Del_ said:


> I can help you with that.
> The bowl to the right is dried seed and only about 1/3 of them will be good seed for growing. The other 2/3 will be eaten as dried lima soup. I do the culling in a few weeks. Any distortions or dark spots go in the soup.
> *My offer is good to people who are participants in this thread.*
> 
> View attachment 1020847


that is a generous offer! one bean company sells them. pricey! 10 fot $8.00. 

then add in shipping...

how many in your package?


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## Backyard Lumberjack

Del_ said:


> They are very tasty. Most all other large seeded lima beans turn white when mature but Dr Martin stays green more like baby limas do.
> 
> If you chase her from the kitchen just cooking lima beans.....
> 
> Then these large seeded limas will have her fleeing the family room a few hours later.
> 
> Not to be eaten in the same meal with hard boiled eggs for sure.
> 
> I like black beans too.
> 
> Our favorite pole string bean is an Italian type named Hilda. A very wide bean, quite large and stringless. We save seeds.
> 
> View attachment 1020848
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 1020849
> 
> 
> One of our ammo cans that we use to save seeds. The jars are silica jell that we dry in the microwave and it turns a bright cobalt blue. Pink when it needs drying out.
> 
> View attachment 1020850


i keep my seeds out in shop refer. one bag holds the summer seeds. and another holds the fall seeds. a few seasons back, i planted reg lima beans seeds. Fordhooks. the seeds were limas i had saved from a prev season's garden plants. and they were 23 years old at the time i planted them. germination was all but 100%! and the plants thrived. and had lots limas that year.


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## Backyard Lumberjack

jollygreengiant said:


> What, no posts since my last one?
> 
> Still picking a few carrots every week as needed.
> 
> View attachment 1023294
> 
> 
> 
> Harvested my first ever crop of sweet potatoes.
> 
> View attachment 1023295
> 
> 
> View attachment 1023296


i have grown homegrown sweet potatoes before. i was amazed at how much more flavorful and sweeter they were than store bot out of the home garden... for starts, just plopped down slice of store bot... thot it had rotted. then uncovered it some... and runners galore!


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## Backyard Lumberjack

Del_ said:


> I'm sitting here shelling some dry seed as I type. Dr Martin take a long growing season. I start mine in 3 inch pots and they have to be almost 'birthed' to get going. T





Backyard Lumberjack said:


> i _bean _meaning to ask, too!
> one of my favs! i do like limas. but not as a kid!  canned/tin... frozen/grocery, but garden fresh best! all, imo


. two things came together for me yesterday. rather than cut and bale my garden pastures... _tall grasses!_  i decided to be a productive home gardener. thanks to del's lima posts... now thinking maybe plant some limas.  time will tell. but no time like the present to get the rest of the garden dethatched! one other section done. not as bad. still 4/5ths to go...


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## Backyard Lumberjack

before/after... digging started with stage 2. stage one was getting out there with pitchfork in hand... lol


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## Backyard Lumberjack

prob won't need to order any weed seeds this year from my fav seed supply catalog...


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## Del_

Backyard Lumberjack said:


> that is a generous offer! one bean company sells them. pricey! 10 fot $8.00.
> 
> then add in shipping...
> 
> how many in your package?



I will send the three of four people who said that they are interested 10 seeds of Dr Martin, and I'll pick up the postage.

My offer is now closed.

It's an honor system but I'd much appreciate you folks growing and passing this seed on to at least one other person.

Send me a PM with your address and I will PM you when they are in the mail. I will also coach you in this thread as to how to 'birth' them, as they rot quite easily when sprouting. I start in 4 inch nursery pots and grow up to about a foot of so of vine length before transplanting. I plant in rows with the plants two feet apart but 30 inches apart may be better. They grow massive vines and look like kudzu. I wish that they came back from the root mass like kudzu but in my climate they do not. I've grown these in Delaware quite well but I'm in NE Georgia now. They love the heat. Be prepared and read up on how to control the Kudzu bug. I had to spray only once early in the season and I used Talstar. If left un checked the Kudzu bug can destroy the crop.

Here's a photo of my total seed crop of Dr Martin this year. At least 1/3 of these seeds have defects that make them not so good of a seed, but I will select all good ones to send on.






Here's my fall 2022 crop of Hilda Romano pole string beans:






Here's my fall crop of Rattlesnake pole string beans. This one is easy to find on the market.


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## Backyard Lumberjack

you got one he** of a green thumb!


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## Del_

Backyard Lumberjack said:


> you got one he** of a green thumb!
> 
> View attachment 1025566



Thank you.

You seem to be doing pretty good yourself.


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## Backyard Lumberjack

Del_ said:


> Thank you.
> 
> You seem to be doing pretty good yourself.


  yeah, at weed pulling!... once i got it together and in gear....


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## Backyard Lumberjack

i am _del-inspired._ maybe some limas for this section of my garden. thinking 9, maybe 12 plants would be nice to try. 

i think i got 80 days! heck, they once went around the world in about that time. i just gotta get around my garden... 

*80 days*

_Fordhook 242 (*80 days*) – This is an heirloom lima bush variety and is also an All-America Selections winner. The bushy plants grow 16 to 20 inches tall and are early and productive. Expect a heavy crop of 3 1/2 to 4 inch long pods with 3 to 4 beans per pod.



_


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## jolj

Nice


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## sonny580

Dug the last of the carrots last night,----rainin today! did get a bit more plowed before the rain. still have a half acre of tomato vines to rake off and pile before I can plow the rest of the 4.5 acres so I am getting closer to being done.


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## jollygreengiant

Backyard Lumberjack said:


> we really like them grilled!
> View attachment 1025462



Now add some thinly sliced cheese on top of those just before you take them off the bbq. Talk about delicious!


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## jollygreengiant

I got my garlic planted a week ago last saturday and now I'm worried I planted it too early. It's been unseasonably warm the past few days, almost hit 25C yesterday.

I'll have to get some more pics of the last garden work of the year. I just have a few things left to clean up and need to work next years annuals spot and then that will be it for 2022.


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## farmer steve

jollygreengiant said:


> I got my garlic planted a week ago last saturday and now I'm worried I planted it too early. It's been unseasonably warm the past few days, almost hit 25C yesterday.
> 
> I'll have to get some more pics of the last garden work of the year. I just have a few things left to clean up and need to work next years annuals spot and then that will be it for 2022.


Wanted to get mine planted but it's been to wet here. My rows I had marked are all washed out. Gonna be at least a week till I can plant.


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## Del_

I grow Ambrosia cantaloupe every year in a 50ft. row. As you guys know, when cantaloupe comes ripe, it's ripens almost all at once. Years ago I took to using a large strong spoon to scoop cantaloupe and then freezing it in one gallon zip lock freezer bags. It changes taste considerably but I find that I like it. It likely retains most of it's nutrients.

So when the lopues are coming on strong some days I scoop as many as ten per evening and filling one gallon freezer bags. Of course I eat one or so per day when peak harvest is on but it feels really great putting such a large amount in the freezer. I guess I have about a dozen gallon bags in the freezer at the moment and will eat all of them well before next seasons harvest.

Here's a photo of a bowl I'm eating as I type.


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## sonny580

Freeze drying them also changes the flavor but you can tell what they are! LOL! I freeze-dryed some 3 years ago----wasnt impressed with them,--course I dont care that much for them fresh!!! 
I grow a few and donate them to the food bank. They love them.


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## jollygreengiant

Well I think this will be the end of our garden work for 2022. I got everything tilled about a month ago, and dug the carrots a couple weeks ago. It was a good harvest, the carrots did very well in the raised bed. 








On that note, time to start thinking about 2023. Got my first seed catalog the other day!


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## Backyard Lumberjack

jollygreengiant said:


> Well I think this will be the end of our garden work for 2022. I got everything tilled about a month ago, and dug the carrots a couple weeks ago. It was a good harvest, the carrots did very well in the raised bed.
> 
> View attachment 1036395
> 
> 
> 
> On that note, time to start thinking about 2023. Got my first seed catalog the other day!
> 
> View attachment 1036396


hi jgg - i was just thinking, i mite get my ... in gear today and plant some carrots! got a new soil plan i'd like to try. bit behind on some weeding. garden not happy with me. and me not happy with the weeds. but, i guess... it's not it's fault! weeds, ants and bugs... always something this time of the yer!


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## Backyard Lumberjack

jollygreengiant said:


> Now add some thinly sliced cheese on top of those just before you take them off the bbq. Talk about delicious!


grilled squash on the menu tonite. i need to pull something from freezer to go with them...


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## Brushpile

Zone 6b




First year having a thriving raised bed garden up into December. Mushroom compost and "grow mix".
Still anxiously watching the red cabbages grow I planted in Sept where the bell peppers and tomatillos had been. The rest of that bed was peppers and tomatoes. Now it's parsnips, green onions, mustard greens, various kales and spinach. And three collards I'm awful proud of that I consolidated into this bed and just knew I broke the tap root, but are still growing nicely anyways, and another mess will be had before long.
First freeze I covered it all and the plastic sheeting was touching my cauliflower and burnt it. I don't think it's gonna make it. Second freeze I left it all uncovered and it faired better. We'll play it by ear.


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## farmer steve

Brushpile said:


> Zone 6b
> View attachment 1041001
> 
> First year having a thriving raised bed garden up into December. Mushroom compost and "grow mix".
> Still anxiously watching the red cabbages grow I planted in Sept where the bell peppers and tomatillos had been. The rest of that bed was peppers and tomatoes. Now it's parsnips, green onions, mustard greens, various kales and spinach. And three collards I'm awful proud of that I consolidated into this bed and just knew I broke the tap root, but are still growing nicely anyways, and another mess will be had before long.
> First freeze I covered it all and the plastic sheeting was touching my cauliflower and burnt it. I don't think it's gonna make it. Second freeze I left it all uncovered and it faired better. We'll play it by ear.
> View attachment 1041003
> View attachment 1041004
> 
> View attachment 1041005


Looks good the only thing I have out there now is maybe some kale,cabbage and brussel sprouts.


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## jolj

Bushpile are you in zone 6a?


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