2021 garden season

[Backyard Lumberjack]

sprouts are good! ---- tried growing them here but season is too short! --- They claim the cold brings out the flavor in them too, so you should have some great eating there! lol!

imo a comment. not all on the AS would agree, but plenty do. lol i have to settle for store bot. just too warm down here even in cool months. english peas & sugar snaps do well, cabbage, too usually... but sprouts iffy at best. i have had some, small but firm. tasty! real tasty! broccoli... another that needs cooler temps. i dont garden at the farm, but do have some compost bins going... one never knows!

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

In the last two weeks, we just started getting sunshine back in the house (up to 2hrs now, ha). Greenhouse is getting a bit and the raised beds are too. Broke the threshold of 5 min gain of sunshine a day last week. Spring will be here soon, in 3 months or so. Gotta re-panel the greenhouse this spring and fence in the raised beds. Add it to the list of things to get done! Never endsStarting to think of setting up indoor grow room.And if you're wondering, yes those are Christmas ornaments/figurines still up. Wife is swedish, they looooooove Christmas!!! Ha

hi AK - interesting to hear about ur seasons and such from AK. i am from Pacific NW... been to AK a few times... gold prospecting! err, i mean j/k! traveling touring and horseback riding. AK tv shows one of my favs... yesterday i was out on a bike ride. exercise. warm day. shorts n T... and i noticed a few full in yellow dandelion plants flowering... spring is knocking on our door. even thought artic air is the current threat...

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

Crazy, can't imagine what it would be been like with an earthquake that big. I've been thru a couple 7+ and that's fun, haha.
Well, keep the dream alive! Never know what the future holds. I believe everyone should at least see this place once. It'll put things into perspective on a lot of levels.

it was big one! i have been thru one. was in HS. i remember sitting in class looking out... and the ground was swirling round going one way as the classroom blg went the other way....

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

Those were planted around July 10? If you can start plants and have them in the ground around July 1 you should be able to grow some. Find a 100 day variety. They will stand temps down in the low 20's.and keep growing. You can force them by pinching out the tops after the sprouts form.

thanks Farmer Steve. good advice. will save this post.. the cold weather crops do do better up at the farm, i have seen neighbors and friends gardens. no broc for me here and they have nice heads. we start our english peas bit early for the same reasons u mention. well, one site says they don't like temps over 70f... and we can get them even in the cooler months here. mite set up a grow bucket and fill with compost, etc. and set out 3 plants up at farm, see how they do. the coop has big tubs $3/ea...

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

For weed control I go down to Lowe’s or Home Depot and buy the heavy duty 6mil plastic sheeting. After everything is tilled and leveled, I plot everything out and dig holes then lay the sheeting over it. After that cut an X over each hole and drop the plants in.

nice fotos.

i like that, too. have a couple rolls of it maybe 24" wide or so. lately, after reading few yrs ago how one gardener used cardboard, i have used that for weed control. effective!

fille foto

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

It is true that tomato leaf disease is often splashed up onto the leaves by rain and watering. Also disease is spread by splashes coming from already diseased foliage. Also some tomato leaf disease can be carried over winter on tomato cages or stakes. Also people move diseases around. Also smokers can transmit tobacco mosaic virus from cigs and cigars. A good general rule is to never work or harvest when leaves are wet.

my 1015 onions seem to appreciate their mulch covering i put out this morning. no mud! despite rains off n on...

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

Got shoots! Had to take the top off 2 of them this evening. Will be transplanting some to pots this weekend. The cucumbers are growing crazy. Rather surprised at how they took off. Normally they are about the last to sprout.

nice set up sd - i have some leftover 1015 onions, too small to set out in a small outside nursery. they r in compost. we'll see if they make it. maybe 1/2 doz or so...

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

when i got the onion bunch, there was one onion dropped on the concrete. i picked it up. no idea what type. but prob is a short day type. it is in its own spot...

fingers x'd

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

I'm just getting seedlings started this year. I usually start earlier than I should but this year I should be right on time. Starting early leads to lots of extra time spent growing transplants larger than they have to be. Most vegetable don't really get off to such a great start when started early. Once outside growing conditions get right stuff usually leaps out of the ground growing at rates that are near impossible indoors.

This year I've been using an egg incubator to 'hatch' seedlings. I had it laying around and this is the first time I've tried it. Very high humidity so I decided to remove the sprouted seeds after 4 days at 88°F. It is adjustable in temperature but offers little to no light. Once I saw the first pepper seedling I checked closer and saw 4. I just tonight removed 12 cell packs of 4 cells each totaling 48 cells total onto open cafeteria trays. I planted two pepper seeds in each cell about 1/2 apart for easier transplanting. I've had great success transplanting small seedlings over the years into other cell packs. When a seedling is disturbed or transplanted I mark them with a tooth pick in the cell pack and that is how I know how they perform. I use a stainless steel letter opener as a dibble.

Tonight 12 X 4 cell packs planted in tomatoes get moved to the incubator. I've planted the below tomato varieties. Production is about to start kicking ass.

Italian Heirloom	48 seeds​
Brandywind OTV	48 seeds​
Matt's Wild Cherry	32 seeds​
Amish Paste	32 seeds​
Sungold	32 seeds​
Better Boy	31 seeds
Opalka	32 seeds

View attachment 887599


View attachment 887600

WOW - quite an impressive seed set up there! Better Boy quite popular down here. i like them, too. have grown, but mostly growing Big Beef type these days... grow zone 9

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

Any water splashed up on the plants can cause disease and rot in tomatoes---- we have that problem here and lose a lot of fruit from it. using mulch or any ground cover here is out due to varmints living under it, and destroying the fruit, so we over plant to make up the difference the rot causes. In dry years its not bad at all, ---the wet years ----- harvestable fruit is way down, but we seam to always have enough later in the season to can.
For tomato cages here I found some re-mesh 6x6 stuff---- works grate, also use woven wire but its kinda light and needs steel posts to hold it up! NOT something you want to do for 600 plants! lol!

did 60 tomato plants couple years ago. in all of my years gardening never had to put up tomatoes. maybe early times some juice. but that year i ended up with over 50 qt jars of canned tomatoes...

we gave some away and are still using what is left...

had to learn how to can, like... real fast! lol

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

interesting thread. no doubt i do wish i could grow some of the root and fall crops better. broccoli when the temps dip just right gets real sweet! got some when we saw temps dip to 12f one year and i had some broc planted. oh well, flavor aside, i guess there always is the frozen veg dept at the grocery... lol

still got a handful of tomatoes ripening on the vine.

 

[5backacres]

Yes we had smoke from wildfires last fall that obliterated the tomatoes. Re; cages Started with round bent cattle panel cages but went to right angle bend 1/2 cages put together with zip ties ( visualize 2 pieces of angle iron placed together to make a square) Round ones were difficult storage but the 1/2 cages nest inside each other for storage

I have to cheat here by planting sprouted beans, peas ( with legume inoculant) and corn. Average hardfrost date is 4/21 so by sprouting beans amd corn I can get 2 wks jump on growing ( sprouting is temperature limiting, once sprouted the plants will grow even through it's not warm enough to sprout in the ground) Place seed between wet newspaper on top of the water heater (i'm cheap and don't want to mess with soil heating cable)

 

[Del_]

My first tomato seedlings of 2021. Out of 12-4 packs the cultivar 'Sun Gold' was first up in the chicken egg incubator. The other 11 cell packs stay in until the very first signs of popping up. I have to get them out right away as there is no light in the incubator. Only 85°F moist heat. Sun Gold is a taste test winning yellow cherry tomato that we have grown for years. Non hybrid so with some isolation seed saving is a possibility. In the second photo is inside of the incubator. It is about 86°F when I first open the lid. Inside are the other 11 pack being monitored a couple of times per day.

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

swell post there AK! interesting to hear how your season goes tween break up and freeze up again... well, i am a bit envious of those fishing seasons u get to tap into... lol

wood gathering pretty serious affair for us down here. always scrounging as it falls in my neighborhood like rains. oak mostly. why, just this morning we hear a loud crash, bump etc. thot tunder? no, limb came down? in the yard? no, across the street! handyman showed up 30 mins later, cut it up and appears he just left there for neighbor. plenty to scrounge imo. and can't hardly beat the trek to get. what i call 'walk in' or close lol take care. hope to see some of your AK gardening if u get a chance....

just fell couple hours ago...
View attachment 887730

went and got the entire tree!

some splitting and ahead

 

[Goinwheelin]

Tomato seeds arrived. Hard to find the TamiG seeds lately. Best snacking/ salad tomato out there in my opinion

Numex Chiles. Planted 15 seeds but I may do more tonight. These and the reapers are my main focus. Numex is similar to an Anaheim but with much more flavor and nutty undertones. I like to roast them for use in soups, sauces, salsa, and chili but my favorite is stuff them with roast chicken and cream cheese then bake in the oven covered in cheese. BOMB!

spent most of my morning getting rid of junk and removing shelves so I could tuck the grow tent in. The saw is a 1-70

 

[Goinwheelin]

More reaper sprouts. Planted 10 seeds and got 8 to germinate. I’m happy with that.

 

[Goinwheelin]

Serrano. These will go quick at work. I always grow extra plants to sell, give or trade away.

 

[Del_]

Serrano. These will go quick at work. I always grow extra plants to sell, give or trade away.

Are those Jiffy 7's?

I'm going by memory. They seem to work really well for you.

Looks like you are getting excellent germination. I just check on the age of my seeds and some of the tomatoes that are up were bought in 2011. I've got cabbage just popping and it is from 2012 and still have 70% of an ounce left. Cabbage has between 4,000 and 10,000 seeds per ounce. A good long term seed storage program really cuts down on the cost of seed.

Color indicating silica gel is wonderful stuff for drying and preserving. It turns blue when dry and pink as it absorbs water. I dry it on the wood stove. I also put a dash of Diatomaceous earth in seed containers to kill any insects or weevils.

 

[Goinwheelin]

Are those Jiffy 7's?

I'm going by memory. They seem to work really well for you.

Looks like you are getting excellent germination. I just check on the age of my seeds and some of the tomatoes that are up were bought in 2011. I've got cabbage just popping and it is from 2012 and still have 70% of an ounce left. Cabbage has between 4,000 and 10,000 seeds per ounce. A good long term seed storage program really cuts down on the cost of seed.

Color indicating silica gel is wonderful stuff for drying and preserving. It turns blue when dry and pink as it absorbs water. I dry it on the wood stove. I also put a dash of Diatomaceous earth in seed containers to kill any insects or weevils.

one size up 35mm I think. My favorites are the 50mm. I know I need to be saving seeds and use them instead of just blowing money.

 

[Del_]

one size up 35mm I think. My favorites are the 50mm. I know I need to be saving seeds and use them instead of just blowing money.

That is how long it's been since I've used a Jiffy.
Now they have gone metric!

I save some seeds from the vegetables we grow but I also work at saving seed that I buy for long terms. From our Jimmy Nardello peppers I must have saved 1,000 seeds this year. Seed saving comes with time. Seeds like Crimnson Sweet watermelon is easy to save too.