2023 garden season

[sonny580]

Bell peppers here are doing great as are the damn HOT peppers that were S'POSED to be sweet ones! I dont do the hot ****! Cant stand it! Anyway,--- guess they can go in the compost pile or just mow them down and plow them under.
Another 7 tray and a 5 tray batch of onions got done today and refilled both units and go again on another run.
sunrise this morning too! lol!

 

[farmer steve]

My Indian corn survived the drought/ high temps we had. I always plant it in my low spot back field. Nicest I've had in a few years.We're getting a nice rain today which should help the cole crops,late green beans and cucumbers. Last week at auction this big Indian corn brought $5 a bunch. (3 ears)

 

[Stonesforbrains]

Been outta town working for weeks, wife hasn’t picked any peppers. I got a bunch of Zapotecs that turned that will make great taco sauce.

 

[Stonesforbrains]

Got a good mixed batch of everything I planted. Can’t wait till next month when the scotch bonnets really go nuts!

 

[djg james]

sun has been so hot... and hard on my lima patch. all are covered. and i have to aim in the waterings so as to get inside to all w/o removing sun protection. a white sheet, etc. and my potted nursey doing well, too. couple of covered limas didn't like being exposed for a few hot hours. suffered, but showing improvement. expect them to be producing plants. sugar snaps to go in soon. well, once i relocate some weeds!

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How long is your growing season? Just now planting Okra?

 

[djg james]

Sweet potatoes were a hit this year, I went in with two neighbors using their ditch to plant a 70 foot long single row. We let them go over 120 days before harvesting, I ended up with some the size and shape of gourds! 5+lb'ers! All in all we ended up pulling about 100lbs out of the ground. The nice thing is they will stay edible and viable to plant for about a year. The biggest surprise this year have been the chinese long beans. They grow very fast from seed to fruiting vines then back to dried seeds, so fast that I am on the 3rd planting since july. Every two or three days I pick about a dozen beans..Its at the point that we are tired of eating green beans so the neighbors getting gifted them. I'm looking forward to shifting to carrots, radishes, lettuce, collards, spinach and i'm going to try growing Daikon this winter.

Not familiar with chinese long beans. You plant several crops a season?

 

[djg james]

WAY too early to dig sweet potatoes here! Only planted 1 row 130 feet long,---- hard to get rid of them so I quit planting so many.

Still running 2 freeze dryers trying to get all the onions that we kept from the July harvest. They wont keep unless you process them and we have a few in the deep freeze and they are o.k. but prefer freeze dried better.
Still wanted to do a few beets and carrots but may not get it done. Depends on the weather.
Later we will do more mashed potatoes ready to eat and freeze dried. Same with beets. The dried stuff can be used as a dry snack or cooked in soup or by itself.
Did one 5 tray batch of apples to munch on during the winter.
Later on after harvest is over and outside work comes to a halt due to ground freezing,--its cook----eat----and get fat time!!! LOL!!

When do you dig your sweet potatoes? Mine vines are still green.

 

[djg james]

I agree sweet potatoes are a tough one to get rid of! thats why this year we used the ditch instead of our gardens like we did last year. I figured out last year that fertilizing them with any nitrogen after two vines are formed resulted in mostly vines. This year I told both neighbors I would handle the fertilizer. One neighbor listened and on his shorter section we got 50% more potatoes that were larger with 1/3 less vine mass to clean up. For some reason this year the moths and their worms are much worse than last year. My Bell peppers are starting to grow and get bigger now finally.

What do you fertilize them with?

 

[djg james]

Harvest time. Brought inside all my Butternut squash. Ended up with over 30 squash from two hills.

 

[cookies]

Not familiar with chinese long beans. You plant several crops a season?

Yes I have been replanting every 30 days for a continuous supply, they even did well in the 105+ temps of august! Just water water water when its really hot.
Typically sweet potatoes I till the ground then dig a trench and fill with pure compost, toss seed potatoes in and cover with the removed soil, approx 2" depth. About 3 weeks later when a single vine forms over six inches in length they will get hit with a healthy dose of 20-20-20 liquid and that will be it for the remainder of the season. At around 120 days I dig them all up no matter the leaf color, any longer and you risk the potatoes suckering.

 

[sonny580]

When do you dig your sweet potatoes? Mine vines are still green.

Normally I dig after the first frost hits. Chop the vines off and dig before a rain hits. I want 11 pound taters and this usually gives them.
Commercial guys take them when they are barely starting to grow!! Such a waste!!
You can dig them anytime you want,-- longer can give bigger, better tasting taters , --- shorter time and you got baby tasteless strings.
After digging, they should cure for 3 weeks or more for best flavor,- or thats what they claim! Vines here still green but heading out so about done. LOTS of red ends on the vines, so its getting close.
Probably will dig before frost this year. Screwed up season this time so gotta watch the plants and see what they are sayin!

 

[farmer steve]

We're finally getting a good dose of rain instead of quick worthless showers. Been raining 2 days straight now with close to 2" in the gauge. Cole crops and turnips should love it. Cabbage is close to cutting so I watered it good Friday so it won't split. Not sure how the late cucumbers and green beans will take all the water. Stihl some sweet to pick along with more peppers.

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

WAY too early to dig sweet potatoes here! Only planted 1 row 130 feet long,---- hard to get rid of them so I quit planting so many.
Did one 5 tray batch of apples to munch on during the winter.
Later on after harvest is over and outside work comes to a halt due to ground freezing,--its cook----eat----and get fat time!!! LOL!!

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

We're finally getting a good dose of rain instead of quick worthless showers. Been raining 2 days straight now with close to 2" in the gauge. Cole crops and turnips should love it. Cabbage is close to cutting so I watered it good Friday so it won't split. Not sure how the late cucumbers and green beans will take all the water. Stihl some sweet to pick along with more peppers.

the heat down here continues to be tough on my gardening efforts... etc

not to mention... the gardener!

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

View attachment 1113261
Been outta town working for weeks, wife hasn’t picked any peppers. I got a bunch of Zapotecs that turned that will make great taco sauce.

did some poppers other day, cooked 'em today. these are low cal! lol. all the goodies, just less of them!

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

How long is your growing season? Just now planting Okra?

we have 2 growing seasons down here in Grow Zone 9. Spring/summer - Fall

trying to get some okra in. but the sun and heat tuff on everyone! been dawning on my last few days all this may be for naught! however, tonite tv weatherlady said these warm temps will be well into Oct! we should be cooling down now.

not real fun for me to be out in garden when the sun beats down mercilessly! and don't matter if i get an early morn start, or work later on when sun past my tall pines... the plants suffer badly in the afternoon!

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

some limas in pots, some out in garden. sheltered. they are doing ok, even now flowering. but i had hoped they would be in final plantings, etc by now. nope! they shrivel on the vine in the sun....

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

one okra is out in garden, 7 still in pots. all growing, but in-ground would be better. the one in garden is growing, but has to have daytime shade. i just leave the tent u. maybe next year i will just buy Kroger Limas - $1.19 a bag! lol

okra is also an early summer plant here, too

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

Yes I have been replanting every 30 days for a continuous supply, they even did well in the 105+ temps of august! Just water water water when its really hot.
Typically sweet potatoes I till the ground then dig a trench and fill with pure compost, toss seed potatoes in and cover with the removed soil, approx 2" depth. About 3 weeks later when a single vine forms over six inches in length they will get hit with a healthy dose of 20-20-20 liquid and that will be it for the remainder of the season. At around 120 days I dig them all up no matter the leaf color, any longer and you risk the potatoes suckering.

i have done sweet potatoes. one time just from a cutting from the store. ate the rest! took over the garden! lol... store bot sweet spuds not bad, but garden fresh is very tasty! sweet! ~ and as i have been reading... very healthy food, too

 

[djg james]

Last of my squash.

Only one off of two vines, but it was a big one, a little over 13".
Maybe I'm not fertilizing them right to only get one. Oh well, next year.