2024 garden season

[TNTreeHugger]

Work on phase 2 of this years garden is complete... for now.

I planted two rows of zucchini, a row of yellow squash about a week ago and they have sprouted.

I used MiracleGrow garden soil on two of the rows, not the third, to see if it makes any difference.

I planted six of the YG taters in a row same time I planted the squash.
This morning, after soaking them over night, I planted a pack of sugar peas - I planted them over the potatoes and the leftovers in half the back row.

Things are still doing well in garden #1 although I think something is eating the squash flowers.
Tomatoes are still flowering too.

All in all, this has been a great garden year for me... and it ain't over yet!

Oh! And my gourds are humongous - as are the giant marigolds. They are about 2' tall and just now starting to bloom. Weird.

 

[farmer steve]

Work on phase 2 of this years garden is complete... for now.

I planted two rows of zucchini, a row of yellow squash about a week ago and they have sprouted.
View attachment 1190052
I used MiracleGrow garden soil on two of the rows, not the third, to see if it makes any difference.
View attachment 1190048
I planted six of the YG taters in a row same time I planted the squash.
This morning, after soaking them over night, I planted a pack of sugar peas - I planted them over the potatoes and the leftovers in half the back row.

Things are still doing well in garden #1 although I think something is eating the squash flowers.
Tomatoes are still flowering too.
View attachment 1190049
All in all, this has been a great garden year for me... and it's ain't over yet!

Oh! And my gourds are humongous - as are the giant marigolds. They are about 2' tall and just now starting to bloom. Weird.
View attachment 1190050

Possibly cucumber beetles eating the squash flowers.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Possibly cucumber beetles eating the squash flowers.

I haven't seen any, but I'll look closer.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Possibly cucumber beetles eating the squash flowers.

Nope, no bugs. I suppose they could have been the male flowers that fell off.
I did find another tobacco worm on my tomato plant!
Lunch for the tads.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Found another nice sized zucchini yesterday - I think that makes four so far.
Tomato plants are still doing well, new flowers and new maters coming on.
So far, I've picked most of them just as they turn color and let them ripen on the shelf. I didn't want bugs to get them before I did.
But these I'm letting ripen on the vine.

 

[farmer steve]

Finally getting some big peppers.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

How can you tell when a spaghetti squash is ready to pick?

 

[sonny580]

when they turn tan or yellow and are hard shelled. Takes a long time for them to get ready.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

when they turn tan or yellow and are hard shelled. Takes a long time for them to get ready.

They have turned yellow, like they look in the store.
Are they similar to a pumpkin, leave it on the vine until the stem hardens off?

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Looks like there is a definite benefit using the Miracle Grow garden soil vs. not.

Snow peas on left are up about 1". Those on the right, not so much.

Zucchini on left. Yellow squash on right.

 

[sonny580]

I always let them on the vine til the stem dries hard. They are considered a winter type squash so need full time on the plant to develop completely and have the best quality.
They dont store well so eat up and enjoy them!!!

 

[farmer steve]

Looks like there is a definite benefit using the Miracle Grow garden soil vs. not.

Snow peas on left are up about 1". Those on the right, not so much.
View attachment 1192261

Zucchini on left. Yellow squash on right.
View attachment 1192262

 

[TNTreeHugger]

How's this?

View attachment 1188084

Nearly three weeks later - I have shoots.

One half is doing well, the other nothing. Is this typical? Only one end will make shoots?

Can I plant this directly in the ground, or do as advised earlier and break off and root each shoot?

 

[sonny580]

each plant has to be rooted and apart from the mother tuber. I never do them in jars or water,---- just lay them down and cover with dirt and keep it wet. That way the new plants start right off with their own roots attached.
Too late for sweet potatoes now to ever make anything. The ones I planted in late May are not going to make it here!

 

[TNTreeHugger]

each plant has to be rooted and apart from the mother tuber. I never do them in jars or water,---- just lay them down and cover with dirt and keep it wet. That way the new plants start right off with their own roots attached.
Too late for sweet potatoes now to ever make anything. The ones I planted in late May are not going to make it here!

Thank you.
Guess I'll keep it as a nice house plant as long as it lasts.

 

[muddstopper]

Spme years I make nice sweet taters and some years I make strings. Not a good track record. but, I am going to suggest that you go ahead and plant and seee what happenes. You live in Tenn, not Illinoise and your growing season is a little different than Sonny580. I have started slips in a sawdust pile and made nice taters and I have planted chits cut from sprouted s taters and made nice taters. I do believe planting rooted slips is better, but honestly, my luck with staters isnt to stellar.. One thing I am pretty certain about is if you plant them in a pot as a house plant, you wont grow anything but strings, but my wife Ilike them as house plants also. She like to hang them from the kitch window and just trims them back when they grow into the sink.. I planted slips this year and I planted them early, after the deer ate them to the ground a few times, I dug into the hills last week and I only have a few strings. I dont hold out much hope of makeing any decent crop, but I am leaving them in the ground anyways.

My garden is almost done for this season. My deer eaten arsh taters have rebounded and are making big tops so I have hope of a decent second container crop of spuds. I have a second planting of crookneck squash growing in containers that should make. My okra is turning it on right now and tomatoes are turing red. I have a ton of thai peppers, and my bells are doing nicely. also my cayennes are doing nice, but I Only have a couple of plants.
I have done a second pick of my sweet corn so what ever is left I will pick for seed. J have some indian corn planted in the bed beside my porch I havent figured out. It is at least 10-12 ft tall and just starting to tassel, there are no ears on the stalks, not sure whats up with that. I had to tie the stalks to the porch railings to keep it from falling over. Pole beans are growing to the top of the stalks and blooms everywhere. Shoul;d be a decent crop of green beans. Squash planted under the corn and beans are blooming also . The bed is only wide enough for one row of anything, but I have it crammed full of Tomatoes, corn, beans, squash, asparigus on one end and Jacob beads on the other. I think the wife also planted a few cuke but I dont think they will grwo thru all the other stuff planted there. Almost weed free without having to do any hand pulling. All this after a spring planting of sweet peas in the same bed.

 

[sonny580]

sounds like you have white hominy corn if its that tall. I had some one year and thats how it did,--- only had a couple small nubbins in a long thin shuck out of over a dozen stalks and not many kernels on each cob.
Sweet potatoes are a 120 frost free day crop and even the lightest frost kills them. They have to grow vines 20 feet long or more to make anything underneath. Mine here grow 32 feet across, so 16 feet in all directions from the center and thats why I dont plant many of them since they run over everything else and no you dont want to chop off the vines to keep them short! lol!
I guess the neighbor got all the sweetcorn he wanted,--- the rest I will chop down since the varmints are in it now and I dont feed them any more than I have too, well cept LEAD!
I am not freeze drying or canning any this year,---quality too low on most everything here due to the dry/hot weather.
Did do the 7 quarts of cabbage and the kraut.
dug a few dead potato plants and not much under them,---also a lot of them have rot and brown scab this year so wont keep. Not sure if I will even dig them.
Tomatoes started off lookin good and now they are dieing too so probably wont have any of them.
Sis got all the cucumbers she wanted before the first planting died. second planting blooming and dieing so we see if they make one picking or not.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Spme years I make nice sweet taters and some years I make strings. Not a good track record. but, I am going to suggest that you go ahead and plant and seee what happenes. You live in Tenn, not Illinoise and your growing season is a little different than Sonny580. I have started slips in a sawdust pile and made nice taters and I have planted chits cut from sprouted s taters and made nice taters. I do believe planting rooted slips is better, but honestly, my luck with staters isnt to stellar.. One thing I am pretty certain about is if you plant them in a pot as a house plant, you wont grow anything but strings, but my wife Ilike them as house plants also. She like to hang them from the kitch window and just trims them back when they grow into the sink.. I planted slips this year and I planted them early, after the deer ate them to the ground a few times, I dug into the hills last week and I only have a few strings. I dont hold out much hope of makeing any decent crop, but I am leaving them in the ground anyways.

...

Thanks! I was wondering about just sticking it in the garden as-is.
I'd rather take my chances and do that than fool with a house plant.
Our first frost is Oct 15th, so I may get lucky and get a tater or two.

 

[chilipeppermaniac]

Hi guys, I know that I am quite willing to offer advice for those running and maintaining saws, tractors etc, but when it comes to gardening, I am a hack.

My biggest trouble now are 2 fold. It used to be more issues as I was looking after my dad nearly 24/7 before he died in April. But now that I am only doing the Executor and tax /bill paying part and his house /yard maintenance, My wife's house ( gravel driveway, gardens and tree lines need massive weed control. Normally I would scrape the ***** out of it with my skidsteer, but it needs some repairs as does my only tagged truck.

SO, my main issues are, How to rid the overgrown weeds without using weed killer ( we have a sweet feral cat I definitely do not want to get poisoned)

And how do I possibly pull the weeds the easiest with a 60 year old bad back/hips and legs that really make me sad how much I now struggle in getting up and down easily like in my 30+ years as a carpenter.

I hate to think about hiring a company, but it may come down to it. As a side note, I did buy some Ag Grade Vinegar which I hear can be quite effective when mixed with water and Dawn soap.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Hi guys, I know that I am quite willing to offer advice for those running and maintaining saws, tractors etc, but when it comes to gardening, I am a hack.

My biggest trouble now are 2 fold. It used to be more issues as I was looking after my dad nearly 24/7 before he died in April. But now that I am only doing the Executor and tax /bill paying part and his house /yard maintenance, My wife's house ( gravel driveway, gardens and tree lines need massive weed control. Normally I would scrape the ***** out of it with my skidsteer, but it needs some repairs as does my only tagged truck.

SO, my main issues are, How to rid the overgrown weeds without using weed killer ( we have a sweet feral cat I definitely do not want to get poisoned)

And how do I possibly pull the weeds the easiest with a 60 year old bad back/hips and legs that really make me sad how much I now struggle in getting up and down easily like in my 30+ years as a carpenter.

I hate to think about hiring a company, but it may come down to it. As a side note, I did buy some Ag Grade Vinegar which I hear can be quite effective when mixed with water and Dawn soap.

So very sorry for your loss.

As to the weed/overgrowth problem photos would be very helpful.
What you describe sounds like my property and I've finally got it "under control" partly by giving up fighting it and letting it do it's own thing.