Gardening: 2015-2016

[ElainaA]

@Tere Spinach beet is new to me. Investigating (i.e. googling) it seems to be similar to chard but with a flavor more similar to spinach. I found several sources for seed - I may try this next year. Your garden is impressive, especially the fruit. 

 

As of today all the irrigation system is in - both in the main garden and in the greenhouse. I don't install the irrigation in the main garden until after I plant because I worry about clogging the the drip tape with dirt as I make furrows and cover seeds. Now I can put in the tomato seedlings that are screaming their need for bigger places for their roots. And plant cukes and squash. Then I can move to maintenance. 

Edited May 25, 2016 by ElainaA (log)

[Tere]

Spinach beet is new to me, too - I was attracted by the perpetual quality. And I love spinach!

 

The raab 60 days is also an experiment which is looking very promising.

[Okanagancook]

Tender little shoots from my New Zealand spinach plant.

[KennethT]

A tale of two corianders:

Standard and sawtooth...

[kayb]

Tomatoes!

A Park Whopper hybrid.

 

Romas

 

Luxuriant squash vines

 

 

And as soon as we dry out from the current monsoon, I'm prepared to take on the marauding rabbits.

 

[Tere]

What's the Liquid Fence made from? I don't know that I've seen anything like it here.

[kayb]

According to the jug, active ingredients are "putrescent egg solids" (love the highfalutin' pseudonym for rotten eggs), garlic, lime, and thyme oil. 

 

Allegedly, there's another one out there on the market that contains coyote urine. I do not want to contemplate how they collect THAT.

 

Really not looking forward to applying this.

Edited May 28, 2016 by kayb (log)

[Tere]

Ewww. Good luck!

[rotuts]

@kayb   

 

let us know if it works !

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Watered plants, ate strawberries.

 

[ElainaA]

21 hours ago, kayb said:

According to the jug, active ingredients are "putrescent egg solids" (love the highfalutin' pseudonym for rotten eggs), garlic, lime, and thyme oil. 

 

Allegedly, there's another one out there on the market that contains coyote urine. I do not want to contemplate how they collect THAT.

 

Really not looking forward to applying this.

 

The local Agway here sells bottles of fox urine and of coyote urine to use as critter repellants. The smell, to my perception, dissipates quite quickly. And they work - until it rains anyway. I have always wondered how the stuff is collected. 

[dcarch]

Let's face it, all repellents are expensive, they don't last, they can't repel all critters, they require a lot of time each time to apply. repellents are OK for a very small garden.

 

My approach is to install a good electric fence system. A well installed electric fence system is not that expensive, it lasts many years, requires no work, and it repels ALL critters, except birds.

 

dcarch

[rotuts]

I guess you could collect your own :

 

collecting fox and coyote urine

 

[Shelby]

KayB, I have tomato envy.  We have gotten SO much rain.  The Little Arkansas is at 25.12' which is flood stage.  It's now invading my corn crop  with more rain forecasted today and all next week.  My second round of tomatoes that we planted (to replace the 50 that got too cold and died) look terrible.  If we don't get any more rain for a couple of days I would say they have a fighting chance.  If we do, I'm going to be on round 3 of planting tomatoes.  Never had that happen before.  Sigh.  

 

This morning I was able to get in there and weed.  We also planted 200 seeds of Silver Queen corn and more squash.  The lettuce and the onion look good....and that's about it lol.

[ElainaA]

@Shelby - What an awful start to the growing season! Mother Nature certainly likes to remind us of how little control gardeners really have. Do you have extra seedlings in reserve or will you have to purchase plants if they are needed? I wish there was some way to even things up - it has been very hot here (high 80's. 90 yesterday - that is August weather here) with no rain for the past week. Finally a short thunderstorm today. 

[kayb]

4 hours ago, Shelby said:

KayB, I have tomato envy.  We have gotten SO much rain.  The Little Arkansas is at 25.12' which is flood stage.  It's now invading my corn crop  with more rain forecasted today and all next week.  My second round of tomatoes that we planted (to replace the 50 that got too cold and died) look terrible.  If we don't get any more rain for a couple of days I would say they have a fighting chance.  If we do, I'm going to be on round 3 of planting tomatoes.  Never had that happen before.  Sigh.  

 

This morning I was able to get in there and weed.  We also planted 200 seeds of Silver Queen corn and more squash.  The lettuce and the onion look good....and that's about it lol.

That was our year last year. Strawberries weren't good, and season was really short, because of so much rain. Ditto tomatoes. So far this year it's been decent; more rain than needed, but not enough to flood me, at least, out, though some folks haven't been as lucky. 

 

I have friends who normally cut hayfields three times a year, and got ONE cutting last year.

 

[Tere]

We have been beavering away this weekend, which has been glorious. I swear I can almost see the stuff in the veg plots growing!

[HungryChris]

After several 90 + (F) days, little or no rain, using the hose to keep things going, we are finally getting some good rain. My first row of beans (third planting) has come up with a few no-shows. I planted the second row yesterday and doubled up on the seed count.

Shelby, Kansas is not a state we normally hear much about out here, but lately, it's in the news for all kinds of weather issues. I hope your growing season improves!

HC 

[ElainaA]

Here is why I haven't been cooking very much recently:

The year's big experiment - the greenhouse. with 34 tomato plants.

 

This is the whole garden area - the greenhouse, the garlic bed, raspberries and the main garden.

 

 

The lettuce bed:

 

So far almost everything is looking good. After a week of hot, dry weather we had some good rain yesterday and last night. The beans are popping up so fact I can almost see them grow. The tomato plants in the main garden are still looking rather sickly - they always do for a while after transplant. The difference between the ones in the greenhouse and the ones in the garden is striking. I planted squash and cucumbers a few days ago - the cukes and zucchini are up but no winter squash yet.  Sadly the flea beetles have already found the arugula and mizuna. 

I don't have a picture of my second experiment. At the end of the garden are 7 5-gallon buckets with seedings of one of the varieties developed by the dwarf tomato project - this one with the oxymoronic name of Big New Dwarf. I think the 'big' refers to the fruit while the 'dwarf' refers to the plants. The plants only get to be 2-3 foot tall but should produce full crops. Since 2 of the founders of the project are from Australia (the third is from North Carolina) I am wondering if any of the Australian gardeners here are familiar with these varieties?

[dcarch]

ElainaAmazing! 

 

dcarch

[ElainaA]

29 minutes ago, dcarch said:

ElainaAmazing! 

 

dcarch

Thank you @dcarch  !!

[kayb]

@ElainaA, gorgeous!

 

[sartoric]

Marvellous effort @ElainaA I cant imagine how much work it takes.  I hope you reap a bountiful reward.

 

I'm no gardener (he's at his day job), but I am Australian, so I googled new big dwarf. There were many outlets selling the seeds and with a bit of digging (sorry) I'm sure you could find plants. They get rave reviews and have been around for about 6 years. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Interestingly I read that a New Big Dwarf tomato has been sold for a hundred years.  Maybe some big dwarves are newer than others?

 

Meanwhile my Mountain Magic plants are coming along swimmingly in our heat and rain.

[sartoric]

Oops, yes I got that wrong. It was listed in a catalogue in 1915. It's called Ibsell's New Big Dwarf apparently.