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Years ago we had our garden cleared out while I was at work.
Garden 2021
- Thread starter UrbanHunter
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I haven't seen my plants in a few days. I put my sister in charge and I'm going to trust her with this. It also helps that it's been drizzling here and there the last couple of days. And early this week, I fed them some chicken poop.
I'll see them tomorrow.
I'll see them tomorrow.
Yea we've been having torrential downpours here for 2 days now. Just had one this morning.
Tomatoes are cracking bad. Can't get out in the beds because its so wet and keeps raining.
Dry and hot before and now wet and humid. Such is gardening
Tomatoes are cracking bad. Can't get out in the beds because its so wet and keeps raining.
Dry and hot before and now wet and humid. Such is gardening
I finally found one that works! Find the hardiness zone at specific coordinates.
https://legacy.climate.ncsu.edu/voyager/index.php?tool=hardiness_zones
https://legacy.climate.ncsu.edu/voyager/index.php?tool=hardiness_zones
Sorry that happened to you.. It happened to a man I know... I saw a family of thieves (I've known my whole life) selling watermelons at the farmers market where I had take peaches to sell. I knew they didn't grow watermelons that year since their garden is against a hay field I leased. To be polite I went over to say hello and happened to ask where they got the melons. Their story wasn't convincing...
A week later I was checking my hay and the land owner Mr. W, asked me "do coyotes eat watermelons or drag them from the field?" (a city guy, retired military who bought a hobby farm). He said all his melons disappeared when he and his wife were at a church camp last week.
I felt bad for the guy, it was his very first crop of melons. At least I could tell him with reasonable certainty who stole his melons. The thieves lived 1/4mile away, pitiful family, several are severely mentally handicapped and always live below the poverty line. Had they asked Mr. W (big heart) he'd have given them the entire melon crop without a question... but all they know how to do is steal (at least for the last 5 generations). They aren't even clever thieves... they stole melons from property next door, then sold them at the nearest farmers market, in front of other farmers who've known them for years. Duh!!!!!!
Garden is slowing down here... I'm still getting a few peppers. Dad has so much okra he's been inviting neighbor to get all they want.
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ALL of my Arctic Kiwi's are gone.
They didn't dry up and drop off the vines. Theres none on the ground under it and theres none dried on the vine.
They're just .......gone
They were the size of nickles the last time I looked at them.
I know squirrels couldn't have gotten to them because of the pups are there. Rabbits neither, since they can't climb 4ft off the ground ( can they?
). And people certainly couldn't have gotten them
Birds maybe?
Oh well. Maybe next year I'll cover the vines with netting and see if that works
So strange they're just all gone
They didn't dry up and drop off the vines. Theres none on the ground under it and theres none dried on the vine.
They're just .......gone
They were the size of nickles the last time I looked at them.
I know squirrels couldn't have gotten to them because of the pups are there. Rabbits neither, since they can't climb 4ft off the ground ( can they?
). And people certainly couldn't have gotten themBirds maybe?
Oh well. Maybe next year I'll cover the vines with netting and see if that works
So strange they're just all gone
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All of my walnuts disappeared. Too high off the ground to blame Bambi. I suspect birds.ALL of my Arctic Kiwi's are gone.
They didn't dry up and drop off the vines. Theres none on the ground under it and theres none dried on the vine.
They're just .......gone
They were the size of nickles the last time I looked at them.
I know squirrels couldn't have gotten to them because of the pups are there. Rabbits neither, since they can't climb 4ft off the ground ( can they?
Birds maybe?
Oh well. Maybe next year I'll cover the vines with netting and see if that works
So strange they're just all gone
Ben
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Eggplants are going gangbusters. I really don't like eggplant, but husband does, so I'll have to find a low fat recipe for him. Still picking buckets of tomatoes a day. Won't have time in the next week to put them up with company coming, our local events, and the family reunion tomorrow, so they will become chicken food.
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I put in a seed order with a company in a southern state on the 9th and it still hasn't arrived so when I needed to put in a new seed order I chose a company from my own state thinking I'd be able to dodge back logs and truckie strikes that way. I rang them to see how the order is going and they hadn't even process my order yet let alone posted it. They aren't going to get to processing the order until late next week. Bugger.
It gives me time to get my backyard sorted, drive in the star pickets and hang the garden gate but it's a waste of time doing any tilling and laying down weed matting until I'm able to buy the electric fence unit, some insulators and tape because of the Landshark.
I'll be planting Corn, cassava, pumpkins, ginger and chillis in the back yard and so the electric fence is going to be vital to keep the garden safe.
The electric fence unit will be solar and it will be big enough to string a few discrete wires along my front boundary fence to help keep the two legged vermin out of the yard and keep the Landshark out of the back garden.
It gives me time to get my backyard sorted, drive in the star pickets and hang the garden gate but it's a waste of time doing any tilling and laying down weed matting until I'm able to buy the electric fence unit, some insulators and tape because of the Landshark.
I'll be planting Corn, cassava, pumpkins, ginger and chillis in the back yard and so the electric fence is going to be vital to keep the garden safe.
The electric fence unit will be solar and it will be big enough to string a few discrete wires along my front boundary fence to help keep the two legged vermin out of the yard and keep the Landshark out of the back garden.
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Our garden is just getting going since the last week or so have been nice instead of blasted hot. I will can tomatoes this weekend. So far it's been going into salsa. Hubby is heading off hunting so I will get some toms. for other uses
Coyotes will eat small fruit in a blink, usually swallow it whole. They'll eat peaches, plums etc and especially persimmons. Also (wouldn't have believed it except I saw it with my own eyes) ground hogs can and do climb small fruit trees and eat fruit. They are a lot bigger than their cousin the squirrel and eat a lot more.
Sort of funny, I once found a spot of ground all torn up in the peach orchard (8ft across). Coyote tracks were every where and it looked just like a kill site. Except there was no blood, feathers, hair or anything to show an animal was killed by a coyote. Yet the ground was all torn up! I looked at the spot for several minutes... Then I noticed it, a poopy peach pit... I had to stop and laugh when I realized a coyote had eaten a peach but had trouble passing the pit! He'd torn up all the ground straining...
Sort of funny, I once found a spot of ground all torn up in the peach orchard (8ft across). Coyote tracks were every where and it looked just like a kill site. Except there was no blood, feathers, hair or anything to show an animal was killed by a coyote. Yet the ground was all torn up! I looked at the spot for several minutes... Then I noticed it, a poopy peach pit... I had to stop and laugh when I realized a coyote had eaten a peach but had trouble passing the pit! He'd torn up all the ground straining...
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My dogs would eat American persimmons, when I was a kid. Peaches is a knew one on me.
I can't help but laugh when I find sign of wild critters doing something dumb. We all have seen nature shows of critters getting themselves into odd situations but its something I never really think about when tracking. When I do see it I find it funny as heck... For instance - deer fall down, it happens all the time, a graceful deer leaps, lands in slippery mud and splat!
However, if you're tracking that deer and find signs like this, really strange prints/sign... falling down is not the first thing that comes to mind. Tracks can be quite puzzling sometimes.
One night the dogs were barking and I went to check things out. A dog saw an armadillo and chased it into the woods at the end of the garden. But, there was a really strange sound as this started that didn't fit, it bugged me, couldn't figure out the sound. The next day I happened to walk by the spot the armadillo had been. I saw where he'd been digging for a grub. I saw the marks when he'd first heard the dogs and started to run. I trialed him into the woods... then sat down and laughed my butt off!!!
Armadillo's have really bad eye sight, I've seen them run into things before. I saw the sign where it had been digging, saw the tracks when it started to run. Then I saw the signs where it ran face first into and oak tree!
I laughed my butt off... That's what the strange sound was... the armadillo hitting the tree! I know the story of the coyote is a little gross but I found the signs hysterically funny that morning. Most of the time, while tracking, it's easy to guess what a critter is doing, going to/from water, grazing/feeding, hunting, the normal things. But its really hard to figure out the odd things critters do just from tracks.
However, if you're tracking that deer and find signs like this, really strange prints/sign... falling down is not the first thing that comes to mind. Tracks can be quite puzzling sometimes.
One night the dogs were barking and I went to check things out. A dog saw an armadillo and chased it into the woods at the end of the garden. But, there was a really strange sound as this started that didn't fit, it bugged me, couldn't figure out the sound. The next day I happened to walk by the spot the armadillo had been. I saw where he'd been digging for a grub. I saw the marks when he'd first heard the dogs and started to run. I trialed him into the woods... then sat down and laughed my butt off!!!
Armadillo's have really bad eye sight, I've seen them run into things before. I saw the sign where it had been digging, saw the tracks when it started to run. Then I saw the signs where it ran face first into and oak tree!
I laughed my butt off... That's what the strange sound was... the armadillo hitting the tree! I know the story of the coyote is a little gross but I found the signs hysterically funny that morning. Most of the time, while tracking, it's easy to guess what a critter is doing, going to/from water, grazing/feeding, hunting, the normal things. But its really hard to figure out the odd things critters do just from tracks.
I recall my dads comments at times about a dog crapping a peach pit. Guess you actually found one.
Haven't poster here in a while so gonna try and catch up. Deer destroyed my watermelon crop, inside the electric fence. Also got all but 2 of my cataloupes. Not happy about that at all.
First crop tomoatos are done. Picked my last one tonight, also got my first one off my late maters. Pulled my last 3 cukes, wife got a nice okra harvest.
Last Saturday I harvested 4 5 gallon buckets of Copra Onions, got them scattered out and drying in front of a fan. Got rained out before I could get anything else done.
Today I pulled 2 rows of beans, 1 Dark Red Kidney's, 1 Great Northern's. I got 1 5 gallon bucket of kidney's and 2+ buckets of Great Northern. I missed some as well, the shells were quite dry and some had busted open and started sprouting. I'm at least 2 weeks late in harvesting them. Came in to eat lunch and cool off for a while. Went back out to dig my taters and it had started raining. We went ahead and dug one row. Tractor has a hydrostatic transmission and wife can drive it, so I put the tater plow on and set her up and pick them up. She wasn't happy about working in the rain but ran the tractor flawlessly, taters were rolling out both sides of the plow.
I've still got about a 1/3 row to dig, but it's inside the fence and gotta take it down. About all thats left in that garden spot if 3 kinds of squash and they are getting close, and a short row of some late beans
Beds are about done, other than my late maters and peppers, plus the leeks in the asparagus bed and a couple big batches of herbs.
First crop tomoatos are done. Picked my last one tonight, also got my first one off my late maters. Pulled my last 3 cukes, wife got a nice okra harvest.
Last Saturday I harvested 4 5 gallon buckets of Copra Onions, got them scattered out and drying in front of a fan. Got rained out before I could get anything else done.
Today I pulled 2 rows of beans, 1 Dark Red Kidney's, 1 Great Northern's. I got 1 5 gallon bucket of kidney's and 2+ buckets of Great Northern. I missed some as well, the shells were quite dry and some had busted open and started sprouting. I'm at least 2 weeks late in harvesting them. Came in to eat lunch and cool off for a while. Went back out to dig my taters and it had started raining. We went ahead and dug one row. Tractor has a hydrostatic transmission and wife can drive it, so I put the tater plow on and set her up and pick them up. She wasn't happy about working in the rain but ran the tractor flawlessly, taters were rolling out both sides of the plow.
I've still got about a 1/3 row to dig, but it's inside the fence and gotta take it down. About all thats left in that garden spot if 3 kinds of squash and they are getting close, and a short row of some late beans
Beds are about done, other than my late maters and peppers, plus the leeks in the asparagus bed and a couple big batches of herbs.
lol... the strangest is still the groundhog I found in a peach tree (below is the way we pruned, no major limbs taller than 6ft with a cap at 9ft for all limbs).
It was summer and I was up in the orchard. The dogs were barking at something in a tree. I was moving around trying to look up at the top of the tree. I moved a small limb out of my view and found myself staring at a ground hog!!!
Scared the carp out of me! I just saw something large and hairy with eyes looking back. I almost fell over trying to back up.
I was in town a few days later and told the county extension agent about it. He said "Yes! groundhogs can climb small fruit trees" "Afterall, they nothing more than a chubby squirrel". The one I saw that day was huge, at least 15 lbs, and he was stuffing himself with my peaches!
I'm convinced now but had never heard of it before. If you look at the way a commercial fruit tree is pruned it be easy for lots of critters to climb.
It was summer and I was up in the orchard. The dogs were barking at something in a tree. I was moving around trying to look up at the top of the tree. I moved a small limb out of my view and found myself staring at a ground hog!!!
Scared the carp out of me! I just saw something large and hairy with eyes looking back. I almost fell over trying to back up.
I was in town a few days later and told the county extension agent about it. He said "Yes! groundhogs can climb small fruit trees" "Afterall, they nothing more than a chubby squirrel". The one I saw that day was huge, at least 15 lbs, and he was stuffing himself with my peaches!
I'm convinced now but had never heard of it before. If you look at the way a commercial fruit tree is pruned it be easy for lots of critters to climb.
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I found a cool trick for improving the germination of my seeds be they in flats or in ground and I found it from Honey Tree farm on YT.
Casey puts silage tarp over his seeded, well watered rows to get good germination during hot or cool periods.
It's been pretty cool here and I have these annoying feral bird species that are digging up my planted bean seeds and mice that are eating them.
I don't have silage tarps but I do have cardboard and it works brilliantly.
After having to replant the bean rows I tried laying cardboard on top of them and I got perfect germination with NO SKIPS.
Now that they've germinated I've built a mesh low tunnel over the rows to stop the baby plants from being damaged and pulled out. Once they get mature I can pull the tunnel down because they'll be strong enough that the birds won't be able to destroy them.
Casey puts silage tarp over his seeded, well watered rows to get good germination during hot or cool periods.
It's been pretty cool here and I have these annoying feral bird species that are digging up my planted bean seeds and mice that are eating them.
I don't have silage tarps but I do have cardboard and it works brilliantly.
After having to replant the bean rows I tried laying cardboard on top of them and I got perfect germination with NO SKIPS.
Now that they've germinated I've built a mesh low tunnel over the rows to stop the baby plants from being damaged and pulled out. Once they get mature I can pull the tunnel down because they'll be strong enough that the birds won't be able to destroy them.
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The garden has slowed down, there are still a lot of peppers to harvest and can, the tomatoes are in a lull but about to get their second wind (lots of green ones showing), on the 3 planting of green beans and the second one is in harvest now...
I was able to harvest the leeks I started indoors in containers, they turned out to be very good and we had more than enough to can potato leek soup. I was surprised at how well they did.
We have been harvesting the celery and using it in canning.... not getting enough to do cover all our needs but enough to cover about half....
The egg plants still have fruit on the way, the squash look warn out, I think vine borers or squash beetles got to them (but the wife is tired of dealing with squash), the okra is slow this year but there is fruit...
I got several good batches of grapes and then I removed the netting and let the birds have their share...
All things considering I was able to harvest something all summer long and we were able to incorporate it into our food storage, so I am happy. I grew a number of things this year for the first time and had about a 50/50 good outcome...
I was able to harvest the leeks I started indoors in containers, they turned out to be very good and we had more than enough to can potato leek soup. I was surprised at how well they did.
We have been harvesting the celery and using it in canning.... not getting enough to do cover all our needs but enough to cover about half....
The egg plants still have fruit on the way, the squash look warn out, I think vine borers or squash beetles got to them (but the wife is tired of dealing with squash), the okra is slow this year but there is fruit...
I got several good batches of grapes and then I removed the netting and let the birds have their share...
All things considering I was able to harvest something all summer long and we were able to incorporate it into our food storage, so I am happy. I grew a number of things this year for the first time and had about a 50/50 good outcome...
I still have a bunch of 3 kinds of squash. Japalenos, and green peppers, some banana peppers as well. Okrastill going well, late tomatoes are just starting. Leeks still to harvest, will have muscadines before long. Got a half row of taters left to dig. Hope to get them this weekend and hope they haven't already sprouted. If they have, I'll replant and let them winter over. Gotbsome herbs and echiniesia left to harvest to.
Over all I'm very happy this year. It was strange weather wise, but most stuff did well
Over all I'm very happy this year. It was strange weather wise, but most stuff did well
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Celery
I read it likes deep soil like 5 foot deep. Did yours turn out luke super market celery?
50/50
You didn't mention your strides forward with watering etc. As to the failures... Didn't tou get lessons or three from each fail?
Ben
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I have celery in small containers (8" deep) and they are root bound, but stocks are about 2' tall... I didn't tie them so they are spread out more, but taste just fine.
Once the watering came on line things were much smoother. The new system is fine, after it was full I never ran completely out of water, but came really close.... I figure about 300 gallons more would be perfect, but more is always better.
Most of my fails were insect related, but I know more now.... I think placing the containers into "cages" with cloth mesh to keep the white butterfly's off them would be enough to protect a lot of my early spring/summer plants that took a beating....
I was left with a lot of I should have done this or that... but it is an experiment I and have next year.
The hanging cucumbers did really well, but if I had them in 3 or 4 gallon containers I think they would had done better.
The tomatoes were crowded and I think I would plant half a many next year.... sometimes less is more. I think for July and August I could have used some shade cloth and that would have helped some.
For the squash, starting 2 crops 2 months apart did help a lot... But I think 3 would be helpful, but they will need as much spacing as possible... Then again, the wife was begging me not to bring anymore into the house... But the squash bread really hit the spot... I think we ate 9 loaves and were still hungry for it
The peppers started out slow, but now I have 5 varieties and lots of fruit on most of them, my Anaheim plant looks like a small tree loaded with lots of big fruit turning red.... We will be canning the jalapenos as we just can't eat that many. We already have a flat of salsa canned, may make another batch, but that will not use what I have.....
Overall for a postage stamp size garden we have been getting a reasonable yield...
FYI - I still have 9 poinsettia plants growing outside in containers from last Christmas, I don't want to bring them back in because of last year's bug-athon from peppers... Have to think long and hard on what to do with them... Best if I figure it out before we have snow...
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Looks like I have found some yellow cassava cutting. Yellow varieties are suppose to be "sweet" and nicer tasting than the white varieties.
They are also significantly cheaper than the cuttings I was going to buy from a on-line nursery down south.
They are also significantly cheaper than the cuttings I was going to buy from a on-line nursery down south.
Your growing season is around the corner isn't it? @Tank-Girl
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I grow "European" conventional veggies like tomatoes, zucchinis, beans, broccoli during our winter which is now but we are transitioning into Summer and so I grow Asian veggies then. I'll be growing loofa, New Guinea bean (which is a type of edible gourd and not a bean) Asian snake beans. I'm planting a variety of Asian bantam corn, kent pumpkins, white and orange sweet potato, cassava , water spinach and ginger in the back yard once I get the electric fence built.
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Tank girl I read yellow is better, but never had any
Time to plant the nesting onions
Time to plant the nesting onions
Thanks to Ida and all the rain the tomatoes are cracking and bugs are getting to them. They were about done anyway.
I pulled the kale that is 2 years old (it wintered over and gave me seeds for next year), since something was starting to eat on it. It was time to pull it. I have bags and bags of frozen kale in the freezer already from the plants from last year. It did really well for me.
I cleared out one of my cherry tomato plants. It was finished. It was my earliest started one.
So now I have 2 containers to seed some radishes, lettuces and spinach in them
Once the front moving through today and the rain we're getting is over, I'll be harvesting all my celery I grew this year. 7 nice size plants. I'll chop them and then freeze 6 of them.
I've noticed that my celery is much darker green and stronger flavored than the store bought kind. The seed pack even said it was a "self blanching" type.
The zucchini plants are still going and have a couple of buds on them still.
The cucumber plant I have on the back deck in a container is finished. It has no more buds on, so I'll harvest the last cuke from it and pull it. It did really well and gave me at least 6 cukes this year.
The other cucumber plant in the big container in the yard is still going strong so I'll leave it as long as it wants to grow for me.
Have to let the one container of potatoes I tried to grow this year dry out before I see what it did. It was an experiment, just to see if I could grow some.
I'd like to try sweet potatoes in some containers next year
I pulled the kale that is 2 years old (it wintered over and gave me seeds for next year), since something was starting to eat on it. It was time to pull it. I have bags and bags of frozen kale in the freezer already from the plants from last year. It did really well for me.
I cleared out one of my cherry tomato plants. It was finished. It was my earliest started one.
So now I have 2 containers to seed some radishes, lettuces and spinach in them
Once the front moving through today and the rain we're getting is over, I'll be harvesting all my celery I grew this year. 7 nice size plants. I'll chop them and then freeze 6 of them.
I've noticed that my celery is much darker green and stronger flavored than the store bought kind. The seed pack even said it was a "self blanching" type.
The zucchini plants are still going and have a couple of buds on them still.
The cucumber plant I have on the back deck in a container is finished. It has no more buds on, so I'll harvest the last cuke from it and pull it. It did really well and gave me at least 6 cukes this year.
The other cucumber plant in the big container in the yard is still going strong so I'll leave it as long as it wants to grow for me.
Have to let the one container of potatoes I tried to grow this year dry out before I see what it did. It was an experiment, just to see if I could grow some.
I'd like to try sweet potatoes in some containers next year
I noticed the same thing with my bell peppers this year. They were noticeably darker than store bought with a lot better flavor! They were really good, down right yummy.
An old man (deceased) down the road from me used to start his potato slips before Christmas. He had a #2 wash tub he'd sit near his wood stove with about 8 inches of water in it. He always had the best and earliest potatoes in the community.
I'm pretty sure he added something to the water. It never looked quite right to me. But when asked he'd always avoid the subject. Meaning he'd never say if he did or didn't.
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Started pulling tomatoes. The blight is out of control. Using what we can for a last batch of salsa to can. Made the salsa last night. Will can it this evening. Cherry tomatoes are still growing really well. Plan to leave them for now. Really want to try them freeze dried For the off season. Some people say they are really good for snacks.
Need to pick more bell peppers and jalapeños. This is the first year we’ve ever gotten bell peppers that made it to harvest. Have cut up and frozen boxes of them and when the freeze drier arrives will be putting most of them in the freeze drier so we will have them for years to come. We dont know when we will garden next with the move coming.
Melons seem to be done. While they are growing still the are going bad before getting ripe.
Still getting harvest moon squash, spaghetti squash, butternut squash and pumpkins. Need to figure out a basic pumpkin puree recipe to get some put away for us and the dogs.
Time to pull the other squash plants and the cucumber plants.
All the critters are really loving pulling season. The folks are already pulling most of their garden and the cows are over there most of the day waiting now to “help” with plant disposal. Electric fence is down daily over there right now from all the pushing and shoving involved with trying to get the good stuff.
Need to pick more bell peppers and jalapeños. This is the first year we’ve ever gotten bell peppers that made it to harvest. Have cut up and frozen boxes of them and when the freeze drier arrives will be putting most of them in the freeze drier so we will have them for years to come. We dont know when we will garden next with the move coming.
Melons seem to be done. While they are growing still the are going bad before getting ripe.
Still getting harvest moon squash, spaghetti squash, butternut squash and pumpkins. Need to figure out a basic pumpkin puree recipe to get some put away for us and the dogs.
Time to pull the other squash plants and the cucumber plants.
All the critters are really loving pulling season. The folks are already pulling most of their garden and the cows are over there most of the day waiting now to “help” with plant disposal. Electric fence is down daily over there right now from all the pushing and shoving involved with trying to get the good stuff.
