Garden 2022

[LadyLocust]

I don't have as large of a setup as some, so for seedlings I have 17 tomato, 10 mini tomato (from seeds I saved myself for the first time) & 11 eggplant. I tried some pepper seeds but they didn't germinate so I'm soaking some more overnight to try again. I haven't grown peppers in years.

I can't transplant them outside until at least Memorial day, but I'll be starting lettuce and spinach outside this week. The high temps are in the 50s but lows are still in the 30s.

That's a lot of eggplant! Do you eat a lot of it, share it, preserve it? If you preserve it - how?

 

[joel]

That's a lot of eggplant! Do you eat a lot of it, share it, preserve it? If you preserve it - how?

T
I agree. I planted five plants, think two might live, all five lived & I gave fruit away to strangers, after all my friends said no more.

 

[Woody]

A lot of people say that greenhouse will be blown over by a strong wind.
Looks to me like you fixed that little problem, with all the brick reinforcement.
It looks like you are ready for a summer garden.

Yes, in high winds, outside, it would likely be torn apart even if firmly anchored, it is not the sturdiest of things. I have it on the screen porch, partially protected by the lower brick wall. 4 – 5 gallon pails of water hold the base well enough so it does not blow around or over. You can see two of them in the lower picture.

 

[UrbanHunter]

My wife makes an eggplant and sausage casserole, she makes 3 at a time, we freeze 2 and eat 1. I don't like eggplant a lot so I only plant a couple of plants.

 

[Pearl]

My wife makes an eggplant and sausage casserole, she makes 3 at a time, we freeze 2 and eat 1. I don't like eggplant a lot so I only plant a couple of plants.

I don't even plant it!

 

[Chaosdawn]

That's a lot of eggplant! Do you eat a lot of it, share it, preserve it? If you preserve it - how?

It is a few more than I usually do, I typically plant 6-8 eggplants. We eat it (we love eggplant) either as eggplant parm (like how DH's grammie used to make) or baba ghanoush. I was going to try preserving some this year (assuming I have extra we don't scarf down), I was thinking of canning some baba ghanoush and freezing slices for parm.

 

[jishinsjourney]

Spent the morning putting in drip line for our new currants and blueberries. The drip that our local sprinkler place carries is way better than the stuff from the big box stores; I think I have too much water going down. Will need to tweak it sometime in the next few days.

 

[joel]

It is a few more than I usually do, I typically plant 6-8 eggplants. We eat it (we love eggplant) either as eggplant parm (like how DH's grammie used to make) or baba ghanoush. I was going to try preserving some this year (assuming I have extra we don't scarf down), I was thinking of canning some baba ghanoush and freezing slices for parm.

My DW makes baba ghanoush with roasted egg plant, we are big on hummus.
Do you peel & salt your egg plant before you make eggplant parmesan, two remove some of the slap/liquid from the fruit?
Please let us know how the canning goes on the egg plant.

 

[Chaosdawn]

My DW makes baba ghanoush with roasted egg plant, we are big on hummus.
Do you peel & salt your egg plant before you make eggplant parmesan, two remove some of the slap/liquid from the fruit?
Please let us know how the canning goes on the egg plant.

I do peel the eggplant but I don't salt them. Grammie didn't peel them but we like them better peeled.

I certainly will, I'm curious how it will turn out.

 

[Neb]

We at least one more night of a low of 30 degree tonight so the seedlings wait until tomorrow.

I did do a final prep of the beds so they are ready for tomorrow. I did find some volunteer radishes and lettuce going which is nice. I let the best plants go to seed each year to collect seeds. Invariably some seeds get away and it is a nice surprise to find them.

Planted radishes lettuce and bush beans. Fertilized the root crops with bone meal and the others with blood meal. I need more blood meal.

The apple trees in the yard only lost a limited number of blooms last night. Dodged a bullet. See if if they do as well tonight.

This year the raised beds will be chaotic and crowded. I still have trees and bushes going so I will have to mix and match what goes in when to achieve a continual harvest.

I found some insect netting in the shed that I had forgotten I had. I will need that for the broccoli.

So it looks like the growing season kicks into gear tomorrow.

Ben

 

[UrbanHunter]

Spent the morning putting in drip line for our new currants and blueberries. The drip that our local sprinkler place carries is way better than the stuff from the big box stores; I think I have too much water going down. Will need to tweak it sometime in the next few days.

Thanks for posting this, I have been using stuff from drip depot for years and I need to make several tree/bush rings, I didn't realize that they make the ring material with the emitters built in....

 

[UrbanHunter]

Today I harvested about 5 gallons of spinach, I was not kind I just kept packing those leaves in there... They will be blanched, shocked, and frozen later today or tomorrow. I am liking the stone work now, I can get on my hands and neighs without having mud on everything. My broccoli on the outdoor shelf have already grown about 3 inches and have reached the top of the enclosure. I think I will make the shelf about a foot lower (it's just a board on two end supports) so the plants can grow more without having to move them. About 75% of my pole beans are coming up, I will have to put some sort of supports out for them the climb on.

 

[Neb]

Today I harvested about 5 gallons of spinach, I was not kind I just kept packing those leaves in there... They will be blanched, shocked, and frozen later today or tomorrow. I am liking the stone work now, I can get on my hands and neighs without having mud on everything. My broccoli on the outdoor shelf have already grown about 3 inches and have reached the top of the enclosure. I think I will make the shelf about a foot lower (it's just a board on two end supports) so the plants can grow more without having to move them. About 75% of my pole beans are coming up, I will have to put some sort of supports out for them the climb on.

Considered planting them with your corn?

Ben

 

[jishinsjourney]

Thanks for posting this, I have been using stuff from drip depot for years and I need to make several tree/bush rings, I didn't realize that they make the ring material with the emitters built in....

You stab the holes where you need them and plug the emitters in. It’s pretty easy — I was worried I’d be fighting with it a lot but it went well.

 

[jishinsjourney]

It is a few more than I usually do, I typically plant 6-8 eggplants. We eat it (we love eggplant) either as eggplant parm (like how DH's grammie used to make) or baba ghanoush. I was going to try preserving some this year (assuming I have extra we don't scarf down), I was thinking of canning some baba ghanoush and freezing slices for parm.

Do you plant different varieties or all the same? I usually plant a round one and a long one and get tons, though I haven’t tried it here in Colorado.

Supposedly it dehydrates well, so I have a jar of storebought that I need to rehydrate and see how it turns out.

 

[joel]

I just repotted twenty of these bulbs, some where as small as a pea, others bigger than a hen egg.

Hippeastrum San Antonio Rose
Hippeastrum aulicum stenopetalum
Hippeastrum gracilis dulcinea Scarlet Baby

I also pot up six no name bulbs, that started as one bulb someone gifted me some years ago.
So I am ready for a bath & bed, being retired is hard work.
Guess I will do the walking Iris next.

 

[Chaosdawn]

Do you plant different varieties or all the same? I usually plant a round one and a long one and get tons, though I haven’t tried it here in Colorado.

Supposedly it dehydrates well, so I have a jar of storebought that I need to rehydrate and see how it turns out.

Usually just one type, round ones. I've slowly been expanding my garden in general so I may try other types in the future. The white eggplants are on my list to try. Are the long ones any different?

Interesting, if I have extras I may try dehydrating some and see what happens.

 

[UrbanHunter]

Considered planting them with your corn?

Ben

The few corn I have up are now about 3" tall, so I could easily do a second planting of pole beans in between each plant. This particular corn seed does not instill a lot of confidence, out of 125 seeds, got 25 plants, only 23 survived transplanting.. so it is a small patch of 3 rows with 8 plants each. But it could be a good support system for the beans.

The first planting of pole beans is 1 30' row with seeds spaced every 6" along the south side of the house, so far there is only 1 spot about 3' long where the plants didn't come up in.

This weekend should be a big garden work event with lots of planting and prep work.

The wife was unable to clean all the spinach I picked today, so I finished cleaning and de-veining it, ended up with 4 grocery bags of washed and cleaned leaves ready for blanching, but what the wife did do left her very sick, she couldn't breath or move after doing just a little bit of it.

I ordered a bunch of emitters for my drip system and I got some of the line with built in emitters for going around trees, I have 5 trees and got 50' of that emitter line, so I will have some to put around special plants, like grapes if necessary.

If I manage to go up on the rooftop and clean out the gutter screen as part my rain water collection maintenance I will try to get a top down picture of the cleaned up walkways around the raised beds.

 

[Peanut]

Here in the south we have "Cane Brakes". Wild bamboo in patches several acres in size. It's a very destructive plant, will kill trees by robbing them of water and nutrients. So finding a land owner who wants people to cut some down is easy. We've cut cane for years to use as bean poles. We'd cut cane in spring, save a few of the best ones for fishing poles. The rest gets trimmed with a machete, cut to length then used to "stick" running beans.

Here it's about to block a lane on a farm. Took the photo yesterday.

 

[joel]

Peanut, I bet you have made a few fishing poles too.

 

[jishinsjourney]

Usually just one type, round ones. I've slowly been expanding my garden in general so I may try other types in the future. The white eggplants are on my list to try. Are the long ones any different?

Interesting, if I have extras I may try dehydrating some and see what happens.

I think they taste about the same, but I think the long ones are more convenient for grilling. It kind of depends on how you like your eggplant. (Me, I love eggplant pretty much any way you can think of — grilled, fried, Parmesan, baba ghanoush, marinated, Chinese stirfry, baingan bharta … yum!)

I’ve had other people tell me they couldn’t get many, and I’ve been wondering for a while if the reason I get such good pollination is that I have two different kinds of plant. I thought maybe you might have some insight on that, given that you’re growing multiple plants — is it just that you need more than one, maybe, to set a good amount of fruit?

 

[Peanut]

Just doing some reading on eggplants, didn't know they were in the nightshade family. I considered them a gourd but no! Related to tomatoes, potatoes and peppers.

They are also nitrogen fixers! That makes them extra beneficial.

 

[jishinsjourney]

Just doing some reading on eggplants, didn't know they were in the nightshade family. I considered them a gourd but no! Related to tomatoes, potatoes and peppers.

They are also nitrogen fixers! That makes them extra beneficial.

Yep! But on the same note, since they are also nightshades, I try to avoid planting them anywhere I had tomatoes the previous year. Root knot nematodes …. blech!

I really need more garden beds … I have a whopping five 4x4 beds at this place and it is not enough.

 

[Chaosdawn]

I’ve had other people tell me they couldn’t get many, and I’ve been wondering for a while if the reason I get such good pollination is that I have two different kinds of plant. I thought maybe you might have some insight on that, given that you’re growing multiple plants — is it just that you need more than one, maybe, to set a good amount of fruit?

Hmm, I've never had two different varieties at the same time, but I've always had at least 5-6 plants. So maybe it's multiple plants? I'm not sure. Could be other factors causing low production.

And I feel you on needing more room. I have two 8' x 4' boxes in full sun and another 7' x 5'ish area that only gets afternoon sun. I tried using some of the fabric grow bags last year (I let the beds sit fallow for the year) but it was dismal failure. I blame the soil I bought, so I'm going to try again this year with different soil and see what happens.

Just doing some reading on eggplants, didn't know they were in the nightshade family. I considered them a gourd but no! Related to tomatoes, potatoes and peppers.

They are also nitrogen fixers! That makes them extra beneficial.

Yes! So you don't want to plant them near related plants, they don't do well. I keep my tomatoes in one box and eggplant in another with my cukes along the backside.

 

[jishinsjourney]

Hmm, I've never had two different varieties at the same time, but I've always had at least 5-6 plants. So maybe it's multiple plants? I'm not sure. Could be other factors causing low production.

And I feel you on needing more room. I have two 8' x 4' boxes in full sun and another 7' x 5'ish area that only gets afternoon sun. I tried using some of the fabric grow bags last year (I let the beds sit fallow for the year) but it was dismal failure. I blame the soil I bought, so I'm going to try again this year with different soil and see what happens.



Yes! So you don't want to plant them near related plants, they don't do well. I keep my tomatoes in one box and eggplant in another with my cukes along the backside.

I ran across a book recently on grow bag gardening — let me see if I can find the title for you. You need very specific soil for doing that since they are so porous, and the book includes DIY recipes for appropriate soil …

Ah, here it is:Grow Bag Gardening. Of course you can get it on Amazon, too. I think I found out about it through the Joe Gardener podcast. The book seemed really good, but I haven’t actually tried grow bags myself yet, so I can’t vouch for it. Maybe get it from the library and see what you think?

 

[LadyLocust]

I think they taste about the same, but I think the long ones are more convenient for grilling. It kind of depends on how you like your eggplant. (Me, I love eggplant pretty much any way you can think of — grilled, fried, Parmesan, baba ghanoush, marinated, Chinese stirfry, baingan bharta … yum!)

I’ve had other people tell me they couldn’t get many, and I’ve been wondering for a while if the reason I get such good pollination is that I have two different kinds of plant. I thought maybe you might have some insight on that, given that you’re growing multiple plants — is it just that you need more than one, maybe, to set a good amount of fruit?

I plant 1 eggplant each year and typically get enough to share. We like it but evidently not as much as you and @Chaosdawn Anyhoo, so might be soil, light etc.

 

[Chaosdawn]

Ah, here it is: Grow Bag Gardening Of course you can get it on Amazon, too. I think I found out about it through the Joe Gardener podcast. The book seemed really good, but I haven’t actually tried grow bags myself yet, so I can’t vouch for it. Maybe get it from the library and see what you think?

Thank you! I just requested it through my library.

 

[UrbanHunter]

That does look like a good book @jishinsjourney, I might need to order it too.

The frost last night knocked 2 tomato plants way back I may need to prune them back or something. I also lost a couple of very young plants (sprouts), but overall the rest of the plants are doing well. The last 8 weeks we have had a frustrating weather pattern, 10-12 warm days followed by 2 days of freezes and then repeat. Enough to drive me to distraction.

I am very lucky that I only put the 2 tomato plants out (they were too big to stay in the house).

 

[Peanut]

Sorry about your maters @UrbanHunter Even in the deep south winter stayed late this year. I normally get my last frost the last week of March or the first few days of April. I had a light frost last week and nights in the 30's this week.

The big issue is the soil temperature, the ground is still cold. Plants are growing slowly because of it. My potatoes especially, I thought they'd rotted.

 

[billyjack]

Yes, in high winds, outside, it would likely be torn apart even if firmly anchored, it is not the sturdiest of things. I have it on the screen porch, partially protected by the lower brick wall. 4 – 5 gallon pails of water hold the base well enough so it does not blow around or over. You can see two of them in the lower picture.

In December, we had a gust of wind that moved a cinderblock sitting on the top of our flat roofed office.