Garden 2022

[Neb]

My okra does this every time

Is that water pests soil chemistry or critters?

Ben

 

[Neb]

My watering situation is really becoming bothersome. Tonight we’re resorting to using the sprinkler. I had wanted to try to do it mostly with rainwater from the barrels but it’s been so hot and we’ve been watering so much because everything‘s in containers that the barrels are less than half full. We have three of them all 55 gallons.

today was spent mowing the lawn. It’s not that hard I can use a push mower. Yesterday we got the decking for under the greenhouse. Tell my father is a lot of work you did just to put a plastic greenhouse on top. His reply was “gave me something to do.” Truthfully it looks nice and I really like it. Leaves were always blowing up under it now it has a nice little deck. He’s going to clamp it down to the decking tomorrow so that wind won’t be able to take it away. I always laugh when I think about that. Oh well here’s some gratuitous pictures.View attachment 88675

That is nice work! Tell him as much.

I had and old Sears and Roebucks shed out back of my remodel place. Full of crap from when I bought the place. My brother calls me he got a text from the neighbors it had done a Dorothy in a wind storm. Picked 5he whole thing up and dropped it in the pasture behind the neighboring horse farm.

Had to pack that sheet metal in the back of the pickup to clear that pile.

While lifting and dropping structures is impressive it is not cool when it drops in the neighbor's property on on a wicked witch of the east.

Ben

 

[Heartbroken]

Really behind with the garden this year. My seed starting was pretty much a disaster, it's just been a struggle. But on a bright note, the pole beans I planted have come up, and yesterday I made a trellis out of a 4x8' reinforcing mesh. Today I found that one of the bean plants had already reached out and curled a strand up through the first section of the mesh. A few of the cucumbers have come up and the tomatoes are starting to look better.

 

[LadyLocust]

I got more garlic in the ground today. Should be ready by hard weather. Also, resewed some carrots and planted another row. I have a few more beans starting in the house (just a couple days so nothing yet). I need more greenbeans this year. As soon as they come up, I'm going to pull the swiss chard that is in the raised bed and put the beans in. I should get a harvest from them but probably not a second harvest like the others might do. We have some of the skinny little green beans starting so won't be long for those plants. Beans are slow this year but it's just become warm within the past week so they appear to be kicking in now. Will probably pick peas next weekend - will have to watch them.

Oh to those in the heat wave - I heard a morsel of info. last year during our heat dome. Over 95* and most plants go into survival mode so don't grow or produce fruit. They just kinda hang out and try to live. Once the weather breaks, they resume their journey. That proved true for us last year. Really messes with things from a preserving stand point. Then less production simply due to the time/duration of the heat wave (We had 6 weeks!) So we did get a harvest, but it was late and subpar.

 

[Amish Heart]

Pulled out what was left of the squash bug demolished squash plants and planted tomatoes. Had an overabundance of tomato plants in the greenhouse. So it's war on squash bugs on the existing plants.
We had nice weather today, overcast and only about 80 as a high. It's now in the high 60's, so good to sleep by and good for the plants.

 

[Peanut]

My okra does this every time

Is it the spot? Do you plant okra in that same spot every year? Or a big part of the area?

(I rotate my garden plants, try not to plant the same species in the same spot.)

In your photo that looks like pasture out back. Which in bama means it's probably been in row crops before, cotton, corn etc. Was there a barn or shop previously located on your garden spot? Within feet?

I've seen this kind of thing many times around old farms. After a day on a tractor spraying... I've poured out, washed out sprayer tanks many times. When a job is finished I'd never park a spray rig with a few gallons of left over liquid in the tank. I'd clean it good then empty it completely, usually at the barn or tractor shed. It could have been a defoliant, an herbacide, bad fuel, anything. Annnd... Defoliants were commonly used on cotton fields just before harvest. (concentrated defoliant will also stunt new plant growth.)

Okra and Cotton are very closely related species. If okra is the only species in your garden that does this.... I would say an herbicide or defoliant used in cotton farming was spilled on part of your garden. This is why it only seems to effect the Okra. You might say cotton an okra are kissing cousins. Chemicals designed for cotton would have similar effects on okra.

 

[UrbanHunter]

Pulled out what was left of the squash bug demolished squash plants and planted tomatoes. Had an overabundance of tomato plants in the greenhouse. So it's war on squash bugs on the existing plants.
We had nice weather today, overcast and only about 80 as a high. It's now in the high 60's, so good to sleep by and good for the plants.

Last year the squash bugs kept me busy. I kept a supply of new squash plants in the house in different stages. I would get a couple of squash off a plant and then the squash bugs would do it in, so I would pull and bag it (bugs and all) and plant a new squash someplace else (other side of the house) and spray around where the other plant had been. Then I would get a few squash off and poof the bugs would appear and I would be pulling plants and repeating the process. I have 4 places where I can grow squash and I used them all at different times, I usually only had 2 areas growing at a time and I kept tray of starter plants going all summer. We did get lots of good harvests, but I must have replanted 4 times in each area....... What a pain... I have already lost 1 plant this year, but I have more growing in it's place. Bugs I hate them.

I saw bottom leaves on my tomato plants yellowing and having black spots. I cut off all the sick leaves and sprayed the area with anti-fungal copper. I hope I got it early enough. It's sad to have to be removing so many leaves but it seems to spread by contact, I am hoping removing, spraying, and switching back to morning watering will help....

 

[Amish Heart]

Good idea. The greenhouse is almost empty of plants, maybe a dozen big ones left, and I have some empty tubs that also can be prepped for planting in. So I'll get that done, and get some reseeding in pots done. I need to reseed some more cabbage, broccoli, and brussel sprouts for fall anyway

 

[JustMe]

I got more garlic in the ground today. Should be ready by hard weather. Also, resewed some carrots and planted another row. I have a few more beans starting in the house (just a couple days so nothing yet). I need more greenbeans this year. As soon as they come up, I'm going to pull the swiss chard that is in the raised bed and put the beans in. I should get a harvest from them but probably not a second harvest like the others might do. We have some of the skinny little green beans starting so won't be long for those plants. Beans are slow this year but it's just become warm within the past week so they appear to be kicking in now. Will probably pick peas next weekend - will have to watch them.

Oh to those in the heat wave - I heard a morsel of info. last year during our heat dome. Over 95* and most plants go into survival mode so don't grow or produce fruit. They just kinda hang out and try to live. Once the weather breaks, they resume their journey. That proved true for us last year. Really messes with things from a preserving stand point. Then less production simply due to the time/duration of the heat wave (We had 6 weeks!) So we did get a harvest, but it was late and subpar.

Do you grow pole beans??? They usually take a couple weeks longer than bush to start producing, but once they do you can't keep them picked. In more normal years, they produce heavily until around mid to late August (our normal heat wave) when they take a break for a couple weeks, then they kick into high gear until frost kills them


So far this year, after being in the ground for over a month, mine are only about 6 to 8 inches high and just starting to vine.

 

[LadyLocust]

Do you grow pole beans??? They usually take a couple weeks longer than bush to start producing, but once they do you can't keep them picked. In more normal years, they produce heavily until around mid to late August (our normal heat wave) when they take a break for a couple weeks, then they kick into high gear until frost kills them


So far this year, after being in the ground for over a month, mine are only about 6 to 8 inches high and just starting to vine.

I grow both. The bush beans have more skinny beans on them right now than the pole beans. The pole beans are not very uniform some a foot tall and just beginning to vine & others about 2' tall and stretching. I also have scarlet runners - same thing but more drastic, some a foot to foot and a half and others 5 ft.+ Those are beautiful but I've not yet seen little beans. Shouldn't be long. I think you had more rain than we did though.

 

[Bacpacker]

Got our first cukes yesterday, 5 more today. So I see pickles in the near future. Also pulled our 1st 2 tomatoes tonight. 1 Cherokee purple and 1 black krim.
Pulled all 4 types of garlic tonight also. Ill post up some pics soon as I can get to it. All in all it produced pretty well.

 

[JustMe]

I grow both. The bush beans have more skinny beans on them right now than the pole beans. The pole beans are not very uniform some a foot tall and just beginning to vine & others about 2' tall and stretching. I also have scarlet runners - same thing but more drastic, some a foot to foot and a half and others 5 ft.+ Those are beautiful but I've not yet seen little beans. Shouldn't be long. I think you had more rain than we did though.

Of course I get more rain than you do. That kinda goes without saying,,,,,,dang it all anyway. BUT today we did get to 91 and tomorrow will be in the low 70's. Which is good, then I can get some work done that I can't do in the heat.

I've never tried scarlet runners before, but yes on both bush & pole beans. So far, everything out there is being weird, so I guess I should count myself lucky if I get any decent harvests

 

[Peanut]

I'd never heard of Scarlet runner before. Had to look it up, from the mountains of Mexico huh? Good at higher elevations? Those blooms look amazing.

Dad's grown a purple colored green bean for many years. I think they are from mexico too.

 

[Woody]

Updated pics because everyone needs pictures!

Sunflower garden. The “mammoth Sunflowers” she bought this year are not near as “mammoth” as last year. They reached the soffit and were 14” to 16” across. But, these look to have many multiples of blooms, so will give us some cutting flowers as the summer goes on.

The cucumbers are about ¾ of the way up the sunflowers. Lots of blossoms and some tiny cukes started. Looks to be a good crop.

Carrot patch on the left. You can see the different heights as I have multiple plantings, replacing what the little critters got each time they got gotten. It is a good thing each seed head gives a ton of seeds, I have a lot left from last year still.

Running up by the birdhouse are Sungold Tomatoes. Lots of little one, maybe two more weeks to first harvest.

On the right the lettuce is about done. We left a harvested one up front and two others in back for seed. I stuck some potato cuts in the empty spaces. The plant in front, to the right of the lettuce is a volunteer marigold. There are actually quite a few volunteer flowers in there, just have not blossomed yet. I think the birds drop or poop them there.

I started pruning the lower cucumber leaves off around the carrots, so they would not shade them too much. Once we harvest the lower cukes I will prune most of the lower foliage back and plant Kentucky Wonder beans in front of them. As with UrbanHunter, smaller spaces take a lot of rotations and companion planting planning

 

[joel]

I got more garlic in the ground today. Should be ready by hard weather. Also, resewed some carrots and planted another row. I have a few more beans starting in the house (just a couple days so nothing yet). I need more greenbeans this year. As soon as they come up, I'm going to pull the swiss chard that is in the raised bed and put the beans in. I should get a harvest from them but probably not a second harvest like the others might do. We have some of the skinny little green beans starting so won't be long for those plants. Beans are slow this year but it's just become warm within the past week so they appear to be kicking in now. Will probably pick peas next weekend - will have to watch them.

Oh to those in the heat wave - I heard a morsel of info. last year during our heat dome. Over 95* and most plants go into survival mode so don't grow or produce fruit. They just kinda hang out and try to live. Once the weather breaks, they resume their journey. That proved true for us last year. Really messes with things from a preserving stand point. Then less production simply due to the time/duration of the heat wave (We had 6 weeks!) So we did get a harvest, but it was late and subpar.

It too hot hear for garlic, how do you keep it growing in the heat of summer?

 

[Woody]

Squash mound. New this year, basically a pile from the composter covered in hardwood mulch. 3 squash (2 yellow 1 green) and two watermelon are what I planted. Lots of volunteers. Looks like a several squash, cukes and a tomato or four. I decided to let it grow like Topsy for a while and just see what happens! First yellow is ready to harvest for dinner tonight, several more a day or three away. Green is growing very slow for some reason. Been almost a week and they are still only 3” long. The yellow zoomed up as you would expect. Go figure.

 

[Bacpacker]

It too hot hear for garlic, how do you keep it growing in the heat of summer?

Not sure about LadyL. But I plant mine in October or November. Harvest in June. I am in zone 7B

 

[Woody]

Peas in back of the herb garden. We will get some snap and shelling peas today and for the next week or so before I let some go to seed. Yeah, not a huge crop but I like the fresh shelling peas as a snack while I wander around and she likes the snap peas for the same reason.

Across the front, left to right:

Chives, flowers just died. Walking onions still in flower. Radishes for seed, those are the yellow leaves. Yellow flowers next to them are dill. Then… rosemary, marjoram… some other stuff.. Sage, rosemary and the big bush at the end is Fennel. I staked and tied the fennel this year. In the past I have used the tomato cage as fencing for it to keep it contained. After a rain it will bend right over and is really just a big bush! Not used for cooking, she likes to watch the swallowtail butterflies and they lay eggs on it.

 

[Woody]

Behind the peas I have Kentucky Wonder pole beans started. By the time the peas are done the beans ‘take over’ and fill the strings to the soffit. Those brown pea plants are ones I started in the greenhouse and are done now. I ate some and saved a dozen pods for seeds, in case something happens, I will have a few for next year.

 

[UrbanHunter]

My pole beans are putting on blooms now so we are excited, harvested about a gallon of my sweet peas yesterday. The corn is just a thick mass, the pole beans are growing over the top of the stocks, and it is fun to watch. The 2 experimental planters are doing fine, I think I will plant some broccoli in the remaining 2. I have about 12 potato plants that need to go outside, I have 3 types growing and I want to keep them separated. I received an order of shallots and I am trying to find a home for them, I plan to plant 1/3 of them now and the rest in the fall.

 

[elkhound]

It too hot hear for garlic, how do you keep it growing in the heat of summer?

what @Bacpacker said !

 

[joel]

I am not saying you can not plant now, just want to know the reason & way to keep it growing though the hottest months of the year.
I have garlic ordered that will be here in Oct. for Fall planting.

 

[LadyLocust]

It too hot hear for garlic, how do you keep it growing in the heat of summer?

I'm in zone 7A and typically plant in fall. My mom gave me a bunch of sole-garlic which aren't what I wanted so I have very few regular clove garlic. I had some from the store that was sprouting so stuck them in the dirt where it only gets morning sun. About the coolest dirt on the place. I've planted both onions and garlic all times of year with mixed results so decided to do this in an attempt to get more clove garlic before winter. It might fail, who knows. I will keep you posted.

 

[Mel]

I'm doing some research on growing asparagus. I know it's a longer process, but I like the stuff! As my cousin would say, "It makes my mouth happy!" I know it's traditionally planted in the spring, but can it be planted in the fall as well? I'm in 7b, and I'm looking at our state extension service website and all pointers still point to spring. But our state is new to fall and winter gardening, I think. At least for food.

 

[joel]

Yes, I think Fall planting will give you a better root system to face next summer heat.
Also, plant double what you need & in the second year (first year no harvest) only harvest half of the crop & let the second half grow into ferns to store energy until July, then remove the ferns. The crowns will put out
more spears & you can harvest & eat them as you did with the first half of you crop.

 

[joel]

The folks at UC Davis experimented with their asparagus crops and came up with this happy conclusion: you can successfully get a spring and a summer/fall crop from your asparagus garden...if you are willing to plant twice as much. Here's how:

In early winter, when asparagus crowns are available from your favorite nursery, plant double the amount of asparagus needed for your household; start with 24 crowns, at a minimum. Divide your plantings into two areas. Remember, it may take two or three years before the emerging spears are big enough for dinner, about the thickness of a pencil.


In spring, harvest half of the plants as you normally would; then, allow the foliage to grow for the rest of the season.

In the second half of your asparagus bed, allow the uncut spears to develop into ferns throughout the late spring and early summer.

Then, cut the ferns back to two inch stubs in July or August. This causes the crowns to send up new spears, which can be harvested in late summer and early fall. A light mulch will help keep the soil surface from becoming too hard, allowing the shoots to break through easily. Be sure to keep separate the harvest time for these two areas of asparagus. Otherwise, next year's plants may be too small to harvest.

Although a lot of work initially, these green taste treats are guaranteed to feed your family for a long time. A healthy asparagus plant can produce spears for more than 20 years.
http://farmerfredrant.blogspot.com/2009/08/fresh-garden-asparagus-in-september.html

 

[Bacpacker]

Harvest a gallon of yukon gold taters from 3 hills to eat on. Pulled about 3/4 of my early yellow onions, and maybe 1/4 or the red torpedo onions. Also got another cabbage, a bunch of hot peppers, 5 more cukes (wife will probably have enough to make pickles next week), and about 1/5 of my shallots. I've got bread racks scattered out with a fan blowing on them trying to dry out the garlic and onions.

 

[Amish Heart]

Did nothing in the garden today except water quickly and found a couple of squash bugs that I squished to death. Tomorrow morning I'll get out there. I know I have some yellow patty pan looking ready to pick, some yellow summer squash, and more cabbage getting close. No cucumbers or red tomatoes yet. We did eat some of the yukon gold potatoes last night and they were great. I only pulled two plants. I'll wait on digging the rest a little while longer.

 

[elkhound]

I am not saying you can not plant now, just want to know the reason & way to keep it growing though the hottest months of the year.
I have garlic ordered that will be here in Oct. for Fall planting.

yea..in my book its way to late to plant garlic. mine is ready to pull in the morning. it needs fall planting.i planted some in spring a few times..its a fraction of what it is suppose to be.

 

[elkhound]

top hat corn starting to tassel. tonight i seen a stalk sending out 3 ears on it. thats the one i want to save seed from and keep separate from rest i save for seed.