Gardening 2023

[Survivor_316]

Some folks do follow that method. Personally I don’t. Have had potatoes not produce well when cutting them up too much.

That may have been my problem in the past then.

 

[Mountain trapper]

What variety were they? We grow Sugar baby but they're 75 days. I would love to have a shorter session variety for off years!

I was mistaken. The seeds I bought were Sugar Baby, 75 days. I must have been looking at something else.

 

[DrHenley]

Well, I never had any trouble with potatoes. Sometimes I just simply took a potato like it was (not sprouted) and cut it into chunks with one eye per chunk, and buried them. No fertilizer, potting soil, nothing. The bed was watered by runoff from the roof.
Come back later and dig up a bunch of new potatoes, without fail.

 

[Cindyd]

I cut the eyes in big chunks off the potatoes also and plant them...I usually do allow them to cure before planting, but Larry just puts the potatoes in the soil without curing first. We get potatoes from either method. Watermelon, we have not been able to get past very small melon forming, then they usually rot on the vine. Last year, I think we had 2 or 3 forming and they all went bad on the vines.

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

The results no doubt depend very much on the soil. Soil that retains moisture, or an area with a lot of rain during the wrong time will rot those potatoes. Of course some potato types are more prone to blight too.

 

[user 7704]

My potatoe shoots that had poked through the soil are now gone. I hope the shoots wereall that died.

 

[Survivor_316]

I was mistaken. The seeds I bought were Sugar Baby, 75 days. I must have been looking at something else.

I love Sugar Baby watermelons. I just wish there were more varieties to keep on-hand just in case.

My potatoes in the past always seemed to grow ok up top, but I was lucky to get 1 good sized potato per plant. I've read so many books that say potatoes are an easy crop. Who knows why they weren't for me. I am changing up a lot this year and it's different soil, so keep your fingers crossed for me!

 

[user 7704]

I love sugar baby but they grow seedless. I want something I can harvest the seeds. I plant both types. You can have a tiny sugar baby and it is still super sweet.

 

[Mountain trapper]

Potatoes grow great here, as does everything else, unless it takes a long growing season. Or if we get an early frost or snow.
The only water our garden gets is what we give it. It's pretty rare for us to get any rain in May, June, July, August or September.

 

[user 7704]

I'm definitely growing more determinate tomatoes this year. I always thought indeterminate was the the best, but for canning they really weren't.

Hopefully I will be able to can mine this year rather than buying. I am still growing some heirloom to harvest seed, but I need to figure out the best production while I still have access to seeds and plants.

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

Been planning the same way with my tomatoes. Have some good starts going!

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

Here is a handy guide on what to plant to keep certain bugs away from your tomatoes!

 

[user 7704]

Here is a handy guide on what to plant to keep certain bugs away from your tomatoes!


View attachment 19397

I do purple basil and marigolds. I also plant zineas. They are pretty. Don't know if they work for bugs though

 

[user 7704]

Been planning the same way with my tomatoes. Have some good starts going!

Great minds.....

 

[dirtdiva]

I don’t till anymore. Switched to “Lasagna Gardening“ a few years back. Works well and even makes working in the garden easier on your back! Do I sound like a sissy?!

Smart lady! I haven't tilled my soil since buying this property. The upper 2 inches of garden soil are considered the prime "germination zone" and thousands of weed seeds are contained there. Each time you deeply till you bring more seeds to the top feeding that number. If you do not till eventually you bring the number of weed seeds in that area down thus reducing your weed problems.

Weed seeds in deeply worked soil tend to last longer than seeds in shallowly worked soil. Seeds deep in the soil are "stored" below the germination zone.

If you combine the longevity of seeds in the soil with the fact that weeds such as common lambsquarters can produce over 500,000 seeds per plant, the incentive to hand weed your garden becomes much greater.

Prevention is the most effective form of weed control.

 

[dirtdiva]

I'm definitely growing more determinate tomatoes this year. I always thought indeterminate was the the best, but for canning they really weren't.

Hopefully I will be able to can mine this year rather than buying. I am still growing some heirloom to harvest seed, but I need to figure out the best production while I still have access to seeds and plants.

I have also went to determinate for canning and simply plant a couple indeterminate favorites (Big Rainbow) somewhere out in the beds for a couple slicers and a couple cherry tomatoes for salads and such. But the bulk of my tomato harvest for canning is from determinate grown along a fence of steel posts and cattle panels.

 

[dirtdiva]

Thoughts on watermelons. Try growing small pocket sized melons. Generally they require less room to grow and size up and ripen quickly. I now grow Minnesota Midget cantaloupe along a fence planted in cardboard boxes of very rich soil. Started early I can get melons in record time ( 60 days transplant to melon). Granted the melons are small but the perfect size for my husband and I to split one.

 

[Survivor_316]

I really like Jersey Devil for canning, but they are indeterminate. I like putting a few of them in whatever I am canning to improve the flavor and texture, though, even if there aren't enough for a full batch.

It works well for us to can throughout the season just because we go through so many jars of tomatoes each year and I can only process so many at a time. The way our family eats is very tomato heavy. Maybe bow that my kids are getting older, they'll be able to help more.

 

[Survivor_316]

@DirtDiva Your garden is beautiful.

 

[DrHenley]

The results no doubt depend very much on the soil. Soil that retains moisture, or an area with a lot of rain during the wrong time will rot those potatoes.

That's probably it. The place I plant them used to be a flower bed next to the shop, which is well drained but gets a good bit of water runoff from the roof whenever it rains. It doesn't get enough sunlight to sustain the plant once it gets very big, but I'm impatient AND I love new potatoes so I don't mind.

 

[Mountain trapper]

My hot pepper plants are about 4 inches high now under the grow light. The wife has basil and chives sprouting now and she's going to plant some tomatoes today. Upstairs in the TV room she has a couple trays of sprouts for the chickens.
The sun is out this morning and it's only 17 degrees. It might get above freezing this afternoon. Maybe this is the start of spring.

 

[Survivor_316]

My hot pepper plants are about 4 inches high now under the grow light. The wife has basil and chives sprouting now and she's going to plant some tomatoes today. Upstairs in the TV room she has a couple trays of sprouts for the chickens.
The sun is out this morning and it's only 17 degrees. It might get above freezing this afternoon. Maybe this is the start of spring.

What kind of seed do you sprout for your chickens?

 

[Mountain trapper]

What kind of seed do you sprout for your chickens?

It's a mixture of wheat, barley, oats, rye grass, peas and radish seeds. She let's them get about 4 inches high before she takes them out to the coop.

 

[user 7704]

Smart lady! I haven't tilled my soil since buying this property. The upper 2 inches of garden soil are considered the prime "germination zone" and thousands of weed seeds are contained there. Each time you deeply till you bring more seeds to the top feeding that number. If you do not till eventually you bring the number of weed seeds in that area down thus reducing your weed problems.

Weed seeds in deeply worked soil tend to last longer than seeds in shallowly worked soil. Seeds deep in the soil are "stored" below the germination zone.

If you combine the longevity of seeds in the soil with the fact that weeds such as common lambsquarters can produce over 500,000 seeds per plant, the incentive to hand weed your garden becomes much greater.

Prevention is the most effective form of weed control.

I love tilling though. The fresh soil underfoot feels so good. Chickens love it too. All the juicy worms.

 

[dirtdiva]

I love tilling though. The fresh soil underfoot feels so good. Chickens love it too. All the juicy worms.

In my experience in most soils excessive tilling causes premature breakdown of organic matter by the introduction of large amounts of oxygen at one time. It constantly works fresh weed seeds to the top soil zones and excessive deep tilling over time causes compaction problems.

I will occasionally use a broad fork which is extremely useful in clay soils breaking up dead pans. I will also occasionally use a potato fork to shallowly break up the top inch or two mostly to work in lime or other additions such as organic fertilizers. I add amendments to the soil surface and the worms take them down.

 

[user 7704]

In my experience in most soils excessive tilling causes premature breakdown of organic matter by the introduction of large amounts of oxygen at one time. It constantly works fresh weed seeds to the top soil zones and excessive deep tilling over time causes compaction problems.

I will occasionally use a broad fork which is extremely useful in clay soils breaking up dead pans. I will also occasionally use a potato fork to shallowly break up the top inch or two mostly to work in lime or other additions such as organic fertilizers. I add amendments to the soil surface and the worms take them down.

Wow DD, you just sucked all the fun out of my tilling.

 

[user 7704]

Watched a video this rnorning about purple dead nettle. My yard is full of it so I am drying a bunch in case I need it.

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

Want to sell me some?

 

[user 7704]

Want to sell me some?

I bet you have them too

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

Credit to PP for telling us about David the Good website!