Gardening 2024

[GeorgiaPeachie]

Today I got some of my lemon and mandarin orange trees replanted in larger pots. They all need done. Going to finish the others tomorrow. The new pots are 40 gallon ones, so those should be good for awhile. Anyone else had these dwarf fruit trees in pots for many years? This is the 5th year for 2 of them. Going to pick up one more mandarin orange tree. Just have a feeling we will need it. Also got almost all my sweet potato slips planted in cloth 30 gallon grow bags. Have 2 more to do. My planting is delayed because of all the rain, so it frustrates me a bit.

 

[user 7704]

Today I got some of my lemon and mandarin orange trees replanted in larger pots. They all need done. Going to finish the others tomorrow. The new pots are 40 gallon ones, so those should be good for awhile. Anyone else had these dwarf fruit trees in pots for many years? This is the 5th year for 2 of them. Going to pick up one more mandarin orange tree. Just have a feeling we will need it. Also got almost all my sweet potato slips planted in cloth 30 gallon grow bags. Have 2 more to do. My planting is delayed because of all the rain, so it frustrates me a bit.

Took my Meyer lemon out Monday and yesterday I noticed it is being chewed on. I'm watching it closely

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

Put some fine netting around it to keep the cicadas off of it! Those lemon trees are too precious! My Meyer lemons already have time fruit on them. As do my mandarin oranges. Took them out a couple of weeks ago so the bees could do their thing! LOL

 

[user 7704]

This wasn't cicada damage. It was those pesky Army worms. Netting won't help them. I wish.

 

[Cindyd]

I couldn't get Meyer lemons here past cple years...said prohibited to my location. Don't care for mandarin oranges, but wouldn't mind having a cple anyway. I've got some other orange trees we got a few pickings from this past year...were good n sweet....going to be adding more of those n peach this weekend. Got 1 measley peach tree showing fruit...other one is blooming though...just got it few weeks ago and planted.

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

We can’t grow in ground orange trees here. Good thing we love the Mandarin oranges! My peach trees and cherry trees are bursting with fruit!! I’m thrilled!

 

[Dani]

A couple videos I watched this morning before work.

https://www.brighteon.com/5ac1e620-6576-48d1-a4ef-3f854e62012f
Simple way to grow hydroponics without pumps.
https://www.brighteon.com/e372375d-e2c0-4b4b-a785-7b057382f8e1
How to grow tomatoes cheap and easy in an old gallon water bottle.

 

[Amish Heart]

We had army worms decimate all the grass in the pastures a few years ago. Bad for the sheep farmers. Thankfully, not last year or this year.

 

[user 7704]

We had army worms decimate all the grass in the pastures a few years ago. Bad for the sheep farmers. Thankfully, not last year or this year.

Did our treat the area? The come back to the same mock orange. I think for 4 years now. I cut them down to about 3 ft and then I treated around the base with DE, flour, baking soda, etc. Just stuff to hopefully kill them.

There arent as many on the mock orange this year.

 

[Amish Heart]

Monterey BT
I didn't have to use it, but had it ready
Our son manages a large plant nursery and he recommended it

 

[Proud Prepper]

I'm thinking about adding another greenhouse. I think we may have to grow more food all year round. I'm thinking, lots of sprouts.

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

I have to laugh! Guess what woke me up last night? Thinking yet again of another high tunnel and where to put it! LOL. With two high tunnels and the regular greenhouse I think we would be fine. Will be searching for the same high tunnel I already have. Am considering a bigger one. Have to go measure the space. The Seasonal Homestead family have a huge one!

 

[GaRp58]

Got 5 watermelon plants in the garden and we are letting the wild potatos from last year come up where they want to, giant sunflowers too. Eggplants and cucumbers are coming slow. The apple tree is covered with fruit but the apricot did not even have blooms this year.
Got the new "work" terrace concreted also. Now it just needs a single wall and a roof to keep me cool when the temps here get to 40°C/110°F this summer as usual.

 

[Cindyd]

Discovered one of my orange trees completely destroyed by catepillars. Gonna get the Monterey BT that Amish heart recommended because I have cple more orange trees and just ordered 2 more that will be in this week. The one destroyed sits out in area by itself and obviously I hadn't walked out there to look at in in a while. Too late! Boo!

RE: Greenhouses, must be something in air, I was also talking w larry about another one yesterday.

 

[Amish Heart]

The invasion of army worms we had a few years back...I never thought to check our Osage Orange trees. Although, they only give you hedgeballs and not oranges. Weird thing, though, when they ate all the grass, they were desperate and started in on the tomato plants. At least they ate the garden weeds.
I wonder if your orange tree will come back?
We got guinea fowl after that, and I don't know if they helped.
Right now, I really hate the black caterpillars that start up on the mammoth head sunflowers. So far, I've picked them off, but may have to BT them.

 

[Cindyd]

I'm gonna keep closer eye from now on on all my trees. They are dang expensive. A year ago one of the peach trees we have completely died from something, no idea what. It was like it had a meltdown, and no way I could tell what that was. But again, it was an "outside" main area tree that I wasn't keeping close eye on. Certainly can't "set em and forget em". For sure!

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

Fruit trees do require some attention. Spraying, fertilizing, trimming and sometimes watering. They are so worth it!!

 

[DrHenley]

I am going to try to plant native fruit trees at BOL2, which should require less maintenance. But the first fruit trees I plant will be fig trees from cuttings from my sister's well established fig tree. I started with about 40 cuttings and I'm down to about a couple dozen viable ones now still in the sprouting pots. I have started transferring some over to larger pots but many of those died...I think bugs ate them, at least that's what it looks like. I've been dusting them with diatomaceous earth since then and haven't lost any more.

Around the end of the month I'll be going back up there and will put them out then.

 

[EastenerWesterner]

One Plumb had a ton of blossoms, other is probably past its life cycle.
Apple had a ton of blossoms and lots of bees last week.
Went out to feed, a the fragrance knock me over. Citron, Lemon and Orange in full bloom. Never have much luck with the lime.

Hummingbirds and bees have been Happy.

 

[Amish Heart]

We have an old pear tree that still manages to put a bit out. The first year on our farm I put in 4 apple trees, then two years ago I put in 2 pear and 2 peach. So far so good. Although I've only seen 5 apples so far. Ha. But they're young trees still.

 

[simpleman]

The only I have been able to grow without raccoons, bugs and whatever else eating them is Jerusalem Artichokes! At least they are good, good for people with diabetes and the left over artichokes, leaves and stems get chunked over the 6 foot fence for the deer!

 

[Proud Prepper]

I have more tomatoes and cucumbers than I can eat. No time to Can them.

 

[Cindyd]

Send your extras to me! Or meet me half way and I'll buy them from you. Dead serious!

 

[Amish Heart]

Stick the tomatoes in the freezer and deal with them later

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

How wonderful to see this 91 year old woman still gardening! Reminds me of my dearly departed Grandma.

 

[Proud Prepper]

Send your extras to me! Or meet me half way and I'll buy them from you. Dead serious!

I don't have enough time make that worth while or I would. I just had one of my refrigerator/freezer go out. I think I'll pull an old one out of storage and freeze my xtra to deal with later. Should I freeze the tomatoes whole? Or chopped?

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

You can freeze them either way. I prefer to freeze them whole and can or use later. Rinse them off. Dry well. Remove stems. You can use gallon freezer bags or use your vacuum sealer…which is what I do. You don’t have to blanch them either.

 

[poltiregist]

Consider your environment and whether you need to water your garden during dry months . When the grid is gone , for most water will also be gone as it is electric dependent . Potential catastrophe " maybe " in about one week resulting losing the electrical grid for many years ahead . -- That sunspot that was ejecting those X Class Coronal Mass Ejections last week , rotated out of sight , but as the Terminator said " I will be back " . It is growing in strength . Overnight it shot out an X Class that surpassed X10 . That growing sunspot will be in position in about another week to again fire at earth . The Carrington event did not reach X6 , for comparison purposes . -- This I am speaking of so as to making preparations for watering your garden during those grid down years . --- If you can tote water to your garden in buckets from a stream , that likely means your garden is not large enough to sustain food for a family . -- My solution - I installed rain gutter on the roof edge of a log cabin that is higher than my garden . The down spout feeds a 300 gallon cistern tank . From the tank I dug a trench with a shovel and ran piping from the cistern tank , gravity feeding it to my garden . From there my water hose can irrigate my garden during the apoplectic years . -- If someone isn't already ready then it may be too late installing such a system as it probably will take more than a week but " never give up " , keep prepping as maybe that sunspot will not fry the grid on it's next rotation .

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

Wise advice Poltergeist! More than the gardens will need water. Disposable of waste comes to mind as the huge issue too for many.

We have a large, deep pond as well as springs to get water. A pump and its own solar generator to pull the water and numerous ways to filter the water. Then for drinking we have a Big Berkey and many filters.

Think ahead everyone. You’ll need barrels and/or large Water Storage Containers.

 

[user 7704]

I put down straw last Fall and had it sprout and grow about 3 feet tall. I had someone tell me to feed it to the chickens. They loved the seeds.

Can you tell me the type grass is used to make straw.