Something that has helped me was researching each vegetable and herb I was going to plant. I did it by my growing zone and then printed out everything and put in a binder. Then I consolidated important information onto index cards. I keep those in the greenhouse and refer to them when needed...like growing temperature ranges...type and how much fertilizer...soil pH...days until harvest, etc.
Gardens 2021
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Started pulling the dreaded Mulberry Weed that is in the Leon garden where I am going to plant strawberries. There arent too manynof them there. I put in a pile and added straw and burned the little buggers.
I checked the lower garden and they are taking over the blackberries. That will be harder ti clear. I think i will burn the gardens as much as possible, but cant get close to fence because I have a row of nylon fencing to catch snakes.
This stuff is a menace.
I checked the lower garden and they are taking over the blackberries. That will be harder ti clear. I think i will burn the gardens as much as possible, but cant get close to fence because I have a row of nylon fencing to catch snakes.
This stuff is a menace.
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Mosquitoes are so bad today, I had to come inside.
Picking cabbage and started making kraut. Cleaned off all the pepper plants and started freezing them up. Chunked some tomatoes, peppers, garlic, onions and a bunch of chopped up basil and put in the crockpot for this weekend. Pasta maybe for Sunday dinner. Picked about a dozen cucumbers and think this will probably be the last . The small ones remaining on the vines don't seem to be sizing up anymore so I will pull the vines. Mustard greens are about ready to pick and my fall carrots are coming along nicely. Shelling dried green beans for seeds. Tomato and squash seeds already drying. Still picking figs.
Supper is Italian sausages smothered in onions and peppers.
Supper is Italian sausages smothered in onions and peppers.
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I pulled my melon vines today and had 5 the size of baseballs. Was going to give to chickens. They are 2 of the best melons ever. I was shocked. They are Sugar Baby variety. They are a small melon but not this small. Im saving seed since they seem to like soil. I will fertilize more next year to get them larger.
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The cows and deer wiped out our strawberry plants. We had snow 2 days ago and frost most every day for a week now. The wife has been doing a lot of canning, hamburger, beans etc.
When I get some of my projects done I'll start pulling out the fence around the garden. We'll move the garden in to the orchard in raised beds and the strawberries up by the house, also in raised beds.
When I get some of my projects done I'll start pulling out the fence around the garden. We'll move the garden in to the orchard in raised beds and the strawberries up by the house, also in raised beds.
Have your temperatures been excessively hot or cooler than normal. Sounds like your blooms are not setting. Sometimes temperatures can cause that.
Robin our melons did not do well this year either. I think it was just a bad year for melons. Ours were small and many of the blooms just did not set. It was a very cool and wet summer for us. We were late to warm up and have already cooled off.
We like the small melons also and grow a small yellow heirloom melon similar to sugar baby that does well most years. We also grow an heirloom cantaloupe called Minnesota Midget that is perfect for 2 people and gets really sweet.
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I had cantaloupe blooms, but not one produced. Last year i cad cantaloupe and no watermelons.
My wife has always gardened on the Darwin Theory.I would like to start gardening ASAP ( If I'm not too late???)
Can anyone recommend any good hard copy books for beginners with BLACK thumbs?
My growing zone is a blend of 5b,6a,6b...
My potential grow area is approximately 55x133
Will I be able to use my unheated garage for any use during the winter for prep of any kind?
I'd like to start with raised garden bed cold-frames. Seems like that would be a good use of the land for the weather we have here in O-H-I-O.
I will eat any vegetable or fruit put in front of me. They are all delicious.
Thank you for any info, I am much appreciative.
With respect,
Erqueen75
We had a couple of bought artichokes plants that never produced. They grew well for 3-4 years
We moved, had a random plant in the middle of a pathway that produced for 2 years. The second year they were 6 ft tall. And produced 30-40 artichoke. This year NADA. And I let them go to seed.
I have spent this year of drought reorganizing our garden situation, so that it easier for my small statured wife to reach things. I put in a lot of pony poop. I think it should be good next year.
At our last house, we replaced two tiers of 20 yr old rose bushes with a succulent garden. It grew extremely well with the pony poop I didn’t tell my wife I tilled in.
Am planting my garlic this week. Going to put compost, aged cow manure, Fish Bonemeal and aged chicken poo on them. Crossing my fingers they do well! 
What does everyone use for fertilizer on their garlic?
What does everyone use for fertilizer on their garlic?- Joined
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My garlic died down and I forgot where I had planted. I guess I'll wait till next year. I saw some sprouts coming up and dug them. Have a few small cloves to enjoy.Am planting my garlic this week. Going to put compost, aged cow manure, Fish Bonemeal and aged chicken poo on them. Crossing my fingers they do well!
You don’t plant yours in the fall for summer harvest?
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I just leave some in the ground and see if they reproduce.
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I finished transplanting strawberries. I ran out of room until something else @is finished for the season.
Initially planted 50 bare roots and they were really prolific. I just transplanted 100 or so plants and am not even 1/2 way finished. I had already snipped 75 or so runners to give away and the person never picked them up and they perished in the hurricane remnants.
I am very concerned about our ability to purchase fruits in the Spring and want to make the most of what I have.
Initially planted 50 bare roots and they were really prolific. I just transplanted 100 or so plants and am not even 1/2 way finished. I had already snipped 75 or so runners to give away and the person never picked them up and they perished in the hurricane remnants.
I am very concerned about our ability to purchase fruits in the Spring and want to make the most of what I have.
Had excessively hot temps here.
Tomato plants grew like crazy and just now getting fruit. I pulled out my cucumber plants as they were ready, and have 2 buckets of cukes now! Time for more pickles.
I want to plant garlic for the new place, when is it planted- I believe fall correct? Was thinking to make a box and plant some garlic in it so I can take it with me to the new place in spring.
Now is the time to plant garlic. It is planted now and harvested in late spring or early summer depending on variety. Elephant garlic is different though and can be planted in spring.
Thanks DD, I'll get right on that!
I consider myself very fortunate that I have gotten my fruit and berry plantings in long before all this happened. Have you seen the price on new fruit trees. Geez! I have more planted than we will ever be able to eat. I strongly suggest if you are buying fruit trees or seeds to order them way early or you probably won't get them.
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I bought and planted 4 apple trees last spring, two varieties. Can't seem to find any now for fall planting, and I do not want bare root. So I'll wait till spring and see what is available. One nursery had a few apple that were massive, but they wanted $140 each and I don't need any more apple.
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The other fruit trees I have are plums and mulberry. The plums always have worms or are eaten by squirrels and the mulberry trees are too tall to pick so they are also squirrel food.
We are having a bumper crop of crop of walnuts it seems. Sign of bad winter (?).
We are having a bumper crop of crop of walnuts it seems. Sign of bad winter (?).
We have owned mulberries on other properties and have small mulberry trees here that are just starting to bear. Our native plums do wonderful here in TN with much less pressure from worms. Try beach plums or Choctaw plums. Blueberries for us are super prolific and after about 3 years we tend to get bumper crops most years with very little pest or disease problem. Same with blackberries we grow a primocane variety along fences for support and harvest way more than we can eat with no spraying of any kind. Figs are marginal for us and do freeze down to the ground some years but always bounce back and we reliably harvest fruit. Gooseberries may take over the place with no pest or disease issues here at all. The only traditional stone fruit I grow are peaches and it is a native. Most years it blooms but is very susceptible to late frosts so a dependable crop is a crapshoot. I have planted a couple young pear and a hardy apricot but time will tell....
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My blackberries are overrun with mulberry weed (see pic in prior post) I can't transplant berries the way I am doing the strawberries. It's going to hard to get the weed under control. They can reproduce up to 4 times per season.
Been unusually hot and dry this year, water daily and sometimes twice. They just did not do anything, bloom, bees and bumblebees are in the blooms but nothing happened. I do have 6-7 pumpkins now growing but still green.
We canned about 15 lbs. of tomato today and made juice from them, I wanted to try and dry some but was too late. Helena had already run them through the blender and separated the seeds out for canning...
Love it DD, I have five containers of about 5 gallons each that are ready to be distilled into moonshine this weekend. Pears, Apricots, Grapes. The neighbor gypsy distilled 30 liters of mash and got 10 liters of moonshine back. I have about twice as much mash as he did...GP
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I've got room in the orchard for about 5 more fruit trees. Maybe 12 if we expand the orchard some. We're going to add a couple more rows of blackberries and grapes this spring.
I grew 4 watermelons this year the size of soccer balls. Never ripened up, just white inside. Out in the orchard The pears did really well so did the apples and plums. Gave away hundreds of pounds to friends and family. I planted full size fruit starting about 40 years ago. If I had it to do over again I would plant dwarf or simi dwarf. Most are just too big to harvest all the fruit. Funny how short our lives are. Make just 1 mistake 40 years ago and its too late to start over. Oh well, I have grandchildren. I planted 2 garlics with every tomato. That does a really good job of keeping the bugs off. I never fertilize garlic. They just taste stronger if they are never coddled. I planted mint last spring. They thrived. My son says to watch out for mint. Its like chives and will take over the world if you let them.
Sqeezed
out 80 gallons of sugar cane juice . Planning on making syrup next week. Had to squeeze the first 15 gallons by hand, too much work for an old man. But, for all it's worth, mules get a lot more likable the more tired you get.
