Vegetable gardens 2014
 

Anyone else got anything going yet ? Outta space over here already !

Most of the peas are up a few inches , fava beans poking through , carrots(18 kinds!) just up. Garden cress is blowing up , corn salad just showing . First asparagus tips showed Tuesday , honey berries have been blooming for a week . Mesclun and spinach transplanted . Garlic and potatoes going strong . Last shiitake log is loaded , just waiting to dry a bit before picking ! Horseradish is taking off , currents and gooseberries are fully leafed out .
Also tried a dug out raised bed with a cover for a cold frame this year . Got loads of spinach , mesclun , lettuce and pak choi hammering away inside . There was ice on top yesterday , and still was 38 inside !

up until last week I couldn't even dig more than 2 inches down due to the ground still being frozen solid.....

I need to get the peas going soon...sugar snaps :drool:

been trying to get some landscaping/plants in around my house right now...

Stil thinking about it
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no Asparagus showing in my garden yet, can't wait. Blueberries, black raspberries and apples are pruned, still need to do peaches. Rhubarb is up but nutin has leafed out at all here. Cold as all heck this morning.

a friend told me that when you eat asparagus
it makes your URINE "Stink" and i thought "no way"
but after reading it again here and there i now "believe him"
i like it RAW straight out of the ground

I haven't started yet ...to many Doctor's appointments ...
foot is still on the mend not to mention it snowed again here

I like how you think Frank,
I did a good cleaning ,,,,Aspar is already up ,,,went to homies and picked up black kow crap , 50 lb bags for 5.00
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my six inch deep wooden flat
so totally OUT -performed everything else
that making replica's is my first JOB

i never got around to it.... last year
I'm kickin myself now

making 12 16" x 24" 5 inch deep boxes
out of a sheet of plywood
and some left over lumber

HEY Cheferson...... take some pictures and post-em

I would , but I haven't figured out how to post them on this sites mobile version .
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ProfessorM ,

What's the latest you can prune blueberries ? Also when do start spraying them for catapillars ?
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peas can tolerate the heat Better if heavy watered
you can spray foliage in the morning allowing them
to dry ...water only the ground they're in during the evening
so they won't get moldy from a warm night....

i sent away to park seed for my innoculant because it doubles or triples my harvest
method used -1rst presoak peas -after swelling bag em
then shake and bake with innoculant turning them black
plant like that

The mind is willing, but the back is weak. :(

you can do it
 

lay a bag of unopened top soil anywhere
semi sunny
cut some small holes thru the plastic

then slow water it thru the holes til moist
then plant some seeds in the holes

Presto--->

Cheferson,
you can always send me the pics first
countryraven -at- gmail dot com
i'll create a new album in my photobucket
and send you back the direct link codes
that goes for "anyone" having pic problems at S-B

Great idea Rav. :btu:

You would like to prune all your fruits when they are dormant but I'd say you can prune anytime before say May, really asap if you missed the dormant stage with the blueberries. Also you don't want to fertilize fruit any later than early June as you don't want too much growth to not have a chance to harden off before winter. I have often pruned apple trees for a second time after the fruit is starting on the tree to get more sunlight onto the fruit so 2 prunings is not unusual for the home grower. So I'd say prune them asap is preferable as the dormant stage is passed as the buds are starting to swell now. I'd say spray as soon as you can notice any green, any little bit, showing on the buds. Looking at the buds will teach you when. That is what I am going to do and then I will spray again 2 weeks later then that is it for them. Other fruits is a whole different ballgame. Most of the commercial guys go by temperature, degree days, and keep a strict schedule. Home guys are not that fussy. Your County Extension Service is a great wealth of info for anything involved with plants and trees and spraying and pruning, etc... For the blueberries I am after the winter moths and they enter the bud very early. I wish I could remember when I did it last year as I hit it perfect. I will write it down this year. I used Sevin. That is the only pest I have encountered in the last 15 plus years that effect the blueberries and only for the past 5 years. Before that I never sprayed the blueberries but if I don't now I get zero berries. I need to look at the buds tomorrow as I have been busy and didn't this week yet. Hope that helps and not too confusing. Paul

used to think bacillus thuringiensis (BT) was a great natural
kill all caterpillar's weapon for the garden until i noticed
how it turned the foliage a different color on my broccoli
almost as if it changed the surface.

i use different methods now.

Last Weekend's Project
 

Trying a raised bed in Truro. Small this year with a little room to grow. I cut plastic barrels into thirds removing tops and bottom. Filled with a 50/50 blend of compost and loam. So far I've planted cukes, sugar snaps, Kentucker wonder beans, Mesclun mixed with spinach. Next weekend maybe some tomatos, and herbs. I'd like to try some potatoes and onions as well.

Thought this was a pretty cool Cuke Trellis....planting in pots.

http://www.pvcplans.com/Trellis2.jpg

I would love to get back into gardening like I used to, but my brother has taken it upon himself to "redo" the back yard setup.

Did I mention that he has ZERO gardening experience, and probably even less gardening knowledge?

Here's a few of his brainstorm ideas:

Decides to "try" and grow blueberries, doesn't treat soil, digs up raised bed of 5 year old asparagas (tossed asidethe crowns) and kept wondering why we got no berries?

built a garden pen to keep animals out of garden.
It's 8 feet long, 4 feet wide and 4 feet high. You really get your back stretching workouts in that bed.

After the 3rd time I explained why I didn't grow certain plants in the garden (too much shade from surrounding trees) I gave up and let him do whatever he wanted. Needless to say we don't get much.

last year we had all of the trees that shaded the back yard removed, and instead of seeing how thing grow this time, he wants to move all the rasied beds onto a crushed stone patio. That's right, he wants to move the AGAIN. I will do my own gardening, but I don't like it like I used to.

I do want to start a continuous compost pile, but I fear that he will find a reason to move that as well.....

50/50
 

doesn't Sound like there's a 50/50 decision making
arrangement going on there

why is that?

Broccoli can grow in shady areas (all cole crops)

i grew it on the north side of the house
it only got 3 maybe 4 hours of sun there
otherwise just light

Alert ......
Grammy WoodChuck was last seen running off into the woods at .0001 mph
Beware my friends, now that the trap has no snow on it, i am going to bait it tonight and find a better home for grammy "..........across the highway 5.1 miles from my garden
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Paul, any recommendations as far as what product you spray your apple tree's with ?

I also have a peach tree that does well and produces a lot of fruit but a lot of the peaches get little green dots on the skins, should I be spraying them with something ?

I use an orchard spray. It has fungicide and insecticide all in one so easy. I have used this one below. You have to do it religiously, like every 2 weeks, to get good results. Pruning is very important with all fruit trees to get good results too.

http://www.gurneys.com/product/fruit...FZRr7AodBUAAgQ

Peaches are very susceptible to fungus of many variety's much more than insects. But hard to say what specific one you have. I used to have about 7 peach trees but down to 2 now. Peaches are not very long lived fruit trees, unlike apples. Nothing better than a home grown tree ripened peach and peach jam. You could eat around the blotches as I had the same problem too but really doesn't affect the fruit taste wise. Nothing wrong with some imperfections on your fruit. Heck I would even eat peaches if they had a few worms in them as they would usually be around the pit and not the flesh going in from the stem. I would just bust the peach open and discard the pit and worms. The flavor is so good it is well worth it. People are spoiled by perfect looking fruit, which usually have no taste at all. I'll take an ugly good tasting fruit over a pretty one any day.

Reading this may help you. But you could use the orchard spray for the peaches too.

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/fungici...ree-64168.html

Thanks Paul, I will give that a shot. My problem is once fishing season starts I don't keep up with it. The green spots on the peaches (peach scab I think) look like they can be treated with that same spray.

Yeah I don't keep up with much at all once that happens. That is why I am spending every waking moment trying to get my cottage interior work squared away, and wife happy, before the fish show up.

Thanks professorm !

Think I may just wait until this coming winter to prune . Most of the buds have really swollen and some have already popped .

Have you had any luck using thuricide for the caterpillars ? I'm not big fan of pesticides , sevin is little much for my tastes . How many people did it kill in that accident in India !? Gonna give em a shot of thuricide today . Heh , even ravens scared of this stuff though .... I bet your plants reaction was from the carriers and emulsifiers raven , not actual bt.

Really happy with the results using the row covers ! Makes a nice warm microclimate and keeps all the bags and animals out ! Only thing that sucks is the rain doesn't get through . Everything has really taken off! I will try to get some pix soon!
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Looks like a few days late ! The little beetches were already going to town . These caterpillars suck ! My area is loaded with them ! I saw some injectable pesticide I may try for the ornamental trees. Maybe that would help get the population under control . In the mean time I doused everything in thuricide this am .
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Went nuts and bought some asparagus crowns. My Greatgrandfather grew lots of it 100 years ago right next door. Bought my seed potatoes and onion sets, too.Thinking blueberries next year.

Hey Fred I just ate my first spear tonite. Only one but it was so good.
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