Garden 2018

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i have been trying to find some brandywine tomato plants [about 6] until my plants from seed are ready to go int the ground . no one seems to have any. we have to go to dothan for hubby's doctor appointment monday so maybe someone there has them. anyone else plant these and if so have you seen the plants for sale in your neck of the woods?
 
timmie said:
i have been trying to find some brandywine tomato plants [about 6] until my plants from seed are ready to go int the ground . no one seems to have any. we have to go to dothan for hubby's doctor appointment monday so maybe someone there has them. anyone else plant these and if so have you seen the plants for sale in your neck of the woods?
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Timme I would have assumed that your big box hardware store would have tomato starts?

Nurseries perhaps?
 
I think we have everything in the ground except for one kind of carrot, red peppers and the potatoes. We need a couple yards of dirt to fill the raised beds for those. So far we have Brussels sprouts, carrots, sweet potatoes, garlic, cantaloupe, onions, strawberries, tomatoes, lettuce, pumpkin, blueberries, watermelon, beans, cucumbers, squash and chives. Last years herbs are all filling out again so we won't be planting more this year. We have already harvested the first batch of chives and they are being freeze dried. We are letting one of the chives go to seed so we have some in storage.
 
My pole beans and tomatoes are coming along nicely. I potted a couple more jalapeno plants today.

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I planted two whole flats of provider bush beans complete with foil collar, watered in and pounded in stakes to guide the hose so it doesn't flatten them when I'm watering and I'm tapped out.

I can't believe that I'm so unfit when a short while ago I clocked well over 10 klms a 8 hour shift, 10 nights a fortnight.
Management had to swap out my offsiders every 3 shifts then rotate them down to slower ward because they couldn't they couldn't manage the work load.

I found a special tool that fits on a cordless drill that is suppose to be very good for those of us who are having a lot of trouble digging holes for seedlings and small trees.
I'm not one for gadgets as such but I'm looking to the future and it's a huge struggle planting atm with my "soil" being rocks to size of my head held together with clay that sets like iron.

I'm looking at the longer auger so I don't have to bend down as far.

https://www.powerplanter.com.au/
 
My garden is all planted.
I'm trying to stay small so I don't get overwhelmed this Summer.
I installed a drip line on all of my wife's flowers yesterday.
Put them on a timer.
Now she doesn't have to drag a hose around.
I got up at 6:00 this morning just so I could watch the water come on. :)
Figured as long as I was up I might as well run the wheel hoe through the garden and get a jump on the weeds.
 
Got a new peach tree and a new pear tree in the ground over the weekend. Also started the tomatoes...trying a "Mr. Stacky" tower just for fun in addition to the regular planting beds. Planting the herb garden next Saturday. Thrilled that spring has finally come to the Wasatch.
 
This afternoon I'll be putting up a cement reo mesh trellis for my indeterminate Sprint tomatoes and a weld mesh fence panel for my sprouted snow peas.

I'm transplanting the Sprint tomatoes into large plastic drink cups so they'll get more room to grow before I plant them out against the trellis.

Out of the hundreds of broccoli seeds I planted only three have come up. THREE. *sigh*
I'm so disappointed.

I have Spanish collard seeds but rather then do the traditional planting method I've put them on moist paper towel in a cliplock bag
to see what their germination rate is. I really want these ones to grow and the bag they came in was foil and sealed so I'm praying.
 
Tank-Girl said:
I can taste those squash already Dutch!

Your garden is just jumping out of the ground.
Well done.
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Seriously. I really appreciate the encouragement and support! This is the first I've done in a long time. My grandparents did a beautiful garden every year and it brings tears to my eyes knowing grandma is keeping an eye out from heaven. She was the most important influence in my life.....
 
My zinnias and calendula are not coming up. I'm keeping the soil moist. Is it too hot? It's been in the high 80s to mid 90s. I started them at the same time as the tomatoes.
They're not baking in the sun all day. They're in starter containers.
I was concerned about not keeping soil moist enough if I had direct seeded. :(
 
Some stuff looking really good right now. My Watermelon and Sugar Cube melons have tons of blooms and are spreading huge! Hopefully they will get some melons. The Onions, Watermalon, Melons and beets I just side dressed with Blood meal. The Squash.....Oh yes the squash! Obviously I had NO idea how prolificly they produce. Looks like The local Food Bank will get a ton if they will take them. Otherwise friends, of friends of friends friends will get some!!! I am learning as I go. I just learned 4-5 squash plants is a good number. not 35!!
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Patchouli said:
My zinnias and calendula are not coming up. I'm keeping the soil moist. Is it too hot? It's been in the high 80s to mid 90s. I started them at the same time as the tomatoes.
They're not baking in the sun all day. They're in starter containers.
I was concerned about not keeping soil moist enough if I had direct seeded. :(
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That shouldn't be to hot for them. How wet is the soil? They like a well drained soil. I've always direct seeded because they don't like to be transplanted. I don't think I've ever grown calendulas.
 
I just planted 72 cells of multi-sown multi-coloured swiss chard seedlings and 72 cells of multi-sown Detroit beetroot seedlings and three lonely Albert broccoli seedlings.

This time I laid down a fresh bamboo cane as a row marker so my rows are now straight. Order and balance has been restored to my world! *except for that cursed turnip row....*

I chipped out grass and weeds with the mattock, double dug with a pitch fork and smoothed off the bed with a rake and then drew the rows to plant into.
That final watering in of the seedlings is the best feeling esp. when you get to stand straight, get the kinks out of your back and look at beautiful straight rows.
 
Dutchs said:
Some stuff looking really good right now. My Watermelon and Sugar Cube melons have tons of blooms and are spreading huge! Hopefully they will get some melons. The Onions, Watermalon, Melons and beets I just side dressed with Blood meal. The Squash.....Oh yes the squash! Obviously I had NO idea how prolificly they produce. Looks like The local Food Bank will get a ton if they will take them. Otherwise friends, of friends of friends friends will get some!!! I am learning as I go. I just learned 4-5 squash plants is a good number. not 35!! View attachment 7104 View attachment 7105 View attachment 7106 View attachment 7107 View attachment 7108 View attachment 7109 View attachment 7110
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It looks like you have the same problem I have.
Quack grass.
I hate that stuff. It's almost impossible to get rid of it and it can take over.
I spent all day today with my wheel hoe weeding out the quack grass and I know it will return with a vengeance.
 
backlash said:
It looks like you have the same problem I have.
Quack grass.
I hate that stuff. It's almost impossible to get rid of it and it can take over.
I spent all day today with my wheel hoe weeding out the quack grass and I know it will return with a vengeance.
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I pulled it all by hand from the beds. I'm going to go ahead and try Glyphosate tomorrow, (roundup) seems it won't leach and just kills what you spray. Gotta be careful there is NO wind and NO overspray but I'm going to give it a shot. It works like a champ on my fence and arpound my well and electric stuff. I used it last year around my fruit trees with NO ill effects....
 
Dutchs said:
I pulled it all by hand from the beds. I'm going to go ahead and try Glyphosate tomorrow, (roundup) seems it won't leach and just kills what you spray. Gotta be careful there is NO wind and NO overspray but I'm going to give it a shot. It works like a champ on my fence and arpound my well and electric stuff. I used it last year around my fruit trees with NO ill effects....
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That's what I use.
My big mistake was over tilling.
But a guy with a new tractor with a rototiller is going to use it every chance he gets.:)
Next Fall and early Spring I am going to wage war on it.
Glyphosate everything until it's gone.
I can buy it at the farm store for $54 for 2.5 gallons undiluted so it's the same as Round Up but way cheaper.
 
backlash said:
That's what I use.
My big mistake was over tilling.
But a guy with a new tractor with a rototiller is going to use it every chance he gets.:)
Next Fall and early Spring I am going to wage war on it.
Glyphosate everything until it's gone.
I can buy it at the farm store for $54 for 2.5 gallons undiluted so it's the same as Round Up but way cheaper.
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Damn right. It is usually higher percentage from the Tractor store as well. I got mine from Southern AG on the internet this year, I got 2.5 gallons at 52.8% Glyphosate from these guys just a few weeks ago...
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I bit the bullet and brought 100 plastic tomato clips off ebay to help trellis my indeterminate tomatoes.
Here in Australia you can't buy cattle panels so I use sheets of concrete reo mesh that have been cut in half length ways and held up by
star pickets ( T posts).
My indeterminate Sprint seedlings are looking wonderful and healthy and I'm having to steel myself to thin them.
I HATE thinning seedlings.
It's really hard for me to kill off little plants I spent so much time and attention on.
*sigh*
I got to think of the greater good and harden up.

I actually got good germniation with my determinate KY1 tomatoes and they're looking good.
I'll give them a tiny pinch of epsom salts as soon as I see true leaves sprout.
I've chosen both Sprint and KY1 tomatoes for their blight and cold tolerance.
I'll be pulling the side suckers off and striking them for replacement plants
which will cut down on the turn around time for a new crop.

My provider beans are a complete bust and I've planted purple king pole beans to take their place.
I'll be lashing bamboo poles together with bailing twine to make tripods for them to grow up.

Every day I'm thankful I decided to plant slender weaver's clumping bamboo in a back corner of the chicken pen.
It's taken a few years but I planted it once, watered it at planting and walked away from it.
Now I have a good supply of stakes and mulch in the way of bamboo leaves and the chickens will actually eat fresh bamboo leaves
when I cut a fresh pole and strip off foliage.
I wish I had room for a larger diameter variety but I wager I could have 100 acres and not have enough room to do all the things I want to do
nor enough hours in the day or enough dollars in the bank.

If nothing else living on a pension way below the line has taught me to think outside the box and get creative with what I have at hand.
 
Peanut said:
My pole beans and tomatoes are coming along nicely. I potted a couple more jalapeno plants today.

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Any update from your beautiful garden Peanut?
Did I mention being pea green with envy at the size of that garden and how straight your rows are?

Today I potted on the last of my KY1 determinate tomatoes into drink cups from the flats.

I have to plant out my sugar cabbages and a flat that's half red russian kale and half giant dutch spinach and another flat of butter swedes.
I got woeful germination in the butter swedes so I'll hold off planting any more until it cools down a bit more and then
I'll direct seed.

My feverfew didn't germinate at all. I was REALLY counting on it so I could dry it and make a pain blend tincture before the next
rounds of surgeries.

I need to rip out the spent rosella bushes and and run the hoe over the prepared zucchini bed but my energy levels aren't great.

I'm throwing my hands up and buying zucchini and cucumber starts from the hardware store. I'll def. be seed saving from these for sure.
Yeah, the varieties they sell are heirloom so the seeds will be ok. While I'm there I may as well buy broccoli starts and bean seeds as well for my third attempt.
I'm having a bad run with beans. If I can get them germinated every bean disease and virus in creation knocks them down.
Let's just say I've gotten hard headed about getting a bean harvest this season - right or wrong.
 
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