Garden 2021

Homesteading & Country Living Forum

Help Support Homesteading & Country Living Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
I have been growing potatoes in buckets and only getting a couple dozen small potatoes for a harvest (using store types), I have 2 large containers that have about a dozen sprouts in them right now and my seed potatoes just arrived, I am thinking I can keep the seed potatoes in the fridge until I can complete a harvest cycle and then replant in 2s and 3s, but that will take a while to use up all the seed potatoes I have. Need to figure if they will keep for up to 9 months in the fridge, so I can use them all up.....
 
I planted my potatoes last week. A friend told me to plant on or near St Patricks Day. I only have ever heard of planting onions and peas on that day. So this year I gave it a try with the potatoes.
i left some in from last year. Dug them up the other day and they over wintered. I thought potatoes would rot. But they were perfect. Does anyone else over winter potatoes?
I do.


The spuds just below the surface will freeze and turn to mush but 6" diwn or so they are just fine.

I have volunteer potatoes in many of my garden boxes that grew from spuds I had missed. I let them be when I see them come up. I also have some growing in boxes that I planted 5-6 years ago. I just have to keep the weeds ubder control.

Ben
 
We went crazy planting potatoes last yr and I got to the last two rows and had enough. Grabbed some old hay, busted up the bales and placed them over the potato hills. Bam, it worked, lol I tried it with carrots and something munched away on all of them.
 
concord grape propagation. i was trimming vines that were planted in 1977 by my dad and the vines look a bit haggered. i dont know how long they live but its time to get more of them going before something happens to them. i stratified these apple seeds in winter 2019/20 and planted them out and had a few come up. i thought maybe they were bad seed but look whats going on. it took a year to sprout these for some reason. these are red fleshed open pollinated seeds . more apple trees coming on hopefully !

DSC02760.JPG



DSC02756.JPG
 
I have a Concord grape, so I wondered how long they live, too.

Lifespan. With proper care, grapevines can live for 50 to 100 years or more. Some of California's oldest vineyards contain grapevines dating back to the 1880s. These vines replaced earlier plants that were wiped out by the phylloxera virus.

I find great pleasure in propagation of plants, I have about 50 brown figs & cutting of about 6 other varieties.
Here is where I get some of my cuttings: Search results for: 'fig cuttings' | kremp.com
I mainly want some color in my fig bowl, but taste is important too.
 
Last edited:
I have a Concord grape, so I wondered how long they live, too.

Lifespan. With proper care, grapevines can live for 50 to 100 years or more. Some of California's oldest vineyards contain grapevines dating back to the 1880s. These vines replaced earlier plants that were wiped out by the phylloxera virus.

I find great pleasure in propagation of plants, I have about 50 brown figs & cutting of about 6 other varieties.
Here is where I get some of my cuttings: Search results for: 'fig cuttings' | kremp.com
I mainly want some color in my fig bowl, but taste is important too.
The Princess and I have a spring ritual were we walk around the garden examining how things survived the winter. Before the expected last frost we check the fig tree I planted maybe 7 years ago and in unison pronounce it dead regardless of whatever I try to protect it over winter.

Not this year. I did nothing to protect it and with frost still looming for at least 3 more weeks we found buds on the branches.

We speculated that the root finally has grown big enough to start growing early. It has never produced ripe fruit due to the late start and the first frost coming too early.

Be still ny heart.

I may actually get ripe fruit this year.

Ben
 
We have had a hot winter this year, March is like late April this year, a friend has trees with 8 inches of new grow in March.
I hope your fig has adapted to your zone. Is it a hardy Chicago fig ?
 
We have had a hot winter this year, March is like late April this year, a friend has trees with 8 inches of new grow in March.
I hope your fig has adapted to your zone. Is it a hardy Chicago fig ?
I can't say what it is called. It was rated for my growing zone.

Temps will drop below freezing later this week. Time will tell.

Ben
 
New chapter in my war with the aphids... I am losing, but in desperation I switched tactics.. Dipping! I have lots of young plants that the aphids just love and I have not been able to detour them for any length of time. I find they really focus on my peppers. So I chose to try something extra I mixed up 5 gallons of very mild dish soap, neem oil, and a little bit of hydrogen peroxide (1/4 cup); I took some of my pepper plants and just dipped them into the mixture starter pot and all.... I am waiting to see if it hurts the plants, but the aphids don't seem to like it......
 
Last night one of the guys from the gun range called and asked if I had any "extra plants", we are working a trade now. While I was checking my plants I discovered 3 small squash (about 3" long each), was not expecting that! The plants that I dipped seem to be doing okay, so I plan to dilute the mixture in a larger container outside and dip my egg plant (they are a much larger plant and will not fit in a 5 gallon bucket) which is the main carrier of the aphids at this time. By late next week I should be moving all my plants out doors and the indoor garden chapter will be done.

The cabbage that I moved outdoors last week all have heads started which is fun. While working in the yard I have seen some of the white butterfly's that lay eggs on my squash plants so I need to think about how to deal with them going forward. Hey the coming frost might knock them down, I can only hope...
 
Last night one of the guys from the gun range called and asked if I had any "extra plants", we are working a trade now. While I was checking my plants I discovered 3 small squash (about 3" long each), was not expecting that! The plants that I dipped seem to be doing okay, so I plan to dilute the mixture in a larger container outside and dip my egg plant (they are a much larger plant and will not fit in a 5 gallon bucket) which is the main carrier of the aphids at this time. By late next week I should be moving all my plants out doors and the indoor garden chapter will be done.

The cabbage that I moved outdoors last week all have heads started which is fun. While working in the yard I have seen some of the white butterfly's that lay eggs on my squash plants so I need to think about how to deal with them going forward. Hey the coming frost might knock them down, I can only hope...

Cabbage_worm_and_looper.png


I think a fine mesh netting about 2' high around the garden since they do not fly very high around the ground.

Ben
 
Last edited:
Well the week went according to Murphy. The weather turned off cold so I had to move the out door containers into shelter, then work went crazy with fire drills and long days... By Saturday my indoor container plants were badly wilted because I didn't have time to hand water them. They soaked up 30 gallons of water really fast... The sad thing is the plants that got hit the hardest were my heritage San Marzano tomatoes, I think I will end up losing about 6 plants, I still have enough to fill my space, but I will not have any to share.... I have 4 other varieties that I have plenty of but not the ones from the seeds my wife ordered from Italy. If this had happened 4 weeks ago I could just start a new batch, but I was hoping to get them in the ground by next weekend...
 
I got potatoes planted a couple of weeks ago. They are coming up. They are between the fig trees and the woods, short rows, 4 for a total of 344ft.

Yesterday and today... I got the JD planters out of the shed and hooked up to the old Ford. They weren't used last year so they needed a good going over, greased all the moving parts.

Dad planted 6 rows of G90 sweetcorn this morning before I woke up. Longer rows, 142ft x 6 - 852ft. I wish he'd stopped at 4 rows. I intend to plant 4 rows of peaches n cream sweetcorn in a couple of weeks. This way we'll have sweetcorn to eat for over a month. Last year I planted corn 3 times separated by 2 weeks. The last planting was destroyed when the cows got out and ate it but we still had corn for a month.

We almost always use the planters for corn and peas and to lay out more rows for hand drop seed. We do it this way so we can us cultivators on the tractor and plow most of the garden veggies until they get too big, saves a lot of time and physical labor with a hoe.

Laying out rows can be done with the cultivators also. The rows are still straight and can be plowed. The advantage of using the planters is that they form a nice compact seed bed.

I was up in time to plant 100 blubs of onions. That's it for today.



G 90 (1) sm.JPG
G 90 (2) sm.JPG
 
Last edited:
I got potatoes planted a couple of weeks ago. They are coming up. They are between the fig trees and the woods, short rows, 4 for a total of 384ft.

Yesterday and today... I got the JD planters out of the shed and hooked up to the old Ford. They weren't used last year so they needed a good going over, greased all the moving parts.

Dad planted 6 rows of G90 sweetcorn this morning before I woke up. Longer rows, 142ft x 6 - 852ft. I wish he'd stopped at 4 rows. I intend to plant 4 rows of peaches n cream sweetcorn in a couple of weeks. This way we'll have sweetcorn to eat for over a month. Last year I planted corn 3 times separated by 2 weeks. The last planting was destroyed when the cows got out and ate it but we still had corn for a month.

We always use the planters for corn and peas and to lay out more rows for hand drop seed. We do it this way so we can us cultivators on the tractor and plow most of the garden veggies until they get too big, saves a lot of time and physical labor with a hoe.

I was up in time to plant 100 blubs of onions. That's it for today.



View attachment 63017View attachment 63018
This brings back memories, that is my Fathers two row planter set up.
We had a 8n tractor, later I found out it is a TO-30 not a 8n.
It is my understanding 8n & TO-30 are the same tractor.

The TO-30 was built in Detroit by Ferguson Ltd as the successor to the earlier TO-20 from 1951. It was based on the TE-30 but with US sourced parts and a Continental Z-129 engine.

The Ford 8N tractor was introduced in 1947, and 442,035 were built between then and 1952
 
I got potatoes planted a couple of weeks ago. They are coming up. They are between the fig trees and the woods, short rows, 4 for a total of 384ft.

Yesterday and today... I got the JD planters out of the shed and hooked up to the old Ford. They weren't used last year so they needed a good going over, greased all the moving parts.

Dad planted 6 rows of G90 sweetcorn this morning before I woke up. Longer rows, 142ft x 6 - 852ft. I wish he'd stopped at 4 rows. I intend to plant 4 rows of peaches n cream sweetcorn in a couple of weeks. This way we'll have sweetcorn to eat for over a month. Last year I planted corn 3 times separated by 2 weeks. The last planting was destroyed when the cows got out and ate it but we still had corn for a month.

We almost always use the planters for corn and peas and to lay out more rows for hand drop seed. We do it this way so we can us cultivators on the tractor and plow most of the garden veggies until they get too big, saves a lot of time and physical labor with a hoe.

Laying out rows can be done with the cultivators also. The rows are still straight and can be plowed. The advantage of using the planters is that they form a nice compact seed bed.

I was up in time to plant 100 blubs of onions. That's it for today.



View attachment 63017View attachment 63018
Nice Peanut!
 
This brings back memories, that is my Fathers two row planter set up.
We had a 8n tractor, later I found out it is a TO-30 not a 8n.
It is my understanding 8n & TO-30 are the same tractor.

The TO-30 was built in Detroit by Ferguson Ltd as the successor to the earlier TO-20 from 1951. It was based on the TE-30 but with US sourced parts and a Continental Z-129 engine.

The Ford 8N tractor was introduced in 1947, and 442,035 were built between then and 1952

Last tractor hubby had was a old Masey Ferguson sold it 20 year ago.
 
I put my taters out March 8th. Still haven't came up. I'm getting worried about them
I'd be considering replanting. In the mean time I'd dig up a few and see if they rotted. We had a hard winter, stayed cold late.

Edit, Had to check my old post. I planted potatoes on Mar12 and mine are just coming up, not sure there'll be a good stand.

Here is a close up of the seed bed planters make (posted above)...

garden fows (1) sm.JPG
 
I am taking a 4 day weekend to help my wife get the garden done. We, mostly she has been pecking away at it. This is the first year with a tractor. The garden is only a little larger this year but not moving dirt and stuff by hand is awesome.
 
All still doing well, coming up fine .Hugul mound and raised bed got watered this morning sun flowers,squash,toms,melons ,beans ,radishes, all good some about to bloom.plus lemon trees and fig trees have spring growth.
My aloe vera plants made it back outside last week they are huge.
 
Just one carrot?
Heehee - As many carrots as I might plant, it's never enough! Kinda the same with onions. Usually plant 1 bag of onions so this year I planted 3 bags. Will be trying to plant more carrots too. I got my peanuts planted, more garlic, the onions, cilantro, salad, spinach, and kale. Since you folks mentioned seed spuds vs. store bought, I bought 2 bags of seed spuds (1 white, 1 red) and have a dish of store bought. Will see how they all do. In the house, my thyme and savory sprouted, but no tarragon - will replant. Hoping to go to the nursery in the next week or so and get tomatoes and peppers for hubby. I'd also like 2 artichoke plants.
 
Is that Tree Kale or walking stick Kale?
I am wondering what it taste like.
It is too cold for tree Kale so I would have to root cutting & keep the cutting in doors in the winter, if mulching the stump dose not save it.
 
Last edited:
I got potatoes planted a couple of weeks ago. They are coming up. They are between the fig trees and the woods, short rows, 4 for a total of 344ft.

Yesterday and today... I got the JD planters out of the shed and hooked up to the old Ford. They weren't used last year so they needed a good going over, greased all the moving parts.

Dad planted 6 rows of G90 sweetcorn this morning before I woke up. Longer rows, 142ft x 6 - 852ft. I wish he'd stopped at 4 rows. I intend to plant 4 rows of peaches n cream sweetcorn in a couple of weeks. This way we'll have sweetcorn to eat for over a month. Last year I planted corn 3 times separated by 2 weeks. The last planting was destroyed when the cows got out and ate it but we still had corn for a month.

We almost always use the planters for corn and peas and to lay out more rows for hand drop seed. We do it this way so we can us cultivators on the tractor and plow most of the garden veggies until they get too big, saves a lot of time and physical labor with a hoe.

Laying out rows can be done with the cultivators also. The rows are still straight and can be plowed. The advantage of using the planters is that they form a nice compact seed bed.

I was up in time to plant 100 blubs of onions. That's it for today.



View attachment 63017View attachment 63018
I work on a smaller scale than you but when I was growing corn it it was 25 plants in a 4x4 box planted every other week week. The tight box ensured good pollination and resulted in a month plus of corn in the cob for the family Sunday dinner.

Ben
 
I'd be considering replanting. In the mean time I'd dig up a few and see if they rotted. We had a hard winter, stayed cold late.

Edit, Had to check my old post. I planted potatoes on Mar12 and mine are just coming up, not sure there'll be a good stand.

Here is a close up of the seed bed planters make (posted above)...

View attachment 63021
Found out dad dug into his row and he found several rotting. I'm gonna dig into mine tomorrow night. Bet mine has too. Not sure I'll be able to find seed taters now. They are usually all gone by this point.
Walked around the yard tonight and checked on our fruit. Blue berries got bit, but we had a lot of tiny berries on and some blooms that have opened since this weekend's freeze. Also my apples and pears have bloomed out,I even found some tiny pears on. No effect from the 27-29 degree freeze for 2 nights. The biggest loss looks to be my pawpaws. The 2 trees were more loaded with blooms since I planted them. Way over half are bit, time will tell if whats left makes anything or not.
 
Found out dad dug into his row and he found several rotting. I'm gonna dig into mine tomorrow night. Bet mine has too. Not sure I'll be able to find seed taters now. They are usually all gone by this point.
Walked around the yard tonight and checked on our fruit. Blue berries got bit, but we had a lot of tiny berries on and some blooms that have opened since this weekend's freeze. Also my apples and pears have bloomed out,I even found some tiny pears on. No effect from the 27-29 degree freeze for 2 nights. The biggest loss looks to be my pawpaws. The 2 trees were more loaded with blooms since I planted them. Way over half are bit, time will tell if whats left makes anything or not.

Maybe buy some organic potatoes at the store,they aren't suppose to be treated,not sure of course,Iknow some people use them to plant,
 
My wife comes home(a few year ago) with five -ten pound bags of potatoes, $0.25 bag for a total of $1.25 for fifty pounds of potatoes. This because the potatoes had strouted & strouts are poison, so people thought the WHOLE potatoes was poisonus, which is not true. It was to early to plant, we gave most of the bags away to like minded people.
I wish I a bag of them this Jan.30.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top