GARDEN 2023

[Peanut]

Since diatomaceous earth was mentioned… I used to buy 200lbs at a time from a guy in texas. A 50lb bag was $30 plus another $30 for shipping (per bag) or $1.20 per pound.

I repackaged DE into 1 pound bags and sold it in quantities of 10 to small healthfood and herbal medicine stores. I charged them $6 per bag, they marked it up to $10/$12 and resold it.

So a 50lb bag cost me $60. If I only sold 10 small bags @$6 that’s the $60 and meant I got 40lbs of DE for free. I don’t think I’ve ever actually paid for DE that I’ve used. Have a 50lb bag in my laundry room now. (Note... I only buy food grade diatomaceous earth. There are a lot of products that have some de in them. All the ones I've tried are a poor substitute for food grade DE.)

I also sold azomite in the same small bags. Its heavier by volume so the little bags weighed 1.5 pounds. I actually bought a license to repackage az, think I paid $100.

Another use besides crops/critters…. someone figured out azomite helps people detox after chemo, made them feel better. As soon as I was listed as the only dealer in the southeast I got calls every week. I shipped a lot of az over the years. Found a pic last night, about 1800lbs of az in my shop. The white/green bags are powdered az. The mostly geen bags was the pellet version. I think there’s still 6 or 7 hundred pounds up there.

Anyway, thought I’d post how I managed to use DE and AZ for very little cost. Might help anyone on a budget...

 

[snappy1]

First cutting of parsley and drying of same. Tomorrow it will be chopped and go in dehydrator.

 

[snappy1]

Chives in dehydrator now. Outside!

 

[UrbanHunter]

Today I pulled up my potato bed, the plants flowered and the wilted badly, I got about 3 gallons out of a 3'X6' space, some of the plants still looked healthy so I replanted them. These were all the small red skinned potatoes, they were all planted from eating potatoes that tried to sprout in the pantry this winter. I got a bunch of garlic out of the garden last week, the onions will still need more time... It started raining around noon, so I moved indoors. I have some okra just breaking ground in their starter cups.

 

[UrbanHunter]

I am trying to figure out how to set up some of those stackey pots possibly a set for outside and another for inside the house. For inside the house I am thinking of doing something on casters, possibly get one of their water reservoir bases, then using a pump, drip irrigation lines, and emitters to water it all from the top. To do it indoors I would need some sort of lighting system, I am thinking of using PVC fittings to make a spoke arrangement to have 8 lights hanging down supported from a central pole... anyway it's a project and anyone who knows me knows I'm always looking for a good project!

 

[Pearl]

I am trying to figure out how to set up some of those stackey pots possibly a set for outside and another for inside the house. For inside the house I am thinking of doing something on casters, possibly get one of their water reservoir bases, then using a pump, drip irrigation lines, and emitters to water it all from the top. To do it indoors I would need some sort of lighting system, I am thinking of using PVC fittings to make a spoke arrangement to have 8 lights hanging down supported from a central pole... anyway it's a project and anyone who knows me knows I'm always looking for a good project!

And that sounds like a good project!!

 

[Neb]

The backyard gardens are now engaged. Yes there are some weeds. Here are some photos.

Grape vines amd clones. May get some grapes this year.

Peppers share a box with a red bud and a pin oak.

Two boxes of broccoli

Tomatoes.

Blackberry but it looks like Bambi was nibbling last night.

Raspberries.

Onions.

Onions with an apple tree in the corner.

Red potatoes in the new raised bed.

More in the next post...

Ben

 

[Neb]

The backyard gardens are now engaged. Yes there are some weeds. Here are some photos.

Grape vines amd clones. May get some grapes this year.

View attachment 109314

Peppers share a box with a red bud and a pin oak.

View attachment 109315

Two boxes of broccoli

View attachment 109316

View attachment 109317

Tomatoes.

View attachment 109318

Blackberry but it looks like Bambi was nibbling last night.

View attachment 109319

Raspberries.

View attachment 109320

Onions.

View attachment 109321

Onions with an apple tree in the corner.

View attachment 109322

Red potatoes in the new raised bed.

View attachment 109323

More in the next post...

Ben

Kenebec potatoes.

Two more boxes of onions.
Hi

There should have been a half dozen lettuce and radishes in the shade of elders but something got in under the fencing. Bummer.

More onions with volunteer spuds.

Garlic.

Purple viking potatoes.

More spuds.

Spuds.

Wild garlic. Wild black raspberries and more garlic.

And one more post to finish.

Ben

 

[Neb]

Continued from above...

Two more boxes of garlic.

Egyptian walking onions.

In addition to the boxes I did try my hand at grafting for the first time. One looks like it may have taken.

Ben

 

[Peanut]

@Neb Ben! love the photos, can you resize them to 864x648 please? I can't view this page, it'd take over a half hour for these large photos to load over my connection.

The first photo is 8.3MB, here it is 1/16th the size, about 500k. Still displays fine... just a suggestion, those of us with slow internet have trouble with big groups of large photos.

 

[Bacpacker]

Looks great Neb. Lots of food taking place.

Peanut, would it help you to just have single pictures?

 

[Peanut]

Its the size of the photos, modern cameras take huge photos (number of ones and zeros). I resize mine to 864x648 pixels. I can upload them quickly and later after posting that page loads quickly.

Another alternative I have used is attach a huge photo as thumbnail instead of full size. Then others can choose to view it full size or not. (double click) Thumbnails load quickly for everyone.

I'm not happy with my satellite internet, just have no choice.

 

[Neb]

Its the size of the photos, modern cameras take huge photos (number of ones and zeros). I resize mine to 864x648 pixels. I can upload them quickly and later after posting that page loads quickly.

Another alternative I have used is attach a huge photo as thumbnail instead of full size. Then others can choose to view it full size or not. (double click) Thumbnails load quickly for everyone.

I'm not happy with my satellite internet, just have no choice.

I tried to edit but I think I made worse.

Going forward I will try to use thumbnails.

Ben

 

[LadyLocust]

This is a “newsletter” I get. There are different topics and articles every few weeks. Thought some of you might enjoy it. One of the latest articles is growing corn in small spaces. I’m looking forward to reading it.
http://Garden.org

 

[joel]

Neb Ben how do you control The Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata)?

 

[Neb]

Neb Ben how do you control The Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata)?

Praying mantis seem to like my garden.

I grow multiple varieties of spuds. One variety or another serves as a sacrificial crop so the others survive.

Deer do more damage than the Colorado potato bug.

Ben

 

[Peanut]

Reminded me, when I first ordered azomite I used some as an experiment. It was billed as making plants healthy, rich vibrant growth. One of many uses was for 'game plots'. I planted two small patches of peas on opposite sides of a hill. Just 30/40 plants total. One patch got azomite, the other didn't. Deer ate the azomite patch first. I was impressed. Much later when buying by the ton... I ran out one year, only had enough for half a pasture. All summer I watched cows walk through deep grass without azomite just to eat the grass with azomite. They kept that side eaten to the ground.
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But to the point about insects. I first got azomite to use on my old garden which had been used more than 100 years, nothing was left in the soil. Everything we planted was destined to a slow death by disease or insects.

Plants have natural defenses against both. I learned with azomite that when I got plants healthy I rarely had to deal with disease/insects. I see bad insects as no different than a lion in africa, they go for the weakest prey, always. Get plants healthy and their natural defenses work. Insects keep looking, else where. I still put 100lbs on the old garden every couple years. I sometimes go 2 or 3 years without a big problem. DE usually gets it under control.
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Put the planters under the shed today, planted corn 4 times so they got a workout. They need some major work so I need to find a manual for them. I think they are mod. 490 or 494 or 495 with a dozen variants of each. Dad got them around 1970 and they were used. Have 5 sets of plates for them. These days we only use the set for corn seed which happens to be the same one for peas, purple hulls. I don't plant acres anymore but makes the old garden easier. I plant corn or peas with them. I lay out the other rows with the planters or cultivators. This way the garden can be plowed as needed. Less physical labor is a good thing sometimes, still has to be hoed but not nearly as much.

There's two of them... need sandblasted and painted.

 

[elkhound]

Neb Ben how do you control The Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata)?

organic from bondie...it will smoke the bugs and after a couple of years now i hardly have them in garden. none this year so far. active ingredient is spinosad

https://www.jungseed.com/product/J50416/1028

 

[elkhound]

@Peanut please let me know if these are to large pictures
fridays peas






sundays peas





red-n-sweet heirloom watermelon seeds coming up.rare watermelon from 80's bred at LSU station in the south. going to help expand seeds if possible. some might think iam late but last friday morning it was 39f here in the mtns...lol these watermelons have a high bricks sugar content that most watermelons and deeper red color which has effect on berry flavor they have.

 

[Peanut]

They are fine, only about 500kb in size... I hated to say anything but I like to see Neb's pictures. Sort of bummed when I couldn't view them because of size.

Good looking peas! I always liked english peas (what they are called here).

 

[UrbanHunter]

Today I harvested spinach, it has been blanched, shocked, chopped, and frozen; 5 pounds put away... I had to order more drip fittings.

 

[joel]

Today I harvested spinach, it has been blanched, shocked, chopped, and frozen; 5 pounds put away... I had to order more drip fittings.

Who did you order drip parts from??

 

[Bacpacker]

Who did you order drip parts from??

I get mine from www.dripdepot.com

I think Urban shop there as well

 

[MoBookworm1957]

My garden is hot and very dry.
Not much rain lately.

 

[UrbanHunter]

Because I do most of my watering using rain barrels I have been worried about the lack of rain this year. I was lucky to get my barrels operational in April, which turned out to be just wet enough to fill the barrels. In May we only got 1" of rain and if we don't get some rain soon my barrels will be empty. I can use city water, but that is expensive and usually if there is a drought they will implement no watering....

 

[Neb]

My garden is hot and very dry.
Not much rain lately.

Same here!

In normal years I don't have to water the gardens. Not so this year. Strawberries that over wintered great are suffering from dehydration. It may have been a month since the last good rain. Usually every 3-5 days It is noteworthy that I do have to water in the growing season after all.

Better to learn it now than later when it matters.


Ben

 

[Neb]

Because I do most of my watering using rain barrels I have been worried about the lack of rain this year. I was lucky to get my barrels operational in April, which turned out to be just wet enough to fill the barrels. In May we only got 1" of rain and if we don't get some rain soon my barrels will be empty. I can use city water, but that is expensive and usually if there is a drought they will implement no watering....

Agreed. See my previous.

Ben

 

[Amish Heart]

Planted a dz pepper plants and the two concord grape plants. Brought some extra plants to my favorite cousin's place tonight for her daughter. They like trying different peppers, the hotter the better, so I brought them some Carolina Reapers

 

[LadyLocust]

Planted a dz pepper plants and the two concord grape plants. Brought some extra plants to my favorite cousin's place tonight for her daughter. They like trying different peppers, the hotter the better, so I brought them some Carolina Reapers

I think we have about 20 varieties this year. It’s an experiment to see which ones Hubby likes best, and I’m hoping to get seeds from several of them so next year I won’t have to try finding them and at crazy prices. The ones I started are smaller but looking good. Store bought are larger and also looking good so it might work out well as far as staggering them.

 

[Amish Heart]

I'm doing a good amount of Big Jim for roasting...they are New Mexico seeds (from Corrales, to be exact) and are used for rellanos. We roast them and freeze them to use all year. Real good in enchiladas and to top a burger. Also planted green bell, lots of jalapenos, and serranos. Last year I did more varieties, and canned a ton of them. Still have a ton canned, slowed down this year on varieties.