Thanks Msrobin ~
I built bamboo trellises to grow things upward. Some things did not do well, others were wildly successful. I think this spot did not have enough sun although the tomatoes set all thru the heat of summer. They kept me in tomatoes from June thru the end of Nov. I rarely had to add water to the beds but could easily do so and if it rained, that added water also.
A little out of order on the photos but my thoughts are random too. lol
I put the fifth bed in a sunny location and grew a good crop of sweet cherry and pimento peppers as well as eggplant, more tomatoes and four okra plants. The okra was a steady producer deliver until the first hard killing frost. Amazing that it did so well in water. I will say I searched for plant cultivars that were smaller or suited to container growth also. All but the tomatoes.
So back to today. Never being one to resist temptation, my favorite local plant seller had some thornless blackberries in stock. I bought Arapaho and Navajo ~ three plants of each. Once again, the cart is in front of the horse. Now where do I put them??!?
I did find tomato sprouts in the wintersow jugs tonite. For sure and for certain I will be growing Mule Team and Hong Yuen. They were the first to sprout and oddly seed left from 2008. The dill that sprouted first was a vintage pack of seeds. None of them stored properly I might add.
Does okra do well in containers? I would not have thought that. What kind did you grow?
I'm doing a market garden this year, but still plan on setting up about a dozen tomatoes and maybe 6 peppers in the water beds, just in case I have a problem with garden planted ones.
WhooHoo on the WS germination. I started mine way too late and the herbs germinated in 4 days. But I'll be sure to get them out much earlier next year.
BTW, here's the thread where the self-watering bucket originated. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1011889/
I don't have any sprouts in my WS containers yet.
Cajun ~ I used Lee okra. It stays smaller and grows straight without a lot of lateral branching. The plants were only 4 to 5 feet tall and the pods were around 4 or 5 inches in length. Only four pots didn't deliver a mess of it at one time but I would slice and freeze it on a waxpaper on a cookie sheet, then slide the frozen pieces into freezer bags. I ended up with quite a few meals from only four plants. That was fine as DH doesn't eat it at all! More for me. I ordered a volume of seed and have some left to grow this year. Will also share if you would like to try some... just dmail me.
Msrobin ~ I have been following your posts on the Market Gardeners forum and wish you the best this growing season. I am late with wintersowing here too but doubt that I will ever buy a plant that I can start from seed ever again. It is rewarding and last year while so many had that problem with their tomatoes... was it a virus, my plants, even those I shared with others never faltered. Off to read your thread...
What all do you have planted in the WS containers? Some things are definitely slow to sprout.
I get tickled as I go out morning and night and peer in the peephole looking for green. The perlite turns greenish and drives me nuts. I would be out there looking with a flashlight right now but it is raining cats and dogs. I have enough of all three, cats, dogs and rain!
Cajun, not to worry about your WS containers. I didn't do mine until the 4th this month and we've had upper 60's and low 70's for 4 days in a row. Guess mine didn't have any choice but to germinate.
Thanks, Podster.
So, Jayryunen, what have you been doing today?
Hey Pod. The thornless blackberries do really great here. Have three Arapaho that keep us and the birds well supplied. If you wait till they turn deep black the seeds are soft and not as annoying. This link http://paisleypumpkinfarmsnursery.com/nursery/tree_pages/blackberry/blackberry_prune_train.html will tell you some good to know stuff about pruning and training. They are semi-erect so you won’t have to trellis them.
Last year we tried to pick them before the birds got there fill (ha) and put them in the icebox for later. Then eat them like popcorn in front of the boob-tube. Sure did miss them after they played out.
Plan on putting in a few more blackberries and some blueberries this year also to counter the cra…. Err a well the stuff you find at the supermarket these days.
Morning ~ I've lived here a long time and am kicking myself for not planting more edibles and less ornamentals. This year, I am determined to only purchase plants that are edible. I did some reading and narrowed it down to three BBs and these were two of them. The Arapaho is supposed to have the smallest seeds? I am glad to know they do well for you. Are yours in full sun? I have these and 6 blueberries to make beds for ~ always one to bite off more than I can chew. I am needing to redo the fence there first, guess I know what is on this weekends agenda.
Off to read your link ~ thanks...
The water beds are cool! Another handy, portable system. And they would be easier to check for water levels. =0)
How humid is it where you live?
Did you use just regular construction black plastic for lining or something special?
And does anybody know a good way to start onion seeds? I've tried direct seeding, and starting them in potting soil inside, but they seem to have a remarkable ability to push themselves out of the soil. Has anyone started onions in vermiculite or perlite?
Finally looks like we're going to have a sunny day here, though it got down to 17º last night... hope my little tatsoi made it.
This message was edited Mar 12, 2010 8:05 AM
Good morning all. Looks like we will have good weather here until about 4 when the rains come again. have a lot to get done before then. Just put the pulp to soak for the horses. Pod, i planted Emerals okra in my WS containers. hoping it does well but thanks for the offer of the seeds. Okra is something you don't need many plants of. We do like you and freeze it as it gets ready. My chicks are still doing well. I have 2 dozen big stock mix eggs in the bator now. The roo i'm using is an EE. Big good looking guy named Gumbo. The hens are various kinds, White rock, RIR, Barred Rock and a little black irredesant (sp?) hen. I don't know what kind she is. Pretty little thing but very flighty. Gotta go. Lots of stuff to do before the rain comes back.
I need some info. I asked this on the fruit and nut forum but haven't got any replies. Maybe some of you can help me. DH bought me 4 raspberry canes. 2 red and 2 gold. Can I plant them next to one another or do I need to seperate them to keep them from crossing? What kind of conditions do raspberries need? I've never had them before.
Cajun, after reading this, it appears they are self polinating, so probably no concerns about cross polination. http://www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/ho/ho15/ho15.pdf
This helps a lot. Thanks so much for the link. I think I have just the place for them!
That’s what we’re trying to do now is get more of the easy to grow edibles in and growing. Over the last few years our sales have gone from mostly ornamentals to mostly fruits, nuts, and berries so there are a lot of folks with the same idea.
Our blackberries are planted in full sun and do very well. They’re semi-erect so I just let them grow up and weep over instead of using a trellis. May not be as tidy as trellised bushes but it’s easier to harvest and cut back this way. But then neatness has never been one of my callings. DW refers to me as a slug since I leave a trail wherever I go. LOL All they need is a little fertilizer in the spring and water to do their thing.
Right now I have to figure out where to put some grape arbors so they’re close to hand but unhandy for the local wildlife to get into. As if that’s possible. The Thompson and Red Flame seedless grapes do well here also. You may want to try some of them for a quick edible. It’s also easy to dry them for raisins.
Jayryunen ~ yes to the humidity but I've developed gills. I suspect your high & dry really dries out plants when the wind blows. I wanted to add on the water beds, we were away for 10 days during last summer and the waterbed plants were still going. They could not have lasted a lot longer as they had emptied the water reservior but the soil was still damp. Plants in ground would have died of drought at that time. I will have to look at the mil on the plastic but don't think it was anything special.
Sorry, no experience with seeding onion but there was a pretty good thread last year. I'll see if I can locate it.
Cajun ~ the okra loves hot weather and I've never WS'd it, just potted it directly. Curious to see how yours does. Also, the offer on the Lee okra stands if you want to try some later JLMK.
Y'all have to quit talking chickens and grapes. I am reading this with my hands over my ears. I've been wanting (and resisting) both. Thought I wanted muscadines but am no way ready for them. Then, what do I see but grapes posted here! Jeeze Louise! I can't win... lol
Is the PPF nursery yours ~ Lizards_keep? Very neat site with links to the info on the same plants. Thanks for sharing. I did not know grapes were prone to verticulum wilt which may eliminate my need for them. I've had problems with tomatos in ground fine ~ one day and withered the next.
And if all these fruits and berries and maters do well, I'll be wanting a dehydrator. Ever wonder why I work?
Yes, PPFN is mine and thanks for the kind words. It’s small but it keeps us busy. Still have a few holes in the web site that I’m trying to get all fixed up. Would help if I were a compu-geek though LOL.
Some grapes have a higher resistance to verticulum wilt but with the humidity here any of them may have some problems. Muscadine are native, you can find them growing wild in the woods, and shouldn’t be any trouble at all. The seedless ones are the best sellers and most of the feedback we have gotten is on how good they are doing. These are the ones I’m going to put in first.
Since you mentioned chickens … I’m going to convert an 8’ x 12’ shed into a coop in the near future and try some Dominicker (sp?) chickens. They are supposed to have very large, mostly double yoked, eggs.
Someone mentioned a garden market earlier. We have been kicking around the idea of putting a bench out front and trying to sell any surplus veggies, eggs, and maybe rabbits that we might have. We are still trying to work this out and would like to hear any ideas or suggestions anyone may have on the subject.
Jay I’ve found that unless you are growing hundreds of onions it’s easier on the pocket book, mind, and hair just to buy the sets. For about the price of a packet of seeds we get more than enough plants in a bunch to satisfy our onion needs.
I bought onion sets last night at Wally World. Yellow, Sweet and Red varieties. $1.50 and $200 a bag. Also bought red seed potatoes. The price for red potatoes in the store is outrageous!
Great score on the onion sets.
Hey Cajun. Buy your seed taters at a feed store. 5# should cost about $3.50, not the $9.95 for 10 little taters wally world sells.
Unfortunately they don't sell them where we buy our feed. They have a small selection of corn, peas and beans but that's it. I paid $5.00 for 3lbs. I haven't opened the bag so I don't know how many taters are in it but I'll cut them up.
Somebody stop me! Had to take a deposit to the bank and since I was in town, I went ahead and swung by Walmart for composted manure and red onion sets and I walked out of there with three Azaelas @ $3 each and a 5' tall Jasmine marked half-price to $6, and six peonies, 2 pkgs of 2 and 2 pkgs of 1 for $5 each. It's Cajun's fault for mentioning the red onion sets. Sure is going to be pretty around here this summer. Now I just have to figure out where I'm going to plant the Azaelas and Jasmine. I also found the basecard pages, like Cajun uses for seed organization.
It's 50* here, but totally overcast, with a little more rain expected later. Only got a 1/2" of rain in the last 24 hours, but it's really muddy out there.
That’s not too bad. The WM here had 10 about the size of an egg in a bag for $9.95.
ouch!!!
I must apologize to Wally World I guess; DW has informed me that it was Home Depot where we saw the over priced seed taters. I stand corrected.
The taters are poking their little heads up, the carrots look like heck for some reason, and the collards are looking great. Soon be time to start getting them arranged into rows with the proper spacing.
Intend on getting the kitchen garden ready for spring planting today if all goes well.
I've been planning to put the spring garden in and thought I could this week after the weather seemed to be stabilizing. But forecast is for considerably cooler weather next week. Guess I should just go ahead and order frost protection covers.
The weather here is nice for once. Low 40’s at night and mid 70’s daytime and dry till next week sometime. Just now finished getting all the old stubby stuff out and need to till it up in a little while, soon as I figure out where I’m going to put what.
Row covers are a pain but they do work as long as it isn’t too windy.
OK, I'm dying... woke up to 10" of snow. {{Gloooom}} Still grey out there. Things were finally starting to dry out; now it's back to slop. Crud.
Sets and plants ARE a whole lot easier, but I'm trying to learn how to grow and save the seed... it's getting harder and harder to find non-hybrid onion seed, and we use a lot of onions, so they need to be good keepers. I've rarely seen the variety even identified on the sets beyond red, yellow, white. I have learned that the bulb can be mulched and covered like carrots over the winter here for allowing to grow out and set seed the following year... at least, I got it to work one winter here.
Jayryunen ~ have you ever tried wintersowing in milk jug containers? Seems like your climate would be excellent for that method of starting seeds. I did read up on the soil blocks and found it interesting. Particularly the history on it ~ thanks for sharing.
I also looked at the waterbed plastic I used. It is 'extra heavy duty' 6 mil thickness. Not all that pricy and enough left over to do more beds. I doubled what I used and had no tears or leaks so will reuse it.
On the onions, our little feed store sold clumps of potato onions ~ maybe also known as a multiplier? They stay in ground year around for me. They form clumps of onions that are smaller but tasty. Wonder if you could wintersow onion seeds... the DG search system is down so no luck finding that thread on onion seeds. Thought I remembered who started it but not!
Ah seed saving, different ball game. We are just now starting to think about heirloom seeds and how to collect and save. I was focused on the bigger stuff and onions never crossed my mind. Guess I will have to add that to my list.
Those multiplying onions are also called bunching. We have a bed of them that yields a never ending supply as long as you always put at least one out of the bunch back in the ground. They just keep going and going.
Yes, for that reason I love them. They endure drought, floods, heat, freezes ~ I leave them in ground year around. They do seed also but I've not saved them. I was told I should cut the blooms off so they will grow larger but I love the blooms too.
How was the kitchen garden effort today Lizards_keep?
What's the difference between winter sowing and just starting things indoors?
The neat thing with the soil blocks is you can start seeds indoors that normally can't be transplanted, like corn and peas and beets. I've had trouble getting pea and beets going in the garden... something always seems to gobble them up before they can get true leaves. The corn I'm just hoping to get a jump on the season... aren't many short season varieties of flour corn. Adding 10-14 days may help. May not. We'll see. =0)
I've wondered how those multiplier onions tasted... they pique my curiosity.
I was just thinking of your climate... when you mentioned snow again. A lot of DGrs in the north are really into wintersowing. Have you read up on it at all? http://www.wintersown.org/wseo1/How_to_Winter_Sow.html The site does indicate that Alliums are a good candidate for wintersowing.
The multiplier onions taste like... onions. LOL If you have room to try a few, let me know. http://davesgarden.com/community/journals/viewentry/111609/
Interesting. I think that's kinda what's going on in the tunnel... the seeds I direct seeded are waiting for the perfect soil temp. Noticed 3 tiny carrots coming up, more little onions, and the first kale... after the spinach, that's interesting.
Another technique to incorporate into this slap-dash system! =0)
Dang... it's snowing again!
Thank heavens I've got the tunnel or I'd really be going nuts... oh, by the way, the broccoli seedlings are doing just fine, think I'll set some more in the ground.
Did well on the kitchen garden, got all the left over stuff out and the few weeds, egg shells, and other stuff that we have thrown out there all tilled under. I guess you could call it kind of an impromptu compost pile between plantings. Did get the corn planted, which was the main thing I wanted to accomplish today. I hope to get the tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers planted tomorrow. The way this stupid weather has been I’ll probably wish I had waited another week. Lol
Oh, go ahead, flaunt your weather!
Pffffft. }=P
LOL
Yea, Yea, Yea you think you have it rough now. Just wait till I start complaining about the 110° heat and no rain in another couple of months. I’ll show you how to be depressed, I will. LOL
Jayryunen ~ you truly hadn't been exposed to the wintersowing type of seed starting? You might find this interesting to read thru the threads http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/coldsow/all/
Lizards_keep ~ the past two days are to die for in east TX but rare on an annual basis. Glad they fell on my weekend for a change. No flaunts intended ~ lol
