Southern gardeners need to talk about spring!

My favorite is that rock and roll!

I sowed some more beets a few days before the last cold snap and see they are starting to germinate.
Need a few days for everything to dry out before anything else gets done.

Hope everyone ponds are filling to the brim :0)

Has anyone had trouble with rabbits or birds messing with corn seedlings? Last year the birds pulled up every seedling in the raised bed and the bunnies ate the tops off of every seedling in the ground.

This year I protected the whole area with bird netting but I am wondering how long I should wait to take the netting down? The seedlings are about 2 inches high now and in a couple of days I don't think the birds will bother them so I may take off the layer above but leave the outside fenced off still.

I guess my question is how tall or large do the plants need to be before I can take down the netting?

Corn grows fast, if it is up 3"-4" you should be ok, rabbits, hmmm, they were after the sugar I guess, if anything else is aroun for them to munch on you should be ok-

Even me as a kid would follow my grandfather thru the field corn, and he would cut a stalk and at the bottom was a sweet part we would suck on-I miss real field corn tho the sweet stuff is okay if a little thin, and cows eat anything. In times of low hay availability they are happy on a diet of ground corn stalks, honest. Beer mash, milo, onions, silage (what your bagged compost smells like this spring) bread, you name it, they will try it

Our rabbits are bigger than the dachsunds, the deer cruise thru like they own the place, and except for a nervous look at my Gypsy dog, none of the garden is messed with- armadilloes destroy stuff, but they arent after green stuff. Cows love sweet stuff, molasses, esp.

Thank you for the advise! I guess I'll just leave up the outer fence section for a while longer. We live in a grapefruit orchard and I'm pretty sure the rabbits don't mess with that haha so my corn must be like a special treat to them.

Aslan89, I have trouble with birds plucking out the seedlings. Also, baby bunnies--but to a much lesser extent. I now cover the freshly planted beds with remay until the plants are up and going. This is easy and it works for me. We used to have trouble with deer and feral hogs, but DH put up electric fencing and now the problems with those two are down dramatically.

I originally posted this on another thread, but if ya'll could offer some suggestions, I'M LISTENING....

Linda
_________________________________

I've been keeping my bucket garden trimmed back, neat and tidy. I get up close and personal with the veggies. I trim off all the ratty yellowing bottom leaves, clean up around the buckets, and don't leave dead or fallen leaves in the grass.

Yesterday, I spent time trimming the broccoli plants, after I harvested some more, ever-producing side shoots. I discovered one broccoli plant is FULL of soft-bodied, green, APHIDS!!! (Another reason I pray for an outdoor shower....)

I have also been battling PILLBUGS in my yard. They seem to be everywhere in the soil. I kept wondering what was chewing holes in the brassicas, since I rarely found cabbage loopers. Then, I figured out it was the pillbugs eating the leaves at night and burrowing down into the potting mix during the daytime.

I am about to build my very first raised veggie beds in the next two weeks, to receive my tomato seedlings, bell peppers, okra and eggplants.

What should I do within the next 2 weeks to get these creatures under control before I plant out? I've had good success with Sluggo Plus for the pillbugs on a small-scale basis (much smaller area to control). It'd cost me a small $$$ to buy enough Sluggo Plus for my whole yard!

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Just look at those pillbugs on that broccoli blossom!

Linda

Linda, I use the Sluggo Plus with good results too. If you sprinkle around inside the perimeter of your boxes or just outside them, that shouldn't be too costly. It may not be that much of an issue right away. I haven't had much pill bug damage in my raised boxes yet. I think it takes awhile for the pill bugs to find them? I've had more damage in my "in ground" plants. I'm about out of SP myself, and haven't found any to buy around here. All I am finding is the standard Sluggo.

Terri_emory, I think I'm going to invest in some remay as well.

Anyone have tips about remay? I'm assuming there are different weights of remay, and maybe issues on keeping it in place. Also, any advice on where to find some at a good price? I don't recall seeing it at the big box stores, so if I need to order some, what's a good source?

LiseP,
Send me your email addy in a dmail. I have a document on the bedding covers. It should answer all your questions.

This message was edited Feb 20, 2012 12:15 PM

Gym, are you able to share the document? I would love to see it :0)

send me your email in a dmail...

I just leave the remay on until the seedlings get too big for the crows to pluck out. My dogs won't step in it either. I'm doing hops with shade cloth this summer. So that should help keep the crows out too....and the dogs.

I purchased something from W-mart called "Garden Blanket" - haven't had a chance to use it yet.

Rich,
The link doesn't work. Please resend, as I'd love to read that article!

Thanks!

Gymgirl - the link Rich gave is a .pdf

Try this link, then click on the link that says: Row cover comparison chart

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-5455-agribon-ag-15-118-x-50.aspx

I can't open the pillbug pdf, but Johnny's opened fine.

Terry, have you used the shade cloth before? I read that they prolong tomato production, but wonder if that's just for the normal part of the country.lol

No matter, Rich.

I've already placed my order from Gardener's Supply and Territorial Seeds...

What did get and why?...being nosey..and learning :0)

cocoa_lulu, I've not used it on veggies. Just rose starts and tree starts. I saw that Callalily uses it on her beds. My main interest is for wind protection, but prolonged tomato production works for me, too. Plus just helping to keep the dogs out of the beds would be a little extra bonus!

I just use the very lightest row cover aa I'm only trying to get the seedling up past the crow-picking-point. Is that a scientific term? post semen per corvus diem? I'm sure I got that messed up, I can't do latin on the fly anymore....=(

coco_lulu,
check your d-mail...

Terry, I'll make a mental note then. I'm excited to see how much longer your tomatoes produce with shade. I'm not sure if I'm going to invest in the shade cloth this year. Too much other stuff I need. If you can get an extra week or two in production, that might bump it up on my priority list for sure! Have you found a good local source for covers? I'm just now starting to price compare.

Thank you, Gym!

So true, cocoa_lulu. I wouldn't be trying it myself exept DH has a bunch of it left over from his seedling trees he planted two years ago. He got some shade cloth at a discount rate over the winter and ended up really needing it last summer during the drought. We think it helped to save many of this little trees. So now I'll be helping myself to his discarded shade cloth as it comes along my way!

My gardens are shaded and I was surprised what a huge difference it makes. When they say direct sun they dont mean TX sun.

Our night time temperatures are finally creeping above 30F!

Time to say goodbye to broccoli and sow peas!

It's almost 78° outside today, and my Arcadia broccoli are still cranking out side shoots!

Gymgirl - our broccoli is still sending out shoots, too, but I've frozen enough to last until next winter.

I hear yah. I'm probably gonna pull mine this weekend.

Lisa, how much of a difference do the shade cloths make in terms of production? Have you grown the same variety with and without cover?

Got my first asparagus spears this morning, just a small handful, but lots breaking the ground...mmmm

Broccoli is gone here too, what a difference a week makes, letting the rest go to seed.


With a spring planting, do turnips have time to form a root, or are they best left to a fall garden?

Gymgirl,

For your question about beets...I planted some in late April last year and harvested in July. They grew well (as long as I watered) and I had a bumper crop. Could have had tons of greens and pickled about four dozen pints. That was from one 30-foot row.

David

Cocoa, I don't use shade cloth one of my gardens has more trees around it and thus more shade. Excluding last year because it was so hot, it does much better then my other garden that has almost 100% sun.

I'm not sure of the numbers but I grew the left overs in that garden so same plants and just got a ton more produce and the plants were healthier. I was really surprised at the difference.

David, that's funny I sowed beets one fall and harvested the next spring. The next batch I sowed in late winter early spring and harvested in the summer when it was HOT. I thought they were a cool weather crop?

Thanks Lisa, that makes sense. Wish I could put a giant umbrella over the garden come July.

I had turnips for lunch, they've been so sweet and I noticed a few are starting to get that tunipy taste. So I looked it up...no sowing turnips for summer, they need the frost to get sweet. Just to be clear I'm talking 'roots', not the rootless greens. I've grown those in the in the spring and I know they'll do fine.

I grew mangel beets last year, they didn't get as big as the reported 20 pounds...actually no where close.lol But they lived until August. It was so strange, how can a plant live 60 days in h*ll, then give up.lol

We've had a lot of warm weather recently, but it hasn't had as much warming effect on the soil as you might think. I popped my soil thermometer in a couple of days ago, then checked it this morning early. My soil temp was only about 55 degrees. It was hot today, but a front tonight, so I will check again in the morning.

My point is that my soil is still cool for optimum germination of pretty much everything. So, I'm guessing that I may still be okay for some of the cooler weather crops. Our 90% last frost date is still over a month away, at the end of March. Unless we have ANOTHER super-abnormal April, there should still be time for some cooler-weather vegetables like peas, broccoli, leafy greens, and beets. With my current soil temp, it is WAY too soon to consider the summer crops. The beans, corn, cucumbers and squash all need temps either 70 or 75 for best results. The other things I plan, peppers, okra, and cantaloupes all prefer soil at 80 or above!

This is a very long way of saying-- Gymgirl, if it were me, I would still plant the beets.

Lisa, that was exactly my experience with the beets. Even with the heat, they were delicious (if you like beets, which I do).

This is a picture of the first harvest/thinning in mid-May. I picked at least this many more in late June (I double-checked the timing by the dates on the jars of pickled beets. It wasn't actually July and the actual planting was really late March...sorry for the earlier misinformation.)

David


This message was edited Feb 23, 2012 11:02 PM