What's going on with your Veggie Garden Today?

T-rock

Dug up the ends on a couple of rows of corn. The seeds were just starting to root and send up the shoot. The rows had all formed a hard crust from the rain last week. I broke the crust by raking very lightly, about 1/4". I did the same for the yellow squash and cucumbers.

I cultivated everything else, too. I didn't get great germination on either the spinach or beets. I think it could have been a mistake to rig the seed plate to plant less seed. Extra seed probably would have made up cor lower germination rates.

I plan to plant cherry tomatoes tomorrow. If the temperatures hold up I will be planting peppers soon. Soil temp at 8 inches is already 75. I need to mulch the other tomatoes-- they are about two feet high and filling the cage diameter.

What a great thread! Lots and lots of good info. texasrock said: The alfalfa is supposed to contain a chemical that promotes plant growth Alfalfa is high in nitrogen and good as a 'starter' in your garden.

My tomatoes are doing great. I need to get the Momotaro's planted. I seeds came in late and I'm behind the 8-ball with those. Also need to get the peppers in the ground, they are lagging but the heat is just kicking in here.

Then there's the zucc's I want to plant and cukes and okra. Would also like to start corn. Too bad I'm working a solid 40 hours each week - that *really* cuts into the gardening time. I need to build a bed for the zucc and corn....then get some soil.....sigh...time, I need more time. When I have time, I don't have money for the supplies. Now I have the money but no time. Dang! That forumla sucks. ;-)

Mary -

LOL Honeybee.....make sure you are getting plenty of vitamin B12, it's a great source of energy. There's supplements of just B12, even lonzenge types so it gets to your system quickly.

Mary - I have B12 - I just need to remember to take it!

Aside from nitrogen alfalfa contains Triacontanol a growth hormone that promote root growth. This is the chemical I was trying to recall in my earlier post.

I FINALLY got my tomato frame built yesterday!

It's an upside down square frame that goes up and over the 4x8' RB, 8" from one end of the bed. The frame is about 6' tall. I planted THREE tomato plants parallel to the crossbar of the frame, then tied a triple length of twine at the base of each plant, wound the twine up the stem of the plant, and threw the excess line up and over the overhead crossbar. As the plant grows up, I'll wind it around more of the twine. The plant is perfectly vertical and the line is holding it up!

Almost just like Cricketsgarden!

('xept, when I reread her posts from January last night, I discovered I could've put 6 plants in the line instead of just three...)

But, I'VE GOT TOMATO PLANTS IN THE GROUND!

I planted two Sioux (not Super Sioux), and one Virginia Sweets. I mixed six handsful of Dolomitic lime, 3 hands of worm castings, and 3 hands of Epsom Salts together in a large bowl, then dug three planting holes with the post hole digger, and sprinkled two large hands of this mix into the bottom of each hole. Then, I backfilled with a bit of the soil before I set the plants, so the roots wouldn't be sitting directly on the mix. I just had time to fill the holes up before the mosquitoes drove me inside! Didn't even have time to water them in as it was pitch black out by then.

I watered them in well this morning, and they started saluting the sun as I was watering! I am sooooooooooo excited to have that frame up! It is so much neater and easier than cages all over the bed, plus the tomatoes have far more space to grow vertically without the cages around them. Like Cricket, I'll prune each plant to just one main stem for control. When I get better at this, maybe I'll do two main stems like she does, but I'm still in a learning curve.

Did I say I was EXCITED???!!!

Forgive me, I didn't have time to snap pics. Will post some this evening.

Linda

Good going Gymgirl. I can't wait to see your new tomato plant support system. Be sure to post some pictures.

Today was a busy day The corn was thinned. Now there are only 77 plants. So how many ears of corn do corn stalks produce?

Fifteen Lemme's Italian pepper plants were transplanted into the garden. So now I need to buy 15 of the small and cheap v-shaped tomato cages for these pepper plants.

Thirty-five gallons of Epsom salt was mixed (1 TSP per gallon H2O) and applied to the tomatoes and peppers.

Finally there was a half load of compost still in the bed of the pickup that had to be unloaded.

I took pictures of several tomato plants that have tomatoes, but the camera is in the truck and I too lazy to go fetch it....tomorrow.



This message was edited Apr 6, 2012 7:32 PM

LOOKIE!

After yesterday's 10 hour workout in the garden I am still beat this morning. Gunna take it easy today for sure.

Pictures as promised:

1. Corn thinning - I never new this is the way corn germinated and grew. All the thinnings had the same root structure. This is only the second I have ever grown corn. My expectations are probably far beyond what reality will bring.

2. Tomato Indian Stripe

3. Tomato JD's special C-Tex

4. Tomato Rambling Red Stripe

5. Tomato Purple Russian - It has grown since my last posted pic.

This message was edited Mar 28, 2012 12:16 PM

1. and 2. Tomato Rambling Red Stripe in a hanging basket. Two of ten of these tomatoes germinated and stayed tiny but quite healthy so I decided to pot one up to this basket. I've never had a tomato that grew so tiny. I thought y'all might enjoy seeing a pic of this little fella or gal.

3. and 4. Tomato Brandy Sweet Plum PL - Soil in tomato pots settled so they are now backfilled with fresh compost.

TRock,

Jealous of those pink tomatoes. I got WAY too late of a start this year. I hope we don't have an all 90-degree April like last year...

dreaves, Pink, I wish! LOL Sorry to disappoint but they are not pink unless you are looking at my finger. :) I took the pics in very bright afternoon sun.

Don't be modest. I've seen your tomato plants and they would give anyone bragging rights. Your turn will come.

What's NOT in the north end of vegetable garden today are WEEDS! I got out there early this morning and finished getting the last of them out.

I also finished putting up the supports for tomatoes. If there's no frost in the forcast next week I'll start putting out the first transplants.

Hubby has almost finished clearing the running bamboo from the south end of the garden. Squash and pumpkins will go in that area in a few weeks.

The garlic is now knee high. I've never had it looking so good - must be the warm weather we had this winter. It didn't slow down like it usually does.

My Italian neighbor came over and mowed the front lawn.

We're looking good!

That's hard work! You and Hubby may be looking for the Watkins Liniment tonight. :)

texasrockgarden - as strange as this may seem, I very rarely have muscle pain from working in the garden. I think it's all the walking my daughter and I do every evening.

I did a lot of light tilling to kill small weeds and clover. It was a good day for that as the wind was strong and it was very drying [needed].

I also planted about a hundred glad bulbs and some spring red Fife wheat. I started tomato and pepper seeds yesterday and put the broccoli seedlings outdoors today.

I would recommend today's Arlo & Janis comic for all Dave's garden readers....

http://www.gocomics.com/arloandjanis/2012/03/29

I believe that it is exactly right in capturing our intensity.

: )

Good one!

Love it!

I got enough sun to dry the garden enough to plant the last 12 tomato plants. They needed to go into the ground a week ago! Planted two Sweet 100, two Sweet Million, two Galena's, two Golden Gems, two Sun Sugars, and two Sweet Golds. (Yes, that is heavy on the yellow cherrys...I'm looking for something other than Sungold. Sungold is great early, but loses it's flavor to me once it starts to get warm.)

I spent some time this morning while it was wet working on an idea I have for a chicken tractor. More on that over in the poultry forum once I get enough done for pictures. Didn't get anything else done in the garden, though. We have out-of-town guests Friday night through Sunday night, so I won't get any gardening done all weekend. I'm glad to have the visit, but not getting to work in the garden is killing me. : )

And, here I was feeling guilty about guarding my Saturdays like a Hawk!

I am really behind this year - will spare you my excuses! Amazing how the winter crops don't seem to want to give up the ghost though. My garden looks full, it's just all still from the previous season -- lettuce, romaine, spinach, beets and much too much chard. Sunflowers are just now coming into their own.

As for spring garden, I finally got 9 tomatoes planted out this week, and hope to add more today. Whoever told me to not give up on my stalled seedlings was right! I started treating them right (potted up, fert, etc.) and they took off! And that's good, because I never did get any more seeds started. I did go buy a few transplants though, out of panic, lol, when I saw some nice ones on sale. So now I've gone from not enough tomato seedlings to trying to find room for them all. That chard may just have to go.

My one row of pole beans has peeked up out of the ground -- need to make slug collars quick.

I have some peppers and eggplant seedlings that need the same booster treatment.
And then I have several packets of seeds, waiting on me!

I'm putting the press on starting tomorrow. Will start eggplant, okra, and bell pepper seeds inside. Yeah, I know it's already hot out, but Houston's hot will last until next year...and, our weatherman has predicted some dips into the mid 50s next week, so, I'm ok with my timeframe.

Will also get the second raised bed built. The first bed is oriented E-W with my wind tunnel running over it from N-S. But, I'm thinking I might orient the next two beds N-S. And, instead of 4x8', the next two beds will be 3x8.

My 60+ bucket garden is disappearing as of this Sunday...they're heading to Hotlanta, Georgia!

I might keep a few for my eggplants and water-hogs (which love the reservoirs). Weaning away from them is harder than I thought. But, I've seen so many success stories and pics of ya'lls RBs that I truly want to see how everything grows in the ground.

Maybe I will just go "cold Turkey", give up all the buckets and put everything in the RBs. Sink or swim. I can ALWAYS get buckets!

Linda

Gymgirl - you're thinking of giving up e-buckets, and I'm planning to add some next year.

Why the change of direction?

I'm planning to add e-buckets because there are several places in my backyard where tree roots are a problem - yet those areas get plenty of sunlight.

Then in the frontyard there is an area by the garage that has a concrete pad that would be perfect to place e-buckets.

I just got in from mixing and applying 60 gallons of MG for Tomatoes. The plants are coming along nicely. I sprayed some on the okra, corn, peas, eggplants, and peppers. Later this afternoon I will mix another 10 gallons Mg for the ones I forgot to attend to this morning, 7 tomato plants and the fig tree.

I will also need to apply ammonium sulfate to the onions this afternoon. The onions planted 4" apart in the raised bed are starting to bulb out so this will be the last time for ammonium sulfate on them. I checked my calendar and last year I pulled onions on May 18 so this years onions are on schedule.

Last year I pickled beets on May 20. This year some of the beets are already ready to be pull so should be putting some up soon. I think I finally got the cole crops down. Seeds for these need to be sown in early January here rather than in March as I have always done in the past.

I am looking forward to the upcoming Tomato Salsa Sausa canning dance. :)

Now, off to put a chicken on the rotisserie for an hour or so on the Weber gas grill and then kick back and relax for a while.

Bee,
I've got one raised bed built, my very first one.

I dumped all the existing buckets, which are on their way to Hotlanta, as we speak!

I made a new mix to fill the bed. I had 1/2 of my new pine bark fines from January sitting under the patio, and since I'd only used the 3-1-1 mix in the buckets for one season (for the brassicas in the fall/wtr garden), I mixed some of the old bucket mix (which contained some MG potting mix), a higher ratio of the NEW pine bark fines, Vermiculite, and Sharp sand for my RB formula.

It is fast draining, structurally sound, and has good aeration. When the 2nd bed gets built, I'll mix up the remaining mix and fill it. All of the pine bark fines will FINALLY be in the beds.

I've never grown a thing in the ground before, and I'm curious to try my gardening on a larger scale. The buckets served me well, and, I know there are still some things I'll put into a bucket. However, they won't be the hub of my operation anymore.

I have a new project, too. I saved the pickets from my old cedar fence, and will use them to camouflage some of the remaining buckets. They'll look like cedar barrels with the pickets lashed around the buckets. If it is aesthetically pleasing, I might have more buckets areas in the yard, in addition to the raised beds.

The ultimate goal for my landscape design is edibles mixed in with the flowers and shrubs.

What are pine bark fines?

Stephanie,
Pine bark fines are the actual ground up outter bark of pine trees. It is also called double grind pine bark at some of the dirt yards. It took me forever to find my source (right here under my nose...), but it is well worth it!

I spent almost 5 months sending pictures back and forth to Tapla. In the end, he was the one who found it for me here in Houston. I have several pictures of the RIGHT stuff, and several pictures of the WRONG stuff. Once, I saw the RIGHT stuff, I could see immediately how it differed from the WRONG stuff.

I'll post a few pictures of the RIGHT STUFF so you can see it.

The RIGHT STUFF is made up of particles that go from "dust" up to about the diameter of a 50-cent piece. The pieces should be slivers, NOT CHUNKY NUGGETS of bark for mulch. Even if you have a thick piece of the RIGHT STUFF, if you hit it with the edge of your shovel, it would break up into layers of slivers, almost like slivered almonds. It should also snap easily in your fingers. When it mildly moist, it almost reminds you of MG potting mix. The RIGHT STUFF gives you a good ratio of dust/dirt particles to larger slivers/chunks. You don't want anything that has too may leathery, stringy, pulpy pieces of the tree in it.

Here's what THE RIGHT STUFF looks like on the pile at my dirt yard, and after I had sifted out some of the larger chunks (which would go into my raised bed vs. going into my container mix) through 1/2" hardware cloth. I use anywhere from dust to dime or nickel size slivers in my container mix.

No need to sift it at all for the Raised Bed mix, as the larger chunks will add bulk to the structure, and allow drainage and air into the Raised Bed.

And, here are pictures of THE WRONG STUFF. You'll notice stringy pieces, chunky NUGGETY pieces, leathery pieces and pieces that are more pulp than bark. Also, there's a preponderance of chunky pieces, and not enough dust/dirt particles. You need the "dirt" part of the bark as well.

I set out about 100 Candy White onion plants and about 50 red Candy onion plants, planted one row of potatoes, a bit of Arugula and collards, and uncovered and recovered the sweet corn planting.

Around here, I think they just call it shredded pine bark. That's what we use in our flower beds. In the veggie garden, we use straw for mulch.

Where can I find straw, not hay but straw?

We got ours from the feed store.

Are you concerned about systemic herbicide? I didn't realize all the weed issues the hay was causing and hay is so expensive now due to the drought, straw has to be a better deal. Some of the time I never even get around to mulching. Lol

No. We don't use a whole bunch of it. We've had the one bale for 3 years! LOL We also use leaves and grass clippings.

Well poop, I don't have grass clippings. My livestock mows and fertilizes at the same time. At the rate I'm going now I'll never get it done anyway. Lol. If I jam enough stuff into a much too small space it's kind of the same thing, right?

Lisa, I can't find straw either. I called our Ag agent to see if he personally knew anyone in my area growing wheat, thinking I could go right to the source. He didn't, but said most wheat is grown to the west of Ft. Worth. To try Craig's list in that area.
I don't know if this will help unless you want to truck in large amounts... but thought it might be worth mentioning. Or a call to your agent to see if there is an area closer to you that does wheat.

1st Beet harvest of 2012.