What's Growing in the Garden
- Thread starter trc65
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Goldenseal and bloodroot i do ok with. 'seng less than stellar. The quality of soil in my yard is likely the culprit as well as temperature - average temperature too high. And then again it may be voles and moles!
Purplehull peas are starting to put on. Cucumbers (pickling and slicing) have been making for two weeks now. Squash (yellow, zucchini, and acorn) are making. Sweet peppers (banana and pepperoncini) are starting to make. Red potatoes need to be dug up this weekend. Okra starting to flower. Green beans are giving my back fits (I'm going to start planting pole beans). The first ripening tomatoes had blossom end rot, so I'll be fighting that again this year. I think that's all....
Our problem is we can't eat it fast enough and the neighbors run inside when they see us coming (they really don't, but they might start)...
Alan
Our problem is we can't eat it fast enough and the neighbors run inside when they see us coming (they really don't, but they might start)...
Alan
I find it so interesting how the growing seasons very so much across the country. You are harvesting cucs and squash and we are just planting them (indoors). However last Saturday was rain and snow, and the 'S' word has been done for many. Mikey shows off prized peonies, while ours have just sprouted this past week. We had 3 killing frosts this past week. Some of the trees look fine but the Aspen family look like they were burned and will need to resprout. Lawn mowing season is just beginning. Cool morning in the 30's with rapid warming to the 60's and 70's. Spring is sprung in the Poconos.
And, by the middle of June and certainly by July it'll mostly be gone due to the heat and lack of rain. In July I can water in the morning and by noon the plants look like they've been steamed. This year will likely be worse. We've had very little rain and water is money.
I tell people that we have two winters... December-February and June - August (mid September). Of course the weather is the MOST unpredictable part of the equation. We could get an early freeze and have it kill everything or no freeze at all. There have been years that I've had fall tomato and pepper plants go over winter and produce till the next July. Then other times they are killed in November...
Gardening = the ultimate optimism...
Alan
I tell people that we have two winters... December-February and June - August (mid September). Of course the weather is the MOST unpredictable part of the equation. We could get an early freeze and have it kill everything or no freeze at all. There have been years that I've had fall tomato and pepper plants go over winter and produce till the next July. Then other times they are killed in November...
Gardening = the ultimate optimism...
Alan
Same here on my tomatoes
Not What's growing" per se but a vital part of it.
Just upgraded from the old 50 gal. barrel.
Just upgraded from the old 50 gal. barrel.
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- #468
We have been mowing for a month, and had three days with heat indexes over 100° this week. Been too wet to do a huge amount in garden, but tomatoes and peppers were just transplanted, the same time that peas and spinach are emerging. Apple trees have about dropped their last petals. Had another half inch of rain last night so will be a couple days until can till in the garden again.
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- #469
For you guys with blossom end rot, are you applying any calcium (gypsum)?
Wow! We just had what will hopefully be the last indoor fire of the season, just last week. Usually only at night to take the chill off this time of year, that one started at night, through the next day and through the night. Trees were all beginning to pop with leaves but slammed on the brakes. No frost damage thankfully, this time. The Shagbark Hickories are still waiting on the rain to pop their buds.
Just south of you, but I'm guessing it's too late to plant peas? Got too much rain and other things going on. Ever do a Fall crop? What month you plant them in? Same with spinach?
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- #472
If you could get them in the ground in the next week, I'd go ahead and plant the peas and spinach. They should emerge within a week and you should still get a decent crop. If it gets and stays hot, watch the peas closely near harvest as they will go from succulent to BB's in about 2 days. You should get some decent harvest off the spinach, although it might bolt sooner than usual.
As to fall plantings, maturity on peas is around ~65 days depending on variety and temp. Mid August is usually a safe bet for fall seeding of peas as that should give you a harvest in the last two weeks of October.
Spinach is around 40 days (for mature leaves) so can be planted the same time as the peas and you'll get an extended harvest into the fall. For spinach that I leave to over winter for early spring harvest, I'll plant it around the first of October but won't harvest any leaves from it.
You can do an August planting of broccoli and cauliflower for fall harvest.
As to fall plantings, maturity on peas is around ~65 days depending on variety and temp. Mid August is usually a safe bet for fall seeding of peas as that should give you a harvest in the last two weeks of October.
Spinach is around 40 days (for mature leaves) so can be planted the same time as the peas and you'll get an extended harvest into the fall. For spinach that I leave to over winter for early spring harvest, I'll plant it around the first of October but won't harvest any leaves from it.
You can do an August planting of broccoli and cauliflower for fall harvest.
Our soils down here are made out of calcium carbonate....
We've got calcium in the water so bad that unless you've got a softener we have to replace fixtures and water heaters on a regular basis. Toilets will actually "grow" a layer of calcium out form the sides of the tank.... and so on....
No, I've never tried putting out calcium or gypsum...
Alan
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- #474
That's a lot of calcium!
In the bright side, we have strong bones...
My gardens have a constant input of live oak leaf mulch and compost and additional nitrogen is a must.
The main cause of blossom end rot down here is uneven watering, or so I've been told. I believe it because keeping water on things is an every day job and it is seldom that I get it all done in a timely manner.
Alan
My gardens have a constant input of live oak leaf mulch and compost and additional nitrogen is a must.
The main cause of blossom end rot down here is uneven watering, or so I've been told. I believe it because keeping water on things is an every day job and it is seldom that I get it all done in a timely manner.
Alan
It was a very busy week for me, so while the weather was nice, I didn't get to enjoy it or get any outside work done until yesterday and today. We managed to get some things done over the last couple days. My wife has worked some more on her flowers that are behind our house. Blackberries were transplanted. Herbs, carrots, and a second round of lettuces got planted for a staggered harvest. Garlic, onions, shallots, leeks, broccoli, peas, and lettuces are all popping up. Did have to replant some peas due to low germination on one of the varieties I planted. Last year we put a border around where the elderberries are planted and just finally got a chance to get it filled in - put down some cardboard and then some dirt. My wife planted some myrtle (vinca minor) that will spread and be some nice ground cover in that area. We've really seen a lot of stuff sprout, green up, or come to life in the last week, now that we've finally had some sun and warmer weather.
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- #477
Here's a pic from earlier in the week after I got tomatoes planted (buckets). Since then, got peppers eggplant, collard greens, cabbage, celery and various herbs transplanted. Everything that has been seeded is up and looking good. Hope it stays dry for a while so I can get beans and sweet corn planted.
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Goldenseal & bloodroot tolerate the sunlight much more, ginseng likes a dense forest canopy and the forest loam soil underneath it. Anything more than dappled sunlight and it goes south fast. In my experience the light is a bigger factor than the soil. Some of mine is growing well in some pretty mediocre - crappy soil.
If I could keep the damned slugs off my Goldenseal, I'd be doing well.
Or the variance in times for sunset and sunrise. I was in San Antonio area a week ago. Same time zone. But it starts getting too dark to distinguish weeds from plants I want to keep at about 7:30 or a little later. In Central Tex I could probably go to 8:15 or later. But of course, in Texas I would have had to skinny down to my skivvies because of the invidiously and copiously aforementioned "heat" --- but I would still be pulling weeds! It's Lil Mikey's life-long aspiration! All he has to do is romance that certain persons heads are being pulled! It's his muse!
Man, I thought all y'all had (that's southern talk) was shores - ya know surf, sand and Guidos!
