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Author Topic: Tell about your gardening plans???  (Read 4589 times)

Offline Beekissed

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Tell about your gardening plans???
« on: May 02, 2008, 03:09:25 am »
Everyone excited about gardening season?  Well, I am!  I think, with the food prices going up, everyone who has space should plant something!  I am planting a huge garden, canning and freezing more than I need so I can give some away this winter if someone needs it and, then, I'm going to sell the excess at my roadside stand.

Will plant and sell this year:

Sweet corn-Ambrosia and Peaches'N'Cream
Blue Lake Stringless Pole Beans, Half-runners and Tenderettes
Tomatoes-Brandywine, Yellow-stripeys, Mortgage Lifters and Sweet 100s
Yellow Str. Neck Squash
Cantaloupes
Green peppers
Hot Banana peppers
Cucumbers
Kennebec and Red Pontiac potatoes
Walla-Walla and Candy onions
Romaine, red leaf and butter crunch lettuce
Carrots
Herbs and flowers for drying and making soaps and balms


I am trying raised-bed, no-till gardening for the first time and also plan to try to use the square-foot gardening method.  I also am trying companion planting on top of everything else.  This is my year to experiment!  I am building trellises for my tomatoes this year instead of staking each one....especially since I am putting out 6 doz. plants.  I have 8 beds that are 4 ft. x 35 ft. and a solar box/cold frame for the lettuces that is the size of a screen door....which is what I am using for the top.  Then I can cover it with plastic and use it for a cold frame this next winter.  I plan to plant some fall crops after the corn and squash is done and plan to sow buckwheat in the end for a winterkill compost.

How bout you folks?  Any great garden ideas or plans?    :)
"...he maketh me to lie down in green pastures..."

Offline Cindi

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Re: Tell about your gardening plans???
« Reply #1 on: May 02, 2008, 10:02:32 am »
Beekissed.  Wow!!!  Your gonna have one huge honking harvesting going on, good for you, that is excellent and gardening is so ding dang much fun.

My list of stuff that I plan to get in involves veggies and flowers, the list is interesting.

Lettuces, romaine, buttercrunch and looseleaf
Leeks
Garlic chives
Chives
Tomatoes of several varieties, even some cool ones that I am going to try that another forum member sent me, yum, yum (I must grow tomatoes under cover in a greenhouse because of the late season blight that we always are afflicted by)
Swiss chard
Beets
Collard greens
Radishes (of course, and I use predatory nematodes to kill the underground cutworms, etc., it works like a hot dam)
Purple top turnips
Brussels sprouts (gotta get those going in about 2 weeks indoors, best if they are transplants)
Butternut squash
Spaghetti squash
Pumpkins
Okra (going to get those going indoors firstly too, our growing season is not hot and  I understand they are heat mongers)
Dill that self seeds everywhere, pick it all summer long
Parsley that self seeds everywhere
Picking cukes
Cukes, regular cultivar
Pole beans, I like the Blue Lake and may put in some Romano (the flat ones), I like the pole beans because the harvest can be stretched over such a long period of time, compared to bush that come on so fast it makes ya head spin!!!
Super sweet corn (sh2), I prefer this cultivar because the sugar doesn't get converted to starch quickly, holds well before and after picking
The potatoes self grow in a specific wild spot, so they are there every year all on their own
My asparagus is coming up like wildfire right now, I expect a good meal in about 4 days, yeah!!!!!
Peppers, hot and sweet bell, which we grow under cover

There are a myriad of other small things that I have probably forgot, but those are what come to mind, gonna have some fun, fun, fun, in the sun, sun, sun.  Ain't summer just the blast!!!!!

None of these are for selling, they are for our families to eat, processing (dehydrating, freezing canning).  We consume enormous amounts of food here, hee, hee.  I don't think that I would ever get the time to process and sell any food items. It is too bad because we have a great farmer's market here and I know our neighbour makes some good coin, but I just can't get that time, wish I could.

Our place is like a wild man's yard, things come up all over, and surprise ya all the time.  Many cultivated spots too. Our climate is so moist that rarely do we have to put water to the growing stuff, maybe just now and then over the summer, pretty lucky that way.

We can have really hot weather for periods of time, but beneath the ground, deep where the roots love to venture is pretty much moist enough for many things to grow all on their own, saves eons of time with not having to rarely water.  Except for of course any crops grown under cover.  You will have some interesting responses to the thread you have started and it is so cool to hear what everyone is up to eh?  Have that most beautiful and awesome day, groove on our lives.  Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline thomashton

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Re: Tell about your gardening plans???
« Reply #2 on: May 02, 2008, 01:11:34 pm »
I have a large garden area that I finally tilled two weeks ago with the tractor. It is still cold up here in Northern Utah and even snowed most of the day yesterday (May 1st).

Unfortunately I won't get much of a garden in this year. I ship out with the Army on the 30th and will be gone for two months until July 27th. I hope to get a few things in the ground that I love (tomatoes) and that the kids love (pumpkins).

Other than that, it may be a wasted growing season for me unfortunately. I just can't ask my wife to keep the garden and animals up as well as take care of the kids and maintain her home business. I will be happy if the birds get fed and watered by my 7 year old son.

They bees and growing woodlot will have to be maintained by older neighbor boys.
After 18 months of reading and preparation, my girls finally arrived on April 11th (2006)!

Offline qa33010

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Re: Tell about your gardening plans???
« Reply #3 on: May 03, 2008, 01:41:40 am »
Wow!!!  I feel stunted ;)

    If I fall down in my front or back yard I'm at the property line. :-D  Mainly going with herbs and using the fence for mellons and may be a plum or apple tree in the back and front yards.  Hopefully cross pollination will occur.  Dutch clover and monkey grass are encouraged to grow and holly for property lines.  My wife dreams of the day we can get some acerage.  She would be happy with fifteen and I would be happy with fifteen hundred. :evil:

    But she wants us to grow/raise all of our own food.  We shall see when we see.

Honestly though, I would love to get back out of town.
Everyone said it couldn't be done. But he with a chuckle replied, "I won't be one to say it is so, until I give it a try."  So he buckled right in with a trace of a grin.  If he had a worry he hid it and he started to sing as he tackled that thing that couldn't be done, and he did it.  (unknown)

Offline Beekissed

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Re: Tell about your gardening plans???
« Reply #4 on: May 03, 2008, 02:31:54 am »
WOW, Cindi!!!!!  Wow.  Maybe by next year I can diversify that much but the folks around here aren't much into trying new things.  I would like to anyway just to see if the tourists like it. Cindi...maybe you could post a pic of your garden layout when you have it prepared?  I would do the same, as I am quite proud of the setup but I have dial-up and it takes years to do one pic!  I LOVE seeing other folks' gardens!  B.C. sounds absolutely lovely!  We usually have enough moisture here also but I am still mulching to preserve moisture and guard the soil from UV rays.

qa...have you ever read a book called Square Foot Gardening?  You should look it up at your local library!  You would be surprised how much you could grow!  His methods are great also.  I am even going to use these same methods to get more plants into my raised beds.  He explains in detail how to maximize small spaces by using the the recommended spacing for plants and how to fit them next to each other to provide quite a bit of produce for a small family.  I have it checked out at the library as we speak! Er...type.  It has pics and trellis designs and the back has a wonderful guide to each kind of vegetable, its proper spacing, when to plant, what to feed it, etc.  Hope you try it.  If you do, please post a pic and show us your mini garden!   :)
"...he maketh me to lie down in green pastures..."

Offline Cindi

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Re: Tell about your gardening plans???
« Reply #5 on: May 03, 2008, 09:33:43 am »
Beekissed.  Eeeks!!!  Now that would encompass quite a few pictures to show my gardens.  I have them kind of all over the place.  I will try to get that happening, just for the fun of it, my gardens are not contained they are just areas that I keep cultivated, kind of weird.  I wish that I had container gardens though.  I have a great big one that I use for stuff, this year it will be corn and garlic that comes up every year, the second one is my main garden, it has the asparagus patch at one end and then my Sister has one area too.  We have gardens all over, it is strange to think of it.  We get them pretty full looking by the time the summer is through.  You are up to some good stuff, that is cool, keep on keepin on.  Best of this beautifully great day, Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline randydrivesabus

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Re: Tell about your gardening plans???
« Reply #6 on: May 03, 2008, 09:49:45 am »
so far I have last fall's garlic, 200' of spinach (none germinated...hmmm), 425 onion plants, and 200 tomato plants under covers. still a long way to go.

Offline Cindi

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Re: Tell about your gardening plans???
« Reply #7 on: May 03, 2008, 09:54:20 am »
Randy, holy smoking smokers!!!  AND....who is gonna pick all that spinach, hee, hee?  That is one honkin' bunch of spinach, it will germinate I am sure.  Beautiful and most wonderful day, Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline qa33010

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Re: Tell about your gardening plans???
« Reply #8 on: May 03, 2008, 10:49:59 pm »
Beekissed. Thanks I will and then if all goes well or bad I will!!! :lol:
Everyone said it couldn't be done. But he with a chuckle replied, "I won't be one to say it is so, until I give it a try."  So he buckled right in with a trace of a grin.  If he had a worry he hid it and he started to sing as he tackled that thing that couldn't be done, and he did it.  (unknown)

Offline Beekissed

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Re: Tell about your gardening plans???
« Reply #9 on: May 05, 2008, 10:04:16 am »
WOW!  Now we have some gardeners on this forum!!!  I guess that is one of the reasons why you folks have bees and why I want them!  I've read that having bees can increase your crop yield up to 50% more than not having them.  With my small space for gardening, I need a larger crop yield to make this pay.  This is definitely a good bee year, as all the spring blossoms are just raging on out there and did not get frostbit....at least around here!  I've seen more bees so far this year than I did all year last year.  My apple trees looked like a swarm had settled on each one....and not just honeybees...there were every kind of pollinators you can imagine!

I am going to try planting by the moon this year and see if it makes any difference in how the crops do.  Any of y'all plant by the moon?  You know, root crops go in when the moon is dark and above ground crops planted when the moon is full?  It would be interesting to hear from some of you folks who do this and tell us if it makes any difference.  Anyone?    :)
« Last Edit: May 05, 2008, 01:18:28 pm by Beekissed »
"...he maketh me to lie down in green pastures..."

Offline Cindi

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Re: Tell about your gardening plans???
« Reply #10 on: May 05, 2008, 10:32:48 am »
Beekissed, I once delved into the moon phase method of planting.  I don't have a single doubt in my mind that it is 100% true about planting by these means.  So much is governed by the moon phases, I know that.  I have never had the chance to moon phase plant, where I am, and the business of my life, I have to plant when the motion arises, it must be done like that, otherwise nothing would be planted. It is very difficult to plan here with planting stuff.  One day when I have less to do and a smaller garden (oh by the way, when will that ever happen, hee, hee), I would be planting by the moon, absolutely.  If you can, Beekissed, plant by the moon phase, it will only do you well.  Great day, beautiful day, beautiful life.  Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline Beekissed

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Re: Tell about your gardening plans???
« Reply #11 on: May 12, 2008, 12:48:46 am »
Doesn't look as if I am going to plant by the moon phase as it is raining cats and dogs and even snowing some here this week!  Snowing!   Have my potatoes in and that's it, nothing else.  Bought plants from the local nursery and immediately decided that I will raise my own next year from seed.  Cheaper and I can pick and choose what to grow that way.  Anyone else raise their own from seed on this forum?  How does that work for you?  Anything to avoid?
"...he maketh me to lie down in green pastures..."

Offline randydrivesabus

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Re: Tell about your gardening plans???
« Reply #12 on: May 12, 2008, 09:31:34 am »
i raise all my veggies and my wife raises all her flowers from seed. well...there are a couple of exceptions being garlic (fall planted from other garlic), onions (spring planted using plants), and strawberries (spring planted from bare root plants). i have a small greenhouse to start them in.

Offline Beekissed

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Re: Tell about your gardening plans???
« Reply #13 on: May 15, 2008, 12:28:59 am »
Must be nice, Randy!  :'(  I plan to raise everything by seed using grow lamps and cold frames next year.  WAY to expensive to buy plants now.

 I worked like a dog (BTW, I don't know how that expression arose, as my 2 dogs were just throw rugs all day and watched me work!) to get something in the garden today before it starts raining again.  Will corn and potatoes grow up through dog flesh?  I can't keep the big, lazy beasts out of my raised beds!!!!  They like the hay and straw I am mulching with and won't stay off it!  Two acres of cool, green grass, dog houses with fresh straw and a nice, soft twin size cot mattress in the corner of the shed to lay on but, no.... it just has to be on top of my struggling young plants!!!!    :-x   Well, it will be a good exchange for keeping the deer out of the garden to let the big nincompoops be.  I am, however, yelling at them each time they lay down in my raised beds and let the boys ping them a couple of times with the airsoft pistols to emphasize the point.   
Got tomatoes in with the trellises up (I am trying all new methods this year!), peppers are in, one bed of sweet  corn (Ambrosia), Walla Wallas and Kandies are in with the tomatoes.  Marigold seeds are sown in with the tomatoes as I am trying companion planting this year also.  I will be sowing pumpkins in the corn, nasturtiums in with the squash, melons and cucumbers, and beans at the ends of my tomato trellises and maybe in the end stalks of my second bed of corn.

I am trying all of these new (to me) methods this year:

*raised beds
*mulch, mulch, mulch-I had already tried this but plan to do much more of it.
*succession planting of corn
*companion planting
*composting in bins at the ends of my raised beds
*planting by the moon phases
*green composting after crops are harvested
*cold frames for my lettuce crop
*pruning of male blossoms from squash and melons after pollination
*trellises instead of stakes for my tomatoes and possibly for my cantaloupes and cucumbers
*selling my extra produce by turning my garage into a roadside stand
*picking my apples to sell
*cloth row covers as needed
*square foot gardening method
*no-till after initial working of the beds, next year I will do no tilling at all, just loosening soil with a broadfork.

Anybody else trying any of these methods?  How have they worked out for you in the past?  Anybody trying vermiculture for composting?

I will tell you that my worm population has increased and the worms have gotten bigger just since I put the soil into raised beds!!!!  Go figure!
"...he maketh me to lie down in green pastures..."

Offline Cindi

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Re: Tell about your gardening plans???
« Reply #14 on: May 15, 2008, 10:08:27 am »
Beekissed.  Wonderful plans for the garden.  The worms are happy, hence they grow bigger, hee, hee.

Companion planting.  Yep, it works.  I have a couple of books, named aptly, Roses love garlic, and can't recall the other name.  Garlic is a great companion planting helper, most things don't like garlic, hee, hee.

Now, do you get the carrot rust fly?  I think it is all over the world for surely.  You are growing marigolds for help, marigolds are also excellent for planting alongside the carrots.  The carrot rust fly can evidently smell carrots from over 4 miles away.  Don't know how true this is.  But when I plant marigolds alongside the carrot rows, I don't get the carrot rust fly.  That larvae of this fly feed on the roots of the carrot and make horrible messes of the carrots.  One year I never got around to planting the marigolds and the harvest was terrible, little tunnels throughout the carrots, nasty.  So yep, marigolds (they are stinky plants, you know that) keep away the rust fly.  Go with your dreams, girl, you are doing a great job.  Best of a most beautiful and wonderful day, Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

 

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