Gardens 2023

[dschwandt]

Got 1/2 my sweet corn in yesterday and finished about 400 hills of spuds today.
Had way too many spuds left over from last year. They really turned out great by the way.
So, this year the plan is to take a bunch of them to the local food bank, beans also.
Might even put a table out front with 5 lb bags on new potatoes if I have time.

Squash and maybe some musk melons will finish this plot off.
Just in time as there are showers in the forecast and it has been dry.
Raining right now as I type this!



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[Doug Rusk]

Planted most of ours last nite. Approximately half my sweet corn left to go. Gonna give it 2 weeks and plant the other half. Usually doesn't end up working out for some reason but trying it again.

 

[dschwandt]

Flower bed monster!!
UFO's ARE real!!
Carolyn dug up this UFO (unidentified Flowering Object)
Looks to be like something from outta this world, maybe from Area 51??
5 or 6 blossoms on one weird looking enlarged and deformed stem.
Maybe I should have the radiation level checked in that flowerbed??

 

[-CӞ]

dern good soil, eh?

 

[Jay Fetters]

You guys are killing me AGAIN this year! The snow just left my garden 2 days ago. I checked tonight and the ground is still froze. I'm probly not gonna get to plant until close to the end of the month. I'm getting ancy wanting to play with my tiller!

 

[rfunk]

Jay, I feel for you. Too wet, still, here in Manitoba, too.

 

[jbratton]

Northern Arkansas here. Did some yard work and garden work today. Garden is looking good so far. We have a small space for a garden so we make the most of it. Corn, pole beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, peppers, squash and okra.

 

[jbratton]

Harvested 52 heads of garlic today.

 

[RAllison]

Harvested 52 heads of garlic today.
View attachment 154409

That's nice!

 

[jstewart]

I dug some garlic last week, it is just starting to die back

I've have to dig a few bulbs at night, seems to be a yellow jacket nest in the ground

 

[dschwandt]

Well, despite my ongoing battle w/Colorado potato beetles, my spuds, now at week#7 , fully 2 weeks ahead of last year seem to be doing OK.

The white powder is the 2nd & last dusting of diatomaceous earth (no, i have never heard of it before either!) @ $8/4lb bag it seems to be helping. 1 bag per application covers all 7 rows. Crushed and powdered fossil shells, fancy way of describing lime it seems to me!

That and about 40 marigolds around the edges are said to keep the deer away that have been nibbling at some of the tops. Only a few are in bloom so far. And now, with some watering about every 3 days the darn moles have decided to get in on the action. So what w/the bugs, deer and now a new threat from underground, we have been waging a full blown war in that patch now for over a month with once and twice/day walk throughs. The count, and I have been pinching them, is way down from what it was a few weeks ago so I think I am gaining some.

Most are near waist high at present and all should be in full bloom in a few more days.. I have a soaker hose down each row w/a manifold rigged up on one end to feed them all at the same time and/or turn all or 1/2 off if need be.

With any luck, we should be digging about the middle of July.

The bottom 1/2 row in the 2nd pic are my Great Grandson's purple spuds that he planted a few weeks after the rest.

 

[Doug Rusk]

From a month or so ago to keep deer ect out...

Oops looks like a later pic slipped in there to albeit it a weedy one....

 

[RAllison]

Well, despite my ongoing battle w/Colorado potato beetles, my spuds, now at week#7 , fully 2 weeks ahead of last year seem to be doing OK.

The white powder is the 2nd & last dusting of diatomaceous earth (no, i have never heard of it before either!) @ $8/4lb bag it seems to be helping. 1 bag per application covers all 7 rows. Crushed and powdered fossil shells, fancy way of describing lime it seems to me!

That and about 40 marigolds around the edges are said to keep the deer away that have been nibbling at some of the tops. Only a few are in bloom so far. And now, with some watering about every 3 days the darn moles have decided to get in on the action. So what w/the bugs, deer and now a new threat from underground, we have been waging a full blown war in that patch now for over a month with once and twice/day walk throughs. The count, and I have been pinching them, is way down from what it was a few weeks ago so I think I am gaining some.

Most are near waist high at present and all should be in full bloom in a few more days.. I have a soaker hose down each row w/a manifold rigged up on one end to feed them all at the same time and/or turn all or 1/2 off if need be.

With any luck, we should be digging about the middle of July.

The bottom 1/2 row in the 2nd pic are my Great Grandson's purple spuds that he planted a few weeks after the rest.

Looks good Dave...I use diatomaceous earth myself,especially in the coops

 

[dschwandt]

From a month or so ago to keep deer ect out...

Oops looks like a later pic slipped in there to albeit it a weedy one....

That oughta work, Doug!
Les did the same thing when he had corn in my spud plot several years ago.
Last year the spuds were on the lower side though.
This year there are about 450 hills there.
I just wish there was some doable way to pump water outta the nearby creek.
This is costing me a small fortune what w/city rates.
The rate for the water ain't that bad, it's the sewer rate that kills it as it's tied directly to the gallons through the meter and it ain't cheap either!
But, Hey....look at all the fun I'm having!!!

 

[glippert]

David, our city allows us to tee off our water supply line and add a 2nd meter to supply only the outside faucets. That meter is not charged any sewer charges. The city supplies the meter at no charge and the homeowner is responsible for installation costs. (I installed it myself, so it only cost a small amount for the tee, shut-off valve, and a little copper pipe.) Then they inspect, to confirm it ONLY goes to the outside faucets. It would certainly be worth checking to see if your city has such an option.

 

[dschwandt]

Greg,
I just figured it up.
The sewer fee is 151% pf the water fee, plus tax!!

 

[kzintner]

Harvested 52 heads of garlic today.
View attachment 154409

Looks great. What kind of garlic? Did you plant all of it last Fall?

 

[jbratton]

Looks great. What kind of garlic? Did you plant all of it last Fall?

Hard neck. And yes, we planted it last fall.

 

[bmader]

That oughta work, Doug!
Les did the same thing when he had corn in my spud plot several years ago.
Last year the spuds were on the lower side though.
This year there are about 450 hills there.
I just wish there was some doable way to pump water outta the nearby creek.
This is costing me a small fortune what w/city rates.
The rate for the water ain't that bad, it's the sewer rate that kills it as it's tied directly to the gallons through the meter and it ain't cheap either!
But, Hey....look at all the fun I'm having!!!

Our city did the same thing so I called them in to inspect their sewer line for leaks. They wondered why until I explained that if somehow the water I used for my lawn and garden got into their sewer line and I was being charged for it then there must be a leak in their line's and it needed to be fixed. Apparently word got around and the city decided to reduce the sewer rate to 50% of the water bill during June, July, and August, instead of the normal 100%.

 

[Doug Rusk]

That oughta work, Doug!
Les did the same thing when he had corn in my spud plot several years ago.
Last year the spuds were on the lower side though.
This year there are about 450 hills there.
I just wish there was some doable way to pump water outta the nearby creek.
This is costing me a small fortune what w/city rates.
The rate for the water ain't that bad, it's the sewer rate that kills it as it's tied directly to the gallons through the meter and it ain't cheap either!
But, Hey....look at all the fun I'm having!!!

That's a lot of taters!!!!

You would be suprised how much water you can collect off your roof with as little as a 1/2 inch of rain. I ran a hose down the hill from the rain barrel by the house to the 100 gal tank in the picture. Let it gravity drain and we got a rain that nite that filled the tank to overflowing. Then I shut off the hose and another small rain. Refilled the 55 gal barrel by the house. I think if I had a bigger tank I would have caught more from 1 or more of the rains.