# May - fruit and veggie general chat



## *Andi

Whoa ... time flies when you are having fun.

Hello May!

Happy Gardens. :flower:


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## UncleJoe

Didn't realize the veggie chat was going to be broke down into each month. That should be easier to follow.

Potatoes are finally up. Only a month late. 

Flats of beans, cukes and tomatoes still waiting for me to get the ground tilled.


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## lhalfcent

up here in MN it has been too wet and cold!!! May 1st and highs only in the low 50's at best. All my seedlings in peat pots are just about ready to plant and the ground is way too wet. sigh
I am seriously considering making a greenhouse of some kind in the backyard cuz methinks our summer is gonna be a cool one this year. grrrr


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## IrritatedWithUS

*It's our first 72-degree day. Guess what I'm doing?*









I'm starting to ammend the garden. Put 3 huge piles of manure and roto-tilled that area. The apple and pear trees are blossoming and I have some rhubarb going.








Got my organic brandywine tomato starts








These are my organic zucchini starts.








And the snap peas!

I'll be planting these into the ground within days and getting more starts. I believe the weather will FINALLY COOPERATE!


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## catsraven

We had a hale storm early this morning. The garden came through well. Thank the garden gnomes. 
The only problem, its cold. Well cold for here. I hope it dose not get to cold. Other wise, Ill have to start over. And that will just make me MAD.


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## IrritatedWithUS

Ah, we had hail storms 3 days ago! :gaah:









Just got finished planting the pole beans









And messed around with my strawberries. I have blooms! :congrat:


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## BuggingIn

A friend from work brought me the steps from his old deck - 4' long 2x10's, 10 of them. That will give me ends for 5 more raised beds. :2thumb:

Stopped at Lowe's today and picked up a couple more shop lights - my tomatoes are outgrowing their baker's rack and I have a metal and glass shelf unit with more room for them to grow - needed lights for it. Tomorrow's projects need to include getting those shelves set up and repotting tomatoes, and, if it doesn't rain, actually planting a few things in the garden. Going to plant out a few of the tomatoes in hopes that we won't get more frost...need to cut the bottoms out of a few 5 gallon buckets so I can use them as tomato cloches, and need to find my wall-o-waters for 3 tomatoes (that's all have of those).

Something seems to have eaten the broccoli and kohlrabi seedlings I planted out a few weeks ago. I will have to look again in better light tomorrow to be sure - it was nearly full dark when I went looking for them tonight.


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## Clarice

Well guys, it took us a while, but the last of the garden is planted. Praise the Lord. We worked so hard this past weekend I hurt in places I didn't know I had. We also were able to get 400 bricks for free to do the floor in our greenhouse. I am so excited.


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## UncleJoe

Got flowers on the strawberries. Maybe spring WILL make an appearance this year. :flower:

Oh yea. I've been meaning to ask. To those of you that grow asparagus, how long can it be cut until it's time to let it grow out? This is the third year of our bed and I've been cutting it off now for about 2 weeks. So how long can I keep taking it?


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## worldengineer

Ended up getting more squash in the ground today. Ate my first radish from the garden. Wasn't expecting the kick it had. First time planting them and for some odd reason I had the notion that they would be like turnips. Guess who was wrong. 

Moved other plants around. Spaced out some. Been waiting on rain all day but never got any. Also cleared out around the pear trees to try and let more sun light through the canopy. Got lots of trees but they grow straight up and it takes lots of limb training.


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## *Andi

worldengineer said:


> Ended up getting more squash in the ground today. Ate my first radish from the garden. Wasn't expecting the kick it had. First time planting them and for some odd reason I had the notion that they would be like turnips. Guess who was wrong.


Yea, some of them can have a little kick.  I try and pull mine when they are small, to keep the kick, less


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## stayingthegame

*garen of the south*

I have only a small garden. three Roma tom that are loaded :2thumb: about 30+ per bush. Two heirlooms that have about 50 total. lost my green beans :dunno: I am picking squash already. have finished with asparagus will let it grow for this year. cucs are growing. getting the canner and jars ready :2thumb: :beercheer: been picking my herbs.


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## worldengineer

*Andi said:


> Yea, some of them can have a little kick.  I try and pull mine when they are small, to keep the kick, less


I thought it was small .



> *stayinginthegame* I have only a small garden. three Roma tom that are loaded about 30+ per bush. Two heirlooms that have about 50 total. lost my green beans I am picking squash already. have finished with asparagus will let it grow for this year. cucs are growing. getting the canner and jars ready been picking my herbs.


I've always loved the climate down South. So much more growing time. Sounds like the tomatoes are doing well. Gonna be a a while longer before anything up here gets going.


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## gypsysue

Grrrr....it's still dropping into the 20s at night up here! But stuff is coming up around the garden, things like rhubarb, bunching onions, garlic, strawberries, and asparagus. I got antsy and planted some potatoes, but if they actually come up, I'll have to cover them at night.

Lucky you, all you people farther south!  I've enjoyed reading this thread and hearing about what you all have planted, and even WorldEngineer eating a radish already!


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## worldengineer

:threadbump: 

4 more radishes came out, these were quite a bit bigger than the last. Time to plant more of 'em. I don't believe the transplanted blueberries are going to make it. They were wilted when they went in the ground. My lack of brains made me forget they were in the truck.


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## *Andi

worldengineer - I've done that before ...  but give them a little more time. They may come around.

Oh and how were the larger radishes. 

My radishes (seeds) will go in the gound come fall along with the carrots. They just do better in the fall for me. :dunno:


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## worldengineer

Much better with a salad.... I have a couple plants that I am using to save seeds from the pods. Gonna end up sowing more radish seed.

Turnips are my fall go to crop. Deer like 'em, and so do I.


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## BuggingIn

I've built 4 more good sized raised beds and planted 2 of them to potatoes, with russets and assorted fingerlings going in the other 2 tomorrow, I hope. Finally got the peas, some carrots, and the red potatoes planted in other beds a couple days ago and I took a chance on planting the first dozen tomatoes today. They are heavily mulched and I'm going out to throw a sheet over them in a bit. My other tomatoes got a first day of hardening off today, and did pretty well. I have figured out that as many raised beds as I have, I need a whole lot more!


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## Jimmy24

94 yesterday....Okra is about 4 inches tall now. Have Jalapeños ready for picking in another week or so. Already eating yellow squash and fried green tomatoes!!! Corn in 3 weeks. Watermelons about pea sized...tried of green beans already. Butter beans and peas in another 3 weeks or so...

But at a high cost of watering....no rain in 4 weeks now. Getting dangerous dry. Used up last of rainwater storage 2 weeks ago. Pumping now.

Jimmy


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## *Andi

Cool weather crops coming in ... 

Got the second cutting of broccoli, onion and lettuce :2thumb: (wilted lettuce salad.)

Have the first small green maters ... Now if the sun would shine a little. lol


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## DJgang

yeah andi!:2thumb:

my garden is looking beautiful! Full of blooms already, my heirlooms are a little smaller, but thats ok...

Beans corn okra squash tomatoes potatoes ....yum...


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## Possumfam

Picked the last of the lettuce - it's starting to bolt. The snow peas and green peas are about done, had new potatoes and green beans last week for supper - canned 7 quarts of green beans on Saturday, will can 7 more tomorrow. We like our tomatoes red, so we're not touching the green ones. Seems once the harvest begins, you've got a lot of work to do over the next few months. Need more canning jars.


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## gypsysue

Possum, it's so fun reading your post! Your lettuce and peas are just about done and I just planted my peas yesterday and still have to plant the lettuce! The tomatoes are still little plants about 6" to 8" high in little pots in the house! 

I put my pepper plants out in the garden yesterday. I have glass "cloches" to cover them for now, since our nights are still dropping into the 30s.

The pumpkin plants I started in the house finally started to make their appearance yesterday. So far everything I've planted has been saved seed. I'll have to buy onion sets because I haven't gotten those to reproduce yet, other than the green bunching onions.


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## Emerald

Everyone cross your fingers for me! There is a predicted frost coming tonight and my peaches and apricots already have tiny fruit on them or in bloom right now! :gaah:
I am thinking about filling my many water gallons with hot water tonight before I go to bed and put about 3 or 4 under each tree and hope for the best.


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## Possumfam

gypsysue said:


> Possum, it's so fun reading your post! Your lettuce and peas are just about done and I just planted my peas yesterday and still have to plant the lettuce! The tomatoes are still little plants about 6" to 8" high in little pots in the house!
> 
> I put my pepper plants out in the garden yesterday. I have glass "cloches" to cover them for now, since our nights are still dropping into the 30s.
> 
> The pumpkin plants I started in the house finally started to make their appearance yesterday. So far everything I've planted has been saved seed. I'll have to buy onion sets because I haven't gotten those to reproduce yet, other than the green bunching onions.


 Hey Gypsysue! We have to plant earlier or we won't get any lettuce - too hot, too fast. I could be wrong, but I'm under the impression w/ our longer growing season and the heat, we tend to foster more pests. I just imagine that y'all's gardens are bug and disease free - pretty little pristine gardens. So jealous just thinkin' about it. We lose tomatoes to everything from bugs, to birds, to squirrels, blossom end rot, etc... I may be naive, but I don't think y'all have all that. The grass is always greener...


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## gypsysue

Possumfam said:


> Hey Gypsysue! We have to plant earlier or we won't get any lettuce - too hot, too fast. I could be wrong, but I'm under the impression w/ our longer growing season and the heat, we tend to foster more pests. I just imagine that y'all's gardens are bug and disease free - pretty little pristine gardens. So jealous just thinkin' about it. We lose tomatoes to everything from bugs, to birds, to squirrels, blossom end rot, etc... I may be naive, but I don't think y'all have all that. The grass is always greener...


Thank you for helping me count my blessings regarding the bugs! You're right, our winters are long enough and cold enough to kill off most things, and our garden is pretty much pest-free. I had aphids once on my pea plants, but they were easy to get rid of. That's all, in the 7 years we've had a garden here.

Our weeds grow slower and aren't as thick, too. When I lived in Kentucky for 6 years I swear by the time I reached the end of a row I was weeding, the weeds had already grown back up at the beginning of the row! We had bug and raccoon problems there, especially potato bugs. The kids and I would take plastic bottles with lids on them and we'd go along and plop the bugs into the bottle, then cap them and throw them away when they were full. There were times we had to give up and spray stuff on the plants just so there'd be enough to harvest. That was before I knew much about organic methods.

We have a 7' high fence around our garden with electric wire aroung the top and the bottom, to keep out deer, moose, and bears. But keeping out birds and squirrels and such, that seems nearly impossible. My hat is off to you southern gardeners. I've just sat here, green with envy, over your long growing seasons and not thought about some of the other challenges you face.


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## gypsysue

Emerald said:


> Everyone cross your fingers for me! There is a predicted frost coming tonight and my peaches and apricots already have tiny fruit on them or in bloom right now! :gaah:
> I am thinking about filling my many water gallons with hot water tonight before I go to bed and put about 3 or 4 under each tree and hope for the best.


Fingers crossed, and toes will be later, when I take my shoes off for the day!

Is there no way to throw an old, light weight bedsheet or something up over the trees, to help keep frost off? I don't know how big your trees are. The water might help. I saw a garden once where they had rocks under their fruit trees, out a bit from the truck, but a thick layer of them, because the thermal mass of the rocks helped keep the trees warmer at night. Not that that helps you tonight. Water is a good thermal mass, so I hope it does the trick.

Most of all, I hope it doesn't really get that cold. Let us know.:goodluck:


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## *Andi

Emerald said:


> Everyone cross your fingers for me! There is a predicted frost coming tonight and my peaches and apricots already have tiny fruit on them or in bloom right now! :gaah:
> I am thinking about filling my many water gallons with hot water tonight before I go to bed and put about 3 or 4 under each tree and hope for the best.


:crossfinger:

And good luck ... late frost can be a bummer. :gaah:


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## Possumfam

gypsysue said:


> You're right, our winters are long enough and cold enough to kill off most things, and our garden is pretty much pest-free. I had aphids once on my pea plants, but they were easy to get rid of. That's all, in the 7 years we've had a garden here.


Yep - officially jealous! Aphids once in seven years??? I'm literally green w/ envy.


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## Emerald

Well the crossed fingers helped-no frost last night but tonight is iffy too. but I think it will be ok as it is still almost 48 out now.. and there is a bit of a breeze... that should keep things from frosting.


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## UncleJoe

I finally got some stuff in this past weekend. The ground wasn't quite as dry as I would have liked but I tilled and planted anyway. I'm being a little careful this year after losing almost everything to hail the same day I planted last year

I got 1/3 of the corn in, a dozen "Mortgage Lifter" and 4 Roma tomatoes with 6 and 2 respectively, held back, 10 wax bean plants and another 30 direct seeded, 6 Boston pickling cukes with another 6 in reserve, 10 broccoli with 6 in reserve and 6 cauliflower plants. Green beans will go in with the corn when it gets about a foot tall. 

Strawberries are in full bloom. Blackberries are greening up nicely. Peach trees look to produce well this year as long as we don't get frost or a hail storm. This is their second year so we don't expect to be overrun but should get a couple bushel from the 3 trees.

Of the 30 potatoes that I planted back in mid-April, 19 have come up. I also replanted beets, peas and carrots that apparently rotted in the ground during our monsoon season. Might be a little late but we'll see how it goes. Still have more to do but the rain has returned for a week long visit so the garden is on hold... again.


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## *Andi

Well ... half the garden looks to be gone. (still have the other half - knock on wood ) So I will replant as soon as it starts to dry out ... need to check my seeds. 

Happy Gardens :flower:


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## worldengineer

What happened *Andi? I assume it got swamped from all this darn rain.


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## *Andi

worldengineer said:


> What happened *Andi? I assume it got swamped from all this darn rain.


Two and a half inches of rain in under an hour (last night) ... Flash flood ...


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## goshengirl

Andi, I'm so sorry! That's a lot of work to do. Wish I was closer and could help out.


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## mamakat

*Experimental Gardening*

Since we are renting our home, it is not feasible for us to plant a garden in our landlord's "yard", so I'm trying straw bale gardening. I put out the bales a week or so ago to "cook" (when the weather was high 80's); temperature dropped so that has extended the planting time for possibly another week. Hoping to get things planted soon. Wish me luck! I'll keep you all posted on how this works!


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## UncleJoe

mamakat said:


> Since we are renting our home, it is not feasible for us to plant a garden in our landlord's "yard"


Just ask the landlord if he/she would mind you putting in a garden. You might be surprised. I had a garden at 4 of the 5 places I rented over the years. The 1 was a complex with nowhere to grow. The landlords of the other 4 had no objections to a garden. A couple even stopped by to see what was growing and left with some fresh produce. One just asked me to reseed with grass when I moved, which I did.

Can't hurt to ask.


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## power

mamakat said:


> Since we are renting our home, it is not feasible for us to plant a garden in our landlord's "yard", so I'm trying straw bale gardening. I put out the bales a week or so ago to "cook" (when the weather was high 80's); temperature dropped so that has extended the planting time for possibly another week. Hoping to get things planted soon. Wish me luck! I'll keep you all posted on how this works!


I use straw bales. Really like it a lot. I built raised beds that hay bales will fit inside, about 40ft long. That keeps the bales from falling apart each year. When the level of the bales drop low enough I set new ones on top of the old. Also have regular raised beds and a aquaponics setup. Can't decide which one does the best job.


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## gypsysue

How does this straw/hay bale gardening work? Do you plant the seed right in the straw/hay?

Speaking of growing at rental properties, JamesBlack of this forum had an awesome container garden on his balcony last year at his apartment building, and posted pictures of it here:
http://www.preparedsociety.com/forum/f14/yrs-garden-3031/index4.html

Scroll about halfway down the page to find them.

andi, sorry to hear about your garden washing out. Wish goshen was there to help you replant!  Just kidding! If I was close enough, I'd come help too, but then my garden would have washed out as well and you'd have to come help me... lol


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## *Andi

goshengirl & gypsysue - Thanks! 

It's the thought that counts... :wave:


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## power

gypsysue said:


> How does this straw/hay bale gardening work? Do you plant the seed right in the straw/hay?
> 
> Speaking of growing at rental properties, JamesBlack of this forum had an awesome container garden on his balcony last year at his apartment building, and posted pictures of it here:
> http://www.preparedsociety.com/forum/f14/yrs-garden-3031/index4.html
> 
> Scroll about halfway down the page to find them.
> 
> andi, sorry to hear about your garden washing out. Wish goshen was there to help you replant!  Just kidding! If I was close enough, I'd come help too, but then my garden would have washed out as well and you'd have to come help me... lol


Yes, I plant the seeds or plants right in the hay bale. I give my bales a little boost by adding ammonium nitrate and soaking it in for a couple of days. Follow that with a little garden fertilizer, let them cool a day or two, then plant. Seems to work good. Even after the bales rot they turn into compost.


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## gypsysue

Well, andi and goshen, you can sit here and cry with me! I lost all my peppers last night and they were under heavy glass cloches, but it got down to 22 and was just too cold for them. 

Emerald, I'm glad your fruit trees made it through without frost!


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## goshengirl

gypsysue said:


> I lost all my peppers last night and they were under heavy glass cloches, but it got down to 22 and was just too cold for them.


That totally stinks! 

Here I've been feeling frustrated because we can't get a dry day and haven't been able to even build any beds. But y'all are reminding me that at least without anything in the ground, we haven't lost anything yet. What a killer! And yes, I would definitely help replant if their weren't so many miles 'tween us. :wave:


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## *Andi

Sorry about your peppers, gypsysue.

Do you get the feeling it's going to be a hard garden season ... 

Found some onion plants and the last of the taters from the feed store. Never planted them (taters) this late before ... so I will see. 

Happy Gardens! :flower:


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## gypsysue

Andi, you're right, it does seem like all of us are facing more challenges than usual this year. Crazy weather.


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## Jaspar

*so far so good*

Radishes are going crazy (I'm the only one in the family who likes radishes, go figure). Peas are climbing, lettuce is coming along, rhubarb and potatoes are insane, carrots starting to come up, squash is peeking it's head, strawberry flowers are thick, raspberries are green and growing, onions doing well, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants are in, pumpkins and corn planted, beets looking good, blueberries and apples flowering, big breath........ Only problem I've had is a honeycrisp that didn't flower.

Anybody know why a honeycrisp wouldn't flower? :dunno:


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## Possumfam

Well, andi, goshen, and gypsy - y'all make me feel kinda guilty. It's very dry here (a little bit of a drought), but we're watering and so far so good. But I don't like to count my chickens before they hatch, and hurricane season is right around the corner, so I don't know how much will be harvested, but y'all are making me nervous. I know so many of us count on our gardens from year to year. I just pray things get better for everyone.


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## gypsysue

Jaspar said:


> Anybody know why a honeycrisp wouldn't flower? :dunno:


That's an apple tree, right? How old is the tree? If it's a young tree, how many years has it flowered and produced fruit? Have you had any frost in the last week? Are there other trees like it nearby? Did they flower? :scratch


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## *Andi

Possumfam said:


> Well, andi, goshen, and gypsy - y'all make me feel kinda guilty. It's very dry here (a little bit of a drought), but we're watering and so far so good. But I don't like to count my chickens before they hatch, and hurricane season is right around the corner, so I don't know how much will be harvested, but y'all are making me nervous. I know so many of us count on our gardens from year to year. I just pray things get better for everyone.


Oh don't feel guilty ... 

Gardens are different each year and it will be alright. Sometimes Mother Nature just likes to keep you on your toes. Sunday looks good for a replant day. :flower:


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## JustAPrepper

I haven't posted in a while (seems like I get busy in spurts) but think I'm pretty much caught up with everyone. Wow, what a crazy gardening year! I hope things dry out and warm up for those north of me. For those near me, I hope we get some rain.

I don't remember where I left off but we have been hit and miss with our test Heirlooms. In addition, we had an irrigation problem that we think we found and fixed but many things suffered and died or are having real difficulty. We are also discovering a few new pests that we didn't encounter last year and are taking action.

I'm most upset about my Cantaloupes. I had eight gorgeous melons a few days ago only to find out that six of them had been attacked by Pickleworms. Broke my heart. 

We've been harvesting Chard, Tomatoes, Peppers (hot varieties), Onions, Blackeye Peas, Puruplehull Pinkeyes, Lima's, Beets, Carrots, a few Snow Peas here and there (only enough to put in a salad, nothing to make a meal out of) as well a few little ears of Corn and a few Potatoes. The Lima's were starting to look a little rough so I harvested everything, pulled the plants and the plan was to plant more Cowpeas but now they are starting to look a little haggard. They're supposed to do very well in the heat and the Lima's had no indication of Root Knot Nematodes so we're on the hunt for what the problem may be. *I also cut most of the seed heads off my bolting Lettuce and have them drying out in pillow cases...thanks to the help from this board.

We have four 55 Gallon water barrels now, but it's only rained twice since we installed them. We water from our deep well but it has a high salt content and were hoping to keep the plants *flushed* with fresh water more often. We also have our Shade Cloth now. We ordered a large sheet of it, cut to fit our beds and had the edges bound by a local upholstery shop. We ordered it to see if it would extend our growing season, even if just by a month or two. One of the beds with Tomatoes and Peppers has already been covered and I am going to do a test with another bed now that all the Beets and Carrots have been pulled. I'm going to *attempt* to grow Summer Squash and Cucumbers under the cloth. We have NO idea if this is going to work or not. Even with the cloth we are not sure if the plants will be able to handle the air temps, but, we're gonna try.

Here's a few pics...


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## JustAPrepper

I forgot our two biggest hauls. DH pickled the Beets and the Carrots were just pulled yesterday. I'm still debating on what to do with them. Can, freeze or dehydrate. :scratch


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## Jaspar

gypsysue said:


> That's an apple tree, right? How old is the tree? If it's a young tree, how many years has it flowered and produced fruit? Have you had any frost in the last week? Are there other trees like it nearby? Did they flower? :scratch


I planted it two summers ago. It's about 7 feet tall, so pretty young. I have two jonathan apple trees nearby that are a about the same size, slightly larger, and they have both blossomed every year. The honeycrisp has yet to flower.


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## *Andi

JustAPrepper Great job!!! They look great.

Thanks for posting the pictures. :congrat:


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## gypsysue

Yeah, JustAPrepper, your veggies look beautiful! Thanks for the pictures!

Jaspar, since the tree is so young and hasn't flowered yet, if the tree is otherwise healthy, I'd give it a couple more years before I'd worry. I've had them take as long as 6 years to put out blossoms. (Maybe it's a "late bloomer"! )


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## Jaspar

gypsysue said:


> Yeah, JustAPrepper, your veggies look beautiful! Thanks for the pictures!
> 
> Jaspar, since the tree is so young and hasn't flowered yet, if the tree is otherwise healthy, I'd give it a couple more years before I'd worry. I've had them take as long as 6 years to put out blossoms. (Maybe it's a "late bloomer"! )


thanks for the info.

Anybody doing the "three sisters" approach with their sweet corn this year? I'm giving it a go with butternut squash and Ken. Wonder pole beans.


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## JustAPrepper

Jaspar said:


> thanks for the info.
> 
> Anybody doing the "three sisters" approach with their sweet corn this year? I'm giving it a go with butternut squash and Ken. Wonder pole beans.


My Three Sisters was an Epic Failure!!

I inter-planted my Beans and Squash with the Corn based on a diagram I found on the internet. I did a Round-Robin of Corn. Three varieties, different planting dates and different maturation dates. I did the same with Beans and Squash as the Corn was starting to mature. Just to test as many varieties as I could. Didn't matter. All the Beans and Squash have died or are dying off. I'm thinking it's because they didn't get enough sunlight.

My best suggestion is if you do the Three Sisters, plant your Corn in the center with your Beans and Squash on the perimeter so they get sunlight. This is what I plan on doing in the fall. Again, it's only a suggestion but I know from personal experience, for my particular garden, I'll never "inter-plant" them again. Other than a few measly ears of Corn we didn't harvest a single Bean or Squash. Live and learn I suppose but it still hurts. Especially after all the care we took with the crops.


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## worldengineer

Nice sized carrots and beets. Wished I had thrown some beets in the ground this year.

Ended up re-planting 80% of the corn after the wildlife finished it off the first time, but I'm a bit more prepared for them this go round. 

Added three more raised beds, and got some strawberry's real cheap so I went ahead and planted them.


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## *Andi

Well the plan was to replant Sunday ... but that didn't happen.:gaah: I will try to get some of it in the morning. My son brought home around 50 sweet tater slips that need to go in the ground asap ...  ... life is grand.

And to Jaspar, I use the three sister also.


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## neldarez

Justaprepper.........beautiful veggies. Mine are just now in the ground....I'm looking for a recipe to pickle beets myself, I've never grown them before. By the way, I sure like your avatar....


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## neldarez

JustAPrepper said:


> I haven't posted in a while (seems like I get busy in spurts) but think I'm pretty much caught up with everyone. Wow, what a crazy gardening year! I hope things dry out and warm up for those north of me. For those near me, I hope we get some rain.
> 
> I don't remember where I left off but we have been hit and miss with our test Heirlooms. In addition, we had an irrigation problem that we think we found and fixed but many things suffered and died or are having real difficulty. We are also discovering a few new pests that we didn't encounter last year and are taking action.
> 
> I'm most upset about my Cantaloupes. I had eight gorgeous melons a few days ago only to find out that six of them had been attacked by Pickleworms. Broke my heart.
> 
> We've been harvesting Chard, Tomatoes, Peppers (hot varieties), Onions, Blackeye Peas, Puruplehull Pinkeyes, Lima's, Beets, Carrots, a few Snow Peas here and there (only enough to put in a salad, nothing to make a meal out of) as well a few little ears of Corn and a few Potatoes. The Lima's were starting to look a little rough so I harvested everything, pulled the plants and the plan was to plant more Cowpeas but now they are starting to look a little haggard. They're supposed to do very well in the heat and the Lima's had no indication of Root Knot Nematodes so we're on the hunt for what the problem may be. *I also cut most of the seed heads off my bolting Lettuce and have them drying out in pillow cases...thanks to the help from this board.
> 
> We have four 55 Gallon water barrels now, but it's only rained twice since we installed them. We water from our deep well but it has a high salt content and were hoping to keep the plants *flushed* with fresh water more often. We also have our Shade Cloth now. We ordered a large sheet of it, cut to fit our beds and had the edges bound by a local upholstery shop. We ordered it to see if it would extend our growing season, even if just by a month or two. One of the beds with Tomatoes and Peppers has already been covered and I am going to do a test with another bed now that all the Beets and Carrots have been pulled. I'm going to *attempt* to grow Summer Squash and Cucumbers under the cloth. We have NO idea if this is going to work or not. Even with the cloth we are not sure if the plants will be able to handle the air temps, but, we're gonna try.
> 
> Here's a few pics...


wow, gorgeous pictures...........I love it that you can grow pepsi like that....that's my drink too......


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## JustAPrepper

neldarez said:


> wow, gorgeous pictures...........I love it that you can grow pepsi like that....that's my drink too......


Lol! We harvest Pepsi like it's going out of style in this house. 

Thanks everyone for the compliments. Harvested another two pounds of onions today and DH got a few more Tomatoes. Gonna get the Onions carmelized and put in the freezer.


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## *Andi

Well ... I'm going to strap on my mud boots and head to the garden. lol

Not the best way to do it but plants are going in the ground. :club: But hey ... I will not have to water as I go.


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## Clarice

We are harvesting lettuce, raddish, yellow squash and zucchni along with our collards and onions. Tomatoes and peppers are blooming and the snap beans are running. Beets are looking good. Last night we harvested a cabbage that was 12" accross. Shared half with a friend and the rest is in the pot for dinner tonight.


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## catsraven

And yet another hail storm and no damage. The garden gnomes are working over time :thankyou: Gnomes


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## *Andi

catsraven said:


> And yet another hail storm and no damage. The garden gnomes are working over time :thankyou: Gnomes


Maybe your Gnomes need to talk to my Gnomes ...What are you feeding yours.


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## catsraven

Honey cakes


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## UncleJoe

We had hail last evening also as well as two, as yet unconfirmed, tornado's. At 6:00 it looked like the dead of night and stayed that way for 2 hours. I'll be checking for damage this morning.


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## *Andi

catsraven said:


> Honey cakes


Thanks, I will give them a try. 

We was hit with more storms today eek I checked the green house to make sure it was still standing ... it was ... 

And I will check the garden in the morning (I did give it a glance over but ) as it was late when we got in ... Nasty weather ... It may be time to have a chat with Mother Nature.


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## neldarez

UncleJoe said:


> We had hail last evening also as well as two, as yet unconfirmed, tornado's. At 6:00 it looked like the dead of night and stayed that way for 2 hours. I'll be checking for damage this morning.


How is everything UncleJoe?  I pray everything is fine....


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## neldarez

*Andi said:


> Thanks, I will give them a try.
> 
> We was hit with more storms today eek I checked the green house to make sure it was still standing ... it was ...
> 
> And I will check the garden in the morning (I did give it a glance over but ) as it was late when we got in ... Nasty weather ... It may be time to have a chat with Mother Nature.


I don't live in a rainy part of the state, but it has rained, hailed, snowed and frosted for way too long!! I had a serious talk with mother nature just today....enough is enough. We should be into the 80 here and it is in the 60s. Seed is laying in the ground, too scared to come out I think. 
I'm very glad your green house was still where it should be.......I need to quit complaining about the weather when compared to you and UncleJoe and many others.............I pray your garden has been spared....I also pray for peace with mother nature!! :flower:


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## UncleJoe

Well, we came through the storms unscathed but a lot of other folks in the region weren't as fortunate. 

First thing I did Friday morning was removed a tree from a fellows truck. Spent the rest of the day cleaning up debris and will be doing the same today and probably most of next week. A lot of damage all around the area but it's nothing when compared to the devastation in the Mid-West. Some of these folks around here should be counting there blessings instead of complaining how bad things are.


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## *Andi

But that is what a many do best ... complaining ... It's to hot or it's to cold...
It's to wet or to dry ...

We all do it ...IMO ... lol

It is the same as ... is the glass half full or half empty... I try to find the good in it... it is very wet in my garden ...but when I replant I don't need to water ...a good thing ... 

complaining is part of life ... try and find the good in it ... (which is not easy sometimes )


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## *Andi

Cherries are starting to come in! Boy are they good!!!!


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## UncleJoe

Picked my first quart of strawberries yesterday. MMMMMMMMMMM


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