# This yrs garden



## TreeMUPKennel

Well tried things different this yr. Decided to build wooden boxes in rows to plant in this yr. There 2ft x 8ft and some a little narrower than others. But didnt want to till up the yard again. Hated it last yr all the weeds and so on in the garden. Maybe this will be easier to maintain in the boxes. Not sure will see. 
But so far there great, but still needing a few more built, still got some time for that too. As of now I got the lettuce, brocoli, squash, cucumbers, banana peppers, jalepeno, bell peppers, grape tomaters, cherry tomaters, and a few regulars tomaters going. And a couple herbs. Soon as the rest of the boxex are built I finish with the other goodies to grow. Weather here in good ole North Carolina is be great. Should be a good growing yr.


----------



## *Andi

I grow my tomatoes like that and they do well ... and this year my grandbaby wanted her 'own' garden so we fixed her a 4 x 4 box. She planted lettuce, squash and onions. 

Happy gardens!


----------



## HozayBuck

*Old tires in the garden*

I'm sure Uncle Joe will know this but...

The Lady of the Manor, and I are in disagreement...( this is not a new thing )

I think using old tires filled with mulch etc would be great for tall planters for stuff like squash, tomatoes, etc ..here in E TX not so much for the Solar effect on the mulch inside but just handy...She on the other hand thinks it would not be a good thing simply because tires are a petroleum product...to me old tires have so many great uses..to her..not so...

Any idea from anybody? have ya done it? do your veggies taste like old tires? do your squash have tiny Michelin emblems on them?

I doubt anything will change her mind but I'm willing to swim again the tide!


----------



## *Andi

Sorry HozayBuck but I agree with The Lady of the Manor  ... We do use old tires but not for growing food. Why? Well I not sure... but I'm sure I did read something about it somewhere. 

They are great for putting dog/goat/etc water buckets in, so they don't tip them over and the turkeys love to make a nest in them.  So I guess we do agree that old tires have so many great uses ... just not growing food in them. (JMO)


----------



## UncleJoe

HozayBuck said:


> I'm sure Uncle Joe will know this but...


OH SURE... single me out as the one that does the oddball things. 

But since you brought up, I, uh, do have a potato plant growing in 2 tires filled with straw.  It's only a few inches tall right now. But I read about tire gardens in a couple different places and just had to give it a try. :sssh: 
I'll try to remember to post the results when it matures.


----------



## SurvivalNut

*Tires and gardening*

Have thought about using tires too, but came across this note on the internet:

_Los Angeles Cooperative Extension offers the following information, in an article on trace elements and urban gardens. Excerpt:

Cadmium is a contaminant of many manufactured products containing zinc. Any zinc plating or galvanizing operations and galvanized metal containers sometimes used in horticulture and gardening operations are potential sources of cadmium. Zinc is also used in the vulcanization process in tire manufacturing. As tires wear, they give off minute, dust-like rubber particles containing cadmium that easily disperse and accumulate in soils and on plants.

I certainly don't think you want to grow vegetables in a cadmium-laced container. In situations where there is any doubt about safety, I would recommend growing ornamental plants in the tubs, and growing edibles in untreated wood or clay pots._


----------



## HozayBuck

Thanks folks!!
I will stop whining about using tires, but I'm not gonna tell her the results of this small survey 

funny thing tho I think she likes the Earth Ship thing..:dunno:


----------



## NaeKid

If it is true that zinc and tires go hand-in-hand, why is it that I see abandoned roadways (paved) that are literally falling to pieces and I can pick all kinds of berries off of plants that grow through the pavement - as well as need to clear paths through the tall grasses?


----------



## TechAdmin

HozayBuck said:


> Thanks folks!!
> I will stop whining about using tires, but I'm not gonna tell her the results of this small survey
> 
> funny thing tho I think she likes the Earth Ship thing..:dunno:


I wouldn't either.


----------



## bunkerbob

Well the garden is off and running, getting ready to pick the second batch of strawberries. Potatoes recovered just fine after the cold snap. Beans and pickling cucs will take a little longer though.


----------



## *Andi

Great pictures! :2thumb:

I just started on my warm weather crops the other day ... so they will be a while.


----------



## Asatrur

We finally got the cool weather crops in which is fine since it has been a coolish Spring here in MN. We planted beet, 2nd round of radishes, greens, and carrots. Potatoes and peas are already in the ground. Next are the warm weather plants at the end of May with tomatoes, peppers, etc.


----------



## HozayBuck

Our spuds are about a foot tall, and looking good, the squash and cannylopes are up good, corn is about 4 to 8 inchs, depending if it's a stalk the damn chicks chomped..we will have to replant okra and a bit of corn and the bush beans but as it is the garden will be some good munching... 

shouldn't cuss the chicks, the last of the Silky chicks went MIA today, lil chits just have to go to the woods like the big's..

And the Tommytoes are the best I've ever had any luck with.. maybe they will actually produce.... naaa can't happen...


----------



## UncleJoe

bunkerbob said:


> getting ready to pick the second batch of strawberries..


OH they look tasty! Mine are still little green buttons.

Potatoes about 6" tall. Peas are climbing up the trellis.

Warm weather stuff will be a couple weeks yet.


----------



## sailaway

Waiting until May 15 to put my seedlings outside. Tomatos are 4-6", Peppers are around 1'.


----------



## TreeMUPKennel

Finaly got use some much needed rain yesterday. Garden and yard all needed it very much. But everything is still growing good and strong. Last couple days been finding a few squash bugs here and there, and some cabbage worms. But picked me up a couple chicks to roam the garden and dispose of the critters for me.


----------



## UncleJoe

I mentioned it in the "May Weather" thread, but I'll pop it in the garden thread too.

Last Friday morning I put in the first round of tomatoes, beans and cukes from the seed I started inside about a month ago. At 5:30 that afternoon we had 60mph winds, torrential rain and nickel sized hail.

Here are a few photo's sent to a local TV station.

May 14 Hail | abc27 News Gallery

Beans and cukes were gone, the pea trellis was blown down, tomatoes are twigs and the beets, carrots, broccoli and potatoes are flat on the ground.
We went to an auction Saturday so I spent all day Sunday leveling out the ditches left by the rain, rebuilding the trellis, which somehow didn't destroy the pea plants, and replanting the beans and cukes from seed. The root crops and peas should recover. The tomatoes; :dunno: 
I figure that little storm set me back about 3 weeks.


----------



## *Andi

What a storm!!!!!

Sorry about the garden loss.


----------



## sailaway

Got my pepper and tomato plant starts planted in the ground yesterday, 24 tomato plants and 20 pepper plants. Should have alot in 2 months, :2thumb:still have some garden space left may see what's around at the green houses.


----------



## catsraven

Pruned the tomatoes to day. Iv got some tinny tomatoes and a bunch of flowers. will have some green beans in a week or two. peppers are not doing to well for some reason :dunno: squash is doing well will have some in a few days. green onions are growing slow as are the carrots. corn is around 10 inches.


----------



## bunkerbob

Planted a 20' row each of tomatoes and peppers yesterday. Picked more strawberries for jam making today. By the way this is going to be a banner year for berries, raspberries, blackberries and boysenberries. 
Lots of lettuce, spinach and carrots. Lets not forget the potatoes, baskets full of new Kennebec and reds.
This year if I hadn't mentioned it, I let the volunteer squash, pumpkins and melons come up on their own. Just tilled to make into rows. Already had the first squash, zuks and yellow crooked necks.


----------



## catsraven

First beans squash and blackberrys


----------



## sailaway

Looks good catsraven, mine just went in the ground, nothing for me until the end of July or Aug., enjoy


----------



## sailaway

bunkerbob said:


> Planted a 20' row each of tomatoes and peppers yesterday. Picked more strawberries for jam making today. By the way this is going to be a banner year for berries, raspberries, blackberries and boysenberries.
> Lots of lettuce, spinach and carrots. Lets not forget the potatoes, baskets full of new Kennebec and reds.
> This year if I hadn't mentioned it, I let the volunteer squash, pumpkins and melons come up on their own. Just tilled to make into rows. Already had the first squash, zuks and yellow crooked necks.


Bob, sounds like you want to end world hunger!


----------



## bunkerbob

I'm trying the best I can. At least for the two of us and the neighbors.


----------



## catsraven

sailaway said:


> Looks good catsraven, mine just went in the ground, nothing for me until the end of July or Aug., enjoy


That is one of the reasons I live in zone 8


----------



## UncleJoe

Well, the garden is coming back since our hail storm. 

Canned a few pints of peas and strawberry preserves. Cut and froze a couple heads of broccoli. Beets are about ready to harvest. The new beans and cukes are starting to climb the trellis. Tomatoes and peppers are flowering. Corn is about a foot tall. Planted a couple cantaloupe and pumpkin. Oh yeah blackberries are flowering too.


----------



## Jason

My wife's garden is doing really well this year. She moved it closer to a water source to make it less labor intensive and shrunk it down to a manageable size-maybe 20x20 or so. We have more banana peppers than I can eat, tons of yellow squash and zuchini, oodles of leaf lettuce, lots of tomatoes on the way, and also a few watermelons and maybe a pumpkin or 2. It's not big but it's a step in the right direction. We share with some elderly neighbors and have lots of salads. It just feels great knowing what we are eating. We don't can or anything at this point but are interested in doing so in the future. For now, we're learning the basics. We make lots of mistakes but never the same one twice. It's a process.


----------



## TreeMUPKennel

Garden still going strong but those darn squash bugs are killer. Just when you think there gone they come back...... But the chickens are helping keep it some what clear of bugs.


----------



## sailaway

Mrs. Sailaway and I are splitting up, the garden is at the house and I am on the boat. This years effort has been all for not. Neighbor said she tore it out to make more room for flowers.:gaah:


----------



## mdprepper

sailaway said:


> Mrs. Sailaway and I are splitting up, the garden is at the house and I am on the boat. This years effort has been all for not. Neighbor said she tore it out to make more room for flowers.:gaah:


Off topic....I am very sorry to hear that.

On topic....I have a few green beans, and my squash is about to take over the yard. The rest is going so so :dunno:


----------



## gypsysue

sailaway...my heart goes out to you. On the bright side, maybe you'll get your dream of living on the boat. I know you are right now. What will you do when winter comes? Sail to warmer waters? 

Hang in there!


----------



## UncleJoe

I hear the Gulf of Mexico is warm in the winter. :ignore:

Good Luck in your new endeavors.


----------



## Jason

Sorry to hear about that, Sail...keep us posted and remember you have friends and family on here to help you whenever you need it.


----------



## OldFashionedMama

My garden is small but fantastic for the most part this year. We've done 30 quarts of pickled cucumbers and we're STILL not done! Just brought in some more this evening. My dill is finally flowering, so I won't have to use the stupid mix. We picked strawberries at a local farm, and wild black raspberries. The blackberries are GORGEOUS right now around northeast Ohio, alas I have no time to gather them for jam. But I turned the kids loose in the park a few times and let them get as many as they could find-gotta get those blackfruits in the system before cold and flu season! 
Something ate all of my cilantro-I have no idea what because it didn't eat anything else. I haven't weeded out there in weeks, and now I'm getting useful "freebies" like stinging nettle  I need to move that over into my medicine garden and fence it off before someone gets seriously injured...


----------



## Rourke

I have never had much luck with strawberrries - need to know your secret.

This year I tried a raised bed and have had great success - in adddition to my normal in ground garden.

Here is the raised bed when first completed:










Here is the bed after growing stuff for a few weeks:










I am in the process of building another raised bed and will do some fall crops this year.

I have done numerous bucket potatoes with great success as well.

Take care all -

Rourke


----------



## james_black

*From our 2 bedroom balcony.*

*pepper plants*


----------



## gypsysue

Wow, James, those are beautiful peppers! 

Rourke, your second picture didn't come up, so I'm still in suspense, but I'll try it again later! Looks like a nice raised bed! Are you doing "square foot gardening"?

I love reading about everyone's gardens, and seeing the pictures. Keep it coming! 

I drool over talk of cukes and such! Up here in cold country we grow mostly peas and root crops (potatoes, carrots, onions). I miss the rest of it! (I used to live in Kentucky!)


----------



## james_black

PEAS ON THE BACKGROUND BY THE BBQ. TOMATO PLANTS IN FRONT. (They are much bigger now)
















*BOTTOM PIC*
PEPPER PLANT WITH SOME GREEN ONION IN THE POT. 
TO THE LEFT GREEN ONIONS. BEHIND, PARSLEY.


----------



## james_black

*1. Blue container is spearmint
2. Blue is rosemary
3.&4. Blue are tomatoes
juice container are lemon balm and lavender.*









*SAME AS BEFORE BUT IN THE MIDDLE ICE CREAM CONTAINER ITS GREEN ONIONS. THE FAR RIGHT ONE ITS OREGANO AND PARSLEY.*








*sTRAWBErrIES...YUMM.*


----------



## james_black

carrots! 









AERIAL VIEW.
















MORE

PEPPERS


----------



## james_black

Our first Apartment Garden try out was ok but it was down in Las Vegas, Nv. 
Now we live in Wa State. This is our actual first full try. We ask ourselves what we will eat. So we planted that.

We have harvest some peppers already and ate them with steak and mushrooms. Yum.

I got obsessed with growing carrots. My wife likes them "bite size" (lol). So I have a bucket where she can harvest little ones and I have another one where I can let them grow to a decent size.

Strawberries, we have harvest some already, we a second batch growing now.

We did also spinach. I love it. I love harvesting green onions and put them with my food once in a while.

We are now growing medicinal plants and some fragance one. This winter we want to learn how to make soap. This weekend my wife is gonna make a homemade still. She wants to extract essential oils so we can place them in our soaps. Im looking foward to this experience.

We are loving this whole experience. I have never saw myself into this kind of role but now that I am, Im very happy. 
I hope you enjoy the pics. They are outdated. As soon I take more pics I will post them right away.


----------



## lanahi

sailaway said:


> Mrs. Sailaway and I are splitting up, the garden is at the house and I am on the boat. This years effort has been all for not. Neighbor said she tore it out to make more room for flowers.:gaah:


No experience is wasted, in gardens or anything else...it's all learning. You may have another garden again and have the experience from this year to bring to it. Look forward to your new life, wherever that takes you.


----------



## gypsysue

James, the pictures are great! That's an impressive containter garden! Wonderful!


----------



## james_black

Guys...I need some expert advise.

My wife and I noticed that the peppers are adquiring some brown spots . They are to little to be "spoiling". I looked online and it says it might be because of to much moist or water. 

Anything else I might be missing?
Thanks in advance


----------



## JeepHammer

My peppers look like the have the measles!
We have had a BUNCH too much water this year, and mine are looking like some modern art painting!

Beans are coming in well, have more than I'm going to be able to can or sell I think.
I'll probably wind up giving a bunch to the food bank to get rid of them before it's over.

Tomatoes aren't doing that well from the high heat and too much water...

Water melons are going bad sitting in the garden, they are going from green to mush from the heat,
And wet years you don't get the sweetness like you do in dryer years.

I feel your pain! I'm canning like a maniac, but this isn't what I'd call a 'Banner Year' in my garden.


----------



## james_black

Im having the same problems with my peppers now. Some of them are getting brown spots. Not only that..They look wilted. I water them every day. The weather here is in the 90's right now. I dont know if Im watering them too much or not enough. I have read that the top soil needs to be 1" wet deep. I water them now twice a day.

*Im need some help, crew.* Let me know what Im doing wrong.

Also my tomatoes are looking the same way. I dont want to loose them.


----------



## gypsysue

I've looked it up in every book I have and I can't find the problem, with peppers. I don't see anything you're doing wrong, right off. Are you using the same type of soil you've used to grow peppers in before? One of my books says they like sandy soil. I mixed sand with my dirt this year when I planted peppers.

I've had so many things go wrong with peppers, and yet I still keep growing them! Dunno why! Sorry I couldn't help, but I wanted to extend some sympathy...


----------



## Emerald

If it has been really hot and damp near you and you are watering twice a day, you might be getting a bit of root rot, or your plants could be developing some of the bacterial blights that tomatoes area prone to. 
Do the peppers perk up after dark and it cools off a bit? Many plants do wilt from the heat to reserve moisture and it is normal, they wilt in the day and perk up after dark. 
I would only water once they get a bit drier than one inch down... Peppers can handle being a bit dryer during the day than other plants and watering twice a day might be a bit too much for them.
Do the brown spots start rotting from the middle? Many different bugs will just take a bit of a sip from the fruits and that tiny little bite will cause spots and will allow blight to come in and it is almost like little brown bulls eyes. 
Have grown stuff for more years than I like to admit, I have seen all kinds of odd things in the garden, even Black tomato hornworms. Tomato/tobacco hornworms will also eat your pepper plants as they are the same family-tomatoes, potatoes and peppers and eggplant are all members of the Solanaceae family as are many others. While they all might not fall victim of the same things, peppers and tomatoes can sometimes be affected by the same blights... So just as a precaution you should wash your hands between touching the tomato plants(if they have blight) and the peppers and visa versa. I just use the hose and a bit of purell.. Containers can have more problems with blights than ground planted plants.
We tend to get blight here in MI no matter what, but by not spreading it around by touch it really helps here. Some of my plants are more susceptible to it than others.


----------



## Emerald

JeepHammer said:


> My peppers look like the have the measles!
> We have had a BUNCH too much water this year, and mine are looking like some modern art painting!
> *
> Beans are coming in well, have more than I'm going to be able to can or sell I think.
> I'll probably wind up giving a bunch to the food bank to get rid of them before it's over.
> *
> Tomatoes aren't doing that well from the high heat and too much water...
> 
> Water melons are going bad sitting in the garden, they are going from green to mush from the heat,
> And wet years you don't get the sweetness like you do in dryer years.
> 
> I feel your pain! I'm canning like a maniac, but this isn't what I'd call a 'Banner Year' in my garden.


I let my beans ripen to dry shelling beans on the vines/bushes each year when I get enuf in the freezer and we get tired of eating them, when you shuck them, the dry beans are edible and usually much better than what you get in the store.
On the water melon front- we have rigged tarps over the main stem where we planted them on super wet weeks and it keeps the plants from taking in too much moisture, keeping them sweeter.
You could also try laying some heavy plastic around the base of the tomato plants to keep them from splitting in the heavy rains.(might not work if you don't trellis or cage your tomatoes tho..)


----------



## gypsysue

James, can you take a picture of your peppers so we can see more of what you're dealing with?

Emerald, those are some great ideas for protecting plants.


----------



## BuggingIn

May I join in? This year I expanded the fenced in garden area to approx 78'x96' and enlarged the ajoining chicken pen by over triple, too. I used the new ground to plant 2 apple and 2 pear trees in the chicken pen area, and to add another 8 apple trees, a 3-n-1 plum and a whole bunch of plum root sucker trees to the garden area, turning it into an orchard and garden combination. I moved most of the trees from the old orchard, where they were struggling from poor soil and goat depridations, to the new ground, and so far, they are looking better than they have in years. I also added more blueberries, both wild and domestic. 

The biggest change, though, has been my first attempts at raised bed gardening. Wow, a lot of work building them, digging up topsoil from the path areas to fill the beds, tilling in more animal bedding and dirt from the old chicken pen, putting down cardboard and wood chips (both scrounged free) on all the paths and getting the soakers and mulch on each bed. And WOW, how easy it is to take care of the plants once the beds are set up! I am loving it! The output has been pretty good, better than from the same amount of ground before raised beds, and I can see that in future years, it is going to save me tons of effort in the garden. 

I'm still building more beds, now moving my strawberries into raised beds with square foot spacing on the diagonal, and transplanting raspberries into raised beds, as well, from where they had been taking over the strawberries on one side and the rhubarb on the other. This isn't the greatest time of year to be transplanting anything, but the strawberries seem to be doing fine, and the raspberries that I was able to dig out with dirt around the roots are looking good. The raspberries that I bare-rooted, not so much. I'm making the raspberry patch into a raised bed without moving them, as digging down the pathways for topsoil gives me about 4" to line with boards. Just need to dig out some volunteers at the end of the row and at intervals down the row in order to make it easier to get from one side of the raspberries to the other garden areas. 

I figure by the time I'm done with the strawberries and raspberries, I will have about 4 times the strawberries ready to produce next year, and will have doubled the size of the raspberry patch, just in time for the fall berries. Yum. 

The whole garden was late this year, since we had a really cold spring. The cucumbers and squash are just now finally setting fruit, and I just picked the first handful of green beans today. On the other hand, the lettuce, peas, and broccoli have been doing very well! I'm finally starting to get a few ripe tomatoes, and I think I'll need to build frames over the tomato beds and cover them on cold nights if I'm going to get enough to can this year. 

One bonus I've noticed with the straw mulch I'm using, is that the seeds in it are sprouting. I'm going to let them grow and see what I get. I think it's oat straw, so I should get a few oats from the volunteers. If not enough to make a difference in animal feed, at least enough to make a bundle for a fair entry next year!

I'll have to figure out how to post pics so I can show y'all what I'm working on.


----------



## james_black

Im so sorry it took me so long to reply. We have been busy with a new project. Always learning.

*We let the peppers go. *
We didnt know what we were dealing with. We water them and they wilted. We let them dry a little, the same. The peppers were getting this brown, rotten looking spots. We didnt see any insects or bugs. We were able to harvest 5 of them in our first batch. They grew bigger and they started with the symptoms so we gave up. This was our first big try, so we know now what to do for next year.

Now in the other hand our tomatoes..........MAMA MIA! They look cute..


----------



## gypsysue

Awesome tomatoes, James! Makes my mouth water! Thanks for the pics!


----------



## Emerald

VERY Nice! :2thumb:I am just starting to get ripe tomatoes now! but do watched tomatoes take forever to turn color!:gaah:


----------



## gypsysue

Emerald said:


> VERY Nice! :2thumb:I am just starting to get ripe tomatoes now! but do watched tomatoes take forever to turn color!:gaah:


I thought it was just MY tomatoes that take forever to turn red! I see globes of green for weeks...


----------



## Emerald

Well I got to eat my first ripe big tomato for lunch! Sooooooo YUMMMY!
I have had a few cherry and yellow pear types ripen last week.. 
Just went out and looked at the garden to see more of my tomatoes are starting to show that nice blush of color!! Whoo HOO and the weather guy says that it is gonna be warm for at least another few weeks! I can remember having to wear winter coats to the Labor day parade before! But can also remember wanting to be nekkid at the parades as it was too hot for September!! Whoo hooo! tmi: I'm sure!)
My garden has so many nice old heirloom maters this year-- Red Opalka paste tomatoes, Purple Russian paste type tomatoes, and a new one called Speckled/striped Romans (also a paste mater! and very pretty) and one round red called Cosmonaut Volkov which is supposed to be more cold hardy but is going to be the last to turn it seems!! my bad tho, I planted it last and late!


----------



## sailaway

My gaarden is a failure this year, wife tore outside vegie garden out and indoor experimentall green house garden got to dry and died while I. Was gone. Uncle Joe was a savior, he shared some of his produce with me.


----------



## UncleJoe

gypsysue said:


> I thought it was just MY tomatoes that take forever to turn red! I see globes of green for weeks...


Same here. Just started ripe a couple weeks ago.
As soon as the lower ones started turning red, the chickens found them. Of course they couldn't peck at one or two. They had to taste every one that they could reach.


----------



## BuggingIn

Isn't that just the truth - I've never had any success with gardening and chickens, together. However, with the number of grasshoppers I'm seeing this year, I'm about to throw a sheet over the tomatoes (all still green except one plant called Red Alert), and let the girls into the garden to gorge on grasshoppers.

And why is it that the one night I leave the gate to the chicken pen open, is the one night the buck decides to get lose and wander into the pen to eat the apple trees I planted there this spring? That's the 3rd tree he's done in this year. I think I'm about ready to be done with goats!

I'm already seeing some cold weather damage to the leaves of the bush beans and the squash plants - not a true frost, but low enough temps to make the tender plants cringe. Time to get the row covers built for the new beds. I've added a few more raised beds in the last week, put down more cardboard and wood chips between, and bought 4 more bales of straw to mulch with. I have a long way to go before the garden is totally set up the way I want it, but every new bed is progress. I haven't had the kind of harvests this year that I'd like, but I have made a lot of progress toward setting up a sustainable, easy garden for the future.


----------



## UncleJoe

BuggingIn said:


> I think I'm about ready to be done with goats!


Sounds like it's time to build a nice big fire and have a goat-roast. 

Overall, this years garden has been fair. That's up a notch from last years abysmal harvest but far short of 2008's bounty. 
Between the 2 types of beans, I've canned about 50 pints and they're still going strong. Tomatoes have yeilded 7 qts of sauce so far, 9 qts of pickled beets, 2 pints of peas,  5 pints of strawberry jam, 4 qt bags of frozen broccoli, about 30# of red potatoes, 10# of Yukon Gold and enough zucchini to choke a horse.
Last week I put in the fall crop of peas, beets and potatoes. Hopefully I'll have better results than I did in the spring.


----------



## *Andi

We done alright with the summer garden ... all but the green beans. We had a little to much ... rain ... plus they were to be half runners and they were runners. The vines looked good but never made any beans ...

The two rows of bush beans I planted on the upper 10 with the field corn was looking good... till the deer found them ... :club: 

I planted some more in the fall garden ... but it is not looking good at all. I think most of them got washed away with the heavy rains we had after I planted them ... but I'll give them a little more time before I call it a season.:flower:


----------



## Genevieve

I'll be pulling most everything from my garden this morning. I may be able to save a few cabbages and a couple of the pepper plants. I'm hoping the watermelon hangs on. It's almost time to harvest them.
I'll be clearing the ground and then working in some rabbit poop and then planting some garlic and some spinach and some other greens.I'm not going to bother with any peas or such. I can't depend on rain for the forseeable future, so why waste the time, effort and seeds.
It has been a bad year for gardens unless you're set up with drip irrigations and all the other fancy stuff.
We even have orchards losing half of their crops from dropping and the fruits are smaller than normal because lack of rain.


----------



## Clarice

We cleaned out our garden this past weekend to prepare for our fall garden crops. We have fall tomatoes, purple hull peas, turnips planted so far. Our sweet & hot peppers are still producing as well as the okra. We also got started on our raised strawberry bed. My husband built it out of old light poles and we are filling it with composted soil, shredded paper, refuse from the garden and chicken litter. It is high enough so I don't have to get on the ground to pick the berries. Can't wait for spring so we can plant them.


----------



## The_Blob

has anyone tried any of the grafted plants offered in catalogues? I'm fairly certain they are one-season only & I haven't done any research into whether seeds from either will grow into their respective parental phenotypes or if they have been treated to not reproduce at all (that would suck  )

I saw one that was tomatoes on top & potatoes on the bottom, & some fruit trees that yield multiple types of fruit (which I would think would until the parent tree died)

not an ideal thing for a BOL, but hey, we're NOT _*there*_ yet!

anything?


----------



## *Andi

Well ... my garden season is now over ... I found my beans and peas, they were washed away,  ended up in the bottom field. 

So yesterday, hubby cut and disk the garden (which will be smaller next year) and put down the winter wheat.


----------



## bunkerbob

Just replanted the red and Kennebec potatoes, getting ready for a fall garden.


----------



## HarleyRider

bunkerbob said:


> Just replanted the red and Kennebec potatoes, getting ready for a fall garden.


Wish I could do that, but we don't have fall or winter down here. Our four seasons are summer, almost summer, almost spring, and almost summer.


----------



## gypsysue

Huh...and our seasons are winter, almost winter, more winter, and sick-of-winter! 

I dug our garlic today, harvested celery (which I chopped to dehydrate) and summer squash, and picked peas again. Never seen peas just keep on bearing like they have this year! We finally have green beans ready to pick, but they didn't get planted until the end of June.


----------



## horseman09

Glad your beans and peas are dong well, Gypsy.

We've canned maters and broccoli (I can never spell that!) and I just cleaned up my solar drier that we'll use for the rest of the maters. We planted 144 tomato plants, gave away bunches and have many bushells to dry into powder yet. Fortunately, the weather is very sunny this year. We also put out a little over 1/4 acre of sweet corn that is coming in now. More freezing to do, then corn parching when heating season begins.


----------



## BuggingIn

UncleJoe said:


> *Sounds like it's time to build a nice big fire and have a goat-roast.*
> 
> Overall, this years garden has been fair. That's up a notch from last years abysmal harvest but far short of 2008's bounty.
> Between the 2 types of beans, I've canned about 50 pints and they're still going strong. Tomatoes have yeilded 7 qts of sauce so far, 9 qts of pickled beets, 2 pints of peas,  5 pints of strawberry jam, 4 qt bags of frozen broccoli, about 30# of red potatoes, 10# of Yukon Gold and enough zucchini to choke a horse.
> Last week I put in the fall crop of peas, beets and potatoes. Hopefully I'll have better results than I did in the spring.


LOL, don't tempt me! Between the buck eating my trees and the horse eating my corn...:gaah:

Sounds like a decent bean harvest - I've little hope that I'll get any to can. Thank goodness I still have plenty canned from last year. I'm pretty well writing off most of this year:surrender:...focusing on building more and more raised beds and composting everything I can this year in hopes that next year will be much better. At least when I talk to all my gardening friends in the area, I realize I'm not alone. I'm not the only one with a single zucchini on their plant. It was a cold spring, dry summer, but fairly cool, and I've already had frost damage. At least the broccoli is producing...


----------

