# My Garden This Year



## Davarm

Well, my garden is almost in. I did a quick tally and it is sitting just over 3/4 of an acre. My house is sitting square in the middle of my 2 acres and I hardly have enough back yard left to to mow this summer.

My garden this year has/will have:

600 feet of Roma Green Beans
100 Tomato Plants(some heirloom)
120 feet of Zucchini Squash
40 feet Yellow Crookneck Squash
180 feet of Okra
40 Jalapino Plants
20 Banana Peppers
30 Ghost Peppers
60 Yellow Hungarian Wax Peppers(for roasted pimentos)
50 Serano Peppers(for Louisiana style hot sauce) 
500 feet Blue Corn(hominy and cornmneal)
180 feet of Purple Hull Peas(mixed into some of the corn rows)
180 feet Red potatoes
50 foot Blue Hubbard squash
50 feet Pink Banana Squash
60 Feet Black Beauty Egg Plants
60 Feet Mustard Greens(will harvest seeds for pickles)
120 feet Armenian Cucumbers
80 feet Pickling Cucumbers
60 feet Banana Cantaloupe
60 feet of Cheese Pumpkin

Individual Plots of
Leeks
Spinich
Chard
Beets(we eat the beats and beet greens)
Romaine Lettuce
Radishes
Turnips
Chamomile(Roman and German)
Basil(fresh leaves also makes a decent tea)
Summer Savory
Fennel 
Dill
Fennel/Dill Hybrid(my own creaion makes interesting dill pickles)
3 foot long Japanese Green Beans
Horehound
Mints(lemon balm, spearmint, peppermint and orange mint)
Borage 

The borage plant contains potassium and sodium nitrate which can be seen "sparkleing" when the dried plant burns. The nitrates can act as Vasodilators so they should be usable for treatment of high blood pressure and Angina, am going to check it out for both this summer.


I also have peach trees with thumbnail sized peaches, plum trees with dime sized fruit, and pears which are still recovering from last years episode of herbicide drift but they may make something, dont know yet.

My wild grapes vines are loaded with small clusters of grapes, looks like a good year and my wild plums have small fruit already also.

I am moving my Fig trees(9) this year so I dont know if they will produce after he move but time will tell. 

Most of my wild medicinals are up and thriving. If we dont have any hail and have at least moderate rain this summer, I should just about max out my storage space unless I can get the pantry out building done.

Am hoping for a good year this year.


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## lilmissy0740

Wow, you have been busy. I hope all produces well for you. We are suppose to get a freeze tonight. To early here to plant the warm weather crops just yet. I do have onions and such in and they are coming along nicely.
Are you canning, freezing and drying all your produce?


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## Davarm

Our last frost was in early February, I started planing then and all spring stuff in and its all going well. 

I started on the summer stuff shortly after that and we had a spell of heavy rain and low 40 temps that lasted about 10 days to 2 weeks and most of it got either washed or drowned out so had to replant most of it.

Its supposed to rain again today or tomorrow, just hope it is not a repeat.


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## Kellog

Wow Davarm! That truly is a Texas sized garden! :2thumb: 
I have a question: What are Ghost Peppers? That's a new variety to me...are they hot or sweet? 
Also have you ever grown tomatillos? I have one plant this year to try...it's got blooms already but seems a bit scraggly even though it gets plenty of sun...maybe that's just the nature of the plant. 
Good luck with your garden...sure hope we don't repeat the drought this year.


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## Clarice

Well guys at this time it looks as if we won't have a garden this year. DH just got out of the hospital after a 11 day stay. He has kidney failure. Seems the the bladder is completely blocked by scare tissue from his bladder cancer in '09. Please pray for him. We still have a long way to go. I can not run the tiller, but maybe I can find someone that will get the garden spot ready enough so I can plant a few things. Right now my total focus is on him and getting him better. Good thing we have so much food put back. This is what stocking up is all about. Neither of us has worked in 2 weeks so things will be tight. Again we need your prayers.


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## md1911

Clarice said:


> Well guys at this time it looks as if we won't have a garden this year. DH just got out of the hospital after a 11 day stay. He has kidney failure. Seems the the bladder is completely blocked by scare tissue from his bladder cancer in '09. Please pray for him. We still have a long way to go. I can not run the tiller, but maybe I can find someone that will get the garden spot ready enough so I can plant a few things. Right now my total focus is on him and getting him better. Good thing we have so much food put back. This is what stocking up is all about. Neither of us has worked in 2 weeks so things will be tight. Again we need your prayers.


Hope he gets better


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## mdprepper

Clarice said:


> Well guys at this time it looks as if we won't have a garden this year. DH just got out of the hospital after a 11 day stay. He has kidney failure. Seems the the bladder is completely blocked by scare tissue from his bladder cancer in '09. Please pray for him. We still have a long way to go. I can not run the tiller, but maybe I can find someone that will get the garden spot ready enough so I can plant a few things. Right now my total focus is on him and getting him better. Good thing we have so much food put back. This is what stocking up is all about. Neither of us has worked in 2 weeks so things will be tight. Again we need your prayers.


I am so sorry to hear your Husband is sick. I will certainly keep ya'll in my thoughts and prayers.


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## Kellog

Best wishes to you and your husband, Clarice, I hope all will be well. We'll all be thinking of you. Please keep us posted.


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## Davarm

Clarice said:


> Well guys at this time it looks as if we won't have a garden this year. DH just got out of the hospital after a 11 day stay. He has kidney failure. Seems the the bladder is completely blocked by scare tissue from his bladder cancer in '09. Please pray for him. We still have a long way to go. I can not run the tiller, but maybe I can find someone that will get the garden spot ready enough so I can plant a few things. Right now my total focus is on him and getting him better. Good thing we have so much food put back. This is what stocking up is all about. Neither of us has worked in 2 weeks so things will be tight. Again we need your prayers.


So sorry to hear about the Hubby, may be a good idea to skip the garden for this year and get him up and going again. Will keep both of you in the thoughts and prayers.


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## Davarm

Kellog said:


> Wow Davarm! That truly is a Texas sized garden! :2thumb:
> I have a question: What are Ghost Peppers? That's a new variety to me...are they hot or sweet?
> Also have you ever grown tomatillos? I have one plant this year to try...it's got blooms already but seems a bit scraggly even though it gets plenty of sun...maybe that's just the nature of the plant.
> Good luck with your garden...sure hope we don't repeat the drought this year.


Ghost peppers(Bhut Jolokia) are a pepper hat was developed in India, they are 4 times hotter than a habanero, and are the hottest pepper ever(up to this time) developed. My oldest daughter said they are bad "JU-JU" and if you dont wear rubber gloves when handling the seeds, you "WILL" regret it.

We do occasionally eat tomatillos but have never grown them, may give it a try in the future though.


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## LilRedHen

Tell me more about the 3 foot long Japanese green beans. I planted some 3 foot long green beans last year and only had 4 plants to come up. I put some concrete wire cages around them so they would run. The cages are 5' tall and the beans ran all the way up and all the way back down. I saved the seed so that I could try for more this year. I gave my dd a few and she said they were delicious. The bean seed that I saved are small and red. Do you think it is the same thing that you have? Have you grown them before? What do you stick them with?


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## Kellog

Davarm said:


> Ghost peppers(Bhut Jolokia) are a pepper hat was developed in India, they are 4 times hotter than a habanero, and are the hottest pepper ever(up to this time) developed.


Ah, I get it...hot enough to make ya go up in smoke. Maybe the DH might like 'em but I think I'll pass.... Thanks for the info! I'll let ya know how the tomatillos do.


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## Davarm

LilRedHen said:


> Tell me more about the 3 foot long Japanese green beans. I planted some 3 foot long green beans last year and only had 4 plants to come up. I put some concrete wire cages around them so they would run. The cages are 5' tall and the beans ran all the way up and all the way back down. I saved the seed so that I could try for more this year. I gave my dd a few and she said they were delicious. The bean seed that I saved are small and red. Do you think it is the same thing that you have? Have you grown them before? What do you stick them with?


Last year I bought the seeds(they were kind of rust colored and mottled with a lighter color) and gave some to my dad, he grew them and they did get close to 3 feet long. He didn't eat them but saved them for seed.

I had a local feed store drift herbicide over my garden last year, almost killed everything. I had not yet planted the beans so I saved them for this year. Thats about all I know about them right now.


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## Davarm

Kellog said:


> Ah, I get it...hot enough to make ya go up in smoke. Maybe the DH might like 'em but I think I'll pass.... Thanks for the info! I'll let ya know how the tomatillos do.


The owner, and a friend(I call him Apu-from the Simpsons) of a local eatery and gas station here is from India and I told him that I had the pepper seeds, he told me that I was not man enough to eat them and I suspect that he may just be right. Am growing them anyway, I figure, if for nothing else, I may be able to pull a good one off on my little brother. He says he has never found a pepper he cant eat.

I'll guarantee ya he takes an ice cube with him to the can after he eats one, If he can eat it. I'm guessing that 1,000,000+ Scoville Units of "Hot" will make him scream "Uncle".


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## gypsysue

Well, I've been so enthused watching all of you start your gardens, I couldn't wait. I decided to start today, since it's now April.

First, I planted Snow Peas...










Then some winter squash...










And to make sure you all "Forget me not"...










Finally, a picture of my garden. This really is today, April 1st, no joke. It's normal here. You can see fruit trees to the left, leafless. We till and plant the parts around those stumps we couldn't pull. Best we could do. You should have seen all the trees and rocks we had to clear to start this garden, 8 years ago. If you look close you can see the tall fence we have around the garden. It's to keep out deer, moose, and bears. I'm standing in about the middle to take this picture. Huge patches of raspberries, strawberries, and asparagus are sleeping behind me, in the snow.










It's nice to see our snow melting so early this year. A month ago you couldn't see those stumps, the snow was so deep. It's not usually this far melted until Mid-April.


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## Kellog

Love it, GypsySue! Now I know why the snow peas didn't do well this year...we didn't have any snow!

Hang in there...spring will come eventually.


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## neldarez

great post gypsy.....our snow has now melted and I can see my garden spot, you have more snow that we did, that's obvious!! loved the pics and your sense of humor...:congrat:


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## gypsysue

While the pictures really were taken today, I swear it, but obviously I was April Fooling about planting in the snow!  I should have laid a few peas in the row I hoed in the snow, to be more realistic! 

I shoveled the snow off an area where I want to transplant some blackberries to, so the ground will thaw faster. I'm going to start some plants inside this week, so at least I'll get to play in the dirt a little bit!


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## neldarez

I've been searching the net looking for strong economical tomato cages to make. The store bought ones are destroyed every year cuz the plants get so large, then I pound fence posts in the start tying them up. Then of course, the branches break under the weight of the maters where they're tied! There has to be an answer......we picked up some concrete mesh and DH is going to make a few out of that, but it looks like a big job. Anyone have any great ideas? I did check out the indestructible pvc one that is online, pretty cool actually.......There still must be something rather simple and tough to make...ideas??


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## Davarm

gypsysue said:


> While the pictures really were taken today, I swear it, obviously I was April Fooling about planting in the snow!  I should have laid a few peas in the row I hoed in the snow, to be more realistic!
> 
> I shoveled the snow off an area where I want to transplant some blackberries to, so the ground will thaw faster. I'm going to start some plants inside this week, so at least I'll get to play in the dirt a little bit!


Daing Sue, You had me scratching my head with the Snow Peas, I have never grown them, dont know anything bout them. I was guessing that was why they were called Snow Peas....Then I remembered the date.:congrat:

I had my garden on my mind, was in it most of the day. When I get focused like that I tend to get tunnel vision and sometimes am not the "Sharpest Knife In The Lamp":nuts:.......I Owe You One!


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## Davarm

neldarez said:


> I've been searching the net looking for strong economical tomato cages to make. The store bought ones are destroyed every year cuz the plants get so large, then I pound fence posts in the start tying them up. Then of course, the branches break under the weight of the maters where they're tied! There has to be an answer......we picked up some concrete mesh and DH is going to make a few out of that, but it looks like a big job. Anyone have any great ideas? I did check out the indestructible pvc one that is online, pretty cool actually.......There still must be something rather simple and tough to make...ideas??


Ms. Nelda
I just went to Tractor Supply and got a roll of good quality fence wire and make my own. This will be the 4th year I am using them(maybe the last for a few). Sometimes I have to get 4 or 5 foot stakes and drive into the ground to tie the branches up to when they get loaded down.

My dad had some of the concrete mesh and bent it into a half circle and put it over the plants. They grew up through it, that did not "Hoop Them Up" but it kept the tomatoes off the ground, he liked it and has kept doing it. Let us know how your mesh works.


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## Possumfam

Oh, Clarice, so sorry about your hubby. Yes, this is why we put stuff back. Hope someone comes through for your garden. I just went through Arkansas, coming from KS to Ft. Smith, Little Rock, Pine Bluff, then took 65 to 20. Sometimes, I wish we knew each other on the forum better, so we could stop in and check on each other, maybe lend a helping hand. 



We didn't get any snow, but we got the snow peas! Gotta pick them again this morning. Most of the winter stuff has all been harvested or is going to seed. We've got tomatoes, peppers, cukes, onions, garlic, corn, potatoes, radishes, lettuce, green beans, peas & snow peas, okra, a second round of carrots (hopefully it won't get too hot before they're ready), chard, mustards, collards, cabbage (needs to be harvested) and watermelon. The fruit trees are ahead of schedule - need to plant more, though. Would like grapes, bananas, and a few citrus trees.


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## gypsysue

Davarm said:


> I had my garden on my mind, was in it most of the day. When I get focused like that I tend to get tunnel vision *...and that ghostly feeling you get, like someone is watching you, that's me thinking about how nice it would be to be there in the garden, helping!
> 
> ...and regarding this below: :lolsmash:  *
> 
> and sometimes am not the "Sharpest Knife In The Lamp":nuts:.......I Owe You One!


My reply is in the bold, with your quote! It won't let me post unless I put a minimum number of characters here below the quote... la da da di da da dum...wonder if this is enough?


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## LilRedHen

neldarez said:


> I've been searching the net looking for strong economical tomato cages to make. The store bought ones are destroyed every year cuz the plants get so large, then I pound fence posts in the start tying them up. Then of course, the branches break under the weight of the maters where they're tied! There has to be an answer......we picked up some concrete mesh and DH is going to make a few out of that, but it looks like a big job. Anyone have any great ideas? I did check out the indestructible pvc one that is online, pretty cool actually.......There still must be something rather simple and tough to make...ideas??


The concrete wire makes wonderful cages. I have several that I've been using for 7 or 8 years. The Rooster supervised my making them and I'm not very strong, but I did it. We used bolt cutters to cut the wire, with one side close to a vertical wire and the other side with loose wires. We did all the cutting and then took a very hefty set of wirepliers and bent the wires, then curled up the other side and hooked the wires and bent them in to close. I still have to use fence posts to steady the cages, as they will blow over with some of the wind we get here and my garden is on a gentle slope. Storage is somewhat of a problem, but they will last for years and years. Well worth the time and effort to make them.


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## Davarm

gypsysue said:


> My reply is in the bold, with your quote! It won't let me post unless I put a minimum number of characters here below the quote... la da da di da da dum...wonder if this is enough?


Thats you? What a relief....I thought it was the aliens, drones and black aircraft! I guess I can throw those pills away that the "Doctor" gave me!


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## Davarm

Hey, I have tomatoes! was in the garden and I saw a bunch about the size of my thumbnail. I counted today, I have 112 tomato plants...If we have even a moderate year I just may get my 200 quarts.

My peach trees are finally taking off, some of them have so much fruit that the limbs are breaking. Some of the peaches are about the size of a tablespoon.

My plumb trees have a good stand of fruit also, about 2x the size of my thumbnail. May not have to go out and pick wild plums to make my preserves this year.


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## timmie

we have onions and garlic everywhere . i have never had such a good stand. tomatoes,peas,and corn are also looking awesome. i too have about 125 tomatoes and so far haven't lost any plants . i really hope and pray this is a good year,because i'm just not sure what the future holds. happy easter and happy gardening to all.


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## Immolatus

Damn you guys!
Its supposed to be in the 30's nightly for a week, still too afraid to put anything in the ground, cept bush beans which I planted today.
I decided to go with the bushes because I can put them outsidethe garden proper. I cleared some more space here and there to put more plants in, unbeknownst to the lady...:sssh:
I did at least plant some more stuff, just gonna keep it inside for the time being.
Carrots, rep peppers, broccoli, yello maters and beans just in case the ones outside dont grow. It says they can stand the cold, we'll see.
Still cant tell if I have tobacco goin or not, somethings growing but it may be clovers, but at least one tiny separate pot (that shouldnt have had any weed seeds in it has something, but they all look the same.
I did notice that one (the only one that lived) of GypsySues berry bushes is not only alive, but is about a foot tall and split off two more plants already!


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## LilRedHen

Davarm said:


> Hey, I have tomatoes! was in the garden and I saw a bunch about the size of my thumbnail. I counted today, I have 112 tomato plants...If we have even a moderate year I just may get my 200 quarts.


I got my garden seeds in the ground yesterday, but since frost is forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday night, I was afraid to set anything out. It wasn't the right time of the moon to plant, but DH insisted and DD and her fiance came home to help, so I just shut my mouth. I found some rhubard plants at TSC this week and got them in the ground. I didn't get a good stand of beets this year, but I think they will be OK. Out of 9 cabbage plants, 5 are still living after 2 weeks. I have tiny tomato plants up in milk jugs, but didn't use enough seeds. I may try again tomorrow. I should have already started peppers, but haven't had time yet.


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## Davarm

LilRedHen said:


> I got my garden seeds in the ground yesterday, but since frost is forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday night, I was afraid to set anything out. It wasn't the right time of the moon to plant, but DH insisted and DD and her fiance came home to help, so I just shut my mouth. I found some rhubard plants at TSC this week and got them in the ground. I didn't get a good stand of beets this year, but I think they will be OK. Out of 9 cabbage plants, 5 are still living after 2 weeks. I have tiny tomato plants up in milk jugs, but didn't use enough seeds. I may try again tomorrow. I should have already started peppers, but haven't had time yet.


Darn, Ms LilRedHen, Frost? We have been in the 90's here, I have a BAD feeling its going to be another Long Hot Summer again here this year.

I sometimes wish that I could stop the clock just to get caught up with things. I am only 52 but it seems like each year that goes by, time speeds up and I slow down.


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## gypsysue

18 degrees yesterday morning, 22 this morning. Afternoons have been in the 50's, and best of all, the SNOW has finally melted on my garden!!! Now the ground can start thawing! 

The buds on my apple and cherry trees are swelling, but the leaves won't actually open until the end of May.

I might get chancy and put some plants out in the wall-o-waters and cloches soon, see if I can jump-start the season.

All you Texas and other southern people have to work sooooo many more months in the garden, and I guess at least an 8-month winter gives me a long break from it! Now, that's trying to look on the bright side! 

Heck, we won't even have to mow until the first part of June! Nyah, nyah, nyah! :lolsmash:


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## Davarm

gypsysue said:


> 18 degrees yesterday morning, 22 this morning. Afternoons have been in the 50's, and best of all, the SNOW has finally melted on my garden!!! Now the ground can start thawing!
> 
> The buds on my apple and cherry trees are swelling, but the leaves won't actually open until the end of May.
> 
> I might get chancy and put some plants out in the wall-o-waters and cloches soon, see if I can jump-start the season.
> 
> All you Texas and other southern people have to work sooooo many more months in the garden, and I guess at least an 8-month winter gives me a long break from it! Now, that's trying to look on the bright side!
> 
> Heck, we won't even have to mow until the first part of June! Nyah, nyah, nyah! :lolsmash:


Daing Sue, I dont know whether to feel sorry for you for that short 4 month summer or envy you because the cool weather and not having to mow for another month or two.

I almost have my compost piles for next year made from grass clippings already. Then theirs the month or six weeks in the heat of the summer that I will have to work just to keep the garden alive until it starts producing again when it cools down in the fall.

Ok, with that "Nyah Nyah" stuff, I gonna be swimming in he river soon!:congrat:

I guess up where you are you could chop a hole in the ice.........

On the serious side, must be nice to be able to grow apples and cherries, the weather down here is just to hot for them to produce but Pears, peaches and plums grow and produce quite well though.

Just think warm thoughts and maybe the garden will thaw a little faster:congrat:


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## gypsysue

Davarm said:


> Ok, with that "Nyah Nyah" stuff, I gonna be swimming in he river soon!:congrat:
> 
> I guess up where you are you could chop a hole in the ice.........


The ice isn't even out on our lake yet! It's pretty rotted, though, so I wouldn't walk on it. When it goes out, it breaks up, turns to slush, and it's gone in just a couple days!

We oughta swap some apples and cherries for those peaches and pears! Most nut trees won't even grow here.

I found a nice bathtub at the dump, and I think I'll set it in the garden and put about half a foot of dirt in it. Then I'll lay a window over it and let it warm up for a day or so, then plant something in it. I wonder if I should bank dirt around the outside to keep it warmer?


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## Davarm

gypsysue said:


> The ice isn't even out on our lake yet! It's pretty rotted, though, so I wouldn't walk on it. When it goes out, it breaks up, turns to slush, and it's gone in just a couple days!
> 
> We oughta swap some apples and cherries for those peaches and pears! Most nut trees won't even grow here.
> 
> I found a nice bathtub at the dump, and I think I'll set it in the garden and put about half a foot of dirt in it. Then I'll lay a window over it and let it warm up for a day or so, then plant something in it. I wonder if I should bank dirt around the outside to keep it warmer?


Some people around here have old style iron bathtubs(the kind with the feet) in their front yards, they fill them with well water and lay in them and sip brew when the summer days are hot. Thats one of those "Only In Texas Thangs".

The tub may work good for a cold frame, definitely bank it with dirt.

With the fruit trees, around here where the old homes once stood, you can find fruit trees that have "gone native", many of them produce good fruit. I have no idea how long pear trees live but you can see them in the middle of fields where houses used to be 40 or 50 years ago. There are about 7 or 8 in the field across from our house. Their were a few more last year but a small plane crashed there just before Christmas and took out a few of them.

My peach trees are loaded with fruit this year, unless it hails before they get ripe, we will have quite a few. Last year there were so many grasshoppers, when they ran out of green stuff, they ate the fruit right off of the seeds and left seeds hanging all over the trees. Thats not a joke!

I took a picture of one of the "Anti-Critter Devices" in the garden, the animals come within sensor range and they get a blast of light and I sometimes plug a radio into the plugs and they get a dose of "Coast to Coast" along with it. Works pretty good.

The last picture is of the plots that run the width of the property, Summer Savory, Spinach, Beets, Chard, Basil.... The big plots where I have the tomatoes, okra, green beans, squash, cucumbers...... are to the left and go back to the horse pasture about 30 -40 yards back.

I think this is going to be a good garden Ms Sue.


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## lazydaisy67

My garden this year....isn't going to happen. I give up. I quit. I have punched my time card for the last time. I have come to the conclusion that gardening serves no purpose put to piss me off and make me look bad. Not gonna do it.


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## mdprepper

lazydaisy67 said:


> My garden this year....isn't going to happen. I give up. I quit. I have punched my time card for the last time. I have come to the conclusion that gardening serves no purpose put to piss me off and make me look bad. Not gonna do it.


:gaah::gaah: Don't give up!!! Think of it as a learning experience . Perhaps each year has taught you something NOT to do? I have managed to kill most things in my garden, except the weeds, but I press on and kill a new batch of something every year. We are all here to support you through it. I shall share in your misery every step of the way as I watch my beautiful little seedlings die a slow and painful death   Give it another try!!!:kiss:


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## Davarm

lazydaisy67 said:


> My garden this year....isn't going to happen. I give up. I quit. I have punched my time card for the last time. I have come to the conclusion that gardening serves no purpose put to piss me off and make me look bad. Not gonna do it.


Hey Daisy, care to give some particulars? Their are a lot of people here(me included) that will "jump through some hoops" help.

Everyone has problems with their green thumb, my latest was spending BUCKS on seeds for mint and not a thing sprouted, finally had to bite my pride and go to Home Depot and buy flats of seedlings. Mint grows like a weed and I couldnt make it happen.

Give us a run down on what is happening and give us a chance to help before you make that decision.


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## neldarez

Davarm said:


> Some people around here have old style iron bathtubs(the kind with the feet) in their front yards, they fill them with well water and lay in them and sip brew when the summer days are hot. Thats one of those "Only In Texas Thangs".
> 
> The tub may work good for a cold frame, definitely bank it with dirt.
> 
> With the fruit trees, around here where the old homes once stood, you can find fruit trees that have "gone native", many of them produce good fruit. I have no idea how long pear trees live but you can see them in the middle of fields where houses used to be 40 or 50 years ago. There are about 7 or 8 in the field across from our house. Their were a few more last year but a small plane crashed there just before Christmas and took out a few of them.
> 
> My peach trees are loaded with fruit this year, unless it hails before they get ripe, we will have quite a few. Last year there were so many grasshoppers, when they ran out of green stuff, they ate the fruit right off of the seeds and left seeds hanging all over the trees. Thats not a joke!
> 
> I took a picture of one of the "Anti-Critter Devices" in the garden, the animals come within sensor range and they get a blast of light and I sometimes plug a radio into the plugs and they get a dose of "Coast to Coast" along with it. Works pretty good.
> 
> The last picture is of the plots that run the width of the property, Summer Savory, Spinach, Beets, Chard, Basil.... The big plots where I have the tomatoes, okra, green beans, squash, cucumbers...... are to the left and go back to the horse pasture about 30 -40 yards back.
> 
> I think this is going to be a good garden Ms Sue.


I hadn't seen you on here for a few days and was starting to worry about you. You've probably been busy, ( as I can see). I really like your layouts, my garden just goes rows across a long narrow strip we have tilled. We are going to put in a totally different spot this year also, I want to grow dry beans for the 1st time. I'll put pix on later, it's pretty cold outside right now. Glad you're ok.


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## neldarez

lazydaisy67 said:


> My garden this year....isn't going to happen. I give up. I quit. I have punched my time card for the last time. I have come to the conclusion that gardening serves no purpose put to piss me off and make me look bad. Not gonna do it.


Daisy, don't give up............what's going on? The only reason I can see to give up on a garden is if you can't get out to tend it or you hate fresh veggies! lol, seriously Daisy, what's up, how can we help ya? You can come to my house and play in the dirt with me!!


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## Immolatus

Yeah Daisy dont give up! I know nothing but I'll help!

Dave, my whole 'garden' if it even deserves to be called that in light of yours is about the size of one of your individual plots.


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## neldarez

gypsysue said:


> The ice isn't even out on our lake yet! It's pretty rotted, though, so I wouldn't walk on it. When it goes out, it breaks up, turns to slush, and it's gone in just a couple days!
> 
> We oughta swap some apples and cherries for those peaches and pears! Most nut trees won't even grow here.
> 
> I found a nice bathtub at the dump, and I think I'll set it in the garden and put about half a foot of dirt in it. Then I'll lay a window over it and let it warm up for a day or so, then plant something in it. I wonder if I should bank dirt around the outside to keep it warmer?


I understand where you're coming from Gypsy....dh went fishing today because the lake had thawed enough around the edges!! It was 52 here today and is suppose to be 70 here on sunday, then back down. We'll have our spring yet, just a bit later. who knows, maybe our plants are tougher cuz they have to endure more cold weather!! it's a thought!:dunno:


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## Davarm

neldarez said:


> I hadn't seen you on here for a few days and was starting to worry about you. You've probably been busy, ( as I can see). I really like your layouts, my garden just goes rows across a long narrow strip we have tilled. We are going to put in a totally different spot this year also, I want to grow dry beans for the 1st time. I'll put pix on later, it's pretty cold outside right now. Glad you're ok.


Yea, Ms Nelda, have been in the garden, I have quite a few new plots this year and they are growing pure weeds. That usually happens the first year you till and plant a plot here.

I also use a lot of partly composted grass clippings, many of the weed seeds survive. I use it partly composted 1. because it breaks up the clay better and 2. because I generally need it before it can finish.

It took me all day to weed my 2nd dill plot, its about 25 feet by 3 feet - first year plot. We use quite a bit of dill, we dry the open flowers(intense dill flavor) it goes good in yogurt poured over cucumbers(we eat a lot of them also). Who could make pickles without bunches of dill? I usually make 50 to 60 quarts per year.

Anyway, I am alive and well....appreciate your concern. Speaking of concern, how is your hand doing? I haven't been spending nearly as much time reading posts as I have in the past so If you posted updates guess I have missed them.



Immolatus said:


> Dave, my whole 'garden' if it even deserves to be called that in light of yours is about the size of one of your individual plots.


When I moved here about 10 years ago I started with one of the back plots(not shown in the above pics), the next year-tilled up one more and so on and so on......

I have 1 acre from the house back to the end of the property and I hardly have a back yard left, what was I thinking:nuts:. When I get some new seeds, there goes another piece of what back yard I have left.....

My goal is to produce all the vegetables we need for the year. I am about 1/2 way there but the last half is gonna be hard, my garden doesn't like potatoes and we do.

Dont go comparing your garden to anyone elses, judge it based on your own needs, time and space available. I keep comparing my garden to the ones we had when I was a kid and its sometimes very discouraging.

The important thing is that you have a garden.:2thumb:


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## neldarez

Thanks for asking Dave....cast comes off next Friday, week from tomorrow. Will be the happiest day of my life......at least recently!! So much work to do and it's not being done, I totally stress myself out! They say hand will still be worthless for awhile but I say:: NO WAY! I might not be texan but I guarantee that a homegrown country girl from Wa. state can be very stubborn also!  I grew my 1st dill last year, didn't really know what to do with it so I gave it away...teehee, I'll have to do a little learning on that part. I have eggs in the dryer as we speak, it is very touchy trying to get them thin enough to dry everywhere. I've been taking the edges off the letting the center keep on drying. I put 1 tbs.egg to 2 tbs water, stirred and scrambled. They were delicious, tasted exactly like fresh scrambled eggs. How very cool is that!!:congrat:


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## Davarm

neldarez said:


> Thanks for asking Dave....cast comes off next Friday, week from tomorrow. Will be the happiest day of my life......at least recently!! So much work to do and it's not being done, I totally stress myself out! They say hand will still be worthless for awhile but I say:: NO WAY! I might not be texan but I guarantee that a homegrown country girl from Wa. state can be very stubborn also!  I grew my 1st dill last year, didn't really know what to do with it so I gave it away...teehee, I'll have to do a little learning on that part. I have eggs in the dryer as we speak, it is very touchy trying to get them thin enough to dry everywhere. I've been taking the edges off the letting the center keep on drying. I put 1 tbs.egg to 2 tbs water, stirred and scrambled. They were delicious, tasted exactly like fresh scrambled eggs. How very cool is that!!:congrat:


Ms Nelda, Texans dont have a monopoly on determination, take it slow though, you dont want to tear or damage anything and drag the recovery out twice as long. What ever needs to be done will still be there tomorrow, if not, maybe it didn't need to be done after all. Roll with the flow and let yourself heal, take a break.

The first time I dehydrated eggs, I cooked them up immediately after. The girls kinda looked at me like "you want me to eat what?", they liked them, just like you said they were just like fresh. The oldest DD looked at me and said "Dad, thats just not right", dried eggs tasting like fresh. Do you know how many grade a large will fit in a 5 gallon bucket? I do!:congrat: I tend to go overboard on things at times.

With the dill, YOU GAVE IT AWAY? Try putting some of it in those dried eggs and scramble them up, tastes great. It goes well in yogurt or sour cream then put on your favorite vegetables, especially cucumbers and tomatoes. Then their are the pickles, you can never put too much in pickles, even sweet pickles work well with dill.(I just went and opened a quart jar of sweet pickles and sat back down with it, the talking made me hungry for hem):2thumb: Now thats a supper, sweet pickles and ice tea!

Glad to hear your hand is coming along well and take it easy on the rehab.


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## Possumfam

Davarm said:


> When I moved here about 10 years ago I started with one of the back plots(not shown in the above pics), the next year-tilled up one more and so on and so on......
> 
> I have 1 acre from the house back to the end of the property and I hardly have a back yard left, what was I thinking


DH is guilty of this very thing.  Every year the garden grows, before long we won't have any "yard" either. Hope Daisy hangs in there - it really is worth it. The other day we had stir fry and almost everything was from the garden - cabbage, carrots, green beans, snow peas, onion, garlic, broccoli, and the meat was from a wild hog. I used purchased celery and bell pepper - it's very satisifying to see that you can provide for yourself.


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## Davarm

Possumfam said:


> DH is guilty of this very thing.  Every year the garden grows, before long we won't have any "yard" either. Hope Daisy hangs in there - it really is worth it. The other day we had stir fry and almost everything was from the garden - cabbage, carrots, green beans, snow peas, onion, garlic, broccoli, and the meat was from a wild hog. I used purchased celery and bell pepper - it's very satisifying to see that you can provide for yourself.


When I was a teenager, our garden fed us most of the year, I say garden.....we had numerous gardens, anywhere my dad could find a person willing to rent a spot. We had a family of 6 and we ate well.

It is my goal to do that here and now. Its a real challenge here, the ground is not that fertile and most of the hay/straw/manure is contaminated with herbicides so you cant rely on it to build the soil.

But.....rewarding it is, even whey you go from 2 acres of yard to 2 acres of garden, not there yet but give me another year or two....


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## pixieduster

Started collecting old wood pallets. Stapled that landscape fabric on the bottom. Dropped the pallets down where I wanted and filled with dirt/compost. Instant new garden area! Was tired of digging up sod and having weeds grow through, etc. Easiest for me so far. Not that my hubby likes it but he's getting use to it. Ha!


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## Possumfam

Yep, pixieduster, we've got a few of those, too. Just started w/ those this past fall, as an experiment. I still love the old fashioned way - straight in the ground.


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## Davarm

I was in the garden most of the day today, It was about 60 degrees with wind gusts up to 30+mph, thought all the peaches would blow off the trees but they held fast.

I picked right at 16 pounds of spinach(only got about 2/3 of it - gonna finish it up tomorrow), I have 2 plots of it and those plots have been heavily composted for the last several years so the spinach leaves were big and deep, deep green. The grandson came out and sat down beside me and started eating, that kid must have eaten 1/2 a pound of the stuff before he lost interest and moved on singing "Popeye The Sailor Man". I cracked up laughing.

The dehydrators gonna be full tonight.


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## neldarez

Davarm said:


> Hey, I have tomatoes! was in the garden and I saw a bunch about the size of my thumbnail. I counted today, I have 112 tomato plants...If we have even a moderate year I just may get my 200 quarts.
> 
> My peach trees are finally taking off, some of them have so much fruit that the limbs are breaking. Some of the peaches are about the size of a tablespoon.
> 
> My plumb trees have a good stand of fruit also, about 2x the size of my thumbnail. May not have to go out and pick wild plums to make my preserves this year.


Davarm, even for you 112 tomato plants sounds like a lot, are these mostly romas? Canning, salsa, sauces? I only had 18 romas in last year and everyone thought I was losing it! There were sure glad when we made tons of salsa though. but, 112??


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## neldarez

Davarm said:


> Ms Nelda, Texans dont have a monopoly on determination, take it slow though, you dont want to tear or damage anything and drag the recovery out twice as long. What ever needs to be done will still be there tomorrow, if not, maybe it didn't need to be done after all. Roll with the flow and let yourself heal, take a break.
> 
> The first time I dehydrated eggs, I cooked them up immediately after. The girls kinda looked at me like "you want me to eat what?", they liked them, just like you said they were just like fresh. The oldest DD looked at me and said "Dad, thats just not right", dried eggs tasting like fresh. Do you know how many grade a large will fit in a 5 gallon bucket? I do!:congrat: I tend to go overboard on things at times.
> 
> With the dill, YOU GAVE IT AWAY? Try putting some of it in those dried eggs and scramble them up, tastes great. It goes well in yogurt or sour cream then put on your favorite vegetables, especially cucumbers and tomatoes. Then their are the pickles, you can never put too much in pickles, even sweet pickles work well with dill.(I just went and opened a quart jar of sweet pickles and sat back down with it, the talking made me hungry for hem):2thumb: Now thats a supper, sweet pickles and ice tea!
> 
> Glad to hear your hand is coming along well and take it easy on the rehab.


What you said about taking it slow is of course the right thing to do, no, I don't want to mess it up any further. I just get to a point where I need to throw a tantrum and have a pity party for a bit. Then I snap out of this self made depression and thank God for all that I have and that I have a surgeon who knew what to do and some insurance to help along the way. I have 2 hands, only one is on vacation right now, I'm a very very blessed woman who periodically needs an attitude adjustment!!! :gaah: I'll be healed in plenty of time to get my gardens in order, started planting in little peat pots today....One more week, I can do anything One more week...lol I hope. ok, I'm fixed now....I don't drink beer but heck..:beercheer: p.s. I think drying the eggs is about the messiest thing I've every dried. It seems to end up everywhere. I have all the racks soaking in the tub right now. I also think I have much better luck with the parchment paper instead of the plastic sheets you can buy. I seem to get it thinner on the paper.........


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## Davarm

neldarez said:


> Davarm, even for you 112 tomato plants sounds like a lot, are these mostly romas? Canning, salsa, sauces? I only had 18 romas in last year and everyone thought I was losing it! There were sure glad when we made tons of salsa though. but, 112??


Ms Nelda, 112 is quite a few, but, believe me they will not go to waste! I was weeding my 2nd dill plot and found quite a few tomatoes mixed in with it, guess the feed store got them mixed in. I dug up 20 more and put them in flats and am going to plant them too if I can find space. Dont know what kind they are but I guess I will see around the 4th of July or maybe sooner. I only have 1 row of Roma's(about 25 plants), the oldest DD really wanted them so I made her happy.

We do make a lot of salsa in the summers, also a lot of Pico de Guillo and usually eat it as a salad. Then their is juice, tomato and cucumber salad and then we have the grandson, he grazes alot. This will be the third year he will be picking tomatoes, you always know when he has been in the garden, you see a lot of half eaten ones laying on the ground. Gotta love that kid. If we have Tomatoes, Basil, Beans and Pasta, and Olive Oil we will never go hungry. Throw a few Zucchini in with it and you can eat like a Prince and with a few Egg Plants, you eat like a King.

What is left gets canned, Everything is better with tomatoes. This year we are going to try making "Tomato Sauce", have never made it before but we tend to use quite alot of it when we are out of our canned ones.

This year I will shoot for 200 quarts(tomatoes not sauce), if we dont get that I will feel like I did something wrong.


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## Davarm

I guess summer is here this year, yesteday I did a close picking of my first chard patch and noticed some of he leaves have been "munched on". While I was digging around to find the culprits I noticed a fine crop of new baby grasshoppers so it is now the race to get all I can before they get too numerous and get all they can.

Last years grasshoppers were the worst I have ever seen around here, they ate the bark off my trees and ate the fruit completely off my peaches and left the seeds still hanging on the trees. I can only imagine what a locust plague must have been like when they came through an area.


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## UncleJoe

Davarm said:


> While I was digging around to find the culprits I noticed a fine crop of new baby grasshoppers so it is now the race to get all I can before they get too numerous and get all they can.


Grasshoppers are a chickens candy.


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## Davarm

I'm going to build a coop and after I get my water tanks and rain gutters installed and finished up. The only possible issue I can think of is that if I remember right, chickens also love tomatoes. When I was a kid we always had to keep them out of the garden or they would peck holes in the ripe ones.

If worse comes worse, I can put up a fence around my tomatoes. I dont know though, the chicken/tomato issue may just be a case of selective memory its been close to 30 years or more since I was a kid when we had them.

A choice between chicken and eggs verses tomaoes, hard one for me....


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## neldarez

Davarm said:


> Ms Nelda, 112 is quite a few, but, believe me they will not go to waste! I was weeding my 2nd dill plot and found quite a few tomatoes mixed in with it, guess the feed store got them mixed in. I dug up 20 more and put them in flats and am going to plant them too if I can find space. Dont know what kind they are but I guess I will see around the 4th of July or maybe sooner. I only have 1 row of Roma's(about 25 plants), the oldest DD really wanted them so I made her happy.
> 
> We do make a lot of salsa in the summers, also a lot of Pico de Guillo and usually eat it as a salad. Then their is juice, tomato and cucumber salad and then we have the grandson, he grazes alot. This will be the third year he will be picking tomatoes, you always know when he has been in the garden, you see a lot of half eaten ones laying on the ground. Gotta love that kid. If we have Tomatoes, Basil, Beans and Pasta, and Olive Oil we will never go hungry. Throw a few Zucchini in with it and you can eat like a Prince and with a few Egg Plants, you eat like a King.
> 
> What is left gets canned, Everything is better with tomatoes. This year we are going to try making "Tomato Sauce", have never made it before but we tend to use quite alot of it when we are out of our canned ones.
> 
> This year I will shoot for 200 quarts(tomatoes not sauce), if we dont get that I will feel like I did something wrong.


Davarm, please please, share your pico de guillo recipe, I have one but it's not quite right, I love that stuff! When you can tomatoes, do you add peppers also or just plain? My canned tomatoes are too watery so now I just raise romas. I make some salsa mild and use it as tomato sauce. tomato and cuke salad, have never heard of that! sounds really good! I don't have a little grand kid close, my close one is 13 and they very much have their own lives! I envy you on that one....:2thumb:


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## LilRedHen

Davarm said:


> I'm going to build a coop and after I get my water tanks and rain gutters installed and finished up. The only possible issue I can think of is that if I remember right, chickens also love tomatoes. When I was a kid we always had to keep them out of the garden or they would peck holes in the ripe ones.
> 
> If worse comes worse, I can put up a fence around my tomatoes. I dont know though, the chicken/tomato issue may just be a case of selective memory its been close to 30 years or more since I was a kid when we had them.
> 
> A choice between chicken and eggs verses tomaoes, hard one for me....


The only year I ever had a lot of tomatoes, we had chickens. I told the Rooster to do something with them and he didn't. They ruined every tomato I had. After the tomatoes were gone, the owls got the chickens and I was not sorry! They were game chickens and were worthless to me. I have not had many tomatoes since and I've tried everything I know to do and moved the plants all over the garden. I still have visions of buckets of tomatoes all ruined by chickens.


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## UniqueOldGal

Great garden Davarm! I won't get to those "warm" crops until mid-or end of May here in zone 8. My #1 love these years IS gardening and I've turned bulldozed dirt into an oasis of lovely soil and fruit trees and raised beds in just three years.This was rock dirt-untillable so the raised bed route was the only option. For just two people we can make-due with our intensive half acre (so far)out of 2 1/2 total. With help cover crops and plants just Love to grow!  We had what is called a "food gap" for Feb, March and April....I didn't have enough storage onions&potatoes,prepared winter sqash and frozen or greenhouse greens to see us through more than 25% for a few months.Learn learn learn! Come March I just Hated buying grocery store vegies again! ugh! I'd gotten 100% of our vegies for 5 months IN 2011 and hope to do better this year. I've had trays of sprouts all over since Feb! Now we are into asparagus,kale,chard,spinach,winter lettuce,wild miner's lettuce,mustard greens, and the first radish(I could have got them sooner too..) Very soon it'll be fun salad days here for a month and then the broccoli and cabbage will add to it and then the fun season will begin!(well, it's ALL fun!) Can't wait for carrots! yum!


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## UncleJoe

Davarm said:


> The only possible issue I can think of is that if I remember right, chickens also love tomatoes.


In 2010 we were overrun with grasshoppers. Once my tomatoes got tall enough, I let the chickens in the garden. Yep, I lost a lot around the bottom of the vines but it really helped keep the grasshopper population in check which saved my beans.


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## Davarm

UncleJoe said:


> In 2010 we were overrun with grasshoppers. Once my tomatoes got tall enough, I let the chickens in the garden. Yep, I lost a lot around the bottom of the vines but it really helped keep the grasshopper population in check which saved my beans.


I guess that I could make cages or larger hoops and sit around the plants to limit what they could reach and peck, only problem is that I usually have over 100 tomato plants and it would be kinda expensive to to. When it comes to grasshoppers I have no sympathy and if I didn't have a garden, I would hose the entire property down with diazanon and drink a glass of tea while I watched them drop.

If I ever got desperate or hungry enough to eat the buggers, wouldn't that justice, BUT I just haven't gotten that hungry YET.


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## Davarm

neldarez said:


> Davarm, please please, share your pico de guillo recipe, I have one but it's not quite right, I love that stuff! When you can tomatoes, do you add peppers also or just plain? My canned tomatoes are too watery so now I just raise romas. I make some salsa mild and use it as tomato sauce. tomato and cuke salad, have never heard of that! sounds really good! I don't have a little grand kid close, my close one is 13 and they very much have their own lives! I envy you on that one....:2thumb:


Ms Nelda, you may know about me and recipes, I don't use them very often. I will make a deal with you though. I will tell you what I do right off the top of my head now and the next time I make a batch I will measure everything and write it down then post it for you. Sound good?

Their are 7 ingredients, Tomatoes, Onion, Peppers(preferably jalapenos), Cilantro, Garlic(optional but I love it) Salt and lemon/lime.

Dice up the tomatoes, onions and peppers into small pieces and toss them together in a bowl. Peel and squeeze the garlic through a press and mix, then finely chop the cilantro and mix it into the other ingredients and give a squeeze of lemon or lime juice.

Dont salt the mix until you get ready to eat it, the salt will draw the liquid out of the ingredients and you will have tomatoes, peppers, onions and cilantro swimming in tomato juice. Dont use much lemon or lime, when you take a bite if you can specifically pick out the citrus taste, you used too much. You can leave the lemon/lime out but it really does make a difference.

My middle daughter(in the navy now) would always add some Cumin into the batch but I dont much care for it in the recipe. Keep it simple and you cant go wrong.

You can can this stuff, I have used a water bath in the past and what you wind up with is similar to salsa. If you do can it, mix the salt in and when the liquid is drawn out, drain it off and then load the pico de guillo into jars and add just enough of the liquid back in to cover everything.

I am sorry for not replying sooner, I have been keeping late hours with early mornings keeping up with the garden and I just saw your post. Dont know how I missed it:dunno: but I was not ignoring you.


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## Davarm

UniqueOldGal said:


> Great garden Davarm! I won't get to those "warm" crops until mid-or end of May here in zone 8. My #1 love these years IS gardening and I've turned bulldozed dirt into an oasis of lovely soil and fruit trees and raised beds in just three years.This was rock dirt-untillable so the raised bed route was the only option. For just two people we can make-due with our intensive half acre (so far)out of 2 1/2 total. With help cover crops and plants just Love to grow!  We had what is called a "food gap" for Feb, March and April....I didn't have enough storage onions&potatoes,prepared winter sqash and frozen or greenhouse greens to see us through more than 25% for a few months.Learn learn learn! Come March I just Hated buying grocery store vegies again! ugh! I'd gotten 100% of our vegies for 5 months IN 2011 and hope to do better this year. I've had trays of sprouts all over since Feb! Now we are into asparagus,kale,chard,spinach,winter lettuce,wild miner's lettuce,mustard greens, and the first radish(I could have got them sooner too..) Very soon it'll be fun salad days here for a month and then the broccoli and cabbage will add to it and then the fun season will begin!(well, it's ALL fun!) Can't wait for carrots! yum!


Having a love of gardening is a big plus, it makes the work much less of a job. It sounds like you have the growing cycles down pretty well, I would love to be able to work it all out like that down here but the climate really does not allow for that.

The spring garden has to go in early enough that it can finish up before the summer heat kills it off, the warm weather plants(tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, beans....) have to be closely tended in the heat of summer or they will die out. Then you have to wait for the fall garden until the grasshoppers and other pest die back enough that the new plants will not be eaten.

Some years you can keep the garden going all winter long, like last year, I had collard greens all winter. I just pulled them out about 6 weeks ago.

It IS rewarding and satisfying to work the soil and reap the rewards for it, one of the "Founding Fathers(Franklin I think)" said that the only true wealth one can have is from the soil(in one way or another). I tend to agree with him.


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## neldarez

Davarm said:


> Ms Nelda, you may know about me and recipes, I don't use them very often. I will make a deal with you though. I will tell you what I do right off the top of my head now and the next time I make a batch I will measure everything and write it down then post it for you. Sound good?
> 
> Their are 7 ingredients, Tomatoes, Onion, Peppers(preferably jalapenos), Cilantro, Garlic(optional but I love it) Salt and lemon/lime.
> 
> Dice up the tomatoes, onions and peppers into small pieces and toss them together in a bowl. Peel and squeeze the garlic through a press and mix, then finely chop the cilantro and mix it into the other ingredients and give a squeeze of lemon or lime juice.
> 
> Dont salt the mix until you get ready to eat it, the salt will draw the liquid out of the ingredients and you will have tomatoes, peppers, onions and cilantro swimming in tomato juice. Dont use much lemon or lime, when you take a bite if you can specifically pick out the citrus taste, you used too much. You can leave the lemon/lime out but it really does make a difference.
> 
> My middle daughter(in the navy now) would always add some Cumin into the batch but I dont much care for it in the recipe. Keep it simple and you cant go wrong.
> 
> You can can this stuff, I have used a water bath in the past and what you wind up with is similar to salsa. If you do can it, mix the salt in and when the liquid is drawn out, drain it off and then load the pico de guillo into jars and add just enough of the liquid back in to cover everything.
> 
> I am sorry for not replying sooner, I have been keeping late hours with early mornings keeping up with the garden and I just saw your post. Dont know how I missed it:dunno: but I was not ignoring you.


Never for a minute thought I was being ignored Dav....there is so much for you to be doing! Thanks a million for the recipe, I'll put the one I have on here so you can see it, my son in law made it up. Thanks again. looked up my recipe and the only diff. is we don't have garlic listed on ours...but thanks for telling me about the salt because I didn't know that is why all the water pooled up! awesome that you say I could can it, would you happen to recall how long it would need to process? I plan on growing a bunch of cabbage this year and don't want it to go to waste like last year.....we were overrun with cabbage and it got to big and started splitting and getting nasty.......thanks again for all your help!


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## Davarm

neldarez said:


> Never for a minute thought I was being ignored Dav....there is so much for you to be doing! Thanks a million for the recipe, I'll put the one I have on here so you can see it, my son in law made it up. Thanks again. looked up my recipe and the only diff. is we don't have garlic listed on ours...but thanks for telling me about the salt because I didn't know that is why all the water pooled up! awesome that you say I could can it, would you happen to recall how long it would need to process? I plan on growing a bunch of cabbage this year and don't want it to go to waste like last year.....we were overrun with cabbage and it got to big and started splitting and getting nasty.......thanks again for all your help!


Ms Nelda, I would first put the mixture in a pot and heat it to just under boiling, pack it in jars and add back in any liquid that you think it is needed. Since it is basically a tomato dish, the PH would be low enough that you could water bath it and with it being heated just under a boil, 45 minutes for pint jars and 1 hour for quart jars has worked for me. If you dont heat it before you put it into the jars, you would need to jump up to the standard 1 hour for pints and 1 1/2 hours for the quarts.

Did that help any? If not let me what was unclear or not hit upon and I will give it another try.


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## LilRedHen

Davarm said:


> Having a love of gardening is a big plus, it makes the work much less of a job. It sounds like you have the growing cycles down pretty well, I would love to be able to work it all out like that down here but the climate really does not allow for that.
> It IS rewarding and satisfying to work the soil and reap the rewards for it, one of the "Founding Fathers(Franklin I think)" said that the only true wealth one can have is from the soil(in one way or another). I tend to agree with him.


I just tilled part of the garden for the first time The Rooster is unable to even walk to the garden this year, so it is entirely up to me. A neighbor came over with his tractor and worked the garden up and DD came home and helped me plant. I have corn, one row of 3 foot long beans and 1/2 row of okra up. Everything else is not coming up, but we haven't had much more than a mist of rain in over three weeks. I am ready to set out tomato and pepper plants tonight.


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## stayingthegame

pulling zucks off now for about a month. the store sells for $1 each!!  must have made at least 20 dollars so far . toms not doing well eggplant failed will try again. pole beans came in these weekend and I will pick them later. onions have gone to seed but still taste good ( pull as needed). corn and okra coming up. weeds doing great again this year may have to try to sell them. :hmmm: any one need short on weeds need more weeds. pm me  already to hot to work it seems mid 80's and high humidity.:gaah:


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## neldarez

We had a few days in the 70's and I got some things planted. Rows are 25 ft. long. I planted 3 rows green beans, lettuce, spinach, 2-beets 3-onion sets. I am starting plants indoors and they are coming up but they sure are spindly little things. We made tomato cages out of that concrete wire today, got 10 made before hand was aching and had to stop. It's now down in the 60's and is suppose to be in the 50's for the next week.......how sad is this!!


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## Davarm

neldarez said:


> We had a few days in the 70's and I got some things planted. Rows are 25 ft. long. I planted 3 rows green beans, lettuce, spinach, 2-beets 3-onion sets. I am starting plants indoors and they are coming up but they sure are spindly little things. We made tomato cages out of that concrete wire today, got 10 made before hand was aching and had to stop. It's now down in the 60's and is suppose to be in the 50's for the next week.......how sad is this!!


What do you think you are doing? I maybe can see a little planting but messing with the cages? Do you want to go through all that again? Shame on you....

OK enough scolding, Hope you didn't over do it, be careful. It sure felt good to get the garden going didn't it? Down here we have been eating from ours for a while now, starting to get kinda tired of salad.

My tomatoes vines are full of green tomatoes, we could pick and eat jalapenos and banana peppers but are going to let them get a little bigger. My yellow and zucchini squash have squash on them, the cucumbers and beans are blooming........

For almost the last week I have been out working in the garden from sun up til sun down and their seems to be no end to it, isn't that great? For the next month Its going to be like that with hardly any time to rest. Then..... there will the canning and non stop dehydrating, really fun.....

We have been dehydrating greens pretty steady for he past month or more, wound up with 3 - 5 gallon buckets pack tight with Collard Greens and so far we have 1 - 5 gallon bucket each of Spinach and Chard, I dont think I will ever can or freeze greens again after eating those that we dehydrated. We have been picking the Fennel and Dill leaves and drying them, have almost a gallon of Fennel and working on a quart of Dill. When the Dill starts blooming we will keep the flowers picked and dehydrate those....That is Dill flavor x 10 - stout stuff.

There I go again rambling, I am about to fall asleep typing but I thought I would check in with you guys before I pass out.

Keep up the good work in the garden Ms. Nelda but DONT over do it.


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## neldarez

Dav.....I asked folks at church if they had ever heard of collards and no one knew about them. Isn't that funny how foods are so very different in each area of the states! I'm going to look them up and read about them. I bet you can grow sweet potatoes can't you. i tried last year, ordered the starts from Guerneys and I did get some potatoes but not very many and they stayed small. I think I'm not going to grow potatoes this year, I always grow pontiacs and they are always a huge crop but I don't like how bumpy they are, they are really hard to peel. Has anyone else on here ever had that prob? I didn't overdo very much, perhaps a bit, but I came in and put ice on and I'm doing great. These are magnificent cages.....oh my gosh they are stout! Don't you overdo in the garden!!:flower:


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## timmie

i know what you mean from sunup t0 sundown. we have been caging tomatos and mulching for 2 days non stop.i think we have about an acre for gardens.mulching because not only will it help keep weeds and grass at bay,we feel like its going to be a very hot and dry summer. we also planted mor tomatoes this year.but it gives me a very good feeling that i am feeding my family the very best.:2thumb:


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## Davarm

neldarez said:


> Dav.....I asked folks at church if they had ever heard of collards and no one knew about them. Isn't that funny how foods are so very different in each area of the states! I'm going to look them up and read about them. I bet you can grow sweet potatoes can't you. i tried last year, ordered the starts from Guerneys and I did get some potatoes but not very many and they stayed small. I think I'm not going to grow potatoes this year, I always grow pontiacs and they are always a huge crop but I don't like how bumpy they are, they are really hard to peel. Has anyone else on here ever had that prob? I didn't overdo very much, perhaps a bit, but I came in and put ice on and I'm doing great. These are magnificent cages.....oh my gosh they are stout! Don't you overdo in the garden!!:flower:


You know Ms. Nelda, I have thought quite a bit about "Regional Foods", but I though that everyone had heard of Collard Greens! I have started growing(mainly) the foods that have either been developed for my area or plants that are/were native to this area/climate. I am big on locally grown foods and I think that it is going to have to boil down to that when gas/fuel prices jump up to $7.00 or more a gallon. You come to Texas or I go to Washington and Washington and you eat the foods that are produced in those areas.

Yes, I can grow sweet potatoes, 3 years ago I grew them as big as footballs, my grandmother went nuts. She almost stood right up out of her wheel chair and walked for the first time in 5 years. I never order the starts, I just root a sweet potato around christmas time and as the runners grow and start to grow root buds, I pinch them off and put them in a jar of water to root, alot cheaper that way. I didn't plant any this year - ran out of space plus I bought and dehydrated so many for $.33 per pound around Christmas/Thanksgiving that I didn't think that I really needed to plant them.

For the life of me, I cant grow a decent potato(white), just stopped trying. they do produce quite a few here but they are only the size of ping pong balls and I just got tired of messing with them, I chalk it up to "My garden just not liking them".

Be careful with the hand and DO NOT over do it.



timmie said:


> i know what you mean from sunup t0 sundown. we have been caging tomatos and mulching for 2 days non stop.i think we have about an acre for gardens.mulching because not only will it help keep weeds and grass at bay,we feel like its going to be a very hot and dry summer. we also planted mor tomatoes this year.but it gives me a very good feeling that i am feeding my family the very best.


I thought I was adventurous with my garden, a full acre? I know what you do in your spare time. I guess being in Alabama you are probably right in one of the busiest garden times.

I would love to mulch my whole garden but I'd go broke buying mulching material and around here just just about everything else you can find locally has been doused with herbicide, hay, straw and the like. Most of the manure from the horses and cattle is even contaminated and will kill your plants if you use it in the garden, my dad found that out the hard way. If I was able to mulch, my garden would probably double its yield.

Oh well Breaks over, have to go to town and pick up one of my 550 gallon water tanks.


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## timmie

correcting myself. not an acre of tomatoes,peppers and sguash. that is just what i am mulching now. also i have a friend that gardens on a big scale,that's where i get my hay from.therest of our garden consists of peas,corn,beans,watermelon,etc.


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## timmie

found some old pepper seed in the bottom of the freezer,several different kinds, so not being one to waste i planted them to see if they will come up. some date back to 1998. if they all come up i will be begging folks to take the plants.oops:oops:


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## Possumfam

Just picked the first lil' harvest from the green beans. Wanted to get the bigger ones off the vines before the rain. It's getting kinda exciting.


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## neldarez

If I can remember how to down/up load, I'll share a couple pics. 
This is where I always grow a garden and I have a few rows planted now...actually, my first time lettuce is just coming through. The big empty space in the middle is where I hope to put my tomatoes. I'll show a pic of the new cages 


If multiple pics show up it's cuz I don't have a clue what I'm doing, can't remember from year to year!! Thought I could show 2 pics on the same display but I don't think so. I still have a couple more pics to share so here goes.








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These are about 3 1/2 ft. tall and 21-22 inches across. Really stout!
The points sticking up will be cut off, I just wanted to grab a pic. to share and didn't want to wait for them to be cut.....








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This is our new garden spot where we are going to grow dry beans for the 1st time. This section has never been gardened before.........








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We use to raise pigs and I still had these homemade troughs....so I'm putting my strawberries in them and putting them in my flower beds.


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## Davarm

neldarez said:


> If I can remember how to down/up load, I'll share a couple pics.
> This is where I always grow a garden and I have a few rows planted now...actually, my first time lettuce is just coming through. The big empty space in the middle is where I hope to put my tomatoes. I'll show a pic of the new cages
> 
> 
> If multiple pics show up it's cuz I don't have a clue what I'm doing, can't remember from year to year!! Thought I could show 2 pics on the same display but I don't think so. I still have a couple more pics to share so here goes.


Darn Ms. Nelda, Is there any land for sale up your way? That looks nice, bet the soil is fertile and productive.

I've been on my knee's all day pulling weeds out of my dry sandy clay, made it through 10 - 60 ft rows of green beans, I ache everywhere there is to ache from. My hands are even sore enough that the typing is kinda interesting



Possumfam said:


> Just picked the first lil' harvest from the green beans. Wanted to get the bigger ones off the vines before the rain. It's getting kinda exciting.


I hope to be picking beans in about 2 weeks, the plants are loaded with blooms and I am thinking it will be a good year for at least the beans.

But....We need some rain BAD....


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## neldarez

Davarm said:


> Darn Ms. Nelda, Is there any land for sale up your way? That looks nice, bet the soil is fertile and productive.
> 
> I've been on my knee's all day pulling weeds out of my dry sandy clay, made it through 10 - 60 ft rows of green beans, I ache everywhere there is to ache from. My hands are even sore enough that the typing is kinda interesting
> 
> I hope to be picking beans in about 2 weeks, the plants are loaded with blooms and I am thinking it will be a good year for at least the beans.
> 
> But....We need some rain BAD....


yes sir there is land for sale!! Our land is almost pure sand, all we need is the ocean, we have the beach. BUT, things grow so good in sand.......warms up fast and stays warm. It's been raining here for 2 days, I'm starting to feel like a coastie Actually, I'm thankful for the rain but our river is quickly reaching flood stage, not that I'm in any danger cuz I live 3 miles out on a hill. Go take a long soaker bath with epsom salts young man, and learn to pace yourself. Isn't that pretty much the stern advice you would be giving?? lol


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## Davarm

neldarez said:


> yes sir there is land for sale!! Our land is almost pure sand, all we need is the ocean, we have the beach. BUT, things grow so good in sand.......warms up fast and stays warm. It's been raining here for 2 days, I'm starting to feel like a coastie Actually, I'm thankful for the rain but our river is quickly reaching flood stage, not that I'm in any danger cuz I live 3 miles out on a hill. Go take a long soaker bath with epsom salts young man, and learn to pace yourself. Isn't that pretty much the stern advice you would be giving?? lol


You have a point on the advice, thats what I would say, not necessarily what I would do! You know, I'm sometimes one of those "Do as I say not as I do" types. Thanks for the compliment, "Young Man", That makes me feel a little better BUT its not always the age that gets you, its the mileage that really counts.

I live a mile or two from a major river(Brazos) also, in rainy years those poor guys that live on its banks really have fun. Sometimes it takes out the old highway bridge just down the road, 40+ feet from the river bed to the highway, thats a lot of water and yet they just keep rebuilding right back in the same old spots. I sometimes wonder if they are missing a few spokes in the wheel.

Well Ms. Nelda, if you see the animals heading for a boat, might be time go get worried but until then just count the rain as a blessing. You could send some of it our way.

Will go get the salts now and take your advice G'nite......

I have 5 dozen eggs that I need to get in the dehydrator but I think I'll just put that off until tomorrow.


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## pixieduster

The potatoes, zuchini, lettuce, green onion and corn.









Tomatoe, cucumber, green bean, below are the carrots I put in my roast today. Tops and all!


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## ContinualHarvest

Very nice! Carrots are full of goodness. Tops and all.


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## neldarez

those are beautiful carrots.......I was going to plant some today after church but the wind is kinda blowing and I got lazy!!:dunno:


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## pixieduster

Forgot about these. The banana trees were the only thing worth saving on the property. Had to clear out everything. Started the small garden to have variety over size. Adding as I go.


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## Davarm

pixieduster said:


> Forgot about these. The banana trees were the only thing worth saving on the property. Had to clear out everything. Started the small garden to have variety over size. Adding as I go.
> 
> View attachment 2077


I've always wondered about banana trees, see a lot of them growing here and there and some even have a banana or two on them.

Question: How hard is it to get them to produce enough to make it worthwhile to grow them other than as an ornamental?


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## Davarm

With all the rain, cloudy and cool weather in the past week, my garden is growing well. I picked my first zucchini and yellow squash today and in a week or so we will have our first load of green beans, that is going to be the start of a lot of work. I have 10 - 60 foot rows.

The okra will start to bloom soon 3 - 60 foot rows, thats a lot of dehydrating and pickle making. I had my first ripe tomato today and we all ate a slice of it. Soon it will be time to start canning them.

Jalapeno are ready to eat, will pick the first tomorrow along with some banana peppers. 

As much work as it is, I love this time of the year. This year we are going to play the "Grocery Store Game", we keep a dollar total of all grocery store purchases and see how little we can spend eating the food from the garden. The trips to the grocery store includes everything purchased regardless if it is food or not(no breaking into the stored foods). Our best month(couple years ago) was about $60.00, that was for a family of 4 and we ate very well. Maybe this year we will be ale to beat it.


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## pixieduster

Davarm: bananas here grow well but need lots of water/rain. They love compsosted material. I asked the neighbors if they had seen these paticular ones produce in the past and they said "Yes, we would go pick them when the previos owner wasn't home." Lol! Great for privacy fencing but can make a mess when the dead leaves pile up. The dead leaves are great for fire starting and composting.


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## timmie

davearm i am so jealous.but not too much. we wi;; have our first fried green tomato this weekend and we have to dig our taters. the squash and green beans are blooming like crazy. i figure in about 2 weeks i'll be doing the same as you. anticipation!!!!:beercheer:


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## Possumfam

Davarm, that seems so backwards to me. Jalapenos before green beans? We've already picked a couple of 5 gal buckets of beans, but the peppers are not nearly ready. Yes, there's blossoms and little fruits, but nope - not nearly ready. That's so funny. :dunno: or...backwards????


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## Listmaker

My green beans and peppers came in at the same time. Just canned 12 quarts of beans. The cool, cloudy weather is making things grow so fast I swear I can watch the plants grow! We've gotten a handful of ripe tomatoes, lots of beans, bell peppers, jalepeno peppers, peas, carrots, beets, turnips, lettuces of all sorts. The squash will start coming in the house this week and there are small cucumbers everywhere. Potato vines are starting to look bad, so digging the tubers isn't too far off. Onions still need to get a little bigger. All the cooler weather crops like turnips and beets, lettuces and peas are done since we had temps in the high 90's for two weeks. Canteloupe and watermelon plants have lots of golf ball sized melons. I love this time of year, even though I'm so tired by bedtime, I don't even know where I am.


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## LilRedHen

Davarm said:


> The okra will start to bloom soon 3 - 60 foot rows, thats a lot of dehydrating and pickle making.


How do you use dehydrated okra? Have you ever canned it? I have canned it for several years to either fry or use in okra and tomatoes. I didn't get one piece of okra because of all the critters, maybe I will have better luck this year. I have about 50 ft about an inch tall and I replanted the other 50 ft yesterday.


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## Waterboy

Clarice said:


> Well guys at this time it looks as if we won't have a garden this year. DH just got out of the hospital after a 11 day stay. He has kidney failure. Seems the the bladder is completely blocked by scare tissue from his bladder cancer in '09. Please pray for him. We still have a long way to go. I can not run the tiller, but maybe I can find someone that will get the garden spot ready enough so I can plant a few things. Right now my total focus is on him and getting him better. Good thing we have so much food put back. This is what stocking up is all about. Neither of us has worked in 2 weeks so things will be tight. Again we need your prayers.


Dear Neighbor to the south,

I'm sorry to hear of your troubles. If we were down the road from you, you'd have a garden this year, or at least some surplus.


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## neldarez

wow I'm jealous of you folks in the south, I haven't even been able to plant my garden yet ( just cold weather stuff) cuz it's still too cold........maybe tomorrow I can put in some more seed.............sigh


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## Davarm

LilRedHen said:


> How do you use dehydrated okra? Have you ever canned it? I have canned it for several years to either fry or use in okra and tomatoes. I didn't get one piece of okra because of all the critters, maybe I will have better luck this year. I have about 50 ft about an inch tall and I replanted the other 50 ft yesterday.


2 years ago was the first time I dehydrated it, last year my Okra was all killed off by herbicide from a neighbors field. I only got around to using it in soups.

This year I am going to experiment more with it to see if I can come up with more uses. How do you fry canned Okra? Never heard of that but I will try anything. We can alot of Okra and Tomatoes, love it. I found a few jars in my grandmothers after she died that were dated 1979 and I tried it. I am still alive but Iwould not recommend that anyone else try it.



neldarez said:


> wow I'm jealous of you folks in the south, I haven't even been able to plant my garden yet ( just cold weather stuff) cuz it's still too cold........maybe tomorrow I can put in some more seed.............sigh


Ms. Nelda, maybe you should ask us to send you some warm weather!



Possumfam said:


> Davarm, that seems so backwards to me. Jalapenos before green beans? We've already picked a couple of 5 gal buckets of beans, but the peppers are not nearly ready. Yes, there's blossoms and little fruits, but nope - not nearly ready. That's so funny. or...backwards????


I planted my beans a little too early and they were slow to come up and were breaking ground when a long wet spell set in and drowned them out. The replanted beans took a little longer to come up so they are a little late coming in.

Thats OK with me, I have enough to do in the garden right now without adding that kind of work on top of it.



timmie said:


> davearm i am so jealous.but not too much. we wi;; have our first fried green tomato this weekend and we have to dig our taters. the squash and green beans are blooming like crazy. i figure in about 2 weeks i'll be doing the same as you. anticipation!!!!


I'm jealous, I cant grow potatoes in my soil to save my life! I get plenty of them per plant but they never get much bigger than your thumb nail.

I haven't had fried green tomatoes in a LONG time, I just may go out and pick enough for a good sized mess, see if the DD's like them.


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## neldarez

I'm scared to ask you for some of your warm Dave...lol! I think I'll just gradually move into the warm....buy hey, sure appreciate your offer!!:2thumb:


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## Davarm

neldarez said:


> I'm scared to ask you for some of your warm Dave...lol! I think I'll just gradually move into the warm....buy hey, sure appreciate your offer!!:2thumb:


No Guts, No Glory Ms. Nelda.....

I am just thankful for the cool weather we have been having, last night it got down to 59 degrees! What a jump from 102 to 59 in just a few days. The grandson ran out on the porch this morning in only his shorts/training pants and he ran right back in, that boy is tough and thats the first time I ever saw that happen. I asked him if he wanted to go out with "Buddy(me)" and shook his head and said "No No Nooooo..." wish I'd had a video camera, was a first.


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## neldarez

Davarm said:


> No Guts, No Glory Ms. Nelda.....
> 
> I am just thankful for the cool weather we have been having, last night it got down to 59 degrees! What a jump from 102 to 59 in just a few days. The grandson ran out on the porch this morning in only his shorts/training pants and he ran right back in, that boy is tough and thats the first time I ever saw that happen. I asked him if he wanted to go out with "Buddy(me)" and shook his head and said "No No Nooooo..." wish I'd had a video camera, was a first.


I'm glad you guys are having a break, that is a terrible amount of heat and must take enormous amounts of water to keep your garden from suffering! That's cute about the little guy......I'm with him, I like it warm ( above 59) I was just thinking about how much our power bills have gone up this last year and thinking wow, I'm glad we're not having to run a/c all the months you do!


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## Davarm

neldarez said:


> I'm glad you guys are having a break, that is a terrible amount of heat and must take enormous amounts of water to keep your garden from suffering! That's cute about the little guy......I'm with him, I like it warm ( above 59) I was just thinking about how much our power bills have gone up this last year and thinking wow, I'm glad we're not having to run a/c all the months you do!


My garden does suffer, even when I water it. Starting in about Mid July, I just try to keep it alive until the temp drops in the fall. The mid summer months are a slow time for gardening. I do all I can to help the plants along, today I built "berms" along both sides of my squash rows. This funnels the water down to the roots and allows watering without a whole lot of water waste. I will eventually get that done for all my summer plants(excpet peppers and tomatoes). The peppers and tomatoes get dirt raked up around the base forming a "bowl" around the plants roots, just squirt a dose of water in the bowl and you have no water waste there either. I have been using a lot of water recently on my spring plants, trying to hurry them along before the grasshoppers and other pests get to them. My water bill(April) was $80.00 and it will eventually be around $120.00 in mid summer.

Electricity prices are going to go through the roof soon, when the new Carbon Restrictions go into effect for the coal fired power plants. I am not looking forward to that.


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## LilRedHen

Davarm said:


> How do you fry canned Okra? Never heard of that but I will try anything.


I found this recipe in a church cookbook that I bought years ago. I know the lady that submitted it, so I tried it and have been canning it for years.

Canned Okra

1 ga. cut-up-okra
8 tbsp. white vinegar (5% acidity)
4 tbsp canning salt

Place okra in large kettle. Add salt, vinegar and enough water to cover okra. Cover kettle.
Boil together until okra changes color, and is hot through and through (do not over cook). Pack into hot sterilized jars, cover with liquid and seal. To fry, drain okra thoroughly, then use cornmean and flour to coat. Fry in hot oil just as you do fresh okra.


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## ContinualHarvest

Davarm said:


> My garden does suffer, even when I water it. Starting in about Mid July, I just try to keep it alive until the temp drops in the fall. The mid summer months are a slow time for gardening. I do all I can to help the plants along, today I built "berms" along both sides of my squash rows. This funnels the water down to the roots and allows watering without a whole lot of water waste. I will eventually get that done for all my summer plants(excpet peppers and tomatoes). The peppers and tomatoes get dirt raked up around the base forming a "bowl" around the plants roots, just squirt a dose of water in the bowl and you have no water waste there either. I have been using a lot of water recently on my spring plants, trying to hurry them along before the grasshoppers and other pests get to them. My water bill(April) was $80.00 and it will eventually be around $120.00 in mid summer.
> 
> Electricity prices are going to go through the roof soon, when the new Carbon Restrictions go into effect for the coal fired power plants. I am not looking forward to that.


Do you mulch your garden beds? A good heavy mulching helps retain moisture, helps prevent erosion and weeds and slowly breaks down to feed your plants.


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## timmie

hubby had to go out of town and i think our garden is laughing at me trying to get all the tomatoes and peppers mulched . i'll eventually get it done.


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## Davarm

ContinualHarvest said:


> Do you mulch your garden beds? A good heavy mulching helps retain moisture, helps prevent erosion and weeds and slowly breaks down to feed your plants.


Thats the problem here, I would love to mulch but I dont produce enough to mulch everything. I have thought about buying hay or straw but all of it being sold here has been sprayed with herbicide, some of it is the real nasty stuff that persists up to 5 years.

I have found a company near Ft. Worth(Texas), about 50 miles away, that sells organic mulch and composts - certified herbicide free. I am going to hook up my trailer and go get a load. I've been told they are expensive but I'm going to go ahead and spring for it. My first 550 gallon water tank may have to wait until next month to get set up and ready to use.

When the hot summer sun beats down on the bare dirt in the garden I do sometimes dust the rows down with DE, being bright white, it reflects quite a bit of the heat away from the soil. I used a digital thermometer with a probe and measured, in places, up to a 30 degree difference in soil temp when using the DE. Helps keep the moisture seeking fire ants away also.


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## Davarm

timmie said:


> hubby had to go out of town and i think our garden is laughing at me trying to get all the tomatoes and peppers mulched . i'll eventually get it done.


You know, I get that feeling quite often - garden laughing at me. When I keep going out to check if something is blooming or putting on fruit and I find that it's not, that's when I usually feel that way.

You just have to treat it like a 3 year old, keep correcting it with food, water, and affection and usually it will stop acting up.


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## UncleJoe

Davarm said:


> I do sometimes dust the rows down with DE, being bright white, it reflects quite a bit of the heat away from the soil. I used a digital thermometer with a probe and measured, in places, up to a 30 degree difference in soil temp when using the DE. Helps keep the moisture seeking fire ants away also.


DE is great for a lot of things but I've never heard of it used as a reflective agent. Ya learn something new every day. :beercheer:


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## ContinualHarvest

Ah those fire ants. Texas is beautiful, but I wouldn't want to deal with the fire ants ant africanized bees.
Sometimes you have to bite the bullet and purchase some mulch. I had to do that too initially. Now I just buy mulch when putting in new beds and supplement it with grass clippings and leaves.


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## Davarm

ContinualHarvest said:


> Ah those fire ants. Texas is beautiful, but I wouldn't want to deal with the fire ants ant africanized bees.
> Sometimes you have to bite the bullet and purchase some mulch. I had to do that too initially. Now I just buy mulch when putting in new beds and supplement it with grass clippings and leaves.


I manage my yard for grass clippings like I tend the garden. I get as much from each mowing as I can. I have a little over an acre to mow and I dont let a single blade of grass escape.

I dont have many trees for the leaves but have an aunt that lives on a local lake and I have been getting cottonwood and oak leaves from her lately. The oak leaves are particularly good, I till them into the soil and they just stay (dont decompose very fast) there and break up the clay.

I have been working on this garden spot since I moved here about 10 years ago and slowly it is coming along.


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## sailaway

I transplanted all of my tomatoe and pepper seedlings into a dozen pots last Friday, and they are growing again. Hopefully the natives wont relieve me of them. I'm also thinking this fall I will move them inside and see how long I can keep them going into the winter.


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## Davarm

sailaway said:


> I transplanted all of my tomatoe and pepper seedlings into a dozen pots last Friday, and they are growing again. Hopefully the natives wont relieve me of them. I'm also thinking this fall I will move them inside and see how long I can keep them going into the winter.


Have an aunt(the one that lives on the lake) that put some tomato plants I gave her in some of those upside down hanging tomato planters and she moved them into her closed in back pourch. I think she kept them all winter but dont think they produced much after the weather cooled off.


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## Davarm

UncleJoe said:


> DE is great for a lot of things but I've never heard of it used as a reflective agent. Ya learn something new every day. :beercheer:


About 5 years ago I had a real problem with fire ants boring into my okra stalks and eating their way right up to the top where they made an exit hole. I was furious when I realized what they had done. I went to the feed store and bought 50 pounds of it, YES 50 POUNDS.

I spread it on and all down 4 60 foot rows of the okra, not only did the ants disappear, the Okra took off and grew like crazy. I realized it was because the ground was so much cooler than the rest of the garden.

Have been doing that on and off since then.

Edit: When I dusted the DE over my green beans, it also seemed to act as a sunscreen to the plants. In the heat of summer when I put it on a few rows and left the rest undusted, the dusted plants did not wilt and die out in the August sun. They even produced a few more beans. Pretty much I just about loose all the green beans in late July and early August but they hung on a while longer.


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## neldarez

We have a freeze warning for tonight and last night...suppose to get down to 29...but.. then it's suppose to warm up for good I think. Next week they are even predicting an 80 day! I'm planting more in the garden tomorrow...I did notice I had a few beans poking through, might lose them tonight but I did pray protection of the garden.... I'm excited about the warm weather coming!! yay


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## pixieduster

Pine needles! Can I use them as mulch? Have 8 or pine trees close to the house and lots of needles I originally put in a burn pile. Now that the land is clear to plant, I would like to use them as mulch every year. Not sure if they will cause harm to the fruit trees and veggies.


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## Davarm

pixieduster said:


> Pine needles! Can I use them as mulch? Have 8 or pine trees close to the house and lots of needles I originally put in a burn pile. Now that the land is clear to plant, I would like to use them as mulch every year. Not sure if they will cause harm to the fruit trees and veggies.


They will work for mulch but will not add much to the soil when they break down. They will tend to acidify the soil also so you will have to watch that.


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## pixieduster

ok, will do. Have so much of them, besides composting and burning, not sure what to do with them. Thanks.


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## neldarez

I think we've turned the corner now and it will start warming up! It's suppose to be 33 tonight but then nights are to get warmer. I planted watermelon, cantaloup, ( sp) acorn squash, cilantro and green onions today. It is so good for the spirit to work in the garden when the sun is shining and it's so good to be in the dirt!


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## Davarm

Well Ms. Nelda, I did my little dance and shook my hands a bit to send you some warm weather anyway. You can go ahead and plant your warm weather stuff now.

I think my spinach dehydrating is just about done now, I came out with 3 - 5 gallon buckets packed full. After the last picking, it looks like the bugs are setting in and they will likely eat it as fast as it grows now. I could use pesticides to kill them but thats really not really the way I garden. I am starting to see seed shoots starting to grow up anyway.

The Chard is knee high and really needs to be picked again but I guess the hours are catching up with me. I have come down with a case of bronchitis with chest congestion and I had about 102 fever last night. I started taking a round of antibiotics and I feel quite a bit better tonight. This usually happens when the pollen gets real bad and I dont stay in out of it.

It has rained just enough each of the last 3 days to put the garden in high gear. I have a feeling that I'm going to real busy, real soon.

BTW, I picked and ate my first plum(from my new trees) yesterday. It was GOOD, I am going to dehydrate most of them(big surprise, huh?) and just seed and can the rest.

It looks like we will have a bumper crop of Mustang Grapes, we will can many of them green before the seeds form, they make good cobblers(similar to gooseberrys), you can even make green grape jam which is pretty good. The rest will be made into jam and juice.


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## Davarm

*Tomato Blossom End Rot*

I almost let another day go by without asking all you master gardeners about Blossom End Rot that I am having on my tomatoes. I went to the Agricultural Extension Office with a few samples and got an email recommending a number of commercial calcium based remedies.

The big question I have for you guys is that since what causes the problem is a calcium deficiency, would hydrated lime fix this problem? I was thinking about making a water/lime solution and root feeding the plants with it. Excess water on the foliage will add to the end rot problem so I was planning on pouring it on the ground directly over the root system.

Input from anyone on this issue?


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## lazydaisy67

You know Im no master gardener, Davram but don't you put egg shells around the base of the plant for that?


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## Listmaker

Just heard a master gardener yesterday say to mix 4 tbs of Epsom salts in a gallon of water and pour on root area to prevent further blossom end rot.


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## twiggie

My garden is coming along fairly well. I don't have much land to plant in so I mostly use pots, planters, and I've built a couple of grow boxes out of pallets and landscape fabric or old bed sheets. I'm doing the best I can with what I've got. 
In ground I have: Bunching Onion, Garlic, Parsley that is going to seed, Basil, Oregano, Thyme, Dill, 2 Roma Tomatoes, and 4 Cucumbers.
In the pots and such I have: Nasturtiums, Peas, Peppers, 2 to 4 Potatoes and I just got containers for another 10 or so, and Strawberries.
I'm mulching with wheat straw where I can. I hope it's clean and not any of the sprayed kind that was mentioned.


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## Davarm

lazydaisy67 said:


> You know Im no master gardener, Davram but don't you put egg shells around the base of the plant for that?


Well Ms Daisy, unless I'm dehydrating eggs, we dont eat enough eggs for that to work very well, Have 120+ tomato plants.

I think that I need a calcium soruce that will be more readily available or I will loose quite a bit of tomato production. We do put eggshells in our compost piles that get tilled into the soil each spring though.


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## ContinualHarvest

BER is a pain. Make sure the plants are not stressed. Its a Calcium transport problem. There may not be enough soluble calcium in the soil or the plant may not be getting enough water and other nutrients. You can add a bit of wood ash to help out. There are also commercial products. I add my eggshells to the compost bin. You can add some oyster shell grit to the soil as well. Good luck this year!


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## Davarm

ContinualHarvest said:


> BER is a pain. Make sure the plants are not stressed. Its a Calcium transport problem. There may not be enough soluble calcium in the soil or the plant may not be getting enough water and other nutrients. You can add a bit of wood ash to help out. There are also commercial products. I add my eggshells to the compost bin. You can add some oyster shell grit to the soil as well. Good luck this year!


This is the first year I have really had a problem with it. some of the plants are in a new part of the garden that was yard in the past. It has not had compost mixed in so I suspect a calcium problem.

Water should not be an issue, I have a soaker hose run along the ground through the hoops that I water with, keeps the plant dry to help with fungus issues.

Will add a little ash and see if that helps..

Thanks


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## Davarm

I took a few pics of the garden today, was cloudy and overcast and at about 7pm so they are kinda dark but here they are anyway.

Thats only a portion of the garden, It was dark enough that I couldn't see display on the camera well enough to get the rest of it. Would have taken 5 or 6 more pics to get it so thought I would let it pass.

I am busy from sun up to sun down with all this cool wet weather. If it keeps up this is going to be a bumper if not record year, I foresee buying more jars and buckets in the near future.


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## neldarez

Davarm said:


> This is the first year I have really had a problem with it. some of the plants are in a new part of the garden that was yard in the past. It has not had compost mixed in so I suspect a calcium problem.
> 
> Water should not be an issue, I have a soaker hose run along the ground through the hoops that I water with, keeps the plant dry to help with fungus issues.
> 
> Will add a little ash and see if that helps..
> 
> Thanks


Dave, I was just told to put the eggshells in a gallon jug of water and let them soak then pour the water on the plants......I add epsom salts around some of my plants, bet that would work and you can also buy a bag of oyster shell for chickens from the feed store.


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## neldarez

Davarm said:


> Well Ms. Nelda, I did my little dance and shook my hands a bit to send you some warm weather anyway. You can go ahead and plant your warm weather stuff now.
> 
> I think my spinach dehydrating is just about done now, I came out with 3 - 5 gallon buckets packed full. After the last picking, it looks like the bugs are setting in and they will likely eat it as fast as it grows now. I could use pesticides to kill them but thats really not really the way I garden. I am starting to see seed shoots starting to grow up anyway.
> 
> The Chard is knee high and really needs to be picked again but I guess the hours are catching up with me. I have come down with a case of bronchitis with chest congestion and I had about 102 fever last night. I started taking a round of antibiotics and I feel quite a bit better tonight. This usually happens when the pollen gets real bad and I dont stay in out of it.
> 
> It has rained just enough each of the last 3 days to put the garden in high gear. I have a feeling that I'm going to real busy, real soon.
> 
> BTW, I picked and ate my first plum(from my new trees) yesterday. It was GOOD, I am going to dehydrate most of them(big surprise, huh?) and just seed and can the rest.
> 
> It looks like we will have a bumper crop of Mustang Grapes, we will can many of them green before the seeds form, they make good cobblers(similar to gooseberrys), you can even make green grape jam which is pretty good. The rest will be made into jam and juice.


:thankyou: your dance worked! I've now warned you 2 times about burning that candle at both ends, good grief Dave, please take care of yourself!!
What do you mean you think you're going to get busy, lol, too funny. I haven't even heard of 1/2 of the things you eat and grow, it's a mystery!


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## neldarez

:woohoo:
Awesome garden pics! There aren't too many things more beautiful than a nice garden, your plants are sure big..........good job!!


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## Davarm

Those peach trees are kinda embarrassing, I should have pruned them this spring but I am new enough to peach trees that I didn't realize how important it was to get it done. As slow as they have been growing I didnt think they would need it this year either.

Epsom Salts seems to be a common remedy, I guess I will use that on a few plants, try some lime on a few and egg shells on a few then pick what works best and fastest and use that on the rest.

I have to go empty the Canner so will cut this short. 

Just remember "Be Careful What You Ask For(warm weather)........"


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## LilRedHen

Davarm said:


> Epsom Salts seems to be a common remedy, I guess I will use that on a few plants, try some lime on a few and egg shells on a few then pick what works best and fastest and use that on the rest.


A friend of mine who will be 95 this year told me to put 1 tablespoon of Epson Salts in the bottom of the hole and stir it in before you set your tomato plant in it and you would not have any problem with BET. Another friend told me to put 1 tablespoon of Epsom Salts in between each plant. I've tried both in past years and it didn't work for me. I've been wondering about the lime. Let me know how your experiment comes out.

I have had a problem the last 2 years with my squash plants. They grown, start producing squash and then almost overnight the plants look like you have poured boiling water on them and they die. It's some kind of bug, but I really don't know what to do about them and I NEED enough squash to can this year. I'm almost out. Got any ideas?


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## pixieduster

Davarm: great pics! Can't wait to expand on mine. I was going for variety and not volume since I was on a time crunch to get started with the new property. Thinking of starting the beds and mulching the whole thing till I'm ready to plant again. Ideas anyone???


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## lazydaisy67

How about a bag (or 10) of oyster shells that you get to build up the calcium content in your chickens eggs? They sell 40 pound bags of it at the supply store here.


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## Davarm

LilRedHen said:


> I have had a problem the last 2 years with my squash plants. They grown, start producing squash and then almost overnight the plants look like you have poured boiling water on them and they die. It's some kind of bug, but I really don't know what to do about them and I NEED enough squash to can this year. I'm almost out. Got any ideas?


Ms. Hen, my dear, you have squash bugs! They are thumbnail sized "Stink Bug" that cause very few poblems themselves, BUT, their nymphs will devastate a stand of squash overnight after the eggs hatch. The adult bugs live in the leaf liter and around the base of the plants and climb to the leaves to lay their eggs. The egg clusters can easily be seen and should be removed anytime they are found.

The nymphs resemble small silvery spiders, they are sometimes difficult to see because they are "Fast", they will hide when they see you coming.

Their are several "Organic" solutions to the problem,

1. Pick the mature bugs off before they get a chance to lay their eggs. You break the reproductive cycle and any newcomers can be ID'd and killed. The bugs WILL climb to the tops of the leaves if you give the plants a good shot of water, the dumb little (&%) will think that it is raining and will climb to keep from drowning.

2. Orange Oil/water solution will repel the bugs but after you have an infestation, all bets are off. Some may move on or they may just grin and bear it. Orange oil can burn the plants if the concentration is too high so be careful if you use this option. Putting your citrus peels on the ground near the base of the plants will offer some protection but I wouldn't bet my squash crop on it. Besides, I'd rather candy the peels and eat them myself.

3. Neem oil works sometimes, it tends to kill the critters instead of running them off but its not 100% effective. The same precautions should be taken as with the orange oil. It may also burn the plants.

4. Keep as much "leaf litter" away from the plants as possible, they hide/thrive in it as adults. Staking the plants up off the ground helps also but it may not be practical to keep them tied without damaging the plants, especially if you have a lot of them(squash plants).

If all these solutions fail, there is always the old fall back, SEVIN DUST or SPRAY. Around here it has always been the standard remedy for Squash Bugs. I really dont like this option but if I am faced with loosing my entire stand of squash early in the year, I have been known to use it. If the infestation is later in the year, will usually just run the riding mower over the stand and kill them all to keep them from being a problem the next year.



pixieduster said:


> Davarm: great pics! Can't wait to expand on mine. I was going for variety and not volume since I was on a time crunch to get started with the new property. Thinking of starting the beds and mulching the whole thing till I'm ready to plant again. Ideas anyone???


You cant do what you dont have time for! Its better to only plant what you cn tend rather than going big and having the whole thing fail because you dont have the time to manage it, ME, I generally have the time but I do often bite off a little more than I can chew.



lazydaisy67 said:


> How about a bag (or 10) of oyster shells that you get to build up the calcium content in your chickens eggs? They sell 40 pound bags of it at the supply store here.


Am going to get a bag this week!



LilRedHen said:


> I haven't even heard of 1/2 of the things you eat and grow, it's a mystery!


If I really wanted to I could really throw you a curve ball on that! Ever eat a Mesquite Bean?


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## Davarm

I was in the garden today as usual and saw that the squash needed to be picked. I found this hiding down near the ground on a big plant and had to poke around to see if their was anything else attached to it.

Any of you guys want to hang this from your trailer hitch?


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## timmie

hubby got home friday.as soon as i got off work we hit the garden pulling weeds and mulching and caging tomatoes. we got most of it done over the weekend in between rain. still have a few tomatoes to cage. also was intent on frying some green tomatoes and squash. got the green tomatoes but no squash. seems the rabbits are munching my squash.we have been able to keep the deer out,but this is the first time we have had trouble with rabbits. anybody got any suggestion?


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## Davarm

timmie said:


> hubby got home friday.as soon as i got off work we hit the garden pulling weeds and mulching and caging tomatoes. we got most of it done over the weekend in between rain. still have a few tomatoes to cage. also was intent on frying some green tomatoes and squash. got the green tomatoes but no squash. seems the rabbits are munching my squash.we have been able to keep the deer out,but this is the first time we have had trouble with rabbits. anybody got any suggestion?


As a matter of fact, I do! I had the same problem about 5 years ago...Deer and Jack Rabbits.

I put a few poles(landscape timbers) and put motion sensing lights on them. I screwed a plug adapter into one of the light sockets and plugged a "Boom Box" into it and turned it on at night.

When an animal tripped he sensor, they got hit with light and human voice(very loud) and I haven't had a problem since. I have not even turned it on this year(yet). It is a relatively inexpensive solution to the problem and it worked for me.


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## Davarm

With the "Blossom End Rot" problem I am having, I went to the feed store today and picked up a 50lb bag of Oyster Shells and a Commercial BET spray(bottle is in the shed and I forgot the name). 

I sprayed one row with the commercial stuff, one with a very diluted lime solution and one with water that I soaked Oyster Shells in. I then spread oyster shells at the base of each plant in each of 5 - 60 foot rows. Will see how the remedies work.

I did some checking on Epson Salts, it is Magnesium Sulfate - no Calcium. It WILL address a problem that I noted last year though, the upward curling of leaves, yellowing of leaves between veins and the older growth yellowing and dieing. Spraying a solution of 1 tablespoon per gallon of water, directly onto the plants should cure the problem. It will also address Sulfur deficiencies also.

I found also that Peppers(being in the same family), like tomatoes, sometimes suffer from calcium deficiencies with their own version of Blossom End Rot and general poor performance. I sprayed 2 - 60 foot rows with the Commercial Spray then another seperate plot with the lime solution(as a precaution).

I will wait and see what happens.


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## Davarm

timmie said:


> hubby got home friday.as soon as i got off work we hit the garden pulling weeds and mulching and caging tomatoes. we got most of it done over the weekend in between rain. still have a few tomatoes to cage. also was intent on frying some green tomatoes and squash. got the green tomatoes but no squash. seems the rabbits are munching my squash.we have been able to keep the deer out,but this is the first time we have had trouble with rabbits. anybody got any suggestion?


I found the post that I was looking for, look on Page 4, Post 34 of this thread and the middle picture is my "Critter Light" in front of the Peach tree.

Simple, I put them together in about an hour, that included setting the posts and everything. I have not run a buried power line to them yet so I ran an extension chord from my shed to each light. I have the shed running off a breaker from the houses breaker box so if I leave them plugged in, I can turn them on and off by tripping the breaker in the utility room without ever going outside.

Works well.


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## Davarm

Davarm said:


> They will work for mulch but will not add much to the soil when they break down. They will tend to acidify the soil also so you will have to watch that.


Sorry about this late addition to your post, the pine needles will acidify yhe soil and if the PH gets too low, it will interfere with the plants ability to access some of the nutrients in the soil, If you do use them, you may need to add some lime or other PH raising amendment to get it back up to a level that is friendly to the plants.


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## pixieduster

Davarm said:


> Sorry about this late addition to your post, the pine needles will acidify yhe soil and if the PH gets too low, it will interfere with the plants ability to access some of the nutrients in the soil, If you do use them, you may need to add some lime or other PH raising amendment to get it back up to a level that is friendly to the plants.


Gotcha. Will see what else I may have in my yard. Usually try to avoid buying products.


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## Davarm

pixieduster said:


> Gotcha. Will see what else I may have in my yard. Usually try to avoid buying products.


Thats the best way to go, if you can do it "The Natural Way" as a local personality says.

If you or anyone else is interested, his website is:

http://www.dirtdoctor.com/

His Home Page butts heads with me right off the bat, My grass catcher is my primary source of compost. He does have some good knowledge though if you can "Weed":ignore: through it and pick out the nuggetts.

For those city folks who have maybe a potted tomatoe and a potenia that is yellowing, his methods are great. Try having a 3/4 acre garden and they start to break down real quick.


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## neldarez

[/URL][/IMG]

these are our new tomato cages we built, if you squint your eyes you can see the tiny tomato plants in the center of each one. Just think, they'll fill these up one of these days!


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## neldarez

[/URL][/IMG]

This is the new spot where I've started planting dry beans.....totally different dirt....my other garden is all sand, this is actually dirt, seems funny..


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## Corkster

I imagine you will have enough eggplants for the neighborhood.


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## stayingthegame

some where I read that rosemary plants will keep deer away. they don't like the smell or the taste.


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## ContinualHarvest

neldarez said:


> [/URL][/IMG]
> 
> This is the new spot where I've started planting dry beans.....totally different dirt....my other garden is all sand, this is actually dirt, seems funny..


You can grow a ton of asparagus and beets in the sandy soil.


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## LilRedHen

neldarez said:


> these are our new tomato cages we built, if you squint your eyes you can see the tiny tomato plants in the center of each one. Just think, they'll fill these up one of these days!


Do you water your tomatoes every day? I'm gardening alone this year. The Rooster can't help me anymore. I've been watering mine carrying water and a dipper. I haven't caged them yet, not entirely sure when would be the best time. Do you put anything around them before you set your cage, like newspapers, black plastic, etc.? I haven't had a decent tomato in several years. I've tried caging, not caging, epsom salts, lime, and I just don't know what to do.


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## neldarez

ContinualHarvest said:


> You can grow a ton of asparagus and beets in the sandy soil.


I hate asparagus but I love beets, I planted plenty of those!


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## neldarez

LilRedHen said:


> Do you water your tomatoes every day? I'm gardening alone this year. The Rooster can't help me anymore. I've been watering mine carrying water and a dipper. I haven't caged them yet, not entirely sure when would be the best time. Do you put anything around them before you set your cage, like newspapers, black plastic, etc.? I haven't had a decent tomato in several years. I've tried caging, not caging, epsom salts, lime, and I just don't know what to do.


No, I don't water everyday unless it is really hot, we have a lot of wind up here and I still only water every other day. I'm putting the cages up now because last year I waited too long and broke my plants trying to get those dinky little store bought cages on them. I don't put anything down to control the weeds, I really enjoy hoeing and that is what I do........black plastic on sand with full sun is just too hot......I have tried newspaper in the past and if I remember right, it actually worked pretty good. Problem is, you must keep it wet and not let the wind blow it around. I just leave my dirt naked...:ignore: I fertilize my veggies with miracle grow every year, end of hose applicator. You can buy the big boxes with individual pouches at costco....I also ALWAYS pray over my garden as I plant it, that's the secret of a bountiful harvest!! :congrat:
I'm sorry you don't have help this year, sure wish you lived close to me and we would help each other! You might like Wa. state ya know. :wave:


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## neldarez

I got the new garden area planted today.......24 rows of dry beans, navy, great northern, dk. red kidney, lt red kidney, pinto, soldier and ireland creek annie. I never heard of a couple of those but I read about them and thought I'd give them a try. ooops, forgot, also black turtle. I'm really excited about this....would love to have dry beans that I grew myself.


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## dawnwinds58

LilRedHen said:


> Do you water your tomatoes every day? I'm gardening alone this year. The Rooster can't help me anymore. I've been watering mine carrying water and a dipper. I haven't caged them yet, not entirely sure when would be the best time. Do you put anything around them before you set your cage, like newspapers, black plastic, etc.? I haven't had a decent tomato in several years. I've tried caging, not caging, epsom salts, lime, and I just don't know what to do.


It would help of you'd give me an idea what goes wrong with your tomatoes?

I apologize if you've already mentioned this, but I'm coming in late here. More of mine end up not picked and rotting on the ground because my family is fed up with harvesting them. Just a wild guess, but do you get black spots on them that go bad? I noticed in your list you didn't mention spent coffee grounds and eggshells. The grounds raise the acidity of the soil and the eggshells, soaked for a day or so crushed into a jar of of water will raise calcium levels to ward off Blossom End Rot,and without chemicals. I plant my seedlings with 2 heaping tablespoons and add more throughout the growing season.

Check out the tomato waterer here:






When you are the only hand working a garden, work smarter, not harder. It will give you time to just enjoy being in your garden.


----------



## Davarm

Hey Ms. Nelda, Ms LilRedHen, I see you'll have been busy.

Ms LilRedHen, sorry you are having to do the gardening yourself this year, if I lived closer, I would surely stop by and help. Caging those tomatoes, anytime you can is the right time - I put he hoops on as I am setting them out.

I water my tomatoes with a 2 1/2 gallon sprinkler can, I try to keep the foliage dry to help prevent the Blossom End Rot. Describe the problems you are having and if nothing else, I will go to the Agricultural Extension Office and get some answers from the Master Gardeners that are there.

Ms Nelda, Like I said earlier, I am staying REAL BUSY these past few days. Back to that old candle going at both ends. I feel like one of those Zombies everone talks about. On top of everything else, I am now in a race with the grasshoppers to get all the Chard I can before they eat it all.

It looks/sounds like YOU are gonna be a busy one this summer and I think your garden is going to put me and mine to shame. 

I'm kinda behind on the thread, have pretty much only been logging on and checking PM's with not much time be social. 

Time for some shut eye, morning is already here and I'm "Sleep Typing".....


----------



## LilRedHen

dawnwinds58 said:


> It would help of you'd give me an idea what goes wrong with your tomatoes?
> 
> I apologize if you've already mentioned this, but I'm coming in late here. More of mine end up not picked and rotting on the ground because my family is fed up with harvesting them. Just a wild guess, but do you get black spots on them that go bad? I noticed in your list you didn't mention spent coffee grounds and eggshells. The grounds raise the acidity of the soil and the eggshells, soaked for a day or so crushed into a jar of of water will raise calcium levels to ward off Blossom End Rot,and without chemicals. I plant my seedlings with 2 heaping tablespoons and add more throughout the growing season.
> 
> Check out the tomato waterer here:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> When you are the only hand working a garden, work smarter, not harder. It will give you time to just enjoy being in your garden.


Thanks for the video. I may try that. I've moved the tomatoes this year and they have been in the ground almost 3 weeks. The first two weeks I watered them every day, then it finally rained last weekend, so I haven't had to water until yesterday. I need to cage now, I guess, before they get too big. I've had blossom end rot for the last several years. The commercial spray didn't seem to help. I thought if I started asking questions early before I started having problems, maybe I could figure out what I'm doing wrong. Gardening is hard work, but I do love it.


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## dawnwinds58

KY soil is a mite poor on calcium too. Where we live it is super sandy and we're on a natural watershed headed to the river. Anything in the big field (plowed with the tractor) has to deep rooted to bypass the top 4 to 6 inches. When we plow, after a rain the top layer is all sand and the topsoil washes.

Anything for the kitchen fresh goes in a controlled raised bed. Then I can amend the soil more directly per plant and species. My worms are below the plants. My grandkids collect them as they play and add them to the beds. 

What I do for watering happens at planting. I use soaker hoses in the raised beds, on good hay, and then covered with hay. If it doesn't rain, I connect the garden hose, get a chair and a lemonade, and sit back to time the watering in the shade of my willow. 

This method has saved my garden on several occasions. A couple of years ago there were 4 and a half months with no measurable rain. Sprinkling, car washing, and such were banned. The soakers waste no water at all. The hay stays moist and keeps the humidity up in a limited area around the root systems, and keeps weeding to a minimum for less work. I can also start early as the bed is easily cold-framed with old windows, and can have row cover material laid on it in a minute or so. This also extends the production time in fall.

This year my dirt was switched to my first raised bed replacement made from concrete block filled with dirt and gravel (no mortar). 
It's doing great.


----------



## gypsysue

Ahhhh, it's that time of year! We started planting the garden yesterday! It's always fun to start the new year's garden! 

Heck, we already had to mow once this year! Early spring.

So far we've got peas and potatoes planted, and hope to get the onion sets planted tomorrow. Tuesday we have to go to town, so I'll pick up a flat of celery plants. The season is so short and I didn't get things planted in the house in flats, so I'll have to buy my celery, tomato, and pepper plants this year.


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## timmie

is any one else harvesting from their garden? we are getting green beans,potatoes,peppers,peas and tomatoes. corn is dragging.also getting squash and cucumbers


----------



## Davarm

timmie said:


> is any one else harvesting from their garden? we are getting green beans,potatoes,peppers,peas and tomatoes. corn is dragging.also getting squash and cucumbers


Well Ms timmie, I am bringing in a "Bunch" from the garden, its been a good year so far. Have been dehydrating squash, green beans, greens are just about done except for beet greens most of them still have beets attached to them and are still growing but I have to get to them soon.

Been making pickles and am getting black eye peas now but have been eating them as fast as they come in though. Then there are the tomatoes and peppers, have been coming in slowly but real quick I am going to be real busy....

Feels good to see that garden stuff go up on the shelf, doesn't it?


----------



## timmie

yeah it does and looks likeyou are as busy as i am.but i love it. already planning our fall garden


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## mojo4

We haven't had any of our planted crops yet, but we did get some onions we forgot to harvest last fall!! Hope they're still good!


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## Listmaker

Our garden has just gone crazy. I am having a hard time keeping up with it. I'm canning, dehydrating and freezing all day long. And evenings are spent out there weeding and picking. Not complaining! I love bringing all this wonderful organic food into the house and knowing that we'll be eating it all winter.


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## neldarez

Davarm said:


> Well Ms timmie, I am bringing in a "Bunch" from the garden, its been a good year so far. Have been dehydrating squash, green beans, greens are just about done except for beet greens most of them still have beets attached to them and are still growing but I have to get to them soon.
> 
> Been making pickles and am getting black eye peas now but have been eating them as fast as they come in though. Then there are the tomatoes and peppers, have been coming in slowly but real quick I am going to be real busy....
> 
> Feels good to see that garden stuff go up on the shelf, doesn't it?


hey Dave.......we've never eaten "greens" before, how do I prepare beet greens? Mine are just barely up right now but soon they'll be ready.


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## Davarm

neldarez said:


> hey Dave.......we've never eaten "greens" before, how do I prepare beet greens? Mine are just barely up right now but soon they'll be ready.


They cook up kinda like spinach or chard, some people discard the stems and just cook the leaves but I kinda like the stems also, adds a little crunch. If they are fresh young greens, just cook them whole, if they are older you may want to chop them a bit.

I like them lightly boiled with butter and salt, you can just pour boiling water over them and let them sit covered for about 10 to 15 minutes.

I really like them cooked in bacon drippings but the DD's wont allow it in the house, they say its bad for my heart. I'm gonna catch it when they finally look on the shelves of canned food and see about 50 pint jars of it hidden behind the jars of chicken.


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## neldarez

Davarm said:


> They cook up kinda like spinach or chard, some people discard the stems and just cook the leaves but I kinda like the stems also, adds a little crunch. If they are fresh young greens, just cook them whole, if they are older you may want to chop them a bit.
> 
> I like them lightly boiled with butter and salt, you can just pour boiling water over them and let them sit covered for about 10 to 15 minutes.
> 
> I really like them cooked in bacon drippings but the DD's wont allow it in the house, they say its bad for my heart. I'm gonna catch it when they finally look on the shelves of canned food and see about 50 pint jars of it hidden behind the jars of chicken.


That's part of your charm.......you're sneaky!!


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## Davarm

neldarez said:


> That's part of your charm.......you're sneaky!!


I prefer to say "Discretion Is The Better Part Of Valor" but sneaky will work!

As many dry beans as we have in the "Pantry", you have to have something to flavor them with. Right now, they may say it isn't good for the heart but If/when TSHTF, those beans will taste pretty good with bacon added.

Garsh Ms Nelda, I didn't know I had any charm!


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## neldarez

My mind is boggled and reeling, it snowed all around us...serious, the passes have snow, omak mtn has snow....oh my gosh, what is happening!! I told you earlier that it was so cool here, not normal, well, they say we are at least 20 degrees below normal and some areas may get frosted tonight....I'm really praying. I planted 3 gardens this year..........I expect an abundant harvest....:gaah:


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## LilRedHen

Davarm said:


> I am bringing in a "Bunch" from the garden, its been a good year so far.


Just picked the first two yellow straightneck squash last night, garlic is ready to dig and the beets are almost ready. Squash, cucumbers and tomatos are blooming up a storm. I can't wait, but when it all comes in the same week, I may be moaning a little.

Partially cleaned out the storage building today and the Rooster is feeling well enough to talk about building me some shelves, if I can get rid of a couple of pieces of antique furniture that I have drug around for the last 30 years and never refinished. Shelves would give me room to store large bowls, cookers, strainers, empty cans & bottles and anything else that can stand temperature extremes in an organized manner and not stacked to the ceiling.


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## neldarez

LilRedHen said:


> Just picked the first two yellow straightneck squash last night, garlic is ready to dig and the beets are almost ready. Squash, cucumbers and tomatos are blooming up a storm. I can't wait, but when it all comes in the same week, I may be moaning a little.
> 
> Partially cleaned out the storage building today and the Rooster is feeling well enough to talk about building me some shelves, if I can get rid of a couple of pieces of antique furniture that I have drug around for the last 30 years and never refinished. Shelves would give me room to store large bowls, cookers, strainers, empty cans & bottles and anything else that can stand temperature extremes in an organized manner and not stacked to the ceiling.


are you just going to eat the squash or do you can/dehydrate them?


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## LilRedHen

neldarez said:


> are you just going to eat the squash or do you can/dehydrate them?


I will eat the first few, then start saving in the crisper drawer of fridge for a canning session. I have never dehydrated them, but since I have a new dehydrater that works, I may try a few this year. I used canned squash in squash dressing. Ever made that?


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## neldarez

LilRedHen said:


> I will eat the first few, then start saving in the crisper drawer of fridge for a canning session. I have never dehydrated them, but since I have a new dehydrater that works, I may try a few this year. I used canned squash in squash dressing. Ever made that?


Never even heard of it before! The things I hear and learn on here...


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## LilRedHen

neldarez said:


> Never even heard of it before! The things I hear and learn on here...


OK, I'll tell you how I make it. I started with a recipe from a Texas cookbook a distant relative brought me to repay me for taking her to her 3rd great grandfather's grave. I tweaked it some.

1 pone of cornbread (I make mine in a #7 skillet)
1 quart of canned squash, drained
1 can cream of chicken soup
about a half an onion, cut up fine
2 or three stalks of celery, cut up fine
1 large sweet pepper, any color, cut up fine
Salt, pepper and sage to taste

Cook onion, celery and pepper in small amount of water until onions are clear. In a large bowl, crumble cornbread, add squash and cream of chicken soup. Combine well, (I mash it up with my hands) then stir in other vegetables and the water it was cooked in, add salt, pepper and sage to taste and put in a greased, buttered or oiled 9 x 13 baking dish and bake at about 350 till done. (My stove cooks a little hot, so I bake mine at 325). It tastes like it has chicken in it.


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## neldarez

LilRedHen said:


> OK, I'll tell you how I make it. I started with a recipe from a Texas cookbook a distant relative brought me to repay me for taking her to her 3rd great grandfather's grave. I tweaked it some.
> 
> 1 pone of cornbread (I make mine in a #7 skillet)
> 1 quart of canned squash, drained
> 1 can cream of chicken soup
> about a half an onion, cut up fine
> 2 or three stalks of celery, cut up fine
> 1 large sweet pepper, any color, cut up fine
> Salt, pepper and sage to taste
> 
> Cook onion, celery and pepper in small amount of water until onions are clear. In a large bowl, crumble cornbread, add squash and cream of chicken soup. Combine well, (I mash it up with my hands) then stir in other vegetables and the water it was cooked in, add salt, pepper and sage to taste and put in a greased, buttered or oiled 9 x 13 baking dish and bake at about 350 till done. (My stove cooks a little hot, so I bake mine at 325). It tastes like it has chicken in it.


uh, LilRed, what's a pone?:dunno:


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## LilRedHen

neldarez said:


> uh, LilRed, what's a pone?:dunno:


A skillet of cornbread, or the equivalent of one round cake pan. The word pone goes back hundreds of years in the South, originally made over the fire or on the hearth. A hoecake is a small round cake of cornbread about the size of your palm, orignally made on the blade of a hoe held over a fire. I put enough oil or lard to just cover the bottom of my skillet and put the skillet in the oven as I preheat to 400 degrees. I have a hard time finding pure cornmeal in my area, most of it is mixed with flour and is self rising, with the baking powder and salt already in it. I use an egg and enough milk to make a medium batter. If the Rooster catches me cooking, he doesn't want me to use the egg. When he was small, eggs were traded to the peddler for groceries that the farmer could not raise themselves and considered too expensive to 'waste' on cornbread. Pour batter into a hot skillet and bake until crusty. My stove is strange, so I can't give you a time.

I have found that the further north you get, the cornbread gets more and more flour in it and has sugar added and a lot of restaurants don't know what 'sweet tea' and 'sweet milk'. I was in Montana once and the breakfast menus all over town had 'biscuits and gravy'. I ordered that and got a roll and something that resembled glue.

You will be speaking 'Southern' before long!:2thumb:


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## Davarm

LilRedHen said:


> Just picked the first two yellow straightneck squash last night, garlic is ready to dig and the beets are almost ready. Squash, cucumbers and tomatos are blooming up a storm. I can't wait, but when it all comes in the same week, I may be moaning a little.
> 
> Partially cleaned out the storage building today and the Rooster is feeling well enough to talk about building me some shelves, if I can get rid of a couple of pieces of antique furniture that I have drug around for the last 30 years and never refinished. Shelves would give me room to store large bowls, cookers, strainers, empty cans & bottles and anything else that can stand temperature extremes in an organized manner and not stacked to the ceiling.


Congrats Ms LilRedHen, squash now, whats going to be next week? Glad to hear your garden has started feeding you and the Rooster.

I'm going to try your squash dressing, it sounds pretty good and it will give me something else to do with squash.:2thumb:



> My mind is boggled and reeling, it snowed all around us...serious, the passes have snow, omak mtn has snow....oh my gosh, what is happening!! I told you earlier that it was so cool here, not normal, well, they say we are at least 20 degrees below normal and some areas may get frosted tonight....I'm really praying. I planted 3 gardens this year..........I expect an abundant harvest....


I just saw your snow post, I asked about it in the canning thread! Any damage done to the garden? You can be thankful for Global Warming, no telling what you may have gotten without it!

Ms Nelda, I really thought I was ambitious in the garden plan until I heard about your green thumb! "I APPLAUD YOU AND YOUR AMBITION" and I sure hope to get your updates regularly.


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## timmie

squash dressing is great youare in for atreat davearm.. my garden has out done itself this year. but i am so glad to get what i can. early garden means we can get through with it early and then spend time camping and fishing with family and friends


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## LilRedHen

Davarm said:


> Congrats Ms LilRedHen, squash now, whats going to be next week? Glad to hear your garden has started feeding you and the Rooster.
> 
> I'm going to try your squash dressing, it sounds pretty good and it will give me something else to do with squash.:2thumb:


I picked a few more squash today and can barely wait on the three cucumbers that are coming along nicely. I have green beans and beets nearly ready and garlic ready to dig.

Try boiling squash with a cut up onion, salt & pepper. When it is fully cooked, drain the water and add tomato juice and put back on heat till the tomato juice is bubbling.

I sowed cabbage seeds (Early Jersey Wakefield) this week. They should be ready to transplant in July. I had fresh cabbage from Thanksgiving until Jaunary 1 last fall/winter. I covered the cabbage last fall about three times for frost until the Rooster was in the hospital and I missed covering them up one night and the frost didn't hurt them.


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## Davarm

Well I dug into the okra I have been dehydrating this year and came up with a winner. Fried!

I took a bowl full of dehydrated okra, poured boiling water over it and let it sit for about 10 minutes, until it was soft(and slimy). I then drained it in a colander for about another 10 minutes then coated thoroughly with lightly salted flour.

I usually use fine ground cornmeal for frying okra but I was out and didn't feel like grinding more so just used the flour.

I then dropped the pieces into a pot of very hot oil and let it fry until it was light brown. Some like okra cooked to golden brown but it was mostly cooked when I coated it in flour so I didn't let it cook as long. The DD's like it kinda gooey(I like it cooked a little longer) so light brown did ok.

Fried Okra from dehydrated is a Keeper!



LilRedHen said:


> How do you use dehydrated okra? Have you ever canned it? I have canned it for several years to either fry or use in okra and tomatoes. I didn't get one piece of okra because of all the critters, maybe I will have better luck this year. I have about 50 ft about an inch tall and I replanted the other 50 ft yesterday.


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## Woodsman-uk

My garden isn't that big and is dominated by kids toys (club house,trampoline) but what I do have I use as best as I can. 
At present I have an two apple trees two newly planted plum trees, sweet peas, potato(in a bag) onions. I fancy getting a couple of blueberry bushes next. 
I would love to grow more vegetables but I am restricted to pots due to space and position. 
Looking forward to apple pie though


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## Davarm

Woodsman-uk said:


> My garden isn't that big and is dominated by kids toys (club house,trampoline) but what I do have I use as best as I can.
> At present I have an two apple trees two newly planted plum trees, sweet peas, potato(in a bag) onions. I fancy getting a couple of blueberry bushes next.
> I would love to grow more vegetables but I am restricted to pots due to space and position.
> Looking forward to apple pie though


Dont be discouraged about your garden size, anything you produce is something you dont have to buy. Gardening in small spaces can inspire innovations that can be very impressive.

If you can produce food in next to no space, just think how "easy" it will be if/when you do get a more sizable garden. Keep brainstorming and continue to come up with ideas that can increase your food production.

Keep learning if nothing else, knowledge can be a more useful resource than food at times.


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## Woodsman-uk

Thanks for the reply and I totally agree the learning never stops, just need a bigger sponge to soak the knowledge side up.


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## Davarm

Woodsman-uk said:


> Thanks for the reply and I totally agree the learning never stops, just need a bigger sponge to soak the knowledge side up.


Agreed, I use notebooks to take care of the "overflow"!


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## Possumfam

LilRedHen said:


> I have green beans and beets nearly ready and garlic ready to dig.


I'm a little confused about onions and garlic....okay, I lied.....I'm VERY confused about onion and garlic. Am I supposed to "harvest" all of it always? For some reason, I'm under the impression that I'm only supposed to get what I need when I need it, and leave the rest to mulitiply the following year. Do you re-plant every year or....????? Also, I can't really say that I know how to grow big onions. I sorta think that's a two year/season process. Pick the scallions, keep cool and dark, and replant the following season so they grow into big onions. So, is that right, or am I making things up as I go?


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## LilRedHen

Possumfam said:


> I'm a little confused about onions and garlic....okay, I lied.....I'm VERY confused about onion and garlic. Am I supposed to "harvest" all of it always? For some reason, I'm under the impression that I'm only supposed to get what I need when I need it, and leave the rest to mulitiply the following year. Do you re-plant every year or....????? Also, I can't really say that I know how to grow big onions. I sorta think that's a two year/season process. Pick the scallions, keep cool and dark, and replant the following season so they grow into big onions. So, is that right, or am I making things up as I go?


I plant garlic in October or November and take it all up in June or July, whenever the leaves start dying. I have two year multiplying onions. The first year they look like regular onions, but no large bulbs. I pull a few to use fresh and leave the rest. The second year, they make bulbs on the stalks. The bulbs will dry out and fall to the ground to restart the cycle, or you can pick them, keep in a cool place and restart later. I don't use then much, the Rooster just likes to see them grow because they are unusual in our area. I can't grow regular onions either and I've tried a little bit of everything.


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## Possumfam

Something's fishy in the garden.  Don't know if it was the stormy weather and all the rain, but smack dab in the middle of the little square corn field, the corn's been knocked down. The odd thing is, it's in a circle. My youngest (20 yrs old) says it's aliens - crop circles  Like I said, it's a little square field and the circle is probably about half the corn. We were hoping to save a good deal of seed from this crop, which would mean there'll be none for eating.


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## neldarez

I also had something in my garden I didn't plant....went out to turn on the water and as I was reaching for the faucet I heard the buzz. I hate that sound, took me a minute ( well, seemed like a minute) to find him. He was at the bottom of the faucet pipe coiled up and rattling. I got my pistol which is filled with shot and took care of him. Heart was pounding like a sledgehammer! I hate rattlesnakes!! He had 7 rattles....I had the heeby geebies all day after that!


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## Davarm

I had some unwelcomed visitors in my garden a few days ago, nothing like "Crop Circles"LOL, or rattlesnakes:gaah:, but it really ate my lunch. 

Deer, the first time in several years, they didnt eat anything that I could see but the tracks were everywhere. I'm going to town to get a few new bulbs for my "Critter Light" and start turning it on at night with the "Boom Box" plugged in to it. If I dont nip it in the bud real quick, I might be putting up venison pretty soon, I am not going to put up with that nuisance very long at all.

Possumfam, you may need to get your "Tin Foil Hat" handy, dont want the "Visitors" to be reading your mind!lol I have mine on the hat rack in the front room.

Neldarez, YOU BETTER, be careful, dont want to be getting any bad news. My grandmother got bitten by a copperhead about 15 years ago while picking tomatoes, really messed her up(she was in her 80's then, she is almost 100 now and still gardening, just not quite as fast or as much). Rattlesnake would likely be as bad or worse.


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## becky3086

We had deer last year that ate all the beans and tomato plants. This year I added a couple of wind chimes. We haven't had any deer this year. Not sure if the wind chimes was what made the difference but I am not taking them out of the garden.


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## Possumfam

Davarm said:


> Possumfam, you may need to get your "Tin Foil Hat" handy, dont want the "Visitors" to be reading your mind!lol I have mine on the hat rack in the front room.


I'm in a pickle now - I don't have a tin foil hat.  There's not too much up there in that little brain that they can glean anyway.

Neldarez, good that you carry a pistol, huh? I've never been in that habit. Maybe I should re-think that. Glad you won that fight!


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## Davarm

Possumfam said:


> There's not too much up there in that little brain that they can glean anyway.


I'm in the same boat, thats why I keep mine handy. Cant afford to loose any more of what I have left!


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## Davarm

Well, I had another problem today in the garden!

I have a push cart that I wheel out to bring the things I pick into the house. What I filled it with today is completely beyond my ability to can/dehydrate before it will spoil. 

Today the card must have weighed close to 80 pounds, zucchini, okra, cucumbers, peaches, tomatoes.....

I am going to take the excess to my buddy "Apu(the guy who planted several hundred pounds of seed potatoes in the spring)" down at the local "Stop and Rob" to do with as he wishes. Knowing him, he will sell it, I would much rather see him give it away but since he arrived from India(several decades ago), he has fully embraced the free enterprise system.

Several years ago, I took the excess to a local RV park with the intention of the office giving it to the occupants for free(when my parents take off in their RV they welcome things like that). The dude in the office looked at the zucchini and okra and since it was not all uniform sized(they were unblemished and otherwise perfect), he said he didn't want it. Tomatoes had tinges of green around the stems so he said the same for them. I hope this guy is one of the "zombies" that come roaming around when TSHTF.......


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## Possumfam

I can currently sympathize (on a smaller scale, of course - 1 water bath canner, 1 dehydrator, 1 pressure canner). We're finishing up VBS tonight, and it's been an exhausting couple of weeks. Hard to find time to can/dehydrate anything. Plus, folks at church are being very generous with their excess bounty, but like I said, who's got the time? Tomorrow, we should be able to get it back in gear. We're also thinking about giving some of the garden a rest, let the land recouperate for a year or so. We'll still have a garden spot, but maybe a smaller one. 

Anyway, jalapenos, bell, onion today, figs, tomatoes, and blueberries tomorrow.


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## Davarm

Possumfam said:


> Anyway, jalapenos, bell, onion today, figs, tomatoes, and blueberries tomorrow.


We always have jalapenos, banana peppers, tomatoes....., I have been trying to find a place on my property that figs will grow. Several years ago I bought 9 turkey fig trees/bushes and I have planted and moved them several times but they will only survive here. I may just have to find a place out of the way and leave them on their own and be done with it.


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## neldarez

I just keep praying over the gardens, we have had very little heat and the crops are confused on what they;re suppose to do> Finally, tomatoes are growing and budding out. I have cut spinach several times now, love this stuff raw, still haven't tried it cooked. Radishes were edible, not too hot!
Peppers are really sorry looking, small, leaves hang down like they're depressed! Cut the cilantro back so it would keep on growing. Really worry about the peppers. Don't know if watermelon and canteloups will have time to make it or not, they are just starting to grow, I do have little zucchini showing up. I'm asking the God of the universe to give enough time for the melons to ripen. Grateful for what we do have, beans are doing pretty good, and taters are up through the ground now. month behind, everything..month behind. Had 6 raspberries ripe today, that's a beginning!
I had a friend come to the house yesterday and today for the sole purpose of helping me get caught up with the weeding, what a gal...we got all 3 gardens cleaned up nice. I'll take a pic tomorrow and share with you............We need growth and sunshine! Friends are great to have around!!


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## LilRedHen

It was 102 here yesterday and forecast for 106 today. I have a row of green beans that need rain. I have watered them some, carrying a bucket and dipper to the garden every night for the tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and squash, but when I water the beans, something comes along in the night and eats the leaves and wallows them down. If the temps were a little cooler the dew would help, but we haven't even had any dew in days.


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## neldarez

The little tiny pathetic plants are watermelon and cukes, at least the squash looks good.. This is in my new garden spot


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## neldarez

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new potato patch...........my pix are really small, I have to see what I did different..........I guess they're the same as usual....


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## neldarez

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This is my usual garden spot...I just figured out if you click on picture then you can read the description of the pic. man, I think I need a nap!


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## neldarez

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Beets are doing really well if the deer would quit eating all the tops off!


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## neldarez

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I have about 6 different types of beans planted ( dry beans in new garden spot). As you can see, some of the rows only have 1-3 plants in them.......I'm going to try again next year but some of the beans are doing really well, the pinto and kidney are doing well. This garden spot is dirt where as my usual spot is mostly sand, I prefer the sand!!


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## goshengirl

:2thumb: Lookin' good, Neldarez!  I always love pictures of your garden!


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## Davarm

Love it Ms Nelda, do you need a sharecropper?

The more I look at your pictures, the more I realize that your part of the state looks like parts of Texas.


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## LilRedHen

Three gallon bucket of okra this morning and a heaping gallon bucket of banana peppers from only 2 plants.


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## boomer

Looks great. And, I have been told that Irish Spring bar soap does wonders for discouraging deer. Problem here is that our puppy keeps bringing it back to the house.


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## neldarez

The following pix are what is left of my garden after huge rain and mighty hail storm came through for the afternoon.........tomato branches are broken, looks like a war zone............A lot of the plants are laid down stuck in the mud with their flowers gone........what a sad afternoon. I pray that it will turn out a whole lot better than it looks right now cuz right now I just want to cry...


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## neldarez

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squash that looks like it's been shot with shotgun


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## neldarez

Does anyone know how to delete a picture?? I keep trying to delete this one and the next one so I can put them on here correctly and I don't know how.............I'm really frustrated right now!!!


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## neldarez




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## neldarez




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## neldarez

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These were peppers, pray they make it.........


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## neldarez




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## timmie

SORRY ms.nelda. i know how you feel. but maybe ,as you said ,all is not lost. please let us know if you are going to be able to salvage anything.


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## neldarez

timmie said:


> SORRY ms.nelda. i know how you feel. but maybe ,as you said ,all is not lost. please let us know if you are going to be able to salvage anything.


thanks Timmie..........just a bit sad right now, but guess what!! I pickled my 1st beets this morning! lol, I'm sure it can't be as bad as it looks :2thumb:


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## Davarm

Oh Ms Nelda, I am so sorry about the garden, all the pictures you have posted until now are so nice. I just cringed and wilted down in the chair when I read of the hail. I wish there were something I cold do, we will say some prayers for them to recover as much as possible.

Keep your chin and spirits up and please don't get depressed. Their is always sun that will shine when the clouds move away, sometimes it may take a while to see it though.

The question still stands, Do you need a Share Cropper? The scenery in your pictures is just about enough to make me pull up stakes and move up North, just dont think I could leave the grandson behind and the DD would not let me take him.


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## neldarez

Davarm said:


> Oh Ms Nelda, I am so sorry about the garden, all the pictures you have posted until now are so nice. I just cringed and wilted down in the chair when I read of the hail. I wish there were something I cold do, we will say some prayers for them to recover as much as possible.
> 
> Keep your chin and spirits up and please don't get depressed. Their is always sun that will shine when the clouds move away, sometimes it may take a while to see it though.
> 
> The question still stands, Do you need a Share Cropper? The scenery in your pictures is just about enough to make me pull up stakes and move up North, just dont think I could leave the grandson behind and the DD would not let me take him.


ABSOLUTELY!! Maybe you could share custody....you could have him 8-9 months and the mom could have him the rest of the time!! lol, just a suggestion.... I still have blooms out there so I'm sure when the sun shine for a couple of days and things dry out, it will be better than it looks now. I was born in this town and have never ever seen weather like this year, crazy weather. Do you like snow?? You get to garden all the year ( I think), up here you have ( at least until lately) 4 distinct seasons. The pix I've seen of Texas though reminds me of here except we have lots of hills and mountains......I wish there was a way we could share this rain we're getting with you guys!


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## timmie

we just got thru planting some colored butterbeans and baby limas. tomorrow we will plant some zipper peas. we planted some black crowder peas about 2 weeks ago and they are up and running. these things[crowders] keep on producing as long as you keep them picked. so i think we will probably have fresh peas until frost gets them.


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## Davarm

Several weeks ago, I went to the garden and trimmed back my tomato plants, sprayed them with copper sulfate(for blight) and put tents over the hoops made of perforated black plastic weed barrier and tied the tents to the hoops. The Summer Texas sun will usually kill back unprotected tomato plants but now mine are showing alot of new healthy growth with blooms. 

I left a row uncovered and untreated for a control and those plants, despite watering, are dieing back to almost nothing. I have done this in the past but have not left any plants uncovered as a comparison and this year it is pretty clear that it is making a world of difference.

I have some heirloom plants growing in various places in the garden and those seem to be hardier than the hybrids. No one remembers what they are called but they produce a small "cherry" tomato, produce heavy and can tolerate the heat and sun much better than most modern verities. The drawback with those heirlooms is that they have a very thick tough skin. That does work in my favor if I take the time to peel and can them though, after blanching, just cut the stem end off and squeeze the blossom end and the fruit squirts cleanly and quickly out of the peel. It takes an awful lot of the little buggers to fill a quart jar but they taste pretty good and are worth the trouble.


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## LilRedHen

Our second hand tiller that we have had nearly 20 years bit the dust last week and I'm tired of working on it. I've been looking for over a week and finally bought one today that I can handle. The ground is just a little too wet, but I won't have to wait but a day or two. I'm going to try green beans one more time and sow some turnips, curly mustard and rape. This will be the third try this year for beans. The first planting did not come up well and drought got the second planting. I have several cans left from last year, but thought I would try again. I'm getting 1 1/2 to 2 gallons of okra every other day. Instead of putting zuchinni in people's cars, they may be getting okra around here The summer squash that are usually gone by now got a new lease on life with over 7 inches of rain in July. Since I thought they would die, I planted more. There may be squash to go with the okra. The cucumber vines did the same as the squash, plus the late ones I planted are starting to bear. I've made all the pickles I can stand, plus have many cans left over from last year. 

I was worried about putting in a garden by myself this year for the first time, but I don't believe I had much to worry about. The fridge is full, I'm almost out of pint cans, the dehydrator is getting a work out and the garden is still producing in a big way.


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## LilRedHen

Well, I'm only 24 days late on the turnip patch. Finished tilling this morning, sowed the seed and raked them in. I only had turnip seed, but both sprayers broke so I had to go into town to replace them and bought curly mustard and kale while I was out. I'm ready for August to be over! I have had to replace my tiller, lawnmower and now 2 sprayers. On a good note, Tractor Supply had jeans (mens) on sale for $10.00 and I also picked up a small Christmas gift for dd's fiance.


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## neldarez

I planted dry beans for the 1st time and I've started picking them. This is just too cool for words, you just go from bush to bush and see if there are any brown rattly bean pods.....then you pick them and sit on the porch (kinda) and just pop them open. This is one of the most therapautic (sp) things I've done in a long time. I love the sound of the dry beans hitting the bucket....lol The gr. northern have done the best....I think I'm hooked! Haven't tasted them yet but from what I read, the fresh dry beans taste really different from store bought, we'll soon see. :2thumb:


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## Davarm

neldarez said:


> I planted dry beans for the 1st time and I've started picking them. This is just too cool for words, you just go from bush to bush and see if there are any brown rattly bean pods.....then you pick them and sit on the porch (kinda) and just pop them open. This is one of the most therapautic (sp) things I've done in a long time. I love the sound of the dry beans hitting the bucket....lol The gr. northern have done the best....I think I'm hooked! Haven't tasted them yet but from what I read, the fresh dry beans taste really different from store bought, we'll soon see. :2thumb:


I'm happy for you Ms Nelda, glad the hail didn't wipe them out. They do taste different than the store bought beans, they cook much faster also. It seems like most of the ones in the store are old and "Hard Dried".

With Pinto beans, the lighter the color, generally the newer they are and the less time they will take to cook. Dont know how to tell with the other dry bean verities but with Pinto's, the lighter the better.


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## Davarm

LilRedHen said:


> Well, I'm only 24 days late on the turnip patch. Finished tilling this morning, sowed the seed and raked them in. I only had turnip seed, but both sprayers broke so I had to go into town to replace them and bought curly mustard and kale while I was out. I'm ready for August to be over! I have had to replace my tiller, lawnmower and now 2 sprayers. On a good note, Tractor Supply had jeans (mens) on sale for $10.00 and I also picked up a small Christmas gift for dd's fiance.


I'm going into town today to pick up another 100 pounds of corn and while I'm at it I am going to get some seeds(collards, kale, cabbage...).

The cool weather we are having seems to have driven some of the "Bugs" off and I just may be able to plant a fall garden(and it not be eaten by grasshoppers).


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## neldarez

This potato is 1/2 red and 1/2 white.......too funny. I live on the rez so I really thought this was funny! Don't know why it's colored like that, I grew pontiac reds and russets......they must have crossed but it's the only potato like that. Thought I'd share this.......lol


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## neldarez

we dug the potatoes today......these are the pontiacs.......deer have been getting into them


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## Davarm

neldarez said:


> This potato is 1/2 red and 1/2 white.......too funny. I live on the rez so I really thought this was funny! Don't know why it's colored like that, I grew pontiac reds and russets......they must have crossed but it's the only potato like that. Thought I'd share this.......lol


I've gotten some strange things from my garden but I think that one takes the cake.


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## neldarez

Davarm said:


> I've gotten some strange things from my garden but I think that one takes the cake.


pretty cute huh?? I could keep it as a pet I guess......lol


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## Tank_Girl

neldarez said:


> pretty cute huh?? I could keep it as a pet I guess......lol


Or replant it and see if it produces more of the same.

:2thumb:


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## UncleJoe

Tank_Girl said:


> Or replant it and see if it produces more of the same.
> 
> :2thumb:


That's what I was thinking. You created a whole new type of potato. The Russiac. :congrat:


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## neldarez

UncleJoe said:


> That's what I was thinking. You created a whole new type of potato. The Russiac. :congrat:


oh my gosh, that cracked me up Uncle!!
:woohoo:


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## Davarm

I'm going to pick my first winter Spinach this week. Its been growing under a small greenhouse and it's finally about ready for its first picking.

I plan to keep it growing(and picked) and pull the cover off when the weather warms up and get a jump on the growing season.


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## Davarm

I was out in the garden today tilling and planting cool weather "Stuff" and noticed that my Peach and Plum trees are starting to bud out.

Hope this means winter is over!


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## AuroraHawk

Davarm said:


> I was out in the garden today tilling and planting cool weather "Stuff" and noticed that my Peach and Plum trees are starting to bud out.
> 
> Hope this means winter is over!


Oh my...I hope it doesn't mean that another freeze, such as we had earlier this week, will hit. We had two nights of mid to low 20 degrees.

My garden is in containers on the patio and patio table. Over the last couple of weeks I planted sage, thyme, parsley, purple kohlrabi, spinach and mixed salad greens. They haven't germinated yet so they should be okay when everything thaws again.


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## Davarm

The weather report says a storm is on its way, supposed to be snow and freezing temps and should be here tomorrow.

SUPPOSED to hit North Texas(along the Red River) and Panhandle.



AuroraHawk said:


> Oh my...I hope it doesn't mean that another freeze, such as we had earlier this week, will hit. We had two nights of mid to low 20 degrees.


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## Davarm

Spinach!

I went out to one of my spinach plots to do some picking and I filled 6 plastic grocery bags and had to stop only halfway through. The plot is one that I have had going all winter but a while back I took the plastic off and let it soak up the sun and air, it took off and grew like crazy.

We have also had Chard all winter and when I added some compost to it a few weeks ago, it also took off. We are going to be knee deep in greens for a while.


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## neldarez

Davarm said:


> Spinach!
> 
> I went out to one of my spinach plots to do some picking and I filled 6 plastic grocery bags and had to stop only halfway through. The plot is one that I have had going all winter but a while back I took the plastic off and let it soak up the sun and air, it took off and grew like crazy.
> 
> We have also had Chard all winter and when I added some compost to it a few weeks ago, it also took off. We are going to be knee deep in greens for a while.


Incredible!! I'm wanting to plant some spinach right up here next to the house where I have a flower bed, don't know if I can get by doing it yet or not, guess I'd only be out a bit of seed if it gets too cold....you've got me all excited to plant!!
Do you have one of those compost roller thingies or do you just have a pile going that you turn? I've never had any luck at all trying to make a compost pile, think I let it get too dry or it's too big and I can't turn it! lol


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## Davarm

neldarez said:


> Incredible!! I'm wanting to plant some spinach right up here next to the house where I have a flower bed, don't know if I can get by doing it yet or not, guess I'd only be out a bit of seed if it gets too cold....you've got me all excited to plant!!
> Do you have one of those compost roller thingies or do you just have a pile going that you turn? I've never had any luck at all trying to make a compost pile, think I let it get too dry or it's too big and I can't turn it! lol


I dont have anythging fancy, just an area fenced on 3 sides that I dump anything that was once alive in, mostly grass clippings and table scraps.

I put down a layer a few feet thick then run some boards through the fence wire to keep the pile from compacting down too much. 3 layers is about as high as I can go. When it gets too dry, I run the hose down into the middle of the pile and water it.

Thats usually what I work into my garden each spring. This year I'm going to hit a few ranches and get as much manure as I can haul off and compost that, neighbors may not like it too much when the wind is from the west but I'll just smile!


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