# 2017 Garden Discussions



## weedygarden

It is supposed to be in the 50s today, and I have been thinking about my garden plans for the year. Anyone else?

1. Last year I used some used fence posts and made 1 layer on my raised beds, This year, I am going to see if I can find some more cedar posts and add another layer, so that I can add more organic matter for deeper beds.

2. I have been trying heirloom tomatoes for a couple years now and have been disappointed by the outcome.I am going to try again, to start some seedlings, but I don't have a very good setup to get them started and I have never had seedlings do very well.

There is a man in my area who is an artist who has a very nice sized piece of property. He has built himself two greenhouses where he starts seedlings, mostly heirloom tomatoes and peppers, and has a big sale each spring. He had done very well with this and sells them for $5 a plant. 

3. I am going to work on one of my raised beds to be for carrots this year. My understanding is that when you have heavy clay soil, adding sand is the key. That is my plan for this year. 

4. I planted several packets of green bean seeds last year and had a couple meals of green beans. I was hoping to can some beans, but I can't see firing up to canner to do a couple pints of beans. 

5. Fertilizers and soil amendments? I meant to dig in a bunch of leaves from my yard in the fall to loosen and enrich the soil, but the leaves are still in bags. I will add them when I dig up my garden this year. I will have some compost to add, and I will look for some aged manure to add. 
.


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## Starcreek

I watched this yesterday, and like the idea of sustainable gardening:






Last year, the peas did great, and the lettuce patch was pretty good. I got some beans, but then the Japanese beetles moved in and devoured them. I got some of those Japanese beetle traps, and they got a lot of them.

So far this year, I've got a whole row of onions coming up where I harvested onions last year, and I'm letting them grow.

I have seed saved from last year for peas, soup beans, and some hot peppers. I should have some lettuce and basil to come up that I let self-seed.

I bought some seed this week from the Burpee's display at Wally World -- broccoli, Brussels sprouts, some greens and herbs. I planted the rosemary in a little pot on the window sill and hope to set it out when the weather warms. I planted arugula and spinach in another little pot, just to have some to pick, a little at a time, for the kitchen. I'll plant the rest of those out in the garden when I get time.

Of course, I will have peppers and tomatoes, and I hope to can a bunch of tomatoes, because we use them year-round, for chili, spaghetti, soups, etc.

I would like to grow things that are resilient to drought and pests, and maybe grow into the winter. Is that too much to ask? (Yeah...probably.) Save​


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## AmishHeart

What zone do you live in, Weedy? 
I've been thinking about starting seeds in our pop up greenhouse, but the last two years we've had our garden raided. I'm getting pretty discouraged. They never touch the beets or herbs. Maybe I'll just grow those.


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## bacpacker

Worked up a couple areas for onions, taters, cabbage, and other early season crops. I have tater from last fall for my seed, my onion slips (3 types) will be here this month and plan to be in the ground by mid march.

Tomatos, peppers, beans, squash, melons, okra will all go in late April thru May.

Pruned my fruit trees today, still gotta do the grapes and blueberries. Plus fertilize everything. Plenty to do.


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## weedygarden

AmishHeart said:


> What zone do you live in, Weedy?
> I've been thinking about starting seeds in our pop up greenhouse, but the last two years we've had our garden raided. I'm getting pretty discouraged. They never touch the beets or herbs. Maybe I'll just grow those.


I live in Zone 6b.


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## terri9630

AmishHeart said:


> What zone do you live in, Weedy?
> I've been thinking about starting seeds in our pop up greenhouse, but the last two years we've had our garden raided. I'm getting pretty discouraged. They never touch the beets or herbs. Maybe I'll just grow those.


What's raiding you?


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## AmishHeart

People, or a person. Our fruit trees, too. They're not that big yet, but enough. I can tell when a bunny gets in the area, they leave something with chew marks. We have an acre, garden area is outside of our main fence. Back of our property is pasture with an access road. Our travel trailer battery has been stolen twice, always cut, never disconnected. Mail, too. Now we use a p.o. box. Husband says maybe someone needs it more than us, but boy is it a lot of work. They never touch the herb garden or the beets. Maybe I'll stick to those this year. Apples and plums were also cleared out in one night last year.


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## weedygarden

AmishHeart said:


> People, or a person. Our fruit trees, too. They're not that big yet, but enough. I can tell when a bunny gets in the area, they leave something with chew marks. We have an acre, garden area is outside of our main fence. Back of our property is pasture with an access road. Our travel trailer battery has been stolen twice, always cut, never disconnected. Mail, too. Now we use a p.o. box. Husband says maybe someone needs it more than us, but boy is it a lot of work. They never touch the herb garden or the beets. Maybe I'll stick to those this year. Apples and plums were also cleared out in one night last year.


I have had people clean my peach tree in broad daylight. I had 6 beautiful cantaloupe stolen. I had columbine plants dug out of my flower garden.

Many years ago, a child, not even 10 years old, pushed a grocery cart up to the neighbors fence so he could pick peaches from their tree. When I told him he couldn't have those peaches, he told me his grandmother told him to go find some peaches. 

I always say it is better to have it happen to you and to learn how to protect yourself than to live on as though everything and everyone is perfect.


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## terri9630

AmishHeart said:


> People, or a person. Our fruit trees, too. They're not that big yet, but enough. I can tell when a bunny gets in the area, they leave something with chew marks. We have an acre, garden area is outside of our main fence. Back of our property is pasture with an access road. Our travel trailer battery has been stolen twice, always cut, never disconnected. Mail, too. Now we use a p.o. box. Husband says maybe someone needs it more than us, but boy is it a lot of work. They never touch the herb garden or the beets. Maybe I'll stick to those this year. Apples and plums were also cleared out in one night last year.


Sorry to hear that. Sounds like you need a game camera and some noisy dogs. Or geese. Geese are mean buggars and will get them. I've seen them run off coyotes. There have been lots of break ins around here too. We have 3 mastiffs in the yard so I'm not to worried as there are much easier targets near by. We had to go to a po box last year because of mail theft. It is such a pain in the rear and they just raised rates too.


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## terri9630

We've got a pig out in the garden tilling it up for us right now but in the next week or so he'll be "gone" and we will start planting cold crops. Going to be starting seeds hopefully tomorrow.


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## Woody

That sucks you folks have to worry about thieves in the garden. Maybe time for a fix to that? Get some hot, hot peppers and make the old pepper spray. I use it for bugs but it would work for thieves I bet. Just give stuff being stolen a good spraying. Maybe they wash it but I bet they rub their thieving hands somewhere first, like their eyes. One bite of a hot peach or apple might convince them to find another tree.

I never had any troubles. Most folks around me had gardens. Dogs are a good deterrent also, even if they just give a good ‘ol big dog bark.


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## cqp33

For a deterrent we just got a half wolf/half husky puppy! We don't really have a problem with 2 legged, more like 4 legged things like deer eating the tips of the branches off my young fruit trees, or a buck pushing over my cherry tree that i planted in the spring! Of course the deer waited until the early fall to push the cherry tree over, after it did really well its first summer in the ground! I have lost a few fruit trees now to these deer, there are 2 less around though after this hunting season but freezer has less room in it too!
I just placed my order for garlic and more (100) 2" pots for starting seeds, right now I am away for work but when I return home I will be preparing more raised beds (we have 9 so far, we want to add about 12-15 more) and also working in some composted leaves from last year. Also gonna start collecting more leaves to pile up for more additional compost throughout the year. I can mix it in with the green grass when we mow to have some carbon for the greens!
This year we are planning twice the garden we had last year, hopefully we can keep it managed well enough for a good harvest! Its difficult because I travel for work but sometimes I am home for 2-3 week stints too!


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## Meerkat

Garden and greenhouse looking pretty bare. Didn't grow much this past year.

Planning to put back up hydros and containers till spring hits. We have been really bust with other things this past year.


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## txcatlady

My potatoes, onions, carrots and spinach are in ground. Took down garden fence and moved garden to better, bigger spot. My problem is in digging up my asparagus to move. They have been there for 7 years now and root together. Have dug up some, but may just weed others so it won't look so junky when we list our house and land.


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## tsrwivey

Starcreek said:


> I would like to grow things that are resilient to drought and pests, and maybe grow into the winter. Is that too much to ask? (Yeah...probably.) Save​


Sweet potatoes & okra, maybe some southern peas for drought resistance. Sweet potatoes aren't harvested until after the first cold snap but you can't leave them out after that. In zone 6B you should be able to have a fall garden as well. At least carrots, greens, broccoli, cabbage, winter squash, etc.


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## crabapple

Being in zone 8-S.C. I have onions, garlic & white & purple potatoes in the ground. 
I sowed some carrots & radishes last week.
I am going to put in turnips this week end.
I am trying the garden mats this year, if it works I will post a thread on it.
https://gardenmats.com/weed-barrier-features/mat-specifications/

Garden Mat Specifications

Garden Mats come in a standard width of 4 feet and are available in lengths of 6 feet, 12 feet, and 18 feet. We offer eight different patterns, each pattern accommodating a variety of vegetables and herbs (everything except asparagus, but we're working on that!).

Garden Mats are designed so you can mix and match what you plant in each of the patterns. Just check your seed package for the ideal planting distances between plants and between rows. Or check out our planting tips for a complete listing. Don't forget to use Garden Mats 8" staples to pin the mats down. Or find some big rocks!

GARDEN MAT #1
garden mat #1, a weed barrier good for small plants such as garlic, baby lettuce, carrots, etc.
Hole diameter
3"
Hole spacing
6" on center

Single row spacing
8" on center

Double row spacing
16" on center

All mats 4 feet in width
6 foot length (40 plants)
$10.99
12 foot length (88 plants)
$20.99
18 foot length (136 plants)
$30.99
BUY NOW
GARDEN MAT #2
garden mat #2, a weed barrier good for small plants such as beets, spinach, arugala, leeks, etc.
Hole diameter
4"

Hole spacing
6" on center

Single row spacing
8" on center

Double row spacing
16" on center

All mats 4 feet in width
6 foot length (40 plants)
$10.99
12 foot length (88 plants)
$20.99
18 foot length (136 plants)
$30.99
BUY NOW
GARDEN MAT #3
garden mat #3, a weed barrier good for small plants such as beans, peas, parsnips, onions, etc.
Hole diameter
3"
Hole spacing
4" on center

Row spacing
24" on center

All mats 4 feet in width
6 foot length (32 plants)
$10.99
12 foot length (68 plants)
$20.99
18 foot length (104 plants)

GARDEN MAT #4
garden mat #4, a weed barrier good for small & medium plants such as swiss chard, collards, peppers, mustard, eggplant, basil, etc.
Hole diameter
4"

Hole spacing
8" on center

Row spacing
12" on center
All mats 4 feet in width
6 foot length (24 plants)
$10.99
12 foot length (51 plants)
$20.99
18 foot length (78 plants)
$30.99
GARDEN MAT #5
garden mat #5, a weed barrier good for medium plants such as corn, broccoli, kale, okra, parsley, rosemary, etc.
Hole diameter
4"

Hole spacing
12" on center

Row spacing
12" on center

All mats 4 feet in width
6 foot length (15 plants)
$10.99
12 foot length (33 plants)
$20.99
18 foot length (51 plants)
$30.99

GARDEN MAT #6
garden mat #6, a weed barrier good for medium plants such as beets, peppers, eggplants, tarragon, rosemary, etc.

Hole diameter
4"

Hole spacing
8" on center

Single row spacing
8" on center

Double row spacing
12" on center

All mats 4 feet in width
6 foot length (28 plants)
$10.99
12 foot length (64 plants)
$20.99
18 foot length (100 plants)
$30.99

GARDEN MAT #7
garden mat #7, a weed barrier good for larger plants such as tomatoes, artichoke, cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, etc.
Hole diameter
8"

Hole spacing
24" on center

Row spacing
24" on center

All mats 4 feet in width
6 foot length (6 plants)
$10.99
12 foot length (12 plants)
$20.99
18 foot length (18 plants)
$30.99
GARDEN MAT #8
garden mat #8, a weed barrier ideal for vining plants such as melons, cucumbers, summer squash, winter squash, pumpkins, etc.
Hole diameter
6"

Hole spacing
24" on center

All mats 4 feet in width
6 foot length (2 plants)
$10.99
12 foot length (5 plants)
$20.99
18 foot length (8 plants)
$30.99


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## weedygarden

Last summer when I was walking with one of my friends, I saw a cherry tree with dried up cherries on it. It was close to the sidewalk, so I picked a handful. I brought them home and then researched what to do to start cherries. I read to plant them in a pot, water them, put them in the fridge and keep them watered. I put a clear plastic bag around them so they would retain water better. The information also said it takes about 7 months for them to sprout. I wrote the date on the twist tie so I could remember when I planted them--July 24, 2016.

Today I have a sprout! I put it back in the fridge and am getting ready to read more about it.

I know that many fruit trees are grafted, and I have no idea how this will turn out, but I am going to do my best to keep it growing and see what happens.


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## Kitabrun

Hey all. I mapped out my garden plans back in January when I was itching to get outside because we had 40-50 deg weather. It's been a crazy year here in New England. Just yesterday it was 18... anyways. 

I've got onions, chives and celery started in the light box upstairs. When the weather evens out a bit, I'm gonna put them in the little plastic covered "greenhouse" shelves I have out side. Just started tomatoes, cumin and savory today. Next month I'll be doing a bunch more herbs and carrots.

I can't wait for the weather to warm up and things to start producing. I know it's awful to rush Mother Nature, but man, she's been moody lately!


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## Momturtle

It is that time of year in central VA. The peaches and apricots already bloomed and we are hoping they don't get frozen out like last year. Apples, pears, cherries, plums and paw paws are getting ready to bloom, it is one of my favorite times of year.

One of the things we are concentrating on is perennial food sources - fruit, nuts, berries, greens, herbs. Tried passion flower/may pops last year and they did great! I had never eaten them but they are delicious.

Fava beans and garbonzos are planted. Beets are coming up. Chard, kale and sprouting broccoli have been growing all winter (under row covers) and we have been eating them too!

Have paprika, cayenne and poblano peppers started and need to get the tomatoes going.


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## crabapple

weedygarden said:


> Last summer when I was walking with one of my friends, I saw a cherry tree with dried up cherries on it. It was close to the sidewalk, so I picked a handful. I brought them home and then researched what to do to start cherries. I read to plant them in a pot, water them, put them in the fridge and keep them watered. I put a clear plastic bag around them so they would retain water better. The information also said it takes about 7 months for them to sprout. I wrote the date on the twist tie so I could remember when I planted them--July 24, 2016.
> 
> Today I have a sprout! I put it back in the fridge and am getting ready to read more about it.
> 
> I know that many fruit trees are grafted, and I have no idea how this will turn out, but I am going to do my best to keep it growing and see what happens.


Yes, everybody says you must buy apple trees, but they grew them from seeds in the 1700 & 1800, some of those tree can be bought today.
The worse you will get is a flowering tree & tiny fruit or you may get a tree that is still being grown for fruit 300 or 400 hundred years from now.
We want photos when it blooms & fruits.


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## timmie

started a garlic bed today , and tomorrow we are going to plant some herbs and asparagus beds. hubby planted some peas , green beans , and okra. it's spring time here. lol


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## crabapple

timmie said:


> started a garlic bed today , and tomorrow we are going to plant some herbs and asparagus beds. hubby planted some peas , green beans , and okra. it's spring time here. lol


I put my garlic/onions in in the Fall, Sept./Oct.
Why do you wait til Spring?


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## timmie

crabapple said:


> I put my garlic/onions in in the Fall, Sept./Oct.
> Why do you wait til Spring?


because i just couldn't get it planted in the fall; but since we like and use a lot of garlic i also plan to plant some this fall. was taking care of sick mother.


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## terri9630

I've never even considered growing paprika. I'm going to have to order some seeds. Wonder what else I've never thought of growing....


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## weedygarden

terri9630 said:


> I've never even considered growing paprika. I'm going to have to order some seeds. Wonder what else I've never thought of growing....


Isn't paprika dried and ground peppers? (a particular variety)


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## terri9630

weedygarden said:


> Isn't paprika dried and ground peppers? (a particular variety)


Yes. ......


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## SewingMachine

*Garden*

I can't wait! The wife and I have to go to a community garden (never had anything stolen) and the plot is small, but I put down plastic last year and this year will add some amendments.

I'm planning on some raised beds, and some containers on the deck for tomatoes, and I have 3 logs with Shitake plugs that just overwintered in the woods outside the condo.

I'm pumped.


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## tsrwivey

I planted 31 tomato plants & 6 eggplants last week. I hope to get more planting done this week but this is going to be a crazy week so we'll see. Happy gardening y'all!


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## Meerkat

Waiting for okra seeds to arrive in mail next couple days. Still considering starting toms, peppers, etc this late. Would have to keep them cooled off after June. Usually its too hot here for summer plants except okra.


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## Davarm

terri9630 said:


> I've never even considered growing paprika. I'm going to have to order some seeds. Wonder what else I've never thought of growing....


We grow several verities of peppers and grind them into "paprika" each year, our two favorites are "yellow hungarian wax" and "pimento". Both are really sweet and have a lot of flavor when dried/ground. I've gotten good reviews from several people on the forum I've sent it to.



AdmiralD7S said:


> There's a couple varieties, but you've got the idea. I tried growing one variety last year here in SW-ish Ohio, but couldn't get a single seed to germinate :/
> 
> Hope others have better luck than I did!


Quite a few pepper verities require soil temps to be 80+ degrees to germinate, if they are planted in cooler soil and kept moist some can rot in the ground before they sprout.


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## SewingMachine

Davarm said:


> We grow several verities of peppers and grind them into "paprika" each year, our two favorites are "yellow hungarian wax" and "pimento". Both are really sweet and have a lot of flavor when dried/ground. I've gotten good reviews from several people on the forum I've sent it to.


Yellow Hungarian wax are awesome, my favorite pepper hands down.

I'm gonna plant a ton this year, and onions. I can't seem to grow enough I could probably plant an entire garden and still run out before December.


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## crabapple

Planted tomatoes, peppers, & collards this weekend.


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## timmie

since we have such a long growing season we planted some pepper and tomato seeds. we already have some plants growing for fresh. we also planted a few squash and zuchinni. will plant some more lettuce this weekend and spinach.


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## Davarm

Got most of my tomatoes planted, about 100 plants, glad thats over.

About all thats left now is Okra but am going to wait till it gets a little warmer.


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## Danil54

We have a dark heavy black clay here. The best thing that I have found to break up the soil is adding in sand, but you have to continuously add to keep the soil loose or it will just go back to a hard clay, so I add in old hay with manure, sand and mulch & till it in. I make raised beds in the garden by just pilling dirt in rows of about 4 ft wide and 23 ft long. This way I can still comfortably reach into the bed to weed when needed. This year I ended up laying cardboard down first, then my old hay with cow manure and additional kitchen scraps, then layered it with mulch. When planting, just cut a hole thru the cardboard for you transplant or seed. I had quite a few earthworms underneath. I just pulled up my first planting of green beans and tilled the whole thing. Dirt was nice & dark & loose. Sine it was almost 8:30 I will replant the row in the mourning.


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## SewingMachine

Ok. The hydro tower is doing awesome. I will have to get some pics. It is producing a few strawberries.

The garden is in. Looking at the plants, I need to do some soil amendments this fall, but we have 40 tomatoes, 100 onions, 50 potatoes, and 20 peppers going well. Other stuff too, but just a few rows.

Now, hoping for a nice growing season, and then time to start thinking about canning.


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## JayJay

I have had Verticillium Wilt for 5 years now. I am learning what can grow here and what is affected.
I had a Butterfly bush die, a dwarf Lilac died, a Ornamental Peach almost died before I transplanted it, and I moved a Sun Impatiens before it died, and two knock out rose bushes died. It seems some of my soil is contaminated at certain spots. Must grow stuff there to find out.

I have the most beautiful tomato plants in my raised bed--haven't seen them as pretty for years. I started with new soil and new blocks and sprayed Actinovate. I hope to get enough tomatoes to pay for the fungus spray.

I bought blue muffin bushes last year and rhododendren bushes this year and they seem to be fine, but they are not near the old raised bed location.

I am transplanting rose of sharon from underneath the shed and so far all 4 have lived. 
I just have 4 tomato plants, 2 cucumber plants, and 1 bell pepper and all are blooming in the raised bed. I have tomato plants against the house in between the flowers and they are blooming well too. I did lose two tomato plants to the wilt, but I'm learning where the contaminated soil is. Process taking time.


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## Tank_Girl

G'day from Hot, sunny Northern Australia!

Here our seasons differ from you lot in the states an def. from the southern part of the country (Australia).
The closest would be the southern states of the US so you people in Texas etc. would know what I'm having to go through to grow food.

At the moment we are on a shoulder season between "winter" and summer.
Winter here lasts for about 4 days...and no, I'm not kidding.
It's also known as the dry season because it doesn't rain.

It is, however, an ideal time to plant those crops that other parts of the world grow
in their spring and or summer.

Being a shoulder time I've planted a range of dry season and wet season crops.

I'm trying delicata and dumpling squash for the first time.
Actually I've gone a bit stupid with squash and pumpkins this planting.
I have feral butternut squash that came up in the old footprint of the 
chicken tractor.
Rather than pull them up I'm letting them be and they've rewarded me with setting three fruit so far.
I've planted pink banana squash, tromboncino, sugar pumpkin, golden nugget,
delicata and dumpling.
I'm planting in punnets so I can get my spacing right.
I'm also planting at least one tromboncino on a trellis so that they will grow straight.
They are said to be an excellect zucchinie substitute in hot weather and if they 
grow straight I'll be able to spiralize them with my zoodle maker.

I've planted loofa.
I love using the sponge they create in the kitchen to scour pots, clean benches
as well in the bathroom as a shower and bath tub scrubber.
Young pods are also used as a zucchine substitute.

For greens I've planted red malbar spinach and kang kong (asian water spinach).
These have mild flavors that are great in salads or as a green vegetable.

On a seperate trelis I've planted two hot, humid weather specialists together.
Snake beans and achocha cucmbers - Giant Bolivian Slipper Cucmber.
There are two different types of achocha - the Fat Baby variety that has soft spines
and the Giant Bolivian Slipper cucmber variety which is larger than Fat Baby and doesn't have any of the soft spines that the other one has.
They don't suffer mildew or vine borer.
The flavor is like a cross between green bell pepper and cucmber and it's delicious 
as a salad vegetable or cooked in a stirfry or omlette.

Others I've planted are:
Peanuts.
Ginger.
Hawaiian pink and orange sweet potatoes.
Slim asian eggplants.
Heirloom bull's horn sweet peppers/ capsicums.
Many dif. varieties of chili.
Spring onions.
Nappa cabbage.
Tastoi.
Bok Choy.
Sugarbaby watermelon.
Yellow Current cherry tomatoes.
Red Sweetie cherry tomatoes.
Japanese white salad turnips.
Bull's blood beetroot.
Snow peas.
Button squash.(patty pan squash)
Yellow and green zucchine.
Freckles cos lettuce.
Curly green kale.
Swiss chard.
Early sugar cabbage.
Salad mallow.

Many of these will be harvested soon and won't be replaced until the wet season finishes next year.

I have two huge Bowen mango trees trying to set fruit.
I hope so. Last year these trees tried 3 times to set fruit only to have them wither, die and drop off with not a single fruit growing to maturity.
This year they haven't flowered on the tops of the canopies but rather on the sheltered sides and inside the umbrella of the top foliage.
We've been getting a LOT of chemtrailing in the last few months and my trees look sick.

Herbs I've planted-

Valarian.
Feverfew.
Catnip.
Lemon Balm.
Narrow leaf plantain.
Comfrey.
Marshmallow.
Rue.
Yarrow.
Garlic chives.
Onion chives.
Lemon grass.
Lemon basil.
Lime basil.
Sweet basil.
Dill.
Pervian Black mint.
Nettles.

Soapwart.
Soapwart is awesome herb!
It makes a richer, stronger lather than soapnuts. and I'll be growing it in large amounts as a soap, detergent and shampoo substitue in the kitchen and the bathroom.
This will be the first time I'm growing it and I'll have to find a spot out of direct sun
so it stay protected.


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## sewingcreations15

Hi Tank_Girl wow I hope all goes well for the lovely vegetables and herbs you have planted and the mango trees offer a nice canopy over the more sun sensitive plants.

Opposite weather to yourself in the mountains where we are getting frosts for the winter and we get probably equivalent in temperatures in summer here. We have a short lead in time of cooler weather for spring and then full on into heat for the summer. We plant a lot in the shade of canopy Eucalypts here for the more sensitive plants and have other sheltered area near fences under trees too.

Just harvested a couple of weeks ago a large crop of sweet potatoes which are curing in the shed and have blanched and frozen half for the freezer. Pumpkins suffered a bit this year with the heat but we did get around half of the crops we got last year. These are also in storage in our makeshift root cellar under the house.

Shortly we will blanch and freeze the rest of the sweet potatoes and pumpkins stored.

We are full swing on the garden preparations and soil amending ready for planting and spring. I have planted some lettuce, basil, tiny tim cherry tomatoes and moneymaker tomatoes in sheltered areas. We have separated the strawberry plants and have planted 40 new plants and they are just starting to get over the shock of being separated and standing up again.

There is white Australian garlic galore in the back paddock gardens doing well along with red, and golden California wonder capsicums, early Massey peas, beetroot and carrots with some parsley.


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## fteter

We're at the tail end of the gardening season here in northern Utah. I'll be harvesting the last of the sugar tomatoes and cherry tomatoes shortly after Labor Day. Ditto for the potatoes (grown in barrels). After that, it'll be time to clean up the garden & work the soil to get ready for winter...because...wait for it...winter is coming.


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## terri9630

fteter said:


> We're at the tail end of the gardening season here in northern Utah. I'll be harvesting the last of the sugar tomatoes and cherry tomatoes shortly after Labor Day. Ditto for the potatoes (grown in barrels). After that, it'll be time to clean up the garden & work the soil to get ready for winter...because...wait for it...winter is coming.


In August? Wow. We may not be seeing the eclipse but we can grow until Halloween.


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## Tank_Girl

Had a productive morning planting out home grown starts.

I discovered to my dismay that the achocha cucumber has leaves that look EXACTLY like a certain illegal herb.
*sigh*
Rather than put it in an obvious spot I've decided that discretion would be the best course of action and I've planted it on a trellis at the side of the house where it'll be masked from casual view by the tromboncino squash, muscadine grapes and red malbar spinach and loofa vines.
No huge problem as I've planted snake beans and mexican mouse melons on the trellis I had ear tagged for the achocha.
Tomatoes will be planted out this afternoon when it's cooler so plants and planter won't suffer in the heat of the day.


----------



## sewingcreations15

LOL at the phantom herb growing in your gardens  . 

Reminds me of a time when we were teens, that my sister got my mother to water her tomato plants whilst she went away for a few weeks  , I did tell her that it wasn't tomatoes and she didn't believe me until she asked my aunty who confirmed it.

Sounds like you had a great day in the gardens and we will be doing a bit more tomorrow too.


----------



## JayJay

I am pulling up my tomato plants and made 5 pints of green tomato relish this morning.
I have 4 pretty tomatoes almost ready to eat--the last of my crop.
I calculated I harvested 78 lbs of tomatoes which verified the expense of the wilt fungus spray, $19.
Next year, double the size of the raised bed...


----------



## fteter

terri9630 said:


> In August? Wow. We may not be seeing the eclipse but we can grow until Halloween.


Yeah, sad but true. Short growing season here on the Wasatch front. Most folks here spend part of Labor Day weekend cleaning out their gardens. Depending on the weather, I may push the potatoes out a bit - carrots too - but it'll all be gathered in by the end of September.


----------



## terri9630

fteter said:


> Yeah, sad but true. Short growing season here on the Wasatch front. Most folks here spend part of Labor Day weekend cleaning out their gardens. Depending on the weather, I may push the potatoes out a bit - carrots too - but it'll all be gathered in by the end of September.


I guess we are spoiled down here. When we lived in south TX we had the same tomato plants for 3 years because it never got cold enough to kill them. Fresh veggies for Christmas..


----------



## Tank_Girl

I harvested the first ever Jersey cabbage from my hydroponics system!

Wow! It's so sweet and juicy.

I cooked it in butter and a small splash of water with bacon, onions and garlic.
The I put it in an omlet ......*the clouds broke open and a shaft of light appeared with a choir of angels singing Hosanna* <-- might be a slight exaggeration.
But GOSH it was GOOD!!


----------



## sewingcreations15

Hello everyone and I hope your gardens are coming along well  .

We did a little work in one of our gardens today and trimmed our parsley right back and weeded the garden bed which now looks much better.

Still a little cold with frosts to plant a lot but we may plant some snow peas tomorrow in some sheltered areas. We had thunderstorms over the weekend and some much needed rain which stopped us working in the gardens earlier.

Tank_girl you cabbage sounds yummy and congratulations on your first ever hydroponic cabbage  .


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## sewingcreations15

Today I harvested 1.819kg of California red and gold capsicums (bell peppers) from the gardens. Tomorrow some of them will get turned into a double batch of capsicum soup for meals for the next few days and the rest will get chopped and frozen for advanced vegetable stocks.


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## bacpacker

I harvested a bushel of onions last night, which should be about 1/3 of my crop. Also got 20 butternut squash a bunch of cayenne peppers, and 3 watermelons. One of them I can't recall the name, but it had to weigh 25 to 30 lbs. Hope to get the rest of my onions out today.


----------



## sewingcreations15

Wow backpacker that is a lot of onions, congratulations and if you are like us you will use them in to time  . We dice them up and put them in the freezer for advanced stocks.

Still getting my head around imperial versus metric here in Australia but I was bought up in the confused generation where here we started off in imperial measurements and we swapped over to metric half way through my school years. To me that is just a tad over half a 60lt wheelbarrow full  . He he got a visual now.


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## bacpacker

Thanks SC15. I use 5 gallon buckets. A bushel is roughly 2 buckets. We eat onions nearly every day in some form. Sometimes more than one meal. A lot of these were Red onions, which I discovered last year do not keep as well as my yellow ones did. We'll eat some, but will also cut and freeze several in meal size bags. Probably will try and dehydrate a bunch as well, then put in jars. I was happy that I only had 4 or 5 that was no good when taking the up. 
The rest of our onions are Yellows. They were purchased specifically for storage after trying 7 types last year to see what kept best. This type made it into March and April from an August harvest before we ran out.


----------



## Tank_Girl

Here bulb onions don't grow real well but spring onions/green onions do.
The good thing about them is you can cut them an inch above ground level and they regrow from the root stock.
I'm planting more of them and when I go to the store I buy bunches with the roots, cut them off and restrike them in a jar of water and plant them in my garden.

I'm very happy I have my garlic chives seeds sprouting.
I adore garlic chives because bulb garlic doesn't do well here either.

Red malbar spinach is sprouting as is the borage, soapwort, yarrow, lemon basil, zinnias, rosella, dill, mouse melons, nettles, comfrey and one lone sugar pumpkin so far.,

I'm really anxious to have my jumbo banana pumpkins, golden nugget, dumpling squash and delicata squash sprout.

I've put another 12 orange sweet potato slips in a jar of water to strike roots so I can plant another row.

I've also been ripping out pandan which is used in a lot of asian cooking.
It has gone nuts and I've decided I don't like the flavor BUT it is very good
for getting rid of cockroaches if I put a leaf in each kitchen draw and put a braid of leaves in the cupboards under the sink.
One plant would be sufficent for that and it had been taking up a 2m square plot of garden which I'm going to replant with ginger.
For a plant that is so easy to grow in this climate ginger is very expensive in the stores to buy.

I'll be ripping out snow pea plants that have finished and I'll try my hand at growing purple topped turnips and paris market carrots in their place.
I've read that paris market carrots don't need deep rich soil to grow and
that purple topped turnips are bomb proof.
We'll have to see how they go as this is the first time trying to grow both these varieties.


----------



## power

My garden was doing great. I decided to plant some luffa gourds.
Now I cannot see my garden. Even the building beside my garden has disappeared. It is 16X16. I know where it is and can still get in through the front door but can't see it.
I tried to post pictures but this place is the hardest place I have seen to post pictures. I finally gave up.


----------



## txcatlady

Mowed my garden down in July. Thinking about trying for a few more potatoes that may be ready before first frost. I only watered twice this year and it got hot and dry fast. Plus I am on community water and cannot pay to water garden. I have always had a well. Community for last 8 years and sugar sand is like pouring in a gopher hole!


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## musketjim

Cleaning out chicken coops next week to add to compost pile. Will mix dirt from all our containers here at house into dirt in greenhouse. Next year will put all containers in greenhouse. Not planting in the ground anymore. Disappointing results. Next year cucumbers, cucumbers, cucumbers. Want to have enough to make pickles, want to put some in the fair someday. Plus I love to eat cucumbers. Saskatoons have done so well at the cabin that I will continue to add more.artydance: Will retry apple trees at BOL. Don't think I made holes big enough to add enough potting soil.:dunno: Attending classes in the next few weeks on better gardening techniques to try to improve next year. Need to put gutters at BOL to simplify watering procedures. Getting lazier every year.


----------



## sewingcreations15

Hello everyone and I hope your gardens are coming along well  .

Today we planted a 7mt row of snow peas, put up a trellis and weeded the whole 7 x 2mt garden bed. We also picked 454g of purple top turnips, 177g of baby spinach and 243g of Early massey shelling peas from the gardens which some will be for tonight's dinner and some for tomorrow.

Tank_girl re purple top turnips they are really easy to grow but don't like a lot of heat so plant them somewhere sheltered in the summer and they will do well. If you ever want to swap saved vegetable seeds too let me know via PM, I think both of us have different varieties in most cases.


----------



## Tank_Girl

Finished ripping out the last of the pandan and the chickens are feasting on it.
What a job and it stunk to high heaven.
Small wonder the cockroaches don't like it.

I planted 6 sprouting ginger roots and mulched them.
Every pension I buy a small piece of root and sit it on my 
kitchen table until the nodes start to swell and turn green and then I plant it in 
a out of the way part of the garden and let them do their thing.

I'm so pleased that my soapwort germinated.
I planted an entire flat to soapwort and, Lord willing,
I'll have a renewable source of soap once I get the methodology down pat.

I seeded more valarian, feverfew and rosella.
The roots of the valarian are used as a muscle relaxant so you need
to kill the plant to harvest the usable portion.
So, more plants are required.
Some to harvest and some to set seed.

Rosella is good for jams and cordial and very high in Vit.C.
Good for when there isn't any citrus in season.

Feverfew is a gentle pain killer and isn't habit forming.
It's very, very bitter so that helps you not to over use.

I can't believe I'm actually sowing nettles but I'm
beyond happy to see tiny baby nettle leaves break the surface 
of the soil.
They're so full of trace elements and minerals, fantastic as a spinach substitute
and very good as a fertilizer when added to a compost tea for the garden.

Everytime I go out to harvest comfrey leave to feed the guinea pigs
I see they've thrown more "pups".
It seems the more pups I harvest to put in other parts of the garden 
the more it produces.
I'd LOVE to see all the edges of my paths and garden beds growing comfrey.
Chickens and guinea pigs love it and it makes awesome compost tea.
I can't say enough good things about comfrey.


----------



## sewingcreations15

Hi Tank_Girl need to ask where you got your valerian seeds from as I am finding them hard to get .

In relation to muscle relaxants also look at magnesium tablets combined with calcium tablets (helps to absorb the magnesium into the body) too as in certain doses prescribed or recommended by your doctor this also aids in stopping restless legs due to pain and muscle spasms. Another thing that is fantastic is Brauer's Arnicaeze which is a natural herbal cream with arnica in it that relieves pain by rubbing on your sore areas prior to activity and it reduces swelling too. You can get this from www.pharmacyonline.com.au and they usually have further sales in January and close to end of financial year with further discounts on prices at those times.

With DH I rub the arnica cream in before activity and shopping. With pain and muscle cramps we use a combination of magnesium tablets and calcium tablets and swap occasionally to pain medications if needed, and use the arnica cream rather than strong pain meds if possible.

You know what injuries DH has so I thought I would help you out on other natural preps to help with pain relief too. Thought this might give you some more alternatives.


----------



## Tank_Girl

sewingcreations15 said:


> Hi Tank_Girl need to ask where you got your valerian seeds from as I am finding them hard to get .
> 
> In relation to muscle relaxants also look at magnesium tablets combined with calcium tablets (helps to absorb the magnesium into the body) too as in certain doses prescribed or recommended by your doctor this also aids in stopping restless legs due to pain and muscle spasms. Another thing that is fantastic is Brauer's Arnicaeze which is a natural herbal cream with arnica in it that relieves pain by rubbing on your sore areas prior to activity and it reduces swelling too. You can get this from www.pharmacyonline.com.au and they usually have further sales in January and close to end of financial year with further discounts on prices at those times.
> 
> With DH I rub the arnica cream in before activity and shopping. With pain and muscle cramps we use a combination of magnesium tablets and calcium tablets and swap occasionally to pain medications if needed, and use the arnica cream rather than strong pain meds if possible.
> 
> You know what injuries DH has so I thought I would help you out on other natural preps to help with pain relief too. Thought this might give you some more alternatives.


Thank you SC. I really appreciate the info.

http://www.theseedcollection.com.au/Valerian
I get my seeds from here.
As you can see their prices are really good
as is their germination rates.

They have a lot of other medicinal herb seeds as well.


----------



## sewingcreations15

Thanks Tank_Girl for the info on the valerian too it is a fabulous aid for sleeping as well at night.


----------



## Tank_Girl

This morning I ripped out all the spent snow pea plants out of a raised bed and direct sowed the entire thing in spring onions.
I did UMM and ARRRR about planting turnips BUt I figure that it's getting way too hot to plant them and the last thing I want to do is waste my precious seed supply planting at the wrong time of the year.

I had a failure of my jumbo pink banana pumpkins but it's my fault.
From what I've read the seed coat is very thick and it's best to
rub the edges of the seed, except the pointed end, on sand paper or a file
and then soak them in warm water over night and then plant.
Also it's important not to keep them wet because they are prone to dampening off.
Water only when the top of the soil is dry and if planted out into punnets, keep them in full sun without a saucer or tray underneath so they drain fully.
I planted the last of my seeds this way and I hope I don't kill these ones.


----------



## sewingcreations15

Tank_Girl not sure what climate zone you are in but think sub tropical , tropical ? you may be able to plant them but not sure. We plant by the www.gardenate.com website just put in your climate zone in the top and it will tell you month by month what you can plant in your area and you can also set it up to send you reminders of what to plant so you can plan ahead. We just click over to whatever month we are on and in advance and find the website a wonderful guide.

For others too into gardening this is an international gardening site so would be a useful tool to use for most.


----------



## Tank_Girl

I'm hovering over my newly planted jumbo banana pumpkins worse than a broody hen.
I really want these to germinate.

I harvested the last of the wombok cabbage (nappa cabbage) out of the hydroponics system and checked the hardness and size of the hearts of the remaining jersey cabbages.

I'm replanting one NFT hydroponic table with wombok and sliverbeet because they do better with the heat.
I'll be covering it with a veggie mesh hoop house or I'll be growing veggies to feed insects only.


----------



## power

Tank_Girl said:


> I'm hovering over my newly planted jumbo banana pumpkins worse than a broody hen.
> I really want these to germinate.
> 
> I harvested the last of the wombok cabbage (nappa cabbage) out of the hydroponics system and checked the hardness and size of the hearts of the remaining jersey cabbages.
> 
> I'm replanting one NFT hydroponic table with wombok and sliverbeet because they do better with the heat.
> I'll be covering it with a veggie mesh hoop house or I'll be growing veggies to feed insects only.


Have you ever given any thought to changing over to aquaponics? Would save money on buying fertilizers and you would have fish to eat also.


----------



## Tank_Girl

Todays task is to plant some Ox-heart tomato seedlings.

I have to mix D.E into the soil and wrap the stems right down to the root ball with foil to stop the pesky cut worms from chewing though the stems.
I was hoping the cut worms had moved to greener pastures because I haven't used this part of the garden for a while but NOPE.
The truss tomatoes I planted last week are all suffering cut worm attacks.

Live and learn.


----------



## terri9630

Tank_Girl said:


> Todays task is to plant some Ox-heart tomato seedlings.
> 
> I have to mix D.E into the soil and wrap the stems right down to the root ball with foil to stop the pesky cut worms from chewing though the stems.
> I was hoping the cut worms had moved to greener pastures because I haven't used this part of the garden for a while but NOPE.
> The truss tomatoes I planted last week are all suffering cut worm attacks.
> 
> Live and learn.


I've never tried foil. I use the cardboard inserts from tp or paper towels to keep the cut worms away.


----------



## Tank_Girl

terri9630 said:


> I've never tried foil. I use the cardboard inserts from tp or paper towels to keep the cut worms away.


I have tried toilet paper tubes but I find the foil works better.

I wind several layers around the stems and gently crush it to keep it place.
As the plant matures the foil releases to accommodate the thickening stems.
It gives protection for the entire life span of the tomato plant.


----------



## bacpacker

Pulled another row of onions tonight. Good for a bushel and a half. I'm pulling the last row tomorrow.


----------



## Tank_Girl

Put foil around the snake bean stems.
It seems the cut worms have found them and have taken a liking to them.
This would have been so much easier if I had done this before I planted them.
Live and learn.

I'm moving the compost bins into the chicken pen so I can rake up 
any garden waste the chickens don't eat and put it into the bins along with any
manure they've deposited on it.

I'll be harvesting more slender weaver's bamboo I have also growing in the
chicken pen to make a larger compost pile.
I'll be making a circle of bamboo poles that I'll pound into the ground with 
a post dolly and weave the thinner ends of the bamboo stems
around the poles to make a enclosure to hold the compost.
The chickens will be able to jump in and out and work over the compost
without kicking the material out.
Bamboo is easiest to work when it's green and freshly cut.


----------



## bacpacker

I got the last of the onions out sunday evening. Ended up with just over 4 bushels total. I've got them spread out in bread racks out in the shed to let them dry. 
We also got a bunch more cayenne peppers and 4 more Butternut squash. should have more peppers and a bunch of bell peppers within the month. They seem to do better in late summer/early fall than thru the summer around here.


----------



## Tank_Girl

I'll be pounding in 6 foot homegrown bamboo poles next to my tomato plants today.

I'm going to have to rip out several feral bird's eye chili bushes which I'm not happy about to make way for the compost bins.
They've come up on their own and they're bullet proof.
They're obviously perennial as they've been producing for the last 4 years and have trunks 4 cms thick.
Hmmmmm....may have to rethink this compost pile placement so I don't have to destroy these valuable survivors.

I have one jumbo banana pumpkin sprout!
I'm so darn happy I could burst!
Very tempting to scrape back the soil in the other pots just to "check"
on the other seeds BUT...I just have to trust that everything will
happen in good time AND LEAVE THE DARN THINGS ALONE.

*grins*

Lord, grant me patience......yesterday!


----------



## sewingcreations15

Tank-Girl woohoo on first banana pumpkin sprouting, I am cheering on the others from afar  .

Still too cold at nights here to plant anything yet and we are waiting for the frosts to go. Still having 0's and negative temperatures at night here. Hoping to get the last of the manure we need for the last 10 x 5 garden bed and till that in early next week and to finish top dressing the rest of the house lawns with manure too.

Woohoo backpacker on all those beautiful onions too. We are just getting into the season to plant ours, I do have some in the garden growing but not nearly enough.


----------



## Tank_Girl

Today I'm planting out slim asian eggplant seedlings that I grew from saved seed.
Slim eggplants are very "summer" resistant and they cope well with extreme heat, humidity, don't get mildew issues when it rains a lot and still flower and fruit under 
heavy pest pressure.

Heirloom Bull's Horn style capsicums. These are also summer specialists that I've
grown from saved seed.
These grow so much better in summer than the traditional square varieties of capsicum.

I'll be wrapping the stems in foil to stop the cut worms making a meal of my plants.

I need to plant out my sugar pumpkin, golden nugget pumpkins and sugar baby watermelon seedlings before they get pot bound but I haven't gone fishing yet
to catch catfish to put under the mounds.
That won't happen until next week.
They'll have too sit tight and hopefully there won't be too much setback.

I hand polinated butternut pumpkin flowers this morning.
I have to do this every morning becuase the bees here are real slackers.
I'm slowly getting my head around the fact I need to plant flowers for the
bees.
I'm NOT a flower person at all so I've had to ease myself into this flower
business by finding flowers that have dual purpose -
food and or medicinal AND bee attracting.
I have slected calendular, borage, rue, yarrow, lemon basil and as a huge step
munchkin zinnias.

I want to get stuck into my front garden but the gas company has sent out a notice that they'll be replacing the meter next week.
The last thing I want is a backhoe and a half dozen workmen flatfooting
over my tiny, newly planted seedlings.


----------



## Tank_Girl

I woke up this morning and walked out to the garden with a cup of tea in hand to check my precious seedlings.

YAYYYYYYY....another banana pumpkin has sprouted!
Awesome stuff.
Praise the Lord!

I planted out more foil wrapped capsicum and hand pollinated more
butternut pumpkins.

I have some sprouting ginger to plant in my growing ginger
patch along with a surprise Achocha.
I thought that I was only going to get 3 out of the 6 seeds
germinate and so when I planted the 3 plants out into the garden
I threw the potting soil (along with the 3 "failed" seeds0 that was left in punnet into a reclaimation box and covered it so it wouldn't get over wet.
I went and uncoverd the box a week later to fill some more punnets and
I find a Achocha cucmber growing. It was a bit pale due to the lack of sunlight
but BOY these things are tough once they actually germinate.

This has given me a lesson in patience.
Not to give up on those seeds if they don't germinate within
the time frame given on the seed packets.


----------



## bacpacker

Pulled a sub-soiler thru the garden spots. Must have hit it at the perfect time of year/soil moisture. Normally the tractor spins when I go much below halfway down on the depth (9-12"). Today I was able to pull it all the way to the bottom (18" ). Tore it up really good. Now to get a few rains and then plant y annual ryegrass for a cover crop this winter.
Picked more cayenne peppers. Looks like they are gonna produce until frost hits.


----------



## Meerkat

Not a single plant for food this year for first time in decades. Greenhouse is empty except for a few herbs and Aloe plants. Raised beds look like weed gardens.
No seeds sowed at all. if anything happens it will be store bought transplants.


----------



## Tank_Girl

Nothing quite like watching "real" news sources for giving me a kick in the pants to up my gardening game.

There is something very calming to step away from an alarming bit of news and the computer and getting your hands in the dirt and planting some food.

Today I'll be planting more bull's horn capscium and chilies.
The watermelon seedlings need to be planted as they are trying to set flowers in the punnet...YIKES!

More woodchips to spread, the portable carport to be shifted to the other side of the property because it's sitting in full sun - prime planting space.

I need to gerry-rig a insect net over the second hydroponic system because I have
three punnets of wom bok and silverbeet seedlings that need planting out.

My guinea pigs are destroying their wooden hutch. Who knew guinea pigs would chew through wood like rabbits??!!
I don't have a wire cage so I'm at a loss. They were running loose but they all but destoyed my first pumkin patch so there's no way I'm doing that again.
I'll give them one thing - they're survivers. They survived stray dogs, cats, hawks, ravens and snakes and it took me forever to catch the ones I did.
I still have one at large and it mocks me every morning by sitting on my bottom step and squeaking at me when I step out my door.
I'm thinking it'll make great fertilizer for a pumpkin plant.
HHHmmmmm...The great big circle of life....G.P eating pumpkins to be turned into more pumpkins...
there's a pleasing symmetry to that.

I had best get something done becuase time is short.


----------



## timmie

Tank_Girl said:


> Nothing quite like watching "real" news sources for giving me a kick in the pants to up my gardening game.
> 
> There is something very calming to step away from an alarming bit of news and the computer and getting your hands in the dirt and planting some food.
> 
> Today I'll be planting more bull's horn capscium and chilies.
> The watermelon seedlings need to be planted as they are trying to set flowers in the punnet...YIKES!
> 
> More woodchips to spread, the portable carport to be shifted to the other side of the property because it's sitting in full sun - prime planting space.
> 
> I need to gerry-rig a insect net over the second hydroponic system because I have
> three punnets of wom bok and silverbeet seedlings that need planting out.
> 
> My guinea pigs are destroying their wooden hutch. Who knew guinea pigs would chew through wood like rabbits??!!
> I don't have a wire cage so I'm at a loss. They were running loose but they all but destoyed my first pumkin patch so there's no way I'm doing that again.
> I'll give them one thing - they're survivers. They survived stray dogs, cats, hawks, ravens and snakes and it took me forever to catch the ones I did.
> I still have one at large and it mocks me every morning by sitting on my bottom step and squeaking at me when I step out my door.
> I'm thinking it'll make great fertilizer for a pumpkin plant.
> HHHmmmmm...The great big circle of life....G.P eating pumpkins to be turned into more pumpkins...
> there's a pleasing symmetry to that.
> 
> I had best get something done becuase time is short.


me too. we just got thru planning our fall garden. and some of it is already planted and up. gonna start me a new asparagus patch here at the farm. also a strawberry patch this spring along wih more apple,pear,blueberry ,peach and plum trees.


----------



## sewingcreations15

Went into the gardens today and saw that quite a lot of broad beans are ready to harvest tomorrow morning after watering tonight despite the fact our neighbour has taken his bee hives with him to the new home there are lots of lovely bees flying around our broad bean blossoms  .I was worried they were all our next door neighbours bees from the hives but gratefully we have a few of our own around here by the looks of it. 

The snow pea seeds I planted under the shady canopy of the Eucalypt tree have also all sprouted nicely and we will also have some early Massey peas to pick as well.

It is warming up here and by the looks of it hopefully our frosts are now done so I can start planting out corn, cucumbers, more carrots and turnips, watermelon and pumpkin seeds.

I love that we supply our own vegetables and berries for ourselves all year round without buying any. Our large freezers and blanching and freezing excess vegetables with what we grow gets us through most winters until we can plant again.


----------



## sewingcreations15

After recovering from the neighbour move we have finally done some more gardening today.

I found some volunteer heirloom cherry tomato plants that had sprouted in the previous garden I planted them in which are now in their new garden bed. Wonderful news as I had squeezed some seeds from the previous crop into the new garden bed but they did not take probably because we got some more snap frosts. Hopefully they will grow really well now and I am not sad now, as I thought I had lost the crop of seeds that have grown for years here through the frosts.

We also weeded 5 vegetable garden beds in the front yard.


----------



## terri9630

I learned another new word. Thanks.
Punnet definition, a small container or basket for strawberries or other fruit.


----------



## sewingcreations15

Hello everyone  .

We have been in the gardens again today and mulched 4 garden beds with composted grass clippings and watered in the newly planted volunteer cherry tomato seedlings with a little rain water from our tanks.

I have also hand watered half of the front lawn, half one side of the house and a garden bed with native lilies and hot shot canna lilies with saved grey water from our showers and washing machine.

Hope we get some decent rain here shortly as the grass and gardens could really do with it and the rain water tanks need refilling too.


----------



## Tank_Girl

More chili's planted this morning.

My two precous banana pumkin seedlings planted with a prayer.

It's doing my head in to remember which variety is a Cucurbita moschata, Curcurbita maxima or Cucurbita pepo so I don't plant the same variety next to one another.

I have two to three of each variety so I can see which I like so I can cut the numbers to one of each, each growing season.

Cucurbitia moschata varieties - Kent, Butternut and tromboncino.

Curcubitia maxima -Jumbo banana, Golden Nugget.

Curcubita pepo - Delicata, Sugar pumkin.

Moschata, pepo and maxima won't cross pollinate with each other so it is safe to grow one variety of each in the same patch and have seed worth saving if you want a pure type for next season.

I'm finding that the fruit flies are stinging the Butternut and leaving brown indents int eh fruit as they mature. 
I think I might have to grow Butternut in the cooler wearther when the fruit flies aren't active if I want unblemished fruit.


----------



## timmie

we have been so busy with work and family we are getting a late start with some of our fall veggies, so hubby and i are going to get some plants today and try to get them in the ground this weekend, we have a friend that is comeing tomorrow to help, since hubby is supposed to take it easy. like talking to a brickwall:brickwall:


----------



## marlas1too

had 2 more tires placed and filled yesterday these were over 6 ft high as the came from a grader a friend got for me and he filled them for me too then he scraped the manure piles to one huge pile with his front loader --good friends are a true blessing-----can't wait till spring to plant them with veggies


----------



## timmie

we got 12 collard plants and 6 cabbage and 75 onion sets. plus i couldn't resist some mums. they were so pretty.


----------



## sewingcreations15

Ahh timmie good luck with keeping your DH on light duties I know and see your challenge there. DH had broken ribs and then told me he was splitting the ironbark firewood with the splitting axe. I told him I would do it and he just laughed and said " you'll just bounce off it" , "we'll see" I thought after he laid down for a nap.

When he woke up I had all but 3 logs split and loaded on the veranda which he did amongst ohh's and ahh's at every swing of the log splitter.

Moral to the story never underestimate a small built woman with mission to stop her husband from being on light duties. He failed to realise (because I never told him) I used to cut all my firewood before I met him with an axe so I have a pretty good swing on me.


----------



## Tank_Girl

The plan was to start planting out all my herbs and flowers out along the edges of the paths BUT the air quality is so bad with smoke from bush fires that I'm utterly miserable.
I don't normally get hay fever but my nose and eyes are running like a tap. 

The animals and chooks are fed and watered and then it's a rush to get back inside where the air quality is a little better.


----------



## sewingcreations15

Hello everyone  .

Today we planted 5 x 2mt rows of sweet corn, 1 x mt row each of white onions and brown onions, and 3 x 2mt rows of cucumber seeds in the gardens. We also tidied up the front of the house and picked up all the pieces of bark from our firewood cutting and made a couple of metres more of our bark paths between one garden bed.


----------



## RedBeard

sewingcreations15 said:


> Hello everyone  .
> 
> Today we planted 5 x 2mt rows of sweet corn, 1 x mt row each of white onions and brown onions, and 3 x 2mt rows of cucumber seeds in the gardens. We also tidied up the front of the house and picked up all the pieces of bark from our firewood cutting and made a couple of metres more of our bark paths between one garden bed.


I always forget that your on the otherside of the planet! I was scratching my head wondering how it would grow before snow.....


----------



## Tank_Girl

I'm trying a "new to me" type of germination which allows for my impatience and need to check seeds.

I'm placing my seeds on a moist paper towel that is then folded up and put in a zip lock bag and sealed.

Once they do germinate I'll plant them into punnets in prepared seedling mixture to grow out large enough to plant out into the garden.


----------



## sewingcreations15

Redbeard yes we have a fair swim to get to where you are  , yes we have totally different seasons to yourself and when you are in winter we are in spring/summer. We don't tend to get much of spring around here in the mountains but rather go from winter and negative temperatures straight to 30 oc + days and around 10 - 12 oc at nights.

Let me know how your experiments are going on germinating seeds too Tank_Girl, I have a friend who propagates her seeds in cotton balls with water in a Ferrero Roche chocolate box inside her home and she is having great success with doing it that way and then planting them out in the garden when they are large enough.


----------



## Tank_Girl

sewingcreations15 said:


> Redbeard yes we have a fair swim to get to where you are  , yes we have totally different seasons to yourself and when you are in winter we are in spring/summer. We don't tend to get much of spring around here in the mountains but rather go from winter and negative temperatures straight to 30 oc + days and around 10 - 12 oc at nights.
> 
> Let me know how your experiments are going on germinating seeds too Tank_Girl, I have a friend who propagates her seeds in cotton balls with water in a Ferrero Roche chocolate box inside her home and she is having great success with doing it that way and then planting them out in the garden when they are large enough.


I will.
I discovered the method on a YT channel called "Art and Homesteading" in their garden play list.

I adore this family BUT as a person with an almost OCD need for order and neatness I find this lovely family an exercise in fustration BUT that is my issue.artydance:
The results of their gardening style are just staggering so the proof is in the pudding.


----------



## Tank_Girl

*sigh*

A fustrated morning to be sure.

Blasted cutworms!
Blasted chickens.
Blasted cats!

I walked out to the kitchen this morning to put the kettle on for a much needed morning cup of tea only to be greeted with an ominous sound.
The sound of chickens scratching through woodchips!!!!!
GGGAAAHHHHHH!
Bolted out the door, snatched up a rake and had murder in my heart.
They'd uprooted and destroyed several capsicums before I managed to get them back into their pen.
Why is there are always a few in every flock that just have to make trouble?

It seems my raised beds are no longer safe as I went out to water my Big Jim chili seedlings to see one had been cut at ground level.
With a sinking feeling I checked my newly planted pumpkin patch.
They've also destroyed my only 2 Sugar Pumpkin seedlings and two Golden Nugget Pumpkin seedlings.
They hadn't gotten to my Banana Pumpkins. Thank the Almighty!

Then I discovered ( the hard way) that someone's cat had used my garden bed as a toilet.

I spent the morning wrapping stems of all my remaining plants in foil and fixing
chicken damage.

I don't have any Golden Nugget pumpkin seedsleft but I will plant at least two punnets of the Sugar Pumpkin. 
Going by the current attrition rate I'm going to need them if I want to get any harvest at all.


----------



## AmishHeart

Now you a good excuse to eat lots of Ferraro Roche. You'll need the boxes.


----------



## Tank_Girl

Tank_Girl said:


> I'm trying a "new to me" type of germination which allows for my impatience and need to check seeds.
> 
> I'm placing my seeds on a moist paper towel that is then folded up and put in a zip lock bag and sealed.
> 
> Once they do germinate I'll plant them into punnets in prepared seedling mixture to grow out large enough to plant out into the garden.


To prove just how effective this method is I filed the edges ( except the pointed end) of my last 3 banana pumpkin seeds, soaked them over night in luke warm water and then placed them on moist paper towel in a clip lock bag.
That was the 25th.
Today is the 28th Aussie time.
This morning upon checking my seeds one banana pumpkin had germinated.
It took less than 3 days!!
I'm beyond happy.
artydance:


----------



## Tank_Girl

Planted out my sprouted banana pumkin seed into it's own pot so it'll grow big enough so I can wrap it's stem in foil and then I checked my sugar pumpkin and sugar baby watermelon seeds.

I have 6 sugar pumpkins germinate overnight and 8 watermelon seeds germinate.
I soaked them overnight and put them on the moist paper towel in a clip lock bag.
The seeds didn't need their edges filed to get this sort of gemination.

The big jim chili seeds are swelling and I think they are very close to sprouting that first tiny root.

One of my favorite (cheap) seed stores are amost completely out of seed stock.
Word has obviously gotten out about their awesome service and they can't keep up with demand.
While I'm happy for them I would have liked to get some more seeds myself.
Oh well, as we say here in Australia - "you got to fill your boots while you can!"


----------



## sewingcreations15

Hello everyone  .

Terribly dry here with no rain for some time but we do have a strong chance of rain over the next couple of days. I am hoping that it comes down in bucket loads so it refills our rain water tanks which are down to about 1/3 now and waters the gardens and lawns.

Today I planted another 2mt row of red spring onions and 3 more money maker tomato seeds. We also fertilised the vegetable gardens with a tonic of Seasol using our rain water.

I was very happy to see that the transplanted and heavily pruned rose bushes that we replanted after amending the soil are starting to get some lovely new growth and we have the first of our tea roses.


----------



## timmie

bought some rutabaga , carrot , and turnip seed today. will get them planted tomorrow.


----------



## sewingcreations15

Hello everyone and I hope your gardens are all going well .

Today we did a little more gardening and trench composted vegetable scraps in a 2mt section and used rain water in a barrel, the vegetable boiling and cooling water to hand water 3/4's of a 9mt garden bed of vegetables.


----------



## Flight1630

sewingcreations15 said:


> Hello everyone and I hope your gardens are all going well .
> 
> Today we did a little more gardening and trench composted vegetable scraps in a 2mt section and used rain water in a barrel, the vegetable boiling and cooling water to hand water 3/4's of a 9mt garden bed of vegetables.


My garden is done for the year, too much rain in the beginning and our garden flopped. But our string beans did well for some reason.


----------



## Tank_Girl

I neglected to scape back the wood chips the feral chickens had kicked over the capsicum seedlings and this gave the cutworms a direct route over the foil wrappings.
*sigh*
2 were cut at woodchip level.

In the immortal words of Bugs Bunny "Of couse this means wharrrr!!"

I cut a LOT of 15cm squares of thick cardboard, drilled a 10 mil hole in the center of them and then cut one edge to the hole to make a flat collar.

I scapped back the woodchips and placed the collar around the stem of the seedlings
at ground level with the foil still in place.

I did this with all the seedlings-
Banana pumpkin, golden nugget, egg plant, capsicums, chilis, watermelon, beans
and tomatoes.

I am grimmly determinded I'm NOT going to be beaten by a worthless caterpillar or 10.


----------



## sewingcreations15

Yippee we had rain of 19.44mm in total on Sunday and Monday and our rain water tanks are almost topped up to full once again. Forgot to mention that we put urea pellets around all of the spinach and silverbeet plants yesterday before watering them in with saved rain and vegetable water too.


----------



## sewingcreations15

Today we did a bit of pruning on the lemongrass that had died off at the top with the frosts and collected seeds we had drying on the back veranda for dwarf bush bean strike green beans and Cherokee wax butter beans too.

We ran over the lemongrass pruning's and the dried bean plants with the mulching push mower to make some more mulch for our gardens. Up until the rain just recently we had almost no composted grass clippings left to use as garden mulch but hopefully with the recent rains the grass should take off so we have more grass clippings to use for the gardens.

We are trying to avoid the expense of buying the large round bales of hay for garden mulch as it is so expensive. Last year we didn't buy any hay and hopefully this year we can do the same.


----------



## Tank_Girl

I went out and inspected the seedlings I fitted with the ground collars.

Success!
Not a single seedling cut down.

Just as well I'm making progress in controling the cutworm damage because I have several punnets of sugar pumkins, watermelon, tomatoes, big jim chili and 3 banana pumpkin seedlings to plant out in the garden to replace 
the ones that have been destroyed.

It's finally stopped raining so I should be able to make a start on planting out my herbs along the edges of the garden paths without getting as wet as a shag.

I also noticce that the first of the jewelled stink beetles have found my achocha 
vines.
These pests found my muscadine grapes last season and spotted all the fruit.
I'll be filling a empty ice cream container with soapy water and flicking these pests 
into it so they can drown or be eaten by the ravens who like the hard shelled
beetles that I've been catching.

The pest pressure here in the tropics is really high.
To get any sort harvest takes a act of iron will and sheer bloody minded pig headedness.
It's the reason why food gardening is so much easier here in the dry season/ winter*sic*.

It's all a learning curve.

Cucurbita moschata is suppose to be the most tollerant of trpoical summer conditions 
and yet with this little bit of wet my butternut plant's leaves have gone brown and collapsed.
The butternut fruit have all been stung by fruit fly leaving indents and brown maks on the skin.
My kent pumpkins (also a C. moschata ) are loving the conditions and not one fruit has been stung by fruit fly.
The tromboncino, a C. moschata, is showing evidence of being stung on it's very first immature fruit. I had planned on using it as a zucchine substitute so it isn't a real issue and I'll only allow one fruit to mature fully so I can save seed.
I'm wondering how the banana pumpkins and golden nuggets will fair being C. maxima.
I'm guessing fruit fly resistance will depend upon how thick/tough the skin is on the immature fruit.
I already have a strong suspicion that the C. pepo - sugar pumpkin, delicata and dumpling will be hammered by fungal issues and fruit fly attack. The suagr pumpkins may surprise me but the skins on the delicata and dumpling are very thin and I really should have waited till winter to plant.


----------



## sewingcreations15

Hello everyone  .

After finishing fertilising the other 3/4's of the house paddock lawns with cow manure yesterday it came in raining overnight and dropped 3.4mm of rain on our garden beds and nicely watered in our freshly laid manure. We couldn't have timed it better if we tried  .

No gardening today as everything is really wet out there and to be honest we are both feeling a little delicate after our manure adventure and one side of my lower back is swollen  . It should be alright if I take it a little easier today though, oh the joys of lower back nerve damage.

We took a walk around the vegetable gardens yesterday and noticed that the sweet corn seeds and cucumber seeds have all sprouted which is wonderful  , might take a little walk down to the paddock gardens and see if the onions are starting to sprout too.

More rain predicted today and if we get around another 3 - 5mm of rain our rain water tanks will be topped again. We used some to hand water our newly planted seeds and the new seedlings that have emerged yesterday afternoon.


----------



## Tank_Girl

Hello. I'm TG and I'm a seed addict.

*sigh*

Online seed stores and me with a few dollars in the bank and a rainy afternoon
and well...

I got Kang Kong, red sunflowers, gold nugget pumpkins and golden midget watermelons - a strange small watermelon with bright yellow skin and dark red flesh.

I guess things could have been a lot worse. I don't drink, smoke or do drugs so 
a seed addiction seems fairly harmless in the great big scheme of things.


----------



## LincTex

Tank_Girl said:


> Hello. I'm TG and I'm a seed addict.
> 
> I guess things could have been a lot worse. I don't drink, smoke or do drugs so a seed addiction seems fairly harmless in the great big scheme of things.


Those other things are called "vices" because they cause destruction of life.

Your activities result in the opposite effect!


----------



## sewingcreations15

Don't worry Tank_Girl it appears of late we have a cow manure addiction  .

We got another 3 cubic metres of the stuff today  . Today we spread all of the manure with some on our 10 x 5mt vegetable garden in back paddock, some on the front footpath and the remaining amount on part of the back paddock lawns.

More vegetable planting shortly too. Our onion seeds are now sprouting which is fabulous but I may have to replant some areas of sweet corn seeds that have not come up.


----------



## SheepdogPRS

Are you using heirloom seeds or do you grow hybrid crops?
I looked into corn and found that the heirloom plants only produce 1 or 2 ears per stalk. We decided that corn would be a nonstarter for us. Because we use heirloom plants we collect the seeds from the plants and use them instead of buying new seeds each year.


----------



## sewingcreations15

SheepdogPRS we plant heirloom seeds here for our corn from seeds we save from the previous season of planting.

Yes you do only get one or two ears per stalk but we have half an acre here and near to 200 square metres of vegetable garden beds that we started from scratch. There is still plenty of corn (which we blanch and freeze for a year) for the two of us as we rotate the crops as others have finished. We also let some dry on the stalks and save them for seed and naturally sun dried corn kernels.


----------



## Tank_Girl

I'm buying painted mountain corn seeds from one of my favorite seed suppliers SW.
It's suppose to be very hardy and very pretty.

I'll be mixing the sunflowers with it in the rows as they're compatable.
I'll also be planting some kent pumpkin seeds in among the stand that I saved from a 
really good pumpkin I got from the store.
Yeah, I'm a pumpkin tragic and I don't need much excuse to plant them.
Just as well I love eating them.

I planted out a LOT lemon balm late yesterday afternoon.
I have one corner of my front yard where the concrete path prevents the water draining properly and it gets boggy. I mulched them with woodchip so the mud doesn't spalsh up on the leaves.
Those sorts of areas are awesome for lemon balm and I planted some
around the tap.
I also planted out a lot of sad rosella seedlings that were starting to become root bound.
WOW!!
I really went nuts with planting rosella seeds so now I have to figure out where I'm going to plant all the extras.

Today will be laying down cardboard and woodchips and sawdust around the base of my back steps.
This area gets boggy during the wet season and the grass grows so quickly and the constant rain prevents me using a mower.
I've had grass up to 6ft tall in the house yard that got that all in mere weeks during
non-stop rain.
The heat doesn't abate during the rain. It just gets humid.
Last wet season I had to don gum boots to battle my way through the grass to harvest chili and eggplants and greens because I have a "pet" eastern brown snake that lives under the foundations of my laundry.
Standing on him would ruin my life as Eastern brown's are the second most venemous land snakes on the planet.
I know the local hospital stocks antivenom for this species and I have a full first responders kit in the event I get bitten.
But he's doing his thing keeping vermin down and being elapid species his metabolisim is very high so he has to eat more often than a python does - more vermin he will eat.
I hope to plant out borage, calendua and yarrow ...if the rain lets up.


----------



## LincTex

SheepdogPRS said:


> Are you using heirloom seeds or do you grow hybrid crops? I looked into corn and found that the heirloom plants only produce 1 or 2 ears per stalk.


I guess I'm ignorant... I thought all varieties were 1-2 ears max :dunno:


----------



## sewingcreations15

Hi Tank_Girl how many cobs does each of the mountain corn plants produce ?. I was very interested in reading that you can dry it for popcorn and also grind it up for flour too. Hmm something else I can try out as they seem pretty hardy which would suit this area.


----------



## Tank_Girl

sewingcreations15 said:


> Hi Tank_Girl how many cobs does each of the mountain corn plants produce ?. I was very interested in reading that you can dry it for popcorn and also grind it up for flour too. Hmm something else I can try out as they seem pretty hardy which would suit this area.


2 cobs per plant SC.

I just checked my seed supplier and they've run out of painted mountain corn BUT they do have a multi-colored heirloom sweet corn variety called Anasazi left. It grows three cobs per stem.
I'm going to have to go with those and put a raincheck on the mountain corn.

https://www.boondieseeds.com.au/collections/corn/products/sweet-corn-anasazi?variant=35297983306


----------



## weedygarden

LincTex said:


> I guess I'm ignorant... I thought all varieties were 1-2 ears max :dunno:


Me, too.

On a similar note, last year when I was planting green beans, I read that each plant produces 3 pods. ? I don't know if it was just the variety I was planting or all of them.


----------



## terri9630

weedygarden said:


> Me, too.
> 
> On a similar not, last year when I was planting green beans, I read that each plant produces 3 pods. ? I don't know if it was just the variety I was planting or all of them.


Maybe it was a typo and they meant 3 inch pods. I've grown several types of green beans and they are very prolific producers.


----------



## sewingcreations15

Thanks Tank_Girl appreciate the information  .


----------



## SheepdogPRS

LincTex said:


> I guess I'm ignorant... I thought all varieties were 1-2 ears max :dunno:


No, some of the hybrid corn will produce 6 to eight ears per plant when properly fertilized. But you cant get the same plants when using the seeds. They revert back to the plants that make up the hybrid. There are a few heirloom plants that will produce up to 3 ears per plant but even at that we would have to increase the size of the garden to have enough corn for a year. I could grow more wheat per acre than I can corn. As it is I buy wheat from the local farmers because we live in wheat country.


----------



## Tank_Girl

Spent a soggy, mosquito infested morning hand pollinating pumkins, wtermelons and tromboncino.

The bees here are real slackers.


----------



## Tank_Girl

Donned long sleeves and trousers to brave the mozzies to prune diseased leaves and suckers off the oxheart tomatoes.

So far the diseased leaves are only the ones touching the woodchips and I think the woodchip is stopping the mud and dirt splashing up and infecting the leaves higher up.

I also used the opportunity to put some more ties further up the plant.
With all this rain the growth on the tomatoes has been staggering.

I'm going to have to get serious about catching that feral guniea pig.
Yesterday I caught it eating the tops out of my bush beans and this morning I saw it eating a female pumpkin flower that I hand pollinated yesterday and there are tiny baby watermelons missing off the vines.
This vermin is taking food off my table and, seriously, if I had an air rifle I'd be using it to deal with the problem.


----------



## Tank_Girl

As you all know I'm not the most patient person when it comes to seeds germinating. No! Really! *grins*

BUT I soaked this dumpling and delicata squash seeds and then put them on damp kitchen towel in a sealed clip lock bag.
They've been in there for over a week and so far I've had ONE (1) dumpling squash germinate and I've got nothing but heart ache from the others.
I've decided to soak the rest of the seeds that are left over to see if that entire batch of seeds from both varieties are dead.
Better to have that question answered now while I can still buy more
and if they germinate well then I have an interesting time figuring out where to put them.

My seed order finally turned up!
YAY.
I have the seeds soaking and tomorrow they'll be put into moist paper towel and a clip lock bag.


----------



## Tank_Girl

All my tomato bushes bar one have collapsed.
No sign of disease or browning of leaves just wilted and falling over.

Too much rain and if we get much more I'm building an ark.

So far one delicata squash seed had germinated and no dumpling squash.
So out of 20 delicata squash seeds I have one germinate. I consider that a failure.
I brought this batch of a seed supplier I don't usually use and, on this result, I won't be again.


----------



## Tank_Girl

Come home from shopping in pain and nauseous really just wanting to put the frozen in the freezer and the cold in the ice box, take some pain killers and fall into bed when I look out my window to see two chickens destroying my snake bean patch.
The only veggie in my yard at the moment that isn't rain affected or guinea pig chewed or cutworm attacked ....

AAAARRRRHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

Why?? W.H.Y????????

Some days life is too ruddy hard.

Chickens are back in their pen and I'll fix the damage later when I'm in less pain
and in a better frame of mind.

I need a nap.


----------



## Tank_Girl

*sigh*

Braved the mosquitoes to cut back the tomato bushes.
All wilted, overly bendy top portions and all the fruit cut off and fed to the chickens.

The mess in the bean patch cleaned up and the broken branches cut off, plants put back in the ground along with their foil and cardboard collars.

Seeds that have sprouted in their clip lock bags planted out into punnets and put out in semi shade to do their thing.

That same feral chicken was in the garden AGAIN this morning.
I'm thinking it's time for chicken soup.


----------



## sewingcreations15

Been out to the gardens today and noticed our Qld Blue pumpkins have all sprouted along with our sugar baby watermelons too. All of that rain must have done them the world of good and the sweet corn and cherry tomatoes are now a lot bigger as well  .


----------



## Tank_Girl

Don't really know how to frame this so I'm just going to blurt it out and hopefully it'll make sense.
I LIKE gardening with a tractor and implements.

YUP. I LOVE the B2E gardening system.

But there is so much satisfaction in tilling soil in a huge garden and the sheer amount of food
it produces.
Tiling, drawing rows, hilling, seeding, planting, tending, harvesting a huge crop to process and share with friends and family.

Two youtube channels I adore are Webcajun and more recently OkieRob.
The sheer scale of their gardens and the amount of food they're able to produce
is amazing.

That's what I want.
#lifegoals.


----------



## sewingcreations15

Hello everyone and I hope your gardens are coming along well  .

Today we weeded and planted another 5 x 3mt rows of saved from our previous crops sweet corn seeds as the other same sized section has all grown quite big. We also finished last night collecting all the dried seeds off the early Massey pea plants and DH went over the dried pea plants with the mulching lawn mower.

We then mulched the previous 3 metre section of the corn plants with mulch made from the dried mulched pea plants and previous dried and mulched with the lawn mower lemongrass clippings.

It is amazing what you can use for mulch that is produced on your own property without buying any hay.


----------



## Tank_Girl

Hand pollinated my first ever banana pumpkin!

Now I hope it resists the fruit fly stings or it'll be another variety that I'll have to wait to grow in the dry season when the pest pressure is less.

Found a supplier of New Guinea Bean or Sicilian Cucuzza Squash seeds.
I think I'll plant two on the trelis and see if they resist the fruit flies and the jewelled stink beetles better than the Tromboncinio.


----------



## sewingcreations15

Hello everyone  .

Some more work done in the vegetable gardens today and I weeded the sage garden bed and pruned the plants as well. We both went out and fertilised the vegetable gardens with 5 in 1 fertiliser around the capsicums, watermelons and pumpkins and also hand watered all the vegetables, herbs and berries with a tonic of Seasol using rain water and trench composted some orange skins. Before watering with Seasol I also put some urea around the corn, capsicum and strawberries too and weeded some of the strawberry and herb garden beds.

Happy to say that our beetroot has all sprouted after I soaked the seeds overnight. Previously without soaking I was not getting a good strike rate at all so I am happy with the results from our new experiment  .


----------



## Meerkat

Greenhouse coming along and seedlings are doing great.
Some will be container's in soil and others soiless hydroponics.


----------



## Tank_Girl

Finally brought Cucuzza gourd seeds and red okra.

I don't like okra but I'm hoping I can find some way to make it eatable
because it grows so well under the conditions I have here.

My new seed orderfrom a different supplier turned up.
More delicata and dumpling squash seeds to see if I got a bad batch
in the last few orders.

I brought Palmwoods tomato seeds as I heard that they are a really tough variety.
I'll put that claim to the test.

Spanish collards which love the heat BUT have to be cold stratified in the freezer for them to germinate.

Purple tomatillo BUt I have an odd tomato rust sweeping through my cape gooseberries
so planting them out in the garden at the moment would be a mistake. I'm better off holding off under the cooler weather.

I planted out tatsoi and mini nappa cabbage into coir to plant out later into the hydroponics systems for summer greens.


----------



## Tank_Girl

Harvested my first ever red malbar spinach leaves.

*UUGGHHHHH!!*

The flavor is netural but the texture is a bit "special".
Really slimy and it seems to coat and stick to the inside of your mouth and 
adheres to the back molars .
I wouldn't blend it into a green juice or smoothy because that mucous like texture.

I now consider this version of tropical spinach as famine food and I'm very
thankful I didn't devote huge amounts of trellis space to growing it.


----------



## Tank_Girl

I think I've found a way to beat the feral chickens and their never ending quest to destroy my veggie garden.
The shade house that houses my hydroponics systems has weed mat down which isn't doing a very good job at stopping weeds.
They've gotten that thick I'm frightened of stepping on Johny the eastern brown snake.
So I opened the gate between the chicken pen and the shade house and allowed the chickens in.
If they want to destroy vegetation they can knock themselves out in the shade house where they can destroy all they want until their little hearts are content.


----------



## Tank_Girl

Nix that idea.

*sigh*
I allowed one repeat offender out of the wire dog crate I had her in with the thoughts she's help herself to the weeds in the shade house like all the other chickens.
NOPE.
She's been in the veggi gardens twice.

She's now cooling her heels in the dog crate again and tomorrow I'm having a butchering day and she's first head on the block...or killing cone.


----------



## SheepdogPRS

Tank_Girl,
Can you describe "the killing cone" for me? 
I have an idea of what it would be but I am sometime way off on my ideas.


----------



## terri9630

SheepdogPRS said:


> Tank_Girl,
> Can you describe "the killing cone" for me?
> I have an idea of what it would be but I am sometime way off on my ideas.


Here is a website that sells them. I get my shrink bags here.
http://www.cornerstone-farm.com/equipment/kill-cone-broiler-round/


----------



## SheepdogPRS

Yep! that is exactly what I had envisioned. I am writing a book and the father in the story uses it to harvest a bully rooster for dinner.
Here is a quote from my book:
Copyrighted work of mine - please respect that:
After dressing, Kuliusum called to Songbird to see if she was ready to help and she replied that she was more than ready. They met in the kitchen and Kuliusum said that he would be right back. Songbird said she wanted to go with him. He explained that dinner was out in the chicken pen and she said that she wanted to learn how to do everything it took to fix dinner. He grabbed two aprons and after donning them the two of them went to get dinner. Kuliusum asked whether they should harvest the aggressive rooster or the hen that was only laying an egg every two days or so. Songbird thought for a moment and told him that the rooster would be her choice because the hen was still more valuable because she was still laying. He agreed with her logic and they rounded up the big rooster. Kuliusum placed a hood on the bird to quiet it down and tied a cord around it to bind his wings and feet. He was talking to the bird the whole time in a very calming voice and Songbird was amazed at how quiet the bird was. When her dad placed it into the funnel shaped jig that held the bird head down the bird remained completely calm. She watched as her dad thanked the bird for bringing prosperity to the chickens and for being our food that would keep us healthy. Kuliusum told her that she might not want to see the next part but she insisted that she needed to know the whole process. Kuliusum slipped the wire loop over the rooster's neck and with a single very fast pull the head separated. The birds body twitched for a few moments as Songbird stood amazed at the ease with which the bird gave up its life. At first the blood sprayed into the bucket but now it was just a drip. She watched in wonder as her dad showed so much respect for that old bird's life that she began to cry. Kuliusum, not understanding the reason behind the tears, tried to console her. When she explained why she was crying her dad explained that all life should be respected especially when it is given to help others survive. 

Just something to show that there is nothing new. I came up with the idea having never heard of a "killing cone" but remembering the way that decapitated chickens can run and flop around from my summers on the farm.


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## terri9630

SheepdogPRS said:


> Yep! that is exactly what I had envisioned. I am writing a book and the father in the story uses it to harvest a bully rooster for dinner.
> Here is a quote from my book:
> Copyrighted work of mine - please respect that:
> After dressing, Kuliusum called to Songbird to see if she was ready to help and she replied that she was more than ready. They met in the kitchen and Kuliusum said that he would be right back. Songbird said she wanted to go with him. He explained that dinner was out in the chicken pen and she said that she wanted to learn how to do everything it took to fix dinner. He grabbed two aprons and after donning them the two of them went to get dinner. Kuliusum asked whether they should harvest the aggressive rooster or the hen that was only laying an egg every two days or so. Songbird thought for a moment and told him that the rooster would be her choice because the hen was still more valuable because she was still laying. He agreed with her logic and they rounded up the big rooster. Kuliusum placed a hood on the bird to quiet it down and tied a cord around it to bind his wings and feet. He was talking to the bird the whole time in a very calming voice and Songbird was amazed at how quiet the bird was. When her dad placed it into the funnel shaped jig that held the bird head down the bird remained completely calm. She watched as her dad thanked the bird for bringing prosperity to the chickens and for being our food that would keep us healthy. Kuliusum told her that she might not want to see the next part but she insisted that she needed to know the whole process. Kuliusum slipped the wire loop over the rooster's neck and with a single very fast pull the head separated. The birds body twitched for a few moments as Songbird stood amazed at the ease with which the bird gave up its life. At first the blood sprayed into the bucket but now it was just a drip. She watched in wonder as her dad showed so much respect for that old bird's life that she began to cry. Kuliusum, not understanding the reason behind the tears, tried to console her. When she explained why she was crying her dad explained that all life should be respected especially when it is given to help others survive.
> 
> Just something to show that there is nothing new. I came up with the idea having never heard of a "killing cone" but remembering the way that decapitated chickens can run and flop around from my summers on the farm.


We don't use a hood or tie the bird. Once they are upside down in the cone they relax. The flapping of the wings after death will sometimes kick the bird out of the top of the cone however. An old broken piece of paving stone stops that.


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## sewingcreations15

Hello everyone and we had a good session in the gardens today and weeded 2 x 9 x 2mt garden beds. We also staked and tied up the cherry tomato plants which have got huge with all the rain and now have sultana sized cherry tomatoes forming on them. I also found some sprouted basil seedlings too near them so I am a happy camper.

We also attacked the sweet potato bed and lawns as we had sweet potatoes sprouting in the lawns so we dug them out and transplanted them in the sweet potato garden bed. It appears we have the start of another year of a good crop of sweet potatoes.

While we were in the front yard we moved all of the seasoned large firewood and kindling from the outside of the veranda onto the veranda and stacked it. The front veranda is full to the brim with beautiful firewood which should last about 2 years. I don't think we will have to cut any firewood until the end of next years winter.


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## timmie

stopped by a dollar general today and got 4 mini-greenhouses, 4 peat pots with 3 in each ,and 2 pkgs, peat pots for 3.37. all of these are to plant our seeds come december and january.


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## sewingcreations15

Hello everyone and I hope your gardens or preparations for gardening are going well  .

Today we completed the work in the front gardens and mulched the sweet potato bed with composted grass clippings and leaves and planted some more basil seeds that hadn't come up in some spots in the garden. We then mulched around all of tomatoes and basil that had come up in the gardens. Then out to the back garden beds where I weeded another 9 x 2mt garden bed and we did some more mulching around all of the silver beet and spinach as the mulch was all spent.


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## Tank_Girl

This morning I planted out Cucucuzza seeds and red burgundy orka seeds into punnets after I soaked them over night.

I also planted out the kang kong water spniach out into the hydroponic system.
I useto have two dif. varieties of this awesome summer green BUT.....FERAL CHICKENS!!!
So I'm having to start from scratch. I brought seeds but I don't know what variety they are until the plants mature. Either way I'm very happy to have this green again.

The grass is growing so long but the ride on mower is out of action and I can't use the heavy duty whipper snipper because my neck is in a brace. Chances are, because I'm becoming more and more fragile even pulling the starter cord would dislocate my shoulder on the "good" side.


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## sewingcreations15

We had a great session in the gardens today and DH started the morning off with mowing the 1/2 acre with the ride on lawn mower and then cut all the remaining firewood that wouldn't split with the manual wood splitter and stacked it on the veranda.

After a bit of a break we then went out and weeded the 2 round strawberry and herb gardens and I found some wild dill in there and transplanted those around a few drippers in two of the gardens. While we were there we planted 1 each of the French lavender we purchased in the rose, strawberry and thyme round beds and the last one near the sage we have growing in another bed and weeded that bed too. We then went out into the back paddock gardens where while DH was cutting wood I found a stack of volunteer marigold seedlings that I transplanted into our large garden bed making 2 x 5mt rows at either end of the garden bed and we weeded a 2mt section at either end. DH then joined me and we found some more volunteer sugar baby watermelon seedlings and dug them out and replanted them making another 5mt row of them as well. It didn't stop there as we also found a heap of volunteer sweet corn seedlings and transplanted them as well making 5 x 1mt rows more of sweet corn too.

Waste not want not is always my saying and any volunteer plants that make extra food are always a blessing.


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## Tank_Girl

I find the volunteer plants to be a lot stronger than seedlings I buy from the nursery.

I only had one burgundy okra seed germinate. *sigh* That's ok I guess. This was only a trial planting to see if I actually like them cooked with the awesome recipes you lovely people provided for me.

I have Cucuzza seeds germinate. These I'm really excited about.
It'll be interesting to see if they resist the fruit fly stings.

So far the achocha has been a bitter disapointment with not a single pod 
growing to maturity.
I don't know if they'll live long enough to get through to the cooler weather of the
dry season when the pest pressure is less.


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## crabapple

Here in South Carolina, we have Cole plants, collards, turnips, winter peas,onions, & carrots.


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## sewingcreations15

Hello everyone and another session in the gardens that was productive today.

We planted 2 x 4.5mts of silver beet seeds in the gardens along with another 5mt row of sweet corn seeds. While we were at it we weeded another 9 x 2mt garden bed and raked up dried leaves under one of the trees in the back paddock to use as mulch. Probably will have some time to run over it with the mulching mower along with trimmings from our herb plants we have sitting in the trailer too.


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