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Gardening Thread

DeacWatcher said:
Usually right after Easter to avoid that early spring freeze that always seems to pop up.
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From transplants, I am assuming.

I put the sweet potatoes (slips) in last year in June. They did unbelievably well. Based on the symmetry of their harvest/planting schedules, I would be tempted to plant the slips in the plot I just harvested by Spring potato crop in (plant in March, harvest June, plant in June, Harvest at Halloween). Not really crop-rotate-y, though. Hoping I can cure with a heavy backfill of compost after harvest.
 
jhmd2000 said:
Anybody tried one of those fancy worm bins? Amazon has them for about $109.00. Tempted, but not sure they solve a present need.
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I made some from containers. They are great for kitchen scraps, but I have little/no use for them anymore now that I have chickens and bokashi. What the chickens don't turn into chicken shit ends up in the bokashi bin. Save for large bones, I don't toss any organic stuff into the trash anymore. It all ends up in the back yard one way or another.
 
RacerDeac said:
I made some from containers. They are great for kitchen scraps, but I have little/no use for them anymore now that I have chickens and bokashi. What the chickens don't turn into chicken shit ends up in the bokashi bin. Save for large bones, I don't toss any organic stuff into the trash anymore. It all ends up in the back yard one way or another.
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I don't know Japanese fetish lingo. I'm a cautious type when it comes to chicken waste. I like to cure it a year before I deploy it. I'm thinking the worms might help me turn some winter yard waste (and recycled coffee grounds) into summer compost. Will update with progress.
 
jhmd2000 said:
I don't know Japanese fetish lingo. I'm a cautious type when it comes to chicken waste. I like to cure it a year before I deploy it. I'm thinking the worms might help me turn some winter yard waste (and recycled coffee grounds) into summer compost. Will update with progress.
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LOL. It depends on the chicken waste. If you're running a deep litter setup, it composts in place pretty quickly. You build up a lot of good micro and macro organisms that go to work. I only change out the litter twice a year. If you're just scooping shit into a pile every few days, that stuff does need a lot of time.
 
RacerDeac said:
LOL. It depends on the chicken waste. If you're running a deep litter setup, it composts in place pretty quickly. You build up a lot of good micro and macro organisms that go to work. I only change out the litter twice a year. If you're just scooping shit into a pile every few days, that stuff does need a lot of time.
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Like I said, I'm probably overcautious. I clean it out less frequently than I used to (old Mr. Ringtail cut into the population, so seven birds now occupy a space that once housed 25), but clean it out monthly into aerated 55 gallon plastic cans, and douse each with a HD bucket full of rainbucket water every week when I rotate compost between trash cans.

Just ordered a worm bin and five hundo wigglers. Gawd I'm so micro-old.
 
I started a Summer vegetable garden in Ashe County last Spring. Since I was cultivating an area that had never been used as a garden, I knew it required a great deal of amendments. There is an Alpaca ranch in the area and I obtained load of "pacca poo" to add to the garden which is approximately 700 sq. feet. I had an abundance of cukes, tomatoes, green/butter beans, and okra. Planning to plant again late Spring. JHMD and Racer would appreciate your insight whether I need to get another load of "pacca poo" to add this year or can I amend with decayed mulch etc... The Alpaca owners had provided an analysis of the fertilizer that was compiled by the Univ. of Idaho. Do not have the report in hand as it is at my home in NC.
 
tbird said:
I started a Summer vegetable garden in Ashe County last Spring. Since I was cultivating an area that had never been used as a garden, I knew it required a great deal of amendments. There is an Alpaca ranch in the area and I obtained load of "pacca poo" to add to the garden which is approximately 700 sq. feet. I had an abundance of cukes, tomatoes, green/butter beans, and okra. Planning to plant again late Spring. JHMD and Racer would appreciate your insight whether I need to get another load of "pacca poo" to add this year or can I amend with decayed mulch etc... The Alpaca owners had provided an analysis of the fertilizer that was compiled by the Univ. of Idaho. Do not have the report in hand as it is at my home in NC.
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I defer to Racer on all matters involving feces.

I'm hacking at this hobby. Success is hard to argue with so why not repeat-o? Curiosity might nudge me towards drawing an actual line in the sand, with the control group on one side and a load of that sweet pack animal turd blend on the other, and see if you can measure a difference.

Sounds like an awesome set up. I have to beg, borrow and steal sunlight where I live, and 700 square feet in the mountains sounds tremendous. Good luck to you.
 
tbird said:
I started a Summer vegetable garden in Ashe County last Spring. Since I was cultivating an area that had never been used as a garden, I knew it required a great deal of amendments. There is an Alpaca ranch in the area and I obtained load of "pacca poo" to add to the garden which is approximately 700 sq. feet. I had an abundance of cukes, tomatoes, green/butter beans, and okra. Planning to plant again late Spring. JHMD and Racer would appreciate your insight whether I need to get another load of "pacca poo" to add this year or can I amend with decayed mulch etc... The Alpaca owners had provided an analysis of the fertilizer that was compiled by the Univ. of Idaho. Do not have the report in hand as it is at my home in NC.
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If you have relatively easy access to composted manure, I would add more again this year. I can't remember the last time that a garden soil was "too rich" or had too much organic matter. Every year I add a ton or so of compost to the garden. In addition, each tomato plant gets about a half cup of superphosphate fertilizer shortly after planting. If you are really worried, have the existing soil in the garden analyzed for nutrients etc. There is probably a service through the local ag extension agent or through NC state.
 
jhmd2000 said:
Yep. I'm doing the same. I'm thinking about going wall-to-wall potatoes for a spring garden. This might be a little raciost, but I think getting my potatoes in on St. Patrick's Day is a good goal.

When do you guys plant the following:
tomatoes (I want to make tax day my goal)
sweet potatoes
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Tomatoes don't really take much cold and they don't grow well in chilly soil. Better to wait and put them into warm (65+ degree) soil. Tax day may be too early for them.
 
Thanks for the suggestions. Plan to start potatoes, sweet peas, cabbage and onions early April if the soil has thawed in the mountains.
 
Well, 2015 outdoor gardening may be over, but it's near the end of January, so the first indoor start seeds went in last night. Basil and geraniums. Its good to have decent size transplants to put out once the weather gets warm. Seeds available many places much earlier than I remember in years past.
 
My local hardware store had corn the 2nd week of January. Absolutely blew my mind.

I've got some flower bulbs that I bought last fall that I never put in the ground. I've heard that as long as the ground isnt frozen they can still be planted. If I plant them this weekend, will that throw off their cycle?
 
tsywake said:
My local hardware store had corn the 2nd week of January. Absolutely blew my mind.

I've got some flower bulbs that I bought last fall that I never put in the ground. I've heard that as long as the ground isnt frozen they can still be planted. If I plant them this weekend, will that throw off their cycle?
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Yeah, you can still plant them and expect blooms this year. They may bloom a little later than if they had been planted earlier last fall.
 
jhmd2000 said:
Anyone ever fought nematodes and won?
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I had some success eliminating them (nematodes) when the moles or voles arrived. Problem is been dealing with those critters ever since. Have read solutions and remedies on GardenWeb.com. Tried juicy fruit gum as suggested but did not remove the animals. Need to borrow my neighbors cat when I return to NC this Spring as that may work. At least they aerate the soil with their tunnels.
 
Earlier posts requesting information on early tomato varieties. Pasting link to an excellent source of tomato information for those interested. I have found this site to have one of the best data bases for global tomato varieties:

http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/0-33
 
tbird said:
Earlier posts requesting information on early tomato varieties. Pasting link to an excellent source of tomato information for those interested. I have found this site to have one of the best data bases for global tomato varieties:

http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/0-33
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Wow, that's a lot of information on almost 4500 varieties of tomatoes. If you can't find what you would like there, I'm not sure what to say.
 
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