What Are Some Tips for Successful Gardening?

[dlgoff]

My mother and I both grew wisteria in Houston, TX and even there they lose their leaves and go dormant in the winter. I'm amazed that they grow here dl, but I did see a magnolia tree here and was shocked, it was huge.

Probably not as shocking, but Mimosa Trees also grow here in Kansas.

BTW Did you move? Haven't seen you around much lately. You okay?

 

[Evo]

Probably not as shocking, but Mimosa Trees also grow here in Kansas.

BTW Did you move? Haven't seen you around much lately. You okay?

Haven't moved, but I've been sick.

 

[dlgoff]

Haven't moved, but I've been sick.

Sorry to hear that. I hope you are feeling better. Maybe we can chat a little tomorrow.

 

[Evo]

Sorry to hear that. I hope you are feeling better. Maybe we can chat a little tomorrow.

I'm looking forward to chat.

 

[turbo]

My head is swimming after spending much of the afternoon buried in seed catalogs. Too many choices. Since my garden was torn up during the time when I should have been planting garlic, my neighbor gave me the use of his garden-spot for my garlic. He's putting an addition on his house next year, and won't have time to do gardening. I'm planning on planting extras of everything to supply him and the family with vegetables during the next season. Now, if we can only get a "normal" summer. When the septic work was all done, I tilled 14 yards of coarse sand and 14 yards of rotted cow manure into my garden spot to improve drainage and add nutrients back to the soil. I haven't used any chemical fertilizers or pesticides on my garden spot, just manure, compost, etc, so the soil is nice and black and rich.

The previous owner knew NOTHING about proper gardening, and he added lime every year, and dowsed everything with Miracle Gro. I did a soil test the first year and found that the garden spot was so alkaline that I had to pay $$$ for powdered elemental sulfur just to get the pH down into a reasonable range.

Another old fellow up the road has been doing the same foolishness, and his wife asked me to test their soil. Once again, too alkaline. Some people have no understanding of how pH can affect the availability and uptake of nutrients, and you can't teach them if they are set in their ways.

 

[rewebster]

Haven't moved, but I've been sick.

my, oh boy (girl), not good!----hope you're feeling better soon----is it the flu?

 

[Evo]

my, oh boy (girl), not good!----hope you're feeling better soon----is it the flu?

No, I'm falling apart.

 

[Evo]

Ok, I promised to post some pictures a week or two ago, here they are.

I thought the way the snow was melting was interesting, so I got my camera, and luckily just when I went to snap the picture, a bird ran over and looked down, just in time to give the photo some interest, look at those cute toes!

This is the one I mentioned in chat. I was taking pictures of the snow and snapped these two one after the other. Oddly there appears to be a fog in the first shot which is gone a few seconds later in the second shot. Could the fog be a camera glitch, it seems to be thicker in some areas, I just thought it was strange.

 

[rewebster]

its the ghost of your pepper plant

(probably the furnace venting)



are you getting some help or do you need it right now?

 

[Evo]

its the ghost of your pepper plant

(probably the furnace venting)

No, that's a post on the outside of my patio, there is nothing else there.

 

[rewebster]

it may have been snow falling from the bird leaving the plant---the bird is flying away, its in the upper right hand corner, in front of one of the trees near the snow line


are you getting some help or do you need it right now?

 

[Evo]

it may have been snow falling from the bird leaving the plant---the bird is flying away, its in the upper right hand corner, in front of one of the trees near the snow line


are you getting some help or do you need it right now?

The bird flew off from another point on the patio.

Help with what, the picture?

 

[rewebster]

Haven't moved, but I've been sick.

No, I'm falling apart.

are you OK?

 

[Evo]

are you OK?

I'm getting old.

 

[rewebster]

I'm getting old.

meaning? what?---you don't want to be a grandmother someday?

 

[baywax]

I'm getting old.

Hello Evo!

you know you're getting old when you say "I'm getting old" so... stop that!

the fog looks like its on the lens... like a drop or a smudge.

 

[Evo]

the fog looks like its on the lens... like a drop or a smudge.

But the second clear picture was taken about 10 seconds later, so that's not it either. I was just randomly snapping pictures of the snow that had objects with which to gauge the depth. The picture taken a few seconds before the one with the fog was perfectly clear also.

 

[turbo]

I just ordered my seeds for next summer's garden. I have about 1/2 of what I'll need already in the freezer, and many of the seeds I needed are for things that we'll be starting in the greenhouse that we would normally buy as seedlings or direct seed. Tomatoes and chilies will get stated from seed, and pickling cukes, and squash will get a head-start in the greenhouse instead of waiting for appropriate soil temperatures for germination after direct-seeding.

I'm pretty psyched about gardening this year, especially after seeing the quality of the soil after amending it with manure and sand and deep-tilling.

 

[Evo]

Looks like it will be awesome turbo. I hope the weather is more cooperative this year.

Of course the groundhog did predict a late spring.

 

[turbo]

Looks like it will be awesome turbo. I hope the weather is more cooperative this year.

Of course the groundhog did predict a late spring.

I don't care if it's a late spring, as long as we get an actual summer this year. Chilies need sun and warm temperatures to do their best. I can live with a light crop of tomatoes, etc, but I NEED chilies. I ordered habanero, jalapeno, and Hungarian wax. The Hungarians are fantastic for making stuffed peppers with spiced hamburg and rice, tomato sauce, and melted cheese. Mmm. Also very nice for stir-fries.

 

[dlgoff]

The Hungarians are fantastic for making stuffed peppers with spiced hamburg and rice, tomato sauce, and melted cheese. Mmm.

Or just as a side. One bit of this then one bite of a wax. Mmm.

 

[turbo]

I love stuffing jalapenos. They are small, so that there are few recipes that will work well. The Hungarian Wax chilies are larger (perhaps 8" or so long and 3-4" wide) and they are a bit milder than the jalapenos so they can be easily used as vessels for stuffed peppers when some people don't like really hot foods.

 

[Astronuc]

The greenhouse opens next week at the local CSA.

Time to start thinking about this years crops. Folks might find some ideas here:

http://www.gardeners.com/Kitchen-Garden-Planner/kgp_home,default,pg.html

http://www.gardeners.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-Gardeners-Site/default/Page-KitchenGardenDesigner

 

[rewebster]

I helped a friend in high school tap and collect maple sap a few times for the family business just because it was one of those interesting things. The shed where they did the reducing was an olfactory delight. Riding through the forest and throwing the sap in the container didn't seem like work.

I think I'll look around for a local producer this year.


I still have to spray the peach and nectarine trees for peach leaf curl---its one of the two things that make them go bad if I don't--and it has to be done in the dormant (no growth) period.

 

[Astronuc]

I got this shot accidently, I was going to take a picture of my dog falling into 3 foot deep snow, but he stopped for a "break". See the snowflake next to the bat? There are 4 more, but this one is the biggest.

At first I thought this was an orange skunk. But I soon realized it was Rico doing a 'high five'.

Interesting snowflake. It reminds me of Whoville for some reason.

 

[turbo]

On the "baby, it's cold" thread, I posted that I can get 14 yards of well-rotted cow manure for $200, delivered. I just crunched a few numbers, and based on a weight of 2000#/yd, one load is 28,000#, which is equivalent to 700 40# bags. Depending on where you buy gardening supplies, you'd go broke trying to add that much organic material to your garden.

 

[Astronuc]

I have to check the price, but I was told about $25 for 2 cu yds of manure.

 

[turbo]

I have to check the price, but I was told about $25 for 2 cu yds of manure.

If it's clean and well-rotted, that's a great price. My next-door neighbor was buying directly from an old dairy farmer in the next town. He'd get loads that were contaminated with rope, baling twine, plastic, and even hypodermic needles. Plus, the manure was VERY weedy because it was badly contaminated with feed and bedding. He went back to chemical fertilizers until he saw how clean my load was last fall.

When my wife and I were first married, I agreed to plant and tend a large vegetable garden at her parents' place (her father had lost a leg to diabetes). Unfortunately, he ordered manure from a guy that kept horses. Horses don't chew their food as well as cows, and they don't have multiple stomachs, so weed-seeds pass right through them. I have never seen such a weedy garden in my life. The wild mustard alone would make you cry.

 

[Astronuc]

If it's clean and well-rotted, that's a great price. My next-door neighbor was buying directly from an old dairy farmer in the next town. He'd get loads that were contaminated with rope, baling twine, plastic, and even hypodermic needles. Plus, the manure was VERY weedy because it was badly contaminated with feed and bedding. He went back to chemical fertilizers until he saw how clean my load was last fall.

The stuff is clean.

When my wife and I were first married, I agreed to plant and tend a large vegetable garden at her parents' place (her father had lost a leg to diabetes). Unfortunately, he ordered manure from a guy that kept horses. Horses don't chew their food as well as cows, and they don't have multiple stomachs, so weed-seeds pass right through them. I have never seen such a weedy garden in my life. The wild mustard alone would make you cry.

We could get all the horse manure we need - for free - but it needs to be aged and keep under black plastic for 2 years to kill the weeds. Cow manure is much better.

The farmer with whom we talked recommended chickens. He moves his 'portable' yard/coop around the property, the chickens (hens only is an option) poop in a closed area, then once he moves them, he tills.

 

[turbo]

The stuff is clean.

We could get all the horse manure we need - for free - but it needs to be aged and keep under black plastic for 2 years to kill the weeds. Cow manure is much better.

Yep. Well-rotted cow manure is nice and black, and it is relatively weed-free. It releases nutrients quite slowly and steadily, so it is way better for your vegetables than chemical fertilizers. I had to add 14 yards of coarse sand to match the 14 yards of rotted manure, because manure helps retain water, and if we get another wet summer this year, I'll need the extra drainage that the sand will provide, plus the sand will reduce the resistance of the soil to carrots and other root crops. Until I had worked on the soil a bit, it was really hard to dig carrots out of the garden. Too much clay!