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Weedinhoe's 2016 & Beyond Garden

314K views 4K replies 79 participants last post by  Weedinhoe 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hello! I am a Georgia veggie gardener and, weather permitting, try to have something going in the garden all year long. I don't have enough space to put up masses of any one thing because I grow a lot of different stuff so the aim is to put up what I can and eat seasonally and fresh.

When I retired five years ago I decided to convert the whole garden to 4'x18' raised beds using 2x8's and lengths of 1/2" PVC pipe around the bed perimeters as stakes to hold the sides and end pieces upright. That will allow me to disassemble and move the beds to another location quickly should the need arise. It's also handy in that I can just remove the end pieces, run the tiller through the beds and then replace the end pieces.

Since I am located on a road and the garden is visible from the road, the plan is to move the beds to the back of the property behind the woods if the SHTF. There's a creek back there for water and a pond uphill from which I can siphon water through hoses.

Here are some shots of my garden.

This pic is from last year but is pretty much what the garden looks like right now:


This is the south side of the garden as viewed from the top of the garden:


And this is a view from the other side:


And finally, this is a view from the bottom of the garden:
 
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#2,118 ·
It's almost watermelon time! Today I got two tomato cages and put them over the two largest Charleston Gray melons in the patch. It was too hot to fool around with staking them down but that will happen this evening. Damn the theiving coyotes; full speed ahead!



5th Gear was picking pole beans near the melons and spied a Black Diamond hiding nearby so there are some in there. They just have to get big enough to see them among the shadows of the vines. I found one more and marked both positions with stakes for future reference. They're still small; this one's probably about 8" wide.



It's another hot and humid day, nothing new for July. In the cool of the morning I got more mulch on three beds and watered everything well. Later on after 6 or 7pm I'll deadhead the zinnias, cone flowers and marigolds and will have to stake the yellow zinnias as they're tall and sprawling. Gotta find me a better yellow.
 
#2,119 ·
It's a misty day out there; not a day to be out messing with foliage in the garden. I'm hoping the mist turns into real rain at some point as we need it badly. Some trees are starting to drop leaves.

It's a good day to take care of business on the light shelves. The shelf where I've been ripening early picked tomatoes has been wiped down with bleach to get any funk that might have been transferred to it by tomatoes with a problem.

The leek and scallion seeds popped up a couple days ago so they're on their way to planting out in about two months. I'll start another pack of scallions in four weeks so they're not all ready at once later. The leeks are the third effort at growing them. I can't understand why I can grow onions and scallions but leeks just don't do well. Maybe it's a timing problem. We'll see.



On a lower light shelf are the last bulbs of those small, forgotten two year old garlic plants. They're ready to go into a net bag and be hung in the closet with the other garlic. Then there are the six spaghetti squash we got before funk killed the plant. The dew has dried off the Lady Finger field pea seed pods I picked yesterday and they're ready to be shelled and sorted.



The shelled Lady Finger peas get the freezer treatment for a few days to kill any bug eggs. The last picking has been in there for a few days and I just brought them out to get them conditioned to room temp before they go into their jar with the other seeds.



I've decided to let all the Lady Fingers go to dry peas because they're small and a bit of a hassle shelling them green. Dried peas are a heck of a lot easier to shell and can be just stored in a jar. This is about the third picking with more to come.
 
#2,120 ·
This weather front business has left us high and dry so far this week. Oh, just a short bit of mist yesterday but no rain. However yesterday it was only 78 out there at lunch, QUITE a relief! And 68 this morning. We'll take it.

There's not much on the schedule today so I guess I'll wing it and go where the spirit leads. Yesterday I whizzed up some hot peppers and got a pepper sauce put together to start fermenting. Made from small, curved red peppers called 'Rooster Spur' (that's what they look like) with lots of seeds, it smells waaaay too hot! Oh well, if I don't like it, I can toss it out as it really didn't cost me anything except the small bit of potting soil I grew the plant in.

The squirrels have discovered that 5th Gear's sunflowers have ripe seeds so they're munching on those in addition to still stealing tomatoes. Greedy little bastiges! She says they can have the sunflowers as she grew them for the squirrels and birds. At this rate there won't be anything left for the birds!

It's nice and cool out there so I think I'll take the opportunity to fork up one of two beds that need it before the weeds take it over. Call it today's exercise. It and one other will be planted with fall brassicas in about six weeks. Those will be plants that get started next Wednesday. Maybe I'll label those planting containers today and get that out of the way.
 
#2,121 ·
Our supposed big rain the other day......started sprinkling and quit about the time I realized it was sprinkling. I was pickin elderberrys up on a ladder. Just about down and it quit sprinkling. :mad:
Going to have to water again about tomorrow.

Ever see a hornworn on something other than tomatoes??
375810


Big boy here was going to town on a pepper plant. Never would have thought to look or seen him, except I saw big black balls all around the base of the plant. Then I spotted him.....
And then I noticed that the raccoons had decided my cantaloupes were ripe enough to destroy.
So I got the trap set for the next invasion.
 
#2,123 ·
Peppers are plentiful right now. There are two growing out there that are new to me this year, Rooster Spur (hot) and Prairie Spice (sweet but with an occasional hot surprise). The small ones in the basket are the Rooster Spur and the larger, longer ones are Prairie Spice. Both plants have put out a lot so far.



There are two sauce ferments going on right now. I've put together one with just the Rooster Spur and some garlic. It looks like hell on wheels with all those seeds and will probably be way too hot for me even after I add the vinegar and a few other things. o_O 5th Gear put together the other one with Prairie Spice and jalapenos. It will probably be more to my liking.

 
#2,125 ·
Opossums are actually nice to have around! They eat ticks, rodents (dead or alive) and a host of other undesirables. Sadly, that seems to include your cantaloupes and I wouldn't be happy either. Hopefully you can release it back into the wild rather than kill it.
 
#2,131 ·
Today was a clean up day. We pulled out the Lady Finger field peas as they're done. Then we stripped the pole bean vines off their trellis except for the vines tightly wound around the the fencing used as trellis. I'm going to let those just dry up completely and they'll crumble right off. One thing I discovered though was that the bean roots were all knotted up with nematodes. First sign of them in that part of the garden.

Then I cleared a bunch of stuff off the porch tables, mainly micro tomatoes that were finished and also funked up. Got those pots dumped, washed and sprayed with bleach solution. Next week I'll start more of those. It's been handy having cherry tomatoes all spring and summer.
 
#2,132 ·
Summer is droning on and the garden is chugging along valiantly in the heat. This is the first time I've messed with growing green beans in the summer. So far, so good. The Kentucky Wonder pole beans take up half of a trellis and now have flower buds. Some new-to-me Beit Alpha cukes are just starting to climb the rest of the trellis and have their first flowers.




On the other side of that bed are half a row of Provider beans and Strike beans in the other half. The Providers are starting to bloom so maybe first beans in two weeks.




Yesterday morning the okra was looking a bit droopy even though it was watered well the evening before so I soaked it good again right then and again last evening.



If it didn't recover I would think the nematodes were at work. But this morning it looked good so I added more mulch and watered again. And while there I added some t-posts and the first string support down the sides of the adjacent Red Ripper field pea bed.



That's all I did in the garden today but this afternoon it's time to start the fall plants; broccoli, collards, kale and the like. That means in about four weeks I'll be planting them. Time sure does fly...
 
#2,136 ·
I've got some KY Wonder pole with their first flowers/buds too. Like you, I'm wondering if they'll make in this heat. There's plenty of leaf mulch down each side of the trellis and they get watered daily. At least the bush beans on the other side of the bed are blooming too but they get some shade from the pole beans for part of the afternoon. We'll see!
 
#2,137 ·
Yesterday I put up a trellis on the end of a bed and planted some Melting Snow snow peas. Since it’s been so hot and dry I used what I call the “wet trench” method. After loosening the soil with the broadfork and incorporating some 5-10-15, I hoed a deep furrow and filled it with water. After it soaked in I did that again. Then I planted the peas, watered them in and covered the row with folded and soaked newspaper. Mulch was laid on the outside edges of the newspaper.



The soil should have enough moisture and be cool enough for the peas to germinate. Last year I learned the hard way that I need to check under the paper both morning and evening two days after planting to see if anything’s trying to pop up. Pea seeds pop fast if they’re happy! Last year I was too late checking turnip seed progress using the same method. They had germinated and were laying down all spindly and I had to replant. As CityKitty says, “garden and learn. :D
 
#2,139 ·
It’s time to start some fall garden stuff. In some cases a few plants are being started now and more of the same will be started in a few weeks to provide a little stagger.

Broccoli, Packman (50 days) – 6 now and 6 more later
Broccoli Jacaranda (50 days) – 3 from seed someone sent me to try.

Brussels Sprouts, Red Bull (100 days) - 2 from seed someone in Florida sent me to try. If she can grow these in Florida, maybe I have a chance here in Georgia. If they don’t make, it’s the absolute last time I will try to grow Brussels. Yeah, I’ve said that before but this time I mean it!

Cabbage, Stonehead (55 days) – 2 now, 2 later
Cabbage, Early Jersey Wakefield (64 days) – 2 now, 2 later
Cabbage, Savoy Perfection (92 days) – 4 now

Cauliflower, Amazing (71 days) – 3 now, 3 more in 2 weeks and the last three 2 weeks after that

Collards, Vates (68 days) – 2 now
Kale, Premier (60 days) – 2 now. Two collards and kale are a gracious plenty for two people!

Leeks, King Sieg (84 days) – already growing under the lights.
Onion, Australian Brown (100 days) – will start seeds indoors as soon as they arrive
Onion, Texas Grano (175 days) – will start seeds indoors as soon as they arrive
Onion, Warrior scallion (60 days) - will start seeds indoors in 10 days for October planting. I already have a pack of Evergreen scallions growing under the lights.

To be direct sown later in September and October:

Bush beans, Provider - 36'
Carrots – Bolero, Envy, Napoli and Yaya - 36'
Garlic – Lorz Italian, Siberian and Russian Inferno - 36'
Kohlrabi - Blauer Spec, Kolibri and Gigant Winter (a “just for fun”) - 18' staggered
Radishes – assorted and Daikon
Rutabaga – small test planting to try
Tomatoes, micro dwarfs – One each of 6 varieties for growing indoors during the winter.
Turnips – Purple Top - 18'
 
#2,140 ·
Last week it was 19 year old Callie's turn to cross over the bridge. For a while she had been just slowing down like an old clock needing winding. Then a sudden downturn last week prompted a quick trip to the vet who found a large abdominal mass and lung problems. Those weren't there 10 months ago during Callie's annual physical. Possible cancer which would explain the slowing down, losing appetite, shedding, etc. She had been recovering so well and putting on weight and then all of a sudden started sliding quickly. I’ve noticed sick people do that too. It was time and it was for the best as we didn't want her to suffer. When I got home 5th Gear had already dug a nice grave under the Memorial Magnolia where three others are buried so that went fairly quickly.

Callie's nickname in her younger days was Swimbo, or SWMBO - She Who Must Be Obeyed (wife of Rumpole of the Bailey on PBS). She ruled the roost, keeping younger cats in line until increasing age finally allowed one of the other females to dethrone her. Even in "retirement" she maintained that slight regal aloofness. She is sorely missed. I present Callie in her prime, circa 2012:

 
#2,141 ·
Please accept my condolences for the loss of your loved one. At least she went quickly! My Fireball did the same back in 2016. He just slowed down, the vet found lymphoma, a quick surgery gave him 6 more months, and that was that. He was 13. Death comes for us all. I grieve with thee.

377400
 
#2,142 ·
Thanks, CK. Lester seems to be the cat that misses her. He's been nosing around like he's looking for something and softly calling now and then. But he's getting better after a lot of play sessions with his squeaky mouse tied to a long string. That look in Fireball's eyes seems one of those that says, "You bother me one more time and you'll pay the price!".

Back to gardening. Today all but two of the house tomatoes from spring were removed as they were spent and getting funkier. No rehab possible on those puppies! The two left (on the right) are the Bella Rosa and the Rosella cherry, at least for a little while longer. Stuff on the other end includes zinnias, eggplants and new fall tomatoes/eggplant.



These are two dwarf tomatoes, BrandyFred (L) and Bushy Chabarovsky (R) with another Millionaire eggplant behind them.



At the far end are Red Siberian (L) and Early Girl (L) which already has a few greenies on it. We usually do these two for fall since they're quick producers (55 days). Started June11, they should be done right before first frost in late October.



Down in the garden I "groomed" the other tomatoes again this morning, cutting away funk foliage. It appears that the bottom halves of the plants are putting out fresh new shoots. As soon as any rain from TS Fred passes through tomorrow I'll give them a good spray of neem oil to see if they can be protected. There are also new flowers in the plant tops and with a few days of temps not above 95, maybe they can set a few tomatoes. We'll see.



No sign of the snow peas popping up yet. Because of a few coming days of 80's, I removed the wet newspaper so I don't have to keep checking for germination twice a day.

Speaking of germination, all of the fall brassicas started on Wednesday had popped up by yesterday morning.

And finally, in a sign that summer is getting older, the Stephanie Golden Camellia by the back door is setting lots of flower buds. The first blooms should appear before mid October.

 
#2,143 ·
Yesterday I removed the newspaper from the snow pea planting because we'll be having cooler weather for a few days. One pea was pushing up.

Woo hoo! We're been getting some rain from TS Fred. Just a half inch yesterday but today some rain bands are moving over us now and then. We just got finished with a big rain dump; there's now 2" so far today and the sun has popped out. It's temporary as there's another orange-red area headed this way.

This morning I've been thinking about what micro dwarf tomatoes to do indoors this winter. Last year's eight on the light table were too many, especially since a few of them were kind of tall and floppy space hogs. I didn't know that when I started them as they were new to me. This time there will be just six, two each of three compact varieties. One of each will be started next week with the other three started a month later. I want to stagger them so they all don't produce at once and then are done all at once leaving us without cherry tomatoes. A nice steady procession of cherry tomatoes all winter long and into spring is the goal with the right succession plantings. Red Robin, Pinocchio Orange and Joshalos (a yellow/gold) will be the chosen ones.

There's bread rising on the counter. A good rainy day activity.
 
#2,144 ·
We ended up with 2.1" of much needed rain from what was left of TS Fred, After several days of cooler weather, today we're back to low 90's.

The snow peas have all popped up. Glad I took the newspaper off. :)

This is the okra bed with two Choppee on the near end and two Heavy Hitter on the far end. The Choppee just aren’t as big and leafy as last year’s monsters. All of the okra is looking kind of "thin". I’m still not sure there aren’t nematodes at work here.



This year someone gave me some seeds of Heavy Hitter, an okra supposedly with more fruiting branches than other okras with those branches starting very low on the plant. I’ve counted fruiting branches on both varieties and find no real difference between Heavy Hitter and Choppee. This is a Heavy Hitter:



This is the Choppee. I tried it for the first time last year and am finding I really like this okra whose slim velvety pods stay tender even at 8” long.



I’ve been keeping a count of the number of pods cut from both plants of both varieties. So far Choppee is in the lead 62-59. One of the two Choppee plants kind of stalled out at 8” tall and just sat there for at least two weeks before resuming growth so I imagine if it had kept pace with the other one it would have produced more pods to date.

There will probably not be the avalanche of okra picked from last year’s four plants of Choppee.
 
#2,145 ·
OK, so two days ago I picked the first Black Diamond watermelon, a nice 19 pounder.



Yesterday afternoon 5th Gear cut it open and got a huge surprise. It was white inside! I've never seen this before!



I've looked up this problem and there are a host of reasons including being picked too soon, overwatering during the late ripening stage, a condition known as white heart, seed having come from watermelons exposed to cross-pollination with something called a citron melon, etc. It showed all the signs of being ripe; plenty of days between seeding and now, dried up pigtail, creamy yellow underside. There was no overwatering, it doesn't fit the white heart symptoms (white streaks among red flesh), etc. Maybe it's the seed, the citron melon theory. The seed came from the local feed and seed, measured from bulk seed.

I went to the garden and picked another of the Charleston Grays and it was just fine so we have nice cold watermelon in the reefer again and I have enough cut up rind to make pickled watermelon rind. No more Black Diamond planting, at least not without fresh packaged seed!
 
#2,156 ·
OK, so two days ago I picked the first Black Diamond watermelon, a nice 19 pounder.



Yesterday afternoon 5th Gear cut it open and got a huge surprise. It was white inside! I've never seen this before!



I've looked up this problem and there are a host of reasons including being picked too soon, overwatering during the late ripening stage, a condition known as white heart, seed having come from watermelons exposed to cross-pollination with something called a citron melon, etc. It showed all the signs of being ripe; plenty of days between seeding and now, dried up pigtail, creamy yellow underside. There was no overwatering, it doesn't fit the white heart symptoms (white streaks among red flesh), etc. Maybe it's the seed, the citron melon theory. The seed came from the local feed and seed, measured from bulk seed.

I went to the garden and picked another of the Charleston Grays and it was just fine so we have nice cold watermelon in the reefer again and I have enough cut up rind to make pickled watermelon rind. No more Black Diamond planting, at least not without fresh packaged seed!
Similar just happened to me on my watermelon post. After seeing the name Black Diamond I'm
Thinking that may be what mine are, I remember seeing that name
 
#2,146 ·
Yesterday it was time to start more fall plants. I'm staggering the starts again this year but after last year's effort I learned I needed to start earlier. Those started last and set out late didn't do as well as the other plantings.

This is the first round of plants for this year, started Aug 11; 8 broccolis, 2 trial brussels, 8 cabbages (three different kinds total), 3 cauliflower, 2 each of collards and kale (all of them) and one more yellow squash and zucchini.



And this is yesterday's planting; 6 more broccoli, 4 more cabbages, 3 more cauliflowers, 6 each of two kohlrabi varieties, 2 kinds of onions and one scallion variety, and three more micro tomatoes. There will be a third round of some plants in early September.



Today I did some planting in the garden. I planted Provider beans down both sides of the bed with the pea trellises. The snow peas on the far end were planted 8/11 and today I put some Wando peas on the near end trellis.



Turnips were planted down the right side of the Stickless Wonder field peas. The peas aren't quite the "don't need support" as advertised and they lean towards the east so I planted on the west side. Hopefully the peas will be gone by the time I need to plant kohlrabi plants on that east side.



And the final garden task this morning was to deadhead the zinnias and marigolds. The butterflies love them and an occasional hummingbird comes buzzing in to check things out. Life is good today. :)

 
#2,147 ·
Yesterday afternoon 5th Gear hollered about some big bug attacking another one on the kitchen screen door. I checked it out and saw it was a Robber Fly, something I met in the garden last year and had to look up. They hang around and wait for a meal to fly by then go attack it and carry it to a branch or somewhere to enjoy their meal. Looks like the screen door was the chosen place to dine on a lazy old wasp. Robber flies are good guys and eat lots of garden bugs.



The spring planted tomatoes are now history. Yesterday 5th Gear took down the ones by the house. This morning I took down the garden tomatoes with one exception. the Koroleva Rynka ("Market Queen") which has only had a little bit of funk here and there all summer. And now, when all the rest are eaten up with it, the Queen is healthy and putting out more flowers. It's a really narrow grower. The Queen will stay in place and has earned a spot for herself in next year's lineup.



A few thoughts fto start off the usual "after actions report". Next year I will paint the buckets white to keep roots cooler and over the winter I need to rethink not only a better way to rig the shade cloth but also an inexpensive way to keep the squirrels out.
 
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