Garden

[Smoke]

Took the gutter off the shed..DUH...brain fart...didn't put it far enough away off of shed so rain from roof didn't flood it...thus still a rain gutter...not a planter! live and learn...I'll fix that over the weekend.

I did however plant some cucumbers..only because I saw some dill sprouting up in my herb bed.

Also picked my first aspaeagus's...ate one right out there...only had 4 total so I just chopped them up and stuck them in with supper.

[Smoke]

Took the gutter off the shed..DUH...brain fart...didn't put it far enough away off of shed so rain from roof didn't flood it...thus still a rain gutter...not a planter! live and learn...I'll fix that over the weekend.

I did however plant some cucumbers..only because I saw some dill sprouting up in my herb bed.

Also picked my first aspaeagus's...ate one right out there...only had 4 total so I just chopped them up and stuck them in with supper.

[Smoke]

Took the gutter off the shed..DUH...brain fart...didn't put it far enough away off of shed so rain from roof didn't flood it...thus still a rain gutter...not a planter! live and learn...I'll fix that over the weekend.

I did however plant some cucumbers..only because I saw some dill sprouting up in my herb bed.

Also picked my first aspaeagus's...ate one right out there...only had 4 total so I just chopped them up and stuck them in with supper.

[Smoke]

Yup..SNOW...was snowing before!!! calling for frost tonight...went and covered the peas...everything else should be ok.

[Smoke]

Slowly getting the rest of my plants in...got tomato, cucumber and egg plant...ordered strawberry, sweet potato & purple potatos.

Picked some more asparegus and ruhbarb oh and a little kale...I'm leaving most of the kale to go to seed, want to try and get a good patch that just keeps coming back.

Raining today so I'll have to wait to get the last few planted...next is the fight of the snails coming up...again's my better judgement I did get the snail stuff to put around the outside of the garden.

[Smoke]

Strawberrys & Sweet Potato finally got here, planted the berrys over the weekend and finished the sweets this afternoon.

If everything grow I can open a farm stand...but I'm not feeling all that confident. Did pick some lettuce that came up on it's own from last year.

Everything else is coming along.

[Pam]

So if I can hoard in on your conversation here, I bought and plant all non gmo seeds in my garden. Mind you I don't have a green thumb or a green finger but I try. So everything is sprouting but it's very slow. Any ideas for a good organic fertilizer? I put fabric mesh down to help with weed control, which apparently I can grow very well.

Any ideas? We've put so much work into the gardens making them gopher proof hauling in black dirt I just hate to see nothing materialize. Could the slow start be due to cooler temps? This is the first week we've seen some consistent high temps, though while we were gone jack said we had a high of 60 one day.

Amy advice or do I just need more patience?

[Smoke]

Your not "Hoarding in"

Epsom salts is supposed to be good and I read about fermented molasas water for potatos, but I would think it would be good for anything.

Stick about 1/2 jar of molasas into 5 gal of water and let it ferment for a few days..week and water plants with it...supposed to have good enzymes in it for the plants

so you guys know anything about kale? I left mine go to seed and it had 100's of what I'm guessing are little seed pods..should I leave it and wait till they dry and cut it back and take the seeds or what should I do with it?

Got lettuce, broccoli is coming along well and I have peas on the vines, might have enough for dinner over the weekend.

[Pam]

Wish I could help ya, go to seedsnow.com they might have some info there for you.

How would I use the Epsom salts?

[Smoke]

just add it into the water and water the plants..2Tlb per gal I think it is...it should say on the package.

[fish]

early season stuff, but may work even now.

black plastic bags cut down the sides to make one long layer, line up with plant stems, cut lines from side of plastic to middle and slide over the soil with stems matching lines.

didn't say that very well. but the result is black plastic ground cover without damaging plants or stems.

this heats the ground and keeps the roots warm. you can water with a ladle by raising the plastic, but there is much less ground water loss to evaporation.


missed your post on tomato sauce, Pam.

trick with the spices is to add them to the sauteed onions and garlic for a couple of minutes before pouring in your cold crushed tomatoes and petite diced tomatoes.

the heat of the cooking oil releases the essentials of the spices. don't wait too long because they can be lost, but in a minute or two they develop nicely. your nose will let you know.

and of course when you heat the sauce in, on, or over your dish, the spices will develop a little more.

[Smoke]

My neighbor gets wood chips from a local tree guy, has a couple piles of them. I got some from him this year and layed it down around all my plants.....hardly any weeds in the main part of the garden and made the ones that did come up really easy to pull. Holds in moisture really well too.

[fish]

yup, we can mulch with just about anything.

the black plastic adds increased warmth,or so they say.

wait a minute, let me go look.

found this:

www.gardenguides.com/92382-cover-garden-plastic-kill-weeds.html

and then there is this:

www.gardeners.com/Mulch-for-Vegetable-Gardens/5013,default,pg.html

gads ! just found one with someone growing veggies using cinder blocks. lay it on side with "holes" up.

wicked cool

the way we use the black bags lets you put them on the garden after the seeds have sprouted or after you have trans planted your inside starters.

[Smoke]

Picked broccoli tonight, ate the whole thing!..leaves and all. along with fresh eggs from a friend of mine....need to get in there and pick the snap peas tomorrow.

[Smoke]

Picked ONE red strawberry yesterday..ate it..awesome! Got 2 more on the way. Told Lil' shit to keep guard for chippys! He does a pretty good job of it.

Snap peas are about done and I'm out pulling garlic now...did ok with that but I might try some different varieties next year just for ha ha's.

Pickled 3 cucs..had 4 but ate one. Finally looks like I might get some this year for once..last year the plant got about 4" high and had one cuc. I tried seeds, plants, getting them from different places but no luck. Looks good for this year though.

Also put in zuccini by the shed, tiny little flower bed about 2" x 5" I get more out og those 2 spots than the rest of my garden..the zuc, looks funny because it is getting sooo big! lol

So garden is doing well!

Back to it.