It's Gardening Season - Yay!!!!

[Charity]

My herb garden is in, and looking very tastie. My growing season is too short to start slow growers from seed. We had 2 inches of snow last week, but my floating row covers saved the day!
 I'm growing 4 types of tomatos{started indoors}and plan to get back into canning this year. I've got a good handfull of barley seeds to try this year.

[Patty]

Hi Charity! I miss canning tomatoes. I can't seem to grow enough here, to can any decent quantity.  And the barley sounds fun! What do you plan to do with it?

I had a nice surprise today - when I stuck my hand down around the base of some of the potato plants - look what I found!



They aren't really "done growing" but I was curious .... and boy oh boy will they be tasty in the stew tonight!

[Astronuc]

That one on the right looks really good.

I need to do taters. 

We spotted a good sized rabbit - about 8-9 lbs (~4 kg's) the past couple of days.  I think he got some of the peas.

I need to get busy and plant beets and turnips or parsnip, and some broccoli and squash/zucchini 

 

[Astronuc]

Just ate some fresh strawberries from our strawberry patch. 

They seem to be doing quite well! 

I let the original plants propagate (by runners) and those plants are bearing fruit.

 

[Charity]

New potato's!!!!!!!!!!!!! yummy! Barley is planted like wheat, in tight close rows. So it doesn't get a companion Tho its ringed by pumpkins, which hubby planted, much to my suprise..the GIANT kind!!!!
 I'm useing floating row covers for the herbs and tomatos, hopeing it holds some heat in..nights here still dipping down to the 40's.
 I too, have gotten a hand full of strawberrys, but the forrest critters seem to be getting most of them.

[Astronuc]

I have the strawberries surrounded by a net, otherwise the forest critters would clean them out.  Last year a rabbit managed to find a hole under the net and I saw him/her nibbing on strawberries.  The mesh is sufficiently small to keep out all but mice and voles.

[Patty]

Hi Again!

Once things start growing they don't stop.

Here are the Pie Pumpkins, being trained up poles. They grow several inches a day from multiple meristems. They are setting fruit.



Here are the beans, vining nicely and also setting beans. I can start picking within a week.



I have pulled all the garlic and moved another plant cage into that spot. That cage has been planted with corn, which is sprouting now.



I have harvested many potatoes, although some are still waiting for me.  We have really enjoyed them. I am trying to get a second crop going in the same spots. I think I'll be successful. I may decide to use some of that space for another crop - We'll see. You can also see that we have baby carrots at the moment. These have been nice also, and I grow them in successive plantings so should have carrots for the foreseeable future.



(As you can tell, I was doing cartwheels when I took that last picture. I love my gardens!)

At home, we've put in four blueberry bushes. I hope they do OK. My okra and soybeans aren't doing well - I may need to re-plant those. More corn, tomatoes, and sundry other crops are coming along. YUM!

[Charity]

Soy beans are a main crop around here, they thrive on neglect and really poor soil. So your more then likely just too good of a gardener to grow them well.
I tried to transplant some wild blueberries{huckleberry}, but they don't look very happy in there new digs. I wonder if I brought a couple of buckets of dirt from the site where I got them, and turned into the soil, if that would make them feel more at home?

[Astronuc]

Hey Charity,

I think most plants adapt to soils or soil conditions in which they originate. 

You might check the pH of the soil.  Blueberries like acidic soil.

Blueberry plants grow best in acid soils (pH 4.0 to 5.0) that are well-drained, loose, and high in organic matter. The soil water level should be at least 1 foot below the soil surface or roots will suffocate. Soil pH (degree of acidity or alkalinity) can be determined by sending a sample of the soil to the University of Minnesota Soil Testing Facility. Instructions for taking a soil sample, and containers for sending a sample can be obtained through your county extension office. Most garden soils in Minnesota have pH readings above those that are optimum for blueberries (most soils are too alkaline).

I suspect this may also be the case for Wisconsin and Michigan.

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/DG3463.html

Growing Blueberries in the Home Garden
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1422.html

Growing Blueberries in the Home Garden
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8207.html

Lowering Soil pH
http://hubcap.clemson.edu/~blpprt/lowerpH.html

In Michigan - Hints on Growing Blueberries
http://www.canr.msu.edu/vanburen/e-2066.htm

 

[Astronuc]

GRRRRRR!!!!! 

Some critter - I believe deer - ate 5 of 9 new blackberry canes.

Last year the deer ignored the blackberry plants.

So now I have to surround them with a mesh.

[Patty]

Oh man. You'd think brambles would be safe.

I moved my blackberry to another spot of the yard this spring and it's barely limping along. It was so prolific in the last spot, I thought I could put it anywhere. I hope it eventually adapts to its new home, but we sure won't see much of a harvest this year.

Charity - I'm trying blueberries (commercial varieties) again this year. I have amended heavily with acidic amendments, and need to work in some sulfur to boot. I don't know about huckleberries, but Astronuc might be right about their pH needs neing low as well. I've had blueberry failure twice in the past, so I hope third time's the charm.

[Charity]

I hope they do well for you too! My neighbor told me that nothing will grow in the spot where the huckleberries are because....a giant black walnut use to grow there! The tree came down about 3 yrs ago, but he told me that the walnut trees add something to the soil which makes it good for walnuts but bad for everything else.
I'm going to half to look into this matter more.

[greenleaf1]

Edit:  Sorry GL, I hit the wrong button and overwrote your post.  Any chance you can retype it.

Astro.    

Anyone know a good repellant for racoons?

[Astronuc]

Anyone know a good repellant for racoons?

We use a capsicum-based pepper powder that is supposed to repel squirrels from the bird feeder - it's OK for birds though.  Maybe that would also discourage raccoons and other mammalian varmints.

BTW - we've had several days of rain and thunderstorms, and we have another one right now.

Areas to the west of us - in Delaware and Susquehanna river valleys - have had extensive flooding.   A section of I-88, 35 NE of Binghampton, NY was washed out.

[greenleaf1]

HA!  I'm being censored!!!! 


I was just complimenting Patty on her potatoes and wondering when I should start feeling around for some spuds off my own plants?  I can't recall the how many months from planting to harvestable.

Oh, and I was complaining about hailstorms and raccoons.