Posted on 04/13/2012 8:19:42 AM PDT by JustaDumbBlonde
Happy Friday the 13th, and good morning fellow gardeners and FRiends! I hope that you are enjoying weather as beautiful as what we are experiencing here in NE Louisiana. Nights and mornings are cool and breezy, and the days very warm.
I've planted 1.6 acres of bi-color sweet corn. We checked the seed the next day and it had already sprouted, and was pegged the following day. Perfect conditions!
Looking forward to hearing what's going on in your neck o' the woods.
The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you.
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Looks like you have a major leak in your PVC DR???
I'll let you know, sometime next week, when they're on their way, and we can work out something then.
If they look dried out or anything by the time they arrive, just soak them overnight, then plant them, and they'll be fine. These things really take a beating, and still survive.
Amen to your tagline. Had hoped we’d get something the last couple days but that didn’t happen. They’re saying maybe Sunday but not holding my breath.
Yours are further along than mine. Saw one flower on a tomato. IIRC, you put out cuke transplants whereas I just sowed the day of the big storm so all mine got washed into the low corner. The broccoli and cauliflower never came up so need to sow some cantaloupe or maybe see if the very old okra is still viable. Did dig a couple holes there for a potato that had sprouted in the kitchen so we’ll see. Weeds have never been this bad so that’s taking a toll. Lost 3 tomatoes from hubby’s truck parked too close to them and one pepper from who knows what. Beans, peas, squashes, asparagus, corn, etc. all doing fine. Having onions and salad greens on the table.
I gave a couple of my neighbors some leaf lettuce seed (since I buy my seed at a nursery in Elgin - 1/4 cup for $.50) and they have had exceptional luck. Same goes for turnips and spinach. I'll be pulling the winter crop out this weekend and planting new lettuce for the summer.
My neighbor planted about 50 potato plants and they are about two feet tall now. He got several seed potatoes and asked me how to plant them since I grew up on a farm. I told him to cut the taters with at least one good eye. He did and every one came up and are growing like crazy.
Yes, we do need the rain. I hope the lakes come up quite a bit before summer. Our congregation has had a prayer for rain during the service for several months. I did hear the first cigarette boat on Travis today since the drought hit.
I needed to get out and collect some broccoli seeds from an old plant but may do that in the morning.
I crossed the Pedernales bridge on 71 yesterday... still just a trickle.
Celibacy has its bright and shining moments.
/johnny
What is the name of the corn you plant? I am trying a new kind this year, Mirai.
Has anyone planted this variety?
Things are humming along here now. Even with my relatively late start, I’ve got baby tomatoes and peppers setting, and bloom buds on melons, squash, and eggplant. My bell peppers are setting fruit like mad, they have already set 4-6 per plant and have lots more buds forming. Do you have to thin the fruit on bell peppers? I’ve never had them set fruit this well before!
In my eagerness to get a bunch of homemade pickles, I think I planted too many cucumbers. They are making flower buds now, and since I am growing parthenocarpic cukes, every flower bud is a potential cuke. If even a quarter of those make, I am going to be drowning in them! If they all do...I hope the neighbors don’t mind me leaving bags of cucumbers on their porches. The fun won’t last long, though. The mildew will almost certainly kill them by June or July, but I’ll be tired of making pickles by then.
The bunching onions and herbs are also looking good - nice healthy seedlings.
The bad news is that some of my plants were set back a couple of weeks by a nutrient deficiency. After basically everything in my new raised beds turned yellow I finally figured it out and started foliar feeding. The plants have now greened up and resumed growth. The okra was slowed the most; it’s still really small, but at least it’s not yellow any more.
I had to reseed my calaloo; something ate the first planting. If these fail...I can always stick another tomato plant in that bed. You can never have too many tomatoes, right? :-)
I ran out of my canned tomatoes in December. I've been eating hothouse or commercial canned since then. When I put up jalapenos last year, my neighbor said they wouldn't get eaten for years.... I just opened the last jar at the 1st of the month.
Never have enough tomatoes or peppers around here. Ever.
Store what you can. You just never know. And last year in Texas was harsh.
/johnny
I didn’t see where anyone had responded to your question. Yes, you need to thin the peaches. If you don’t, you’ll probably get a lot of undersized peaches that aren’t very sweet because the tree can’t make enough carbohydrates to nourish them all. You also risk branches breaking under the weight of the fruit.
Thin to about one peach every 6-10 inches along each branch. It’s best to do this about 40 days after full bloom, before the fruit reach marble-size. Try to remove the smaller, discolored or damaged fruits. Leave the biggest and best ones on the tree.
I’m really looking forward to having to do this job again. (My old peach tree died and I just planted a new one in January.)
I'm ruthless with tomatoes. Stems, leaves, fruit, trimmed. Leave a few to really pump up the tomatoes with sugars. And that's worked for me.
But I don't have a peach tree. So take it for what it's worth.
/johnny
To clarify, 6” is the minimum recommended spacing to get good-sized, tasty peaches. The 10” spacing is recommended if you want extra large fruits.
I’ve never been much of a pruner with tomatoes; I cage my tomatoes and play the “hunt for fruit” game, heh. I prune to keep the plant in bounds, to thin it enough for air circulation, and I remove diseased leaves and stems as soon as I see them.
But this year I am trying an experiment with two tomato plants - same variety, same bed, planted same day. One I am pruning in the usual manner and the other I am pruning most of the suckers. I know that anything I do with just two plants will be anecdote, not science...but it should still be interesting. I’ll be recording yield, quality, and pest/disease problems in my garden journal.
Harsh. And big fruits with thick flesh. Not a bunch of paper-thin tomatoes or peppers.
But it's good to question and to see for yourself.
/johnny
If they are smallish, cut them in half, brush with olive oil..sprinkle with your spice of choice and grill them.
Thank you, Dolly! Your accomplishments are great ... it only takes a few minutes to plant 1.6 acres of corn with a tractor and planter. :)
Doggoneit, Gabz. I hope that the vehicle situation is resolved really soon.
It really is ... auto (I'd rather have manual), air conditioning, sound system, front air bags, 4wd, headlights adjust up and down with a button on dash. I am lovin' it!
Thank you, I will plant both.
You’ve got a yummy variety of things going! That’s great.
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