WEEKLY GARDEN THREAD VOLUME 23 JUNE 7, 2013

Free Republic | June 7, 2013 | greeneyes

[greeneyes]

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.

This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked.

It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread ... there is no telling where it will go and that is part of the fun and interest. Jump in and join us!

[JRandomFreeper]

From a baggie marked 'Seed Stock - 2012'. I sort through my plants and save the best beans off of the best plants for the next year's planting.

My originals came from the grocery store.

/johnny

[texas_mrs]

Picked my 1st tomato last night, will soon be covered up with them, I hope. Probably will be harvesting okra in the next 2 weeks, already chasing people down to bless them with squash, and just started picking the green beans. I planted LOTS of black-eyed peas this year, as it is one of our favorites and freezes without much trouble. I just finished picking the rest of the onions, so may put more black-eyed peas there; it’s getting kinda late in the season for much else unless I hold that area for a fall garden.

I planted what I thought was 2 TAM jalapenos for my husband, but they seem to be Serrano peppers instead. One was fiery hot, others have decent flavor but no heat, and some have no heat OR flavor. Don’t know enough about them to know what to do.

[texas_mrs]

Do you pick and cook any of your pintos while still young and in the pod, or only harvest and cook as mature pinto beans?

[Marcella]

Now I think I remember earlier in the year you said you planted pintos from the grocery to start. And I think I decided to buy gobs of them at the grocery because they are cheap and because I don’t have enough room to grow enough of them. I was going to stick to Kentucky Wonders green beans on the back lattice fence.

[JRandomFreeper]

I never catch them young enough in the pod that they aren't like shoe-leather. I only use them as dried. Beans are pretty much fire and forget for growing here.

/johnny

[greeneyes]

LOL. That’s my kind of supplier.

[greeneyes]

I am jealous of any one that has tomatoes.LOL

I think Hubby planted all the green beans I had on hand, so I have been planting peanuts instead. I like to plant beans in with other plants like corn, melons etc. Hope peanuts will be ok used that way too.

[rightly_dividing]

The county extension agent is the best source for local varieties, but nothing is carved in stone, no matter the source.

[ApplegateRanch]

Black oilseed has already sprouted. Rest of the garden, except the spinach & pattypan are doing well; those two didn't sprout: saved pattypan seed wasn't viable, and spinach mostly wasn't.

Yesterday, we got a call to come & pick up some iris. We had stopped & talked to the guy while he was working on his beds last fall; he promised us some when he lifted & divided. Wasn't expecting six tall white kitchen trash bags full! We let friends get 2 or 3 out of each bag...couldn't convince them to take more...then brought them home to plant. I put the middle buster plow on the tractor, and dug a trench for them, and about an hour after that, they were in the ground.

Also this week, we gout our 4 "Riverbank" grapes; 2 Nanking cherries; blue spruce; and honeylocust planted. The grapes & trees came from the Conservation Trees Program of the Farm Service Agency & Cooperative Extension; the bush cherries were commercial.

We have strawberries forming; and the apricots & Carmine Jewel cherry are positively loaded with fruit. First year we'll be able to pick.

The large shrubs are chokecherries and lilacs

[Gabz]

We’ve actually had too much rain. By April 1st we already had more rain than in all of either 2012 or 2011. There is no denying we need rain all year - but we need it spread out - not all at once!

[crazyhorse691]

Two questions for ya;#1-How many cans per acre? and;#2-Do you open the cans before planting?
Pity my poor wife...this is what passes for humor around our house.

[Black Agnes]

The happiest plant on my place is my compost pile tomato volunteer. It’s got blooms and maybe a teeny baby mater on it. It’s on a hill with concrete blocks in front so things don’t wash out of the compost pile.

Everything else is unhappy and half drowned. I’m just glad I didn’t transplant it last week like I’d intended. It would have joined the ranks of the unhappy as well.

[ApplegateRanch]

Oh, yes; got those over ripe sweet cherries taken care of: 1 batch each of cherry syrup; spiced cherry syrup; cherry jelly; cherry-rhubarb-ginger jam. The chickens loved their share.

Yes; I washed and saved 30 seeds to stratify & sprout.

[Marcella]

Thanks to those of you who gave me potato information this week.

WHAT I DID THIS WEEK:

I want a spring and fall food garden in containers. I have a bunch of different sized fabric grow bags to fill with potting soil mix and place them on the ground in the garden. I did more study to determine which food plants to plant in the spring and fall. I got two large zip regular plastic bags (gallon size), and labeled one “Spring” and one “Fall” and put the seed packets I have now in the proper bag. The seed packets were all jumbled before I split them up. Then, I ordered a bunch of different heirloom veggie seed and one fruit packet from Terroir Seeds. They have been shipped. I still need to find blackberry seeds. Not all blackberry seeds are equal.

I planted Vardaman sweet potato roots (not seed), from Burpee, in a ten gallon fabric grow bag and put it in the garden. Covered it and two sets of plants growing in potting soil bags (think they are peppers) with bird net – (so long you dastardly squirrels and pecking birds). I’m not sure the peppers are going to have peppers – think I put too many in those sacks – they are just green plants growing upward maybe 5-6 inches tall now. I don’t know how tall they grow before they produce since I’ve never done this.

Yorkie, Prissy, saved a tomato plant!: She was looking out of the glass back door and started barking. When she does that, something is moving in the garden. Went to the glass door and there was a SQUIRREL IN A TOMATO POT – right in there with the plant that has green Roma tomatoes on it. I grabbed her and out we went to chase away the squirrel. She only weighs 5 lbs. but is a great guard dog to let me know if anything is moving out the front or back door. After dark, if she hears something outside, she has a growl and bark that says she will kill whatever that is. In the daytime, she has an alert bark if she sees something but after dark, she has that aggressive “I’ll kill them” bark.

WHAT I STILL NEED TO DO SHORTLY:

I have to plant the sesame flower seeds in a big pot in the garden and plant the mixed flower seed that attracts hummingbirds and bees. I sent Johnny some sesame flower seeds so he can have sesame seeds to eat in the fall. A storm came through here late yesterday afternoon and luckily I didn’t get the hail that was in that storm. So, it’s very wet in the garden and I’ll let it dry out today so it will be drier to walk on and plant the flower seeds tomorrow.

On the seed envelopes I have now and the ones I will be getting from Terroir shortly, I write the month I need to plant them. I don’t know those planting times like you real gardeners do. I now have guides that tell me what and when to plant in my growing zone, which is 8.

I’ll keep studying potatoes and find the right potato to grow here (your list had Red Pontiac and I have info. on that one from ApplegateRanch) and I’ll keep looking for blackberry seeds or plants to determine which one to get for this grow zone and when to plant them.

I’m looking at electric dehydrators to save some of this food (if I manage to grow it which has not been proven yet except for tomatoes). I read to use the dehydrated food within one year then dry more. I can do that but if TSHTF, I wouldn't have to power to use that dehydrator. I think I have to depend on staggering the planting so not all of it is ready at the same time. Then, there is the problem of where to store this dehydrated food if I do that. Now, we are into desiccants and jars or bags and/or buying a food saver sealer and their bags. That’s more money. Buy the dehydrator, buy the food sealer, buy their special bags. I just quit looking. I’ll deal with that if I actually grow enough food to do it.

UPDATE ON THE SQUASH PLANTS: These plants cannot be normal – they are now more enormous than last week. These are Zappallo de Tronco Squash. They are a small roundish flatish squash that first appeared in Mexico. I figured if they grew in Mexico, they could stand the Texas heat. Some squash flowers have bloomed and gone away and others are blooming. I hope I get squash. There has to be a squash plant I can grow that isn’t as large as the planet Mars.

[Marcella]

“How many cans per acre? and;#2-Do you open the cans before planting?”

Haha. For storing, I buy the dry beans. I do have some cans for a short time emergency and would go to the dry ones after that. Although I’m a beginning farmer, I don’t think I have enough cans to bury to make enough beans - ha.

[JRandomFreeper]

This is one of my squash plants. Below it is the standard 3ft measure that you've seen before to give you some scale.

They get big. This one was put in the tobacco row, when I lost a tobacco plant early. You can see it's crowding out it's neighbor, one of the smaller tobacco plants. ;)

/johnny

[greeneyes]

I agree that the county extension office is an excellent source. However, our extension office advice doesn’t always include heirlooms for some of the categories.

I just thought the mother earth article was interesting, and last week asked if anyone was interested. I had a request for the Texas area, and so I posted it.

[Black Agnes]

FWIW it’s worth I’ve pruned really overzealous squash plants before. Done judiciously they don’t really miss those couple leaves and I didn’t notice a difference in output either.

Just my 2c.

[Marcella]

Your squash plant is a pussy compared to mine.

[Marcella]

What kind of squash is that?