2022 Garden Thread

[DuaeGuttae]

Sets from Dixondale Farms in Texas which I heartily recommend. He really knows onions!

Long Day Onion Plants - Dixondale Farms

dixondalefarms.com

I call those “transplants” from Dixondale. “Sets,” to me, are tiny bulbs without greens that have grown and gone dormant. I started buying from Dixondale on Begreen’s recommendation. I, of course, need short day onions.

My rain barrel setup didn’t work as well as I had hoped because the hose connection was leaky. I had suspected that might be a problem, so I had positioned it at the base of the apple tree, so the water went to a good spot. My husband and I replaced the second hose with a shorter, non-leaky one and positioned the rain barrel a bit higher up the hill but still below the outlet from the air conditioner. I’ll check on it later in the afternoon or evening when the air conditioner comes on.

 

[begreen]

Yes, he lists them as plants. We have had great success with his starts for several years now. Next year I am going to try Patterson for yellow, keeper onions. We used to grow Copra, but he says the seed is no longer available.

 

[Dan Freeman]

Sets from Dixondale Farms in Texas which I heartily recommend. He really knows onions!

Long Day Onion Plants - Dixondale Farms

dixondalefarms.com

Thanks, and I was hoping you would give a reference. I will check out Dixondale.

 

[Poindexter]

I am clearly going to need a greenhouse to harvest heirloom tomato. I appreciate all y'all's various supportive comments this season.

In point of fact my heirloom starts succumbed to leaf mold a month ago today. If they had lived they would be facing their third frost warning of the season tonight, with snow in the forecast above 3k feet, and 19 days to harvest. I am at about 440 feet and not overly concerned about termination dust for another 4-6 weeks, but most likely my wood stove will be lit already 3 weeks from today.

Future heirloom/ hybrids will have to be kept warm ( above +50dF overnight) in August if I want to harvest anything. With cordwood now going for $400 per cord and tomato at $5/ pound it is very much a tossup between buying tomato from a farmer that owns a greenhouse already versus giving up cordwood kiln space to use as a tomato greenhouse.

Thanks again for your inputs. I am going to can Kroger tomato soon, mixed Roma and slicer, fire roasted. I will have to ask around to see who the produce manager is. I am on a first name basis with just about everyone in the meat department, I will start with them.

 

[Dan Freeman]

Money-wise, it does sound like a toss-up, but do you really want to give up on the challenge of growing heirloom tomatoes? Besides the sense of satisfaction, it would give you, a greenhouse is a lot of fun. We've had our greenhouse since 2016, and my only regret is that we didn't get it sooner. Not only does it help get things started earlier, but it also extends the season. Not to mention, it is a great source of therapy. BTW, after the season is over, I do split and store firewood in my greenhouse to get a jump on the next season. I move the split firewood out and clean everything up in early March so I can start my seeds. Maybe your kiln space could serve both purposes.

 

[Dan Freeman]

Yesterday, I bought 8-50lb bags of river rock for the shallow shelf that will surround the pond. I have about 7 5-gallon buckets of river rock that I removed from an old path that I will also use to save some money. Cleaning it is a real chore. Getting the dirt off it pretty easy, but it is all the debris mixed in that is difficult to remove. I am using my soil shifting screen over a wheelbarrow and washing a bit at a time.

Today, I plan on trellising my blackberry plants, and I want to start planting some fall crops, but I think it may still be a bit early, so I am debating that. Will probably move some wheelbarrows of wood chips and spread them in the FF. We want to try and have the entire FF covered with chips before the winter; next year we will then add another thinner layer. We're getting low on cardboard again, so we'll have to hit a few stores and get more.

I also need to start gathering rocks for the pond edge that I will power wash. I bought a Generac power washer 4-5 years ago that is still in the box! In fact, 2 years ago I had to hire someone to power wash the house and warehouse because I could not fit that task into my schedule. Can you believe that? Owning a power washer and hiring someone to power wash. I can almost see my father shaking his head. He never hired anyone to do anything. Did it all himself.

Firewood is finished for the season...just a little over 3.5 cords split and stacked. The last stack is always what I call the "shorties". They are only about 8" long and we use them under longer splits when starting a fire, so the fire gets good oxygen underneath. I had about 1400-1600 of them cut and stacked. They are not easy to stack, and the stack is not very stable since they are so short. Last year the stack held up well. Yesterday, I walked outside, and the stack had completely collapsed out into the driveway. I spent 3 hours moving them out of the way and restacking them, but this time I placed 3 pallets across the front and lashed them together and to the front of the woodshed. They should help keep the bottom of the pile stabilized, but it was not what I wanted to have to do in that heat.

Making potato salad from some of our yellow potatoes today. Usually, we use russet potatoes for potato salad, but we are going to try some of the yellow ones and see how it tastes.

 

[clancey]

Gosh pdexter sounds like your getting ready for the future weather coming in and I imagine with the Alaska living you really have to plan well... I know one thing between you and free "you hate to spend money" and you two watch it carefully as you go and this is good. What kind of stove do you have pdexter for you sure have the wood "ready" to go. dg ---you are so very knowledgeable and I imagine you have been at this "all your life" from a little person and I feel for you because of all the heat in your area. You sure been keeping up the watering good and I applaud this effort. I have a feeling that if my tomato plant (bush) starts to get flowers and baby tomato's on it---it will be "all at one time"--"great"---neighbor sharing--lol..It's doing well "growing" and nothing much happening with it just "growing". thanks...clancey

 

[EatenByLimestone]

MI Gardner 50% off sale. I’ve used them many times and they’ve always done right by me!

 

[Dan Freeman]

I got the 3 blackberry plants trellised today. There are a lot of primocanes (canes that will produce next year's berries). Second year canes, when they produce berries are called floricanes. After they produce berries, they die and have to be cut out.

Before


After


I think I am also going to let some of the primocanes dip down to the soil level and produce new plants, so I wind up with 6 blackberry plants altogether.

I also fertilized all 44 fruit trees, berry bushes, and fruiting vines, and gave them a good drink. I spent 2 hours watering.

We also dug up our red potatoes. We got another 38 pounds of potatoes. So, all told we got 54 pounds of yellow potatoes, 33 pounds of russet (baking) potatoes, and 38 ponds of red potatoes, for a total of 135 pounds of potatoes. Not bad since we started with 11 pounds of organic potatoes from Whole Foods.

Red Potatoes


Here is our tomato/cucumber harvest for today.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

@EatenByLimestone, did you order seeds? If so, what did you get?

@Dan Freeman, excellent harvest on the potatoes! We didn’t do nearly so well. The heat just came on too early, I think. I do have several potato plants coming up in the garden now, though, from potatoes that we must have missed when harvesting this spring. I don’t know how they’ll do, though, since they’re not going to be getting much water unless it rains. I wouldn’t expect frost before the end of October, though, so they’ve got a while to grow if they can survive the heat until cooler (and hopefully wetter) weather comes.

I did pick two cherry tomatoes and one nice slicing cucumber today. I’m hoping I can keep the plants alive till the weather turns.

 

[begreen]

@EatenByLimestone, did you order seeds? If so, what did you get?

I see they sell a Porter tomato that they say will bear well in Texas heat. Have you heard of this variety?

 

[begreen]

We are far behind your harvest this year Dan. Our tomatoes are just getting their first blush, though I did pick a few cherry tomatoes. We did well with garlic and onions and our potato crop wasn't shabby, but now we wait. I did pick 4 ears of our Sugar Buns corn yesterday and it was good. More coming there and we are getting some peppers now. Eggplants are fruiting, but they have a week or two to go.

 

[woodey]

I got the 3 blackberry plants trellised today. There are a lot of primocanes (canes that will produce next year's berries). Second year canes, when they produce berries are called floricanes. After they produce berries, they die and have to be cut out.

Before
View attachment 297665

After
View attachment 297666

I think I am also going to let some of the primocanes dip down to the soil level and produce new plants, so I wind up with 6 blackberry plants altogether.

I also fertilized all 44 fruit trees, berry bushes, and fruiting vines, and gave them a good drink. I spent 2 hours watering.

We also dug up our red potatoes. We got another 38 pounds of potatoes. So, all told we got 54 pounds of yellow potatoes, 33 pounds of russet (baking) potatoes, and 38 ponds of red potatoes, for a total of 135 pounds of potatoes

I like the way you displayed them on your hoosier cabinet.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

I see they sell a Porter tomato that they say will bear well in Texas heat. Have you heard of this variety?

I have heard of it. My understanding is that it was developed in Stephenville, Texas, and that it does do well in hot, dry conditions. This would have been a good summer to test its limits. It’s been on my mental list for a while, and I look for it when seed shopping. MIGardener has been out of stock when I’ve checked there a few times this year. I’ll probably get hold of it some time just to see how it compares with other varieties, but I have a number of small-fruited tomatoes, so it hasn’t been my highest priority. Do you have any experience with it, @begreen? Did you garden back when you lived in Texas?

 

[DuaeGuttae]

I like the way you displayed them on your hoosier cabinet.

View attachment 297701

I had to go look up the term “Hoosier cabinet” just now. Nice pieces of furniture, and nice garden produce, too.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I did not order. I still have plenty of seeds from this spring.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

Well, I watered the garden with our paid community well water this morning. We’re allowed to use it to water on Mondays (it goes according to address when one is allowed to use it). I was hoping to get by without it, but some of the ollas in various beds were completely empty, and others were pretty low. We have the possibility of some rain later this week, so I figured I’d better keep the plants alive till then.

In order to stretch hoses from the hose to the garden, I needed to undo the rain barrel setup in the “way back.” It had collected some water, but we’re going to move that rain barrel up to our barn to collect runoff in case of rain. I have a watering can under the drain on the side of the house. I’ll need to go check it later, as I’m sure that we drain more than one watering can’s worth of water. I think I’ll use the water to give the olives a drink as it’s been quite a while for them. They can take it, but they do like an occasional watering.


I harvested a pretty big amount of Amaranth today and used it for a Greek salad for lunch. Some of the bigger leaves were a bit stronger than my older children preferred (a bitter aftertaste), but it worked as a lettuce substitute. We had a slicing cucumber and some cherry tomatoes that the neighbors let us pick (I had grown the plant for them this spring) and onions. My oldest daughter suggested that next time I harvest Amaranth that I should sautee it with bacon and serve it with soft-boiled eggs. She thinks that would complement the bitterness. We’ll see.


My cucumbers and dill (and a few other things) are sprouting inside. I’m thinking that my experimental medium is a little too compressed in the Aerogarden, and it’s too dense for the roots. They seem to have a harder time getting through, so I hope these plants will survive. My daughter’s wildflowers that are in the same medium that is not compressed seem to be doing just fine. I’m thinking of starting a tray of leeks to get some transplants to put out this fall.

 

[begreen]

Do you have any experience with it, @begreen? Did you garden back when you lived in Texas?

Nope, I hadn't heard of them before seeing them in the online listing. My time in Texas was in the military at Lackland no garden then.

 

[Dan Freeman]

@Dan Freeman, excellent harvest on the potatoes!

We were truly surprised to get so many pounds of potatoes when we only planted 11 lbs. of organic potatoes we bought at Whole Foods Grocery. (I decided to buy them there since most places charge an outrageous price for seed potatoes. 11 lbs. only cost us $12.) I also think the soil had a lot to do with it as well. They were planted in new raised beds that we filled with a 50/50 mix of fresh topsoil and mushroom compost then added some vermiculite and peat moss to keep the soil extra fluffy. Mushroom compost is like feeding plants steroids. We have them hung in mesh bags in our old cellar which stays cool. We'll see how long they last and adjust next year's crop up or down depending on how long we can store them.

 

[Dan Freeman]

I had to go look up the term “Hoosier cabinet” just now. Nice pieces of furniture, and nice garden produce, too.

Yes, Hoosiers were the original kitchen cabinets and workstations before everything started getting built into kitchens. They were given the nickname Hoosier because most of them were made in Indiana, the Hoosier state. They we first made in 1898 and were popular up through the early 1940's.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

Nope, I hadn't heard of them before seeing them in the online listing. My time in Texas was in the military at Lackland no garden then.

I’ve read about them on the Tomatoville forum where I can read but don’t post. At least one Texas member said it was his favorite tomato and the only one that survives the whole summer. Other reviews seemed pretty positive as well. I just never seem to find all the seeds I want in one place, so whatever is my highest priority determines where I order from. Porter hasn’t been my highest priority, but I keep my eyes open for it. Thankfully my tomatoes are surviving the summer even if they’re not bearing right now.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

We were truly surprised to get so many pounds of potatoes when we only planted 11 lbs. of organic potatoes we bought at Whole Foods Grocery. (I decided to buy them there since most places charge an outrageous price for seed potatoes. 11 lbs. only cost us $12.) I also think the soil had a lot to do with it as well. They were planted in new raised beds that we filled with a 50/50 mix of fresh topsoil and mushroom compost then added some vermiculite and peat moss to keep the soil extra fluffy. Mushroom compost is like feeding plants steroids. We have them hung in mesh bags in our old cellar which stays cool. We'll see how long they last and adjust next year's crop up or down depending on how long we can store them.

Potatoes can certainly be a very rewarding crop. You’re making me interested in taking a trip to Whole Foods the next time I have to be in that part of San Antonio just to look at their potato selection.

I’m sure good soil (and good water) had a lot to do with your success. I’ve read great things about mushroom compost but don’t have access to it where I buy my compost. We can buy an organic aged manure compost in bulk. I make small quantities myself as well and am excited that one tumbler is finishing a batch now.

My mom stores her potatoes in a cool basement in the dark. She lays hers out on shelving a room beside her pump room. I think she may sprinkle lime on them, but I’m not sure.

Our harvests of potatoes are small enough that we don’t have to worry about long term storage. We just had to buy our first bag of grocery store potatoes for the summer because we finished the homegrown ones.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Our heat wave is breaking. I hope yours is too DG! My tomatoes stopped flowering. I hope they pick back up.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

Our heat wave is breaking. I hope yours is too DG! My tomatoes stopped flowering. I hope they pick back up.

Well, we haven’t had record-breaking heat this week. Just normal heat. We actually had two days where it didn’t reach 100, only 99, and yesterday was 98. Today we’re back up to 100, but we have a slight chance for rain the next couple of days, and it may be a little cooler if that comes to pass.

Have you harvested tomatoes yet? Are you done with the first flush, or are they still on the plants? Maybe you could try that judicious pruning that you were mentioning to Mrs. Clancey if the plants aren’t fruiting right now?

 

[begreen]

The corn harvest is done. This is the first time in 28 yrs here that we have harvested the corn before eating lots of ripe tomatoes. I left a half dozen ears on the stalks for fresh eats this week. The first is still at least a week off. Strange year.