2024 Garden Thread!

[EatenByLimestone]

My rhubarb is just starting to come up. Interesting thought of harvesting it early. It’s been putting energy into the roots. I should be able to take some and not hurt anything. I usually wait until June.

 

[EbS-P]

Added a second 4x10 hoop house for all the short growing bags. Tomatoes are getting strung up. I have 6 plants setting fruit. Some doubles may get yanked. How many tomatoes do I really need

 

[begreen]

I just landed in Seattle, and it's much, MUCH greener here already than on Long Island. Most Trees have full or significant green on them here.

That's pretty normal. This has not been a particularly warm spring.

 

[stoveliker]

I was surprised; similar latitude and also near the sea, but big difference.

 

[begreen]

It is a bit odd. Actually, Seattle is much further north. Long Island is around latitude 40ºN. Seattle is at 47.6ºN, which is north of Bangor, Maine. Odder still, Paris is a little further north of Seattle, more like the WA/Canada border.

 

[begreen]

Corn and squash plants are in the ground and looking good. The test tomatoes and peppers are doing well outside under cover too. We have a couple of cooler nights (41º) predicted so I will be planting the rest of the tomatoes under remay fabric next week. Baby carrots are sprouting and the broccoli is about 10" tall.

We'll be harvesting the outdoor crop of tatsoi tomorrow. It looks beautiful, but is starting to flower.

 

[EbS-P]

Corn and squash plants are in the ground and looking good. The test tomatoes and peppers are doing well outside under cover too. We have a couple of cooler nights (41º) predicted so I will be planting the rest of the tomatoes under remay fabric next week. Baby carrots are sprouting and the broccoli is about 10" tall.

We'll be harvesting the outdoor crop of tatsoi tomorrow. It looks beautiful, but is starting to flower.

All our white cauliflower has been harvested. Waiting to see if the purple we planted makes a head. None yet. Bugs are now getting active.

 

[begreen]

The tatsoi is starting to bolt, time to pick it. I harvested 8 pounds today and planted another row of carrots.

 

[hearthon]

Lots and lots of peppers inside my house waiting to go outside. We usually wait until may 24 to plant outside so we're getting close. I have a few more seeds that I want to get going in the window sill also.

 

[begreen]

I set most of my tomatoes outside today in a remay tunnel. I have had two planted out there for the past 10 days and they're fine. The soil temperature is staying at or above 55º which is sufficient for them.

 

[EbS-P]

Three nice tomatoes were picked today!

 

[DuaeGuttae]

Those look great, @EbS-P . What variety are they?

Around here we just finished putting tomatoes in the ground last week ahead of some expected rain this weekend. I noticed that my little Maglia Rosa has a flower, but we’re a long way from ripe fruit.

I took some pictures this weekend of various plants that are growing.

Eggplants and Peppers. [Flea beetles have found the eggplants; I’ll probably dust them with diatomaceous earth when the chances of storms lessen.]


Garlic with daylilies in the background. The trellis is for red noodle yardlong beans which are just starting to sprout from seed.

Blueberries that are loaded with fruit. We’ll need to get bird netting on if we’re going to have any harvest.


More garlic, lettuce, mustard, radishes, and a little kale in the background.

Another trellis for bush beans, a hill of sweet potatoes, and peas growing in front of blackberries in the background.


One area of tomatoes with rhubarb in the background. Outside the garden fence is one trunk of a double-trucked alilanthus tree my husband and I removed on Saturday. We plan to turn the branch wood and leaves into more mulch for the garden.

A glimpse of the big strawberry patch and some starts of stevia and rosemary that I grew from seed. They’re now in a pot so that I can overwinter them indoors.


My hope with stevia is to add it to fruit smoothies this summer some sweetness without sugar. I did a test with some yogurt and strawberries with a few leaves I pinched off. It worked surprisingly well even without blending. I’m not a huge fan of stevia powder, but the leaves are a bit milder.

 

[begreen]

It looks like a good start DG. That's quite a difference from the thirsty dry garden in TX. I have never grown Stevia before. Like you I am not a fan of the powder but am intrigued by the plant.

 

[begreen]

The tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant are all in the ground now and looking good. The next several days will have me filling in the beds. The corn is a couple inches high. I had to cover that bed with remay because of birds pulling some babies. Fortunately I have some backups to replant those few spots.

 

[begreen]

First red peppers. They were started indoors last December. I almost lost them, but repotted and put them in the greenhouse in February and they recovered. These are Carmagnolo Rosso which we are trying out for the first time.

 

[EbS-P]

Those look great, @EbS-P . What variety are they?

Around here we just finished putting tomatoes in the ground last week ahead of some expected rain this weekend. I noticed that my little Maglia Rosa has a flower, but we’re a long way from ripe fruit.

I took some pictures this weekend of various plants that are growing.

Eggplants and Peppers. [Flea beetles have found the eggplants; I’ll probably dust them with diatomaceous earth when the chances of storms lessen.]
View attachment 327240View attachment 327241

Garlic with daylilies in the background. The trellis is for red noodle yardlong beans which are just starting to sprout from seed.
View attachment 327242
Blueberries that are loaded with fruit. We’ll need to get bird netting on if we’re going to have any harvest.
View attachment 327243

More garlic, lettuce, mustard, radishes, and a little kale in the background.
View attachment 327244
Another trellis for bush beans, a hill of sweet potatoes, and peas growing in front of blackberries in the background.

View attachment 327245
One area of tomatoes with rhubarb in the background. Outside the garden fence is one trunk of a double-trucked alilanthus tree my husband and I removed on Saturday. We plan to turn the branch wood and leaves into more mulch for the garden.
View attachment 327246
A glimpse of the big strawberry patch and some starts of stevia and rosemary that I grew from seed. They’re now in a pot so that I can overwinter them indoors.
View attachment 327247View attachment 327248

My hope with stevia is to add it to fruit smoothies this summer some sweetness without sugar. I did a test with some yogurt and strawberries with a few leaves I pinched off. It worked surprisingly well even without blending. I’m not a huge fan of stevia powder, but the leaves are a bit milder.
View attachment 327249

Buckbee and or Siletz.

Update…
The hydroponic tomatoes just got away from me. To many for the space and not enough time to keep them pruned and trained. I decided it was time harvest everything I could. So here it is. I’m starting to get tomatoes from the bag garden now.

What I learned could be its own thread but the short of it is Buckbee out grew an out performed all the others. The determinate tomatoes grew like indeterminates. I noticed that with a cherry tomato last year in the tower.

Space space space space. The way I had them growing there just wasn’t enough room for all of them once spring arrived. The idea was to move them to a stationary location where hat never got built. I’m trying to stay ahead of my bag tomatoes but I imagine I’ll get busy or going vacation and have the same problem. I could do probably 5 vines instead of 15

I really like the idea of indeterminate plants. They could keep on going through till November. I’m kinda moving past that. I thinks it’s easier to start new seeds July 1 and start over. The determinates I have now are looking really good.

Biggest surprises so far.
Dwarf lemon ice. We ignored one in a pot as all the seeds germinated and we split them up. It did great and was given away. First dwarf to set fruit, lots of it. And a good structured plant.

Taxi. I believe it’s a determinate that came in the hot and humid container collection from tomato fest. It’s short and loaded with tomatoes. Not too bushy. Perfect for smaller spaces or those not wanting to tent to plants

Bush cucumbers. WOW each vine is loaded already with tiny cucumbers. But the compactness is great. I have them in bales in the same bales growing up a net I have lemon cucumbers for something different.

 

[Prometeo]

This year I too am making a small vegetable garden, on some plants I have applied a layer of wood chips, my wife doesn't believe it could work better and so we will see differences! However, do not consider this as a classic Italian vegetable garden, but something done in a hurry!

 

[begreen]

Although woodchips can help soil retain some moisture, most suck nitrogen out of the soil as they break down. Alder and aspen are exceptions. Don't use cedar or walnut chips. They will kill the plants.

A layer of grass clippings would work better.

 

[begreen]

Buckbee and or Siletz.

Update…
The hydroponic tomatoes just got away from me. To many for the space and not enough time to keep them pruned and trained. I decided it was time harvest everything I could. So here it is. I’m starting to get tomatoes from the bag garden now.

What I learned could be its own thread but the short of it is Buckbee out grew an out performed all the others. The determinate tomatoes grew like indeterminates. I noticed that with a cherry tomato last year in the tower.

Space space space space. The way I had them growing there just wasn’t enough room for all of them once spring arrived. The idea was to move them to a stationary location where hat never got built. I’m trying to stay ahead of my bag tomatoes but I imagine I’ll get busy or going vacation and have the same problem. I could do probably 5 vines instead of 15

I really like the idea of indeterminate plants. They could keep on going through till November. I’m kinda moving past that. I thinks it’s easier to start new seeds July 1 and start over. The determinates I have now are looking really good.

Biggest surprises so far.
Dwarf lemon ice. We ignored one in a pot as all the seeds germinated and we split them up. It did great and was given away. First dwarf to set fruit, lots of it. And a good structured plant.

Taxi. I believe it’s a determinate that came in the hot and humid container collection from tomato fest. It’s short and loaded with tomatoes. Not too bushy. Perfect for smaller spaces or those not wanting to tent to plants

Bush cucumbers. WOW each vine is loaded already with tiny cucumbers. But the compactness is great. I have them in bales in the same bales growing up a net I have lemon cucumbers for something different.

View attachment 327437

Nice collection. It's common to overplant or plant too closely when first gardening. Single plants make the garden look forlorn. I have only 3 plants in one of our 4'x8' beds. But two are zucchinis and I know they will take up a 3' circle each when fully grown.

I'd like to know more about the cukes. What variety are they. What is the adult plant size? What is the cucumber size? How do they taste? Are they thicker skinned like a pickling cucumber?

 

[Prometeo]

Although woodchips can help soil retain some moisture, most suck nitrogen out of the soil as they break down. Alder and aspen are exceptions. Don't use cedar or walnut chips. They will kill the plants.

A layer of grass clippings would work better.

Thank you. I don't know if you've ever seen videos on YouTube by Paul Gautschi (a video was suggested to me by EatedByLimestone, which I thank) his garden is lush, and does not require water. I've thought about it a lot, in my opinion, the grass, having no mass, it can hardly protect from late cold, here we have the problem when spring begins, starts hot and again, cold, and for example fruit trees, they often lose everything, and if you gardened too soon, it's a big problem. The wood chip could also protect better from too high temperatures. My new toy

 

[begreen]

A 4-6" layer of grass will help. It's the trapped air that act as an insulator, not solid mass. But neither protect the tender leaves of the plant. A remay tunnel cover or individual cloches are more effective if planting when cold snaps are of concern.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

The wood chip video guy had greens and compost mixed into his chips. The grinder was mixing in the leaves and branches in addition to the trunk. I think he also had a bunch of compost he’d mix in from his chickens.

There have been a bunch of people that have used wood chips only and had luck. I think they plant below the chips, with the roots into the soil.

The chips should only pull nitrogen from the soil they are in contact with while they are decomposing via bacteria. If you have fungal forces at work, the bacteria might not be an issue.

 

[stoveliker]

I use woodchips as mulch in my (non-food) garden - on the sand here (ice age ridges of sand and boulders) it helps a lot in decreasing water evaporation from the soil, keeping the soil warmer, and bringing carbon in the soil. Worked similarly well on the clay in TN.

I wonder whether the plants would grow better (more nitrogen) with something else. The wife does not like grass clippings in the non-food yard though...

Regarding the grass clippings in a (food) garden. I'd add the caveat to only do that if your grass is clean - no herbicides or pesticides (and if all natural, no artificial fertilizer). Otherwise you'll be bringing ***cides to the stuff you want to eat.

 

[EbS-P]

Nice collection. It's common to overplant or plant too closely when first gardening. Single plants make the garden look forlorn. I have only 3 plants in one of our 4'x8' beds. But two are zucchinis and I know they will take up a 3' circle each when fully grown.

I'd like to know more about the cukes. What variety are they. What is the adult plant size? What is the cucumber size? How do they taste? Are they thicker skinned like a pickling cucumber?

Nothing to report now other than what I planted. Says the vines are 2’ long.

 

[begreen]

Interesting. I've never grown bush cucumbers, just the long vine types. These are pickling so they will be short and stocky. I'm interested to see how they turn out.