What Have You Got Planted 2018

[farmerjim]

The old WHYGP thread is gone so I think we need a new one. They are only relevant for a season so I put the year in the title.
The first thing I planted this season was actually last year. I planted some onion seed last October and transplanted them along with some purchased plants in mid Dec. We had the coldest Jan. that I can remember and I lost my lettuce and cabbage planted in the fall.
I started new ones and they will be ready in a few weeks. I put my first planting of tomatoes out on Feb 17 and many more ready to plant if it ever stops raining enough for the soil to dry.

[Plate plinker]

nothing yet i would need a jackhammer and a greenhouse to plant anything today

[chambers]

We'll last fall I planted garlic but I am unsure about how they are going to do this year as we had no snow and lot's of frost. But I did set up the garage with two brand new growing lights to start seed plants( I know I'm a little late compared to other). I have much to plant.

[BrassMagnet]

My apricots are blossoming.
It is supposed to snow today. I will likely get frozen out again.
Plums are next. They seldom get frozen out.

[crowbuster]

plate plinker, my rhubarb came up and got froze out. Im sure it will come back, very hardy. we have had winter this yr for sure

[Geezer in NH]

our rhubarb and asparagus are still sleeping under a foot or more of snow as of 3/18

[Thundarstick]

Kale, cabbage, broccoli, pac choi, and spinach. Tomatoes up under the lights waiting for the last frost date in mid April.

[Hogtamer]

Just a few cabbage.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

there is still 6 to 8" of snow on my garden right now.
But that hasn't slowed the rabbits any, from chewing on my raspberry canes.

Last Oct, I planted 100+ garlic cloves for harvest in 2018. 2/3 were Chesnek Red and the remaining 1/3 is German White. That area of the garden had little snow cover, so the dirt started showing last week. So I started up the Snow thrower and threw some snow on that portion of the garden, to protect the garlic from premature spring grow and then getting bit by late frost.

Two weeks ago, I started a Flat of Bell peppers. Some are a heirloom "Quadratto", a four lobed yellow bell. These grow huge (both the plant and the fruit) but need a long season, I usually only get 1 to 3 ripe fruit per plant, unless the season is longer than normal. If early frost, it's a total loss. The other peppers I started is Ruby King, a smallish 3 lobe red bell that ripens early and are very prolific in my zone, I've seen as many as 20 friut per plant with these in the past, if they are caged and I give them enough space.

I will start tomatoes next week.

[bbailey7821]

Purple Indigo and patio tomatoes. Cayenne and Japelino peppers. Mint, Basil, and good ol Cilntro in the herb section!

[chuckbuster]

Tomatoes and peppers are under the lights in the basement.

[rockrat]

I planted some pumpkins last week. See what happens

[Hossfly]

Planted potatoes Feb. they are up and ready for the potato bugs, Red Lasoda type and trying some Adirondack purple ones a friend wants to try. Planted Pole beans Saturday, some had already sprouted left in ground from last fall. Everything green here tomatoes will go in by Good Friday, may be frost before then not trying the bucket thing again. Total garden is tilled and wanting to plant everything now, be patient my man.

[MaryB]

Nothing yet, still have 4' of frost in the ground! Starting stuff first week of April for last weekend of May planting. That *usually* gets me past last frost.

[kens]

2 pear saplings, and 2 apple saplings on the hunting lease.

[Dryball]

I'm sooo jealous of people that get to plant this early or get to grow certain vetetables. Still cold as a well digger's rump around here

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I've grown Okra for a couple years, just put seeds (clemson spineless) directly into the garden.

Last year, only a few germinated, so this year, I am going to start them in the house this, probablt in a week or two. I only have a few seeds left, so I went online to see what different ones are available. and found some neat sounding ones from Baker Creek Heirloom seeds.

Alabama Red Okra
Beck's Big Buck Horn Okra
Jing Orange Okra


also bought a packet of Black Cherry Tomato seeds

[white eagle]

red and white pine

[DerekP Houston]

no annuals for me this year, just no time to dig and plant a garden before we'll be moving again. The fig trees are already putting out leaves as are the pecans, hopefully get a good harvest before we leave for North Texas.

[Lloyd Smale]

still 3 feet of snow on the garden? Might be some garlic growing under there.:bigsmyl2:

[Baja_Traveler]

I planted several dozen dragon fruit cuttings this month. The macadamia trees are setting flowers and it looks like I'll have several 5 gallon buckets of nuts based on the number of flowers I see. My key lime is also going to have a bumper crop year based on flower set. I'll be starting my watermelon patch in a few weeks. Arabica coffee plant is really starting to take off, and I can practically watch the mango tree grow right now.

[Wayne Smith]

Early blueberries full bloom, later ones budded and beginning to bloom. Too cold and wet to do anything else so far. Hard to plant in mud!

[blue32]

I pruned the crab apple and dwarf peach tree last week. We have a freeze coming tonight so I'm worried about the peach. I've been dumping food scraps into the vegetable plot all year and tilling the soil with a hoe for three weeks now. Its looking good for planting but I need to be sure the calcium is up because I lost my whole crop of roma tomatoes last year due to blossom end rot. I'm looking forward to another surplus of romaine (hopefully) and will try sweet onions again since it was a complete failure last year. March in my region has proved to be turbulent temperature wise this year. It will be 70 one day and 30 the next.

[Hossfly]

Same here with the weather up and down with the temp. Turned off boilers in both greenhouses and hoping temp stays up at night. Ground temp coming up for now pole beans starting to sprout got fence up so they can run close to house to keep deer from munching. Right on blue with the calcium under the tomatoes it sure stopped the end rot here, last year was the first time didn’t have one tomato with it. My biggest battle is with potato bugs they know where i plant oh well just have to plant enough for them to.

[bob208]

our planting is on hold. we got 12 inches of show to day.

[Lloyd Smale]

my wife would pull a camper under one of those macadamia trees and live there.
I planted several dozen dragon fruit cuttings this month. The macadamia trees are setting flowers and it looks like I'll have several 5 gallon buckets of nuts based on the number of flowers I see. My key lime is also going to have a bumper crop year based on flower set. I'll be starting my watermelon patch in a few weeks. Arabica coffee plant is really starting to take off, and I can practically watch the mango tree grow right now.

[Baja_Traveler]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180322/65bfd599ff9309b75725cc87d080b89a.jpg

Last August’s haul - still have half a bucket to crack...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[15meter]

Checked to see if my hops had started to sprout last Saturday. Not yet.

That's as much gardening as I can handle.

[waksupi]

I see some garlic peeking out of the snow in the garden. I planted tomatoes and peppers according to the moon, and the growth has definitely been better than previous years when I didn't pay attention to it.

[sundog]

Pear (Moonglow and Keifer) trees are in full bloom. I pruned them really hard a few months ago, and they are looking good. My Doc is getting a pile of pear wood for his smoker. Asparagus patch was cleaned up a couple weeks ago, and some are coming up - maybe enough for Easter dinner! Garlic wintered over and is ~8". Planted some more, too. Onions have been in since mid February and look good. Peppers, eggplant, and tomatoes are started inside and coming up. A friend is a salsa guru, so I've got a bunch of different sweets and hots to grow for him -- in exchange for salsa.

We've had 4" of rain the last several days, so things a purdy soggy right now. Gonna have a light freeze Sunday night, but the pears should be okay.

Cuke, melon and squash seeds are all standing by for a mid to late April planting.

Pecan trees (native and paper shell) all looking good.

[DougGuy]

I moved this year and the new place has very little yard, and very little sun gets to the yard it does have. Ugh.. Will be lucky to grow some herbs in pots.. Had to leave a chocolate persimmon, my blueberries, my tart cherry tree which bore fruit last year for the first time. fig tree, all left at ex gf's place..

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Yesterday, I 'scored' the surface of some Okra seeds and soaked them (in water) overnight. They will be planted in a flat later today...to be transplanted into the garden in late May.

[DerekP Houston]

Found out we have a loquat tree in the backyard as well, looks like we might get a decent crop of pecans as well if this weather is good all summer

[Echo]

Well - the best I could do is transplant. I decided I needed a little more adornment to my front yard, and I knew where there was a stand of several Santa Rita prickly pear plants, so I drove there (1/2 mile away), sliced off 3 pairs of pads, brought them home, and planted in prepared spots near the street. Used my pick a few days ago to whack the ground - Tucson dirt can be similar to concrete - and watered nicely, and let it soak in a couple days before sticking a shovel in the softened ground and sticking a pad in 1/2 way (after scoring the underground part, to enhance root growth), gave them a fresh watering, and will water again a a couple days, including a shot of B1 to help root growth. I'm including a picture of one - the other 2 are in the shadow of a small Palo Verde tree, and wouldn't make much of a picture.
And I will buy a Lysoloma tree today and plant in the back yard. Already dug that hole a couple months ago, so will be easy to plant. I'll put a picture here later this year showing it's progress.217199

[sundog]

Moonglow pears are already setting fruit. Keifers are just now blooming. Sunday night is forecast close to freezing, but I think they will be okay.

Got my grow light working yesterday in the back room. Pepper, tomato, and eggplant seedlings looking good. They all get planted mid to late April -- providing I can get in the garden. Rain made a mud bowl of things lately.

[shdwlkr]

well just yesterday the kids and I got in asparagus, rhubarb, peas, onions, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, swiss chard and Broccoli not much but a start. Next will be the tomatoes, peppers, corn, squash, cucumbers, melons that will take most of garden space as I don't have a big garden just a lot of different stuff in it.

[MaryB]

Ordered seeds yesterday... $48!! Ouch! But all heirloom!

[farmerjim]

Ordered seeds yesterday... $48!! Ouch! But all heirloom!

I buy a lot of seeds each year. Last year was over $1,000 because I bought some GMO sweet corn. Most of my seeds are hybrid, but I do grow a few Heirloom and open pollinated plants. I try to save some seed from them every few years. There is one green eggplant that I grow that is from seed brought back from Italy about 25 years ago. I save seed from them as it is not available from any seed company. It is the best tasting eggplant I have ever eaten.

[MaryB]

I buy a lot of seeds each year. Last year was over $1,000 because I bought some GMO sweet corn. Most of my seeds are hybrid, but I do grow a few Heirloom and open pollinated plants. I try to save some seed from them every few years. There is one green eggplant that I grow that is from seed brought back from Italy about 25 years ago. I save seed from them as it is not available from any seed company. It is the best tasting eggplant I have ever eaten.

If it is an heirloom rareseeds.com might buy some from you! They are my go to seed source now.

[Echo]

Son got some Heirloom seeds from a neighbor, for - whatever types. Has a nice garden in his back yard...

[luna butte]

Today me n the kids seeded 15' kale, 15' spinach, 15' Swiss chard, 45' beets, 45' carrots, 45' cabbage, 15' lettuce, 15' radishes, 15' green onions, 45' peas.

Gotta wait till mid/late may for the warm season stuff. It's a good day

[MaryB]

4-10 inches of snow possible tonight/tomorrow...

[Echo]

Son planted some heirloom tomatoes recently, from a neighbor...

[farmerjim]

I put in another row of tomatoes and a second row of peppers ( 160-170 plants per row) yesterday. Seeded 200 heat set (Bella Rosa) tomatoes into flats for field planting in 6 weeks. Deer have only eaten 2 of my tomato plants so far this year.

[dverna]

I learned a few years ago that it was not worth the effort to plant anything. Unless I want to erect an 8' high fence, the deer will get a lot of it and then there are the small pests that need to eat too. The weird thing....in my area, just about the time anything I grow is ready to harvest, there are roadside stands full of the same stuff!!! I think it is a conspiracy.

I have a buddy who has always planted a lot because his wife wants "organic". I think that means they dump the poop from their livestock on it. And wind up giving away what they do not use or can. Many of us benefited from that, but I think he drank a lot more of my whiskey and beer than what he gifted me. I hear they are downsizing a lot this year...so I will need less booze around near harvest time.

While on the organic topic. Last year they raised a pig and it died just before they were going to butcher it. A few years ago they sold one of their pigs to another neighbor and it cost him about $500. This organic fad is expensive. I wait for the sales and get pork for less than $1.75/lb. At 67 years old....just how much longer will I live by eating organic stuff anyway?

[tja6435]

Onion, radish, peas, beets

[Omega]

Still have freezes predicted so nothing in the ground, but have a few tomatoes and some peppers under the lights ready for when I decide to chance it. Hope to get them in the ground at least by mid month. I have some peppers coming up, from seeds that I got from a member here, Aleppo and Piment D Espelette (sp), I tried last year but I didn't plant in time and only got 2 peppers from one plant...the entire garden didn't produce. This year I may have started too early, we'll see, I have them under a dome and lights, the tomatoes germinated withing a few days with the peppers right behind them.

[Cosmic_Charlie]

nothing yet i would need a jackhammer and a greenhouse to plant anything today

Yes, been wanting to "plant" a few steel fence posts for steel targets but being in zone 3, it will be a few more weeks.

[snuffy]

I think there's something wrong with folks in the southern states coming on here each spring with what they have already planted in their gardens.

While us in the top tier of states still have frost in the ground. Nah na nah na! I will dig this thread up in July-August with a question; how's the sweat on your brow, how's the air conditioner running? Yeah, sure you will have had fresh tomatoes and peppers since June 1st, while we up north have only had plants in the ground for maybe 3 weeks.

Tomatoes seeds I planted 3-29 have just sprouted, while peppers will not show up for another 10 days. 6 weeks till last frost when I can transplant with first tomatoes maybe mid July. With a shorter season, the rush to get stuff canned is from then on till first frost around 10-10.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

My Garden and firewood shed.

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[Geezer in NH]

3/31 Started lettuce, 3 kinds of tomatoes and 2 types of peppers all on the greenhouse porch. they will get transplanted end of may to the garden.

[quilbilly]

This weekend I got the potatoes, onions, and the first batches of spinach and radishes in the ground even though the ground is a bit cold yet 9it was 28 yesterday morning). Next up will be lettuce, arugula, and carrots in a week or so.

[shdwlkr]

Johnb
That looks like it was here last year this year much different more normal for us. No snow, ground ready for planting early stuff and yes we still might get a storm that could make things interesting. But weather report says we are going to be warming up into the 60's in the next few days and rain. Yes we like rain out here as when it stops there is only irrigation water and we deal with the snow that fell in the mountains over the winter and hope there was enough to fill our reservoirs so we have enough water to get through the summer. I look at gardening as a way to connect with nature, God and life. Spring is the renewal of life, summer is the chance to mature, fall is the old age of life and winter is death of life.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

shdwlkr,
I love the change of seasons and gardening, your analogy is a good one.

Minnesota can deliver a different Springtime every year.
Some years, I can work the soil in late March and plant some cool tolerant seeds (spinach, cabbage, raddish, beet). This year, besides this snow, Yikes, there is still frost in the ground and the weather idiots are predicting another big snow storm next weekend...as well as, cold weather (daytime highs of 30 or low 30s) for 2 more weeks. I'll be lucky to work the soil by May 1 :cry:

[MaryB]

Jon I was up at the lake as a kid Memorial Weekend... it had been a really warm spring and water temps were mid 70's already. We kept jumping in the lake to warm up because the water was a lot warmer than the 35 degree air! It even snowed that weekend. Mom has pictures of my Dad water skiing in the snow!

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I've heard stories of snow on Memorial weekend before...Myself, I don't recall it happening...but I do recall, sometime in the early 90's, that we had a 7" snow storm in early May...much like the one that happened today.

[lefty o]

i remember snow as late as june 6th, though i am ready for it to quit falling now!

[farmerjim]

To those of you in the North, be patient , your planting time will come soon. Although born and raised in the South, and back here now, I lived up north for 12 years. For 9 of those years I had a 115 acre weekend retreat in upstate New York just South of the Canadian border. I had a 1 acre garden and grew truckloads of vegetables that we would can or put in the freezer, or give to neighbors. Plant day for warm season vegetables was May 21 (the Queen's birthday). Wow, did things ever grow fast up there. The days were much longer than down South. There were few insects that attacked my vegetables ( except Colorado potato beetles) The plants were not wet 12 hours a day and did not have fungus and bacteria attacking. No need to spray the plants 2 times a week with insecticide and fungicide like down here. The soil actually had good organic matter in it. Down here the year long warm soil breaks it down fast. The vegetables grew large and fast with little fertilizer. I still remember going out into the garden in the winter and digging under the snow to get carrots and parsnips.
For those of you far to the South of me, I also envy you being able to grow all those tropical plants. We would often go visit our friends in the Florida Keys in the winter. There were gardens with tomatoes growing, Mangoes, Breadfruit, Avocados, pineapples, and just North in Homestead, another friend farming all kinds of vegetables.
We all have things we can grow where we live. I had 9 tomato plants on my balcony when I was in an apartment In Montreal. I enjoy reading about what you are planting in your area and learning about new varieties of vegetables that I might get to try.
Keep growing them to serve with the meat that we hunt.

[gwpercle]

Tam Jalapeno Peppers
Goliath Jalapeno Peppers
Classic Purple Eggplant
Big Beef Tomaio
Sanibel Tomato
Sunkeeper Tomato
Blueberries
My Meyer Lemon might have survive the big freeze (16 degrees) I'm starting to see some new green growth , the Grapefruit tree, Bay Laurel and both Satsuma trees are all OK.
Going to plant some Gypsey Peppers and Okra later
The honey bees that live in the hollow tree in my back yard also survived , 16 degrees and 4 1/2 inches of snow...them guys are tough !
Gary

[lightman]

I know this is mostly about gardens and I'm not a gardner. But, I've got about 10 acres that I have disc twice and will probably plant Sunflowers next month for my Dove Field. I plan to do something different this year. In years past I have broadcast them but this year I am going to rent a drill and plant them with my tractor. It cost about $4 an acre and I'll save more than that on seeds. Plus I should get a better more uniform stand.

[mpkunz]

Yeah, you buy something full price and next week its on sale. Happened to e again and again. I finally called the out on that practice last year after ti happened for about the 4th time in as many weeks, and told them I do not like being merchandized and would be returning the product and purchasing it on sale because the shipping cost was so much less than the amount of money saved. They offered to refund the difference and apologized. FWIW, YMMV.

[jonp]

Had stuff in for a couple of weeks. The tomato plants died because of a frost but the broccoli, cabbage, beets, brussel sprouts are just fine. Always dicey to plant this early and we expect to lose stuff but it's easily replaced.

[Omega]

My plants had germinated, peppers and tomatoes, but now the leaves started to turn brown. This is just the second year I started from seed so maybe I'm missing something. I had them under a dome and light so I took the cover off to see if that will fix it. We're expecting a light snow so too early to put them out, hopefully they'll survive. Last year, with all the experimenting I planted too late for any sort of harvest, only a couple peppers from each plant and no tomatoes.

[Thundarstick]

I've got broccoli, kale, and cabbage plants, spinach and Chinese cabbage from seed up in the garden. Tomato and pepper are 2-3 inches tall. I have been hardening them off, but did bring them back inside the house till the freeze passes. I try and not plant tomatoes and peppers until May first. Btw the only reason I start my tomatoes is to get varieties I can't buy at Rural King or Wal-Mart. Darn thing about Tennessee weather is so many years is too cool for cole crops to really get growing and about the time they do is 85F and burning them up! A month of spring, eight months of Summer, a month of Fall, and a two month winter, that's four seasons, rite?

[Thin Man]

Nothing yet, the dang weather keeps on changing in temperatures giving highs in the 70's one week and 40's the next. Plenty of rain but it comes in with high wind. I keep on telling myself - patience, grasshopper.

[MaryB]

More snow incoming, the winter that refuses to end!

[Iowa Fox]

Its going to take the soil temp a while to warm up enough to get excited here. We got 3" of snow yesterday, night time temps in the teens and twenties.

[farmerjim]

I have an 8 1/2 foot fence around 8 acres where I grow my vegetables so that the deer have to jump or break a hole through to get in to eat my plants. They do both. I have large gates at the front and back to get the truck and tractors in and out. Next to the house I have a 4 foot gate to walk in to get things to eat out of my kitchen garden. It has railroad ties for the sides a 2x4 across the top to keep the top square, and a strand of barbed wire just below the 2x4 at about 5 foot 6 1/2 inches. It has been like this for 12 years. I am now 5 foot 7, use to be 5 9 1/2 before back started breaking down. I have to duck to not hit the 2x4 or barbed wire. I always caution anyone going with me to be sure to duck. Nobody has hit the 2x4 or wire in 12 years. Yesterday I was in a hurry and forgot to duck.
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[Edward]

My snow shovel :bigsmyl2:

[kbstenberg]

We still have 6" on the ground and are expecting another major storm this weekend.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

We still have 6" on the ground and are expecting another major storm this weekend.

For the last month, every time a little garden soil is exposed, we get more snow.
So judging by this photo I took this morning, we'll be getting more snow this weekend as well :(

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[rr2241tx]

I planted some onion sets and ristra peppers out in the backyard, then the last two cold fronts came through and froze the leaves off the onions. The peppers have either not germinated or the deer got them already. I'm still somewhat in mourning for a 20 year old chili petin that the contractors pulled up because it was inconvenient to move their scaffold around it. Have had no luck getting another one big enough to be deer proof.

[MaryB]

I have an 8 1/2 foot fence around 8 acres where I grow my vegetables so that the deer have to jump or break a hole through to get in to eat my plants. They do both. I have large gates at the front and back to get the truck and tractors in and out. Next to the house I have a 4 foot gate to walk in to get things to eat out of my kitchen garden. It has railroad ties for the sides a 2x4 across the top to keep the top square, and a strand of barbed wire just below the 2x4 at about 5 foot 6 1/2 inches. It has been like this for 12 years. I am now 5 foot 7, use to be 5 9 1/2 before back started breaking down. I have to duck to not hit the 2x4 or barbed wire. I always caution anyone going with me to be sure to duck. Nobody has hit the 2x4 or wire in 12 years. Yesterday I was in a hurry and forgot to duck.
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OUCH! How many stitches?

[farmerjim]

It looks bad, but it's not. I kept working for about 20 minutes after it happened. When I went inside my wife looked at me and with a gasp said what happened to you, are you OK? I went and looked in a mirror and saw what is in the picture. When washed off it is just a small puncture scrape on top of my head. It doesn't help that I am on a blood thinner.

[MaryB]

I am on coumadin... know the bleed a lot thing!

[Hossfly]

Well i was impatient and after waiting for Good Friday to set out tomatoes + two weeks guess what temp will be here in north La. Sunday morning 38’ and Monday may be 36’ so will cover complete tomato patch because if they say 36’ here on this sand hill it will frost. Pole beans are starting to climb fence and potatoes are budding now, already spraying for potato bugs but so far they are under control. Hope your up to date on tetanus shot.

[MaryB]

And 4' snow drifts, blizzard conditions...

[farmerjim]

Hossfly, It sure does get colder up there north of I 20. We are only predicted to go to 39. However some of my tomatoes are blooming and temps much below 50 will sterilize the blossoms. Those with green tomatoes on them or not yet blooming are OK. I put out my first tomatoes Feb 17 and only had a couple of light frosts on them. I cover my early tomatoes with Agribon AG-30. It gives me frost protection down to 27. It can be reused 3 or 4 years. I get my tomatoes 3 weeks earlier than anyone around me. It is a porous fabric and does not have to be removed until the plants get too big. I get mine in 800 and 1,000 foot rolls 83 inches wide, but I am starting to see some of the seed catalogues selling 50 and 100 foot rolls. I have only lost my Feb planted tomatoes twice in 20 years. I get my best sales of tomatoes to those that wait for Good Friday to plant.
Tetanus shot is up to date, thanks.

[Hossfly]

Thanks for the info on the Agricon we had a little frost last night then again Monday 36’ predicted so they get covered again this evening. Real pain must uncover as soon as sun comes up. That Agricon sounds like the ticket. Time now to get it all in the ground. Only got 3 qts of green beans left to eat plenty pickles and tomatoes from last summer. Happy growing.

[MaryB]

17+ inches of snow mixed with 70mph wind gusts yesterday, 20mph all day today. 6' drifts in spots. Snow plow got stuck trying to blast through the drift in front of my garage that was 4' deep and 30 feet long. Wet heavy snow on top of a muddy road so he had no traction.

[JBinMN]

I am chomping at the bit to get in the garden but I am dealing with some of the same weather as MaryB. I wanted to at least have my potatoes in the ground by now.

I am a bit bummed out about it...

[Iowa Fox]

What a year. Winter just keeps hanging on, snowed all day here but afternoon it was melting as it came down. farmerjim I feel for you battling the deer as we have the same problem here. Thousands of the stinking things.

[KCSO]

Been planting my snow shovel in a big drift, darn global warming!

[Outer Rondacker]

Normally harvest my horseradish by now. Kinda hard since its in a snow back covered by ice. As for planting. We are still a long time off on that one. Here anyway.

[Thundarstick]

Transplanted the tomatoes and peppers I started in February to the garden this morning!

[DerekP Houston]

Just pulled the first bowl of loquats from the tree Sunday. Pretty tasty though I confess I hadn't tried them before.


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[snuffy]

This might sound like a commercial for Aero garden, but my excellent experience with it for starting seeds is as follows;

first some pics--

Where some of the plants below are headed,,-- if spring ever does get here. 8" of wet snow fell Saturday and Sunday, I still can't get out of my driveway!

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On the left are pepper plants, the right is tomato plants, one of which has potato leafs.

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A bit closer. The peppers were planted on 3-28, the tomatoes on 3-29, so that's 20 days of growth.

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Backing off shows the Aero garden base. It has about 2 gallons of water in it which brings the water up to the bottom of the peat plugs you can see in the pic. There's also a small pump in the base that runs on a programed hour running every 12 hours. It pumps fresh water up to the peat plugs which also aerates it.

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This is another aero garden, my first one that's 4 years old. It's normally a seven hole top when growing spices indoors. The above model is normally a 9 hole. This on has some more tomatoes, and some Kohlrabi. These were planted on 4-8. Waiting for seeds to come from a seed company called Veseys. It took 7 days for them to pick and ship the order. Then I find out they're a Canadian company, so into their mail system it went(no ability to track). That was 8 days ago! No biggy, this season will be late, and the aero garden grows plants quickly.

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I should have taken a broad angle shot showing the light hood that shines down on the plants. It has 150 LEDs 75% are white the rest are red and blue (to mimick sunlight). It takes a lot less power to light things up and they last a lot longer that florescent bulbs. those are also programmable as to when and how long they stay lit. These are both set for 18 hrs on 6 off. The hood is able to go right down on the deck, way up to 24 " above the top.

So a combination of perfect growing conditions and selection of your own seeds gives you a garden of your choice. It is basically hydroponics.Agribon AG-30

[snuffy]

The LED hood from underneath;

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And from above, you can see one of the locks that allow for height adjustment.

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[DerekP Houston]

looks like a good rig for getting a start on the growing season snuffy!

[BD]

I started the hot peppers and asparagus indoors this week. Still two feet of snow on the garden. We're at least six weeks from putting anything in the ground.

[MaryB]

36 tomato plants started, 36 pepper plants, 8 cukes, 8 acorn squash, 5 watermelon, then the rest of that 36 cell starter is celery and bunch onions. I always to 3 seeds to a cell and pull the weakest leaving 2 plants. I find having 2 plants next to each other in the garden helps them withstand the winds I deal with...

[snuffy]

Mary I too put more than one seed in each peat pod, usually 2. I usually pinch off the smaller of 2 plants that have sprouted, but if your experience is that 2 plants can thrive in one place, I may leave both grow. Also if one of the seeds fails to germinate, at least I'll have one plant per space in the aero top.

A couple of years ago I tried to plant some old seeds,(last years seeds), I put 3 in each seed starter. About a 50% failure rate but a least one sprouted. I had the same luck I usually had with potting soil in seed starters, the plants got "leggy", or IOW spindly, long skinny stems. Most died when planted in the garden, even with hardening for 8 days first.

That's whats so cool about the aero garden, the plants in the first series of pics all have 3 leaf sets and husky stems.

[Nose Dive]

Wooo... 'got a minute?"

Am now on my 90 acre plot of sandy loam and scrub oak here in "BIG SKY" country..(central Texas)....but...but...

1. Two types of tomatoes..via seeds...
2. Basil... I make gallons of 'broth' from old meat and 'stuff'... Basil is a main stay
3. Oregano...goes in broth too
4. Celery
5. Cucumbers
6. three 'colors' of carrots
7. Two types of Dill..allways cover my fish on the grill with DILL
8. Garlic
9. Mint ...over by the fence so it can just go nuts
10. Spearmint ... by the fence too
11. Spinach
12...corn
13. Squash...yellow
14. Red watermelon...normal kind
15. Israel Melons.. sweetest fruit you will ever put in your mouth!
16. Pumpkins
17... GORD package...several types...yes...yes...over along the fence
18. Black eye peas... purple hull....
19. Red bell peppers....tired of paying $1 a piece for these
20. Green bell peppers
21. Red chili peppers
22. "CHINESE" ornamental peppers
23. Jalapenos..
24. Rosemary...yes...yes...yes...for the BROTH Too!
25. Radishes....
26. Thyme...you guessed it...broth ....
27. stalk onions
28. purple onions
29. white onions
30. green peas
31. Fennel
32. Coriander... (Cilantro for us Texans)
33. Chives
34. Leeks
35. Parsley.....
36... tried some cabbage...we will see if rabbits will let it come up
37... beets... good luck...

OK...what did I forget?... I got my drip system 1/2 done and connected to the well.

OH YEA... Potatoes...three types...am putting them in used TIRES this year...see how
they grow.

Wish me luck fellas.

Nose Dive

[MaryB]

Mary I too put more than one seed in each peat pod, usually 2. I usually pinch off the smaller of 2 plants that have sprouted, but if your experience is that 2 plants can thrive in one place, I may leave both grow. Also if one of the seeds fails to germinate, at least I'll have one plant per space in the aero top.

A couple of years ago I tried to plant some old seeds,(last years seeds), I put 3 in each seed starter. About a 50% failure rate but a least one sprouted. I had the same luck I usually had with potting soil in seed starters, the plants got "leggy", or IOW spindly, long skinny stems. Most died when planted in the garden, even with hardening for 8 days first.

That's whats so cool about the aero garden, the plants in the first series of pics all have 3 leaf sets and husky stems.

I end up fertilizing a little more with 2 plants per spot in the garden. As I said, I battle constant winds and summer winds that can hit 90mph once or twice a summer so 2 plants next to each other offers better support.

[kbstenberg]

MaryB can I send you some of the 6" of snow still on the garden?

[MaryB]

MaryB can I send you some of the 6" of snow still on the garden?

Only if you want the 6' drift in mine LOL I am figuring first week of June before I plant this year.

[Wayne Smith]

Just today put in two tomatoes, four peppers, three eggplants, three basil plants, chives, and cukes. Very small space largely given herbs. The oregano and the mint are next to each other, the oregano is winning! Sage didn't make last winter, after surviving the last four. Have to replace that. Rosemary is up and growing, blueberries are putting on berries. Have radishes, spinach, and carrots in the ground and growing, needing to be thinned.

[tdoor4570]

Don't tell Brassmagnet but I planted a couple of wheel weights in my back yard, hope I can grow a lead tree and not have to scrounge lead all over the place.

[Down South]

Small garden here in the RV Resort this year. 7 tomatoes, a Jalapeno & Cayenne pepper and one bell pepper.

[OldBearHair]

A feller told me last year about planting seeds in a sandwich baggie on top of a moist folded paper towel inside, then turn it over so the little root would try to go down instead of up into the paper towel making it hard to get the plant out. Use a magic marker to identify. Put the stack of baggies in a warm dark place and check for sprouting regularly. Then plant in peat moss thingys until you can transplant where needed. On the lighter side. _____A couple years ago I worked feverishly to get all the seeds above ground type planted and remembered pinto beans. Went to the pantry and found pinto beans in a two cup measure on the top shelf. Took a hand full of beans to the garden and planted them. I had left the beans on the counter as I was in a hurry and next day the little lady discovered the beans and asked about them. I told her that I planted them. She informed me that they would not come up because she had already used them twice on top of foil put on top of the pie crust to keep it from bubbling up as it was baked in the oven at 350 degrees. . Well low and behold, in a few days I looked and there were pinto beans coming up. As we used the beans, every time we referred to them as " the twice baked beans". Now some of you may not believe this so, I challenge you to try it sometime. LOL

[Bulldogger]

Don't tell Brassmagnet but I planted a couple of wheel weights in my back yard, hope I can grow a lead tree and not have to scrounge lead all over the place.

If they do sprout, don't forget to stake them. Lead trees are very top heavy when fruiting and prone to toppling over, causing a loss of the whole crop. And remember to not try to use underripe lead as it will not alloy well.

Bdgr

[robg]

Small garden but we have apples pears blueberries stawberrys rubbarb blackcurrants .don't plant them as they grow year on year but we usually plant tomatoes and garlic. Thyme mint rosemary sage bushes and a small bay tree .my wife's a great cook .

[parkerhale1200]

Still waiting for the euro coin tree to come up....
used some 10 euro bills for manure.

If you use soft lead, in a sand soil you will get a nice crop of lead rolls, I had some good success with it.

In the mean time: 12 species of Tobacco plants, potatoes, carrots, white red and green cabbage.
Fruits like every year: apples, pears, kiwis, cherry's, prumes, black red and white grapes and olive's.
Most fruit is for rumtopf, wine and juice, some potatoes and carrots are for wodka.
Tobacco doesn't need explanation, right?

Still no caviar, I don't want to cut open my fishes.

[robg]

My fil made that stuff ,rocket fuel!

[Geezer in NH]

Still 2 -3 weeks to tell what we have planted. Snow melted off 4 days ago.

[farmerjim]

I've been busy the last week. The deer got into my field. It is surrounded by a
8 1/2 foot fence, but they do jump it, and sometimes ram it repeatedly till they open it up and get through. They have never been a problem in the spring, but just the other night they ate the tops out of 200 of my tomato plants and took out a few of my pepper plants. I have bought 4 more electric fence chargers and 5,000 feet of electric fence string and tape. There is electric fence string running over the top of every row (300 feet each) of vegetables ( except onions and eggplant, They have never eaten them) I have also put a single electric strand around the field about 3 feet away from the 8 1/2 foot field fence. Deer are suppose to have poor depth perception and don't like to jump double fences. (so said on the internet, so it must be true) Most of the deer come in from the East side of the field so there I have backed up the field fence with a double electric fence. One is 18 inches high and the one 3 feet behind it is 3 wires 18, 36, and 54 inches high.
It has been hit at least twice as a wire was found out of the insulators in the mornings.
I have not lost any plants since I have electrified this field, but it is a lot of extra work.
It has finally warmed up after the coldest March and April I can recall so I will put in the watermelon, Veg spaghetti and cushaw transplants today before tomorrows rain.
I am now picking cabbage, broccoli, lettuce, onions, summer squash, and a few
tomatoes.
It is now light, so off to the field. Have a great day.

[kbstenberg]

Last week the snow melted enough to get my little tiller in the ground. I only have peas in so far. But I have corn, beans, beats, onions ready to go as soon as I can get to it.
The wife seems to think I should spend all my time finishing the bathroom remodel before I get to anything else! I just don't understand her.

[MaryB]

My rhubarb, strawberries and chives are up. One rhubarb either didn't make it or isn't up yet(it was kind of sickly looking last fall). Starts inside the house are all 2-4" tall now...

[Thundarstick]

Beans are coming up, tomatoes and peppers are growing well, but it does look like the spring garden is a total loss. This had been one of the years where it's been too cold and wet for the cole crops to grow and now it seems we've moved straight into summer! We've had highs in the 80s for about two weeks now with high 80s forecast for until it even gets hotter. Broccoli, cabbage, spinach, and kale are burning up! Rolling them under for squash, and melons this week. Some times you win, some times you lose!

[MaryB]

Ignore the destroyed window blind, woke up to Ollie mewing and tangled in it and he was stuck... trashed it LOL

Top is cukes, squash, watermelon, Scottish bunching onions, celery.
Middle is sweet and 3 types of hot peppers.
Bottom is 4 types of tomatoes.

I won't move anything to the garden until the end of the month.

Mini green house is a 24" wide 3 shelf unit from Walmart, heavy duty window plastic from Walmart taped on and the back flap held closed with magnets. Stays a good 10-15 degrees warmer inside it than room air temp.

https://i.imgur.com/bkEPNuD.jpg

[farmerjim]

Mary, I was going to ask when you set out your warm season plants, But now I will ask when is your average killing frost date? When I lived in Montreal our dates were May 21 plant warm and Oct 7 killing frost. It was so nice to grow vegetables up North. No bugs except for Colorado potato beetles, and corn ear worms. No diseases or fungi, long long days of sunlight to make things grow faster, and soils rich with organic matter. I can grow things year round down here, but pay for it with a constant battle with diseases and insects. It looks like you will have a nice crop from those plants.

[MaryB]

I have seen frost Memorial weekend(usually around the 28th of May, and can get frost third week in September some years. More typical fall frost is mid Oct. One year up at the lake Memorial Weekend it was snowing while we were swimming... even water skied in the snow! Had a warm early start of the month to bring water temps to the low 70's then slammed with a late snow.

[Tom W.]

I planted two avacado seeds in a planter on the back deck..... wonder if they'll grow?

[farmerjim]

I planted two avacado seeds in a planter on the back deck..... wonder if they'll grow?

Wash it. Use 3 toothpicks to suspend it broad-end down over a water-filled glass to cover about an inch of the seed. Put the glass in a warm place out of direct sunlight and replenish water as needed. You should see the roots and stem start to sprout in about 2-6 weeks.

[MaryB]

Rhubarb I thought was gone is now up. Might be a different variety than the other 2 I got from the neighbors patch when we broke it up and replanted it.

[Beagle333]

One row (13 plants) of tomatoes. Got a soaker hose run down the row. I used to keep up three gardens, but since being all gimped up now, I just got the one row and am pretty proud to have it.

[MaryB]

I started laying down landscape cloth the last couple years to cut down on weeding. Real back saver for my messed up body!

[Walks]

My wife's Poinsettia from last XMAS. She came out in the middle of a casting session and wanted it planted now.
She's lucky She's a really good cook. And good at other things too.

[MT Gianni]

Traditional last frost date is June 10th so we are getting stuff ready.

[AK Caster]

We now have half a dozen tomatoe plants and 8 assorted pepper plants and 4 cucumber. I did add 6 more garden boxes, each one is 5 foot long and 4 feet wide. Decided to make them shorter as they are easier to level. They sit next to our first two boxes that are 14x4. The first ones now look goofy since they were not leveled.
Three of the new garden boxes will hold asparagus because we found out one of the 14x4 boxes is not enough to keep us well fed with asparagus even though this is the start of the 3rd year for the first bed

[MaryB]

Mowed over last years garden twice, raked it out today. Hit an irrigation line that must have broke off and stuck in the dirt... had to pull that mess out of the blades... ready to lay out the rows then till it...

transferred 36 tomato plants to 3" pots, and 20 cukes, squash, and watermelon(combined) to the same size pots. 2 weeks yet to garden season

[Omega]

From day two I've been missing plants, first I thought my pups had done it, so I put up some electric line around it to keep them out. Then I noticed that some of the plants had just withered over, so I replaced some, then I noticed bugs were eating the leaves, so put some sevin powder out today. Last year I had no crop to speak of, I'm determined to have one this year.

[PaulG67]

I usually have half of my garden planted by now but winter hung on too long this year. I planted my sunflowers ealier this week, veggies will be in another week or two. Last year I planted potatoes on May 1, and they did well, this year the ground was still in frost two weeks ago.

[Silfield]

Had a busy weekend in the garden getting the veggy patch up to scratch. I got 4 good barrow loads of compost out of the bins this year so hopefully will have some good returns from it.
Planted runner beans, French beans, leeks, 3 types of tomato, sweet corn, carrots, Kohl Rabi, broccoli and a hat full of different salad greens. Also put in a few raspberry and loganberry canes in the new fruit patch.
Hopefully the pigeons and deer will remember that I will leave them alone if they leave the garden alone but I am not holding my breath!

[Tatume]

Very late, cold, windy spring for us as well. But the weather broke, and all the plants I've been raising from seeds in the kitchen are now planted outside. There are three varieties of tomato (cherry, paste, and big beef), peppers (sweet bell, miniature bell, pimento (yes I know, Spanish for "pepper"), jalapeno, Mariachi, and habanero), okra, Tromboncino squash (a climbing Italian variety), Chinese eggplant, white eggplant, Contender beans, cucumbers, radishes, and carrots.

[Tatume]

I moved this year and the new place has very little yard, and very little sun gets to the yard it does have. Ugh.. Will be lucky to grow some herbs in pots.. Had to leave a chocolate persimmon, my blueberries, my tart cherry tree which bore fruit last year for the first time. fig tree, all left at ex gf's place..

If you can find any small patches of sunlight where it's lit for six or eight hours, these are amazingly productive.

https://earthbox.com/?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Search%20%7C%20EarthBox%20Branded&utm_term=Earthbox&utm_content=Earthbox

[AK Caster]

From day two I've been missing plants, first I thought my pups had done it, so I put up some electric line around it to keep them out. Then I noticed that some of the plants had just withered over, so I replaced some, then I noticed bugs were eating the leaves, so put some sevin powder out today. Last year I had no crop to speak of, I'm determined to have one this year.

Check for evidence of voles. They will eat all the roots before you know it.

[RichardB]

My grow plot has been taken over by saplings . I'm not about to brush hog and till it. If I did I'd have to tend a garden, just me. I have enough to do already around the place.

RB

[MaryB]

Got irrigation reconnected and rows laid out in between thunderstorms today. Reversed rows 180 degrees so tomatoes are at the opposite end of the garden(my tomato rows are spaced 5' apart for asy access, rest of the garden is 1' row spacing). Now to count the 1' rows and make up a planting diagram...

[Thundarstick]

Planted watermelons, crenshaw, cantaloupe melons, and acorn squash. The okra, and summer squash are coming up, green beans are looking great as well. The tomatoes and peppers will need caged before you know it. The spring garden was a total loss, but the summer garden is showing great promise! God speed to all in their gardening endeavors!:D

[farmerjim]

Just picked my 1st sweet corn of the year. I planted late because of all the rain and wet ground. One of my friends gave me some from his garden about 3 weeks ago. I am picking peppers eggplant, tons of cucumber. I picked 30 pounds of tomatoes today. They have been scarce for the last week as the first planting finished and the second was late because of all the rain. Okra should be flowering in about a week. Watermelon, Cushaw and vegetable spaghetti are coming along fine, but were also planted a bit late. The heat came on so fast this year that I am only getting 2 clusters on my indeterminate plants. I normally get 4. Luckily I planted some of the heat set tomatoes in my rows earlier than normal because we have been going into the 90's for a while and normal tomatoes will not set fruit above 90. The heat set will not set above 96, and we are above that many days.

[farmerjim]

The watermelons are all coming in now. I have brought 3 carts (12 in a cart) in so far today, and there are many more to get. Coons and deer are getting in the plot as I have had to take down some of my electric fence wires down because the plants have gotten too high. Tomatoes are coming in faster than I can sell them now. As they get too ripe, I sell them for a $1 a pound to caners. Now I need a watermelon sign for the road.

[dragon813gt]

All I planted this year was potatoes. And I planted them late unfortunately. Half of them never came up even though they were sprouting when I planted them. I went out and bought some seed potatoes that I planted halfway though June. Hoping that they grow large enough for seed potatoes next year. The weather turned the past week and it’s been very hot and humid. They’re suffering because of it. As long as I harvest enough to make mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving I will call it a win.

I ordered some Peruvian Drop Pepper seeds in mid May but they still haven’t arrived. Hoping they arrive at some point because I really want to grow them. After having them in a couple dishes I’m a fan. Wish they were planted because this weather would have them taking off growth wise.

[Loudenboomer]

The wife does most of the gardening (farmers make the worst gardeners). Did plant a 1 acre sweet corn patch though. Put in 500 acres of sugar beets and 750 acres each of soybeans and wheat. Planted about 2 acres beets and 2 acres soy beans back in the woods for deer food plots. I'll plant brassicas and winter rye for the deer when most of the summer heat is over. We've had good spring and early summer rains and plenty of warm days so far. Much to be thankful for.

[MaryB]

Lettuce is providing a meal a day, never got radishes in because of it being way to wet to work in the garden. Tomatoes are blooming... Potatoes are doing good... thought my horseradish was toast but it came up with a vengeance 2 weeks ago

[Thundarstick]

We have been enjoying squash, tomatoes, okra, and cucumbers. The melons are nearing ripening, different varies of water melon, crenshaw, and cantaloupe melons, if I can keep the opossum out of them! We have had an extremely hot damp spring and early summer that has been a challenge to gardening.