How Does Your Garden Grow??????

I went through my seeds in preparation for the upcoming season. I have them all organized by type and bundled with binder clips. You'll notice that I have a bunch of Ed Hume seeds. That's because it's a fairly local outfit. They don't have a huge selection but what they do have grows in my region successfully. I still get seed catalogs but I'm not ordering from them. Too often varieties I've purchased don't end up doing well so I'm going with what's proven.

I'm starting a tray of onions tomorrow and some lettuce. We have a cold snap coming up this next weekend but I think after that I'm going to get some peas in the ground. Snow and shelling peas. If they don't make it I'm just out a small amount of seeds. But if the weather works out I'll be eating peas early. Radishes, turnips, beets, greens, and potatoes are planned for the end of the month I'll be getting the tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant started indoors in a couple weeks.

I still have a bunch of stuff to do to get my raised beds ready. Right now they're covered in leaves. I amended them pretty good before covering them in leaves. I'll probably inoculate them with IMO and cover them with black plastic to warm them up and speed up the decomposition. I'm not using any chemical fertilizer this year. We'll see how things work out. But the soil has been getting better as I keep adding organic material and I plan on brewing JMS constantly to use all growing season. I've been collecting rainwater that I'll be using to make JMS for all my vegetable starts.

I'm optimistic that switching over to JADAM and KNF methods will prove to be rewarding and successful. Last year my organic bed did better than my other ones that I used chemical fertilizers on so hopefully history will repeat itself across the entire garden. I'm going to expand my ghetto worm farm with a few more bins. You can never have too much EWC for the garden and I'm also using it in soil for potted plants. It's too early to do much of what I want to do but I'm getting ready.





I transplanted one of my artichokes from a pot into the ground at the end of last summer. It seems to be doing good in it's new home. I have a feeling it's going to get big. You can't see in the photo but there are 6 - 7 growth tips in total.

We bought seeds today. An eight pack tomato assortment and some broccoli. (it's cheaper to buy Burpee seeds on Amazon than their own website) The 12th and 13th, and 16th thru 18th are good above ground days. Will plant peppers and tomatoes, plus more citrus. I've got 26 Polmelo sprouts in a tray at the riverhouse. Will remember pictures soon. (I hope)

too larry said:

What's going on? Since the world went sideways, I haven't been rollingitup much. I haven't worked for real since March. (and TL is restricted to my work laptop)

I've been trying to catch up on stuff at the farm with all the free time. In fact I've got so used to not working, that I'm not going back full time after the epidemic is over. I've told my bosses, so they have plenty of time to look for someone to replace me. But for now I'm coming in half a day a week just so they don't forget what I look like.

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Right on bro..
This bullshit has alot of people a bit different..lol.
Good to hear you're like fuck it.. I'm enjoying more of my life instead of wasting away working..
Good to hear from ya.. I came back to hang out and see how everyone is doing.. I had alot of things going on and decided to get off of the social media platforms.. Between work(50-60hours a week) family and love life , and just being full on stressed .. I had to go A-wal ...
Since covid .. I've became single, lost work and money. Basically I ended up on unemployment and I have alot of extra free time..
Just got seem veggie seeds germinating and a new batch of cannabis seedlings going.. ( pics coming soon)

Of the four trays I moved into the bathroom at the riverhouse, only the Pomelos are sprouting. The pink grapefruit, Freda grapefruit and WC oranges are yet to get started.

The older Pomelos (at the sandhill).



All these seeds were planted 12-23-20. Pink grapefruit was the first to sprout. Then the pomelos and lastly the WC oranges. I'll transplant the grapefruit the next good day.

None of the WC oranges planted by the kids the same day are up. We used a different batch of seeds, so that must be the problem. I'll add more seeds to those pots, as well as planting (in trays) most of what I have left. Maybe 2-300 seeds.

Although this is the current state outside the house...

It's that time of the year to get things going.

Starting off with 4 of each

24W T5. Heat mat set @ 80F with probe in the soil.

Hopefully we'll have a few newborns in a couple weeks.

A few days back I got the seeds from the last of the pink grapefruit. Less than a dozen of them had to be thrown away. Maybe 5-6 were black on the inside, so I just planted those seeds in the kiddie pool the mammoth Jalapeno was in last year. If I get any sprouts from them, I look at it like a gift from the growing gods.



The rest of the seeds I washed and have them drying now.

Larry {the} Gardener said:

This thread is a little early, as I don't have anything in the ground yet. But I am getting prep work done. I look forward to seeing everyone's gardens, so please post your pictures here.

So here is a little of what I have been up to.

I got 5 Jalapeno and 5 Mini Sweet Peppers out of cups and into pots yesterday. The roots were just right for transplanting. Just barely enough to hold the soil together.

View attachment 3617695

I have sweet corn, acorn squash, tomatoes and about 6 kinds of peppers still inside under the lights. There is no more room there, so I dug this subterranean greenhouse to hold the overflow until the threat of frost is past.

View attachment 3617698

Some of my pepper sprouts.

View attachment 3617699

And this sweet corn is going to have to so somewhere fast. It is growing like crazy. I will plant some in the ground later, but these will most likely go in grow bags in my improvised rain gutter grow system. {trench lined with black plastic}

View attachment 3617701

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Brilliant idea, digging greenhouse.

Day before yesterday I found some citrus sprouts down at the riverhouse and moved them indoors. More pink grapefruit but a few WC oranges.



And I moved the tray of Pomelos to the library so they can get better sun. I counted 32 sprouts.



(also mini sweet peppers are sprouting)

The same day I planted 3 pots of WC oranges and a tray of pink grapefruit seeds. ( have some orange seeds that don't look great, and the pots have over 100 seeds per) I'm moving shit around and using all the west facing windows I can get to at the riverhouse. We have a few trays of sprouts at the sandhill house, but window space is limited. Soon I will have to clean out my underground greenhouse unless the cold goes away before I run out of space.

Yesterday I planted pepper and tomato seeds. Five varieties of each. Of the tomatoes pictured, I did not plant yellow pear, red cherry, beef steak or homestead.



I planted Hatch, Mammoth Jalapeno, Habs, Cayenne and Cali Wonder bells.



I did not plant any of these.

Also yesterday I transplanted the four pots of pink grapefruit. There were 27 sprouts after tossing the white one. The Pomelo and WC oranges are still sprouting, (and I ran out of small pots) so all I did was the PGF. I brought the freshly potted ones home, but left the rest in the library at the riverhouse.

Don't tell the kids, but I replanted the pots of seeds they had done with more WC orange seeds. It takes about a month, so we will see if these take.

Also planted a tray of Broccoli Rabb seeds yesterday.

The regional Ed Hume seeds have been stocked in the stores. I thought they carried Mortgage Lifter tomatoes but apparently not anymore. I wanted a big tomato so I grabbed a Burpee Supersteak. I had to get two kinds as the seeds were buy one get one 1/2 off. My lady saw the Gold Nugget cherries and insisted I grow them. I'll be sowing beets, peas, and radishes directly in the ground here in a week or so. I was going to start tomatoes, peppers, and some other stuff in trays today but I got into the Vodka early and ended up taking a nap.

too larry said:

What's going on? Since the world went sideways, I haven't been rollingitup much. I haven't worked for real since March. (and TL is restricted to my work laptop)

I've been trying to catch up on stuff at the farm with all the free time. In fact I've got so used to not working, that I'm not going back full time after the epidemic is over. I've told my bosses, so they have plenty of time to look for someone to replace me. But for now I'm coming in half a day a week just so they don't forget what I look like.

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Good to see u Bro.

Now that snow is gone I've gotten out and gotten some of the raised beds taken care of. I turned over the mostly decomposed leaves and other plant material, sprayed with IMO, and covered with black plastic. I was amazed at the amount of worms. That's a good sign. I'll pull the black plastic up in about a week and scatter some fresh scraps around so the worms have plenty of food. This year is all organic KNF, JADAM methods. I might very well fail and have a terrible season but I'm optimistic and think it will be one of my best ever.

Got my vegetable seed starts going as well.



Just a little over a week ago everything was covered in snow.



The fava beans and artichokes are a little roughed up but they should be fine and start really growing as the weather warms up. I've never grown fava beans but they apparently don't care if it's winter.




It's kind of a tedious job planting so many different things in a 72 cell tray but I don't have the room for a bunch of trays inside. I won't have to transplant for awhile once everything sprouts. I always put 2 - 3 seeds in each cell to make sure I get germination in each one and then choose the most robust seedling and snip any others off at the base.




I'll admit to being cheap. The plant tags are recycled. I've started using pencil to mark them and just erasing the previous markings and reusing them. I have a box of them that I purchased a while back but there is no reason to use new ones when I can use the old. Same with the cell tray. It's got a crack on one side and I have several new ones but I chose to just reuse one. I'm done throwing stuff away and buying new each year. It's not about the money but the waste. So much is wasted in the United States it's shameful. I can't stop it or make a dent in it but I can feel better knowing I'm doing all I can to reduce it.

That's what's going on with my gardening. I'm making some six pack trays of flowers and herbs later today. Then it's just sit and wait until it's time to plant. I've decided to wait for any direct sowing until March 1st. Peas, beets, etc... Even then I might be too early and a cold snap could hit. But I have plenty of seed so I'll take the risk.

Can't wait to pick a huge tomato and make a BLT with tomato and lettuce I grew.

XTSHO,
I will admit jealousy. I plant the fava in april @ 42 lat.

Did you plant your garlic in fall? I find it makes them stronger. I will plant lettuce again as it was a big hit.

Winter in canada, only indoor plants: rosemary and basil.
Just watching the orchids.. zoomed in, it looks like bird of prey taking a victim.

Nrk.cdn said:

XTSHO,
I will admit jealousy. I plant the fava in april @ 42 lat.

Did you plant your garlic in fall? I find it makes them stronger. I will plant lettuce again as it was a big hit.

Winter in canada, only indoor plants: rosemary and basil.
Just watching the orchids.. zoomed in, it looks like bird of prey taking a victim.

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I'm at the 45 lat. Makes a big difference with the weather and being by the coast we get the typically warmer air off the pacific ocean here in Portland. Although the very east side of Portland get the cold air coming down the Columbia River Gorge. A few miles makes a big difference in winter climate.

I planted some garlic in the fall and it's about 6 inches tall. I planted some a few weeks ago and it's a couple inches. I have some more I'm going to plant today. Just some Chinese garlic that sprouted.

I have a big rosemary bush in a pot that I need to plant in the ground but can't decide where. I started some Thai basil in my main 72 cell tray and am going to do a six pack of Italian Basil.