So how's the Gardening Going - Growing?? Anyone else?

[VonFatman]

We are a bit late due to the wet spring. But yesterday I got the deep tilling all done (yes....I am sore this morning).

Had GREAT help. My father-n-law is a mechanical magician...!!! He got my Troy-Bilt Junior running...thought I was going to need a carburetor kit installed...nope, he's had several Troy-Bilts over the years and he tweaked it a bit and Wa-La!!! Single pull starts!

He got the broken bolt out of my Troy-Bilt Horse (I'd failed miserably in my attempt to install the new (to me) bumper I'd purchased. He got the old bolt out and installed the bumper.

He was of great help with garden lay-out and tilling suggestions. Hard to argue with years of gardening expertise. Plus a ton of other suggestions.

I got the deep tilling done at dark. Karli planted some tomatoes last evening....today I'll furrow the areas she needs finished and we will get the rest of the planting done.

It's a beautiful day here in the KC Area...time to get to work! We got a fence to install too!! Dang Wabbits!

Bob

The hiller/furrow attachment on the Horse works great...

Even Kylar could start the Troy-Bilt Junior now! This unit will be our cultivating tiller.

We will install the fence today. Had to. The old fence was full of holes and the wabbits have gotten...well...like wabbits....LOTS of them.
Going to bury about 8-10" and see if that will keep them from digging in. I used a hot-wire in the past...worked OK, just don't feel like continuing to mess with it.

Some of the tomatoes were planted last night while I finished deep-tilling.

The Horse now sports a bumper!

Bob

 

[Sebago Son]

Gardening...

VF, I'm just getting to the buckets and the beds this weekend. Going to the nursery after breakfast this morning.

You wanna talk about a late spring, we still had lots of snow in the yard this time last month and the ice has only been out of the Big Lake a couple of weeks.... Soil temps are still very low.

Your earth looks very rich there.... I'm envious!

Drew

 

[gregintenn]

We finally planted ours yesterday. My garden consists of red rocks. You have some good looking dirt there.

 

[VonFatman]

Drew,
It's got lots of old horse manure etc....well tilled into the soil. We had our first ever soil test done this spring...all we needed to add was 15lbs of Gypsum.

Pretty good!
Bob

 

[truckemup97]

I've got three raised beds that are coming along nicely. The electric company had to install a new underground line to my neighbor's house out of the junction box in my back yard, so I took advantage of of the freshly turned dirt and made a couple of mounds for the "three sisters". I planted them a couple of weeks ago, then headed off to work. My wife called me a couple of days ago and asked if I had called someone to sod the back yard. Apparently the electric company did it, and covered up my mounds. Guess I'll have to buy more corn, beans and squash this year than I thought.

 

[Joe in SC]

I've got two rows of Merit corn about 85 feet long up and side-dressed once. The corn is 6 to 8 inches high now. Also have a row of white half-runner beans up with 3 leaves, the same length. The okra isn't coming up yet , but it is in the ground. Also have 3/4 a row of Kentucky Wonder type bush beans up to 3 leaves. The yellow squash, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and other bedding plants will go in tomorrow. Can't wait for the fresh veggies.

I also use a Troybuilt tiller and have for years. The only way to go as far as I'm concerned.

 

[OKFC05]

Here in SW OK we have had no rain since Christmas, just a sprinkle or two, and the ag net shows soil moisture to be zero down to 10" deep.

Wheat planted early is less than a foot tall and headed out. Most will be used for feed, not harvested for wheat. Pastures are brown, look like Sep not May.

Forecast for today is 103 degrees, no rain in sight......what garden?

 

[Fishslayer]

Tried a garden one year. It tripled my water bill. Gotta remember, Kalifornistan's a desert.

 

[Dashriprock]

Here in the foothills of the Rockies, Mother's Day is the first "safe" day to consider planting as the threat of freeze is pretty much over with. That said, I'm tilling in cow 'n' compost today, and will plant next weekend.

 

[Redmond]

Here in the Seattle area it's been so cold and wet that the bees are on strike (seriously). I think we have only had 2-3 days over 60.

My garden is still a swamp, so looks like it will be another very late season this year. The weeds are doing well, but planting vegetables is weeks away.

Getting a bit depressing. Last year we hardly got above 70 until a week in August (and that was the week we were in Alaska). Yeah, I know, I need to stop whining.


The Evergreen State - it's not the trees, it's the moss and mildew.

 

[charlie sherrill]

I planted most of my stuff on Valentine's Day. I'm already eating new potatoes and yellow squash and have some green tomatoes about 3" wide, so it won't be long on them. I planted my tomatoes and squash where I had moved some rabbit cages and it looks like a bumper crop for both.

 

[G.T. Smith]

My little garden spot is just now getting dry enough to consider planting. I tilled it kind shallow a couple of times before and then last Friday I tilled it deep. My wife is off work Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday so we will be putting ours in at that time. We just like to grow all the stuff for fresh salads all summer. Some corn to eat with BBQ and I always have an abundance for chili peppers.
This is the latest I have ever planted. I usually do it around April 15th.
Good luck with yours, but from the looks of that soil, luck probably ain't needed!
I hope everyone reading this has a great growing year!
Peace,
gordon.

 

[old bear]

Here in the RTP area of NC we had a temporary early spring, so I planted new junipers, and mulched all of the flower beds and areas around the walkways. The lovely and charming did her yearly decorative planting. Last weekend I cut back all the unwanted growth in the back "natural" area, and this week I hope to get all the dead fall picked up. Sadly no room for any kind of produce garden in the town home.

 

[webley green]

Bob - Now that's a Garden. Well done. Nice dirt. WG

 

[moosedog]

It's been cold and wet here in Michigan too. I'm thinking of growing winter wheat.............all year.

 

[irishjig]

not big but we are trying !!!!!!! added some cages and cucumbers after the photo was taken, need rain !

 

[doublesharp]

I early tilled my little patch in mid March. Then we got about 2 ft of rain during April. I'm tilling tomorrow and will put out 16 tomatoes and 4 pepper plants. Going up to 90 here by mid week and warm moist soil should get things off to a good start.

 

[VonFatman]

I think many of you are way ahead of us. But we did plant 41 tomato plants this weekend...so come July...we hope top be IN THE MIX! Salsa. Love salsa, but my favorite...tomatoes sliced with salt & pepper.

Love those 'maters!

Thanks for all the interesting posts!

Bob

 

[Wyo]

With an elevation of 7300' our growing season is 90 days, at best. Sometimes not much more than 60. Anything planted before June 1 will almost certainly freeze. I've never really been a gardener but my wife was from Kansas, and she was. She's pretty much given up - too bad. It's hard to beat tomatoes fresh off the vine.

 

[2fingers]

Have not had the garden tilled yet, too wet.