Spring Garden Prep Time

[Bell Charter Oak Holsters]

Well, it appears the weather has broken into a full fledged springtime here. I pulled out some containers from the potting sheds yesterday, and I'm heading out to buy my bean seed this morning. I'm gonna grow some Blue Lake bush beans again this year. Last year we yielded an awful lot, around 25 gallons from 6 large containers and they really freeze well too. This year I want to try Snap Peas in containers, has anybody tried that?

It's a little too early for tomato...except in the greenhouse. I grew Early Girl varieties and Beefsteak last year and both were winners. The year before, they all blighted, you just never know.

All in all, we plant around 30 or 40 large containers each year. Much easier on my broken back then raised beds, which we did for decades. we plant Brussel Sprouts, Eggplant, Sweet Peppers too, all in containers. If you've got a favorite veggie you plant in containers successfully, share it with us neighbor. Happy Gardening!

Cheers;
Lefty

 

[HAWKEYE10]

Lefty what kind of containers do you use and what kind of soil? Don

 

[captorquewrench]

I'm actually going to try my hand at a backyard garden this year. I'm a little late, but if I get it in this week should be OK. Mostly going to try some green beans and herbs, maybe get some grapes or blackberries on a trellis taking up garage space. Maybe some garlic too. Can't have vampires taking over the back yard.

 

[old bear]

I did snap peas some years ago and they were great. Ran garden string in a diamond shape pattern up and down the fence. Once you get then trained to follow the string all you have to do is water them. We had gallons of them all summer long.

I was surprised to learn that the faster you picked them the faster they grew.

 

[tops]

I not going to plant anything but corn and maters. Spead out the planting times and I can eat corn on the cob and mater sanwiches till frost. Larry

 

[blujax01]

Funny you should mention it. Luscious and I started the tomato, pepper (3 varieties), marigold, cat grass, catnip and carrot seeds yesterday. Should be able to put them in the little backyard garden around May 1. Except the peppers. They go in containers around the deck. Sunny as well as festive!

 

[Bell Charter Oak Holsters]

Lefty what kind of containers do you use and what kind of soil? Don

Hawk;

We use several different sizes for vegetables. Nothing smaller than about 5 gallons. Most are about 10 gallons, and hold around 4 or 5 cubic feet of soil. For Bush Beans, Peppers, Eggplant and similar size veggies those are adequate. For Tomato, we go a bit larger to 20 to 25 gallon containers for full size varieties but they are heavy and hold quite a bit of soil. At the end of every season, we amend the potting soil we use with horse/cow manure. We empty the containers into 50 gallon barrels and store them for use the following year. We use the same mix for veggies and flowers in containers. For flower beds inground, we use a 50/50 mix with sifted topsoil.

Almost anything that grows "up" can be grown in containers. But we stick to what has worked for us, what we enjoy, and what stores well either by freezing or canning. Good luck and have fun gettin' dirty.

Cheers;
Lefty

 

[charlie sherrill]

Jr. and I raise rabbits. We just moved the cages and planted tomatoes and potatoes. I've got enough stuff to cover them up in case of a late frost but it doesn't look like we have to worry about that right now. The taters have been in the ground since Valentine's day and all of them are out of the ground now. We put out 20 tomato plants that Jr. seeded over the weekend. We've got several varieties. Later on we'll plant several different varieties of squash, broccoli, corn, melons,cucumbers, eggplants, and peas and beans. We're still picking from the collard "trees" we planted in the rabbit poop last fall. We feed some of the extra collards back to the rabbits to help save on feed. When this stuff starts playing out we'll move the cages again and plant some more stuff. We don't buy fertilizer. The extra poop is scattered around trees and shrubs. Stuff grows like crazy. We've got chickens but the rabbit poop doesn't burn stuff up like the chicken manure.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Humboldt penguin guano has great commercial value as a nitrogen-rich fertilizer, however overexploitation of this commodity is a serious threat to the Humboldt population . In some places, such as islands in the southern Indian Ocean, fishermen still use penguin meat for bait. Human competition for food sources can affect penguin populations. Overfishing of anchovetta (a small fish), the primary food source of the Humboldt penguin, has contributed to their population decline. Contrary to BP claims, Oil spills DO INDEED affect penguins. Oil fouls their feathers, reducing the waterproofing and insulating properties of their plumage. The birds become susceptible to hypothermia. Additionally Penguins also ingest the oil while trying to preen, poisoning them and causing internal organ damage. The long-term success of emergency clean-up efforts probably will not be determined for several years.
Y'all be careful out there.

 

[Bell Charter Oak Holsters]

I'm envious of you guys down south. You have a much longer growing season. But hell, I didn't know you had Penguins too? Surprised I never saw it on the menu. I know you folks can turn anything that walks, crawls, flies or swims into superb cuisine. But Penguin 'et touffe? My mouth isn't exactly watering at the prospect.

Up here we have horses and beeves....mostly...you can pick up the meadow muffins or clear a milkhouse gutter, or muck out a stall with a shovel and rake. What in the name of horsepuckey do you use to gather Penguin turds?

And Charlie....I love bunnies, broiled, fried and stewed.

Cheers;
Lefty

 

[Maddog 521]

My tomato plants are flowering already. I have them in containers also. I have also had my first battle with aphids. They are all looking good and we are waiting for the fruit. Pepper plants are looking good also.

 

[Bell Charter Oak Holsters]

I was also thinking of trying a couple of those upside down tomato planters this year. Anybody used them? What varieties of tomato? Tried any other veggies "upside down"?

Cheers;
Lefty

 

[Tyrod]

Humboldt penguin guano has great commercial value as a nitrogen-rich fertilizer, however overexploitation of this commodity is a serious threat to the Humboldt population . In some places, such as islands in the southern Indian Ocean, fishermen still use penguin meat for bait. Human competition for food sources can affect penguin populations. Overfishing of anchovetta (a small fish), the primary food source of the Humboldt penguin, has contributed to their population decline. Contrary to BP claims, Oil spills DO INDEED affect penguins. Oil fouls their feathers, reducing the waterproofing and insulating properties of their plumage. The birds become susceptible to hypothermia. Additionally Penguins also ingest the oil while trying to preen, poisoning them and causing internal organ damage. The long-term success of emergency clean-up efforts probably will not be determined for several years.
Y'all be careful out there.

Ya, I noticed my local Home Depot only had a couple of penguin turds this year.