Mary, Mary, quite contrary, How does your garden grow? · Page 3

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Abrignac
Herf-A-Holic

2 years ago

#41

I think I may have mentioned that I planned to build a raised bed using cinder blocks. The plan is a 2 section bed. The front section is 16’ x 8’. On the back side I’ve got another wall of blocks creating a 2’ wide section where I’m going to plant asparagus. All the rain though has held me up because it’s been to wet to haul dirt and move it with a wheelbarrow.

Originally I was going to fill it with river silt, but I looked at some at a couple different dirt pits and no matter where I looked it was more like dirty sand than sandy dirt so I mixed that idea. Ended up getting 4 yards of garden soil mix from a local nursery Saturday. Was planning to back the trailer up ithroigh one end and shovel the dirt off the back but that wouldn’t have worked because I would have had to walk back and forth from the front to back of trailer to unload 2/3’s of it. So I parked under the driveway and ffiller my wheelbarrow in the shade then rolled it around into the backyard.

Good thing I finally got the front finished since my tomato plants were getting root bound in the pots. Later this week I’ll get the other row of blocks laid out so I can plant the asparagus. In the front I planted 4 each of the following tomatoes: San Maranzo, Brandywine, celebrity, sweet 100 cherry and Cherokee Purple. Going to plant some corn, beans, okra and whatever misc stuff I can find room to plant.

RayR
Herf-A-Holic

2 years ago

#42

Bought a roll of snow fence stuff. That plastic fence stuff you see at constructions to try to hold back any erosion. Figured I'll use it as a trellis for the cucumbers, pole beans and peas to climb up on.

Days are getting warmer so transplanting the indoor seedlings into the outside containers is around the corner. I tried herbs from seed a couple weeks ago in pots but they haven't broken ground. I'll try another round of seeds (maybe had a bad batch) but if if they don't sprout I'll go to the nursery and buy some in the 6 pack thingies to populate the pots.

BuckyB93 wrote:

What kind of herbs were you trying to grow? How old is the seed?

BuckyB93
Herf-A-Holic Topic Starter

2 years ago

#43

Basil, oregano, parsley, dill, thyme, chives, rosemary, cilantro, sage, lavender (I like the smell and flowers for the bees and stuff). I still gotta plant some flowers for window sill boxes but I'm not sure we are out of the woods for overnight frost.

Bought the seeds from Amazon. I sowed them in 10" pots with potting soil and watered them (moist to the touch poking in a finger) Sprinkled the seeds on the surface and lightly raked them in with a fork.. maybe 1/4" deep. Nothing has popped up. I know some take a few weeks to wake up but it's been a like 3 weeks indoors and no sign of life. Maybe seeds were faulty or maybe I'm faulty (shrug, there is a valid argument for the latter).

Normally I buy herb seedlings at the nursery but thought I'd try seeds this year. Worst case is the seeds didn't work and I'll get seedlings again at the nursery.

Once oregano, chives, lavender, thyme, sage, rosemary are established they are perennials and survive the winter as long as you provide some covering insulation like fall leaves in my region. The others, I've found, can't handle the cold or are annuals so I replant every season.

corey sellers
Herf-A-Holic

2 years ago

#44

Yeah I got some Amazon seed and they suck ass . Went local and did a lot better . Clifton seed check them out ex wife works there . They have great seed I will not deal with them due to that fact .

RayR
Herf-A-Holic

2 years ago

#45

Once oregano, chives, lavender, thyme, sage, rosemary are established they are perennials and survive the winter as long as you provide some covering insulation like fall leaves in my region. The others, I've found, can't handle the cold or are annuals so I replant every season.

BuckyB93 wrote:

Yes, all of those will go dormant for a cold winter. I never had much luck with rosemary surviving the winter though up here and rosemary hates being indoors during the winter. It'll just die.
My oregano, chives, lavender, and thyme all came back in the spring. Once you have a stand of chives established, you'll have chives forever and they make a ton of seeds too, so you'll never have to buy seeds aqain to start more plants next season I have one stand of chives that is over 30 years old. Chives being in the onion family, their seed doesn't stay viable for long, so even fresh seed after 1 or 2 years in storage, germination will get real sketchy.

I can't say anything about Amazon seed sellers, I never bought any from them. I have bought some locally and plenty from ETSY and EBAY sellers. You can't beat the vast selection of varieties available there, stuff you will never find locally at the garden centers or Walmart.
And there is always reputable online seed companies.

corey sellers
Herf-A-Holic

2 years ago

#46

Germination percentage matters that’s what farmers use . You will always want the highest percentage.

RobertHively
Herf-A-Holic

2 years ago

#47

Push mowed the gardens today. Still growing some grass and a few weeds even after I tilled them. Used the trimmer on the fence line as well.

Extended out the small garden from 35x25 to 70x25. Think I'm going to use that area for corn only. Hope it's enough. I forget the dimensions of the bigger garden--it's an "L" shape and significantly bigger.

Still have enough fencing to build a 50x50 sometime--but will prolly wait until next season.

Some of the plants are getting too damn big for the greenhouse thing we bought, specifically the squash and zucchini.

Tomorrow evening we're going to take then outside, for a few hours, for the first time.

That's the garden report on this cold and cloudy day.

Jakethesnake86
Herf-A-Holic

2 years ago

#48

Tomatoes are looking rough. They got hit hard with wind 60 plus mph gusts. Shredded up. Will see if they bounce back. Might have to start over. No big deal but wanted early tomato

I’m the snake

Stogie1020
Herf-A-Holic

2 years ago

#49

Anyone do succulents/cacti or orchids?

rfenst wrote:

Yup to succulents and cacti, but it's no fair because they grow like weeds here in AZ. I have some very sizeable (overgrown) aloe stands, totem cacti, euphorbia...

Also, my jasmine vines are blooming right now and my back yard smells amazing...

rfenst
Herf-A-Holic

2 years ago

#50

Stogie1020 wrote:

My son's collection of succulents and cacti consists of about 100 varieties. Want some cuttings? They all fit in small plant containers and and bowls and are beautiful. I will gladly send you pictures so you can decide what you want. PM me with your email if you want anything or just want to take a peek of what we have going on.

Confederate Jasmine?

Stogie1020
Herf-A-Holic

2 years ago

#51

rfenst wrote:

Wow, I appreciate the offer! That is quite the collection. One day I will take you up on the poffer, but for now I have my hands full just keeping two little kids alive...

The Jasmine is Common, I think it may also be called Confederate, not sure.

RayR
Herf-A-Holic

2 years ago

#52

Stogie1020 wrote:

Is Star Jasmine called Confederate Jasmine because it only grows in the Deep South?

RobertHively
Herf-A-Holic

2 years ago

#53

I planted my tomatoes had a wicked wind storm and think I’ve lost 2-3 of 6. I’ll replant I’m gonna hit them hard with fertilizer soon. I start with liquid nitrogen which I wouldn’t recommend unless you’re extremely careful. The nitrogen will give the plant a jump start but you wanna run about 10-15 gallons per acre. So very little. I put it in a dish soap bottle and make a small circle around the plant staying back about 6 inches from the trunk I’ll follow up with a little p and k later. Probably already have enough p residual from the sweet corn patch that was planted there last year that got a heavy dose of p rich fertilizer. Gonna plant peppers soon. Next couple weeks. It’s still very early here. Frost is still a danger. I will cover the tomatoes with baskets or buckets if frost is possible at night for the next couple weeks

Jakethesnake86 wrote:

Hey what kind and brand of fertilizer would you use for 70x25 growing area, dedicated to only growing corn? How much would you use and how often?

I have good soil here, not the rocky or clay soil that you would typically encounter in the mountains. It's floodplain loamy soil for the most part (sand, silt, and clay).

I'm not sure that matters for dosing the corn, but I am already starting with pretty rich soil.

Thanks in advance, Jake. My wife is making a list for the farm store, and I told her let me ask a real farmer before we buy.

8trackdisco
Herf-A-Holic

2 years ago

#54

Mixing coffee grounds into soil to enhance growing conditions.

This a thing?

BuckyB93
Herf-A-Holic Topic Starter

2 years ago

#55

Yes

When I brewed and drank coffee on a daily basis, the coffee grounds were added to the garden. I even tossed in the paper filter in there. They add organic matter and some nutrients. One thing though is they are rather acidic but your soil pretty much sets the pH. I don't think coffee grounds now and again are going to move the needle. Some plants like acidic soil. Some not. For growing eating plants, I like to hoover around neutral (pH around 7)

Low pH (acidic) can be corrected with a sprinkle of lime to get closer to pH7 but a little goes a long way.

RayR
Herf-A-Holic

2 years ago

#56

Bucky is correct, coffee grounds add organic matter to the soil and some nutrients mainly a little Nitrogen The grounds being from roasted beans like all other dead organic matter add carbon to the soil which also promotes the growth of beneficial decomposing organisms in the soil (bacteria, fungi, protozoa, insects and earthworms)
Lowering the PH of soil is not as easy as increasing the PH of soil. Coffee grounds are in no way acidic enough to impact PH.
You can lower the PH of alkaline soil long term by using elemental sulfur (S) but that takes time (sometimes years) since the sulfur itself won't affect PH, that requires the work of specialized soil bacteria that convert sulfur into sulphuric acid which is a strong acid that reacts quickly with carbonates in the soil

jeebling
Herf-A-Holic

2 years ago

#57

BuckyB93 wrote:

Boiling coffee grounds actually lowers the pH a little so it’s really not much of a danger. Earthworms thrive when used coffee grounds are mixed with the soil. Compost piles do very well with coffee filters are made especially for composting and of course the coffee grounds are excellent in compost as well. This is my experience anyway.

RayR
Herf-A-Holic

2 years ago

#58

Coffee filters are paper which is a wood product, it is mostly cellulose. Saprotrophic Fungi, which are all those fungi species that feed on dead organic matter are the main decomposers of cellulose. So coffee filters are saprotrophic fungi food and important in the composting process.

I think boiling coffee grounds is a waste of time, the organic acids in the coffee grounds are weak acids and get neutralized quickly in compost and soill.

jeebling
Herf-A-Holic

2 years ago

#59

RayR by boiling I mean brewed. If you’re drinking coffee at home you may as well put the used grounds to good use IMHO. The compostable filters are a bit of a misnomer for the reason you pointed out. The “compostable” filters just disappear more quickly. Same with tea bags. Your point is well taken though. You are correct, sir 😎

Jakethesnake86
Herf-A-Holic

2 years ago

#60

@robert just get a balanced fertilizer to start I run a rate of 350 pounds to an acre so it really doesn’t take a whole lot

Once the plants get a foot or so high they really want nitrogen. You’ll want to side dress with a 100 percent nitrogen fertilizer. I use liquid but you can use anything but corn loves nitrogen. You will not yield well without it. If you have good soil I’d go fairly heavy on the nitrogen

If using liquid do not get it on the plant itself (you’ll kill them)

I’m the snake

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