official veggie gardener's thread

[DrPizza]

Memorial day weekend - the weekend to plant in NY. I have a huge area ready for the tomato plants. Will have to mix in another huge pile of mulch for the corn/beans/peas area (about 120ftx40ft)


Question: my neighbors have an extra "tarp" from one of those carport things. It got ripped up in a wind storm, so they replaced it. Do you think a white tarp would be good for keeping the weeds down with roughly 6-9" diameter circles cut out for the tomato plants? Should I mulch with fresher non-composted hay/manure to within 1' of the tomato plants, then put the tarp down? Or just put it down over the ground? At the very least, I'll hold it in place with stones removed from the garden. I plowed up some big stones.

 

[BoomerD]

Memorial day weekend - the weekend to plant in NY. I have a huge area ready for the tomato plants. Will have to mix in another huge pile of mulch for the corn/beans/peas area (about 120ftx40ft)


Question: my neighbors have an extra "tarp" from one of those carport things. It got ripped up in a wind storm, so they replaced it. Do you think a white tarp would be good for keeping the weeds down with roughly 6-9" diameter circles cut out for the tomato plants? Should I mulch with fresher non-composted hay/manure to within 1' of the tomato plants, then put the tarp down? Or just put it down over the ground? At the very least, I'll hold it in place with stones removed from the garden. I plowed up some big stones.

I'm envious of your garden space...but not of the work involved with maintaining such a garden...

I suppose the tarp would work...and it's certainly cheap enough. As long as you provide enough points for watering the plants and the soil drains well.

Not being a farmer, I don't know how well uncomposted manure would work for tomatos. Won't it be a bit "hot" for your plants? Will tarping over the fresh manure create problems as it heats up and starts to decompose? If I had the choice, I'd prefer to till the composted manure into the soil before planting and use something like pine needles as top mulch. (not sure if you have pine trees on your property being in NY...which, as I remember, is mostly hardwoods...in which case, leaves should suffice.)

 

[eplebnista]

The early girls are around 4' tall and have several tomatoes set. The upsy downsy's are starting to hang down now that the tomatoes are getting larger.

 

[TraumaRN]

Picking my first batch of mustard greens and my spinach for a salad tonight. Show be delicious. My cantaloupes have exploded in the last few days, 3 of the 5 plants quadrupled in size thanks to all the heat/humidity. Peppers are all about 4-6inches high, tomatos which I planted from seed are now 6-8 inches tall as well.

 

[rbV5]

Wow, some nice gardens in here. I went with some tomato's and a few varieties of peppers. My grapes are in their 3rd season of actually making fruit, should be a banner year. The strawberries I noticed have a few berries already.

 

[DrPizza]

Not being a farmer, I don't know how well uncomposted manure would work for tomatos. Won't it be a bit "hot" for your plants? Will tarping over the fresh manure create problems as it heats up and starts to decompose? If I had the choice, I'd prefer to till the composted manure into the soil before planting and use something like pine needles as top mulch. (not sure if you have pine trees on your property being in NY...which, as I remember, is mostly hardwoods...in which case, leaves should suffice.)

One big advantage of goats, llamas, chickens, and rabbits is that you can spread their manure directly into your lawn or garden - it won't burn the plants. Most of my manure is composted multiple years before I use it (I only say that because I've never used it before until this year, and I started with the oldest pile.) What I might spread as mulch is this year's from the aisle of the barn. About 80% wasted hay, 20% manure. It would be bad to use around the strawberries if it puts out any heat (strawberries prefer cooler soil.) But, I'm not sure about the tomatos. I'll give it a shot anyway.

What you suggested is what I did - I spread last year's manure on the garden in the early fall. I tilled it all in this spring, then I dumped bucket after bucket of old compost on top, tilled again, then smoothed it with a back blade. (I'll get a york rake for next year.) Since some types of grass survive being tilled over, I'm going to cover most of the garden with something or other to keep it from re-spreading. I figure a year of that with wider rows & then next year, I'll be in much better shape.

 

[Bignate603]

I'm in AZ so watering makes or breaks a garden, last year we were watering by hand and I don't think we were watering long enough. We've found that putting a sprinkler so it sprays on the raised beds for about 15-20 minutes each day makes the plants grow like crazy.

Our herb garden is coming in nice and thick. We already harvested and removed our peas and beets (planted those back in January). Fresh beets and beet greens were awesome. Our pea plants got over 5 feet tall. Tomatoes and melons are going in to the empty beds now.

We found that we had to construct frames over our gardens to keep the birds from attacking the seedlings. With the frame and the bird netting over it we haven't had trouble with birds anymore.

 

[Modelworks]

Check out your states agriculture departments , many states will do soil testing for free or very low cost usually just a few dollars. Here in NC you can go to your counties extension office and get a small box with instructions on how to take the sample. Then you send it in and the results are usually up in a week or less on the website.

We have a 9 acre garden that is done by family members, divided between about 6 households. The soil testing was a big help to fixing some of the problems we were having. You don't know what to add if you don't know what is wrong.

 

[TraumaRN]

But, I'm not sure about the tomatos. I'll give it a shot anyway.

According to my father who has been growing tomatos for years and years and years tomatos like warmer soil, generally once the soil hits 55-60 degrees constant your tomatos should start to explode...and generally I've noticed this to be true.

He has always directly put compost around his tomatos with no ill effect, generally despite being in Michigan he has mutantly huge tomato plants. He had multiple better boy heirlooms that were over 5 feet tall last year, we had to use literal steel stakes to hold them upright.

 

[BoomerD]

According to my father who has been growing tomatos for years and years and years tomatos like warmer soil, generally once the soil hits 55-60 degrees constant your tomatos should start to explode...and generally I've noticed this to be true.

He has always directly put compost around his tomatos with no ill effect, generally despite being in Michigan he has mutantly huge tomato plants. He had multiple better boy heirlooms that were over 5 feet tall last year, we had to use literal steel stakes to hold them upright.

The issue I was asking about wasn't about compost...but manure. Compost, whether composted manure or composted green matter is always good for a garden. I like a bit of composted manure in with the composted green matter when I can get it. (but don't want composted steer/cow manure) I can get horse shit from a couple of local ranchers, I know one guy where I can get sheep shit, (stinks like hell, but works well) and there are lots of chicken ranches in the area. (we're only about 30 miles from Foster Farms HQ, with their chicken ranches scattered all over the area.)


I don't use sprinklers for my gardens. I have everything on drip systems.

 

[TraumaRN]

Ahh sorry Boomer missed that slightly different word. My dad uses horse shit that has composted for a year. Manure I'm not sure of.

 

[BoomerD]

Ahh sorry Boomer missed that slightly different word. My dad uses horse shit that has composted for a year. Manure I'm not sure of.

horse shit, horse manure, same same. IMO, for addition to a garden, it should be well composted. If you're adding it before you plant, to amend the soil, relatively fresh is ok...just don't plant right away. Give it time to "cook off" a bit first.

 

[meltdown75]

i used sheep manure / spaghum peat moss mix. so far everything is looking strong.

 

[DrPizza]

Picked up my tomatos at the Amish greenhouse this afternoon. 72 tomato plants, mostly Roma, but a pack of yellow, a pack of some typical variety of beefsteak or something, and a pack of cherry tomatoes. Excellent quality plants, only $10 a flat. Plus, got some broccoli, eggplant, cucumbers, etc. to put in. Have to stop tomorrow for a few pounds of bean, pea, and corn seeds.

 

[spidey07]

Picked up my tomatos at the Amish greenhouse this afternoon. 72 tomato plants, mostly Roma, but a pack of yellow, a pack of some typical variety of beefsteak or something, and a pack of cherry tomatoes. Excellent quality plants, only $10 a flat. Plus, got some broccoli, eggplant, cucumbers, etc. to put in. Have to stop tomorrow for a few pounds of bean, pea, and corn seeds.

There is no way you can eat/can all those tomatoes. If they're mostly roma then I'm guessing you're canning most of them. If you do, then that's awesome and share the recipe please.

My broccoli/cauliflower/cabbage has worms. Looks like cabbage worm or cabbage looper, small green inchworm with white stripe down the side. Treated them over the weekend, hopefully caught them in time before too much damage or they made it to the heads which are about baseball to softball sized now.

 

[BoomerD]

Radishes, RADISHES, RADISHES!

I tell ya folks, IF you like radishes, raw with a bit of salt, sliced in a salad, made into relish or salsa...Radishes are "crack for gardeners." Talk about instant gratification...plant them today, within 30 days, you're picking and replanting. So many different varieties to choose from too...

I have my 2nd and 3rd crop already in the ground. (first crop was eaten within 2 days..small rows, maybe 40 radishes total)
The crop I planted on the 24th is already over an inch tall, and the rows I planted on the 28th are already broken through the soil and starting to unfurl their leaves.

My jalapenos are doing good. The largest one is almost 2 inches long so far. The serranos are about 1/2" long and growing. Tomatos are doing well, I find new ones almost daily.

I was at my grandkids' school this morning for my youngest's kindergarten graduation. Their little raised bed garden plots are doing GREAT with many tomatos already turning orange...


I envy those of you with enough room for LARGE gardens...but, as busted up as I am...I'd have to hire a crew of Mexicans to tend the crops for me...and that'd make me a criminal too...

 

[TraumaRN]

Radishes, RADISHES, RADISHES!

I tell ya folks, IF you like radishes, raw with a bit of salt, sliced in a salad, made into relish or salsa...Radishes are "crack for gardeners." Talk about instant gratification...plant them today, within 30 days, you're picking and replanting. So many different varieties to choose from too...

I have my 2nd and 3rd crop already in the ground. (first crop was eaten within 2 days..small rows, maybe 40 radishes total)
The crop I planted on the 24th is already over an inch tall, and the rows I planted on the 28th are already broken through the soil and starting to unfurl their leaves.

My jalapenos are doing good. The largest one is almost 2 inches long so far. The serranos are about 1/2" long and growing. Tomatos are doing well, I find new ones almost daily.

I was at my grandkids' school this morning for my youngest's kindergarten graduation. Their little raised bed garden plots are doing GREAT with many tomatos already turning orange...


I envy those of you with enough room for LARGE gardens...but, as busted up as I am...I'd have to hire a crew of Mexicans to tend the crops for me...and that'd make me a criminal too...

Where are you at that you have that much already...i'm jealous, all I've gotten so far are my herbs and spinach...tomatos and peppers are all now about 8-10 inches high. My largest cuke has about 10 leaves on it, same thing for my largest cantaloupe.

 

[eldorado99]

Just planted Jubilee and Peaches and Cream corns a few days ago. Looking forward to awesome corn. Lots of chicken manure mixed in the soil the week before planting so it doesn't burn.

 

[spidey07]

Where are you at that you have that much already...i'm jealous, all I've gotten so far are my herbs and spinach...tomatos and peppers are all now about 8-10 inches high. My largest cuke has about 10 leaves on it, same thing for my largest cantaloupe.

Radishes, spring lettuces, strawberries, they all go crazy in spring temps after last frost. Summer, not so much. I'm in zone 6a, KY. I'll put tomatoes and peppers in that last frost date.

My pop told me "get your maters in on derby day (first saturday in may), get maters by july 4th" He's always been correct. My strawberries are already about to pick.

 

[TraumaRN]

Radishes, spring lettuces, strawberries, they all go crazy in spring temps after last frost. Summer, not so much. I'm in zone 6a, KY. I'll put tomatoes and peppers in that last frost date.

My pop told me "get your maters in on derby day (first saturday in may), get maters by july 4th" He's always been correct. My strawberries are already about to pick.

Ahhh well your weather gets warmer quicker then up here in the Metro Detroit area...plus I'm stubborn I wont pay for flats, I buy from seed and use starter boxes, sure it's riskier and I don't always get what I want but it's cheaper and plus I plan to sell any extras(and I will have tons of tomatos this year) to my neighbors/anyone who drives by and wants organic veggies

 

[Descartes]

I have two 8'x20' tiered sections in the backyard. This year, I have 8 different types of tomato, cauliflower, beans, asparagus (first year), watermelon, cantaloupe, a bunch of arugula (I make a great simple vinaigrette for them), sweet basil, lemon thyme, thyme, oregano, flat parsley, mint and cilantro. Damn, that sounds like a lot when I write it down.

I just added a drip irrigation system last weekend. I put a riser off one of the heads of my irrigation system and installed a pressure regulator. A little 1/4" tubing and some heads and I was in business. I had a few tomatoes that split, assuming from the stress of inconsistent watering while I installed everything.

Anyone ever put together a drip system?

 

[DrPizza]

There is no way you can eat/can all those tomatoes. If they're mostly roma then I'm guessing you're canning most of them. If you do, then that's awesome and share the recipe please.

Yes, canning. 3 six packs of plants were for fresh eating. The yellow variety, just to try it out; I'm curious what they'll taste like. This year, I should produce enough peas, corn, beans, tomatoes (and spaghetti sauce), apples, apple cider, and strawberries to last an entire year, even if I eat multiple meals of each per week. Toss in a couple dozen eggs per week, a couple hundred pounds of fresh game (venison, squirrel, grouse, pheasant, rabbit) and 75 pounds of fish, and I'm getting closer to my goal of providing the majority of my food for myself.

 

[eplebnista]

Still lots of squash blooms and no squash. Cucumbers finally started to put out flowers. Supposed to be bush type cukes, but are running like the squash and have decided to share the cages with a couple of my tomato plants.

 

[TraumaRN]

Made a wicked good salad again tonight with spinach from the garden, some finely chopped basil from the garden, some cherry tomatos (store bought ) and some fresh ball type mozzarella coarsely chopped, then added cracked black/green pepper and homemade balsamic vinaigrette. Simply delicious.

 

[meltdown75]

i need to buy myself a nice hoe :awe:

things are looking decent here... all of my pepper & tomato plants are thriving... is it too late to throw in an early girl or two, and some onions?

i should throw up an updated pic :hmm: