Let the 2016 Games Begin

[lakngulf]

I planted my first tomato seed for the 2016 garden on December 18. Today, Dec 27, I have the first tomato sprout for the new year:





It's not much but is a start. My wife was pleased that it showed up on her birthday. This plant is an Amos Coli with Cherokee Purple and Brandwine also in this flat.

[Allyn]

Woohoo!

I was looking at my garden planner just today pondering what and when to start my seeds. I'm still getting tomatoes off the plants I started in August.

[jasonvanorder]

And here it is the last week of December in Michigan and I tilled in the expansion of the garden. Going from 18'w by 27'l to a 25'w by 50'l.

[lakngulf]

And here it is the last week of December in Michigan and I tilled in the expansion of the garden. Going from 18'w by 27'l to a 25'w by 50'l.

Much too wet for any kind of tilling here.

[lakngulf]

Woohoo!

I was looking at my garden planner just today pondering what and when to start my seeds. I'm still getting tomatoes off the plants I started in August.

Wow, that is great to still be picking tomatoes. I could not get my late crop to survive this year, our weather was just too brutal and hot during those formative weeks.

[imafan26]

I started planting December 12 and I have already got green onions, kale. broccoli, and beets sprouted and ready to transplant to 4 inch containers. And I planted cuttings of dragon fruit and the rooted roses look like they are going to make it. I took 4 trays to the garden since I have more bench space there. I still have to transplant more toscano and blue kale. I think the arugula was planted to early and the tomatoes are not really happy and are growing very slow. The cucumbers will need to go out to the garden. I planted them too early for the February plant sale at the garden. I made more cuttings from rosemary, bay leaves, and more cuttings from the roses. I still have to work on the lavender, and pot up the Brown Turkey figs, and take more cuttings of the black pepper vine and plant more pandan divisions.

Some of the chili peppers have sprouted and they need a little more time before they can be potted up. It is a warm winter or I wouldn't even think about planting pepper seeds now. I am planting super chilies because I have plenty of seed to experiment with and more of the sweet peppers. I know the super hots prefer much warmer temps and I don't have as much seed from those.

I am still finding two or three snails a day. I am surprised. They actually seem to be less active in the cold weather. I did see damage to the vanilla. I finally have things sprouting in the veggie garden that is not disappearing overnight. But, I need to put out more slug bait just in case. I planted Brussel's sprouts, daikon, carrots, beets, pak choy and Suyo cucumbers in the garden. The growth is slow but it is growing. My new eggplant is even flowering. I usually don't see that in December.

We had another sunny day, so after I took 4 trays down to the other garden, I went shopping and bought more seeds and potting soil. 15 packets of seeds and 2 bags of MG potting soil was $68. Most of the seeds were flowers nasturtiums, alyssum, sunflower, multiple packets of cilantro, and marjoram. I ordered some seeds from Johnny's but I have not ordered from Baker or TNG Pumpkin nook yet. I still have to pare down the seeds since I have so much seed already and order what I have the space to grow, and keep going through the seed bag and either test or get rid of the older seeds, especially the ones that I have tried and really did not like anyway.

I have to wait until mid January to plant the lettuce and cucumber seeds. I still need to work on the timing for those so they are ready for the sale since they are not keepers and we only have the sales for one day a month for 10 months.

Oh, yeah, I still have to do the minimum bags of weeds a week. Yesterday, I cleaned my dryer vent because the dryer was taking a long time to dry. I found 4 snails had gotten into the vent from the outside. There were only shells left but they were blocking the outflow of the vent.

[Allyn]

... I could not get my late crop to survive this year, our weather was just too brutal and hot during those formative weeks.

Yes, it was hot. I started my seeds indoors and then held them under lights for a long time before I set them outside. I didn't get them into SIPs until probably October. I thought the weather would never cool off.

[mauser]

I have all my seeds in but I'm not going to get them started until early Feb for peppers and late Feb for tomatoes.

[lakngulf]

I have all my seeds in but I'm not going to get them started until early Feb for peppers and late Feb for tomatoes.

Where are you located?

[mauser]

I have all my seeds in but I'm not going to get them started until early Feb for peppers and late Feb for tomatoes.

Where are you located?

Forest, VA zone 7a

[imafan26]

This is such a warm December, I have been planting seeds I usually wait till later. I just had to take out the papaya seedlings from the starter tray since it was popping the lid off and I am still potting up the kale. I havent started on the fennel yet.

[jal_ut]

11 degrees F, clear skies, a foot of snow on the ground. Nothing growing here but ice. Won't be out in the garden planting anything until about April. So, sit around and look at seed catalogs and play on the internet. Happy New Year!

[jasonvanorder]

11 degrees F, clear skies, a foot of snow on the ground. Nothing growing here but ice. Won't be out in the garden planting anything until about April. So, sit around and look at seed catalogs and play on the internet. Happy New Year!

same boat I'm in minus the cold and snow. We have had a very mild and dry winter. So far this year we have a total of 3-4 inches of snow. Thats nothing for Michigan. Might be an early start to the season or its going to get cold and stay cold and throw things behind.

[Taiji]

Our family lived and gardened in the St. Johns-Fowler area of Michigan back in the 70's. Things are sure reversed this year. Here in my area of AZ we're having 9, 10 or 15 degree nights with some days not getting above freezing. Wish I had done some more bed preparation earlier, can't do much now with the ground fozen!
But, I am having to work on a fence now, since I discovered that the deer are around in my new garden area. I prefer the more open look, but don't know what else to do; have seen deer droppings, and tracks and my ryegrass cover crops are being, well, cropped off as it were. Have heard that mule deer (what I have) don't jump quite as high as whitetail, that might be one consolation.

Tilling in the garden in Michigan in late December was unheard of back in my day!

[jal_ut]

How high is your fence going to be? Be advised a mule deer will jump a 4 foot fence with ease.

You might call the local game department and ask them to relocate the deer?

[imafan26]

Do any of you do any ice fishing?

[lakngulf]

Brought home a load of "compost" from the farm today



Last year I piled up the soil in an area where the cattle farmer had a hay rack the previous winter. Lots of manure and rich soil. I let it sit for a year or so and it becomes great soil for growing tomatoes.



And I don't do ice fishing (we never ice over) but one of my grandsons wanted to fish while he visited for Christmas. We had success!

[applestar]

I love that picture of your grandson!

...I just got this as stocking stuffers for my DDs for when they go fishing with DH. Maybe you will want one for your little guy?

Lee Valley Story Tape - Lee Valley Tools
https://www.leevalley.com/US/Wood/page.a ... at=1,43513



...I haven't posted in this thread before because I am NOT ready to think about 2016 garden yet...

[Taiji]

How high is your fence going to be? Be advised a mule deer will jump a 4 foot fence with ease.

You might call the local game department and ask them to relocate the deer?

Yes, I know 4 feet is nothing to a deer. The posts I put in are 5 feet high, the fencing is 2 inch by 4 inch rectangles, the height will only be 3 and a half feet high, since I'm burying the bottom 6 inches of fence in the ground for javelina protection. (fence comes as 4 feet high) Then, as an experiment, I'm going to fill the remaining space above the fence with fishing line strung between the posts. I've read when they touch the line which they can't see, they won't jump. (who knows though!)

If that doesn't work, I guess I'll put another roll of fencing above since there's still enough post to attach to. Could make it 6 to 6 and a half feet high altogether. If I had known I was gonna have a deer problem, I probably would have done the fence first, now that they've developed the habit of grazing there, it will probably be harder to control them.

[lakngulf]

How high is your fence going to be? Be advised a mule deer will jump a 4 foot fence with ease.

You might call the local game department and ask them to relocate the deer?

Yes, I know 4 feet is nothing to a deer. The posts I put in are 5 feet high, the fencing is 2 inch by 4 inch rectangles, the height will only be 3 and a half feet high, since I'm burying the bottom 6 inches of fence in the ground for javelina protection. (fence comes as 4 feet high) Then, as an experiment, I'm going to fill the remaining space above the fence with fishing line strung between the posts. I've read when they touch the line which they can't see, they won't jump. (who knows though!)

If that doesn't work, I guess I'll put another roll of fencing above since there's still enough post to attach to. Could make it 6 to 6 and a half feet high altogether. If I had known I was gonna have a deer problem, I probably would have done the fence first, now that they've developed the habit of grazing there, it will probably be harder to control them.

I have basically what you describe except I have three strands of the "slick wire" on top of the 2x4 fence. At first I flagged it with some orange tape so the deer could see that it was there. I have not had problems with deer (and have a lot of them in the neighborhood) but raccoons and squirrels drive me crazy. I have a new plan for them this year and will post some pics of my new setup as it progresses.

[lakngulf]

What a difference in a couple of days



I misspoke on the varieties included. No Brandywine, just Amos Coli, Cherokee Purple and Lush Queen. The LQ are the ones slow to germinate

[jal_ut]

Around these parts we use the net wire then put a couple strands of barbed wire above that, spaced about 6 inches. Works well for farm animals. The deer still try to jump it and often successful, but at times one or two of the hind feet will go in between the two top wires and the deer then ends up wrapped up by the hind feet and hanging in the fence to die a painful death.

(Deer meat is good to eat!)

[mauser]

I use bars of Irish spring soap. Works like a charm on trees on is ok around the garden but not 100%

[Taiji]

You might call the local game department and ask them to relocate the deer?[/quote]


I have basically what you describe except I have three strands of the "slick wire" on top of the 2x4 fence. At first I flagged it with some orange tape so the deer could see that it was there. I have not had problems with deer (and have a lot of them in the neighborhood) but raccoons and squirrels drive me crazy. I have a new plan for them this year and will post some pics of my new setup as it progresses.[/quote]

I don't think the relocation would be feasible around here; the National Forest is only a mile or two away with an endless supply of deer. The private lands between here and there are treed and hilly with lots of cover too.

Will be anxious to see pics of your new setup lkngulf.
Totally coincidentally, this appeared in our local paper today:
https://dcourier.com/main.asp?SectionID= ... eID=153438

That's exactly the type of fence I'll be using; don't want that to happen that's for sure.


I

[jal_ut]

Hmmmmm, you might make it miserable for the deer? A good shot in the butt with a pellet gun might get them moving? A firecracker/cherry bomb going off right next to them would surely get their attention. Even toss a rock at them? Run out and scream and holler and chase after them? I put a radio out in my garden tuned to the local talk station to discourage raccoons Might work for deer? You could always shoot the deer?

[applestar]

Ha. I guess problems are bigger out west. I've had rabbits, chipmunks, and birds entangled and stuck in the deer netting/fence meant to keep out groundHOGS.

I wonder if in addition to flapping tape, other, random flashing objects and noisemakers will help to deter them?
- I hang plastic bottles from long strings along and across the paths that the groundHOG tries to take when they get past the netting.
- I make birdscares from recycled aluminum pans (draw big eyes on them with permanent marker) and hang over and among Berry patches.

Last year, I moved the aluminum pans as different berries ripened (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries....) and then moved them among the apple tree branches which seemed to help keep the squirrels and chipmunks away. The aluminum pans when hung on long strings not only flash but bang on things when wind swings them around -- very loudly and effectively against metal posts and fences -- I've been startled myself. So it's good to hang them where they will bang around.

[Taiji]

I can't go too much overboard on the noisemakers, flashing lights thing. I do have a couple of acres, but I think the neighbors might be annoyed too. Now that I think about it, maybe they'd go away too, and I'd be all by myself; not a bad scenario!

Shooting is out, no shooting in this county within a quarter mile of a residence, the sheriff would be out real quick and I'd be in deep doo doo. Deer season is very strictly defined around here too. Running out and screaming sounds good, but in the middle of the night?! (there are times I do that anyway, just for the fun of it!)
I think the fishing line thing hinges on the deer not being able to see it. Hopefully, they go up and nose against it first, feel it, and don't jump cause they don't know how high it is. But, I think in the end the real solution is a high enough fence, we'll see!

Getting back to garden prep for 2016, I went out with my digging fork yesterday, but the ground was like concrete; still frozen. Too early to start seedlings indoors.

[lakngulf]

I grow a lot of tomatoes in big containers each year. This gives me the opportunity to bring in new top soil every few years. So this is one of those years. I emptied all the pots into other areas of the garden, and got them ready for refill.
Some years back I started putting oak leaves in the bottom of the pots, so that was my first step.



I then filled the pots with some of the rich compost I brought from the farm. These are ready to go



Oh, and here is the end of my summer crop and some collards for the winter. Today I picked a few of the peppers you see in the background.

[jal_ut]

Electric fences work well for many critters. I wonder if the deer would respect them too? A farm supply store could fix you up with the charger and the wire. Tie a little flag (just a piece of white scrap material) on the wire. The critters are curious about the flag and go up to sniff it.... ZAP! Can you imagine 30,000 volts on the end of your nose?

[lakngulf]

Electric fences work well for many critters. I wonder if the deer would respect them too? A farm supply store could fix you up with the charger and the wire. Tie a little flag (just a piece of white scrap material) on the wire. The critters are curious about the flag and go up to sniff it.... ZAP! Can you imagine 30,000 volts on the end of your nose?

That is my plan for the raccoons and squirrels. Last year I put up an electric fence on three sides (water side was a problem that I could not handle last year). This year I will have a "garden within a garden" with the electric fence inside the larger "deer" fence. Will post some pictures as I go along with it.

[Allyn]

I'm still working on tomatoes, lettuce and carrots from last fall's starts, but I have a new bloom for 2016. It opened this morning.


I need to clear my petunias out from under the lights so I can start my vegetable seeds next week.

[imafan26]

These are the sprouts from the seeds I planted on 12/12/15. So far, the snails have not gone after them.

I have fennel, blue kale, toscano kale, super chili, Italian parsley, Detroit beets, Suyo cucumber, De Cico broccoli, papaya, yellow bell pepper.

Under the bench I just put the cuttings from the rosemary, lavender, Jamaican oregano, and bay leaves.
I made more cuttings of the roses.
I just potted up 5 more pandan, and I have some Brown turkey figs that are rooted.

I transplanted some of the beets, kale, broccoli and papaya seedlings. I took some down to the garden and potted up 8 trays there. I have limited space on this bench for trays so I will need to take the three trays I have down to garden before I can pot up the rest of the seedlings.

I have started more pepper seeds in a covered tray and some won bok, eggplant, and some cilantro.

I planted some tomato seeds for a test. They are from 2001 and I don't hold out much hope for them.

I will probably wait till the third or fourth week of January before I start the lettuce and more cucumbers.

The Suyo cucumber is ready too plant out after 2 weeks so they will not last until February. I planted them in my home garden yesterday.

My lemons are becoming over ripe and falling off the tree so I will have to harvest and juice the rest to save them. The chili peppers are still producing and with this warmer than usual weather, my eggplant has flowered. I have a few Livingston grapes and the other grape tomato has started to flower.

The komatsuma and tatsoi are ready to harvest. I will probably harvest the tatsoi, right now, I don't know exactly what to do with komatsuma. It was in an Asian mix of seeds and it took me a while to identify it since, I at first thought it was Chard.

[lakngulf]

Wow, you've got it going on there on the Islands. Good luck with it. I plant seed every now and then just to see if they are still good. Started some last fall and thought for sure I would be throwing some away, but all germinated.

[jal_ut]

Pellet gun/Air Rifle, I know firearms are out in most city limits, but there are some very nice pellet guns/air rifles, on the market. Not likely to kill a deer, but for sure if shot in the butt with one, you would have their attention! These pellet guns are effective on smaller pests.

[Taiji]

Electric fences work well for many critters. I wonder if the deer would respect them too? A farm supply store could fix you up with the charger and the wire. Tie a little flag (just a piece of white scrap material) on the wire. The critters are curious about the flag and go up to sniff it.... ZAP! Can you imagine 30,000 volts on the end of your nose?

I have been thinking seriously about an electric fence too. I didn't really want to go that route, but it might be a good idea. With wild animals, they recommend baiting the fence with some strips of aluminum foil, then smear the foil with that perennial all time favorite of anything that walks or talks...peanut butter. I think when they got hit with that, they wouldn't return for a long time.

Here you have hang a sign on your electric fence every so often saying: "electric fence" appropriately enough. I wish the animals could read, then you could just hang out a sign and be done with it.

[j3707]

I'm going to get some seedlings going in my garage under the new light I bought. First time I've done seedlings indoors...should be fun!

[imafan26]

Today I potted up Korean Peppers ( I don't know what kind they were the package was written in Korean), Chinese Giant Bell peppers, Italian parsley, and more finocchio fennel.... seven trays worth ( 25 - 3 1/2 inch pots per tray). My bench is almost full.

I still have the bok choy, super chili, and more papaya seedlings to pot up. But, now that I have moved the kale from my home bench to the garden. I have room for more starters.

I have planted more peppers, but now I am worried it might be too cold for them to germinate. The weather has been wierd with 59 degrees one night ant 64 degrees the next. I might try some of the other seeds like tomatoes which are less fussy about the night temps. I still have to wait a couple of more weeks before seeding the lettuce and cucumbers but I am only going to do maybe 10 pots of each. Veggies don't keep and only some of them like peppers and eggplant are good sellers.

I have to wait for the herb cuttings to root so they will probably not be ready until March. I will check on Friday if I have enough good spearmint, culantro, and Mexican tarrragon to dig up. I might start the nasturtiums soon. They sell better when they are blooming and they like cool weather. I might pot up some of the turmeric and ginger but they won't be up for awhile.
I should have a lot of things ready for the February sale and maybe too much of some of them.

In the meantime. I think the snails are hybernating. I am not finding that many and they for now are leaving things alone. The garlic is about 3 inches tall and the beets are putting on the true leaves. None of the cucumber has been eaten by snails and I even have a couple of wild tomatoes sprouting.

The Napa grape has started to make fruit and the Livingston Grape has fruit, but it is not sweet. If it does not improve, I am going to replace it. The Poamoho string beans are flowering and the snow peas are hanging in there but are still way behind the growth curve. I kept some empty space in the garden for more crops. I am trying to space them better. The weeds though did not take a vacation and they are back sprouting too.

[applestar]

I'm still working on tomatoes, lettuce and carrots from last fall's starts, but I have a new bloom for 2016. It opened this morning.

What a beautiful shade of red. What variety is it?

[lakngulf]

I'm going to get some seedlings going in my garage under the new light I bought. First time I've done seedlings indoors...should be fun!

I started growing seedlings in my sun room, then den and then built a greenhouse. I have a four shelf grow stack setup in the greenhouse with various types of grow lights. Works great but I just refuse to spend the money to keep it warm enough during January/February when our temps can get a little cold. So, for those months I move the process to a south window of what we call our "lake room". With the leaves off the trees this spot gets some heavy sunshine in the winter time. (I just love starting things from seed, so much that come later April and May I will be looking for planting spots at neighbors' houses)



Also, got my top soil/farm compost pile replenished over the last week or so. I had knee surgery schedule for today so been working hard getting as much ready for the 2016 gardening year as possible. This ought to take me thru the summer--and beyond. The soil is so rich it becomes a great place for the grandkids to look for worms for fishing.



I was cleaning up a bit in my greenhouse yesterday. I use a clipboard to hold paper indicating what I have planted in each flat. Once I removed all the sheets I realized I was using a clipboard that my daughter decorated many years ago when she was a teen or pre teen. Brought a smile to my face. I sent her a picture and she called it an "Oldie but Goodie"

[Allyn]

I'm still working on tomatoes, lettuce and carrots from last fall's starts, but I have a new bloom for 2016. It opened this morning.

What a beautiful shade of red. What variety is it?

It's Supercascade Red.

Since I took that picture it and all its friends have exploded with blooms.