Tennessee 2024 Garden

[Gary350]

I have done nothing for 2024 garden yet. I planted carrots seeds in pots about Oct 2023 the Jan -7 degree 6 day freeze we had 2 weeks ago did not seem to hurt the carrots, it took about 10 days for the green carrot tops to die. I pulled up all the carrots in the 10 gallon pot. It looked like a good amount of carrots until after I washed them and cut off tops and roots. We might have enough carrots for 1 pot of stew and 1 roast with what every meat we like, chicken or pork, I hope its not beef. My mother & grandmother use to bake carrots & potatoes in the oven with a meat loaf. I still have a 5 gallon bucket of carrots there appears to have more carrots in the 5 gallon bucket than the 10 gallon pot. 5 gallon pot can wait until we eat the 1st carrot crop. I planted carrot seeds in 6 black color pots in Nov nothing has germinate yet but chickweed. I'm starting to think tiny crops of carrots are a waste of garden space. Last year my best carrot crop was planted in Aug hot weather germination was very high about 98% in 5 days then 6 weeks later colder temperatures was exactly what carrots needed. Last summer I was very surprised that 1/2 long carrots I harvested in July had good flavor and was not woody.

[imafan26]

That's a great haul for a small pot and your carrot are big for only 4 months from seed.

I noticed that with my seeds too. It says 75 days but the reality it is more like 120.

[Gary350]

Today is Onion planting day, Feb 15. Last year I planted March 1st that was too late. I am planting, 63 Vidalia Onion, 150 Candy Onions, and 70 Red Onions. Farmers Co-op has 1 lb. bags of random size sets. There is usually about 65 to 75 onion sets in each bag. About half of the Candy onion sets are too small to plant but I planted them anyway. The small sets will only grow a ping pong ball size onion. The garden store usually does not have onion plants until mid March that is too late. I used a template to locate all the sets then I pushed them down under the soil 1".

[Gary350]

This morning I bought 70 generic white onion sets and 70 generic yellow onions sets. The only way to know if generic will grow BIG onions in zone 7 is grow some. The Amish garden store allows people to pick there own sets so I picked 3/4" diameter and larger $1.49 per lb. I pushed sets into the soft soil and covered them up. I made markers rain keeps washing ink off of the plastic spoon markers.

Greens are growing slow we are eating, cilantro, pac choy, radishes. Napa needs to grow faster.

[TomatoNut95]

Hi Gary, remember me? Wow, your garden looks great!! I love those boxes!

[Gary350]

Hi Gary, remember me? Wow, your garden looks great!! I love those boxes!

Where have you been seems like 2 years. Boxes are levees to hold in water. I don't want to water weeds & grass in walk area.

[Gary350]

Today I planted 180 Boc Choy seeds. I built a hole poking fixture it pokes holes 3" apart. 9 holes in each row, 20 rows. Tiny seeds are not easy to see, sun is low long shadows make it hard to see. It took less than a minute to poke 180 perfect spaced holes. Last year we tried to eat Bac Choy early 10 at a time on sandwich or tacos there is less there than lettuce but makes good lettuce.

[TomatoNut95]

Hi Gary, remember me? Wow, your garden looks great!! I love those boxes!

Where have you been seems like 2 years. Boxes are levees to hold in water. I don't want to water weeds & grass in walk area.

It's about more like 3 I think. I had to leave the forum then because a gateway kept blocking me. It's apparently fixed now but the ads sure have gotten horrendous.

[Gary350]

Hi Gary, remember me? Wow, your garden looks great!! I love those boxes!

Where have you been seems like 2 years. Boxes are levees to hold in water. I don't want to water weeds & grass in walk area.

[Gary350]

I know nothing about radishes. I though I could plant several radishes then eat a few every day but it appears radish crop needs to be harvested all on the same day. I planted ≈ 60 radishes ≈ 10 days ago they should be replaced with Romaine Lettuce. My radishes were all frozen to the soil, today I finally managed to pull all of them up, they are soft like rubber hose, hollow with brown mush inside.

[TomatoNut95]

I LOVE radishes!!! ❤ You do want to cover them during freezes and such. I pulled mine right before the arctic blast that came through Texas. I've gotten a good many this year, the round red ones (Scarlet Globe, I think) and White Icicle. So yummy cooked until tender then lightly salted with salt substitute.

[Gary350]

Today I bought 1 bundle of Candy onion plants. There is usually about 75 plants per bundle but this bundle has 134 plants. I planted 7 rows with 13 plants per row = 91 plants. I gave the other 33 plants to my neighbor.

I don't think there is anything else to do or plant in the garden until April 7 - 10 will be potato planting time.

[TomatoNut95]

Funny; I bought some Texas sweet yellow onions yesterday at Tractor Supply. I have no room for all of them and so far I've only been able to unload 10. Guess what I can't fit in my box will have to be planted in the woods.

[Gary350]

Feb 27 it is 74° I tilled garden soil in several locations to kill chick weed. -7° killed all but 11 garlic plants. 3 broccoli plants will soon have enough broccoli for 1 dinner. Wind is gusting to 35 mph it feels good and is very loud. Strawberries survived -7° they are very cold hardy plants.

[Gary350]

Today it was 77° I planted 33 Red Norland potatoes 8" spacing 1 month too early but I don't care if they live or die we like white potatoes better than red. If this is a good crop of potatoes I will give them away.

I picked all our large broccoli today there are several more that will grow larger. This broccoli is the type that never grow heads. I dropped broccoli in boiling water it changed color in about 1 minute then I poured away the water. Wow I didn't know broccoli could taste so good. This makes me want to grow about 40 broccoli plants.

Dinner was, broccoli, Coleslaw, BBQ baked pork chop, flied potatoes, large spoon of BBQ baked beans over the potatoes.

[imafan26]

Looks good. I'm hungry. My meatloaf is still cooking in the oven.

[TomatoNut95]

Gary what tomatoes will you be growing this year? Maybe you'd be interested in trying Aussie, it's a drought tolerant breed from Australia. I obtained it from a Frenchman.

[Gary350]

Gary what tomatoes will you be growing this year? Maybe you'd be interested in trying Aussie, it's a drought tolerant breed from Australia. I obtained it from a Frenchman.

I am not growing many tomatoes this year wife buys, pizza sauce, spaghetti sauce, other sauce, etc. in jars now. I will plant 4 Big Beef plants, 1 cherry tomato Heirloom from 1 seed, 1 jelly bean tomato from 1 seed. If I had an Australia seed I would plant it too. We have a family from India that comes to get a lot of tomatoes from us every summer, they try to grow tomatoes too but they are not having good luck growing there own. I think its time to spray the fruit trees both peach trees have blossoms. I had about 120 pencil eraser size onion bulbs I tossed them on the soil then covered them up, looks like they all grew. These 120 onions need to be transplanted someone??? I think I might advertise FREE onion sets on FB Marketplace when plants are 6" taller. We are having too much warm weather for onions last year 80° temperature made 90% of the onions bolt & rot. Trees are growing leaves they thinks it's summer. Grass needs to be cut too.

[imafan26]

I am still growing the same three, Valentine, red currant, and New Big Dwarf. I will probably replace the New Big Dwarf with another tomato I haven't tried. The other two reseed themselves and are resistant to TYLCV and other diseases and very productive, so I really don't have to think about it. I have seedlings of both coming up now as volunteers that I have to cull. Right now, two of the three are in production. I don't need more than three tomatoes. They are seeding because the tomatoes are all over the ground.

[Gary350]

I picked a 1 gallon basket full of broccoli florets from 1 plant. Broccoli florets grow much faster than broccoli heads and are very tender with much better flavor than heads. Hilling up broccoli plants like potatoes saved the plants in -7°f cold freezing winter weather. Next year I need to plant broccoli 2 months before 1st frost.

[Gary350]

My neighbor John planted potatoes March 1st. The other neighbor Daryl planted potatoes March 1st. They both said, cover potatoes with 8" of soil potatoes will stay warn under there they can't freeze or frost. Potatoes will grow under that soil for 6 weeks before last frost. Last frost for us is April 20. I learn new things about growing potatoes all the time. No YouTube video ever said to plant seed potatoes 6 weeks before last frost. Planting March 1st means harvest will be June 1st before 100° weather arrives. I planted 4½ rows of seed potatoes. The other ½ row will be 6 tomato plants about April 20.

I planted,
34 Red Norland.
68 Kennebec.
38 Purple Adirondack.
10 Dutch Blue.
10 Russet
140 white fingerling.

[Gary350]

Today I decided to check out the garden mud finally dried up. 100 radishes have a mild flavor and crunchy like carrots. Now I have learned why my mother use to plant about 10 radish seeds in a row once a week. What does a person do with 100 ripe radishes.

I have several random carrots, I pulled up 2 to eat with the radish. Carrots are very sweet with very good flavor.

I have 34 garlic out of 98 that are making a come back after -7°f weather. It is strange garlic has, 3, 4 & 5 stems each?

The oldest pac choy is 4' tall with too many tops to eat. Tops taste best to eat them raw in the garden. They are good as a salad and on sandwiches. I'm not sure what to do with the big white stems? I have 140 pac choy plants that will soon need to be eaten.

Cilantro next to the pac choy is making a come back also I rip out large hands full to make taco salad and eat like lettuce on sandwiches.

I'm not sure how to eat kale either. I pick a dozen leaves to eat raw it has a nice flavor.

I had about 140 tiny onion sets the size of a pea, I tossed them all on the soil then covered them up with 1/2" of soil a month ago and they all grew. I dug up a shovel full and gave them to my neighbor.

The broccoli is still growing tops but they are much smaller. I eat these right off the plants. I learned broccoli loose all it flavor when cooked. I also learned if I eat too many greens it will keep me running to the bathroom the next day.

[Gary350]

Today I see a few tiny potato plants in 4 rows. Soil is very dry from 20+mph wind so I watered the, strawberries, onions, Leaks, garlic, potatoes, lettuce & pac choy after feeding all the plants. I see honey bees and very large bumble bees on the, broccoli, strawberries, pac choy, blossoms.

[applestar]

I find most brassicas are good when lightly stir fried — you only want them to get bright dark green. When they have turned olive drab, they are too mushy and have lost the good flavor.

You can also add the chopped leaves and florets to the pot after soup or other dish is is finished cooking and mix in or cover for about 5 minutes tops, They get “just” cooked from the residual heat.

Some of the harder stems can be peeled like lower parts of asparagus stalks. I like to snap and pull off, then continue to pick an edge and peel. For tougher broccoli stems, it may be easier to just use a peeled or a knife to cut the outer hard shell.

I used to call broccoli florets “broccoli trees” and randomly cut peeled broccoli stems “broccoli rocks” when my children were little. They almost always fought over the broccoli rocks.

When I don’t feel like picking over the tougher stems and stalks, I like making smoothies and puréed soups. If the stems are tougher and more fibrous, I strain through fine sieve after purring in the vitamix.

Some mature brassicas taste more like turnips and cabbages and are better as savory soups than smoothies.

[Gary350]

The Amish Garden store is stocked up early with plants. I bought 6 Big Beef tomato plants and planted them. Till soil, pull a string, hoe a straight row, dig 6 holes 7" deep 20" apart, put 15-15-15 fertilizer in each hole, put large hand full of wood ash in each hole, stir well, drop in 1 plant, fill in the hole with soil pack soil tight, make a levee around the plants, water plants. No stakes until April 20 just incase there is frost a 5 gallon bucket will protest plants. Garden is finished until I know it's time to plant beans and corn then it is finished. TV claims it will be 82° today and tornados tonight, we are in storm zone 3 that is much better than zone 1.

[Gary350]

I have no clue what to do with 100 radishes this size. They have a very mild slightly flavor and not spicy hot. I sliced 1 radish and ate it. I asked wife to put radishes in beef stew, she said no. I pulled up the 5 ft tall Pac Choy all those yellow flowers looked very nice. I pulled up 50 kale plants that were almost 2 ft tall there no way I can keep eating these 3 times a day. I have 100 pac choy at the end of the onion row they are 6 to 7" tall what can I do with all of them.

[imafan26]

Thats why I don't plant those kinds of radishes. No one I know likes them. Even daikon has limited takers and most of it gets made into kim chee or pickles.

[Gary350]

Potato Secrets. There are so many things to know about potatoes it is hard to remember them all. A few weeks ago I watched a 1 hour video a commercial potato grower was telling all the secrets about potatoes. If you plant seed potatoes they will rot if it rains. When forecast says no rain plant potatoes. Chit is an English word that means sprout. Once a seed potato grows roots and has a green plant rain might rot the seed potato but the new plant will not die with too much rain. Each stalk will grow 1 lb of new potatoes. A seed potato with 5 eyes will grow 5 stalks that will produce 5 lbs of new potatoes. Plant all 5 eye potatoes 8" apart. Home gardeners can plant a 4 eye potato with a 1 eye potato or a 3 eye potato with a 2 eye potato to get 5 eyes. If you plant a row for 30 seed potatoes each with 5 eyes = 5 stalks harvest should be 30 x 5 = 150 lbs. of new potatoes. Commercial growers do not have the luxury of having 5 eyes on every seed potato in a 100 acre field.

I decided I should take pictures before the hail storm with 1" hail arrives about 7 pm. 1st pic is 1 row of Kennebec on the left and more Kennebec + Adirondack potatoes in 2nd row. Hale will only kill tops that will grow back.

Next pic, 1st row left side was Red Norland I dug up several to get ride of red, we don't want anymore red potatoes. 2nd row Kennebec, 3rd 1/3 row white fingerling.

[imafan26]

You have such a nice garden Gary.

[applestar]

Radishes — When they get hollow like that, I believe they are either getting over mature, or had experienced too much hot/dry weather.

Consider trying the radishes in fatty stews like pork shoulder or chicken thighs/legs or gamey meats like duck, lamb, turkey. I think not so much “sweeter” stews like beef stew. Things you would put turnips in. (I think they might actually work with corned beef…)

Also, consider experimenting with pickling them — sweet and sour type, or maybe dill type.

[Gary350]

After 4 days of rain all plants have doubled in size, Pac choy tripled in size. Potato plants seem to be ok in 55°f mud. Onions have 6 to 7 leaves. Leaks seem to be doing good I have never grown them before they were planted from seeds about Sept 15. Brown Spanish onions planted from seeds Sept are larger but not as large and the plants & bulbs that I bought 4 weeks ago. Onion seeds should have been planted Aug 1st. Romaine lettuce is taller but too small to harvest. Garlic looks better every time I check on them more plants have come up, -7° in Dec. seems to killed about 1/2 of the garlic, plants are still growing 3 & 4 green tops from 1 clove, strange??? Pac Choy is 3 times larger than before and some of the plants are growing yellow flowers that will be seeds. Tomatoes have never had a problem growing in cold or warm mud or under water for 1 to 3 weeks. 80°+ weather next week, 90°+ weather in May, it appears to me plants need a lot more water June to Sept than I have ever given them in the past I need to do something about that. I germinated pepper plant seeds in a zip lock bag it took only 5 days I moved plants outside this morning in full sun. I need to germinate tomato seeds for 2 plants Aug 1st the plants I have will have 90% less production. Strawberry plants are much larger and loaded with blossoms. Radishes have all gone bad they rotted in the center.

[applestar]

Sometimes smaller garlic cloves especially towards the middle are mashed together and deformed into a shape like a single clove. Maybe those are the ones growing multiple greens?

[Gary350]

Several days of 30 to 40 mph gusty wind helped to dry up the mud in the garden. I ran the tiller through the garden fast enough to break up the top 2" of soil is it will dry out and become insulation for the wet soil below.

1st pic strawberry bed 10 ft wide 32 ft long. Right side of strawberries is 400 onions 4 different kinds. 4 rows of Corn will be left side of the strawberries.

2nd pic bed of misc, cilantro, lettuce, leaks, garlic. This row will become beans very soon. To the right the next 2 rows are 2 different kinds of potatoes.

3rd pic, is potatoes, 2 rows with water tower irrigation. Put fertilizer in the 5 gallon bucket then fill with water 2 rows get water and food an the same time.

4th pic, 2 year strawberries 5 ft wide 25 ft long. These plants takes 2 years to grow ripe berries. These will have ripe berries this year.

5th pic, row 1 what is left of red potato row that is mostly dug up, row 2 Kennebec potatoes, row 3 is 1/2 row fingerling potatoes & 1/2 a row of tomatoes, row 4 is 2 year strawberry plants that will become a 5 ft wide bed this summer and make no ripe berries until next summer. This year will determine which strawberries we keep and which plants gets tilled under.

[imafan26]

Everything grows so fast for you. It seems like you go from flood to glory all of the time.

[Gary350]

Everything grows so fast for you. It seems like you go from flood to glory all of the time.

That is funny.

Our crazy weather is up and down all the time. A week ago we had 4 days of rain about 4" each day, then 4 days of no rain the high wind helped to dry up the mud. June rain will stop then we will start having desert and 95° to 100° temperatures. Rain washes down potato hills. Another 5 days of rain starting tomorrow but his time it's 20% to 40% rain not 90% rain like last week. As long as it keeps raining every 4 days I don't need potato plant irrigation yet. May rain will be less often I will probably need potato irrigation between rains. June plants will need irrigation every 3 days. I don't like to water plants mostly because I don't like to drag 100 ft of hose up & down each row it is hard to keep hose from kinking and hard to keep hose from damaging plants. Yesterday I made wooden forks to hold up the irrigation tubing. In the past irrigation tubing on the soil or covered with soil plugged up the small water holes. I'm experimenting with new ideas this time. I think storms tonight will blow my water tower over, tomorrow I will know. I learn by experimenting and spell check fixed my typing errors. Sometimes spell check puts in stupid words that make no sense. Fork spacing is 24" apart wait an see how bad hose sags between forks when hose is heavy with water. I notice yesterday the hot sun makes black hose very soft it sags with no water.

[Gary350]

Wow potato plants have grown several inches taller over night, we had a slow 11 hour sprinkle all night rain gauge says 1/3 inches. My father use to claim when watering plants do as mother nature does water the entire plant not just the roots. I found online information once that said the same thing. After plants spend the day in the hot sun they slowly cool down and don't switch into growing mode until about 12 midnight. Rain cools the plants sooner they switch to grow mode 6 to 8 hours sooner. I recall from college biology class plants make chlorophyll from the sun all day then switch to growing most after dark. Maybe I should rethink my water tower irrigation system? Look at yesterday photo and today photo plants look to me like they have doubled is size.

[Gary350]

Cicadas are making a lot of noise I wonder if they eat garden plants? It sounds like a lot of tiny chain saws in the trees. We had these about 2 or 3 years ago.

[Gary350]

We have ripe strawberries, Cicadas, and snakes. 85° last week strawberries got ripe 3 weeks early. Snakes come to eat Cicadas, snake can climb trees TV has pics of 8 to 10 snakes on the side of each tree and hanging from limbs. Nashville has cicadas worse that us. 36° this morning no frost so far.

[imafan26]

Yeah, they said the cicadas would be out in force this year. There aren't any real snakes around here. Only illegal ones and few of them have been found alive.

[Gary350]

First strawberry short cake with ice cream of the year, wow I am surprised how good this is. We used what we had available, 1 cinnamon cake muffin cut in half, 1 scoop of chocolate ice cream, 4 tablespoons of strawberries, pour strawberry juice over the muffin, top with whip cream. We were not expecting April strawberries to be this good. Wife sliced and diced strawberries yesterday then let them marinade in there own juice for 24 hours.