What's happening with your garden?

[Pepper]

So what's happening with your gardening enterprise? For me it's corn 3" high, my son discovering the first tiny tomato, and todays emergence of the dreaded Georgia thumper grasshopper. Also the Kentucky Wonder pole beans broke ground today.

I know we're earlier than a lot of you folks out there but we all have lot's going on in anticipation of a great spring garden.

[opabinia51]

Well, it's been so cold here lately that my garden isn't doing a thing right now. I want to put some of my fingerling potatoes in this Saturday but, we'll see what the forecast is like.

[Reptilicus]

I've got blooms on my tomato plants, I have cuccumber plants up about 3 inches out of the ground. I have a ton of multiplying onions, My bush beans have broken out of ground, Japapenos are coming along ok. I had 3 bell pepper plants die on me. My Sweet banana plats are looking good. My rooster spur finally broke out of the ground. I'll thin them out this weekend.

[native]

In this mild weather here I have tomatoes [plum and some wild ones] planted in the fall. the eggplants made it through the winter so trimed them back and the are producing now. Have green beens, waxbeans and roma beans.Yellow squash zuccs. carrots and beets from fall planting, still a little lettuce, vita greens,spagetti squash, cukes ,Peppers but have not plantet corn because of the squirrels . I have grown honey select corn folks and suggest you try it. no need to cook just graze. Have grandex onions which are the souths vadalia.

[elementfiftyfour]

My garden is coming along quite nicely.

[url=https://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y191/elementfiftyfour/Garden/]Check out my PhotoBucket.[/url] This shows the progress since February. Once the crass fills in it should look pretty darn good.

I picked my first edible Zuchini last night just before dinner After I made some tea with a few Lemon Basil leaves crushed up in it, that was pretty tastey.

[native]

Wow nice pictures, All you guys are busy.

[pixelphoto]

beans growing well both pole and bush variety.
I have rattlesnake and dragons tongue.
Potatoes are coming up as well as jerusalem and chinese artichokes.
Zucchini and squash have broke ground and starting their second set of leaves.
I live in zone 8 in middle georgia near macon.

[Roger]

Hah. You lo-landers have it made when it comes to early gardening. I'm in the mountains in the NW corner. All I have so far is onions and turnips and waiting for that last killing frost that comes in with the dogwood blooms.

[wvgardener]

With the weather here, and the snow expected tonight, I don't have my actual 'garden' yet, but I started everything indoors from my own seeds. I now have cucumber, tomatoes, cantaloupe, strawberries, lettuce, blue lakes, and some more things, include 3-4 different types of flowers.
I also have a few apple seedlings that I planted just to see if they would grow, but those are never too successfull.

Hope everyone's having good luck with their plants this year.

[Spud Murphy]

Hi, because it continues to be cold and wet , no ta lot happening.Have plots dug, composted and covered in fleece or clear plastic. . Only things in yet are onions shallots and some garlic.Have strawberry plants from last year triimmed back and under a plastic tunnel and this year have decided to grow carrots , spring onions ( maybe leeks) in large plastic tubs. Have seeds sown and tubs in sun trap area with a plastic hoop and then covered with clear plastic bag. Does condensation effect germination? .Other seeds - peas, beetroot, squash and corn are in a unheated greenhouse area but are taking ages to develop. Butternut squash ...is it best left to sprawl or can it be trained as a creeper?

[opabinia51]

Welcome to the site Spud! I look forward to hearing about your gardenign escapaded in Ireland.

[Pepper]

Roger,

And here we low landers are lamenting the dogwood blossom drop. We may get an early start but so will the bugs. Come the heat of August we'll all be cryin' the blues and you'll be lookin good.

Thanks to everyone for the comments about your endeavors. What's interesting is the geographical cross section of the responses. From BC to Ireland and down to Louisiana.

I brutally thinned corn yesterday and today saw corn taller than mine as bedding plants at Wal-mart. I always thought corn was one of those things that didn't transplant well.

Y'alls projects make mine look small in comparison. I am resisting the urge to turn new beds in response but will wait and follow my plan of starting small and making sure I have the time and commitment to keep up with what I started.

best gardening to you all.

[Quietly Awesome]

*sigh* It has been cold and wet here this past week. Even snow showers. Gotta love NW IN weather But at least I know where the low spots are in my 4 acres I bought last fall.

[opabinia51]

We had nice warm weather yesterday, it actually felt like spring. However, I didn't have the chance to work in the garden. I was sanding, scraping and wire brushing all day. The joys of painting.

[Spud Murphy]

Hi ,

Better weather here today, sunshine and blue skies.and a surprising amount of heat in the sun. Put in 2 short drills of rooster (red skinned) potatoes and sowed 5 well chited potatoes into a wooden container 6 ft x 2 ft and about 2.5 ft high that I made up from old pallet timber. Have container filled with compost and seaweed.Also put some sweet pea and honeysuckle on an arch that I bought in a local garden centre about a month ago. The arch will be at the entrance of my veggie garden so I hope these plants will attract the right insects. What do folk think of growing marigolds and nasturtiums to assist with bug control? Hate growing to feed the bugs and the birds.

Spud..

[Spud Murphy]

Hi,

A question, please, to those of you living in warmer climates than mine.I understand that sweet corn pollination is assisted by wind borne spores.
Corn is not grown in too many locations, by gardeners, here..Does this mean that it is not possible to grow sweet corn in a greenhouse situation? I have eight new seedlings coming through and wonder should I try some in the heat of the greenhouse to see do I get a better result than an outdoors situation.?

Appreciate opinions on this one..

[stvfarmboy]

Between today and yesterday I got my garden tilled up. I probably won't plant anything for a little bit yet since it's supposed to get down into the 40's at night yet here.

[opabinia51]

Corn is usually pollinated by wind and not by a pollinator. I'm guessing by spores, this is what you are refferring to. Based on this, corn would not grow well in a greenhouse unless you had fans to distribute the pollen

For the same reason, different strains of corn should not be grown together unless you you don't mind having cross pollination. Corn pollen from up to a mile away has actually pollinated neighbouring strains.

Anyway, I often grow a couple of varieties of corn (usually heirloom varieties) and what I do is a) plant the seeds from different strains about a week apart from eachother
b) Plant buffer plants between the different strains to help stem the drifting pollen

Hope this helps a bit.

[Spud Murphy]

Thank you for your reply re. corn pollination.

I was happy to see that you are growing corn on Vancouver Island which has a climate very similar to Ireland . There s hope for me yet

I shall rearrange my planting scheme and plant the corn outdoors in the best sun trapped part of my veggie plot. I will put melons and squash indoors with my tomatoes instead of outdoors , under clear plastic..

It`s warming up a bit here this week so it`s time for getting things into cold frame or planting out next week when ground has dried and warmed up enough.

Spud.

[doccat5]

Weather here is still dicey, so I'm moving seedlings in and outside to harden them off. We've had rain for the last 3 weekends so haven't been able to re till the beds as yet. The weather liar is calling for sunshine and 60s this weekend! I hope he's right for a change.

I've been "working" a honey hole for giant pumpkins, and should be able to get those in this weekend.

[native]

Pepper,
You are right nothing looks great here in august but is our time to rest.No amount of water is enough and the bugs the lack of freezes is no help. I have grown corn and transplanting it is a wast of time . it shocks it to much. The squirrels get the corn. they climb up it ,grab it, strip it and enjoy. opabinia told me to put pepper on it so I think I will try for a fall harvest.

[doccat5]

Beautiful day here today. I did Master Gardener volunteer work on a Butterfly Garden at one of the local historical sites, it was just gorgeous outside.

Got compost ready to go, just waiting for the ground to dry out a bit more then we can get rockin! LOL

[img]https://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll45/doccat5/100_1057.jpg[/IMG[/img]

[doccat5]

Beautiful day here today. I did Master Gardener volunteer work on a Butterfly Garden at one of the local historical sites, it was just gorgeous outside.

Got compost ready to go, just waiting for the ground to dry out a bit more then we can get rockin! LOL
[img]https://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll45/doccat5/100_1057.jpg[/img]

[elementfiftyfour]

Already harvesting.
Sofar I have gotten 3 butterstick zuchini and some peas. I figure by next week the little tomatos will be ready for pickin.

[Pepper]

Native,

I don't no where you are in Florida but it must be closer to the water than I am. We have had several freezing nights this year but the bugs will still come. The last three nights have been below 40. Not to complain.....soon it will be hotter than a two dollar pistol. Thanks, I thought so about the corn but I haven't grown much.

I am studying on what to follow my tomato / pepper and my corn beds with when they make in the summer. Your right, August is a dreadful month. Any suggestions. I'm thinking of sweet potatoes, peanuts (I love boiled peanuts) or some cover crop to turn in before the fun begins in fall. Any suggestions?

I have been away from gardening for quite some time and this is my first garden in this area. I'm thinking that the climate is a lot like yours in Louisiana elementfiftyfour so please chime in (can I call you e54?). Congrats on the early return for your hard work. I won't see tomatoes for some time but the radishes have all been consumed.

[elementfiftyfour]

To be honest this is my first serious garden here in New Orleans. It seems to be turning out well so far but it is still early. We did get a couple of colder nights just recently but not below mid to upper 40s. Still warm enough to keep from killing the plants thankfully. For all you folk living up north I know how you feel. I grew up in Ohio and I remember not being able to even get started in the garden till mid May. I'm already teasing my Dad with the fact that I have started harvesting and he hasn't even been able to put his cucumber seeds in the ground.

Pepper, I envy you for your consumption of radishes. I would have planted a winter garden but I didn't have enough time or money to remodel the back yard before fall. Thankfully I have a good friend who has been gardening for so long that she doesn't know when to stop. I got allot of collards and green onions from her over the past few months to keep me happy.

Ohh, e54 is fine or just element as my internet buddies call me.

[RosaDawn]

The weather has been really nice the last few days,so I went ahead and planted leaf lettuce,bibb,arugula,spinach,carrots and radishes.In my winter-sown containers the cabbage and bok choi are coming along nicely and I should be able to transplant them to garden soon.I have salad burnett seeded in a pot outside also some chives are starting to sprout.I put out some onion today.

[elementfiftyfour]

Pictures taken April 11th.

[img]https://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y191/elementfiftyfour/Garden/27Gardenview.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y191/elementfiftyfour/Garden/18whoisthisherbguy.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y191/elementfiftyfour/Garden/14peasnbeans.jpg[/img]


Pictures taken April 22nd.

[img]https://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y191/elementfiftyfour/Garden/garden02.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y191/elementfiftyfour/Garden/butterstick04-22.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y191/elementfiftyfour/Garden/herbs04-22.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y191/elementfiftyfour/Garden/moarpeas04-22.jpg[/img]

[learningtogrow]

Those pictures look wonderful....what progress

Wish that could be me right now, but there's nothing in the ground, because it's so darn cold outside, got below freezing last night and will continue to this whole week! But that's Wisconsin for ya!

At least I have some seedlings going in the house, and can put those in the ground in about a month or so. Can't wait!

[Reptilicus]

I've already dug up two rows of potatoes. I will plant rooster spur and deer horn peppers there.
[img]https://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll76/zelichan2008/garden1.jpg[/img]

My onions are starting too seed up so the season is coming to an end for them. I will cut about 1/4 of the green tops and chop them to freeze.
[img]https://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll76/zelichan2008/garden2.jpg[/img]

I've got a few marble size tomatos... as well.

[Grandad]

Potatoes close to harvest. Corn 1 & 2 up. Tomatoes about 18" tall. Eggplant half planted. Contender beans close to flowering. Cukes mostly planted and up. Summer squash mostly planted and up. Onions being harvested. Bell peppers mostly planted. Strawberries pretty much done. Cantelope yet to be planted. Tomatillo just up. Yardlong beans close to climbing. Carrots being harvested. Okra, peanuts and winter squash not yet planted.

[J-veg]

I got my garden tilled 10 days ago after a week of warm dry weather, but we hit a cold snap here in southern Ontario. I'm glad I didn't get too crazy and plant already, I still have to pick up some more compost (my pile is too young to for me to use this year) and get my dog fence up. I got a few things started inside already: tomatoes, jalapeños, and a sweet pumpkin. Getting the rest of my seeds this week...

[doccat5]

Still too wet to do much. We did start 2 new compost piles in the back yard. Just not so patiently waiting for it to dry up enough where we can get in and finish tilling the beds. I'm holding a lot of young seedlings in the house as yet, plus the front porch looks like a nursery...........LOL Several of my coop buys came in all at once and early (naturally, what was I thinking???, LOL) but most of these are pretty tough.

Just grumbly and anxious to get my hands in the dirt finally!!! LOL

Got the wet garden blues!

[Daphne]

It's been a chilly spring this year so I have nothing planted other than some perennials and a few different kinds of flower seeds.

Today, I spread 160 lbs of composted manure over the garden and it will be tilled in tomorrow after noon.

Technically, the last frost date for my area is May 15th but I don't think I can wait that long!

[opabinia51]

I know the feeling! Potatoes can be planted before the last frost as can peas.

[Pepper]

You folks in Louisiana really have it going on. I'm taking notes as this is my first garden in what I think must be a similar environment. I feel almost selfish indulging myself here while our gardening brethren up north are awaiting anxiously for the weather.

Finally got poles and string up for the Kentucky Wonders today. I always wait to long and have to untangle the runners. Corn is now knee high. Radishes are played out carrots which I think I planted too late have been decimated at a very tender age. Roma tomatoes are a complete riot, Better Boys are not far behind. All have multiple fruit now. Cukes and okra are slow but we are still getting temps in the low 50's here.

Everyones pictures look great. Thanks for sharing.

[nat777]

Mine isnt so bad, I knocked over my lupins while I was watering the other plants, I had to go back to my shed and re-plant the tiny plants ( only planted them 3 weeks ago) one by one and I took the bigger ones indoor on the window sill hoping they got more of a chance. The rest I put in the lil greenhouse, they seem to be doing well. The rest of the plants are growing slowly cause of the rubbish weather we been havin in nottingham!.

Iv planted my 3 rose plants in the garden this week and iv also planted my dads rose thorn and ....erm I cant rember the name of the other plant but I know it turns out in a massive purple flower bush ( you can tell how I'm new at this don't you lol). So there both in with the rest of my plants. I'm hoping my chills will start to grow soon! xxx

[Daphne]

We had severe thunderstorms and tornado warnings last night. Nothing serious here though. But as I laid in bed at 1:00, listening to the hail, wind, and rain, all I could think about is "Oh NO! I bet my garden is ruined!" But luckily, this morning when I went out to access the damages, there was none. Thank goodness! I had just planted 24 marigolds last night.

The garden is too wet to work in this evening so all I did was made labels to attached to the tomato cages and pepper cages. They are in cages until they get big enough that the birds don't nip then off. Then I think I am going to stake them to a pole. I don't have any old nylons so I will go to the dollar store and buy some cheapies there.

The weatherman is calling for a chance of rain everyday through next week. So I won't be doing much in the garden until it dries up a bit. But the wet soil will make it much easier to pull weeds in the flower bed that I am overhauling. there's enough weeds there to keep my busy and out of trouble for a week!

[stvfarmboy]

I got my muskmelons and cucumbers in the other day. My first round of radishes are coming up and if it dries out a bit I may try to plant some more to have a longer radish season for myself.

[Daphne]

The lettuce is coming up. So are the daisies and sunflowers.

There's still been too much rain to get into the garden to plant the rest of the things I want to plant. The tomatoes and pepper plants are looking great though.

I started them both with large coffee cans around them to protect them from the wind. They have grown over the top now. Do you think I should remove the coffee cans while the plants are small enough? If I wait too long, I am afraid I might damage the plants when I remove the cans.