Crop Porn

[bwframe]

Looks great! Your compost looks much nicer than my "pile."

Hopefully, I can think to get a pic while we're not in a weed inducing monsoon. The pics would be too embarrassing prior to the last till a few days ago. The wet ground put me behind on a lot of things.

Right now harvesting lettuce, spinach and pea pods.

 

[redneckmedic]

Looks great! Your compost looks much nicer than my "pile."

Hopefully, I can think to get a pic while we're not in a weed inducing monsoon. The pics would be too embarrassing prior to the last till a few days ago. The wet ground put me behind on a lot of things.

Right now harvesting lettuce, spinach and pea pods.

Good for you, harvest already, sounds like 4 season harvest or maybe cold frames?

My compost is actually a greater disapline than my garden. I am very strict on the depth of the different layers and have religiously added scraps and every couple of weeks bought a gallon of Vit D milk to pour on it, to enrich the bacteria.

Still learning the worm farm thing though.

 

[Richard]

Hopefully, I can think to get a pic while we're not in a weed inducing monsoon. The pics would be too embarrassing prior to the last till a few days ago.

I use a weed barrier ground cloth that really makes gardening awhole lot less labor intensive (hardly any weeding), just lay it out, spike it down after tilling the soil & cut rows of slits in the fabric to plant your seedlings through.

 

[bwframe]

...sounds like 4 season harvest or maybe cold frames?

No sir. I just got lucky with the 70's and dry weather in March. I'd love to say otherwise, but the lettuce and other salad greens are from a local nursery. I did do well with the spinach and peas that I direct seeded though.

I use a weed barrier ground cloth that really makes gardening awhole lot less labor intensive (hardly any weeding), just lay it out, spike it down after tilling the soil & cut rows of slits in the fabric to plant your seedlings through.

Tomatoes are in, and soon to be peppers and cukes over black plastic. It's normally the only way I go with those. This year though, it didn't work for the broccoli and cauliflower, the way I'd normally do it, so we'll have to see how it works out running the Mantis around the as weather and schedule permits.

I'm preparing to try the weed barrier ground cloth around the six blueberry bushes I started last year. I'm planning to use pine needles from nearby as mulch on top of this. Next year, I'd like to plant strawberries between the blueberry bushes. Any suggestions appreciated.

 

[Richard]

Next year, I'd like to plant strawberries between the blueberry bushes. Any suggestions appreciated.

I probably wouldn't be the best person to give advice on growing strawberries simply because it's been too long ago, I haven't grown strawberries in at least 20 years, but I think I still have a large vertical terra cotta planter somewhere (which they did really well in) but I wouldn't even know where to begin to look for it.

Anyway now you've got me wanting to plant some strawberries again so thanks to you I'll probably spend the afternoon digging through storage to find that damn strawberry planter LOL!

 

[smokingman]

Now that the anti bunny fence is up...everything is well

 

[bwframe]

Finally got some pics. Don't be too hard on me, there is still a lot of weeding and thinning to be done.

 

[bynder]

haven't put out a garden in 10 years, should ought to do that this year it isn't to late yet

 

[smokingman]

Finally got some pics. Don't be too hard on me, there is still a lot of weeding and thinning to be done.

Looks great!

 

[Richard]

Yup looking good guys!

I'll recharge my camera battery & try to get some pics of my garden tomarrow.

 

[Richard]

 

[smokingman]

And here I was thinking my corn was doing well! Great job.

Just curious what is the deal with the black weed block? I have seen more people using this in a garden but I never have.I also notice that all who have posted have a fence of some kind(including me)...critters seem really bad this year.It is the first year I really lost much to them.I tell you the bunnies are planning something!

 

[Richard]

And here I was thinking my corn was doing well! Great job.

Just curious what is the deal with the black weed block? I have seen more people using this in a garden but I never have.I also notice that all who have posted have a fence of some kind(including me)...critters seem really bad this year.It is the first year I really lost much to them.I tell you the bunnies are planning something!

Yea my corn is up to my knees already, anyway the weed barrier ground cloth makes gardening a little less labor intensive, the additional cost for materials is not that bad for the amount of weeding work that you save yourself from.

 

[redneckmedic]

This is beginning to become a nice progression...keep 'em coming!

 

[Blue River Guns]

I am so not a garden person....I wish I was. Nice thing about being a pastor man do I get alot of free vegatables! I am actually trying something a buddy told me about (straw bale gardening) I have 7 bales of straw with about an inch of topsoil on them and I have planted cucumbers, squash, tomato, and watermelon. Very low maintenance and I actually have plants growing. I will get some pictures soon.

 

[bwframe]

I am so not a garden person....I wish I was. Nice thing about being a pastor man do I get alot of free vegatables! I am actually trying something a buddy told me about (straw bale gardening) I have 7 bales of straw with about an inch of topsoil on them and I have planted cucumbers, squash, tomato, and watermelon. Very low maintenance and I actually have plants growing. I will get some pictures soon.

I just today spread a big round bale over the top of 5ish pounds of seed potatoes (only a couple months late.)

 

[Richard]

I would really like to grow some spuds but I've never had much luck with them, I always get alot of them but they are always really small & underdeveloped, anyone have any potato growing tips/tricks?

 

[smokingman]

I would really like to grow some spuds but I've never had much luck with them, I always get alot of them but they are always really small & underdeveloped, anyone have any potato growing tips/tricks?

Loose soil.Add some sand to your soil. They can grow well in marginal soil.Also fertilizer 10-10-10 before you plant.We had some yams that where around 13 inches year before last(at the old house).

 

[bwframe]

I'm a lazy potato grower.

I throw whole seed potatoes on top of the soil 18ish inches apart. I then spread loose hay over them 3 foot deep. The plant grows up through the hay.

When the plant starts to blossom, I start sneaking in under the mulch, around the edges, grabbing 1" potatoes. When the plant dies, rake back the mulch and pick the big ones up off the ground.

If I'm really lazy in the fall, (been known to happen) I don't get all the potatoes harvested. Those turn into next years earliest plants.

 

[Richard]

Thanks for the tater tips Smokingman & BWframe!

I'll probably do another potato patch next season and see if I cant get the little buggers to grow, I'd really like to add them to my annual harvests but like I said I've never had much luck with them, although my soil is fairly heavy/clayish so I might have to do some better soil prep prior to plopping potatoes into the potato patch.

Come to think of it I know a guy who's in the middle of digging himself a nice sized pond on his farm, maybe I'll ask if he'll dump a front loader or two of into the back of my truck (if it's decent soil that is).