2022 Garden Thread

[Dan Freeman]

1 week since I planted my first 2 pots of Tiny Tim seeds in my den, and they are coming up already. I'll wait a bit and pull out the weaker of the two in each pot. (I could transplant it, but I want to space the growth and development of each pot.) Going to start two more pots today, two next week, and two in another two weeks. Eight pots in all for the winter.

 

[begreen]

The Tiny Tims will be grown in a heated greenhouse this winter with lights?

 

[Dan Freeman]

No. I grow them in my den during the winter with LED grow lights. It's too expensive to heat the greenhouse during the winter. I heated it one year with electric heat and it cost and arm and a leg. Then, I built a solar heating system that worked well, but took up too much room for my spring/summer plantings, so I dismantled it after a couple of winters and moved my winter growing inside on a smaller scale

Solar Water Heat for Greenhouse​

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[EatenByLimestone]

I need to get my second batch of Tiny Tim’s started. I’m trying to get 2 a month. Hopefully that spreads out the fruiting a bit. I think somebody here said they pause between fruitings for a month? I’m hoping I can always have 1 set fruiting for the 6 winter months.

I also have some Genoese Basil and mint going. I haven’t grown mint in ages as I didn’t want it to get loose, but inside, in an Aerogarden it should be fine. The mint is growing surprisingly slow!

 

[EatenByLimestone]

BG, how’s your hydrophobic experiment going?

 

[Dan Freeman]

I need to get my second batch of Tiny Tim’s started. I’m trying to get 2 a month. Hopefully that spreads out the fruiting a bit. I think somebody here said they pause between fruitings for a month? I’m hoping I can always have 1 set fruiting for the 6 winter months.

I also have some Genoese Basil and mint going. I haven’t grown mint in ages as I didn’t want it to get loose, but inside, in an Aerogarden it should be fine. The mint is growing surprisingly slow!

I'm doing two TT's every week or so until I have 8 plants. That should space out the winter harvest nicely.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Oh, when going through my pockets I found the grow list from when I went apple picking Saturday.

Here’s what my local orchard is growing. We took home Northern Spy, Macoun, and based solely off the name, Radiant Runkle. Always have to try something new.

 

[begreen]

I need to get my second batch of Tiny Tim’s started. I’m trying to get 2 a month. Hopefully that spreads out the fruiting a bit. I think somebody here said they pause between fruitings for a month? I’m hoping I can always have 1 set fruiting for the 6 winter months.

I also have some Genoese Basil and mint going. I haven’t grown mint in ages as I didn’t want it to get loose, but inside, in an Aerogarden it should be fine. The mint is growing surprisingly slow!

Is this in the aerogarden? Do you start in it or in a pot and transfer?

 

[begreen]

Oh, when going through my pockets I found the grow list from when I went apple picking Saturday.

Here’s what my local orchard is growing. We took home Northern Spy, Macoun, and based solely off the name, Radiant Runkle. Always have to try something new.

View attachment 300214

Macoun is an excellent apple. We finally figured out that we have one after several years of wondering. We inherited it and a Liberty with the property. It's a cross between macintosh and jersey black. I like to eat them with a slice of cheese. This is not a great keeper, so enjoy them now. The Northern Spy is a good keeper and nice pie and cider apple.

Gala is also a very nice apple. It's a cross between a macintosh and a red delicious.

 

[Dan Freeman]

Oh, when going through my pockets I found the grow list from when I went apple picking Saturday.

Here’s what my local orchard is growing. We took home Northern Spy, Macoun, and based solely off the name, Radiant Runkle. Always have to try something new.

View attachment 300214

We have a u-pick-it farm in Highland, NY that we supply with our products. (jams, jellies, salsas, bbq sauces, pickles, hot sauces, and dip mixes) They sell about 1000 cases of our products between September-November. They are the Number 1 rated u-pick-it farm in the entire Hudson Valey. Thay have a tremendous variety of apples, in addition to other fruits and veggies from August through November.

From their Facebook site this weekend: "We have 20 varieties of apples available this weekend including 2 new ones: Rosalee and Ludacrisp. "

In addition to all the fruit they have for picking, they also sell wine, local beers, and sangrias. They sell over 200 dozen apple cider doughnuts per hour and make over 200 pizzas per hour when open in October. They also have tractor rides, a "small town" village for kids, a pumpkin patch, and tons of animals. It is a great place to visit if in the Hudson Valley area.

They bought an abandoned 56-acre farm about 15 years ago and turned it into the Number 1 u-pick-it farm in the Hudson Valley.

Welcome to DuBois Farms Pick-Your-Own in the Hudson Valley - Dubois Farms

Dubois Farms Pick-Your Own apples, peaches. Winery, Brewery, Tavern, Farm Market, Pizzeria, Bakery, Cafe in the Hudson Valley, Highland, NY.

duboisfarms.com

DuBois Farms | Highland NY

DuBois Farms, Highland, New York. 14,083 likes · 1 talking about this · 41,938 were here. Since our opening in 2006, we've been proud to offer our fresh fruits and vegetables, desserts, and event...

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[EatenByLimestone]

The Hudson River is maybe 10 miles from me, but the area known as the valley is down south an hour, hour and a half. It sounds like a great place though!

All plants were started in the Aerogarden. The mint and basil were part of a seed kit that Aerogarden sends out with their unit to get people to buy their seeds.

 

[begreen]

I've got to get one of these ordered.

 

[begreen]

I ended up ordering the iDoo, 12 pod system. Got it on sale for $85.
Amazon product ASIN B09KH6GFL6

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Thats an awesome deal!

 

[begreen]

Hope so, we'll see. I got some tiny tim seeds too.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I think the garden is coming to an end. I grabbed most of the growing squash off the vines and all of the red and orange tomatoes left. I’ll leave the green ones on until we’re about ready to get a frost. The bok choy and kale looks great still.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Poblano peppers finally started producing. I think I need to start them earlier. My wife says they’re bitter. I don’t taste it. I think she gets used to the dull taste from the supermarket. *shrug*. She doesn’t like the blueberries if they aren’t crazy purple either.

 

[begreen]

We have a good crop of poblanos this year. They do have a stronger pepper flavor than store-bough green bell peppers. That's what makes them nice for chile relleños and stuffing with seasoned rice. So far they are standing up well, but our nighttime temps have not dropped into the 40s yet and every day is sunny, including the next 10 day forecast. We've had a total of .15" of rain since mid June.

 

[Dan Freeman]

We already had our first frost 2 days ago.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

No frosts here yet, though I’ve seen them come as early as the end of October. Some of my kids are sick, and we’re having a day off school today, so I did a good chunk of work in the garden.

A few weeks ago we had a science lesson about seed germination, and in conjunction with that I let the six year old and ten year old choose some seeds that were appropriate for fall planting and get them started inside. They‘ve been up and outside hardening off for a while, and I needed to get them in soil. The kids are sick enough that I did it for them instead of having them help, but this morning I transplanted for them some carrots, kale, rhubarb, and hollyhocks. I also seeded some Austrian Winter Peas and Crimson Clover in other areas of the garden. Watering took a very long time as my transfer pump failed to turn on last Friday. Replacing the brushes and the impeller didn’t help. It’s still under warranty, so we’ll see what happens with that.



The carrots are in the front corner, and the kale is under the basket. The zucchini in the back is the one I started indoors in the summer. It has produced some male flowers recently, so I still have a chance at some fruit if it starts producing females.

I pulled out a number of plants over the weekend that weren’t going to produce much. I also chopped the Sunn Hemp cover crop. That pile got mulched with the mower and added to the compost bins.

Our mini patch of Glass Gem corn has been drying down. The stalks were actually breaking, so I’ve been harvesting as each one goes down. I only ended up with seven stalks, so I did lots of hand pollinating, and even then the results weren’t great. We are getting some small and partial ears, though, and my kids are excited about unwrapping each one. We plant to save our favorite seeds and plant a larger patch next year. These tiny ears are drying on one of the racks I made for hanging fireplaces tools and gloves. The gloves are just sitting on the hearth right now since I don’t need to keep that area clear at the moment.



When I was working the soil today I was marveling at just how dry it is despite all my watering this summer. I saw an article in the local paper recently that said that the airport in San Antonio has had only 8.2 inches of rain from January through September this year. We’re not in that precise location, but it gives an idea of our drought conditions. I added up all the moisture that I have recorded in my garden notebook this year, and it totaled 8.1 inches. No wonder the landscape is so brown and crispy.

I also set my Aerogardens back up again for some winter growing (though it still kind of feels like summer at the moment). I had some old seeds from a kit that my daughter had with tomatoes and a mini jalapeño, so I started those. I also put some Upland Cress in other sponges to see if that will germinate. I’m not sure any of it will come up as the tomato and jalapeno seeds are old and have been kept in warm conditions. The Upland Cress likes cooler temperatures to germinate. I did put ice cubes in the reservoir when I added water, but I’ll have to remember to keep doing that.

 

[begreen]

I've read that the partial ears are because of incomplete pollination. Planting small crops in a block of at least 2 rows instead of a single row can help prevent this.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

I've read that the partial ears are because of incomplete pollination. Planting small crops in a block of at least 2 rows instead of a single row can help prevent this.

Oh, yes. It was definitely incomplete pollination despite my attempts to hand pollinate. My mini corn patch wasn’t supposed to be so mini, but I had germination and survival problems. What was supposed to be 16 plants in one bed turned into three, and I pulled them because I ran out of water at the time they were tasseling. In the second bed pictured above, I was supposed to have 30 plants in a staggered pattern that actually would have made three rows, but only seven plants survived. Thankfully they were all in a cluster of sorts, so that helped get some pollination. I’m just thankful that it wasn’t a complete bust. This was the planting that was for my young children and what they were most excited about. Even though the ears aren’t great, they have loved peeling back the husks and revealing the colors. I hope we get something different on the last two ears as that will make things even more fun for them.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

2nd Aerogarden is up and running! The tomatoes are really taking off on the first Aerogarden.

I moved the mint out of it as it was getting a really slow start. I dropped a bok choy in its place. Once it germinates it should grow fast!

In the new Aerogarden I put the mint, a bok choy, and 2 tiny Tim’s.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I’m contemplating getting some more basil and bok choy going for pots in the winter. It’d be nice to have more fresh veggies and herbs. If I planted them now the Aerogarden would be ready for the next batch of Tiny Tim’s when the basil and bok choy are ready to put in soil.

 

[Dan Freeman]

Well, it looks like I won't get everything done before winter that I wanted to do.

Yesterday, I was setting up the "bubble" to cover the small pond. I had to affix the top piece that stabilizes the "ribs" and was using a two-step stepladder. One leg of the stepladder sunk into the ground, and I went ass over tea kettle.

Long story short, I wound up fracturing 3 ribs, went to the ER, and they admitted me. They were concerned with the pain and discomfort from 3 major rib fractures that I may not breathe deep enough and wind up with pneumonia. They wanted to first send me their trauma center about 40 miles away but settled on admitting me overnight for observation, intravenous pain control and breathing therapy.

Dr said to figure on a 6–8-week recovery if no complications.

They discharged me this afternoon with a script for Oxycodone, a muscle relaxant, and a Spirometer for deep breathing therapy. It's just going to take time...and a few cuss words along the way.