Garden Thread 2023!

[begreen]

What about a wood boiler and Radiant floor heat.. a small Circulating pump will draw very little in electric and the wood you already have.. I considered this with mine

I think a basic pellet stove would be easier to install and manage and a lot less expensive, but yes, the fuel would need to be purchased.

 

[Dan Freeman]

What about a wood boiler and Radiant floor heat.. a small Circulating pump will draw very little in electric and the wood you already have.. I considered this with mine

Not a bad idea. Just haven't decided as of yet. Unless I put some system in (like radiant floor heat which would have to be done before the pavers), I may live with it "as is" for a full year to see how it does with the passive heat/insulating plans I have, then decide if I want to heat it for the winter or just shut it down for the coldest part. Not sure what I would grow during the coldest part of the winter (probably just cold weather vegetables), but light is no problem since I have a dozen 33" LED grow lights that will cover about 96 square feet of growing space. HappyLeaf LED Grow Lights- https://happyleafled.com/

 

[Dan Freeman]

I think a basic pellet stove would be easier to install and manage and a lot less expensive, but yes, the fuel would need to be purchased.

I like that idea although I have no pellet stove experience. Do that make small ones? The greenhouse is 14 x 20 (280 square feet). Are they manual or automated with thermostatic control?

 

[Poindexter]

You guys are on page 12? Zounds. Today is the 97th day of January on my calendar. The little brown stalk is a welsh onion head from last year, in a raised bed. The tip of the stalk is about 38" above grade. I do know spring is coming, I only needed about 30 minutes to move snow around today.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

You guys are on page 12? Zounds. Today is the 97th day of January on my calendar. The little brown stalk is a welsh onion head from last year, in a raised bed. The tip of the stalk is about 38" above grade. I do know spring is coming, I only needed about 30 minutes to move snow around today.

I had to look up what a “Welsh Onion” is. I’d never heard the term before, though I believe I have a couple of the varieties listed in the article I read in my seed stash. I’ve always heard them referred to a “bunching onions.” Here’s a link to the article I read. As much as the gardening aspect interested me, I also enjoyed the etymological note on the nomenclature that said that “Welsh” has nothing to do with Wales. It’s an adaptation of the German word walsch which means “foreign.”

How to Plant, Grow, and Harvest Welsh Onions

Learn how to plant, grow, and harvest mild-flavored Welsh onions. You can grow Welsh onions in your garden.

harvesttotable.com

We actually had a bit of rain the last couple of days. According to the local San Antonio news, it was the most healthy rainfall to hit the area since October of 2021. We had gotten just over an inch from overnight Wednesday into the afternoon of Friday, but a little more came down after that. The sun is out now, and I need to get out to the garden to check the rain gauge and see how the plants enjoyed their showers.

Before the rain, I harvested a few radishes I planted from a bunch of mixed seeds. I’ll bet there are more to harvest out there now.



My Austrian Winter Pea cover crop did not like the high temperatures we had early in the week. I plan to plant some squash or watermelon in these bed just through the plant residue, though I may trim some of the bushier growth and toss it into the neighboring beds where my daikon radish cover cropped got killed too early by some unusual freezes before Christmas.


The Crimson Clover cover crop in the asparagus bed is doing well. It’s starting to flower. I plan to let it just go through its life cycle in place in this bed. I’ve been harvesting the asparagus a little at a time. Sometimes I save it in the refrigerator to build up enough for a meal. Sometimes I just eat it raw right out in the garden.

 

[begreen]

The Crimson Clover cover crop in the asparagus bed is doing well. It’s starting to flower. I plan to let it just go through its life cycle in place in this bed. I’ve been harvesting the asparagus a little at a time. Sometimes I save it in the refrigerator to build up enough for a meal. Sometimes I just eat it raw right out in the garden.
View attachment 311850

That's intriguing. I am about to start a new asparagus bed this year and was wondering whether to mulch or cover crop. How do you maintain the clover? I have found in the past that it tends to get really tall and wants to spread.

Have you ever transplanted asparagus? We have the old, weed-choked bed, that we are decommissioning and are debating this right now.

 

[Dan Freeman]

That's intriguing. I am about to start a new asparagus bed this year and was wondering whether to mulch or cover crop. How do you maintain the clover? I have found in the past that it tends to get really tall and wants to spread.

I'd like to know how you do this too for our 20 asparagus plants we started last year.

BTW...how many asparagus plants do you two have and how many do you feed with them? Just trying to gage how many is good for 2 people.

 

[Dan Freeman]

Finally started 60 small pots with seeds today and put them in the den under grow lights.
8 San Marzano Tomato - 3 Mountain Magic Tomato - 2 Supersweet 100 Tomato - 2 Gardener's Delight Tomato - 8 Shishito Pepper - 7 California Wonder Bell Pepper - 8 All Season Cabbage - 7 Calabrese Broccoli - 5 Sierra Gold Cantaloupe - 5 Queen Victoria Rhubarb - 5 Utah Celery

I ran out of seed starting soil so I ran out to Home Depot to get another 4 bags. I'll fill at least another 75 pots max. Some can get directly planted outside, but if I have time, I want to try and give them a head start inside.



We also moved some of the gravel pile to the front of the driveway where it meets the road and after the parking area where we have a "ravine" from the rainstorms washing water down the sloped part. We have one more area that needs a couple of inches of gravel, then we'll spread the rest evenly over the flat parking area.

I even watered some perennial flowers starting to emerge. It has been so dry and no rain in the forecast for the next week. I'm concerned that we are having a dry Spring so far.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

How we work the asparagus is to dig them up and separate the crowns and replant.. We trim them the end of march, here in Southern New Jersey. We already have some coming up. The farmer behind me has about 40 acres of asparagus coming up.. This coming winter.. we will dig and split some of our older rows. A steady diet of like a 5-10-10 will do them well.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

I'd like to know how you do this too for our 20 asparagus plants we started last year.

BTW...how many asparagus plants do you two have and how many do you feed with them? Just trying to gage how many is good for 2 people.

We have 30 crowns in the ground.. the production is good.. Id leave them alone untill year 3.. at year 3 you can harvest them for roughly 60 days without doing any real damage.. if you harvesting off of 2 year old crowns maybe 2 harvest 3 max depending on how the look

 

[Dan Freeman]

We have 30 crowns in the ground.. the production is good.. Id leave them alone untill year 3.. at year 3 you can harvest them for roughly 60 days without doing any real damage.. if you harvesting off of 2 year old crowns maybe 2 harvest 3 max depending on how the look

Thanks. We did get a surprising number of asparagus last summer after planting the crowns in early Spring, but we didn't harvest any; won't harvest any again this year, but it will be tempting.

When we planted ours, we dug 18" deep trough about 40' long and 2' wide, filled it part of the way back up with 50% topsoil and 50% mushroom compost and planted the crowns on little mounds of the 50/50 just covering them slightly. As the plants started to grow, we would add more 50/50 until we filled the trough back up to ground level.

If you split the crowns, is it like starting over? Do you have to wait until the third year before you harvest from the split ones once replanted?

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Thanks. We did get a surprising number of asparagus last summer after planting the crowns in early Spring, but we didn't harvest any; won't harvest any again this year, but it will be tempting.

When we planted ours, we dug 18" deep trough about 40' long and 2' wide, filled it part of the way back up with 50% topsoil and 50% mushroom compost and planted the crowns on little mounds of the 50/50 just covering them slightly. As the plants started to grow, we would add more 50/50 until we filled the trough back up to ground level.

If you split the crowns, is it like starting over? Do you have to wait until the third year before you harvest from the split ones once replanted?

it depends on the size of the crown.. we will row the smaller ones together and leave them to harvest the following year.. the large ones we ill row together and harvest that year

 

[begreen]

We have 30 crowns in the ground.. the production is good.. Id leave them alone untill year 3.. at year 3 you can harvest them for roughly 60 days without doing any real damage.. if you harvesting off of 2 year old crowns maybe 2 harvest 3 max depending on how the look

How long will they last? Our existing plants are about 5-8 yrs old. At what point do the stop being productive and need a new crop?

 

[DuaeGuttae]

@begreen, I’m not an asparagus expert. The first year we ever planted crowns was 2020, I think, so I’ve been establishing the bed. I have definitely not transplanted.

My mother planted an asparagus bed way back in the early 1970’s, I believe. She still has enough asparagus to eat and freeze for herself from some of those original crowns, I believe. I’ll have to ask her about whether she has transplanted some over the years. I believe that she has, but I don’t know details. She did just mention to me on the phone tonight that her first two asparagus spears have popped up.

This is the first year that I have done the crimson clover in the asparagus bed. In previous years I have mulched, but last year was so dry that the wood chip mulch barely even broke down. We didn’t have much nitrogen-type material either because of the drought, so I wanted to give the crimson clover a try. It’s a pretty hot climate for clover, so I don’t have an expectation that it will be hard to control. I may be wrong about that, but so far it is working just fine for me to hunt for asparagus in the bed and find it. The clover isn’t all that tall except for the flower spikes, but it’s generally easy to see the asparagus. It may be a mistake on my part to let the cloveer reseed in the bed, but that is my plan since the asparagus hasn’t seemed to suffer from it at all. It’s so hot here in spring, summer, and fall that it really helps to have the ground covered, and I didn’t want to add more woodchips or leaves at this point. I did choose an annual clover so that I would have the option of not letting go to seed if I decide I want to eliminate it.

@Dan Freeman , I have 50 crowns planted with plans to feed 6 people. Last year the asparagus didn’t perform all that well, so I didn’t harvest much. This spring has been better. I’ve been particularly pleased with the Purple Passion variety for the size and flavor of the spears, but this part of Texas is really pushing the envelope even on growing asparagus, so I’m not the best to give advice to others in more suitable zones.

@Woodsplitter67 , how old is your asparagus bed? It sounds as though you’re pretty experienced at this. You’re feeding four with it?

 

[begreen]

I like that idea although I have no pellet stove experience. Do that make small ones? The greenhouse is 14 x 20 (280 square feet). Are they manual or automated with thermostatic control?

Many are thermostatic so it is just a mini wood furnace that comes on when heat is called by the thermostat. Others are manually controlled when you dial in the heat setting. Some qualify for the 30% tax credit which includes installation for up to $2000.

 

[begreen]

@begreen, I’m not an asparagus expert. The first year we ever planted crowns was 2020, I think, so I’ve been establishing the bed. I have definitely not transplanted.

My mother planted an asparagus bed way back in the early 1970’s, I believe. She still has enough asparagus to eat and freeze for herself from some of those original crowns, I believe. I’ll have to ask her about whether she has transplanted some over the years. I believe that she has, but I don’t know details. She did just mention to me on the phone tonight that her first two asparagus spears have popped up.

20 yrs is encouraging. Purple passion is our favorite too. It is tender and sweet. Tastes good eaten raw.

 

[Dan Freeman]

I have 50 crowns planted with plans to feed 6 people. Last year the asparagus didn’t perform all that well, so I didn’t harvest much. This spring has been better. I’ve been particularly pleased with the Purple Passion variety for the size and flavor of the spears, but this part of Texas is really pushing the envelope even on growing asparagus, so I’m not the best to give advice to others in more suitable zones.

Thanks. I have 10 Purple Passion and 10 Jersey Knight Giant.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

How long will they last? Our existing plants are about 5-8 yrs old. At what point do the stop being productive and need a new crop?

So my asparagus is roughly 8 years old. It spent 4 years in my old garden then got transplanted to our new garden roughly 4 years now. I learned alot during transplanting. The farmer started his by seed a 4 years back.. pulled all the crowns 2 years later in the fall and stored them in a tractor trailer body and planted them a few months later in February the field behind me is now 2 years old. I got a lot of knowledge from my farmer friends over the years regarding a ton of plants. My beans were off the hook last year.. mad production.. Asparagus will last many years.. 10 to 20 is what iv been told depending on how you maintenance and keep up on them.. they need food but not alot.. they are in the category of onions.. in which I feed on a bi weekly basis and use a 4-18-18.. lots of nitrogen is the enemy of these plants

BTW...happy easter my friends..

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Todays pictures.. lots if sun has helped

 

[begreen]

Just the opposite here today. I need to set up some lights in the greenhouse. More cold coming this week too. It's going to be a late spring planting for sure.

 

[Dan Freeman]

Today was a beautiful day. 60's and not a cloud in the sky. We took the opportunity to finish spreading the 8 tons of gravel we bought last week.


I also was able to get about another 24 trees/bushes cleaned around the base, fertilized with 3 shovelfuls of compost mixed with fruit tree/bush/vine fertilizer. Each also got at least 2.5 gallons of water. I should be able to finish tomorrow.



Called Lowes today and had the brick/sand delivery for the floor of the greenhouse moved from April 17 to tomorrow April 11. We decided it would be easier to install the floor before building the greenhouse.

Gives us a bit of time to see if we can find someone affordable/experienced to assemble the greenhouse for us. I'll keep you posted on this one...

 

[clancey]

It looks so so pretty and that seems like a good idea to put the flooring in first--good thinking but let us know how it works out. Lots of work on your plate but the weather is getting nice enough to do it. Right now the garden is sleeping but it won't be long until it wakes up and you will have even more work to do..lol Great pictures and thanks for the information...clancey

 

[Dan Freeman]

Good news and bad news...

We did not hear back from the greenhouse assembler. He was the only one in PA. The others are at least 100 miles away. There is a HandyMan company that does greenhouses. They have good ratings, but they have never done a Riga Greenhouse. That concerns me.

I finished fertilizing all the trees, bushes and vines down in the food forest.

The bricks and sand were delivered this morning for the greenhouse floor.



I put the sand on the gravel, but it looks a bit lumpy to me! What do you think?



Tomorrow, we'll begin to spread and screed it in preparation for the bricks.

 

[clancey]

That looks like a dark looking sand is that the "normal" or is it special for the bricks--just wondering. Your getting ready --how nice...How about some kind of a construction company to check into the putting up of a greenhouse? clancey

 

[Dan Freeman]

That looks like a dark looking sand is that the "normal" or is it special for the bricks--just wondering. Your getting ready --how nice...How about some kind of a construction company to check into the putting up of a greenhouse? clancey

The sand is actually wet. Once it dried, it turned a very light gray. It is not a "beach sand".

I don't want to use a company that has never put together a Riga greenhouse. It is very different from most greenhouse. It all locks together, but it has to be done right.

I did get an email from the greenhouse assembler I contacted who has Riga experience. He must not have wanted the job and figured he would float a high price, and if I bit, I bit. Here is his email back to me.

"Hi Jim. I currently live in Lansdale pa. So that would be a bit of a hike. We would have to stay in a hotel. Cost to assemble the greenhouse would be $6,500.00 3 to 4 days to assemble and im available in about a month."

Holy Smollies! Lansdale is about 60 or so miles from here. The greenhouse is buildable in two days.

My response:

"I appreciate you taking the time to respond, but that price is a bit rich for my blood."

For that fee, we'll do it ourselves and then treat ourselves to something else! Looks like we will be building it ourselves.