Garden Thread 2023!

[Dan Freeman]

I started way too many! Kids would love to get som cucumbers in the tower. I’d love some of the small round eggplants (not sure what they are called). Next round!

LOL. That's one of the ways you can tell someone is a gardener; we start too many plants! BTW...we never learn Every year we say we're going to cut down, cut back, but we don't, and what's worse, we expand! It truly is a sickness, but if I'm going to be sick, this ain't a bad illness to have!

I got outside for 2 hours under sunny skies and mid 40's today. It felt good, but I underestimated my rib healing, even though I was going "easy". First, I finished taking down the rest of the fencing and u-posts that run along the back and north side of the greenhouse. I also moved a lot of garden containers along the north exterior wall from starter pots to larger pots to nursery trays, to a 4 ' x 2' raised garden planter that was full of old potting soil, which I had to empty out and then wash down the whole planter. That was fun! I then picked up and moved out of the way 24 - 1' x 1' slates (a 2' x 12' slate area that I had along the north side of the greenhouse so all those pots wouldn't be sitting in the grass and make it a pain to cut the grass. (Just kept the pots up against the wall and I could run the mower right up and over the slates.) However, now that I am finished, I am noticing a dull pain/ache in my ribs when I breathe deep, so I am sure I am going to catch hell if I say anything, so I'll keep my mouth shut! I overdid it. I'm really starting to feel like an old man. I don't mind getting old; it's just frustrating adjusting to it when my body is aging much, much faster than my mind. I'm sure you oldies will agree.

 

[Tonty]

I think it would be worse if the mind went before the body. 🤔😁🤷🏽‍♂️

 

[DuaeGuttae]

@Dan Freeman, I’m sorry to hear about your ribs. Take it easy if you can. in answer to your question about what types of peppers, it’s just a simple Jalapeño plant. I may have about ten peppers growing, but I got a closer shot of the three largest. I have a number of other buds and blossoms, so I keep blowing on and tapping the plant to pollinate them, and that seems to work just fine. I’m not planning for a major harvest from this one pruned plant, but it’s still fun.


I did some cleaning of cracked ollas today, and they’re drying off now in the hopes of being glued. Some are old ones that have been in my house for a while. Some I just discovered last week when doing the compost work. Our freezes before Christmas did some damage too them.

I also started some sugar snap peas, beets, and a few broccoli, cauliflower, and kale seeds inside. Moving the ollas allowed me to make space in front of a south facing window. I just started the seeds in a reused plastic container from fish at the grocery store. I just want to get them started sprouting inside, then I’ll plan to harden off and transplant quickly if I get good germination.

@EbS-P, you might not find that you have too many plants to feed your crew unless it’s just that you don’t have space to grow them all. It takes an awful lot of plants to give good sized harvests for a family with lots of hungry kids in my experience. I usually plant too few.

 

[Dan Freeman]

I think it would be worse if the mind went before the body. 🤔😁🤷🏽‍♂️

Without having that experience within my family, I think that is worse for the loved ones and not the individual.

My mom lived to just short of 102. Her mind was intact to the very end; her body was shot. She was in a nursing home her last 6 years. Someone from the family was with her for a while each day 350 out of 365 days a year. She had been very active all her life raising 5 kids, working part time, swimming, painting, drawing, playing the piano. I think her decline was the hardest on her, but she did accept it.

 

[Dan Freeman]

@Dan Freeman, I’m sorry to hear about your ribs. Take it easy if you can. in answer to your question about what types of peppers, it’s just a simple Jalapeño plant. I may have about ten peppers growing, but I got a closer shot of the three largest. I have a number of other buds and blossoms, so I keep blowing on and tapping the plant to pollinate them, and that seems to work just fine. I’m not planning for a major harvest from this one pruned plant, but it’s still fun.
View attachment 308763

I did some cleaning of cracked ollas today, and they’re drying off now in the hopes of being glued. Some are old ones that have been in my house for a while. Some I just discovered last week when doing the compost work. Our freezes before Christmas did some damage too them.

I also started some sugar snap peas, beets, and a few broccoli, cauliflower, and kale seeds inside. Moving the ollas allowed me to make space in front of a south facing window. I just started the seeds in a reused plastic container from fish at the grocery store. I just want to get them started sprouting inside, then I’ll plan to harden off and transplant quickly if I get good germination.

@EbS-P, you might not find that you have too many plants to feed your crew unless it’s just that you don’t have space to grow them all. It takes an awful lot of plants to give good sized harvests for a family with lots of hungry kids in my experience. I usually plant too few.

Thanks for pepper ID, DG! I'm only a sweet pepper fan. Don't like much heat.

They say 6-8 weeks for recovery, and here I am going on almost 4 months! But my Doctor did say it can take months to fully recover, but not when you are still 18 y/o in your head (hopefully older in maturity and wisdom) and you have an older model body. I will pace myself, especially after today, but I know if I can get outside (weather pending), I'm doing it, and what I do outside is almost always devoted to my passion.

 

[EbS-P]

@Dan Freeman, I’m sorry to hear about your ribs. Take it easy if you can. in answer to your question about what types of peppers, it’s just a simple Jalapeño plant. I may have about ten peppers growing, but I got a closer shot of the three largest. I have a number of other buds and blossoms, so I keep blowing on and tapping the plant to pollinate them, and that seems to work just fine. I’m not planning for a major harvest from this one pruned plant, but it’s still fun.
View attachment 308763

I did some cleaning of cracked ollas today, and they’re drying off now in the hopes of being glued. Some are old ones that have been in my house for a while. Some I just discovered last week when doing the compost work. Our freezes before Christmas did some damage too them.

I also started some sugar snap peas, beets, and a few broccoli, cauliflower, and kale seeds inside. Moving the ollas allowed me to make space in front of a south facing window. I just started the seeds in a reused plastic container from fish at the grocery store. I just want to get them started sprouting inside, then I’ll plan to harden off and transplant quickly if I get good germination.

@EbS-P, you might not find that you have too many plants to feed your crew unless it’s just that you don’t have space to grow them all. It takes an awful lot of plants to give good sized harvests for a family with lots of hungry kids in my experience. I usually plant too few.

I have 18 tomatoes that germinated. The tower only has 28 spots. 40 kale and chard. Plan was to stager them but….. I guess I could always get another grow station.

 

[Dan Freeman]

Mycorrhizae - Do you or don't you?

I was looking for my favorite brand of seed starter online today (Pro-Mix Organic Seed Starter Mix) because it contains Mycorrhizae fungi when I ran into this article, Inoculate with Mycorrhizae: It's as easy as A-B-Seeds." I thought it was really good, so I wanted to share it with you.

Do you use Mycorrhizae fungi in your vegetable seed starter mix? I have been doing it for the past 4 years, and I think it makes big difference in my greenhouse starts.

https://mycorrhizae.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Inoculate-with-Mycorrhizae-PDF.pdf

 

[clancey]

You people are all experts at this after many many years and you are all addicted to plant growing. You free have another problem---your addicted to moving stuff around until you find just the right place and literally this takes years and it is because it helps for you to relax by all the figuring and arranging different things to spots where you will not have to move it again. You are a constant thinker because you know how to focus on problems with you mind in order to feel good when you look at it in your resting breaks and "off you go again" with the moving and rearrangements that you want to try out for awhile to satisfy you need of organizing and doing the most efficient movements that you can make and this also has the great endeavor of it looking good to you as well. This trait will go on and on and this is good because of the feeling of fulfillment and relaxation that you get when you accomplish the right spot as well as simplifying the tools and items that you need to fulfill the project. You are a efficiency expert. Now as far as giving you hell for your continued "weight lifting", I say-----give him hell...and someday it will dawn on you that some aspects of the job is something you should hold back on for now and just rest those ribs and wrap them up in a light ace bandage for the added support and this will help a whole lot...Not the back brace that you might have because of the bulkiness and heavy feeling that it bestows, plus it interferes when you want to just sit and relax--the breathing problem comes from dehydration so you need to drink more water. I figure that I do not know that much in regard to plants but I do enjoy seeing a few of them grow and my most favorite that I grew a few years ago was hot peppers because they seem so simple to grow with such satisfaction to me because they were just compact and pretty. My neighbor came at this time and I gave him the option of picking them and "he loved it' and took all he wanted with my blessings..lol.. I believe that I do not have much to offer this garden thread because of my lack of knowledge but I sure enjoy every ones posting and it makes my old age so much more nicer..So thank you all...clancey

 

[Dan Freeman]

You people are all experts at this after many many years and you are all addicted to plant growing. You free have another problem---your addicted to moving stuff around until you find just the right place and literally this takes years and it is because it helps for you to relax by all the figuring and arranging different things to spots where you will not have to move it again. You are a constant thinker because you know how to focus on problems with you mind in order to feel good when you look at it in your resting breaks and "off you go again" with the moving and rearrangements that you want to try out for awhile to satisfy you need of organizing and doing the most efficient movements that you can make and this also has the great endeavor of it looking good to you as well. This trait will go on and on and this is good because of the feeling of fulfillment and relaxation that you get when you accomplish the right spot as well as simplifying the tools and items that you need to fulfill the project. You are a efficiency expert. Now as far as giving you hell for your continued "weight lifting", I say-----give him hell...and someday it will dawn on you that some aspects of the job is something you should hold back on for now and just rest those ribs and wrap them up in a light ace bandage for the added support and this will help a whole lot...Not the back brace that you might have because of the bulkiness and heavy feeling that it bestows, plus it interferes when you want to just sit and relax--the breathing problem comes from dehydration so you need to drink more water. I figure that I do not know that much in regard to plants but I do enjoy seeing a few of them grow and my most favorite that I grew a few years ago was hot peppers because they seem so simple to grow with such satisfaction to me because they were just compact and pretty. My neighbor came at this time and I gave him the option of picking them and "he loved it' and took all he wanted with my blessings..lol.. I believe that I do not have much to offer this garden thread because of my lack of knowledge but I sure enjoy every ones posting and it makes my old age so much more nicer..So thank you all...clancey

clancey, I couldn't imagine this garden thread with you!

BTW...Are you sure you are not a retired clinical psychologist? You nailed me on the head!

 

[DuaeGuttae]

I have 18 tomatoes that germinated. The tower only has 28 spots. 40 kale and chard. Plan was to stager them but….. I guess I could always get another grow station.

Okay, I agree. You seeded too many starts.

How many spaces are in that new system you got, though, (not the Tower one)?

It was cold today down here in south central Texas. I’m not sure we got much above 33, and it has slipped below freezing. There has been occasional droplets of rain, but we are on the southern edge of the expected ice. I did ask my husband to turn our rain gauge on its side though and to carry in the potted orange tree.

Meanwhile, in the inside of the house heated by the woodstove, my sugar snap peas are beginning to germinate. I cover them with a translucent lid for now to hold in moisture, but here’s what I saw when I peeked this morning.

 

[EbS-P]

120+ net pots filled. Plan it to start nutrient at 50% later this week and then move tomatoes and some chard to the tower when it’s ready to fill strength nutrients. Need to start some poblano peppers and eggplant.

 

[begreen]

@Dan Freeman, I’m sorry to hear about your ribs. Take it easy if you can. in answer to your question about what types of peppers, it’s just a simple Jalapeño plant. I may have about ten peppers growing, but I got a closer shot of the three largest. I have a number of other buds and blossoms, so I keep blowing on and tapping the plant to pollinate them, and that seems to work just fine. I’m not planning for a major harvest from this one pruned plant, but it’s still fun.

I did some cleaning of cracked ollas today, and they’re drying off now in the hopes of being glued. Some are old ones that have been in my house for a while. Some I just discovered last week when doing the compost work. Our freezes before Christmas did some damage too them.

I also started some sugar snap peas, beets, and a few broccoli, cauliflower, and kale seeds inside. Moving the ollas allowed me to make space in front of a south facing window. I just started the seeds in a reused plastic container from fish at the grocery store. I just want to get them started sprouting inside, then I’ll plan to harden off and transplant quickly if I get good germination.

That's inspiring. We are a month away from starting plants, but the days are getting longer!

 

[begreen]

120+ net pots filled. Plan it to start nutrient at 50% later this week and then move tomatoes and some chard to the tower when it’s ready to fill strength nutrients. Need to start some poblano peppers and eggplant.

View attachment 308988

Is this just for outdoor starts or will this be their permanent home. If the latter, plan for growth. The spacing is ok for smaller and vertical plants, but the tomatoes and peppers are going to need a lot of expansion room. It will be interesting to see how the chard responds. That's normally a large, deep-rooted plant.

 

[EbS-P]

Is this just for outdoor starts or will this be their permanent home. If the latter, plan for growth. The spacing is ok for smaller and vertical plants, but the tomatoes and peppers are going to need a lot of expansion room. It will be interesting to see how the chard responds. That's normally a large, deep-rooted plant.

It’s probably permanent. Pests get so bad I’m going to try in the indoor route. The tomatoes and chard will go to the tower in a week. Or two. I’m most excited to see if turnips will do well. Thinning may happen on the top level. Bottom two are mostly lettuce and spinach and some kale.

Ended up with only 12 tomato plants we will see home many make it into the tower.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

It’s probably permanent. Pests get so bad I’m going to try in the indoor route. The tomatoes and chard will go to the tower in a week. Or two. I’m most excited to see if turnips will do well. Thinning may happen on the top level. Bottom two are mostly lettuce and spinach and some kale.

Ended up with only 12 tomato plants we will see home many make it into the tower.

I love turnip greens. Are you growing for greens only or trying to get roots, too? If so, I’m not sure I understand how that would work in a hydroponic system.

We’ve been on the southern edge of the big ice storm that hit Texas. Yesterday we were without power for numerous periods of time. We live up the hill from a fire station, so I imagine we were high priority for restoration. It just kept going out after it was restored. Thankfully we have our fireplace insert that could keep our open family room/kitchen/dining area warm, and we have a gas stove on which I was able to cook.

I did venture outside for a time with my little guy because he was fascinated by the ice. When visiting my garden, though, I kept hearing trees groaning under the weight of the ice, so I had to call him back and send him inside. The pictures are from yesterday, but we got more overnight. I know we have at least one uprooted cedar, and a big branch or tree crashed down onto the edge of our wooden pergola in our backyard last night. There are too many ice-encrusted oak leaves out there for me to get a good view yet, and I’m not venturing out under all those bent branches.

Just some views from yesterday morning. The hedge is normally evergreen, but it got killed back in December. We pruned it in 2021 after the freeze, and all that growth was new since then. I think we’ll have to prune it again, but I expect it will grow back from the roots.


Austrian winter peas, leeks, and the lettuce bed that my husband kindly covered for me to see if we could save it from the ice.


Just a shot from underneath the trellis where I grow my passionflowers and my peach blossoms. (The apples were blooming, too, but I didn’t venture to that part of the yard.). It’s hard for the camera to capture both the beauty and the devastation of the ice.



Overall I’m very thankful that we are safe and warm and can stay hunkered down inside. I know that others are having a much harder time during this storm.

 

[EbS-P]

I love turnip greens. Are you growing for greens only or trying to get roots, too? If so, I’m not sure I understand how that would work in a hydroponic system.

We’ve been on the southern edge of the big ice storm that hit Texas. Yesterday we were without power for numerous periods of time. We live up the hill from a fire station, so I imagine we were high priority for restoration. It just kept going out after it was restored. Thankfully we have our fireplace insert that could keep our open family room/kitchen/dining area warm, and we have a gas stove on which I was able to cook.

I did venture outside for a time with my little guy because he was fascinated by the ice. When visiting my garden, though, I kept hearing trees groaning under the weight of the ice, so I had to call him back and send him inside. The pictures are from yesterday, but we got more overnight. I know we have at least one uprooted cedar, and a big branch or tree crashed down onto the edge of our wooden pergola in our backyard last night. There are too many ice-encrusted oak leaves out there for me to get a good view yet, and I’m not venturing out under all those bent branches.

Just some views from yesterday morning. The hedge is normally evergreen, but it got killed back in December. We pruned it in 2021 after the freeze, and all that growth was new since then. I think we’ll have to prune it again, but I expect it will grow back from the roots.
View attachment 309035View attachment 309036

Austrian winter peas, leeks, and the lettuce bed that my husband kindly covered for me to see if we could save it from the ice.
View attachment 309037View attachment 309038View attachment 309039

Just a shot from underneath the trellis where I grow my passionflowers and my peach blossoms. (The apples were blooming, too, but I didn’t venture to that part of the yard.). It’s hard for the camera to capture both the beauty and the devastation of the ice.

View attachment 309040View attachment 309041

Overall I’m very thankful that we are safe and warm and can stay hunkered down inside. I know that others are having a much harder time during this storm.

I saw a video of turnips in an aero garden. Hoping for some roots. We will see. Thought I’d to harvest the greens once and keep them growing. We will see. It’s all a giant experiment! One that I’m to rushed to document well. Soo.. is that kale,chard or spinach???? We will find out or it failed and it didn’t matter what is was.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

I saw a video of turnips in an aero garden. Hoping for some roots. We will see. Thought I’d to harvest the greens once and keep them growing. We will see. It’s all a giant experiment! One that I’m to rushed to document well. Soo.. is that kale,chard or spinach???? We will find out or it failed and it didn’t matter what is was.

I went and searched up a video of turnips in an Aerogarden. What I saw was pretty impressive. I would never have thought that possible. Now you’ve got me wondering about beets.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

It’s surprising that they would grow immersed

 

[EbS-P]

I went and searched up a video of turnips in an Aerogarden. What I saw was pretty impressive. I would never have thought that possible. Now you’ve got me wondering about beets.

I bet they could.

It’s surprising that they would grow immersed

From what I saw the tap root goes into the water and the edible part is forced to grow up.

 

[begreen]

Mycorrhizae - Do you or don't you?

I was looking for my favorite brand of seed starter online today (Pro-Mix Organic Seed Starter Mix) because it contains Mycorrhizae fungi when I ran into this article, Inoculate with Mycorrhizae: It's as easy as A-B-Seeds." I thought it was really good, so I wanted to share it with you.

Do you use Mycorrhizae fungi in your vegetable seed starter mix? I have been doing it for the past 4 years, and I think it makes big difference in my greenhouse starts.

https://mycorrhizae.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Inoculate-with-Mycorrhizae-PDF.pdf

I inoculated our raised beds when I first added soil to them. An have reinoculated them once or twice since then. I'm not sure how much it makes a difference. The once-a-year turning of the raised beds probably raises hell on mycorrhizal networks.

 

[begreen]

I bet they could.

From what I saw the tap root goes into the water and the edible part is forced to grow up.

I guess you'll just have to wait and see what turnups.

 

[Dan Freeman]

The once-a-year turning of the raised beds probably raises hell on mycorrhizal networks.

It probably does. How come you turn them?

I wound up buying Jiffy Organic Seed Starting Mix and I will add Mycorrhizae fungi. I can't find the Pro-Mix locally and the price online has doubled since last year and/or the shipping is a killer.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Found on the net!

 

[DuaeGuttae]

My little seedlings spent a couple hours outside yesterday in dappled shade. Today they got a couple of hours of partial sunshine. They’re still tiny, but I figure they can learn early.

 

[begreen]

It probably does. How come you turn them?

To turn in overwintering leaf mulch and compost + some amendments for heavy feeders. I don't turn deeply, just the top 6 inches or so.