Back to Eden Gardening

[Beekissed]

Today I planted my cantaloupe, watermelons & pumpkins. Normally, I would make hills and plant seeds in the top. I really don't know how your supposed to do it with the BTE garden. I hilled the cantaloupe and put the watermelon & pumpkins in rows. I'll see which way is better.

I had the same problem last year and face it again this year....last year I just planted the seeds and it was fine. After they came up well, I mounded up the chips around them to form a hill. I found that came in handy when I had squash borer damage later on in the season...I just piled chips around the vines themselves, side dressed with a little nutrition and they made it all the way through, producing well all the while.

I think if all my leaves had been mulched and I hadn't spread them so deeply, I might have been okay, but I think the tannins in the oak leaves and also in the pine needles really poisoned my soil....add to that the extremely wet spring and I have plants that are getting big doses of tannins every time it rains. The areas I've raked back the leaves from and removed the leaves altogether are showing a come back. Getting ALL the leaves off the garden will take a long time~that's over 200 huge bags of leaves~but I'll just do one section at a time as I plant(still haven't got my garden planted due to this problem and not having the time or dry enough weather to get out there and work it).

Better late than never, I'm thinking, so all is not lost just yet. I may still get some kind of food out of this garden. Got myself some so-called organic slug bait(main ingredient is sulfur) and some blood meal for side dressing the worst of the plants. Then will dig into the compost under my roosts for side dressing the rest of what I plant.

Just finished a better fencing around my son's BTE in town and will start planting his garden as well. He has completely different soil there~lovely and sandy~and we didn't use many leaves on his garden at all, so he's got a different story. I hope it does well.

I hope everyone's garden does well this year.

 

[henless]

@henless I am getting my garden planted too. The nights have been so cool, that it feels like I am so late getting stuff planted. I hope your garden grows good for you this year.

I feel the same way. I guess better late than never! We were 60 this morning, and supposed to be in the low 60's for the next several mornings. More rain heading our way next week. Just got back from the store and the Sabine River is still mighty high on Hwy 149. Good luck with your garden.

I had the same problem last year and face it again this year....last year I just planted the seeds and it was fine. After they came up well, I mounded up the chips around them to form a hill. I found that came in handy when I had squash borer damage later on in the season...I just piled chips around the vines themselves, side dressed with a little nutrition and they made it all the way through, producing well all the while.

I think if all my leaves had been mulched and I hadn't spread them so deeply, I might have been okay, but I think the tannins in the oak leaves and also in the pine needles really poisoned my soil....add to that the extremely wet spring and I have plants that are getting big doses of tannins every time it rains. The areas I've raked back the leaves from and removed the leaves altogether are showing a come back. Getting ALL the leaves off the garden will take a long time~that's over 200 huge bags of leaves~but I'll just do one section at a time as I plant(still haven't got my garden planted due to this problem and not having the time or dry enough weather to get out there and work it).

I hope everyone's garden does well this year.

I was watching a video yesterday and Paul was planting crops out in his orchard. He was talking about how your supposed to plant seeds. Some go 1 inch down, some 2 & some just barely under the dirt. He said he plants all his the same way, with the dirt just barely covering the seeds.

If you could get your leaves off and mow them, do you think that would help? The area in my garden that has the chopped up leaves I like. They are composting better and don't look so wild and unkept. If I had wood chips, I would go with those. I thought I had found some, but it never panned out. I'll probably just stick with the leaves for a while, but chop them up next time.

I have come to realize that my garden is not big enough. I'm going to move my compost bin and expand my garden further down. Should make it about twice the size it is now. I'm going to do away with the bin and just put everything in the chicken runs. It's a lot of work turning a pile of compost. My chickens can do it for free and have fun doing it.

I'm going to be putting my okra in tomorrow and planting some green beans. I had to pick some gb seeds up today. I had forgotten to buy them when I was getting all my seed ready. My okra seeds are from last years crop. I had one plant that got just huge, so I harvested all my pods from the plant for this year.

 

[Beekissed]

It was snowing and icing in WV today and it's supposed to get down to 34* tonight, so having some unseasonably cool weather this weekend. Nothing much growing here except the weeds and grass.

 

[Nyboy]

Tonight we are going down to 43 the record low is 42.

 

[baymule]

It's going to be in the low 60's at night all week and highs in the 70's and rainy. I am not getting good germination with the seeds I planted as it is. Cold wet dirt is just what I need.

 

[henless]

I did some work out in the garden area today. I took down my compost bin & used some of the compost that was ready. I still have a small pile that is not quite ready, so I'll use it to throw over the new garden area so it can sit until next year.

I had to run to Tractor Supply to pick up some chick feed. While there, I checked out their small garden area and scored some Purple Passion asparagus on sale for over half off. I planted those in my old raised bed when I got home. I had planned on ordering some, but never got around to it. So glad I found these today!

I have some new growth in my garden. I'm assuming it's the radishes that are coming up. Both rows have small leaves all down the length. They've been in the ground a week. I just wasn't expecting them to come up that fast.

I'm afraid this cool weather is going to be bad news for my okra. I know it needs to be warm for it to germinate and grow. I did soak the seeds overnight, so maybe that will help some.

Seems like this weather is putting a kink in everyone's gardens. Hopefully it will clear up and get to some growing weather.

 

[Beekissed]

Removed frosted maters from the lineup today and replaced them with the only seedlings of mine to survive...a tray of maters. Pruden's Purple, Brandywine, Big Rainbow and a few Romas.

Got the leaves removed from the tomato area and all tomatoes planted, trimmed up and side dressed with blood meal. Got more leaves removed from the strawberry area and four more strawberries planted, a huge rhubarb, some sweet peppers and a few onions, a few chives in that area as well.

Got the cauliflower out, still have a whole flat of peppers to put out...they look horrible from sitting out in the rain these past few weeks.

Got all the leaves I could removed from the tater rows and two rows replanted with taters and covered with straw. Slug bait put out in the tater rows and various other areas in the garden, for good measure.

Tons more leaves to be removed before I can plant the corn, beans, melons, pumpkins, squash, cukes, lettuce, carrots, cilantro, dill, spinach, borage, and various other herbs and flowers.

Hope to get a lot of that done before hot weather hits next week.

Going over to my son's house tomorrow to put up trellising and plant his garden. Taking him over a clematis I parted up today, a rhubarb and some mater plants. Will try to shop for some annuals tomorrow to fill in spaces in his garden and to plant into my flower beds here.

Already planted grapevines, wild flowers, green onions, garlic and melons in this garden thus far, but will plant tomatoes, beans, cukes, squash, lettuce, carrots, spinach, cilantro, chives, strawberries, clematis and other flowers there this week.

He has a little BTE garden in town in his front yard and this will be the first year with chips, first year this soil has been gardened, so this should be interesting.

Going to buy some mesh laundry bags from Dollar General tomorrow to slip over my apple tree saplings so I can try to keep them from being damaged by the cicadas. Found one in my garden today, so they are starting to emerge. I tossed that one to a chicken...she chased him down and gobbled him up. I hope they do the same to all the other cicadas they find...that's good protein.

The peach trees have a good load of fruit but the apple trees didn't set bloom, so very few apples there. All the trees look very healthy this year, though.

 

[henless]

I'm going to try and post a pic of my orchard. I only have 5 trees in it now, but it's a start!

Is there an easier way to post pics? I have to drag them from my computer and drop them in the message box. Hope this works.

The 2 in the foreground are figs, the 2 on the left side are pears and the 1 in the middle is a plum. I hope to have more later. We need to cut some pines down first.

eta: Hey, it worked!

 

[Smart Red]

We all have to start somewhere. Nice spot for an orchard.

 

[baymule]

Bee, it sounds like you will have quite a garden, despite the setbacks. I can tell a difference in my garden where it is mulched and where it is thin or scattered.

@henless you have a pond! I wish we did. We are planting fruit trees too!