What Did You Do In The Garden?

[catjac1975]

I planted starts of cabbage, lettuce and kale all for Harvey. Trying 1 more time with cherry tree, this time a tart one. Stopped counting the number of cherry trees that died on me. This one is planted in raised bed.

Is it a decorative cherry tree? I believe that many plants that are sold are incompatible with the zone where they are purchased. All of the ones my neighbors planted have not survived. It makes me mad when people say they are bad gardeners. Fault of the seller, and it makes people think there is magic to keeping a plant alive. As long as you do a decent job planting it, in a decent spot, give it water, and maybe some nutrients.. It at least should not die.

 

[Beekissed]

Laid out the fabric and grid for a lettuce tunnel, will get the hoops for it tomorrow...have a tray of seedlings ready to transplant there. Will also have a shorter row of the same setup for greens and such.

Fertilized the peas, flowers, rhubarb, strawberries, garlic, chives, raspberries, etc.

Not in the garden, but.....moved a broody to the maternity ward, set her on 21 eggs, noted the first chick hatched in the other broody nest...nice, big black chick. I think I have another broody in the coop as of tonight...will wait a week to see if she's serious, then will load her up with eggs in the maternity ward.

Spring is popping out everywhere!!!

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

You need a wheelbarrow!! I have 3.

should have mentioned that i have a garden cart & loaded it up with at least 4, sometimes 5 of these filled feed bags to haul to the other side of the garden. still tiring since it was all of winter's droppings & shavings mixed together.

plan for this year-make pop door on the side by the garden so don't need to haul through the run & around the side to get to the garden.

 

[Nyboy]

Bee love the photo of hen and chick. cat I have tried every and I mean every type of cherry. Even bought grafted where roots can handle clay from Stark Bro. All died

 

[catjac1975]

Laid out the fabric and grid for a lettuce tunnel, will get the hoops for it tomorrow...have a tray of seedlings ready to transplant there. Will also have a shorter row of the same setup for greens and such.

Fertilized the peas, flowers, rhubarb, strawberries, garlic, chives, raspberries, etc.

Not in the garden, but.....moved a broody to the maternity ward, set her on 21 eggs, noted the first chick hatched in the other broody nest...nice, big black chick. I think I have another broody in the coop as of tonight...will wait a week to see if she's serious, then will load her up with eggs in the maternity ward.

Spring is popping out everywhere!!!

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I like you lettuce tunnel plan. But, I would think in your climate you could just put the lettuce out. Or is my geography all off??

 

[catjac1975]

Bee love the photo of hen and chick. cat I have tried every and I mean every type of cherry. Even bought grafted where roots can handle clay from Stark Bro. All died

Try the old fashioned deep purple variety. I see them around me where they look 100 years old. Or try those meant for fruiting not just decor. They may be more hearty. Dig a $20 hole for a $1 plant..

 

[Beekissed]

I like you lettuce tunnel plan. But, I would think in your climate you could just put the lettuce out. Or is my geography all off??

You are correct, I can. But I want to grow romaine, which takes forever and it runs into the hot weather, so I want shade for it. Got a late start this year on planting lettuce too, while waiting to see what the weather would do....so I'm putting out seedlings I started in trays so I can get the spacing right.

I also want to keep off the bugs and slugs, so this is an attempt to do so. Add to that, I want to plant some greens in August so I can have winter harvests, and the tunnels are the way to go for shade and, later, for warmth.

Then there is the "I've never tried this before" factor.... After 40 yrs of gardening, you'd think I would have exhausted the repertoire of gardening tricks, but it's just been in the last 11-12 yrs that I've been into experimenting with things.

 

[Nyboy]

Cat i have tried both sweet and tart don't think I tried bush. Have tried soil mounds, containers. deep pits LOL. I grew up with 2 cherry trees and remember sitting in them eating cherries.

 

[ducks4you]

It makes

it makes for some hard work to start out but all trees produced last fall so it is helping. The standard sized apple tree produced 800lbs of apples last fall so all this pruning and cleaning these trees out is paying off.

Are you pruning it every late winter/early spring when it is dormant? I lost a 30 some year old GD apple tree bc it had not been pruned for maybe 15 years. I didn't know how, but I am learning, even though I try not to take more than 1/3 live wood of those I prune every year, and only 1/4 live wood of those I have neglected. Mid American Gardener ( out of the University of Illinois Ag Dept ) answered my email about pruning fruit trees a few years back. They explained how to do it. I recent gardening program interviewed a fruit tree grower/supplier who said that if you do NOT prune the tree will prematurely wear itself out by overproducing fruit. I have even started to pinch apple buds from 5 down to 1 or 2, especially on the Johnathan Apple tree which is not very tall, so that it will produce big fruit for me. The only tree that gives me the heebee jeebees about pruning is my 6 yo peach tree bc it will not grow back where you prune, like an apple tree will. Just asking bc I really DIDN'T KNOW how important this was. Happy apple eating!!

 

[Collector]

Are you pruning it every late winter/early spring when it is dormant? I lost a 30 some year old GD apple tree bc it had not been pruned for maybe 15 years. I didn't know how, but I am learning, even though I try not to take more than 1/3 live wood of those I prune every year, and only 1/4 live wood of those I have neglected. Mid American Gardener ( out of the University of Illinois Ag Dept ) answered my email about pruning fruit trees a few years back. They explained how to do it. I recent gardening program interviewed a fruit tree grower/supplier who said that if you do NOT prune the tree will prematurely wear itself out by overproducing fruit. I have even started to pinch apple buds from 5 down to 1 or 2, especially on the Johnathan Apple tree which is not very tall, so that it will produce big fruit for me. The only tree that gives me the heebee jeebees about pruning is my 6 yo peach tree bc it will not grow back where you prune, like an apple tree will. Just asking bc I really DIDN'T KNOW how important this was. Happy apple eating!!

Well the large apple tree is known as the family tree I started that one in 2012 when my mother and father inlaw asked me to. It is a massive tree planted in 1972 by my wife's uncle who built the house. Over these years I have taken nearly 14' off the top and removed all the dead and age blackened limbs. When I started pruning the tree it produced small golf ball size apples on over grown tangled branches. The first year I pruned the tree it produced zero apples,I thought I had killed it. The second year I pruned off just the new growth and we harvested 450lbs of larger apples. The last few years I have contunued pruning it and cleaning out the tree and last fall we harvested right at 800lbs a record for the tree I'm sure, and the apples are about the size of a tennis ball. I am late pruning this year because there was 3' of snow around the trees until late March. Plus it has been raining constantly seem like all spring. There is another Apple tree in the back yard that had never had an apple on it I was told. After the first pruning it produced some monster sized gold apples only about 25 pounds or so but it is a dwarf size tree. I have no idea on variety of any of these apples but they all mature in late October. I watched you tube to learn how to prune trees I guess I am doing it right or just lucky . I will except either one as long as it's working.