Posted on 05/07/2010 6:30:17 AM PDT by Red_Devil 232
Good morning gardeners! If you are a gardener or you are just starting out and are in need of advice or just encouragement please feel free to join in and enjoy the friendly discussion. There are many Freepers from all over the Good Ol’ USA that are willing and eager to help.
I thought a little primer on fertilizers might come in handy this time of year especially to those of you just starting out.
What do the numbers mean?
Every bag or container of commercial fertilizer has a three number code that tells you the percentage that that particular fertilizer has of the "Big Three" nutrients used by plants.
The big three nutrients are, in the order listed on the container:
A bag of fertilizer labeled as 13-13-13 will have equal percentages of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium for a total of 39%; the rest is filler.
Ideally a soil test is needed to determine how much of these nutriments your soil needs.
Also the type of vegetables or plants you are growing may require different percentages of these nutriments to grow or produce successfully. Know your plants needs.
And remember small amounts will go a long way. Don't over fertilize. Too much at one time or too often can overwhelm plant systems and cause problems.
If I remember correctly, hydrangeas are nature’s litmus paper. The color of the bloom is directly related to the acidity of the soil. If it is the right type, you should be able to maintain or even change the color based on the soil amendments you use to make the soil more alkaline or acidic....
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NY state. It happens every few years.
People joke about it. You can’t plant before Mother’s Day.
But nobody really thinks it’s very funny.
I’ve got flowers on my strawberries and my currants have berries on them already.
I’m going to cover the strawberries and blueberries but am not sure if I need to do anything about the currants.
The farmers around here are concerned about the fruit tree crop because it was so warm so early that a lot of them flowered early. It means good pollination I hear, but I hope they don’t lose the crop if it gets too cold.
Just darn! I hope it warms up for you soon!
Do you have any jam or preserve recipes for bluebarries you would like to share?
Yes. It’s for blueberry spice jam.
I tried just regular blueberry and it was OK. Add a little cinnamon and it’s out of this world.
I’ll have to dig it out.
I use Pomona’s Pectin which allows you to make large batches of any kind of jam at a time and also very low sugar ones at that.
It seems a little more expensive than the Certo or Sure-Jell initially, but when I calculated the cost per jar, it comes out cheaper, especially since it uses a lot less sugar and you can make a large batch at a time, which cuts down processing time.
I LOVE Pomona’s and its the only kind I use any more.
Well, that’s a tough one. I have a Rival oval crockpot, and the 7-bone roast barely fit in the bottom, because those tend to be a wider cut of meat. However, if you look on amazon.com, the Hamilton Beach 33134 (3 in 1) slow cooker got close to 5 stars, with over 100 people reviewing it. So a lot of people are happy with the Hamilton 3 in 1 crockpot (if that’s the same one you’re looking at..hope so!), so that’s good.
As long as you can put some potatoes on top of the roast to keep it more moist, even if you have to push the roast in, and have the meat go up just a tad on the sides of the roast, it’ll probably be fine.
You could also measure the size of the roast you usually get, and measure the inside of the 3 in 1 crockpot...then you could really see how it would fit. That’s probably what I would do to give me some peace of mind.
Good luck! :)
This afternoon I've made a batch of seedless jam -- I'm about to start a batch of jelly -- and I had 2-3 cups of crabapple juice left last year that I'm going to blend 50/50 with some dewberry juice for another batch of jelly.
It has begun ...
Yep! That 3 in 1 slow cooker on amazon is the one my wife told me about last night. I read quite a few of the reviews (pages of them) and told my wife to go ahead and bring one home. I have a chuck roast ready to try it out (measure) for size. So we will see.
Especially if something is OMG Good!
The beans and the corn are supposed to grow together with the beans using the corn as a support. The nitrogen in the beans won’t be available the first year, but it should remain in the soil for the second year. If I change the mounds (the sqaush is in a separate mound)the second year, it will be like year 1 all over again unless I mix t all up. I know that I will have to add lots of extra stuff to keep this all growing. It is an Indian method; I might even throw a fish in there! :)
Also we have a new Gardener/Chef/Writer added to the Weekly Gardening thread - StopBigGovt
She is new to gardening a writer and has a web page devoted to good cooking with recipes and such. If you feel like supporting a FReeper vist her web page at -
We will probably start 25 or so blueberry cuttings this fall. We’ll share if you want a few. Let us know. They’re supposedly for central Mississippi and have done very well for us the past 4 years.
Oh My! You bet I would love to get a few of those cuttings!
LOL! I have the same tomato problem, and I have already given 8 of them away. Your garden looks wonderful.
Sounds like I'm getting the same weather as you, this weekend. Do we need to cover things like lettuce, radish, onion, and peas if the temperature goes below freezing?
Thanks for the ping RD!
Sure thing. We’ve got some thornless blackberries we’ll be trying to as well if you want a few of those (assuming we actually get that to work). We’ll scribble your name on a few pots.
I like the old time furrow irrigation!
Welcome to Free Republic, StopBigGovt.
Are you a chef by trade?
My wife freezes Blueberries on Cookie sheets and then puts them in Zipper bags for future use. Freezing them spread out on trays leaves them like marbles so you can take a few and put them on your dry cereal through the winter...
Sulfur?
Sulfur and Sulfate Fertilizers - Do We Need Them?
Since the 1880's when gypsum was used we have had large increases in air pollution with sulfur dioxide and this apparently supplies sufficient sulfur for crop production in all of Ontario except the extreme northwest.
I guess it depends on how much sulfur is in the air where you live.
I love virgin gardens. :-)
We finally filled the second raised bed with soil this week, and I keep changing my mind about what to plant in it. Can I put beans, carrots and tomatoes in the same 4x8 bed?
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