Weekly Thread Gardening – 2011 (Vol. 06) February 11

Free Republic | 02-11-2011 | Red_Devil 232

[metmom]

It’s the first thing I notice, even before the robins.

That animals which are winter sleeping (not quite hibernating) are waking up.

[metmom]

I over heard two elderly Black women talking in our local Co-Op who were looking at tomato plants. There advice was that you have to wait to start planting in the garden 4 weeks after the last thunderstorm in Feb.

Last? We don't even usually get a first.

[Gabz]

howdy Howdy!

Your weather sounds just like we’ve got. It was 46* IN the house this morning. BRRRRR. It was 13 outside when hubby went out to hit the reset button.

No gardening going on around here yet, everything is still frozen. Also, my greenhouse once again needs a new roof and door.

On an up note, while tearing apart my kitchen in preparing to paint it, I discovered a big bag of assorted seeds I had lost last year. Yippee for me!

[Red_Devil 232]

Hi, have you heard anything from gardengirl she has gone missing also?!

[MtnClimber]

It is the middle of winter here in the Colorado Rockies. The west winds have piled the snow up on the eastside of the house all the way up to the eaves of the roof!

[Racehorse]

Bought two 6-packs of BHN-444 and Tycoon tomatoes. The Tycoon is this year's San Antonio Rodeo and Stock Show pick.

Tycoon is a large, firm, oblate tomato that has very high yield potential, with outstanding fruit quality, on a determinate plant. It is a mid-early variety with heat set ability and high tolerance to tomato yellow leaf curl virus. Tycoon also offers tolerance to verticilium, fuzarium race 1 and 2, nematodes, and tomato spotted wilt virus.

We'll see. Gets mighty hot around here.

Got a new crop of heirloom tomato and pepper seedlings started. I think I've trapped or poisoned all the house mice which laid waste to my first crop. Sure hope so. At the end of February comes the cucumbers, cantaloupe, and squash.

[Red_Devil 232]

That kind of snow would just kill us here in Mississippi!

[Ellendra]

The way prices keep going up, I really need to find a way to get my house built, so I can start raising my own meats. At the moment, I live an hour away from my land, and last year I think I only got out there a few times. This year I’m hoping I can get there about once a week during the warmer months, but I’m not going to count on it, so everything I plant has to be able to look after itself.

The good news is, I just got a new job, so I’ll actually be able to afford the gas to drive out there!

[Red_Devil 232]

Good to here about the new job!

[Gabz]

You’re asking the wrong person, Im sorry to say. I’e been the queen of missing, for quite some time.

Sorry about that.

[TASMANIANRED]

Kale and lettuce going strong in my cold frame.

[TASMANIANRED]

I tried to find the link and couldn’t.

You tube has the California..Master Gardener series on it.

It has very extensive information about pruning fruit trees.

Much of the information is State Specific but some things are applicable across the country.

I found parts of it very useful.

[TASMANIANRED]

Congratulations.

[tillacum]

I bought some seed potatoes. When I cut them for planting, I’ve been told to cut so there are 3 sprouts beginning. Do I need to soak the cut sides in something?

[tubebender]

I just cut mine in the greenhouse and let them callus over for 2 or 3 days. You don’t need a greenhouse to do that BTW...

[Bean Counter]

Hi everyone! I hope the snow is melting wherever you are...

I took the plunge this week and scored my water tank today. I had shopped the tank online some time ago, and had priced it out at $239.00; plus shipping, and you had to call them for shipping. I figured it would be a substantial amount to have it shipped, so I checked with the local feed store (Wilco) and they got a quote from a local manufacturer who makes them right up the road from me; retail was $302, with tax it would have been $327.00.

So I called the online place to check on shipping. Sure enough, this guy in Texas is a broker for the same local company in Washougal, Washington, right up the road, who makes hot spin-cast plastic tanks of every description.

The bottom line is that I paid for it online, with a modest "will call" fee; the total came to $250. Of course since he is in Texas, he does not collect Washington sales tax...instead he gave me a call code since this company is a wholesaler, and I was able to go pick it up this afternoon. I saved almost $80 on this!!







I have temporarily relocated the downspout into the top of the manhole, as it is supposed to start raining this evening, through at least the weekend. Good chance this tank is full come Monday. Once it's at least half full I will take the last strap off the pedestal.

I installed a 1 1/2" plastic ball valve on the lower @" port, and will arrange the overflow out of the 1 1/2" upper port later on. The idea is that the overflow goes into the drip irrigation system, so excess water is always shed to the bed where it can be stored as well. The idea now involves a 1" black plastic pipe manifold down the length of the retention wall, with 1/2" funnypipe off of that, that will ultimately feed the emitters. The 1" manifold will ensure I get good flow all the way to the end of the bed.

So here's a few comments on the math of this. The tank cost me $250 for 300 gallons of capacity. I had 2 alternatives; 55 gallon food grade plastic barrels at $25 apiece or the outlandishly expensive ($100!!) "rain barrels" they sell at the home stores like Lowes and Home Depot.

To get the same capacity as this tank, I would need six barrels, at $300, that take up a lot more space than this does, and needs a small fortune worth of piping to tap into. Or, almost $600 worth of "rain barrels" that are marginally useful if used one to a downspout...I'm not sure how I could hook six of them together to get 300 gallons...

Any kind of barrel based system has to have an extensive support system to get it up in the air high enough to have a usable head, so I think my pedestal for this installation is a lot cheaper to buy and a lot easier to construct than any barrel system, and I have 2 elevated barrel systems, 4 barrels total, that are fed off of my shop, and water my patio garden...

This isn't finished, but you can sure get an idea of how it's going to look. It blocks some of the morning sun, but the good news is that warms the tank, and it will never freeze here. You cannot see it from the street either and if anything it increases the privacy of the back yard.

My neighbor and I have discussed replacing the fence some day soon, and we already plan to raise it a foot, and add some soil to his side to even things out. There's always something....

[Texas Fossil]

I finally got my bare-root fruit tree order in this morning. It took 7 days via USPS Priority Mail from East Texas (because of the snow and extreme cold weather). Normal 2 day delivery time.

In that order were 2 Ayers pear trees and 2 LeConte Pear trees. We already had a Bartlett and a Keiffer pear tree.

I have never grafted a tree, but might try it. We have lots of pecan trees and many local graft or bud them.

Had already staked out the orchard for the additions, but we used a 2 ft auger on one of our tractors to drill the holes for 28 bare-root fruit trees. The are in the ground and watered in now. Very tired, but feel we did a lot today.

Still have to plant some potted plants we ordered at the same time. 4 blueberry bushes, 2 potted fig trees and a couple of Paw Paw plants. That will wait until tomorrow.

It will be a long time before we see how good what we did today is, probably 3+ years. But we planted peach trees, apple trees, apricot trees, plum bushes, almond trees, fig trees and pear trees.

[rightly_dividing]

Thanks for the new photos. Looks like your plan is coming together just fine.

[Bean Counter]

Thanks....except it does kind of look like an old pot still at the moment....

[SunkenCiv]

It’s hard to believe, with the near-zero temps and charming winds we’ve been experiencing here, not to mention last week’s blizzard, but I’ve begun to feel the first pangs of spring fever.