Posted on 04/20/2018 6:38:54 PM PDT by greeneyes
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Considering bees myself, since they seem to be in short supply while things are budding out, like our apple trees, which aren’t budding just yet due to the cold and snow. Have a neighbour about a half mile from me with four hives but still don’t see much activity around my two apple trees until after the blooms are gone.
I have recently sprouted seven Oak trees from acorns gathered in Custer State Park during last years Arts Festival.
I have 30” x 12” planter - I'm thinking about trying to start a melon in it to see if I can grow one in potting mix inside the green house. I think we have a soil borne bacteria that kills cur-cubits.
Last year, I had good luck growing cukes in a pot, so expanding it this year with cukes in a pot and melon in planter.
Indeed-good climate. We have clay soil in Mo. You will need to get some organic stuff into that in order to grow good veggies.
Do you practice crop rotation? I rotate my crops, but I mostly grow tomatoes in buckets or pots of potting mix, and it seems to help keep the disease down. Hubby still grows his in the garden plots and rotates on 3 year cycle.
I love a big mortgage lifter for a one slice covers the bread or bun sandwich. The grape cluster type - IIRC sweet million, for snacking. Roma for a salad or sauce/cooking.
Indeed, sometimes it’s better wait. I like to plant those warm weather lovers closer to June, that usually gives till mid-October or even as long a end of November for maturation and harvest.
Anyone know anything about required ambient temperatures for hydroponic gardening?
Was contemplating trying it in my basement, where the temperature is in the 50’s year around ... drifting up and down a few degrees with the seasons.
Hopefully we are now out of the woods when it comes to that white stuff. It’s really cool and overcast today. Greenhouse is only at 60 degrees-so no passive heat at the computer today-I’ve got the door shut.
I did rearrange some things out there - plan to start some stuff tomorrow.
Thanks for the link, I’ll have to check it out. By the way, with respect to the peach tree for zone 4 - we found the information. It was Intrepid and a dwarf. Hubby reports that it’s really doing great.
When we had the big recent frost, the other peach trees were all in bloom, but the intrepid had barely started to bud. So I’m really encouraged by that. It’s been a big issue with peaches here-frost kills the production 4/5 of the time.
No I really don’t know about hydroponics. I would hazard a guess that your cool weather crops would do well.
Tomatoes have to have that temperature at night in order to do anything, but also I’d think that warmer in the day time would also be needed.
Again that’s just a guess.
A Binder Bound with Bindweed! Nice catch!
I feel badly for that poor guy. That stuff is bad enough when it gets into my line trimmer. He’s got HOURS of work to get that crud out of there.
I’m having a little war in my front flowerbed with bindweed. It’s in the roses, the ferns, the King’s Gentian (another weed, but I keep it because it looks nice) even the lawn.
I find it, I pluck it. Every week I find some, but the tendrils are getting smaller and smaller, and fewer too.
We accidentally ended up with a splendid cross: “Sweetie” cherry tomato and “Yellow Pear” turned into a mix of the best properties of both. The size of the pear (about 1 1/4 inches) and the sweetness of the cherry with the tart of the pear. It’s my absolute favorite for in a salad, split in half.
For eating, I have some seed from my grandmother that is splendid, though I have no idea what it is. I just keep a couple aside every winter, and plant them in the spring. They are about 9” tall now, I am going to start hardening them off in a week or so, as our “official” last frost is the 24th of April.
I am waiting that long because several years ago I had my ‘maters out, and the day AFTER the official “last frost”, we gpot a hard frost. Lost 20-ish plants, several varieties. I learned my lesson!
See my post just above
You are so lucky!! I’d be hugging him every day. Mule-fix!
I have an unknown tomato too. It was just approximately 1 1/2” diameter, and very tasty. I saved the seeds and labeled it great size and taste.
Could it be that it is getting too hot already? My Swiss chard does really well with the reasonable temperatures, but when it gets above 85 it seems to quit growing. Have you gotten that hot already?
If you cut the leaves off, that might encourage her to keep growing. it Does replenish itself well.
We have put the weedeater on permanent vacation and now trim with Roundup. It’s a lot less work and lasts a whole lot longer
A hot summer? How awful. Last summer was unseasonably hot around here. I’d like to see a normal summer! We moved here partly to get away from the heat. And the liberals. At least that part worked :)
On the other end, I think it's the carrots going well, since I dropped soooo many seeds into the starters - too hard to see the seeds one by one, lol. I'm going to let them get strong and then maybe separate.
Down on that end I put Serrano Peppers, Jalapeno Peppers, Sweet Snacking Pepper, Red/Green/Orange Pepper. The distribution I didn't save - well they're going in the same long planter - so I'll be able to keep them in general groups. It's worked before. Might try to pull the Bell Peppers to somewhere else since they need more room.
My 3 little Early Girl tomato plants (in 2 containers) are staying healthy on the table (where everything is) and I have some Sweet Million Tomato and Cherry Tomato starting in an egg carton with Jiffy starters (bought a box of 36).
Those are a week or two from sprouting. Outside temps still swinging so don't plan on putting anything outside for at least a couple of weeks or more.
Got a small chicken wire roll and stakes to block off the yard garden - it's not too big - it will be getting the watermelon and the carrots eventually.
Some plants are pickier about temperature than others. Tomatoes probably won’t do too well in that, but cooler-season vegetables like chard would do fine.
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