Your 2024 Garden

[LTAY1946]

Actually, I know exactly where they were grown: in my garden! I got a great harvest of them, which surprised me.

It was my second time growing them. The first time I got zilch.

I'm so glad to hear this that they are from a great harvest and kept until now to make plants from. I've heard so many sad tales from people over the years that bought store sweet potatoes and had utter failures.

 

[LTAY1946]

Sun is shining and and no more lows out of the 40's forecast. After a road trip to a breeder to pick up a pair of pullets we need for a breeding program here I can fire up the tiller and go to work. All tender plants we have will be planted tomorrow as long as uncle Murphy doesn't pay us a visit.

 

[LTAY1946]

We finally got about 160 feet of beets and a 160 feet of carrots planted today. Tomorrow I want to measure the row lengths again as I not sure I remember right about the length. If we even get a fair crop we will have a lot of canning to do. If the rain holds one more day sweet corn will get planted tomorrow.

 

[fuzzi]

Rain was forecast for this afternoon and tomorrow, so I made myself go outside and I'm glad I did.

I weeded the carrots that sprouted, and then planted more where the older seeds didn't sprout (this is raised bed #2).

Nantes Half Long are on the left.

I mowed around the coop, shed and the gardens, gave the first bag of clippings to the flock, which made them happy.

I added additional clippings to a new raised bed (#5)

Then I added compost and partially rotted compost to this year's tomato bed (#3).

And I moved soil into new raised bed #4, from the little raised beds that were a failure, they were too shallow. And the fire ants used them as condos...

 

[LTAY1946]

Planted mustard today. Worked on the sweet potato plot again today along with the okra plot. I'm going to rest tomorrow after the week I've put in and till the bean and corn ground Monday. I want to get some corn in but the plot was sod and it it taking a lot of passes to get the grass out of it so it can use my one row planter. The planter will not work on soil that is full of large pieces of grass and weed residue. Supposed to rain Tuesday and then no rain for 6 straight days so I can be patient and plant a couple of days ahead of a rain week after next. It will be better to let the ground warm some more. After the corn is in it will be time to start preparing for the bean and field pea planting.

 

[fuzzi]

Cool, windy, but not too cold for gardening this afternoon, 53° but feels like 48°.

Experiment! I decided to plant tomato seeds directly in my garden. I bought Pink Ozark from Baker Creek forgetting I don't have any place to start seeds inside.

I placed a plastic pot with the bottom removed into the soil, then planted 3-4 tomato seeds within. You can see them in this photo:

I planted two "pots" on the south side of raised bed #3. Then I loosened the soil and scattered lettuce seeds in the middle of the bed, where the tomato plants will give them shade in the summer:

I will probably plant plum tomatoes on the north side of the bed, but I will buy plants.

This is where I had trees trying to grow. Two years ago I laid down a section of old carpet, and it did a great job of smothering the stumps. Last year Yellow Jackets built a nest underneath.

We removed the carpet during the winter.

Today I saw some burrow-type holes in the bed, so I decided to use my gardening fork to destroy the tunnels. The soil was easy to dig, turn, whereas it was like brick a couple years ago. I'll give the credit to the Yellow Jackets for that. Now I need to add some compost and plant... but what should I plant there?

 

[Sally PB]

I have 80 empty pots of soil. I'm watering them and letting them warm up in the green house. Potting soil was dusty dry and cold, having sat out there all winter.

4 pots each of kale and spinach that I hope to move out to the garden soon, and then use the pots for something else. 8 each of flowering plants for the bees that haven't even sprouted yet.

 

[rosemarythyme]

My old go-to nursery closed so we had a nice enough day today to visit a new one. Still a wee bit early in the season for planting anything but I got a replacement rosemary for the one that died, and a 2nd Peach Sorbet blueberry as I quite enjoy the fruit I get from my 1st plant.

Sprouts in the raised garden bed are already coming up - Easter Egg radishes, arugula, bok choy, a few other greens. Might do some more seeding this week if weather holds, then I need to set up the brooder for new chicks.

 

[LTAY1946]

My old go-to nursery closed so we had a nice enough day today to visit a new one. Still a wee bit early in the season for planting anything but I got a replacement rosemary for the one that died, and a 2nd Peach Sorbet blueberry as I quite enjoy the fruit I get from my 1st plant.

Sprouts in the raised garden bed are already coming up - Easter Egg radishes, arugula, bok choy, a few other greens. Might do some more seeding this week if weather holds, then I need to set up the brooder for new chicks.

Wish I had thought to buy some bok choy seed. Maybe a fall crop for us now. We love bok choy and pak choy in stir fry dishes.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Wish I had thought to buy some bok choy seed. Maybe a fall crop for us now. We love bok choy and pak choy in stir fry dishes.

I've never had much luck growing it, it bolts so easily! But I keep trying... just have to pull it while it's still in baby form.