BYC gardening thread!!

[Guvnah]

... except for the carpet, of which I have none available to me. Perhaps an old beach towel would serve. ...

Probably a beach towel or old blanket would do the trick.

You can find all the old carpet you want in the dumpster outside a flooring store. Just be careful with the carpet tacks that might still be in the old carpets.

The advantage of carpet over towel/blanket is that it's a lot heavier, so it will help keep moisture evenly in the soil better. But I don't see why you couldn't cover the old towel with mulch/leaves and end up with the same effect.

 

[lazy gardener]

I know that some old timers recommended covering seeds with a board, just until they sprout. This should work well with carrots... Any thing to keep the moisture in, and they don't need any light until they've sprouted. A neat trick to start lettuce in warm weather is to plant the seed, then dump some trays of ice over the seed bed, then cover until it sprouts.

 

[marktoo]

I generally tuck my flats up tight against my western fence and or throw a pvc frame over covered with shade cloth. Only getting morning sun is usually sufficient!!

 

[dan26552]

My pineapple guava set fruit this year!

 

[hippiestink]

Harvest time is nearly over. Only the potatoes left, I keep forgetting to dig them up. I doubt the carrots will give me anything, but October may be different.

Final roundup:

- 25 ears of corn
- half bushel of french beans
- full bushel of radishes
- three bunches of celery
- full bushel of tomatoes
- 10 garlic bulbs
- 5 onion bulbs
- lots of eggs and two chickens (roo and aggressive hen)

In all not a bad experiment year. I now have a pretty good idea of how all the plants behave and what the growing season is like. I have plenty of seed for the coming year. I have assessed all the issues I had this year and made modifications and changes to my plans for the next year.

 

[lazy gardener]

Congrats on a success with your first year.

 

[Bugseye]

What a great season, Hippiestink! I have so many ideas for altering my plans for next year. My biggest successes were tomatoes, cabbage and broccoli. I am writing down plans for improving output and sequences of harvesting.

 

[member 373180]

I suggest keeping a notebook and be prepared for changes from one year to the next, I think it's a bit cyclical. I've had really variable yields from year to year. With the same number of plants I sometimes end up canning tomatoes every weekend for two months straight. Then, this year not even enough tomatoes to keep us supplied over summer but I'm pickling peppers like a crazy person. Same goes for other stuff. It's kind of fun that every summer is a surprise but also don't give up on something after just one year.

 

[dan26552]

I suggest keeping a notebook and be prepared for changes from one year to the next, I think it's a bit cyclical. I've had really variable yields from year to year. With the same number of plants I sometimes end up canning tomatoes every weekend for two months straight. Then, this year not even enough tomatoes to keep us supplied over summer but I'm pickling peppers like a crazy person. Same goes for other stuff. It's kind of fun that every summer is a surprise but also don't give up on something after just one year.

 

[Peep_Show]

Still harvesting... Got tomato plants that yield about a 3.5 gallon trug every few days, so making lots of sauce.

Our village has an annual fundraising Harvest Festival happening this weekend. Got a call that one of the growers had bowed out and did I have anything I could provide for the "Taste of Corrales" table. Luckily I planted late (and, ergo, harvested late). They'll be getting lots of colorful sweet peppers, assorted summer squashes, a bucket of Juliet tomatoes and a crate of picked-today apples. Too bad the grapes from last week are juiced and on their way to wine... (well, too bad for them. Great for me!)