What did you do in the garden today?

[pennyJo1960]

We have a guy that sells veggies he brings from Eastern Washington stopped got some nice young beets from him

 

[igorsMistress]

Here is a pix of the last one I took out... Made it into a necklace for DW.
View attachment 1665778

 

[Acre4Me]

Maybe, juuuust maybe, I'll even get to turn my compost pile.

I’m in OH too, but went to try to turn my relatively small pile of compost, but frozen solid, couldn’t even get 1 tine of the pitchfork to penetrate! Maybe today before the rains hit, I’ll try again.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

I’m in OH too, but went to try to turn my relatively small pile of compost, but frozen solid, couldn’t even get 1 tine of the pitchfork to penetrate! Maybe today before the rains hit, I’ll try again.

I had to stop putting stuff in my compost bin. I have the barrel type that spins and the last time I put scraps in and turned it the compost just bounced. It was frozen solid. It is really ready to use once it thaws out. We got a little bit of an ice glazing overnight. Not too bad, but the temp is still hovering around 32F. I am sooooo looking forward to Spring

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

I'm bad. Last Sunday when I went to the discount store to buy seeds for the garden and I couldn't resist getting two of these trays. Even though I've been saving card board tubes, I caved. I'm thinking I will do a comparison planting some in the trays and some in the tubes. Also, for those of you who will using the tubes: I started saving the plastic trays from ground beef and vegetable grocery store packaging to use with the tubes. The starter trays were only $3.50 and come with a tray and plastic cover.

 

[dan26552]

My seedlings are coming up really well!

 

[jerryse]

I have been making a seed order today . Mostly tomato . I prefer pink types but included some reds . Need canned tomatoes , juice and paste this year . I have enough pasta sauce left . Come canning time I will share my method of condensing paste and sauce . No long boiling .

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

I have been making a seed order today . Mostly tomato . I prefer pink types but included some reds . Need canned tomatoes , juice and paste this year . I have enough pasta sauce left . Come canning time I will share my method of condensing paste and sauce . No long boiling .

I tried cooking tomatoes three different ways last year. I simmered Roma tomatoes the usual way, I oven roasted a blend of whatever tomatoes were ripe at the time, and then I did the traditional simmering of the blended tomatoes. The oven roasted was pretty good, a little sweeter, however my favorite was the Roma only sauce. I only add minimal salt and acetic acid. I did do one batch of marinara, which was OK. I prefer to do just plain sauce so I can turn it into any dish when I actually use it for a meal. This year I'm planting majority of Roma's since I use sauce more than anything. I canned more after this picture, but it's still yummy!

 

[ChocolateMouse]

So last year I used a variety of pots, all on basil starts under similar conditions and compared them. I found that, while I dont like plastic the plants sure do! They take in less water and the soil becomes less saturated. As a result they experience less fungal growth and root rot which are a big deal in our damp environment. But then the trays break down and chip into bits and never get picked up properly and are all over the place... This year I discovered one of my nice flower pots that was square and patterned had been stepped on by one of the boys and was shattered. Bits of plastic everywhere. So I think the paper rolls might just need a more tightly regulated watering system.

Also, acre, I had the same problem! 60* out, pitchfork into the compost... Chink! Frozen solid! I may have a look at it today as well.

 

[WthrLady]

We've already hit our high of 6 whopping degrees today in Nebraska, and we can't shake the -23degree windchill. This is ridiculous. Forget about the compost. I keep adding to it though. Eventually I'll be able to take the tractor to it.

I need a trip to the hardware store for bulbs/tubes and some shelf paper. Then I'll be done with the seeding/potting area. I'd like to get some leafy lettuce going inside.

I was going to order seeds from Burpee.com, but they're about 4 times the price as seeds locally.