What did you do in the garden today?

[WthrLady]

Purple potatoes... I planted Purple Majesty two years ago. Digging them up was eye-straining tedious work because they were so dark that they blended into the soil while digging them. They lighten up a bit after cleaning them, but purple potatoes are much harder to spot during harvest.

I totally forgot to go to the greenhouse today. I will in the morning when I feed the noodle necks.

 

[WthrLady]

I was afraid you'd say that...

I pulled on that sweater for over a half hour. I will wait a little longer before trying it on and see if I can even GET it on. It looks like it is going to be super tight.

Lesson learned. Don't EVER put wool in the washer. Not even on delicate.

Nope.
Handwash with minimal agitation (I use woolwash), drain, rinse, drain, and lightly roll to remove excess water, lay flat to dry. I use clean window screens from habitat on wood blocks.
Don't hang to dry, it will stretch and grow under the weight.

 

[WthrLady]

OK, back from the barns.
@BReeder!
OK, so I build a deck, sunk in concrete and on that we built a 2x4 frame to match the base of the greenhouse. It is anchored down to that and through and into the decking with 3 inch steel barn/out building screws every 14 inches or so.

So the door, if I stand ON the metal door frame and the flat 2x4 under it is exacty 5foot 4 inches high in it's opening.
The width of the door opening is one seeding tray and one carrying hand wide. Which means when carrying a fully loaded tray, you have to turn it 90 degrees as you pass through the opening if you want to carry it two handed. I took to carrying them like pizza boxes, from the bottom.

OC I don't stand on that using the greenhouse, I step up and over the 2x4 in the opening. I looked to see if you could cut that lower frame off, and the door rides that track when it closes as well as the top one and there is no secure lower latch on the bottom of the opening doorway frame to keep the door when swinging when shut like there is on a sliding barn door in your house or on your barn.

That said we secure the door open and shut but using a spring hand clamp on the track.

We also over did it with the metal screws on the panels, but haven't lost one yet.

We lost one of the vent panels to a windstorm as there is no place for extra clips or screws due to the design of the vent windows. so those are gator glued in place and secured with silicone caulk.

The vents I added let me keep the door closed on 30-40' sunny and cloudy days and keep the temperature around 80 with the upper vents closed. Anything abovve about 45 on a sunny day and you can hit 100 or more.

I've pegged out thermometers in there with the door open, the vents all open, including the roof at 130'. Without wind to move everything along, it just gets too hot in there. I've found it hard to control past late May, and unusable again until October, but it looses heat really fast, even with vents closed at night and will quickly match the outdoor temp. Although being covered does help with earlier frosts.

All the cracks in the decking were filled and sealed, so the floor is solid, and the white vents all have caps.

In retrospect, I would not have purchased it. With the added work and cost of the decking,concrete, etc, screws, vents etc, I could have had a small frame shed built and delivered and craigslisted some windows or built frames for vinyl panels, and the place would have been higher and wider. That's another thing.
I built a two level shelving system, closet racks and 2x4s. I can get a lot of seedling trays in there, but they have to be rotated every other day, to give the lowers enough light and the NE wall plants enough light. After a certain height, the bottom shelves are useless, and the top shelves aren't far behind that due to the slope of the roof.

OH well. Live and learn.

 

[Sally PB]

I planted Purple Majesty two years ago

Aha. That was the other purple tater I planted. I had enough to plant 8 hills. I got 4 hills that grew. I got about 3 potatoes, total.

Yes, the purple ones are harder to see in the dirt. And because they were smaller, harder yet. I'm betting I'll have some volunteers in the spring.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

The purple fingerling potatoes DD planted just didn’t grow after the third set of leaves. Not sure why but we are looking for a less expensive alternative this year.

 

[CNJ]

Last year, I grew okra in different wicking bucket set ups and have decided to go with my wicking micro fiber set up for my determinate Rutgers tomato plants. I will compare them to a 15 gallon fabric pot latter in the year.

I already discovered an issue with my 15 gallon fabric pots, I need to find the best way to water them. At first, I was using 2 gallon of water every other day, but now that the plants are 4ft tall they need to be watered daily. The problem with this is the nutrient wash off, so I top dressed the fabric bag with a half inch layer of composted chicken manure. I hope this solves the wash out problem.

The side of the fabric bags are dry before I water, so I don't think I am over watering them. The wicking tub has an advantage, the water drains out the hole on the bottom when its full, so I can't over water it.

 

[CNJ]

The purple fingerling potatoes DD planted just didn’t grow after the third set of leaves. Not sure why but ware looking for a less expensive alternative this year.

That usually happens to me when I mix to much fertilizer in before planting. I am famous for over fertilizing.

 

[muddy75]

Mid-week “taste of spring” today and of course i had to spend it inside at the office

 

[WthrLady]

6-8 inches of snow for me tomorrow
I've been working to prep for it all day on top of work and odds and ends chores. I'm already burned out.

 

[Ascholten]

Okra? Yah they like lots of water. Mine grew like 10 foot tall by the time it came fall and ready to cut them down for the season but you could grab two or three off them almost daily so they did well.

If you are getting big bushy but not a lot of 'the rest' you probably have a lot of nitrates. CHicken poop will do that, huge luscious leaves, not a heck of a lot of fruit or especially with tubers like taters. I find that adding phosphates fairly early on in the planting can work very for that, it helps get the roots established and strong early. Id use fish heads /guts / blood, or TSP when I didn't have the fish oozin's to throw in there.

Thats another nice thing about florida, I can get a bucket of fish heads / backs pretty much for the asking at the bait shops. I was for a while toying with the tea idea with the fish heads and sugar, but then I reminded myself what a gut bucket soaking in the sun smelled like and wisely decided otherwise When maggots look at you and say what in the HELL is wrong with you boy !! you know you went too far

Aaron