Your 2024 Garden

[Sally PB]

We put in a couple of homemade (given to me) pollen/sugar patties. I'm not sure what was in them.

We're forecast to get up to 60 next week one day, and I think we'll look inside the hive and maybe give them more.

 

[Iluveggers]

I planted 2 varieties of container lettuce (will keep indoors, hoping to get a little to clip in a few weeks), 3 varieties of celery, and some rosemary. According to the farmers almanac, those are the only edible I should be starting indoors until March. Havent checked my flower dates yet though.

 

[LTAY1946]

I planted sweet potatoes for the second time last year. (The first time was a few years ago, and an utter failure.) I don't know what was in my soil, but they liked it.

Thanks for the information; filing it away for future reference.

As far north as you are and as short as the summer is for really warm days from what I've read you need a short season variety. Georgia Jets have a 90 day maturity. One reason some people have failure with sweet potatoes is that they plant them on flat ground instead of a ridge. They just do better on a ridge without a lot of nitrogen. You can grow good sweet potato hay with nitrogen. When I had a one acre garden in MO I had a neighbor with a farm tractor that plowed it for me in the fall. I had him plow my sweet potato area by plowing up one way and then back the other building a ridge. My work was almost done for spring. He adapted my method and had great success with his sweets too.

 

[Sally PB]

One reason some people have failure with sweet potatoes is that they plant them on flat ground instead of a ridge. They just do better on a ridge without a lot of nitrogen.

Interesting. The first time, they were in heavy soil, and I think that's where the problem was: They like loose soil. Last year, I planted them in my sandy soil garden.

It's a flat area, and I planned to let them run. Run they did! How high of a ridge would you recommend?

I've read of varieties that grow in more of a bush habit, but I don't know if any are a short season variety. 90 days is a good length; my season is probably 110-120 days, but a lot of the days at either end will be cooler than what sweet potatoes like. I used weed blocker fabric to warm the soil, as it's black. (It's next to useless for blocking weeds, I've found.)

My sandy soil garden is in a bit of a valley, so it gets frost/cold air later in the spring and earlier in the fall than my heavy soil garden, which is up on a hill.

 

[LTAY1946]

My ridge is at least 12" high. The better the ridge the easier it is to dig them. I will plant most of mine this year on a ridge under biodegradable plastic mulch. Some are going in buckets as an experiment. The University of Missouri used to have a good set of instructions on how to grow sweet potatoes in heavy clay soil. There was no internet when I was growing sweet potatoes in heavy clay soils in Missouri. I had to figure it out for myself just using logic. I grew some real Frankenstein sweet potatoes the first year as they took the shape of the cracks that formed in the ground from July heat after pounding May and June rains. Under black plastic the soil stays loose all summer long.

 

[Iluveggers]

More planting today! Seeded parsley, oregano, and leeks. Also worked out the rest of my seeding calendar so I don’t forget what to plant. Hub also told me he is going to make me 4 more 4x8 beds in a slightly shadier area, thinking I’ll put some greens in there and try a couple winter squash plants on the sunnier end.

 

[LTAY1946]

I'm tilling like an Englishman gone mad. They say only dogs and Englishmen go mad. l have enough French and German in me to moderate the English so I'm trying to keep my cool while fighting with the tiller busting some sod were I want to plant sweet corn. It's time to get it in ground. I am going to town to day looking for tomato plants along with broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage plants. Have a great gardening day everyone.

 

[LTAY1946]

When I'm done tilling tomorrow I'll have nearly and acre ready for planting. Lots of sweet corn going in ASAP.

 

[Sally PB]

When I'm done tilling tomorrow I'll have nearly and acre ready for planting

That's a BIG garden! Or gardens.

How much sweet corn are you going to plant?

 

[LTAY1946]

That's a BIG garden! Or gardens.

How much sweet corn are you going to plant?

About a 1/3 of an acre. At least a 1/4 acre.