Garden Thread 2023

[Alphabrew]

Put some tomato seedlings in 1/4 gallon nursery bags with some of Humboldt County’s finest soil

 

[hobiecat590]

What variety of tomatoes? Any indeterminate variety shouldn't really be affected. Tomato plants will survive up until frost with proper care. They can certainly succumb to pests, disease, etc. Otherwise it shouldn't be a problem. I would say to try not to stress them too much while they are young (get too cold, too dry, transplant shock, etc). I personally would be happy with 12" tall plants right now. In a few weeks, I'd plant them horizontally a couple inches deep and just turn up about 5-6 inches of top growth above ground. All that buried stem will grow roots and you'll have a very strong plant.

I'll try anything once. I've never heard of planting 'maters horizontally. Mine will probably be in the 6+" range and I usually use a 3" bulb drill down about 10 inches and fill the bottom of the hole w/ peat, bone meal, worm casings and then bury the plant stem until only the top leaves are exposed. I do the same w/ peppers. The idea is that the root system being deep is always moist. I'll try the horizontal method for grins on a few plants but am worried about the roots drying out.

BTW, Zimmermans Produce in Loveville, (plus the other Amish farms off RT5 in SoMD) supplies most of the nurseries around here w/ plants. You can get a flat of 48? plants for $14 ish. Instead of $1-3/ plant in civilization. I usually only start stuff they don't grow like 4th of July tomatoes and Carolina Reapers. The Bok choi, radishes and onions are already in.

 

[Joseph]

I grew some Jerusalem artichokes (Sunchokes) last year in fiber pots. I didn’t get around to harvesting the tubers until about a month ago. Not too bad of a harvest for a first try. The deer mowed them down a couple times during their growth so I only ended up with a few flowers. I don’t know if that helped tuber production or not.
I used some of the smaller tubers to start new plants for this year. I only harvested from 2 of 5 fiber pots from last year so the remaining undisturbed pots should sprout soon. They are a perennial plant.
I have eaten the tubers thinly sliced and raw which was good but I also fried some and that was better IMO. They do make me gassy. They definitely live up to the fartachokes name..


I have 6 plants started in 3” pots available for give away if anyone wants to try them out. 30gal fiber pots seem to work well for growing them and retrieving the tubers.

 

[Alphabrew]

Weather’s gonna be incredible today. Got my tomatoes outside

 

[steves1911]

A little late but I finally got my potatoes, lettuce, kale, spinach , spring onion and pees planted outside.

 

[Alphabrew]

A little late but I finally got my potatoes, lettuce, kale, spinach , spring onion and pees planted outside.

I tried to buy seed potatoes last week and they were sold out at TSC. I was bummed but that’s what I get for waiting until the last minute. I had the furrow dug and everything.

 

[Bertfish]

A little late but I finally got my potatoes, lettuce, kale, spinach , spring onion and pees planted outside.

So here's a question

Mom has always told me wait to plant til Mothers Day to avoid frost. That seems excessively late.

I'm just doing some tomatoes and zucchini this year for my other half

 

[Archeryrob]

I cut a few seed potatoes from russets that went wild in the basement. In the ground over a week and no surface action, but little rain here. Planted romaine and butter crunch lettuce with radishes in the chick Shat garden, as I call it. Coop run scraping for dirt. Very rich and black, but dries out fast so still needs to break down more.

We have a forecast showing 40° Tuesday evening. a little more dip and we could frost, so I am holding off as I am farther west than most of you.

 

[Archeryrob]

So here's a question

Mom has always told me wait to plant til Mothers Day to avoid frost. That seems excessively late.

I'm just doing some tomatoes and zucchini this year for my other half

May 1st is usually good for all of MD and you're probably good in White marsh now

 

[Fundamentalist]

Yeah don’t get hasty. We can still get a frost. At least be prepared to cover up some plants

 

[steves1911]

Should have clarified I started them all outside as seeds. Not that it would matter with the kale I had some that held on all winter this year left over from the fall garden.

 

[budman93]

I'm very pleased with how my garlic is looking. Looks a lot better than the softnecks i tried last year. Now I just need to find myself a real garden for next year so we can really plant some things.

 

[on_the_rox]

I'll try anything once. I've never heard of planting 'maters horizontally. Mine will probably be in the 6+" range and I usually use a 3" bulb drill down about 10 inches and fill the bottom of the hole w/ peat, bone meal, worm casings and then bury the plant stem until only the top leaves are exposed. I do the same w/ peppers. The idea is that the root system being deep is always moist. I'll try the horizontal method for grins on a few plants but am worried about the roots drying out.

The premise for planting horizontally is that it puts the young roots in the top of the soil column which is warmer as tomatoes like the heat. So I try to plant horizontally 3-4 inches down. The warmer roots should respond quicker and not have as much of a shock if the deeper soil is cooler. I like to plant my tomatoes early so I rely on having a warm soil when it might not be time yet. I completely get the moisture issue and if that's a problem in your garden then maybe it's not worth it. In my opinion the roots will naturally grow deeper over time if they are not spoiled with too easy of access to water when they are young. Test out a few plants though just to see.

 

[F-Stop]

It also creates more roots. The stem will make more roots from any part buried.


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[thedutchtouch]

i am way behind this year and dont fully know what i am doing so will likely have to resort to buying seedlings/ etc rather than starting from seed, i kept telling myself i needed to build squirrel/deer cages for my raised beds over the winter but havent done that yet either.

 

[F-Stop]

The last couple years I have been using a Rent A Coop poultry fence. I keep it pretty close to the beds. The deer don’t like to jump into a tight space. They also don’t like the clicking sound of the electric. Groundhogs have tested it and do not like the shock. I tested it and do not like the shock. Still just a deterrent.


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[thedutchtouch]

The last couple years I have been using a Rent A Coop poultry fence. I keep it pretty close to the beds. The deer don’t like to jump into a tight space. They also don’t like the clicking sound of the electric. Groundhogs have tested it and do not like the shock. I tested it and do not like the shock. Still just a deterrent.


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interesting. i was planning on making some 1/2 inch mesh chickenwire "boxes" hinged lids (i have 4 4x8 raised beds they got torn up by deer/squirrels last year). have the chickenwire, havent gotten any further. spending all my free time shooting and such instead of building. i suppose thats a good problem to have. that poultry netting appeals from the buy once, stick in ground, done angle compared to my (lack of) DIY progress

 

[hobiecat590]

The premise for planting horizontally is that it puts the young roots in the top of the soil column which is warmer as tomatoes like the heat. So I try to plant horizontally 3-4 inches down. The warmer roots should respond quicker and not have as much of a shock if the deeper soil is cooler. I like to plant my tomatoes early so I rely on having a warm soil when it might not be time yet. I completely get the moisture issue and if that's a problem in your garden then maybe it's not worth it. In my opinion the roots will naturally grow deeper over time if they are not spoiled with too easy of access to water when they are young. Test out a few plants though just to see.

Thanks, I'll give it a try. BTW, I install the black heavy duty weed guard in early March to let the sun really heat up the soil. Good luck this year.

 

[Joseph]

Asparagus is starting to come up. I had noticed some activity in the patch about a week ago but they really hit a growth spurt the last two days. I need to inspect them daily now.

 

[44 Bulldog]

I planted potatoes a couple weeks back and they are coming up. Lettuce, onions are planted and I took my chances and put in some squash today. Hopefully no frost.