Nice! What kind of corn is it? Those shallots look huge! Conservor is from seed? When do you sow seed, and how do you decide when to put it in the ground? Alliums can be tricky, at least for me!
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The corn is Trinity Bi-color. We tried several different varieties once we moved here (the varieities we planted where we used to live just 50 miles away didnât give good results). This one has consistently been the best. I remember consulting with some of the local farmers when we first moved here about varieties, but even then none of the ones we tried which they were growing locally worked out. I finally ran into a guy at a gardening class who was getting good results, and he clued us in on this one. Weâve had good luck ever since.
We start the shallots from seed, in a greenhouse, in February, but as a rule, never transplant them outside before 1 April.
For both corn and shallots it took us a lotta years to get it right. Honestly, I think finding what works for you hyper-locally will depend a lot on where you live (temps, climate, etc.).
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Yes; for alliums I am in an âintermediateâ day length area, so according to the literature, everything should work, but in truth, it seems like nothing does! Except shallot sets; I usually have good luck with some of those. It just gets so hot when the days are getting longer.
OTOH, a lot of things do great.
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DHâs allium harvest continues. This isnât all of it.
One major change he made this year was to use a loamier soil than in previous years, resulting in much better drainage. That paid off! He got a much bigger onion, and none of the bulb rot we were seeing in last yearâs crop.
This all grown in pots.
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Nice! Can you share a picture of the pots?
Hereâs one we havenât harvested yet. Itâs in a slighty different spot which doesnât get as much sun, so itâs a little behind the others. Canât recall if itâs 24 or 28 gallons, but basically your standard, hard-plastic gardening pot.
Thatâs a big pot! Youâve probably told me this already, but how do you handle the potting mix? Re-use, amend or toss?
In this style pot weâll turn it out into a wheel barrow just before next planting, mix with compost and worm castings, and return to the pot.
For our larger troughs, we simply amend with the compost and worm castings, and bring in a little new top soil as needed to keep them full.
NEVER TOSS!
We try to rotate âcropsâ to the extent possible.
We used to mulch, but spent so much time fighting weeds and seedlings brought in with the mulch we kinda gave up on that practice.
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I am curious about ânever toss.â What medium do you buy fresh - or would you buy fresh, should you need it?
We have a few cubic yards of 4-way top soil delivered every year. We also buy composte and worm castings.
We garden primarily in raised beds and containers, and the soil levels sink over time as any organic matter breaks down. We also âloseâ soil during plant rotation. We try to be mindful of shaking off the root balls, but still have some attrition.
Weâll work the top soil, composte and worm castings in on a regular basis to keep the soil healthy and the beds full.
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Sun Sugar cherry tomatoes and bread seed poppy!
Anyone having luck getting rid of Japanese beetles? The pheromones arenât working well this year.
Theyâre not hurting my veg yet, but theyâre infesting my clematis and killing my roses.
Also, how do you deal with cutworms other than Diatomaceous earth and/or flicking them?
For cutworms, how about some kind of collar?
Thanks! Will try it out.
Most Lepidopterous larvae can be controlled with Dipel, a bacteria, Bacillus thuringiensis ssp. berliner. The soluble granules are not expensive and it controls a lot of caterpillars. Best applied early in the morning or after the sun is low. One great advantage is that once a caterpillar eats a tiny amount, it stops eating and usually dies within 12â24 hours. Itâs safe to use and doesnât kill pollinators or other insects. Itâs a bit slow to dissolve, so mix it in a jar/cup and pour it through a sieve, nylon stocking or other filter into a sprayer.
Japanese Beetles are harder to control without an insecticide like Sevin. Azaguard, a botanical extract from Neem trees, is listed for Japanese Beetles. Again, apply when the sun isnât hot. Roses are listed on the label, but I didnât see Clematis. Iâd do a partial test spray on both, just to make sure itâs not damaging; give it 2â3 days before assessing results. Itâs best to use any neem product when itâs not too hot. I use Sevin or a pyrethroid insecticide, but have used Azaguard, with success, on garden vegetables and some ornamentals. Carefully follow label directions.
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Thank you.
First full size tomato. I picked it slightly unripe because our chipmunks have been stealing the cherry tomatoes.
Assorted squash are starting to take off in the last photo. Lots of clay in that garden. I added a lot of peat and some commercial vegetable soil, but itâs still got a little too much clay, which seems to slow down or stunt some vegetables. Squash do okay in there. .
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omg those blackberries. i die.
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I was away in Toronto on business for four days, and needed to spend a fast hour tying up tomatoes again the minute I returned today. They are growing at lightning speed now and a single big storm can be catastrophic.
The mystery heirloom cherry variety I was MISTAKENLY SOLD AGAINST MY WILL is ripening first; I pulled a handful of fruits that had broken color off so I could bring them in and let them finish. They are smaller and much more bright red than the black cherry heirlooms next to it, which are still solidly green. I suppose Iâll never know what variety they are.
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Save the seeds from a couple! We used to save heirloom seeds from some tomatoes someone gave us. No idea what kind they were. I seem remember letting the tomatoes ripen , and dry out a bit, then placing the seeds on paper towel and freezing the paper towel with the seeds on it.
Agree about the storm. I lost quite a few branches of my tomato plants in a hailstorm yesterday. Still waiting on the first ripe oneâŚ
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