How Does Your Vegetable / Fruit Garden Grow? 2018

In the US there is a history of Land Grant Universities. The Cooperative Extension Program (CEP) was started to bring University Agricultural info to the farmers. Most states have a Cooperative extension Program. The services offered vary on the needs of the locale. Many of the CEP’s offer free soil testing. They supply boxes and instructions then mail you the results and recommendations based on what you wish to grow. I’ve taken advantage of this service several times.

You may be able to inexpensively determine ph with the little test strips. I’ve seen them at pet shops that carry aquarium supplies, shops that carry dye supplies for textile artists and sometimes with canning supplies.

edit: If you are interested this link gives more info:
https://nifa.usda.gov/extension

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Thanks a lot for the information, I live in France so will not be able to benefit from CEP, but will transfer the information to the gardening friends in US. I guess testing strips will be on my purchase next time to the garden supplies shop. Last time I used this was in high school.

I know! I mentioned it in case France has a similar program and to let the US gardeners know of the resource.

Maybe some local associations provide help for farmers, but not that I know for individuals. In certain US cities I know that they subsidise house owners the installation of automatic irrigation system, no way the city will do it here. They don’t even want to prune the tree on the pavement in front of my house!

Has anyone grown onions or potatoes? I just received some seedlings. Any hints?

I have a small plot, so am wondering if it is even feasible to try to squeeze them in with my tomatoes, herbs, and peppers.

Never grow that, but I read that tomatoes and potato graft produces great tomatoes!

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Today I conscripted my son and his friends to help dig up weeds and turn over the soil. I had to teach them how to use shovels and how to dig up roots. City boys. :slightly_smiling_face:

I dug up a bed yesterday and planted 100 tulip bulbs that were forgotten in the fall planting rush. They were stored outside so they have plenty of chill hours, but I don’t know if they’ll bloom given that they haven’t been underground. They are a single early variety, and the ones I have in pots from the same batch are already putting out leaves! The internet seems to indicate that they will probably just bloom later than usual, so I’m crossing my fingers.

I also checked on some clematises I planted last fall and was happy to see that they are all putting out new shoots. Spring is such an exciting time!

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Cleared up the dead plants of last autumn last week, trimmed off all the dead leaves of the cold hit citrus plants. Also pruned the olive tree and applied copper treatment to the dwarf peach tree and the olivier. Originally, I would like to transfer the fava beans and peas outdoor this weekend. An unexpected snow today, I knew about a dip in temperature but snow?! and this will continue for the next few days. Today, I had to move all the plants with new growth like raspberry brush and the flowering peach… all into the garage…

The fava beans and peas need to wait, looks like the next 2 weeks it will be remaining cold. A bit discouraged by the weird temperature. I guess next week, I will repot some of my indoor orchids. With the snow and cold, I am not too sure I want to start the seeds of tomatoes, doesn’t seem to me that in a month’s time, weather will be right for them to be outside.

I checked the weather forecast this evening hoping for a good 2 days for planting & saw we are expecting snow on Wednesday! That is crazy unusual for this part of North Carolina. But hopefully it will keep the snakes away a bit longer.

Yeah, it is extremely unusual for us to have snow in March! Last time we had snow was 2013. Some scientists blame on global warming.

You can do gardening? But you have suffered from a fall! Maybe the snow is a good excuse for you to rest a bit more!

I’m doing much better than I expected. All my joints are now moving freely with minimal discomfort. My head and ribs are only tender if I press upon the spots. Most bruises have faded to look like a banana beginning to turn over ripe.

I’ve been marking popsicle sticks with a Sharpie with the week of bloom and plant name. I want to get the past weeks markers by the plants since some of the varieties “disappear” quickly. Hoping this project will be helpful when I transplant. It will also help me identify which bulbs aren’t earning their keep anymore.

Can’t lift anything heavy but should be able to kneel and cut away dead stems, pick up sweet gum burs, use the hoe to kill the weed seedlings. Plus I’m starting to go a bit stir crazy from being so sedentary! A little movement should help me fall asleep easier. I’ll take it slow and easy - a cowboy I ain’t! The fall gave me quite a scare and a reminder of how easy something can go very wrong.

Edit: Just researched and my area has seen snow in March/April less than 20 times since 1960! This will be the 2nd time this month - crazy. And this summer will probably be hot as hell again.

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I’m up here in NY, luckily on eastern Long Island so our weather is quite mild compared to the rest of the state (we’re relatively close to the Gulf Stream). We have gotten snow storms in the form of Nor’easters three times in the last three weeks, and Wednesday coming up yet another is predicted. For March, that has to be a first!

I was just looking at the calendar and will plant my seeds indoors towards the end of the week as always, but oh boy does the entire yard need some cleaning up…there are leaves and branches everywhere!

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Ay-ay-ay! A big garden is kind of a given here. Each side of the fenced-in area is 140 feet long. It gets filled with unusual vegetables like Agretti, Chinese Water Chestnuts, Crosnes (Stachys affinis) and a ton of other veggies. I’m cutting back about 40%, planting 72 tomatoes (6 types) and 72 Peppers, hot and sweet (10 types). Some will be top-grafted onto super-resistant root stocks. Great information on tomato grafting can be found at Johnny’s Selected Seeds. Today is the day to start seeds under LED lights, on a heat mat.

There are two refrigerators, full of seeds, tubers, mushroom spawn and roots. I rotate varieties to keep seed fresh, although some seed keeps incredibly well if stored dry, in a jar, and cold. I just did a germination test on Whippoorwill Cow Pea (like a Blackeye Pea in taste) from seeds collected in 1987; almost 100% germinated!

A lot of what was fallow ground is planned to be covered in vining plants, like winter squash, Asian squash relatives and Indian cucurbits like Tinda and Tindora. This is a good way to plant between dead brush roots, where I can’t yet run a rototiller.

A few lines about tomatoes: Blossom end rot is usually caused by inadequate Calcium. Adding Dolomitic Lime to soil can help, if added before planting and you’re soil is not alkaline. However, during dry periods, plants often don’t have water at their roots long enough to get enough. You water the plants and they only have a short while until the soil loses wetness. Here, an evening/cloudy-cool weather spray of Calcium chloride, on the foliage, can give the plants an instant boost. Do not apply during hot sunny weather; best in the cool of evening. Inadequate Phosphorus can also reduce yields or deform fruits. That’s easy to solve with many fertilizers. Avoid too much Nitrogen rich fertilizers or manures; they can cause rampant vine growth and few fruits.

If you are growing rows of tomatoes or peppers, search for instructions on how to do the “Florida Basket Weave” method of staking; it’s way easier and better for the plants.

We got hammered by wind storms, about 50 trees went down March 2 and the deer fence is damaged. So, I’m reluctantly planting less, to allow dealing with the damage and mess. Rats! Gardening is far more pleasant than running a chain saw.

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Wow! That’s a lot of garden. What planting zone are you in?

I’ve grown crosnes in a pot and they were very low maintenance. I had read they could become invasive like Jerusalem artichokes can. Have you had any issues in that regard?

The growing space is much larger, with fruit and nut trees largely outside the fenced in area. I’m in USDA Zone 6-7, depending on the year. Mostly zone 6, due to proximity to the Blue Ridge Mts.

Crosnes can become weedy, though not like the running varieties of Jerusalem Artichokes (Helianthus tuberosus). With Crosnes, it’s mostly an issue of not finding all the tubers when you dig. Crosnes are also low growing, unlike the towering Sunchokes. Here, Voles (rodents) consume any non-harvested tubers! I keep stock in the fridge over winter.

There are many, relatively new varieties of Jerusalem Artichokes/Sunchokes, which do not spread rampantly. These cluster tubers mostly underneath the plant. Supernova, Nora, Drago and Gute Gelbe are clustering selections which also have improved taste; they’re less “dirt” -flavored and more like carrots, especially after tubers have chilled awhile. Like all Sunchokes, they have a lot of indigestible fiber and non-caloric Inulin (a carb.). Folks who suddenly consume a lot of Sunchokes, without slowly getting their digestive system used to them can experience “gastric distress”. This can happen with a lot of foods your body can’t fully digest, such as Shirataki noodles. It’s always best to introduce a new vegetable, herb or mushroom in small quantities and see how your body reacts, before “digging-in”.

Another storm coming and so many things are up in the raised beds. I pulled out a garden blanket from the shed and found a hidden birthing nest in the middle. Thankfully just shredded material and some holes in the blanket. No more winter storms please!!

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I think this is the first year that I used a snowblower and a rototiller within the same two weeks!

The current plan is ten varieties of peppers and six types of tomatoes, somewhere around 100 plants, total. The pepper lineup includes: Aji Amarillo from Peru, Corno di Toro-red & yellow, Korean Lady Choi-drying, mild hot for Kim chee, etc., Shishito, Red Cheese pimiento, Carolina Reaper-to pickle/liquify for hot sauce blending and I’m hoping to make a vole and mole repellant!, Red and Salmon Carib. Mutton/Goat peppers-strong chinense aroma/flavor, and Yatsafusa-a.k.a. “Chiles Japones”-for drying, making Chinese dishes and condiments; mmm… Fermented Black Bean Chili oil!

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I grow potatoes, and shallots, not onions. I’ve tried cipollinis many tines, but it is too much work. I start the shallots drom sets, when I put in garlic around Thanksgiving. I get potatoes at the same time, let them sprout but don’t put them out until Feb. Sometimes they freeze, but they usually come back. I get them from

Grow Oganic

I started my tomatoes from seed a few weeks ago, but am ordering my peppers from
Cross Country Chili Plants

…this year. Mostly “seasoning peppers” like Aji Dulce and Trinidad Perfume. And of course, lots of Poblanos. I have been growing “Tuburon” for the last several years, and love their mild heat for jelly.

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Put everything in a week ago, here is what I have as of yesterday:
IMG_2327

Since then, to my surprise, I have a few tomatoes and peppers too.

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