Let's see those '10 gardens

[shilala]

Originally Posted by HK3-

EXCELLENT video Scott! Made me laugh out loud when you got to the basil

I finally got a new camera. I may have to attempt one of these videos.

I knew you'd like the basil comment. I didn't even know I said it till I watched it, and it made me laugh, too.
The video thing is easy, brother. You just need a youtube account and then click on the "upload" link up top.
From there it's self-explanatory. My big HD files take a long time to upload, but if you set your camera to take a less insane size of file, it'd be a lot quicker. The HD video is really awesome, so I just leave it and then I b!tch everytime I upload something.
When the video is done uploading it'll give you the link and everything.

Nice garden, Scott. We're supposed to be able to plant in mid April. This year both the weather and I were late. Now I think the new soil I got has too much sawdust (it is one of the ingredients) in it, stripping the nitrogen. Yellowish, weak growth. I just gave everything a shot of fish emulsion and a foliar spray of dilute Miracle Grow. If indeed the nitrogen is low they will get more green and lush in the next week.
The garden soil is a mixture of sand, manure compost, sawdust and native soil. The compost is from the mushroom farm, so it is mostly spent.

[HK3-]

Originally Posted by shilala

I knew you'd like the basil comment. I didn't even know I said it till I watched it, and it made me laugh, too.
The video thing is easy, brother. You just need a youtube account and then click on the "upload" link up top.
From there it's self-explanatory. My big HD files take a long time to upload, but if you set your camera to take a less insane size of file, it'd be a lot quicker. The HD video is really awesome, so I just leave it and then I b!tch everytime I upload something.
When the video is done uploading it'll give you the link and everything.

I guess I did one of these HD videos over the weekend and didn't know it was HD. Derrrrrrr... Going out to make a video Scott.

[Mr B]

This is the first time I have grown any sort of peas. I planted (2) 6 pks of 2 varieties of sweet peas. They shot up to about 24 - 36". They bloomed and put out 30-40 nice sized pods, not each but total. We ate those and they were great but they dont seem to be putting out any more. Are these a "determinant" variety of plant that shut down after a few bloom cycles?

[HK3-]

Here we go. This is a short video of my plants in the back yard.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ux_wdHwRGg

Nothing compared to my 80+ pepper plants last year.

Originally Posted by Mr B

This is the first time I have grown any sort of peas. I planted (2) 6 pks of 2 varieties of sweet peas. They shot up to about 24 - 36". They bloomed and put out 30-40 nice sized pods, not each but total. We ate those and they were great but they dont seem to be putting out any more. Are these a "determinant" variety of plant that shut down after a few bloom cycles?

Some kinds are like that. Sometimes you get a second round but not as good as the first. We grow snap peas which are always being picked before they are ripe. The plant tries to replace them. As soon as they are allowed to ripen the plant dies. We pick the pole type green beans constantly for the same reason.

Nice yard, Haliburton.

[shilala]

Originally Posted by BC-Axeman

Nice garden, Scott. We're supposed to be able to plant in mid April. This year both the weather and I were late. Now I think the new soil I got has too much sawdust (it is one of the ingredients) in it, stripping the nitrogen. Yellowish, weak growth. I just gave everything a shot of fish emulsion and a foliar spray of dilute Miracle Grow. If indeed the nitrogen is low they will get more green and lush in the next week.
The garden soil is a mixture of sand, manure compost, sawdust and native soil. The compost is from the mushroom farm, so it is mostly spent.

Sawdust jacks the ph all out of whack, Lance. Turns the soil acid. That's why we put it on blueberries, they love acid. Test it and adjust it and you'll be golden. I never heard about sawdust tying up nitrogen. I can't think of a mechanical reason for that to happen.
A bunch of dolomite lime and you'll be good to go.
You're lucky, it's a cheap fix. You can't use too much, either.
If you think your nitrogen is tied up, top dress the lime with compost or composted cow manue. It's cheap, too.
The rain will leech all the nutrients to the plants and you'll be double golden.
I wish I'd have caught you before you used sawdust. It's the worst organic material you can use in a garden. You're seeing that now. Sorry, brother.

[Mr B]

Originally Posted by shilala

Sawdust jacks the ph all out of whack, Lance. Turns the soil acid. That's why we put it on blueberries, they love acid. Test it and adjust it and you'll be golden. I never heard about sawdust tying up nitrogen. I can't think of a mechanical reason for that to happen.
A bunch of dolomite lime and you'll be good to go.
You're lucky, it's a cheap fix. You can't use too much, either.
If you think your nitrogen is tied up, top dress the lime with compost or composted cow manue. It's cheap, too.
The rain will leech all the nutrients to the plants and you'll be double golden.
I wish I'd have caught you before you used sawdust. It's the worst organic material you can use in a garden. You're seeing that now. Sorry, brother.

Very good info. Thanks

[rack04]

Next year I plan on installing a couple 12'x3' raised planter beds. Should I add a course of gravel to the bottom of the raised planter to increase drainage or just fill it to the brim with good compost?

I will likely be growing tomatoes, squash, asparagus, cucumbers, peppers, mint, sage, oregano, cilantro, basil, dill, rosemary, and parsley.

[Gonesledn]

shilala, it looks like to me in your video that you strawberries are trying to root new plants. the "tentacles" will root into the ground and grow more plants. at least thats what mine do every year.

looking great everyone.

[shilala]

Originally Posted by HK3-

Here we go. This is a short video of my plants in the back yard.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ux_wdHwRGg

Nothing compared to my 80+ pepper plants last year.

Awesome video, Hal!!!
You're right, videos are fun. You have lots of room in that yard, I think it's time to expand.

[shilala]

Originally Posted by rack04

Next year I plan on installing a couple 12'x3' raised planter beds. Should I add a course of gravel to the bottom of the raised planter to increase drainage or just fill it to the brim with good compost?

I will likely be growing tomatoes, squash, asparagus, cucumbers, peppers, mint, sage, oregano, cilantro, basil, dill, rosemary, and parsley.

It depends on the soil underneath. If the bed will drain well without the gravel, no need. If it won't, gravel is a good idea. Earth fabric between the gravel and the soil will keep the gravel doing it's job.

[shilala]

Originally Posted by Gonesledn

shilala, it looks like to me in your video that you strawberries are trying to root new plants. the "tentacles" will root into the ground and grow more plants. at least thats what mine do every year.

looking great everyone.

Whatever kind of strawberry this is, it's setting out a zillion runners. That's good. If it runs far enough, I'll train the runners to more holes.
It's a volunteer, I didn't plant it, so I have no idea what variety it is. It's too late for it to be a June bearing or Adirondack, so I'm hoping it's a day-neutral. I'm in no hurry, I'll know soon enough.

[T.G]

Originally Posted by Mr B

This is the first time I have grown any sort of peas. I planted (2) 6 pks of 2 varieties of sweet peas. They shot up to about 24 - 36". They bloomed and put out 30-40 nice sized pods, not each but total. We ate those and they were great but they dont seem to be putting out any more. Are these a "determinant" variety of plant that shut down after a few bloom cycles?

I planted peas this year too. Got a few weeks worth of blooms and fruit out of them before they stopped flowering. I then researched the type I had planted and found out that once the temperatures get over 80F, they won't flower.

Oops.

[Mr B]

Originally Posted by T.G

I planted peas this year too. Got a few weeks worth of blooms and fruit out of them before they stopped flowering. I then researched the type I had planted and found out that once the temperatures get over 80F, they won't flower.

Oops.

Ya, that sounds like my story too.

[jjirons69]

Nice work guys. My granddad always had a saying about garden peas - they made two messes, you ate the first and cleaned up the second. Not a lot of bang for the buck with them. Snap peas or filed peas will fill your freezer.

Originally Posted by shilala

Sawdust jacks the ph all out of whack, Lance. Turns the soil acid. That's why we put it on blueberries, they love acid. Test it and adjust it and you'll be golden. I never heard about sawdust tying up nitrogen. I can't think of a mechanical reason for that to happen.
A bunch of dolomite lime and you'll be good to go.
You're lucky, it's a cheap fix. You can't use too much, either.
If you think your nitrogen is tied up, top dress the lime with compost or composted cow manue. It's cheap, too.
The rain will leech all the nutrients to the plants and you'll be double golden.
I wish I'd have caught you before you used sawdust. It's the worst organic material you can use in a garden. You're seeing that now. Sorry, brother.

Sawdust and wood chips require more nitrogen to decompose than they contain.
I will check the ph but the tomatoes, potatoes and a couple of squash got planted with fish emulsion and worm castings and they look good so far.
We have chickens but the manure is mostly pine shavings and is good only for a top dressing mulch. The shavings resist composting.
Our neigh-bors have horses so I should hit them up for some sh!t.

[shilala]

Originally Posted by BC-Axeman

Sawdust and wood chips require more nitrogen to decompose than they contain.
I will check the ph but the tomatoes, potatoes and a couple of squash got planted with fish emulsion and worm castings and they look good so far.
We have chickens but the manure is mostly pine shavings and is good only for a top dressing mulch. The shavings resist composting.
Our neigh-bors have horses so I should hit them up for some sh!t.

Then you have a double whammy. If the sawdust is fixing the nitrogen and the ph is off, the plants can't eat. It doesn't matter how much food you put in there. I honestly don't think the sawdust is tying up the nitrogen, you put tons of food in there. It takes very little sawdust to goof the ph, though.
I had hundreds of chickens for years, I bedded with straw specifically because I didn't want to compost sawdust for years to make it usable.
The plants that look good in the worm castings, once they root out past the worm castings and reach the sawdust, they may go yellow on you, too.
Like I said, lime the hell out of everything. You cannot put enough lime in the beds to hurt anything. I'd use powdered stuff to correct the ph, then get a truckload of the lime chips they use for underneath sidewalks, and you'll never need lime again. You can work those chips in and you'll never know they're there.
I'd tell you to add nitrogen, but once again, I don't think you need it, and you're real likely to burn the plants.
I'm looking forward to seeing how it plays out.

[thebayratt]

A friend of mine owns a huge Talapia fish farm and has a filter on the tanks that filter out the fish poo. He gave me a 5gallon bucket of fish poo/watery goo from when he cleaned the filter. I put it in the valleys of my garden and then watered it in. I did this about 3 times a week apart and my beans where about twice as high as they were this year without the pooey water.
I wish i could figure out the PH, nitrogen, amonium etc... things yall talking about. Maybe I could have a supergarden if I did. Maybe next year I should read up on all the plants I plant to see what they need the most of and give it to them.