Hows everyone's Gardens doing?

[Shari]

The new Flavor supreme Pluot fruit tree , is doing really well.

This is the one Grape vine, called, Mars, made it through the winter,, even after the late freeze killed the new growth. A little Horse manure compost did wonders. Also have a ground cover, that I hope over time,will help keep the need for weeding down.

This is the replacement grape vine called, Reliance. It is a Red grape, I hope it does better than the Einset grape vine did. I am going to use Strawberries as a ground cover in this area.
Still need to add a horse manure compost to the new vine.

This is the Shiro Plum and is having problems coming out of dormancy. As is the Pear tree.
I contacted Raintree over a week ago, about a couple of issues with this last order of trees and roses...
3 of the Rosa R's have having issues too.
Have not heard back from them.
Kind of surprises me, I have started 3 Orchards, in 3 different states, mostly with their trees.
Not sure what is happening with customer service at this point.

Pea, Green bean Bed. Also has a basil and cantaloupe plants. The later I will have cascade outside of the bed.
The peas most likely will not produce pods, until it starts getting cooler this Fall.Can see the rustic trellis.
In the front of this Bed, is a small Willow tree I started from a branch, off the slightly larger Willow I planted the first year we arrived here.

This is the Tomato and Squash bed.
Will just have two tomato plants this year.
The Squash should grow to to fill the bed and help keep the weeds down.
Also have one Pepper plant,
few onions, flowers and a couple of Cantaloupe plants.
I hope in time, DH can make some rustic arbors, so I can have plants like the Cantaloupes, grow up and over the walk way between the Beds.

So far, knock on wood, the Veggies are doing much better this year.


So how are your gardens growing?

 

[Silver City Heritage Farmstead]

Only horse people...baling twine and sticks!! LOL Of course, we get the last laugh when we can get something we REALLY want (like fly pedators or more plants) instead of paying for a fancy schmancy arbor.

Shari, how did you start the willow twig?? I'd love, love, love to be able to do this. I'd like a natural willow to use in a memorial to my grandmother.

Thank you,

Julie

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Really like that twig trellis, Shari! Good luck with your orchard and vineyard.

First bloom on the squash for me this morning. Now I just need pollinators. I planted cosmos around the flower beds, as I heard they are very good to attract pollinators.

I checked potatoes yesterday and there are some good sized ones under there; need to plan a meal around them.

We had more 2 4D spray damage recently. I wish that product could be banned! All the garden shelves stock it, and it is so destructive when used improperly. The spray plane pilots couldn't care less where it drifts. I planted an "Oklahoma" rose from bare root this spring and it was doing so well! Even had 3 buds forming! Then the spray plane came. I'm sure the rose will recover, but it is very discouraging. One tries to raise a little food for his family, and mega agriculture says "NO. No one can raise food but us, on our terms."

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

Marsha, that sucks about the spray drift. I'm not sure what I would do if we had any crop spraying here, I try to stick to organic products for my garden, who wants to eat poison, even if they say it is only targeting weeds or insects. I think the willow twig trellis is neat too, looks so much nicer to me than wire.

my garden is just coming up, the peas are not even at the 2 leaf stage yet and I can't see any carrots at all. My lettuce and radishes are out of the ground tho and my bunching onions from this year are maybe an inch tall. I do have one clump that I missed last fall and wonder of wonders it is around 8inches already, can't believe it survived the winter, onions just don't usually here. I've been getting flowers on my squash plants for about a week but they are all male flowers so far, I hope when the female flowers open there are some male flowers available so the bees can pollinate. I also have broccoli, cauliflower and brussel sprouts growing, they are 8 - 10 inches tall but I purchased them from a nearby green house and they've really only grown about 3 inches since I planted them. Other than that I have tomatoes and cucumbers in my green house. The tomatoes are just beginning to blossom, the cucumbers should be too before long.

 

[Performancemini]

Wow! You all sound like "master gardeners" compared to us! Actually, this year we haven't got anything planted. H hasn't had the time to till up the tiny garden plot we have. Normally we have green and yellow beans, a tomato plant or two (I'm the only one that eats them-and I don't can), carrots (which the horses always get) and some peppers which H insists on and then never eats. Tried lettuce once but didn't do well with it. Same with cucumbers-tons of vine and no veg! Around the side of the barn one year H raised pumpkins. The orange ones didn't do well-bugs or such got em. The white caspers did fairly well, small but cute.

H was going to at least plant pumpkins this year for the grandniece and nephews and my son's fiance's two, but then the neighbor told us he is going to have a big crop-so come help ourselves when their "ripe".

Guess I will have to admire all of yours. Is it too late to still put in a tomato plant or two. And what about strawberries. My Grandma always had a small bed as well as a dog show friend. Are they hard to raise? I would like to try some.

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

I don't know what its like where you are but my experience with strawberries is they are pretty simple to grow. Put them in a bed, water regularly the first year and then water when they seem dry in subsequent years. They don't require much attention really, in fact I have been known to let mine go half wild and them the kids had to hunt throw the tall grasses to find the big berries (problem with this is that the mice like them and the grass lets them feel hidden while they eat

As for tomatoes, I would still plant one if I hadn't done so already but a started plant of course. No reason not to try one or 2, your season should still be long enough and if not it isn't a huge loss, you would probably get some fruit at least just maybe not as many as usual.

 

[Minimor]

My potatoes are just coming up--peas beers and lettuce are up, so are the zucchini. No carrots yet, beans were just planted Monday so they are not up yet. My buttercup squash and the cucumbers are not up yet. Pumpkins were planted Monday and so were the citrons. I have 3 tomatoes in the garden, and another 26 tomato plants to put into bigger pots. Well, 22 I guess, 3 are already in good sized pots they can live in! I ran out of garden room so they will be potted this year.

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

My potatoes are just coming up--peas beers and lettuce are up, so are the zucchini. No carrots yet, beans were just planted Monday so they are not up yet. My buttercup squash and the cucumbers are not up yet. Pumpkins were planted Monday and so were the citrons. I have 3 tomatoes in the garden, and another 26 tomato plants to put into bigger pots. Well, 22 I guess, 3 are already in good sized pots they can live in! I ran out of garden room so they will be potted this year.

Oh My,

You can grow beers! Please don't tell my husband that he might want my whole garden turned over to them

(I expect you meant beets )

 

[Ryan Johnson]

^^^^^^LOL^^^^^^

 

[Marty]

I have a pumpkin patch again this year and also gourds.

I hope they grow!

 

[jacks'thunder]

Oh My,

You can grow beers! Please don't tell my husband that he might want my whole garden turned over to them

(I expect you meant beets )

:rofl

Well lets see I have tomato plants and pepper plants. Both are in containers right off my back porch area. I really wanted zucchini and cucumbers but I just have not gotten to the green house to pick some up. I was at the green house around mothers day but I could not even think of planting then, too cold. The veggies I have planted now I picked up from the grocery store, I felt so bad for them. It was very obvious that they were not going to survive so I thought I'd give them a purpose for being grown in the first place! LOL! I'm going to go back today and pick up a few Clematis, they were only 4.99 for a nice size plant. I gotta try and save them before those grocery store workers kill them!!

We have a large pumpkin patch put in and in my pasture that I used to keep my big horse we put in gourds, pie pumpkins, and some surprise pumpkins! They were in a bag marked "99 misc pumpkin"! Cant wait to see what they come up as!!! I think pumpkins are my favorite veggie. I always say it's like Christmas and Easter all in one! Christmas because you never know what your going to get and Easter because of the hunt when your cutting them and picking them up! I swear no matter how hard we try, my son and I can never find all of those sneaky little gourds! LOL!

Sheri I love your trellis! I have a curly willow that I was thinking of doing a cutting of. I havent yet because I'm just not sure where to plant it. They get so big I want just the right spot where I'll be happy and it will be happy.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Strawberries are pretty easy. But they require good drainage. I have them in a big tractor tire raised bed and I have to thin them out twice a year, they are so prolific. Lots of critters like them too, such as rolypolys. I put some in a flower bed last fall and, like Shari, wonder if they can be a ground cover. I lost a few in our severe winter, but the survivors are thriving.

Pumpkins are so much fun! So many varieties! Looking forward to seeing all the pumpkin patches!

 

[Shari]

Only horse people...baling twine and sticks!! LOL Of course, we get the last laugh when we can get something we REALLY want (like fly pedators or more plants) instead of paying for a fancy schmancy arbor.

Shari, how did you start the willow twig?? I'd love, love, love to be able to do this. I'd like a natural willow to use in a memorial to my grandmother.

Thank you,

Julie

Just stuck in some good potting soil from the garden center (stay away from miracle grow and such) Meadow nursery has some good stuff. Stick the thin branch ends in the pot and they took root. Do have to keep it watered.

LOL Well... it add's character to the garden!

 

[Shari]

Really like that twig trellis, Shari! Good luck with your orchard and vineyard.

First bloom on the squash for me this morning. Now I just need pollinators. I planted cosmos around the flower beds, as I heard they are very good to attract pollinators.

I checked potatoes yesterday and there are some good sized ones under there; need to plan a meal around them.

We had more 2 4D spray damage recently. I wish that product could be banned! All the garden shelves stock it, and it is so destructive when used improperly. The spray plane pilots couldn't care less where it drifts. I planted an "Oklahoma" rose from bare root this spring and it was doing so well! Even had 3 buds forming! Then the spray plane came. I'm sure the rose will recover, but it is very discouraging. One tries to raise a little food for his family, and mega agriculture says "NO. No one can raise food but us, on our terms."

Thank you Marsha!

That is horrible,, the farms should not over spray other peoples land. I would take that to the news papers and see what can be done about it!

 

[Shari]

Oh My,

You can grow beers! Please don't tell my husband that he might want my whole garden turned over to them

(I expect you meant beets )

LOL I am sure many wish they could!

 

[Shari]

Glad to hear others are doing some gardening too!

This is the first year the plants are doing well. Getting used to growing in a new area is hard! So many more bugs and diseases than I am used too.

IF DH has time this weekend... he needs to make me another trellis for the cucumbers I put in. Sadly, these Trellis's are just oak twigs.
My Willow tree isn't big enough yet to harvest much off it.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Oh, yes, moving to a new area means a whole new education! And it doesn't happen overnight. Mostly trial and error.

My gardening location is part of the Great Plains. It is a very challenging area. Just found a book called "Jewels of the Plains" by Claude Barr. It is all about wild flowers and native plants of the Plains. We certainly encourage any of the attractive ones and try to choose more things that will give us a better survival rate.

Most people have no respect for native plants. So many workmen or visitors to our property when we lived in NM, and now in OK wonder why we have all those "weeds" growing around. They will recklessly drive across lovely wild flowers without a second thought but would never think of doing that on an urban lawn. Since we built our home in a pasture, we especially try to encourage native plants. Sometimes this means removing undesireable plants, such as too many mesquites, if they overwhelm others. I try to keep a photo record of all the wild flowers we've seen so far. Some are so exotic! Some we only see in wet years. Some I don't know what they are yet. My aunt, who lives near the Metro area, got a letter from the city telling her she had 3 days to mow a section of her property. It was her wild flower plot! One of her neighbors turned it in.

We have turned in complaints to the Dept of Ag for several years about the spray. The only way to really force the spray companies to be careful is by sueing them. And we don't want to do that. We just keep making complaints. Last year one spray company called us to give us a headsup they were in the area. They had carefully looked at wind and temps and were trying to act responsibly. There is hope!

 

[paintponylvr]

Soooo.... I don't have a garden per say. I usually have a "brown thumb". BUT I'm attempting to do something. I've used a base of rabbit & chicken manure and straw in the bottom of our big containers. Because I hadn't composted it yet, (wanted to use it to raise the level of dirt and compost itself under the garden dirt, if that makes sense), I covered it in newspaper layers, then put bagged soil on top of that and wet it. Then planted peas, carrots, cucumbers and squash. I'll have to find the bags of seed to tell you which type - I haven't written it up yet. Did this with Julie's help (Dragons Wish Farm) on Memorial Day. ALL of my baby plants are up!!!! It's sooo exciting. I've never done this before!!!!!

This weekend, I'm getting more bagged soil and my farrier is giving me 8 cherry tomato plants. I want to do a couple of pepper plants as well.

So has anyone actually done the "Square Foot Garden" thing OR the Straw Bale gardening or the soda bottle gardens (seems like that may work really well for herbs and lettuces)? I'm looking to try, but very nervous about getting a lot of plants or seeds since I killed about $300 worth of plants last year... I simply don't want to do that this year. Another friend of mine started her seeds in her home last year - they did awesome. But I don't really have room in our house right now. AND she is a "slave" to her plants - bringing them in and out of her house thruout the seasons in wagon loads!! Takes forever and not something I want. Instead - I'd consider doing some type of hoop house/chicken coop over the winter. It has gotten quite cold here the last few years - not sure how to heat such a building?

Since my goal is to eventually become somewhat self sufficient, I have lots to learn.

Can berries be grown in containers? Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, black berries? I've seen the "twigs" at TSC and wondered if they are any good...

Lots of commercial pumpkin patches around here. Never occurred to me that that could be an exciting crop???? What all do you do with the "tricky little gourds"? I do like pumpkin - have always used canned. Usually the pumpkins we carve for Halloween go into our compost pile... So if I want to use the pumpkin for it's flesh and also dry/eat the seeds - what type should I be looking at getting? Pumpkin bread and pumpkin soup? I know pureed pumpkin can be frozen - can it be chunked and frozen?

Like I said - lots to learn yet... LOL.

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

I would advise not overwhelming yourself at first. If you plant too much you will probably not give it the ongoing care it may require (watering regularly for instance since you are doing containers)If you have a good harvest this year, plant a bit more next year and then the year after that etc.Then if you find its too much you know where to downsize too rather than giving up entirely.

"Can berries be grown in containers?" Strawberries - certainly, blueberries - probably, raspberries/blackberries - I'm not sure but I would not be confidant of success.

The best advice for finding out would be to try a few and see how they do. Trial and error is the only sure way to know what will grow for you in gardening. We live in a zone 3 area but sometimes zone 2 plants die and zone 4 plants thrive, it all depends on microclimates, soil conditions and care.

Sadly we had frost last night (that is ridiculous in June, even here!) and my zucchini plants look like they were hit hard. I doubt they will recover

and I will probably have to replace them.

 

[Miniv]

We JUST planted this week, as we live in the high desert of central Oregon. We're doing a straw bale "garden" again in our back yard for pumpkins, zucchini, and cucumbers. So far, our "formal" garden area has green pepper, lettuce, and beans planted. Tomatoes are in pots. We've also added to our herb garden(s), both in front of the barn and in the back yard.

It was fun this year, since I asked the hubby to come with me to buy the starts at the local FFA Greenhouse. And then we planted them together.