The Gardening Thread

[LouderVol]

Welcome to the addiction of gardening. Well that didn't come up. Let me go see what I can get. lol. I do it every year if certain tomatoes or peppers don't germinate.

We grew up gardening. It's what the 5 person family of an agronomist on $48K did to eat. But then never really had a spot in a yard on my own. Then transferred to Hartwell, and had a big spot after I moved into a house I eventually bought. Soil around the house was great. About 15 feet out it went GA red clay. The kind only Bermuda can grow. Then we moved to TN and I missed a couple years till we got the old house ready. Tried one spot 2-3 years, then went to other side and tilled the big one. Been working back to more natural ways cause tilling the weeds to the top and turning 60 wasn't working. This is my first year at full no till planting and 3rd year full mulching. Won't be long and you'll have you a nice little greenhouse. My 6x10 from amazon has worked perfectly for my needs.

my extended family all do some gardening, grandparents had a full acre they ran. Unfortunately (for gardens), we grew up in Chattanooga on the side of a hill, so having a garden was difficult, and most of what we were able to grow I don't eat. so I always resented the garden, as the only boy it was my job to keep up with it, watering, weeding, picking, all summer long in the mosquitos. hated it.

got older and bought a house, and was just working in the yard cleaning up the yard from years of neglect and noticed the soil was much nicer. Its actually soil, in Chattanooga all we had was chirt/churt mostly rock, pretty much no actual soil. there is a small area that is in full sun and is relatively flat. I wasn't going to do another hill garden. but I definitely enjoy growing things I will eat, and some "accompanying" stuff to flush it out. Only thing I am growing that I won't eat is Okra, but that is for the wife.

If I had more time I would definitely try a bigger garden, but with my hour long commute a good chunk of the day is lost. Next step will be trying some fall/winter crops, because right now everything I do is spring/summer/early fall harvest. I am also mostly doing this by vibes. figure out what I want, then figure out how to do it.

 

[GVF]

my extended family all do some gardening, grandparents had a full acre they ran. Unfortunately (for gardens), we grew up in Chattanooga on the side of a hill, so having a garden was difficult, and most of what we were able to grow I don't eat. so I always resented the garden, as the only boy it was my job to keep up with it, watering, weeding, picking, all summer long in the mosquitos. hated it.

got older and bought a house, and was just working in the yard cleaning up the yard from years of neglect and noticed the soil was much nicer. Its actually soil, in Chattanooga all we had was chirt/churt mostly rock, pretty much no actual soil. there is a small area that is in full sun and is relatively flat. I wasn't going to do another hill garden. but I definitely enjoy growing things I will eat, and some "accompanying" stuff to flush it out. Only thing I am growing that I won't eat is Okra, but that is for the wife.

If I had more time I would definitely try a bigger garden, but with my hour long commute a good chunk of the day is lost. Next step will be trying some fall/winter crops, because right now everything I do is spring/summer/early fall harvest. I am also mostly doing this by vibes. figure out what I want, then figure out how to do it.

Excellent approach. A happy garderner is one who plants what he likes to eat. With that commute, definitely go get some straw bales or something and mulch it in if you haven't. Great on weed control and moisture retention and soil temp regulation. I rarely have to break out the water hose once I finish mulching. The rains are enough to keep it in the ground. And the decomposition brings in the worms and what not. Also, look for your county wood chip processing yard for free mulch. that's where all the chipped and shredded stuff and leaves go from residential sidewalk pick-ups. And they turn it over and make brown mulch out of it. Ours is free to get. Just back in and they load me up. But....my truck is currently down which is why i'm buying straw bales. The free leaf mold is great too. Where I mulched maters and peppers with my own pile of fall leaves is a worm factory. When I run out of that I switch to straw or the other free mulch. Excesive manual weeding turns folks from growing gardens. Start small, grow what you know you'll eat, set it up for maintenance success, then expand little by little each year if you like. Mine is 20x80. But, once I have it set up for the season, I spend very little time weeding and such. And the most weeded areas I get on into the season even with mulching is amongst the melon area cause it's bigger and i prob don't cover deep enough there, so I tend to just let that section go when it happens. But, since I no-tilled this year I am exceited to see how much that cuts down on the weeds.

 

[GVF]

my extended family all do some gardening, grandparents had a full acre they ran. Unfortunately (for gardens), we grew up in Chattanooga on the side of a hill, so having a garden was difficult, and most of what we were able to grow I don't eat. so I always resented the garden, as the only boy it was my job to keep up with it, watering, weeding, picking, all summer long in the mosquitos. hated it.

got older and bought a house, and was just working in the yard cleaning up the yard from years of neglect and noticed the soil was much nicer. Its actually soil, in Chattanooga all we had was chirt/churt mostly rock, pretty much no actual soil. there is a small area that is in full sun and is relatively flat. I wasn't going to do another hill garden. but I definitely enjoy growing things I will eat, and some "accompanying" stuff to flush it out. Only thing I am growing that I won't eat is Okra, but that is for the wife.

If I had more time I would definitely try a bigger garden, but with my hour long commute a good chunk of the day is lost. Next step will be trying some fall/winter crops, because right now everything I do is spring/summer/early fall harvest. I am also mostly doing this by vibes. figure out what I want, then figure out how to do it.

Fall/Winter crops are typically the same choices as early spring plantings. Carrot, radishes (yum), broccoli and it's cousins, lettuces, etc. If you like butternut, go for it. If direct sowing those, you'll be wanting to drop seed around mid-July. But, being GA you could go late july probably. I have yet to commit to trying a fall garden. I think I did last year but sowed too late. Radish are fast, usually 30 days. You can just keep rolling them over all season, but mid summer they will be more in your face and very pleasant early and fall. Carrots are slow so don't miss the July sowing window. You can also pack a good bit in going vertical without having to add alot of footprint. I'm not a raised bed fan, except the couple of low ones I have for taters, carrot, radish and onion. I'm trialing two of my squash vertical this year. If it works like it does on youtube, I will move all my squash to posts next year and tie them up as they grow. my beans, tomato and cukes are already trellised. Couldn't afford the expense of cattle panels at $30 a pop, So I drove steel T-posts in, zip tied 2x2 to each and an l-brace to support top pieces and ordered a sturdy green $15 6-7' x 16' garden netting from amazon and strung it up. Got 4 of those. Got no desire to go vertical on melons and winter squash cause then I'd have to make time to go sling up all the fruit for support.

 

[LouderVol]

Fall/Winter crops are typically the same choices as early spring plantings. Carrot, radishes (yum), broccoli and it's cousins, lettuces, etc. If you like butternut, go for it. If direct sowing those, you'll be wanting to drop seed around mid-July. But, being GA you could go late july probably. I have yet to commit to trying a fall garden. I think I did last year but sowed too late. Radish are fast, usually 30 days. You can just keep rolling them over all season, but mid summer they will be more in your face and very pleasant early and fall. Carrots are slow so don't miss the July sowing window.

I tried spring carrots this spring, and got nothing out of them. One of the first things planted and nothing ever came up.

 

[GVF]

I tried spring carrots this spring, and got nothing out of them. One of the first things planted and nothing ever came up.

Odd. I've never had trouble sprouting carrots. Try New Kuroda seeds. Shorter carrot for shallower soil. Very sweet too. That is what has been germinating well for me. (Baker Creek- rareseeds.com) I'm usually impatient to let them grow to full size though. Also, typically my first planting with the radish and onion. They are slow to germinate though. Prob 3 weeks to see anything. Been since mid-march now and tops just now a couple inches high. Oddly what I thought would be easy didn't germinate a single plant and that leaf lettuce. Cut and grow stuff for salads on demand. Carpet seeded it in a large flat bin. Nothing. Not a huge beet person, but did some golden beets last year and enjoyed those. I enjoy a good turnip fresh like an apple. Did some of those last year and forgot about doing them this year. all good early and fall choices. Baker Creek I listed above is prob 90% of where I buy seeds. Free shipping. Also use Victory Seed.

Edit: Carrot seed does not like to go deep. 1/8" max probably.

 

[norrislakevol]

I tried spring carrots this spring, and got nothing out of them. One of the first things planted and nothing ever came up.

Carrot seeds require 2 to 3 weeks to germinate. They need plenty of water. The more water, the better germination rate you get. They need water as they grow too or they will be pithy. Tip: Get a 8 foot 1 X 10, cut it in 4 even pieces and screw it together in a box shape (top and bottom will be hollow of course). Place box on the ground in your garden and Fill it about 1 inch from the top with soil. Sprinkle carrot seeds around on top of the dirt, then scoop up some more soil with your shovel and sprinkle about 1/4 or 1/2 inch of soil on top of them and water well. If no rain, then continue to water. When carrots are ready, simply pick up the wooden square container and lift it off. You can rake out most of the carrots by hand, and the rest will be much easier to pull.