Gardening Gardening

Last couple years we've mulched our garden beds with wood chips from tree service. Our tomatoes have never looked better/bigger or more abundant. We use grass clippings also. I think covering the soil keeps blight down (and weeds). We had very little blight last year and so far this year compared to the prior years. Water/soil doesn't splash up on plants as much when watering or during rain.
We see lots of (beneficial) worms in the soil also.

The pepper plants didn't do well last year with wood chip mulch, so the 2 new beds only get grass clippings. Our peppers look awesome this year.

 

I would like to say thanks to Tim and his wife for this garlic he gave us this weekend. Hopefully it will keep till this fall for when I plant it. Oh forgot to ask, how deep do you plant it?

 

Put it in the fridge until you are ready to plant

 

2-4 inches deep (with the little root end down and pointy end up.)
We space them about 8-10" apart and space the rows about 14-18"

 

For storage, you can hang them around your neck. If you're superstitious, it keeps away vampires. If you're not superstitious, it helps you remember to plant them on time.

 

I mulched my beds and some of my pots this year too, another plus side is keeping the moisture in better. If I miss a day of watering it's really no big deal at all. I'm on another gardening forum with people in my area who claim they have to water sometimes twice a day. Even on our hottest 90+ degree days here I can dig down under the mulch and the soil is still damp.

 

Also regarding tomatoes, what's the consensus on feeding? Am I ok to just use fish emulsion every couple weeks or do they need something more? So far my cherry tomatoes (sweeties) are producing, none ready to pick yet but the numbers seem decent so far. My other larger brandy wine tomatoes seem slower - only have 3 tomatoes on one plant nicely established and it seems like its taking them forever to ripen up, like weeks. Do I need to try something with more kick than fish emulsion?

 

Well since we got home with the garlic, being we have never have grown garlic, been doing some research. I was thinking container grow. Our soil is clay based.

Can grow in containers in winter. So since we can we have kicked around a couple ideas. One is make a trench deep enough to hold 5 gallon buckets. In the bottom put a layer of gravel then buckets on top. Of course the bucket will have drainage holes. Then Chaz can fill back in around them with dirt. Just one idea.
Also Cornell University has an extension office not to far here. Will probably talk to them. And in mid September the town about 15 minutes from us has a garlic festival each year and so far it hasn't been cancelled.
Man house is spelling good. Couple loaves of banana bread baking.

 

Not so sure i believe twice a day is neccessary. Unless its in the desert.

 

Your bananas are ripe already?

 

Oh yea, bought them at the store last week. They grow fast there.

 

You are quite welcome, glad you guys came over.
The garlic is from Julie's boss' family. Their family has been growing it for ever.

 

Yeah I've never felt the need for that either. Some plants do pretty well with a chance to dry out anyway.

 

Deep water is better, although there are some plants with naturally shallow roots. Even potted plants should be able to get thru without being watered twice a day. Of course if peaple haven't applied some sort of mulch, that changes the ballgame quickly.

 

Without amending our soil (heavy clay) it'll dry and crack pretty quickly.

That's why we've done container grows.

Tried a raised bed with soil from the property, all we ended up doing was transplanting the weeds into the "garden".


If we are going to have a garden here, it'll take years of composting to amend the soil properly.

 

Hey, shouldn't yo be sleeping

 

Just got home from work 2 beers ago

 

Can somebody identify this for me. I was thinking leeks. Chaz thinks garlic

 

My SIL grows garlic, and your picture looks like the seed heads I've seen. She cuts the flower stem low to the ground.

 

Also another question. There are some old burn barrels about 15 ft from them. We have concerns about what could of leached from them. Think it might be safe to dig up and use? Who knows what the last person burned. Doesn't have that many brains.