The Dawg Patch

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GoDawgs
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#121

Post: # 17672Unread post GoDawgs
Sat Apr 18, 2020 12:06 pm

heirl00m wrote: Sat Apr 18, 2020 10:28 am So envious of your plot and weather! Who is Pickles?
Thank you, heirl00m. Pickles is my sister and we live together. There's not much we two gals can't accomplish when it's a team effort. :D I do most of the growing and some of the canning while she does most all of the pickling and the other half of the canning. Oh, and she's in charge of growing the potatoes and keeping the mowers running. :D

The forecasted temps are right, the moon is right for above ground stuff, the soil temp is 75 and rain is coming in tomorrow so it's planting time. Yesterday I put in a seven hill bed of cukes 2' apart which works out well in an 18' bed. It seems to limit too many vines that restrict airflow and promote diseases but gives us all the summer cukes we need.

I also planted the first two hills of yellow summer squash. Two more jills will get planted in about two weeks. Once again I'm trying to spread out finish times.

Speaking of finish times, the first little 3" broccoli heads are forming on the first three of twelve staggered broccoli plants. Woo hoo!

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I've been working on prepping the double row corn bed for Silver Queen. The big tiller is kaput and there are some big clumps of weeds that clog up the Mantis so I hoed a bunch of those out. Then I took the broadfork to a few matted patches of Bermuda grass to get that out of there. Now it's ready for the Mantis and then planting the Silver Queen two weeks from now.

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There are four double rows marked off. The double rows are 12" apart with 3.5' between double rows. That will give me eight rows of corn in an area where I'd normally get five single rows spaced 3' apart.

This afternoon I'll be planting bush beans down the sides of two beds for 72' total. Might as well do it while the time is right!

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Ahead Of The Rain

#122

Post: # 17790Unread post GoDawgs
Sun Apr 19, 2020 4:17 pm

Last evening I did get the bush beans put in ahead of today's rain. 'Duke' went down both sides on one bed and the other bed got 'Contender' down one side and 'Golden Rod' down the other. The Golden Rod is for canning three bean salad. So that's 72' total of bush beans.

There were a few skips in the Spring Treat corn bed so I had soaked some seeds over night and stuck them in the skips.

There were fall planted carrots getting big and they got pulled so they wouldn't split with the rain. Got seven pounds of them and Pickles is canning them this afternoon. There are still smaller ones left in the rows for fresh eating.

Rain was not far away this morning so I got out in the garden early and tilled up the last two double corn rows with the Mantis before the thunder got too close.

There's possibly nasty stuff coming through in the wee hours tonight. We'd like some rain without any damage. Maybe the Invisible Dome that seems to be over this place will work again.

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Re: The Dawg Patch

#123

Post: # 17805Unread post PlainJane
Sun Apr 19, 2020 7:50 pm

[mention]GoDawgs[/mention] - will you be putting boards around the sweet corn beds?

I hope you have a plain good rain with no wind or other undesirables. We lucked out here yesterday when most of the heavier weather went either north or south of us. Today was decent and I got a whole day in, doing a bunch of miscellaneous tasks.
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#124

Post: # 17867Unread post GoDawgs
Mon Apr 20, 2020 10:12 am

We got 2.8" of pretty steady rain last night and the nasty stuff went well south of us. Yay! After such a wet start to spring it had dried out a bit so the rain was welcomed.

I will have three kinds of corn going this year as I did last year, two of those grown in circles in raised beds and one grown in four double rows in an open area. They all have different DTMs with the shortest planted first and the longest planted last. There will also be at least two weeks between sowings so there should be no cross pollination.

The first is Spring Treat (67 DTM) was planted 4/7 in a raised bed, seven circles with seedlings thinned to 8" apart. That makes about 7 plants per circle. This has worked pretty good for me for two years now. Yesterday I poked in a few pre-soaked seeds into the skips just in case.

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The second one, the Silver Queen (88 DTM), will go in on 4/27 in an open area with four double rows. I had experimented with the double row thing last year and the only change this year is 3.5' between double rows instead of 4' which was too much. This is the bed in progress after first tilling. I still need to till the paths between rows.

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The third corn, which I tried last year for the first time, will be Japanese Hulless Popcorn (85-105 DTM) done in a bed like the Spring Treat. That will go in 5/6. We liked the popcorn it made! The seeds are smaller but the popped kernels are just about as big as regular white popcorn and sure enough, there aren't any (well, maybe just a couple here and there) hulls to pick out of your teeth!

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Re: The Dawg Patch

#125

Post: # 17940Unread post Whwoz
Mon Apr 20, 2020 9:49 pm

Like the sound of that popcorn

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Re: The Dawg Patch

#126

Post: # 17954Unread post GoDawgs
Tue Apr 21, 2020 9:49 am

Yesterday was a week before tomato planting time so it was definitely time to start hardening them off. It was cloudy most of the day with a slight breeze and so perfect for toting them and the peppers out to the front porch.

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The pallets patiently await the tomato buckets! This is the set in the garden:

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... and this is the set up by the house:

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These peppers and one eggplant are really ready to get into the ground! I pinched the growing tips out of them to make them bush out and already see new branch shoots forming at the leaf axils.

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And finally, Pickles planted out into her newly created bed the asparagus seedlings I grew from seed. It's an old timey one called Conover's Colossal. We'll see... in about three years. :D:

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Re: The Dawg Patch

#127

Post: # 17978Unread post PlainJane
Tue Apr 21, 2020 3:31 pm

Another bottle of champagne.
“Never try to outstubborn a cat.”
- Robert A. Heinlein

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Re: The Dawg Patch

#128

Post: # 17981Unread post GoDawgs
Tue Apr 21, 2020 5:36 pm

PlainJane wrote: Tue Apr 21, 2020 3:31 pm Another bottle of champagne.
Actually, I was thinking of a nice tall gin and tonic tonight over crushed ice with a healthy squeeze of lime. :lol:

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Re: The Dawg Patch

#129

Post: # 17987Unread post PlainJane
Tue Apr 21, 2020 8:11 pm

GoDawgs wrote: Tue Apr 21, 2020 5:36 pm
PlainJane wrote: Tue Apr 21, 2020 3:31 pm Another bottle of champagne.
Actually, I was thinking of a nice tall gin and tonic tonight over crushed ice with a healthy squeeze of lime. :lol:
Lol, sounds perfect. Actually, my adult beverage this evening was Bombay Sapphire gin and sparkling lime La Croix over ice with a twist of lime.
“Never try to outstubborn a cat.”
- Robert A. Heinlein

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Re: The Dawg Patch

#130

Post: # 18036Unread post GoDawgs
Wed Apr 22, 2020 11:11 am

One of this year’s “toys” is that Zuchetta Tromboncino squash, the one that makes baseball bat length squashes and whose vines run everywhere. Where to put it? The answer came when the decision was made to let the asparagus patch go away. It’s very old and only puts up very skinny unusable spears so away it goes. Instant space!

This is the old asparagus area. Pickles mowed all the fronds down last week and yesterday I wallowed out a good hole for the squash with the Mantis. It will have plenty of room to run and that area is going to be one mess! For this year I can keep the grass mowed until the vines cover it but weeds will still pop through. There are a ton of renegade volunteer purple coneflower seedlings coming up in that area so they’ll be blooming among the weeds. It should be interesting to say the least.

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Then there’s the watermelon and spaghetti squash, both of which also need a lot of elbow room. At the top of the above photo you can see an open area to the left of the broccoli bed. That’s where the watermelons and squash will go.

This is that open area. It’s covered in clumps of a winter grass called Poa annua. Everybody just calls it Po’ Anna. It will die and go away but it’s seeding right now so I’d like to get it out of there.

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On the left side of the photo, the stake just above the broccoli plants is where an 18’ long trellis will go for the climbing butter beans and Cherokee Trail Of Tears beans. The stake above that is where I will plant a line of sweet potatoes. In the middle of the open area I wallowed out three holes for one spaghetti squash, one Black Diamond and one Charleston Gray watermelons. Between those three and the sweet potato vines, the ground should be covered. Before that happens I’ll deal with getting the Po Anna out of there. Lots to do!

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Re: The Dawg Patch

#131

Post: # 18054Unread post Growing Coastal
Wed Apr 22, 2020 1:23 pm

Lots to do indeed Godawgs! That's a huge area you are liberating from the asparagus. Good for you for being able and willing to take it on. Sometimes when I look I'm envious, other times I'm just tired.

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Re: The Dawg Patch

#132

Post: # 18062Unread post GoDawgs
Wed Apr 22, 2020 2:01 pm

Growing Coastal wrote: Wed Apr 22, 2020 1:23 pm Good for you for being able and willing to take it on. Sometimes when I look I'm envious, other times I'm just tired.
I try to always remember that you can eat the whole elephant... one bite at a time. :D

When I was working I'd come home at night tired and the thought of prepping a bed for the weekend's planting was even more tiring so it didn't get done. Then the weekend would arrive and I'd have to do both prep and planting and this and that and by the time Monday came, it felt like I'd had no rest at all!

Now that I'm retired I putter. I keep a list of stuff I want to do and each day see what I feel motivated to do and usually once AI do that task I feel like doing another. Another bite (or two) of the elephant. By the time planting time rolls around, all the prep is done. I'm not seeding the watermelons until maybe May 7 when it's even warmer out so I have between now and then to get that grass out of there.

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Re: The Dawg Patch

#133

Post: # 18115Unread post PlainJane
Thu Apr 23, 2020 6:40 am

I look forward to the time I can devote more effort to gardening but can’t retire just yet.

Luckily my job has decent paid holiday and vacation benefits so that’s where I get the 3-4 days in a row to tackle larger projects.

[mention]GoDawgs[/mention] you are an inspiration!
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#134

Post: # 18532Unread post GoDawgs
Mon Apr 27, 2020 10:07 am

It's a beautiful day and the moon's right so this afternoon the tomatoes and peppers will get planted in their buckets. I made the pot labels last night so everything's ready and it shouldn't take long.

An update on the heirloom micro tomatoes I'm playing with. The Whippersnappers were started 1/26 and this is where they are now:

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It was nice to have these to play with at the end of winter to scratch that seed starting itch! :D:

I intend to save the seed. When that happens, and if anyone is interested in having some to try, just PM me after I post the offer.

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Re: The Dawg Patch

#135

Post: # 18651Unread post GoDawgs
Tue Apr 28, 2020 5:47 pm

Yesterday the tomatoes and peppers got planted, half of the 'maters up by the house and half down in the garden. I went overboard this year in the search for heat tolerance, a good paste and a different cherry. These are the ones in the garden. I forgot to take a pic of the others but it's the same arrangement except the pallets are on the ground.

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Twenty different varieties, one of each:

Bella Rosa (this one's done well for me before)
Brad's Atomic Grape
Camp Joy Cherry (new to me)
Creole Original (2nd year for this)
Early Annie (2 of these, first try for this)
Early Girl Bush (2 of these, does well for me)
German Johnson (from Shawn's list)
GGTW (new to me)
Golden Girl (does well for me)
KBX (new to me)
Mom's Paste (new to me)
Porter (new to me)
Rebel Yell (new to me)
Red Siberian (2nd year for this; loaded very early last year)
Rio Grande (2nd year for this)
Rosella Cherry (new to me)
Santiago (new to me)
SOTW (suffered in the heat last year so getting a shady reprieve this year)
Super Sioux (new to me)
Ten Fingers Of Naples (new to me)

Last year the garden tomatoes were in full blasting sun all day and they weren't happy at all. None of them did worth a toot. Too hot! This year I've moved them to the top of the garden on a bed that gets shade during the hottest part of the afternoon. Too much shade? I've read tomatoes only need about six hours of sun to produce. We'll see.

These are the peppers that were planted last night down the middle of the spring carrot bed.

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1 Charleston Belle, 1 Carolina Wonder, 1 Gypsy, 2 Jalapeno M, 2 Jalapeno Mucho Nacho, 1 Maule's Red Hot cayenne, 1 Red Marconi and 1 Bequinho (seed of a Brazilian pepper given by a friend). No ancho as the seed never germinated and I forgot to order more. I hate to buy plants but might have to get an ancho. Serves me right. :oops:

Today I planted the Silver Queen corn in four 18' double rows. I always lay in some fertilizer in a trench 3" outside the rows and decided to give the plow attachment for the new Mantis a first try. Whoa! Very wide furrow, not adjustible. Oh well, it's easy to hoe the soil back in on top of the fertilizer. I covered the fertilizer on one side of each double row then did the other side. The plow attachment will work fine for planting potatoes next spring.

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And finally the first bed of Wando peas is starting to set pods so it'll be 2-3 weeks until first picking. The second bed got planted late because the bed was way too wet with all the spring rain. I guess I'll we'll find out about it's reputed heat tolerance.

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Re: The Dawg Patch

#136

Post: # 18676Unread post PlainJane
Wed Apr 29, 2020 2:15 am

Is Wando a shelling pea?
I’m so happy you have your tomatoes and peppers in. Let me know how GGWT does for you; I’m having a love/hate relationship with it here in zone 9A.
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#137

Post: # 18693Unread post GoDawgs
Wed Apr 29, 2020 9:17 am

Thanks, PJ! It's always a big check mark when the tomatoes and peppers go in. Add to that the corn which is the biggest check mark of the season. Kind of a pain in the patoot but the results are way worth it.

Yes, Wando is a shelling pea and its claim to fame is heat resistance. I tried all kinds of shelling peas for years and none of them could beat Wando so about five years ago I quit trialing any other pea. Wando is on the A Team. It will be interesting to see how that late bed does in heat.

The GGWT is in this new garden location and is the third one down on the right side in the photo.Thanks for the heads up about it! So that I can keep an eye on it, what's it doing (or not doing) for you?

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Re: The Dawg Patch

#138

Post: # 18734Unread post GoDawgs
Wed Apr 29, 2020 7:31 pm

It's raining; a nice steady rain, a good thing. I didn't water in the corn seed yesterday because the ground was still really damp from all of last week's rain and this rain was coming. I'm keeping my fingers crossed it doesn't get swampy again. :o

The first broccoli head (Packman) was ready so I cut it. It's the one on the left with the nice 7" spread. Its neighbor will get cut in a couple of days.

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The second group of three plants, planted out two weeks later than the first, are setting the next generation. They're about 2" wide. This two week staggering might just be the sweet spot to avoid broccoli avalanche. But next time I'll set out the first group even earlier (December?) so the last three of the twelve don't end up in really hot weather.

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I started forking up the sweet potato row today and stopped for a minute to take a pic while there was a break in the clouds. This side of the garden is really starting to look like a garden! Behind the sweet potato dig are the broc/cabbage bed, pea bed #2, potatoes, onions, pea bed #1 and tomatoes.

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Finally, here's an experiment gone somewhat amuck. Last year I got a free packet of generic wildflowers from the Georgia DOT. It was prairie coneflowers, gaillardia and something else and I sowed them in three big buckets. They were pretty but now I have three weedy buckets full of fire ants and a gazillion volunteers popping up everywhere. The ground around the buckets is carpeted with babies! At least they'll be pretty.

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Re: The Dawg Patch

#139

Post: # 18745Unread post PlainJane
Wed Apr 29, 2020 8:53 pm

Envious of your broccoli since I’m back to store bought. Any nematode issues yet?
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Re: The Dawg Patch

#140

Post: # 18801Unread post GoDawgs
Thu Apr 30, 2020 1:02 pm

None so far in the broccoli/cabbage bed and most of those are getting into the "mature" category. For the past two years that bed has had things growing in it that are relatively not bothered by RKN. Fall '18 was turnips and scallions, Spring '19 was scallions and corn, and now broccoli/cabbage Spring '20.

I had read about growing mustard, tilling it in and then watering to release the volatile substance that reduces RKN. Too much bother. Then last summer I read about how broccoli and pretty much all brassicas (not just mustard) are good for RKN control. One of the articles (forgot to copy off the other!):

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a ... 940600367X

So far so good! This past fall's broccoli/cauliflower bed has a history of RKN, which had put a dent in the peas last spring. No problems at all even though the cauli/broc were planted out there mid September when the soil temp was still really warm and should have had active RKNs. Theoretically, now that since Fall '18 the bed has had stuff in it that RKN doesn't deal with, it should be safe to plant something there that is susceptible, at least for one growing season. To make sure I starve the bastiges some more, when the broc/cabbages are gone the bed will be sown with 'Colossus' Southern peas which are resistant.

Meanwhile, when planning what goes where I'm trying to plant non-resistant stuff in beds that have either been fallow for a season or behind items which deter RKN. The war goes on. :D

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