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2021 How does your garden grow

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Some of you got gardens buried under several inches of snow right now, mine is under several inches of leaves. The Live Oaks are dropping leaves like crazy and I've been dumping them in the garden as mulch. I've already raked and dumped 20+ carts. Some will say the leaves are high in acid and will harm the soil. I been doing this for years and havent seen the PH factor change any significant numbers.
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I’m putting in a small (8’x8’) raised bed garden this year, with metal frame and “greenhouse” plastic that I’ll put up in the fall this year to extend my growing season, then early spring next year to get started a little earlier. We live in a neighborhood on a corner lot (no back yard—all visible front and side yards) with an active HOA, so it was a bit of a stretch to get this approved, but I managed to. Also starting two bee hives this spring so I’m pretty dang busy planning it all out and getting ready.
 
Yep, still a couple of feet of snow over the garden here, but I will be starting peppers, tomatoes and a few tomatillos indoors this week.
 
I had intended to start about 40 okra plants early in toilet paper centers so I could just transplant the whole container, plant and all, into the ground once it warmed up. I guess I jumped the gun snd didn't allow for the cold nights still. About a dozen+ plants germinated then died. Still too cool for them, I guess. So it's experiment failed. But that's all right, I'll try again when it warms up some.I kind of wanted a differant variety anyway. I was using older seeds that I had on hand from years gone by. New seeds are still available.
 
I usually lay out my garden mentally but this year I completely forgot to leave a space for the bell peppers. I think I can still squeeze half a dozen plants into one of my walkways between the tomatos and the squash. I like wide walkways between plants. The plants appreciate it too.
 
buickmarti said:
Anybody know how long store bought seed are good for?
Bought a whole box full of pumpkin seeds that are from 2019 at a second hand store.
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It depends on storage conditions and type of seed. Some seeds are great keepers, others are not. If you have a lot of seeds you can do a germination test and determine the germination rate. If you plant seedlings it doesn't matter if half your seed don't germinate as you can germinate extra seedlings.
By law seeds are only supposed to be sold for one year.

I've planted pumpkin seeds that were several years old, the germination rate drops each year. I plant several seeds to a hill.
 
I got a gardening question. This is not a topic that I'm real familiar with. I've gardened in this spot for right at 25 years and have never seen an earthworm there. Yesterday my sister-in-law took her grandson fishing and he used a total of 3 worms. The Bill Dance brand.
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They gave the rest to me. I dumped them in my "compost pit". I'm trying a pit, instead if a compost pile I have a decomposing pit. Will bait worms populate a garden? They look like regular earthworms , I don't use chemicals but the old guy who had this place before me apparently got some fill dirt from somewhere. It's a good piece of dirt but "No Worms".
 
"Dirt" sounds like its low in organic matter that the worms would live on. The decomposing pit is a good way to go if you can rake up dry leaf matter and lay it on there 3-5" thick before the next dump of compost ready material. Cardboard and newspaper would work in a pinch. Worm food.
With food the worms will be fine. Without food........dirt.
 
Too early for a garden here in Southern Michigan. I often will plant something in April, but can get serious until May.

planted a dozen blueberries last year and a few elderberries. This year I will add some currents and more elderberries along with the usual vegetable garden.
 
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Getting ready to start planting here on the sea islands (S.C.). Going heavy again on Costa Rican Sweet peppers, Sweet 100 cherry tomatos (wife's favorite) and Thai Hots and Florida Keys hot Bird Peppers. Years back we used to use Sabadilla dust to control the squash bugs and stink bugs, but that is some toxic stuff. Now it's BT (Thuricide) for the catapillars and Neem Oil early for the squash bugs and borers. Also going to try Bottle Gourds, which are edible like a squash up to 12" long. (always trying something new. ha!)
 
My wife is an avid and excellent flower gardener. She does insist on planting some vegetables every year and I just do not get it. We are surrounded by farms and, come high summer, almost every one has gorgeous produce for sale cheap at the ends of their lanes.
I do plant herbs. Use herbs all year long when I cook, fresh or my own dried.
I have a row of rosemary planted atop a stone retaining wall that has overwintered for 4 years. It is like a hedgerow, the plants two feet tall full bushy and grown together. When they bloom bees are thick around them. Love to find their honeycomb!
 
SOLANCO said:
She does insist on planting some vegetables every year and I just do not get it. We are surrounded by farms and, come high summer, almost every one has gorgeous produce for sale cheap at the ends of their lanes.
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When times get tough, the 3 necessities in life are food , water, and shelter.
You want these things before excrement hits the rotating oscillator.
Besides, Growing things is fun and vegetables are just like flowers only edible.:)
 
I just transplanted lettuce into the cold frame. Herbs are growing under lights. We arent frost free in my area until the beginning of June, so no rush to get much more started other than some broccoli and brussel sprouts.
 
I waited too long and our local nursery sold out of the kind of Bell Pepper plants that I wanted. So I planted some seeds today.I should haved done this over a month ago. By the time these are getting close to being ready it'll get too hot down here.
 
Eutycus said:
Some of you got gardens buried under several inches of snow right now, mine is under several inches of leaves. The Live Oaks are dropping leaves like crazy and I've been dumping them in the garden as mulch. I've already raked and dumped 20+ carts. Some will say the leaves are high in acid and will harm the soil. I been doing this for years and havent seen the PH factor change any significant numbers.View attachment 69746
Click to expand...

All hardwood leaves are storehouses of sugars & other nutrients that will benefit the soil, ESPECIALLY if they are shredded before being used as mulch. Shredding keeps them from matting down into a sodden mess, and allows the gardener to bulk them up with lots of air spaces in between individual particals to keep plant roots cool in hot summer temperatures.
 
Went to a local Amish business: Aida's Herb Farm. She is primarily a grower and wholesaler. She will do retail because she is out of the way on a quiet side road and doesn't get inundated with retail customers.

Bought three rosemary plants to refresh my rosemary hedge. Also an Italian oregano, a French Thyme, an English thyme, and a variegated thyme. All nice, healthy plants at $ 1.65 each. There are some herbs that just will not thrive in our ground. Dill and tarragon come to mind. Pains me to have to buy them at the food store.
 

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