# 2014 Gardening Thread



## goodworkstractors (Aug 7, 2007)

How's everyone coming along on their gardens? I expanded mine this year by about 40%. I thought it would be plenty big enough, but I was wrong! Same with my gun safe and shed...always go bigger than you think you'll ever need :lol:

I've still got corn, pumpkins, watermelon, peppers, and potatoes to plant. Maybe pick up something else, but not sure where I'll put it. I'm trying all soaker hoses this year for watering instead of sprinklers or hand watering. 

I've had terrible problems with fungus in the past and hoping less water on the leaves will at least help with this problem. Plus, it seems like soaker hose is much more efficient from the first few days of use so far. We'll see what the cons are in the long run though.

So far, I've planted broccoli, brussel sprouts, yellow onions, spinach, snow peas, radishes, carrots, cauliflower, tomatoes (all Sun Sugar), rhubarb, basil, and asparagus. My oregano plant has come back for it's third year. I didn't know they were a perennial.

I burned all my leaves on the garden last fall and tilled them in this spring. Hoping that helps to enrich the soil. I think I'm going to bring in a couple yards of some garden mix soil next year though. I've always had a garden of some sort, but have been getting into it more and more over the last few years. Learn a few new things every year it seems like.

What do you guys have going on so far?


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## goodworkstractors (Aug 7, 2007)

Here's a picture from this past weekend.

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## BUCK/PIKE (Oct 24, 2011)

looks good,im behind i havent even rototilled yet but will this wk.expanded some last yr and put 5 truck loads of horse manure/black dirt it was very broken down.last yr was best potatoes and corn ive ever had.usually my corn isnt very good.i usually plant later then most memorial day weekend usually,maybe earlier this yr will see


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## Craig M (May 17, 2000)

I spread 4 loads of manure a few weeks ago so a final rototilling is needed. Now I just need to make sure were out of the frost so I can get the plant in.


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## MSUFW07 (Jan 22, 2009)

I expanded our garden to about 30 x 30 last year. Its plenty big enough now, with some room to spare. I just got our potatoes in this past weekend. 3 varieties, red Pontiacs, Yukon golds, and Kennebecks (sp), waiting for some sweet potatoes I ordered from Gurneys to show up too. This year we are cutting back on our tomatoes, we usually plant a couple dozen of them in a few varieties but we are over run with salsa, marinara sauce and juice etc. Probably more stuff we can freeze like beans and peas. Wife also wants to try to grow some lettuce and carrots. 

Any one have a good way to store potatoes? Last year we ended up throwing out about 10 - 15 lbs of because they got soft and eyed out etc. They were stored in our basement were it was dark but not cool enough. I was thinking of getting an old dresser from craigslist and leaving it in the garage, against the wall closest to the house, but I fear them freezing, and the occasional mouse. Read somewhere about covering the rows with straw and leaving them in the ground.


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## BUCK/PIKE (Oct 24, 2011)

im in the same boat with potatoes,probably lost 30lbs last yr.had them in the garage through fall and all was fine.winter hit they still looked ok,but first day above freezing and i discovered they froze,got soft when thawed and rotted!!!damn
im thinking in garage again until first cold snap then burlap bag in basement??
we plant leaf lettuce and it is awesome,stagger your planting and u can pick fresh lettuce through fall,if u keep picking it it will continue to grow and taste good.if u quit picking and plant goes to seed it gets a little bitter


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## jimbo (Dec 29, 2007)

lettuce that i planted a couple weeks ago look fine. peas,spinach & swisschard I hoped would look better. should have watered more i guess.
planted beans, cucs & squash last weekend


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## goodworkstractors (Aug 7, 2007)

First problem of the year. Is this Early Blight on my tomatoes? I asked two local greenhouses, but they didn't see pictures. One said wind burn and another said exposure to cold weather.

You can see spots on the leaves in both pictures and there are spots on the stem in one picture. There are spots on 10 of my 14 plants right now. 

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## BUCK/PIKE (Oct 24, 2011)

cscott711 said:


> First problem of the year. Is this Early Blight on my tomatoes? I asked two local greenhouses, but they didn't see pictures. One said wind burn and another said exposure to cold weather.
> 
> You can see spots on the leaves in both pictures and there are spots on the stem in one picture. There are spots on 10 of my 14 plants right now.
> 
> Sent from my VS980 4G using Ohub Campfire mobile app


 Im no expert but looks like bug damage,when my tomatoe plants do that i hit them with 7 dust and it usually takes care of it,then i repeat applications from time to time


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## anonymous21 (Jul 22, 2005)

cscott711 said:


> First problem of the year. Is this Early Blight on my tomatoes? I asked two local greenhouses, but they didn't see pictures. One said wind burn and another said exposure to cold weather.
> 
> You can see spots on the leaves in both pictures and there are spots on the stem in one picture. There are spots on 10 of my 14 plants right now.
> 
> Sent from my VS980 4G using Ohub Campfire mobile app


 
Looks like bugs to me also, look for ants


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## goodworkstractors (Aug 7, 2007)

I did have a huge colony of ants right near the tomatoes this past weekend. It doesn't look like there's bite marks taken out of the leaves, just brown spots. I'm spraying fungicide and insecticide on them so hopefully that takes care of whatever the problem is.


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## Mister ED (Apr 3, 2006)

I can't even walk in mine! It finally dried enough to till it a week ago ... then we been getting hit with rain since. 

I do have some overwintered onions and parsnips that I just let go. They are both doing well (are a little higher ground).


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## goodworkstractors (Aug 7, 2007)

Covered the tomatoes last night. Didn't cover the Basil and the top half is already dead. Covered them again tonight for another frost warning. Should be okay after tonight I think.


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## williewater99 (Sep 8, 2000)

cscott711 said:


> First problem of the year. Is this Early Blight on my tomatoes? I asked two local greenhouses, but they didn't see pictures. One said wind burn and another said exposure to cold weather.
> 
> You can see spots on the leaves in both pictures and there are spots on the stem in one picture. There are spots on 10 of my 14 plants right now.
> 
> Sent from my VS980 4G using Ohub Campfire mobile app


Turn your leaves over and look for a green caterpillar with white markings. These are Cabbage Loopers. They eat the green area of the leaves and leave the veins. I'm not sure that's what is happening to your plants, but it certainly looks like insect damage. Many are emerging, or have already emerged. Try a Neem Oil, instead of Sevin. It should control most of your bugs, including aphids, and acts as a fungicide, as well.


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## goodworkstractors (Aug 7, 2007)

Didn't see any caterpillars. Here's new pictures. I have four tomato plants that are larger and they don't show any signs of damage or disease. All 10 smaller plants look like this. All came from the same greenhouse too. Also, we had frost warnings the last two nights and all plants were covered.

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## williewater99 (Sep 8, 2000)

What type of material did you use as a cover?


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## goodworkstractors (Aug 7, 2007)

williewater99 said:


> What type of material did you use as a cover?


Blue tarp


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## williewater99 (Sep 8, 2000)

cscott711 said:


> Blue tarp


The reason I asked is your second set of pictures looks like frost damage, and plastic coverings are not efficient frost protection. Condensation forms on the inside of the plastic, the plastic transfers the cold, and can actually freeze to the leaves. 
Old sheets, row covers, newspaper, or cardboard are better protection. Even an old blanket. Flipping a cardboard box upside down over young plants works well.


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## goodworkstractors (Aug 7, 2007)

Thanks. That's a good idea. My larger plants were under the same tarp and are completely unaffected. 

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## Happy-Hooker (Jan 16, 2012)

Hello all, 

I hope to share some of my garden once it gets to a point worth showing. I generally grow heirloom varietys, and a few regulars mixed in.
Here is what i am growing this year.Tomatoes-cherub,campari, beefstake, and black krim. Peppers- zavory, chocolate hab, criolla sella, ghost, and beaver dam. Cuce's, and a few others TBD.
Hope everyone has a great season!

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## zig (Aug 5, 2009)

cscott711 said:


> Didn't see any caterpillars. Here's new pictures. I have four tomato plants that are larger and they don't show any signs of damage or disease. All 10 smaller plants look like this. All came from the same greenhouse too. Also, we had frost warnings the last two nights and all plants were covered.
> 
> Sent from my VS980 4G using Ohub Campfire mobile app


I agree with the other posters that the first pic looks like bugs, and that the second pic is temperature related. I first started gardening about 10 years ago. I did it based on what I had learned from my dad and grandparents. In that first year, I had the most beautiful tomato plants ever, some growing to well over 6-7'. The next year, I started my garden earlier, thinking, these tomatoes will have another couple weeks to get even bigger than last year!! It was the second week in May, and there was no frost in site. Never did get any frost. Never really got many tomatoes that year either. Here's why - the soil was too cold. While air temp is important, and you don't want to see any frost, I would argue that soil temp is as, if not more, important than air temps. A tomato plant that starts out in soil that is warm enough (daytime MINIMUM of 60 degrees) and gets a good root establishment, and then gets a little frost, can stomach that and pull through most of the time. A tomato planted in soil that is 48 degrees.... well, he ain't gonna be too happy and he's gonna tell you about it for a while. The roots are going to stall, and I mean right now. They stall, prohibiting establishment and nutrient absorption. This, in turn, can lead to all sorts of fun stuff like phosphorus deficiencies which, if not treated soon and properly, can permanently stunt the plant, and you're tomato season just went buh bye. And you can't figure out what went wrong..... No frost, fertalized, good soil, no bugs, watered regularly, weeded, all the things a good gardener can do to take care of his crop. Very frustrating, let me tell you..... Even if your plants don't get perma-stunt, the cold soil will slow them down so much that the two week head start you got by planting them a week or two ago, become irrelevant. They'll come around the same time as the ones that are planted later and fruit along the same timeline. Plus, by planting later, you avoid the frost almost every year. Thats why, no matter when we plant our tomatoes, we all harvest pretty much the same time. My wife's grandpa, who unfortunately passed away last fall at 97 years, was an awesome gardener and he religiously planted on June 1st. EVERY SINGLE YEAR. June 1st. He swore by it. I usually plant somewhere between Memorial and June 1st. Soil is always warm enough, chance of frost is virtually zero by then (vs. early to mid-May) and the timeline for produce is the same as if I had planted earlier. Good luck and happy gardening.


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## BUCK/PIKE (Oct 24, 2011)

Just got mine in yesterday.usually wait til memorial day to be safe.
Planted corn,yellow sqaush,zuchini,pickles,red potatoes,idahos,green beans,snap peas,carrots,cauliflower,broccoli,bibb leaf lettuce,cilantro,12 big boy tomatoe plants,8 romas,4 cherry's,8 bell peppers,4jalopenos,4 bannana peppers....didn't plant and melons or acorn squash this yr to save some space.
Good luck all


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## kroppe (May 7, 2000)

My garden is going well. Rabbits took care of the beets and peas. Radishes are coming in nicely. Cilantro growing well. Hope to get a few carrots and fennel. Watermelons are really slow to get going. Garden is 6x20.


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## MSUFW07 (Jan 22, 2009)

Any one order plants from Gurneys in Ohio? We ordered some things from them, a sweet potatoes, regular potatoes and carrot tapes. This is the first time we have ordered from them. We got the regular potatoes and the carrots but the sweet potatoes shipping date keeps getting moved back. We ordered the 30th of April, we got most everything after a week or two but the sweet potatoes.

I called Friday and they said they should ship this past weekend, but they haven't and the shipping date got moved back again to 6-5 to 6-12. They said that they may have gotten moved back because of cold weather... not sure I believe that at this point. If they don't ship by Friday I'm going to get them locally but was hoping to get a variety that is supposed to store well. 

Is it normal for them to decide to move shipping dates back because of weather? Any one else ever have any kind of issue with them? I'm very frustrated because the garden is basically all planted, all my other potatoes have already broken through and growing well.


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## WoW. (Aug 11, 2011)

Lost a couple of tomato plants to diggers trying to get to walleye carcasses.

Some peppers and one tomato nipped off by munchers.

Bags and bags of shredder paper make fine mulch and are keeping the soil moist even w/ the absence of a lot of rain.


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## goodworkstractors (Aug 7, 2007)

My 8 year old was begging for a couple radishes, so we pulled up a couple that were about 1" in diameter. Not bad. Things are progressing well. Only had about a 75% germination rate on my corn. I thought it would be better than that. Tomatoes are rebounding well from whatever afflicted them early on. I have 7 or 8 tomatoes on the vine right now. 

Never planted broccoli or brussel sprouts before, so not sure how to gauge their progress, but they seem like slow growers. If they don't come in well, then I'll probably replant in late summer for a fall harvest. Might do that anyways.


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## YPSIFLY (Feb 13, 2001)

This is our first year of growing vegetables in the ground since we bought the house four years ago. Until now I was growing in pots. We have two gardens going with: cukes, beets, carrots, cabbage, corn, beef steaks, cherry toms, romas, thai peppers, anchos and habaneros. My parents have a good sized garden in Westland and I've always grown peppers there since I was a kid. At their place I have some ghost peppers and Carolina Reapers as well as some Portugals and cayenne.

The lady who owned the house before us was a master gardener and the soil in my back yard is some of the darkest and richest I've ever seen so if I can keep the rabbits and bugs away we should reap a nice harvest.


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## Happy-Hooker (Jan 16, 2012)

Nice lineup. Looking forward to some pics of those reapers!

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## wintrrun (Jun 11, 2008)

Just noticed this thread.
Got my garden in the first week of May after starting the seeds indoor the last week of March and the plants are enjoying life in the outdoors.
6 acorn squash
1 zucchini
1 summer squash
1 bush butternut squash
2 cucumbers
2 German strawberry tomatoes
4 Latvian heirloom tomatoes
2 Roma tomatoes
1 potato leaf tomato
3 jalapeño 
4 bell peppers
2 sweet Italian peppers
12 broccoli 
12 Brussels sprouts.

I have a neighbor who plants sweet corn, a couple different types of bean and all the other usual suspects that i cannot so each season there is a lot of bartering and trading going on at the fence line.:lol:


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## Scottygvsu (Apr 19, 2003)

MSUFW07 said:


> Any one order plants from Gurneys in Ohio? We ordered some things from them, a sweet potatoes, regular potatoes and carrot tapes. This is the first time we have ordered from them. We got the regular potatoes and the carrots but the sweet potatoes shipping date keeps getting moved back. We ordered the 30th of April, we got most everything after a week or two but the sweet potatoes.
> 
> I called Friday and they said they should ship this past weekend, but they haven't and the shipping date got moved back again to 6-5 to 6-12. They said that they may have gotten moved back because of cold weather... not sure I believe that at this point. If they don't ship by Friday I'm going to get them locally but was hoping to get a variety that is supposed to store well.
> 
> ...


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## Scottygvsu (Apr 19, 2003)

MSUFW07 said:


> I
> 
> Any one have a good way to store potatoes? Last year we ended up throwing out about 10 - 15 lbs of because they got soft and eyed out etc. They were stored in our basement were it was dark but not cool enough. I was thinking of getting an old dresser from craigslist and leaving it in the garage, against the wall closest to the house, but I fear them freezing, and the occasional mouse. Read somewhere about covering the rows with straw and leaving them in the ground.



Leave em in the ground. I do that with carrots and onions also. Just don't forget about them in the spring. When that moist soil warms up, they'll rot in a hurry.


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## goodworkstractors (Aug 7, 2007)

So far I've had three Sun Sugar tomatoes out of the garden. I saw another 2 or 3 that are ready to pick today. Radishes are all ready, plenty of spinach and lettuce as well. The first cayenne's look like they'll be ready in a week or so. Still waiting for blossoms on many plants though -- cucumbers, pumpkins, watermelon. Peas and bell peppers have blossoms, but not much more than that.


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## Scottygvsu (Apr 19, 2003)

Wow CS! I don't know where you are, but you're garden is way ahead of mine! My beans, corn, and pumpkins just sprouted. These cold nights are slowing me down quite a bit. I even had frost last Saturday.


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## wintrrun (Jun 11, 2008)

How are everyone's gardens doing?
Just stepped out for a break and was pleasantly surprised to find some summer squash and zucchini ready to pick.
Just about everything else besides the broccoli and Brussels sprouts are producing/flowering.
Tomatoes were giving me fits as they were not setting fruit but are not starting to produce as of sometime this weekend.


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## wannabapro (Feb 26, 2003)

I'm in the northern lower so I wait until Memorial weekend.

2nd year garden. Should be good.

2 varieties sweet corn
2 varieties tomatoes
cukes
zuchini
jelapenos
2 varieties onions
potatoes - yukon golds all the way baby
green beans
asparagus - looking good in year one
cauliflower
bok choy

We're all sand up here so water, water, and water is the key. And deer fencing. And gopher fencing.

For those who need ideas on how to protect from frost, overturned 5 gallon buckets and cardboard boxes work well. I use them on tomatoes and peppers any night below 45/46*. Peppers do not do well below 50*.


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## Scottygvsu (Apr 19, 2003)

My corn is about 4", my taters just broke the surface, and the strawberries are rocking! Anyone have any tips for keeping the slugs off of the berries? Strawberries are like sweet corn, every critter wants a taste. The 12 gauge has taken care of the birds and ground squirells, but I think it may be overkill for the slugs though.


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## goodworkstractors (Aug 7, 2007)

Pulled another 6 tomatoes off the vine this past weekend. Rabbits are destroying my peas. Brussel sprouts, broccoli, and cauliflower have been in the ground for two months at least, but just aren't producing. Might have to try them again in the late summer for a fall crop.

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## anonymous21 (Jul 22, 2005)

Scottygvsu said:


> My corn is about 4", my taters just broke the surface, and the strawberries are rocking! Anyone have any tips for keeping the slugs off of the berries? Strawberries are like sweet corn, every critter wants a taste. The 12 gauge has taken care of the birds and ground squirells, but I think it may be overkill for the slugs though.


 
try a small shallow bowl with beer in it, slugs love it.


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## kroppe (May 7, 2000)

Harvested some green beans today. The zinnias are up and blooming.


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## Scottygvsu (Apr 19, 2003)

http://cdn.imageserver.c-m-
g.us/michigan-sportsman_com/52/507188/5914-1404180622.jpg

Tonight's strawberry take. My berry patch is only 10x10 or so but it still makes more berries than I can eat.


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