2015 SFG in Brooks, Ga

Garden update 01/03/15

I finally finished renovating my first bed.  It is 3' x 8'.  I dug out all the MM, put a thick layer of cardboard in the bottom, sifted the MM to remove the roots, replaced the MM, added compost and some MM from another bed, put straw mulch on top, and covered with plastic to keep from washing out any nutrients.  It is ready for spring planting.


Latest picture of my cover crops planted at the end of Oct.  They are growing slowly, Annual rye in the background and winter peas in the front.  I love looking at these two beds (both are 4' x 12') because they are so green and pretty against the dreary winter landscape.


And a picture of one of my Broccoli.  I have 15 still growing.  This head is bigger than a golf ball but smaller than a hardball.  Slowly growing.

Some other things still growing - winterbor kale, brussel sprouts, leeks, peas, carrots, garlic, and shallots.  It has been raining and cloudy for weeks.  Not much actual growth on anything, but at least very few freezing nights so I am not having to cover and uncover very often.

Your covered wagon looks so cozy.  Throw down a sleeping bag and pillow and read a book / take a nap.  As usual, neat and tidy looking.

Really nice yolos.  I always like to see your handiwork.  I have some rye grass growing around my front yard planter to protect against erosion.  It looks rather silly with lush green growth surrounded by yellow dormant summer grass.  It's doing the job well though and heavy rains have had no effect on my planter's slopes. 

All of my other boxes are occupied.  Lots of kale growing beautifully and we can't wait for plants to become big enough to harvest.  As you say though, slow growth with our recent weather.

I've begun ordering some of my spring seeds.  Burpee had some interesting exclusives and shipping was free the other day (I HATE paying those exorbitant shipping prices).

Hope you are well down there in Brooks.

I THOUGHT I had added my two cents worth, but not seeing it...

It looks really nice & neat, Yolos!  You're so organized...!

Looking good. Yolos

Kay

Garden update 02/08/15

I finally finished this winters bed rejuvenation.  This winter I was working on my three 3' x 8' beds.  Emptied all the soil, dug out the roots, put thick cardboard on the bottom of the bed, sifted the soil and refilled the bed.  Those beds should be good to go until I retire this August and have a chance to raise them off the ground.


My cover crop trial beds are coming along slowly.  I will have to hoe over one bed shortly to get ready for the potatoes.  The other bed will eventually be corn so I can let it grow awhile.


I planted my tomato seeds today in soil blocks.  I planted 5 varieties.  Brandywine, Juliet, Goliath, Mountain Merit, Gilbertie.  I have to order my Brandy Boy seeds.  I am going to read up on starting lettuce so maybe this year I will get some. 

I still have Brussel Sprouts, kale, leeks, Carrots, garlic and shallots growing.

Nice!  Textbook as always.  Our family ended up on a day trip... so hopefully I will focus on gardening later this week....

Windmere - I just finished planting your lettuce seeds in mini soil blocks.  Hope it works.  If it does, I may take a trip to Pike's to get different varieties.  I plan on planting the lettuce behind the tomatoes so maybe they won't bolt so fast,


I may take all my old lettuce seeds and just sprinkle them around my beds to see if any sprout.

Yolos,

That's almost what I did with my 2011 lettuce seed last year.  EXCEPT, I used my cement mixing tubs.  I added the fresh compost and stirred it up, then sprinkled a lettuce mix lightly over the top and watered lightly every day until I got sprouts.  In the early spring I had one in the sun and got some really good lettuce.  Later, after harvesting the garlic, I moved the tubs under a river birch tree and did the same. The tree gives a filtered shade not a deep shade.   I planted one tub and then 4 weeks later I planted the other.  By the time the first tub was going bitter, the second was coming in.  I then ripped up the first and replanted.  I managed lettuce for most of the hot summer by keeping them well watered.  I kept them picked small and frequently.  Being a fan of mustard and turnip greens, I can accept a small amount of bitterness to my lettuce but others can't.

Kat

yolos wrote:Windmere - I just finished planting your lettuce seeds in mini soil blocks.  Hope it works.  If it does, I may take a trip to Pike's to get different varieties.  I plan on planting the lettuce behind the tomatoes so maybe they won't bolt so fast,


I may take all my old lettuce seeds and just sprinkle them around my beds to see if any sprout.

Well I am excited.  I finally figured out how to get lettuce seeds to germinate.  I put two seeds on the top of the mini soil blocks, lightly pressed them into the soil on top of the block, kept them moist and they sprouted in 2 days.  Thanks for the seeds Windmere. 

Now I will have to rush home from work tomorrow and make the large soil blocks so I can insert the smaller soil blocks into the larger ones.  I intended to plant the mini soil blocks directly in my beds but we will be having an unusually hard freeze later this week so I have to wait on planting them outside.

yolos wrote:

yolos wrote:Windmere - I just finished planting your lettuce seeds in mini soil blocks.  Hope it works.  If it does, I may take a trip to Pike's to get different varieties.  I plan on planting the lettuce behind the tomatoes so maybe they won't bolt so fast,


I may take all my old lettuce seeds and just sprinkle them around my beds to see if any sprout.

Well I am excited.  I finally figured out how to get lettuce seeds to germinate.  I put two seeds on the top of the mini soil blocks, lightly pressed them into the soil on top of the block, kept them moist and they sprouted in 2 days.  Thanks for the seeds Windmere. 

Now I will have to rush home from work tomorrow and make the large soil blocks so I can insert the smaller soil blocks into the larger ones.  I intended to plant the mini soil blocks directly in my beds but we will be having an unusually hard freeze later this week so I have to wait on planting them outside.

Awesome yolos!

Finally the sun is shining, the sun is shining.  Yippeee.  And I am off work today.  I am on my way out to the garden to remove the straw from around my garlic.  I intend to lay it out in the sun on a tarp to dry it out.  It is a soggy mess in the bed because of all the rain we have had.  Then when it is dried out I will replace it around the garlic and then cover the top of the bed with plastic over my hoops.  Looks like today will be sunny and tomorrow partial sun and then rain for the next 5 days.  No more sun forecast until next Friday.

Crud - I just looked at the forecast and the next day of sunshine will not be until a week from this Monday.  Bummer.

I finally removed the 4+ inches of very soggy wheat straw from around my garlic.  Then put it out in the sun to dry for a few hours and then replaced it around the garlic.  Here is my super mechanized wheat straw drying operation.


And a look at my garlic I have been babying since last October (10/31/14).  The garlic is about 12 inches tall with 5 to 6 leaves per plant.  It looks real healthy.  This will be my third year of trying to grow garlic and the first year I planted in the fall.  I think this year I will actually get some edible garlic.  I planted Chets Italian, Inchelium Red, Red Toch, and shallots.


I haven't been growing potatoes the last couple of years because it always gets hit with early blight (or something) and we do not have a long spring here it Georgia.  So I wanted to plant it in the middle of Feb but it has been too rainy and cold.  So I will try next weekend.  I also, for the first time, decided to let it presprout.  Four varieties - Red Pontiac, Kennebec, Yukon Gold, and Russet Norkotah.

The garlic looks awesome, Yolos!

Let me know how you like the Inchelium Red...  That's the one I've been thinking about.

yolos wrote:Here is my super mechanized wheat straw drying operation.

Finally had three days of sun and projected temps for the next 10 days will be higher than 32 degrees and rain for about 6 days in a row.  So I tried to plant as much as possible today.  I didn't get my lettuce or onions planted but did plant the peas and potatoes.

Here is a picture of my pea bed.  That is my daughter showing my 5 year old grandson how to plant peas.  Of course, I had just shown her how to plant them.


Here is a picture of my newly planted potato bed.


I am getting tired of posting pictures of empty looking beds.  I can't wait until something actually starts to grow.

And I enjoy looking at your "empty" beds, freshly sown.

That REALLY looks great, Yolos...!  You've got so much space and it's so nice. 

Do you have any problems with grass/weeds trying to come thru your mulch on the ground?  Do you have anything under the mulch?

Can't wait to see how your garden grows this year!!!

AtlantaMarie wrote:That REALLY looks great, Yolos...!  You've got so much space and it's so nice. 

Do you have any problems with grass/weeds trying to come thru your mulch on the ground?  Do you have anything under the mulch?

Can't wait to see how your garden grows this year!!!

Yes, I get a few weeds here and there.  They are not really coming up from under the mulch though.  I assume they are from seeds that have flown in or gotten in some other way.  When I first laid the mulch, I put about 5 layers of newspaper and then wheat straw over that.  Wheat germinated in the isles.  The next year, I laid more newspaper and then a thick layer of mini pine bark nuggets.  I still get a few weeds but they are easy to pull out.  The pine bark nuggets have held up for two years.  They are composting a little and it is easy for seeds to germinate in the pathways. 

When I expand my garden, it will be in an area where there is sparse Bermuda growing now.  That will be a challenge.

sanderson wrote:Your covered wagon looks so cozy.  Throw down a sleeping bag and pillow and read a book / take a nap.  As usual, neat and tidy looking.

My thoughts exactly when I saw it!

Yolos - Looks GREAT! Can't wait to get out in my boxes when the ground thaws!

Yolos, I'm gardening vicariously thru you.   Your photos are great, your garden is so beautiful!  My boxes are finally peaking up out of the snow today!  Exciting times ahead, even though I'll just be starting with the soggy wet part.

Keep those photos coming and I'll keep following along one step behind ya.
CC

yolos wrote:When I expand my garden, it will be in an area where there is sparse Bermuda growing now.  That will be a challenge.

Raised beds?

sanderson wrote:

yolos wrote:When I expand my garden, it will be in an area where there is sparse Bermuda growing now.  That will be a challenge.

Raised beds?  

I haven't decided whether to use raised beds or improve the soil with wood chips, compost, whatever.  It is hard red Ga clay with some Bermuda grass and other grasses mixed in.  So it will need a lot of work.  But I am retiring in August and I will have lots of time to start this project this fall.  I think I will be planting fruit - blackberries, blue berries, raspberries, maybe some grapes, maybe some asparagus, etc.  They will take up a lot of room and not sure I want to go to the expense of making raised beds and filling them with MM.  My garden now is all boxes/beds lined up evenly.  So maybe I want to go a little free flowing for this part of the garden.  Throw in some perennial flowers maybe.  I am getting kind of tired seeding in little pots/cell trays all my flowers - marigolds, cosmos, borage, nasturtiums, four oclock's.

LIGHT STAND

Following Slimbolen99's very specific directions about what type and model of shop lights and bulbs to use, I rigged up a second light stand to take care of the overflow of seedlings I have growing.  It is only temporary until I can get my lettuce and other cold crops transplanted outside (if it ever stops raining and the sun comes out). 

Here is a rolling stand I usually use at this time of year to roll my seedlings outside during the day and then inside at night.

A couple more pictures an hour later.  I still have a lot of seedlings downstairs that I will bring up and put under the light tomorrow.  I have been running two shifts down stairs.  Some plants on the stand during the day and a second shift at night.  Now they can all be under the lights for the 16 hours I usually run them.

It looks real fancy in front of my fireplace and mantle (red neck).

yolos wrote:LIGHT STAND
It looks real fancy in front of my fireplace and mantle (red neck).

  Also, Red neck mood lighting.