Mid-Atlantic - May 2015

Sorry this is late - going through a kitchen renovation and have been jam packed with teaching gardening classes. (Nice problem to have)

So how's everyone garden going?  Mine has been sorely neglected because of the above and allergies are kicking my butt.

We got hit with a LOT of wind awhile back and with it came . . . WEEDS!   I'm just not used to that in my Square Foot Garden. Now all the maple tree seeds (helicopters) are dropping so I'll be battling them.

Hope everyone else's gardens are doing better.

Slowly but surely my seeds are starting to sprout.  None of the showers we were expecting during the past week appeared, so I finally had to water last night.  I probably should have done it sooner.  With the water and warmer weather I'm expecting things to get going a little faster.  

I'm so glad I overwintered some spinach and lettuce so we have been able to harvest something from our garden.  Next year I hope I can get the seeds in the ground a little earlier.

My kitty had a snack of two of my lunchbox pepper plants.    One was left with two leaves, but I see two new ones starting to appear.  Another was left with only one leaf - I'm really hoping this one makes it.  I'm giving it as much sunlight as possible while keeping it away from the naughty cat.

I'll try to post a picture of my garlic soon - I'm so happy with how it's doing.  I'm looking every day for the scapes to appear!

Peas, cherry tomatoes far side of the sidewalk. Pepper plants that don't look so hot

Radishes that I harvested yesterday are bottom left corner.  They seem to enjoy the shade provided by the cinder blocks
 


Strawberries (First Year) and alyssum



Onions, I couldn't reorient the picture.  They look yummy already!



Black seeded simpson lettuce, kale, and spinach.  These all have grown about 2 inches since i took this picture Sunday.  I ate some spinach in my smoothie this morning!

Looking good!

Lookin' good.

Awesome, Zach!

Thanks for the encouragement!

I had a question that I searched for and couldn't find in the forum search.

Do any of you guys cut down your bush beans after they are done and watch them regrow and produce a second crop?  I did that last year and got maybe a 3/4 crop later in the season.  I just cut them down to a couple inches tall and they spring right back up!

zackshea,
 Nice looking garden! Congratulations!    

 I have not heard of cutting the bush bean bushes back and having them regrow. Did you leave any leaves on the stems when you cut them back? Do you have a link to any more information on doing this? I appreciate the info as I grow bush beans.

This doesn't have a ton of info, but I think this is where I read about it.


Thanks!




http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/2009269/sharing-a-tip-about-bush-beans-i-learned-long-ago

I tried cutting them back last year and also planted a new crop of beans at the same time.  The new crop matured before the ones that were cut back.  BUT, I missed the step of fertilizing the beans when you cut them back so that may make a big difference.

Yes, I forgot to mention I applied compost tea and a little fish emulsion to boost the leaf production after I cut them back.

Zach, beautiful garden pictures!  I really like the idea of the concrete blocks and putting extra plants in the little holes. 

The idea about the green beans is really neat too.  I never would have thought of that, honestly.  It would certainly save on seeds, wouldn't it?  Hmm...  I may have to try this one out just to see how it goes.

Thanks! 

I started last year with the cement block box (5'x15') and added 2 8'x4's and a 4'x'4 plastic board bed this spring.  I use the small holes in the cement blocks to plant Marigolds, borage, marguerite daisies, bachelor's buttons, and other beneficial bug attractors.  I also plant my strawberries in them.  It is kind of a pain to have to water them daily since the blocks dry out quickly, but they seem happy in there. 

I hope the bean plant cutting works for you, I thought I had killed the plants when I did it, but they came back really quickly.  I cannot wait for them to sprout this year, I planted them this past weekend.  The warm weather has been a great kick-start for a lot of my plants.

zackshea wrote:I had a question that I searched for and couldn't find in the forum search.

Do any of you guys cut down your bush beans after they are done and watch them regrow and produce a second crop?  I did that last year and got maybe a 3/4 crop later in the season.  I just cut them down to a couple inches tall and they spring right back up!

No guff...really?    Never heard of that.  I can't wait to try it.  I usually get a few more later but not enough to make it worth keeping them.  This will be a fun experiment.

CC

Good luck!

I think you have to leave a couple nodes above the soil so leave it about 3-4" tall.

Use sterile cutting tools also to prevent disease spreading.  

Also, even though you aren't technically replanting a square by cutting them, you should add compost or fertilizer to help them along.

Noted.  Thanks!

Last year I had a couple that started to come back after I cut them down.  But didn't get any more...  ran out of time before the frosts hit again...  Good to know about the amendments.

Thanks, Zach!

New to the forum and I thought I would show a couple of pics from this years crop. We still have a chance for frost this Friday night so the only 'summer' crop I have in so are a couple of squares of sweet corn. If they get hit, I will still have time to re-plant.



Here's a square of Onions, white and red along with Brussel Sprouts



And then we have a couple different types of garlic that has come along nicely this cool spring.



Will attach more photos as the season progresses and I hope to see more photos of other gardens from the region.

Looking good, MackerelSky!

Here is an updated picture, taken this past weekend.  The peas in the foreground are actually almost to the top of the trellis since I took this picture.





Cherry Tomatoes

Both of you, looking good!

My garden is doing pretty well, but I'm unimpressed with my peas.  Still no flowers, and they're not growing very tall.  I think I planted them on April 4 or so.   I used SFG mix from Veterans Compost.  I think there's too much mulch in the compost, and I'm afraid there weren't enough nutrients in it.

Here are a few pics.

Moswell -

Strange that your peas aren't growing like mine.  I used the same compost source!  I know I have had to water them a lot with the dryness we have had. 

Last year, my peas didn't start growing any flowers until they reached 7 ft. tall.  After that, I had so many peas that I had to give them away.  Maybe add a little fish emulsion to boost the foliage growth?  

It is gonna be HOT next week, I hope the peas make it through the 90 degree weather we are supposed to have.

zackshea wrote:Moswell -

Strange that your peas aren't growing like mine.  I used the same compost source!  I know I have had to water them a lot with the dryness we have had. 

Last year, my peas didn't start growing any flowers until they reached 7 ft. tall.  After that, I had so many peas that I had to give them away.  Maybe add a little fish emulsion to boost the foliage growth?  

It is gonna be HOT next week, I hope the peas make it through the 90 degree weather we are supposed to have.

Yeah, not sure what the deal is, because the tomatoes and lettuce and everything else are doing really well.  I agree, I'm concerned that the weather next week is going to do them in before they even get a chance to flower.  I do think I'm always concerned that the peas aren't growing fast enough, but they just seem particularly anemic this year.  I'll see if I can get some fish emulsion this weekend.

Does the composer you get from Veterans have mulch in it?  I just am not happy with how many sticks and things that look like pieces of mulch are in it.

I would think if the lettuce is doing good, the peas should also.  I get impatient and start thinking all my plants are stunted because they aren't growing as fast as I want them to!  Then they always seem to just start growing one day and I believe in the system again

As far as I can tell, there isn't much mulch or sticks in the compost.  I have found crab claws and sometimes uncompostable items like plastic army men, but if I let it dry out, it crumbles into the same consistency as my homemade compost. 

I am planning on having my wife who stays home with the kid to spray cold water on the soil where the peas are to cool the roots during the high temps next week.  Not sure what good it will do, but I am really looking forward to fresh peas in the next month and frozen peas in the coming winter.  I hope they survive since they take up a good portion of my bed. 

That fish emulsion stuff really works, hopefully it works for you!

Here's hoping!  I'm on vacation next week, so maybe I'll try something similar with cool water.