2012 Garden Off To A Start.

[jdmidwest]

20 below and our first dusting of snow was what I woke up to this morning with a howling wind. My mission, get the garden plots ready for the new season.

First on agenda is to remove old fencing and tomato stakes. The mud should be firm with the change of weather.

I have to clean out the raised beds and remove the radishes that have survived the mild winter, I will take them out and feed them to the rabbits at the farm.

Rake some leaves.

Clean off the flower beds.

Move some Horseradish roots.

Plant some flower bulbs.

Cover the raised beds with glass panes and let them start drying out. Then on Valentines day, I will plant lettuce for the ones I love.

Anyone else thinking about a garden today?

[MaxDrown]

We just started gardening last year and have a lot to learn. This year I'd like to focus on bell peppers which didn't grow well for us last year. Any suggestions?

[Feathers and Fins]

Already did my first tilling of clover second till is comming on soon and ill add in 8 striper carcasses and some peat moss. after that ill let it sit 4 weeks and tille weekly till about the first of may then in goes the Peppers, Maters ( California Beef Steaks) Okra, Cantelope, Water mellon cucumber and carrot. I love having my veggies right outside the door.

Im going ot do some hanging herb gardens as well this year.

[jdmidwest]

Pulling tomato stakes was not a choice today, frozen pretty good. All else went well. I put the glass on the cold frames and things started warming up good with the sunshine. I even moved my compost bin to a sunny location, it had not been doing well since the trees was shading it.

Last year was the worst garden season ever, the heat and dry weather from June to August was hard on everything. But the fall picked up with rain and late frost. I think my tomato plants were still green when duck season rolled in. I am shooting for a better year this year. I am going to use more raised beds for some of the items, easier to control moisture and weeds.

[ness]

Beds are in great shape from the work I did last year. Got 5-6 different heirloom garlic varieties and some multiplier onions out there since fall. Tomatoes (Amish Paste, Cherokee Purple, Black from Tula, Brandywine, Celebrity), lettuce, peppers, herbs all started indoors last weekend. Another shipment of seeds in yesterday, need to get a few more things started. Need to get new plastic on the cold frame. Tomorrow's gonna be busy.

[ness]

We just started gardening last year and have a lot to learn. This year I'd like to focus on bell peppers which didn't grow well for us last year. Any suggestions?

Last year was crummy. Real wet in the spring and then very hot for several weeks mid-summer. My peppers and maters shut down early August. Get them going indoors if you're doing it from seed; don't put them out until May 1 or later; keep them watered but not wet during the summer.

[watermen]

put two trailer loads of horse $$$$ on last weekend and it is mellowing as I write this. Question for crowd how long does the manure aid your garden. put alot on for several years and this is third since last batch. My soil seemed to go right back to ridgetop clay in three years. It can't wash out cause I've got the whole garden surrounded by rr ties. I'd like to have nice soil before I'm 90. Is there anything else I could add to help. Put leaves on every year as well.

[Njardar]

We started clearing an area for a kit greenhouse that arrived a two weeks ago. For us it is ver unusual to dig soil in February, we were even able to transplant some shrubs, but not this weekend. Time to start seeds indoors.

[eric1978]

put two trailer loads of horse $$$$ on last weekend and it is mellowing as I write this. Question for crowd how long does the manure aid your garden. put alot on for several years and this is third since last batch. My soil seemed to go right back to ridgetop clay in three years. It can't wash out cause I've got the whole garden surrounded by rr ties. I'd like to have nice soil before I'm 90. Is there anything else I could add to help. Put leaves on every year as well.

I'm no botanist, but I might add some sandy loam or something else that keeps the soil from compacting and allows nutrients to move, roots to breathe, and water to drain. Horse poop might be nutritious, but if there's too much it will probably suffocate and drown your plants' root systems.

Those okras look awesome F&F!

[ness]

Manure is good, but ideally it should be composted before you use it. It's a better soil amendment after composting, and it's less likely to have live weed seeds if your pile gets good and hot.

Not sure what scale you're gardening on, but raised beds are a good option if you've got crummy soil and aren't talking too much space. Fill them with the best soil mix you can find, with lots of organic matter worked in. Make the beds narrow enough that you don't have to walk on the soil to reach everything -- about 4 feet wide. Between the good starting soil, plenty of organic matter and non-compacted soil, it will make a world of difference.