Too Much Of The Good Things?

[ness]

Dang--8 inches! All bets are off with that much rain.

[jdmidwest]

Dang--8 inches! All bets are off with that much rain.

It started here last Sunday morning about 5 am and has been rolling rainstorms thru several times a day since. Wed. it rained all day a steady rain till almost dark, 3 inches that day. 3 rains came thru last evening. Today is our last chance, coming in tonight. Then hot and dry next week.

[Feathers and Fins]

JD my raised beds are doing GREAT. I put it in April 16th and already have Peppers, Maters, Okra starting to develop on the plants. I went with the same top soil mix you did but had read some revues online about problems so I took a bunch of Whites and Crappie carcasses and put them un the garden where I was going to plant, Then after 2 weeks I added Fish Oil Pills and the garden is going ape crazy.

I actually got the idea for the fish from reading some old Native American planting tricks where they always added a fish next to the plant to insure a harvest. I am now a firm believer in it. I don't know if its to late for you to do it but might be worth a try. Also remember to put Marigolds around the garden.

[REDSOXWSCHAMP]

JD my raised beds are doing GREAT. I put it in April 16th and already have Peppers, Maters, Okra starting to develop on the plants. I went with the same top soil mix you did but had read some revues online about problems so I took a bunch of Whites and Crappie carcasses and put them un the garden where I was going to plant, Then after 2 weeks I added Fish Oil Pills and the garden is going ape crazy.

I actually got the idea for the fish from reading some old Native American planting tricks where they always added a fish next to the plant to insure a harvest. I am now a firm believer in it. I don't know if its to late for you to do it but might be worth a try. Also remember to put Marigolds around the garden.

fish carcass make a great ORGANIC fertilizer, my grandpa used to use fish carcass, and some other little special mix. he would grow tomatoes as bigger than i have ever seen.

[jdmidwest]

JD my raised beds are doing GREAT. I put it in April 16th and already have Peppers, Maters, Okra starting to develop on the plants. I went with the same top soil mix you did but had read some revues online about problems so I took a bunch of Whites and Crappie carcasses and put them un the garden where I was going to plant, Then after 2 weeks I added Fish Oil Pills and the garden is going ape crazy.

I actually got the idea for the fish from reading some old Native American planting tricks where they always added a fish next to the plant to insure a harvest. I am now a firm believer in it. I don't know if its to late for you to do it but might be worth a try. Also remember to put Marigolds around the garden.

I used to dig my fish guts into the garden until I found that the feral dogs my neighbors let run loose like to roll in them as they fester. Now I just toss them out on the ground and the dogs disappear. Seems like when a smelly fido comes thru the doggy door, they take better care of them.

[jdmidwest]

Seems like I was wrong about the frost last night. We had scattered frost all over this morning. I think my garden was spared due to the trees around it. There was lots of it in the open areas.

[ness]

Topsoil is generally pretty heavy, and I think it would take a pretty high proportion of good compost to make it right. I couldn't even begin to guess how many fish you'd need.

When I built my raised beds a few years back, I filled them with 100% compost trucked in from a place in town. That was some great stuff -- real black, light and airy. I do the square foot method, so I've got stuff planted very close together. The nice, loose, nutrient-rich soil is a real plus. I've topped it off a couple times with big box compost, but it's crap. Wood chips and even rocks. I'd do the compost thing again, but there's a minimum order amount that is way more than I need.

This year I topped it off with bagged potting soil. I was surprised at how much wood was in it, but, it was still pretty good stuff. Lots of peat and vermiculite. It was a little expensive, but I think it helps make the most of my little garden.

[Wayne SW/MO]

I wouldn't rule out too much water if you have had 8" of rain. Too much water can make plants yellow also. I would wait until things go back to normal and see what the new growth looks like first.

As far as tomatoes go they won't grow much until the nights warm up. They don't like the cold. Okra is another one that loves the heat.

I'm doing the square foot thing this year, but I haven't been in a hurry. Over the decades I've never really seen a gain in pushing the planting. They grow when the conditions are right, not matter what.

That's interesting about the bees. I think I knew that they could hatch queens, but just forgot. What are you going to do with all that honey?

[jdmidwest]

What honey? I am raising bees.

I am building hives now. Once I hit my target number of 25 hives or so, I will let them do the honey thing. Because of my agressive splitting, they don't have time to make excess honey. But the hives are strong and they make it thru the winter with the honey I leave them.

I may see some honey next year, but I am not planning on it till the following year.

I could have bought 25 starter hives at $135 each last year and would have honey this year. I am going a cheaper route and making my bees make more bees in 3 years to reach the same goal and saving that big lump sum startup cost. $3375 for bees, $7500 for wooden ware and foundation was a big chunk to come up with. I let my 3 starter hives double each year for free and build the wooden ware in my spare time as I need it. I still have to buy the foundation as I grow and some of the frame components, and the lumber. But I will be saving alot of expense by doing it this way. I will be able to take that savings and buy some nice honey extracting equipment.