2017 garden thread

[ness]

I've done some maters and peppers pre-sprouted and into cells. More to come. Didn't start right after Christmas like BilletHead did last year. 

Compost is in and I've got the beds under plastic to maybe solarize a bit before the season. I've gardened in these raised beds for maybe 8 years now and I think I've got some soil-borne diseases I need to kill. Probably won't get hot enough but nothing to lose. 

[BilletHead]

      HA ha buddy,

I planted seeds in starter trays right after you did. Thought I was behind. Learned one thing. Never follow Ness. Just slowly drag your feet behind him. Well this should mean plant seeds in another three weeks  . Ok I do in all honestly have lettuce starts two inches tall. That is all so far well kind of. My chestnut seeds started sprouting in the bag in the crisper drawer. Have some of those in pots now too. in the shop out of this cold snap. 21 degrees this morning in BilletHeadVille.

  BilletHead

[ness]

Well since you've got 2-inch lettuce I figure it's safe to start mine. Don't want to harvest it off the shelf like I did last year. ?

[BilletHead]

   Two word Ness!

      Micro greens. Figure I could have a fresh salad any day now. I could apply my dressing with one drop from an eyedropper. Mixed greens too as there is four varieties.  Finall got the covers on one bed so that the dirt will warm up. May get the starts in the ground this week maybe . Right now they are safe in the shop under a grow light,

BilletHead

[ness]

Here's the progress as of mid March. 

Told ya I was cuttin back and starting later. 

[MOPanfisher]

I have been afraid to uncover my cold frame to see what it looks like.  I can see green through the plastic though, if it warms up I will give it a drink.  My regular gardens are so dry and hard I would need an excavator to break it up and turn under the turnips and wheat.  Eventually it will rain here, maybe 10 inches but it will rain.

[rps]

And here I sit on the top of a bluff where planting daffodils requires a quarter stick of dynamite. 

 

[BilletHead]

   Like MoPanfisher I was a bit afraid to look under the bed covers this morning. When I did a sigh of relief lettuce did good. I worked on thinning the clusters ad then gave the plants a good drink,

     I am behind Ness on his starts thank goodness. I am sure he will have frozen tomatoes soon Some in the garage growing and some in the house too. Tomatoes, peppers and flower starts,

    After nineteen degrees a couple nights ago I was happy to see this today. Hard to believe but I think some things are pretty tough,

    Been working also on the blackberry patch. It was a mess when I started. Last years canes had fell over into the surrounding area and had began to sprout and develop roots. Cut out the shoots that had produced last season. Pulled the complete plants out of the center row. They were a different variety producing earlier but more sour so out with them. Took the volunteer plants out of the surrounding yard and replanted the middle row. Tied everything up and retrained back down into the cattle pannels,

  Other things that needed done we did. The water pond liner had finally given up the ghost and cracked on the bottom and began to leak this Fall. I caught the fish which were pets and took them to a neighbors bond and released them. The big koi will surprise someone some day when they see the big orange thing. The big channel cat I am sure is happy too now. Removed the rocks and old liner. Got a new one and got it installed. Replaced rocks and tidied things up. Filled it up and a couple days afterwords went to a pond in a gail force wind with the fly rods and caught eighteen green sunfish. Kept five. Two big ones and three little dudes. Put them in. A few days after that a couple small bass went in. The three little greenies are gone no doubt they became fish food for their kin. Here you can see the two bass on the bottom. One of these days I will go to moms pond and net some koi to dump in my water garden. She has some in her pond that are well over two foot long,

  Sadie says she is glad it is a nicer day for pond peeking,

  BilletHead

 

[snagged in outlet 3]

It's not a garden but it's pretty cool.  My wife has a house full of plants and she has been trying to get an orchid to bloom.  Viola!

 

[BilletHead]

    Ohh Snagged,

          Does this mean your wife is exotic ?  Nice flower. We seen at lowes the other day they have orchids in now.

BilletHead