Garden Prep!!!!

[lovenlife]

These are some of my garden pictures...all in prep stages.
These foods wintered over and I have been eating already!
Notice the residents macot started early! I think he ate lots all winter and slept alot too!

[T-Bird]

Looking good, lovenlife!

Hope mr. piggie is a pet

[big foot marty]

hate pinching strawberries or roses or other first year berries but i am happier later.....

The 12 year old boy in me has to be controlled so the plants do better.

[Mary Kay]

DebB,

What are those containers made of? Remay? If remay, then that doesn't decompose. Do you peel if off? I was thinking when you said you planted beets of how root crops should not be transplanted - unless they're in a decomposable "container." those look so earthy! LOL

And why not plant snow peas and spinach directly outdoors?

Thanks for sharing those photos BTW!

Mary Kay

[somelikeitraw]

Been out in the weed patch! Does anyone know of a way to completely get rid of crabgrass? I have been digging it up and digging it up and digging it up but it just seems to keep coming back. I know it's important to get every little piece you can find out of the soil and that's what I thought I did, but it just keeps coming back. Wonder if crabgrass would make a decent green smoothie, LOL!

DebB - what a great idea to use those big spinach/lettuce rectangles as green houses!

I have some strawberry plants that are going into a strawberry pot. Didn't know it was best to pick off first year blossoms and have already eaten 4 berries. Will start picking all blossoms off now and hope that helps the future harvest. There's one Brandywine tomato plant/start still in the little pot it was purchased in which really needs to get into the ground, hence my digging about in the fondly referred to "weed patch". There's also French thyme waiting to be transplanted. I think I will keep the variegated sorrel in it's pot, it has lived in it for over a year and seems very happy.

I have boatloads of seeds and behind the best time to start them so I better get myself busy!

Last year we planted trees. Meyer lemon, Valencia orange, Red grapefruit, White nectarine, Mission fig, 1 of each. Have had two Meyer lemons so far and many more blossoms and there are lots of blossoms on the orange and grapefruit as well. The fig is putting out lots of new leaves, no fruits yet. There is a dwarf apricot and a Rainier cherry from years ago and this year they are finally covered in blossoms.

[streetsurfer]

Been out in the weed patch! Does anyone know of a way to completely get rid of crabgrass? I have been digging it up and digging it up and digging it up but it just seems to keep coming back. I know it's important to get every little piece you can find out of the soil and that's what I thought I did, but it just keeps coming back. Wonder if crabgrass would make a decent green smoothie, LOL!

I assume you want a natural way to do it, in case you want to make that smoothie later on. Read up on corn gluten meal as a preventive measure for the crabgrass. That is a natural safe choice that keeps seeds from germinating. The principal is you will be forming a barrier near the surface to prevent the seeds in that zone from germinating. These products are called pre emergents. Preen is one brand of a chemical version of pre emergent. Crabgrass germinates early in the season so you should check with you local extension service to see when they recommend putting down a pre-emergent. Getting it down at the right time is important. Somewhere between snow melt and forsythias/lilacs blooming is the time frame for crabgrass-that time right before soil temps are suitable for grabgrass to germinate. Pulling it is fine but it doesn't deal with old dropped seeds. Certainly try to cultivate out what you can before it goes to seed later in the year. If you have it in the lawn try to mow often when in seed, and use a catcher to lessen the distribution of seeds. Seeds can remain viable in the soil for years and then sprout when disturbed, or conditions are just right, so just pulling the crabgrass may be moving old seeds into a new position where they will more easily sprout. That zone near the surface where you would try to establish the barrier of CGM. When weeding, get as many roots as you can too. Keep in mind too, that weeding would also disturb any existing weed preventing barrier and more product would need to be applied (always stay within the product labels recommendation). You probably know stuff pulls up much easier a day or two after a good rain.

You won't want to use it in areas that you will later be broadcasting your veggie and greens seeds, or turf seed for that matter. It will prevent their germination also. You will either have to apply it after the area is established (and maybe miss your crabgrass window) or start your plants indoors and transplant them into the garden once they've established good roots.
I've used CGM on my yard. IIRC it was one fall and then the following spring. It was very effective for most weeds, and it's benefits appeared to last well beyond a year.

[somelikeitraw]

Thanks StreetSurfer! For now I will just keep digging the stuff out since I am planting food in that area.

[How?]

Hi loveninlife, tell us more about your pig. I just adore them and plan on getting one or two at some stage.Do they do much rooting, do you have a special fenced of place or can you let them wander. How much care do they need, vaccinations,hoof care etc..Whats the most annoying thing about him/her?Whats the best thing about him/her? Is it a him/her!? What is him/her's name?How intelligent are they? Do they eat most waste, juicer pulp extract etc?

[dlt123]

These are some of my garden pictures...all in prep stages.
These foods wintered over and I have been eating already!
Notice the residents macot started early! I think he ate lots all winter and slept alot too!

Hey, I saw your Brussels sprouts and I love those little things... Your picture made me think, can you eat the stalk that the sprouts are attached to?

Just curious,
Dennis

[T-Bird]

Hey, I saw your Brussels sprouts and I love those little things... Your picture made me think, can you eat the stalk that the sprouts are attached to?

Yep - and you can eat a broom handle too!

[dlt123]

Yep - and you can eat a broom handle too!

Best of luck with that Broom handle.

Dennis

[T-Bird]

today, picking up after mr. puppy, there were huge chunks of wood!

That dog likes his sticks, lol. I think he's getting enough fiber.....

In more appropriate garden updates I have the following to report...

Todays lunch salad includes baby greens from the yard including:

chard
spinach
3 types of lettuce - maybe more - who know what I planted, lol!
dill
parsley
wild lambsquarters
mizuna greens
tat soi
arugula

and they are so cute - 1/2 the size of the baby green in retail.

sweet spicy yummy goodness......pairing with shavings of carrot and beet, some tomatoe and avocado all of which are not from the garden.....unfortunately...

[dlt123]

This weekend I'm going to make the newspaper pots to transplant into. We're also building more raised beds this weekend - if this wind dies down that is. *Ü*
!

DebB, what are these newspaper pots you are referring to here? Are these planting pots you make yourself and if so how do you make them? These sound intriguing...

Thanks,
Dennis

[streetsurfer]

If found I double sowed two rows in my garden.

I* have mizuna with buttercrunch, and spinach with another lettuce.

Oh well, I'll thin one row favoring the spinach since I didn't plant it elsewhere, and the other-the buttercrunch because I have mizuna in a couple containers.

T-Bird, is your spinach bolting yet. Mine that overwintered is stretching out and starting too already.

[T-Bird]

My spinach was spring planted so still young - not bolting, but unfortunately - losing about 1/2 of it to flea beetles (I think).

I've ordered some floating row cover for my greens from johnnys.

My red russian kale I overwintered started bolting. I snapped those off and used them like rapini. Next bolt stalk (hope there is another) I will let them go to seed.