Getting Ready For The Summer Garden Organic Gardening 101

Getting ready for the summer garden

thegoldminer 14 years ago

Bought a six pack of Ace tomatoes and re potted into 32 oz Styrofoam containers yesterday. Also re potted 4 Early Girl plants and one Black Princes. Add to re potting two bell peppers. The garden soil is so fluffy, ground to cold to plant but when it is these babies will be perfect in size. Guess another 400-500 pounds of tomatoes again. Love tilling the soil. Cheers JJ

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pointsevenout 14 years ago said:

Now there's a green thumb! Eleven tomato plants and you plan to get 400-500 pounds of tomatoes? Wish I could grow bell peppers. They like very rich soil and warm weather. Only way I could grow them is to put down a bag of potting soil, run it through a few times for drainage, and split the top of the bag open. Plant the pepper plants right in the bag. Too expensive otherwise to amend this clay soil.

Does your little doggie help fertilize?

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thegoldminer 14 years ago said:

My little Jessie, her old joints gave out a couple of years ago, she sits on my desk in a nice box. Last year 11 roma tomato plants give up over 400 lbs of tomatoes, also had Ace, and Early girl.
I have raised my soil 14 inches in 35 years, it is spectacular, I should sell it by the bag!!!!
Last year had roma tomatoes that weigh over 6 ounces each!!! Canned 90 quarts of spaghetti sauce. Year before last 6 cucumber plants were producing 22 pounds every two days, left picking go four days and had over 100 pounds. I had cucumbers coming out my a--. Couldn't them away fast enough. Cherry tomatoes one year grew up 12 feet high, had to use a ladder to pick'em. Love the garden. Best, JJ.

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thegoldminer 14 years ago said:

I get about 10 five gallon buckets of rabbit poop and till it in and cover the the top of the ground around the planted plant so every time I water it takes nutrients to the roots. JJ

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pointsevenout 14 years ago said:

I'm about ready to call my local farmers co-op. Gave them a soil sample a week ago for analysis to see what amendments are needed. Wish I had your soil. I'm just starting out in rocky limestone red clay. In '07 I got a lot of blossom end rot. Only rabbit poop I get is when the rabbits decide to oblige me. And I have seen their pellet piles under my grapevines.

I'm going for the big heirloom tomatoes. Going to pull off all suckers and go with only one main stem and pinch off half the flower clusters as they emerge, to go for growing really big tomatoes. Will cull the seeds to use in next years crop and possibly package them for sale. Maybe years in the future my soil will be good loam like yours.

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pointsevenout 14 years ago said:

Still nothing back from the co-op.

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susanmay 14 years ago said:

We still have some snow on the ground, but in another month or so I'll be going to Farmer's Seed and Nursery to get our tomato plants. They'll get to sit in the bay window for a good month growing. We did Old German, Caspian Pink (both heirlooms), Early girl, and Better Boy last year. The heirlooms made some amazing freezer spaghetti sauce. Definitly want them again this year. Early girls are always great, but we weren't too impressed with the Better Boys. I think I'm going to swap them out for Romas this year and try to can some sauce too! Learned that peppers don't thrive in our climate/soil outside of Jalapenos. They produced like crazy, but the rest were not so good.

Yeah for spring!!

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pointsevenout 14 years ago said:

Day and a half of sunny weather to help dry out this ground. Heading out tomorrow to re-till the garden spots. Hoping the soil analysis comes back soon.

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thegoldminer 14 years ago said:

84 yesterday in the shade!!!!!!! Ground is looking good, think I may try rototilling up the fluff. If all goes well, well in go the plants. Really early but what the heck, love being in the garden, digging, planting. Oops, forgot I was going to go get 10 five gallons buckets of bunny berries tomorrow. Guess I best bucket up.

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pointsevenout 14 years ago said:

I was so afraid for my tomato crop. Got a lot of damage from a hail storm. Finally the plants are starting to sucker out and I'll be able to replace the main stem on some of the more severely damaged plants with the uppermost sucker. I's a so happy!

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pointsevenout 14 years ago said:

Well I'll be sheep dipped!

It's snowing outside! This is the last full week of March! Makes me wonder if there will be a very late frost this year. Come on spring do your thing!

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trigger 14 years ago said:

Check for the last frost date before planting out tender seedlings.

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peetabear 14 years ago said:

good advice ... had to bring in some plants last night... got down in the 30's

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dixiesmom 14 years ago said:

Last frost date here isn't till about the last week of May. But I am chomping at the bit to get going. Big changes this year, for a very small yard. Going the square foot gardening route. The hubby has just about finished building my boxes ... and I've been planning the layout on paper. Just have to bring the Cocker Spaniel on board ... no going in the boxes once they are planted. Wish me good luck on that one.

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pointsevenout 14 years ago said:

Mid April is the last projected frost date for this area.

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ttaaccoo 13 years ago said:

Come on, JJ, You are in Sacramento? Thirty yrs ago, that whole area was farms,with onions and , tomatoes, and that is all the crops I remember!

I got back to Buffalo in early June. DH had not been setting out anything. I dug around and found seeds from 07 for Brandywine and a fab cherry tomato. I put them in those little starter plugs within a little "sauna box". 3 days later those little old heirloom seeds shot up! Now they have 2 sets of leaves. In previous yrs our tomatoes grew in halved wine barrels, one plant to each pot. Don't tell any worms, but not even 1 in the past 4 or 5 yrs of summer tomatoes! I'm crossing my fingers there will be enuf summer shine!

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pointsevenout 13 years ago said:

Luck with those brandywines. It's too hot here in north Alabama for the flowers to set fruit. Needs to drop below 70 degrees at night and 95 in the day.

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pointsevenout 13 years ago said:

It's garden time again. Have two plots tilled up and properly amended. About 750 sq/ft each. String lines run for straight rows. All the rest is up to mother to plant what she wants.
I'll have my hands full with three rows of grape vines surrounded by three rows of my own crop. Going to be tomatoes and watermelon and a row of espalier fruit trees as yet to be planted.

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pointsevenout 13 years ago said:

Upper garden is planted with peas and beans. Lower garden has a row of freshly planted muskmelons and breakfast cantaloupe.
Game is on! We're past the last expected frost day.
Put a couple rose bushes at the upper end of the upper garden area.

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susanmay 13 years ago said:

What a nice thought! We've had SNOW the past few days. :( We do have our plants ordered though, and they should be coming within a few weeks. I would guess with how crazy our weather is, it will be the end of May before we dare plant.

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pointsevenout 12 years ago said:

Put in a hundred foot row of Moon and Stars watermelon seeds spaced every 6 inches. Will thin if and when they germinate. Not expecting much out of them this year as the soil is not ideal. Drip irrigation is in place. Just have to get it hooked up to a source.

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