***The Official 2014 Gardening Thread***

[dmahurin]

So what is everyone planting this year? Trying anything new or different? I've already got potatoes in the ground and I'm trying an herb garden this year. I've started cilantro, oregano, and basil in planter pots from seed and will transfer to a 55 gallon drum cut in half length wise and laid on its side with drain holes.

Overall I'm going with tomatoes, green beans, peppers(jalapeño/bell), broccoli, lettuce, and the aforementioned potatoes.

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by HonestChieffan

This time of year my garden is growing in my head and its ideal.

But real world, there is much hope. I was able to till deep in fall and put garden up in beds. So it will warm faster and will dry faster for planting. The garden was overseeded with rye (grain rye not grass rye). Part will go till it heads out and then Ill weed eat it and plnat transplant crops into the raised bed no till. The rye tops will serve as a mulch and the root mass adds greatly to organic matter and I should have fewer weeds.

Where seeded crops will go I plan to work up just enough to plant rows or hills.

And another experiment will be straw bale tomatoes where I laid down straw bales last summer in a row and will plant about 12 tomato plants into the straw bales.Ive fertilized the bales 2 times and will do again soon.

I got garlic from a garlic producer in California and planted it in september. It looks great and will be my first time to try growing garlic in the garden

Good work HCF.

I tried the cover crop idea one time. I got my butt kicked. Cover crop grew well, but I couldn't get it established quick enough to beat out the kochia. I still catch hell about that idea.

I never tried Winter Cereal Rye. That might do it. I'd probably need to hit it with Dicamba in Febrary or March to make it work, and that scares the bejesus out of me in a Garden.

Kochia

[lewdog]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

Damn, I had no idea you could do that, very cool.

I have my tomato plants growing pretty well from seeds to put out in a couple more months.

Three of my fig tree cuttings are prospering.

I had no idea either. I planted the tomatoes, from seeds, near the end of August as people here can sometimes get a fall crop of tomatoes ready to eat by the end of November. I think I got them in the ground too late and with some early November temperatures that got colder than normal, they weren't ready. But the bushes looked nice and full so I decided to try to keep them alive. They are helped by the fact this small garden backs up to the concrete wall which holds some heat through the night.


My neighbor has a really nice fig tree that is on the backside of my garden. Beautiful looking trees when they are producing fruit.

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by lewdog

I had no idea either. I planted the tomatoes, from seeds, near the end of August as people here can sometimes get a fall crop of tomatoes ready to eat by the end of November. I think I got them in the ground too late and with some early November temperatures that got colder than normal, they weren't ready. But the bushes looked nice and full so I decided to try to keep them alive. They are helped by the fact this small garden backs up to the concrete wall which holds some heat through the night.


My neighbor has a really nice fig tree that is on the backside of my garden. Beautiful looking trees when they are producing fruit.

Please keep us updated as I want to see how they turn out . My knowledge on this kind of stuff is almost embarrassing. I just thought they died off in the fall due to the short light cycle. So they just went kind of dormant?

Yeah, my SIL got me started on the fig trees and they love this soil. I have three really large ones now and hope for it to be six by next fall.

[HonestChieffan]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

Good work HCF.

I tried the cover crop idea one time. I got my butt kicked. Cover crop grew well, but I couldn't get it established quick enough to beat out the kochia. I still catch hell about that idea.

I never tried Winter Cereal Rye. That might do it. I'd probably need to hit it with Dicamba in Febrary or March to make it work, and that scares the bejesus out of me in a Garden.

Kochia

Dicamba has way too long a life in soil, never use in a garden...They tell me the key to cereal rye is let the plant head and bloom then weed eat and it will not comeback.

Kochia is the shit....we have bindweed in two beds thanks to wife going to a Kansas Nursery that had it in potted plants...

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by HonestChieffan

Dicamba has way too long a life in soil, never use in a garden...They tell me the key to cereal rye is let the plant head and bloom then weed eat and it will not comeback.

Kochia is the shit....we have bindweed in two beds thanks to wife going to a Kansas Nursery that had it in potted plants...

Yeah. That's why I never tried the cover thing again. Kochia germinates when the soil temperature is like 20 so I basically have no shot at beating it out if the ground. Maybe if I could get rye a foot tall in the fall maybe. But I doubt it.

Bindweed is a bitch. When it pokes through get yourself a tip and some undiluted glyphosate and paint the leaves. I just pick up the vine and play it like a guitar.

Bindweed is the bane of my existence.

[HonestChieffan]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

Yeah. That's why I never tried the cover thing again. Kochia germinates when the soil temperature is like 20 so I basically have no shot at beating it out if the ground. Maybe if I could get rye a foot tall in the fall maybe. But I doubt it.

Bindweed is a bitch. When it pokes through get yourself a tip and some undiluted glyphosate and paint the leaves. I just pick up the vine and play it like a guitar.

Bindweed is the bane of my existence.

I went after it with Tordon the first summer...I knew better but Im a nozzle head...sure smoked a juniper bush nearby about 2 months later...now i use Panoramic and Roundup to hold it back

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by HonestChieffan

I went after it with Tordon the first summer...I knew better but Im a nozzle head...sure smoked a juniper bush nearby about 2 months later...now i use Panoramic and Roundup to hold it back

Good luck. Bindweed is the devil.

You ought to give the straight glyphosate painted on the leaves a shot. We've had good luck here.

[lewdog]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

Please keep us updated as I want to see how they turn out . My knowledge on this kind of stuff is almost embarrassing. I just thought they died off in the fall due to the short light cycle. So they just went kind of dormant?

Yeah, my SIL got me started on the fig trees and they love this soil. I have three really large ones now and hope for it to be six by next fall.

Well this is Phoenix so gardening here is almost the opposite of what you think. I can't grow tomatoes from June-August because it's too hot. So most people plant mid January and stop in May (best cycle). Some then plant again in mid August, something like early girls, and stop in December.

Most tomato plants will stay alive until a frost hits, which then kills the plant. Indeterminate plants will continue to grow and grow, like a cherry tomato which gives me multiple harvests of tomatoes during it's life (honestly had 200+ tomatoes from it last year). While determinate tomato plants will grow to a certain size and stop.

Would love to see some pictures of your fig trees if you get a chance.

[lewdog]

Another ass backwards thing here is the pepper plants. My jalapeno plant gave me 50+ peppers during December and January. Along with another 50+ from my Sante Fe Pepper plant which is just planted in the hard ass ground here and love it. I've made tons of batches of homemade salsa this winter with all these pepper.

[cabletech94]

Originally Posted by HonestChieffan

This time of year my garden is growing in my head and its ideal.

But real world, there is much hope. I was able to till deep in fall and put garden up in beds. So it will warm faster and will dry faster for planting. The garden was overseeded with rye (grain rye not grass rye). Part will go till it heads out and then Ill weed eat it and plnat transplant crops into the raised bed no till. The rye tops will serve as a mulch and the root mass adds greatly to organic matter and I should have fewer weeds.

Where seeded crops will go I plan to work up just enough to plant rows or hills.

And another experiment will be straw bale tomatoes where I laid down straw bales last summer in a row and will plant about 12 tomato plants into the straw bales.Ive fertilized the bales 2 times and will do again soon.

I got garlic from a garlic producer in California and planted it in september. It looks great and will be my first time to try growing garlic in the garden

I'll never plant in the ground ever again, except for my asparagus patch. Man, im itching to get gardening!!
Great thread, gentlemen.

[HonestChieffan]

Pulled the trigger today. Bought 15 pounds of seed potatoes and got them all planted. Put in 100 feet of row of onion sets. Hopefully sone of the garden centers will be getting in the cold tolerant plants this week. Crazy stuff!! Soil worked like perfection. The cover crop Rye is greening up fast, deer keep hitting it. Never ever thought Id plant any garden in February.

[Fire Me Boy!]

WTF is this on my new starter pods?

I planted several different things in my Aerogarden starter pods. They’re starting to sprout, but now this is on probably 3/4 of the pods.

[mr. tegu]

Our tulips and daffodils are already coming up. This is way too early. We just had ice and somehow they are sprouting.

[KS Smitty]

Originally Posted by Fire Me Boy!

WTF is this on my new starter pods?

I planted several different things in my Aerogarden starter pods. They’re starting to sprout, but now this is on probably 3/4 of the pods.

It looks like mold, either too damp or not enough air circulating are the most likely culprits. It shouldn't hurt your seedlings, you can pull it off with the tip of a pencil or something like that.

[Fire Me Boy!]

Originally Posted by KS Smitty

It looks like mold, either too damp or not enough air circulating are the most likely culprits. It shouldn't hurt your seedlings, you can pull it off with the tip of a pencil or something like that.

This is an Aerogarden, and they told me it’s a natural mold in hydroponics and is harmless. They said the sprouts will actually co duke it and get some added nutrition.