What Are Some Tips for Successful Gardening?

[Evo]

Same here, my poblano went absolutely wild a couple of weeks before the permanent cold set it.

Fourth year now of cold summers, colder each summer.

I guess I could switch to growing cold weather vegetables such as cauliflower, cabbage and lettuce during the summer, and set up an indoor greenhouse for warm weather plants.

 

[lisab]

Same here, my poblano went absolutely wild a couple of weeks before the permanent cold set it.

Fourth year now of cold summers, colder each summer.

No poblano.

 

[Evo]

No poblano.

Ahahaha!

 

[Astronuc]

I guess I could switch to growing cold weather vegetables such as cauliflower, cabbage and lettuce during the summer, and set up an indoor greenhouse for warm weather plants.

My 4 kale plants are huge! Everything else just puttered along. The Swiss Chard just barely got started and didn't grow very much.

My berries did great this year, and for the first time, birds and other critters started going after the berries.

We usually have a great butterfly garden, but the flowers were late and few and far between.

 

[turbo]

The garlic did well in the cold, wet weather, and we got lots of cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower - all cold-weather crops, of course. We got a reasonable crop of carrots, and the leeks did well. Squash, cukes, tomatoes, peppers, peas, and green beans did very poorly.

I hope we get a drenching rain tomorrow, so I can get out to the garden with my 1/2M Btu/hr torch and burn the remaining weeds. Then, I'll get 2 14-yard loads each of coarse sand (for drainage) and rotten manure (to boost the organic content of the soil) and till those in. Next, hoe up some large beds for garlic and mulch them in preparation for winter planting.

 

[baywax]

90 million salmon just escaped from a British Columbian (private) fish farm.

That's how my garden grows.

 

[hypatia]

Swim little fishes swim!

 

[Borek]

I have read about 40 thousands only.

 

[baywax]

Swim little fishes swim!

I have read about 40 thousands only.

Oops... it was 90 percent of farmed fish are Atlantic in BC.

Yes Borak it was 40,000 escapees (last July) with all the lice they carry etc.. into wild Pacific waters. Possibly diluting the gene pool of the wild pacific salmon species' and definitely infecting them with their lice.

My bad on the mis-read, sorry!

Escapes & Alien Species

91% of the salmon currently raised today in BC’s fish farms is Atlantic salmon. The other 9% consists of Pacific species, chinook and coho.1

The decision to raise Atlantics in Pacific waters largely came from the entry of Norwegian companies into the BC industry.

The report Fishy Business: The Economics of Salmon Farming In BC notes that in the late 1980s, Norwegian companies were faced with strict environmental regulations and farm size restrictions in their own country, so they decided to expand in countries where regulations were less strict (i.e. Canada, Chile). Atlantic salmon was the farm species of choice in Norway, and for decades they had invested in developing markets for this product. As a result, Atlantics were adopted as part of the Norwegian influx of companies to BC.

http://www.farmedanddangerous.org/page/escapes

 

[turbo]

Don't wish for rain when you want to burn off mulch and weeds from the garden. It has been pouring all day. My rain-gauge holds 2" and it's overflowing. We'll easily get 3-4" if this keeps up into the evening. I got probably 300 sq ft burned off during a period of light rain, then it started coming in buckets again.

Edit: I guess I shouldn't complain too much. In another month or two, as storm like this would easily dump 2-3' of snow on us.

 

[Evo]

Don't wish for rain when you want to burn off mulch and weeds from the garden. It has been pouring all day. My rain-gauge holds 2" and it's overflowing. We'll easily get 3-4" if this keeps up into the evening. I got probably 300 sq ft burned off during a period of light rain, then it started coming in buckets again.

Edit: I guess I shouldn't complain too much. In another month or two, as storm like this would easily dump 2-3' of snow on us.

https://www.physicsforums.com/showpost.php?p=999902&postcount=1

 

[turbo]

The Weed Dragon is only 100K btu/hr. That will never do! Hie thee to a Tractor Supply store and pick up a Mr. Heater rated for 500K. The thing roars like a jet engine when you crank it up.

Nice conflagration, though!

 

[turbo]

We had snow today, and though it won't survive the weekend, the low pressure, cold, and humidity flared up my arthritis big-time. Still, I managed to plant all the Russian garlic today. I have to have a sub-surface drainage system (leach field) installed on my septic system, and since my organic-gardening neighbor is going to expand his house to accommodate his daughter and two grand-daughters next summer, he is going to forgo most gardening and gave me his rich garden-spot for my garlic. I planted that over the last two days, and will plant extra tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, carrots, etc to pay him back. Part of his expansion encompasses a nice cold-cellar, so he can keep carrots, squash, turnips, etc. Our cold-cellar is a bit on the warm side, but can keep buttercup squash until March or so - that's pretty nice.

 

[Math Jeans]

yeah? Well I have two habanero plants growing inside by a south-facing window.

Wow, I'm pathetic.

 

[turbo]

PS: I know that some of my posts regarding gardening, food, etc might sound like central Maine is utopia, but it's not that way. Treat people with respect, play nice, and stuff just seems to fall together. One neighbor and her husband are super Christians and supported the referendum to overturn the bill signed into law last June to allow same-sex couples to marry. I gave her lots of Russian garlic and told her how to to separate it, plant it, and tend it. It will all come back some day.

 

[turbo]

yeah? Well I have two habanero plants growing inside by a south-facing window.

Wow, I'm pathetic.

Hammer-time! My looming problem is that with the inconsiderate fall weather, I'm going to have to have to route huge 14-yard dump-trucks right across my garden to deliver the materials needed to build the drain field. Not good. I want enough dry weather to accommodate that, since towing out mired 14-wheelers is not a budget consideration at this time. I have a 30 hp Kubota tractor, but that's not going to budge a huge Peterbilt with a dump-body if the truck is mired. Pray for dry weather!

 

[turbo]

I finished planting my garlic yesterday - in a snow storm. It's melting fast, but there was about 5" of heavy, wet stuff on the ground this morning. Yuck.

 

[Borek]

I have never seen red garlic of that size before.

 

[turbo]

I planted the garlic on my neighbor's property this year, because by Sunday there will be heavy equipment and trucks lumbering through my garden. It will take at least 100 yards of fill and stone to build the new leach field, so my garden will be pretty torn up. At least I have a tractor to repair the damage with afterward. :-(

 

[Evo]

I don't even want to think about snow yet. I can't believe it's November. No wonder the store is so full of turkeys.

 

[turbo]

Since I had to have a leach field installed and the earth-movers were running trucks and excavators over my garden, I had the trucker bring me 14 yards of coarse sand (to improve drainage) and 14 yards of rotted cow manure, which I spread on the garden with my tractor. I started tilling it in with my old Troy-Bilt Horse tiller, and it was beating me to death, so I broke down and bought myself an early Christmas present - a 5' Taylor Way tiller attachment that fits my tractor's 3-point hitch and runs off the PTO. I went over the entire garden twice today, and the soil looks wonderful.

I'm going to hill everything up again next year, like usual, and hope that if we get another wet year, the sand will help the soil stay aerated and drained. The new tiller attachment does a perfect job, and here's how the garden spot looks as of about 1/2 hour ago.

 

[dlgoff]

Wow. That looks great turbo. What implement are you going to buy next year. Maybe a post hole digger attachment?

Is that straw or some other type of cover for new grass seed?

From the look of the grade, it doesn't appear that you need to hill up the row too high since there seems to be enough slope to get rid of the flooding rains you got this year.

At least chat didn't interfere today, but I miss hearing from you about such things as above.

Edit: brb. beer.

 

[Astronuc]

The Swiss chard and kale are still doing well, even after a few frosts and a night in the low 20's. Clearly kale and chard are pretty hardy plants, as well as being very nutritious.

 

[turbo]

Wow. That looks great turbo. What implement are you going to buy next year. Maybe a post hole digger attachment?

Is that straw or some other type of cover for new grass seed?

From the look of the grade, it doesn't appear that you need to hill up the row too high since there seems to be enough slope to get rid of the flooding rains you got this year.

At least chat didn't interfere today, but I miss hearing from you about such things as above.

Edit: brb. beer.

I have a neighbor who has been hoarding implements for years, though most are sized for my tractor and not his behemoths. 3 things I can borrow instead of buying is a 2-bottom plow, a 6' rear blade, and a bush-hog.

The mulch is hay from my former brother-in-law. It's really seedy, with Timothy and Rye, so perhaps I won't have to overseed to get a lawn started.

I hill up my rows cross-slope to trap needed rain-water and prevent erosion, though last summer's drenchings were excessive. Pray for a "normal" year.

 

[turbo]

The Swiss chard and kale are still doing well, even after a few frosts and a night in the low 20's. Clearly kale and chard are pretty hardy plants, as well as being very nutritious.

My neighbor's Brussels sprouts are still doing very well, too. Very hardy vegetables.

 

[OmCheeto]

I hill up my rows cross-slope to trap needed rain-water and prevent erosion, though last summer's drenchings were excessive. Pray for a "normal" year.

I ate three ripened tomatoes from the vine yesterday, and 10 more just now, just to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. This has definitely not been a normal year. And 4 or my 5 plants still have bloom's!

Perhaps I should leave my potted Lemon and Avocado tree's out on the porch this winter instead of bringing them inside.

 

[Redbelly98]

Can somebody help me with my physics homework?

 

[Astronuc]

Can somebody help me with my physics homework?

Two tomatoes, each with a mass of 1 kg and speed of 0.99c, collide. How much salsa can one create?

Bonus: How much cilantro, onion and garlic should one add?

 

[turbo]

Can somebody help me with my physics homework?

I forgot to save the Chat reply. Do you still have it, so you can scold yourself?

 

[Astronuc]

My neighbor's Brussels sprouts are still doing very well, too. Very hardy vegetables.

It occurred to me that cabbage would do very well. And rutabagas.

FYI - The rutabaga, Swedish turnip, or yellow turnip (Brassica napobrassica, or Brassica napus var. napobrassica) is a root vegetable that originated as a cross between the cabbage and the turnip. Its leaves can also be eaten as a leaf vegetable. I really need to try turnips and rutabagas next year.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutabaga

 

[Redbelly98]

[HIJACK THREAD]

I forgot to save the Chat reply. Do you still have it, so you can scold yourself?

Oh, all right ...

Can somebody help me with my physics homework?

Please post homework questions here: https://www.physicsforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=152 . . . click on one of the subjects.

[/HIJACK THREAD]

Speaking of gardening, this weekend I finished up the fall leaf raking. After a pass through our mulching mower, the leaves get added to our compost piles for next spring's mulch.

 

[Redbelly98]

I have a neighbor who has been hoarding implements for years, though most are sized for my tractor and not his behemoths. 3 things I can borrow instead of buying is a 2-bottom plow, a 6' rear blade, and a bush-hog.

That reminds me, won't this be the 1st winter for your Kubota? Does owning a new tractor mean you look forward to snow?

 

[turbo]

It occurred to me that cabbage would do very well. And rutabagas.

Cabbage, cauliflower, and broccoli can all stand very cold weather, too. Broccoli has become a popular late-season crop in northern Maine. Aroostook county has long been potato country, so diversification into other crops that can be harvested in mid-late fall is welcome.

 

[turbo]

That reminds me, won't this be the 1st winter for your Kubota? Does owning a new tractor mean you look forward to snow?

Not at all! The tractor will be handy for cutting back the huge snow banks so we can get out of the driveway safely (visibility), but the snow has to be moved well away from the drive so the snowblower is the primary tool.

 

[Evo]

can somebody help me with my physics homework?

No!