Garden Geeks thread

[Fishman'81]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

Are turkeys really a problem? We have tons of them in my neighborhood and never had an issue.

We have turkeys nesting in the Back 40 regularly, and we actually enjoy having them here... But the hens and poults will devour bean and corn seedlings in the garden as if it was manna from Heaven. (As in, one very short morning session.) They seem to leave the other crops alone, though.

Again, the flimsy fence is working this time around. It's a cheap and effective.

So far, nothing is in there, aside from the GD cabbage butterflies. But they seem to do (mostly) cosmetic damage here. We harvested a ton of cabbage last year, butterflies or not. Peeled-off a few outer leaves, and we were good.

 

[joecct]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

Florida. War on Drugs? Nah
War on Poverty? Nope!
War on Terror? Not a chance.

DEATH TO LIZARD!!!

https://www.westernjournal.com/ct/f...s-urged-residents-massacre-whenever-possible/

 

[leswp1]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

We ate our first harvest of green beans. Yay. ALso a few cukes. More tomatoes than should be possible but all are green still.

 

[Fishman'81]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

We ate our first harvest of green beans. Yay. ALso a few cukes. More tomatoes than should be possible but all are green still.

Had them tonight as well, and the wax beans too. Stuffed bell peppers, fresh cukes, Boston lettuce.

Thing is, it was all at my father-in-law's, who's a competitive gardener and always plants in early May.

He always out-does me, but I can live with it. Good eats are good eats.

I'll catch-up soon enough.

 

[jen]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

I have lots of tomatoes. But there is no sign of them turning red. Anything I can do besides wait?

 

[dxmnkd316]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

Food coloring?

 

[leswp1]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

I have lots of tomatoes. But there is no sign of them turning red. Anything I can do besides wait?

Nope.

 

[Fishman'81]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

I have lots of tomatoes. But there is no sign of them turning red. Anything I can do besides wait?

You can pick them while green, and put them in a closed paper bag. Many will ripen that way, and adding a slice of apple will speed that process along.

It hasn't been a good season for tomatoes in the NE, but what with the early-blight and the typical weather here, it's what we got most seasons.

Green tomatoes are great for pickling in a sweet/hot mustard brine, though. Try that, too, and add some cukes, peppers, cauliflower and onions.

Feckin' delish!

 

[leswp1]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

You can pick them while green, and put them in a closed paper bag. Many will ripen that way, and adding a slice of apple will speed that process along.

It hasn't been a good season for tomatoes in the NE, but what with the early-blight and the typical weather here, it's what we got most seasons.

Green tomatoes are great for pickling in a sweet/hot mustard brine, though. Try that, too, and add some cukes, peppers, cauliflower and onions.

Feckin' delish!

they ripen but they don't seem to taste as good. For the first year in many we managed to get a lot of tomatoes, cukes. Lost the Summer squash plants- again- and the beans really struggled. Weird. They are usually the only thing that makes it.

 

[alfablue]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

Made another batch of gazpacho with tomatoes and cucumbers from the garden tonight. Great year for tomatoes and cuc's this year- although I think that's more a factor of getting the growing system to be better. This is the first real year of no-dig self watering container growing. And it's working great.

 

[leswp1]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

Made another batch of gazpacho with tomatoes and cucumbers from the garden tonight. Great year for tomatoes and cuc's this year- although I think that's more a factor of getting the growing system to be better. This is the first real year of no-dig self watering container growing. And it's working great.

We did nothing different other than make different raised beds. Last few yrs were abysmall with blight, etc. This yr- none. I always grow from my own seed so I think it was good weather rather than the stuff we had the last few yrs of heavy rains and then prolonged drought.

 

[Fishman'81]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

they ripen but they don't seem to taste as good. For the first year in many we managed to get a lot of tomatoes, cukes. Lost the Summer squash plants- again- and the beans really struggled. Weird. They are usually the only thing that makes it.

Truly, bag-ripened tomatoes aren't very sweet, and when I see the green ones splitting, pickling them is a good way to salvage the crop. Try it during a bad year. They're great that way.

Like you, my squash isn't anything to write home about. We had a heavy infestation of striped cucumber beetles early-on, and many blossoms just fell off the vines as a result. We harvested 63 butternuts last year, and are looking at maybe half that this season, and much smaller fruits. Likewise, we could barely keep-up with the summer squash last year, and hardly have any to give away during this one.

It was very wet early, so we had to plant late. Then, we had seeds rot in the ground, pursuant to more rain, and then the very tardy arrival of bees held everything up.

The cabbage and cauliflower thrived, as did the cukes and lettuce and beets, the beans are OK, but the peppers and eggplant weren't big fans of the early weather. Probably the 'taters -despite the growth of their tops- will have the early blight as well.

It ain't easy, trying to do that without pesticides, but we'll still eat our own produce for months to come.

(Fingers crossed.)

 

[leswp1]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

Truly, bag-ripened tomatoes aren't very sweet, and when I see the green ones splitting, pickling them is a good way to salvage the crop. Try it during a bad year. They're great that way.

Like you, my squash isn't anything to write home about. We had a heavy infestation of striped cucumber beetles early-on, and many blossoms just fell off the vines as a result. We harvested 63 butternuts last year, and are looking at maybe half that this season, and much smaller fruits. Likewise, we could barely keep-up with the summer squash last year, and hardly have any to give away during this one.

It was very wet early, so we had to plant late. Then, we had seeds rot in the ground, pursuant to more rain, and then the very tardy arrival of bees held everything up.

The cabbage and cauliflower thrived, as did the cukes and lettuce and beets, the beans are OK, but the peppers and eggplant weren't big fans of the early weather. Probably the 'taters -despite the growth of their tops- will have the early blight as well.

It ain't easy, trying to do that without pesticides, but we'll still eat our own produce for months to come.

(Fingers crossed.)

We can't seem to produce enough to eat past the season. Last few yrs we had volunteer Butternuts that produced like champs- these vines never produced and stayed small. Meanwhile the other plants in the bed are going gang busters.

 

[Fishman'81]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

We can't seem to produce enough to eat past the season. Last few yrs we had volunteer Butternuts that produced like champs- these vines never produced and stayed small. Meanwhile the other plants in the bed are going gang busters.

We ate only our own stuff until late Spring this year. Between all the squash, the pickled items, the tomato sauce, and the frozen beets, carrots and the peppers that were put-up in garlic oil, we were good.

That won't happen again during the winter of '19-'20, barring a protracted warm spell this Fall.

 

[leswp1]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

We ate only our own stuff until late Spring this year. Between all the squash, the pickled items, the tomato sauce, and the frozen beets, carrots and the peppers that were put-up in garlic oil, we were good.

That won't happen again during the winter of '19-'20, barring a protracted warm spell this Fall.

We have a community of groundhogs that like to share the wealth despite all efforts to prevent it. This is the best we have done so far.

 

[Fishman'81]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

We have a community of groundhogs that like to share the wealth despite all efforts to prevent it. This is the best we have done so far.

Woodchucks are second only to deer in their ability to obliterate a garden in very short order, here.

I don't derive any pleasure via shooting them, but my trusty old Marlin .22 has sent 8 whistle-pigs to their Heavenly Reward, just this Spring alone.

I haven't dined on woodchuck since my poverty-stricken years at college, but those critters make an awesome Hasenpfeffer.

(Better than rabbits, truly, but carefully excise the axillary musk-glands as you prepare them for the pot.)

 

[joecct]

Woodchucks are second only to deer in their ability to obliterate a garden in very short order, here.

I don't derive any pleasure via shooting them, but my trusty old Marlin .22 has sent 8 whistle-pigs to their Heavenly Reward, just this Spring alone.

I haven't dined on woodchuck since my poverty-stricken years at college, but those critters make an awesome Hasenpfeffer.

(Better than rabbits, truly, but carefully excise the axillary musk-glands as you prepare them for the pot.)

If you tried that in my county, you'd be strung up on animal cruelty charges and domestic terrorism

 

[leswp1]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

If you tried that in my county, you'd be strung up on animal cruelty charges and domestic terrorism

I live in a neighborhood where the houses are close enough to make it impossible. We have 1.25 acres but they are rectangular plots. Shoot the wrong way and bad oops.

 

[Fishman'81]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

I live in a neighborhood where the houses are close enough to make it impossible. We have 1.25 acres but they are rectangular plots. Shoot the wrong way and bad oops.

I used to live on a quarter-acre plot. We had 'chucks there, too, and a big garden, and it was in an area where one could not legally discharge a firearm...

My advice: employ the trusty old Crosman 760 using the cone-shaped pellets and a full 10 pumps on the compressor. Those rounds will dispatch them humanly at close range. No gunpowder involved.

(Sure, you have to be within 10'-15' or so, and put one between its eyes, but that's easier than many people might imagine... Woodchucks keep bankers' hours, and peek out of their burrows at anything near it during late morning and late afternoon. They will sit and stare while you draw-down from close range.)

As I've already stated, it provides me no pleasure to kill them, but it's them or your garden, and God knows that they appear to be an inexhaustible resource, at least around here.

 

[leswp1]

Re: Garden Geeks thread

I used to live on a quarter-acre plot. We had 'chucks there, too, and a big garden, and it was in an area where one could not legally discharge a firearm...

My advice: employ the trusty old Crosman 760 using the cone-shaped pellets and a full 10 pumps on the compressor. Those rounds will dispatch them humanly at close range. No gunpowder involved.

(Sure, you have to be within 10'-15' or so, and put one between its eyes, but that's easier than many people might imagine... Woodchucks keep bankers' hours, and peek out of their burrows at anything near it during late morning and late afternoon. They will sit and stare while you draw-down from close range.)

As I've already stated, it provides me no pleasure to kill them, but it's them or your garden, and God knows that they appear to be an inexhaustible resource, at least around here.

Unfortunately they live under the shed and are quite clever. They got so savy they would wait to hear the car go down the driveway to come out.