How Grows It? Summer Gardens of JD Members

gary_in_neenah

gary_in_neenah

Super Moderator
Staff member
Holy Smokes! Mid Summer already so how does your garden look?

I planted too early, we had a nice stretch of weather in early May then it turned cold and rainy and nothing happened. Once the heat kicked in everything took off, my tomatoes are at about 4 feet in the cages and the Sun Flowers are right behind. It's the first year I've planted Radishes, kind of a strange plant but I love to eat them with a dash of salt and they're coming up gangbusters. Cucumbers look plentiful too, that means lots of "Gary & Ruth Ann's Damn Fine Pickles" in a month or so. Beans are only fair this year, not sure why. And the Jalapeno and Bells are already forming so we should have lots of "heat" to go along with the pickles this year.

My favorite new quote which has nothing to do with gardens or snowmobiles...
"Always carry a small flask of whiskey in case of a snake bite, and it's always best to carry a small snake too" W.C. Fields

So how do things look in your corner of the world?
 
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ezra

Well-known member
well I had 5 yrd of so called composted peat delivered this spring.
well I am now overwhelmed with many many new variety's of weeds.
plants are going like crazy in the new dirt but the tiller is working overtime. I swear if I start on 1 end by the time I am at the other end new weeds are sprouting already. I used preen after tilling in fresh dirt but obviously preen is not working.
 
skiroule

skiroule

Well-known member
In a word, Tomatoes! We don't have what real gardeners would call a garden but we've converted some perennial space into tomatoes. They are growing at a frightening rate. The dogs bark at them and they bring to mind bad horror movies about tomatoes. Movie comments aside, last year we discovered how good fried green tomatoes are so we'll be harvesting more of them while they are green this year.
 
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samc

New member
The garden really took off now that it finally warmed up. We'll have Tomatos with in 2 weeks and everything else is right behind.
 
Admin

Admin

Administrator
Staff member
In the planters...some tomatoes, should be ripe in a few weeks. Strawberries are just starting to ripen. Cucumbers just sort of sitting there. Not sure why. Did not even look to see what the green peppers are doing.

Lots of wild strawberries in the bush this year- YUM! Looks like it will also be a huge blackberry season in the bush and I am sure we will pick a dozen or so pounds of wild blueberries. Down to the last pound or two in the freezer from last season.

Peach tree is pretty loaded too.

-John
 
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jerkbait_1075

New member
Terrible here in Northern Illinois. Garden has been underwater 3 times completely due to Flooding. Water drains off within the same day but the repetition has taken its toll this year. Funny story I have planted green beans 4 times. First time Rabbits ate them off before I could get my fence up. Second time Flooding killed the sprouts. Third time heavy rains literally washed my seeds away the same day I planted them. Just planted them 2 weeks ago for the final time. They came up great, weather was good rabbits burrowed their way under my fence to get in ant eat them clean and my lettuce too. I give up. This year sucks...... How do you guys deal with rabbits? I don't understand it. I know of 30 other gardens in town with no fences and no rabbit issues but at my place it doesn't seem to matter what I do???? I'm thinking about trenching around my garden and filling the trench with a little surplus concrete from the ready mix to keep them from burrowing under my fence. Seems extreme but I don't know what else to do...... I thought about buying a full body coyote decoy and placing near the garden..... My other option is to just start shopping at the farmers market on Saturdays...... Wife doesn't like that option to much. I am very interested in any other JD'rs opinions on rabbit control. Don't suggest firearms as I live in town. Believe you me if I live in the country rabbits would fear my property......
 
eagle1

eagle1

Well-known member
Outline garden with timber of some sort then attach fence to inside. Get a trap and trap them in winter. I live in town also and bought air rifle this spring because wife was sick of them eating her flowers. Its pretty quiet, just use it very early in morning when nobody's around.
Had fresh beets from parents garden yesterday. Mmm, mmm. Thankfully my parents garden is big enough I get to reap the benefits too!!
 
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m8man

Moderator
since you all are talking gardens I have a rototiller question. (no hijack intended). I've used a front tine tiller and it jumps around quite a bit. didn't do a garden this year but I love to mess with them. Since I'm thinking about getting a new tiller or newsed tiller next year, are the rear tine tillers worth it? also are counter rotating tines needed?

seems prices are all over the board on those things. any advice is appreciated.

super thanks.

m8man
 
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jr37

Well-known member
I have a rear tine tiller. It does a much better job than a front tne tiller. Is it worth the price diffference, maybe? I got mine as a new last years model, so I saved some that way. I have a Husqvarna.
 
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anonomoose

New member
gary_in_neenah said:
The models with the tines in front work best for smaller gardens, you can get into corners better.
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I would agree with this statement, but front tine units will beat you up in clay based soils using them far more than the rear tine and the counter rotating unit which I use requires less muscle. My 20x20 spot is full of life and I also have it fenced but some sort of flying critter got in there and cleaned the tops off my beans which are sort of re-sprouting now along with the new crop I re-planted.

The bulk of the garden is for strawberries which are spreading nicely thanks to a wet year so far. No floods though thankfully.

If you are harvesting your radishes you should be replanting the next batch if you haven't done so already. Pear tree is doing well and cherries were thick after zero crop on both as well as my apple trees last year when the frost hit at blossom time.

On the Rabbit issue I would say that taking the tiller and working up the ground all around the garden fence which is a must if you live where rabbits abound, and then moving the loose dirt back and laying a good foot or so of chicken wire in the bottom of the trench a few inches below the turf and then covering it up should work. Rabbits and other diggers will hit the chicken wire and stop. You can also strip back the turf and put crushed limestone around the edge of the fencing and that will turn them off too. Lastly the reason the rabbits are trying to get in there is because they "smell" your garden and you can plant marigolds in a good band around the exterior of the garden and those pungent buggers will mask the smell and everything will be discouraged by that process. (oops....with the exception of those blasted Japanese beetles which eat indiscriminately everything) Planting the marigolds at the base of your fruit trees almost eliminates the need to spray the trees for bugs because it either masks the smell or repeals the bugs/ aphids which come for lunch. Marigolds are cheap seed flowers that are very easy to grow.
 
bearrassler

bearrassler

Well-known member
Like almost everyone else I had a late start to planting, The garden plot had snow on it until late April, things are looking good for most plants now, maybe a little behind but not bad, my carrots look terrible though, the tomatos are going over the tops of my new 4 1/2 foot cages and have lots of green ones but the ripe ones are still a couple weeks away, the cucumbers are flowering but no cukes yet, the beans are throwing out there shoots and are climbing the fence, I have lots of peas but they are a couple of days away from picking, the onions look good, and I have lots of squash and peppers on the plants but they are not quite ready. Around the end of July things should be good.
 
gary_in_neenah

gary_in_neenah

Super Moderator
Staff member
I've had success keeping the rabbits out with the buried screen and mesh on the inside of the fence. But what I've found is that squirrels will climb in and dig up the new sprouts and I haven't found a fix for that yet. I tried traps but they're pretty darn smart, only caught one so far.

Kinda odd that some people in the rural areas can have a garden plot without a fence and have no problems but in the urban areas the rabbits are lined up to get in. Maybe it's as simple as the lack of predators in town. My folks lived in the country and never had a fence around their garden and never had a problem other than an occasional deer might stop by for a snack.
 
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anonomoose

New member
gary_in_neenah said:
I've had success keeping the rabbits out with the buried screen and mesh on the inside of the fence. But what I've found is that squirrels will climb in and dig up the new sprouts and I haven't found a fix for that yet. I tried traps but they're pretty darn smart, only caught one so far.

Kinda odd that some people in the rural areas can have a garden plot without a fence and have no problems but in the urban areas the rabbits are lined up to get in. Maybe it's as simple as the lack of predators in town. My folks lived in the country and never had a fence around their garden and never had a problem other than an occasional deer might stop by for a snack.
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Go to farm and fleet and get the small battery operated fence zapper....and grab a bag of the yellow insulators while your there. Then string some wire around garden and hook the fencer to it. But run another loop right next to the juiced wire and run it to a metal stake in the ground. Don't forget to leave a gate so you get in and out of the place...then sit back with a beer and watch the squirrels get an edjamakation! The fence will last for weeks on one set of D cell batteries.

I use one to run the perameter of my pole barn to keep the raccoons from digging under and crapping all over my stuff inside. It works very well. I am sue it would work on squirrels or other critters who want to get inside your food plot. After while you can unhook it and they won't come back. Do the later so that you stop juicing yourself which is likely until YOU learn about the fencer too. :)
 
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timo

Well-known member
my garden is growing the best it has in the three years I've been doing it.
here in the northern burbs near Milwaukee we've had the perfect amount of rain and everything is growing like crazy.
just ate a bushel of beans i picked this morning.
been eating lettuce for the last month,, man does that stuff just keep coming.
tomatoes and cukes will be prolly next week.
ate a pepper yesterday.
spinach will be ready to clip by the end of the week.
have a sprout on a broccoli plant so them should be coming soon
Brussels sprouts still waiting on.


whats with radishes??
they don't' grown when its hot so I planted them in early April this year. it was cool and wet just like I've read on the internet they like it. i waited about 60 days and pulled them out outta frustration,,, i got a couple of peas sized radishes that's it. this is the second year in a row no radishes. last year i think was just to hot and dry, but i figured planting them in early April i'd be good to go. everything i read on the internet says these are the easiest growing veggie to grow and they make it sound like you can grow them in December. not for this guy!!
 
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anonomoose

New member
You practically can cast the radish seeds and they will grow.
They grow quickly and aside from thinning them out (did yah do that?) there is nothing to growing them. Maybe your soil needs to be neutralized because if the soil is too acid, then they have a harder time growing. Get a soil test kit at the big box store and test the soil in several places, then get something to bring the PH in balance.

In the fall, throw some seeds under an old plank in the garden and then just before working the soil in the spring lift the plank and you will have radishes before anyone else does.....

Ah yes, used to eat them by the handful, but no more....stomach won't tolerate them.
 
garyl62

garyl62

Active member
jerkbait_1075 said:
..... Don't suggest firearms as I live in town. Believe you me if I live in the country rabbits would fear my property......
Click to expand...

Since we put our dog down I've seen an increase in the rabbit population in my yard so getting a dog could be an option but probably won't make any difference at night when they are most active, one guy I know uses a paintball gun. He has run off his rabbits and a flock of wild turkeys that used to travel through his yard. Besides, having some buddies over and shooting paintballs is always a good time for back yard entertainment!
 
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