It’s that time - Get the Gardens ready

Pecan trees are budding. The weather is crazy. 91 degrees Saturday- 59 high on Sunday my Fingers crossed hope We are passed the freezes. Sorry northeasterners - remember I’ll be whining soon about the heat. My Cilantro is massive. I’ve planted onions, spinach and Broccoli. Trying to grow some tomatoes, peppers, squash & cucumbers from seed. I’ve got a few sprouts. But of course April & May brings the hail.

Breeze, your furry friends are waiting.





The Broccoli, Spinach & onions from a few weeks ago.

 

well ,we have another foot of snow tuesday so i'm a long way off from working the beds....however, i bought a new variety of tomato from burpee called atlas and have 12 seedlings about 2" tall...slow growing them under a grow light so they don't get too leggy. i figure by planting time(late may) they will be about 18-24 inches tall and maybe even have flowers....shooting for first tomato on the 4th of july.

 

Here’s our patio/deck. We tore down an old smokehouse and have been waiting for over a month and a half for our cement guy to come pour. In this town contractors could give a rats behind how long they make you wait. Business is booming & you are at their mercy & schedule.



Redneck fire pit. Terra cotta planter wit soup can filled with perlite and alcohol.


Maybe I’ll get to enjoy my real fire pit before the summer is over.

 

Sounds good, @BlacklabberMike!
I'm just hoping to have the snow shovel put away by then!

RICHARD

 

But can you fry an egg on your sidewalk in August?

 

It’s 51 degrees and I’m sitting close to the flame with my binky. The weenies think it is theirs so I have to share.

 

I've got 4 ft of snow at the end of the driveway, I'm 2 or 3 weeks away from even strolling around my dead lawn.

 

Two weeks ago I cleaned up a couple of beds and we transplanted some bushes (butterfly bush, forsythia, and a ton of daffodils). I planned to work in the vegetable garden this past weekend but lots of rain.....And yesterday we got 4" snow. If it's warmer/dryer this weekend, I'll weed beds and add compost to veggie beds, and maybe plant some seeds....(sugar snap peas, cilantro, spinach...)

The reason we had snow? Husband brought tractor home from office, removing the snowplow blade and putting the mower deck back on.....

 

Drove to work in the snow this am

I did manage to prune our fruit trees two weeks ago during a mini warm spell - peaches, apples, pears, cherries and plums. Now all the branches are on the ground under snow as I didn't have a chance to pick them up when the white stuff returned.

May will be the busy month for me. In additon to getting the flower beds ready, I will be ripping up the shrubbery I planted two years ago at the back of the property and building a Pergola. I also started moving the veg garden last fall but, senior management doesn't like the new location. Not sure what is going to happen there. Because of septic lines, we have limited locations despite the large yard.

Question for those in southern climes...Do you get two crops in one season for summer vegetables such as tomatoes and peppers or just an early start on one crop compared to us up north who genrally don't plant outside until the end of May?

 

I've always grown indeterminate tomatoes so I just have a longer growing/ripening period, not 2 crops. I typically do 3 batches of planting (in non-lazy years) - early season (now for the early season I mention above), "regular" summer stuff I typically plant in May/early June - tomatoes, beans, then fall (chard, kale, spinach & cilantro again) I plant seeds in early August....

I'm on the edge of zones 6/7.

 

The deer won, so no more Bell Peppers. Two kinds of tomatoes and jalapenos this year, the rest will be flowers.

 

I am in central Texas. This year we did not have a hard freeze until December. I have learned a lot from a couple of tomato experts at work. #1 once the bushes are covered in blooms - shake vigorously for self pollination. #2 when the tomato bushes start to die off and quit producing cut them back and they will regrow and produce again. Worked last year very well. I had tomatoes into December. Last year I planted squash plants and they did terrible - all of them died before producing any squash. This year I am trying from seed. I bought my seed from Southern Seed Exchange. Also recommended by a young man who has a wonderful garden every year from seed. -- Will see how it goes.

 

I remember your tomatoes from last year. Do you buy plants or start from seed?

 

I buy plants from Burpees catalog.

 

Nothing edible (for humans) expect key limes. Many types of tropical and sub tropical flowers. Recently had flower bed curbs poured front/back yard and colored to blend with house and those are now filled with mulch. Azaleas of all colors blooming as are the roses, lilies and birds of paradise.

 

Used to have a mini farm with about 15 acres of either soybeans or corn. The corn made for one helluva privacy fence!

 

I can’t wait to get my garden in. When I was younger I started my entire garden from seeds, except potatoes. My growing season is just so short where I live in NY I have to buy started plants. I feel like I’m cheating though doing it that way. Lol This will be my first garden at our new house. I think I’m going to put it in beside my small fruit tree orchard. I have no idea what my soil is like, so I think I’ll keep it simple this year. I’m getting over a foot of snow right now, so it won’t be til end of May before I can even think about getting a garden in. I’m going to do onions, potatoes, half hots, jalapeños, habaneros, banana, green peppers, tons of tomatoes heirloom and cherry, cucumber, butter lettuce, just a few zucchini & squash, sugar snap peas, and green beans. Then I’ll see what does best in my soil. I will be canning tons of jelly and pie filling from the fruit trees and making salsa, pickles, and banana peppers stuffed with sauerkraut to sell along with farm fresh eggs out of my detached garage to help offset costs. Wish me luck!

 

We'll get in and cut back the ornamentals -- mostly lavenders and sages -- and trim up the fruitless olives and containerized citrus. Raised beds are getting a do over this spring. I need to line the sides for better water management and I'll amend the soil while doing that. I want to tackle the northside side yard, yank out the privet and the coffeeberry that never really did what we envisioned. I'd like to go back in with dodonaea (hop bush) and just be done with it for good, effectively. We also have some subtropicals in containers that need a lot of spring love. Our weather is moderate and pretty consistent through the year, but they get rangy in the shorter light of winter. I'd also like to get rid of most/all of the lilac and replace with Texas "sage" (leucophyllum). It's been four years since we did the hardscaping and planting in back and tweaks are needed. And I'd like to get some citrus in the ground but the winds here can be tough.

 

The morning lows are supposed to be above 45 the next 10 days with temp daytime 64-78. Growing Juliet’s and Roma’s, Serrano, sweet banana, ghost, &habenero peppers, & basil. First year using the homade tomatoe support instead of wire cages and using landscape fabric to manage the weeds Kept the plants in a plastic box to allow sun on cooler days but protected from the wind didn’t look so good from the store but perked up abit with some vitamin D.