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Thread: Grinder's no-till vegetable garden

  1. Back To Top    #91

    Re: Grinder's no-till vegetable garden

    Quote Originally Posted by miniSQ View Post
    Hey I just noticed you said you were in south central VT? I am in southern vermont just below manchester and i have so may tomato plants and other things started from seeds in just about every bedroom in my house. Just rebuilt all my raised beds and if it would warm up a little here i would get them outside to plant. I will take some pictures when my wife wakes up.
    I'm near Springfield.

    Nice, it's amazing what can be accomplished with a few south-facing windows.

    Last average frost date for this region is may 19, and I used to go by that, but I've learned that it's a bit cooler at my location. Last year, a frost on June 1 killed all the squash, pumpkin, melon and cucumber plants, and badly damaged 1/3 of the pepper plants. So, this year I plan to wait until June 1 or thereabouts and then see how the forecast looks for the coming week or two. Tomatoes seem heartier in that regard, so I'll probably start getting some of those in the ground in the last week of May, and maybe some of the larger pepper plants too, as I have quite a few more of both than I really need (71 tomato plants and 90 pepper plants). Due to past experience with insects and frost, I've found it's best to sow squash, pumpkin, melon and cucumber seeds directly into the garden, after all of the tomato and pepper seedlings have been transplanted.

    Looking forward to seeing your pictures.
    "That's all, folks!"

  2. Back To Top    #92

    Re: Grinder's no-till vegetable garden

    It has been a busy five weeks since my last garden update. Here are the highlights:

    05/13
    Seedlings outside for the first time.



    NOTE: I’ve been wanting to begin getting the seedlings outside for a couple/few weeks now, but weather has been too cold, wet and/or windy. With the growth of new leaves on nearby trees, the plants have become increasingly leggy and pale from inadequate light. Also, I regret having decided not to add any organic mycorrhizae fertilizer and composted cow manure to the potting soil this year, and the majority of this year’s seedlings look substantially malnourished compared to those of the last couple years. I will not make that mistake again. Also, next year I need to start all of the seeds even later than I did this year: perhaps one or two weeks later for the peppers and oregano, two or three weeks later for the tomatoes, and three or four weeks later for the basil.

    05/24
    Preparing to begin transplanting first seedlings into garden. Homemade car-audio-based boombox in the background (Polk Audio DB651s, Skar IX-8 sub + Kicker GR80 grille, Rockford Fosgate R400-4D, EVGA 700 B1 pc power supply, and FiiO FX1221 media player).


    First eighteen (of seventy-four) tomato seedlings in the ground (counterclockwise from gate), beginning with the larger ones in medium pots.



    05/25
    Fifteen more tomato seedlings transplanted into garden (eleven down the center, and four more continuing counterclockwise from gate).


    05/26
    Twelve more tomato seedlings transplanted into garden (continuing counterclockwise from gate).


    05/27
    Seventeen more tomato seedlings transplanted into garden (continuing counterclockwise).


    05/28
    First eleven (of ninety) pepper seedlings transplanted into garden.


    Final twelve (of seventy-four) tomato seedlings transplanted into garden (eleven, continuing counterclockwise all the way back to gate; and one more along the center). Seventy-four tomato plants sounds like a lot, and absolutely it is. However, I purposely started a lot more seeds than needed, planning to cull all but the heartiest 40, but then I could only bring myself to cull a few puny and deformed ones. And then there was the combination of last year’s leaf blight and mixed results from unfamiliar varieties. So, I’m hedging my bets again this year, with even more plants of unfamiliar varieties, hoping that one or more varieties turns out to be a winner. Rear view of car-audio-based boombox.



    06/02
    Twenty more pepper seedlings transplanted into garden. Large volunteer sunflower seedling growing from mound behind metal stake at center-left.


    Remaining seedlings to transplant. Small volunteer sunflower seedling growing beside metal stake at right.


    06/03
    Twenty-one more pepper seedlings transplanted into garden.


    06/04
    Twenty more pepper seedlings transplanted into garden.


    06/05
    Final eighteen (of ninety) pepper seedlings transplanted into garden.


    06/06
    Eighteen Genovese Basil and ten Lime Aromatic Basil seedlings transplanted into garden (two of the former and one of the latter transplanted outside of the rows shown in the second image). Seven Greek Oregano seedlings to be transplanted into herb/flower gardens in a few days.




    Will soon begin sowing squash, pumpkin, cucumber, melon and bean seeds. Maybe one or more other items as well.
    "That's all, folks!"

  3. Back To Top    #93

    Re: Grinder's no-till vegetable garden

    It’s been seven weeks since my last update (apologies for the delay), here are the highlights:

    06/17 - 06/18
    Seeds direct-sown (multiple seeds sown in each spot, for maximum germination success):
    18 Waltham Butternut squash (had lots of seeds and high hopes for bumper crop)
    8 Black Beauty Zucchini (hoping for 2-3 healthy plants; insects killed all last year)
    7 Buttercup squash (high hopes for bumper crop; insects killed all last year)
    6 Canada Crookneck squash (high hopes for this Old New England variety)
    6 Winter Luxury Pie pumpkin (high hopes for this heirloom variety)
    4 Costata Romanesco Zucchini (high hopes for this famous Italian heirloom variety)
    4 Melon - Sweet Passion (high hopes for this Ohio heirloom variety)
    4 Watermelon – Charleston Gray (high hopes for this popular heirloom variety)
    4 Watermelon – Sugar Baby (have yet to successfully grow watermelon here)
    4 Melon, Cantaloupe – Hearts of Gold (insects killed all last year)
    3 Melon, Cantaloupe – Tommy Apple (insects killed all last year)
    3 Pumpkin - Connecticut Field (prefer edible varieties, but had leftover seeds)

    NOTE: This is 3-4 weeks later in the season than I would prefer to sow winter squash and pumpkin seeds (and even some of the melons), but my strategy is to wait until after the cucumber and squash beetles have emerged from the garden and flown off in search of food.




    06/22
    Sown seeds beginning to sprout. Tomato leaf fungus/blight appears to have already begun affecting some plants.

















    (continued on next post)
    "That's all, folks!"

  4. Back To Top    #94

    Re: Grinder's no-till vegetable garden

    07/05














    07/11
    Four culled squash/pumpkin/melon spots sown with Dragon Tongue Bean seeds (have yet to try growing dry beans, hoping for some this year).

    07/16
    Four more culled spots sown with Dragon Tongue Bean seeds.

    07/17








    (continued on next post)
    "That's all, folks!"

  5. Back To Top    #95

    Re: Grinder's no-till vegetable garden














    07/20
    First harvest.


    07/22
    One culled spot sown with Contender Bean seeds. There will no doubt be additional culled spots in the near future (for additional Contender Bean seeds). At the rate they’re going, all or most of the melon seedlings won’t make the cut.

    NOTE: Delayed sowing has been a great success, as there has been no apparent beetle infestation. However, a particularly wet and cool late spring/early summer has been tough on the squash and (especially) melon seedlings. Thirty days on, none of the melon seedlings are doing well. All are severely stunted and/or generally unhealthy looking. The star of the show so far is Winter Luxury Pie pumpkin, one of which is huge, and three others are doing very well; three Black Beauty Zucchini are coming along nicely.; and all of the Canada Crookneck squash are doing very well.

    Also, the particularly wet and cool late spring/early summer has in all likelihood greatly exacerbated this year’s tomato leaf fungus/blight; though without a control group of last year’s tomato varieties, it’s impossible to say for sure. Whatever the reason, this year’s tomato leaf fungus/blight appears to be far worse and/or has progressed far more rapidly than last year. So far, the Pink Brandywine plants are the most noticeably affected, followed by Amish Paste, Sweetheart Cherry, San Marzano, Raspberry Lyanna, Black Cherry, and Matt’s Wild Cherry respectively.

    It’s a bummer watching all those plants rapidly die-off from the ground up, and it’s precisely why I haven’t felt like posting updates.

    I’m still kicking myself for not having added any fertilizer or composted manure when transplanting pepper and tomato seedlings into larger pots. While the pepper plants have recovered, having been stressed by malnutrition (and perhaps not getting them out in direct sun early enough was a factor in this as well) into early flowering, they put more energy into growing fruit than vegetation, and now both fruit and plant are considerably smaller than they would otherwise be. Tomato seedlings have been similarly affected, though tomato plants are an entirely different “animal,” and some varieties have been affected more than others.








    (continued on next post)
    Last edited by Grinder; 07-25-2021 at 05:44 PM.
    "That's all, folks!"

  6. Back To Top    #96

    Re: Grinder's no-till vegetable garden











    "That's all, folks!"

  7. Back To Top    #97

    Re: Grinder's no-till vegetable garden

    Hi
    Sorry for the off-topic I posted this on behalf of my father can you please tell me the best weed killer to kill weeds in flower beds and vegetable beds. My father want weed killer for this purpose, can you guys help me to find the best weed killer for flower beds.

  8. Back To Top    #98

    Re: Grinder's no-till vegetable garden

    Quote Originally Posted by Kaka martin View Post
    Hi
    Sorry for the off-topic I posted this on behalf of my father can you please tell me the best weed killer to kill weeds in flower beds and vegetable beds. My father want weed killer for this purpose, can you guys help me to find the best weed killer for flower beds.
    In my vegetable and flower gardens/beds I use a thick mulch of wood chips to prevent weeds from growing. Those weeds that do manage to pop up (mostly around the edges, from the surrounding lawn) are easily managed as they are few and they are especially easy to pull out through the mulch. There are lots of different kinds of mulch that will serve the purpose; I use wood chips because they are free and readily available, and they have the added benefit of gradually breaking down into the soil and adding nutrients and biomass, greatly reducing evaporation and the need for watering, moderating soil temperature, eliminating the need for labor-intensive and time-consuming soil cultivation, and improving overall soil health.

    As for weed killer, I would recommend using something organic: https://www.bobvila.com/articles/bes...c-weed-killer/


    This reminds me that I need to get back here and pick up where I left off in July. It's just that I dislike the whole convoluted and time-consuming process of sorting through pictures, uploading them to imgbox, and then linking them here...
    Last edited by Grinder; 02-05-2022 at 08:47 AM.
    "That's all, folks!"

  9. Back To Top    #99

    Re: Grinder's no-till vegetable garden

    Continuing where I left off on July 22, 2021...

    07/23
    08/07




    08/12





    08/09 10/23





    10/24
    First frost.

    In conclusion
    All things considered, 2021 harvest was good; and we’re always thankful for whatever we get. Pepper harvest was better than expected, despite conditions and crucial early mistakes (lack of fertilizer) on my part. Tomato harvest was also better than expected, considering same early mistakes, and early summer weather conditions that led to a particularly bad year for tomato leaf fungus/blight. Canada Crookneck squash did very well (and were tastier and sweeter than pie pumpkins!), and we got a few pie pumpkins, and even managed to produce a few zucchinis for the first time in a couple years. All of the various melons, buttercup squash, field pumpkins and most of the butternut squash succumbed early on to insects/disease/conditions. Beans (planted late to replace dead/dying melon, squash and pumpkin plants) did okay, and ended up with a handful of dried beans for the first time. Planted way too much basil (again), which needs lots of attention to keep from going to seed. Gonna cut way down on basil in the future.
    "That's all, folks!"

  10. Back To Top    #100

    Re: Grinder's no-till vegetable garden

    2022 Garden

    All of the vegetable and flower garden seeds were ordered last month and now they’re all here. Unlike last year, I’ll also be starting bee-friendly ornamental perennial seeds again this year (16 varieties this year, versus 9 varieties in 2020). Indoor seed-starting will begin on March 5th.

    Adding nine additional varieties of peppers to this year's lineup, in addition to four of the six sweet pepper varieties grown every year since 2019; and the one jalapeno variety added last year. Removing Cubanelle and Purple Beauty (the two least prolific producers and most disease prone of those six varieties) from the lineup, to make way for the nine additional varieties. Six of those nine varieties are mild-to-hot peppers (Anaheim, Ancho, Serrano and three varieties of jalapeno). I use a lot of Sriracha and cayenne pepper in my cooking, so I'm looking forward to growing all or most of that spicy heat in the garden. And I'm hoping Anaheim peppers will be a suitable alternative to expensive Hatch green chiles.

    Adding ten additional varieties of tomatoes to this year's lineup, in addition to three of the seven varieties grown last year (Matt's Wild Cherry - prolific, disease resistant, unrivaled flavor; Raspberry Lyanna - prolific, disease resistant, compact, good flavor; San Marzano - prolific, disease resistant, compact, good flavor), and two of the three varieties grown in 2020 (Jet Star - prolific, disease resistant, compact, good flavor; Chadwick Cherry - prolific, disease resistant). Although it's tempting to simply stick with these five varieties that have done reasonably well in my tomato-disease-prone garden, I want to take the opportunity for a side-by-side comparison between these five known varieties and a maximum practical number of potentially suitable varieties; with the goal of finding the most disease resistant, prolific, compact and flavorful varieties that can be grown in this particular garden environment.

    Also adding Butterscotch Winter Squash and Tahitian Melon Squash to this year's lineup.

    Here are all the items I plan to grow this year. Links are provided, in case anyone is interested (to streamline the ordering process while minimizing shipping and handling costs, I ordered all of the seeds from four seed companies that have served well in the last three years):

    V = seeds leftover from previous year(s)
    $ = seeds ordered this year

    ORNAMENTALS
    $ WHITE YARROW - Achillea https://www.superseeds.com/products/white-yarrow
    $ RUSSEL MIX LUPINE https://www.superseeds.com/products/...ussell-mixture
    $ WILD LUPINE MIX https://www.superseeds.com/products/1-oz-wild-lupine
    $ SEDUM MIX https://www.superseeds.com/products/sedum-mix-sold-out
    $ MCKANA GIANTS – Aquilegia https://www.superseeds.com/products/...ants-aquilegia
    $ BABY SUN COREOPSIS https://www.superseeds.com/products/baby-sun-coreopsis
    $ ECHINACEA PURPUREA - Purple Coneflower https://www.superseeds.com/products/echinacea-purpurea
    $ INDIAN SUMMER RUDBECKIA – Black Eyed Susan https://www.superseeds.com/products/...mmer-rudbeckia
    $ BIRD AND BUTTERFLY GARDEN MIX https://www.superseeds.com/products/...tterfly-garden
    $ CANTERBURY BELLS – Campanula https://www.superseeds.com/products/...ells-campanula
    $ BLANKET FLOWER https://www.superseeds.com/products/blanket-flower
    $ SPOTTED BEE BALM https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vege...otted-bee-balm
    $ SPIELARTEN MIX BEE BALM https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vege...spielarten-mix
    $ QUEEN MIX SALVIA https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vege...lvia-queen-mix
    $ CLEOPATRA MIX SALVIA https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vege...tra-mix-salvia
    $ SIBERIAN WALLFLOWER https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vege...wer-wildflower
    $ BUTTERFLY BUSH HYBRIDS MIX https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vege...sh-hybrids-mix
    $ COLORADO MIX YARROW https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vege...w-colorado-mix
    $ PARKER'S VARIETY YARROW https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vege...rker-s-variety
    $ INCREDIBLE DWARF MIX COREOPSIS https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vege...-mix-coreopsis
    $ GREEK OREGANO https://www.superseeds.com/products/greek-oregano

    VEGETABLE GARDEN
    $ GENOVESE BASIL (Baker Creek/Rareseeds) https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vege...basil-genovese
    $ DRAGON TONGUE BUSH BEAN https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vege...ngue-bush-bean
    V NEW KURODA CARROT https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vege...-kuroda-carrot
    V SCARLET NANTES CARROT https://ohioheirloomseeds.com/produc...antes-heirloom
    V DAIKON RADISH (tillage) https://hancockseed.com/products/daikon-radish-seed
    V SWEET PASSION MELON https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vege...-passion-melon
    V CHARLESTON GRAY WATERMELON https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vege...ray-watermelon
    $ ANAHEIM MILD PEPPER https://www.totallytomato.com/product/T03001/36
    $ ANAHEIM MILD PEPPER https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vege...anaheim-pepper
    $ ANCHO GIGANTIA MILD PEPPER https://www.totallytomato.com/product/T09200/119
    V CALIFORNIA WONDER SWEET PEPPER https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vege...-wonder-pepper
    V CALIFORNIA WONDER SWEET PEPPER https://ohioheirloomseeds.com/produc...r-pepper-seeds
    $ CRAIG'S GRANDE JALAPEÑO PEPPER
    https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vege...craig-s-grande
    V CUBANELLE SWEET PEPPER https://ohioheirloomseeds.com/produc...weet-pepper-40
    V DOUX D’ESPAGNE/SPANISH MAMMOTH SWEET PEPPER https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vege...doux-d-espagne
    V GOLDEN CALWONDER SWEET PEPPER https://ohioheirloomseeds.com/produc...r-pepper-seeds
    $ TAM MILD JALAPEÑO PEPPER https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vege...alapeno-pepper
    $ ZAPOTEC HOTTER JALAPEÑO PEPPER https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vege...potec-jalapeno
    V KING OF THE NORTH SWEET PEPPER https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vege...e-north-pepper
    V LIPSTICK SWEET PEPPER https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vege...ipstick-pepper
    V MARCONI RED SWEET PEPPER https://ohioheirloomseeds.com/produc...d-pepper-seeds
    V NADAPENO SWEET PEPPER https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vege...adape-o-pepper
    V PURPLE BEAUTY SWEET PEPPER https://ohioheirloomseeds.com/produc...y-pepper-seeds
    $ SERRANO TAMPEQUINO HOT PEPPER https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vege...pequino-pepper
    V HUNGARIAN SWEET BANANNA PEPPER https://ohioheirloomseeds.com/produc...a-pepper-seeds
    $ TRAVELER JALAPENO PEPPER https://www.totallytomato.com/product/T03792/120
    V WINTER LUXURY PIE PUMPKIN
    https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vege...ry-pie-pumpkin
    $ BUTTERSCOTCH WINTER SQUASH https://www.superseeds.com/products/...-winter-squash
    $ TAHITIAN MELON SQUASH https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vege...n-melon-squash
    V CANADA CROOKNECK SQUASH (not available for 2022 purchase)
    V WALTHAM BUTTERNUT SQUASH https://ohioheirloomseeds.com/produc...ernut-heirloom
    V BLACK BEAUTY ZUCCHINI https://ohioheirloomseeds.com/produc...-beauty-squash
    V COSTATA ROMANESCO ZUCCHINI https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vege...manesco-squash
    $ A GRAPPOLI D'INVERNO TOMATO https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vege...poli-d-inverno
    V AMISH PASTE TOMATO https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vege...h-paste-tomato
    V BLACK CHERRY TOMATO https://ohioheirloomseeds.com/produc...y-tomato-seeds
    V CHADWICK CHERRY TOMATO https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vege...amp-joy-tomato
    $ CHEROKEE PURPLE TOMATO https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vege...-purple-tomato
    $ GERMAN LUNCHBOX TOMATO https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vege...unchbox-tomato
    $ HUNGARIAN HEART TOMATO https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vege...n-heart-tomato
    $ JET STAR HYBRID TOMATO https://www.totallytomato.com/product/T00392/89
    $ MARTINO'S ROMA TOMATO https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vege...-s-roma-tomato
    $ MATT’S WILD CHERRY TOMATO https://www.superseeds.com/products/...tomato-55-days
    $ PERON TOMATO https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vege...d/peron-tomato
    V PINK BRANDYWINE TOMATO https://ohioheirloomseeds.com/produc...m-tomato-seeds
    V RASPBERRY LYANNA TOMATO https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vege...-lyanna-tomato
    V SAN MARZANO HEIRLOOM TOMATO https://ohioheirloomseeds.com/produc...m-tomato-seeds
    V SWEETHEART CHERRY TOMATO https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vege...-cherry-tomato
    $ TAPPYS HERITAGE TOMATO https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vege...eritage-tomato
    $ TOMMY TOE TOMATO https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vege...mmy-toe-tomato
    $ WISCONSIN 55 TOMATO https://www.totallytomato.com/product/T00824/76

    Will follow up with an update once the first seeds are started.
    "That's all, folks!"

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