Anyone doing a garden?

[RickeyM]

Cover me boys, I'm goin' in. See-sawing temps here in the DMV. Waiting for consistent above temps 50* for the peppers. I think the tomatoes are ready for the big time. It's the end of May and we still have the occaisonal nighttime temp dip into the 50's. Screw it, the sweet peppers and tomatoes are going in today. Warm but overcast to ease the transplanting.

 

[BillyTheKid]

Things are starting to grow here. Basil, sunflowers, radishes, kale, chard, arugula all coming along.
I always have a spinach problem. For the last 2 years I couldn't even get it to germinate. This year I got it in early, it came up, grew to about 3 inches, then it curled up and turned brown. Now it's all dead.

 

[LHorn]

@BillyTheKid ...Fusarium wilt maybe?

I had the same issues as last year with my peppers. They were growing fine then suddenly just wilted and died. In the pic the wilted one #7 was doing fine like the one to the right...both Zapotec Jalapenos. Last year Zapotecs never germinated...this year they were the first and all the others lagged behind or died off



I transplanted all to the carport on 5/16 and still had temps sometimes down to the low 40's...I think it actually benefits them. If the leaves...or peppers late in the year...start getting black on them that is telling you its too cold for them. Moved them to the back of the house last Friday under the shadecloth. The red bracket was to show my son his 5 Habaneros.



Ended up with this for 2026...


And my carrots turned into a clustermuck but I dont care...whatever happens happens.....

 

[BillyTheKid]

.Fusarium wilt maybe?

Definitely something like that. I'll pull them out and throw them away. I guess I should have eaten them as seedlings.
No more attempting spinach for me.

Nice pepper plants. Nice to have a big garden !

Do you have another rabbit problem this year ?

 

[LHorn]

Definitely something like that. I'll pull them out and throw them away. I guess I should have eaten them as seedlings.
No more attempting spinach for me.

Nice pepper plants. Nice to have a big garden !

Do you have another rabbit problem this year ?

Ha...no Popeye arms for you then with no spinach!

Oh no...you went there no, no hopping rodents so far but if you just jinxed me I'm sending them all to you!

 

[CT Jim]

Great garden so far. I pulled my first Giant Marconi peppers, they will get about 4” longer if I wait. I have many different peppers coming in strong. Nothing beats grabbing a pepper or two and throwing it on the grill while something is on!!
Garlic is maybe another week or two, and this year I already have squash and zucc. Everything is coming in superbly!

 

[RickeyM]

Something wiped out two of the four potato plants I have going. I'm not sure it wasn't something I did. The leaves and stems wilted and died. This happened after a watering but only on half of the plants in the same bag. Bugger It's now June so I expect the garlic and onions will be ready soon.
The Romain I sowed last Fall has finally bolted. The copy said "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter Garden" so possible heat tolerate? Maybe I'll try sowing another batch to see.
The peppers and tomato look happy in their homes (pots). Leaves & stems up, no droops.
The Scarlet Beebalm is budding so flowers for the pollinators soon? I gave up on the Lavender seedlings. They're just growing too slowly. I bought a Salvia plant that's said to be attractive to pollinators and I sowed a few Borage seeds since I made space for flower pots.
On the Bell peppers I'm giving a try to companion plant oregano with them. Seeds gotta stay moist until germination which can be hard to achieve in pots with other plants growing so I had a idea. I'll let you know if it works

Cut down toilet paper rolls filled with coco coir covered with plastic cups.

​

 

[LHorn]

Just gotta watch the cups...they can turn into magnifying glasses in the sun and cook things real fast.

 

[LHorn]

Great garden so far. I pulled my first Giant Marconi peppers, they will get about 4” longer if I wait. I have many different peppers coming in strong. Nothing beats grabbing a pepper or two and throwing it on the grill while something is on!!
Garlic is maybe another week or two, and this year I already have squash and zucc. Everything is coming in superbly!
View attachment 3772388View attachment 3772389

You southerners have it made for growing stuff. Mine are at the point of needing the flowers picked off to get them to grow more.

 

[CT Jim]

Oh Oh
I went in a cut my peppers so the plants put more into making more. This could be a problem for the two of us,, Today I harvested 61 peppers……I don’t have this problem with zucchini

 

[RickeyM]

Just gotta watch the cups...they can turn into magnifying glasses in the sun and cook things real fast.

Hadn't thought of that. We're getting some hot days here later in the week. I'll cover with some shade cloth. Mix up that coco coir with some vermiculite to retain moisture..

 

[whoaru99]

Got one of two raised beds set up and planted with some tomatos. Apprently marigolds and basil are sympathetic with tomatos so the better half is going to put some of those in as well. And some carrots, she says. I might see if there is room for a jalepeno or two.

The 2nd one is larger L x W and roughly 2x taller. Need to find a local source of bulk soil mix as buying 85 cu ft of commercial bagged stuff would cost a small fortune. Although, a lot of info seems to suggest filling it partially with wood and branches to reduce the soil volume required. Got the taller one for us, so to speak, not because we think that much soil depth is necessary but easier for us to work in.

 

[RickeyM]

Got one of two raised beds set up and planted with some tomatos. Apprently marigolds and basil are sympathetic with tomatos so the better half is going to put some of those in as well. And some carrots, she says. I might see if there is room for a jalepeno or two.

The 2nd one is larger L x W and roughly 2x taller. Need to find a local source of bulk soil mix as buying 85 cu ft of commercial bagged stuff would cost a small fortune. Although, a lot of info seems to suggest filling it partially with wood and branches to reduce the soil volume required. Got the taller one for us, so to speak, not because we think that much soil depth is necessary but easier for us to work in.

Yes you can add some of that stuff on the bottom of a raised bed. You could even do sort of a "hugelkultur" If you have the depth. That would cut down on the amount of soil you need.