2024 garden season

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Sunday morning slow rain coming down. (There's a couple of songs in that there)

More than anyone wants to hear about asparagus.

I was walking the garden this morning in the beautiful slow rain that we are getting. We need it. Found nine more asparagus seedlings.

I bet we get 100 seedlings this spring. We will be planting a second 50 foot row with these and it will take 50 male plants. It will be interesting to see what the ratio of male/female seedlings we get out of our "all male" hybrid 'Jersey Knight' asparagus. We had two out of 50 in our purchased two year old crowns that we planted on 7-20-2022 (not the recommended planting time).

Here they are freshly transplanted into small 4-cell packs along with the seven others transplanted a couple of days ago. I may well make a shallower dug bed and plant on closer spacings until I can sex each crown. Then on to planting 10 inches deep in a permanent bed the next spring or in the fall. Likely fall. It may take a year or two to sex.

Seedlings.

View attachment 1171664


Planting two year old crowns on 7-20-2022.

View attachment 1171665
Even buying all male jersey knight seeds I stihl had a few female plants . Out of 500 seeds. We planted plug plants. Much easier than making trenches for that many. 28 years ago. Just picked 8 lbs this morning.
 
Sunday morning slow rain coming down. (There's a couple of songs in that there)

More than anyone wants to hear about asparagus.

I was walking the garden this morning in the beautiful slow rain that we are getting. We need it. Found nine more asparagus seedlings.

I bet we get 100 seedlings this spring. We will be planting a second 50 foot row with these and it will take 50 male plants. It will be interesting to see what the ratio of male/female seedlings we get out of our "all male" hybrid 'Jersey Knight' asparagus. We had two out of 50 in our purchased two year old crowns that we planted on 7-20-2022 (not the recommended planting time).

Here they are freshly transplanted into small 4-cell packs along with the seven others transplanted a couple of days ago. I may well make a shallower dug bed and plant on closer spacings until I can sex each crown. Then on to planting 10 inches deep in a permanent bed the next spring or in the fall. Likely fall. It may take a year or two to sex.

Seedlings.

View attachment 1171664


Planting two year old crowns on 7-20-2022.

View attachment 1171665
OK, you say seedlings. Are they volunteers or are they ones you planted. You start your own from seed and keep in a pot for two years? And how do tell male from female ... Asparagus that is?

I simply hate digging a trench for them. I used my tiller to loosen layers of dirt. Then shovel out by hand. Repeat until I have a 10-12" deep trench. Lot of work.
 
OK, you say seedlings. Are they volunteers or are they ones you planted. You start your own from seed and keep in a pot for two years? And how do tell male from female ... Asparagus that is?

I simply hate digging a trench for them. I used my tiller to loosen layers of dirt. Then shovel out by hand. Repeat until I have a 10-12" deep trench. Lot of work.

Good questions.

These are volunteer seedlings I did not know I had until I was weeding yesterday. They may well have grown some last season un-noticed. I marked them yesterday with little plastic stakes and dug them with my fingers this moring and transplanted them in the light rain we were getting.

I've been reading that 'Apollo' is very productive. I just heard of it.
 
Good questions.

These are volunteer seedlings I did not know I had until I was weeding yesterday. They may well have grown some last season un-noticed. I marked them yesterday with little plastic stakes and dug them with my fingers this moring and transplanted them in the light rain we were getting.

I've been reading that 'Apollo' is very productive. I just heard of it.
Had to look that one up Del. New to me. Here's one I have been looking at.
https://www.ruppseeds.com/vegetables/products/asparagus/walker-deluxe
 
Dont need all them dang old trees anyway! Use the space for something productive like growing FOOD! lol!!!
I been planting a row of wild trees here along the road, -- not having much luck with them either. They live a couple years then die. Guess I dig them at the wrong time of the year. Cant water them and that dont help matters I'm sure.
Had heavy frost here 2 nights in a row. I think it got the fruit tree flowers that were open. The peach trees never did bloom this year so no peaches. Bad winter here killed a lot of stuff. no snow on ground to protect anything, just sub-zero cold and burning high winds all winter.
The stuff in the greenhouse needs planted bad but with frost every night, no point in planting it.
The cabbage row survived and looks good. Taters just surface level so they should be o.k., radishes and turnips starting to come up. Onions greening up and growing like weeds.
 
Dont need all them dang old trees anyway! Use the space for something productive like growing FOOD! lol!!!
I been planting a row of wild trees here along the road, -- not having much luck with them either. They live a couple years then die. Guess I dig them at the wrong time of the year. Cant water them and that dont help matters I'm sure.
Had heavy frost here 2 nights in a row. I think it got the fruit tree flowers that were open. The peach trees never did bloom this year so no peaches. Bad winter here killed a lot of stuff. no snow on ground to protect anything, just sub-zero cold and burning high winds all winter.
The stuff in the greenhouse needs planted bad but with frost every night, no point in planting it.
The cabbage row survived and looks good. Taters just surface level so they should be o.k., radishes and turnips starting to come up. Onions greening up and growing like weeds.
:p But... the plan was: more trees + more shade = less work.
Less shade + more garden = lots of work!

My Yukon potatoes are looking great. I guess they are loving this cool weather we're having.
Think I'll wait a little longer to plant anything else, after it warms up a bit more.
 
Thanks for the link. I ordered a catalog 👍
With all the trees dying in my yard, it'll open up a lot more sunny areas for vegetable gardens.
Not my plan, but... you know what they say about when someone gives you lemons. :nofunny:
Here's another I like and mostly reasonable. $$ Smaller package sizes too compared to the other one above.
https://twilleyseed.com/catalog
 
Had to look that one up Del. New to me. Here's one I have been looking at.
https://www.ruppseeds.com/vegetables/products/asparagus/walker-deluxe

Walker looks interesting.

Millennium likes it cooler than I am here at the edge of zone 8A. Might work for you.

https://www.ufseeds.com/product/millennium-f1-asparagus-roots/ASMI.html




Here's a couple I belive I'll order later today:

https://www.ufseeds.com/product/apollo-f1-asparagus-seeds/ASAP.html

https://www.ufseeds.com/product/atlas-f1-asparagus-seeds/ASAT.html
 
Walker looks interesting.

Millennium likes it cooler than I am here at the edge of zone 8A. Might work for you.

https://www.ufseeds.com/product/millennium-f1-asparagus-roots/ASMI.html




Here's a couple I belive I'll order later today:

https://www.ufseeds.com/product/apollo-f1-asparagus-seeds/ASAP.html

https://www.ufseeds.com/product/atlas-f1-asparagus-seeds/ASAT.html
Thanks for the link - requested a catalog from them, too.

I'm thinking though, if I make a larger veggie garden I'm going to have to be able to cover it for about 4-6 weeks in the spring while they're spraying.
Would a greenhouse-like structure with a retractable plastic covering work?
 
Thanks for the link - requested a catalog from them, too.

I'm thinking though, if I make a larger veggie garden I'm going to have to be able to cover it for about 4-6 weeks in the spring while they're spraying.
Would a greenhouse-like structure with a retractable plastic covering work?

I hardly ever get catalogs and perfer browsing web pages instead. Saves a tree.

You ought to consider not having a bigger garden with the obsticles you face.

'How to protect my vegetable garden from neighboring agricultural spraying' would be a good thread to start. Maybe the title would get some attention.
 
I hardly ever get catalogs and perfer browsing web pages instead. Saves a tree.

You ought to consider not having a bigger garden with the obsticles you face.

'How to protect my vegetable garden from neighboring agricultural spraying' would be a good thread to start. Maybe the title would get some attention.
I like catalogs, but I always order from the website.

I think you're right about the garden. :( Thanks for mentioning it. A reality check.

Sometimes my imagination and optimism are blind to logic and reality.
 
A garden tour this morning with photos taken this morning. We got down to 39°F and we've got peppers, corn and tomatoes growing. We made out good.

A brief description is posted just above each photo. The flower pots in the garden are for collecting rocks.

Top Chop hybrid collards. 40 plants total.
Vegetable Garden 006 'Top Chop'.JPG




Hybrid broccoli 'Green Goliath'. About 60 plants total.
Vegetable Garden 008 Broccoli 'Green Golith'.JPG




Jade E. Cross Brussel Sprouts. When you see the leaf change in the row, that's the end of the Brussel Sprouts. About 40 plants total.
Vegetable Garden 009 Brussel Sprouts 'Jade E Cross'.JPG




Two Better Boy tomato plants in one cage. Started from seeds on 2-15-2024. Note the cage is on 4 ft. erosion stakes. Keeps them from rusting in the soil, makes weed removal easier, makes them six inches taller. More work but if you don't love it you're in the wrong hobby.
Vegetable Garden 010 Tomato 'Better Boy'.JPG




Two 50 ft. rows of Yukon Gold potatoes planted on one foot centers in the row, rows 5 foot center to center. Our 30 'invisible' beds are on five foot centers and are three feet wide by 50 feet long. Dug 14 inches deep by hand and marked at each end with a permanent square steel stake.(banisters auctually) Those are three kinds of onions in the bed to the left, tomatoes to the left of the onions and peppers in the bed on the right.
Vegetable Garden 011 Potato 'Yukon Gold'.JPG


Waltham broccoli started from seed on 2-15-2024. About seventy plants total.
Vegetable Garden 018 Waltham broccoli.JPG



This is a 3ft. X 50ft. bed of Waltham broccoli on the left, an old heirloom and Green Goliath broccoli on the right, a modern hybrid. We are comparing the two. The rows are 50 foot long with maybe 40 plants in each row. To consider the root zone of these types of planting I plant each row 9 inches off of the center line string I use with planting beds. This gives each row in the bed 9 inches for root zone before it hits the walkway on one side, and the competeing root of the other row in that 3ft. bed on the other side. I plant corn exactly the same way. In fact my main stainless steel digging trowel is marked at 9 inches on it's handle making it a handy measuring and digging tool. A row of tomatoes on the right side alternating with 'Better Boy' and 'Hossinator'. Trailing of course. If it can't beat 'Better Boy' then it doesn't make the cut next year. The seeds to 'Hossinator' were 50 cents each but they sent 13! making them only 38 cents each. 'Better Boy' seeds were $5 per 50, so 10 cents each.
Vegetable Garden 019 Broccoli Waltham left Green Goliath right.JPG




The 'A' garden taken from atop a truck box 12ft in the air. Six beds 3ft. wide X 50ft. long. Two kinds of garlic, three kinds of multiplier onions, flowering collards, collards 'Top Chop' and 'Top Bunch', cauliflower 'Twister', Brussel Sprouts 'Jade E Cross', and a smathering of broccoli 'Green Goliath' and 'Waltham' to fill in missing cruciferous (LOL) plants to fill out rows.
Vegetable Garden 021 The A garden.JPG




The 'B' garden from the truck top. Seventeen 3ft X 50ft hand dug beds. Our main garden and our first gardening area 20 years ago.
Vegetable Garden 022 'Yukon Gold' potato B garden.JPG



Truck top view of 'Waltham' and 'Green Goliath' broccolis in the 'B' garden.
Vegetable Garden 023 The B garden.JPG
 
Yes, similar to Del's pics. Seeds started in trays and grown for several months to get a good root system started. We used our vegetable transplanter.
Looked a little on the internet and I'm still a little confused. Do you start just male seeds, if there's such a thing? Do you remove the female plants?
 
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