2023 garden season

[Backyard Lumberjack]

Yeah Eastern Grey kangaroos I also got Pretty Face Wallaby and Swamp Wallaby.. I'm in the bush I got everything snakes included lol
I don't mind the Red Bellied black snakes hanging around they eat the browns. I just got to be mindful where I step in my gardens lol

View attachment 1132282

yikes!

up at my ranch i am always on Snake Safari! especially, spring/early summer. copperheads! i have a snake safari tool. mr Brutus. pointed shovel. tip flat. when i am on snake safari, usually go that time 8-9:30 or so pm. always must be alert! and at the ready. i walk with bright lights. mind foucsed on dark brown, tan, light brown combo... and mr Brutus up in air... hand raised. it is a "see - strike" program. mr Brutus has never lost!

one summer evening, 4 just like this, all within 20 mins

 

[rogue60]

yikes!

up at my ranch i am always on Snake Safari! especially, spring/early summer. copperheads! i have a snake safari tool. mr Brutus. pointed shovel. tip flat. when i am on snake safari, usually go that time 8-9:30 or so pm. always must be alert! and at the ready. i walk with bright lights. mind foucsed on dark brown, tan, light brown combo... and mr Brutus up in air... hand raised. it is a "see - strike" program. mr Brutus has never lost!
View attachment 1132524
one summer evening, 4 just like this, all within 20 mins

I don't have any dangerous snakes like you guys have. Ya can keep ya Aadders lol
The Red Bellied black snakes around here are quiet they don't bother me and I don't bother them.
I don't see many Brown snakes here but if I do see one I move em on.

 

[sonny580]

For regular potatoes I cut them so there are 2 or 3 eyes in each piece on the average and plant them 4 inches deep and 16 inches apart in rows 6 feet apart, so I have dirt to pile up for ridges. cover them with 6 to 8 inches of dirt to start with then start pushing dirt as they grow. Lotta different methods out there but this is the only one that works for me.

 

[farmer steve]

Not done in the garden yet. Fresh picked.

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

I don't have any dangerous snakes like you guys have. Ya can keep ya Aadders lol
The Red Bellied black snakes around here are quiet they don't bother me and I don't bother them.
I don't see many Brown snakes here but if I do see one I move em on.

right! them copperheads are definitely mean! if one gets on wrong side of them. i been close! despite vigilant care! so far: BL winner, snakes -0-

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

Not done in the garden yet. Fresh picked.
View attachment 1132938

FS - on a scale of 1-10, how sweet would u say your brussels are from your garden? fresh cut, cooked. 0-none, 10-best sweet,ideal. we got these (pix with egg) big ones a week or so ago at grocery. wasn't sure how they mite taste, so big, etc? i was surprized to find these brussels are sweet. most i get are not, even though good. but i have had some before, i guess depends time of season, and they actually were still sweet. the egg pix brussels are gone. cooked last nite. today we went back and got some more. $3.99/#. i would say 2/2.5 and the sweet flavor quite noticeable.

 

[muddstopper]

Vegetable seedlings as of today.

Spring 2023 seedlings planted



Jan 26th, 2023

Better Boy 3 four packs two have 8 seeds each, one has four seeds. 2021 seed Ferry Morse

Brandywine 1 four pack three seeds each hole, 2 holes per cell. 2013 seed.

Amish Paste 10/2014, four 4 cell packs with 2+seeds in each hole. 2 holes per cell

Opalka 2014 seed. 4 four packs, 2 holes per cell. Two seeds per cell.

Jimmy Nardelo, hybrid 4 four packs two holes in each cell. From saved seed 2020

Marconi Rosso, 11/2014, 4 four cell packs two holes in each cell.

Jimmy Nardelo, 4 four cell pack, 2 holes each cell. Seed saved from 2019

Broccoli Umpqua 12 four cell packs, 2 holes in each cell.

, 27th

Vates collards 9/14 Neseed 12 four packs two holes per cell

Brussel Sprouts Long Island Improved Catskill 1/2012 12 four cell packs 2 holes per cell. SESE

28th

New Jersey Wakefield 9/2011 SESE 6 four cell packs, two holes per cell, two seeds per hole.

Snowbally improved 2011 six 4 cell packs, two holes per cell, two seeds per hole Imperial Seed





View attachment 1056568

View attachment 1056569

Got a question for you. Do you leave your light on all the time in your seeder starter, or are they on a timer? Do the lights provide enough heat to keep from freezing. Also are you using plain flouescence lights or are they grow lights?
I have tried starting plants in my unheated shed with special grow lights and heat pads, but havnt had much luck. I get real slow spindley plants and poor germination. I also have one of those plastic green houses but it seems to burn everything up. I have it set up on the back porch right now to try and keep some of my wifes house plants alive thru the winter. I dont have any lights in it, but my wife does have a little electric heater she turns on when weather is supposed to freeze. I am planning on building a shelf unit similar to yours in my outdoor shed if I can find a used rack shelveing unit.

 

[Del_]

Got a question for you. Do you leave your light on all the time in your seeder starter, or are they on a timer? Do the lights provide enough heat to keep from freezing. Also are you using plain flouescence lights or are they grow lights?
I have tried starting plants in my unheated shed with special grow lights and heat pads, but havnt had much luck. I get real slow spindley plants and poor germination. I also have one of those plastic green houses but it seems to burn everything up. I have it set up on the back porch right now to try and keep some of my wifes house plants alive thru the winter. I dont have any lights in it, but my wife does have a little electric heater she turns on when weather is supposed to freeze. I am planning on building a shelf unit similar to yours in my outdoor shed if I can find a used rack shelveing unit.

I didn't use a timer last winter but I have in the past and will this winter.

I give the seedlings 14 hours of LED light per day. Make sure to get the right LED temperature range for growing plants. I don't remember at the moment so you may want to google it.

My rolling wire shelving rack is 48" long and 18 inches wide I believe. Holds two lights per shelf.

This rack is right behind me as I sit here, in out heated living space.

Keep the LED's only about an inch above your seedlings.

I can place 12 four cell packs in a small chicken egg incubator and run it about 85°F to germinate warm loving seeds like peppers and tomatoes. I use it to get broccoli family seeds to germinate, too.

Some of the seeds I planted were too old and did not do well. I have noted that in a word document garden journal I keep so I know what to buy for the next season. I already have my seeds for the next year.

Make sure your soil mix doesn't have fungus gnats already in it!

As soon as I can I move trays of seedlings outside on the porch for sunlight and move them indoors to a sun room at night. It's a daily ritual. Seedlings of various types are at different stages and some under light, some move in and outside, some are just getting started as other are almost ready to transplant.

 

[muddstopper]

I had my seed trays spreadout on a work bench last winter. Trays where in front of a window for natural light. The trays where on top of a heat mat with a purple colored grow light, supposed to have all the proper spectrums of lights The light stayed on 24/7, I bought a harbor freight timer, but could never get it to work right. I have had better luck germinating seeds with trays setting on the window sill. I know the trays never froze and they where watered everday as they seemed to dryout pretty quick.I know the heating pads worked because I was moving things around the other day and picked one up and it had been left on all summer. I also bought a bunch of these, not exactly the same, but similar, https://www.amazon.com/Starter-Seed...-13-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9tdGY&th=1 Waste of money in my opinion. Everyhing I did last year was a experiment. I dont grow as many plants as you and a few others do and its probably cheaper for me to just buy what I need, but there are many plants I cant buy local and I am trying to build a heirloom collection of seeds. What I grow at my house is all heirlooms for seed because nobody around me even has a garden. That way I dont have to worry about cross pollination. I dont have a lot of room so I plant different varities every year. I plant my real garden at my sons place for canning. I am also hooked on growing taters, cabbage and carrots in containers. I was a little disappointed in my second crop of taters this year, but I was very late getting them planted and I dont think they had time to fully mature before the frost got them. I had taters, just not lots of bigg ones.

 

[Lionsfan]

I had my seed trays spreadout on a work bench last winter. Trays where in front of a window for natural light. The trays where on top of a heat mat with a purple colored grow light, supposed to have all the proper spectrums of lights The light stayed on 24/7, I bought a harbor freight timer, but could never get it to work right. I have had better luck germinating seeds with trays setting on the window sill. I know the trays never froze and they where watered everday as they seemed to dryout pretty quick.I know the heating pads worked because I was moving things around the other day and picked one up and it had been left on all summer. I also bought a bunch of these, not exactly the same, but similar, https://www.amazon.com/Starter-Seedling-Greenhouse-Growing-Germination/dp/B09MQ6W361/ref=sr_1_13_sspa?crid=NJ2E64QJSVTG&keywords=seed+trays+with+humidity+domes&qid=1702066851&sprefix=seed+trays,aps,127&sr=8-13-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9tdGY&th=1 Waste of money in my opinion. Everyhing I did last year was a experiment. I dont grow as many plants as you and a few others do and its probably cheaper for me to just buy what I need, but there are many plants I cant buy local and I am trying to build a heirloom collection of seeds. What I grow at my house is all heirlooms for seed because nobody around me even has a garden. That way I dont have to worry about cross pollination. I dont have a lot of room so I plant different varities every year. I plant my real garden at my sons place for canning. I am also hooked on growing taters, cabbage and carrots in containers. I was a little disappointed in my second crop of taters this year, but I was very late getting them planted and I dont think they had time to fully mature before the frost got them. I had taters, just not lots of bigg ones.

You don't need any light whatsoever to get your seeds to germinate. I start mine in a room that's partitioned off in my barn with an electric space heater for a heat source, through trial and error I've managed to provide a steady room temperature in the mid 60's and I place a heat mat under the flats to warm the soil up even more. You will need 12-16 hours of light daily after your seeds have sprouted. I use T-8 fluorescent fixtures for a light source, not because they're "the best", but because they're cheap, they're what I have, and by golly they get the job done. Just as Del said, keep your fixtures an inch or two above your seedlings or they will get leggy on you.

 

[farmer steve]

Finally getting some size so I picked 1/2 bushel this morning. Some going to produce auction and some for us and the neighbors.

 

[djg james]

Finally getting some size so I picked 1/2 bushel this morning. Some going to produce auction and some for us and the neighbors.
View attachment 1136696

Refresh my memory, green house, right?

 

[djg james]

I forgot to save pepper seeds from the garden. Can I still get viable seeds from peppers that were left outside and had several freezes on them. What about refrigerated peppers?

 

[farmer steve]

Refresh my memory, green house, right?

Nope,from the field. I wouldn't take a chance on pepper seeds  that were left out in the field. Refrigerated maybe. Seeds are cheap unless you have a special kind you want to save.

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

today is brussel sprouts day down here at my camp. starts have gotten up real nice. and i got the bed turned over other day... so today is planting sprouts day

this morning

weeds n garden debris to:

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

my red-eye has eyed up nicely over past few days... so plan on planting today, too. back area of sprouts bed. and i got more in red spud bag eyeing up, too. just going to lay in and cover with pine needles, what happens will happens...

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

i can hear the peas in the pea patch thumpin' along....

 

[farmer steve]

Some more stuff from the field.

 

[singinwoodwackr]

Some more stuff from the field.
View attachment 1136785View attachment 1136786

What are those?

 

[djg james]

Some more stuff from the field.
View attachment 1136785View attachment 1136786

I can't [believe] your crops aren't frozen out being in the NE.