2023 garden season

[Backyard Lumberjack]

Mudd,what if any fertilizer on the asparagus? I'm guessing you planted crowns/ roots. Variety? You need to let the stalks grow until they turn brown in the winter. I don't cut mine off until early spring. Most recommendations say not to cut any spears until the 2nd year. IMO 3 years is better to give the roots time to store enough energy to produce nice spears. You also need to watch for asparagus beetles. My little patch gives me 10 lbs every day and at peak maybe 20. It's 26 years old. Headin out to cut shortly.

i've grown it. small by FS standards. best was raw and fresh picked out of the garden. i got some fat pencil sized...

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

we got our add'l Better Boys in yesterday. new cukes, too. and i pulled some nice carrots. we peeled them and had as a side dish snack. with some butt'a, s cream on side and dash S&P! we both agreed:

 

[Stonesforbrains]

Got the garden tilled today. Can’t wait to start planting my peppers and tomatoes!

 

[spuldup]

Planted my first asparagus yesterday. Excited and hopeful for the 2025 crop, haha.
Hard frost last night. Went out at 11 to cover the lettuce. All survived. Winter seems to run January to May now.

 

[VT Hillbilly]

Good mornin' from the "Northeast Kingdom" of Vermont! Thank you for this thread! Very enjoyable and informative. I like learning how things are done in other geographic locations. Last weekend was time for my GF and I to till in 2yds. of Composted Cow manure w/ the old Honda tiller. I will post pictures of this tiller soon. Really neat old unit. Single wheel in front 3 fwd. speeds/ 2 in reverse. Anyway.....our last frost date is typically 6/1. Gaden is going to be mapped out,and seeds inventoried ( that actually bagan a couple weeks ago. Peas ARE in. Garlic went in last October,to Winter over under straw. We do corn,broccoli, beets, tomatoes, peppers,winter squashes,green and yellow ( wax) beans,potatoes, carrots,peas,garlic ( mentioned earlier) Garden has expanded 3 times in 5 yrs! LOL! Now is 40'+/- by 80' +/-. Again.....will post some pictures as get rollin'. Everyone have a fantastic day!

 

[spuldup]

Good mornin' from the "Northeast Kingdom" of Vermont! Thank you for this thread! Very enjoyable and informative. I like learning how things are done in other geographic locations. Last weekend was time for my GF and I to till in 2yds. of Composted Cow manure w/ the old Honda tiller. I will post pictures of this tiller soon. Really neat old unit. Single wheel in front 3 fwd. speeds/ 2 in reverse. Anyway.....our last frost date is typically 6/1. Gaden is going to be mapped out,and seeds inventoried ( that actually bagan a couple weeks ago. Peas ARE in. Garlic went in last October,to Winter over under straw. We do corn,broccoli, beets, tomatoes, peppers,winter squashes,green and yellow ( wax) beans,potatoes, carrots,peas,garlic ( mentioned earlier) Garden has expanded 3 times in 5 yrs! LOL! Now is 40'+/- by 80' +/-. Again.....will post some pictures as get rollin'. Everyone have a fantastic day!

Sounds like a good seed list there. I though I made our garden too big at 60X45. How many rows of corn are needed to protect itself from the wind? Thought of doing some but we can get gusts over 50mph pretty regularly now.

 

[esshup]

It's pretty hardy as mine has survived nearly 0 temps. More than likely the seeds you harvested were from a variety called Mary Washington. It's an old time variety. My dad did the same as you and raised his from saved seeds from an old plant. My thoughts are that it's a more spindly plant than the newer hybrid male varieties. It may take 3 years till you can harvest. Your fertilizer should be good for it. Jersey knight is the kind I grow. Seed are cheap and it's an all male type that gives you big tender spears.
https://seedsfromplants.com/products/asparagus-seeds-jersey-knight-asparagus

I've got a bed of Purple Passion here that is 22-23 years old and still going strong. Spears over an inch in diameter are still tender.

 

[VT Hillbilly]

Sounds like a good seed list there. I though I made our garden too big at 60X45. How many rows of corn are needed to protect itself from the wind? Thought of doing some but we can get gusts over 50mph pretty regularly now.

Since our expansion to the 40 X 80 footprint, we now do 7 rows,oh, around 32-35' long. 2021 was when we reached this sized garden. Seems to work very well for us. We also have the benefit of living in a small valley near the CT River. River is fairly small this far North. Fertile soil in this valley. No wind problems......yet!

 

[farmer steve]

Sounds like a good seed list there. I though I made our garden too big at 60X45. How many rows of corn are needed to protect itself from the wind? Thought of doing some but we can get gusts over 50mph pretty regularly now.

I've had 8 rows x 300 feet blow over and the next patch beside it was stihl standing. Best thing to do is hill dirt on the row of corn.

 

[djg james]

Good mornin' from the "Northeast Kingdom" of Vermont! Thank you for this thread! Very enjoyable and informative. I like learning how things are done in other geographic locations. Last weekend was time for my GF and I to till in 2yds. of Composted Cow manure w/ the old Honda tiller. I will post pictures of this tiller soon. Really neat old unit. Single wheel in front 3 fwd. speeds/ 2 in reverse. Anyway.....our last frost date is typically 6/1. Gaden is going to be mapped out,and seeds inventoried ( that actually bagan a couple weeks ago. Peas ARE in. Garlic went in last October,to Winter over under straw. We do corn,broccoli, beets, tomatoes, peppers,winter squashes,green and yellow ( wax) beans,potatoes, carrots,peas,garlic ( mentioned earlier) Garden has expanded 3 times in 5 yrs! LOL! Now is 40'+/- by 80' +/-. Again.....will post some pictures as get rollin'. Everyone have a fantastic day!

Been wanting to try garlic. What type do you plant?

 

[Lionsfan]

Been wanting to try garlic. What type do you plant?

One of my favorite crops since it's the first thing to come up in the spring and one of the earliest things to harvest. Hardnecks (Too many different ones to list) do very well here in Northern Michigan and I bet they would do well in Illinois too.

 

[spuldup]

Been wanting to try garlic. What type do you plant?

Garlic is about the easiest thing to grow. It just takes time. Plant in the fall, harvest next summer. Any hardneck variety from the Burpee catalog will do just fine in IL. I ordered last year from Filaree Garlic Farm https://filareefarm.com/. Music garlic and 2 shallots. All are coming up great right now.

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[esshup]

Another freeze warning for tonight.

 

[djg james]

Garlic is about the easiest thing to grow. It just takes time. Plant in the fall, harvest next summer. Any hardneck variety from the Burpee catalog will do just fine in IL. I ordered last year from Filaree Garlic Farm https://filareefarm.com/. Music garlic and 2 shallots. All are coming up great right now.

View attachment 1077871

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Yes I had planned on hardneck varieties to plant this Fall. Maybe Montana Giant and Spanish Roja. I plan on planting them in this raised bed once I move the berries.

So any particular hardneck viareties any of you like?

 

[muddstopper]

I dont hqve q clue what varietie of garlic I planted. I picked it up in the produce section at the super market. Its up and seems to be doing good. We did have a frost monday night. My tomatoe and pepper plants are sitting on my dining table, so they all survived. Cukes and squash are also in the house. I will take them back outside tomorrow. Long range weather says we wont have anymore frost for the next two weeks, I'll wait another week and check the forcast again and then make up my mind about planting anything in the ground. Frost didnt hurt my cabbage or taters. I was at home depot today and it looks like they lost a bunch of plants.

 

[Lionsfan]

Yes I had planned on hardneck varieties to plant this Fall. Maybe Montana Giant and Spanish Roja. I plan on planting them in this raised bed once I move the berries.
View attachment 1077912
So any particular hardneck viareties any of you like?

I've tried several and settled on German White, Spanish Roja and Chesnok Red. I've also had excellent crops of Music, German red and Siberian.

 

[VT Hillbilly]

Been wanting to try garlic. What type do you plant?

We plant German Extra Hardy,and Siberian varieties. We have had very good luck with both. We plant in October, I think right after Columbus Day,or the next weekend. We put the straw right to the beds,as it seems to work alot better than hay. Then,we hope for an early snow that will stay,to insulate,along w/ the straw. Each Spring,it sure is welcoming to see the shoots poking up through the straw!

 

[spuldup]

Yes I had planned on hardneck varieties to plant this Fall. Maybe Montana Giant and Spanish Roja. I plan on planting them in this raised bed once I move the berries.
View attachment 1077912
So any particular hardneck viareties any of you like?

Everything listed by the members above are good choices. If you are in southern IL you can get away with softneck garlics, but hardneck tastes better to us. Try different types, move them around the garden plot year to year.

The raised bed is really nice for tomatoes, peppers, etc in the summer but garlic will be fine, if not prefer, the more gradual temperature changes of being directly in the earth. May I ask if there is a reason your raised beds don't have ground contact? I was always taught to always have them touching the earth, if not just for worms, but am interested in other ways.

 

[djg james]

..... move them around the garden plot year to year.

The raised bed is really nice for tomatoes, peppers, etc in the summer but garlic will be fine, if not prefer, the more gradual temperature changes of being directly in the earth. May I ask if there is a reason your raised beds don't have ground contact? I was always taught to always have them touching the earth, if not just for worms, but am interested in other ways.

Garlic should be moved to a new spot each year?

Garlic likes more gradual ground temp changes? Raised beds would get warmer quicker.

I initially made the raised beds from a barrel to plant strawberries in. My initial patch in the ground in the garden became overgrown quickly and hard to take care of. The original plants got choked out. The barrel beds work great for the berries. That's why I built the beds the same way out of totes I posted about earlier. I'll move them after they produce.

As for ground contact. I built them out of ignorance. I thought weed control would be easier. Never thought about worm action. I do have one 3' x 8' direct contact bed that's dormant because I need to repair it. I was saving it for spinacjh. Maybe I'll switch and put the garlic there and the spinach in the barrels?

 

[spuldup]

Garlic should be moved to a new spot each year?

Garlic likes more gradual ground temp changes? Raised beds would get warmer quicker.

I initially made the raised beds from a barrel to plant strawberries in. My initial patch in the ground in the garden became overgrown quickly and hard to take care of. The original plants got choked out. The barrel beds work great for the berries. That's why I built the beds the same way out of totes I posted about earlier. I'll move them after they produce.

As for ground contact. I built them out of ignorance. I thought weed control would be easier. Never thought about worm action. I do have one 3' x 8' direct contact bed that's dormant because I need to repair it. I was saving it for spinacjh. Maybe I'll switch and put the garlic there and the spinach in the barrels?

Generally you'd want to rotate every annual plant for nutrient and disease management (especially true for nightshades like tomatoes). Garlic takes a lot from the soil. Next year, or over winter, plant something in the area that fixes nitrogen like beans or radishes. I harvest garlic in midsummer when the lower leaves are brown, store a few months and plant again when soil temp drops to about 60F. For cheap fertilizer, you can plant radishes in the old spot at that time and let them rot over winter (beware, they can stink). You want the garlic roots to get established before the ground starts freezing/heaving. A great thing about garlic is the next years crop is free to plant. Plant the biggest bulbs for next year. You'll underestimate how much of this years is needed for next but it's not so bad after the first year.

About the non ground contact beds: You're fine to keep them that way but I'd manually add some worms from a bait shop and probably some mycorrhizave or another inoculant to sort of replace the earth contact.