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Post by steev on May 31, 2013 18:10:37 GMT -5
Mulch and compost, manure and chips;
That's what holds the sprinkles and drips!
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Post by Drahkk on May 31, 2013 21:15:08 GMT -5
I know, I know. I use mulch in and between my raised beds for that purpose. But I can't afford enough for the big garden, and don't have enough free sources readily available. And for it to work, it has to be thick enough to choke out the grass and weeds. If it's not tilled and hoed religiously the entire area turns back into lawn after one or two good showers. Even knowing the side effects, I'll probably end up having to spray some glyphosphate this year just to keep from totally losing control of it. I've taken on more than I am physically capable of keeping up with, and I realize that now. That's why I haven't been posting pics of anything but the tomatoes and peppers lately; they're the only section I've kept reasonably clean. I'm thinking about getting a roll of heavy duty plastic and trying to reclaim a chunk at a time through solarization next year, or possibly this year depending on how things go. Just hoping the trapped heat will go deep enough to kill nutsedge, as it's one of my primary problems here. On a lighter note, here's a Piennolo that's competing with the Sungolds for space and productivity. Really hoping some of these start turning color soon:  And the latest peppers I'm itching to try. These are Guzvara, from Wiz:   They look a lot like cubanelles. I'm waiting to see how big they'll get before taste testing. MB |
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Post by steev on May 31, 2013 22:20:54 GMT -5
Yet another interesting pepper.
The whole "organic matter" issue is fraught for so many, due to availability and time/labor concerns, but it is largely the cure for any soil problem. Certainly, the hotter the climate, the faster OM is lost, which is why Amazonian soil can be so rapidly reduced to such concrete crap.
The soil on my farm is utterly mineralized silt, thanks to half a century of no "put back". I haul a load of OM every week, when I go there. I mostly don't have time to spread it, except in Winter. The results of added OM are striking, both in friability and water retention/spreading.
I am planting legumes like crazy, not because I can eat them (too much!), but because they fix nitrogen and grow to provide OM. The seeds keep well.
If you intend to plastic, consider seriously that clear fries the weeds, where black just forces them to try harder, and water before laying out, to get them to sprout before their doom.
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Post by Drahkk on Jun 2, 2013 13:14:13 GMT -5
Certainly, the hotter the climate, the faster OM is lost... Steev, if anyone ever wants proof of that, tell them to look at the head space in the following pics of my beds. They were all level full two years ago. Having neglected to refill the past two years, it's going to take a lot to get them back there. I'll be piling what I can around plants as the season goes on. Here's my favorite kind of weeds, some tomatoes and basil volunteering in the sweet potato bed. They'll get overwhelmed soon if I don't transplant them, though. I think that bed had San Marzano in it last year...  Except for the tiniest Soroksari the peppers I put in a bed eventually decided to grow. The three orange bells all laid down from the wind since I still haven't caged them, but seem to be doing OK. Two of them and one of the remaining Soroksari have fruits forming. You'll also note some dill and another tomato that popped up. It's been a while since I intentionally planted dill, but it always appears somewhere:  Looks like it's about time to give the Seiva something to climb on:  Got dozens of these guys buzzing around the yard:  The local government drops huge numbers of them a few times a year to help combat the mosquito problem, but it's still fun to see so many flying at once. Found my first (almost) ripe Piennolo!  I remember Dar telling us that the difference in flavor between almost and completely vine ripe is night and day on these, so I'm trying to behave myself and leave it alone... MB |
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Post by steev on Jun 2, 2013 23:49:00 GMT -5
There are two species of dragonflies on my farm; when they're out, I know it's safe to sit out.
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Post by Drahkk on Jun 8, 2013 17:55:15 GMT -5
Anybody believe these are San Marzano?  To be exact, they're San Marzano Gigante. Second generation in my garden, but the original seed was from Territorial: www.territorialseed.com/product/11641/403. And those two are the largest at the moment, on a plant at the end of the row. They'll be my seeds for next year. I like them because they're big, still have plenty of flavor, and don't have as much of a problem with BER as standard San Marzano, though they still get it to a degree. Earliest of the peaches are starting to ripen up:  Still kinda hard, but already getting sweet. If anybody ever got a lesson in the benefits of grafting, I have. Check out the greengage now:  These were the same batch of scion wood. The two in the pot in front are direct rooted. The one in the big pot was grafted to wild plum rootstock. Also tied up tomatoes again, and pulled some Amerikanac, KC135, Piennolo, and Novosadski Jabucar for seed. Taste tested and rogued out hot plants from my sweet pepper trial. Naturally all the best producers have been hot so far, but it can't be helped. Strung the trellis around the Sieva limas and trained them up it, and spent a while weeding the raised beds. Tasted and seeded the first couple of Guzvara peppers. Large cones, about 6"x2", sweet, thin walled, but with a good flavor. Good frying pepper; I think they're a keeper. As for the big garden... I've definitely gotten in over my head. 70% of it has reverted to jungle status, and although I can find a melon or squash poking out here and there I've pretty much accepted that much of what I planted up there is lost. I'm still considering getting some heavy clear plastic to solarize a chunk at a time, but I'm also starting to think that in the long run it might be easier to add several more long raised beds and just use the big garden for a couple rows of tomatoes and peppers, since that's all I seem to be able to keep up with. Maybe plant hot peppers up there and sweet in one of my raised beds, so I don't have to worry about them crossing up. MB |
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Post by Drahkk on Jun 12, 2013 18:22:05 GMT -5
Snuck up to Rodney's place today to check on the Paradise. Not 100% weeded and tilled, so please forgive a little grass and pigweed... The outside rows are hurting the most from the heat and lack of rain. Ground is cracking around them; may have to rig a sprinkler soon.  The two rows in the center that we expected to just eat from may be my seed source now. Sheltered from the drying wind by the early planted hybrid rows on both sides, they're looking healthy:  You probably can't tell from that pic, but exactly two plants have shot up head high and already produced tassels and silk. Most of the rest are knee to waist high, with the majority in between. A couple have tassels just starting to form, but most are waiting, which is good since all the hybrids are in full pollen production at the moment. I also found one plant with variegated leaves:  Never know what will turn up in those mixed up genetics! MB |
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Post by Drahkk on Jun 19, 2013 19:35:07 GMT -5
OK, remember those Serbian peppers? I was beginning to think they would just dry on the plant without ever changing color, but they do eventually turn red. I found these today:  WHAT A DIFFERENCE between green and red! The flavor is just so-so when green and heat is almost nonexistent. When red, the heat is at least 5 times the average jalapeño, and the flavor is smoky/fruity and really pleasant. Fairly thick walled for a hot pepper, too. I think this is a keeper. They'd make some great pepper sauce or relish. Might be good to dry, grind, and add to my rib rub too. As for tomatoes, I'm getting plenty of ripe ones in all sizes now. Check out the Amerikanac:  I don't have a kitchen scale, but judging versus sticks of butter I'd guesstimate the biggest one is a little over a pound and a half. Flavor details later. MB |
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Post by steev on Jun 19, 2013 19:51:32 GMT -5
That Serbian pepper gets more interesting; looks meaty for a chile.
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Post by Drahkk on Jun 21, 2013 13:49:33 GMT -5
Oh, the magic of a legume root system. Here are my two beds full of Sieva lima beans. One bed had cowpeas in it last year, the other had cucumbers. Anybody care to guess which is which?  MB |
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Post by steev on Jun 21, 2013 23:38:24 GMT -5
OK, I'll bite. From your prime-up, I'll guess the one on the right was the cowpeas. You guess from which I'm orienting "right".
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Post by Drahkk on Jun 22, 2013 11:51:30 GMT -5
Yes, the bed on the right was Zipper Cream last year. The difference is so strikingly obvious I wanted to share it. I usually only have one or two beds' worth of main season legumes (the Sieva are it this year), which isn't really enough to rotate for whole garden benefit, but this has me looking for winter legume cover crop options. The catch is that we're talking about raised beds, so big power equipment is not an option; it needs to be something that can be killed and cleared or incorporated by hand, or at most with a little Mantis tiller. That limits my options. Any suggestions?
MB
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Post by richardw on Jun 22, 2013 15:55:16 GMT -5
Just shows the benefits of planting legumes Drahkk,i try and plant every second crop as a legume of some kind unless its a root crop.
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Post by Drahkk on Jun 22, 2013 18:57:23 GMT -5
That's what I'm getting at. I'm considering cover cropping with Austrian winter peas this fall. Has anyone grown them before? Do you think I could chop/burn and turn them under by hand or with the Mantis next spring? Any other suggestions?
On second thought, probably just by hand. I went no till this spring, so the Mantis hasn't been cranked in two years. Dunno if I can get it running or not...
MB
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Post by davida on Jun 22, 2013 20:11:08 GMT -5
That's what I'm getting at. I'm considering cover cropping with Austrian winter peas this fall. Has anyone grown them before? Do you think I could chop/burn and turn them under by hand or with the Mantis next spring? Any other suggestions? Drahkk, I would have recommended Austrian winter peas. I have grown them and they worked well. I bush hogged them into the soil because it was a large area and they broke up excellently becuase it was still our non brittle time of year. You could use a push lawn mower in the raised beds. But my favorite method for the raised bed is to have excellent hand shears and cut off plant at the top of the roots and leave roots in the ground. Then cut the pieces up into 4 inch pieces to use as mulch. David |
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