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Post by Drahkk on Jun 22, 2013 21:15:24 GMT -5
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 Perfect! That's how I try to clear almost everything anyway, though I don't always chop so small. OK, we have a plan. I'm in process of adding three more large beds that will more than double my space; by the time I'm ready to plant them I'll have about 550 square feet to cover. If it were summer and cowpeas, that would mean about half a pound of seed. Does that sound right for these too? MB |
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Post by steev on Jun 23, 2013 22:11:31 GMT -5
Would favas, lentils, or cicers work?
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Post by Drahkk on Jun 24, 2013 14:16:46 GMT -5
Having never grown any, I'm not sure. It's quite possible, as long as they can shake off a frost. I get plenty of nights in the 30s or high 20s with morning frost, it just rarely stays that cold long enough to freeze anything. It would certainly be cheap enough to try; since all I'm really looking for is nitrogen/OM production I could probably just get a bag of dry beans from the supermarket to plant. Do you think they'd survive?
MB
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Post by steev on Jun 24, 2013 15:18:33 GMT -5
Think favas would give the most, easily-processed OM, but lentils and chickpeas are more supermarket-available, plus they seem to get less frost damage on my farm.
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Post by Drahkk on Jun 24, 2013 18:26:03 GMT -5
Cool, that gives me more options. Dry beans are cheap, and I'm pretty sure Kroger has favas as well as several different lentils; I may just get some of each and see which performs the best. Thanks!
MB
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Post by steev on Jun 24, 2013 21:25:01 GMT -5
Somehow, I don't really associate frost with Mississippi. Location, location, location really is the deal with growing, as well as real estate. There you go, landrace development rules!
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Post by Drahkk on Jun 24, 2013 22:35:27 GMT -5
Funny; I never used to associate frost with California either. Guess it's all about how far inland you are, as well as latitude. Location, indeed!
MB
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Post by Drahkk on Jun 27, 2013 18:55:32 GMT -5
  Looks like my Sunshine crossed with something. A Hubbard of some type maybe? No worries; it's flavor I'm looking for. No judgement before tasting. Besides, that mottled one looks cool! MB |
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Post by steev on Jun 27, 2013 21:44:09 GMT -5
I agree, the mottled one looks cool, though I doubt it will stay so distinctive; they're always cute, as puppies.
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Post by Drahkk on Jul 2, 2013 19:05:15 GMT -5
Got a surprise in the pepper patch today.  This is Soroksari. It got a really slow start this spring. But now that the summer heat is here and most bells are taking a siesta, it is loading up. I've been waiting on the first one to ripen for seed so I haven't tasted them yet, but if the flavor is there along with the production I think this will be a keeper! MB |
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Post by richardw on Jul 3, 2013 0:49:32 GMT -5
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Post by Drahkk on Jul 3, 2013 2:15:54 GMT -5
It seems to be a lucky color in peppers for me. Until this year, the best performing bell in my garden has been the hybrid Blushing Beauty, and my favorite mildly hot pepper has been Mariachi, both of which follow that same color pattern. But if Soroksari actually matures all those fruit it has set right now it will easily be the most productive bell I've ever grown, and the peppers are thick walled, solid, and heavy. Plus, most bells take a break from mid June through August in my climate and start setting fruit again in September, while Soroksari appears to still be going strong. I sure hope the flavor matches the productivity. If so, it will earn a permanent spot in my garden. MB |
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Post by zeedman on Jul 4, 2013 0:51:20 GMT -5
It has been my observation that the "white" peppers (those that are cream or yellow when immature) tend to be high yielding. Alma Paprika & Feher Ozon Paprika fall in that category, as does the bell Garden Sunshine. I grew the heirloom Bacskia last year, and it was loaded with conical peppers. Taltos also has sweet conical peppers, even larger than those of Bacskia... this is a photo of a plant I pulled just before frost, with all leaves removed:  Taltos If I have one complaint, it is that many of the "white" peppers are late to mature - which is the reason most of the peppers in the photo are still immature. |
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Post by Drahkk on Jul 11, 2013 21:05:38 GMT -5
Finally pulled my garlic today. None of the hardnecks got as big as my softnecks used to, but I kinda expected that. It looks like the red/purple types like my garden better than the white ones. Spanish Roja, Russian Red, and Schoharie County "Sloughter" were the healthiest, and made decent sized bulbils as well as bulbs. Sloughter made the biggest bulbs, about the size of a medium chicken egg. Chesnok Red did OK, maybe half dollar sized bulbs. Music and German White did not enjoy my climate at all, producing bulbs not much bigger than the cloves they started from. Finally got some fruit forming on the Pećka melons Wiz sent!  they did a LOT of flowering before any fruit set, and I was starting to get concerned. Now that they've started though, they're growing fast, and I'm beginning to wonder how big they're going to get. I swear they're bigger every time I look at them. Flavor report to be posted when available.  Brought in the first of my Jersey Golden Acorn today. Started out trying to cut the stems, but they were so tough and woody most of them snapped at the plant when I picked them up. Plenty more still growing.  Seeing a bit of variation in the crossed Sunshine squash. Looks like every seed was crossed. I have one plant making mottled ones like I showed before. That first fruit seems to have reached it's maximum size at about 3-4 lbs.  Most seem to be orange and bottle shaped, in various sizes. Here's the largest at the moment, about 6 lb:  A couple of plants seem to be making them more banana shaped:  Again, flavor reports when I've got them. I'll be saving from the best tasting. This may end up being the beginning of my own mixed up landrace, as I already know I want to try Uncle David's Dakota Dessert next year, along with a couple others I didn't get planted this year, and a couple more that got lost in the Johnson grass at Mr Prince's. We'll see what I end up having room for. MB |
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Post by davida on Jul 11, 2013 21:58:52 GMT -5
Drahkk,
How is you Dad? Hope he is doing well.
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