[Food] Production – Gardening, General pt 2

[Ludi]

You need a worm bin, JJ, to raise your own worms! Mine are doing really well. They're my favorite livestock because they are cheap and don't make noise, need the vet, require expensive food, etc.

[gnm]

The native onions are doing great! Picked a bunch for dinner, also a big bunch of cilantro.

Ludi, have you ever tried potato onions - sometimes called Egyptian walking onions? I have a bunch in the yard and they are tough little buggers. Nice spicy flavor and easy to propagate.

Things are doing great in the greenhouse - unleashed a horde of ladybugs in there to wipe out an aphid infestation - seemed to work. Still drifts of snow outside. Starting to clear off in the sunny areas finally. Seeded clover in the orchard area. Carrots and onions starting to peak through the snow and mud. Scum sucking gophers chewed the roots off two 8 foot cherry trees. Time to die, rodents!

-G

[Ludi]

Yes, I'm growing Walking Onions, which are actually different from Potato Onions (which didn't grow for me).

[oowolf]

re: alliums
Don't forget Ramps-also known as "wild leeks" (Fresh bulbs for spring transplanting are available now on ebay.)
and Bear's Garlic (seed available from Horizon Herbs)
are both great perennials for those interested in "naturalizing" gardens.

[gnm]

Yes, I'm growing Walking Onions, which are actually different from Potato Onions (which didn't grow for me).

Are you sure they are different? I have heard them called both around here. Potato onions bulb off underground and will topset also (same as the walking onions). Also heard them called simply topsetting onions. But they do bulb off underground as well...

Weirdly I purchased some shallots and let them go - and they topset.... Didn't know they would do that. They are in the same area as the walking onions but they are different looking, with the usual shallot red tint and mild flavor.

-G

[Ludi]

Not really interested in an onion debate.

[PeakOiler]

My ~2 dozen seed-started onion sprouts in the garden are getting bigger.

Harvested some radish recently. Wow! Tastes great and very strong! Picked some garlic too.

Transplanted the only surviving over-wintered bell pepper plant into the garden. It already has a couple small peppers ready to be picked.

I plan on planting corn, cucumber, watermelon, canteloupe, and more beans (esp. gbs) this weekend.

[JJ]

planted opo squash and ampalaya (bitter melon) today. The eggplants starts and yellow squash starts are coming up. Plunged fifty plumeria in the ground (not food related).

[Ludi]

You're way ahead of me, JJ! I need to get on the ball.

[Ludi]

Here's the old garden, now orchard - a weedpatch:



Dead trees are those lost during last year's drought.

I love my weeds!

Bluebonnets, a nitrogen-fixing "weed"

[careinke]

I love my weeds!

ME TOO! But not as much as my chickens!

[Ludi]

The chickens don't go in that garden much, I think because it is patrolled by the 3 Silkie bantams, who don't tolerate intruders. But nobody is eating the weeds much. Weird.

[PeakOiler]

This evening I expanded the dry-fitted 3/4" pvc pipe manifold in the garden for more green bean seeds and tomato sprouts just planted. Still more to do!

More April showers would be nice...

[PeakOiler]

I sold some cherry tomato sprouts today to a few coworkers @ 25 cents each per container. I still have too many tomato sprouts and will be transplanting more of them into paper pots and distributing them to some of the family soon.

My older brother's b-day is just a couple days away and his house has a small raised bed that could probably use some more tomatoes. I'm making some money back and the plants haven't produced any fruit yet!

[JJ]

The chickens don't go in that garden much, I think because it is patrolled by the 3 Silkie bantams, who don't tolerate intruders. But nobody is eating the weeds much. Weird.

maybe they are getting too much to eat...

(my dog don't like turnips.
Yeah, mine didn't either for the first few weeks...)

[PeakOiler]

Watermelon, canteloupe, green bean, and sunflower seeds have recently sprouted. Except for some of the green beans, all the seeds were at least second-generation from this location.

The tomato plants in the garden are flowering. Carrots and garlic looking good. Picked a few more more radish recently.

A few potato plants are doing nicely.

Most of the grape vines are putting out new growth.

The bell pepper, yellow banana pepper, and jalapeno plants are getting bigger.

Time to harvest some thyme. The plant is flowering and getting out of control and taking up too much space in the garden. Too much thyme on my hands. lol

[Ludi]

Overwintered fava beans are setting pods. I planted zucchini today. Been harvesting asparagus for a few weeks.

[JJ]

looks like the snails ate the bitter melon that had just come up. Hope that a bunch more seeds come up...

planted twelve tomatoes and another fig tree yesterday (scored a bunch of fig tree cuttings last fall when my neighbor trimmed her tree because it was blocking her drive...)
the Burnet Middle School greenhouse has their annual garden sale, bedding plants 2.00 a flat. Better than the 98 cents each i charge at our local grocery store...

noted the white fleshed nectarine is covered with fruit also....

[PeakOiler]

This weekend I need to transplant more tomato sprouts, harvest thyme and oregano, thin some of the peaches, and cover a couple more of the peach trees with bird netting.

More of the corn, canteloupe, green bean and watermelon seed are sprouting.

[JJ]

yellow squash

tomatoes

long beans


snails ate my moon and stars watermelon and my bittermelon.

planting bittermelon and orangeglo watermelon in cups this time.