Anyone doing a garden?

@Wildcat, I was just looking through my posts about tomatoes and I actually gave you some wrong advice! I mentioned to not use mulch, but unfortunately I got mixed up and I was thinking of a completely different issue. In fact, you SHOULD be using mulch for your plants, even in pots if you choose to go this route. The reason being is that things like mildew and blight (a type of fungus) are caused by raindrops falling on the affected soil and splashing up onto the lower foliage of the plants. That's why you'll usually see that mildew and blight starts at the bottom and spreads upwards from there. This condition is known as "soil splash" and can devastate your plants if you are having issues with blight and mildew.

So continue on with using mulch on your plants if you are having issues with mildew and blight, even in pots. I don't know where my head was when I made that comment! :oops: Isolating your plants into pots will be very beneficial in your case though. Give it a try, you just might beat those mildew and blight issues yet! ;) :)
 
@Eywadude I was unsure about mulch--I have always used it to an extent, but I started wondering if mildew in the mulch could be causing the problems. Soil splashback wasn't too much of an issue since I have always had my rows elevated. Neighbors used to joke with me that the gardening plots looked like a freshly dug cemetery. ;)

We are going to try a couple of heirloom tomato plants in large pots this year, and I will be doing some herbs in planters also. No more garden. Aside from the pond being only a few yards away from the garden, the whole area has had mildew/blight issues. We also have the high water table to deal with. Another acquaintance of mine mentioned that by using pots and keeping the soil totally isolated from the soil in the ground here, I would stand a better chance. The real challenge is for me to find pots large enough for tomato plants, which won't blow over in the storms, yet something that isn't too unwieldly. That's what I'm looking at now.

As for the garden, all I'm planting this year is grass seed and some wildflower seed mix. The fence is also falling down along the back, so we might be moving that back towards the property line, and I will be moving a few things around to match the new fence location.

At least I can retire the rototiller until I move again... ;)
 
@Wildcat, Great! Looks like things are coming along. Just as a precautionary measure, as I mentioned before, you may want to consider placing either a patio tile or bricks under the pots to completely isolate the bottoms from the affected soil underneath. Soil transmission can happen pretty fast, and I would still suggest using mulch. Mildew and blight are typically soil-bourne diseases, and you'd be very surprised to know that all it takes is a few drops splashed up from the affected soil for mildew and blight to take hold. That's yet another reason why commercial farmers use black or red plastic "mulch" sheeting on their rows. This is not only for moisture retention and soil heating, but also to keep soil splash from happening. Once one plant is affected, if another touches it, it can spread like a domino effect. Adding mulch will lessen the chances of this happening. Any mulch you feel comfortable with should be fine, as long as you have 100% soil coverage. :)

As far as pots go, you'll need something large for the proper soil volume and also to keep them from tipping. Look for sturdy plastic pots in the 20-24" diameter range. My largest pot at the moment is 22". As long as your plants are properly staked, I assure you they will NEVER blow over in the wind. :) I have had wind gusts here up to 50 MPH without any problems whatsoever. I prefer plastic pots because every year when I change out the soil, I am able to throughly wash out the inside with dish soap and a large brush to get rid of any disease residues that might be left over from last year's batch. If you find them to be a bit cumbersome to change out the soil, one trick I use is instead of trying to move around a big heavy pot full of soil, I take a long plastic snow sled and I fill it with the contents of the pot so I can easily move it to another area to spread as topsoil on the rest of my garden. Just fill it up, pull it to where it needs to be, and then tip it up and dump the soil. Makes it easy. :)

Also, what kind of heirloom tomatoes are you going to try? I have four heirlooms that I am going to plant this year: Andrew Rahart's, German Red Strawberry, Indian Stripe, and Sylvan Gaume. Although, the weather here has been very cool so far this spring, so I am not sure what the summer is going to be like for growing them. Oh well, I'll just have to deal with whatever weather I get! :p
 
In the last 3 days, some critter has been destroying my lettuce and bell pepper plants.

War is declared.
 
Been watching the back yard.

Positive ID as a squirrel climbing my chicken wire, dropping into the back yard and obliterating the leaves on my bell pepper and lettuce.

Time for enhanced defensive fortifications, and then laying in some IEDs.

I have calibrated my Precision Guided Munition deployment system - it is dead on.

Termination with extreme prejudice has been authorized.
 
Been watching the back yard.

Positive ID as a squirrel climbing my chicken wire, dropping into the back yard and obliterating the leaves on my bell pepper and lettuce.

Time for enhanced defensive fortifications, and then laying in some IEDs.

I have calibrated my Precision Guided Munition deployment system - it is dead on.

Termination with extreme prejudice has been authorized.
LMAO:rflmao:Not at the problem but the post! You just made me want to watch Caddyshack Movie again LOL!
 
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I beg your pardon,
Is anybody doing a home garden?
Along with some sunshine,
you need a little rain sometime

What do you folks think, a nice theme song?
wait...what?! ...whatdaya mean it's been done before?!!!!! $%#@^&
 
This is our garden theme song, fwiw:


(although I think Ms Moody may be using "garden" as a metaphor for something else that's also kind of... earthy, judging by the album cover art.)
 
I started some seeds indoors a few weeks ago, not getting great germination rates though. Might still be a bit cold on the porch. Frustrating. I had bush beans, okra, and a couple types of hot pepper. So far only the okra is showing any signs of life and only maybe 30% of them have sprouted :no:. At least the jalapeno plant from last year that I overwintered inside is still looking pretty good, in a couple weeks I'll move it outside into the garden.

I cut down a 35' willow tree and dug out the stump a couple weeks ago (by hand, my back still hurts...). Last weekend I planted a variety of dwarf fruit trees in its place. Should be a much better match for my smallish yard. I have a Chicago Hardy Fig, a Bosc pear, a Bartlett pear, a pair of columnar apples, and a pair of honeyberry bushes. Combined with my already sizable raspberry patch and the grape vine and blueberry bush I planted last year I should have quite the little orchard in a few years.
 
I made tight mesh cylinders around my poor ravaged bell pepper plants and relocated the lettuce to the patio table and moved the chairs away to prevent climbing purchase.

So far, Mr. Squirrel has not shown his unwanted mug in the back yard and the plants are trying to recover from their shock.

The precision guided munition delivery system is on standby....
 
I am going to build a hydroponic/aeroponic cloning setup this weekend. I have had limited success with cloning trees but really want to get a setup that is very successful. I love the idea of generating plants from clippings.

This video gives a pretty good idea of what I will be building:

 
I was able to get the cloning project done over the weekend. Here is the setup:

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The pump hooks up to the network of piping with spray valves. This sits in the container and sprays the rooting area.

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Closeup
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My first run of plants. Some rosemary and some cryptomeria. I also added some tomato plants later in the day.
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closeup

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Here are some cryptomeria that I cloned last year. I had about a 1 in 10 success rate with these. I am hoping to do much better with the new setup.
 
Here is one week in on the tomato's. Some nice root growth already. The rosemary and the cryptomeria have yet to show any root growth but they are much more woody stock and should take a few weeks at the minimum.

roots.jpg
 
Checked the roots a day later on the tomato's and they are now almost 2 inches long. I am very pleased with the results of the cloning setup.
 
10 day update on the tomato's. I planted these in soil last night.

roots2.jpg

The rosemary cuttings are just starting to root as well. This is not the best photo but the first signs of rooting can be seen.

root3.jpg
 
Also, what kind of heirloom tomatoes are you going to try? I have four heirlooms that I am going to plant this year: Andrew Rahart's, German Red Strawberry, Indian Stripe, and Sylvan Gaume. Although, the weather here has been very cool so far this spring, so I am not sure what the summer is going to be like for growing them. Oh well, I'll just have to deal with whatever weather I get! :p

I am only doing two tomato plants this year--a red grape tomato, and Oxheart. I went with the large containers and am using new soil, with the pots on the patio behind the house where the sun beats on 'em all day. There is no soil around the patio, so we will see how they do this year.

Our part of the country is expected to be above average heat for the summer, so if you are in southwestern Ontario you likely may get the same weather.
 
I am only doing two tomato plants this year--a red grape tomato, and Oxheart. I went with the large containers and am using new soil, with the pots on the patio behind the house where the sun beats on 'em all day. There is no soil around the patio, so we will see how they do this year.

Our part of the country is expected to be above average heat for the summer, so if you are in southwestern Ontario you likely may get the same weather.

Yeah, it looks like the forecast for my area is going to be above average too with supposedly hot and stormy weather in July. The weather here has already made a huge turn around since the last time I posted here. The last few days have finally been up in the 80-85F (26-29C) range. Sounds like you are on your way to having less problems this year. :) I'd still consider putting mulch in your pots to minimize soil splash when it rains. It makes a difference. Keep me posted on how your plants come along as the season progresses. Cheers. :)
 
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