re: 2019 Garden Thread

Probably a couple of weeks. Seedlings are looking good.

Problem is, my summer garden is hanging on. I've got a lot of tomato, peppers, cucumbers, and melons that are rocking. Outsmarted the wilt by planting in buckets and in some new areas.

If l time my fall planting correctly, this will be the most productive garden I've ever planted. I'll just have to get rid of about 100 seedlings that l don't have room for.

Hello
I'm newbie

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Never planted carrots before

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For best results keep them very wet until they sprout. You could even cover them with burlap or plastic for 5 days or so to keep soil moist. Since I have done these things I get way better germination.

Started my seedlings last week - going to start direct-planting my carrots at the end of this week.

My dad always said that it is ready to pick when that little curly tendril next to the stem turns brown. Watermelons need hot, dry weather when they are ripening to make them sweet. I gave up on watermelons because it has rained so much the last few years. My melons were never any good.

Nm

With it 8 ft. wide how are you going to access the interior?

I learned a lesson this year, also. I’m not going to order from Reimer seeds anymore. Apparently they have a reputation for sending the wrong seeds. Well, I had it happen only once before with them. I was supposed to get pepperoncini, instead I got some extremely hot pepper that I’m still not sure what it was. This year it was the okra. I ordered Cajun Jewel Okra. It’s supposed to be a dwarf okra variety that only got 4 feet tall, producing 6” spineless and slender pods. My plants are currently 9 feet tall, definitely not spineless, and definitely not slender. I think I finally figured out what they are.

Cajun Jewel Okra is supposed to look like this


Instead, my okra looks like this.


That one is called Star of David Okra. And I’m pretty sure that’s what they sent me.



Don’t get me wrong, it’s delicious.
It’s just not what I ordered.

I’m actually fixing to pull that row of okra. I have a ton of it in the freezer. Plus, I have another row of Clemson spineless. I may plant some lettuce or cabbage in its place.

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Cut up, put in brine mixture sealed in gallon jar with freezer bag of water to seal. Placing in dark cool room for 2 weeks minimum, then will hot water bath can into pint jars by pouring off brine, adding back a cup, immersion blending and adding vinegar...

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You're looking good, as long as your brine isn't way too weak or way too strong there's not much that can go wrong, and if it does you'll know. I lost a jar last year to mold from not using enough salt and it was apparent within days.

Water bag on top is interesting, I just use air locks but that's not a bad idea for odd shaped containers.

I won't tell you there's a wrong way to do it but there is no reason to "can" after fermenting with a hot water bath. The acidity from both the lactic acid and the vinegar are more than enough to preserve it and make it safe. You may find that changes the flavor a little.

My sauce goes from fermenting jar, to blender with vinegar, straight to a bottle.

I planted okra too late as well, for my particular garden at least. I also planted it in the wrong spot. It's shading out an entire back row where I intended to plant my fall tomatoes. So, I'm going to pull the okra this week and plant my fall tomato transplants, which are beyond ready to get into the ground. I bought a couple of bell pepper transplants too, and I may pull a couple of my taller pepper plants and replant these transplants to try to get a couple of bells before the cold gets them.

I also started some broccoli, cauliflower, kale, and lettuce seeds last week.

Lesson learned for me: poblano pepper plants get HUGE. I won't be planting one again, and if I do, it'll be in a back corner by itself where it can't get in the way of anything else.