re: 2022 Spring Garden Thread

Hit them with a water soluble fertilizer that way it's immediately available to the plant. You should see improvement in a couple of days. If not, then maybe disease.

I'd also suggest mulching. That'll help retain a more even moisture level in the soil. I use pine straw.

Just put 3 gallons worth of miracle gro on all the stuff in the bed. We’ll see what happens.

I have some black mulch left over. Pretty sure that stuff is dyed black. You reckon that’s safe to use or should I get some pine straw?

So much rain in the Ozarks I’m covering the gardens with tarps for the next day. Seeds went in the ground 4/18 and it’s too much rain, with more storms through tomorrow. Terrain creates another problem.

Got 2.7in today alone, on wet soil, and expect at least that much overnight.

I’ll remember this when I’m watering my arse off in late June.

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I have some black mulch left over. Pretty sure that stuff is dyed black. You reckon that’s safe to use or should I get some pine straw?

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I guess it would depend on what kind of dye was used. I'm not sure about black mulch. Might want to err on the side of caution and get some natural wood mulch or pine straw.

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Neem oil doesn't seem to be preventing it, so wonder what the next organic step would be.

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Have you tried "Spinosad"? It is an organic spray designed to be an insecticide.

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Plants still seem to be thriving,

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Focus on that. Prune off the worst leaves, keep spraying the peroxide and neem, and try not to worry about having picture perfect plants. Cause the only way you’ll get that is if you grow them in a controlled environment.

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Also seem to have something eating on the leaves of my pepper plants. Neem oil doesn't seem to be preventing it, so wonder what the next organic step would be.

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I’ve started seeing army worms and had to start spraying thuricide (Bt). I usually tank mix that and neem oil and spray at the same time. Look around for caterpillars and if you see any, Bt is a great option for them. Spinosad is also a good option and will target other insects, not just caterpillars. Snails or slugs may also be the culprit. If they are the problem, the slug beer trap works very well.

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Only a half inch but any little bit helps. It has been dry as hell this spring. I'm at 9.24" this year.

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Agreed. Better than last year though. My garden got wrecked with all the rain we had last year. Here are some photos:

Whole box. Everything is healthy.



Jimmy Nardello plant from my buddy. It was pretty weak when I got it but it's really starting to take off now.



Carmen or Escamillo. Lost the tag. It looks like a Carmen.



Islander Peppers. These are getting really big. They stay purple, then turn yellow/orange, and ultimately ripen to a really deep red color. Super sweet peppers.



New big dwarf maters. All these plants are loaded:





Brad's atomic grape. This plant has a good bit of tomatoes on it and these ought to be turning soon. Maybe next week with the heat. Excited to try them.



Pink Berkeley tie dye. This plant hasn't made a whole lot yet. Maybe only 6-7 tomatoes on the vine right now. I never find these to be really prolific, but they taste good and they're cool looking.



Zucchini. I've picked about 6 off this one plant thus far. I dusted the vines for the first time this week. Saw the first borer moth.




Fence box and herbs. I don't know what the hell happened to my rosemary plant. I've had this thing growing for like 3 years and neglected the hell out of it, but it's always done fine. Now it's like dead at the bottom but growing at the top. I think it may have just outgrown its space. If it's still alive when I move, I'm going to repot it into a bigger pot and take it with me.



Escamillo:



Sweet banana:



The cucumber along the fence experiment is growing well. I really should go ahead and pick this one and I've got about 10 more that are a 4-5" long.

Everyone’s gardens look great.

My big garden, where I plant bulk stuff, is coming along slowly. I have 2 rows of Red Norland & Adirondack Blue potatoes that look pretty good so far. Pics are from a month ago.




I also planted 4–100 ft rows of Knuckle Purple-hull peas and maybe 20 have come up. Last year I did Papago & Piggott Peas (which did excellent) but decided to go with a bush variety this time. The Knuckle ph’s have a germination rate of 83%. Not great but not terrible. I don’t think I’ll be planting anymore of those. I’m going to replace those with some other pea/bean tomorrow. I don’t know if anyone has ever purchased from Wilhite Seed before but that's where I got the knuckle purple-hulls.

ETA:
Tilled & hilled potatoes. And 3 rows of great northern beans (95% germ) put in.

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Honestly I've grown some pretty crazy-sized zucchini plants before, but the size of those leaves are impressive

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They are getting a bit unruly and difficult to keep in the cage. I prune them pretty hard. I feel like my zucchini plants always have bigger leaves than my squash plants.

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sick of eating strawberries

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What happened to those baby rabbits? Seems like they could help with this.