It looks like the cold weather is over. I am going to plant the garden this weekend. We have a small spot, it is 4 X 12 that get at least 8 hours of sunlight where we put tomato plants. In the past, we have planted several varieties of tomatoes, but this year we are going to plant all Sweet 100 tomatoes. I am going to put 6 of them in tithe raised bed out by the fence, and two in large flower pots on the patio. We only had 2 sweet 100 last year and had most of our tomato needs answered
After I get the tomato plants planted, I will see if I have some room for pepper plants. I hope to plant 4 habanero peppers. By going small it is something we can take good care of. Any one else raising a garden?
And for fun, I am planting some giant sun flower seeds. We have to look after the birds.
If we get rain this year, I will be doing a lot of mowing. I have already put out 150 lbs of 13-13-13 fertilizer, and have another 50 lbs for the back yard
Raised Beds
I've tried raised beds for years with varying results. I believe my failures have been due to moisture and soil temperature problems.
My obs are that my raised beds dry out quicker and the soil temps are higher. I can have really good results early in the season, but as soon as an "Okie Summer" sets in, the beds suffer. Maybe Arkansas weather will be more forgiving for you.
My 'mater 'n pepper patch is between the driveway and the house. Good sun until about 5 or 6 pm with plenty of moisture. My choice of tomatoes is usually what survives. Everytime I plant just one variety I get disappointed. Throw three or four kinds out there and let Mother Nature take her pick.
And of course, my jalapenos. We nibble and poke ourselves full of the green ones and then let the whole patch ripen to red in the late summer. Then fire up the smoker and put away a mess of traditional chipotle for the fall...mmmmmmm.
The best results I've seen were placed under filtered sunshine from trees and lattice boards.
They were 18 to 24 inch deep furrowed beds without an enclosure with taller produce on top and decreasing down the hill.
A lot of stuff in a small amount of room.
Still takes alot of water daily around here.
I bought my tomato plants this morning. Mostly Better Boys but I did get one Cherokee Purple. I'll plant a few pepper plants but Habanero is too hot for me. I did see some ghost pepper plants this morning for those that like them REALLY hot. I'll also plant some herbs - parsley, oregano, Basil and sage. My Rosemary is 3 years old and going strong.
Andy
My wife and I are doing our first big garden this year, we bought a place with 4 acres last summer. We've got our potatoes and onions planted, the onions are already up! We'll do corn, peppers, beans (green varieties and shelled) some peas, tomatoes, lettuce and going to try some sweet potatoes. Oh yeah, got some starts from my dad's grapevine and they've started budding out, should be able to transplant those in a month or so.
Paden, what's the process of making those chipotle peppers?
Wes
We have a small vegetable garden, maybe 15' x 20'. I just spade it up each year, sprinkle a couple pounds of 5-10-10 and a bag or two of lime and do my planting.
I will plant the peas in a week or two once the frost is out of the ground, but the rest of the garden goes in on Memorial Day weekend in my area. I do peppers, tomatoes, green beans, cukes, squash, carrotts and watermellons.
A cool smoker (under 200 degrees). I like mesquite flavor, but hickory is good, too.
Put the peppers one layer deep on some foil in the smoker, let 'em smoke for a few hours. When they are done, they should be firm enough to pick up, but soft enough to turn to mush if you pinch them. Let them cool.
Now it gets messy. Depending on the pepper there may be a 'skin' on them. If there is, remove it and the stem. Put the slimy mess in a jar. I try to remove what seeds I can, but I don't mind a few seeds. You can mush it up real good, or leave it chunky. Eat what ya' can and can what ya' can't.
I have used a food processor to make a really creamy, almost adobo, sauce. That's kind of labor intensive though, and I'm all about easy.
I don't think the ripe jalapenos are as hot as the green, and the sugar content is higher. The sweet jalapeno-smoke flavor is delicious. I usually use it to cook or marinate meat, but a spoonful on a fish taco is a delicacy too.
10' x 25' w/ oregano, parsley, thyme, basil, cilantro, sage, cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts, carrots, and radishes all in smallish raised beds, and a big rosemary
13' x 17' w/ red, white, and yellow onions, new and russett potatoes, poblano, jalapeno, banana, bell, and peter peppers, and cherry and better boy tomatoes all in raised beds
17' diameter raised bed to be planted next week w/ purple hull peas
it helps w/ raised beds if you keep an inch or so layer of mulch on them to hold in moisture and keep out weeds
been trying to come up w/ more perennial herbs that can be dried and saved up for later
also planted three blueberry bushes this spring
I've got some peas and onions out in a small raised bed. I have tomatoes and peppers in a greenhouse - i'll wait a few weeks then plant them in some 5 gallon buckets. I have some squash in the ground that are doing well.
A little latter I will try the 3-sisters technique with corn, squash, and beans again. I tried it last year, but I think the drought was just too harsh last year and the corn did not do well at all.
Just sprayed the fruit trees with a garlic & mineral oil solution to protect against bugs. They are doing really well this year.
> Just sprayed the fruit trees with a garlic & mineral oil solution to protect against bugs. They are doing really well this year.
I tried garlic and olive oil, kept away the bugs but my yard was full of Sicilians 😀
redid the garden last year, 18 x 28
this year i will add mesh to the fence (fancy, but just a bit too easy for the bunnies to visit)
tilled and added cockadoodadoo 3 weeks ago
the fam planted peas, lettuce and some beans two weeks ago.
some of the strawberries fell victim to a mole. i need to make him fall victim or eviction.
saffron doing what it always does this time of year, not much
nectarine tree about to bloom.
trimmed the grape vines last week, a little late.
we plant around memorial day. tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, summer squash, flowers and whatever catches our eyes at the nursery.
I wanted to do a garden this year...but for now I will have to stick to my little patches here and there around the yard of stuff. Right now I have garlic, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and cantaloupes. I should plant some basil and other herbs. I love to use fresh herbs when cooking. Yum!!! 😀
I'm taking a break from unloading the yard of cow compost I just picked up from my neighbor. Sources on the internet say that weighs about 1000 pounds, and from the 8 inches or so my pickup bed went down when the farmer loaded it, I'd say that's about right.
A few years ago, we needed some soil to amend our garden stop. I did not have a pickup at that time, so I went to u-haul and rented an open trailer. They only had a 6 X 12 so that is what I got. The charged me $15 for a 24 hour rental. I we,nt to American Compost and asked for 3 yards. They charged $15 per yard at that time. Ia I'd and they directed me to where they loaded super soil. In a few minutes a large articulated steer loaded showed up. He proceeded to put 3 full scoops in the trailer. His scoop was about 10 feet wide. When I got home, I had to put my Expeditiom in 4 wheel low to get up the driveway. It tOok me all day to get it unloaded. I had to stock pile most of it and started building flower beds. I later calculated the volume the trailer and came up with 6 2/3 yards if it was loaded level. It was heaped up, and I estimate 8 to 9 yards. That was a lot to shovel out and wheel barrow to my stockpile area.
