NFR 2024 Garden and Growing Things thread

[G_Smolt]

IMO, garlic has a great ROI - we plant 200 or so cloves in a single raised bed every fall, cover the bed with a layer of  Fucus raked off a nearby high tide line, then cover the bed in visqueen. Come spring, take the visqueen off and let 'em grow, harvest the scapes for pesto or pickles (my personal fave), then yank 'em outta the ground when the bottom few leaves wither and yellow. Suuuuuuuper low maintenance, just gotta let 'em cure for about a month before storage in a cool dry place (our root storage is 51°-54°F and ~50%rh). We used the last of last years' crop in late June, to give you an idea of storage times.

TL;DR - Garlic is so easy to grow, even a fishing guide can do it

 

[Capt Insano Emeritis]

IMO, garlic has a great ROI - we plant 200 or so bulbs in a single raised bed every fall, cover the bed with a layer of  Fucus raked off a nearby high tide line, then cover the bed in visqueen. Come spring, take the visqueen off and let 'em grow, harvest the scapes for pesto or pickles (my personal fave), then yank 'em outta the ground when the bottom few leaves wither and yellow. Suuuuuuuper low maintenance, just gotta let 'em cure for about a month before storage in a cool dry place (our root storage is 51°-54°F and ~50%rh). We used the last of last years' crop in late June, to give you an idea of storage times.

TL;DR - Garlic is so easy to grow, even a fishing guide can do it

Scapes are very yummy

 

[Banned user]

I built stout raised boxes of amended soil . Framed the vertically. Hinged acces to weed and pick veg …covered with1/2” galv gridded hardware cloth. Bought a lot built a lot. My security system, racoons squirrels etc

I'd do that if it weren't so friggin' expensive to do so. I did a back-of-the-napkin estimate to do the boxes/hardware cloth, etc, and the bill comes to well over a grand. I've paid good attention to the soil in my garden so I'm happy there. It's clearly very fertile.

 

[Capt Insano Emeritis]

I'd do that if it weren't so friggin' expensive to do so. I did a back-of-the-napkin estimate to do the boxes/hardware cloth, etc, and the bill comes to well over a grand. I've paid good attention to the soil in my garden so I'm happy there. It's clearly very fertile.

Hardware cloth bythe 50’ roll online via an Amazon acct with paypal saves me money. Your local retail hardware store or big box store is freakin’ spendy! Another option is a farm store “ boutique” like Wilco . I made corner jigs for bending square corners . And multiple pairs of good tinsnips and pliers.

 

[Capt Insano Emeritis]

I'd do that if it weren't so friggin' expensive to do so. I did a back-of-the-napkin estimate to do the boxes/hardware cloth, etc, and the bill comes to well over a grand. I've paid good attention to the soil in my garden so I'm happy there. It's clearly very fertile.

A less expensive method. Remay fabric

 

[Capt Insano Emeritis]

WTH decided to let this trombocini go until frost to collect seed..The bulbous end is where the seeds are. The squash grows larger and larger and the shell hardens and turns dark tan. Then if ya wanted to feed a large group of the willing it can be baked like a butternut winter squash. I am sort of Meh about the baked thing… this one is 27” long thus far. Yeah I measured it. I am an old crazy bastich.

 

[SteelHeadDave]

WTH decided to let this trombocini go until frost to collect seed..The bulbous rnd is wherethe seeds are. The squash grows larger and larger and the shell hardens and turns dark tan. Then if ya wanted to feed a large group of the willing it can be bakaked like a butternut winter squash. I amsort of Meh about the baked thing…View attachment 123649

How do you ensure there is no cross pollination with other squash varieties when saving seed? I’ve ended up with some mutants when attempting this in the past.

 

[Flymph]

One of the best bean growths ever but "NO" pods?? Have had two crops per season for the past 5 years??? Any thoughts?

 

[Capt Insano Emeritis]

How do you ensure there is no cross pollination with other squash varieties when saving seed? I’ve ended up with some mutants when attempting this in the past.

I only grow this one and 50 ft away in my neighbors back yard i have a different species a variegated patty pan. I have raised boxes in neighbors yards. One does not do yard work at all, the other has a strip along the alley. In exchange for allowing me to grow those places I share produce and occasionally prune the invasive climbing their fences.
As far as mutations in the cucurbit family- distance between plantings matter. 20’ separation or so or cover with remay fabric to prevent cross pollination.

Hand pollination is a hassle that is one way
Read this:

https://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/5-tips-for-avoiding-squash-cross-pollination#:~:text=Cover%20and%20Hand%20Pollinate&text=It's%20best%20to%20cover%20different,you%20might%20consider%20hand%20pollination.

 

[Capt Insano Emeritis]

How do you ensure there is no cross pollination with other squash varieties when saving seed? I’ve ended up with some mutants when attempting this in the past.

Been doing this for over 40 years . Your question is so loaded up that If I tried to answer i would be repeating what I have already posted. Isolation and distancing . Or like I do grow one type of squash. Neighbors do not have veg gardens i plant pollinater plants as companion plants. I have always had mason bees in with the garden within 15 feet of most of my garden.

 

[SteelHeadDave]

Been doing this for over 40 years . Your question is so loaded up that If I tried to answer i would be repeating what I have already posted. Isolation and distancing . Or like I do grow one type of squash. Neighbors do not have veg gardens i plant pollinater plants as companion plants. I have always had mason bees in with the garden within 15 feet of most of my garden.

Thanks for the suggestions. My neighbors do garden so it would potentially be an issue for me to save squash seed. I also enjoy having several varieties in the garden each year. I suppose I could try to isolation and hand pollination method if I really wanted to get serious with saving seed.

 

[Capt Insano Emeritis]

Thanks for the suggestions. My neighbors do garden so it would potentially be an issue for me to save squash seed. I also enjoy having several varieties in the garden each year. I suppose I could try to isolation and hand pollination method if I really wanted to get serious with saving seed.

In the first couple years its work but gradually it is just part of the gardening sequence of your duties and compulsions.

 

[Porter2]

Todays harvest…..

 

[Banned user]

I just put away five pounds of green beans, from climbing plants, no bush beans this year. I don't have canning stuff easily available, and anyway I'm fooling myself if I think these beans will last through winter before we eat them all, so I just blanched mine for 3 minutes, cooled them in a bath of ice water, put on some trays, froze, then bagged up.

 

[Mossback]

Blanch and freeze is really best...
Canned and then reheated always seemed a bit mushy...like cooked twice.

 

[Kilchis]

Last night the tops of our tomato plants and all but 5 of our tomatoes got converted into venison. We live in a fully developed subdivision a mile inside the city limits, so chance of eventual recovery is nil.

 

[albula]

I feel your pain. I never saw a deer for the first 8-10 years that I was in my house. That ended about 4 years ago. Now nothing is safe. A couple nights ago I thought I heard someone at the door and opened it to find a deer standing on the front porch chowing down on a hanging basket beside the door. War is now declared.

 

[SteelHeadDave]

I just put away five pounds of green beans, from climbing plants, no bush beans this year. I don't have canning stuff easily available, and anyway I'm fooling myself if I think these beans will last through winter before we eat them all, so I just blanched mine for 3 minutes, cooled them in a bath of ice water, put on some trays, froze, then bagged up.

Try fermenting some. If you look up “lacto fermented green beans” you’ll find a whole bunch of info online. They are possibly my favorite pickled vegetable.

Another great way to preserve is salted. You need to French cut the beans and then pack in lots and lots of salt. They will keep “fresh” for a super long time this way, like over a year. The kicker is you need to soak in several changes of fresh water to get rid of the salt (refresh). They will be just like freshly picked green beans, it’s kind of crazy how good they are. The French cut is key IMO. Allows for more salt to shed during the refresh process. I learned the hard way once by just cutting horizontally one year. It’s fun throwing together a green bean casserole for Thanksgiving with them.

 

[albula]

I plant all the window boxes around my house with the same basic color scheme. Different exposures produce different results. I actually wish more of them were shaded.

 

[Capt Insano Emeritis]

I decided to blanch some beans/ ice water bath onto trays into chest freezer for a couple hours the take out and bag in gallon bags flat. Submerge in water to remove air in bags and into the freezer again but dated