Gardening

[Marsha Cassada]

The drip isn't as wonderful as it was touted.  The emission points clog up easily.  He found that bending the line at the emission point breaks the mineral deposit pretty well.  He turned up the pressure from 25 psi to 40 psi and that should help also.  A nice rain is best!

 

[Ryan Johnson]

Theres nothing more veggie beds like than natural rain. Do you fertilize Marsha ?

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Yes.  I thought the compost was adequate, but soil test last year showed a nitrogen deficiency. 

 

[Ryan Johnson]

It really is a big learning experience. Some plants need certain things , others need much more. Ive really noticed this with my fruit trees. 

 

[Ryan Johnson]

How are your veggies coming along ? Is the weather being a little nicer ?

 

[Marsha Cassada]

We have had some rain the last week.  Everything is taking off.  My sister started me some sweet potatoes from a potato.  I planted 4 and 3 and flourishing.  One appears to be dead, but I haven't given up hope.  Some little zucchinis are forming.  Still getting asparagus and strawberries.  Lettuce did not come up; maybe my seed was old.  I ordered new.   Rain is too late for the blackberries.  We got 1" hail yesterday but luckily it didn't do too much damage.  Have to say we would starve to death if we depended on the garden--or we'd be a lot thinner.

 

[Ryan Johnson]

Enjoy your produce  let me know if you want a recipe for stuffed zucchini. 

 

[Marsha Cassada]

After adjusting for the water pressure, the drip started working better.  We are having some trouble tweaking it for temperature/wind.  One bed got too wet and I think it killed the zucchini; overnight it just wilted away.   When I pulled it up, it had no roots.  We are still tweaking.  The yard longs are starting to make now.  No apples because of the late freeze; I did find three  hidden in the branches when I was pruning, but that was only on one tree.  Bad year for onions; usually mine are prize winners.  Sweet potatoes are starting to show some vigor and the little cotton plants are up.  I grow a variety of brown heirloom cotton.  Overall, though, it is amazing what that late, hard freeze did. 

 

[Ryan Johnson]

The hard freeze would have killed off the zucchinis . They grow the fastest for me here , so I wait until I know there are no more frosts or they just don't survive . 

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Actually, the freeze was in early April.  No iris bloomed after that.  It zapped the fruit.  Had to replant onions.  The kale survived it.  But it made the asparagus really slow to come out.  No iris bloomed.  It got all the first rose buds.  We don't plant squash until late April here.  Cotton is planted in mid May. 

I got a gadget that spiralizes squash.  Really like to cook squash that way.  I may have to get an electric one.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

My giant zucchini that has borne one fruit so far.  They get about 4 inches long then turn yellow and die.  And my yard long green beans.  Apple tree in the background and kale.

 

[Ryan Johnson]

All looking really healthy Marsha ? I'll see if I can find some info as to why your zucchinis are dying off 

 

[Ryan Johnson]

From what I can gather information wise , is a lack of calcium in your soil. If you can find a liquid feed that is high in calcium , you should see an improvement. 

If you can get gypsum where you are , this will help.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

From what I can gather information wise , is a lack of calcium in your soil. If you can find a liquid feed that is high in calcium , you should see an improvement. 

If you can get gypsum where you are , this will help.

I did put gypsum in all the garden beds last fall.  That is when it is recommended here.  I have used timed release vegetable fertilizer and foliar veg fertilizer also. 

Some speculate that it is too much water.  Being in a raised bed, it's sometimes hard to know when we are overwatering.

 

[Ryan Johnson]

Im not an expert , but if it was because of too much water , you would see it in the leaves of the plant. They would be yellow. Your plant to look at in the photo , is very healthy looking. 

Did you plant tomatoes this year? Mine really struggled as did many others here for some reason. 

 

[Marsha Cassada]

No, I gave up on tomatoes.  

 

[Marsha Cassada]

A new water feature in our yard.  We are planning a dry stream bed going to the right with a large boulder and bird of paradise tree.  We intend to use blue rug junipers around the edge for year round cover, then add some pots of color seasonally.  On the left, not shown, is a stone bench, which will have the flat rocks around it. The random rocks strewn will go into the dry stream bed.  It's a big project but is really making the patio more enjoyable, especially in the heat.  The pot is huge; there is a 4 X 2' stock tank reservoir under it.  Filled with water, the pot weighs about 1 ton.  It's fun to watch the birds at the base, letting the water splash on them.

 

[Ryan Johnson]

It will look great when Its done. I have dry creek at home that runs to the right of our house. I took one of the work trucks up to a friends farm to get massive rocks to help create the banks and sides of it. It was a massive project. It does fill somewhat during winter and when the lake it at its highest. We see some amazing birds throughout the year.

 

[Ryan Johnson]

How did your produce turn out Marsha ? Did your Zucchinis take off ?

 

[Marsha Cassada]

How did your produce turn out Marsha ? Did your Zucchinis take off ?

Nope.  Duds.  I thought the yellow squash was going to do well, but it's just sitting also.  Neighbor has a giant cucumber with tons of blooms and they've only had 2 cukes.  The only thing doing well are my yard long green beans.  And the kale is from The LIttle Shop of Horrors.  I am harvesting corriander from the cilantro, which is kind of fun.  Not sure exactly how I will cook with it yet.  And the sweet potato vines are giant--whether there is anything under the ground I have no idea.