My garden 2013...10/14/2013 update.....

[gary s]

Dave, that is a fine looking garden, makes me jealous. Wish I had more room for a large garden. We do a garden every year too ours is only 15' x 40' I am thinking about doubling the size for next spring. We had a good veggies all summer, wife canned lots and we froze some corn. That is one reason I was thinking about enlarging "corn" I would like to have more. We also plant a fall garden right now my bush beans, sugar snap peas, lettuce, spinach, carrots and onions are coming along nicely. My tomatoes are about finished, Neighbor still has and brings us Bell peppers and cucumbers. Love the garden, Can't hardly bring myself to by veggies at the store (just no where as good). I do have a question, what do you use for weed control? Along with a good crop of veggies I always a good crop of weeds, grass and now some clover type weed. Any suggestions.

Thanks

Gary

 

[daveomak]

Gary,morning.....  For weed control, I built a "straw chopper" to chop up bales of alfalfa....   Hook it up to my tractor....  Cut the strings on the bale, throw the wafers in the chopper and out comes great mulch...     Then there's hand pulling weeds.....  on hands and knees....   I garden the old fashioned way, I earn it......   HAHAHAHAHA   ....   There is some garlic with the mulch about gone the following early summer....

In the fall I try to get ahead of the weeds, I spray the weeds with glyphosate, (Roundup).....  gets me ahead of the game.....  then the mulch... 

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• daveomak
• Oct 19, 2013

      

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• daveomak
• Oct 19, 2013

    

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• daveomak
• Oct 19, 2013

    

I have now started using "corn gluten" and "trifluralin" in a couple of beds where I plant  "plants" and do not start from seeds...   Not sure if I will keep this up...  Both are approved for food crops and interrupt the germination process...  I add the minimum, or less, and still have a few weeds to deal with.....  I use it in the beds that I plant cukes, squash, tomatoes, garlic, onions shallots.... all plants, no seed starting...   cuts down on a lot of weeds..    I water the garden daily with about 1/2" equivalent rainfall.... and fertilize weekly....  sandy soil, intensive planting, 100+ degree days....     all result in some great food......  Dave

 

[gary s]

Thanks Dave, good information. I will use roundup if it is not to late after the fall garden is finished. Funny you said you started using Corn Gluten meal. I am having some brown patch out front in my Saint Augustine my wife read on line to use corn meal or corn gluten meal (better) my local feed store ordered me a couple of bags should be in next week or so. In the mean time I bought 20# of corm meal at the grocery store and treated my brown patch areas been two days. I will be watching to see if it works. If so cheaper and safer than the Fungicides. We'll see.

I think I will also try the mulch in my garden this spring. I'll find a couple of pictures  and send you, nothing like yours, but better than nothing.

Gary

 

[gary s]

Here are a few pictures of my little garden

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• gary s
• Oct 19, 2013

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• gary s
• Oct 19, 2013

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• gary s
• Oct 19, 2013

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• Oct 19, 2013

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• Oct 19, 2013

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• gary s
• Oct 19, 2013

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• gary s
• Oct 19, 2013

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• gary s
• Oct 19, 2013

 

[rabbithutch]

Howdy, Gary!

Great looking garden patch and the yields seem superb!

About what size is it? 10 x 20?

After looking again, it must be at least 30' long.

 

[gary s]

It's about 15' x 40'  roughly   Thinking about making bigger this spring.  It grows plenty of vegetables for us, we give quite a bit away and my wife can's some for the winter. After I put in my garden we have a couple of neighbors who got enthused so we all share and supply the other neighbors. My # 2 son also plants a nice garden.

Gary

 

[gary s]

Boy was I off, I just went a measured it is 10' X 36'     I guess I was thinking of expanding it to 15' x 40' that would actually give me plenty of garden for my wife and I.  I have a tendency to plant to many of each plant. I guess when it is just tilled and ready the plants look small and I put to many. Way too many tomatoes and peppers last year. I am going to try to control myself this spring.

Something I do every spring when I till is to add 15 to 20 bags of Black Cow Manure (Lowes) and about 6 bales of peat. and spread some 13-13-13 and till it all in.

Gary

 

[daveomak]

Gary, morning.... Your garden looks good......   Nice and healthy.....  

Dave

 

[gary s]

Thanks Dave, finally starting to get cooler down here, I am ready for fall

Gary

 

[gary s]

Update on the corn meal. It has only been a few days since I treated several areas of brown patch, and appears to have stopped it. It actually is looking better. I will keep a close watch and keep everyone posted. I will be glad when the Corn gluten meal is in at the feed store so I can treat my entire yard.

Gary

 

[whtplainssmoker]

Dave:

That "straw chopper" looks like something out of a horror movie.  Fantastic.    Garden looks great.  Wish I had the space.  But the backyard is too small and not enough sunny spots.  May try an earth box or two next spring.

-Mike

 

[daveomak]

 
Update on the corn meal. It has only been a few days since I treated several areas of brown patch, and appears to have stopped it. It actually is looking better. I will keep a close watch and keep everyone posted. I will be glad when the Corn gluten meal is in at the feed store so I can treat my entire yard.

Gary

Gary, morning..... Corn gluten inhibits seed from sprouting/germinating....   If you ever need to "overseed" your lawn to fill in patchy spots, the seed will not germinate...  If using it in your garden, you will not be able to plant seeds to have vegetables...  Use it only in beds that you plant "already growing started plants"...  It will sterilize the soil...... 

Corn gluten meal  (CGM) is a natural substitute for synthetic pre-emergence herbicides. ...  When you use corn gluten meal  you are also fertilizing  the lawn,

 

[daveomak]

 
Dave:

That "straw chopper" looks like something out of a horror movie.  Fantastic.    Garden looks great.  Wish I had the space.  But the backyard is too small and not enough sunny spots.  May try an earth box or two next spring.

-Mike

The earth boxes are cool....  Boykjo, or Roller or someone, I can't find right now, used miracle grow potting soil in their boxes and they did much better than mine.....   I used planting mix and added my own fertilizer..    I'd go with the MG with fert. next time...

The straw chopper came about, when I grew over 5,000 garlic plants...  It is quite the beast...   I wouldn't want to fall in it...  I stay on the "Walled Side" when it's running...  It is more than a little scary....  

 

[gary s]

Thanks Dave, That is something I really needed to know. My fall garden is from All Seeds, In the Spring I do both plants and seeds. Will definitely keep it out of my garden. Since My front yard is all Saint Augustine I will just use it there.

Gary 

 

[gary s]

Afternoon, Dave    here are some pictures of my Brown Patch as of today. I should have taken some when I first put out the corn meal. I can see a big difference so far, BP has stopped spreading and you can see in a few of the pictures some new grass starting to grow inside the brown area. Last week it looked like I had taken Roundup and sprayed circles completely dead and brown. Maybe there is something to this corn meal a gluten thing without having to buy those high dollar fungicides  I'll keep watching to see the improvement

Gary

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• gary s
• Oct 22, 2013

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• gary s
• Oct 22, 2013

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• gary s
• Oct 22, 2013

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• gary s
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• gary s
• Oct 22, 2013

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• gary s
• Oct 22, 2013

 

[foamheart]

 
The earth boxes are cool....  Boykjo, or Roller or someone, I can't find right now, used miracle grow potting soil in their boxes and they did much better than mine.....   I used planting mix and added my own fertilizer..    I'd go with the MG with fert. next time...

Well of course it did, have you ever figured out the price difference? Down here ita all about Potassiun, I mean I'd buy 0-0-95 if I could get it....LOL But while the chickens were around I never needed much store bought and the strawberries and the tomatoes always won the free beers at the garage (thats what we call the local after work establishment).

 

[foamheart]

 
Afternoon, Dave    here are some pictures of my Brown Patch as of today. I should have taken some when I first put out the corn meal. I can see a big difference so far, BP has stopped spreading and you can see in a few of the pictures some new grass starting to grow inside the brown area. Last week it looked like I had taken Roundup and sprayed circles completely dead and brown. Maybe there is something to this corn meal a gluten thing without having to buy those high dollar fungicides  I'll keep watching to see the improvement

Gary

I believe what you have there Gary is Cinch bugs.

 

[gary s]

No not Chinch Bugs, Brown Patch  I have had Chinch bugs not this time.

Gary

 

[daveomak]

 Well of course it did, have you ever figured out the price difference? Down here ita all about Potassiun, I mean I'd buy 0-0-95 if I could get it....LOL But while the chickens were around I never needed much store bought and the strawberries and the tomatoes always won the free beers at the garage (thats what we call the local after work establishment).

Foam.....   I just bought Potassium something in a granular form....   Put it on the alfalfa...   Go check you Ag supply house.... ferts. pesticides..etc...  the have bulk....

Dave

 

[rabbithutch]

No not Chinch Bugs, Brown Patch  I have had Chinch bugs not this time.

Gary

An easy test for chinch bugs is to cut the bottom out of a large tomato juice can, press it down to the soil in the affected area and fill it with water. If you have chinch bugs, they will be floating in the water within 24 hours.

I agree, Gary. That looks like brown patch to me.