NFT: BBI Gardeners -

April 15th last frost date so I'm behind. Seedlings started late because of that. Wooded lot with Creek and no fence lots of deer so I'm building an indoor grow setup with LEDs instead of flourescents. Hope to grow lettuce and herbs year round.

Will be interesting to see how tomatoes and peppers do in the Tennessee heat.

Raked up the lawn, put down 80 lbs of lime, 40 lbs of love your soil then reseeded the lawn. Fertized rose bushes and other plants. All with expectation it would rain today. Guess I’ll have to wet it down with hose.

was great with my garden except for some reason I decided to try cabbage.

they looked great early on, and they seemed to be thriving, and then they got out of control, their outer leaves were massive and I didn't know how/if I should pare them back.

And then they got some disease, tiny holes all over the cabbages, and then the worst thing happened it spread to the Kale. Kale is normally very easy to grow and my wife is a huge Kale fan, but once the cabbage disease spread to the Kale there was hell to pay.

Anyway, my lesson this year, is to not grow cabbage and grow more kale.

I grow cucumbers, green beans and tomatoes from seeds (san marzano tomatoes) inside, started mid-February. Will plant outside around Memorial Day after a couple weeks of day time exterior exposure to the elements.

The kale, eggplant, and peppers I just buy plants.

Also have a small fruit garden with strawberries and some raspberry bushes.

Only critters I have to deal with anymore are rabbits and birds, I have a rabbit fence around the garden for the rabbits, haven't figured out the birds yet, but they only bother the fruit.

In comment 14355824 oghwga said:

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April 15th last frost date so I'm behind. Seedlings started late because of that. Wooded lot with Creek and no fence lots of deer so I'm building an indoor grow setup with LEDs instead of flourescents. Hope to grow lettuce and herbs year round. Will be interesting to see how tomatoes and peppers do in the Tennessee heat.

Tennessee? mmm nope....I live a few houses down from you on the block you used to live on.....I am at 26, you were 36

YOU'RE in Tennessee?

wasn't aware that you moved again....

I'll be in Tennessee on May 16th thru 19 in Sevierville for the "Blooming Barbecue and Bluegrass Festival"

Still getting nighttime temps done in the 20s so I’m staying patient and may have to punt on the whole season. Too much damage from the barrage of rain and wind over the last 18 months (where I live we’ve been getting 30-40 mph winds 2x a week for what seems like forever now). I’ve got evergreens and a number of large shrubs falling over because the saturated turf and constant wind, all my boxwoods and hollys are scorched from the high winds while the roots were frozen over the winter, over 1000 linear feet of rail and post fence that’s aged 10 years in the last 12 months and now has to be replaced before it falls over.

I can’t remember a time when I liked being outside less than I do now. It’s been so wet for so long that it literally feels like everything is rotting around you.

In comment 14355845 pjcas18 said:

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Only critters I have to deal with anymore are rabbits and birds, I have a rabbit fence around the garden for the rabbits, haven't figured out the birds yet, but they only bother the fruit.

Groundhogs are my nemesis. I've trapped them and caught as many as 4 in a single season.....doesn't help. After protecting my raised garden beds from the lowland creatures by fencing up the sides, the deer completely trashed everything......you could see how they just dipped their heads in from above and just went to town....my yard is completely enclosed with 5 ft high chain link all the way around, but most animals just laugh at that. I mean it's ridiculous...I have rabbits, skunks, groundhogs, squirrels (who doesn't) deer, and fox. I have come to the point where I have to build crop cages to keep the animals out....This is a huge pain in the ass, but I'm willing to do it...

In comment 14355891 I Love Clams Casino said:

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In comment 14355845 pjcas18 said: Quote: Only critters I have to deal with anymore are rabbits and birds, I have a rabbit fence around the garden for the rabbits, haven't figured out the birds yet, but they only bother the fruit. Groundhogs are my nemesis. I've trapped them and caught as many as 4 in a single season.....doesn't help. After protecting my raised garden beds from the lowland creatures by fencing up the sides, the deer completely trashed everything......you could see how they just dipped their heads in from above and just went to town....my yard is completely enclosed with 5 ft high chain link all the way around, but most animals just laugh at that. I mean it's ridiculous...I have rabbits, skunks, groundhogs, squirrels (who doesn't) deer, and fox. I have come to the point where I have to build crop cages to keep the animals out....This is a huge pain in the ass, but I'm willing to do it...

My yard is surrounded by a 6-foot fence completely (since I have an inground pool). It wasn't always that way though and before I put the fence up I had deer, foxes, a coyote or two (I never saw them, but the neighbors did), and my garden suffered every year.

Now just the rabbits and an occasional skunk get through. plus rodents like chipmunks, squirrels, etc, but I use the bucket of death for the chipmunks. They ate every strawberry in my garden one year - and taunted me while doing it. f-them.

and yeah they need to be incandescent. LED will not provide the necessary heat.

with a few starting to sprout. So far we have peppers (bell and various hot), tomatoes, cucumbers, and oregano going.

In the meanwhile, working on a raised garden bed that will hopefully be deer proof with 7 foot high fence (have a herd, 10+, of deer that come thru my property at least once a day) and critter (groundhog, etc) proof. Garden beds are 2 feet high with a solid 2-inch layer of rocks on the bottom. On top of the rocks I'll be putting a mixture of brown/green material for ~16 inches and then the top 6" or so will be peat mixed with top soil for planting. And building in some composting into 2 corners of the bed similar to the keyhole gardens.

buying "cheaters" the past 10 years.

I have terrific luck with cucumbers, kale, tomatoes.

Green peppers as well as broccoli has been fickle.

I have a stockade fence around the perimeter of my yard, gardens are raised beds with a two foot high fence to discourage rabbits.

We can't plant until around Memorial Day.

In comment 14355901 pjcas18 said:

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In comment 14355891 I Love Clams Casino said: Quote: In comment 14355845 pjcas18 said: Quote: Only critters I have to deal with anymore are rabbits and birds, I have a rabbit fence around the garden for the rabbits, haven't figured out the birds yet, but they only bother the fruit. Groundhogs are my nemesis. I've trapped them and caught as many as 4 in a single season.....doesn't help. After protecting my raised garden beds from the lowland creatures by fencing up the sides, the deer completely trashed everything......you could see how they just dipped their heads in from above and just went to town....my yard is completely enclosed with 5 ft high chain link all the way around, but most animals just laugh at that. I mean it's ridiculous...I have rabbits, skunks, groundhogs, squirrels (who doesn't) deer, and fox. I have come to the point where I have to build crop cages to keep the animals out....This is a huge pain in the ass, but I'm willing to do it... My yard is surrounded by a 6-foot fence completely (since I have an inground pool). It wasn't always that way though and before I put the fence up I had deer, foxes, a coyote or two (I never saw them, but the neighbors did), and my garden suffered every year. Now just the rabbits and an occasional skunk get through. plus rodents like chipmunks, squirrels, etc, but I use the bucket of death for the chipmunks. They ate every strawberry in my garden one year - and taunted me while doing it. f-them.

Try Swiss Chard as well. It is more tender and almost as productive as kale.

Started peppers and onions a couple of weeks ago.Will start Tomatoes and a couple of early zucchini this week.

In comment 14356054 mushroom said:

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Started peppers and onions a couple of weeks ago.Will start Tomatoes and a couple of early zucchini this week.

No mushrooms?

do you cook it like kale?

My wife likes to saute kale with some garlic and evoo, make kale chips, add to soup, I could take it or leave it, but she loves it.

Swiss chard is cooked the same way as kale. Similar to spinach in flavor but unlike spinach it keeps growing when you pull off the leaves. Easy to care for as well

In comment 14356093 thomasa510 said:

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Swiss chard is cooked the same way as kale. Similar to spinach in flavor but unlike spinach it keeps growing when you pull off the leaves. Easy to care for as well

that's the beautiful thing about kale (it continues to grow after picking) and things like basil. One of my kids will eat basil right out of the garden (once rinsed). nasty IMO.

I guess I'll try Swiss Chard this year too.

Only bad thing about kale (other than if you don't like it) is a big batch of it cooks down to a very small amount once you saute it (like spinach does).

But I started tomatoes around Town Meeting Day. VT tradition. Cutting way back on the garden this year as our house is on the market.*

Will plant green beans & leaf lettuce in the garden. Tomatoes and bush cucumbers in 5G containers. And I always grow petunias from seed to put in hanging pots on the porch.

*If any of you rich flatlanders want a historic Vermont farmhouse, let me know. :)

Have several varieties of peppers and tomatoes going. I've got lettuce, radishes, scallions, and broccoli rabe in the raised beds on my deck. Too many critters in the yard.

I trapped 12 groundhogs my last year there. Everyone who has a shed has groundhogs under it. When I moved I built a shed and placed it on gravel with 2 layers of chain link beneath that.
They are voracious and breed like rabbits.