Spring Garden-It's time for show and tell

[CDGator]

Happy Birthday to me! I spent some time in the garden watering, putting down the straw and then watering some more. The green sprouts in the middle are potatoes that I didn’t harvest last year. I planted more that should be ready in September.

San Marzano, Roma, slicing Tomatoes
Squash
Zucchini
Jalapeño
Okra
Cucumber
2 Green beans, blacks beans, creamer 8’s, cowpeas
Red potatoes and Yukon golds

 

[CDGator]

The garden is coming along nicely but we are really dry so I’m watering a lot.

Pics from around the garden.

This year I’m staking up most of the zucchini and squash. I’ve seen a lot of people do it and it seems to work well. We shall see




Majority of our Yukon and red potatoes were volunteers from last year. They did get shifted over a few rows after seedy tilled and chopped them up. Rows are a bit crooked but we will have a bump crop! They are crowded but I’m watering them a lot.




Lots of beans this year. Black turtle, creamer 8’s, and two types of green beans.




Planted some slicing tomatoes (pictured) Romas, San Marzano, grape and yellow fruit.




One of the 4 blueberry plants are starting to turn. They are big and juicy. I love this early producer. So do the birds. Some have figured out how to get inside the net.

 

[CDGator]

A few of my amazing sunflowers this year. Unfortunately a quick storm came through last night and broke half of the. A couple were over 10 feet tall but not bullet proof.

 

[soflagator]

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A few of my amazing sunflowers this year. Unfortunately a quick storm came through last night and broke half of the. A couple were over 10 feet tall but not bullet proof.

Incredible pics.

 

[CDGator]

The garden has reached that time where I call it “survival of the fittest.” The weeds are getting taller than the plants but there’s still vegetables to harvest. It’s been another good year and always something to learn. Next month we will have apples and I’ll make sauce with them.

 

[Gator By Marriage]

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A few of my amazing sunflowers this year. Unfortunately a quick storm came through last night and broke half of the. A couple were over 10 feet tall but not bullet proof.

Did you use a telephoto lens or is that just an incredibly fearless Goldfinch?

 

[CDGator]

Did you use a telephoto lens or is that just an incredibly fearless Goldfinch?

I don't recall which camera I took that photo with as I was trying out a few at the time. However the iPhone 14 lens is pretty spectacular. It was definitely a zoom lens though. I bought something to take to Alaska that had a 40x zoom.

 

[LagoonGator68]

I don't recall which camera I took that photo with as I was trying out a few at the time. However the iPhone 14 lens is pretty spectacular. It was definitely a zoom lens though. I bought something to take to Alaska that had a 40x zoom.

Great pics. Love those creamer snaps too!

 

[CDGator]

We used to have 2 apple trees but one was killed when another tree landed on it during a storm. Our neighbor planted several apple trees and has bees so ours has been prolific. We picked and peeled about 40 apples yesterday. Made apple sauce to freeze and canned 10 pints of pie filling for pies this winter. Never tried this before but was pretty easy.

 

[CDGator]

Four months of waiting, but tonight we feast like kings off our garden bounty!

 

[CDGator]

Oh look I found some protein in my flower bed to go with the carrots!

 

[Altitude Gator]

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Four months of waiting, but tonight we feast like kings off our garden bounty!

True baby carrots....not those fakey chopped down big ones!

My wife got the equivalent in potatoes this year.

 

[CDGator]

True baby carrots....not those fakey chopped down big ones!

My wife got the equivalent in potatoes this year.

Did she do the potatoes in the ground or in a container?

We went digging today for Yukons and reds and hit the mother load and had to stop for now. Hopefully we can get the rest before frost sets in. They will also grow back next summer.

 

[Altitude Gator]

Did she do the potatoes in the ground or in a container?

We went digging today for Yukons and reds and hit the mother load and had to stop for now. Hopefully we can get the rest before frost sets in. They will also grow back next summer.

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In a container. We don't have any true ground garden. We have boxes for most everything, but they are on the ground, not raised.

 

[CDGator]

In a container. We don't have any true ground garden. We have boxes for most everything, but they are on the ground, not raised.

I’ve seen a lot of people grow potatoes this way but they are usually smaller. Find a way to make the container as big as possible and let it go for longer than you think is my only suggestion. They say wait a few weeks after the plant dies back but I wait longer than that. They also like a lot of water.

 

[Gulfstream]

Had to bring in the orchids as they do not like the cooler nights. Have them in the garage now and the Vandas are putting on a show.

 

[Gulfstream]

Still blooming...

 

[CDGator]

I think this is supposed to be a Christmas cactus but it blooms from Thanksgiving to Easter. It was in a small pot when I received it after mom passed. It’s a dramatic plant that doesn’t like to be touched. Leave it alone and ignore it and it does best. It goes outside all summer long. I love the color inside during the doldrums of winter.

 

[LagoonGator68]

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I think this is supposed to be a Christmas cactus but it blooms from Thanksgiving to Easter. It was in a small pot when I received it after mom passed. It’s a dramatic plant that doesn’t like to be touched. Leave it alone and ignore it and it does best. It goes outside all summer long. I love the color inside during the doldrums of winter.

How often do you water it?

 

[CDGator]

How often do you water it?

About every 10 days. A friend gave me a small white one in the early summer but it was dead by September. I think I gave it too much attention or the white isn't hardy. I've heard of people gifting a cutting to family members from some that are 100 years old. When an arm breaks off I stick it back in the dirt or a bowl of water and it just grows.

When the summer is over I let it sit in the garage for a month. The dark is what stimulates the blooms for winter.