Gardening thread of 2021

[Bert2368]

I have found a seed company in Minnesota, USA which grows and sells locally addapted vegetable seeds. Just received my first order, they shipped quickly and professionally packed seed.

They also have articles and podcasts featuring themselves as well as other people who brought the seeds to their attention or bred/conserved them, describing traditional uses and explaining what qualities made them of interest. A lot of vegetarians amongst them, veges have generally steered me right in these matters.

https://northcircleseeds.com/collections/seeds
We'll find out how good they are this summer... Hope for the best!

As usual, I'm wanting to order some more seeds from FEDCO in Maine, USA. However, they are running very limited hours, had some supply issues and may be out of stock before I get an order in- But here's the contact, in case anyone wants to try them.

https://fedcoseeds.com/seeds/

 

[nakiriknaifuwaifu]

What are your thoughts on Baker's Creek? They've been my go to for all things non-chilli pepper (for chillies, I love White Hot Chilli Peppers in Illinois).

 

[Bert2368]

What are your thoughts on Baker's Creek? They've been my go to for all things non-chilli pepper (for chillies, I love White Hot Chilli Peppers in Illinois).

I have not used them. Looked at their site, they are closed until next week (2/3/21). I will check back later.

I have ordered from Shepherd's Seeds in the past, also from that companie's new incarnation as Renee's more recently- They have done OK.

https://www.reneesgarden.com
I've also ordered from seed saver's exchange:

https://www.seedsavers.org
And some other small growers- Solstice Seeds in Vermont is another I am trying for the first time this year:

https://solsticeseeds.org

 

[TheNewMexican]

Not sure if this is in the spirit of the thread or not, but I've been doing container gardening all winter just to keep my sanity. Ox Heart Carrots have gone gang busters, I should have thinned those more. French Breakfast radishes have been a happy & strange experiment. Most of the bulb forms on top of the soil with only the white part in the dirt. Makes them easy to grow in shallow containers.

 

[JakeLoveshighCarbon]

Bakers creek has some good magazines, but I've found their seed quality to be a mixed bag and there has been some hearsay of other that have had the same experience. I've bought from fedco the last two years and couldn't be happier with their products however I dont want to deal with the hassle of limited market hours or whatever is going on there. Seems like a lot of people are taking up gardening this spring, which is great, so i dont mind using the fresh seeds I save every year which should be more than adequate. I still like spending 50$ trying new varieties out, but will pass this year.

 

[63falcon]

Love gardening. Here are carrots I picked this morning.

 

[TB_London]

Pulled carrots and beetroot earlier for risotto. Have purple sprouting broccoli coming in now too. Kale didn’t like the snow and extreme cold so has died back but hoping to get some fresh growth before grubbing it out. Swedes are still in the ground, need to make some mash with them.

Hoping for a glut of strawberries and raspberries this year. Still deciding what veg to sow, apparently this year that can’t have the whole garden as a veg patch.

 

[DavidPF]

veges have generally steered me right in these matters.

A person makes damn sure to get their vegetables right, when they know there's nothing else to eat.

 

[jacko9]

My winter gardening is doing well after I got rid of a few rodents. Had one creature eat all of the top's off my radishes. My lettuce was getting swamped by aphids after we had a few weeks of warm weather but, good old amazon delivered a container of ladybugs that cleared that problem up. I have four raised bed planters going that are tented and three more for onions, garlic and herbs.

 

[Twigg]

Set my peppers and tomato seeds to start this past weekend.

 

[Twigg]

What are your thoughts on Baker's Creek? They've been my go to for all things non-chilli pepper (for chillies, I love White Hot Chilli Peppers in Illinois).

I have had very good results with Baker Creek over the last several years. The only trouble I experienced was with their Wild Boar tomato crossbreeds. I don't think they were entirely stable. Seedsavers wasn't bad either. A year or two ago I picked up some wonderful Lesya pepper seeds and a few other others from the Croation-seed Store. They shipped fairly quickly from Europe to the States and everything had high germination rates.

 

[Bert2368]

A little bit more from last year's garden- Legacy parsnips!

The rain 2 days back took a lot of frost out of the ground, enough so about 30' of parsnip row now can be dug- This quantity plus a couple of small culls came out of about 2' of row. More than 10X this quantity probably still in ground, need to be dug and stored as close to 32°F as possible or they'll start to seriously GROW, after which they won't be as tasty.

Supposed to be the best they will get right now.

Tried some out immediately, cut into chunks and tossed with olive oil, grape seed oil, a little balsamic vinegar, salt, black pepper, fresh rosemary and thyme, roasted at 425°F. Very good.

http://blog.bostonorganics.com/word...g-parsnips-candy-of-the-root-crop?hs_amp=true

 

[MrHiggins]

So far, so good for my 2021 gardening (mis)adventures. Sweet peppers are up and running as are the alpine strawberries. My tomatoes are just popping up.



I start everything in this grow box I set up under my ski tuning/knife sharpening bench.



I started a worm farm, too.



Let the growing begin!

 

[Twigg]

Have some ginger going.

 

[Twigg]

Few other plants are coming along too.

 

[Keith Sinclair]

Set my peppers and tomato seeds to start this past weekend.

View attachment 116323View attachment 116324

Sure it's just peppers & tomatoes under those grow lights

 

[Delat]

Hi guys, I a question / need some help regarding a young Bombay mango tree. I bought it last November and suspect it’s around 1 year old. I have it planted in a mixture of soil, perlite (about 1/3), and worm castings. No other fertilizer.

In the picture I have new-growth leaves that just started in Feb/March. Many of the leaves are wrinkled, curled, and torn. The soil is well-drained and it gets watered 2x per week. Is this something I should be concerned about?

It’s been sitting outside except for when temps get below 40. In these pics I’ve got it inside as flower buds have formed and temps are just below 60.

 

[DDCarter]

what do you do to prevent mold?

 

[Bert2368]

Look CAREFULLY at undersides of leaves. See any tiny little insects, stuff that looks like spider web or such?

 

[Bodine]

Hi guys, I a question / need some help regarding a young Bombay mango tree. I bought it last November and suspect it’s around 1 year old. I have it planted in a mixture of soil, perlite (about 1/3), and worm castings. No other fertilizer.

In the picture I have new-growth leaves that just started in Feb/March. Many of the leaves are wrinkled, curled, and torn. The soil is well-drained and it gets watered 2x per week. Is this something I should be concerned about?

It’s been sitting outside except for when temps get below 40. In these pics I’ve got it inside as flower buds have formed and temps are just below 60.

View attachment 119773
View attachment 119774
View attachment 119776

Those leaves look like they have leaf miners, spray with spinosad, an organic insecticide.

 

[Bodine]

Now that we are empty nesters, I have reduced my summer garden to a couple of tomato plants, jalepenos, mole, and bell peppers. Burpless cucumbers and zucchini's. With my citrus and blueberries to deal with, that is enough for me. Here in N Fl. summer garden is gone by the end of June due to heat.
Winter gardens last for months though, and no bugs to deal with.

 

[Bert2368]

Those leaves look like they have leaf miners

I usually see distinct, long squiggly TRACKS of dead tissue from leaf miners- But I've never grown a mango, MN isn't suited to such.

 

[Bodine]

Bert they are common on young fruit and citrus new growth down here, once a tree matures they are not a problem.

 

[Delat]

Those leaves look like they have leaf miners, spray with spinosad, an organic insecticide.

Thanks! I just ordered some, will apply ASAP.

 

[Bodine]

Delat, those leaves will be forever damaged, leaf miners affect new growth only, especially on young trees. Spray before fertilizing or when you see new growth forming. Spinosad is will be absorbed by the leaves and protects them for months.

 

[Delat]

Look CAREFULLY at undersides of leaves. See any tiny little insects, stuff that looks like spider web or such?

No, the leaves look totally clean otherwise, which is why I was stumped. I’m super-excited to get Bombay mangoes (at some unspecified point far down the road) so this tree is like my baby right now. I also have a baby sweetsop that I got at the same time, so between the two I’m totally psyched. I used to collect orchids but fruit trees is a totally new thing for me.

 

[Delat]

Delat, those leaves will be forever damaged, leaf miners affect new growth only, especially on young trees. Spray before fertilizing or when you see new growth forming. Spinosad is will be absorbed by the leaves and protects them for months.

Makes sense, I can see some of the mature leaves are also a little twisty, likely from previous damage.

 

[waxy]

Hi guys, I a question / need some help regarding a young Bombay mango tree. I bought it last November and suspect it’s around 1 year old. I have it planted in a mixture of soil, perlite (about 1/3), and worm castings. No other fertilizer.

In the picture I have new-growth leaves that just started in Feb/March. Many of the leaves are wrinkled, curled, and torn. The soil is well-drained and it gets watered 2x per week. Is this something I should be concerned about?

It’s been sitting outside except for when temps get below 40. In these pics I’ve got it inside as flower buds have formed and temps are just below 60.

View attachment 119773
View attachment 119774
View attachment 119776

Did you purchase that tree from a nursery in Florida?
Local nurseries would not sell trees not viable in your agricultural zone.
It's a low graft so I'm 100% sure it is a turpentine rootstock, most of the mangoes from Florida are.

Q. What does this mean?
A. You're growing a rootstock, regardless of scion grafted - not viable in your climate.

Q. Signs, how can you tell?
A. Root rot signs; brown spots within the leaves, especially the lower ones.

Q. What's wrong with your new flush?
A. Also deformed growth of new flush, not accepting the TDS in local water sources.

Q. Leaf miners? Aphids? Leaf hoppers?
A. No, they only attack new flush, mango leaves are too thick for them to penetrate and full of thick sap, it's not their preference.
Very rare there are insect attacks on mangos, they prefer thinner leaves, new flush especially.

Q. What can you do?
Use a calcium inhibitor to remove as much TSD, chlorine, calcium, copper, fluoride as much as possible.
Try to water plants evenly too, I see some dried surfaces at 9 and 12 O'clock
Mangoes are very drought tolerant, less water is better than too much water - Root Rot, Fungal infection, Anthracnose, etc.

Prune off their flower when it shows up.
I see a sprout - this makes the plant extremely weak, it'll be a playground for fungal infections and big infestations.
Even specialized dwarf trees such as mangoes should bear fruit their first 2 years, the fruit itself will be poor quality, sometimes it kills the plant from stress.

Q. Why does it flower so early?
A. It's a scion from a mother tree with production hormones, it happens but it doesn't mean allow it to fully mature.
Prune off all flowers as soon as the last bud shows up, let the plant grow, it's gardening - Your patience will pay off I promise.

Q. Should I use insecticides? Organic?
A. Avoid it as much as possible, you'll kill the insects, while killing all the microbes in the soil.
Use this as a last resort, cover your soil with a plastic sheet to wash off the residue, soil is their home, their food, and their health, don't let healthy microbial life die.

I'm not an expert, but I do grow 18 varieties of mangoes, all of are grafted on Manilla root stock

 

[Bert2368]

I'm not an expert, but I do grow 18 varieties of mangoes

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome

 

[Delat]

Prune off their flower when it shows up.
I see a sprout - this makes the plant extremely weak, it'll be a playground for fungal infections and big infestations.

Thanks @waxy that information is amazing and very helpful! When you say "sprout" in this context are you referring to the flower buds?

You're correct that I got this tree from a FL nursery - I live in Phoenix. I'll be keeping the pot outside for temps between 40-100F. I'll probably add some grow lights for indoors during the summer.

You appear to be saying that my water might be the cause of the leaf curling rather than bugs? I'll keep an eye on new leaves after spraying and see what happens. And ty for the tip on covering the soil before spraying.

A question on pruning - I want to follow a typical pruning regimen where I tip branches after the first node. But I wasn't expecting side branches off the main trunk, just branches off the top. Would you recommend entirely removing branches 2 and 3 in this pic? I've already tipped branch 3, and was going to leave branch 2 to balance branch 3, and also tip it, but it's coming out at close to 90 degrees from the trunk.. I was also expecting to get multiple branches where branch 1 is, but I think the tree might've suffered some damage there before I got it as the leader was already missing.