Author Topic: 2014: What Will Your Vegetable Garden Look Like?  (Read 3830 times)

Offline JohnyMac

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2014: What Will Your Vegetable Garden Look Like?
« on: January 11, 2014, 09:29:45 AM »
Well the excitement of the holidays has passed and the bone chilling polar vortex apocalypse has come and past. Now is the time to start planning your vegetable garden (s).

My goal this year is to plant two gardens. One will be more of a food plot for deer and other critters and the other one will be an expanded vegetable garden.

Lets use this space to post our goals, failures & successes meeting those goals, pictures and question & answers here.

Good luck and have fun!  
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Offline Well-Prepared Witch

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Re: 2014: What Will Your Vegetable Garden Look Like?
« Reply #1 on: January 11, 2014, 12:14:31 PM »
We're going to do several raised beds this year.  Trying to whittle down all the "I want" to grows to the "I will" grows.  Right now my musts are:

* Turnips (found out I actually quite like them)
* Potatoes
* Peppers sweet & hot
* Tomatoes
* Onions
* Lettuce
* Peanuts
* Cucumbers
* Pumpkins
* Watermelon
* Beans - soup & green
* Corn
* Carrots

I also want to try a couple plots of millet, flax, wheat, etc. for the chickens.  I will probably do an herb garden as well, but I haven't decided exactly what.
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Offline JohnyMac

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Re: 2014: What Will Your Vegetable Garden Look Like?
« Reply #2 on: January 11, 2014, 04:32:16 PM »
Great list Wellie!

I never thought about peanuts. Great idea!  :thumbsUp:

This is my list as of today:
Tomato
Turnip
Cabbage
Carrots
Potato (I may not grow any as I can buy @ 30₵ a pound)
Squash (Winter)
Squash (Summer)
Beans (Pole)
Beans (Lima)
Cucumber
Garlic
Lettuce (Head)
Lettuce (Leaf)
Onions
Radishes
Sweet Potatoes
Muskmelon

I may still add a few like jack O' lantern pumpkins and herbs PLUS MrsMac will add some to the list like sugar snap peas and egg plant.

Attached is an Excel file that outlines my planting and harvesting schedule for 2014. It looks like it will be a early start to the season this year as per the Farmers Almanac in my neck of the woods.

The second spreadsheet of the file shows the yields I am going to strive for in 2014.

Again, I am just in the planning stages.

Last, I tend to buy most of my seeds (Not counting the ones I keep from the previous seasons harvest) from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.



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Offline Reaver

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Re: 2014: What Will Your Vegetable Garden Look Like?
« Reply #3 on: January 13, 2014, 10:02:18 AM »
Muck, and branch pots lifted just above the swamp water. Most likely a lot of orange trees, maters, onions and Marijuana.
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Offline JohnyMac

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Re: 2014: What Will Your Vegetable Garden Look Like?
« Reply #4 on: January 13, 2014, 10:16:37 AM »
Marijuana RvR?  :lmfao:

Mr Green thumb.  ;)
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Re: 2014: What Will Your Vegetable Garden Look Like?
« Reply #5 on: January 17, 2014, 11:45:36 AM »
Marijuana RvR?  :lmfao:

Mr Green thumb.  ;)
Medicine Johnny medicine.

Not to mention gold, silver and lead aren't the only Barter items.
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brat

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Re: 2014: What Will Your Vegetable Garden Look Like?
« Reply #6 on: February 05, 2014, 03:27:45 PM »
I order from Baker Creek as well. After some dismal yields last year on some stuff, I'm repeating some stuff from a couple of years ago as they seem to like my dirt better. My blackberries, grapes, asparagus and strawberries have permanent homes, but this year will be.....

Pole beans
Bush bean
Sweet Corn 
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Okra
Squash
Zucchini
Butternut squash
Purple top turnips
Tomatoes
Watermelon
Cabbage
Sweetpotatoes
Kennebecs
Onions
Radish
Cayennes

Hope my dehydrater gets a work out this year  :fuckYeah:

Offline JohnyMac

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Re: 2014: What Will Your Vegetable Garden Look Like?
« Reply #7 on: February 05, 2014, 04:00:00 PM »
Great list/goal brat.  :thumbsUp:

We have quite a few amateur horticulturist on the forum. If you would like describe the challenges you are having and we will put in our 2¢ worth.  ;)
 

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Offline Well-Prepared Witch

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Re: 2014: What Will Your Vegetable Garden Look Like?
« Reply #8 on: February 05, 2014, 05:26:41 PM »
Sounds delish Brat!  I'm chomping at the bit to get planting, though we've got 8" of snow & ice and more to come this weekend.  I think it'll be a while. :)  I ordered enough strawberry plants to put in a permanent bed, and some asparagus (not sure where I'm going to put them yet - I'm thinking of putting them along an old fence where they can live permanently).  I also ordered some potato bags to grow our potatoes.  My dad's had some good success with the bags, so I figured it was worth a try.
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Offline JohnyMac

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Re: 2014: What Will Your Vegetable Garden Look Like?
« Reply #9 on: February 05, 2014, 06:32:49 PM »
Wellie, what is a potato bag? I have never grown potato's and I am going to try this year.

Keep in mind you can start to grow plants today inside to replant in May.
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Offline Well-Prepared Witch

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Re: 2014: What Will Your Vegetable Garden Look Like?
« Reply #10 on: February 05, 2014, 08:52:38 PM »
Basically they are big bags in which you plant your potatoes.  They're great because you can just dump the bag out to harvest the potatoes.  If you dump it out on a tarp it's easy to drag it to your compost heap and "recycle" the dirt.  YouTube has a ton of videos on the subject.
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brat

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Re: 2014: What Will Your Vegetable Garden Look Like?
« Reply #11 on: February 05, 2014, 09:59:44 PM »
Quote
We have quite a few amateur horticulturist on the forum. If you would like describe the challenges you are having and we will put in our 2¢ worth.

My veggie garden is a little over 1/2 acre 120'X200'. When I bought the old place and 10 acres, the plot area was listed as an old tobacco base, but hadn't seen a plow for over 60 years, so I was told by the old farmer from the area. Stalled a JD 4650 pulling a four bottom... :what:  Hardest dirt ever and a lot of red.

After getting it broken, spent the next three years ammending with silica, leaves, compost and the kitchen sink. My winter cover is crimson clover, hairy vetch and winter wheat. Use it as green fertilizer. Have the dirt checked every year at the extension for produce. Everything in range. Add triple 13 and till. Finally got it loose.

Everything does good but the potatoes. Sweets do great, over 100 pounds last year. But the darn whites won't make worth a dam even with side dressing. Peanuts love the dirt as does corn. Careful to rotate and companion plant. Bought a hiller (the cat's meow for laying out the dirt by the way) and tried N/S and E/W orientation.  I think I may just stick with OreIda's.  :-\

I got to the end of this and realized it's more than anyone really wanted to know, but when you start a "rant" of frustration, the fingers just won't stop typing.  :facepalm:

Offline JohnyMac

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Re: 2014: What Will Your Vegetable Garden Look Like?
« Reply #12 on: February 06, 2014, 08:03:16 AM »
Great write up brat!

Stalled a JD4650...Wow that's a 160 hp :tractor: !

Quote
May I be so bold as to suggest a potato box?
You plant in one bottom layer, boarding up the sides of each layer and adding dirt as you go higher (you wait until the plants have grown a bit before adding a new layer). While new potatoes are growing in the top layers, remove the boards from the first layer at the bottom to carefully dig out any that are ready for harvesting. Fill the dirt back in and board up the box again. You move up the layers and harvest as they are ready. I imagine the new potatoes in the first couple bottom layers would be somewhat awkward to get at but as you move higher–not so bad.
http://tipnut.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/nmbvn.jpg


You may not be able to grow enough to sell but you would be able to grow enough to use in your home. MrsMac and I use about 100 lbs over the winter.
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brat

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Re: 2014: What Will Your Vegetable Garden Look Like?
« Reply #13 on: February 06, 2014, 04:43:01 PM »
You know your tractors JohnnyMac !! 1993 model, but two wheel drive. Belongs to another "handy" neighbor. Mine is just under 50 and I knew it wouldn't break anything. My neighbor was a little stunned  :'( :-[ you know how some like to "talk" about their stuff.

Anyway, thank you so much for the idea. I had planned to add some more raised beds anyway. Now I'll seriously be looking into adding this. I like the idea of using pallets cause I can get them free too.
I like my spuds! Thanks again.

Offline JohnyMac

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Re: 2014: What Will Your Vegetable Garden Look Like?
« Reply #14 on: February 06, 2014, 05:21:00 PM »
My neighbor has a New Holland 90 hp, 4 week drive. He does a pretty good job with a double bottom plow. With that said, we do not have the soil that you have.

My tractor is a Ford 9N/8N hybrid (9N engine and 8N from the engine block back) and does pretty good with a single bottom plow. The problem here are rocks not heavy dirt. I wish I was a rock farmer  ;)




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Re: 2014: What Will Your Vegetable Garden Look Like?
« Reply #15 on: February 06, 2014, 10:33:40 PM »
Quote
The problem here are rocks not heavy dirt. I wish I was a rock farmer  ;)

I hope you're a good welder  ;D