Planting How Does your Garden Grow? ~ Summer 2019 Edition

[packyderms_wife]

Rain and my work schedule has just ruined my gardening for the foreseeable future. That didn't keep me from trying this Spring. The garden spot got dry enough to get it tilled and rowed up, but too late for any bedding plants to have a chance of success. I decided to try direct seeding of bush beans and purple hull peas. The cream zippers and lima beans did not germinate. Anyhow, I didn't have the time or energy to tend to the weeding, and it shows. I have a noxious weed in my garden, that I think came from bags of cheap commercial manure and potting soil. I've never seen this weed on my property before in the 30 years I've lived here. It has little, sharp needle spurs at the leaf nodes, that hurt like hell when you touch them.

So far, all I've harvested is two batches of green bean, enough to have as a side dish at dinner. Yea!

Could you get a better photo of the leaves/stems of that weed for us? If it's not native you may want to report this to your local ag extension, those bags of soil you purchase should NOT have any viable weed seeds in the soil/hummus/manure. I know it happens but it's a horrible way to introduce a fairly aggressive invasive plant into an area.

 

[Txkstew]

I should have placed the stalk on a better contrasting background, but if you zoom in, you can see the nasty pointed spikes. They put down a deep tap root, even when they are young sprouts breaking the surface of the soil. They are mostly in my tilled garden area, but they have migrated out somewhat. They seem to do better in soft soil. I've covered my whole garden area with black plastic all summer long, but they persist. I might need to take a sample to the Agricultural Extension Agent at the Court House.

 

[packyderms_wife]

I should have placed the stalk on a better contrasting background, but if you zoom in, you can see the nasty pointed spikes. They put down a deep tap root, even when they are young sprouts breaking the surface of the soil. They are mostly in my tilled garden area, but they have migrated out somewhat. They seem to do better in soft soil. I've covered my whole garden area with black plastic all summer long, but they persist. I might need to take a sample to the Agricultural Extension Agent at the Court House.

View attachment 167646

I think you should take a sample and like this week! Those burrs get on pets fur and sometimes their eyes and it can blind them if they get under the eyelid. I forget what this stuff is called, Summerthyme may remember, last year OC took Jr. for a walk and came back bothering his eye that's when I noticed he had this crap embedded in his eyebrow and matted onto the fur on his face. Needless to say one hour later I managed to free his eyelid and he was missing an eyebrow and the fur under his left eye. So I ended up shaving both eyebrows, his beard, etc. OC found the offending plant the next day and chopped it down, it was down the alleyway a bit, but Jr. managed to find the stuff.

 

[Txkstew]

This weed has been a nuisance for over five or six years now. The spikes are not the fuzzy looking stuff. Those are the plant going to flower. I'll get a better close up of the spike with it on a better background.

 

[summerthyme]

Spiny pigweed, Amaranthus spinosa. I've never seen it here... but i was pretty sure it was an Amaranthus.

We have Redroot Pigweed... it's a difficult weed to eradicate, but lacking the thorns of your beauty, it's easy enough to yank when small.

Summerthyme

 

[Txkstew]

Yep, that's it, Summerthyme. Bummer, but at least it's edible for humans and is medicinal.

https://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/invasive-weeds-spiny-amaranth-amaranthus-spinosus

 

[summerthyme]

Yeah, sort of! It's an annual, but as youve seen it produces a LOT of seeds. If you don't have a large garden area, you might be able to get tid of it by solarization... using clear plastic spresd over the area (with soil on the edges to keep heat in) to heat the soil to a temp high enough to destroy most seeds.

Otherwise, shallow tillage, repeated every week to 10 days (with any escapees/survivors habd pulled before they can set seed) will eventually exhaust the seed supply.

The biggest problem is that letting even one plant get to the size in your pics and ripen seeds will put you back to square one...

Summerthyme

 

[Raggedyman]

two "problems" this year:

the biggest and most concerning is that I have seed from Italy that was given to me in 2009 - a shellie type bean - almost like a turkey bean or an October bean but they are HUGE - some almost the size of your thumb nail. planted them twice this year - and the only TWO have germinated. planning to try again - using seed from 2017 as this from 2018 isn't doing well at all.

soaked the seed in warm water for about 3/4 hour and carefully planted it but no luck - really worried that I will loose this seed becasue I'll never get it again. I'm going to replant again on TUESDAY 6.4 which is by Packys June almanac thread the very next best day by the signs.


second - spearmint and peppermint - getting black spots on the leaves - any suggestions to combat this? we use 8-10 sprigs in a gallon pitcher of sweet tea and I'm hesitant to use it.

any thoughts and comments on these issues are appreciated

 

[Raggedyman]

PIG WEED - bad sheet - we have it and its impossible to eradicate. literally destroyed an incredible 17 YO asparagus bed in 2-3 years. you have to DIG it out.

 

[summerthyme]

To improve germination of old (or poor quality, although not dead!) seeds, add 1 ounce 3% hydrogen peroxide to 1 pint of water. Soak big seeds gor 18-24 hours in the solution, then plant. Small seeds can just be misted with it before planting. Or you can use the paper towel "pre-sprout" method, using the peroxide solution as the water in the process.

On the peppermint, you could try spraying the plants with a baking soda solution... 1 tablespoon baking soda per gallon of water. Spray weekly. Some recipes for black spot in roses add a teaspoon of vegetable oil as a "sticker"... but rose leaves are pretty tough compared to the mints.

Good luck!

Summerthyme

 

[packyderms_wife]

To improve germination of old (or poor quality, although not dead!) seeds, add 1 ounce 3% hydrogen peroxide to 1 pint of water. Soak big seeds gor 18-24 hours in the solution, then plant. Small seeds can just be misted with it before planting. Or you can use the paper towel "pre-sprout" method, using the peroxide solution as the water in the process.

On the peppermint, you could try spraying the plants with a baking soda solution... 1 tablespoon baking soda per gallon of water. Spray weekly. Some recipes for black spot in roses add a teaspoon of vegetable oil as a "sticker"... but rose leaves are pretty tough compared to the mints.

Good luck!

Summerthyme

Thank you for the germination tips!

 

[Raggedyman]

thanks summer! we'll give both a try

 

[20Gauge]

Each picture is a weekly haul.

The numbers have been growing as summer goes on.

 

[Publius]

I got enough dry spell to workup the soil early this year and allow it to sit until the next round of dry weather and retill for weed control before planting anything.
So far green beans are in and now coming up a long with Rutabaga's also Potatoes and had to replace our fence charger this year so some research and bought a American Farm Works fence charger and it's a little more output than the old one and will do 30 miles of fence and it's much hotter output than the old charger, had one deer walk into the fence the other night and there was a whole lot of snorting going on out back and one very frightened deer that will not go near that fence for the rest of the summer.

Got Tomatoes planted and planted a lot of Cucumber seeds next is to start some Zucchini wife wants and a few rows of Beets.

 

[Rabbit]

Many of you are getting too much rain and down here in my part of Georgia, we aren't getting any. Temps are in the mid-'90s and everything is burning up.......except my garden which is planted deeply underneath wood chips. I've been doing the back to Eden method for years now and in times like now it really pays off.

 

[marsh]

It has been a good year so far for growth in the garden. Just about time to harvest cabbages and baby zucchini. I am already grazing on blueberries and black berries. My problem is roof rats. I live near a levy and the neighborhood is plagued by them. They already stripped my apple and peach trees. Last year they took the tomatoes and fruit and my favorite figs.

I have snap traps, electrical and cage types. They outsmart them all. Any suggestions?

 

[packyderms_wife]

It has been a good year so far for growth in the garden. Just about time to harvest cabbages and baby zucchini. I am already grazing on blueberries and black berries. My problem is roof rats. I live near a levy and the neighborhood is plagued by them. They already stripped my apple and peach trees. Last year they took the tomatoes and fruit and my favorite figs.

I have snap traps, electrical and cage types. They outsmart them all. Any suggestions?

a couple of rat terrier dogs let loose in your yard?

 

[AlaskaSue]

It amazes me how much some of you are already harvesting...I've JUST finished all my veg planting. Made 20 hanging flower baskets (hung a bunch, gave away a bunch), and made potato towers and planted my first-ever batch of pintos as new additions to the raised bed veg garden. We'll see how they go - I'm in terra incognito here in the Mat-Su Valley...but it's one of the better growing areas in the state so I have high hopes.

Meanwhile my first ever peony bloom is blossoming...and I have a good eight buds on this one plant. I'll see if I can post a pic

 

[Dinghy]

We have had constant rain here. The river in town just passed flood stage. Most of my plants are at a stand still, but haven’t started to look diseased yet. The forecast looks good for the next few days, so hopefully they’ll get a growth spurt. I recently was given two 4x8 raised beds, so next year I will have even more growing area.

 

[packyderms_wife]

It’s pouring rain here at the moment, the county west of me is under a flash flood warning and I suspect it won’t be long before we are as well.

We have had constant rain here. The river in town just passed flood stage. Most of my plants are at a stand still, but haven’t started to look diseased yet. The forecast looks good for the next few days, so hopefully they’ll get a growth spurt. I recently was given two 4x8 raised beds, so next year I will have even more growing area.

 

[Dinghy]

Thought this was funny