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Monday, July 21, 2014
Lessons I've Learned From My Garden
These lessons work here in Zone 7 where we live in southeastern Oklahoma. The techniques we use may need to be tweaked to work in your neck of the woods. There are several things I have learned this year in the garden that I would like to share. It teaches me something every year with every crop. We have also learned a lot from the comments and interaction we receive here on the blog. I have grown rather fond of this small piece of dirt...and weeds.....and grass....
Don't plant onions too deep or they will not make a nice onion bulb. I have never grown a decent sized onion until this year. When I mentioned this on one of the gardening articles, one of the comments indicated that an onion should basically have only the roots in the ground.
I have always planted them much deeper than that. Then the next day or so, we stopped by Grace's house and she had a beautiful onion in a tub that barely had it's roots in the ground, but looked great.
So, I uncovered the base of some of my onions, and guess what? They grew bulbs! Real, live onions! I was very happy and thankful I finally figured out what I had been doing wrong.
We are having the best corn crop this year we have ever had, but I can't really tell you why. I planted a new variety, Stowell's Evergreen, an open pollinated, white, sweet corn variety. One difference this year was my planting technique. I tend to plant corn way too close together trying to utilize all of our space. Corn doesn't particularly
like to be crowded. This year Frank recommended I poke a hole in the ground with the handle end of my hoe, drop in a couple of seeds, then step on them. This worked very well and kept me from planting so close together. The result? Nice full, large ears of corn. And it tastes good to boot!
I planted the green beans in the new part of the garden
that hadn't been fertilized much. In some years past, I didn't have a
very good green bean crop and the only thing I could figure out was the
soil was too rich. Because of that experience I thought this would be an okay place for the beans this year. They are growing well, just not producing any beans. I 'watered' them with some old milk a few times for the calcium. Next, I was thinking of putting on some wood ashes for the potassium. I'm glad we still have plenty of green beans we canned last summer. We'll just have to wait and see how they do.
For some reason, I have not figured out why, we also have the best potato crop ever this year. There are many more potatoes, and they are much larger. The only difference I can think of is that we set the tiller a little lower and got the soil loosened up a little deeper. I was able to hill them up twice before Frank's surgery and the weeds took over. Now that I have mowed down the grass, I am getting them dug up to make room for the fall crops.
What makes a carrot go to seed? From my reading, if a carrot goes to seed the first year it will not make good seed. Carrots are biennial, which means they need a 'winter' or a spell of cold weather to produce viable seed the second year. I am really surprised at the size of the seed stalk this carrot is producing, compared to the regular carrot greens, it is huge. I will still try to harvest the seeds from this plant and see how they do. I will plant them separately in seedling pots and see if they germinate just to learn something new.
I have a tomato jungle growing. Since this year in the garden has been hit and miss, I have not been keeping up with the tomato suckers. In years past, I have been pretty vigilant in removing them, but not this year, and it has turned out to be a good
thing. I was taught to remove the suckers to allow the energy to be focused into the main plant. But, this year, with many, many suckers, I am finding I have a lot more tomatoes coming on. Now I need to learn a happy medium between removal and encouragement. Interesting.
The purple hull peas seem to have vined out more this year. I almost think it would be beneficial to plant them along a stock panel trellis the way we do tomatoes. It would make them easier to pick and I would walk on them less. That would be a lot more panels to dedicate to the garden, though, so I will have to ponder that one. Maybe it would do just to plant my rows a little farther apart. They are such a hardy plant and will keep on producing as long as you keep picking. They don't require near the moisture of other plants, such as corn or squash.
We don't eat fresh cucumbers, but I do like pickles. Last year I planted too many cucumbers, this year I planted too few. If I want enough cucumbers to make pickles, I need more plants than this. Next year, I will go back to more plants and pull them up when I am finished making pickles.
There is always so much to learn in the garden. No two years are exactly the same. The weather is different, the time I can spend is different, the bug population is different, there are just untold differences to learn about and deal with each and every year. If you believe that extremely hard times are coming to our country and world, and you want to be able to grow your own food, don't wait until that event happens. It will be too late to learn the lessons of gardening in your location, or the location you plan to go to. Even folks that have gardened all of their lives come up against something new that requires a change in plans when it comes to growing food. Grow what you can. Can what you grow. Enjoy the blessings of the harvest.
I heard on the news last night that this was the best sweet corn crop Oklahoma has had in many, many years.
I've never cut the suckers off the tomato plants, I want more fruit! However this is the first year I've pruned my tomatoes too - I didn't know I was supposed to, but the last plant in the row had yellow leaves and my research said I should remove all the damaged leaves and should prune them anyway. I'm always learning!
We had more rain this year in Oklahoma and the temperatures have been cooler. Maybe that's what the corn liked. There were a couple of times I thought the corn died since it was laying over from strong winds, but it always managed to stand back up again.
It is always interesting to hear how others take care of their gardens. Thank you for sharing.
I certainly agree gardening is a constant learning experience. This year my Contender green beans have grown well, produced many blossoms and very few beans. I've been growing this cultivar for the past 5 years here in SW FL and it's always done well - only difference I can see is we've had more rain. For tomatoes I've never picked the suckers off - too many other things to do in the garden - and always had tremendous yields. Don't think I'll change that.
It's interesting to hear the difference in your bean crop. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, and most of the time we never figure out why. And from the sounds of things, I will forget picking off the tomato suckers. Another good lesson learned from comments. Thank you.
Yahoo.....an onion tip that will sure help our onion crop. Ralph loves to plant things deep so they can get good roots...we have not had a successful onion crop here yet and now I know why! Every area has its quirks down to each garden having things that it "likes or Dislikes". Your garden looks wonderful!
I'm glad this onion tip can help you out, Fiona. I know I was very glad to learn the correct way to plant onions.
Thank you for the compliment. You must like lots of grass and weeds in a garden. Well, I did try to take a picture that wouldn't show the worst of the weedy overgrowth. (-:
Thank you for posting this - it's very encouraging. We moved to Idaho from California this year and have planted our first real garden. It's been quite a learning experience.
Because of your earlier post on onions, I too have had the best onion crop EVER! I do sucker tomatoes, at least until it sets fruit, then I'm done with that. (Grew up working in tobacco, you had to top and sucker!) our green beans did not fair well this year, too little rain. Last year we had an abundance of rain and great beans. Our corn is the laughing stock of gardens, we could have cob salad, no corn, just cob, again no rain. I haven't tried to get seeds from my carrots, but with your info, I may try. I love reading y'all's blog and having friends with the same interest!
That's great your onions turned out well, Kelly. I was so happy to figure out how to actually grow onions. It's too bad you didn't get enough rain for your green beans or corn to make. I'm glad you are enjoying your time here. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks so much for your blog. I really enjoy following you. I am one who prunes my tomatoes. I do this in order to improve the air circulation. In my climate, tomatoes are prone to blight and the air circulation helps prevent the blight. I, too, learn something every year. This year I have been challenging myself to plant several crops - micro crops actually - of radish, carrot, lettuce and beets. My goal was to have fresh produce throughout the summer months. I did well on some and totally bombed on others. I ended up having to buy lettuce the last two weeks because I got the rotation and quantity wrong. But I am learning, that's the important thing. SJ in Vancouver BC Canada
I really enjoy hearing about others efforts at learning new things, SJ, so thank you for sharing. Your example of how to deal with blight in your climate is such an important thing to know. We all have different challenges that hinge solely on location, whether it is moisture, sunlight, pests, soil, or regulations. I also appreciate your example of setting a specific goal and learning from it.
When we lived in Alaska for eight years, we drove back and forth each summer, and always went through British Columbia. You live in a magnificently beautiful place, SJ.
Here's another who never cuts suckers off her tomato plants. This week I'm going to see about starting new plants for fall from cuttings of the tomatoes I liked best this year. I may not need them since I usually can get my tomatoes babied enough over the summer to start up again in the fall. Still, I've got time to learn new things, so I'll try it. For trellising plants and making cages, I use 2 x 4 galvanized fencing - it lasts forever and with proper setting, will even hold up the cantelopes. For a cage, snip off the bottom row and you have built in stakes all the way around! This year my new garden is set along the chicken yard fence and I just laid 8-10' long strips from the garden row to the top of the 5' fence - cherry tomatoes, salad & pickling cukes, beans, etc., are climbing right up there. It gives a lightly shaded area along the fence for lettuce, too. Hoping Frank is doing well. Jan in NWGA
Well, there is a use for large suckers. Here in NC you can break one off and stick in the ground,(with enough water), and grow. DH has some baby tomato plants that we will be putting in the ground soon.
Fern, this is my first comment, though I've been reading your and Frank's messages for weeks now. I have had a garden or two, but none where I currently live.
You mentioned finding a better way to grow onions, and I wanted to recommend a couple of youtube channels that give excellent advice (and show unusually bountiful results) with a large onion called Candy. Please check out webcajun and mhpgardener youtube channels regarding onions. They plant their onion seeds outside in the fall, then transplant them in the spring and get softball sized onions.
Also, mhpgardener grows nine foot tall tomato plants and two year old green pepper plants in a greenhouse he designed and built by himself. He grows the most beautiful tomatoes and peppers I've ever seen, and he makes it all seem quite easy to understand and accomplish. The advantage, of course, is that he extends his growing season by about three months per year, even without a mechanical heat source. That could really come in handy in difficult times.
I don't have any ties to mhpgardener other than greatly enjoying and learning from his videos.
My prayers continue for Frank's quick and thorough healing and your continued strength, courage and love in caring for your husband. Thank you both for your very interesting articles.
Hi Magnolia, and welcome to the blog. Thank you for sharing these resources with everyone. We can never have too many avenues to learn from. I will have to check out the one on the greenhouse, since we have one planned and waiting to be constructed.
Thank you for your kind words and for the prayers, both are much appreciated. Thank you again for sharing.
Fern, I have read that if you have Queen Anne's Lace in the area, which is a wild carrot,you cannot save the seeds from your garden carrots. They cross pollinate and revert to the wild state. I too am in Zone 7, though in North Alabama. Hope Frank is recuperating well!
Hmmm.....now I have to make sure I know what Queen Anne's Lace looks like. Thank you for teaching me yet another new thing. It's great. I just love to learn.
Frank is doing a little better each day. Thank you for your kind thoughts.
It's always so interesting to see how other people's gardens are growing.
For years, I never pinched off tomato suckers, but always thought I was supposed to. This year I decided to do things "right", started pinching and almost immediately noticed fewer blossoms! I quit pinching right away. I hope I didn't stunt my crop too much.
Never knew that about the onions, but apparently I've been doing it right. My onions are always a bumper crop.
I wondered, too, if your blooming carrot is actually a Queen Annes Lace. The two plants above ground look so incredibly similar. If a QAL gets into my carrots, the only way I can tell is if the QAL blooms, because carrots won't their first year. But I don't know if QAL grows in your neck of the woods. You might have a genuine anomaly.
You're right, Just Me, it is very interesting to see other's work. When I saw the 'blooming carrot' I thought it was a weed. But when I checked the base of the plant, it has a carrot on it. Or, at least I thought it was. Now you guys have me wondering. I hate to pull it up to make sure. Maybe I can just dig around it a little and see...... Thanks for sharing.
I just thought of something -- (I'm so intrigued with your blooming carrot.)
If you planted your carrots this year in the same spot as last year, or even close to the same spot, it's quite possible that at least one of them - a missed carrot left in the ground - made it through from last year.
It would have had to survive the winter, and the tiller. Both fairly easy tasks for a carrot. (Even a chopped up carrot only needs the top portion to start growing again.)
If one did survive, it would of course send up it's bloom stalk this year, and voila -- a blooming carrot!
Very cool. If it were my blooming carrot, I'd try to save the seeds. Could be fun!
That is a good idea, Just Me, but the carrot crop last year was on the other end of the garden. We did have some potatoes come up here and there where they were planted last year. But now that the plants have died down, I don't think I could find them to dig them up. So there may be even more come up here and there next year! And, yes, even though it is a first year carrot and the seeds may not be viable, I do plan to save the seeds, just in case. You never know. Thank you for sharing this idea.
No Fern, I haven't ever started Fall tomato slips - I usually get to keep them over the summer and I get another blooming late August, early September. In Florida, they always made it till frost in Dec/Jan but here frost might come as early as mid-October. One year we made it, one year I had a lot of full size green tomatoes. But they are good as pickles/relish or fried. Hubs was a southern boy & that was one thing his Momma made that he liked. I'd never heard of them (being originally a Yankee girl & from a non-gardening family), so she gave me her recipe. But jackie Clay of Backwoods Home Magazine & a few local gardeners have talked about it, so I'm going to try it - and my original plants are still going when it freezes, I'll cut some slips and bring them in for our few months of winter. As you've said before, the experimenting is such fun! Jan in NWGA
We are having the best corn crop this year we have ever had, but I can't really tell you why. I planted a new variety, Stowell's Evergreen, an open pollinated, white, sweet corn variety. One difference this year was my planting technique. I tend to plant corn way too close together trying to utilize all of our space. Corn doesn't particularly 
experience I thought this would be an okay place for the beans this year. They are growing well, just not producing any beans. I 'watered' them with some old milk a few times for the calcium. Next, I was thinking of putting on some wood ashes for the potassium. I'm glad we still have plenty of green beans we canned last summer. We'll just have to wait and see how they do.
For some reason, I have not figured out why, we also have the best potato crop ever this year. There are many more potatoes, and they are much larger. The only difference I can think of is that we set the tiller a little lower and got the soil loosened up a little deeper. I was able to hill them up twice before Frank's surgery and the weeds took over. Now that I have mowed down the grass, I am getting them dug up to make room for the fall crops.
What makes a carrot go to seed? From my reading, if a carrot goes to seed the first year it will not make good seed. Carrots are biennial, which means they need a 'winter' or a spell of cold weather to produce viable seed the second year. I am really surprised at the size of the seed stalk this carrot is producing, compared to the regular carrot greens, it is huge. I will still try to harvest the seeds from this plant and see how they do. I will plant them separately in seedling pots and see if they germinate just to learn something new.
I heard on the news last night that this was the best sweet corn crop Oklahoma has had in many, many years.
ReplyDeleteI've never cut the suckers off the tomato plants, I want more fruit! However this is the first year I've pruned my tomatoes too - I didn't know I was supposed to, but the last plant in the row had yellow leaves and my research said I should remove all the damaged leaves and should prune them anyway. I'm always learning!
We had more rain this year in Oklahoma and the temperatures have been cooler. Maybe that's what the corn liked. There were a couple of times I thought the corn died since it was laying over from strong winds, but it always managed to stand back up again.
DeleteIt is always interesting to hear how others take care of their gardens. Thank you for sharing.
Fern
I certainly agree gardening is a constant learning experience.
ReplyDeleteThis year my Contender green beans have grown well, produced many blossoms and very few beans. I've been growing this cultivar for the past 5 years here in SW FL and it's always done well - only difference I can see is we've had more rain.
For tomatoes I've never picked the suckers off - too many other things to do in the garden - and always had tremendous yields. Don't think I'll change that.
It's interesting to hear the difference in your bean crop. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, and most of the time we never figure out why. And from the sounds of things, I will forget picking off the tomato suckers. Another good lesson learned from comments. Thank you.
DeleteFern
Yahoo.....an onion tip that will sure help our onion crop. Ralph loves to plant things deep so they can get good roots...we have not had a successful onion crop here yet and now I know why! Every area has its quirks down to each garden having things that it "likes or Dislikes". Your garden looks wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad this onion tip can help you out, Fiona. I know I was very glad to learn the correct way to plant onions.
DeleteThank you for the compliment. You must like lots of grass and weeds in a garden. Well, I did try to take a picture that wouldn't show the worst of the weedy overgrowth. (-:
Fern
Thank you for posting this - it's very encouraging. We moved to Idaho from California this year and have planted our first real garden. It's been quite a learning experience.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome, and thank you for sharing, Karla. I find gardening to be a fascinating learning experience every year. Good luck with yours!
DeleteFern
Because of your earlier post on onions, I too have had the best onion crop EVER! I do sucker tomatoes, at least until it sets fruit, then I'm done with that. (Grew up working in tobacco, you had to top and sucker!) our green beans did not fair well this year, too little rain. Last year we had an abundance of rain and great beans. Our corn is the laughing stock of gardens, we could have cob salad, no corn, just cob, again no rain. I haven't tried to get seeds from my carrots, but with your info, I may try. I love reading y'all's blog and having friends with the same interest!
ReplyDeleteThat's great your onions turned out well, Kelly. I was so happy to figure out how to actually grow onions. It's too bad you didn't get enough rain for your green beans or corn to make. I'm glad you are enjoying your time here. Thank you for sharing.
DeleteFern
Thanks so much for your blog. I really enjoy following you. I am one who prunes my tomatoes. I do this in order to improve the air circulation. In my climate, tomatoes are prone to blight and the air circulation helps prevent the blight. I, too, learn something every year. This year I have been challenging myself to plant several crops - micro crops actually - of radish, carrot, lettuce and beets. My goal was to have fresh produce throughout the summer months. I did well on some and totally bombed on others. I ended up having to buy lettuce the last two weeks because I got the rotation and quantity wrong. But I am learning, that's the important thing. SJ in Vancouver BC Canada
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy hearing about others efforts at learning new things, SJ, so thank you for sharing. Your example of how to deal with blight in your climate is such an important thing to know. We all have different challenges that hinge solely on location, whether it is moisture, sunlight, pests, soil, or regulations. I also appreciate your example of setting a specific goal and learning from it.
DeleteWhen we lived in Alaska for eight years, we drove back and forth each summer, and always went through British Columbia. You live in a magnificently beautiful place, SJ.
Thank you again for sharing.
Fern
Here's another who never cuts suckers off her tomato plants. This week I'm going to see about starting new plants for fall from cuttings of the tomatoes I liked best this year. I may not need them since I usually can get my tomatoes babied enough over the summer to start up again in the fall. Still, I've got time to learn new things, so I'll try it. For trellising plants and making cages, I use 2 x 4 galvanized fencing - it lasts forever and with proper setting, will even hold up the cantelopes. For a cage, snip off the bottom row and you have built in stakes all the way around! This year my new garden is set along the chicken yard fence and I just laid 8-10' long strips from the garden row to the top of the 5' fence - cherry tomatoes, salad & pickling cukes, beans, etc., are climbing right up there. It gives a lightly shaded area along the fence for lettuce, too. Hoping Frank is doing well. Jan in NWGA
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your creative trellising techniques, Jan. It sounds like you are getting the most from the area you garden.
DeleteDo you usually start new fall tomato plants? I have always just let mine keep going until frost. I haven't heard of that technique.
Fern
Well, there is a use for large suckers. Here in NC you can break one off and stick in the ground,(with enough water), and grow. DH has some baby tomato plants that we will be putting in the ground soon.
DeleteI have never heard of this before, Kelly, but it does make sense. So you do this for a second crop? Thanks for sharing.
DeleteFern
Fern, this is my first comment, though I've been reading your and Frank's messages for weeks now. I have had a garden or two, but none where I currently live.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned finding a better way to grow onions, and I wanted to recommend a couple of youtube channels that give excellent advice (and show unusually bountiful results) with a large onion called Candy. Please check out webcajun and mhpgardener youtube channels regarding onions. They plant their onion seeds outside in the fall, then transplant them in the spring and get softball sized onions.
Also, mhpgardener grows nine foot tall tomato plants and two year old green pepper plants in a greenhouse he designed and built by himself. He grows the most beautiful tomatoes and peppers I've ever seen, and he makes it all seem quite easy to understand and accomplish. The advantage, of course, is that he extends his growing season by about three months per year, even without a mechanical heat source. That could really come in handy in difficult times.
I don't have any ties to mhpgardener other than greatly enjoying and learning from his videos.
My prayers continue for Frank's quick and thorough healing and your continued strength, courage and love in caring for your husband. Thank you both for your very interesting articles.
Hi Magnolia, and welcome to the blog. Thank you for sharing these resources with everyone. We can never have too many avenues to learn from. I will have to check out the one on the greenhouse, since we have one planned and waiting to be constructed.
DeleteThank you for your kind words and for the prayers, both are much appreciated. Thank you again for sharing.
Fern
Fern,
ReplyDeleteI have read that if you have Queen Anne's Lace in the area, which is a wild carrot,you cannot save the seeds from your garden carrots. They cross pollinate and revert to the wild state. I too am in Zone 7, though in North Alabama. Hope Frank is recuperating well!
Hmmm.....now I have to make sure I know what Queen Anne's Lace looks like. Thank you for teaching me yet another new thing. It's great. I just love to learn.
DeleteFrank is doing a little better each day. Thank you for your kind thoughts.
Fern
It's always so interesting to see how other people's gardens are growing.
ReplyDeleteFor years, I never pinched off tomato suckers, but always thought I was supposed to. This year I decided to do things "right", started pinching and almost immediately noticed fewer blossoms! I quit pinching right away. I hope I didn't stunt my crop too much.
Never knew that about the onions, but apparently I've been doing it right. My onions are always a bumper crop.
I wondered, too, if your blooming carrot is actually a Queen Annes Lace. The two plants above ground look so incredibly similar. If a QAL gets into my carrots, the only way I can tell is if the QAL blooms, because carrots won't their first year. But I don't know if QAL grows in your neck of the woods. You might have a genuine anomaly.
Just Me
You're right, Just Me, it is very interesting to see other's work. When I saw the 'blooming carrot' I thought it was a weed. But when I checked the base of the plant, it has a carrot on it. Or, at least I thought it was. Now you guys have me wondering. I hate to pull it up to make sure. Maybe I can just dig around it a little and see...... Thanks for sharing.
DeleteFern
I just thought of something -- (I'm so intrigued with your blooming carrot.)
ReplyDeleteIf you planted your carrots this year in the same spot as last year, or even close to the same spot, it's quite possible that at least one of them - a missed carrot left in the ground - made it through from last year.
It would have had to survive the winter, and the tiller. Both fairly easy tasks for a carrot. (Even a chopped up carrot only needs the top portion to start growing again.)
If one did survive, it would of course send up it's bloom stalk this year, and voila -- a blooming carrot!
Very cool. If it were my blooming carrot, I'd try to save the seeds. Could be fun!
Just Me
That is a good idea, Just Me, but the carrot crop last year was on the other end of the garden. We did have some potatoes come up here and there where they were planted last year. But now that the plants have died down, I don't think I could find them to dig them up. So there may be even more come up here and there next year! And, yes, even though it is a first year carrot and the seeds may not be viable, I do plan to save the seeds, just in case. You never know. Thank you for sharing this idea.
DeleteFern
No Fern, I haven't ever started Fall tomato slips - I usually get to keep them over the summer and I get another blooming late August, early September. In Florida, they always made it till frost in Dec/Jan but here frost might come as early as mid-October. One year we made it, one year I had a lot of full size green tomatoes. But they are good as pickles/relish or fried. Hubs was a southern boy & that was one thing his Momma made that he liked. I'd never heard of them (being originally a Yankee girl & from a non-gardening family), so she gave me her recipe. But jackie Clay of Backwoods Home Magazine & a few local gardeners have talked about it, so I'm going to try it - and my original plants are still going when it freezes, I'll cut some slips and bring them in for our few months of winter. As you've said before, the experimenting is such fun! Jan in NWGA
ReplyDeleteFrank really likes fried green tomatoes, Jan. It's the first kind of tomato we eat each summer. You should definitely try them. Enjoy!
DeleteFern