2010 MA Vegetable Gardens

Share your vegetable gardens. What are you planting and how is everything doing.

Sugar Snap peas are up in my garden, can't wait for the first pea pod. I know it will not even make it into the house. LOL

Ladyg, Our Veggie Garden is looking pretty good this year. The entire area has been cleared. Last fall we finished cleaning out the last wild area down by the corral fence. Can't get over how good it looks and now we can put all the energy we put into reclaiming it into the Veggies. The Asparagus is coming up and Ric dug up the horse radish and divided it. We will have some for the swaps, too. He planted peas and lettuce. We are doing the onions a bit different this year. He picked up a couple more plastic drums and is going to plant his potatoes in them again like he did last year.

Peas lettuce radishes spinach mustard garlicchives potatos all looking good.
Asparagus- not looking good. Beetles are on it as soon as it appears.
Peppers basil and tomatos seedlings just up.
Wow I shouldn't wait too long to start cucumbers inside.

I tend to do little amounts of many things.

Holly, I would think the soil will be excellent in that spot, are you composting the chicken coop beding and chickiepoo? I got a planting bag for potatoes from Gardeners Supply but planted parsnips in it instead. They turned out pretty good, this year I adding fertizer to the old potting mix in the bag and planting more parsnip seeds. I think I'll do part carrots and parsnips in another bag.

Sally, I keep my veggie garden small too. As I am the veggie eater and Paul could care less, M&P guy.

I have the book "Carrots Love Tomatoes" by Louise Riotte, for companion planting. Try growing tomatoes next to your Asparagus... however I don't think that will help now.

It also said not to plant peas near Glad Bulbs, and guess what....last year I had part of the pea fence near some old Glads and those pea seeds hardly sprouted. I was going to do a row of bunching onion seeds next to the peas this year but....peas don't like onions. (unless they are in a cream sauce), so carrots, radishes will go next to the peas.

This message was edited Apr 10, 2010 10:00 PM

Nothing is in the ground yet--anywhere. I did amend and dig up my Tomato bed today. Ready to plant whenever the weather settles down.
Hauled all my up-potted tomatoes. etc back inside....They are pretty big! Anywhere from 5"-10" tall. Can't raise my lights much higher!

I am growing 3 Mexican Tomatillos. Holy cow! They are a foot tall--with long stems. Never grew them before--so i don't know if this is normal? Jill--didn't you grow them?

Here's the tray of goodies destined for my Manager....He's getting 6 tomatoes (2 of each), 4 Daturas (2 of each) and 6 Italian Basils.

Off to bed! I start my stint in Garden tomorrow at work.....Gita

This winter I used straw in the chickies pen to help keep them out of the mud. Ric used the straw from the chickies pen to mulch the Asparagus bed. He fertilized it and checked the PH, too. We will see how it does.
I was reading last year about growing onions. We plant our onions deep to get nice spring onions. Then we just leave those that never got eaten in and harvest them later. We get a few nice onions but nothing really large. So this year we planted two rows of onions. The back row is planted very shallow and the front row deep. It will be interesting to see what kind of onion crop we get.

My dad had a good sized chicken coop, with an outside run. He would clean out the coop and add everything into the compost pile outside the run. When he turned the pile even in the winter the steam would just rise out one the pile, and it smelled so good and earthy. When it was all "cooked" he would spread it on the veggie garden. Mom would sneek some for her flower bed too.

I was going to go for the onion sets but bought seeds instead, might still get some sets from the feed mill at the end of our street. Sometimes they have chicks and ducklings waiting for the local farmers to pick up. We can't have them in town, but they are cute to look at.

I have a chicken farm near me and they bag up their used bedding and sell it. geez! A couple years ago--it was $3 for the big, black trash-bag full. last year--it was $6.

Anyway--I always worry about using chicken poo as it is supposed to very high in N.
Aside from that--I really do not need that much....Maybe next year???

Gita, you have to age it. If it is to fresh it will burn your plants. It will "heat'' up inactive compost and get it cooking.

Gita, I don't think my tomatillos have ever grown larger than my tomato plants, about the same even as seedlings. Maybe you have a mutant gigantic variety!

Yes, it's definitely time to come up with an excuse to stop by Southern States and see the chicks!

I love the chickies too!! Ours now has a do not touch sign, boo hoo.
~
I actually plan to plant tomatoes near the asparagus as it so happens. And I just read that if the spears are thin and tough, put more dirt/ compost over the roots. I think my pH is too acid too.

I have some asparagus to plant also (bought some 'Purple Passion' crowns), and I'm thinking of putting it down the center of a bed that will have tomatoes along the back side and something short (to be determined.. probably basil this year) in front.

:-)

And remember to leave space where you can get to the tomatoes with those five foottall asparagus fronds there all summer! Oh I love/ hate my asparagus--The beetles are outrageous, and I am reluctant to devote all that space and effort to one crop, if the beetles may come and eat it up. I do have wasps go a-huntin' in the asparagus for the grubs I assume. I also just read a recommendation for fifty crowns for a family! At that rate I may start from seed. My first attempt started out ok with half a pack of twenty five roots from Southern States. Then the beetles found me.

The C♥T Book says Basil is a good choice, also Parsley.

Sally the book also says that if the beetles are in a large number they will attract their natural predators. I was just thinking maybe home made insecital soap might be helpful now.

This message was edited Apr 11, 2010 5:50 PM

Just found this link http://www.gardengatemagazine.com/extras/50asparagusbeetle.php

Jill--

Here are my 3 Tomatillo seedlings.....
I got the seed from some Tomatillos the woman at work gave me. I always try to save seeds from things i eat--if i want to try and grow them....

These had ALl the same treatment, and light exposure under my seed set-up as everything else.
I transplanted them, just like my regular tomatoes, into 4" pots, etc...Everything the same......Then--LOOK at them!

I have not seen Susan (the woman at work) to show her pictures of these. Tuesday.....

I guess I will plant them and see what happens....They are NOT Tomatoes--you do know that?
Susan said they grow pretty bushy and large....I don't even think they taste all that great....
Would love to try the Pineapple Tomatillo!

Gita

Yes, I do know they're not tomatoes. They're totally different looking, with the fruits in those papery little husks.

My pineapple tomatillos didn't sprout! grrrrrrrr Must look for some more seeds in my stash.. I was trying to start some short dwarf type ones from commercial seed.

Great asparagus beetle article ladyg- thanks. My new plan (as of this am, changed from last night LOL) is to fix up the bed this fall really well, and get new asparagus next spring. Or maybe (LOL) it is to get seed now so I can plant my babies there next spring.

Has anyone dared to plant their Tomatoes yet? I am SOOOO tempted! Mine are pretty big!
I will try to hold out till the last week in April.....

Meanwhile it will be....Carry in.....Carry out.....Carry in....Carry out.....

So hard......G.

We haven't had any Asparagus beetles (knock on wood). Actually the old asparagus bed was what got me moving on the garden clean up a few years ago. It was dying back and I realized that if we didn't weed and feed it I would lose it.
BTW we had fresh Asparagus last night for diner.

WO HOO I got asparagus seed for two bucks yesterday. My plan is a 'go': will have tomatoes in that spot for the summer, and start baby asp from seed too. in the fall get as much manure, etc as I can. Next year turn the area into big asp bed. The store had roots for 17 bucks a bundle (25) but I know I need to amend the bed well if I want good results. Asp should be easy to maintain after that.
My tomatoes are tiny babies--the store had huge ones ready to go. Oh well. They'll grow fast. THye sure wouldn't have liked the other very chilly night here.

Ric painted his potato barrels the other day. I think they will look nicer than the black, grey and blue mix he had. I was thinking some nice bright color. But he had something different in mind. Oh well at least they all look the same. LOL
Our onions are looking real good and the peas are coming up. This rainy day will be good for the garden.

Way to go Sally ! Can't wait to hear about your progress.

Now that is one way to discourage the potato bugs, Camouflage.

...and--IF Ric wears his fatigues--and is gardening near these barrels----you will never find him! :o)

LOL
Gita, there is a new thread asking ?? about Cilivias.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1087672/

Holly--I went there and 'did my thing"....:o)

Gita

Holly,

What barrels??? LOL