2015 Garden thread

a reply to: InTheLight

Haha, oops.
The milk weed is nice for the butterflies!

a reply to: MamaShredAK

It's so nice to be able to step outside and shop for dinner! Especially with our prices for the the good organic produce up here. We get so much light in the summer time that it makes up for our short season for things. The brassicas usually do great up here too, broccoli, cabbage and all of their cousins. I am having a hard time getting enough season for onions but most of the other root crops work great. We plant our potatoes in stacks of tires and just push them over to harvest in the fall.

The peas, carrots, lettuce and asparagus do great up here! Let me know how the sweet potatoes and artichokes work out for you. I think the artichoke might even be a biennial who needs to be protected for a winter to mature in its second year. I could be wrong though. I would love to grow both, good luck!!

a reply to: MystikMushroom

My biggest issue with the peppers has always been the aphids in previous years. I think it was about five years ago they were so bad across the state, everybody lost crops of some kind to them it seemed.
Last year was my best year to date for them. I started them early with my tomatoes under the full spectrum light. I transplanted several of them into a 30 gallon barrel split down the side. They got rough dirt, half of it was reused. They lived just inside the door of my greenhouse and produced dozens of peppers. I even got to pickle up some of my banana peppers. I still have some dried serranos in my kitchen too. I got lucky. I think they liked the open door. They really were happy last year, but it was also a hot summer. The rest of the gardens actually lagged a bit because of the smoke damage except for the greenhouse and the root crops. I probably harvest 25 pounds of carrots last year. My turnips and potatoes did great as well as my peas. It was my brassicas that suffered the most.

a reply to: woodsmom

That seems like a good idea with the potatoes! Can you explain how to do that? I would love to try! It is so nice being able to pick dinner from the garden , the price of everything up here hurts ! Haha

a reply to: MamaShredAK

My sister does this. Basically you pile up a bunch of tires and fill it with soil. That way, you just knock the tower-o-tires over to harvest. It's fun and easy!

I wonder how fast the garden supply stores up here in Alaska are going to sell out of supplies, all things considered...

a reply to: MamaShredAK

We stack two tires and fill them with dirt. We plant the potatoes on that layer and add a third tire on top. A bit later in the season we add dirt to the third tire, and it increases the yield.

We get free dead tires from a local tire place they have a few conex trailers full outside. I'm asking my husband which place, it's not not Johnsons though, sorry.


It's Alyeska tire.

originally posted by: woodsmom
a reply to: InTheLight

Haha, oops.
The milk weed is nice for the butterflies!

Let's hope so, because over the last few years I've not seen many.

Awesome thank you !
a reply to: woodsmom

a reply to: MamaShredAK

Any time!
Feel free to get ahold of me with any questions. My gardens are my favorite place in the summer and I will help any way I can!

a reply to: MystikMushroom

It's probably the photoperiod that's screwing up the peppers where you live. I would research early maturing peppers. They may get around the photoperiod issue. The hot peppers are you buying cuttings/plants or germinating from seed. There are a few tricks for germination from seed that may help.

None of the pics are of my actual patio. But heres what I got going on.
As for me. I needed some sort of escape when I get home and only have a patio garden. But I have a happy blood banana. briansbotanicals.net...

Princessa Strain of Plumeria ( she's a real drama queen. She looses her flowers if the weather drops below 45 degrees at night. ) www.billmooreco.com...

A Celadine Plumeria (Super Fragrant esp. at night. Have a fan on my patio to blow the scent inside. Bloomed until December last year.
www.peterscholer.com...

The plumeria and blood palm I've worked with before. But this year I've brought in some Heliconia. Three of em. I had to research which heliconia would even bloom in Los Angeles. Apparently even LA is too far north for Heliconia. Narrowed it down to two breeds. Found only one. Hoping that they bloom this spring and summer. Really hoping this one blooms. s4.postimg.org...

As for ferts. I use a dollop of Fish Emulsion mixed with a dollop of Kelp Meal. Heavier on the Kelp than the fish. A few good dollops of B1 and depending on the plant a tinsy bit of high bloom. Per gallon once a month. Twice for the heliconia which feeds like crazy. Half the amount for the plumeria.

Also have some Hibiscus. Planning on putting in a red ginger or canna if I can find the room. Gotta leave some space for the weber.

microryza inoculation every beginning of spring.

a reply to: BASSPLYR

Beautiful! Thanks for the photos!
Plumeria is so gorgeous, in sight and smell.

I also live in Alaska, so I don't know if it would be the photo period for the peppers. I know I have never been able to grow morning glories up here because of it though. Maybe it's the amount of light received at the beginning of their growth cycle? Last year was the first year I used the full spectrum LED and it's been the only good crop I have ever had so far. It's just a thought.

a reply to: woodsmom

Here is the bamboo tree.


Small herb garden


Flowers.


My onions and garlic,which didn't do so good this year but I got some onion soup from it.


Also,I live in the heart of downtown in a major Canadian city so it is always work to get things going.
I have a great gardener though and that is not all my own work...we hit each other with ideas and go from there.

That's it. I'm ordering a new Aerogarden. I had such good success with my old one, I'd be stupid not to buy a new one. My friend used it for a while and didn't clean the pump out or replace the filter on it...it eventually ruined the motor and screwed up the electronics on it. I had that thing for like 4 years and it always produced way more basil, thyme, mint and dill than I could ever use. Fresh pesto!

a reply to: MystikMushroom

LEDs?? I say go for a 400 Watt Metal Halide and you'll have PLENTY of stuff to make pesto.

a reply to: MamaShredAK

You know, I do have saved veggie seed. Heirloom tomatoes and peas especially if you are interested.
PM me if you are, when you can.

a reply to: BASSPLYR

Well, I'm still not MystikMushroom, but the LEDs have been great as a starter light. It's so dark in February that I need something good to get a decent start. My husband also has a special interest in light bulbs, he's always replacing them to try and knock our electric bill down. That's why he went for the LEDs.

Besides, a metal halide is overkill under the circumstances.

I just read where I could use my SAD full light spectrum to help grow seedlings...bonus.

In case you don't know, the prescription for SAD and full-spectrum lights goes like this: sit underneath the light reading or doing some other activity for at least half an hour first thing every morning. The blue-light receptors in your eyes that have been implicated in affecting SAD are in the bottom of your retina, so it is important to position the light so that it is hitting your face at a 45 degree angle. If you put the light in an adjustable fixture, you can aim it at you in the morning, and then re-aim it at the plants for the rest of the day.

ask.metafilter.com...

a reply to: InTheLight

Thank you for that!
Ironically enough, I'm sitting in front of my SAD light right now!
I suspected that it is what killed my orchid who doesn't like direct sun. I think this confirmed it.
I think I will be rearranging some things today, haha, my house plants have to be loving it!

Morning ! i cant PM yet . i would totally be interested ! fhats so nice of you !

a reply to: woodsmom

a reply to: woodsmom

What you don't wanna pay an extra 75 bucks a month on your electric bill just to germinate seeds!!!!!

JK. The metal halide thing was a joke.

Actually LEDS are superior to fluorescent lights in my opinion. I know plenty of people that swear by them.

As far as getting around photo periods. Ever though about converting a room or a closet in to a grow chamber. I know it sounds like I'm going somewhere else with this, but seriously. Take a few aerogardens. throw them in a walk in closet or unused bathroom. Black out the windows and hang a heavy curtain in front of the door to block out stray light. Run the plants on a timer and don't disturb them when it's night time for them. Then you can perfectly control the photoperiod. Temp. Etc... the only issue would be lumens. If the aerogarden supplies plenty of light for small herbs and veggies then you should have a superior winter and early spring setup than a green house.

Also I've found B1 and microbes in the soil make a huge difference when it comes to shock from frosts and moderate. weather extremes.

a reply to: BASSPLYR

It's all good, I was only half joking. The LED is just great for doing it job without costing an arm and a leg.

That's a great idea to tweak the photoperiod. I'm going to remember that. I hadn't even thought to try and trick that one. I love the idea of the B1 too, thanks. Where do you find a B1 supplement for the garden? Any bit helps sometimes and that might extend my season just enough to pull off those onions. The microbes are hopefully happy! I love Jeff Lowenfels book Teaming With Microbes! I don't use any chemical salt fertilizers, it's all organic. I use rabbit and horse manure, compost and compost tea, worms, fish and kelp. I have also sought out organic pest and disease controls. Did you know cinnamon is supposed to work on molds and mildews? I'm testing that one this year.

I really do like my aero garden, I need to get it back up and running. It has sat quiet for a couple of years now. The spring has been showing up so early, for us, that I've been inspired to go outside instead. That combined with the LED might just end up being an awesome combo. I have been looking into building some hydroponics towers to supply greens through the winter. Throw in the aero garden with a couple of tomatoes and cukes and all of a sudden it is a nice salad. My little greenhouse is only for growing my tomatoes and any other warm weather lovers in the summer. It's not heated or lit.

Thanks for popping in! New tips and ideas are always helpful! It's just nice to talk with people who understand plants!