Cantaloupe beds are ready for planting It took all day today to install the lattice & underground watering setup. The 6 cantaloupe plants end up being 22" apart in each row. The usual 3 small leaks on the PVC piping, same locations as last year. *Who else here have any gardening updates for this upcoming season.
Thanks Brian. I rototilled into the Ambrosia Cantaloupe beds 1.5 CF of (compressed) compost. Little did I know that this bail had cutworm eggs in it & I found out after planting the early 6 Cantaloupe plants that the cutworms were hungry & wiped out the whole row. My brother wanted to grow the same type as me & had 3 packets of seed, he gave me one which had 25 seed in it, enough for 2 rows here (I start 2 seed each per cup). This time 2 weeks before transplanting the seedlings I sprinkled Corn Meal + BT (biological worm defense) every week & after transplanting I dusted the plants & protective cups w Diatomaceous Earth (they don’t like crawling over that). 3 weeks in they are doing fine. I treated & planted the late Cantaloupe the same way a couple of days ago, so far no cutworm attacks yet. -- The Fig tree is loaded again w/ average large figs & 3-6 ripening every day. This AM I heard a rustlings & loud strange noises coming from the Orange tree which is next to the fig so I walked over clapping my hands, that got 2 large Squirrels going & they exited the Orange & climbed up the neighbors Yucca & started humping each other, I got the camera & snapped them separated but still on the Yucca. (attached) -- I unnetted the Turnips & put the fake Owl out to keep the birds away for a while. (attached) -- How are all you friends spring & summer fruit trees & gardens doing so far this season.
i had to hack off a large part of my fig tree last year it had a ton of figs but i couldnt get at very many i let the tree get to big (about 35 ft high) and so many leaves you couldnt see any figs. this year its only about 9 ft tall and i can see about 12-18 figs and a lot of lower branches forming that will be good for next year, the apple and pear trees are looking good with plenty of fruit on both i see im going to have a bunch of razzberries and strawberries, vegies are all doing well now cucumbers were a bit slow asparigus is about finished as you can tell im retired otherwise i couldnt do as much in the garden
Sadly the Cantaloupe were attacked by Cut Worms & didn't get a fair chance so I ended w/ only 5 good ones vs 53 in 2020. The Nematodes were on the bush bean roots in 1/2 the row, I'll treat (all over) again this winter w/ the Beneficial Nematodes, hopefully they will attack the Cut Worm eggs too. The Fig did pretty well last summer & the Fuyu Persimmons did well again. -- I am prepping the 2 volunteer tomato beds w/ the usual treatments + 1 CF of Steer Manure (each) that's been sitting there for almost a year. -- Varmints & pests are again back as every year. I especially don't like large spiders when they get on me. Oh ya, I'm going to order seed soon & this year instead of sweet corn will plant a 10 foot row of (gourmet Mexican) Purple Tomatillo Seed (a GF request).
i had a little problem with my pears (to many) and the tree started leaning over i had to brace it with 2x4's . as far as my fig tree i had to cut it back again it got over 35 ft tall and it had so many leaves i couldnt get at half the figs . my raspberries did great again i have red and golden about 50 ft of them so when i got done picking i let the Neighbors pick them. also did well on the concord grapes . my beefsteak tomatos didnt fare well but the cherry tomato's did good and the peppers were ok, still getting potato's, had quit a few asparagus more then i needed. strange thing little mini white pumpkins started growing on their own LOL i think the critters are planting things in the yard. garlic oregano onions did ok as you can tell im retired and like to work in the garden .
If that spider got on me, I'd freak out. Even that photo creeps me out. Spoiler: reaction I'd probably have, lol
@ PointZero - Very funny video, I had to watch it again -- Its been awhile. Starting to gear-up for the spring planting w/ some seedlings sprouting. The Orange tree produced very well this year starting around January & still has around 100 left The early Figs are growing fast, SB ready to pick mid June. Yesterday I picked a HUGE Mutant Navel Orange (attached) that I spotted a couple days ago, had it for lunch today... delicious
Been awhile, I hope all here are enjoying their gardens & staying well. -- Here is an update: I have all my crops planted & most are growing strong, the SA Cucumbers are taking over about 1/4 of the garden area, Bush Beans, Parsley & Purple Tomatillos have strong growth. The 8 Tomato plants are cranking out the tomatoes & Elephant Garlic is getting ready to be dug up. Problem w/ the Ambrosia Cantaloupe as they got a case of Downey Mildew which I treated w/ a organic spray that slowed it down. The Early Figs are eaten & expecting a larger crop of the late figs next month. I did give the Fig Tree a flat top @ 7’ which makes picking them a lot easier. -- I have seen around 6-7 Lizard nests & I mark them so they don’t get stepped on or destroyed. This AM 2 lizards were enjoying each other’s company (attached) The male is sure skinnier than the female.
i trimmed my figs last year and cut about 8-10 feet off because of to many leaves and hardly no figs this year there are figs all over i already picked a bunch of raspberry's for jelly red and golden the strawberries are doing ok we will make strasberries jelly with them i cant even give away strawberry plants LOL. the pears are just starting to get bigger i haven't seen any apples on that tree yet, acorn squash and zucchini are looking good, miniature white pumpkins are also doing good i got lots of blooms on the cucumbers . ive got a good dehydrator for the figs and berries that i put in my breakfast oh and there is a ton of blueberries on the plants there just not quite ripe yet its a good thing im retired or i wouldn't have enough time for this LOL
Hi fellow gardeners The backyard garden here is starting to wind down w/ around 10 SA Cucumbers left (picked 45 & I ate 14 myself), 20-24 Cantaloupe ripening in the coming weeks. Figs producing but being attacked by birds, fruit flies & those bomber green flying bugs. Still a few tomatoes that the Racoons left me, luckily it appears they will come back to finish the tomato they started on the night before. The South African person who gave me the Cucumber seed took 9 off my hands (luckily) w/ some seed.
Garden is about done. Still a few Tomato plants, Parsley & around 8 Cantaloupe on the vines. -- I've noticed the Tomato worms are having a feast on the Tomato leaves. Yesterday & today I found scooter likes to snack on them.
picked about 20-25 figs today they were really sweet first picking trimming the tree down last year really helped the crop this year. i haven't had any problems with racoons on my tomatoes and the tomatoes grow wild in the ditch in front of the house. i made bread and butter pickles this year already and zucchini bread (the wife did) . i didnt get to many apples this year. im waiting on the grapes to ripen and the pears, the acorn squash is about ready i think a couple of the plants cross bread because they are yellow and the others are green, i also have miniature white pumpkins (came back from last year and i never planted them and dont know where they came from), my asparagus ferns are about 8-9 feet tall now i picked all i needed then just let them grow and the dam birds are eating the berries and pooping seeds all over the place i now have them coming up in my razzberries !
Pretty nice. I just have a small container garden where I'm trying to grow some slightly obscure medicinal herbs. I've been growing St. John's Wort and European Vervain (the North American Blue Vervain is weaker) and just today I planted some Lemon Balm so that the last snows will cold rectify the seeds (hopefully) and they'll be ready for an early start.
Last week I picked the 1st early fig (attached), then on Friday 2 more. This spring the Fig Tree has about 2x the leaves on it, thinking maybe because of all the rain here? -- Instead of the Tomatillos, this year I’m trying my hand at Crimson Sweet Watermelon. I planted 2 hills w/ 5 seed each & a grub or something killed 5 of the seedlings ☹ -- Yesterday I was watering & found a interesting spider below where the drip system hooks up (attached).