What's growing? The garden thread.

[BigTurk]

We’re trying a straw bale garden. Amazing the amount of heat inside the bales after conditioning them

Home - Straw Bale Garden Shop

Just like the Garden you dream about Welcome to the Straw Bale Garden Shop Your #1 Source for Straw Bale Gardening Success! Shop Now No Soil Introduced Perfect for patios, balconies, or rocky terrain. Eco-Friendly & Sustainable A greener way to grow fresh food. Accelerated Natural Decomposition...

strawbalegardenshop.com

I am intrigued and would be interested in pictures as the year progresses.

 

[cowgirl836]

Zone 5A. I planted different lettuces and spinach on April 8. I usually harvest early (cut and come again) and don't wait for heads to form. I've got a lot of greens to eat...doing really well this past week. I planted onions mid April and just planted my tomatoes two days ago.

Speaking of tomatoes what is the best way to plant them? I trimmed off most of the branches and buried them pretty deep but a good six inches of the plant still remained above ground. The tag in the pot said only leave 1 inch exposed. I thought that was weird. I didn't plant them for about 10 days after I bought them and they did grow a lot from when I brought them home. Perhaps those were directions for when the plant is very small.

Not sure what else I am planting this year. I have no luck with melons though my son wants me to plant them every year. I may try some winter squash and sunflowers (for aesthetics). Last year a storm came through and flattened all my onions so I harvested them early July. Hopefully they can stay upright a bit longer this year. I am looking for something else to plant that the family will like. They are picky.

I just watched insta stories from my indie grower on this topic last night! She lays her tomatoes out on their side the night before (need to be in fairly small containers for this to work) and trenches them. I'd never heard of it before but I may try it - here's an article that explains it better than what I was trying to type.

Planting Tomatoes Sideways: How Growing in a Trench Results in Bigger Healthier Plants - Garden Betty

Here's a trick that seasoned gardeners have in their bag: If your tomatoes are too tall, plant them sideways in a trench to save your back from digging!

www.gardenbetty.com

 

[BigTurk]

I just watched insta stories from my indie grower on this topic last night! She lays her tomatoes out on their side the night before (need to be in fairly small containers for this to work) and trenches them. I'd never heard of it before but I may try it - here's an article that explains it better than what I was trying to type.

Planting Tomatoes Sideways: How Growing in a Trench Results in Bigger Healthier Plants - Garden Betty

Here's a trick that seasoned gardeners have in their bag: If your tomatoes are too tall, plant them sideways in a trench to save your back from digging!

www.gardenbetty.com

My car share partner was telling me about planting tomatoes sideways. Maybe that is a University of Iowa thing?

 

[cowgirl836]

My car share partner was telling me about planting tomatoes sideways. Maybe that is a University of Iowa thing?

pretty sure this person is a UW grad so maybe it's a B1G thing

 

[Sparkplug]

I make my own seed tapes. Use single ply paper towels, “paint” on paste made with flour, add seeds and cover with soil. Much easier than getting down on the ground and messing with the tiny seeds

 

[BCClone]

Planted the wife’s tomatoes and peppers. Best start they’ve had in awhile. Wife never had a garden growing up.

 

[cowgirl836]

Got our tomatoes and peppers in...first set of green beans too. I try to do something new each year...technically no new plants this year but trying new varieties so I hope that counts. Tomatoes - Black Krim, Paul Robeson, San Marzano, cosmic sunset. Oh I suppose the red Lettuce counts as new! Eating some Spinach and arugula this week.

 

[RLD4ISU]

We’re trying a straw bale garden. Amazing the amount of heat inside the bales after conditioning them

Home - Straw Bale Garden Shop

Just like the Garden you dream about Welcome to the Straw Bale Garden Shop Your #1 Source for Straw Bale Gardening Success! Shop Now No Soil Introduced Perfect for patios, balconies, or rocky terrain. Eco-Friendly & Sustainable A greener way to grow fresh food. Accelerated Natural Decomposition...

strawbalegardenshop.com

Not surprised. I remember my dad going in the barn to check the stored hay & straw and talk of barn fires happening. And a few times the local fire department would get called out to a (round) bale fire.

 

[clone4life82]

Not surprised. I remember my dad going in the barn to check the stored hay & straw and talk of barn fires happening. And a few times the local fire department would get called out to a (round) bale fire.

Work at a place that had a Morton style hay storage building burn down a few years back because people put wet hay bales in and they internally combusted.