Garden Fairies To My Rescue

Keep Whining, It Works! I’ve been whining to to anyone what would listen for the past 2 months that I needed to spread and till sort-a compost into my garden plot.
Today I had to go to town this morning early. Got all my running around accomplished.
When I pulled in to my drive, Wow, the Garden Fairies had spread about a ton of cow and donkey manure mixed with longhorn cow bedding hay on my garden plot and had tilled it all in well.
That will be really helpful to prevent this tight clay soil from crusting over after I sprinkle or after a rain and preventing my garden seed pushing through the soil.

I really think it was my (SNL) Son-N-Law1.0 and my grandson. Big Grin … Maybe SNL felt guilty about all the time I invested in this winters Grain Drill restoration project. Now all I need do is a little raking and wait for the soil to warm to plant my summer garden.

If I can find the parts I bought last year, I still have enough time to assemble a drip irrigation system for this years garden plot. Considering my water supply I think a drip system is going to be a must have, worth while spring project.

It’s 8pm, 46 degrees, north wind at about 25mph and feels much colder than 46 degrees.
Time to got to Michelle L’s for my Saturday visit with my daughter, SNL, grandson, grand daughter and great grand son.

Happy gardening.

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Test Your Garden Soil – Acid Or Alkali?

pH meter

I don’t know that this little DIY soil test is at all useful. I don’t know anyone that is going to make any real effort to change the pH of their garden soil, but here it is. Stumbled on this, it’s a easy fast cheap soil test for Acid or Alkali soils. Easy DIY – How To Test Soil Acidity/Alkalinity without a Test Kit, Source: About.com *Find out if your soil is acidic or alkaline without a pricey test kit.
** Scoop some soil into a container. Then, add a half-cup of vinegar. If the soil bubbles or fizzes, it’s alkaline.
** If there’s no reaction, scoop a fresh soil sample into a second container. Add a half-cup of water and mix. Then, add a half-cup of baking soda. If the soil bubbles or fizzes the soil is highly acidic.
DIY Amend your soil with chicken manure, wood ash or lime, if it’s acidic.
DIY Amend your soil with sulfur, use no more than 2 pounds per 100 square feet of garden soil or use pine needles, if it’s alkaline.

I have found over the years that unless your soil is on the extreme acid or extreme alkaline end of the scale, most plants will adapt and do fairly well in you unamended garden soil.

Low fertility soil that is lacking in nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium that are vital for healthy plants. Add organic matter or inorganic fertilizer. Organic matter can include anything from compost to bone meal to lawn clippings, depending on your specific needs.
Inorganic fertilizer is inexpensive and works quickly, but instead of actually amending the soil, it simply feeds existing plants and must be reapplied 2 or 3 times during the growing season.

Whether you are using organic, DIY self compost or commercial fertilizer, *Remember, a little goes a long way. Better to apply/reapply 2 or 3 times during the growing season than to over do at spring planting time.

Dealing with heavy clay soils is a long term process that will require a great deal of humus (compost) to be tilled into your garden soil. 3 or more inches of compost tilled into your garden soil in the spring and again in the fall will over time turn your clay soil into a wonderful rich garden soil. This process is a never ending process, but will require less compost and become easier after the first 3 or 4 years of amending your clay garden soil.

I see and hear of people recommending that you add sand to clay soils as an amendment. DO NOT DO THAT! Clay soil and sand mixture is a great recipe for making adobe brick. Instead add large quantities of humus (compost) 3 or 4 inches deep tilled into your garden two times a year, this will over time as the compost mixes and continues to break down change clay soil to a wonderful garden soil.

The next best thing to amending your clay soil is to think small and build and garden in small raised beds filled with purchased top soil and compost.. Raised beds is a good option for the small scale backyard gardener but is not a viable option for larger scale farmers cultivating many acres.

Square Foot, Raised Bed Gardens Verses Direct Soil Planting
You may find this old posting useful in deciding what gardening method is best for you and your backyard arrangement.

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Finish Your Winter Projects Before Spring Arrives! – Drink Coffee – Live For Ever?

Source Hedge trimming: tips for keeping your hedge in perfect shape

I generally post mostly about growing and harvesting fresh fruits and vegetables from your backyard orchards and gardens. However I do know that some gardeners like and have hedges. Grin … As you can see some people have much more time and talent than I do. Maybe if I had that much talent I would like hedges better.

February is the perfect time to give your hedges a tidy before the arrival of spring.

• Cut from the bottom of the hedge upwards, using the lower section of the shears, not the tip (that is what causes dig-in, or a pockmarked finish on the hedge). The tip is generally used later on in the cutting or on topiary.

• Try to put what’s known as a “batter” on the hedge with a slight taper to the top (like building a dry stone wall). This gives stability and stops the hedge collapsing under snow. It’s better if you do this a little bit each time you trim.

• When cutting by hand you can easily spot problems and deal with them. Straight lines, the sides and the tops have to be straight. It’s done by eye although some gardeners like to put up a string line, and that’s a good idea. Anchors it with bamboo stakes and cut just above the line.

Source How to build your own greenhouse from scrap
Emmeline and her partner, Shane, have just built their own greenhouse for £100 ($160.00 USD) and, in my view, it looks better than many that cost a lot more. The vast majority of materials came out of construction dumpsters and, as Emmeline points out, there is quite an art to “dumpster diving”. Some people, understandably, get a bit nervous when you knock on their door and ask to rummage through their dumpster, but Shane targets builders and politely asks them, “If you are throwing that out, can I take it for you?”

In cooler wet growing conditions, Cold frames are a vital part of extending the cropping season. Many places cold frames are in use 12 months a year. Even in dismal summers, it dishes up buckets of basil, early courgettes and hardens off young cuttings and plants. Large jam jars and recycled large soda bottles can be reused for protecting young vegetable plants. A neat row of 10 identical jars can look quite chic. Or if you want to look more “high end” seek out some huge, end of run, large glass storage jars or simple shaped flower vases from pier1 and dollar stores.

Something to think about. a survey has revealed that over a fifth (21 per cent) of men flee to their sheds to avoid arguments with there loved ones. {Is a garden shed in the backyard better than a wife in the kitchen?}

A survey, released by woodcare products manfacturer Cuprinol, found that Britons are having a full blown love affair with the humble garden shed, with 65 per cent of Brits owning one. Almost half of respondents (49 per cent) said they would be “lost” without their garden sanctuary, with one in 10 (12 per cent) admitting they would rather spend time in their shed than with their families.

Six per cent declared that they loved their shed so much they would like to be buried there.
Previous research into sheds has suggested that owning one may provide valuable health benefits. A study at Leeds Metropolitan University in 2011 found that pottering around in a shed could relieve stress, lowering blood pressure, and even boost self confidence. This survey was released to tie in with the 2013 Shed of the Year competition, which is sponsored by Cuprinol. Shedowners can nominate their sheds at http://www.readersheds.co.uk until May 3.

Source Drinking Coffee Helps You Live Longer Drinking coffee can not only boost your energy but also your longevity. That’s the key finding of a new federal health study of nearly a half-million coffee drinkers that found those who regularly enjoy a cup of java live longer than those who don’t.

The National Institutes of Health study, published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine, indicated that caffeinated and decaf coffee drinkers were less likely to die from heart disease, respiratory disease, stroke, injuries and accidents, diabetes, and infections.

In an interview published this week in the Journal of Caffeine Research, Neal Freedman — with the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics at the NIH National Cancer Institute said “his study is among the most comprehensive to date of the health benefits of coffee and has significant implications for java junkies”. Researchers tracked 500,000 U.S. men and women ages 50 to 71, all members of the American Association of Retired Persons for about 12 years.
Not only did the results show a clear association between coffee and longevity, Freedman said, but they also indicated people who drank the most coffee tended to have greatest health benefits.

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Spring/Summer Gardening – A Stroll Down Memory Lane

Looking at some of my past postings I discovered some that you may or may not find interesting to read again, or maybe read for the first time.

The links (URL’s) are not in any preferred order. I just listed them as I stumbled upon them and though they may be of interest to Spring time gardeners.

Gardening – Food, Fun And Profit – An Honored American Tradition

Salad Greens – It’s Not What You Think!

Garden Fresh, Green, Orange, Purple, Red, Yellow Stuff

Early Spring – Late Summer Planting Is Best For Leafed Salad Greens

Garden Planting By Moon Phase

(ZeroScape) Landscape Water Conservation… Xeriscape™

Plant Your Summer Garden In March – DIY Mini-Green House

DIY – Grow Sweet Potato’s – Not Yams

Your First Vegetable Garden – Almost Fail Proof – Root Crops 101

Asparagus Not Just For The Rich And Famous or Plant once for years of fine dinning.

Brussels Sprouts – Plant, Grow, Eat – It’s Just That Simple

Broccoli – Hate It? Blame President George H.W. Bush

Leeks a gourmet vegetable

Onions – Planting To Your Dinning Table

Potato’s Are Planted – What Could Go Wrong Now?

Tomato’s – Determinate -Indeterminate – Heirloom – Hybrid With Compost On The Side

Tomato Growing – A Crash Course – Tomato’s 101

Thyme – Now Is The Time For Planting Herbs

Herbs! Some Like Hot And Dry

Herbs Make Common – A Special Gourmet Meal

Vegetables – Baby’s Challenge Adults!

DIY – Fresh Picked Berry Or Fruit Cordial

DIY – How To Poison Your Family With Supermarket Foods – It’s Fast And Easy

Tiny Farm – It’s Hummingbird Season

Wash Your Vegetable Garden For Safe And Easy Insect Control

Vermicomposting: Composting Kitchen Waste With Worms

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Organic Grown, Nutritionally No Better Than Commercially Grown Vegetables

Put your clubs, hatches, spears, pitchforks and knifes away! Don’t kill the messenger!
UK Study Finds – Organic grown vegetables ‘has no nutritional health benefits’

Please Note that this study only looked at nutritional value of Organic verses Commercially grown vegetables. This study does not mean that people should not eat organic food. What it does shows is that there is little, if any, nutritional difference between organic and conventionally produced food and that there is no provable evidence of additional health benefits from eating organic food. This study is neither pro nor anti organic food and recognized there were many reasons why people choose to eat organic, including animal welfare or environmental concerns.

UK researchers said “our review indicates that there is currently no evidence to support the selection of organically over conventionally produced foods on the basis of nutritional superiority”. He added that better quality studies were needed.

Although the researchers said “that the differences between organic and non-organic food are not ‘important’, due to the relatively few studies, they report in their analysis that there are higher levels of beneficial nutrients in organic compared to non-organic foods.”
There is not sufficient research on the long term effects of pesticides on human health researchers added. Overall the report, which is published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found no differences in most nutrients in organically or conventionally grown crops, including vitamin C, calcium, and iron.

Spreading manure

Organic Gardening for your health? or Your Backyard Stinks!
Healthy plants are better able to survive insect and disease attacks.
Manure is the key to having a healthy Organic garden. Well composted manure does not smell bad if it has any smell at all. Fresh Manure should be applied before planting and be tilled into your garden soil before planting. This will eliminate any oder and act as a soil builder for your garden plot.

You should add and till fresh manure into your garden after your last harvest. This should be done in early fall through early spring months. The fresher the manure the earlier you should get it spread and tilled into your garden. As with any fertilizer more is not always better.

Too much nitrogen in your garden soil can cause lush over size plants with little or no fruit set. To little nitrogen can cause stunted small unhealthy plants. Phosphorus is important for flower and fruit formation and potash is helpful in root development and plant hardiness. The fertilizer industry uses a number rating system for rating the percentage of nitrogen{first number}, phosphorus{second number} and potash{third number} in fertilizers. Gardens need a fertilized with a medium first number like 10, higher middle number like 15 and a low third number like 5. Fertilized rated {10-15-5} is a good selection for most gardens.

How do manures rate? I have attached a chart to help you determine what manure best fits your gardens needs.

You may also wish to read one or more of the links I have provided.
University of Florida report: http://www.edis.ifas.ufl.edu/AA205
Manure Matters: http://www.plantea.com/manure.htm

I might add that there is 43,265 square feet in 1 acre. A garden plot 50 feet by 100 feet is only 5,000 square feet and the recommended application rate for gardens is only about 100 pounds per acre. A little go’s a long ways!

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A Weed Free, Well Kept Garden – A Sure Sign Of A Sick Mind!

While setting in a nice warm, dry place on these cold winter days, it is very easy to let your winter gardening plans over load your summer gardening time and abilities.

When you are considering raising a small poultry flock or a few rabbits, Don’t Forget they are an everyday commitment. They require feeding and watering ‘Everyday’. They don’t care if you have plans to go to the lake for the weekend, they still require you to tend to them ‘Everyday’. If your considering getting a milk goat or two, then you have committed yourself to being present twice a day, every morning and every evening to milk them. Not one time a day but two times a day and at about the same time two times everyday!!

Properly managed gardens require a great deal of your time and effort. Soil preparation begins as soon as the soil can be worked in early spring. The amount of time and effort expended is dependent on garden size and whether you will be using hand tools, garden fork, shovel to till the soil or if you have power tools such as a rototiller or garden tractor.

Have a plan. First decide what you ‘really’ want to grow. Grow what you like to eat! Don’t plant a long row or a raised bed full of cabbage if you only eat one head of cabbage every three months! My summer garden plan is a simple one. I plant what I like to eat fresh from my garden, with as little cooking as possible.
Cucumbers, bush goose neck squash, okra, bush tomato’s, peppers both hot and mild sweet bell pepper. I plant a few radishes, white, red and yellow onions and beets. Garlic was planted back in late October.
No zucchini, lettuce or other cool weather vegetables. Most cool weather vegetables do not do well here in our dry warm spring time weather and our hot dry weather summer gardens.

Crop planting. Do Not, I say again Do Not crowd your plants. Your big, empty garden can become crowded, over grown and untenable in a short time if you over plant and fail to follow planting recommendations listed on your seed packages. Lets start small and work up from there. First if you buy seed, follow planting dates, spacing and depth instruction on the package. Remember the 2-3-4 rule. Width of 2 fingers is about 1 – 1 1/4 inches, 3 fingers cover about 2 inches and 4 fingers will give you about 3 inches. This is an easy way to properly space seeds when planting. Small seeds are difficult to plant one at a time but it is worth the effort to do so.

Larger plants like pepper and egg plants need a minimum of 18 to 24 inches between plants, bush tomato’s require 36 inches minimum and vining tomato’s as much as 5 or 6 feet between plants even when staked or caged to allow easy access for harvesting and to allow for good air circulation. Cucumbers allowed to vine on the ground can take up as much as 8 feet of garden space for each vine. I think a better way to manage cucumbers is to grow them on a 5 foot or taller trellis. I purchased two 52 inch tall stock panels and use three T-post to support them. At end of season you can easily disassemble them and they require little space for winter storage.
Melon’s can easily take up to 10 or more feet of space. The real question is how large is your garden and is it really worth giving up that much space for a few melon’s?

Nice people are not good gardeners! You must be ruthless and unforgiving. Diseased and non-producing plants should be ripped out! Replant with something that requires a shorter growing season. By July you should be thinking about what plants need to be pulled up and developing your fall garden plans. Removal of used up plants is a good thing. It helps control the number of damaging garden insects and helps control spreading disease to healthy plants. Depending on your planting zone, you may need to start planting you fall garden by early to mid July or early August in warmer gardening zones.

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Onions By The Bag, Box Or Bunch – Now Is The time To Plant Onions

This post is way to long, I just couldn’t seem to find a place to stop.
Source Texas AgriLife Extension Service, Texas A&M System
Onion transplants and onion sets are arriving at home garden centers and farm stores. It is time to work your onion beds, adding fresh compost and a 0-10-0 (0-20-0) fertilizer. Then fertilizing monthly using 21-0-0 until harvest.

Tips for Successful Onion Growth
Onion plants are hardy and can withstand temperatures as low as 20 degrees F. They should be set out 4 to 6 weeks prior to the date of the last average spring freeze. When you obtain onion plants, they should be dry. Do not wet them or stick their roots in soil or water. Unpack your plants and store them in a cool, dry place until you plant them. Properly stored onion plants will last up to three weeks. Do not worry if the plants become dry. As soon as they are planted, they will quickly develop new roots and green tops.

Before obtaining your plants begin soil preparation. Onions are best grown on raised beds at least 4 inches high and 20 inches wide. Onions need a very fertile and well-balanced soil. Organic gardeners should work in rich finished compost, high in Nitrogen and Phosphorus with plentiful minerals. Spread lime if soil is too acidic. If using commercial fertilizer (10-20-10), make a trench in the top of the bed 4 inches deep, distribute one-half cup of the fertilizer per 10 linear feet of row. Cover the fertilizer with 2 inches of soil. Plant onion set 1 – 1 1/2 inches deep.

Nutritional Information
1 medium Raw onion contains:
60 Calories
1 gram Protein
14 grams Carbohydrates
0 Fat
0 Cholesterol
10 mg Sodium
200 mg Potassium
11.9 mg Vitamin C (20% of USRDA)

Onions are high in energy and water content. They are low in calories, and have a generous amount of B6, B1, and Folic acid. When a person eats at least 1/2 a raw onion a day, their good type HDL cholesterol goes up an average of 30%. Onions increase circulation, lower blood pressure, and prevent blood clotting. Eating Raw onion will directly effect the number of ‘Close’ friend you have!

Onions From Seed Are best planted Mid to late October. Seeds can be sown directly into the garden, covered with one-fourth inch of soil and should sprout within 7 – 10 days. If planted thickly, plants can be pulled and utilized as green onions or scallions for salads or fresh eating in 8-10 weeks.

Fertilization of onion plants is vital to success. Texas A&M research findings indicate that onion growth and yield can be greatly enhanced by banding phosphorus 2-3 inches below seed at planting time. Once established, onion plants should receive additional amounts of fertilizer (21-0-0 – Ammonium sulfate or Ammonium nitrate) as a side-dress application every month.

Care Of Transplant Instructions When you receive live plants, they should be planted as soon as possible. Should conditions exist that make you unable to plant these plants right away, remove the onion plants from the box and spread them out in a cool, dry area.

Planting Set plants out approximately one inch deep with a four inch spacing. On the raised bed, set two rows on each bed, four inches in from the side of the row. Should you want to harvest some of the onions during the growing season as green onions, you may plant the plants as close as two inches apart. Pull every other one, prior to them beginning to bulb, leaving some for larger onions. Transplants should be set out 4 to 6 weeks prior to the date of the last average spring freeze.

Fertilization and Growing Tips
Onions require a high source of nitrogen. A nitrogen-based fertilizer (ammonium sulfate or ammonium nitrate) should be applied at the rate of one cup per twenty feet of row. The first application should be about three weeks after planting and then continue with applications every 2 to 3 weeks. Once the neck starts feeling soft do not apply any more fertilizer. This should occur approximately 4 weeks prior to harvest. Always water immediately after feeding and maintain moisture during the growing season. The closer to harvest the more water the onion will require. Organic gardeners should use a rich compost high in Nitrogen should be incorporated into the soil. As the onion begins to bulb the soil around the bulb should be loose so the onion is free to expand. Do not move dirt on top of the onion since this will prevent the onion from forming its natural bulb.

Flowering is Abnormal For Onions Most folks want to grow onion bulbs NOT onion flowers! Flowering of onions can be caused by several things but usually the most prevalent is temperature fluctuation.

Harvesting And Storage Onions are fully mature when their tops have fallen over. After pulling from the ground allow the onion to dry, clip the roots and cut the tops back to one inch. The key to preserving onions and to prevent bruising is to keep them cool, dry and separated.
As a general rule, the sweeter the onion, the higher the water content, and therefore the less shelf life. A more pungent onion will store longer so eat the sweet varieties first and save the more pungent onions for storage.

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Seedlings, Starting Vegetable Seeds – What Are You waiting For??

February is the right time to start preparing to plant your spring flower and vegetable garden.

Supplies that you will need to have on hand. Seeds, of your choice. Whether you plan to plant seeds you have saved or purchased seeds, now is the time to get them sorted, determine when and how they should be planted. You will need a good quality potting soil, trays to plant in. You may also find a need for things like paper towels, plastic wrap, plant markers, and possibly fertilizers.

Not every plant needs to be started this early in the season. Read The Seed Package Planting Instructions… It will say on the seed packet how many weeks the seed needs to started in advance of the transplant date. You’ll be transplanting the seed after the last frost. Ask local gardeners, to find out the approximate date of the last frost. Find Your First and Last Frost Free gardening dates

To be successful you will need a warm sunny south facing window or a good quality grow light to get your seedlings off to a fast and healthy start.

Time and temperature needed to grow vegetable transplants
Crop	Time from seeding to germination (days)	Optimum soil temperature (°F)	Time from germination to transplanting (weeks)
Broccoli	7–10	50–85	5–7
Cabbage	4–10	50–85	5–7
Celery	9–21	50–65	10–12
Cucumber	6–10	65–85	4
Eggplant	6–10	65–85	6–9
Lettuce	6–8	50–65	3–5
Melons	6–8	65–85	3–4
Onion	7–10	65–85	8
Pepper	9–14	65–85	6–8
Squash	4–6	65–85	3–4
Tomato	6–12	65–85	5–7

$3 Newspaper Pot Maker

I have seen these cute ‘expensive’ wood devices that can be used to make newspaper seedling starter pots. I have seen them listed on internet websites from about $25.00 to as much as $50.00. I just want pay that much for a dollar or two of wood.

Simply Flagstaff blog Has designed and provided construction details on making your very own $3.00 newspaper seedling starter pot.

I did a posting a while back about this very same subject. Home made seedling pot maker However Cindy has put me to shame. Her design is a much better design and SO easy and cheap to build about $3.00 total investment. Parts are available in any hardware store.

Cindy said”
1 – 2 inch PVC Coupling
2 – 1 1/2 inch PVC Dome Slip Cap
3 – 1 1/2 inch PVC Bushing

The assembly is super easy. Place the bushing (#3) into the dome slip cap (#2) …that’s it!!”

Visit Simply Flagstaff blog for a lot of photographs and a detail construction and How to use your new Newspaper seedling starter pot maker.

Soil Temperature and Successful Home Gardeners
Germination Temperature Information
Click chart {on right} to Zoom in

Food for thought {pun intended} Whether you are planting your seeds directly into your garden soil or in seedling pots, soil temperature is all important in getting them off to a good start..

Few gardening guru’s will tell those new to gardening how to maximize seed germination after you invest, money, time and effort into getting that tiny seed into the soil. For proper germination and strong healthy seedlings you must have the right combination of soil temperature, soil moisture and planting depth.

Seeds planted to shallow will emerge quickly, but, will be easily damaged until they have time to put down deep roots. Seeds planted to deep may never emerge into the light of day. *Read and follow planting instructions on your seed package!

1. If your soil is to wet, your seeds may rot before germination.

2. Planted in dry soil your seed will lay dormant until there’s enough moisture to germinate.

3. Seed planted in cool soil will be slow to germinate or your seeds may rot before they germinate.

Success with seed
Pepper Seed Germination And Growing Tips
Sowing wild flowers

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Cucumbers in a Pot – Think Fresh Off The Vine – Sandwich, Soup, Salad And Pickles!

Cucumber wire trellis

Source Ohio State University Cucumber fact sheet.
Hint Vines bear two kinds of flowers, pistillate (female) and staminate (male). The first flowers are staminate, will drop from the vine and will not bear fruit. Subsequent flowers will include both male and female and pollination will occur. Recently, gynoecious plants (those bearing female flowers only) have been introduced. The seed packet will have specifically marked seeds indicating that the marked seeds must be planted as well for proper pollination. Read the seed package label carefully!

Cucumbers thrive best at relatively high temperatures, 65-75 degrees F being the ideal temperature range. The plants do not tolerate any frost. Since cucumbers are a quick growing crop, they can be direct seeded into your soil. Your pot soil must be supplied with moisture and plant nutrient elements throughout the growing season. Never allow your cucumber vines soil to become dry. Cucumbers like a damp, Not Wet, soil throughout your summer garden growing season.

Cucumbers can be grown successfully in many types of soils. However their preferred soil is loose, well drained rich soil supplied with organic matter (compost). Work in compost such as well rotted (composted) manure before planting. During the heat and dry summer days, you may find that you need to water your plants every morning and every evening.

Fertilizers are best applied prior to planting, you should add a complete fertilizer such as 5-10-10 or similar analysis according to label recommendations. Fertilize again one week after blossoming begins, and again three weeks later. Caution Do not over fertilize, to much nitrogen encourages vine growth and retards fruiting.

Cucumbers are well adapted to growing on a trellis to conserve space and makes finding and harvesting your cucumber crop easy to do. An added benefit of growing cucumbers on a trellis is it makes controlling insects and diseases a much easier task.

spotted cucumber beetle

Cucumbers like a cool-ish moist, Not Wet soil. Water when the soil begins to dry. Using a 1 or 2 inch layer of fine chopped grass/hay mulch will help cool the soil and retain soil moisture.

Cucumbers Varieties worthy of your consideration.
Salad Bush Hybrid
Bush Champion
Picklebush
Spacemaster
Hybrid Bush Crop
Midget Bush Pickler

Hint Cucumbers can be harvested at any size. Always harvest your cucumbers when small and before they develop large seeds and tend to get a bitter taste. Harvest in the early morning hours if possible. Keeping cucumbers harvested will encourage your vines to continue producing cucumbers all season long.

Straight Eight – Heavy yield of smooth, 8-inch long straight and smooth cucumber, dark skin and pure white flesh. Allow vines to spill over the sides of your container or grow on a trellis to conserve space.
Spacemaster – Excellent for baskets on containers, 7-1/2 inch dark green fruits, mosaic and scab tolerant. Allow vines to spill over the sides of your container or grow on a trellis to conserve space.
Seman – Sunny yellow skin, lemon shaped and lemon sized cucumbers, crisp and mild.
Sweet Slice Burpless – mild 10 to 12-inch fruits, never bitter, resists several diseases.
Bush Pickle Hybrid – early crop of white-spined 5-inch fruits on smaller bush type plants. Suitable for container growing.

Hint Paint using an outdoor latex paint, your containers to dress-up the looks of your container garden.

Grin … Setting in your garden eating small firm almost seedless cucumbers fresh off the vine, salt and black pepper. It doesn’t get any better than that.

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Container Growing Potato’s

Using a 5 or 6 gallon bucket or better yet 1/3 of a 55 gallon plastic barrel you can container grow your own garden fresh potato’s. In each 6 gallon bucket you can plant 1 to 3 seed potato’s. Using 1/3 of a 55 gallon drum you will need 1 to 5 seed potato’s.

Drill several 3/8 to 1/2 drain holes in the bottom of your container. Set your container on bricks or other materials to keep your container 1 or more inches off of your driveway, patio or deck.

After your last normal frost date, Add to your container about 4 inches of rich well draining soil and compost mix. Place you seed potato’s on this soil. Insure each seed has at least 1 or more eyes pointing up(skyward). Cover seed potato’s with an inch or more of rich soil, gently water your seed potato until water runs out of the holes in the bottom of your container.

Check your containers daily. Water when the soil is dry. Potato’s like ‘moist’ not wet soil.

When your potato’s are 6 to 8 inches tall, add another 3 to 4 inches of rich soil. Continue this process until your container is full of soil or until your potato’s start to bloom. After blooming ends and plants begin to turn yellow, wait another few days. Dump your containers harvesting a garden fresh potato crop.

Mix in a little rich compost to your soil that was your potato growing soil, refill container within about 4 to 6 inches of the top and plant with Radishes, Turnips, Beets or other cool season vegetables.

** Hint Fertilize using 8-16-16, 10-20-20, or equivalent. These three numbers correspond to nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (N-P-K) and always appear in that specific order. When a 4th number is included, it indicates the sulfur content (N-P-K-S).

How to Container grow potato’s, with helpful hints and a lot of pictures
4 Simple Steps to Grow a Hundred Pounds of Potatoes in a Barrel

16 kinds of Potato’s and how best to use them.

Potato Association of America More information than most people ever want to know about potato’s.

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