It's Time to Plow and Time to Plant — Spring 2017 Garden Thread….

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Viewing 25 posts - 176 through 200 (of 244 total)
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  • #122548
    highstick
    Participant

    Waiting on the last few spots in the yard to die with the Roundup, then will be tilling in about a week…Gotta go find all of Bill’s chemicals and may have to take a ride to Wilmington to get some of his Compost Tea ingredients. I’m hoping one of my bud’s in Morehead is ready for a fishing trip so I can kill two birds in one trip.

    "Whomp 'em, Up, Side the Head"!

    #122551
    bill.onthebeach
    Participant

    Eating ‘Mater samwichs today for lunch with some of RThomas’s ‘maters… best maters I’ve had in years….
    _______________________

    Mr. Stick…
    I got all your “ingredients” to fix that red dirt here in ILM… just need a few days notice on that… don’t bother shopping…
    _______________________

    Yep.. the “transition” from the field to raised beds is a 2 -3 yr deal at best, getting your soil and your methods worked out… and when you go to sqft-gardening crazy sh#t happens with density and intensity… but I still won’t sell my 140…

    Good news is that those are problems with solutions….

    _______________________

    Any of Ya’ll know where I can get a couple of those “Peach trees” ???

    #NCSU-North Carolina's #1 FOOTBALL school!
    #122603
    bill.onthebeach
    Participant

    everything’s in the ground that’s going in the ground down here… ‘cept sweet taters…
    15-20 mph winds every day worked on some of my melons and lopes… may have to replant a few…
    still getting a good variety of greens…
    in between crops of carrots and radishes…
    cukes and asian long beans running nicely…
    ‘maters are blooming…

    looking for some more rain tonight… which is fine…
    we had 6″ 11 days ago and hadn’t had a drop since, had to turn sprinklers back on last Friday…

    got some more “free dirt”…
    this time it’s black as an ace of spades, sandy and screened…
    get test results tomorrow…

    bet it ain’t 8.1 this time….

    Ya’ll have fun…

    #NCSU-North Carolina's #1 FOOTBALL school!
    #122605
    TheCOWDOG
    Moderator

    Mr.Bill…Why are the tomatoes blooming already? Did they get stressed?

    I don’t like to see blooms until they’re at least 3′ tall.
    ‘Course all I grow anymore are Indeterminates.
    I still have about 2 dozen pepper plants in pots. Timing is everything.

    Cukes are flowering, though and the mini-Duke gardens that I started for the boss is looking strong. (Muy importante, hermanos)

    #122607
    bill.onthebeach
    Participant

    Mr. Dog…

    remember I’m in New Hanover County…

    … and I’ve picked up a few “tricks” from the “Mater Man Since 1960″ — R. Thomas….

    1. Maters will bloom, but will not set fruit, when it’s over 70*F at night…

    2. and the Hydro guys got nice maters 12-16” off the ground with pruned plants all the time….

    3. the mildew, viruses, etc are rampant down here with ‘maters…

    Basically that means Maters are done here mid July…

    Now… those “plants” were started in flats in February… and planted here 1st week of April…
    there 2’ tall and I pruned the first flower buds and suckered them one time…

    4. I really don’t know what I’m doing… a lot of touch and feel… if you know what I mean…

    But I can say that this… I’m using a mineral balanced — high stable organic matter (SOM) soil mix in 10gal pots with a little Sulfur and Silicate added — tying to keep the NPK to a 2-3-5 ratio — and the vines look like they been in the weight room with not too much green… I’m wondering when they will need stakes….

    RThomas… this ball is your court….you can jump in the conversation whenever… I’m done…

    There are amateurs and professionals..

    #NCSU-North Carolina's #1 FOOTBALL school!
    #122616
    rthomas44
    Participant

    Tomato plants bloom because of plant age. First bloom occurs at about 4th node of leaves. If stressed, may not set fruit but will flower.

    #122632
    highstick
    Participant

    I actually have a mater on one of my plants and it’s only 18 inches or so…But growing in thoroughbred manure as a supplement.

    Bill, my feet hurt!!! Got everything out today on the front yard except for one remaining bag of lime, DAP, and mineral…Will finish that tomorrow morning before the tractor/tiller comes…I thought I heard my soil saying “bring on the zoysia sod” one time this afternoon..Will be taking pictures to record “history”..

    Can’t believe I left your place at 1:30 and I was back home at 5:30. Didn’t stop, but sure had to empty the bladder when I got back.

    "Whomp 'em, Up, Side the Head"!

    #122636
    bill.onthebeach
    Participant

    ^smh… I told you to act like a man of your age and pay the young men — they need the work, you don’t…

    #NCSU-North Carolina's #1 FOOTBALL school!
    #122641
    highstick
    Participant

    Yea, but I’m having fun doing it…Plus I don’t have to wait for them to get me “on their schedule”.

    Laying the last bag of lime right now…Am I nuts or am I the only one that likes the smell of it..

    Got any tips to kill poison ivy in my azaleas. If I spray, I kill the azaleas…Paintbrush to the leaves with Roundup?

    "Whomp 'em, Up, Side the Head"!

    #122645
    4in12
    Participant

    I got rid of poison ivy by cutting the plants at the ground. The vine will die and you can spray the new growth close to the ground. It might take more than one shot to kill it completely since the roots are probably well established. This method worked for me but I didn’t attempt it under azaleas. Use this suggestion at your on risk.

    #122646
    highstick
    Participant

    I got rid of poison ivy by cutting the plants at the ground. The vine will die and you can spray the new growth close to the ground. It might take more than one shot to kill it completely since the roots are probably well established. This method worked for me but I didn’t attempt it under azaleas. Use this suggestion at your on risk.

    I’m extremely toxic with poison ivy…Poison oak rarely bothered me as a child, but I got into some poison ivy about 15 years ago and before I knew what was going on, both of my arms were really messed up. It’s so intertwined with the azaleas, I think it’s a lost cause. Sprayed some last year but it was killing the azeleas also.

    "Whomp 'em, Up, Side the Head"!

    #122647
    bill.onthebeach
    Participant

    Mr. Stick… Are you toxic to holding a pen and signing a check… let the yard guys do it…

    I’d go ahead and prune them Indicas hard too at the same time… it’ probably been years since you did that… and they will appreciate it….

    #NCSU-North Carolina's #1 FOOTBALL school!
    #122650
    highstick
    Participant

    Best $100 I’ve spent in a long time.1 1/2 hours, he tilled it 8-12 inches and cut it up 3 times with his John Deere and tiller. Funny, but the soil was only really compacted in about 2 spots that I thought were not compacted. Actually, he said the soil was pretty soft so that makes me feel alot better.

    He wasn’t going to charge me but $85…

    "Whomp 'em, Up, Side the Head"!

    #122651
    highstick
    Participant

    Mr. Stick… Are you toxic to holding a pen and signing a check… let the yard guys do it…

    I’d go ahead and prune them Indicas hard too at the same time… it’ probably been years since you did that… and they will appreciate it….

    I am my yard man!!! I’ve got an 84 year old retired Doc across the street from me that does it too!

    "Whomp 'em, Up, Side the Head"!

    #122786
    bill.onthebeach
    Participant

    No rain in last ten days, but there’s…

    Plenty of Cabbage, Kales and Chard coming off…
    Got some Baby carrots and beets when thinning…
    Maters, Cukes, Squash and Eggplant on the vines..
    Beans and Peppers running a bit behind…
    Okra’s about a foot high and loving the heat…

    Gonna start planting sweet taters later on this week…

    Ain’t Farming Fun???

    #NCSU-North Carolina's #1 FOOTBALL school!
    #122789
    rthomas44
    Participant

    Gardening is fun, farming is business. Usually too serious to be called fun.

    #122803
    highstick
    Participant

    Well, the 2 1/2 inches of rain that we didn’t get week before last showed up with a vengeance since Sunday…Hope it will dry out over the weekend cause the sod is supposed to be delivered next Tuesday.

    "Whomp 'em, Up, Side the Head"!

    #122806
    bill.onthebeach
    Participant

    …looking at about 5″ so far down here since Monday am…
    but no wind…

    thinking hopefully ’bout those up the road…

    Mr. Stick, let that red clay dry out pretty good… then hit it with the rake lightly….
    you don’t want to see your footprints every time you mow….

    #NCSU-North Carolina's #1 FOOTBALL school!
    #122813
    highstick
    Participant

    …looking at about 5? so far down here since Monday am…
    but no wind…

    thinking hopefully ’bout those up the road…

    Mr. Stick, let that red clay dry out pretty good… then hit it with the rake lightly….
    you don’t want to see your footprints every time you mow….

    Got a bunch of rain this week. Hopefully things will dry out…Sod is scheduled to be delivered next Tuesday afternoon. I went with the Palisades variety. Actually, there’s another yard on the street behind me that did the same last year. Looks really good.

    "Whomp 'em, Up, Side the Head"!

    #122814
    tractor57
    Participant

    BotB I am about 10 miles from the school that was hit yesterday. The old gym (where I played a bit in my school days was destroyed. Several houses flattened and some people trapped. One person with serious injuries but no deaths. Those people were really lucky.

    #122815
    bill.onthebeach
    Participant

    ^wow… glad you are safe T57… as well as others…

    #NCSU-North Carolina's #1 FOOTBALL school!
    #122816
    tractor57
    Participant

    Thanks – here not much other than the green sky. There a lot of issues. Thankfully injuries were limited. Several lost houses and of course that gym. Maybe luck or maybe the grace of God – on that I will not speculate. Just glad not worse.

    #122841
    highstick
    Participant

    Sod “arroved” about 3 hours later than I’d hoped for yesterday afternoon, but started laying it as soon as it got here…I slept well last night to say the least. Got moving with more than a little bit of sore feet this morning, but went from about 9 to 1:30, came in showered, ate lunch and rested until about 3:30 and worked to 6. Think I’ve got the hang of laying sod now as my lines and seams are a lot better and it’s moving along.

    Freakin’ kids must have more money than I did in high school. Tried to hire one of my neighbors two high school kids, but “no go”. I figured the girl would be a better option since she runs track, but she wouldn’t bite. One of my other State alum around the corner said I could use his yard man, but I had to go pick him up, feed him, then take him home. Screw dat! When I quit, it’s time to shower and drink a beer, not get my truck dirty taking him home.

    At least wife is out of town so she’s not “telling me how to do it”!

    Bill, with some of the thin gaps in the seams, should I fill with a compost mix, topsoil, or just keep it watered and not worry about it? Also, if I get any weeds popping up in the seams, what do you suggest to spray with?

    Sod was very fresh though, just cut yesterday morning in Orangeburg, SC.

    I think I worked harder getting the soil leveled out after the 4 1/2 inches of rain that we got a week or so ago. So far, weather is cooperating, not overly hot, cool nights, and even a little cloud cover at times.

    "Whomp 'em, Up, Side the Head"!

    #122843
    bill.onthebeach
    Participant

    Stick…

    If there’s some masons working at a job close by…
    get you a couple of buckets of free masonry sand.

    Use that in those cracks… then water and it will spread out without covering the grass… plus it’s faster by a longshot…

    If you got to buy sand in bags… don’t… use the compost…

    #NCSU-North Carolina's #1 FOOTBALL school!
    #122845
    YogiNC
    Participant

    Stick, without a doubt the best stuff I’ve ever used for weeds is metsulfuron. Many different brands. I have 4 acres and a 16 oz. bottle of the stuff has lasted me for 3 seasons (this being the third). It ain’t cheap though but it kills the weeds with no negative side effects that I’ve seen. It is designed specifically for turf. And as a benefit it kills bahiagrass grave yard dead which I’ve never seen anything else that does that without negative effects on other turf grass. A greens keeper at the course I love to play the most told me about it many years ago. Needless to say that course has no weeds.

    Smarter than the average bear

Viewing 25 posts - 176 through 200 (of 244 total)
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