Vectorwoman's 2014 Gardens

[Vectorwoman]

I bought these last week. I hope I do not have to replace all of my blueberry plants. If I do, here is 2.

I also started grapes last year from cuttings off of my sister's plants. I hope they come up this year. Here are a couple to add to them.



Here is a picture of my Cosmos garden taken in 2012. Yes it is wild and wooly, but the humming birds love it. I can't wait till I have them growing again.



This is my scare crow (Huey The Swamp Child). He really does work to keep the deer out of the garden. I tie foil pie pans onto him and they make noise when the wind blows. One time Alan saw a stag deer in the driveway looking at him and the garden. The pie plates started making noise. The deer let out a loud snort then ran off. hehe Get'em, Huey!

I am adding lots more scare crows this year. If the ground ever thaws out.

[Vectorwoman]

I have read that some people use tires and other say don't do it. I have a few old tires and thing they would be perfect planters. I wanted to try potatoes in them but I read that the tires leach a toxic. Have you heard anything like this?

BTW- I hope your blueberries survive

I have been researching the subject of if tires leach harmful chemicals into the soil or not.

At 1st I found an article from Mother Earth News that says that over a long period of time it does but I have seen false information on their site before so I decided to dig further.

Here are some useful links.

ehow.com/facts_7858657_raised-beds-tires.html

doityourself.com/stry/is-it-safe-to-use-recycled-tire-mulch#.U0JjClfLLUB

backwoodshome.com/articles2/sanders98.html

personalliberty.com/use-old-tires-culverts-to-grow-vegetables/


So, I don't think they do leach chemicals into the soil. Whew! and I am so glad too. LOL

[Libellula]

Wow, you can grow Asian peas? There is hope for me here then. I am planting out normal peas now, direct in soil, covered with fleece but was waiting a bit for the Asian ones.
Great cosmos, I grew the dark one last year, grew much taller than all the others,looks like it did the same for you.

[Vectorwoman]

Wow, you can grow Asian peas? There is hope for me here then. I am planting out normal peas now, direct in soil, covered with fleece but was waiting a bit for the Asian ones.
Great cosmos, I grew the dark one last year, grew much taller than all the others,looks like it did the same for you.

I don't know yet if I can grow Asian peas. I have not grown them before. All I know is I can sprout them. LOL

[Vectorwoman]

I read somewhere that the 1st time you plant peas they won't do well that they add something to the soil that helps them grow the 2nd time. I will try to find the info.

I have not had much luck with them; probably because I plant them in a spot and they don't do well so I try a different spot the next year.LOL Last year My sweet pea were finally doing well so I decided to mulch them w/ animal bedding that I use in my chicken coop made out of pine shavings. Big mistake. It killed every one of them. LOL It leeches the nitrogen from the soil.

I am hopeful for plenty of Asian ans sweep peas this year.

[Vectorwoman]

Peas are cold hardy. They can withstand frost and cold temps down to 20F. They cannot withstand frozen ground though. Different types of peas are hardier than others.

[Vectorwoman]

Frost Hardy Cool Season Vegetables
Asparagus
Brussel Sprouts
Cabbage
Collard
Garlic
Horseradish

Kale
Kohlrabi
Leeks



Mustard
Onions
Parsnips

Peas
Radicchio
Radish
Rhubarb
Rutabaga
Spinach
Swiss Chard
Turnips



Semi Frost Hardy Vegetables
Arugula
Beets
Broccoli
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celeriac
Celery
Chinese Cabbage
Endive
Jerusalem Artichoke
Lettuce
Potatoes

bettervegetablegardening.com/cool-season-vegetables.html

[Vectorwoman]

@Libellula @Harvesttime The thread is fixed

[Vectorwoman]

@Goldiegirl The thread is fixed

[Libellula]

I have read that some people use tires and other say don't do it. I have a few old tires and thing they would be perfect planters. I wanted to try potatoes in them but I read that the tires leach a toxic. Have you heard anything like this?

BTW- I hope your blueberries survive

Here are some pictures of the seedlings that I have started for this year.

I am thrilled that herbs that would not start for me last year are sprouting this year. I stratified them then covered them with plastic wrap. I do not know which thing did the trick but, I will have more medicinal herbs to add to my herb garden, YAY!




My tomatoes don't look great but, we have had horrible weather. We got several inches of snow a few days ago.
I am finally able to put my plants outside. Hopefully they will perk up now that the weather is getting nicer.




My Asian peas are just starting to pop out of the soil.





Did you know that you can buy parsley stalks from the grocery store and plant the root part after you use the stalk part? That right. This is my 3rd year doing that and it works great. Some people say that parsley like that tends to be bitter. I use it in my soups and have not noticed a bitter taste but, I slurp it down so I wouldn't.

@Goldiegirl

I grew my potatoes in tires for several years, they were fantastic and so easy to do, but since then after reading on here how toxic they can be especially when moisture in them is heated up by the sun, I have not done this since. Now I plant them on mounds, earth them up  and put at least a foot of straw mulch on top as they grow, will explain better on my garden page later.