Muddy Bucket Farm Update - 01 Jun 10

[ContainerTed]

I've just about got everything in the ground. I planted all of my seeds that were older than 2007 and some took 7-8 weeks to germinate, but almost all finally came thru. Anyhow, here's a few pictures.

First is the barrel which contains (clockwise from top) Angora Orange, Grumpy F5, Iditarod Red F5, and Yukon Quest F5. I put that stick in to help with dimensions in the pictures. It's 37 inches long. The Angora Orange foliage continues to be a source of curiosity and wonder.
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The beans are looking good and I expect them to start blooming any time now.
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As I was taking this picture of the Marglobes, something red caught my eye. It will be my first ripe tomato of the season.
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Most of the upper rows are in now and today's timely rain shower was perfect.
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The Dwarfs are here and are about 15 inches tall on average. Grumpy F5(first 5 plants), Iditarod Red F5 (next 3 plants), and Yukon Quest F5 (next 4 plants). All are beginning to show bloom pods forming. All are very healthy and growing steadily.
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The Rattlesnake Beans (right foreground) are doing well, and the green and red okra (center foreground) have really taken off since the temps went up.
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There's been a lot of talk about Cowlick's Brandywine. Here's one of the 3 I have in the ground. It's about 20 inches tall and is blooming.
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And I'm hoping to get some pickling cucumbers.
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Of the plants I have that I started from seed, the Costoluto Genovese plants are very vigorous and are already setting fruit.
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You might see a pile of lumber sitting on a couple of pallets. I see compost bins in the shade under the Magnolia tree. That area gets shade for all but about 3 hours each day.
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And finally, the apple tree has loaded up pretty well. If I only get half of what's on it processed, it will still be a bumper crop.
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We also have watermelons, pumpkins, and two other types of cucumbers in the ground. Tomorrow, I will add zuccinis and cabbages.

Enjoy

Ted

[rnewste]

Ted,

Your next project is to build a roadside Stand that the kids can man. You should haul in a lot of revenue from those crops!!

Raybo

[sprtsguy76]

Looking very nice Ted. Everything is just so darn green, well done!

Damon

[veggie babe]

What a beautiful picture, get ready to harvest, can and/or freeze tons of veggies.

Neva

[kath]

Thanks so much for posting your pictures and sharing with us-I really enjoy seeing what's going on in others' gardens! (I need to learn how to post photos.)
Everything looks fabulous! Have you grown tomatoes using this trellising system before? Since I'm trying to grow lots of new varieties to try this year, I am using a similar system for the first time, ie. posts, horizontal rows of wire and tomato clips.
I'm not seeing any containers in these pics; you may have to consider changing your name!

[Earl]

Ted, your garden looks so great I'd work in it for free! So if you wake up one morning and there's a tent pitched the otherside of it don't be surprised. :-) Can I bring my canner?

[amideutch]

Looking good my friend. Were going to have to change your name to "Doin It in the Dirt Ted" Because one little container ain't cuttin it. Ami

[discrepancy]

That's one beautiful garden!

[ContainerTed]

Earl, plenty of room for the tent. Bring yours or I'll let you use the 9' x 12' in the storage shed. If you set up on the other side, you can keep the 5 groundhogs that live about 50 yards in that direction away from the garden. And yes, bring the canner. The beans are blooming.

I harvested the first ripe tomato of the season today - a Marglobe. Everybody here says I'm cheating because I bought mature plants at the flea market. Still, it tasted wonderful. I've got blooms and fruit set (both the tomatoes and the peppers) all over the place.

Ami and Kath, the containers will show up this coming week. About 15 five gallon buckets will house the Citron Compact, Rozalinda, Golden Dwarf Champion, Krajova, and Stick plants. There will be about a half dozen 18 gallon pots for the Yellow Pear that my neice has asked for, and a couple of others.

I built my compost bins today. I used some pallets and some extra boards and have set up two bins to start with. The landfill here is a virtual goldmine of wood (boards and lots of 2X?) and firewood (mostly oak and maple)

I'll post some more pictures in a day or so. I want to get a good shot of the Stick plant. It is most unusual and the object of a lot of curiosity here. One of the neighbors called it my "topiary" tomato.

Thanks for the compliments, folks. Pictures and my grow list are coming.

Ted
Proprietor - Muddy Bucket Farm

[remy]

Ted,
Everything looks great! It take you long to adjust to planting in the ground.
Remy

[ContainerTed]

Originally Posted by remy

Ted,
Everything looks great! It take you long to adjust to planting in the ground.
Remy

Well, except for the intense pain in every muscle and joint in my body, it has been easy. I cut the garden out of virgin pasture and that spells "labor intensive". I'm still doing my buckets. I filled up 15 containers today and will do another 8 or so in the next few days.

But, I am harvesting a few tomatoes and some pickling cucumbers. The beans are all blooming and there are a few jalapeno peppers that could be used green right now. Lots of fruit set and lots of the pepper plants are blooming now.

I think I can say that growing in containers is harder to set up (initial planting, etc.), but in-ground is easier on maintenance things like watering. My in-ground plants have much heavier stems and seem to look healthier compared to what I had done down in Georgia in the containers with limited direct sunlight.

Anyhow, converting to in-ground is easy if you remember to stock enough Ben-Gay and pain pills.

Ted

[clara]

Great work, Ted! Congratulations! I'd wish I could do the same (much less, because of the space) but my back is aching so much... Good luck! clara

[akgardengirl]

What's happening down there Container Ted? Any good results with the Grumpies? Nothing happening here...seems like all the tomato plants came to a complete standstill for me.
Sue

[ContainerTed]

Sue, I have one of the dwarf plants with a tom showing color. It's about 5 ounces and (I believe is Yukon Quest). The plants in the garden are so heavy with fruit that they are falling over. I will have updates to the dwarf threads in the next couple of days. Right now, we're getting some much needed rain and we're going to can some blackberry jam and some tomato juice. My tomato harvest is just getting up to speed and all the plants are loaded.

Ted

[akgardengirl]

Lucky you...can't wait to see your updates.
Sue