New Stuff To Try for 2020

[GoDawgs]

Originally Posted by b54red

Dawg I have never seen a white Creole onion but grow the Red Creole every year with good results...You might want to try two others that do very well for me and they are White Bermuda (Crystal Wax) and Red Burgundy which is a very dependable large red onion.

I've tried the Red Burgandy and there are some Red Creoles in the ground right now (October planted). They both do well for me too. That's why I wanted to try the White Creole. The Yellow Granex (what they use downstate in Vidalia) just doesn't thrive for me so that's why I'm trying the Texas 1015 after hearing good reports about it here.

Originally Posted by b54red

I usually start my seed in pots filled with DE (for ease of separating the onions at planting time) in mid October and set them out whenever they look ready. Sometimes that is in December but usually January. I like to clip the tops a week before setting them out and fertilize them well then let the DE dry out some before getting them out and separating them.

I do mine similarly except for using a seed starting mix instead of DE and start mine in August for October planting. They separate so easily in a bowl of water right before being taken out and planted, roots covered with wet paper towels during the process.

Originally Posted by b54red

I grew both the bells you are trying and they did well but they both make fairly small fruits; but they did last right up til a freeze and they did fine during the heat of late summer when many other varieties start fading. If you can find any Playmaker or Turnpike hybrid peppers I have had really good luck with them the last two years and they produce some of the largest bells I have ever grown.

Thanks for that input! There's always a best place to grow everything and I think I've found it for the peppers. The four beds at the top right corner of the garden get shade until almost noon and that's where the peppers seem to thrive. For the last three years they've grown there and been rotated every year to a different bed in that group. I've even gotten a Keystone Giant and a Neptune bell to make some peppers but they are waaaay to slow to bother with. If I see the Playmaker and Turnpike I might give them a try next year.

[Jeannine Anne]

Oh yes invasive is an under estimate, they fight and fight for years to take over. I would never grow them agin..nevr!!

Originally Posted by Gardadore

GoDawgs have you grown Jerusalem Artichoke before? If not be sure to put them in a spot where you don’t mind them spreading and becoming permanent. Once they take we find it impossible to remove them completely if one desired to. I personally find them to be invasive as they have spread underground and are taking over sections of my perennial beds even despite attempts to remove the new ones each year. They are gorgeous when they bloom their masses of yellow small sunflower like flowers but plan on having them forever! Years ago a neighbor dug “all” of hers out so she thought! It has become a joke between us as her “removed” bed has again become a huge mass of flowers each year!

[GoDawgs]

Originally Posted by Gardadore

GoDawgs have you grown Jerusalem Artichoke before? If not be sure to put them in a spot where you don’t mind them spreading and becoming permanent. Once they take we find it impossible to remove them completely if one desired to. I personally find them to be invasive as they have spread underground and are taking over sections of my perennial beds even despite attempts to remove the new ones each year. They are gorgeous when they bloom their masses of yellow small sunflower like flowers but plan on having them forever! Years ago a neighbor dug “all” of hers out so she thought! It has become a joke between us as her “removed” bed has again become a huge mass of flowers each year!

I dug out an area adjacent to an existing growing area, filled it with the used potting mix from last year's 15 gallon tomato buckets and some new to finish.



Hopefully this will keep them in check. If not, oh well...

There were seven very nice tubers in that 1 lb that I ordered and although they were kept in the refrigerator for three weeks in the box they came in, they were still perfect. So we'll see what happens!

The rest of that mess to the left of the 'choke bed will be tilled up for eight okra plants later. And maybe a trellis of pole beans if I can squeeze it in.

[Father'sDaughter]

I see you had tomato rootstock on the list. Did you ever get around to making your grafts? How are they doing? I tried the RST-04-106-T a few years ago but it did not do as well as the DRO141TX I now use. I don't have to worry about Bacterial Wilt or Nematodes and can use the DRO, but so far Johnny's is the only vendor I've found. Would love to hear how the RST-04-105-T does for you.

[GoDawgs]

With the tomato list having grown due to the kindness of people here offering seeds and my inability to say no, I ran out of room to put stuff! I am hoping to play with the grafting later, maybe in May after the rush of getting the whole garden up and running is over. I will select a more short season tomato to get off some fruit by frost if the grafts take.

[Tracydr]

Is that rice in the bowl? I have a big pot of Carolina gold starting to grow, about that size right now. My Charleston gold didn’t germinate for some reason.
I am growing real artichokes for the first time in NC. Watch out for stink bugs hiding way deep down in the middle. I’ve been finding a bunch in there so will be watching for their offspring.
I had an artichoke in AZ for years. It was a great plant. Would get a few aphids every spring but was a magnet fo ladybugs and pollinators,too. Very ornamental!
I planted Jerusalem artichokes a few years back but found them too gassy and too hard to clean/prepare. I liked the taste but ended up using them as goat feed. Maybe in a colder climate they would thrive?
I may try yacon instead sometime.

[GoDawgs]

The Jerusalem artichokes were a bust. They poked up about 3" and just disappeared. Something got them, either eaten or maybe damped off. I was hoping the tubers would send up more shoots but nothing has ever happened. Second and last try next year.

[GrowingCoastal]

Maybe a head start in pots and planting out when they're growing aleady might help. For a plant that is called invasive it sure can be finicky sometimes.
They did great in pots for me. I didn't top them while young and they grew into towering monsters.

[GoDawgs]

Originally Posted by Tracydr

Is that rice in the bowl?

No rice, That's just the way I separate my scallion and onion seedlings just before planting. The block of soil they're in just melts away in a bowl of water making it a breeze to separate the seedlings.

[GoDawgs]

Originally Posted by GrowingCoastal

Maybe a head start in pots and planting out when they're growing aleady might help. For a plant that is called invasive it sure can be finicky sometimes.
They did great in pots for me. I didn't top them while young and they grew into towering monsters.

Thanks so much for that tip! It makes total sense and I will try that next year.