My first real garden

[KLorentz]

Regarding cucumbers I use to grow County Fair which was a wonderful cuke.Bad part is it is almost persona nongrata these days due to breeding issues.So I am seriously considering Diva as well not only because of the seedless mild flavor in its description but also the fact it has almost all female flowers. That is a major thing if you have limited space and can only grow three or four plants. I am sure these would be great in salads and also as pickles. Which reminds me I am going to have to look up a good pickle recipe.Darn things are getting expensive at the store and the sodium content is enough to give two horses a heart attack


Kevin

[Tormato]

Kath knows her carrots.

Since they need to be sown very shallow, keeping the optimum moisture necessary for germination can be a problem with naked seed.

I water FIRST, then sow seeds, cover with about 1/16" of soil, and put a pine board over the row. It's important to remove the board as soon as you see seedlings. Germination this way takes about 7 days. Uncovered sometimes takes 2 weeks. And, uncovered seed has a way of washing who-knows-where, with heavy rains.

Gary

[kath]

Originally Posted by Tormato

Kath knows her carrots.

Since they need to be sown very shallow, keeping the optimum moisture necessary for germination can be a problem with naked seed.

I water FIRST, then sow seeds, cover with about 1/16" of soil, and put a pine board over the row. It's important to remove the board as soon as you see seedlings. Germination this way takes about 7 days. Uncovered sometimes takes 2 weeks. And, uncovered seed has a way of washing who-knows-where, with heavy rains.

Gary

...and so does Gary! He makes some excellent points...it's critical to be vigilant until they get established so that you make the most of your raised bed space and get them established before it's too hot, or on the other end of the season, before it's too late.

I love growing carrots - they give you a lot of crop for the space, keep a long time, are easy to grow organically, can be used in lots of ways, and taste SO much better than what's in the stores. They're also almost as fun to harvest as potatoes!n I've grown lots of different varieties and my fav for spring for earliness (important to avoid the carrot rust fly larvae) and for sweetness is Nelson; for fall, haven't found anything to beat Bolero for quick, hardy growth in the fall and for taste, especially after storage. Another important factor for me in the length because I only grow carrots in my raised beds now, and these both top out between 6-8". They're both hybrids, however.

[wmontanez]

I like Amarillo the carrot is yellow and almost lemony. I grow heirlooms, had the vanished seed from Tonda di Parigi, so thanks for the tip of the wood board, I must certantly use it next year!

I found the following site through youtube, Carrots extreme... but I do like the idea for a small deep bed.

http://www.allotment-diary.co.uk/Exh...ow-carrot.html

[kath]

Originally Posted by wmontanez

I like Amarillo the carrot is yellow and almost lemony. I grow heirlooms, had the vanished seed from Tonda di Parigi, so thanks for the tip of the wood board, I must certantly use it next year!

I found the following site through youtube, Carrots extreme... but I do like the idea for a small deep bed.

http://www.allotment-diary.co.uk/Exh...ow-carrot.html

Wow! Thanks for sharing that link - sounds like a fun project to do with children or grandchildren, too.

[garnetmoth]

lowlylowly- sorry to divert for a bit

Tam re peppers- No kidding! we grew sweet bell peppers for a few years and just got green ones. hot peppers ripen just fine, and are more prolific. so- we are trying more small peppers- cherry bomb are OK for productivity, and we really like Aji Flor (orchid pepper) for a sweet (with a tiny touch of warmth in the membrane)

trying Hinklehatz and one other small pepper TBD next year- probably a small round/cheese type

[salix]

Re: the carrots - I did up some home made "seed sheets" (as opposed to seed tapes) last spring. Made a template with graph paper, made a big dot on 2 inch centres, resulting in 36 carrots per square foot. Slipped the template under sheets of white tissue paper and used a Q-tip to put on a tiny blob of a flour and water paste (was the only thing I could come up with that was organic, LOL). Then used tweezers to place a carrot seed on each paste dot and let dry overnight. Remember to label the sheets if you are doing several varieties. At time of planting, ensure the soil is well watered and has a fine tilth, rake level. Place the sheets over the prepared garden bed area and cover with a layer of fine soil - I just happened to have half a bag of very old germinating mix and it worked very well. Water (sprinkle) well and gently. Use proper labels before you forget what was written on the now-covered sheets. I don't think it would matter if the sheets were placed seeds up or seeds down, but I DO know it would be much easier on a non-windy day! Was very gratified to note that my home made paste held the seeds securely until planted even with the tissue flapping about madly in a brisk wind. Cover bed with Reemay to avoid carrot rust fly problems; up here we can remove it around the beginning of July.
Granted, it was a couple of hours work to make the sheets, but I think the time was more than made up by not having to thin, wasted seed and easier weeding. It is also a lot easier to work sitting at the kitchen table than bending over if you have a bad back/hips/knees etc. Did a 3' x 10' bed with four different varieties and that is a lot of carrots! Hope this helps...