What will you be doing differently next year?

[rxkeith]

plant more carrots, and beets.
plant squash in ground with more amendments worked in.
use a different potting mix. spotty results this past year.
start some of the broccoli earlier, and pot up to bigger pots.
maybe do the same with a few tomatoes.

more basil, and dill.


for a start.




keith

[GoDawgs]

I'm going to use that wet newspaper cover on fall beans next year to get the seed germinated earlier in August when the soil is generally too hot for bean germination. It worked for the turnips this year so why not the beans next year?

I played with pruning out the central growth point on the pepper plants this year and it worked really well, making them a lot more branched than usual. This coming spring I'm going one step further by nipping out the points on the first set of branches.

No more winter squash except spaghetti squash.

The Red Ripper field peas will all be grown on trellises. After seeing how the one trellised row did this year, I bet I can get the same quantity of peas picked from three trellised rows as I've been getting from four traditional rows.

[Tormato]

Originally Posted by HudsonValley

I'm going back to tilling my raised beds, and adding composted shredded leaves. I hope this alleviates the soil compaction issues I had this year.

Composted leaves did it for me. By volume, I added about 1 part leaves to 2 parts soil. Mostly oak, some pine, and I've yet to buffer the soil with lime. My tomatoes taste too good to take the risk.


I've wondered if heavy snowpack, and lots of rain on top of that, will compact soil in raised beds. Any idea?

[Tormato]

Originally Posted by rxkeith

plant more carrots, and beets.
plant squash in ground with more amendments worked in.
use a different potting mix. spotty results this past year.
start some of the broccoli earlier, and pot up to bigger pots.
maybe do the same with a few tomatoes.

more basil, and dill.


for a start.




keith

With mixed results in different years using the same brand, I've gone to PRO-MIX and won't go back.

[Tormato]

Originally Posted by GoDawgs

I'm going to use that wet newspaper cover on fall beans next year to get the seed germinated earlier in August when the soil is generally too hot for bean germination. It worked for the turnips this year so why not the beans next year?

I played with pruning out the central growth point on the pepper plants this year and it worked really well, making them a lot more branched than usual. This coming spring I'm going one step further by nipping out the points on the first set of branches.

No more winter squash except spaghetti squash.

The Red Ripper field peas will all be grown on trellises. After seeing how the one trellised row did this year, I bet I can get the same quantity of peas picked from three trellised rows as I've been getting from four traditional rows.

How deep do you plant your fall beans? Would an extra 1/2" deeper help a little?

[GoDawgs]

Originally Posted by Tormato

How deep do you plant your fall beans? Would an extra 1/2" deeper help a little?

I usually plant them an inch down but when the soil thermometer says 96 four inches down that won't work.

I have tried dragging furrows with the warren hoe and filling them several times with water before planting, on the theory that it would cool down the soil. But the results are spotty. Doing that again, planting and then putting wet newspaper over them would keep it cool. Gotta watch like a hawk though for germination. I learned that the hard way doing that with the turnips. Good thing turnip seed is cheap!

[kilroyscarnival]

Originally Posted by Goodloe

I had to Google "hypertufa" Looks pretty cool!

Yeah! I will be more excited if I can find Portland Cement in quantities other than the 94-lb bag. That's a bit of a chore to lug.

For those interested, these are the YouTube videos on Hypertufa that have inspired me.

Draped towel designs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7D1AaQEfcok

Lots of videos from Kim's Gardens like this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6veTT22kzo

Then something called PaperCrete which uses newspaper instead of peat moss in the cement mix: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sddOnjZhL0

Also there's something called ShapeCrete, and I loved this decorative idea of creating concrete heads: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m76blJXZIc0

[HudsonValley]

Originally Posted by Tormato

Composted leaves did it for me. By volume, I added about 1 part leaves to 2 parts soil. Mostly oak, some pine, and I've yet to buffer the soil with lime. My tomatoes taste too good to take the risk.


I've wondered if heavy snowpack, and lots of rain on top of that, will compact soil in raised beds. Any idea?

Not a clue, but the rain this year was considerable, now that I think about it; soil levels sank quite a bit by August. Glad to hear the leaves helped; I'll take a pH reading and amend accordingly when the time comes. Mine are mostly oak and maple, with some white pine.

[MissS]

Originally Posted by Tormato

What I'll be doing differently is not cutting corners. This years tomatoes were a disaster because of that. And, I cut so many corners, it'll take some time for me to write them all down. Maybe I''l post about it next week.

Cutting corners will soon have you going around in circles.

[Worth1]

Probably start from seeds again.
Probably New Big Dwarf.
All in containers along the driveway.
Will start seeds this weekend.
No way the climate these last few years here is allowing me to do anything with tomatoes the conventional way.
Too hot too fast.

[Nan_PA_6b]

Originally Posted by MissS

Cutting corners will soon have you going around in circles.

[bower]

Originally Posted by Tormato

I've wondered if heavy snowpack, and lots of rain on top of that, will compact soil in raised beds. Any idea?

Snow-rain freeze and thaw here creates a lot of loose and large pores/ice craters in the surface. It's all soft enough for the first week or two of spring, but everything gets pretty hard once the weather is warmer and dry for an extended time. Don't think that answered your question, it sounds like there should be a simple answer but...??? I'm not sure if weight contributes, wet doesn't, dry does though I think. Unless it depends on your soil type. I would guess, not much.

[taboule]

>>> I've wondered if heavy snowpack, and lots of rain on top of that, will compact soil in raised beds.

It does in my beds, when the soil starts real fluffy the summer before, then packs down several inches from the top of the beds by spring. I till in more compost and peat moss before planting.

Biggest change for me this year is to plant fewer tomatoes, even less than last year -when I gave away more than I consumed. A single bed, around 14~16 plants. No sauce canning, as my current supply will last 2 years. Fewer plants hopefully will translate into better care, trimming and spraying.

[maxjohnson]

I tell myself this every year, but I need to give more free space for the tomato plants. I have to make sure each plant in the raised beds gets at least 5-6ft of space horizontally.

Also because from last year experience, I have to start the seeds earlier because the house ambient temperature is colder than in Florida.

[MissS]

Originally Posted by maxjohnson

I tell myself this every year, but I need to give more free space for the tomato plants. I have to make sure each plant in the raised beds gets at least 5-6ft of space horizontally.

Also because from last year experience, I have to start the seeds earlier because the house ambient temperature is colder than in Florida.

Giving your plants space is very important.

Here is a hint to help you with starting your seeds in a cool environment: I put my starts into my oven. I leave the interior light on which causes some heat. I leave the door ajar about 1-2 inches and then the temperature will remain in the high seventies. This is in an electric oven. Seeds start sprouting in 3 days.