majors 2020 garden....

[majorcatfish]

cucumbers,squash and melons are up..... only took 5 days to sprout...

couple weeks and they will be going outside...

 

[majorcatfish]

OK, I need some artichoke advice. I have never grown them before so I need planting advice. How much spacing between plants, how tall do they grow, do they need staking, etc. We are having a frost tomorrow, then it is supposed to warm up. This year the pecan tree has failed me, glad I haven't set out any plants yet. Normally, when the pecan trees bud out, it is safe from a frost. Not this year, first time I have seen it fail.

space them 4'-5' apart they will take up a lot of room once mature..
if you are needing to do 2 rows space the rows 5-6' apart...
if i member right they will get about 4' tall no need for staking...

if you tricked them as seedlings <putting them out in cold weather 35-50* you might get a couple this year>
if not and you pamper them this winter you should start seeing buds next year...

in the fall trim back the plant when the leaves start turning yellow and cover them with straw/ leafs<do not use any type of oak leafs, due to the tannin in them>...

if they survive the winter pull the leafs off in spring...
of course as they get older the more buds you will get...

here's to a year of warm butter dipping down our chins...

 

[baymule]

They have been on the porch about a week. It’s been in the 40’s at night. Do they do best in full sun?

 

[majorcatfish]

They have been on the porch about a week. It’s been in the 40’s at night. Do they do best in full sun?

sorry... yes they love full sun!!!!

can still remember going down to the grandparents house in carmel,ca mom always made it a point for dad to stop at a place in castroville,ca and place up a giant bag of artichokes on the way home.
as far as you could see nothing but artichoke fields..

 

[majorcatfish]

of course there was other trips where mom directed dad to gilroy and got massive braids of garlic.. my favorite stop they had a barrel of dill pickles you picked your own...

and then there was the side trip into the Stockton,ca delta area of course mom had to get asparagus.. bliss her heart she would over cook it.....spent nights after that trip at the table for not eating it.....

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

Deep fried artichokes at a stop in Castroville along hiway 1. YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I worked at one of the two onion and garlic factories in Gilroy, supervising union lab techs.
The annual asparagus festival in Stockton was cancelled this year.

 

[majorcatfish]

worked on the new raised bed area this morning< ran out of block again> should have never used the math they are teaching kids today, think it's called core math it don't work in the real world 10+5= 23??? will be going back to old school math 10+5= 15.
anyway just needing to finish the ends now.. after that it's will be done for the year, gravel in the walkways next year well that's what i'm telling myself....

the lower bed is going to be for artichokes and the upper will late tomatoes this year and next spring will be planting Mary Washington asparagus crowns .

 

[baymule]

It sure is looking good. If I ever do raised beds, they will be block, no point in doing wood. It would last just long enough until I was too decrepit to rebuild them. LOL LOL

 

[flowerbug]

ugh. i'd vote no for gravel. yes, it looks nice at first but after a few years it needs work and if i'm going to put work into an area i'd like to get something back from it other than just looks. with cardboard and woodchips at least eventually you can harvest some nice humus (and they weigh less to put down). yes, you may have to redo the cardboard more than once before the grass/weeds give up but i like it much better than weed barrier or thick mil black plastic.

if you do end up going with gravel, put it down thick enough otherwise you'll get weed seeds sprouting in in after a few years and of course if you get any dirt in the gravel that means more weed seeds will sprout too in that area.

we have a lot of gravel mulch here and i'd like to get rid of almost all of it and turn it into gardens. i'm not sure i ever will stay here long enough for that to happen, but all these square feet could be growing flowers and food instead of just sitting there.

 

[majorcatfish]

got out early this morning and planted seeds in the raised beds..
lettuce,bok chio,endive,, green onions,radishes, spinach and green mix salad.

all was going good till getting to bed #2 that dang gumball tree sent a root into the bed had to dig it out then cut it out.... this fall i will hire some tree company to take that tree down.....

but once cleaning that up planted some sorry looking lettuce,bok chio,,endive fingers crossed...

while out there planted the English thyme that was purchased the other weekend... the basil is hardening off
will plant that next weekend.

burnt the last of the old bed wood so thats finally done and off the list...
of course already have next weekends projects lined up..