WR's 2014 Fall Garden

[w_r_ranch]

Everything is doing well still. Received the garlic, so it will probably get planted this weekend & the onions will go in the following weekend. Still waiting on the asparagus...

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[w_r_ranch]

Seperated the 'Lorz' Italian garlic bulbs into cloves in preparation for planting. I want to say that I'm very happy at this point in the my order from Filaree Garlic Farm (in both quantity & quality). I ordered 1.5 lbs & they sent me an extra .5 lbs. The individual cloves are huge all the way through to the center as you can see in the picture (the quarter is for scale purposes). I ended up with 134 cloves, so I will plant the 90 I originally planned on & plant some of the extras in with the asparagus when it arrives (to act as a bug deterrent).

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[ErnieCopp]

Sam,
Are those snail bites or something else on your Cole plant leaves? When i plant those, I get a lot of the same damage but no signs of snails, and not seen any other bugs. I had similar looking damage on some Statice leaves, and found and killed snails..

Ernie

 

[w_r_ranch]

Ernie, you have good eyes!!! I've been trying to identify what's been work'in on them, with no success, however I harvested 5 kohlrabi an hour ago (for tonight's beef roast) & found the culprits... they were small caterpillars. I just finish dusting the garden with 'Dipel Dust' (Bt), so they should be history...

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[whistech]

Mr Ranch, absolutely beautiful fall garden! My kohlrabi is has not started bulbing. I hope to get a few to eat as I have never tried them before. Do you roast the kohlrabi or boil them?

 

[w_r_ranch]

They're very versatile, whisteck. We use them raw as a kohl-slaw or simply added to our fresh salads. They can also be sliced or shredded & fried just like potatoes/hash-browns (one of my personal favorites) or roasted.

 

[w_r_ranch]

Planted the 'Lorz' garlic this morning. After reassessing the row & spacing requirements, I had plenty of room for 4 staggered rows & was able to increase the spacing between plants as well. Ended up planting 100. instead of 90.

 

[ksk]

WR is the Dipel Dust like the old 7Dust? Do you use an applicator of some sort to put it out?

 

[Mike]

Mr Ranch, absolutely beautiful fall garden! My kohlrabi is has not started bulbing. I hope to get a few to eat as I have never tried them before. Do you roast the kohlrabi or boil them?

I've seen many vegetable gardens but I have to agree, Sam probably has the best looking one I've seen. You can tell he really enjoys this and puts a lot of pride into it.

 

[w_r_ranch]

WR is the Dipel Dust like the old 7Dust? Do you use an applicator of some sort to put it out?

No, Bt' is an highly selective biological insecticide that kills caterpillars but not beneficial insects (unlike sevin dust, which is a chemical insecticide that kills all insects). ''Dipel Dust' is actually nothing but Fertilome's trade name for 'Bt' (Bacillus Thuringiensis). While I like Fertilome products, many other companies also produce 'Bt' products.

Bt' is a naturally occurring soil bacteria ideal for controlling cabbage worm, gypsy moth, tomato horn worm & other leaf eating insects. It has been in use worldwide since the 1920s & is available in both liquid & dust forms.

As I generally use the dust form in the garden, I apply it with a 'Dustin Mizer'.

 

[ksk]

Do you use 7Dust for anything?

 

[w_r_ranch]

Sure do... I alternate between Sevin (Carbaryl) & Malathion (Organophosphate) when I need to use broad spectrum insecticide. BTW, both have been used in gardens since the 1950s.

 

[ksk]

I hear you about the Sevin.I think that's all we used back in the 50's and 60's.I started to use again on my ant mounds in my yard.

 

[w_r_ranch]

It was cold last night, although it was no where near what was forecast. The temperature is now up to 40... On the plus side. the 'Jersey Knight' asparagus crowns arrived today!!! I'll get them planted as soon as it warms up into the 50s (hopefully tomorrow or Sunday).

Still waiting on the onions...

 

[whistech]

Mr. Ranch, those are some great looking asparagus crowns. I've never seen any with roots that long. I bet they do a good job for you.

 

[w_r_ranch]

I hope so... I paid dearly for 3 yr old crowns...

 

[Mike]

Sam, is the best way to start asparagus by getting crowns?

 

[w_r_ranch]

You can start your asparagus with seeds, but it is an exercise in patience as they take 6-8 weeks to germinate. Then add at least another 2 years of growing time before the first harvest. For this reason, I like most people, opted to start with the asparagus crowns. Plus I'm not getting any younger...

If you do decide to plant from seed, it will help to soak seeds for 2 hours prior to planting. Plant 1 seed per 2" pot, 1/2" deep. Keep them in a warm place. Transplant when seedlings are 10-12 weeks old & all danger of frost has passed. Space 12-14" apart in rows 3-6' apart. Place each plant in a hole 4" deep & gradually cover the crown with soil as it grows.

 

[w_r_ranch]

It was a beautiful day here , 70 & sunny... a perfect day for planting the asparagus & the remaining garlic. I will pick up 6 bags of shredded pine bark mulch the next time I go to town & get it finished.

 

[w_r_ranch]

It's been a while so here's some updated pictures.

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[w_r_ranch]

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[whistech]

Everything looks beautiful Mr. Ranch! Looks like your potatoes are almost ready to dig.

 

[w_r_ranch]

On the fall potatoes, I hold off on harvesting them until the frost totally kills the tops in the hope of getting them as big as possible.

 

[Mike]

Then add at least another 2 years of growing time before the first harvest

Didn't realize it took that long to become ready for harvest. I'll keep that in mind when I do my asparagus garden.

 

[w_r_ranch]

Planted the onion sets & mulched the asparagus bed (& then set the weeper hose in place for irrigation).

Harvested some more kohlrabi as Mrs. Ranch is going to make a bowl of kohl-slaw.

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