Better Be Planting This Year. 2022+ And Up MEGATHREAD

Fritz the Cat said:
Sad, indeed. The farms and trees were neglected before being abandoned. I went and talked with the new owners of the properties and they allowed me to take the ripe windfalls for seed propagation
. These are farms i would work on as a teen. Different trees in the orchard would ripen at different times of the season and were used for snacking, pies, cider, or horses depending on the sugar content. If this year is successful i will likely start potting and selling Appalachian Apple trees. The original edible ornamental.
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Nothing like planting seeds with a proven local lineage. Classy to be using stock that you have history with...
 
Uzi2 said:
They can take 2-8 years to bear fruit depending on type of tree.
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Way over that! Over 10 years now, I got one tiny apple not worth touching last year, that's it. The ground they are planted in sucks, maybe a foot or so of soil, then sand, lots and lots of sand.
 
edin508 said:
Way over that! Over 10 years now, I got one tiny apple not worth touching last year, that's it. The ground they are planted in sucks, maybe a foot or so of soil, then sand, lots and lots of sand.
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Sounds like maybe you need to pile some manure around them raked out to the drip line to amend the soil. Keeping it away from the trunks. Do they get enough sun?

Also, curious if you have different varieties for proper cross pollination?

At my previous residence I planted 4 apple trees, 2 of one variety and two other varieties. All had pretty good apples the third year in the ground and the soil was very sandy loam and bank gravel with a water table down 7 feet.

When I planted them, they were about five feet tall. I amended the soil in the holes with well composted horse manure, about 3 cubic feet per tree then supported them with 3 stakes and hose wrapped wire. They were planted in early spring and thrived well. The leaders grew to about 20 feet and had to be topped as well as the branches pruned each late winter.
 
Uzi2 said:
Sounds like maybe you need to pile some manure around them raked out to the drip line to amend the soil. Keeping it away from the trunks. Do they get enough sun?

Also, curious if you have different varieties for proper cross pollination?

At my previous residence I planted 4 apple trees, 2 of one variety and two other varieties. All had pretty good apples the third year in the ground and the soil was very sandy loam and bank gravel with a water table down 7 feet.

When I planted them, they were about five feet tall. I amended the soil in the holes with well composted horse manure, about 3 cubic feet per tree then supported them with 3 stakes and hose wrapped wire. They were planted in early spring and thrived well. The leaders grew to about 20 feet and had to be topped as well as the branches pruned each late winter.
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Lots of sun! And I have been trying to get the soil around it better, but sand. I only have about 12" of soil around my whole property for the exception of the garden as it's been getting tilled for years. I also planted a couple of a different variety last year but only one took off well, I recently took a look and the damn rabbits have been attacking it.
 
enbloc said:
Can't help with the South Shore, but when you find a source, grab 5 or 6 large bags of peat and mix in with the compost/soil it will stretch the beds a bit for short dollars.
Also, have you tried your town for compost? If they take collected leaves, they may offer free compost to residents...

So, you know, peat has a PH of 4.4 generally. Lime again and retest PH.

Here's some data:

Vegetables for Alkaline Soils
  1. Asparagus (6.0-8.0)
  2. Beans, pole (6.0-7.5)
  3. Beet (6.0-7.5)
  4. Brussels Sprouts (6.0-7.5)
  5. Cauliflower (5.5-7.5)
  6. Garlic (5.5-8.0)
  7. Kale (6.0-7.5)
  8. Pea, sweat (6.0-7.5)
  9. Pumpkin (5.5-7.5)
  10. Spinach (6.0-7.5)
  11. Crookneck Squash (6.0-7.5)
  12. Tomato (5.5-7.5)
Moderately Alkaline Soil Plants: The following crops will tolerate a pH of 6.0 to 7.0 or greater:
  • Artichoke (6.5-7.5)
  • Arugula (6.5-7.5)
  • Asparagus (6.0-8.0)
  • Bean, pole (6.0-7.5)
  • Bean, lima (6.0-7.0)
  • Beet (6.0-7.5)
  • Broccoli (6.0-7.0)
  • Broccoli rabe (6.5-7.5)
Vegetable plants that do best in mildly acidic soil include carrots, cauliflower, celery, cucumbers, garlic, sweet peppers, pumpkins, winter squash and tomatoes.
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Good to know my main garden area came in at 6.5 so I got some range to work with.
I also have a acidic area with the blueberries and strawberries that I could easily slip in some acid loving crops
 
First time trying this out but I think I started my seeds a little too early. I just got done building 7 beds out front of my house. Fill them up halfway with the chicken farmer up the roads manure. I put lime on it from the guys suggestion. Is halfway all right? Also started some 10 gallon grow bags of root vegetables. Going to plant some blueberry bushes next week.
I bought a IBC 275 gallon tote. And I was thinking about hooking it up to a gutter system.
IMG_20220406_171107950.jpg

IMG_20220403_111722776.jpg IMG_20220403_171726829.jpg IMG_20220402_163006981.jpg
 
Chicken manure is usually pretty strong and can burn the plants. You may want to dilute it with some top soil and compost. I usually make my beds 10-12 in deep and fill them to the top. Deep roots will allow them to withstand wind and drought better.

What do you plan to plant in the beds? Root crops will need deeper soil and tall plants will need to put down deep roots.
 
Choctaw said:
Chicken manure is usually pretty strong and can burn the plants. You may want to dilute it with some top soil and compost. I usually make my beds 10-12 in deep and fill them to the top. Deep roots will allow them to withstand wind and drought better.

What do you plan to plant in the beds? Root crops will need deeper soil and tall plants will need to put down deep roots.
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So do you use a rototiller? I was thinking if I till mine right now, it would mix it in with the topsoil of the ground so that when I add in loam to top it all off, it will be mixed up pretty good.
 
kman said:
So do you use a rototiller? I was thinking if I till mine right now, it would mix it in with the topsoil of the ground so that when I add in loam to top it all off, it will be mixed up pretty good.
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I usually don't use a tiller unless the ground is too hard. It is difficult to till in a bed unless you have a small mantis type tiller. But if you can get it tilled it would help a lot.

One concern with beds is drainage. Some just trap and hold water which isn't good for the plants. So your being on a slope is beneficial.
 
Never used chix poop. But I agree with Choctaw. It's an amendment, not a medium.

Great looking setup.

Without too many details, what is your general area/state? Last frost date? LFD is good to know, but many plants can go in before that date for a mid-Spring harvest, some will harvest later.

Carrots, corn, parsnips, spinach, turnips, peas, onions, lettuce and seed potatoes can all be sown directly into the ground once the soil has thawed enough to be workable.
 
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Choctaw said:
I usually don't use a tiller unless the ground is too hard. It is difficult to till in a bed unless you have a small mantis type tiller. But if you can get it tilled it would help a lot.

One concern with beds is drainage. Some just trap and hold water which isn't good for the plants. So your being on a slope is beneficial.
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You can also mark out and rototill the plots before you build your raised beds. By amending the soil before rototilling you can get a deep mix of the nutrients.
And if you mix in a good amount of compost and peat into your first bed, you should never really need to roto again. everything is easily tilled with a good hoe.
 
enbloc said:
Never used chix poop. But I agree with Choctaw. It's an amendment, not a medium.

Great looking setup.

Without too many details, what is your general area/state? Last frost date? LFD is good to know, but many plants can go in before that date for a mid-Spring harvest, some will harvest later.

Carrots, corn, parsnips, spinach, turnips, peas, onions, lettuce and seed potatoes can all be sown directly into the ground once the soil has thawed enough to be workable.
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I live by Lake Sunapee in the Upper Valley part of NH. I think its Zone 8 and the LFD is about Memorial day here. APFSDS's zip code link seems to confirm that. Thanks by the way! I moved up here 1 year before covid and thank god I did.

I live on a big hill and most of my property is a slope. For the hilly parts, I was thinking of planting fruit trees and berry bushes. I notice a ton of moles up here. Not sure if I need to worry about that. The only other thing that my security camera seems to record are porcupines. Occasionally a red fox and once a bear.
 
kman said:
I live by Lake Sunapee in the Upper Valley part of NH. I think its Zone 8 and the LFD is about Memorial day here. APFSDS's zip code link seems to confirm that. Thanks by the way! I moved up here 1 year before covid and thank god I did.

I live on a big hill and most of my property is a slope. For the hilly parts, I was thinking of planting fruit trees and berry bushes. I notice a ton of moles up here. Not sure if I need to worry about that. The only other thing that my security camera seems to record are porcupines. Occasionally a red fox and once a bear.
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The berries and fruit trees will also attract deer and ground critters. By the looks of you photo, you probably already get them. If that's the case, you may also want deer fence around your crops. Also, the photo down onto your beds shows a fairly large flattish area to the right. Consider Hard Red Winter Wheat. Maybe some corn... definitely sunflower.
 
enbloc said:
The berries and fruit trees will also attract deer and ground critters. By the looks of you photo, you probably already get them. If that's the case, you may also want deer fence around your crops. Also, the photo down onto your beds shows a fairly large flattish area to the right. Consider Hard Red Winter Wheat. Maybe some corn...
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To the right of the beds is hill. It's hard to tell from the picture I took from my house. Can you grow wheat onto of a leech bed? Across from my driveway is my leech bed. To the left of that used to be trees. I knocked down the trees and got an excavator here for a few days to dump my backyard into that low spot. I think it must have been 600 yards worth but it may not look like it! I then I planted wildflowers with horse manure. I get an insane amount of birds, bees and butterflies now. I was thinking of getting some bee hives. I heard the bears up here are constantly going after bee hives regardless of electric fences though. I'd like to get chickens too but first I was going to build a wood shed.

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IMG_20211106_160315898.jpg IMG_20211019_175216794.jpg
 
kman said:
First time trying this out but I think I started my seeds a little too early.
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Not sure about too early, but it looks like they could definitely use some extra light. Especially the ones that have sprouted.

What all are you growing? Might not be too late to re-start some of the ones that have not germinated yet.
 
flippinfleck said:
Not sure about too early, but it looks like they could definitely use some extra light. Especially the ones that have sprouted.

What all are you growing? Might not be too late to re-start some of the ones that have not germinated yet.
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I think I have 38 things I am growing. Too much to list out! Maybe I will run down and get this grow light from Ocean State job lots.
 
kman said:
I think I have 38 things I am growing. Too much to list out! Maybe I will run down and get this grow light from Ocean State job lots.
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I used to have that problem of not knowing right offhand. Now it's all done with a google sheet that my wife and I update when we start, up-pot, or just want to try a new variety. Can add all sorts of filters and formulas to figure out what goes where and when.

1649544312796.png


From that product listing :
Higher red content promotes flowering and fruit generation and accelerates root growth
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Hopefully your plants will be outside when they start flowering and fruiting. You don't really need all that UV purple light for starts. I hear it's a b!tch on the eyes when you're tending to them.

Couple two, three 4' shop lights with T5 bulbs in the 5K+ kelvin area will do you just fine. Though with the number of plants you have spread out there, you may want to bump it up to six or eight 4' lights.

A lot of the pots look like the seeds haven't even started yet. May want to take one and dig around to find out if they're just bad seeds (old? bad stock?) ,if they've been over watered and are no longer viable, or they just can't get up through what looks to be potting soil with some larger bits and pieces in there. I only mention this as you said you were afraid you started too early.
 
kman said:
Can you grow wheat onto of a leech bed?
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Sure. Just no trees, deep-root shrubs or anything that goes too root-deep. Probably stay away from tubers, except maybe beets and radish...

Also @flippinfleck nailed it. Plants look a little spindly.

Nice views. Do you hunt?
 
enbloc said:
Sure. Just no trees, deep-root shrubs or anything that goes too root-deep. Probably stay away from tubers, except maybe beets and radish...

Also @flippinfleck nailed it. Plants look a little spindly.

Nice views. Do you hunt?
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Thanks. No I don't hunt but I've been considering trying. In the distance is Corbin Park Hunting Reserve. Some people say you can hear the elk there during mating season but all I hear are the cows from the farm in the closer distance. A coyotes noises here at night travel up the hill and it sounds eerie.

Here is another pic up closer. The ones on the right I planted 2 weeks ago
IMG_20220409_203113585.jpg
 
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As far as I know, there's no elk in NH, or New England. Not a big deal though, plenty of Whitetail...

Learning to hunt is a great adventure and one you should consider. Take a NH Hunter's Ed course and find a seasoned, successful hunter in your area.
What you learn will be something that fills that empty spot in Today's Man. Nature provides and should be cared for with love, respect and admiration...
Hunter Education | New Hampshire Fish and Game Department

As to the plants, it is still fairly cloudy this time of year and those seedlings are stretching to gather light. Spindly plants (also called "leggy") tend to not develop
their stems well enough to support them in rain/wind/fruiting and are not worth the effort you put into them. @flippinfleck is dead on. Pull the little guys and start new ones
when you get in a good sprouting spectrum lamp. Keep the lamp pretty close to the cotyledons and afterwards the true leaves.

Here's a schedule for starting/planting/direct sowing. Just pick your hardiness zone... (you are either 5a or 5b)

new-hampshire-vegetable-planting-calendar

If you don't see a plant that you want to grow on the schedule, find what family it belongs to and search online to find when best to plant in your area...

Happy Planting!
~Matt

1649558638857.png
 
enbloc said:
As far as I know, there's no elk in NH, or New England. Not a big deal though, plenty of Whitetail...

Learning to hunt is a great adventure and one you should consider. Take a NH Hunter's Ed course and find a seasoned, successful hunter in your area.
What you learn will be something that fills that empty spot in Today's Man. Nature provides and should be cared for with love, respect and admiration...
Hunter Education | New Hampshire Fish and Game Department

As to the plants, it is still fairly cloudy this time of year and those seedlings are stretching to gather light. Spindly plants (also called "leggy") tend to not develop
their stems well enough to support them in rain/wind/fruiting and are not worth the effort you put into them. @flippinfleck is dead on. Pull the little guys and start new ones
when you get in a good sprouting spectrum lamp. Keep the lamp pretty close to the cotyledons and afterwards the true leaves.

Here's a schedule for starting/planting/direct sowing. Just pick your hardiness zone... (you are either 5a or 5b)

new-hampshire-vegetable-planting-calendar

If you don't see a plant that you want to grow on the schedule, find what family it belongs to and search online to find when best to plant in your area...

Happy Planting!
~Matt

View attachment 601705
Click to expand...

Definitely elk in Corbin Park, it is very old and has a long history of all kinds of stuff people would hunt in there. It takes up half the town of Croydon. 26k acres! Most people have never even heard of it. I've talked to people who have run into wild boars along the fence line. It doesn't have buffalo anymore.

outsideinradio.org

Millionaires' Hunt Club — Outside/In

A quick note: this episode previously appeared in our podcast feed back in the spring of 2016, as an individual segment in one of our hour-long episodes we produced to air on New Hampshire Public Radio. So you might have already heard it, but…you might not have! Sam is going to take us all hunting
outsideinradio.org outsideinradio.org
 
kman said:
Definitely elk in Corbin Park, it is very old and has a long history of all kinds of stuff people would hunt in there. It takes up half the town of Croydon. 26k acres! Most people have never even heard of it. I've talked to people who have run into wild boars along the fence line. It doesn't have buffalo anymore.

outsideinradio.org

Millionaires' Hunt Club — Outside/In

A quick note: this episode previously appeared in our podcast feed back in the spring of 2016, as an individual segment in one of our hour-long episodes we produced to air on New Hampshire Public Radio. So you might have already heard it, but…you might not have! Sam is going to take us all hunting
outsideinradio.org outsideinradio.org
Click to expand...
every day you learn something new is a Good day... Thank you for that!
 
kman said:
Definitely elk in Corbin Park, it is very old and has a long history of all kinds of stuff people would hunt in there. It takes up half the town of Croydon. 26k acres! Most people have never even heard of it. I've talked to people who have run into wild boars along the fence line. It doesn't have buffalo anymore.

outsideinradio.org

Millionaires' Hunt Club — Outside/In

A quick note: this episode previously appeared in our podcast feed back in the spring of 2016, as an individual segment in one of our hour-long episodes we produced to air on New Hampshire Public Radio. So you might have already heard it, but…you might not have! Sam is going to take us all hunting
outsideinradio.org outsideinradio.org
Click to expand...
My dad worked there for a time repairing fences and also during the fire at Croyden mountain
 

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