Jerry, I'm actually considering pulling up all the cedar mulch and saving it for the flower beds since it seems to be better for aesthetics than anything at this point. I'd like to start over with some hay and compost and just start building on that. Steve, I was just talking about this with Coot and the crew at BlueJay's spot recently. I'm having the HARDEST time getting this seemingly simple plant to grow here. I was a bit surprised to find some others there in the same boat. I'm still working the issue but in the mean time, I'm focusing more on ways to use my aloe plants in place of comfrey. ....the journey continues.
Yeah, that's where I remember you saying that you don't have it growing. I believe you could get it to grow near you, it would just take daily maintenance. One of my comfrey plants will wilt if I don't give it like a gallon of 2 of water every day, I believe they need a little special care until they get that famous taproot down to a pretty profound depth. My aloe, however, sucks. I planted 2 plants and one got choked out by grass, the other has been abused by the weedwhacker. I still have a few leaves, though, but only use the fresh gel for when I try to take a cutting and propagate it. I figure it's fresh, gel form is better for that, and I can use the concentrate powder for my drench/spray applications. I would love to see you doing an experiment with using aloe to aid in potato growing, they're pretty much purely roots and Aloe has those acids (SA, IBA...) that are found in rooting compounds....
I've been adding all my left over aloe scraps to my worm bin so I hope to see some benefit there. I'm also planning to start mulching with it much the same way I see you all using chopped comfrey. I watched a youtube vid where a guy started potato cuttings in a bucket and just added more soil as the plant grew. I don't know how many cuts to put in each bucket or pot or whatever I end up using. It'll be a cool experiment if nothing else.
Yeah, I don't have any personal experience w/ taters in containers, just in the soil. In the soil I cut around each individual eye/root so I can get as many plants out of 1 tater as possible, and plant them in rows about a foot apart. I do know there are 2 guys who were having a lot of fun w/ potatoes in containers this year... @[member="ÐugustWest"] @[member="jerry111165"]
Talk to August West about growing taters in smart pots - I was surprised as heck when I watched him dump out cloth pots and finding fingerling potatoes throughout the soil. I've not grown them until this year myself and will be harvesting soon. I've got 7-8 big hills so it should be interesting. I'll put up some pics - good or bad lol J
@[member="Dumdumdummy"] This is just for you(and whoever else had some lackluster plants this year), hopefully you get a laugh My only aloe plant: edited to be more inclusive of the community
That's not fair Steve - I want to laugh at your aloe plant too! And then I'll put up some pics of my tomatoes - we'll all get a good laugh! Lol When I went out to the garden earlier I was very pleasantly surprised to find that one of my broccoli' that I had let go to seed had sprouted a nice fresh new head - I had no idea that they'd give up multiple crops in a season! J
I just went across the street to get a couple of snaps of the broccoli a second crop. Anyone else ever done this? And here it is overall - seeded. Look down bottom right and you'll see the heads. I just checked and all 3 plants that I let go by have done this and are ready to harvest. Kewl. J
Steve, I'll laugh with ya buddy....but only a little . Some of mine tends to look that way when the sun beats it up but it comes back when the weather is more hospitable.
Well....still hot f#&k here. Looking at a high of 108 today. I gave my indoor stuff a foliar of neem oil/protekt/aloe this morning. I had alot left over so why not hit the remaining plants in the garden? My eggplant has gotten huge!! It just keeps on going and going despite the heat. LOTS of flowers now but I'm sure it's still too hot for any fruit.
We are having a warm spell here too. It's only getting into the 80's, but thats unusual for this time of year. I have been seeing the beginning signs of leaves changing. And with this warm spell the bugs have made a resurrection. All this warm super humid weather we are getting makes me thankful I don't grow outside.
man i was thinking the same.. been rainy nights, and incredibly humid days.. the blight is going crazy on the tomatoes (looks like i'll get a full harvest anyway) but man, i'd be flipping out if i were growing weed out there. to have perfect weather all spring and summer only to be ruined by a couple weeks in sept, would really bum me out.
That's the problem we have in the PNW with the weather turning cloudy, foggy, misty rainy just as the buds are finishing. I'm crossing my fingers that we get some sun this fall and my outdoor girls can finish.
I also have that wish as well most years in Northwest Oregon... "Maybe next year" is the usual refrain around October 1 if not sooner - LOL
Hi peoples, this is my very first fruit and veg I have ever grown, I think I'm going pretty good for a beginner thanx to all you great people who have feed me with all this great information. Progress is being made