SNOW PEAS ARE UP!!!!
I had just about given up on the snow peas I planted -- it's been right about 3 weeks since I planted them. But they're up and about 2 to 3 inches high!! They're so cute!
My tomato and pepper starts are going great guns -- I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to pot up the peppers next week, they're so vigorous and tall. I've had an issue with the Roma tomatoes, though -- they've been really wimpy and quick to damp off, which I haven't really seen when I start seeds in the BioDome. The SuperSauce, on the other hand... they're big, strong, sturdy plants.
I had honestly thought it would be the other way around -- the Roma going great guns, the SS being feeble and finicky. I'm glad I planted extras of the Roma, or I wouldn't have enough to set out. But supposedly the SS produce these huge tomatoes, so I suppose it would have taken the place of the Roma.
Today I went out and double tilled two corn plots -- well, my husband did one and I did the other -- so tomorrow I'll probably spread some 10-10-10 on those and till up the third corn plot as well as the plot I'm going to put the tomatoes in. If I'm feeling frisky, I might even till up the last one. It's supposed to rain Saturday, so the fertilizer will get watered in very nicely.
The way I like to do soil prep on established plots is to till it twice (with the slope and then against it), then spread fertilizer and wait for a rain. The corn plots I fertilize a couple more times before I plant, and one of those will be a pure nitrogen fertilizer (since corn is a nitrogen hog). I'll till them again the day before I plant, as well as rake them out so they're smooth and pretty. Well, I don't rake, I have an old chain-link gate that I drag like a harrow across the bed -- does it quicker and neater, and I don't leave footprints in the soft earth. I do have to weigh it down with something so it doesn't bounce around, but that's easy, I have a lot of scrap metal and wood lying around.
So everything looks good! Yay for the snow peas! And yay for tilled plots! It looks like I'm doing something now...
My tomato and pepper starts are going great guns -- I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to pot up the peppers next week, they're so vigorous and tall. I've had an issue with the Roma tomatoes, though -- they've been really wimpy and quick to damp off, which I haven't really seen when I start seeds in the BioDome. The SuperSauce, on the other hand... they're big, strong, sturdy plants.
I had honestly thought it would be the other way around -- the Roma going great guns, the SS being feeble and finicky. I'm glad I planted extras of the Roma, or I wouldn't have enough to set out. But supposedly the SS produce these huge tomatoes, so I suppose it would have taken the place of the Roma.
Today I went out and double tilled two corn plots -- well, my husband did one and I did the other -- so tomorrow I'll probably spread some 10-10-10 on those and till up the third corn plot as well as the plot I'm going to put the tomatoes in. If I'm feeling frisky, I might even till up the last one. It's supposed to rain Saturday, so the fertilizer will get watered in very nicely.
The way I like to do soil prep on established plots is to till it twice (with the slope and then against it), then spread fertilizer and wait for a rain. The corn plots I fertilize a couple more times before I plant, and one of those will be a pure nitrogen fertilizer (since corn is a nitrogen hog). I'll till them again the day before I plant, as well as rake them out so they're smooth and pretty. Well, I don't rake, I have an old chain-link gate that I drag like a harrow across the bed -- does it quicker and neater, and I don't leave footprints in the soft earth. I do have to weigh it down with something so it doesn't bounce around, but that's easy, I have a lot of scrap metal and wood lying around.
So everything looks good! Yay for the snow peas! And yay for tilled plots! It looks like I'm doing something now...