2015 Garden Thread.
08-08-2015, 11:36 AM
#81
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Germany/Calif.
Posts: 2,450
I use the shotgun approach when planting Leaks, Garlic, Onions or any bulb plant. I always figure some are gonna germinate this year, some next year, which is part of the survival strategy of the plant. And some are gonna rot if they stay too wet.
One thing I learned is to anti fungus coat them before planting. Simple cheep anti fungal powder for seeds works. Just put a little powder in a freezer bag and shake them up a little to coat them some, it doesn't have to be pretty.
There is always a balance between enough heat, moisture and fungus attacks. Sometimes that balance is hard to find, especially if Mother Nature isn't cooperating (to much rain)
I have better results starting them in black plastic flower pots using potting soil. Most commercial potting soils are baked to kill errant seeds, weeds and whatnot Easier to control the water/moisture in a pot and the bulb gets good heat (hotter than the ground) which promotes germination.
When you plant, put an inch or so of sand under the bulb or your sprout for drainage. Wet/drier cycles or not sitting in too wet soil generally gets better results.
Not specific to your question, just some general stuff for the same class of plant that has worked out for me in the past.
The only other thing you have to really worry about is nematodes and you won't know about them until half past too late.
One thing I learned is to anti fungus coat them before planting. Simple cheep anti fungal powder for seeds works. Just put a little powder in a freezer bag and shake them up a little to coat them some, it doesn't have to be pretty.
There is always a balance between enough heat, moisture and fungus attacks. Sometimes that balance is hard to find, especially if Mother Nature isn't cooperating (to much rain)
I have better results starting them in black plastic flower pots using potting soil. Most commercial potting soils are baked to kill errant seeds, weeds and whatnot Easier to control the water/moisture in a pot and the bulb gets good heat (hotter than the ground) which promotes germination.
When you plant, put an inch or so of sand under the bulb or your sprout for drainage. Wet/drier cycles or not sitting in too wet soil generally gets better results.
Not specific to your question, just some general stuff for the same class of plant that has worked out for me in the past.
The only other thing you have to really worry about is nematodes and you won't know about them until half past too late.
08-08-2015, 11:54 AM
#82
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Midwest
Posts: 1,079
Thanks MudderChuck. I will be planting in a bed that I spaded up and is a little higher then the surrounding dirt so I should have good drainage. I will put some fungicide on the corms before planting. I would not mess with them but I hate to waste anything so I will plant them.
08-25-2015, 06:27 PM
#83
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Almost Heaven,WV
Posts: 4,086
My garden is about done for the year. It wasn't the best year but it certainly wasn't the worst either. We canned 49 quarts of green beans, 28 pints of bread and butter pickles and put up lots of freezer corn and peppers. I dug potatoes this evening and got 5 1/2 bushels. Last year I dug 10 bushels from the same plot. All I have left are my sweet potatoes and a few pepper plants. In a couple weeks, they're coming out and I'm going to turn it all under and sew my Red Russian Kale.
