maybe this link will work. Sorry guys I'm new at this.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://photobucket.com/rookiegardener29

I had some extra seeds germinating (for back up just in case I lost a few. I completely forgot abot them. I pulled them out last night and I was amazed.(Josh had been pouring waater on them to keep them moist) I had a few corn seeds that George had given me at the swap. They grew through all of the paper towells. I just know this corn is going to be great. I just have that feeling. Hopefully Norman won't get much rain this weekend and I can go out and put the pole beans and peas into the ground. I am completely overwhelmed with trays full of small pots. I think I'm up to about 12 trays. I am putting them out early in the morning and pulling them into the garage at night. Josh says to leave them alone. I am afraid of a storm with high winds that would blow everything away. Happy Gardening everyone! Wish me luck!
Kristy

Kristy: Good job setting up your account! Now, when you want to add photos in your message...roll your mouse over a pic on your PB account, a box will drop down with a couple lines of code. Click the code that is labeled "html" and paste it in the message box here.

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You look like you have a great start! Good luck :)

Lisa

P.S. I'm not sure why the pic is showing so large, I thought usually PB resizes them.

Thanks so much Lisa!

Kristy, your enthusiasm is contagious! Hope that corn does real well for you.

I've been getting a few things out, little by little. My new Asian hoe has really helped me to start catching up on some of the cultivation.

Sure is raining a lot today!

George

Kristy,

I'm glad you're having so much fun with your first garden.

I think the worst of the winds are over, except you might get some strong winds during a thunderstorm. It probably is safe to leave your flats of plants outside but I'd put them right up against an exterior wall of the house to help shelter them from the wind.

There's a lot of rain in the forecast for the next few days, and a flood watch has been issued for most of the state, so you may not be able to plant this weekend. That's OK. It's better to wait for the worst of the rainy weather to pass and then plant than to have heavy rains flood and drown small seedlings.

Hi George,

Glad you're getting rain. We got our rain yesterday--12" of it.

Dawn

It's been dry all day here in Norman. So all of my babies got to stay out all day and soak up the sun! I was hoping for no rain this weekend, guess not.

George-
Thanks for those seeds. I don't know what it is about them but they germinate alot quicker than my other store bought seeds (Lowes). The roots were 3 inches long! And that was after 5 days! I noticed Dawn at the swap admiring your new hoe. I was caught up in a conversation or I would have went over to check it out. I would love to someday invest into some good quality gardening tools. I read on this forum quite a bit about those tools. You are one lucky guy! If I have learned one thing it is: One step at a time.

Dawn-
Were you a Meterologist in you past life? LOL! I used to go to koco.com for my weather. Now I just check my garden forum! You guys have great links for maps and weather. I can't believe how much rain you got. I have decided to let the flats stay out all night. I took your advice and found a great spot to put them. It will be nice to not have to get up 15 minutes earlier than usual to move flats before going to work. Josh just rolls his eyes and walks away mumbling something about not taking his advice but when Dawn says something I jump through hoops and swear by it. LOL! I hope your pond got all of the water it needed and I hope you don't lose any of those precious tomatoes.

Enjoy your weekend everyone! Stay dry!

Kristy

This rain is really depressing! It felt like a wasted weekend. The only thing I was able to accomplish was putting my germinated Bonsai seeds into soil. I was given a kit by a friend. I followed the directions exactly for germinating. It said to put them in a paper towell and wet it and stick it in the fridge for a week. They barely sprouted so I stuck all five in the soil together. It they work then great! If not I want to start over again maybe with a better Bonsai seed. Any suggestions? I have this need to grow everything from seed. I refuse to buy Wal Mart potted 2 inch plants. There is a great feeling of accomplishment growing a beautiful plant from seed.

I kinda have 3 gardening goals this year:
#1 Veggie Garden-Back Yard
#2 Flower Bed-Front Yard
#3 Flower Bed-Back Yard

I know I have alot of work ahead of me. Good thing I have Josh's help and a few friends who owe me some favors!
I am using this thread to document my process and maybe pick up some pointers along the way! I have so many ideas and concerns running through my head at night when I'm trying to go to bed. I just figured this would be an easy way to get it all straightened out.

*Vegetable Garden is at a stand still. I just need one sunny dry day to go out and rake the soil and pull some weeds. I also am working on the layout of the veggies. Which means I am going to have to move a few things around. I have corn, 2 tomatos, red and yellow onions in the ground. Everything else are in pots waiting for a dry day to go into the ground. Here are a few pictures from this morning.

*Front Flower Bed- Doing good. All plants are in the ground. I put some Herbs in it too. Not much to report quite yet. Just waiting for things to grow.

*Back Yard Flower bed- this is what kept me up last night...so many ideas.
I was able to draw on the picture to show where the flower beds will go.
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This area doesn't get much sun. I plan to put seating in the middle. And put fescue seed down. I'm not quite sure yet...still thinking...

Kristy

You are so incredibly organized and detailed. My gardens would dream to have such a detailed gardener!

This weekend was my annual seed round-up and dump. All the seeds I didn't winter sow, I hauled them out in the drizzle and tossed them in beds willy-nilly. My theory is they have a better chance to grow if they are actually outside and not sitting in ziplock baggies inside, and the drizzle should help them settle in quick. Thank goodness there were no gully-washers this weekend.

I also planted seeds in a small amount of containers for a charity/flower sale in June. We support about 700 children in Haiti and this is going to be one of our fundraisers. I need to pot up some of my WS seedlings too. I should have potted up some of my basil, I'm going to have plenty!

Lisa

Kristy,

One reason I watch the weather so closely is because so much of the gardening tasks I have to do every day are dependent on what the weather is or isn't doing. That's true for anyone who gardens, of course, but it just seems like some days the OK weather changes every 5 minutes. We're way out in the country too, far beyond the reach of the storm sirens in town, so I keep a close, close eye on the weather so I'm not surprised by a sudden T-storm or tornado. : )

The rainfall that has hit our state in the last week has been amazing--and with amazingly bad timing since we all would love to be out planting right now.

I hope your flats of seedlings are doing well outside. They look great!

Our ponds did fill up--all of them! Every one of them filled completely to the top and then the excess ran off. The creeks have running water and the swamp is swampy. What more could you ask for? Tee hee--how about a week of sunshine to dry up the yard and garden?

The tomatoes look great so far which pleases me since I've been working hard for years to improve the drainage in the veggie garden. Still, when a foot of rain falls in one day, there's only so much anyone can do. I suppose if someone has extremely fast-draining sand, then a foot of rain wouldn't be an issue, but with our heavy clay, it is a big deal. I'm hoping tomorrow's forecast rain goes north and rains over southwestern Kansas and the OK panhandle. It seems like they never get enough rain there.

If you want to grow a Bonsai-type plant, I suggest you start a separate thread, put Randy's name in the subject line, and ask his advice. When it comes to growing anything in a container, he's the go-to guy. He has the most amazing adeniums.

It shouldn't take long to get the veggie in the ground once your soil is dry enough that you can walk in the garden within sinking down into it too deeply. I have been able to work in the raised beds a little, at least in the upper half of the garden where the pathways drain well. In the lower half of the garden, the pathways drain much more slowly, so I haven't done anything down there yet. Mostly I've just pulled weeds or deadheaded annual flowers that I use as companion plants for the veggies.

I want to plant tomatoes in one raised bed, but it still seems so wait that I am hesitating. I might do it later this afternoon anyway.

The flowers will grow as soon as they get some sunlight, some warmth and a break from the endless rain.

I always put the veggie garden in first, and then work on the flower beds. A lot of my flowers are perennial, so it mostly is a matter of weeding and mulching.

I mowed the grass one day last week--I think it was Saturday afternoon. My husband had mowed the day before it rained, but the grass and wildflowers (some people call them weeds) were huge again, so I mowed like a maniac. I mowed three acres. DH always uses the riding mower, but I use the push mower so I'll get lots of exercise. I actually left ruts in the ground from the lawn mower tires. I was laughing--that's never happened before!

Despite the mud, it is beautiful outside. We have tons of hummingbirds, butterflies, birds, bees, dragonflies and damselflies and frogs, toads, skinks, etc. All the wild things seem to be enjoying the dry day.

OK, back out to the garden now to finish the bed I'm weeding.

Dawn

Lisa-
What kinds of plants do you need for the charity in June. I could start some things to help out. I love to get involved in things like that. Just let me know if I can help in any way!

Dawn-you said my flats look great but I feel like I am about a month behind everyone else. I guess I started later. I am not too worried because I believe I am on your coat tail timing wise.
Quick question: If you had one fence line and had to decide whether to put tomatoes or pole beans. I thought I would give the fence to the pole beans and buy wire cages for the tomatoes. I am curious about the peas. Are they gonna get tall? I have never grown peas. Will they need a fence?
Kristy

Kristy: Thank you! We will take anything! I just used some of my seeds I hadn't traded off. I think one of the other ladies is bringing irises. It is something we are trying, we haven't done it before. The lady organizing the booth is a nurse who goes down every summer to help with the medical mission.

I think the sale is June 13, probably at Will Rogers. (Wow, I just pulled up where I think it is going to be...that sounds like fun!)

Festival in the Park
Saturday, June 13, 10 a.m. 4 p.m.

The Will Rogers Gardens will transform into a gardenerÂs paradise during the Oklahoma City Council of Garden ClubÂs annual "Festival in the Park." This National Garden Week celebration will combine a plant and gardening materials sale with free horticulture seminars, floral design and entertaining kids activities. Great for the entire family.

Lisa

Lisa,
I will get with you when it gets closer to that time. I will start some plants. I'm not sure what, but I'm just happy to help and it gives me something to look forward to. I bet we (Gardenweb Folks) could really help out your nurse friend. I wouldn't be afraid to put it out there. You should start a new thread talking about it. I bet we could come up with a really interesting variety of plants!
Kristy

Hmmmm funny thing. Yer saying about your garden but thats not a picture of you working in the garden...LOL.. How ya been? Your doing a great job with the garden. Looks great.

I might be a rookie but..thats one of the first things I learned...get the hubby to help!
Thanks!

1st year garden=weeds, weeds, weeds!

Kristy, Different varieties of peas get different heights. Do you remember the name of the pea variety you planted? Most peas only get 2 or 3' tall, and quite a few of those are in the 22-26" range, but there's a few tall varieties like Tall Telephone that can get 6' tall.

I'd grow the pole beans on the fence and tomatoes in cages.

Lisa, I hope y'all have a successful plant sale and raise a lot of money for your charity.

And, Kristy, we all have weeds. They are just a part of gardening. : )

Dawn

Rain, Rain go Away...I can't get anything done today!

Today I have found myself antsy beyond all recognition. The sun is out, it is warm and I am stuck at work until 6Pm.!!!!AGHHHHH! I could scream! I was so desperate to do something so I have been walking around the parking lot at work pulling up weeds. I work Mon thru Fri until 6pm so I only get afew hours after work of sunlight. Today I'm gonna rush home and pull weeds in my OWN garden! I am also gonna try to put a few more things in the ground.
Wish me luck!
Kristy

Haven't been able to do much in the garden at all either! Lots going on too, with our son's wedding coming up on the 16th.

I need to get the things I have in flats & pots, at least, healed in.

Keep up the good work Kristy. When I get to a high speed connection I'll try to remember to open this thread and look at the pictures.

George

Here are the latest pictures from my vegetable garden. I had a good friend come over this past Saturday with a roto tiller! It was amazingly quick. I can't believe I was attempting to turn the soil by hand. Anyways, I was able to put most everything in the ground! Check it out!

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Kristi,

Great job! Now, remember to mulch, pull weeds early and often and hope for enough rain to make it all grow and not so much that it will drown. The fun is just beginning.

Dawn

I am SOOOO jealous of how pretty your garden looks! Everything looks GREAT GIRL!

Beth

Thanks Beth! I have been working on it every chance I get since February. I started everything by seed. I am taking my chances on these which I know not so much about. I have been reading about alot of different heirloom plants. I have already been planning my garden for next year. It will be a throw back. I want to help preserve alot of heirloom veggies. The most interesting thing to me is to hear all of the stories that go along with seed. I chuckle every time I imagine George tracking the little boy into the brush to preserve a Lima! What people do to save a bean! LOL!(you can read his story on the bean thread)
I want to learn more about really rare seeds. That would be a feat! This is my first real garden of my own and everyone says I am acting like an over protective first time mother! Oh well, I love my babies! shhh, don't tell anyone....I talk to them too...hehehe

LOL... I talk to mine too, mainly saying "STAY STRONG, MY BABIES!". You're so super organized, and have done everything so neatly... mainly that's what I'm jealous about! That and the fact that your seedlings look a hundred times better than mine did! How did you do your seed starting? I love the heirloom varieties too, but I did such a cruddy job with my seedlings I'm having to augment with store bought plants. (ugh) :)

This is my second year gardening, but my first starting from seed.... so I'm calling this my first time too. :)

Beth

I germinated in damp paper towells. When they sprouted I put them in those peat pot trays. Call me a crazy lady but I would take my trays to work with me and set them out in the parking lot for the perfect sun. I would move them all day. I took all of them home at night. I put them to bed in the garage. Then when they were a few inches tall I transplanted into cups and small pots using MG potting soil.Just two weeks ago I allowed them to stay out all night(because Dawn said it was ok) They have been fine since. Even through the storms. I put them up against the side of the house so the wind wouldn't blow them away. I just put almost everything in the ground last Saturday. After a week they look about the same size wise. But they look perky and healthy and thats all I care about. I plan to do some weeding this weekend and work on my flower bed in front of my house. I hope I will be able to eat the veggies when I harvest. I'm afraid it might be like when people buy a cow to raise and butcher then they can't because they love it! Ha Ha! Just kidding!

This is an update on my first garden. It is doing quite well. I am very surprised on how good it is doing. Here are the latest pics taken 3 weeks ago.
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Here are pictures from yesterday. Dawn or anyone else...please help me with my peas. I put cages on them about a week ago. Should I have left them on the ground to crawl?
Peas
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Peas
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Tomatos
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Pole beans & cucumbers
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Romaine Lettuce
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Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Okra
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Corn & peppers
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Me standing next to corn to show height
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Me standing next to tomatos to show height
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Okay... I'm ashamed of my haphazard, dinky garden now....

lol... just kidding! Sorta! :)

You're doing awesome! That's for sure! I really like how you did your peas, are they producing well like that? I only had a few make it, and they climbed up my fence (with my help, of course).

You've inspired me to try a fall planting of corn! Hopefully the weather will be better for it, my neighbor had a pretty good stand of corn and it got beat down by the storms the other day!

Beth

Kristy,

You've got a great first-year garden and I can tell by the smile on your face how proud you are, and rightfully so!

I hope Dorothy or someone who routinely grows peas can answer your question about what might be wrong with your peas. I grow peas, but not every year and not this late in the year. (In the years I plant them, I put them in the ground in mid-Feb. and they usually are done before the end of May because the heat just burns them up. That is why I seldom plant peas here, because we go from "too hot" to "too cold" too quickly here and it can keep you from getting a good harvest.

It is hard to tell from looking at the photo, but if the white patches on the leaves look something like talcum powder, that would be powdery mildew. I also think some of the dead spots on the leaves that I'm seeing are likely sunburn, but I've never had it on peas, so I don't know for sure.

And the dead leaves at the bottom? Were they dead before you lifted the plants up off the ground to put them in cages? If not, they likely sunburned after being "suddenly" exposed to sun when they'd been shady before.

It seems late in the year for peas. Mine are already done, ripped out, replaced and a distant memory by mid-June but you're a lot farther north, so maybe they hang in there longer where you live than here where I live.

Hoping Dorothy sees this and responds cause she'll have all the answers.

Dawn

Dawn-
Yes, the bottoms were dead before I put the cages on them. I think I may have over watered and they did get a mildew. Thats why I wanted to get them off the ground. I imagine it has to do with wrong timing. Do you think I should pull them and use the space for the tomatoes? Or is it too late to move the tomato plants at this point. They desperately need more room. I don't know what I was thinking putting them so close. And you were right about the flimsy $.99 wire tomato cages. I come home everyday from work and have to lean and readjust. I will definately invest in better cages next go around.

Kristy

Kirsty,

Before you yank out your peas, try starting a thread just about the peas. Link one or two pea photos and ask a simple question like "what is wrong with these peas". Then, Dorothy and others who routinely grow peas will see that thread, and hopefully they can tell you what is going on.

I think it probably is disease caused by the very wet spring, but also might be heat-related. Since I seldom grow peas, I don't feel qualified to state with confidence that it "is this" or "is that". I hate to see anyone rip out a maturing crop without taking time to be sure that the likelihood of getting a good harvest is diminishing.

If that is powdery mildew on the peas, you can treat with any fungicide, organic or chemical in nature, that is labeled for use on edible crops.

I would never attempt to transplant a tomato that is in the ground at this point, unless it is still very, very small (and yours are not).

With tomato plants that are very overcrowded this early in the season, you have several options.

1.) Leave them as they are, have fun harvesting from the wild jungle this summer, and plant with better spacing next year. This isn't as bad as it sounds. If your worst garden problem is that you planted too early and have to crawl into a jungle to harvest your 'maters, then that's not such a horrible problem, is it?

2.) Take a cutting from every other plant. Root the cuttings in water or soil (your choice) and start raising replacement plants. When I raise cuttings, I put one variety per container and label it with masking tape labels to keep the varieties straight. A week or two later (once your rooted cuttings have nice roots), remove evey other plant (it's OK---you already have your replacements for them growing). By removing and composting (sorry!) those plants, you've given the remaining plants twice the space to grow, enlarge and fruit.

Then, after peas, lettuce, brussels sprouts, broccoli and other cool season crops come out (it is hot enough that they should be finishing up soon now), plant your cutting-grown plants in those empty spaces. That way, you'll have great tomato plants for fall and your spring-planted plants will have more room.

3) Or, after you've got cuttings going, instead of pulling up and trashing the plants, you could cut the plants back HARD, removing all but about the bottom food of growth and then dig them up and attempt to transplant them. The key is to cut them back so the roots are not too stressed from the shock of transplant + trying to support a large amount of topgrowth. Keep them watered well the first month (moist, not soggy) after they were transplanted and they should regrow and produce for fall. If not, you have back-up cutting grown plants. This only works if the bottom foot of the plant has a lot of healthy foliage. Otherwise, if the bottom foot is all stem and few leaves, they likely will not survive the transplanting process.

4) Leave them exactly as they are, but prepare for their continued growth. First, remove the branches, limbs, and suckers from the bottom 12-18" of the crowded plants. This will open up that lower area for better air flow which is a key issue and will help your plants avoid summer diseases like Early Blight.

Then, mulch heavily under the plants to keep weeds down and to reduce soil splash and disease. (Diseases in the soil are splashed up onto the tomato stems and leaves when it rains or when you use overhead watering.)

To keep the plants from falling over and taking down their cages, stake them. You can use whatever you have handy to serve as stakes. When I need stakes, I go to the lumber area at Lowe's or Home Depot and buy a bundle of construction stakes. They usually come in 2' and 3' heights, and sometimes in 4'. Currently, I am using the ones that are 4'tall. Stake each cage with one or two stakes to keep them from falling over. I hammer the stakes into the ground with an ordinary hammer, and attach the stakes to the cages with zip ties.

If you find more bargain cages on sale, buy enough that you can turn each small cage into a tall cage. Use zip-ties (found in the electrical section of hardware and home center stores) to attach one 'new' cage to each existing one. So, you're attaching the top ring of each new cage to the top ring of each old cage and the legs of the new cage are sticking up into the air. This will allow your plants to grow upwards for 2 or 3 more feet and will keep your plants from becoming such an unruly mass. Trust me, this is a great solution for your current dilemma.

5. Leave the tomato plants as they are, but put some 6' t-posts every few feet, buy some twine or wire, and use the Florida Weave techinique to keep your plants growing upwards above their current cages. Google to find some photos/how to's for the Florida Weave, or do a search on the tomato forum.

There--I've given you several tomato options and any of them will help you maintain a little control without sacrificing too much of your potential harvest.

By the way, winter time is a great time to make your tomato cages, trellises, etc. for spring and it allows you to spend the money then, instead of in the spring when garden costs are high. If you make your cages in several different diameters, you can store smaller ones inside of bigger ones which are stored inside still larger ones, and they won't take up too much storage space in the off-season.

Dawn

dawn
thank you so much for all your help.
kristy