Got my plants in the ground

[beccrossee]

The county agent does this also

Are you a yankie or a Texan, cause cajuns don't use that word. Try parish and people might know what your talking about.

[jdm4x43732]

Originally Posted by beccrossee

The county agent does this also

Are you a yankie or a Texan, cause cajuns don't use that word. Try parish and people might know what your talking about.

I was in 4-H and FFA all through school in Acadia Parish and we called them County Agents.

[beccrossee]

I went to school in St. Martin, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, and Avoyles parishes in middle school and high school.....only had the term "county" explained to me once. On a side note, the USDA updated its hardiness zone this year. It mostly applies to perennials. Link follows. I usually wait for the birds to come back to start planting. I have planted as early a the second week in February but got burned by frost. Red maples and elms are dropping seed in my area and some oaks have small leaves right now. Spring might seem early this year but I will still plant annuals after March 1.

http://http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/

[Gerald]

Originally Posted by mcjaredsandwich

General agriculture major/wildlife management minor. Had a lot of plant science classes. Taking a soil fertility class right now. Also interned at the Louisiana Environmental Research Center a couple summers ago. Did a germination study on a native prarie plant. Found some good info for those who grow legumes.

To those planting this spring, try this with your plants that have a harder seed coat. High grade sand paper in the bottom of a shoe box, same grade wrapped on a brick. Place about 40 seeds in the shoe box. Dont force the brick down but let its weight do the work. Move back and forth about 15 times. The bad seeds will crack. Take the good ones and plant. My study showed this method had a 95% germination rate over the 6 week study, with 78% coming in the first 2 weeks.

Any questions feel free to ask. I will help if I can.

In your study..... 1) without doing this "crack" test, what was the germination rate. 2) what percent of the seeds "cracked" doing this test?

Last spring I had very low [~40-50%] germination with my yellow squash & Zucchini and cucumber success was not much better. I had to replant several times. I had ordered seeds from Gurney's.... same as other years, never had this bad luck planting these type seeds.

[Shawn Braquet]

Originally Posted by Gerald

In your study..... 1) without doing this "crack" test, what was the germination rate. 2) what percent of the seeds "cracked" doing this test?

Last spring I had very low [~40-50%] germination with my yellow squash & Zucchini and cucumber success was not much better. I had to replant several times. I had ordered seeds from Gurney's.... same as other years, never had this bad luck planting these type seeds.

I buy from farmers mercantile in orange, tx great prices on plants, seeds, and anything else you need. Plus its on my way home from work. Only seed problem ive had was a bad batch of cabbage seeds. 0%germination! Oh and they sell all seeds in bulk

[mcjaredsandwich]

Originally Posted by Gerald

In your study..... 1) without doing this "crack" test, what was the germination rate. 2) what percent of the seeds "cracked" doing this test?

Last spring I had very low [~40-50%] germination with my yellow squash & Zucchini and cucumber success was not much better. I had to replant several times. I had ordered seeds from Gurney's.... same as other years, never had this bad luck planting these type seeds.

The control group (no method) had a 36% germination rate over 6 weeks. We took temps from jan-march on 2010 and averaged the lows and highs. Seeds were planted in a petri dish with miracle grow soil. 10hr cycle in the germination "fridge" with 70 as high temp and 45 as low temp. Day cycle ran a light inside. Baptisia sphaerocarpa (wild yellow indigo) was the plant I used. Very hard seed coat. Pods were bean like thag held seeds.

Usually 1-3 seeds would crack each time I scarified them.

[jdm4x43732]

I've been looking at making a square foot garden this year. Anyone ever tried this. Gonna do mostly cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers. That is about all I've ever had luck with. If I make it 4x8 it shouldn't take long to get it back in shape after being offshore.

[Gerald]

Best advice I have to control weeds........ Weed Killer.

When I started....my garden was just a grass area of my yard. I staked the 4 corners and sprayed it with weed killer. This was in July. After a couple week every thing was dead. I took a tiller and chopped up the first inch of soil to remover the grass.

Then I tilled up the soil, bought 6 yards of mulch and added a bunch of 13-13-13.

If you kill all..... and I mean ALL the weeds, there will be very little problem in the next few months.

While the veggie plants are growing bigger..... I sometimes spot spray using a garden sprayer, any weeds that start to grow.

I sprayed my garden a few weeks ago, but I need to respray when all this rain stops.

[speck-chaser]

Just remember most of your weed seeds are in the original dirt,so every time you deep till, you bring them seeds back to the top,making them easy to sprout. My sons garden is a raised block garden of about 12x20. we usually add a lil organic compost(bed builder) from my nursery every year,and never hafta till. He can plant just about any time,cuz the dirt is easy digging,and is never too wet,and hardly any weeds.This is a batch of carrots he picked earlier in the week.

[jdm4x43732]

Originally Posted by speck-chaser

Just remember most of your weed seeds are in the original dirt,so every time you deep till, you bring them seeds back to the top,making them easy to sprout. My sons garden is a raised block garden of about 12x20. we usually add a lil organic compost(bed builder) from my nursery every year,and never hafta till. He can plant just about any time,cuz the dirt is easy digging,and is never too wet,and hardly any weeds.This is a batch of carrots he picked earlier in the week.

Do you have any pictures you can post of it. I used to make mine in the country but, I live in town and have to downsize. My oldest is about to be 12 and he needs something to keep him out of trouble.

[speck-chaser]

Originally Posted by jdm4x43732

Do you have any pictures you can post of it. I used to make mine in the country but, I live in town and have to downsize. My oldest is about to be 12 and he needs something to keep him out of trouble.

I will look and see. Its not hard though, Its only 2 cynderblocks high.

[speck-chaser]

Here is a few.

[jdm4x43732]

I'm gonna do mine like that but a little smaller.

[speck-chaser]

Originally Posted by jdm4x43732

I'm gonna do mine like that but a little smaller.

We started my sons smaller too a few years back. It was 6x20. He liked it so much, I had to make it bigger.So we just moved one of the sides out,and added a few blocks to the end. He loves his garden,and its a good thing for kids to learn about.

[Shawn Braquet]

Originally Posted by speck-chaser

We started my sons smaller too a few years back. It was 6x20. He liked it so much, I had to make it bigger.So we just moved one of the sides out,and added a few blocks to the end. He loves his garden,and its a good thing for kids to learn about.

Definitely a good thing hes doin there, my little one loves helping me with mine at the age of 2, cant wait till i just run the tractor and he does the rest

[eman]

Originally Posted by speck-chaser

We started my sons smaller too a few years back. It was 6x20. He liked it so much, I had to make it bigger.So we just moved one of the sides out,and added a few blocks to the end. He loves his garden,and its a good thing for kids to learn about.

Do you need to kill all the grass and weeds first before building the bed???

[mcjaredsandwich]

Round up works wonders. 2, 4-d on your broadleafs is magic too.

[Garfish]

My plants withstood the storms. Now a little of that warm sun this week ought to get em going.

Mine is a raised little plot bout 3' wide and 15' long along my fence-line on the west side of my house, but it gets mainly morning and early afternoon sun because of the house next door. I have a small backyard and when it drains rainwater or sprinkler water it drains right into the garden. i think the nutrients from the grass fertilizer, morning sun and the constant moisture help out immensely as the growing season goes.

Good luck to all yall who are planting this spring.

[speck-chaser]

Originally Posted by eman

Do you need to kill all the grass and weeds first before building the bed???

Yep, I usually spray all the grass before I start a new bed. Like samich said,round up and 2 4 d is a magic potion. Usually just addind enough good soil on top will kill most grass,but a few like bermuda usually always finds its way out,so spraying is always best.

[LSUlefty]

Glad I didn't plant yet. Way too much rain Saturday.