The Sprout 2021

[kelbro]

I'm waiting until Tax Day this year to put my garden in. Two late frosts last year wiped out 100 of my 130 plants . It was not a good garden year. What was left did not produce very well.

I'm trying a no-till garden this year. Started it last fall with cardboard and hardwood mulch over a deeply tilled bed. Will put in another 9 yds of compost/manure over this base layer some time next month.

 

[Alacrity59]

Planting inside for the garden is mid April where I am. The magic date for outside planting seems to be Victoria Day . . . May 24 . . . though we certainly have had frost later. Pretty common to have to wait until August for tomatoes.

 

[TexOkie Shaver]

We don’t do gardens, but we would like some lemon grass, citronella, basil and marigolds. We put them in three big pots on our back porch to help with mosquito control. Last year we bought the pots with the plants already in them. We just need to figure out where to get the plants.

Any ideas?

 

[ackvil]

We don’t do gardens, but we would like some lemon grass, citronella, basil and marigolds. We put them in three big pots on our back porch to help with mosquito control. Last year we bought the pots with the plants already in them. We just need to figure out where to get the plants.

Any ideas?

Our local Home Depot and Lowe's has a good supply.

 

[Buster]

Got some more done in the garden.

 

[simon1]

A little bit is tilled up. Not going to do a big one this year.

Have a few seeds. Still need to get:

Tomatoes
Green onion
Corn
Yellow squash
Potatoes
Kale
Lettuce
Pinto beans

Maybe something else if we think of it.

 

[simon1]

We don’t do gardens, but we would like some lemon grass, citronella, basil and marigolds. We put them in three big pots on our back porch to help with mosquito control. Last year we bought the pots with the plants already in them. We just need to figure out where to get the plants.

Any ideas?

You might try Wallyworld or Home Depot...or a seed company.

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Dad used to go to Bixby to pick up some already grown produce (it's bottom land) but I don't know what's there now.

 

[TexOkie Shaver]

You might try Wallyworld or Home Depot...or a seed company.

Gurney's - America's Most Complete Seed and Nursery

SAVE NOW with discounts on seed and plants. Gurney's specializes in vegetable and garden seeds, nursery plants, fruit trees, shrubs, garden plants, and fertilizers.

www.gurneys.com

Burpee Seeds and Plants - Home Garden, Vegetable Seeds, Annual Flowers - Burpee

Satisfaction Guaranteed Since 1876. Shop The Online Burpee© Selection Today. Grow Confidently Knowing Burpee's Team Of Horticulture Experts Is With You Every Step. Digital Catalog Available. Most Trusted Supplier. Environmentally Friendly. Non-GMO

www.burpee.com

Dad used to go to Bixby to pick up some already grown produce (it's bottom land) but I don't know what's there now.

Bixby still grows the best produce in Oklahoma. There are several vegetable stands on Memorial Drive south of 131st street. Conrad’s closed two years ago. They had been in the vegetable market business since I was a little shaver.

Char Michael’s is now the big stand. It’s where we got the mosquito pots last year. We also get our watermelons there. They have the best tasting black diamonds.

 

[simon1]

Bixby still grows the best produce in Oklahoma. There are several vegetable stands on Memorial Drive south of 131st street. Conrad’s closed two years ago. They had been in the vegetable market business since I was a little shaver.

Char Michael’s is now the big stand. It’s where we got the mosquito pots last year. We also get our watermelons there. They have the best tasting black diamonds.

I used to have a girlfriend that lived in Bixby.

Mom and Dad both grew up on farms during the depression, so we always had a garden in Prattville when I was a kid. Ever since I was old enough to hold a shovel to turn dirt I was "allowed" to help (read that slave labor).

At Granddad's farm in Pryor they'd put me in the back of a grain truck with a scoop shovel that ran next to the combine so I could spread the grain out so it wouldn't pile up in the center. Grain dust is nasty.

 

[Toothpick]

Any suggestions for a good rear tine tiller? I need a new one this year. Looking for something beefy. Probably till up 1/4 acre?? Usually the neighbor will do the initial ground breaking with his tractor.

here’s last year’s garden for reference.

 

[FarmerTan]

@Toothpick : if you know of a small engine repair shop, stop in and ask them what they work on least. My Father in Law had a Troybilt 8 horse power (called a Horse or Pony model I think back in the day) that he had rebuilt one time. They really don't make them like that anymore. But his garden was about a half acre when I married his lucky daughter 32ish years ago, and I guess it had been as big as a whole acre.

There is a company that advertises in "Mother Earth News" that makes a blue colored tiller that I would buy if I was young. I think it's made in Sweden or some European country. The head comes off and you can put a snow blower on it too I think.

Not cheap, but it's probably one you'd leave in your Will.

Edit: the company is "BCS" and you are looking at an MSRP of close to $3500!!!

Buy a used Troybilt, seriously. Or a new one if you can ask any folks you know what they think of theirs. I know the new ones are filled to the gills with safety features that would drive me insane tho.

 

[Toothpick]

@Toothpick : if you know of a small engine repair shop, stop in and ask them what they work on least. My Father in Law had a Troybilt 8 horse power (called a Horse or Pony model I think back in the day) that he had rebuilt one time. They really don't make them like that anymore. But his garden was about a half acre when I married his lucky daughter 32ish years ago, and I guess it had been as big as a whole acre.

There is a company that advertises in "Mother Earth News" that makes a blue colored tiller that I would buy if I was young. I think it's made in Sweden or some European country. The head comes off and you can put a snow blower on it too I think.

Not cheap, but it's probably one you'd leave in your Will.

We had a Craftsman for well over 15 years. The handle has broke 3x and been welded back. And the throttle is broke too. It will work if you can jam it down with a stick though! I’m tried of fixing it so I’m getting a new one this year. All it needs is a handle and throttle. Gets an oil change every year and that’s it. Runs just fine. It’s a bit smaller than I need too.

I have a Troy Blit riding mower and I‘m not a fan, had 2 Troy Bilt weed eaters - not a fan. Kinda leaning away from them.

 

[kelbro]

Find a Troy Bilt that was made before they sold out. Most of them are used for a couple of hours per year and they really don't wear out unless the fluid leaks out of the gearbox.

I forget how old mine is but it has never let me down. It's a Bronco model. It was a bucking Bronco when I tilled up our dirt back in Texas!

My garden was close to 1/4 acre along with another 1/4 acre that I tilled for a food plot for the deer. I may be selling it next year if my 'no-till' garden works out this year.

 

[ackvil]

Did not realize Troy built sold out. I had one in the 1970s that did a fantastic job. My garden was about 1/4 acre and the first time around I had field grass. There were so many rocks in place and the tines wore out in five years. However, I replaced them and kept it until I moved five years later. The only issue I had was starting it off the first time each season. However, starting ether did the trick.

 

[kelbro]

Did not realize Troy built sold out. I had one in the 1970s that did a fantastic job. My garden was about 1/4 acre and the first time around I had field grass. There were so many rocks in place and the tines wore out in five years. However, I replaced them and kept it until I moved five years later. The only issue I had was starting it off the first time each season. However, starting ether did the trick.

Dad taught me a trick for the first crank of the year. Fill it up with fresh gas, choke it, pull the plug wire off the plug and pull the rope two or three times. Let it sit for at least an hour (or two beers) and then put the plug wire back on and crank. They spit and sputter and smoke a little but will start running. He said the gas sitting in the carb loosened up all the 'varnish'. I've successfully used this technique for many years.

 

[Scarry Knight]

Good tip, that /\ @kelbro

 

[simon1]

Any suggestions for a good rear tine tiller? I need a new one this year. Looking for something beefy. Probably till up 1/4 acre?? Usually the neighbor will do the initial ground breaking with his tractor.

here’s last year’s garden for reference.

We got a Husqvarna DRT900 with a Honda engine that has been great. Starts easy and haven't had any problems with it. I ordered it from Lowe's about seven years ago and they delivered for free. SWMBO used it a little bit ago. Looks like it has been discontinued though.

 

[Toothpick]

We got a Husqvarna DRT900 with a Honda engine that has been great. Starts easy and haven't had any problems with it. I ordered it from Lowe's about seven years ago and they delivered for free. SWMBO used it a little bit ago. Looks like it has been discontinued though.

View attachment 1232825

Thanks! I like the Husq line of products.

 

[simon1]

Thanks! I like the Husq line of products.

I saw where Husky no longer makes tillers, so you'd have to get a used one if you could find one.

I'd get something with at least a Honda or Kohler engine. The Craftsman that SWMBO bought decades ago got to where it wouldn't shift gears and the guy that tried to fix it screwed it up.

 

[kelbro]

Got my compost in this weekend and rows built up. Still a couple more weeks before planting so I hope to get the irrigation in soon.