West Virginia Victory Garden (Charleston, Man: for sale, assessor, neighborhood)

[snorpus]

I'm sticking with my "Plant nothing sensitive until Memorial Day" schedule.

[harborlady]

what about grubs in veggie garden? do they only kill lawns or will they also nosh on veggie roots? silver lining there were 5'x as many worms as grubs. googled and they said some nemotodes are beneficial to be rid of grubs but couldn't figure out which ones were vs which ones i had in abundance. Some application called milky spore is recommended, lasts 15 yrs, but never heard of the stuff... Milky spore - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia . Anyone use this before?

Should i bother with this?

[snorpus]

Plant three times what you think you'll actually use... 1/3 goes to the grubs and other insects, 1/3 to 4-legged critters like groundhogs, and you get to keep what's left.

[David Kennedy]

Years ago, when we kept a summer home in Hardy County, I would count the rows of corn the deer would eat...they would begin at the rivers edge and eat their way into the corn field and spend the night there.
The rows of corn were short as the deer would browse into the field and progressed in height to about the 15th to 20th row....
Not a lot of damage?
That one large field was over 500 yds long and I would count as many as 40 deer to a herd...sometimes, 3 to 4 herds moving in from 3 directions.

I've chased them with a vehicle and they can top out at about 38 mph.

Snorpus: Frost here this morning..30's...I'm waiting for Memorial Day to plant also.

Saw an evening snow storm after a baseball practice in 1964 that same May weekend...3" of snow.
The oats were up about knee high. Never forget it as I was wearing my baseball shoes.

[harborlady]

DK I'll be shot by a baseball widow for suggesting it, but snowy baseball is incentive to make international orange colored baseballs. It was only a matter of time before golf widows spilled the beans.

Deer in Charleston are wisenhiemers. They take a bite off the top of every plant they walk past and move along. I think I heard them snicker like a bunch of scofflaws too. My tomatoes never got more than a foot and a half off the ground last year. Upside they did chomp on the wild grapes/ wild strawberries growing in the far back of the yard. One of their favorite places to graze.

It probablly isn't as chilly down here as it's been for you two up yonder, but I figured I'd just leave the plants out in the cold (hardened) because if they're this sensitive they won't make it a season with me as their caretaker. I'm just too novice. My carolina friend has been getting a good laugh at my expense when I was telling her why it took me so long to till the soil... I painstakingly broke up every clay clump, alternated with soil amendments, and removed every rock with nothing more than a foot stool and a pair of leather gloves.
Q: "Where's your tiller?"
A: "What's a tiller???"
Good thing I haven't got shared's 100 acres to manage.

The thyme bush wintered over and in my over zeal I improved the soil for them. Turns out they prefer crummy soil and good drainage (gravel mulch). The clay likely kept their feet dry a bit but this plant was woody stem barren all winter when it's claimed they should be evergreen. Back to the drawing board! Best I realize early that Google 1st, and my shovel 2nd, are my friends.

[David Kennedy]

Most Wv women have a Mighty-Mite or Garden Weasel...

Our friend has one and demonstrates it to everyone who visits.
Little .25 cc engine...sounds like a mini-chain saw...we can tell when they have a visitor....

The Mobley Southern/States has a sale on them this week...$99.99 + tax.

[Sharedspirit]

wisenhiemers - I haven't heard anyone use that word since my sweet german grandmother passed away 17 years ago!

Our potatoes got frosted. Don't know if they'll be ok or not.

We have a little electric chain saw. Just got it last year. I'm just to the age where the bow saw just wasn't an option anymore. We still do all our gardening by hand but I'm going to look into a mighty-mite or garden weasel. I love doing gardening by hand, it relaxes me. But I'm noticing that I hurt afterwards a lot longer this year than in previous years!

We are putting in a field of asparagus. We will start preparing the beds this fall. Then plant the crowns next spring.

Asparagus is so good and way to expensive! We rarely even can find it in our local grocery stores. I hope to be able to grow it and sell it locally. My goal is to be able to keep the price low enough that local folks can afford it....and maybe some that we can donate to the local seniors.

It grows very well here in North Central WV. We've had a small bed of 8 crowns for 4 years now. Once it's in the ground, it's pretty easy to take care of and harvest. Here is a pic of this morning's harvest. 12 spears...and we'll get that about every 2 days. It's plenty for us to eat and to share with the folks who help us out on the farm from time to time.

[David Kennedy]

Not only is your asparagus 'collectible...that serving dish is a collectible too....cheese please.

[BJC]

Sharedspirit - what is a "crown"? Is that like a hill of potatoes, only for the asparagus? I do not know one thing about gardening, my mom does, but she had to work the gardens to eat as the 3rd of 12. When it came to raising her little girl I was not allowed to get dirty, now when I attempt to garden I end up looking like I rolled in the dirt and nothing grows. Wait I take that back, a few years ago I planted some gords from seeds I got at the store. I loved it, I took lots of pics to document the progress. I was AMAZED at what would happen over night. They would grow and latch onto a blade of grass, cool.......

Too much info I know, to ask a simple question, but that is how I am!

[Sharedspirit]

Originally Posted by David Kennedy

Not only is your asparagus 'collectible...that serving dish is a collectible too....cheese please.

You have a good eye! Taylor Smith & Taylor Luray Pastel in Pink. Almost everything in my home is vintage. Including all of our appliances, except for the fridge and freezer.

You sure you don't want a hollandaise sauce instead of the cheese? Made with our farm raised eggs, it's really good!

Originally Posted by BJC

Sharedspirit - what is a "crown"? Is that like a hill of potatoes, only for the asparagus? I do not know one thing about gardening, my mom does, but she had to work the gardens to eat as the 3rd of 12. When it came to raising her little girl I was not allowed to get dirty, now when I attempt to garden I end up looking like I rolled in the dirt and nothing grows. Wait I take that back, a few years ago I planted some gords from seeds I got at the store. I loved it, I took lots of pics to document the progress. I was AMAZED at what would happen over night. They would grow and latch onto a blade of grass, cool.......

Too much info I know, to ask a simple question, but that is how I am!

Crowns are the roots of the asparagus. They need to be started by seed indoors so most folks buy crowns from a grower. There is a lot of info on the net if you google "growing asparagus". It's a fun plant to grow! and the ferns are beautiful after you stop cutting. If you really like to work in the gardens, call your local extension office and see if they have a master gardener class coming up you can take. It's fun and you'll learn so much!