Lessons from the Homestead Garden | June 2022

[@jimlee5626]

Oh my. I love the way you teach. Please, please, please keep the content coming. Cheers!

[@MrsCynfuller]

Thank you for this info. I’m learning a lot from you.

[@VegetableAcademy]

What subjects would you like to see covered in future garden tours? Leave a comment below to let me know.

[@javabradley7521]

Just found your channel today. Incredibly informative and easy to understand. Thank you!

[@VegetableAcademy]

Welcome! I'm glad to hear you're enjoying it so far.

[@jeffmeyers3837]

(0:10) Things happening this time of year: Hustle of spring planting is over No threat of frost Growth is taking off Shift attention to support structures (trellises and walk-in tunnels) First prunings First big harvests of the year (0:29) Video will cover: lessons learned this month How to use transplants to establish beds very quickly in Spring How to turn over a bed to another crop How to prune determinate tomatoes (0:50) Shows Avenue H plot Rows of corn, beans, squash and peas Corn row and 2 rows of beans were transplanted just 3 weeks ago Corn is Glass Gem for corn meal and flour Beans are Borlotti, dry beans for storage (1:30) transplanting corn and beans beans cover ground, less weed pressure corn needs fabric to prevent weed pressure Beans transplanted at the end of May Used floating row covers on galvanized wire for beans to accelerate growth (2:20) Discusses inter-planted squash and peas Alternating rows of squash and peas Peas are flowering, so mature pods in 14 days, harvest window is 10-14 days Peas will be removed after harvest, allowing squash to spread over the ground Squash was transplanted 3 weeks ago, also covered with floating row tunnels (3:31) Boulevard tour 2 rows of recently harvested spinach, covered with landscape fabric Going to clean out beds and sow carrots. Covering bed after harvest keeps soil moist, sheds elm seeds, kills spinach (5:00) Bed clearign process Rollup fabric/irrigation, remove spinach plants, stirrup hoe, landscape rake, drill-powered tilther Sows carrots with seeder. 9 rows of carrots per 30-inch bed (8:58) Netted tunnel for strawberries Explains tunnel, shows build process, discusses parts. (16:35) Tomatoes in high tunnel Plum Regal tomatoes, a paste tomato for sauce Large tomato cages are best, but over $5/ea gets expensive Uses wood stakes and Florida weave (17:25) How to prune determinate tomatoes Find first flower cluster, keep first sucker below it, remove all other suckers below that, and leaves touching ground. KEY DATES: May30 transplanted beans (approx, he said last week of May) May30 transplanted peas (assumption, he didn't say) Jun7 transplanted corn Jun7 transplanted squash Jun15 Harvested spinach Jun30 Direct sow carrots for Fall harvest CROP VARIETIES: Variety: Corn, glass gem, corn meal and flour Variety: Bean, Barlotti, dry storage beans

[@brianeaton3734]

Like your channel, lots of practical information. Where did you find tunnel components for the build? Are the connectors available as a kit? Thanks.

[@AndreaEagan]

Fantastic practical information! How do you feed your soil under the landscape fabric on perennials such as strawberries? Thanks!

[@AndreaEagan]

Looks like this question gets answered in your August video. Would you consider using compost tea to amend soil ?

[@jeffmeyers3837]

What's the spacing between your strawberries?

[@jenportas1161]

How do you keep snakes out of the bird netting around the strawberries? I always get at least 1 black rat snake whenever I put it out. I'm in a townhouse outside Washington DC, zone 7b, MD-USA.

[@VegetableAcademy]

I'd love to give you an answer but we don't have snakes around our garden.

[@caseygaw7398]

Are the curved poles and the top bars electrical Conduit or are they different? What pieces do you use for the top connectors. Where do you purchase them? I’m near Saskatoon. Thank you

[@VegetableAcademy]

Yes. All of the metal components are 1/2 inch electrical conduit. For the top connectors between the three curved ribs in the centre, we use 1 inch poly insert cross pieces like this: www.lowes.ca/product/plastic-coil-pipe-fittings/1-in-polypropylene-insert-cross-278495 I have picked these up from various hardware stores in the area over the years. You can usually use their websites to find out if they have them in stock before going to the store.

[@jassminecarney2486]

Good afternoon do you the name of the tunnel or a link.

[@mindyrider2924]

On your walk in netted tunnel, did the first poles that you pounded in have a pointed bottom? And are the poles electrical conduit? My zone also gets early September frosts and my plants are still producing heavily but too big to have the smaller hoops with row cover do any good. So this configuration interests me for fall frost protection.

[@VegetableAcademy]

Yes. The poles are all 1/2 inch electrical conduit. In this case, the posts did not have a rounded bottom. I like to leave the posts unaltered as much as possible because they are also the same 5 foot long conduit components that I use for our trellising. If you are pounding into compacted soil, flattening the ends of the conduit with a sledge hammer can help them penetrate more easily. Also, note the use of a bolt set in the top of the conduit at the 10:38 mark to distribute the force of the sledge hammer more evenly over the top of the conduit. Without this bolt, the tip of the conduit gets bent out of shape and may not fit the coupling used to join the post with the curved rib.

[@jimlee5626]

What seeder do you recommend?

[@VegetableAcademy]

We use an Earthway seeder so I have listed that as our recommended mechanical seeder on our Tool Shed page: www.vegetableacademy.com/toolshed There are more expensive seeders, but I have found effective use of a mechanical seeder to be more a matter of good bed preparation practices rather than fancier seeder components.

[@LukeRollup]

what seeder are you using in this video for planting carrots?

[@VegetableAcademy]

It’s an Earthway seeder with the “carrot light” seed plate.