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Vegetable Garden Designing
On this week’s episode, the guys talk about their vegetable garden designs and what they plan to plant, how much, and where they plan to plant crops for their spring gardens this year. Travis has a sketch of his new 1/4 acre garden plot that they prepared using a tractor harrow and chisel plow last weekend. He mentioned that he will still need to till the area once and get the soil pH tested, but once he does that it should be ready to plant for the spring. Greg and Travis discuss the importance of having a garden design that is broken up into subplots, as opposed to having one large continuous garden. The subplot design makes it easier to compartmentalize certain crops and makes it easier to practice proper crop rotation. Travis mentions that his new garden area consists of six subplots that are each 30' x 35' and his pathways are 10-foot wide. He prefers square plots because it is easier for crop rotation and to attract pollinators. Greg shows a sketch of his garden area where there are 7 subplots that vary in size slightly. He has a slight problem with the walkways being 6-foot which in hindsight could have been a little bit longer. As of right now, he has cover crops in this garden plot that he will soon be incorporating into the soil to help build soil nutrients and prepare the plot for the spring crops. They both talk about the importance of having walkways between the plots, and they prefer grass walkways over wood chips. Overall, the subplots make for a more manageable garden which allows you to have proper crop rotation and breaks up your fertilizing and watering to different sections in the garden.
Show and Tell Segment
On the show and tell segment, the guys share a bulb of raw
kohlrabi from Travis' garden. Travis mentions how he prefers to eat the kohlrabi raw, but that it also tastes great when cooked. You can eat the leaves on Kohlrabi, but the guys have not tried that out yet. Greg is having a little problem in the greenhouse with mice eating on his pepper seeds, but he plans to take care of those this afternoon. They discuss how they've recently started pepper, tomato and eggplant seedlings for spring. Travis talks about some of our Gardening Gloves that are extremely comfortable and will fit your hands nicely unlike any others you can find at the store. Greg also talks about a new product in their seed line,
Wynne Peanut. He explains that this is an improved variety with excellent disease resistance, high oleic acid content, and great storage potential.
Viewer Questions Segment
On the question and answer segment, the guys answer questions about tomatoes splitting and tomato trellising stakes. Greg mentions that tomatoes will split as a result of excess moisture or irregular watering. Also, some newer varieties are not prone to split as bad as the old heirloom varieties. He suggests picking a newer variety that is not prone to splitting. Also, apply a drip irrigation system that allows for more consistent watering, but if the excess water is a result of rainfall, there's not much you can do. He does explain that the hybrid, round varieties are less susceptible to splitting as compared to the heirloom varieties. Travis states that he prefers t-posts and wooden stakes for his Florida Weave tomato trellising. While the t-posts are a bit of an upfront investment, the wooden stakes can be easily found and will last for several years before needing replacement.
Tool of the Week
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8h2DAmhpt4
