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Garden Thread 2013
- Thread starter Catmouflage
- Start date
Same size garden as the past couple years (33' x 55') but sent a couple sample to UNH for some soil testing as things haven't grown too well past couple years. But with proper treatment and a deeper tilling, things should do better, provided we keep the weeds at bay. (I was half a world away when the then pregnant wife got bit by a tick and stopped weeding.)
Green tomatoes are great for some piccalilli (sweet tomato relish).
Green tomatoes are great for some piccalilli (sweet tomato relish).
OK, so you make the piccalilli, and we'll trade for some habanero hot sauce.
Went to four different small business locations to pick up some seeds and growing supplies today and the locations were either closed and under construction, boarded up, closed for the season, or torn down. Guess I'll have to consider this defeat and buy from one of the big boys Home Depot or Lowes.
I'm hoping to plant a bunch of berries, and not just the usual raspberries and blackberries. Black currants could be interesting if I can find someone who sells them. I am wondering about birds though... Are they going to eat everything?
I did the square foot thing for the first time last year. I have a similar soil mix to yours - just no vermiculite - which is fine as my soil holds too much water as it is. Due to the wet spring, I had to tarp over the garden to avoid rot. In retrospect, based on the weather, I shouldn't have manually irrigated at all - the soil is like a sponge.
Instead of vermiculite, I back-filled with cow manure, a little extra peat, and existing soil (sand/loam).
From what I'm seeing, the trick to 'square foot', though it looks like we both did fine last year, is deep bed/deep watering. -getting the roots to go down rather than out, to get away with the tight plant spacing.
I'm considering burying my drip hose this year, maybe 4" down.
Otherwise I had a good yield, no weeds to speak of, and only required minimal watering. I have 2x6 raised bed in which I tilled 10-12" down from original grade. So, the roots have 16" or so of fluffy soil to bury themselves in.
Gotta get out there and start turning it over.
The snow melting revealed a, seemingly still alive, red lettuce plant from last year. -tough lil bastid.
I've heard conflicting things about using pallets for raised beds. Some say its fine others say it leaks TPB into the soil.
Is this really a problem or is it hype?
Is this really a problem or is it hype?
I bought most of my seed packets from Agway. I had to order jalapeno and habanero seeds from Burpee. They had free shipping, so why not.
The packets I got from Agway incl:
Carrots
Iceberg Lettuce
Lettuce Blend
Green Pepper
Spinach
Greenbeans
Spaghetti Squash
Cucumber
Peas
Garlic Chives
Parsley
Tomato
Summer Squash
Zuchini
The packets I got from Agway incl:
Carrots
Iceberg Lettuce
Lettuce Blend
Green Pepper
Spinach
Greenbeans
Spaghetti Squash
Cucumber
Peas
Garlic Chives
Parsley
Tomato
Summer Squash
Zuchini
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Hiltonizer
Banned
save yourself some trouble and just go through high-mowing. Not only organic and heirloom but adapted to New England. (vermont company)
I have 4 buckets of pellet stove ashes. What's the best way to make use of them? My compost pile is too small so I think this would be too much ash. Sprinkle on lawn maybe?
Speaking of lawn, I'm going to try to make it more edible. Much of the lawn has bad areas and I'll try seeding them with non grass seeds. Just ordered some chicory, thyme, plantain and white clover. I think I may need to spread a layer of compost over the bad areas first but i am not sure.
I'm also planning out some edible perennials, such as various berry shrubs and some trees (hoping to try apple, filbert and maybe kiwi... I hear it can grow here).
Speaking of lawn, I'm going to try to make it more edible. Much of the lawn has bad areas and I'll try seeding them with non grass seeds. Just ordered some chicory, thyme, plantain and white clover. I think I may need to spread a layer of compost over the bad areas first but i am not sure.
I'm also planning out some edible perennials, such as various berry shrubs and some trees (hoping to try apple, filbert and maybe kiwi... I hear it can grow here).
It depends on your soil. You could spread it around acid loving plants. The soil here in the garden is already too acidic so I don't put our wood ash in the compost.
I've been working on an edible landscape project for a few years. Still waiting for the plants to mature but it looks like the best way to make use of our odd shaped and rocky bit of land. They are fairly maintainence free.
As mentioned previously, my wife and I are getting into vegatable gardening for the first time this year. What does everyone do to prevent rodents (primarily squirrels here) from ruining their stuff? I'm planning on building a cover for the box with chicken wire, plus putting a layer of chicken wire under the box as well. Any other ideas?
I've watched out the window in the summer and have seen over 10 squirrels playing grab-ass in the woods behind our house a single time. The cage/cover is the only thing I've thought of so far. I don't want to kill them, so if that's the only option, then I'm building the cage.
I've watched out the window in the summer and have seen over 10 squirrels playing grab-ass in the woods behind our house a single time. The cage/cover is the only thing I've thought of so far. I don't want to kill them, so if that's the only option, then I'm building the cage.
I've never had a squirrel issue, despite having a bunch of them around. Rabbits and woodchucks on the other hand wrecked nearly a full harvest before I put in chicken wire around each of my beds. Chicken wire will be enough unless you get something extra pushy - I think a woodchuck flopped over the top of one of my chicken wire fences last year and chomped on some squash. I trapped it (them, actually) and didn't have any more problems.
Wow thanks for that post...I read through the entire site and I just ordered their book from Amazon. We had our very first garden last year and it was...a learning experience...to say the least. Overall it didnt do that well, we got mixed results. Our soil is garbage though, so I was planning to do some serious work this year to try and get it halfway decent. That square foot gardening method sounds PERFECT for us!
I'm going to build a bunch of the 4x4 beds and fill em up with their 3 part soil mix and give it a shot. Really hoping this year goes better than last!
We also started a chicken coop last year...nothing crazy, just 4 hens. They're doing wonderfully and are a really great addition to our family. Does anyone let the chickens roam their garden to eliminate pests? Or will they end up trying to eat the veggies? We had the garden fenced off last year so they couldnt go near anything...but Im wondering if it wouldnt be good to just let them patrol around the veggies to keep a watchful eye out for bugs?
I also started square foot gardening last year in the same space I had been 'row' gardening the previous year. I was very pleasantly surprised by the yields and how well the vine plants thrived on vertical trellises (cucumbers, watermelon, squash were all huge producers). Still learning what grows well here and what doesn't (no luck with onions, lettuce and anything in the cabbage/broccoli family gets destroyed by cabbage worms). I used the same soil mix you did... it's my understanding that the only thing you need to add each year is more compost, so it's a fair amount of work/investment in the first year, but not so much after that. The concept of square foot gardening is so simple and makes so much sense, I would highly recommend that anyone thinking about gardening or anyone using traditional 'row' gardening check it out.
-Bill
Scarecrow
Army Veteran
They might do a little damage, but I intend to plant enough berry plants that I won't physically be able to harvest all of them in a season, even with canning and preserves being made unless I turned it into a full time job. I want to border the yard in berry bushes and plant vines on trellis' and literally have too many berries for what I need them for. The bird feeder I put up and will be taking with me when I move will help with keeping the birds otherwise occupied, as well... it's the squirrels I have to contend with. Paintball guns are good way to dissuade a squirrel from entering your field of fire, and you can identify a repeat offender easily
![[laugh]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/012.gif "Laugh [laugh]")
My Stepmother down in South Carolina had chickens and roosters, and there wasn't a bug to be found anywhere near the garden. The chickens had no interest in anything we had growing, and they are the single best pesticide that one can have, imho. Not sure what we had growing, it was 12 years ago... think it was lettuce, tomatoes and watermelon? Regardless, chickens = no bugs. They'll kill a mosquito population completely, apparently; I cannot remember ever being bothered by a bug so long as the chickens were free range.
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If you use a .22 you won't have to worry about repeat offenders.They might do a little damage, but I intend to plant enough berry plants that I won't physically be able to harvest all of them in a season, even with canning and preserves being made unless I turned it into a full time job. I want to border the yard in berry bushes and plant vines on trellis' and literally have too many berries for what I need them for. The bird feeder I put up and will be taking with me when I move will help with keeping the birds otherwise occupied, as well... it's the squirrels I have to contend with. Paintball guns are good way to dissuade a squirrel from entering your field of fire, and you can identify a repeat offender easily
Scarecrow
Army Veteran
If you use a .22 you won't have to worry about repeat offenders.
Penalties of having a fiancee pursuing a degree in animal science; killing the little bastards is not really an option. I'd use my blowgun, given the option, assuming I got to them before my husky did so I could remove the needle.
Hiltonizer
Banned
today was the perfect day to stock up on garden stuff... walmart is fully stocked but hardly anyone was there. Loaded up on those 20c seed packets among other things. Got myself a nice seed vault for $15
42" tomato cages for $2... grabbed over 20 of those but just said 20 when the cashier asked and thats what I paid for.
Nothing on super sale, but at least its not picked over to hell and no crowds.
42" tomato cages for $2... grabbed over 20 of those but just said 20 when the cashier asked and thats what I paid for.
Nothing on super sale, but at least its not picked over to hell and no crowds.
This will be my first year trying to start a garden. Since I live in the city I have to do one of the back porch I picked up a City Picker and am going to try and plant a few things. I am just confused on if I should plant seeds or plant plants that are already grown. Any suggestions on which option and what I should plant?
Hiltonizer
Banned
seeds are cheaper, plants fruit faster.. SOMETIMES. Weigh your importance. In my opinion and experience, seeds are worth the slower start as they don't experience the delay in growth from transplantation and cost a fraction of a cent rather than a dollar+
At this point i'm done with screwing with transplants, be it my own or otherwise. Going forward I'll probably put a coldframe system into place for extended seasoning of greens and carrots, but nothing will ever again be transplanted or grown indoors. (I don't even keep my house warm enough to germinate tomatoes and peppers)
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Going to grow container tomatoes AGAIN!, and put them up on something HIGH!, so the freaking freeranging CHICKENS!!!! don't eat the shit outta them this summer! arghhh ![[angry]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/008.gif "Angry [angry]")
I do small scale farming or large scale gardening whatever you want to call it. This year I'll be doing 80 tomato plants, 80 cucumber plants, 500-800 summer squash, 500-800 zucchini, and about 2000- 2500 of sweet corn. Hopefully it goes good. It's only really my second year farming like this, so I basically just wing it. I don't even sell the vegetables, last year I gave 80% of all the vegetables to a charity. It fun riding around on tractors throwing seeds in the ground.
As for ground hogs you should be trapping them now in the next few weeks. Use cantaloupe. This is a good time to get them because the grass hasn't started and they re starting to come out of hibernation on warm days.
As for ground hogs you should be trapping them now in the next few weeks. Use cantaloupe. This is a good time to get them because the grass hasn't started and they re starting to come out of hibernation on warm days.
Going to grow container tomatoes AGAIN!, and put them up on something HIGH!, so the freaking freeranging CHICKENS!!!! don't eat the shit outta them this summer! arghhh
I put all of my tomatoes in pots and spread them around the place so they are in the best sunny spots. Last year when it was really dry a ground hog decided to eat some of them. I made chicken wire cages to put around them and they were fine after that.
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