WEEKLY GARDEN THREAD VOLUME 22 MAY 31, 2013

Free Republic | May 31, 2013 | greeneyes

[greeneyes]

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you.

This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked.

It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread ... there is no telling where it will go and that is part of the fun and interest. Jump in and join us!

[JRandomFreeper]

I would feel guilty if it wasn't quite so darn funny.

BTW, Squash plants get large. Some of mine have taken up to 9 sq ft of space. But they are pretty, aren't they?

/johnny

[Just mythoughts]

I think we are ahead of the curve for rain this year. The extended drought had me worried especially for the states like Texas. Hoping they make some headway too.

I have seen that parts of Texas is getting rain, but as to whether or not their drought has been (state wide) lessened like ours I do not know. I have had my head down so much this spring I have had little time to learn what is happening around me.

I am curious to learn IF the plan for well drilling across MO will be curtailed given our snow and rain fall this past winter/spring.

[greeneyes]

Ok. I’ll take the blame as long as you give me some credit everytime you eat or preserve one of your homegrown feasts.

I don’t remember you asking me or anyone else about the size of squash plants. So I didn’t tell you, cause I didn’t think about it, cause I don’t grow squash. Next time just ask.LOL

I am so glad your son is there to help you. I was worrying that you might do too much. Some of my best memories are working in the garden with granny and the yard with my parents. Just remember Rome wasn’t built in a day, and the second year is easier.

I would like to see those movies you son has made. Is the first one available on DVD? Where and when can we see the second?

[Sarajevo]

Does anyone need kittens? We have 7 new ones (3 separate litters) that seem to have gravitated to my place. 3 are 6 weeks old, 3 are 4 weeks old, and one is 3 weeks old.

They are great potential mousers, will keep rodents out of your grains and gardens, will warm our feet on cold nights, and warm the hearts of grumpy old guys ;)

[greeneyes]

I am not sure. If your well runs dry, then you need to dig a new one that is deeper. At the end of the day, you can dig all the wells you want to no avail, if the water table were to run dry-is that even possible?

As the water table gets less and less the wells have to get deeper and deeper. I know we won’t be digging any well unless we have to.

[greeneyes]

No thanks. I love kittens, but they grow up to be cats. I can’t stand a cat indoors, rubbing around my ankles and purring, and tripping me, and we can’t really have one for outdoors. It has never ended well for the cats in this neighborhood.

[Just mythoughts]

Thanks! We enjoy the fauna as much as we do the flora. We have a fish pond which acts as the neighborhood watering hole. So we get just about everything around her at night.

You are most welcome. I love the flowers. I have a pond, and a big willow tree at the edge, along with some cattails that I cannot control. It is my jungle that I really have no control over. The geese and ducks do take a dive in their annual trips north to south, and south to north, and the red-wing black birds use the cattails to nest. Frogs galore in the spring singing like a choir to announce spring is here.

I have quite a cadre of critters that cross my little plot. This morning after the deluge ended I spotted a couple of deer feeding. Then my daughter's Papillon decided to have a show down with a huge snapping turtle that decided to cross the yard. Ever so often I have a long red tailed fox that crosses the property, I encourage him/her to pee on his/her way through so I do not have to purchase mole repellent that contains fox urine.

Never a dull moment.

[tflabo]

Marcella—thats some of the happiest, funniest productive complaining posted right here on the good old Garden Thread. Where else can we share/compare all things gardening and get free education and laughs to boot.

[greeneyes]

I happened to see a Mother Earth Magazine in the garden section at Walmart, and decided to buy one. It had some interesting articles.

One article that I found interesting was entitiled the best staple crops for building self sufficiency. It has a break down of each region in the US.

My region for the Central/Midwest:

Cabbage: King Cole, Premium Late Flat Dutch

Collards: Champion, Georgia

Dry Beans: Black Turtle, Red Kidney

Grain Corn: Bloody Butcher, Floriani Red Flint, Hickory King

Kale: Beedy’s Camden, Even Star Smooth

Peanuts: Carolina Black, Tn Red Valencia

Potatoes: Butte, Katahdin

Sweet Potatoes: Beauregard, Jewel

Wheat: Marquis, Turkey Red

Winter squash: Sibley, Waltham Butternut

If anyone is curious what they have listed for your area, Just let me know.

[South40]

Sounds interesting,. Thanks for sharing.

We're in a remote area at the end of a 2.5 mile dirt road so we have lots of critters. We have lots of rabbits which, after generation after generation know we humans pose no threat. They do, however, attract other predators like foxes, coyotes, bobcats, and in my 30+ years here I have seen one mountain lion, but that was back in 1994. The raccoons are a problem as we can't keep fish in the pond. Skunks and opossums abound; we leave them alone and they likewise. We've had a few gophers that I managed to control but we do have pack rats and more than our share of mice. So snakes can be common including western diamondbacks and speckled rattlers. But we control the snake population with cats; I believe we currently have about 9 though it fluctuates and at times can be as many as 2 dozen. We don't feed them and they are not pets. They earn their living eating the rats and mice. And as long as the rodent population is under control so goes the snakes. Some cats get taken by coyotes and owls but they seem to be pretty adept at self-preservation. We're seldom bored. :-)

[HopeandGlory]

I hope you are keeping a journal so you can write a book of your gardening experiences . . . you are priceless . . . Smile!

[gorush]

You asked for it so here it is...the saga of the chicken tractors:

This is our second year of raising chickens in a "chicken tractor". We get them as day old chicks and keep them indoors for about three weeks. Here is a shot of the chickens just before they are moved into their outdoor homes.

The idea is to raise them in a cage that can be moved around the garden, roughly weekly, to provide a mulched area for next years vegetables. We start them on a green area that the chickens love to munch along with the feeders that are provided. The chickens eat and drink and poop. We add hay for bedding daily

This years version made some improvements over last years inaugural design. The main improvements are smaller doors which are easier to open and close and a new watering system that is a HUGE improvement over the old fashioned waterers that needed constant filling and cleaning as chickens aren't known for their sanitary habits.

Both versions that I built start with 10 ea. lengths of 10' 1-1/2" PVC. 4 pieces are cut in half and 6 pieces are cut into quarters. The assembled frame looks like this:

Wire is woven onto the frame. Then a door structure is built which covers half of the frame. The door structure has 3 doors and one flat shelf to support the water bucket.:

I cover the other half with a roughly square frame with attached fencing:

The watering system is a length of PVC tube with 6 nipples along it's lenght, a valve on one end and a hose attachment that connects to the bucket above. The chickens learned very quickly that when they peck at the nipples water will flow. The nipples have apiece of metal that when pecked, lifts a ball bearing inside to allow the water to flow past:

We place netting over the buckets so that we can easily add water through the top while keeping bugs and dirt out. I can't tell you how happy we are with this innovation...what a labor saver!

We raised 25 chickens in last years tractor (which provided plenty of room) and have 31 so far this year divided between the two. Each tractor is roughly 12' x 5'.

The nipples can be purchased at QCsupply.com.

This years chickens are Cornish/Rock cross. They are at full size in 8 weeks resulting in a 4 to 5 lb. dressed bird. (We take them to a processer, $2.00/bird, back up to on door where they enter the processing building...15 minutes later the go onto ice in the coolers for the trip home to the freezer. You can figure about 17 lbs of feed/bird over their short lifetimes.

[rightly_dividing]

Home is where the lawn mower is. Great! I know you are happy bout that, other than having to do another move.

[Marcella]

“I hope you are keeping a journal so you can write a book of your gardening experiences . . . you are priceless . . . Smile!”

My journal is these weekly posts as I'm telling the truth of what happens every week. I have hated dirt since I was a child. My parents would not believe what I am doing now.

The garden is my complete focus. I work and plan and research different heirloom plants that will grow here in southeast Texas and study how to do it. When I need to know something, I beat it to death until I know it.

Watching the actual plants grow is new to me, like the squash plants. That is an heirloom round squash. I also need to nail down what to grow in spring and in the fall. I don't have that decided yet.

I must know how to grow food without killing myself doing it.

I read what bad physical condition some of you are in and wonder how you manage to keep going and growing food. That is an inspiration to me not to give up.

[Red_Devil 232]

Yes moving is a difficulty for me - developed a hip problem and need to take very frequent rests between hauling stuff! It really annoys me not to be as helpful and vigorous as I used to be a few years ago!

[Alice in Wonderland]

I was going to rent and/or buy a power washer this spring. Instead I hired 2 guys for $150.00. It took them 6 hours to power wash my 1,800sf house, the porch and decks. It would have taken me six weeks.

[rightly_dividing]

Yea, tell me about it. I see my doctors more than I do my wife.

[rightly_dividing]

—IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT— Where have I heard that before? Thinking...thinking...thinking :)

[rightly_dividing]

Beautiful garden.

[tubebender]

That’s great news RD!!!