Weekly Gardening Thread
Posted on 10/30/2009 4:00:00 AM PDT by Red_Devil 232
Good morning gardeners! Happy Halloween. Don't forget to set your clocks back one hour Sat. night!
Since things have slowed down I thought I would revisit this years threads and try to locate and archive some of the great posts, advice and info you Freepers have given out over the past year.
My objective would be to then put all the posts in to categories like; Fertilizer, Gardening Methods, Flowers etc. And then post all of this info in one thread at the beginning of next year.
What do y’all think? Also I would like your input. Let me know if there was a particular post that helped you or just interested you.
This archive post would just be a list of links to the original thread and post.
Weekly Gardening Thread
I hope all of you will stop by.
This is typically a low volume ping list. Once a week for the thread and every once in a while for other FR threads posted that might be of interest.
If you would like to be added to or removed from the list please let me know by FreepMail or by posting to me.
I think it is a fine idea if you have the time. I like this ping list and have learned so much from here and my own errors.
Rains again so I will go by this afternoon and inspect, but I should have plenty of lettuce and radishes by now. After all that rain I really need to fertilize I imagine.
I was trying to do that bucket method, but missed checking them one weekend. The plants were almost growing out the top of the bucket.
Good morning Red.
Good Morning.
I’m that newbie from Central Oregon and while this is probably the most informative thread on FR I was wondering....tubebender told me there was free food here on Fridays and it is an “all you can eat” meal. He didn’t fib to me, did he??
Keep up the good work - I sincerely enjoy the thread and the various discussions that comprise it.
morning.....Rain again here today. WOrked outside yesterday/ had some young men come and help me move some railroad ties. The each took and end and whoosh it was done.
Today we’re putting in a tankless water heater. Next week new energy efficient heaters. With the new double pane bow window, sure hopes it cuts way down on the utility bill. Wish we could get completely off the grid.
Like your idea of indexing helpful hints.
Morning RD,
Yes that sounds like a great idea, and it would be very useful as we will probably need all the help we can get next year!
We appreciate you. catch ya later today
Aout that homemade wine...
When you did yours without the balloon, how did you know it was ready? Did you just go by the six weeks? I used one of my homebrewing airlocks and it’s bubbling away in a closet now. I bought real wine yeast since I was at the homebrewing store anyway. RedStar makes a bunch of different kinds.
Do you bottle it in any way?
Are you putting that in yourself? Can you write it up for us? I'd love to have the extra closet space my regular water heater takes up for a good pantry but I don't know anyone who's done it.
We have a couple of nice days before some more potential rain on Sunday. The yard has been aerated and slit seeded, the garden cleaned up and most of the end of season, half priced perennials have been planted.
I've been working the clay/rock/??? with my shovel and mantis tiller. The dump truck load of composted manure is almost gone and the dirt is starting to look like soil. Almost killed my little Mantis though. Need to call them today for new tines. I dug enough rock out of the yard to build a dry creek bed to catch the storm runoff from the house above me. Things are finally looking good around here. Thanks for the gardening thread!
I just went by the 6 week time frame. If it proves worthwhile I may invest in some of those airlocks, if I can find a homebrewing store anywhere near here :(
As for bottling it, I haven’t done so yet. The first batch didn’t last long enough for me to bother :) 2 of my wine loving friends from church have been bringing me their empty bottle — good grief do those gals like their wine!!!
I have a huge collection of “split” size bottles that I accumulated some years ago for bottling hot sauces and so I’m going to use those for bottling the wine for gifts.
Here’s some information that helped me make decision.
There are two types gas and electric. (I chose electric because that’s what I have now However, you get a tax credit with the gas ones.
THere are several sizes based on amount of water you use make sure you get a large enough one to do the job you need.
I could have purchased through maker and paid them to have some one install it, but I live in the middle of nowhere and it would have cost 2x the amount of unit to install it.
Therefore I’m working with our local hardware store (The install hot water heaters) I spoke with them before I made the decision as to which unit. They do not carry tankless ones now, but may after we see how mine work. I purchased mine on line through Home Depot....It is a Bosch 125. Starsaver.
Remind me and we’ll keep you posted....
It seems we just have to take out the old and install the new in it’s place. Must use copper tubing or flex connectors, but I’ll be saving a great deal of room also.
I think that’s a great idea...but it sounds like a lot of work. However, you’ll have time in the off-season, LOL!
My three jugs-o-wine are almost ready, Gabz. It’s clearing and the balloons are starting to collapse. Just another week or so, I’m thinking.
I’m trying to find some frozen pear juice so I can try pear wine, next. I might have to go to Whole Foods or a local co-op for that.
Gardening. Cooking. Baking. Crafting. Winemaking. What a great life we lead! :)
Growing Potatoes
HiramQuick's Bucket Method"
Perfect!
Bookmarked for next year.
Dig in. Of course, it's all calorie free!
Save room for dessert!
LOL!!!!!
My wine should be done tomorrow........we shall see. Hubby is really chomping at the bit to try the cranberry.
Now that looks fantastic. Truly a meal fit for a happydog!
Thanks Diana.
I see that tubebender has already hit the muffins basket though.
(I love the guy but he gets to garden almost year ‘round and I get 3 1/2 months, if I’m lucky so I’m entitled to give him grief)
I think this is a great idea. I particularly enjoyed the advice on seed starting in milk cartons — in fact was going to look that up again today (was that Gabz?) and Diana’s advice on bulb forcing and the advice on growing potatoes in newspaper and straw.
I’ve started saving the milk cartons and have started 5 pots of tulips with several more to go. I’m trying to figure out exactly how to do the potatoes too.
Are those pictures from your house? I’m feeling inadequate.
Love your idea!
And I was just starting to like you. I gained 3 pounds just looking at that... Grrrrrrrr
Hope you have (did have) fun in old town. I love your area and especially south around Ferndale. You are lucky to live there! (I’m in dry So. CA)
Today I need the wise counsel of all you excellent gardeners.
My gardening buddy (daughter) and I are frustrated with dealing with the invasion of bamboo from the neighbors. We have put in a shade garden area and the bamboo keeps coming up in it.
What do you think of the idea of us covering the ground with that black plastic weed control matting and then covering the matting with redwood bark? I have soaker hoses running all over that area and would just put the matting and redwood on top of the soaker hoses.
Have any of you had any experience with this effort at weed control? Good points? Bad points?
Also, we are thinking of asking our Santas (i.e. two husbands) for a wood chipper/chopper so that we can turn our endless trimmings into mulch rather than just putting them all in the green bin for the city to haul away.
Do any of you have any thoughts regarding a modestly priced chipper/chopper that two ladies can operate without endangering life and limb?
Also, do you think I need to worry about noise ordinances?
Thank you one and all for anything you can offer in the way of advice.
Now I’m going to avail myself of that buffet table up above...
Add me to the ping list. Thanks :)
I will be more than happy to share some of the excessive rain we have received here in coastal Virginia.
The north boundary of my property is a creek and the bank of it is higher on my side than the other side for a good stretch of it. That has not mattered because we have had so much rain it has come over the bank on my side more times this year than it has in the past few years combined.
We had more rain Monday, Tuesday and into Wednesday morning, there is still standing water at the end of both my driveway entrances.
True story about my neighbors and Bamboo. A newbie moved in next a Old Timer and newbie planted Bamboo as a screen and before that fight was over she had a restraining order issued against him for harassment because of his antics to rid his yard AND her yard of the devil grass. Try Roundup on it
I have a 8HP chipper shredder and my family has instructions to cut it up with a torch because it is so dangerous but Don’t let that discourage you. I have had it 20 or 25 years and it is a cantankerous beast to start and maintain but the results are worth it and the chipper portion works well. Next one would have electric start.
Task #1 for this weekend is to drain and cover the fountain. This year my husband will remove the pump and bring it indoors for the summer. We also drilled a hole in the bottom of the catchbasin which we close with a rubber stopper during the operating season. Woks just fine and avoids the nasty task of siphoning out the water for opening and closing! Despite all kinds of seals on our fountain cover, rain and snow melt still seep in and damage the automatic lights which cost $8 ea. and sockets more. Task #2 will be to remove the connecter thingy to the propane tank on the BBQ. Last winter, both items (fountain pump and connector thingy) froze and split.
This is just information that we learned the hard way and is not covered in the manuals!
Fountain below:
Sorry that I cannot get this picture to post larger. That fountain is aluminum and has 4 spouts of water flowing from the sides of the pedestal that is caught in the basin below. It survived the first winter just being covered, but the pump and the lights broke during the 2nd winter.
Task #1 for this weekend is to drain and cover the fountain. This year my husband will remove the pump and bring it indoors for the summer. We also drilled a hole in the bottom of the catchbasin which we close with a rubber stopper during the operating season. Woks just fine and avoids the nasty task of siphoning out the water for opening and closing! Despite all kinds of seals on our fountain cover, rain and snow melt still seep in and damage the automatic lights which cost $8 ea. and sockets more. Task #2 will be to remove the connecter thingy to the propane tank on the BBQ. Last winter, both items (fountain pump and connector thingy) froze and split.
This is just information that we learned the hard way and is not covered in the manuals!
Fountain below:
Sorry that I cannot get this picture to post larger. That fountain is aluminum and has 4 spouts of water flowing from the sides of the pedestal that is caught in the basin below. It survived the first winter just being covered, but the pump and the lights broke during the 2nd winter.
“Do any of you have any thoughts regarding a modestly priced chipper/chopper that two ladies can operate without endangering life and limb?”
I bought a Troy Bilt chipper shredder from Lowes. it is relatively easy to move. Plus it comes with a hitch bar if you want to move it with the riding lawn mower. It will chip about a 2-3 inch diameter branch. although sometimes i have to cut off the smaller branches so it all fits through.
Leaves go through the bin. tree branches through the chipper.
Every tree trimming in my yard goes through the chipper. Plus I chipped an entire, quite large Basswood tree, minus the trunk (firewood) that was growing too close to my lagoon. I have 2 complete compost piles working. Plus I dumped many bags of chips directly on the garden, on top of some generous portions of sheep manure. With the fall leaves now covering the garden,, a lot of wood ash added over the winter, by spring I should have a base that will till in.
Soil testing on the garden indicated it needed a lot of help with organics. Plus with all the rain this year, I am sure the soil has leached most nutrients.
I am still a novice gardener. But every year I learn more things i can do. The composting project has become my focus. I want a completely organic, chemical free vegetable garden.
my wife says,to buy boxes and use news paper to wrap them individually and let them ripen.
Any other advice?
All I can say is that I certainly hope the salmon catch is good this year, since the judges and environmentalists are starving the San Joaquin farmers of their water.
Geeez. All I know is that I was raised to believe that the farmers WERE the environmentalists in the 1940s-50s with their timed irrigation, contour plowing, and crop rotation.
I wish you lived in Indiana, my dad has a chipper with maybe 4 hours on it.......I should have brought it with me to New Mexico.............look on craigs list but be vigilant.
Black plastic won’t stop bamboo. Roundup will, but you’ve already got stuff planted where the bamboo keeps coming up. You can either move the plants you like, or dig a deep trench between them and the main bamboo and put sheet metal in it. Then you can grub out the bamboo that’s already invaded. My sympathies. Bamboo was one of the things I looked for at the neighbors’ when househunting. It’s a dealbreaker for me.
please put me on your ping list.
Polly
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Bamboo is terrible, especially in a mild CA climate. Did you plant it?
My mom (97) still lives in Fresno. 25-30 years ago her neighbors planted bamboo as a screen. They have long since moved away, but that pesky weed has come under the fence, under her patio, under her house and has brought termites through its roots. Every time we go out there, my husband battles the bamboo and baits and kills the termites. We beat it back, and then it re-appears. Several people who have lived in that house since the bamboo was first planted have tried to remove/kill it with no luck. It just keeps coming back.
I wonder if HE could have gotten a restraining order against HER? Or filed a civil suit for the decline in his property value?
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