Weekly Gardening Thread – 2011 (Vol. 09) March 04

Free Republic | 03-04-2011 | Red_Devil 232

[Red_Devil 232]

Good morning gardeners. It is finally March and in Central Mississippi it has come in like a Lamb so far, does that mean it will go out like a Lion?

People used to believe that bad spirits could affect the weather adversely, so they were cautious as to what they did or did not do in certain situations. Those beliefs often included ideas that there should be a balance in weather and life. So, if a month came in bad (like a lion), it should go out good and calm (like a lamb).

I am still waiting for my tomato seeds to germinate. I am not worried about them yet as they take 14 – 21 days. A couple of my squash seeds have sprouted. Time to get the garden ready and my soil tested. The testing only costs $6.00 at the county extension. Regular tests include: pH, Lime Requirement, Phosphorus, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc, and Sodium.

If you are a gardener or you are just starting out and are in need of advice or just encouragement please feel free to join in and enjoy the friendly discussion. Our Freeper community is full of gardeners, each with varying interests and skill levels from Master Gardener to novice.

[Red_Devil 232]

Weekly Gardening Thread

Weekly Gardening Thread

[Red_Devil 232]

Ping to the Weekly Gardening Ping List.

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.

[Red_Devil 232]

Freeper Bean Counter posted a thread about his chickens last night. There is a lot of information on chickens and raising them. If you are interested here is a link to the thread

2011 Egg Production in the Chicken McMansion

[Gabz]

Good morning. It’s sunny, but 34 in my forgotten corner of Virginia. It’s supposed get up into the 60s for the weekend, but heavy rains are expected on Sunday.

We’ve been clearing out all kinds of stuff outside and sometimes I feel like the burn pile is a mile high. Unfortunately there is a burn ban in effect which prohibits burning until after 4pm. However it has been so bloody windy that there’s nothing we can do. SIGH

[surfer]

I am in the middle of a transition this season to a near 100% hydroponic solution. I am finding you have a lot better control over the environment and what exactly is going into your plants.

I am also impressed with how efficient this system is with its watering approach.

And this is the first system I have found that I can grow all of my citrus and other fruits hydroponically.

I found a local commercial farmer that uses this technology and grows over 400,000 plants on 3/8 of an acre and he was kind enough to show me how it is done.

It is absolutely worth a look.

http://www.hydrostacker.com/

[trisham]

It was 12 degrees here at 7:00 AM. It’s sunny, though. We actually saw some grass in a field yesterday while we were out driving. :)

[trisham]

Oh, I should have said I’m in southern Massachusetts.

[Cailleach]

I would love to be on the ping list. :)

I started seeds in my Jiffy Greenhouse box yesterday afternoon. Snapdragons for the county fair, and borage and lavender for my garden.
The day before I prepped my front beds for this weekend’s mulching.

[Walkingfeather]

Please add me to your pingady ping ping list. thanks

[Redleg Duke]

Greetings from southern New Hampshire! We had a melt and then a refreeze and the driveway is icy and rough. Tomorrow, we are expecting rain.

We are planning our garden for this year. I will be building raised beds for it and taking advantage of my new woodworking shop and my tools.

We are also planning on building a chicken coop and pen and starting a small flock of chickens, either Jersey Giants or Plymouth Rocks for egg production.

The way we figure it, with the economy in such capable hands, we are going to need to start a subsistance lifestyle.

I am planning on building a Hoosier cabinet for the kitchen and if it turns out okay, seeing if I can start building them on commission for resale.

[Racehorse]

Pill Bugs!

Seems to be two opposing thoughts about these little critters. Some claim they’re as beneficial as earth worms and of no danger to your plants. Others claim they’ll eat your seedlings before they have a chance to thrive, and even go after your maturing leafy plants.

While preparing a 4’x15’ section to plant yardlong beans, sweet pepper, and onions, I find my rich, moist earth is infested . . . and I do mean infested . . . with them.

I’m headed this morning to Home Depot to buy Slugo Plus to deal with them and similiar predatory critters. But I do wonder if any of you have thoughts you might share?

[Bean Counter]

Thanks for the ping! This is my urban chicken coop demonstration project to try and encourage some of my friends and neighbors to grow some of their own food, and show them how to do it. We live in the City on a standard lot, and in six months last year we harvested 68 dozen eggs out of our coop, with six hens!

It's not for everyone, but chickens are an enormously helpful addition to any urban homestead. They are outstanding weed and bug pickers and they give you eggs to boot! From a prepper point of view, fresh henfruit is a powerful barter item when TSHTF...



A little about the coop. It is designed for five hens; inside has 20 square feet of space, with the external nest boxes adding another 8 square feet or so. The covered sand run has 50 square feet. I have varmint-proofed the run against digging by burying a 2' wide strip of 1/2" mesh hardware cloth around the entire perimiter. Wyle E. Coyote couldn't get in there without explosives.

The coop is double-walled with painted plywood inside and out and insulated with 1 1/2" styrofoam between. The floor is made from concrete board and painted with epoxy paint to make it invulnerable to anything a chicken can produce. The walls are caulked, sealed and painted with porch paint to control roost mites.

The 2x4 roost is level with the windows so the girls can see out. There is plenty of active and passive ventilation to prevent moisture and gaseous ammonia buildup. My compost pile is adjacent to the large cleanout door on the end of the coop. It takes less than five minutes to clean the coop, as I installed a poop board under the roost to accumulate manure.

I have a passive water collection system that harvests rainwater off the roof and stores it in a plastic barrel on the back. There is a standard poultry water dispenser hooked in so the girls are never without water. The coop is wired for 110V AC and I have lights inside and out. I also added a small 150 Watt panel heater this year that turns on at 35 and off at 45. It handles the cold snaps well.

I built the coop between Thanksgiving 2009 and February 2010. We paid cash for everything so there was no credit card interest to add to the cost. To date we have about $1200 into this, and considering what the pre-made coops cost out there, we gave ourselves a real bargain by building from scratch. I used all new materials, but I could have scrounged around for used stuff without too much effort.

That's a lot longer than I intended this to be, and sorry for the novel so early in the morning. Again, I consider this a demonstration project and I'd like nothing more than for someone to take an idea they got from this, and build an even better coop.

[Red_Devil 232]

Thanks for the link. Their customer photos are impressive. Expensive though.

[bohica1]

Add me to the ping list Please! I dont have a very green thumb, but I keep trying....and am getting somewhat better as the years pass. With the prices in the grocery store being so high.....any little thing I can grow will help! NC here.

[Red_Devil 232]

We can't burn at all here. It has been warm here and looks like it will continue. A little rain now and then.

“If birds fly low, then rain we shall know.”

[Red_Devil 232]

If the rain holds off today I need to mow my lawn.

[CaptainPhilFan]

Good morning! I’m so excited for spring and
another try at a garden! I moved over the winter
and am now in a house along the Hudson; the seller
told me it’s ‘river soil’ and is amazing for
gardens.

I know I’ll bungle part of it, but I must get
supplies for starting seeds. I didn’t order
any, I just ran out of time. I learned some things
last year about gardening in this upstate NY climate,
and I can’t wait to try them out. :)

[Red_Devil 232]

YOU BOTH HAVE BEAN

added to

The Weekly Gardening Ping Listspace

space

YOU BOTH HAVE BEAN

added to

The Weekly Gardening Ping Listspace

space

[murrie]

Noticed you grow lavender? Was wondering, is it supposed to be a perennial? And if so, do you cut it down to the ground in the winter?

I planted some lavender last year. I am in zone 6 (Nashville, TN). It seemed to survive our horrible winter here-was wondering if it would do better this spring if pruned.
Thanks!
Mary

[stefanbatory]

where do you live? I’ll likely need to adapt the design to suit where I live...