Posted on 04/26/2013 12:37:55 PM PDT by 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!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Planted my Conlon two-row barley in the mud on Moday. On Tuesday, it snowed. It should be fine now that it’s climbing into the ‘70s. Should see a shoot or two maybe even this weekend. All the tomatoes are now being hardened off outside.
The 3/8” rebar pins for anchoring my low-hoop tunnel ribs have been cut and I’ll start the layout of the tunnels this weekend. I hope to have over 200 feet of bed under tunnels this season. The insect-free greenhouse conditions really turn out prime veggies. Also hope to put in some nursery stock in the new orchard wing and more grapes. Cane fruit and strawberries when their new beds are prepared.
Finally, we eskimos can begin to garden.
I figure that I’ll be doing well to get the cool weather crops out this Sunday. Most of my seed starts are not big enough to transplant anyway.
Have you read Steve Solomon’s book ‘Growing Food When it Counts’? He holds that the best way to produce survival quantities of food (like in the old days when they had to) is based on row cropping - not raised beds. Frankly, I have and use both systems, but I think he has a tremendous amount of insight and useful instruction in the book.
Hey /j I bought some molasses after your tip last week and added to seaweed tea. Can I make homemade fish emulsion? I eat sardines and added one to a covered plastic container with water to rot in the sun for awhile. Is it ok to do this then add the stinky brine to the above solution?
Have you ever grown asparagus from seed? I just read that it can take up to 10 weeks for these things to germinate!
/johnny
Thanks for the info. I use part of the biointensive and not the rest. I did find that the sq. foot method worked pretty well for me, which also uses some close planting, but I am thinking it is not as close as the BI methods.
For example, the corn I grew did very well with 3 or 4 per square foot interspersed with beans and some melons.
Of course, I wasn’t growing potatoes either, so I’ll have to keep in mind what you said. I have never been a big fan of the little potatoes either.
I’ve ground up trout in my food processor before for fertilizer.
Messy! Stinky too.
I have to admit, it does smell better.
/johnny
/johnny
/johnny
Good points. Like I said, I take what I like and leave the rest from all the methods. I have raised beds and they are just 3 x 8 for the most part. Experimentation is part of the fun for me.
I only have 176 sq. feet to experiment with. Hubby has about 1000 sq ft. So far he likes the double dug beds, and decided to build up the soil into raised beds and mulch in between to walk on. Other than that, its pretty traditional methods.
As it turns out you don’t have to keep rice flooded. Especially the ‘upland’ varieties like the blue bonnet.
So you could plant it in the ground if you want.
Thanks for the pics. Very neat. I use lots of stuff that I have on hand too. Along with things that I aquire at the end of season sales.
I particularly like egg cartons, and dixie paper cups, and newspaper pots. Anything that I can just stick in the ground without disturbing roots is great for me too.
Ok, that’s almost carbon copy of what I do as well. I also use the cardboard bottom box pieces that cans come on in the grocery store. Hubby snags those when he’s at Kroger. So far they haven’t minded. He also snags them from SAMs too.
I put those in el cheapo garbage bags and duct tape them in such a way that water can’t get into them easily. They’re not really reusable from season to season but the garbage bags are el cheapo and the cardboard boxes go on the compost pile or in a walkway in the garden covered with mulch.
I also save the large (disposable) aluminum cooking pans from family reunions, get togethers and that sort of stuff. Hubby snags them from work when he can. Also the plastic covered (with plastic bottom) deli containers are great for setting cups and stuff in for access to water. I also use those as starting trays, since they have fitted covers, for the really small seeds like stevia and oregano.
Waste not, want not.
Ok, back to transplanting the gazillion sweet peppers I’ve got started. Started enough for us, my inlaws, my parents, our tax lady, a couple neighbors and maybe my SIL too.
What are you covering the hoops with?
I’ve started it before (once it was up, it had a horrible accident involving my car, we won’t go into that now...) and I don’t remember it taking that long. HOWEVER, I soak it overnight in warm water prior to putting it in soil. It might depend on the variety too.
We’ll see, I’ve got 3 varieties to start tonight. I’ll try to remember to update if you wish.
No I haven’t, but I will be putting in on the list. Thanks.
Using the raised beds is just me being lazy. That way I just put in good soil over the crappy clay we have here, and each year I improve the whole bed a little.
Hubby is the big producer here. I am just the experimenter.LOL
Medium weight ag fabric. I can buy it here and save shipping or get it through several catalog sources. It lasts several seasons with care and can be cut into smaller pieces when worn. Smaller squares are used to cover squash, pumpkins and the like from vine borers.
/johnny
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.