TOTM May 2016- Gardening

My aquaponic system is a bit on the primitive side ,still working on the project before I go full size.
Right now I have gold fish in the 40 gallon tank in the ground, and that is the only water I water the garden with . the laundry tray is where I store water to replace the fish tank water . It's there to aerate and get rid of the chlorine in the city water .
Unfortunately it is very hard but I am not going to by filtering to remove it.
One of the issued a friend had was the solids that built up in his beds so he had to add another settling tank before the garden ,other wise the solids would coat all the pebbles and not function as they were suppose to . His was a flood and drain method.
He has abandoned the gravel bed and going to earth instead just as I have, and like me merely using the fish water to water the plants .
You can see my bed is terminating over my fish tank and any water that manage to get there goes right back in to it.
I water about every other day depending on weather and heat and evaporation. I have a boat 12 volt bilge pump that I us to deliver the water to the bed. the hose goes the length of the inside of the pipe and tee are holes in th pipe all along the way likea a leach line so the bed is watered evenly and not just from one end, ensuring the fish water is evenly distributed.
Last several years the squirrels have been invading, but since I grew the onion at that end they have left it all alone. My potatoes and carrots are doing well so far. but I have learned something valuable .Don't grow emotionally attached to any thing like this ,nature will give you a black eye or blight or insects or other things that will compete for your hard work and investment.
If you manage to get something out of it ,praise God, and be thankful.

 

You might consider doing a test with one of the gifted boxes. Put a layer of Aluminum window screen down and set the bed box on top, then fill it it up with dirt. You can buy dead aluminum window screens, still in their frames, from the window companies that get them after doing upgrades. It would be porous enough for drainage, but should discourage any moles that try to go under and then up.

One thing that should absolutely stop them dead would be to get used aluminum offset printing plates from the local newspaper and shingle the bed before the box and dirt go down. Overlap the sheets an inch of so, and they should be completely mole-proof. Water will still wick out around the edges of the the shingles, so the bed will not get boggy.

Those same plates make great expedient shingles in no-code buildings like sheds and chicken coops.

 

@UncleMorgan What about just mesh fencing? I have lots of small mesh available. I am not sure what you mean about shingles and plates. I have declared war on those voles. The Kid is happy to make traps and join in the war. From the looks, I think the voles destroyed my asparagus. I am hoping I am wrong but it looks like I lost- 2 apples trees, 2 blueberries and my asparagus bed.

 

Whoops! I think I derailed my own thread.

My first garden was a very learning experience. I have a vision and I was the typical first time gardener. I planted stuff we really didn't eat and found I had not left enough room. I went heavy on squash plants. As much as I would love to grow spaghetti, acorn and pumpkins, it is not meant to be. The growing season is too short and I always get milky mildew. I tried to combat the milky mildew with a spray bottle of water and milk but that didn't say the plants.

My fencing was not high enough and the elk were able to reach over and get Jr.'s corn plants. The first very I grew broccoli we had a great harvest so I doubled up because the family really loved it but I have lost my plants to those nasty green worms since then. Things I can grow easily are carrots, beets, radishes. I have success with lettuce, kale and peas. After the first year, I realized that I cannot grow my peas in full sun. They did better in planters that had partial shade.

 

I'm a huge fan of the Farmer's Almanac .... I have not tried this but my grandmother swore by it
PLANTING BY THE MOON
In our gardening example, there are some scientific roots. The Lunar gravitational pull influences tides and ocean levels. Water is also pulled upward in the soil by the same gravitational forces. This in turn, brings moisture to newly planted seeds.
Using the concept of Planting by Phases of the Moon:

Plant above ground crops during the "Waxing" or rising moon. This is a period of increasing light from the new moon to the full moon.

Plant root crops during the "Waning" or declining moon. This is from the full moon to the new moon when the moonlight is declining.
Does it really work?
Scientific studies have shown this gardening concept has merit. And as testimonial, there are many, many gardeners who swear by it and therefore, plant by it.
But the true test is in your garden. Does it truly work? Give it a try and then "You make the call."

 

We have a good garden plot which is kept fertile with lots of composted Rabbit manure, chicken manure and Lime. We just started our first raised bed experiment using a feed trough from Family farm and home. Metal frame and bpa free plastic tub. They are 10 feet long by 24 inches wide,9 inches deep and sell for 119 bucks. Planned for strawberries.

They have drain holes in the bottom for excess water and are safe and food grade.

 

My father swore by it. He grew some of the biggest, tastiest, juiciest (is that a word?) tomatoes I have ever eaten in my life. I would die to make a tomater sammich (as was common on the south) from one of his tomatoes.

 

Nice looking Rice Paddy.

 

I have oleander on my property, should I get rid of it ?

 

I had to look that one up. Pretty plant but sounds really deadly. The article I read said ingesting or inhaling could be lethal. If you raise bees, this statement would really bother me.

The Health Risks & Benefits of the Oleander Plant
The article I linked in the comment section, someone wrote they heard not to burn it if you pull it. Scary plant if you do not know what you are doing.

@Ganado @UncleMorgan @chelloveck

 

bees love oleander, and its an easy plant to take care of as it requires low water and its almost impossible to kill.

YOu have to look at your individual goals. If you have horses or cows, definitely want to get rid of it as its poisonous to them. If you want a good screen for your yard, or shade for more delicate plants, its an excellent plant. So what are your goals in your yard?

 

Oleander (Ner livestockium) is poisonous. It has been fatal in rare circumstances to infants, and it may be a possible risk to adults who may have a heart condition...but as Ganado has suggested...it is very toxic to some livestock.

Nerium - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
2 Toddlers Died From Oleander Poisoning, Coroner Says

It is an attractive ornamental showing colourful displays of flowers. Variegated varieties can be quite attractive looking.

 

Since we are putting in the aquaponics system, soil gardening has been put off this year. I plan to next year start a garden. My wife have a few things planted in containers, but not much.

 

Geodesic Dome Greenhouses, Greenhouse Kits, Solar Greenhouses, Garden Greenhouse, Home Greenhouses







lots of pretty greenhouse designs here and great video's
Virtual Tours - Growing Spaces

 

Most of what I grow is pretty basic. we pant a hundred or so tomatoes and peppers and a few hundred onions and potatoes. countless carrots and lettuce seeds sown into long rows. many melons and squashes. we also "grow" eggs and have several fruit trees. We planted two pear and two peach this spring. we have a good berry patch and I have a Top Bar hive. I'll put up some pics of what it looks like before and after...
At this point I will share some tips that I found work really well in getting good yields and beat the heat.

sorry in advance for blowing this thread up!

I found it best to furrow the ground and plant down in the furrow. As the time goes by I revers the furrows using the hills to fill in and hill up the plants. when it comes time to water it will naturally flow to that "under ground" trench. this allows me to use less water during the hot time of year when irrigation is limited. I will also spread grass clippings up and down the pathways to help hide the soil from the sun and hold moisture.

On the tomato plants we will always remove the suckers... time consuming but well worth it.

we also prune back the Peppers and bury them deep when we plant, this makes the stocks more like stumps and they become drought resistant and also yield huge peppers..


we also will use a top line with runners for tomatoes and peppers as they will overgrow the cages..
here is some of what we put up in years past. from the two garden spots we have... and some pics of what the gardens look like.
looking from the garden to the house.
the second garden


honey

tomato soup

apple sauce

have fun ya'all!

 

Excellent garden and set up! @TheJackBull thanks for sharing those pics!!!

 

Excellent thread.
First year with my garden, since we moved in Dec of last year. We could see where we thought the previous owners had a garden, and after talking with the neighbors confirmed that the PO did indeed have a garden for 1/2 a season then decided it was too much work. LOL
So, I went small, only about 25'x25' for this year but I plan on expanding it for next year. I will start soil prep this fall for the new garden area.

So far most everything is doing well. The only thing not growing is the squash that were seeds we saved a few years ago. I thought a few might germinate but nothing so far.

I do have a new problem to contend with, deer. Living in the city we didn't have an issue with animals (except cats crapping the garden). I've seen deer prints and I think the birds are eating the strawberries just as they get ripe Oh well, I don't expect much this year, hopefully I will get enough green beans to can and some peppers to put in the freezer.

Don't forget on the tomato plants to bury them deep. Cut off the lower limbs and put most of the stalk in the ground. All the little "hairs' on the stalk will become roots.

 

OK so what eats my small cucumber plants... OK they are straight eights, but that's where the humour ends.

Not rabbits, so it's down to rats or birds, and they leave the zucchini alone.

 

The main mistake we've made in the past is not thinning out varmints. Hogs and racoons are now gone, squirrels have moved down the road (they don't get along well with cats and terriers.)
So far this year, the main focus has been on reducing the armadillo population...aka @#^^$%@#@!!! critters! Best that I can tell, there is only one remaining...for now. This has pushed our planting timeline way back...only hot weather plants for the first season...but hopefully we shall have something left to enjoy.

 

Cucumber beetles? get a yellow plastic plate put a thick layer of vase line on it and see if you catch any