TOTM May 2016- Gardening

@TheJackBull Were you able to make all that apple sauce from your own fruit trees?

 

the second garden spot that I have is a neighbor who doesn't garden. on that lot they have a huge tree where a lot of the apples come from as they don't use them either. I would only get about half that from my two trees...
I had some wind fall that killed the two peach trees we had, that is why we have new ones this year and i think the apple trees took some damage as they did not blossom well this spring.

 

Wife has started pulling potatoes, We have another patch farther west @ #4
I'll plant more here for a second crop.

 

You Sir, have it going on!

 

I built one raised garden bed from broken concrete slabs that I liberated from a vacant lot. The ultimate in recycling. All it cost me was my own labor.

 

My potato pants were doing so well, and something came and ate the leaves on most of it but left the younger plant alone.
Also ate just the leaves on the carrots too but it seems the are coming back .
I can't seem to find the critter doing it.
I know that I have ground squirrels and birds and not too many insects due to the birds .
I really need to get the green house finished.

 

I set up my mom last year with grow buckets but in the hot arizona desert she was having to water a couple of times a day as the water reservoir using pickle and bakery 5 gallon buckets just was too small for desert growing.

This year I am trying these because the water reservoir is larger. This isn't ideal for a desert environment but given my mom's age this is the easiest for her as she only has to water and then harvest the fruits of her labor (I pre-fertilize all her growing containers)

This is virtully and earthbox, just the homemade version

I add both vermiculite and perlite to the sphagnum moss and the top 2 inches of soil has about 2 cups of dolomite (calcium and magnesium) the guy in the document uses 'Pro-mix) but I'm too cheap for that, it has humic acid and some other fungi in this mix to help the plants gather nutrients from the soil. Its a good mix but I can mix my own so I try not to pay for the expensive stuff!

EDIT: If you want to try humic acid in your soil mix pm @Aeason as he has access to good humic acid

 

This has me thinkin.. I have a couple polly barrells from something else and they would make some great planters..


EDIT:: Oh and at about twenty dollars a barrell, one can have two large planters for ten dollars each.. Thrift is best!

 

The annual plant exchange/luncheon put on by women's church group was last Saturday, got a weeping willow tree, 2 crookneck squash, 3 broccolis, a New Zealand spinach, 3 kinds of tomato(cherry, Beefsteak, and Early Girl), regular basil, 2 chards, and other stuff I can't remember right now. Of course we're under a winter weather advisory right now, woke up to white stuff this morning. 2 days ago it was almost 80, now it's snow...gotta love Klamath county weather...

 

Did landscape and gardening for about 15 as a business. We have not done allot since closing the business in 2007 where we once has a garden is now a large area with a fire-pit But planning on putting some herbs around the outer area ( no not those kinda herbs lol ).
Maybe even put in a some water pond or something in that area. Id lke to do some inside gardening anyone have success with it ?

 

Very nice. You will be a good resource when we have gardening issues. Which actually I do.

Citronella ants. I put some rabbit poo in my herb garden and I now have loads of Citronella ants. Ant suggestions on how to get rid of them non-toxic?

 

Arliegh you must be quite a sight in your potato pants! can ya dance the "mashed potato" in them?

 

Hi there well let me see, can I ask a couple question to help get a visual, I also did pest control for 3 years but that was in the 90's.
Can you tell me what signs you are seeing, are they near wood piles, mounds ? have you see winged ones ?
How close to your home are you seeing them? And how infested are they >?
By the way coffee grounds and vinegar are two natural ideas but depends how bad it is.
There are a few others but those are the easiest and almost every home has this.
Thanks
SW

 

Rawles blog has an article on the problems of surviving in Venezuela and how they developed over the years. Brings up a very good point about using gardens to supplement or provide your food sources. Boiled down it said you need three things to be successful.
1 You have to have the knowledge and resources to plant a garden, land, seeds, fertilizer, water, bug control, etc.
2 You have to have the fore sight to use those resources and food, shelter, and other resources required to survive until the garden is ready and to put away for the next year.
3 You have to have the enviornment that allows you to harvest and keep the food and resources. If animals, 2 or 4 legged, insects, anti hoarding laws etc take the garden produce, you lose all your inputs and can't do it again next year.

Don't mean to high jack the thread, just observing how lucky we are to not live in many other parts of the world and thanking God for my rather primitive garden and thankful that I am able to grow it and enjoy the fruits of my labor, or at least share them with the woodchuck and deer.

 

On my 2nd year here, a 2" - 3" thin layer of poor soil over a 12"- 18" layer full of water worn river rocks that were at some point in the distant past the bottom of the river that now lies about 300 yards south of my property, then clay below the rocks. The rocks are so thick as to preclude the use of any mechanical equipment in the pursuit of agriculture here. I am using post hole diggers, shovel, and pick to dig out holes in the matrix which are usually about 18" in diameter and 2 - 3 feet deep, removing the rocks, filling the holes up with compost, then mixing what little dirt that came out of the hole with 50% compost for a top mound over the hole filled with compost. Then I am planting in these spots with an eye on eventually getting enough holes joined over time to have rows to plant in. Last year we had over a foot of excess rainfall, which killed my tomatoes, now this year we seem to be in a drought, which I can deal with as I can water from my springs. I have 20 tomatoes going well with several over 4 feet tall, and many producing fruit, 8 bell peppers, about 50 corn plants, and should have about 60 okra plants, with beans to be sown in amongst the corn and okra to serve as stalks for the beans. Then have some jalapenos and tobacco going in pots, Havana and one of the Native American Sacred varieties which will blow your head off when you smoke it. Now I know why those clay pipes from the 1700's are so small compared to the modern pipes, as not as much tobacco was needed to jolt you then as now. Have 3 Cascade hops rhizomes planted, and some Japanese Arrow bamboo. Looking to get in some winter acorn squash and watermelons in the next couple of weeks. Constructing a 25' x 12' greenhouse with raised beds which should be ready for late summer plantings of cold weather plants for the coming winter along with a plot of barley for my beer. I can't take the heat like I used to, and have to work while it's cool in the mornings, as when it cools off in the afternoon the mosquitoes will eat you alive in the shadows.
Besides a commercial farmer, and one family who have been here for years and established a nice garden, my efforts are just behind those in a small valley with a population of about 1,500. Two other people here just grow okra for market, and a few personal tomato's are it. Pic is of a part of my garden, which is scattered all about, and the greenhouse being built.

 

May be preaching to the choir here, but this is what happens when it rains the entire month of May in Texas and your garden is too wet to dig red potatoes. The water makes them really grow big, however they develop little white spots. Potatoes must breath through their skin to develop. When the ground is waterlogged for a long period their noses (lenticels) grow so they can breath better. It does not effect the taste or texture but it creates an opening for disease and ruins their appearance. This is from two plants. I have between 300 & 500 pounds of these. I will be dehydrating all summer. Ate the big one on top for dinner tonight, 15.9 ounces. My garden is in a creek bottom which is great in dry weather but hell when it rains too much.