[Jason Whipple]

OK, just wanted to see if there would be any interest in a garden thread here.

I see that there are some land owners that mention farming and or gardening on occasion and thought it would be a great idea if we had a separate thread about the gardens, what we're doing with them, and offer tips to each other to get the best out of what we're doing.

Each year we plant a fairly small vegetable garden and have some pretty good luck with it. The over flow usually finds its way to some of our current or favorite customers, they always love it! So in that regards it is sort of something we do to help boost our PR and it works.

We started some Tomato plants about 4 weeks ago indoors this year to see if we could get some ripe by the forth of July this year. Vermont has a really short growing season, it helps to get going early. Thinking about getting some other stuff started soon, maybe this week end.

Any one else getting a garden going this year? Have you started it yet?

[Cole]

Garden Grown Tomatoes!

YUMMMMMMMMMM!

I grew up gardening with my grandpa, he would usually have a 1-2 acre garden with everything in it. Now that I think about it, I have a lot of great memories with him and his garden.

I have not planted one in a couple of years, but I hope to get started again in a couple of years!

[Double-A]

We just finished 3 4'x8' raised beds for vegetables this past Saturday. Soil is heaped up in them settling down now, waiting for last possible frost to pass for transplants to go in.

Knocked together, looks like crap landscape timbers with fabric lining. Gaps etc. But, it was a rush job and the client insisted I get it done fast, or I'd be sleeping the in back with the dog.

Nice sunny spot in the summer, the low sun is still casting tree shadows, but as it climbs higher, the spot will get full sun almost all day long.

[Jason Whipple]

I'll have to get some pic's this year. Last year we had grape tomato's growing up against the house. I slid hurricane clips behind the lap siding and used zip ties to help support the vines. No kidding, the things grew 10' up the side of the house!! We let the birds have the ones we couldn't reach.

Does anyone grow potato's? I was thinking of doing a few rows this year. In fact, I have a few under the sink that are already growing Can you just take those and plunk them in the ground? Or should they be started from seed for best results?

Those beds look good Double A, you should have fun with them for sure.

[genecarp]

yea, gardening is a great subject, i am designing a woodland garden at my new house, my back has alot of shade, and clay, its a limiting condition. i will be building my own natural swimming pool. i will be placing my 17ft trailer near the swimming pond, as a pool house, i want to make it look like a lakeside campsite

[DavidC]

This is a thread with potential.

Our garden is 35'x150'. The last few years our neighbor has been gardening on the end nearest her. We grow most of our own tomatoe sauce, canning for the winter. This year we will be planting grapevines next to the garden.

Elsewhere on the property I have 2 roosters and 1 old hen in the retirement home, 5 sheep in the field. 2 of them are young and plump, hazardous in thier proffession.

Genecarp,
Great idea with the campsite. Is there a plan to keep the pool swimmable w/o chemicals? We set up one of those inflatable pools but the alge won out in the end because I hate to use chlorine to much.

Good Luck
Dave

[KillerToiletSpider]

My garden is a half acre on a local dairy farmers land, he prepares the ground for me every spring and lets me use it for the price of one butchered deer a year. My wife and I grow and can most of the vegetables we eat through the year, as well as most of the spices she uses for cooking.

[genecarp]

Originally Posted by DavidC

This is a thread with potential.

Our garden is 35'x150'. The last few years our neighbor has been gardening on the end nearest her. We grow most of our own tomatoe sauce, canning for the winter. This year we will be planting grapevines next to the garden.

Elsewhere on the property I have 2 roosters and 1 old hen in the retirement home, 5 sheep in the field. 2 of them are young and plump, hazardous in thier proffession.

Genecarp,
Great idea with the campsite. Is there a plan to keep the pool swimmable w/o chemicals? We set up one of those inflatable pools but the alge won out in the end because I hate to use chlorine to much.

Good Luck
Dave

dave, google (total habitat) this company details how to keep water clean and swimable by creating a natural ecosystem, gene

[cleveman]

We had a small triangular garden last year, the first year on that site. We feed our dog about 1/2 vegetables. We just ran out of green beans. We had some lettuce, green beans, those german root things to put in stews and what not (Kohlrabi), carrots, turkish peppers, bell peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, musk melon, watermelon, acorn squash, and zukes.

This was all fenced in.

This year I want to go outside the fence with rows about 200' long of acorn squash (good dog food and keeps well), musk melon, and watermelon. This will free up some space inside for more eggplant and peppers. Maybe I'll put the tomatoes outside as well. Not much bothers them. Plus I want to get on the onion boat. My wife wants potatoes, but I don't want to till up all that space. I won't grow corn either. The zukes are good dog food as well. The salad (Roka) is about the best deal. If you have a mixture, you can have a big ass salad every night. I want to plant some spinach in early April.

I've had raspberries and currants and strawberries in the past and would love to have these in the future. I've planted plums, pears, cherry, and apple trees on past properties and they're good for the people who own them now. I'd like to get a small orchard going again.

yeah, this will be a good thread.

[Jason Whipple]

Cleveman,

Dog food? Really? I never would think dogs would eat veggies I know it's in manufactured foods but I didn't think they would eat them raw, or do you make dog food with it? Just wondering.

I take it you have some pest problems there from the sounds of it. Do you have a green house or just lots of windows in your house? I know a few folks who only have one or two potted veggie plants indoors and they seem to get more stuff of there plants than the outdoor kind. We get freak frosts in June sometimes that stunt growing plants outdoors. Last year a frost put the boots to my green peppers They were just getting pepper buds and the frost knocked them all off. They never grew back.

[Susan Betz]

I'm not the gardener, Lorne is, but last year he and the twins planted one with peas, green beans, tomatoes, cabbage, and peppers. The peas were wonderful. It was cute watching my city girls learn how to plant and weed.

[oldfrt]

Nothing better than garden tomatoes,the store bought ones just don't cut it for me.

I'll usually start each year with a load of dehydrated cow manure($20 truck load)blended in with some of last years leaves as soon as the ground dries out.
I found using the grass clippings(unfertilized clippings only)between the rows is all I need to keep 90% of the weeds out.
Every year I'll till a few more feet of lawn into a garden,just to add new plants so there's always something new to look forward to.





Hey Jason,

I just had some black-eyed peas for supper.
Seeing how your better half is from the same place as mine,have you tried growing any of the southern veggies?

[Jason Whipple]

Originally Posted by oldfrt

Hey Jason,

I just had some black-eyed peas for supper.
Seeing how your better half is from the same place as mine,have you tried growing any of the southern veggies?

I told her I was going to grow some Okra just for her, she didn't find that funny at all (she hates Okra). The black eyed peas she likes. Maybe I'll surprise her this year. Good idea, Thanks

I'm pushing my garden out a little further this year too.

[oldfrt]

I guess the black-eyed peas are a Southern tradition for my wife's family.
They are always served on New Years Day for good luck.

I just wish I could get her to cook some of the eggplant I seem to have good luck growing,the stalks are like trees,but I end up giving 90% of it away.

[knothole]

Originally Posted by Jason W

Does anyone grow potato's? I was thinking of doing a few rows this year. In fact, I have a few under the sink that are already growing Can you just take those and plunk them in the ground? Or should they be started from seed for best results?

Just cut the potato in half and take the root sections (called eyes) and lay them with the "eyes" facing upward. Then cover with dirt or straw. Good luck.

[cleveman]

Jason,

My dog has been eating everything since he was a puppy. When he was younger (now 13), he would stand up and pull apples off trees. I had a neighbor with 2 great pear trees. These pears would get so ripe that they were yellow and pure sugar. The bees and wasps would be all over them. He would eat six of these at a time. We froze 3 five gallon buckets of carrots and he has gone through all of them. I give him a full portion of dogfood in the morning and a 1/2 portion with his vegetables (boiled, about 12oz.) in the evening.

I don't have any pest problems to speak of. I had a ground squirrel or something eating eggplant, then a badger moved in for a while and the ground squirrel either moved on or was consumed. I like to fence stuff in just because I don't want to have a lot of nice stuff ruined because I didn't have a 2 foot high fence up.

I don't have a greenhouse, I just buy plants. A greenhouse in the future would be nice. I would build one for my wife if she wanted to use it.

[Norrrrrrrrrrrrm]

I think this is a great thread. I was thinking of starting the same thing a while back. I am currently conditioning my soil, but I think I am going to put a few in the ground this weekend. I great organic fertilizer for tomatoes is coffee grounds. Starbucks has a program for gardeners and they give you the used grinds for free. The worms love it too!! I have collected about 1,000 pounds so far. I also sprinkle it on my grass, good too. high in slow-release nitrogen.

[DavidC]

We'll be relocating part of our garden this year as part of the grape planting adventure. My plan is to spread a large black tarp over the soil when the snow melts. The idea is to kill off the existing vegetation w/o chemicals.

I've been thinking about going with a no till method inspired by Ruth Way and her book on the subject. (Forget the title) We would spread a deep layer of hay or straw over the whole area and pull it back where ever we plant, adding more as needed for weed control. Supposedly builds some deep rich soil by adding more mulch constantly.

Has anyone tried this method?

Good Luck
Dave

[Jason Whipple]

Thanks for the tip Knothole Cleveman, you got one strange dog!

I've been saving up coffee grounds all winter, I heard they are great in the garden. We started a little compost pile last year too. I should be able to condition the soil with little cost this year.

I like the sounds of that method DavidC. It's worth trying out, anything is better than picking weeds all summer. The grass clippings are a good idea too. It seems to grow fast hear in late spring and I always have to rake it up so it won't kill the lawn. It should provide some heat as well while it's decomposing (for those cold spring nights).

Just got almost everything germinated today (rain day). Can't wait!

Come On Spring!!!

[cleveman]

Conditioning soil:

We don't have to do a lot of this around here, but here is what I would propose:

Our metro area here (Des Moines) requires homeowners to dispose of yard waste in paper bags (which they pay for), then they let this waste ferment and decompose (and dump septic pumpers on it), then sell it. You can get this stuff for about $8/yard. Dump it on in the fall, and let it leach in. Then till it in in the spring. This stuff is called black gold and it is still very much alive when you buy it (steaming).

Alternative: poultry waste.