Gardening 2022

[Amish Heart]

That's just disgusting.
It used to be people were buried and prayers were said over them.
Now they're cremated or biosludged.

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

Saw this posted on Telegram by someone named “Alexander”

“I went to a fascinating talk about regenerative agriculture yesterday. If you have animals in small enclosures (even rabbits in tractors) and move them daily around a field/ garden, not putting them back in the first spot for as long as possible, you can increase the grass crop many times by giving it both fertility and a rest to regenerate. It also builds the soil up and makes it less prone to flood/dry out, but rather absorb and retain moisture. It works even better if you follow the grazers with chickens. She uses this method with her cows and had knee-high grazing in the middle of a drought where all neighbouring fields were dried up and has no grass. Even on a small scale it works wonders. Just thought some people here might have the land/inclination to try it.”

 

[Robinjopo1]

Went to Sprouts today and they had organic ginger and turmeric. Lots of little nodules on them to sprout. The cost for 9 oz of ginger and 6 oz of turmeric was less than 1 plant each from the seed catalog.

Update: the Sprout's ginger has shoots about 6" high. Turmeric is always very slow to sprout.

I am very pleased since the price was a fraction of the ginger and turmeric in the seed catalogs.

 

[Robinjopo1]

Every year I promise myself this will be the best, neatest, weed free garden ever. Today I put about 80 gallons of wet, gross leaves around the fence to cut down on weeds. I have the nylon fencing around too so the area is hard to weed eat. When. I ran out of leaves, I spread some straw. I need to go down and do some work on my blackberries. The weeds are already taking over. It looks like I may have lost some blackberry bushes last Winter.

 

[GaRp58]

For all my problem plants, I cut them down to the ground level, cover them with black plastic and cook them alive in the sun. The heat goes down several inches and even cooks the rhizomes and roots. The next year all kinds of things come up where the weeds and crap was, coming from the seeds of other plants nearby.

 

[Robinjopo1]

Looks like I lost 4 or 5 blackberry bushes.

 

[Robinjopo1]

Had high wind all day and I was working in it and my face is so pink it looks like sunburn. It is tingling too. Need some extra old lady cream tonight.

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

For all my problem plants, I cut them down to the ground level, cover them with black plastic and cook them alive in the sun. The heat goes down several inches and even cooks the rhizomes and roots. The next year all kinds of things come up where the weeds and crap was, coming from the seeds of other plants nearby.

Do you think that would work for wild blackberries?

 

[GaRp58]

Do you think that would work for wild blackberries?

I have not tried that yet, but yes, I believe the solar cook will get most any plant. The temperatures get over 140°f under the black plastic. I have also used boiling water on the plants trying to come up between the bricks on the terrace and the cracks in the sidewalks or on the walls of the house too. Boil water and pour it slowly down the stalk and literally COOK the plant and roots.
JOKE: the neighbor got asked the stupid question: Whatcha doin' ?...answer: Makin' HOLY WATER...Q: how's that go??
A: I am COOKING THE HELL OUT OF IT!!!!

 

[DirtDiva]

Cleaned out the worm bed. Lots of worm castings for potting up those spring seedlings. Not to mention bait for catfishing over the summer

 

[GaRp58]

We are still getting rain since two days now. The snow is called for on Sunday but we are hoping it is only going get snow north of us...too many happy healthy little plants in the garden.

 

[DirtDiva]

Storms moving in tonight. I got blackberries pruned of any winter cold damage. Looks like all the new ones I planted last fall made it. Blue berries are blooming. The pears blossoms are setting fruit as are peaches and plums. Couple of cold days next week so we shall see as trees are way too big to cover. Found my first 3 asparagus spears and picked some plantain leaves for making salve. First cup of fresh lemon balm tea was great! June berries are blooming, highbush cranberries, elderberries, gooseberries, black currants and pawpaw leafing out. Sand plums are just about to bloom and grapes are leafing out. Rhubarb heads separated and replanted. Yet to bud out are the figs and mulberries. Lost my Nanking cherry harvest to late frost for the second year in a row. Might have to rethink them. Cornelian cherry bloomed but no fruit set trees are still really young though only at about 5 foot. With two really large beds of asparagus that should be my first harvest of the year and I will freeze what we don't eat fresh.

 

[Robinjopo1]

I tilled the big garden today. Now I have an ice pack. Had to pick mom up off the ground because her chair turned over. She is like a cooked noodle. She can't help get herself up. She walks, climbs steps, showers, etc, but when she is on the ground, she is worthless.

 

[Robinjopo1]

Storms moving in tonight. I got blackberries pruned of any winter cold damage. Looks like all the new ones I planted last fall made it. Blue berries are blooming. The pears blossoms are setting fruit as are peaches and plums. Couple of cold days next week so we shall see as trees are way too big to cover. Found my first 3 asparagus spears and picked some plantain leaves for making salve. First cup of fresh lemon balm tea was great! June berries are blooming, highbush cranberries, elderberries, gooseberries, black currants and pawpaw leafing out. Sand plums are just about to bloom and grapes are leafing out. Rhubarb heads separated and replanted. Yet to bud out are the figs and mulberries. Lost my Nanking cherry harvest to late frost for the second year in a row. Might have to rethink them. Cornelian cherry bloomed but no fruit set trees are still really young though only at about 5 foot. With two really large beds of asparagus that should be my first harvest of the year and I will freeze what we don't eat fresh.

My strawberries are blooming.

 

[DirtDiva]

I tilled the big garden today. Now I have an ice pack. Had to pick mom up off the ground because her chair turned over. She is like a cooked noodle. She can't help get herself up. She walks, climbs steps, showers, etc, but when she is on the ground, she is worthless.

I went to no till and raised beds years ago. Just too darn old to fight that tiller. Best thing I ever did but it is just a preference. I tilled/plowed a garden for decades when I was younger.

 

[Robinjopo1]

I like tilling. It is hard, but I need the exercise. I try to keep my muscles active. It is harder each year though.

 

[Arcticdude]

We had some warm weather for a couple of weeks so I started tilling the garden and bought a bunch of fruit trees and berry and grape plants. Since then we've had a couple feet of snow and temps in the teens. Not sure if the new bees have survived.
The trees and berry plants are living in the shop right now. Another storm is blowing in tonight. Maybe next week it'll warm up again.

 

[Cindyd]

I ordered 2 20th century asian pear trees (dwarf), 2 Santa Rosa Plum, and standard fantasia necatrine trees yesterday. AND I broke over and bought 4 of the "Snowbird" indoor/outdoor citrus yesterday, Lime, Lemon. I have ordered multiple citrus and other fruit trees for my zone in the past and have had zero luck with any of them making it. Albeit a few have been run over with a mower or weed whacker-in spite of the trees being well marked (of course all parties involved in mowing or weed whacking -deny it was it was them)..

I am going to check the county extension site and/or call to speak with someone and see if I can figure out what i am doing wrong exactly, as the majority have simply died out. I am putting them in well drained soil, following the planting/growing instructions, etc. Apparently, I am not smart enough to figure it out. If these little dwarf and potted suckers don't make it, I suppose I'm back to stock piling canned fruit! Am having same luck with nut trees (which is none).

My grape vines produced a great yield one year (was loaded), which I was able to make a lot of jelly from. Since then, nothing...grapes disappear every single year since then. I think coons or squirrels have figured out the grapes and are eating those up? The green grapes come out and by the time they turn purple they are all gone.

Happy Easter! This is not really meant as a gripe session, just diappointment with myself as I have plenty of land area to plant and I want take advantage of it with some fruit and nut trees! ;-)

 

[Dracos]

Here the birds get most of the cherries. They don't mind taking them before I think they are ripe. Sometimes they even eat green tomatoes. The damn yellow jackets eat the pears and apples. The deer love peppers and squash leaves. But we get by. If I was in a survival situation I may take sterner measures. I pay taxes to the government I guess I pay taxes to nature too.

 

[Arcticdude]

We still have a foot of snow in the garden, but at least it's melting fast. The next storm isn't expected until Tuesday thru Friday. If it drys out some I should be able to start tilling in a week or two.
Birds tend to eat most of our cherrys, chipmunks eat some tomatoes and plums and the yellow jackets eat the raspberries, grapes and strawberries. I'm going to put up some bird deterrents this summer to see if that will help. I tried netting but the birds would just go under it and get caught. I shoot and trap a lot of chipmunks. May have to start shooting birds too if the deterrents don't work. I've got a poison recipe for the yellow jackets that I'll try out too. I use a lot of yellow jacket traps, and catch tons of yellow jackets but it doesn't seem to make a difference. I'm hoping that they will take the poisoned meat back to their nest and kill the queen.