Got a start on the fall 2016 gardening today. No where close to being finished, but tilled some that had already been turned under and seeded some mustard (I think. It was an unmarked pack someone gave me last year that they got somewhere, but it looked like mustard), spinach, and kale. Transported the remnants of the compost out and spread it in a different garden spot that isn't quite ready to be turned under as it still has a few tomatoes and peppers producing. I did clean out the corn/okra remnants for the most part and got at least part of it ready to be receiving leaves when they come in force. Not sure if I will seed that area or not. Still deciding. It will have creasy greens growing through parts of it from a couple years self-seeding anyway. As much as some hate fall, it is my favorite season because I get to do all the clean up and start anew with the composting and the garden (and it isn't hot and I am not being attacked by flying devils). Anybody else doing a fall garden?
Yep, and I am building raised beds right on top of my old garden. I am going up 5 and1/2 inches and filling the beds with composted sawdust and manure. Then I will mulch the plants with wood chips. I have planted... so far...straightneck squash, bush cucumber, carrot, bush cucumber, broccoli, brussle sprouts, and cauliflower. It may be a little early for the Cole crops because it is still over ninety and we are in a drought but the cucumbers and squash are going like gangbusters. The cabbage I forgot to mention looks okay and the Chinese cabbage is picking up. I also set out some hollyhocks in the garden along with hardy hibiscus and a couple Iris. I also built a planter in the front with some Encore Azalea, Pink Ruffle Azalea, and a white Azalea. I filled that planter with peat moss and sand mulched with wood chips. I also have two hollyhocks in that planter. I am changing everything this year. I love to experiment with plants and soil.
Have you tried the backyard chickens website? They have all kinds of gardeners and other things that may be of interest. It is www.backyardchickens.com. Talk about all kinds of birds, goats, pigs, and other things. The people are nice and real helpful.
I'm busy with my Spring garden, planting vegetables, flowers, bulbs and the less nicer jobs of pruning and cleaning out. My favourite season of the year, it's as if everything wakes up after a long winter sleep, just beautiful.
Are you planting a large garden? What kind of plants are you setting out? I saw cooking program on Australia and y'all have stuff i aint never seen, let alone tasted. Good luck with your garden.
What fertilizer do you people use for your gardens? I have used sawdust and other organic materials, such as eggshells, but I haven't had much success. does anyone know of a better mixture? Oh and I'm growing sweet corn. Thanks!
lol Heres a pic of my upside down garden. My vege patch is on the right hand side behind the hedge (only half of it showing on the pic) along the fence as this area gets the most sun during the day. Its not large about 5m x 2.5m (16ft x 8ft), Ive been threatening to extend it but never quite manage to get round to it. I have a small plastic mesh fence around it to keep my dog out, but with little success (like this one http://www.sure-green.com/media/gallery_listing/main2.jpg I usually plant two cherry tomato plants, the kids can eat from the vine, a few sunflowers also kids choice, herbs parsley, basil, coriander, lettuce, capsicum and this year they also want pumpkin but havent decided on type yet. So no strange veggies for me
Corn needs a nitrogen boost after it is about a foot high. I use whatever I can get. I am not picky. If I have to Miracle grow, I miracle grow. I buy a lot of organic bagged fertilizers at the end of season clearance sales, and when that is gone, if I need to go to chemical, I will. I don't fertilize a lot though. I compost and mix that in the soil when I till in the spring and fall. - - - Updated - - - Dunking the basketball doesn't count if you start off on a trampoline
It may be passion. But your passion translates into skill. Did you use landscape fabric in your landscaping? And what kind of mulch? It looks like a pebble mulch but it is hard to tell. It could be an organic mulch.
No my mother told me long ago the landscape fabric makes the soil acidic (don't know if she was right but she's my mom lol) The mulch is sugar cane mulch, wood chip looks so much better but after the birds have finished scrubbing in the garden it's all over the lawn and I have to clean it up before I can mow... I stopped fighting nature and now use the sugar cane mulch, much better for the soil anyway. On the vegetable garden I prefer chicken manure to horse manure, apparently (someone told me) it's better but don't know exactly why... perhaps a more varied diet than horses... shrug. The sugar cane mulch also goes in the vegetable garden and is great for keeping weeds out.
I don't use landscape fabric because it gets stringy after it is cut and it is a pain to remove if you want to. I also think it packs the soil. Chicken manure is good stuff. I have chickens and mix it with horse manure. The reason I like horse is because I get pickup loads for free. I like the price. Even though Alabama produces over a million tons of chicken manure a year they want money for it. It is also hard to get. I use a wood chip mulch. I also get wood chips for free. Chicken manure is better. But I always figure the best manure is the stuff you get for free. Cow, horse, chicken, goat, sheep, its all good.
I use newspaper instead of landscaping fabric because I am cheap and because upon discovering that the beds along the front and one side of the house have landscape fabric beneath them when we moved in, my dog's mission in life became to rip the stuff out a piece at the time. Not really sure why it frets her so much, but it does.
Newspaper is good mulch and will build the soil. For my sweet corn I usually manure the heck out of the ground in the fall before my spring planting. That landscape fabric can be a nightmare if the "strings" get wrapped around the lawnmower blades. They used to get caught in my tiller. But I till no more.
Carpet is bad if you get it with a mower too. It unravels and suddenly becomes virtually uncuttable once it starts spooling around the blades. The problem with newspaper is unless you shred it the community cats expose it when doing their business. so I keep that to the rear of the property. I do shred mine that I compost. Just not what I put under the mulch. I put it there as a weed barrier not an additive so much.
Mulch is a weed barrier. When it brakes down it becomes good soil. I compost tons of horse manure and sawdust using the hot composting method. My mulch is wood chips. I will also use sawdust under the wood chips because sawdust exposed to the air will crust and repel water. But if you break it up up a little the water will flow right through.
Not putting raw wood chips anywhere near my house. They are termite magnets where I live. I mostly mulch for moisture control. Not sure what I will be doing in that regard next year. I am a little weirded out by the whole thing but in this whole convoluted story I have been approached about possibly being filmed next year by some production company that works filming for farming, landscaping and garden shows. It makes me self-conscious like I should photo-ready everything with 100% matchy mulch and stop all projects that won't be completed by then. Not sure if this is something I really want to do or not, especially since that are being very inexact about the whole thing and can't say which show I would end up on. A realtor I know who has filmed with them for HGTV threw me into their prospect pool I guess and came and photographed my property. I am not sure if that is good or bad. I could end up on a Backyard Trainwrecks show or something.
That's great!!! You must have a real nice setup. If you decide to go for it I would like to see the show. I can tell everybody "I met this person on the net" !!!
I think "eclectic" is the polite way of saying what I have LOL. It depends a lot on the details. They have asked me a bunch of questions trying to decide what angle they might be going for. Still no clue. They just line up a ton of people and plot a path among them as best as I can tell.
