& So it begins, again. |
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Shamu
Admin Group Logo Designer / Donating Member Joined: April 25 2007 Location: MD, USA. Status: Offline Points: 17603 |
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Posted: May 02 2018 at 8:48am |
Pretty soon these will be 3 kinds of tomatoes, 2 cherry & one Heirloom, peas, green-beans, 2 kinds of peppers, one mild, one screaming hot, & some decorative flowers that also keep the critters off. Marigolds off to the side.
The twin towers 'o tomatoes, will be added once we get the soil (mostly reclaimed from last year & mixed with home-made compost) topped up with new potting soil. nom nom. |
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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)
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Honkytonk
Senior Member Joined: December 30 2017 Location: Brandon Mb Status: Offline Points: 4770 |
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Here in Manitoba I planted peas, radishes, Swiss chard and green onions yesterday. Winter was so long it's just nice to be at the range and in the garden!
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hoadie
Moderator Group Joined: March 16 2006 Location: Niagara/Canada Status: Offline Points: 9003 |
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Welcome to Ontario!! Where we go from furnace to Air conditioner inside of 30 minutes!
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Loose wimmen tightened here
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A square 10
Special Member Donating Member Joined: December 12 2006 Location: MN , USA Status: Offline Points: 14452 |
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im thinking the same - range and ...oh yes i dont garden , i kill everything i try to grow , but i admire those of you that do , congrats on the start of the farming season ,
furnace is off but the air is not coming on till the humidity gets intolerable , i need a little relief on the utility bill these days ,
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Shamu
Admin Group Logo Designer / Donating Member Joined: April 25 2007 Location: MD, USA. Status: Offline Points: 17603 |
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Oh, don't feel bad, I had "Brown Fingers" too for the longest time.
I honestly don't know what changed but the Mrs. had this dish garden plant, a kind of bonsai palm. It was probably 18" tall maximum. I took it over & the poor thing loved the attention & we now call it "Audrey 3" after Little Shop Of Horrors its so big! |
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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)
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hoadie
Moderator Group Joined: March 16 2006 Location: Niagara/Canada Status: Offline Points: 9003 |
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A Sq:
Not everyone has a green thumb. Heres a tip: plant chickens. They give ya eggs & meat |
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Loose wimmen tightened here
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buckeye55
Groupie Joined: July 26 2017 Location: Ohio Status: Offline Points: 33 |
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We had 2" of snow at my house on the 24th of April. Tuesday night (5/1) I planted potatoes wearing shorts and about sweat myself dry. We ran the furnace one night and the next day had the A/C on. But I got the spuds planted, along with one row of green beans and a square of sweet corn.I'd rather work in the garden than shovel snow any day of the week.
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A square 10
Special Member Donating Member Joined: December 12 2006 Location: MN , USA Status: Offline Points: 14452 |
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thanks hoadie - i need something to keep the lawn mowed and fertilize - i think a couple tiny cows might do the trick , do they come in a small size ?
buckeye55 - yup just mentioned this morning it was hard to believe we got a foot of snow three weekends back , my lawn will need mowing in another week
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Canuck
Special Member Donating Member Joined: January 17 2012 Location: Agassiz BC Status: Offline Points: 3535 |
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A square get some goats!
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Castles made of sand slip into the sea.....eventually
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hoadie
Moderator Group Joined: March 16 2006 Location: Niagara/Canada Status: Offline Points: 9003 |
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Turkeys!! Turkeys do "double duty". They eat every weed you have, eat a lot of bugs, and make the best security system you could imagine.(They raise he!! every time someone comes on your property) Plant turkeys!! Thanksgiving & Christmas will be looked after, as well!
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Loose wimmen tightened here
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Shamu
Admin Group Logo Designer / Donating Member Joined: April 25 2007 Location: MD, USA. Status: Offline Points: 17603 |
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Sure, no problem. Mini Texas Land Mines included.
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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)
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A square 10
Special Member Donating Member Joined: December 12 2006 Location: MN , USA Status: Offline Points: 14452 |
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i thought of the goats but they pull things out by the roots , i like that mini cow , i got wild turkeys from time to time - be great to rid the lawn of weeds and bugs but the neighbors feed the wild ones so ill probably loose out to them , i am in the middle of town BTW even tho looking out my back windows denys it , smack dab in the center of 20,000+ fellow dwellers ,
excuse the mess - these were taken when the tree fell on the house in the storm , i cut and burned for a good week , the river is not all that big - it drains into the mississippi about eight blocks from here , obviously mowing was not the priority at that time
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Shamu
Admin Group Logo Designer / Donating Member Joined: April 25 2007 Location: MD, USA. Status: Offline Points: 17603 |
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"Its alive! ALIVE I TELL YOU"!
(with apologies to Mel Brooks) I know it doesn't look like much, but its sort of a milestone. These little shoots are our first actual from scratch seed plantings to sprout. The toothpicks just indicate where we planted individual peas or beans so we can tell what germinated & what didn't, 4 to a container, when they get bigger they'll go into troughs we have waiting. The seeds were saved & dried from last year's crop so we're recycling about everything. We kept the soil, made compost, blended it & are re-using last years soil (enriched with all the biomass from last year's crop) & some other stuff (like grass clippings). The peppers we're not so sure about, none have sprouted yet & frequently store-bought plants are treated so they wont germinate next year, forcing you to buy more seedlings. |
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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)
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Bear43
Special Member Donating Member Joined: August 11 2010 Location: Doland, SD Status: Offline Points: 3059 |
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Shamu, how do you do your composting? I am going to start a compost pile as I have to do what I can to reduce any trash going in the bin. Burnables and organic materials are a surprising amount of it. Anyway, any tips on composting would be appreciated.
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Shamu
Admin Group Logo Designer / Donating Member Joined: April 25 2007 Location: MD, USA. Status: Offline Points: 17603 |
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It can be ridiculously simple. Or massively complex.
I went with simple. A 55-gallon plastic trash can & some rope. (use more drums if needed as the volume grows)! I drilled a bunch of 3/4" holes all over it (including the bottom). This stops it getting too wet & allows air (oxygen) to get mixed in with the compost. The rope is used to secure the top by use of the handles. (more on this in a few). All composting requires three basic ingredients:
Your compost pile (bin in my case) should have an equal amount of browns to greens. You should also alternate layers of organic materials of different-sized particles. (potting soil, the cheap kind) The brown materials provide carbon for your compost, the green materials provide nitrogen, and the water provides moisture to help break down the organic matter. You just add as you create it, mow the yard in goes the clippings & an equal volume of old dead brown leaves , chopped up hay (whatever "dead, brown stuff" you use) I add water at first til it runs out the holes. In my 55 gal can its about 3~4 gallons. Let the excess run out & wait 4~7 days, open the lid "feel" the moisture content, "Damp, but not soggy" is about right. Re close the lid & tie it shut. Every day for a week rotate the drum one full turn end over end & back. (This is why you want the lid tied on well) Periodically check moisture & add as needed. If you're storing a while (a good idea, longer is better) rotate once a week after this until used. You can keep going till the bin is about 3/4 full. You should be able to stop adding water at this point. Then stop, or start a second bin. Your volume will shrink as it breaks down, so keep adding & checking till its 3/4 full after shrinkage. You can't over store it, but you do want to stop adding more about 3 weeks before you intend to use any. To use it just put on top of, or mix in with (better) the soil you're going to grow in. It doesn't have to be a fine mix just vaguely even. After adding to soil water again to distribute the goodies. Steam rising from the holes is normal. It should never smell "bad" just like damp earthy soil. |
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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)
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Canuck
Special Member Donating Member Joined: January 17 2012 Location: Agassiz BC Status: Offline Points: 3535 |
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I would do the same except for the rodent problem here. I had a small composter and had rats invade it.
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Castles made of sand slip into the sea.....eventually
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