What Are Some Tips for Successful Gardening?

[turbo]

Can you use garlic that you buy at the grocery store, or do you need special garlic?

Refer to the link I posted for some details, but the garlic that works for these plantings are the hard-neck varieties. I'm planting Russian and German garlic that I got from my neighbor a couple of years back.

Here is a web-site that tells you which varieties are hard-neck and soft-neck. Generally, if you have purplish tints or stripes on the outside of the bulb and a firm stalk, it's a hard-neck. They tend to be pretty potent, flavor-wise, so if you are a garlic-lover, you can economize by using these more flavorful varieties.

http://www.bigjohnsgarden.com/shopgarlic.html

 

[Ouabache]

I just baked one of my "Tennessee Vining" pumpkins. The groundhog took a nibble of this one, so rather than put it with the others, in the root cellar, i decided to bake this one. It yielded 27 cups of baked orange goodness. Great in muffins, dessert breads, pie and soups.

 

[Evo]

All right, it's time to tell of my ordeal with the squirrels, to be known from this day forth as the "rat bastages" and the RAVINE OF DEATH.

The other day I was sitting at my computer when I noticed a squirrel racing across the yard with one of my huge, almost fully ripe tomatoes clutched in it's jaws. I raced to my patio and when I opened the door there was a human bridge of squirrels (ok, the Evo Child says squirrels can't form human bridges, but you know what I mean) with the top squirrel wrenching another tomato off of my plant. They scattered the moment I opened the door, but the damage had been done. Over 2 pounds of perfect ripe tomatoes had been taken. I looked down into the Ravine of No Return and saw my tomatoes scattered amongst the trees.

Horrified by the ghastly scene, I climbed down the treacherous, muddy, loosely packed dirt, and gathered up my poor tomatoes, then realized I had a death defying 75 degree incline to negotiate in my knitted cat and mouse booties if I was ever to get back to safety. Crawling on my hands and knees, feeling for toeholds of ground that did not crumble and careen down into the RAVINE OF DEATH, I finaly made it back to my patio.

Unfortunately, I pulled a major muscle in my left thigh and have been crippled for the last few days.

Of course, realizing that all of my tomatoes had fang marks in them, I was afraid to eat them. DAMN THE RAT BASTAGES!

 

[turbo]

OK, so a couple of critters have lugged some of your tomatoes down into the Ditch of Darn. What's the problem? Every gardener knows that in order to get a crop, you have to plant enough to grow, enough to fail, enough to get eaten, and enough to harvest.

 

[Evo]

OK, so a couple of critters have lugged some of your tomatoes down into the Ditch of Darn. What's the problem? Every gardener knows that in order to get a crop, you have to plant enough to grow, enough to fail, enough to get eaten, and enough to harvest.

I was INJURED! Badly! And my hand knitted cat and mouse booties were soiled!

 

[turbo]

Gardening is dangerous work. Suck it up.

At least you still have vegetables. I had to chip frozen dirt to plant my garlic today. I picked all the remaining apples in the morning, got about a bushel for us, and 1/2 bushel for a friend's horse. Then, when it warmed up to the mid-30's, I started punching holes in the garlic beds for the cloves. I cracked all the bulbs of garlic left in the garage, and planted the cloves and mulched them with oat straw. I hate stoop-labor, and I can't kneel because of my arthritic knees, so I'll be really lame tomorrow. Still, if the cloves all develop, we'll have about 500 bulbs of garlic next year.

 

[Evo]

Gardening is dangerous work. Suck it up.

But, but, I have a tiny patio container garden.

 

[Moonbear]

I don't even have tomatoes anymore. Most suffered from the bad weather this summer and rotted on the vines. We've now had several frosts that have finished off the vines. All that's left to do is cut the plants out of the pots and turn them into the compost pile.

 

[turbo]

But, but, I have a tiny patio container garden.

Ah guerrilla gardening. An extreme form of gardening fraught with risks. You knew what you were getting into!

 

[Proton Soup]

heh, we had troubles with a squirrel that was wasting pecans. it would cut a green one, see that it wasn't ready, then move on to another. in rapid succession.

with a havahart trap, i have relocated 3 squirrels and 3 possums this year.
http://www.havahart.com/

 

[Evo]

heh, we had troubles with a squirrel that was wasting pecans. it would cut a green one, see that it wasn't ready, then move on to another. in rapid succession.

with a havahart trap, i have relocated 3 squirrels and 3 possums this year.
http://www.havahart.com/

The problem is that I love watching them and feed them. So I am guilty of attracting the little beasts.

 

[turbo]

The problem is that I love watching them and feed them. So I am guilty of attracting the little beasts.

I like hand-feeding and training chipmunks. When I first started doing that here, I used to tell them apart by their scars. I got sick of the red squirrels beating on the 'munks and and I started relocating the squirrels with a live trap. After a dozen or more relocations, I started "relocating" them with a 1000 fps pellet gun. I lost track at 70-75. The only way I can tell my chipmunks apart now is by their behaviors. Which ones run to me on a dead-run and climb me? Which ones approach cautiously, but will hand feed? Which ones tolerate "some" closeness, but won't get within reach?

 

[Proton Soup]

The problem is that I love watching them and feed them. So I am guilty of attracting the little beasts.

ah, so that's it. if you don't mind the look of it, an enclosure made from chicken wire will keep them out.

 

[turbo]

ah, so that's it. if you don't mind the look of it, an enclosure made from chicken wire will keep them out.

Be aware that the flimsy light-gauge twisted-hex chicken wire will not keep squirrels out, if they are intent on getting past it. Their teeth can shear light wire easily.

 

[Moonbear]

Be aware that the flimsy light-gauge twisted-hex chicken wire will not keep squirrels out, if they are intent on getting past it. Their teeth can shear light wire easily.

Though, usually, if you're feeding them something else, they'll go with the easier meal first (like raiding the bird feeder).

I have to say it breaks my heart a little that you shot the red squirrels. As a kid, once in a while a red squirrel would stray into our area, but they were very rare. So, for me, red squirrels are special. My grandfather was from Maine, so I know they are more common there, because he'd talk about them being more prevalent, but since I didn't grow up there, I always seem them as a really rare, special squirrel, worthy of protection from the grays. *sigh*

 

[Proton Soup]

Be aware that the flimsy light-gauge twisted-hex chicken wire will not keep squirrels out, if they are intent on getting past it. Their teeth can shear light wire easily.

seems to keep them out of the blueberries here, but maybe they're just not hungry enough. tomatoes haven't been a problem, either.

if that fails, then something more like hog wire should keep them. the havavart is about that gauge. no idea on how small a mesh would be needed, tho.

 

[Evo]

seems to keep them out of the blueberries here, but maybe they're just not hungry enough. tomatoes haven't been a problem, either.

if that fails, then something more like hog wire should keep them. the havavart is about that gauge. no idea on how small a mesh would be needed, tho.

Yeah, I'm going to have to put wire mesh around my plants next year. What kills me is that they take a tomato or tomatillo, eat half of it, then get a new one. One of them even ate half of a jalapeno the other day.

 

[turbo]

Though, usually, if you're feeding them something else, they'll go with the easier meal first (like raiding the bird feeder).

I have to say it breaks my heart a little that you shot the red squirrels. As a kid, once in a while a red squirrel would stray into our area, but they were very rare. So, for me, red squirrels are special. My grandfather was from Maine, so I know they are more common there, because he'd talk about them being more prevalent, but since I didn't grow up there, I always seem them as a really rare, special squirrel, worthy of protection from the grays. *sigh*

I don't enjoy shooting them, but they are horribly destructive when they get in your house and out-buildings, and they love to chew wires. I don't want my wife or myself to die in an electrical fire because our place is over-run with red squirrels. I have a neighbor who is a pacifist, organic gardener, and a vegetarian who shoots red squirrels on sight. He really loves animals, though he is a little puzzled by my penchant for hand-training chipmunks. He is a farm-boy who tends to lump the rodents together as pests. He stopped into drop off some of my canning jars one day ( I keep him supplied with hot relishes and he has been very generous with garlic, fruits, horseradish, etc) and a little female 'munk who lives in a rock wall across the road came at him on a dead run. At the last second, she realized that he was not me, and she put on the brakes and ran under my truck to recon. She's one of my original trainees, and she won't hesitate to scale me and search my pockets for goodies. In this shot, she was coming up my leg so fast that she over-ran my camera's auto-focus.

 

[Proton Soup]

Yeah, I'm going to have to put wire mesh around my plants next year. What kills me is that they take a tomato or tomatillo, eat half of it, then get a new one. One of them even ate half of a jalapeno the other day.

sometimes you get a crazy squirrel. that turned out to be the problem with the pecans. i didn't realize it until the second squirrel was moved. there are still other squirrels here, but they aren't displaying the obsessive and destructive behavior that squirrel was.

 

[Moonbear]

I don't enjoy shooting them, but they are horribly destructive when they get in your house and out-buildings, and they love to chew wires.

I know. I'm not criticizing. It's purely an emotional reaction.

I used to train the chipmunks when I was a kid too. I haven't seen that many chipmunks around here to train. Too many neighbors close by with dogs I think. Chipmunks are just so cute though. I used to have one that would sit on my lap to get peanuts.

 

[turbo]

I know. I'm not criticizing. It's purely an emotional reaction.

I used to train the chipmunks when I was a kid too. I haven't seen that many chipmunks around here to train. Too many neighbors close by with dogs I think. Chipmunks are just so cute though. I used to have one that would sit on my lap to get peanuts.

I have had chipmunks (females usually, because they have to store LOTS of food to raise big broods) who would not only tolerate handling, but would let me search their fur for mites, let me invert them and check their belly-fur, etc. They are wonderful little critters.

BTW, chipmunks learn from example, so if you can get one 'munk trained, all the 'munks that trust that one, including siblings, offspring, etc, will "come around" very quickly. I have found that hand-training chickadees is very similar. If one or two birds out of a flock will hand-feed, others will, too. When the visits of separate flocks overlap, it's possible to educate a second flock pretty quickly once they figure out that the first flock is getting the bulk of the food while I'm standing too close to the feeder for them to approach. I can get red-breasted nuthatches hand-feeding, too, but have never had a single white-breasted nuthatch or tufted titmouse take seed from my hand. Don't know why.

 

[Moonbear]

...but have never had a single white-breasted nuthatch or tufted titmouse take seed from my hand. Don't know why.

They've always been very skittish birds, in my experience. I could never even open the door and have them stay in the yard, let alone venture close enough to take seed even when I was nearby, let alone from my hand. Though, the bigger birds also used to beat up on them once they figured out there was good food if I was around. The blue jays would play "fetch" for peanuts, but they also would chase away every other bird if I was around to feed them. Oh, and I remember one crow we named "Stupid" who would visit for peanuts (s/he was a fledgling of another pair of crows who had a nest in our yard, and seemed really awkward learning to fly...since I've never seen other crow fledglings, I have no idea if that was normal or if Stupid really was stupid).

 

[turbo]

The white-breasted nuthatches hang around pretty close, and will let me get a few feet away. If I'm within arm's reach, I've gotten real close. Usually any tufted titmouse visitor will show up with chickadees. Chickadees are plentiful and pretty resourceful, so the tts get a handy "posse" to hang with. None of them will even stay within 50 feet of me. Generally, they go to the top of the tall white ash tree on the edge of the lawn and act invisible.

They're such cute little guys with those pointy hats... I really would love to feed them.

 

[physics girl phd]

I like hand-feeding and training chipmunks.

I had a gray squirrel trained in grad school (we didn't have any chipmunks around, so you take what you get). He would even scratch at the window when he wanted me to come out with cereal (raisin bran) or nuts. Like your chipmunk... he would even come up and paw my leg. My friends were freaked out because of a plague scare (via prairie-dogs in our town), but considering we lived on the WAY other side of town, I figured I was okay. It seems cruel to stop feeding an animal after he gets used to you as is supply source. Unfortunately, he didn't seem to make it through my last summer there. I stopped seeing him.

 

[Moonbear]

I miss my chippies! (Turbo calls them 'munks, I call them chippies. )

 

[turbo]

I missed most of chat last Sunday. I picked all my remaining apples, then I cracked all my garlic, planted it, and mulched it in oat straw. If all the cloves sprout and do well (I got 100% yield last season) I should have about 140 bulbs of the large German garlic and and about 350 bulbs of the red-striped Russian garlic. The garlic cloves will start to develop roots and sprout a bit until the ground gets really cold, then lie dormant until spring. For those who would like to play around with garlic, get hard-neck varieties. German garlic has very few cloves/bulb, but they can be HUGE! I cracked a few large bulbs, to find only 2 massive cloves. If you want to grow garlic and save some for propagation, get Russian garlic (with the pale purplish-red stripes), because typically each bulb will have around 6 cloves on average, so you can propagate them more quickly. I was given equal numbers of German and Russian bulbs to plant last winter, and I ended up with about 1/3 German and 2/3 Russian, due to clove/bulb count.

 

[baywax]

I missed most of chat last Sunday. I picked all my remaining apples, then I cracked all my garlic, planted it, and mulched it in oat straw. If all the cloves sprout and do well (I got 100% yield last season) I should have about 140 bulbs of the large German garlic and and about 350 bulbs of the red-striped Russian garlic. The garlic cloves will start to develop roots and sprout a bit until the ground gets really cold, then lie dormant until spring. For those who would like to play around with garlic, get hard-neck varieties. German garlic has very few cloves/bulb, but they can be HUGE! I cracked a few large bulbs, to find only 2 massive cloves. If you want to grow garlic and save some for propagation, get Russian garlic (with the pale purplish-red stripes), because typically each bulb will have around 6 cloves on average, so you can propagate them more quickly. I was given equal numbers of German and Russian bulbs to plant last winter, and I ended up with about 1/3 German and 2/3 Russian, due to clove/bulb count.

Where'd you get the oat straw?

 

[turbo]

Where'd you get the oat straw?

My wife picked it up at the local Agway store for $5/bale. That's 4 bales' worth in the picture. Last year their straw looked too weedy, so I had to rely on my father's neighbor, whose daughter works at a tack and feed shop. Their straw was excellent, and it was so thoroughly threshed that only one oat seed germinated and grew.

 

[lisab]

I missed most of chat last Sunday. I picked all my remaining apples, then I cracked all my garlic, planted it, and mulched it in oat straw. If all the cloves sprout and do well (I got 100% yield last season) I should have about 140 bulbs of the large German garlic and and about 350 bulbs of the red-striped Russian garlic. The garlic cloves will start to develop roots and sprout a bit until the ground gets really cold, then lie dormant until spring. For those who would like to play around with garlic, get hard-neck varieties. German garlic has very few cloves/bulb, but they can be HUGE! I cracked a few large bulbs, to find only 2 massive cloves. If you want to grow garlic and save some for propagation, get Russian garlic (with the pale purplish-red stripes), because typically each bulb will have around 6 cloves on average, so you can propagate them more quickly. I was given equal numbers of German and Russian bulbs to plant last winter, and I ended up with about 1/3 German and 2/3 Russian, due to clove/bulb count.

All that could NOT have been more fun than chat, turbo...

 

[turbo]

All that could NOT have been more fun than chat, turbo...

Well, it was satisfying to get next year's crop of garlic in the ground, though the backs of my legs are still lame from all the stoop-labor. I can't kneel or squat down comfortably because of arthritis in my knees. For an idea of how that went, imagine bending at the waist and touching the floor for a few seconds (set and bury the cloves) - then multiply that by about 500 repetitions. I've never gotten this lame in chat.

 

[baywax]

My wife picked it up at the local Agway store for $5/bale. That's 4 bales' worth in the picture. Last year their straw looked too weedy, so I had to rely on my father's neighbor, whose daughter works at a tack and feed shop. Their straw was excellent, and it was so thoroughly threshed that only one oat seed germinated and grew.

That's amazing!

I've never heard of using oat straw for cover. I have a feeling its an East USA kind of tradition... probably 400 years old.
Right along the lines of those Covered Bridges you guys have out there that used to thrill the crap out of me as a visiting 5 year old Canuck. You may not believe it but, at that age, I went hunting down Ben Johnson's and Paul Revere's graves somewhere outside of Boston. I think that because the Canadian history was so sparse, American history became fascinating.. and very handy, just across the boarder. Stay free USA!

 

[turbo]

That's amazing!

I've never heard of using oat straw for cover. I have a feeling its an East USA kind of tradition... probably 400 years old.
Right along the lines of those Covered Bridges you guys have out there that used to thrill the crap out of me as a visiting 5 year old Canuck. You may not believe it but, at that age, I went hunting down Ben Johnson's and Paul Revere's graves somewhere outside of Boston. I think that because the Canadian history was so sparse, American history became fascinating.. and very handy, just across the boarder. Stay free USA!

I would have thought that with the grain-growing sections of Canada, you'd have ample access to clean straw (wheat, rye, oats, etc). Oat straw is nice, it's hollow and well-lofted, so its insulation factor is high. After it has protected the garlic and suppressed weeds and the garlic has all been pulled, it goes right in the compost bins.

 

[baywax]

I would have thought that with the grain-growing sections of Canada, you'd have ample access to clean straw (wheat, rye, oats, etc). Oat straw is nice, it's hollow and well-lofted, so its insulation factor is high. After it has protected the garlic and suppressed weeds and the garlic has all been pulled, it goes right in the compost bins.

BC has a small percentage of grain growing going on. The only crops around here are hops, vegetables, cranberries, and award-winning Cannabis sativa. In Texas the good ol' boys make fun of us. We got to jam with a swing band there and our introduction was "oh yeah, here's these guys from BC. You know, where they grow the stuff that makes you hear the music before it gets to your ears".

How good is oat chaff for compost?

 

[turbo]

Almost all grain chaff is good for compost. Oat straw composts well. It is hollow, light, and thin-walled, and if the conditions are right (moisture, good mix of nitrogen-rick additives, etc) it composts well.

 

[Evo]

I walked into my living room and had a squirrel knocking on the window. I usually feed them every day, but it's been raining, so I hadn't put anything down.

I put some food out, they were a little ticked off. Just what I need right now, a squirrel attack.

 

[turbo]

I walked into my living room and had a squirrel knocking on the window. I usually feed them every day, but it's been raining, so I hadn't put anything down.

I put some food out, they were a little ticked off. Just what I need right now, a squirrel attack.

If you feed squirrels, they will plague your patio-garden again next year. Also, if you feed them and that improves their breeding success (they are quite prolific when food is plentiful), you will have more of the buggers stealing your vegetables next year.

 

[Evo]

If you feed squirrels, they will plague your patio-garden again next year. Also, if you feed them and that improves their breeding success (they are quite prolific when food is plentiful), you will have more of the buggers stealing your vegetables next year.

I know, it's a double edged sword. They didn't start stealing vegetables until late in the season. I'm going to have to put something around the tomatoes next year.

They are just so cute that I can't resist feeding them.

We are supposed to have a hard freeze tonight, so I am going to let the tomatillos go. They are just too big to drag inside.

 

[Borek]

Perhaps making your spider attack your squirells will solve all problems in one take?

 

[Evo]

But, I *like* the squirrels.

Look at this patriotic little guy.

 

[turbo]

But, I *like* the squirrels.

Look at this patriotic little guy.

That's a lady squirrel, Evo. No wedding tackle.

 

[Evo]

He's been neutered.

 

[turbo]

He's been neutered.

AND trans-gendered? Someone has far too much money kicking around. Send it to me.

 

[baywax]

This guy's been flying around my place, taking on the mad neighbour and her critter traps.

 

[turbo]

That's just GOT to be a Photoshopped fake. (No phone booth.)

 

[baywax]

That's just GOT to be a Photoshopped fake. (No phone booth.)

This supercritter fits in a cell phone case.

 

[Evo]

This guy's been flying around my place, taking on the mad neighbour and her critter traps.

:!) My Hero!

 

[baywax]

:!) My Hero!

Mine too! You've heard of "Kal-El" (Superman's Kryptonian name) well this is
"Squir-El" Kal-El's 2nd cousin, thrice removed.

I used to have two walnut trees and I never saw a squirrel in either of them. It wasn't really squirrel country I guess... more like chipmonk territory.

When cleaning up after hulling black walnuts, it is best to place leavings in the trash. Do not compost walnut husks. Juglone, a naturally occurring chemical released by all parts of black walnut trees, can have a toxic effect on many vegetables and landscape plants.

http://www.extension.umn.edu/yardandgarden/ygbriefs/h404blkwal.html

The husk is probably really toxic to any insects and chipmonks etc.. The hulls of black walnut are reported to be toxic enough to rid the intestine of parasitic worms...

Here's the "Wiki answer" to that...

Available scientific evidence does not support claims that hulls from black walnuts remove parasites from the intestinal tract or that they are effective in treating cancer or any other disease. Early evidence from the lab suggests that juglone, a compound in black walnut, may possibly reduce cancer risk. However, studies in humans have not been completed
Source:
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Black_Walnut.asp?sitearea=ETO

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Does_black_walnut_hull_kill_parasites

 

[karmington]

Kerrie-> intersting note on the traveling and bagging plants. Couple of weeks max though i imagine?
gnome->You guys are missing out on the joys of the chainsaw. how true. Felling a tree == killing an animal || making a house || earning a cognac bottle
enigma->_ spraypaint the concrete green. valid choice if no thing better at hand.
gardening is good. farming is the same, many want produce of some sort.
neverminding the difference, i have been forced to cultivate under synthetic restrictions for the most part. Worked stints as a gardener an went to forestry school.
It seems to give a sense of harmony with a natural growth pattern. Seeing the massive trees of age far beyond one's own may be quite profound if so inclined.
Clausius2->what a surprise! And i would have imagined visiting spain that the garden is one of the main things if one lives outside of a big city. Such lush growth everywhere. But urban life is a different story. If one accepts we live in a concrete jungle then we must bring ourselves the forest to the city. Once met a Canadian girl working as a tree doctor in ny city for example.
BicycleTree->lawn vs. pines. Absolutely agree. Most of the recreational forest cabins in Finland are 'rough', meaning they are 90% natural forest undergrowth. lawns are control things. If you have a purpose for it, like playing a game or parking your vehicle, wahtever, it will pave it's own way half and you can clear the other half. Mostly lawns are bulldust, aesthetics. But without aesthetics perhaps the ellipse might not have been found so soon. re: old story about sunking gardener.
matthyaouw-> you know the flora and fauna well. cudos. may your guineapigs develop camouflage colors vs. sparrowhawk :)

 

[Borek]

Winter home garden

 

[turbo]

I like sprouts in garden salads, though I fall out of the salad-eating habit as soon as we have to rely on produce from stores. It's just not the same.

The sprouts remind me of a salad that I used to make - spinach, alfalfa sprouts, and sliced onion with crushed walnuts and crumbled feta cheese - oil and cider vinegar for the dressing and top with ground black pepper.