What Are Some Tips for Successful Gardening?

[dlgoff]

The first shows the Taylor Way PTO tiller mounted on the tractor.

Wow. They really look good together.

I hit a really big rock when deep-tilling my garden, with no bad effects.

Could you get the sucker out of there so you don't hit it again? Did you check the tines to see if one got nicked? My new little tiller will disengage the tines if there's too much load. Which was good on the really hard stuff that hadn't been tilled for a few years.

His garden spot is only about 25'x40', but that's plenty for a guy in his 70's to tend.

Well I not quite that old but as I mentioned in chat Sunday, mine is getting smaller. Probably about the size of yours.

Thanks for sharing turbo.

 

[turbo]

I'll probe around with a digging-bar to see if I can locate the boulder and excavate it. The spring-loaded slip clutch actually did slip briefly, then re-engaged, so it worked as intended. I haven't checked for mechanical damage to the tines, but the clutch slipped so freely that I doubt there is any "ouch". That Taylor Way tiller is really heavily built. Of course, any PTO attachment being driven by a ~30 hp diesel had better be pretty rugged.

The garden is just about 60x40 or larger, which is just about the size of yours. I have more usable space than before, though, because the edges were a bit irregular before the new tiller chewed things up and the tilled depth was not real consistent near the edges. No problem with that now. The tiller is very heavy and it buries itself with no hesitation.

 

[Max Faust]

The garden after tilling.

Man, that's beautiful. *Respect*

 

[turbo]

Man, that's beautiful. *Respect*

Thanks. I've invested in equipment to get such results, as well as amendments to the soil. I garden organically, and there is a lot of "dancing" with the soil and plants to reach a balance that optimizes output. You didn't read the thousands of posts prior to this, so a bit of history. My wife and I bought this place out in the boonies, and we wanted a nice garden-spot. The soil here was very rocky with lots of clay, and the pH was too high because the previous owner kept flogging it with lime and MiracleGro.

It has been five years, and I'm pretty happy with the way the soil is looking now. I have been trucking in peat and composted manure little by little over the years with my pickup, but last year my garden was all torn up because I had heavy equipment and trucks ripping things up to install a new drain field for my septic system. Before the truckers were done, I had 14 yds of rotted manure and 14 yds of coarse sand trucked in. Manure to boost nutrients, and sand to boost drainage. I spread it with my loader and tilled it in. This spring, I re-tilled the garden spot, and I hope mother nature plays nice this year so I can get a good crop of habaneros and other chilies. The last two summers have not been real nice to gardeners.

 

[Max Faust]

Well, I'm just happy that *somebody* will go through the trouble of making nature work as nature is supposed to work rather than mindlessly floating with the stream. Really. I live in the UK now, but I spent 3 memorable years at an old (like 1500's old) farm in Norway (my homeland) experimenting with this and that just a few years ago. I also used to be a professional garden designer for some very rich people who paid very well for that sort of thing, so I have been lucky like that. The closer to *nature* the better!

 

[turbo]

Well, I'm just happy that *somebody* will go through the trouble of making nature work as nature is supposed to work rather than mindlessly floating with the stream. Really. I live in the UK now, but I spent 3 memorable years at an old (like 1500's old) farm in Norway (my homeland) experimenting with this and that just a few years ago. I also used to be a professional garden designer for some very rich people who paid very well for that sort of thing, so I have been lucky like that. The closer to *nature* the better!

I wish someone would pay me to design their gardens. I'd pick up yet another vocation. Of course my designs would involve soil-optimization and recommendations for sustainable output, including companion-plantings.

I am horrified by big companies like Monsanto that want to flood the market with GM seeds that do not reproduce, and that are resistant to Monsanto's herbicides and pesticides, so that farmers can use more and more of them.

 

[Max Faust]

big companies like Monsanto that want to flood the market with GM seeds that do not reproduce

I agree.

My main point of objection is that this streamlining of genetically designed crops is an accident waiting to happen - as soon as some hitherto unknown "superbug" figures out what their weak spot is, and chooses to take advantage of that, in the arms race of existence. Plurality of crops used to be a good defence. Nature has no mercy for the lazy. The consequences can be very dire indeed.

But I suppose the point is that *some* people will make *some* money here and now.

 

[turbo]

My garlic-beds are at a neighbor's place, because he won't have time to garden this year, and he offered to let me have his main garden-spot when my garden was all torn up by heavy equipment. I dropped in there as I walked my dog this morning, and the garlic is almost a foot tall already. If the warm weather keeps up, I'll be harvesting garlic scapes by early June and harvesting mature garlic by early July. Ironically, my garlic is planted in a spot with richer soil than his garlic-beds, so mine has quite a head-start on his.

Without garlic beds to maintain in my own garden spot, I'll have room to plant extra squash, beans, root vegetables, etc to keep his family in fresh vegetables during the season. Note to self: Give away a LOT more garlic this year, to let people get started with their own crops. I saved way too much for personal use, and there's more than we will use hanging in the cold cellar. I gave lots of bulbs to two ladies in the area that garden, and gave my aunt and a niece enough to get them started, but should have hooked up a few more gardeners. Nice hard-neck Red Russian garlic and German garlic are lots tastier than the soft-neck varieties usually sold in stores. For any gardening PF'ers, if you get a chance to pick up good hard-neck garlic, these are the two to look for. Russian is rich and pungent, and usually has 8-12 cloves/bulb. German is a bit milder and generally produces larger bulbs, but with only 4-5 huge cloves/bulb. If you're going to save a portion of your harvest for next season's planting and are just getting started, Russian propagates 2-3x faster than German just based on clove-count, so that should be your first choice. We didn't eat any of our German garlic from the first season - we saved it all for re-planting and used the Russian garlic for cooking instead. Now, we're well - supplied with both varieties and use them according to preference. Stir-fries and casseroles with mild-flavored ingredients usually get German garlic, while hearty stews, New England boiled dinners, and spicy marinades for BBQ usually get Russian garlic.

 

[rewebster]

Someone I know grew what he called 'elephant' garlic one time---if I remember, the bulb was about the size of a baseball and tasted fairly 'normal' for garlic.

 

[turbo]

Someone I know grew what he called 'elephant' garlic one time---if I remember, the bulb was about the size of a baseball and tasted fairly 'normal' for garlic.

Elephant is very mild and sweet, and might even be minced raw into salads because it's so inoffensive. It's not really a garlic (either soft-neck or hard-neck) but a variant of the leek. It does not keep very well, unlike the hard-neck garlics I grow, which are still nice and firm 9 months after last season's harvest.

 

[rewebster]

Argh! Not fun at all, rewebster! I had my own little struggle with public utilities before I put our last place on the market. The cellar had started getting damp, despite having been bone-dry for the previous 15 years or so. I called in a plumber, and he got in touch with the water company. Even though all the faucets in the house were turned off, there was water flowing through the entrance line to the house. That feed line had sprung a leak, and even though the leak was ahead of the meter (giving the water company motivation to repair the line, I thought), they refused to make the repairs because the leak was under my foundation. I had to pay the plumber and a mason associate of his to make several big holes in the concrete floor (it took a few times to find the leak), repair the line, and then patch the floors. $$$$$ and no fun. Had to make the repairs, though, prior to putting the house on the market.

"no fun"----yeah, that's been my exact thinking about all of it all along...

The water company (the city, in my case) stops responsibility at the feed valve which is in the easement (the area from one foot on the house side of the sidewalk to the street)-

--easement is a funny thing--the city owns it but is my responsibility along with the sidewalk maintenance. I've heard if there's no sidewalk the city/county/state/whatever can own up to approx. 16 feet (1/2 of a rod, if I remember right) away from the edge of the street.

 

[ZapperZ]

It appears that my amaryllis are finally happy with their new surroundings.

This year, they didn't bloom in December as they normally do. I attributed that to the move into the new house that disrupted their pattern, and getting used to the new lighting conditions. Well now, it seems that they're settled in, and started blooming all at once (all 3 of them - they must talk to each other. I just knew it!). It is a few months late, but it is worth it because the flower stalks seems to be a lot longer than before, and each one of the plants are putting out 2 to 3 flowering shoots each!

This is the front bay window of the new house where they now live. It is south-facing, so has a lot of light.

It appears that this flowering habit is contagious. Both of my orchids are showing signs of putting out the flowering shoots as well! We'll see how that will turn out. The 3rd orchid is still a baby and will probably not flower for at least another year.

Zz.

 

[Borek]

Amazing

 

[turbo]

Beautiful, ZZ. I'd love to have a sunny bay window like that. We've got small casement windows under deeply overhanging eaves, so sun is at a premium.

 

[Born2bwire]

Poorly.

My Chia pet is completely bare now. :(

Guess it's time to reseed.

 

[NeoDevin]

I have a couple of spots, in which I'd like to put some flowers, on the North side of my house. I'd like something that will come back each year, and doesn't take too much work to tend (I have enough other jobs to do). Any suggestions on flowers that would do well in the shade?

Winters get down to -40 here, if that influences the selection.

 

[turbo]

I have a couple of spots, in which I'd like to put some flowers, on the North side of my house. I'd like something that will come back each year, and doesn't take too much work to tend (I have enough other jobs to do). Any suggestions on flowers that would do well in the shade?

Winters get down to -40 here, if that influences the selection.

It can get real cold here in Maine, too, and bee-balm does really well here. It spreads like mint and comes back year after year. It attracts bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, so that's a plus.

 

[NeoDevin]

It can get real cold here in Maine, too, and bee-balm does really well here. It spreads like mint and comes back year after year. It attracts bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, so that's a plus.

Looks good. Does it do well in shade? I'll see if I can find some the next time I'm at the greenhouse.

 

[turbo]

Looks good. Does it do well in shade? I'll see if I can find some the next time I'm at the greenhouse.

It is shade-tolerant, though partial sun is probably better. We have it planted on the north side of our house, which gets shade most of the day.

 

[turbo]

Another very hardy plant is chocolate mint. My wife planted a bit of it last year, and it's spreading like crazy. It's coming up all over, propagating through rhizomes. Still, it would be best to start with bee-balm because the blossoms attract so many beneficial critters.

Bee-balm has all kinds of medicinal uses and makes very nice soothing teas, so grow a large patch. It spreads very well.

 

[Evo]

What is chocolate mint?

 

[turbo]

http://www.mountainvalleygrowers.com/menpiperitachocolate.htm It is tough and tenacious stuff. Very aromatic and rich.

 

[Evo]

http://www.mountainvalleygrowers.com/menpiperitachocolate.htm It is tough and tenacious stuff. Very aromatic and rich.

Interesting, I'd never heard of it, sounds good. Do you need to contain the roots so it doesn't overtake everything like regular mint?

 

[turbo]

Interesting, I'd never heard of it, sounds good. Do you need to contain the roots so it doesn't overtake everything like regular mint?

Yes. It's very aggressive.

 

[turbo]

BTW, bee-balm is in the mint family, but it is pretty well-behaved compared to some. Chocolate mint is well-adapted to this climate and we keep it well away from any vegetable crops. It is on the north side of our house and is usually in shade, yet it spreads like crazy.

 

[NeoDevin]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll see what I can find around here.

 

[gravenewworld]

Oh no! Just found a groundhog living underneath the shed. The local hardware store sells traps. Any tips on what groundhogs like to eat so I can catch it? I want to get it out of there before it starts eating my new berry bushes and tomatoes when they start producing fruit.

 

[turbo]

Groundhogs love fresh fruits and vegetables. Get a properly-sized Have-a-Hart box trap and bait it with fresh apple slices. Dirt-pig gone!

If your tenant doesn't fall for the apple slices right away, I would suggest slices of carrot. Groundhogs need to put on a lot of weight in the spring, and slicing the bait so that it has a nice aroma should do the trick. It might be a good idea to drape the trap with opaque cloth, so that it appears like a tunnel to the varmint.

 

[PhaseShifter]

http://www.mountainvalleygrowers.com/menpiperitachocolate.htm It is tough and tenacious stuff. Very aromatic and rich.

So it's the same thing as peppermint?

 

[turbo]

So it's the same thing as peppermint?

Not the same thing, but in the same family. There are LOTS of variants in the mint family. This stuff spreads like crazy, and people who grow it often split their patches and re-plant or give some away. If you find someone who loves growing their own herbs and perennials, you may be able to get some for free. Same with bee-balm, though it doesn't spread as aggressively as chocolate mint.

 

[dlgoff]

I grew some mint once (and only once). When I whet to till it under, since it was taking over, the tines of the tiller spread it (little root nodules) all over the garden. It took some time to get rid of it all. I never used it for anything, but it smelled good whenever I mowed it.

 

[Proton Soup]

mint is a friggin weed. there has been some running loose in the neighborhood here for a few years now. i assume it was some ornamental variety, because it doesn't smell like anything you'd want to eat.

as for "perennial" flowers, lantana works well here in alabama, but i don't know how it'd winter-over at -40. it's very hardy, tho. forget to water it? don't worry, it'll be fine. but keep it watered well and it'll bloom up a storm. usually sold as a hanging basket plant here, but don't let that stop you.

 

[PhaseShifter]

Not the same thing, but in the same family. There are LOTS of variants in the mint family.

I just noticed the species name was identical.

I have spearmint, peppermint, and catnip groing in my windowsill.

Of course, getting away from mints I have chives, sage, aloe, and strawberries all growing around my apartment. One of these days I need to get a place where i can actually plant stuff in the ground.

 

[rewebster]

Two young doves and a guarding parent

I usually have at least one pair of doves nesting each year---it seems about a week or 10 days earlier this year that they're at this stage

 

[lisab]

Two young doves and a guarding parent

I usually have at least one pair of doves nesting each year---it seems about a week or 10 days earlier this year that they're at this stage

Ah, some of Om's friends!

 

[Evo]

My doves have just started here, no babies yet.

 

[rewebster]

doves have a great soothing/meditative call

 

[Andre]

A typical little Dutch spring garden,

Well considering that -one year ago- this used to a rainforest in which we had to cut ourselves the way to the exit with machetes, it's maybe not too bad.

 

[Evo]

Beautifu Andre.

 

[Evo]

Parasitic birds.

I have several Brown-Headed cowbirds outside. According to my bird book, these birds lay their eggs in other bird's nests and allow the host birds to raise their young, sometimes to the exclusion of their own young since these birds are often much larger.

Bad birds.

 

[Evo]

My doves have just started here, no babies yet.

BTW, Kurdt gave me a very graphic education in bird reproduction. They clap their cloaca's together. I can't look at two birds hovering over one another now without thoughts of <puts hands over her eyes>.

I'm really the kind of person that believes that the mommy bird and the daddy bird fall in love, then eggs appear in a nest and then, voila! baby birds!

Seems I was delusional.

What else, what else will spoil my view of life?

BTW, that nest building impaired squirrel just crashed two more nests. My neighbor and I had just cheered her for what we thought was a completed nest yesterday, only to watch her decide to add "just one more twig". The nest is now on the ravine floor. I was watching her place the branch, then I looked away for a minute then when I looked back up, no nest, no squirrel.

I've seen her working on another one and it's fallen also. She's going to be ready to offload any day and she has no place to put her babies. We're worried. I think one of my neighbors is about to climb a tree and set up a nest for her.

What are the chances that 3 families would move in next to each other that get this involved?

Kurdt puts up with my squirrel afflication. He has about 550 pictures of my squirrels now. Probably all in a folder entitled "that crazy American woman".

 

[turbo]

I'm getting ready to use my mini-greenhouse for something other than annual flowers. I bought a large bale of pro potting mix and 5# of bone-meal and have filled 4 large flats with 8 6-packs each. That should be enough to start all my peppers and tomato plants, assuming a good germination rate.

If my squash and cucumbers fail to germinate like last year, I'll be able to start over, using the flats in the greenhouse to give the plants a head-start. It's tiny, but it's a nice warm, sunny spot and the reflective insulation that I put on the north wall helps redirect light and trap heat.

 

[Evo]

Here's my greenhouse right after it was built.

 

[turbo]

Yours was a nice big one. Mine is really mini, but it works.

 

[turbo]

BTW, my neighbor built it out of salvaged windows from house-trailers, and since most of them have crank-operated openers, I get to vent the greenhouse in hot weather if needed. Pretty neat. It's a bit rough-looking, but very solid. I picked it up in my tractor bucket after we put a strap around it, bounced down the road, and we slid it onto a nice, level pressure-treated base that I had made for it. The little building was tight and square and the door fit nicely. No mean feat for a home-made contraption of heavy glass and light aluminum.

My first improvement was to insulate the north (garage-side) wall with rigid foam-board faced with shiny aluminum to scavenge light as efficiently as possible.

 

[dlgoff]

Here's my greenhouse right after it was built.

Do you have someone to help you move it to your new apartment location? If not, I'll come take it off your hands.

 

[turbo]

Do you have someone to help you move it to your new apartment location? If not, I'll come take it off your hands.

You could come get mine easier, dlg. To get hers, you'd need a deLorean or a time-travel hot-tub.

 

[turbo]

BTW, I would love to have walk-in access and potting shelves on both sides like Evo's old greenhouse. There is simply no place to put it here where it can be tended and get requisite heat, light and water. Perhaps after the turf takes hold over the new drain-field, I'll invest in a nice walk-in greenhouse to place on top of it. It would be just 20-40 feet from the south end of the garden spot, and I could certainly run direct-burial power and an insulated water supply down there.

 

[Evo]

Do you have someone to help you move it to your new apartment location? If not, I'll come take it off your hands.

The greenhouse has a louvered roof on the side facing the fence that opened to regulate heat.

Dl I wish I could have given this to you. It disassembled nicely to be moved, but my first-ex threw it away after taking it apart becuase I didn't have a place to store it immediately. I was in an apartment for a few months before getting another house and couldn't take it right away.

Turbo, it's a kit. HOLY CRAP! They're selling the kits for these size English style greenhouses for close to $8,000!

Damn I would have given it away to someone that would have used it. What a waste. It still makes me sad.

 

[dlgoff]

Dl I wish I could have given this to you. It disassembled nicely to be moved, but my first-ex threw it away after taking it apart becuase I didn't have a place to store it immediately. I was in an apartment for a few months before getting another house and couldn't take it right away.

Damn I would have given it away to someone that would have used it. What a waste. It still makes me sad.

I think you should look for a new one for your new place. Maybe not so big though.