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ixo posted:I am giving some serious consideration to skipping my garden this time around.   I'm gonna change my irrigation system to be 90% drip instead of the sprayers I have right now. that's good, right?
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Jan 21, 2014 03:34
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You guys were talking about growing blueberry bushes a page ago, tell me about them: will the birds get into them and poo poo purple down my house? That's the one thing keeping me from planting them. Last year I was able to control birds in my container garden by planting cat mint. The cats came for the mint and stayed for the prey.
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Jan 21, 2014 16:49
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ixo posted:I'm gonna change my irrigation system to be 90% drip instead of the sprayers I have right now. that's good, right? I've been using drip everywhere practical and it works great. I still have some sprayers for things like loose lettuce varieties and beets.......it would be insane to try to use much else for that, although I suppose you could attempt a drip hose. Bean posted:You guys were talking about growing blueberry bushes a page ago, tell me about them: will the birds get into them and poo poo purple down my house? That's the one thing keeping me from planting them. I have a "cage" for mine, otherwise the birds eat them all as soon as the brix come up to a level where you want to pick them. It's nothing more than some deer fence draped over the top of the corner of the fence they are in with some stakes to hold it up on the "inside" of the fence. Nothing fancy but it works, and it's tall enough to stopp over and walk in there (or just send the kids in). Motronic fucked around with this message at 16:52 on Jan 21, 2014 |
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Jan 21, 2014 16:50
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Any recommendations for amaranth varieties grown for seed?
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Jan 21, 2014 17:42
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Gotta share this morning's discovery: While trying to replace a Japanese pepper the cold finally killed, I stumbled onto Kitazawa Seed. They specialize in heirloom Asian produce and have everything from adzuki beans to wax gourds. As someone in love with growing strange things, I'm sold.
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Jan 21, 2014 17:52
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Screened my oldest compost pile yesterday: And dug up the potato hills:  These guys were planted a little late from shriveled up and sprouty free seed potatoes and left in the ground until now. Three 5-gallon buckets and those two massive taters in the 4th bucket isn't too bad for ~24 row feet. There were tons of huge worms in the soil too. I still have to narrow down what I want to grow this year for veggies and order seeds. So far I'm looking at beans, peas, lettuce, carrots, summer and winter squash, and cherry tomatoes. Maybe some other root crops like parsnip or rutabaga. I also have the true potato seed I ordered last year and seed for the physalis peruviana that I could try growing. Wasn't someone else trying to grow silver vine? How did that turn out? My seeds never germinated.
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Jan 21, 2014 18:18
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Bean posted:You guys were talking about growing blueberry bushes a page ago, tell me about them: will the birds get into them and poo poo purple down my house? That's the one thing keeping me from planting them.
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Jan 21, 2014 19:24
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Bean posted:You guys were talking about growing blueberry bushes a page ago, tell me about them: will the birds get into them and poo poo purple down my house? That's the one thing keeping me from planting them. Yes birds are a problem, and you should put up netting to deter them once the flowers are pollinated and berries start to grow. Do you have house finches? Because they will absolutely decimate blueberries, taking one bite out of each one and moving on. Assholes.
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Jan 21, 2014 20:01
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Bean posted:You guys were talking about growing blueberry bushes a page ago, tell me about them: will the birds get into them and poo poo purple down my house? That's the one thing keeping me from planting them.
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Jan 21, 2014 20:35
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Just planted my tomato seeds. I put them in an old turkey pan filled with a little bit of water. Supposedly that should be enough to keep the soil moist, I hope so. I guess the soil will soak up the water like a sponge. Here's a couple pictures. http://imgur.com/a/Er2fV One of them is my ghetto germination station. The other is a pic of the Brandywine Red that I planted about six weeks ago as an "experiment" to see if I could actually do this. I just transplanted him into a new pot because he's gotten way too big for the other one. There's also a pic of one of the boxes my dad helped me with. He did all of the drip system stuff. Each box has a faucet so we can control the amount of water and it's all tied into the sprinkler system. Bareback Werewolf fucked around with this message at 00:49 on Jan 22, 2014 |
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Jan 22, 2014 00:43
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Baker Creek has awesome seeds. Those Greasy Grits are delicious and the Mortgage Lifter is a great old centerpiece/novelty kind of tomato. I haven't had a lot of luck making them get really huge but they taste delicious.
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Jan 22, 2014 02:00
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Best part is that I work in the same town as one of their brick and mortar stores. I can pop on over and buy seeds on my lunchbreak! Why no I don't already have over 100 packets of seeds in my garage, why do you ask?
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Jan 22, 2014 02:03
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ixo posted:Best part is that I work in the same town as one of their brick and mortar stores. I can pop on over and buy seeds on my lunchbreak! Why no I don't already have over 100 packets of seeds in my garage, why do you ask? You lucky/poor bastard. Speaking of having a few too many seeds, how are folks storing and sorting their seeds?
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Jan 22, 2014 02:13
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Oh sweet, I'm growing both Mortgage Lifter and Black Krim this year. 
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Jan 22, 2014 07:05
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fine-tune posted:You lucky/poor bastard. Speaking of having a few too many seeds, how are folks storing and sorting their seeds? I have a Trello board where I keep track of all the seeds I have, when I got them, where from, and what is germinating. For physically storing them, I keep them in a ziploc bag in the fridge.
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Jan 22, 2014 14:16
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ixo posted:
Black Krim's were the most delicious (large) tomato to come out of our garden last year. It will not disappoint! (The Black Cherry variety of cherry tomato really knocked all the other cherries out of the park.) PS We have sprayer hoses and I have come to dislike them. We're also switching them out for drips, and reworking the beds so the hoses are lightly buried and under the straw. I figure that will help with curbing evaporation and also distribution of the water. AlistairCookie fucked around with this message at 15:02 on Jan 22, 2014 |
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Jan 22, 2014 15:00
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dwoloz posted:Any recommendations for amaranth varieties grown for seed? Botanical Interests has Red Amaranth on sale for only 80 cents. https://botanicalinterests.com/products/view/0146/Amaranth-Edible-Red-Leaf-HEIRLOOM-Seeds I have no experience, but I picked some up and am trying it this year. Sounds cool that it will thrive in the heat of summer while other salad greens have bolted. Just realized you said specifically for seed, but description also mentions that.
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Jan 22, 2014 19:54
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I will be posting a heck of a lot more in the coming months, we just moved into a home with over an acre and we will be planting a lot. Something I have noticed is we have a lot of deer. And I assume rabbits/squirrels etc... What do you guys suggest for deterring these animals? Is there something other than fences? Also this won't keep squirrels out.
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Jan 23, 2014 04:27
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/\/\ Squirrels are shitheads. As my husband says, a pellet gun keeps the squirrels out. I always just hope the red tail hawks that are so common around me are extra hungry and will snag them instead of the songbirds. We have lots of rabbits and I use chicken wire fencing tacked into the ground with lawn staples. It works perfectly. As for the deer, I don't personally have them, but friends that live farther on the outskirts than me have had luck with "predator" scented repellents. Things that smell like dog. YMMV If anyone has any tricks for getting the rear end in a top hat mole that keeps destroying my poo poo the gently caress out of my yard, or if there's any way to kill the chipmunks, I am all ears. Rabbits are easy, and I have a big enough plot that I can take some squirrel damage, but that mole and those goddamn chipmunks have got to go.
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Jan 23, 2014 07:06
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AlistairCookie posted:If anyone has any tricks for getting the rear end in a top hat mole that keeps destroying my poo poo the gently caress out of my yard, or if there's any way to kill the chipmunks, I am all ears. Rabbits are easy, and I have a big enough plot that I can take some squirrel damage, but that mole and those goddamn chipmunks have got to go. Hardware cloth. You slice up the sod and run about 12" of it UNDER the sod, bend it 90 degrees and tack it on to the rest of your garden fencing. It's kinda expensive, but it works. I'm surprised chicken wire is doing anything at all for you. About the only thing that stuff is good for is keeping chickens in. It certainly isn't enough to keep predators that want to eat chickens out, and the holes are large enough for a lot of stuff to make it through, especially if they are determined (it bends easily, especially up from the bottom). Around here you need about 8 feet of fence to have any chance at all of not losing your stuff to deer. I've got 6 feet of welded wire with a singe wire 2 feet above that. It's seem to have done the trick. This is pre-hardware cloth, but you get the idea: 
Motronic fucked around with this message at 15:59 on Jan 23, 2014 |
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Jan 23, 2014 15:56
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Supposedly human hair will deter deer. My barber gives bags of it to a local guy who spreads it on a fence line for that purpose.
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Jan 23, 2014 16:10
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Nothing but a good quality fence will keep deer out. They are very persistent and will quickly figure out that certain smells or objects are not threats. Even then the fence must either be surprisingly high (8' or more) or in a very specific arrangement. Even that electric arrangement can fail, but it keeps most of them out from my father's experience with food plots. Mole trouble = mole trap. They work wonders.
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Jan 23, 2014 19:46
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A dog that will chase the deer works well too. Cats for the smaller prey. Buried hardware cloth for the diggers. The orchard I'm taking care of has moles but since it's all mature trees they don't do any harm and actually do some good by aerating the soil.
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Jan 23, 2014 21:10
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While we're talking pests, is there anything that can be done about raccoons? A friend of mine had the worst time last year keeping those fuckers from taking bites out of tomatoes.
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Jan 23, 2014 21:33
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Shifty Pony posted:Nothing but a good quality fence will keep deer out. They are very persistent and will quickly figure out that certain smells or objects are not threats. Even then the fence must either be surprisingly high (8' or more) or in a very specific arrangement. Even that electric arrangement can fail, but it keeps most of them out from my father's experience with food plots. I have one. Have been trying to get him since this past spring. Moving it on active runs, not stomping the runs. The little fucker is smart. (I figure it's just one since I read they're territorial.) I just keep hoping he'll hit it one day.
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Jan 23, 2014 21:46
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Same Great Paste posted:While we're talking pests, is there anything that can be done about raccoons? A friend of mine had the worst time last year keeping those fuckers from taking bites out of tomatoes. Live traps and taking them very far away. Or if you are less squeamish and know a trapper they may want them for the fur.
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Jan 23, 2014 21:46
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We have a small furry unwanted friend that visits our herb garden. A very cute kitten likes to come and poo right next to our herbs in the small dirt area next to them. How can I stop this behaviour? It's not our cat and I have no idea whose it is.
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Jan 25, 2014 08:00
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Sticks pointing up out of the ground stopped the cats nearby making GBS threads in my veggie patch.
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Jan 25, 2014 09:11
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Molten Llama posted:Gotta share this morning's discovery: TheMightyHandful posted:Sticks pointing up out of the ground stopped the cats nearby making GBS threads in my veggie patch.
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Jan 25, 2014 09:28
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You could always plant a rue plant right in the middle of the cat's new litterbox. Not only will the cats steer clear of it, but it's a preferred larval host for black swallowtail butterflies- meaning they'll be more likely to leave their caterpillars on the rue than on your parsley, fennel, dill, etc. Rue is a woody perennial that's also very tolerant of poor, dry soils once it's established so it's very easy to care for.
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Jan 25, 2014 15:29
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New house with huge yard that hasn't been used for gardening. Comes with shed, just need to clear a plot and fence it. Went ... a little too crazy with seeds this year, but we did invest in a 4ft grow light and stand, and the heated, domed seed starters (all from HydroFarm via amazon). Gonna do this right, I've got a whole room in my basement with counters and drawers, so the plan is to basically make this an indoor gardening/hobby area where all this can live. My plan is to plant small quantities of LOTS of stuff and see what thrives and what doesn't and tune it up as the years go by. Black Krim tomato (sup black krim buddies?) Sweet 100 hybrid cherry tomato (I grew one plant of this over an 8 foot privacy fence at my last place) Costoluto Genovese tomato County Fair Hybrid cukes Gloriette Radishes Random Cabbage variety Kongo kohlrabi (these are the small ones, I don't like the stupid large stuff) Green and purple scallions Collard greens 'Bodacious' yellow sweet corn A ton of herbs and salad lettuce to put on containers on our deck (also I thought it would be cool to use the grow light and trays to use for a constant source of herbs after the veggies move out and during the 'off-season'. And finally, two raspberry varietals that we're planning on putting in a designated 'raspberry bed' we've made on the sunny side of our detached garage. It's going to be...a LOT, but I love gardening, even if I'm only passable at it.
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Jan 25, 2014 17:13
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/\/\ Our Black Krims were the very best thing this past year. I can't wait to have them again. I recommend giving the Black Cherry variety a go. Super sweet, flavorful "black" little tomatoes. (They grow like crazy too. I grow two plants that each get their own trellis.)
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Jan 25, 2014 20:16
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Just spotted my first proto-tomato...  
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Jan 26, 2014 20:37
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I'm going to try growing from seed this year and I'm putting together my germination setup. What are the preferred mediums you guys use? I've seen mixed opinions on Jiffy pellets, but is a soil/sand/perlite mix good enough?
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Jan 26, 2014 20:41
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I, personally, have had 'fine' germination rates with Jiffy pellets. I'm not a commercial grower. I'm under the belief that I could make a superior perlite/seed starter medium. I don't know how well it'll come out of those stupid planters though, so I tend to go with pellets. Though with my recent purchase, described above, I'm now lead to believe that the pellets may suck with those trays, though I can't see how a loose soil mix would be better. Basically it's a horse a piece is what I'm saying.
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Jan 26, 2014 21:08
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Rectal Placenta posted:I'm going to try growing from seed this year and I'm putting together my germination setup. What are the preferred mediums you guys use? I've seen mixed opinions on Jiffy pellets, but is a soil/sand/perlite mix good enough? Unless you're growing a ton of stuff or very picky plants then a bag or two of seed starting mix is good enough.
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Jan 27, 2014 00:33
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 Loose, wet, black and full of worms. Terrible adjectives for anyone but a gardener.
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Jan 27, 2014 05:10
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Rectal Placenta posted:I'm going to try growing from seed this year and I'm putting together my germination setup. What are the preferred mediums you guys use? I've seen mixed opinions on Jiffy pellets, but is a soil/sand/perlite mix good enough? Last year I tried a mix of both pellets and just loose potting soil placed in various plastic containers I recycled from the kitchen and both methods worked great. The method I found worked especially good for getting difficult seeds to start was the wet paper towel in a ziploc bag method. Even my fussy cacti loosened up with that.
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Jan 27, 2014 14:00
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AlistairCookie posted:If anyone has any tricks for getting the rear end in a top hat mole that keeps destroying my poo poo the gently caress out of my yard, or if there's any way to kill the chipmunks, I am all ears. Rabbits are easy, and I have a big enough plot that I can take some squirrel damage, but that mole and those goddamn chipmunks have got to go. What I did was dig straight down 1 foot below my fence, about 4-6 inches wide and put fine wire (1/4" gaps) in the ground, and turned it 90* pointing out. Around each post where I had a gap in the wire, I filled with gravel. Haven't had any subterranean rodents since. For those of you talking seed starting. Where are you located? I'm in the Davis, CA area - should I be starting seeds now?
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Jan 27, 2014 18:57
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jvick posted:For those of you talking seed starting. Where are you located? I'm in the Davis, CA area - should I be starting seeds now? Well, I think you're behind a little, but your growing season is so long I doubt you'll have issues. If you're into the Old Farmers Almanac here's their best dates for Davis and different plants: http://www.almanac.com/gardening/planting-dates/CA/Davis
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Jan 28, 2014 03:52
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