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crazyvanman
Dec 31, 2010

Pasha posted:

Unfortunately the area here doesn't have much in the way of general plant matter available (grass clippings or leaves) due to the climate, but I have been shredding a lot of paper to add to the compost bins (the town does not recycle paper, only cardboard) - again, probably better to put the shredded paper into the compost bin rather than sending it to a landfill.

I have not been including any meat or dairy products into the compost collection, only plant matter. There are numerous pests in the area (rabbits, mice, etc), so I want to make certain to bury everything deep enough that they won't be able to reach it.

If you're not going to use it, you won't need to worry too much about the fact that a paper-heavy mix will lead to a fairly Carbon-heavy compost (if you were you could balance it out with Nitrogen-heavy stuff) but you probably do want to avoid creating large layers of shredded paper as it forms clumps and kind of compacts and doesn't decompose so well. Same goes for layers of leaf litter. Might noe be a problem depending on your scale, or you can just mix it all up and you'll be fine.

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Pasha
Nov 9, 2017

crazyvanman posted:

If you're not going to use it, you won't need to worry too much about the fact that a paper-heavy mix will lead to a fairly Carbon-heavy compost (if you were you could balance it out with Nitrogen-heavy stuff) but you probably do want to avoid creating large layers of shredded paper as it forms clumps and kind of compacts and doesn't decompose so well. Same goes for layers of leaf litter. Might noe be a problem depending on your scale, or you can just mix it all up and you'll be fine.

Yes, I am concerned that the large amounts of paper waste (compared to other wastes) might cause issues, but unfortunately there isn't a lot that can be done as nitrogen heavy wastes aren't really available. That being said, we seem to generate a fairly large amount of vegetable waste, so hopefully that will counterbalance the paper shredding.

Jhet
Jun 3, 2013
I've occasionally watered the compost to get it kicking again, but I'd think about shredding the paper with a paper shredder and then you should be good. If you're not using it for anything but not putting it in the landfill (yay), then it doesn't matter your nutrient balance on the other side. Nature will figure that part out eventually for you.

poeticoddity posted:

If you want to compost bones, meat, and other things that don't go in traditional compost piles at home, check out black soldier flies. There's some nifty DIY and off the shelf options for them and they're great if you have poultry or keep fish.

I don't keep compost at home anymore, as I can just send it with the city collection every week. It's a wonderful thing. I wish I had done the black soldier flies when I didn't. It would have helped keep it turning over faster.

Jhet fucked around with this message at 00:52 on Feb 2, 2021

vortmax
Sep 24, 2008

In meteorology, vorticity often refers to a measurement of the spin of horizontally flowing air about a vertical axis.
I'm wanting to plant a peach tree in my back yard this year. I know it's good for my area because there's a peach orchard a couple of miles south of me. What's the best way to do this?

Earth
Nov 6, 2009
I WOULD RATHER INSERT A $20 LEGO SET'S WORTH OF PLASTIC BRICKS INTO MY URETHRA THAN STOP TALKING ABOUT BEING A SCALPER.
College Slice

LLSix posted:

Dirt arrived today. Supposedly 3 cubic yards.


Used it to make 4 barely raised beds. ~1 foot tall.



The two silver ones are 7' long and the two green ones are 4' long. Looking forward to planting in a week or so. The season starts early here in Houston.

There's an empty space between my beds to leave space for a 5th one, but we ran out of dirt.

First, you should be glad that you can actually order dirt like that. I've looked all over my area and couldn't find a single person to deliver with those bags. Second, is that silver raised bed this? https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B086T1VY6M/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_10?smid=A13I5F5GZ8MDRR&psc=1

I've been looking at those beds and thinking about buying a couple for my front yard. How do you like it?

Finally, I have to travel to Texas for family and your photos scream Texas.

mischief
Jun 3, 2003

vortmax posted:

I'm wanting to plant a peach tree in my back yard this year. I know it's good for my area because there's a peach orchard a couple of miles south of me. What's the best way to do this?

Usually with a shovel. :v:

I helped my mother in law set up some pear trees and the main thing is picking healthy trees at the start and just being patient. It is very much a long game. Does the orchard sell trees at all? That would keep it local and you'd know you were getting a viable type of tree for your area.

Chad Sexington
May 26, 2005

I think he made a beautiful post and did a great job and he is good.

Earth posted:

First, you should be glad that you can actually order dirt like that. I've looked all over my area and couldn't find a single person to deliver with those bags. Second, is that silver raised bed this? https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B086T1VY6M/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_10?smid=A13I5F5GZ8MDRR&psc=1

I've been looking at those beds and thinking about buying a couple for my front yard. How do you like it?

Finally, I have to travel to Texas for family and your photos scream Texas.

Ha, yeah, that bagged situation looks great. I seem to have the choice of "dump truck full of loose compost" or "stack of bagged poo poo you can buy at Home Depot."

LLSix
Jan 20, 2010

The real power behind countless overlords

Earth posted:

First, you should be glad that you can actually order dirt like that. I've looked all over my area and couldn't find a single person to deliver with those bags. Second, is that silver raised bed this? https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B086T1VY6M/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_10?smid=A13I5F5GZ8MDRR&psc=1

I've been looking at those beds and thinking about buying a couple for my front yard. How do you like it?

Finally, I have to travel to Texas for family and your photos scream Texas.

You are correct on all counts.

Except my silver beds are the 7' versions which they don't sell anymore. Not sure why. I bought mine about a week ago. They're... okay for the price. There were some hole alignment issues. Nothing I couldn't fix with a hammer, but on the other hand, I did have to use a hammer and a lot of pushing and shoving to get the screw holes to align. I can't really recommend them and don't plan on buying from them again. Something you notice really quick with metal beds like these is there's no lip. You can't sit on the edge and I wouldn't recommend resting your arm on the edge either. They are folded over, so the edges aren't sharp, but it's still a thin piece of metal.

In terms of effort, it took me ~3 hours to assemble each bed. The first 1 to 2 hours was spent pulling this awful sticky blue protective covering off them. Took a lot of work and there's still bits stuck on under the top and bottom where it got folded over. The rest of the time is spent screwing the sheet metal together. They don't provide any tools and the hole alignment issues mean that sometimes the bolts they provide are barely long enough to work, and only then with a lot of brute forcing. The kits don't include any tools. You can hand assemble them, but I used a 10mm hex socket wrench to tighten them. Oh, and there weren't any spare bolts or nuts so don't lose any. Most places include a few spares incase they got the count wrong, so I'm a little worried that some people might receive kits missing a few pieces.

I don't think I'd ever do this again. I've seen DYI videos of metal beds with wooden tops and bottoms. The next time I make beds I'll probably do that. I honestly don't feel like I saved myself a lot of time by using the kits compared to when I made beds by hand from lumber. It is a cheaper than a similar amount of wood though, which is why next time I'll probably try to make a wooden frame with metal sides myself. Maybe something like this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnVZTLeaLLM

One goon upthread recommended a different, much more expensive, bed kit provider. I ordered one to fill the empty spot, but we got shorted more than half a cubic yard of dirt by the provider so I probably won't assemble it this year. My wife has been much more involved than usual this year, which is mostly nice, but we've also already spent more on the garden than all the previous years combined.

As to the bags, they came from a place that also delivers just a dump truck pile. The bags were a little extra money. So maybe ask at the dump truck places near you if they do bags or containers too. We got them because we expected to have a lot of leftover dirt and needed something to store it in.

LLSix fucked around with this message at 04:52 on Feb 2, 2021

Platystemon
Feb 13, 2012

BREADS

vortmax posted:

I'm wanting to plant a peach tree in my back yard this year. I know it's good for my area because there's a peach orchard a couple of miles south of me. What's the best way to do this?

Nurseries should be getting bare root trees right now. Some big box stores, too.

Buy a peach tree. There are dozens of cultivars. The early‐ripening varieties aren’t as flavourful. I like freestone yellow peaches, but you probably have your own preference.

Take it home, dig a hole large enough for the roots and maybe half again as large in diameter. Dig deep enough so that the root flare (where the trunk turns from a stick to not a stick) is half a hand above the soil line. Do not dig deeper.

Put the tree in the hole. Fill back in with dirt to the natural soil line. The roots should be underground now, but not the cylindrical part of the trunk. Pack the dirt such that there are no voids but don’t aggressively compress it.

Mulch the area around the tree with woodchips, leaves, or other organic mulch. Go somewhat past the extent of the hole. Don’t pile mulch against the trunk.

Water very thoroughly.

For the rest of the year, the tree will need extra attention paid to watering while its roots establish, but don’t drown the thing. It really depends on your climate and soil, but consider that it might need water once a week. Don’t overwater. Peach trees are particularly weak against wet feet. You’ll know if you’re late on watering a peach tree because they get very wilty, very fast. It will spring back if you catch it early.

Platystemon fucked around with this message at 15:40 on Feb 2, 2021

Earth
Nov 6, 2009
I WOULD RATHER INSERT A $20 LEGO SET'S WORTH OF PLASTIC BRICKS INTO MY URETHRA THAN STOP TALKING ABOUT BEING A SCALPER.
College Slice

LLSix posted:

You are correct on all counts.

Except my silver beds are the 7' versions which they don't sell anymore. Not sure why. I bought mine about a week ago. They're... okay for the price. There were some hole alignment issues. Nothing I couldn't fix with a hammer, but on the other hand, I did have to use a hammer and a lot of pushing and shoving to get the screw holes to align. I can't really recommend them and don't plan on buying from them again. Something you notice really quick with metal beds like these is there's no lip. You can't sit on the edge and I wouldn't recommend resting your arm on the edge either. They are folded over, so the edges aren't sharp, but it's still a thin piece of metal.

In terms of effort, it took me ~3 hours to assemble each bed. The first 1 to 2 hours was spent pulling this awful sticky blue protective covering off them. Took a lot of work and there's still bits stuck on under the top and bottom where it got folded over. The rest of the time is spent screwing the sheet metal together. They don't provide any tools and the hole alignment issues mean that sometimes the screws they provide are barely long enough to work, and only then with a lot of brute forcing. The kits don't include any tools. You can hand assemble them, but I used a 10mm hex socket wrench to tighten them. Oh, and there weren't any spare screws or bolts so don't lose any. Most places include a few spares incase they got the count wrong, so I'm a little worried that some people might receive kits missing a few pieces.

I don't think I'd ever do this again. I've seen DYI videos of metal beds with wooden tops and bottoms. The next time I make beds I'll probably do that. I honestly don't feel like I saved myself a lot of time by using the kits compared to when I made beds by hand from lumber. It is a cheaper than a similar amount of wood though, which is why next time I'll probably try to make a wooden frame with metal sides myself. Maybe something like this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnVZTLeaLLM

One goon upthread recommended a different, much more expensive, bed kit provider. I ordered one to fill the empty spot, but we got shorted more than half a cubic yard of dirt by the provider so I probably won't assemble it this year. My wife has been much more involved than usual this year, which is mostly nice, but we've also already spent more on the garden than all the previous years combined.

As to the bags, they came from a place that also delivers just a dump truck pile. The bags were a little extra money. So maybe ask at the dump truck places near you if they do bags or containers too. We got them because we expected to have a lot of leftover dirt and needed something to store it in.

Wow, thanks a bunch for the write up. I'm glad you gave some thoughts on those. I may end up passing on them. Which goon was the one that recommended the different bed provider? I must have missed the post.

LLSix
Jan 20, 2010

The real power behind countless overlords

Earth posted:

Wow, thanks a bunch for the write up. I'm glad you gave some thoughts on those. I may end up passing on them. Which goon was the one that recommended the different bed provider? I must have missed the post.

Fozzy The Bear posted:

If you are looking for metal raised beds, I recommend https://www.metalgardenbeds.com/. I've had four for 1.5 years and they are high quality.

They look nicer, but I don't have any personal experience with them.

vortmax
Sep 24, 2008

In meteorology, vorticity often refers to a measurement of the spin of horizontally flowing air about a vertical axis.
Thanks! I will visit a local plant store as soon as I can. And I also need to call 811 to make sure it's not planted near any utilities.

crazyvanman
Dec 31, 2010

Pasha posted:

Yes, I am concerned that the large amounts of paper waste (compared to other wastes) might cause issues, but unfortunately there isn't a lot that can be done as nitrogen heavy wastes aren't really available. That being said, we seem to generate a fairly large amount of vegetable waste, so hopefully that will counterbalance the paper shredding.

As others have said, unless you're using it for growing annuals/hungry plants it's probably not going to cause you any bother, except for the potential clumping issue I mentioned. If you were worried about it, then a good source of N to add could be...your piss. Depends on what kind of area you live as to whether you can go and enter it straight onto the heap, or want to carry it out in containers. Or, indeed, if it's far enough from houses that the smell (although not that bad) won't be an issue!

The other option is to offload some of your shredded paper in some other way. We have a couple of rescue guinea pigs and some rabbits, and thanks to my job shredded paper is not a scarce resource. However if it was I would be really up for collecting a sack each month if someone was offering it for free. We have Freecycle here, I don't know if you have something similar? Obviously you can't vouch for where it will end up, but we then compost the rabbit/guinea pig piss-poo-hay-paper mix or lay it down as directly mulched (obviously by that point it's much more mixed). Hell, if you were cool enough and they didn't want to compost it you could even exchange fresh shredded paper for soiled each time!

Wallet
Jun 19, 2006

Platystemon posted:

Nurseries should be getting bare root trees right now. Some big box stores, too. [...]

This is all excellent advise, though I'd personally wait and buy a not bare root tree. The nursery I buy trees from has some additional recommendations in their planting guide that I have always had success with:
  • After you dig the hole to the depth of the root ball, loosen the soil at the bottom to make it easier for the tree to root in.
  • If the sides of the rootball are tight score the sides and bottom before putting the tree in.
  • After the tree is in the hole, fill the hole up halfway with compost or 50/50 manure/peat humus then fill the hole with water. Wait for the water to drain into the ground before filling the hole the rest of the way with the same compost/mixture.
  • After filling the hole, leave an area clear of mulch that's about the diameter of the original hole to act as a little basin. Fill that basin with water and let it drain in before mulching the rest of the area.

Wallet fucked around with this message at 15:25 on Feb 2, 2021

Earth
Nov 6, 2009
I WOULD RATHER INSERT A $20 LEGO SET'S WORTH OF PLASTIC BRICKS INTO MY URETHRA THAN STOP TALKING ABOUT BEING A SCALPER.
College Slice

LLSix posted:

They look nicer, but I don't have any personal experience with them.

Thanks, I did see that one. Thought you were referencing something else. I owned those for about six months at the house I sold right after I put them in. They were very nice for that time, but I cannot comment on how good they are longterm. There's a post upstream of me showing them off I think. I'm looking for metal ones because I'm expanding my garden to my front yard and my partner requires I have it look better up front (metal beds, not wood and the beds cannot be silver. I want to do what the Epic Gardening guy did with his side yard at his old place. Have raised beds with paver stones down to stop the grass. My front lawn is tiny and I hate mowing it.

Planet X
Dec 10, 2003

GOOD MORNING
I'm a bit late to composting chat. Should I continue the topic further here, or are goons down with a composting thread? I thought we had one a while back.

I'm not an expert, but I compost a lot and would be interested in hearing other opinions. Do note that some municipalities offer low cost compost bins to their residents. My city offers this for like, $20

http://enviroworld.ca/environmental-products/freegarden-earth

Main thing I'm interested in is ensuring my compost is balanced before I put it down. I don't want it too hot, etc. I guess I could get it tested?

crazyvanman
Dec 31, 2010

Planet X posted:

I'm a bit late to composting chat. Should I continue the topic further here, or are goons down with a composting thread? I thought we had one a while back.

I'm not an expert, but I compost a lot and would be interested in hearing other opinions. Do note that some municipalities offer low cost compost bins to their residents. My city offers this for like, $20

http://enviroworld.ca/environmental-products/freegarden-earth

Main thing I'm interested in is ensuring my compost is balanced before I put it down. I don't want it too hot, etc. I guess I could get it tested?

I'm not a regular poster by any means but would be down for a composting thread. Perhaps you could broaden it out as a composting and mulching thread? Got a couple of resources I could recommend, too. One would be Start with the Soil (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1118258.Start_with_the_Soil) and another would be this quaint little book from the Second World War: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5086128-common-sense-compost-making

Would be cool to discuss the merits/virtues of composting, composting in place, mulch, living mulch, green manures, ways to find cheap/free sources of composting materials and stories of success and failure!

Planet X
Dec 10, 2003

GOOD MORNING
Right on, I'll work on a post to start a thread and see where it goes from there. I will head outside in the next few days and include some pics of my setup too

Pipistrelle
Jun 18, 2011

Seems the high horse is taking them all home

Planet X posted:

Right on, I'll work on a post to start a thread and see where it goes from there. I will head outside in the next few days and include some pics of my setup too

I’m also super interested in a composting thread, thanks for getting it going!

Planet X
Dec 10, 2003

GOOD MORNING
Thread is up! Jump in!

https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3958208

CommonShore
Jun 6, 2014

A true renaissance man


I want to goonsource something, namely help me pick a few things to plant in my garden this year. Something about Covid has broken my brain and I'm not able to plan the same way I have in past years idk why. I moved this fall and so I'm starting a new garden. I'm on a two-acre lot in the country in the middle of some farmland. I have as much space for garden as I could conceivably want.

I live in Zone 3 Hardy and official frost-to-frost is 93 days. Our weather is pretty extreme, with arid stretches punctuated by heavy rain events, so I do lots of watering out of barrels (or now, a cistern).

My plan is to do mostly no-dig, so I don't have to faff around with too much machinery, and I have four 2-3-yard composters built and at differnet degrees of decomposition (I probably have ~4 yards of finished compost ready to go, and with a good turn the rest should be able to break down a lot between thaw and last frost). I plan to get a bunch of straw bales to supplement what I have for mulch. I have one bed built and planted already with winter garlic, too. Another resource I have is a heap of cedar planks and three dump trailers full of good topsoil, both of which I scavenged from friends, and a wood shop (my supply of sawdust and wood chips for paths), so I might make some raised beds too.

Right now the plan is to plant the following:

Amish paste tomatoes + a few other tomatoes
Potatoes (going to do a mostly Ruth Stout approach)
Beets
Carrots
Onions
Maybe leeks?
Corn (going to look for a 60-70 day sweet variety)
Zucchini (I've grown something called San Ysidro Hybrid in the past but I ran out of seeds)
Other summer squash (maybe? scallop squash/pattypan?)
Small pumpkins
Cucumbers (national picking & straight eight)
Kale
Various herbs and greens
Probably some hot peppers again
Peas
Bush beans (I did purple last year and I probably will again)

I'm going to do a mix of greenhouse starts, home starts, and direct seeding (no way I'm starting all of that corn inside).

(I've tried to find soil testing services near me without success, by the way - I'll just throw that in there).

Any suggestions for other things that I should plant? Or specific varieties of stuff to try?

vonnegutt
Aug 7, 2006
Hobocamp.

CommonShore posted:

Any suggestions for other things that I should plant? Or specific varieties of stuff to try?

I'm jealous of your acreage. I love decorating in the fall with heirloom pumpkins, but they're ridiculously expensive to buy (especially when I mostly just want to stack them on my porch). If I had that much space, I would definitely plant some varieties like Cinderella, Jarrahdale, or Fairytale White.

LLSix
Jan 20, 2010

The real power behind countless overlords

Sweet Millions are a very productive cherry tomato plant. Everyone we've gifted some to has enjoyed the taste as well. You said you were already planting "some tomatoes" so maybe you're already doing cherry tomatoes, but that's my go to suggestion.

CommonShore
Jun 6, 2014

A true renaissance man


LLSix posted:

Sweet Millions are a very productive cherry tomato plant. Everyone we've gifted some to has enjoyed the taste as well. You said you were already planting "some tomatoes" so maybe you're already doing cherry tomatoes, but that's my go to suggestion.

I haven't decided on other varieties yet, hence the post! We often plant something that's called "Sweet Hundreds" or something like that - it's my partner's favourite - I wonder if they're the same thing.

vonnegutt posted:

I'm jealous of your acreage. I love decorating in the fall with heirloom pumpkins, but they're ridiculously expensive to buy (especially when I mostly just want to stack them on my porch). If I had that much space, I would definitely plant some varieties like Cinderella, Jarrahdale, or Fairytale White.

Decorative gourds are popular in my household too. I had one go to seed in my compost a few years ago and we had heaps of lightbulb-shaped yellow and green gourds the next year. I'll keep an eye out for a single plant of any of those at the local greenhouse (because that kind of thing is good ~green~ compost too)

silicone thrills
Jan 9, 2008

I paint things
I don't have much space outside and the crows keep eating all my seedlings in the small amount of space I do have. So I decided to let things get big in the basement this year!

Butter lettuce, heirloom greens, heirloom tomatoes, bell peppers and pablanos.

Thinking about prestarting some zucchini soon too. In Seattle and honestly don't even know if I'm going to actually ever move the tomatoes and peppers outside.

crazyvanman
Dec 31, 2010

CommonShore posted:



Any suggestions for other things that I should plant? Or specific varieties of stuff to try?

In addition to potatoes, you could try growing mashua (Tropaeolum tuberosum) and Oca (Oxalis tuberosa)? Both have similar growth habits to potatoes but just create a bit of variety. Oca has a lemony taste and mashua is...mashua. The latter is a climbing plant so you can grow it as a layer above something else. For example, we stuck a couple of tubers underneath our courgette (to you, zucchini) plants and once we pulled up the squash plants the mashua, which has a longer growing season, exploded and continued to grow. First frost damage we pulled it out and had some big tasty tubers. Generally less hungry and disease-prone than potatoes.

CommonShore
Jun 6, 2014

A true renaissance man


crazyvanman posted:

In addition to potatoes, you could try growing mashua (Tropaeolum tuberosum) and Oca (Oxalis tuberosa)? Both have similar growth habits to potatoes but just create a bit of variety. Oca has a lemony taste and mashua is...mashua. The latter is a climbing plant so you can grow it as a layer above something else. For example, we stuck a couple of tubers underneath our courgette (to you, zucchini) plants and once we pulled up the squash plants the mashua, which has a longer growing season, exploded and continued to grow. First frost damage we pulled it out and had some big tasty tubers. Generally less hungry and disease-prone than potatoes.

this is extremely my jam but I'm not finding anyone in Canada who sells it

Platystemon
Feb 13, 2012

BREADS

Wallet posted:

This is all excellent advise, though I'd personally wait and buy a not bare root tree. The nursery I buy trees from has some additional recommendations in their planting guide that I have always had success with:
  • After you dig the hole to the depth of the root ball, loosen the soil at the bottom to make it easier for the tree to root in.
  • If the sides of the rootball are tight score the sides and bottom before putting the tree in.
  • After the tree is in the hole, fill the hole up halfway with compost or 50/50 manure/peat humus then fill the hole with water. Wait for the water to drain into the ground before filling the hole the rest of the way with the same compost/mixture.
  • After filling the hole, leave an area clear of mulch that's about the diameter of the original hole to act as a little basin. Fill that basin with water and let it drain in before mulching the rest of the area.

I like bare root trees over potted/bagged, but I can see why some people don’t. I think bare root trees establish better, and I like the prices and variety, but you’re more vulnerable to getting an outright dud, usually dehydration at retailers that don’t care for their plants, and your planting window is limited. Do see about getting a replacement or refund if that happens, but sometimes at the end of the season they’re sold “as is”.

I do separate the soil around the rootball to finger depth if the tree comes potted or bagged.

I disagree pretty strongly about amending that heavily. Half peat moss might work for blueberries, which are swamp plants anyway, and maybe you can get by with large fractions like that in sandy soil, but in something like clay there’s going to be anærobic decomposition and it’s not great for trees. There’s no harm done in throwing in a few handfuls as if you’re seasoning the soil, but my policy is that manure belongs on top.

Platystemon
Feb 13, 2012

BREADS

CommonShore posted:

this is extremely my jam but I'm not finding anyone in Canada who sells it

Cultivariable has recently started shipping seeds outside of the United States, but I have to say that the idea of growing tuber crops from seeds annoys me.

Wallet
Jun 19, 2006

Platystemon posted:

I like bare root trees over potted/bagged, but I can see why some people don’t. I think bare root trees establish better, and I like the prices and variety, but you’re more vulnerable to getting an outright dud, usually dehydration at retailers that don’t care for their plants, and your planting window is limited. Do see about getting a replacement or refund if that happens, but sometimes at the end of the season they’re sold “as is”.

I definitely like the cost of bare root trees more, but in my experience they take longer to settle in and start growing and there are timing issues I don't really want to deal with. Guess it depends.

If I was planting a lot of trees I'd definitely go bare root but the nursery here doesn't sell them that way and I don't mind paying a little extra for the 1 year warranty if nothing else.

Platystemon posted:

I disagree pretty strongly about amending that heavily. Half peat moss might work for blueberries, which are swamp plants anyway, and maybe you can get by with large fractions like that in sandy soil, but in something like clay there’s going to be anærobic decomposition and it’s not great for trees. There’s no harm done in throwing in a few handfuls as if you’re seasoning the soil, but my policy is that manure belongs on top.

That's fair, there's definitely major regional variation in what's appropriate—basically everything in this area is sandy loam but I wouldn't try it in heavy clay soil. Also if you're planting a bare root tree then filling the rest of the hole with a 50/50 mix like that is probably going to be overkill no matter where you are, but they're talking about filling in the extra space in the hole around the root ball which I should have specified.

Shine
Feb 26, 2007

No Muscles For The Majority

CommonShore posted:

Potatoes (going to do a mostly Ruth Stout approach)
[...]
Any suggestions for other things that I should plant? Or specific varieties of stuff to try?

We grew Caribé and Adirondack Blue potatoes in our grow tent last year. Both were ready to harvest in under 90 days.

https://www.woodprairie.com/product/organic-certified-adirondack-blue-seed-potatoes/
https://www.woodprairie.com/product/organic-certified-caribe-seed-potatoes/

Our yield was pretty small, but we weren't growing them in ideal conditions; they were in a toasty tent that was constantly 80-85F, and of course being in cubic-foot grow bags they may have been more cramped than they'd have liked. But the potatoes we got were loving delicious, and I envy anybody who has the space and climate to grow them properly. Gorgeous flowers, too.




I'd go over to the tent during my work breaks and just enjoy the scent. :allears:

___________________________________________________

As an aside, we tried sweet potatoes afterward, and that went far better. I assume it was due to both using larger bags (14³ inches instead of 12) and sweet potatoes being better suited to the constant heat. This was from two containers:



These were ready just in time for Thanksgiving and they were so drat good :allears:. Since we could only order the slips in packs of a dozen, we figured we'd see how the yield differed with one versus two in a bag. The lesson learned was "do one plant per bag," as most of the big ones came from the single plant. We saved a few to use as a houseplant, growing little slips from it. I don't know if we'll do them in the tent again. I'd like to, as they tasted so drat good, but they also hog a lot of space in the tent for four months. If we had a yard, hell yeah I'd use half the garden for sweet potatoes, but it's nice to use the tent for items that produce more stuff in less time/space. Speaking of...

Spacemaster cucumbers are goddamn awesome in a tent. We had one bush in a bag and got about two-dozen cucumbers from it:



We have two Spacemasters going now. They were planted just before Christmas and they've just started producing. Gonna be rolling in more yummy cucumbers soon. These in particular are far better than store-bought. Like, our potatoes and sweets were great, but they didn't ruin store-bought ones for me. These cucumbers are so much better, though, that I can't stand store-bought ones anymore. So yeah, the Spacemaster will be a garden fixture going forward. I'm going to plant them on a cycle so that we have fresh ones growing all the time. Man, these are great. Very compact, too.


Having fresh peppermint at all times is dope, too. We were doing peppermint on the kitchen counter under a shop light, and it was doing alright there, but I decided to put it in the tent when some space freed up, and it went nuts. It's fun to periodically ransack it and watch it throw itself back together like, "silly bitch, your weapons cannot harm me." :itjb:




(two months later)



We'll use fresh leaves with cucumber salads and to flavor water, and dry a bunch to use for tea, which I'm drinking right now.

My favorite tea thus far has been lemon basil which, I poo poo you not, tastes like Fruit Loops. I don't sweeten tea anyway, but lemon basil tea tastes very sweet just on its own.

trilobite terror
Oct 20, 2007
BUT MY LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON THE FORUMS!

Shine posted:

We grew Caribé and Adirondack Blue potatoes in our grow tent last year. Both were ready to harvest in under 90 days.

https://www.woodprairie.com/product/organic-certified-adirondack-blue-seed-potatoes/
https://www.woodprairie.com/product/organic-certified-caribe-seed-potatoes/

Our yield was pretty small, but we weren't growing them in ideal conditions; they were in a toasty tent that was constantly 80-85F, and of course being in cubic-foot grow bags they may have been more cramped than they'd have liked. But the potatoes we got were loving delicious, and I envy anybody who has the space and climate to grow them properly. Gorgeous flowers, too.




I'd go over to the tent during my work breaks and just enjoy the scent. :allears:

___________________________________________________

As an aside, we tried sweet potatoes afterward, and that went far better. I assume it was due to both using larger bags (14³ inches instead of 12) and sweet potatoes being better suited to the constant heat. This was from two containers:



These were ready just in time for Thanksgiving and they were so drat good :allears:. Since we could only order the slips in packs of a dozen, we figured we'd see how the yield differed with one versus two in a bag. The lesson learned was "do one plant per bag," as most of the big ones came from the single plant. We saved a few to use as a houseplant, growing little slips from it. I don't know if we'll do them in the tent again. I'd like to, as they tasted so drat good, but they also hog a lot of space in the tent for four months. If we had a yard, hell yeah I'd use half the garden for sweet potatoes, but it's nice to use the tent for items that produce more stuff in less time/space. Speaking of...

Dude you don’t need a yard for potatoes- grow some trashcan potatoes/sweet potatoes outside or in the tent (if they fit).

CommonShore
Jun 6, 2014

A true renaissance man


I just ordered my seed potatoes - 1 kg of "safe" early potatoes (norland - the most popular variety in my area), 1 kg of experimental early (Alta blush), 2 kg of safe 80 day potatoes (Seiglinde), and 1kg of experimental ones (Bellanita).



I'll keep an eye out for those other varieties too - I should have room for more potatoes in the garden. I'm loving the chat. I'm starting to get hype for spring!

Shine
Feb 26, 2007

No Muscles For The Majority

Ok Comboomer posted:

Dude you don’t need a yard for potatoes- grow some trashcan potatoes/sweet potatoes outside or in the tent (if they fit).

The tent issue is space/time. They'll grow in there just fine in the 14³" bags (as long as we do one per bag), but a couple of those take up a lot of room for roughly 4 months, and we'd rather use the garden for items with quicker turnaround and/or lower space requirements, like the cucumbers and peppers (though we're currently making an exception and trying a bush watermelon in a 14 bag, because it sounded fun).

The problem with outside is the climate and available sunlight. We're in a condo, and it's against HOA regs to use any of the common space for gardening (especially something "unsightly" like a can), so all we have for that is a covered balcony with a large tree blocking light from one of its two open directions. Since we had extra sweet potato slips last year, we tried some outside in the same-sized containers that produced the stuff above, hoping they could make something out of the hour and change of sunlight they received. While those plants had lush foliage and didn't wilt in the heat, we got zero viable sweet potatoes from them. It was as if they put all of their growth into foliage to try to get sufficient sun, and had nothing left over to grow tubers. We've also had no luck with peppers out there.

If you have any advice, I'm all ears (we're still newbies), but we kinda gave up on growing anything substantial outside after trying the peppers and sweepos and getting nowhere.

Bloody Cat Farm
Oct 20, 2010

I can smell your pussy, Clarice.
I live in an area with high arsenic in the water. We had to get a special water filter for the house because of it. Should I test for heavy metals in the soil before playing a vegetable garden?

LLSix
Jan 20, 2010

The real power behind countless overlords

CommonShore posted:

I haven't decided on other varieties yet, hence the post! We often plant something that's called "Sweet Hundreds" or something like that - it's my partner's favourite - I wonder if they're the same thing.

They're very similar! We like the Sweet 100s too. Sweet Millions are a little hardier and I'm a lazy gardener so they usually produce better for us. I've never pruned my plants before, for example. I should probably do that this year.

kicks forts
Feb 19, 2006

cheers
I'm thinking about putting together a general low-impact/sustainable housing/living thread. Building methods like lime mortar, papercrete or recycling glass bottles as floor insulation. Maybe some stuff about permaculture, specifically methods to reduce reliance on pesticide. I don't know if there's a ton of interest; haven't found anything similar apart from the closed Sustainable Agriculture thread.

https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3605954

I have some links of my own, and was going to scour for anything useful from the Wilderness Living and other threads. Does anyone have any other threads to check out?

Lhet
Apr 2, 2008

bloop


Just picked up and planted a couple bare root apple trees and it looks like the forecast shows a drop to 21F with lots of snow later this week (Seattle). I'm a little worried about the cold given they aren't established at all yet. Was thinking about picking up some chicken manure and layering that then some mulch to hopefully generate some heat, but not sure if there's anything else I should consider?

Kaiser Schnitzel
Mar 29, 2006

Schnitzel mit uns


Shine posted:

We grew Caribé and Adirondack Blue potatoes in our grow tent last year. Both were ready to harvest in under 90 days.

https://www.woodprairie.com/product/organic-certified-adirondack-blue-seed-potatoes/
https://www.woodprairie.com/product/organic-certified-caribe-seed-potatoes/

Our yield was pretty small, but we weren't growing them in ideal conditions; they were in a toasty tent that was constantly 80-85F, and of course being in cubic-foot grow bags they may have been more cramped than they'd have liked. But the potatoes we got were loving delicious, and I envy anybody who has the space and climate to grow them properly. Gorgeous flowers, too.




I'd go over to the tent during my work breaks and just enjoy the scent. :allears:

___________________________________________________

As an aside, we tried sweet potatoes afterward, and that went far better. I assume it was due to both using larger bags (14³ inches instead of 12) and sweet potatoes being better suited to the constant heat. This was from two containers:



These were ready just in time for Thanksgiving and they were so drat good :allears:. Since we could only order the slips in packs of a dozen, we figured we'd see how the yield differed with one versus two in a bag. The lesson learned was "do one plant per bag," as most of the big ones came from the single plant. We saved a few to use as a houseplant, growing little slips from it. I don't know if we'll do them in the tent again. I'd like to, as they tasted so drat good, but they also hog a lot of space in the tent for four months. If we had a yard, hell yeah I'd use half the garden for sweet potatoes, but it's nice to use the tent for items that produce more stuff in less time/space. Speaking of...

Spacemaster cucumbers are goddamn awesome in a tent. We had one bush in a bag and got about two-dozen cucumbers from it:



We have two Spacemasters going now. They were planted just before Christmas and they've just started producing. Gonna be rolling in more yummy cucumbers soon. These in particular are far better than store-bought. Like, our potatoes and sweets were great, but they didn't ruin store-bought ones for me. These cucumbers are so much better, though, that I can't stand store-bought ones anymore. So yeah, the Spacemaster will be a garden fixture going forward. I'm going to plant them on a cycle so that we have fresh ones growing all the time. Man, these are great. Very compact, too.


Having fresh peppermint at all times is dope, too. We were doing peppermint on the kitchen counter under a shop light, and it was doing alright there, but I decided to put it in the tent when some space freed up, and it went nuts. It's fun to periodically ransack it and watch it throw itself back together like, "silly bitch, your weapons cannot harm me." :itjb:




(two months later)



We'll use fresh leaves with cucumber salads and to flavor water, and dry a bunch to use for tea, which I'm drinking right now.

My favorite tea thus far has been lemon basil which, I poo poo you not, tastes like Fruit Loops. I don't sweeten tea anyway, but lemon basil tea tastes very sweet just on its own.

This is the most incredible, magical garden

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mischief
Jun 3, 2003

That's some weird looking weed, man.

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