2018 Garden Thread

[BilletHead]

          Yes lancer it takes real time to babysit the garden and home is the best place. True that about soil needing time away from a rotation of peppers and tomatoes. Bad thing is with limited space it is hard to do. With no good free soil I can get I have to buy commercial mixes and do what I can with them. This buying can get pretty expensive and way more cheaper to buy at farmers markets , roadside stands etc. This too can surprise you at what you get from there. We buy somethings we do not grow. I do realize this type of place you can get good stuff. One day we stopped at one of the Amish stands near town. We have many of them now in our area. So he had some nice looking cantaloupe. i asked about his process of growing them and how much work was involved. Quickly he answered oh no I did not grow these but buy wholesale at so and so farms for resale. He was honest and when I have asked others the response is skirted around. Early in the year we used to go to one of their big buildings/markets. There would be in the back boxes and boxes of commercially grown tomatoes shipped in from other places. They would be unboxed and brought in for display in bins. Later on in the season some of the bins would be full of misshapen heirloom and typical garden tomatoes that they did grow. We were not exactly lied to but the truth was not exactly told either. I have another friend who's wife worked at a market. The Amish would come in in buggies and purchase cases of canned peaches. These were converted to peach jam and sold. No they did not grow the peaches but did make the jam. I prefer to grow my own when I can so I know the whole story. Same for harvesting my own protein if I can. Not always able but prefer to know exactly what goes into my body,

   BilletHead

[ness]

Yeah, the markets are kinda hit-and-miss. I stopped by a place a couple weeks ago that's very close to my house. They've got a sign out for eggs, tomatoes, etc. Pulled in and the guy said he had just brought the tomatoes in from someplace near LOZ (forget the name of the town). They weren't very good. Picked up some corn at the Lenexa City Market and the guy told me he had picked it that morning. Well, he was from Blackburn, MO so he woulda been picking in the dark based on the time. But -- it was great corn, and I'll go back. Don't mind a little line of BS. I started my banking career in collections, then moved into investments. I'm used to getting lied to  

BH: I like the self watering planters, but I wonder what happens at the end of the season? When you pull the plant out you'll take a lot of the soil and what's left may be spent. Then there's the whole what do you do with half-filled containers in the off season? 

I'm sure my raised beds are just plain tuckered out, even though they've gotten a lot of compost over the years. May be some disease too. Just don't really know, but nothing worked well this year. 

[BilletHead]

23 minutes ago, ness said:

 

BH: I like the self watering planters, but I wonder what happens at the end of the season? When you pull the plant out you'll take a lot of the soil and whatt's left may be spent. Then there's the whole what do you do with half-filled containers in the off season? 

 

               Here is the first year plan Ness,

  We (Pat) pulled the plants. Tough as there were roots going to the bottom and no doubt into the watering tub. I stirred up the dirt and planted more Lettice seed in each planter. I plan on  before the big freeze months drill a hole to let water drain so it will not freeze and break. Then before planting again lift inner tub out, remix in the wheelbarrow, clean out bottom, repack and try another season. So I am hoping the dirt is not spent and will go for more seasons. One thing is watering like I do from the bottom keep and adding occasionally miracle grow it will keep the dirt fertile? I did twice water with this miracle grow mix in each tub this season. What says you Ness? Think this plan will work? Need input,

  BilletHead

[ness]

Sound like it ought to work well. Be good to work compost in the wheel barrow phase. 

[BilletHead]

40 minutes ago, ness said:

Sound like it ought to work well. Be good to work compost in the wheel barrow phase. 

         Yes and speaking of compost. I got one of those tumbler compost deals. We have been real good about saving everything from the kitchen and a few clippings all put in there this year. Breaking down right nicely. The moisture is crazy in there though. It drains through the cracks and is beginning to get hard to turn.

  BilletHead

[jdmidwest]

I have one of the compost bins that I picked up at Sams a few years back.  I dump old plants and cuttings in it.  Scrap from kitchen.  Grass clippings.  Mulched leaves from the blower.  And toss in some worms left over from fishing.  Stir it a few times a year and it makes some great black compost every couple of years.  I refilled a raised bed this spring with compost out of it and the tomatoes are doing well from it this year.  Soil stays nice and loose too.

[BilletHead]

          I think that is what I have JD.  The flies get in and lay eggs and the maggots do essentially what the worms do in yours breaking things down. Tree frogs slip in and feast on the bugs. Speaking of tree frogs. The self wicking tubs have been the best thing for those frogs. They go in and out and have been raising young in them. Little tree frogs all over the garden even in the drought we have been in. The frogs win and so do I for garden pest control. Win ,win to the max.  

   BilletHead

[jdmidwest]

You should not have flies and maggots if you only put plant material in there.  Never put meat or bone in it, no grease or fat.

I saw a confused tree frog last weekend on way back from Pickwick.  I stopped for groceries to eat that night and the car parked next to me had one sitting on the fender.  It was a Candy Apple Red car and the frog was white.  Adaptive camo was having a hard time matching its surroundings.

[BilletHead]

13 minutes ago, jdmidwest said:

You should not have flies and maggots if you only put plant material in there.  Never put meat or bone in it, no grease or fat.

 

         Let me rephrase JD. Not housefly maggots but horsefly maggots. No meat ,bone or grease. Horsefly maggots feed on decaying plant and leaves. Another question to the OAF garden brain trust. We did put some tomato leaves and trimmings in the barrel. So we know some tomato diseases is passed through the soil especially if you go tomato in back to back years. Di i infect my mulch potentially? 

   BilletHead

[ness]

I always heard don’t put that type of stuff in the compost, but wouldn’t worry too much. Does it get pretty hot in there? 

Mine are just two wire bins that get grass clippings and chopped leaves. Don’t bother with the kitchen scraps. Takes a couple years and I alternate. Not much went in this year so far.