Started By
Message
re: How About a Gardening Thread?
Posted on 2/9/19 at 7:01 pm to Cheese Grits
Posted on 2/9/19 at 7:01 pm to Cheese Grits
Honestly it's been my experience that using something like a landscaping cloth is pointless. You still end up pulling weeds. Instead, what I do is, once again, I pile shredded leaves over the entire area. Thick like. Like 18" thick. This makes a very good soil amendment as well as a weed retardant.
1
Posted on 2/9/19 at 7:19 pm to BoarEd
I don't use it on the ground, just the raised beds. As the bed are 2 to 3 feet high you get a 6 inch wall at the edges above the soil level. Like I said I use a very thin biodegradable material but do 2 layers. I peg the edges about every 2 feet and the corners plus a peg about 1 foot at each 45 degree leg. Only issue I have with weeds is the occasional one that grows in the slits I cut to plant seedlings. The cloth and pegs help avoid soil erosion from wind as well.
I had considered doing mulch or gravel on the cloth but would have been a pain in the arse when I took down the beds in the fall and rebuilt them in the spring. Not taking them back to the ground but redoing the top foot or so and tilling it before dropping in my spring seedlings. Again, the goal was to get by with no pesticides or fungicides of any kind.
My big issues on any gardening is getting proper drainage and riding that fine line between too little water and too much water. I do keep 2 rain gauges and thermometers in that area and watch both.
I had considered doing mulch or gravel on the cloth but would have been a pain in the arse when I took down the beds in the fall and rebuilt them in the spring. Not taking them back to the ground but redoing the top foot or so and tilling it before dropping in my spring seedlings. Again, the goal was to get by with no pesticides or fungicides of any kind.
My big issues on any gardening is getting proper drainage and riding that fine line between too little water and too much water. I do keep 2 rain gauges and thermometers in that area and watch both.
Posted on 2/9/19 at 7:24 pm to Cheese Grits
Sounds like a nice setup, man! 
Mine is a little different as my beds are more like terraced into a south facing hillside. I build up the downhill side with timbers to about knee height. As such, I still have to worry about encroachment on the uphill side of my bed.
But like I said, I only do the small amount of veggies. Most of my beds are nursery stock beds.
ETA: As for the watering issues, I feel ya. I am trying to design a self sufficient gravity irrigation system to cover about 4 acres worth of beds.
Mine is a little different as my beds are more like terraced into a south facing hillside. I build up the downhill side with timbers to about knee height. As such, I still have to worry about encroachment on the uphill side of my bed.
But like I said, I only do the small amount of veggies. Most of my beds are nursery stock beds.
ETA: As for the watering issues, I feel ya. I am trying to design a self sufficient gravity irrigation system to cover about 4 acres worth of beds.
This post was edited on 2/9/19 at 7:29 pm
Posted on 2/9/19 at 7:47 pm to BoarEd
I have gardened for many years. Right now, I have 10 4x8 raised beds that works great for me. Each bed is capable of using hoops to cover the entire bed with plastic during severe cold weather and enables me to have some crops year round, mostly greens.
I prepare the soil with a small Honda tiller. Each fall, I collect leaves from my property and drive around and gather other leaves that are bagged sitting on the street. I shred the leaves and till a bunch into the soil, but save some for mulch for planting time. The mulch solves the weed problem and keeps the soil moist.
I only grow things I know we like and will eat - tomatoes, potatoes, onions, kale, chard, green beans, and some herbs.
Great hobby!
I prepare the soil with a small Honda tiller. Each fall, I collect leaves from my property and drive around and gather other leaves that are bagged sitting on the street. I shred the leaves and till a bunch into the soil, but save some for mulch for planting time. The mulch solves the weed problem and keeps the soil moist.
I only grow things I know we like and will eat - tomatoes, potatoes, onions, kale, chard, green beans, and some herbs.
Great hobby!
Posted on 2/9/19 at 7:58 pm to BoarEd
I do modular 12 x 12 beds and replicate as needed. Cut out 2x6 - so it looks like a block U for easier access. I poured concrete pads in the cutouts as my okra and tomatoes easily get to 6 - 8 feet (+2 feet for the planter) so I can use a step stool late in the season and have firm footing.
You can do the below ground soaker hose with kits but they can be fragile (and why I put them below the surface). I attach about a 3 - 6 foot garden hose extender so when it is above ground (fastened with landscape pegs) it is easy to hook to my hose cart (connected to house plumbing via outside hookup). Big issue of course is to disconnect, drain, and prep for fall and winter weather.
Yeah, I get that and why I built freestanding modular. I do mostly small garden growing for friends, family, neighbors, and church and the rest of the backyard is pure flower and shrubs for personal enjoyment. With pets it has 9 foot privacy fence that keeps everything enclosed. I grew up on a farm but at my age, an acre is about all I need or want to work with personally.
Do you gather rainwater? I saw a setup back about 10 years ago where the house was in the center at the highest elevation on about 5 acres and they had the runoff divided in 4 quarters with each going to about 1/4 of the 5 acres. Water came off the roof and fed into (4) 2K to 4K water tanks at each corner of the house. From there it drained by gravity when pipelines were opened. I think the whole setup cost about 2 to 4 grand but he did the work.
You can do the below ground soaker hose with kits but they can be fragile (and why I put them below the surface). I attach about a 3 - 6 foot garden hose extender so when it is above ground (fastened with landscape pegs) it is easy to hook to my hose cart (connected to house plumbing via outside hookup). Big issue of course is to disconnect, drain, and prep for fall and winter weather.
quote:
I still have to worry about encroachment on the uphill side of my bed.
Yeah, I get that and why I built freestanding modular. I do mostly small garden growing for friends, family, neighbors, and church and the rest of the backyard is pure flower and shrubs for personal enjoyment. With pets it has 9 foot privacy fence that keeps everything enclosed. I grew up on a farm but at my age, an acre is about all I need or want to work with personally.
quote:
I am trying to design a self sufficient gravity irrigation system to cover about 4 acres worth of beds.
Do you gather rainwater? I saw a setup back about 10 years ago where the house was in the center at the highest elevation on about 5 acres and they had the runoff divided in 4 quarters with each going to about 1/4 of the 5 acres. Water came off the roof and fed into (4) 2K to 4K water tanks at each corner of the house. From there it drained by gravity when pipelines were opened. I think the whole setup cost about 2 to 4 grand but he did the work.
Posted on 2/9/19 at 8:03 pm to Cheese Grits
On your beds, do you have horses in your area?
I get what you are saying with the leaves but I have access to lots of fresh manure I can mix in the bed every spring when I till it. Granted I am blessed with a nice loam soil to begin with but I do think the manure helps get my yields up in the growing season.
I get what you are saying with the leaves but I have access to lots of fresh manure I can mix in the bed every spring when I till it. Granted I am blessed with a nice loam soil to begin with but I do think the manure helps get my yields up in the growing season.
Posted on 2/9/19 at 8:10 pm to Cheese Grits
Man, sounds like you guys have put some time in at it.
Kinda sorta. I build rain gardens. The water is gonna flow through there anyways, so I just slow it down and grow my plants in it. Of course, not all of the things I grow like to have wet roots, so my grass beds and wildflower beds are at the top of the hill and require no maintenance whatsoever. I do have to run one hose from the house though for the potting station.
quote:
Do you gather rainwater?
Kinda sorta. I build rain gardens. The water is gonna flow through there anyways, so I just slow it down and grow my plants in it. Of course, not all of the things I grow like to have wet roots, so my grass beds and wildflower beds are at the top of the hill and require no maintenance whatsoever. I do have to run one hose from the house though for the potting station.
This post was edited on 2/9/19 at 8:11 pm
Posted on 2/9/19 at 8:12 pm to BoarEd
quote:
What sort of veggies does everyone like to grow?
Corn, peppers, tomatoes, green beans, peas. Sadly it seems deer and rabbits like to get into the peas and corn.
Posted on 2/9/19 at 8:30 pm to thatguy45
quote:
Sadly it seems deer and rabbits like to get into the peas and corn.
If you can fence, it helps but they can still clear some impressive heights.
Hound dogs work better tho.
My runt made the deer an offer they could not refuse after their first time over the fence. Now they don't even try, especially with a bigger hound added to mix in the past few years.
On a side note, unless you have the land, why grow the corn? Takes up such a large footprint I just buy than plant. Most of my stuff is herbs or vegetables that are hard to find in the local markets outside of my maters. Those purple eggplants they use in asian and Indian food has been real popular. Okra is real popular too and I have a bed dedicated just to different hot peppers.
Posted on 2/10/19 at 9:12 am to Cheese Grits
So do we have any folks in here that build ornamental gardens as well as veggie gardens?
Posted on 2/10/19 at 10:03 am to BoarEd
To keep deer away from her plants, my grandma always puts broken egg shells around her plants and also sprinkles them with cinnamon after a rain.
It always works. She always has a badass garden.
It always works. She always has a badass garden.
Posted on 2/10/19 at 6:54 pm to Tornado Alley
It’s always about the soil and making sure it’s in good shape. I own a farm east of KC next to the Missouri River. The Topsoil there is almost 6 feet deep. I brought a couple of pickup truckloads back to kc for my garden and wow.
We’re probably moving to a new house this spring so it will probably be a short season for us. Probably containers only with peppers and tomatoes. I’m going to see if I can get my farmer to bring a dump truck of soil to prepare for next year.
We’re probably moving to a new house this spring so it will probably be a short season for us. Probably containers only with peppers and tomatoes. I’m going to see if I can get my farmer to bring a dump truck of soil to prepare for next year.
Posted on 2/11/19 at 12:40 pm to Tornado Alley
wow nice
Page 2 of 2
Back to top
Follow SECRant for SEC Football News