Garden Thread 2023

[F-Stop]

The next one I build will either be the self watering type with the rocks and pipe or at least have a few corrugated pipes with the opening at the ends to fill up from rain barrels. Would be easier for me to stand at the ends and water by filling the pipes in summer.

Hope you get a good yield with the new beds.


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[Alphabrew]

Anybody use a weed barrier landscape fabric in their garden that they recommend? I think I might make weed control easy on myself this year.

 

[adit]

Anybody use a weed barrier landscape fabric in their garden that they recommend? I think I might make weed control easy on myself this year.

Don't use the Preen/other brands of woven landscape fabric. Weeds will still root into/through it (ask me how I know).

I'd look for the greenhouse stuff that almost looks like canvas tarp material in black.

 

[Slackdaddy]

Giving fruit trees a try (Again)
I have heavy clay soil (Calvert Co.),, I tried digging 5' dia by 30" deep hole and filling with good soil,, all 3 trees died.
I finally found some 36" round culvert pipe. I plan on cutting it into 12-18" long "rings" for raised beds.
Should I till in top soil in the general area before placing the rings and filling them with good top soil? (I have a tractor, BH, and 4' tiller.
Dwarf? Semi Dwarf?

 

[wilcam47]

Giving fruit trees a try (Again)
I have heavy clay soil (Calvert Co.),, I tried digging 5' dia by 30" deep hole and filling with good soil,, all 3 trees died.
I finally found some 36" round culvert pipe. I plan on cutting it into 12-18" long "rings" for raised beds.
Should I till in top soil in the general area before placing the rings and filling them with good top soil? (I have a tractor, BH, and 4' tiller.
Dwarf? Semi Dwarf?

use soil conditioner with current soil also helps

 

[44 Bulldog]

Giving fruit trees a try (Again)
I have heavy clay soil (Calvert Co.),, I tried digging 5' dia by 30" deep hole and filling with good soil,, all 3 trees died.
I finally found some 36" round culvert pipe. I plan on cutting it into 12-18" long "rings" for raised beds.
Should I till in top soil in the general area before placing the rings and filling them with good top soil? (I have a tractor, BH, and 4' tiller.
Dwarf? Semi Dwarf?

Where the heck are you in Calvert with clay soil? I'm in Dunkirk on my wife's family farm they planted tobacco for 60 years or so til they took the buyout in 2001. Tobacco grew best in sandy soil, that's what's here and most of Calvert.

 

[Yellowdog]

Been growing stuff in containers on our deck past 3 years or so with medium to good luck. Being 8' off the ground helps with the deer. Really like the grow bags and planted peas yesterday for the first time.

 

[on_the_rox]

Anybody use a weed barrier landscape fabric in their garden that they recommend? I think I might make weed control easy on myself this year.

I'm trying a layer or two of cardboard with mulch on top this year for weed control. I second the idea of a good thick landscape fabric if you do go that route though. Greenhouse megastore online has been good to me for supplies.

 

[wilcam47]

Where the heck are you in Calvert with clay soil? I'm in Dunkirk on my wife's family farm they planted tobacco for 60 years or so til they took the buyout in 2001. Tobacco grew best in sandy soil, that's what's here and most of Calvert.

We had sandy soil in Prince Frederick...but down the hill in a creek bed it was clay. Found some seashells in mud...

 

[Archeryrob]

We do and still use mulch. Help the garden and provides organic future material in the soil in years to come. We did use plastic before, but it didn't rotate well and seemed expense for larger gardens.

Used to be able to get Asplundh or excel to dump a load of wood chips and use them around plants and till or cultivate the rest. Since everyone needed chickens, it went from trying to not get them to leave three loads at once to hardly even getting them to ever drop one off now.

 

[Alphabrew]

I'm trying a layer or two of cardboard with mulch on top this year for weed control. I second the idea of a good thick landscape fabric if you do go that route though. Greenhouse megastore online has been good to me for supplies.

Cardboard is a great idea!

 

[Archeryrob]

Card board is great because its free and your recycling it into you garden. I've done the fabric and plastic and it works. It is just hard to reuse and rotate your crops.

I ran the cultivator yesterday and tore up the entire top inch of the garden and killed all the weeds. They were getting on bad last year trying to do it by hand and getting tennis elbow. Even in the neighbors garden I have 2 runs of 3 cattle panels for upright trellis for tomatoes and beans. Annual grass took it over last year. The cultivator tore all that right out. mud and grass clogged it up three times, but pulled the pins and the disks and it all slide right off. I have to let the lower gear box cool if I run it for an hour. Then chill with the dogs and have two beers while the machine is recovering.

 

[Slackdaddy]

Where the heck are you in Calvert with clay soil? I'm in Dunkirk on my wife's family farm they planted tobacco for 60 years or so til they took the buyout in 2001. Tobacco grew best in sandy soil, that's what's here and most of Calvert.

Mid Calvert,, Home site is just above a creek bottom.
When I perked the property (it was all wooded),, 1st hole: 2-3 inches topsoil, 40' of clay,, move 200 feet, 12-14 foot of clay then good sand.

 

[[Kev308]]

quick question:
If I grow potatoes in a bucket, does the bucket need to be food grade?

 

[44 Bulldog]

quick question:
If I grow potatoes in a bucket, does the bucket need to be food grade?

No but the potatoes won't have much room to grow

 

[foodpoison]

So thoughts on bio-char? Snake oil? Seems interesting, was thinking of adding to my new beds. Pre charged off course

 

[HiStandards]

Don't forget World Naked Gardening Day on May 6.

 

[44 Bulldog]

I put up tobacco sticks (we have 10,000) or any stick and just 1 string around the garden about 3 to 4 feet off the ground works pretty well for the deer also if you plant marigolds deer do not like the smell and stay away

 

[44 Bulldog]

We had terrible soil here, about 1-3" deep then sand or clay, depending where you dug.

We penned up a couple hogs, 24x60', and they tilled and fertilized it.
After 2nd year, soil was RICH and a foot deep. Moved pen and repeated.

THAT is our garden now.

Genius

 

[Archeryrob]

I put up tobacco sticks (we have 10,000) or any stick and just 1 string around the garden about 3 to 4 feet off the ground works pretty well for the deer also if you plant marigolds deer do not like the smell and stay away

My neighbor has a 4' 2x4 fence and the deer just jumped it and eat everything. I put sticks up every third post and wrapped mason twine 2' higher to keep them from jumping it. I watch buck routinely jump a 4' fence like it is nothing while hunting.