Baymule’s 2019 Garden

[seedcorn]

I know the feeling. Took 2 weeks of weed pulling to regain my garden. Worst part is the grass took hold and whatever root bits are left spring another plant.

At least your sheep love you as they are well fed....plus all that work you put in making beach sand grow has worked...

 

[digitS']

Bay', I'm not even willing to have one Cherokee Purple because ... i'm weird ...

Because they may not do well here; may not do well in my garden. And me, whose great, great grandfather was supposed to be a full-blood Cherokee, according to my oldest uncle. Crush my simple minded spirit ... They are also beyond my 80 days-to-maturity maximum. (So, I grow a cross ... like me .)

maybe a smaller number of this and that: More manageable -- less daunting -- less burdensome -- more enjoyable.

Steve

 

[flowerbug]

I wasn’t kidding about galloping weeds.

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This is a 32’ row of Cherokee Purple tomatoes, pulling the weeds took 2 days. Some are so big that I used pruning loppers to cut them down.

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loppers are one of my most favorite of things i've ever bought here. i have taken down a lot of large bushes/trees with them helping instead of having to use a saw or the chisel and hammer. i used mine the other day to take apart a large brush pile.

good use of them IMO and much faster than digging if you can avoid tripping over the stumps. they'll eventually rot in the ground anyways and those roots will be great worm food and worm trails.

 

[thistlebloom]

Wow Bay. That's exhausting.
At least your soil is productive. Maybe not in the way you wanted, but it can definitely grow stuff.

 

[Trish Stretton]

Sounds like a lot of us have had this same problem and understand how demoralising it is. Once those dratted weeds set seed I couldnt even use them for compost. Lucky you for being able to process them through your sheep.

Maybe you could try the wide bed method next year instead of long rows and put weedmat down for the paths?
I started with 5 foot wide beds a la John Jeavons but, for me they were too wide so I have shrunk them down to 4 foot wide beds.
The planting are closer and/or are a mix of compatible plants with different needs space wise and inground wise.
I only need to grow for myself and my mum and find the thought of canning huge quantities rather daunting and am in absolute awe of those who can not only grow enough to can, but then have the energy to do that as well.

 

[baymule]

My husband had prostate surgery in the spring and could do nothing for 3 months, not even ride the tractor or Kawasaki Mule. I was raising Cornish cross chickens too and they are labor intensive. He was able to sit and pluck when we slaughtered and that was a big help. I tried to find things for him to do, but the bulk of everything was on me. The weeds took off and I never caught up. I have reached the conclusion that I need a full sized tiller with electric start so I can run it down the rows and keep the garden cleaned up.

I had more production and a better garden when it was smaller and in beds. I’m not ready to give up on a big garden, just need to regroup and make my methods fit the garden. I even had quite a bit of cardboard down, that didn’t help much. We’ve been here 4 1/2 years, the garden has come a LONG way, but it still has a long way to go. One thing for sure, no till ain’t working for me.

 

[seedcorn]

No matter no till, conservative till or conventional till, one constant-weeds. Just different style of weeds as varieties will adapt to your style.

While you look for your best methods, be proud that your beach property now grows plants. Now you have a base to start with.

My garden (gravel/sand that wouldn’t grow grass) is coming around but has to be bedded with straw to keep roots from burning and weeds somewhat in control-very loosely in control.

 

[thistlebloom]

I can't believe it's been 4 1/2 years already! You two have done an incredible amount of work, your property has come so far.

Really, 4.5 years isn't that long in terms of taking a piece of neglected land and turning it into a productive farmstead. You can look back and see your progress, and you really are leaps and bounds ahead of what you started with. I believe you are very close to figuring the growing out
and having that good production you want. Hang in there sister!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Yeah, different styles of gardening require different methods. I'm going through learning raised beds after using your new method, the in the ground larger garden, the rest of my life. It's a learning curve for me and for you.

I went through a cycle every year in Arkansas, plant a cool weather section to start with, then when it warmed up enough I'd plant the warm weather stuff. I often had conflicts. Do I plant the warm weather stuff today or harvest the cool weather stuff. Maybe I need to butcher cockerels or pick berries or dandelions and make jelly instead. The cool weather stuff could use weeding but I really need top prepare the ground so I can plant corn or beans. That area really needs to be mulched now. Do I clean out this section that isn't too bad yet or do I tackle the area that is already totally overgrow? Then it would rain or I had a commitment somewhere else so I couldn't do any of these. I'd just get further and further behind. Most years I'd have a week in late May or early June where the garden was weed-free and looking good although I still had a lot of mulching to do. It seldom lasted longer than a week.

You'll eventually work out your cycle and system. I think you are still going through the "how much to plant" of different things learning curve, I think I've teased you about that a time or two. Some years are just different than others in how much rain you get and when or other things not even garden related. You've come a long way, you'll come further.

 

[baymule]

Thanks for all the encouragement y’all. Life just got in the way this year. On BYH, The Old Ram Australia has a couple of good threads about fitting the Sheep to the land, not the land to the sheep(which fails). I am trying to fit my garden to the soil, improving as I go.

We all love to post full baskets of perfect produce, bountiful gleaming jars, perfect rows in the garden and rightfully so. It is a lot of hard work to produce all that and we have a right to be proud of it. But I don’t have that this year, I have abject failure that I am trying to salvage. Maybe I will, maybe I won’t.

I think I have a chance at a decent fall garden.

Eggplant fail. The weeds were so high and thick that I couldn’t wade through them. Plus the nagging thought of copperhead snakes. LOL

I look at it as mature SEEDS to harvest!

They are still putting on new growth so maybe a lot of care and TLC will put some on our plates. Those are Ping Tung. Anybody want seed?

I found a few Rosa Bianca

Weeds

I quit at 10:00 to go in, eat a sandwich and rest before we go haul square bales. Only getting 50. I’ll get baco on weed pulling this evening after it cools down.