Cosmo spring garden 2020

[Cosmo spring garden]

Bay... About 5 years ago, I got grass clippings and leaves from neighbors and spread them onto our lot from 3-6 inches thick as organic matter. Within a few months, there was a worm population explosion followed by dozens of robins that not only feasted on worms , but they devoured or ruined fruit, and berries for desert that ruined any dream of my having any. At the same time, MOLES made an underground sneak entry to feast on the worms and declared a homestead. In their worm hunting ferver , they have destroyed many plants over the years. I have served eviction orders that they only laugh at still. So, be careful in what you wish for.

This is all true but I still mulch or my soil turns in to concrete lol. The soil is much healthier tho and the plants do so much better with mulch. The moles are an issue and they do kill plants and that sucks but IMHO the benefits outweigh the problems.

 

[flowerbug]

if you have a very formal lawn and gardens then moles can be problems, but i've not experienced where moles are a problem to perennial plants. they can be a problem to the vegetable gardens of the annuals like beans, but i just squish their tunnels back down and i don't lose too many plants.

voles are much more nasty in that regards and chipmunks go after certain seedlings and crops, but i can tolerate some of these (almost impossible here to eliminate them and i don't really try other than to keep the populations down).

 

[baymule]

I have piled leaves 2 feet deep in the coop and run. The chickens have a blast scratching them to bits. They can reduce 2’ to a few inches. Mixed with chicken poop, it will be great for your soil.

 

[Cosmo spring garden]

I have piled leaves 2 feet deep in the coop and run. The chickens have a blast scratching them to bits. They can reduce 2’ to a few inches. Mixed with chicken poop, it will be great for your soil.

Chickens are so amazing!

 

[Cosmo spring garden]

Yesterday I treated the eggplants for flea beetles. Eggplants are a magnet for pests! My first time growing them so we shall see. I made fried okra based on the recommendations here and they were devoured by hubby and I. They were not slimy at all and I dipped them in hot sauc and they were so good! I harvested some more pods and will fry them again soon. I harvested more sweet and flint corn. The flink corn was dry but worms had eaten some of it. It will be fine for seed saving. I planted glass gem and painted mountain and the painted mountain is the only one I harvested. I am trying a second succession planting of sweet corn this year so I started some in trays to be transplanted. Also harvested all the beans that were ready to be picked and shelled them. They will also be for seeds for next year. I am amazed at the few soy beans that I planted this year, hardly any bug damage! Where as my other beans look pathetic the soy bean plants are dark green and healthy. I'm letting them all mature so I can save seeds for next year. My son loves edamame. It's so hot here and they had a huge storm with lots of rain in the valley but nothing on the mountain. I have had to water my garden almost every other day. I have lots more to harvest and plant and start, it's a never ending work but so worth it!

 

[Cosmo spring garden]

I love saving radish seeds. This huge pile is from all the seeds I planted just for the seeds. We have a pasture that we want to start growing in and I plan to scatter radish seeds to suppress some weeds and for the radish to till for me. It will be an experiment. Harvesting the seeds can be a long process tho. I harvested almost all of the flint corn today just before a storm rolled through. Also harvested 10lbs of potatoes. Some critter was having a feast on lots of them! They didnt care for the red potatoes so maybe I'll grow more of those? I harvested a Cinderella pumpkin yesterday and made a no bake pumpkin pie. It turned out really good!

 

[digitS']

First of all, yes - eggplant is a magnet for bugs. I mentioned the potato beetles on mine, somewhere around here ...

Secondly, I also have some radish plants for seed. The brassicas have seed that isn't too difficult for me to deal with. A tarp goes down on the lawn. The pods are thrown on it and I tromp around on them with my #13 Hush Puppies. After awhile, I clean the tarp off and get things in a 5 gallon bucket. Position my step ladder and take the bucket about 8' above the ground (depending on how much wind is blowing).

Dumping the bucket back down on the tarp, maybe a couple of times does the job fairly well.

The radish I'm saving for seed this year is a daikon. It's supposed to primarily be for greens. I should not have planted it in my hoop house. Too much warmth, and it began very quickly to bolt to seed ... this was after the slugs chewed up the leaves! The seed is not easily available and I only had a small packet and few plants. I'll give it another try.

Steve

 

[flowerbug]

haha @digitS' i can imagine you stomping those and winnowing. i've done a smaller version of that by taking 5 gallon buckets out on the south grassy area and letting the breeze do the work for me. mainly when i was after some dianthus seeds.

daikon radish seeds are sold by the pound or large bags here at the grain elevators. they make very good cover crop and i love the flowers. i have some sprouting again in the north garden patch and a few survived being weeded - the deer will eat them if they are hungry enough. i'll eat some of the sprouts if they come in too thick. they do a great job of drilling down through compacted soils and if you can rake some mulch into the holes in the spring then you've improved the drainage and given some worms a better hiding place.

the other cover crop that can be bought here by the pound is the purple top globe turnips. they also have flowers i like to see. i don't have any growing this season though. i didn't get any planted and none returned. normally i try to have some growing just for emergency rations. too short on time to really work on the cover crop edges i'd like to have going.

buckwheat is the other cover crop i like to have growing for the flowers and green manure. the deer will really target these if i grow them.

 

[Cosmo spring garden]

First of all, yes - eggplant is a magnet for bugs. I mentioned the potato beetles on mine, somewhere around here ...

Secondly, I also have some radish plants for seed. The brassicas have seed that isn't too difficult for me to deal with. A tarp goes down on the lawn. The pods are thrown on it and I tromp around on them with my #13 Hush Puppies. After awhile, I clean the tarp off and get things in a 5 gallon bucket. Position my step ladder and take the bucket about 8' above the ground (depending on how much wind is blowing).

Dumping the bucket back down on the tarp, maybe a couple of times does the job fairly well.

The radish I'm saving for seed this year is a daikon. It's supposed to primarily be for greens. I should not have planted it in my hoop house. Too much warmth, and it began very quickly to bolt to seed ... this was after the slugs chewed up the leaves! The seed is not easily available and I only had a small packet and few plants. I'll give it another try.

Steve

Daikon radish are my favorite too! I dont care for the radish or the greens tho so I use the plants for mulching. I like you idea of separating the seeds! I'll give that a try!

 

[Cosmo spring garden]

haha @digitS' i can imagine you stomping those and winnowing. i've done a smaller version of that by taking 5 gallon buckets out on the south grassy area and letting the breeze do the work for me. mainly when i was after some dianthus seeds.

daikon radish seeds are sold by the pound or large bags here at the grain elevators. they make very good cover crop and i love the flowers. i have some sprouting again in the north garden patch and a few survived being weeded - the deer will eat them if they are hungry enough. i'll eat some of the sprouts if they come in too thick. they do a great job of drilling down through compacted soils and if you can rake some mulch into the holes in the spring then you've improved the drainage and given some worms a better hiding place.

the other cover crop that can be bought here by the pound is the purple top globe turnips. they also have flowers i like to see. i don't have any growing this season though. i didn't get any planted and none returned. normally i try to have some growing just for emergency rations. too short on time to really work on the cover crop edges i'd like to have going.

buckwheat is the other cover crop i like to have growing for the flowers and green manure. the deer will really target these if i grow them.

I enjoy the flowers of daikon and the bees love them!