Ducks 4 in '24

[ducks4you]

@Blue-Jay was discussing vining beans and soil management on:

2024 Little Easy Bean Network - Growing Heirloom Beans Of Today And Tomorrow

@Blue-Jay , I think we are in for a rainy Spring. So I would say this year our weather here is starting out dry. Back in the 1980's I noticed our weather here was in regards to rainfall swinging back and forth from feast or famine. Since our extremely dry summer of 2012 I've noticed that we get...

www.theeasygarden.com

I have started direct sowing early this year bc of our early Spring, although we are looking to dip to 27 degrees F in the next week, frost territory but I am hoping that the five 12 ft rows of sugar snap peas that I planted this last week and yesterday will be ok.
The subject was how @Blue-Jay 's friend uses chain link fencing for his/her? beans and only grows vining beans.
Although I don't like to waste seed, and I Will plant any bush beans that I have, I prefer vining beans for harvesting. One day I plan to create an arch to grow my beans on so that I can who reach up to harvest!
The point is that, IMHO, the smaller the openings in your fencing, the easier it is for your seedlings to latch onto and climb. It's eNOUGH work for me to tie up and prune my tomatoes, which are far fewer.
Consider chicken wire for vining vegetables. It is much cheaper and works, again, IMHO much better.
The livestock fencing that I bought 2 years ago is now 172% of what I paid then. $50 then vs $86 now.
IF you don't need 6', you could buy 50 ft of 48" (4 ft) fencing for $36.
I will admit that I have saved old metal fenceposts to stiffen them.
The soil has been settling down under the chicken wire so it hasn't been sitting in wet mud, therefore less likely to rust. I suggest that you plant your vining vegetable seeds (beans, cucumbers) directly under the fencing to help them.
I am pushing the limits on the north side of my northmost (1/5) fencelines bc I dumped right next to it this winter in the hopes of creating a raised bed (huglekulture) to grow 3 blueberry bushes.
Every blueberry bush I have bought has bitten the dust. Two of them dried out, the one I brought to live inside this winter didn't make it.
I probably have spent close to $100 of these things!
I plan to buy 4 from a box store this Spring or find the Best deal online and plant them in This bed, cage them in and tie a plastic jug with drip holes on the bottom. The handles help to secure them and I can unscrew the tops to fill.
If the three make it, the 4th can go to DD's yard.
We'll see if the chicken wire suffers. If so, I still have used rolls saved in my Carriage House.

 

[ducks4you]

OK, couldn't wait. I just ordered from Stark Bros, a 3 pack of blueberry plants (4 inch pots) and two knock out roses, one for me, the other for DD's.

Estimated Delivery: Week of 3/10​

#10141 - Double Knock Out® Rose †
4" Pot Each #10141

Status: Ordered
$17.99

#28056 - Pink Double Knock Out® Rose ††
4" Pot Each #28056

Status: Ordered
$19.99

#135147 - Heirloom Blueberry Plant Collection
4" Pot Each #135147

Status: Ordered
$66.99
1
$66.99

Includes:​

• 1
  Bluecrop Blueberry (4" Pot)
• 1
  Earliblue Blueberry (4" Pot)
• 1
  Jersey Blueberry (4" Pot)

 

[ducks4you]

All blueberries can grow in zones 5-7,
Earliblue Blueberry fruits in June,
Bluecrop Blueberry fruits in July
and
Jersey Blueberry fruits in August.
Shipping this week. I will need to transplant while dormant.

Can You Transplant Blueberries: Tips For Transplanting Blueberry Bushes

If you have a blueberry in your yard that isn't thriving in its location or has become too large for the area, you might be wondering if you can transplant blueberries. Yes, you can easily transplant

www.gardeningknowhow.com

IF the blueberry in the basement window still lives, I will give it to DD's.
I bought the roses to get my order to >$100 for free shipping. I have lost red roses, so I am keeping that one.
DD's are big on lavendar and pink, so they get the other one.

 

[ducks4you]

I will need to mark the space, but I think the 12' space has room for all three, or at least 2 of them. Planting instructions from the grower:
Blue crop
When your plant matures, it will be approximately 4 - 6' tall x 3 - 4' wide.
We recommend spacing these plants 3 - 4' apart to ensure room for growth.

Earliblue
When your plant matures, it will be approximately 4 - 6' tall x 4 - 6' wide.
We recommend spacing these plants 4 - 6' apart to ensure room for growth.

Jersey
When your plant matures, it will be approximately 6 - 7' tall x 5 - 6' wide.
We recommend spacing these plants 5 - 6' apart to ensure room for growth.
I need some graph paper. MAYBE one will grow north of the grapes...
Might also need to prune.
I am Desperate for blueberries!!
I really like the idea of 3 months straight of berries!!
"They will produce little fruit during the first two to three years. Blueberry harvests will increase around year five. The plants reach full maturity in about eight to 10 years. They require annual winter pruning."
I waited on my Montmorency Cherry trees and now I don't have enough room for the harvests every year.
Maybe I will need to move the northmost row of fencing as they grow. This is my big garden bed, directly east of the Inner Sanctum, the fenced in area east of the barn, and very convenient for harvesting.
Guess I will plant right next to the fencing.
NOW, I am thinking that I will plant the Jersey and the Earliblue next to the northmost fencing and Leave the fencing there for 2024, putting a six ft tomato fence right next to it, then move it end of season.
The Blue Crop can be planted in the middle and north of the 2nd fencing, also putting another 1/4 six ft tomato fencing to the south of the 12 ft row. I need to pull out a measuring tape right before I plant.
I hadn't planned on moving the chicken wire fencing, but I can find another permanent place for them somewhere else, maybe south side of the garage.
I need to prune up the pine trees that are the west side of this bed. I wanted to cut them down but DH likes how they are screen from anybody walking down the street to see us sitting by the firepit.
I did find some real trash and removed it yesterday. I had three canvas folding chairs by the garden all winter. I took a razor and managed to cut off the canvas from one of them. Since my hands survived NOT being sliced, I decided to throw the other two in the trash and they were picked up yesterday. Not proud of myself, but I rarely throw away any metal anymore. You should always consider $ER visits when you garden or build.
BOY, gardening season has started for me!

 

[ducks4you]

Ponies aren't happy, but it has been POURING for hours. GOTTA be good for the sugar snap peas I just planted!

 

[ducks4you]

Did some burning yesterday. It will be days before anything will be dry enough to burn, what with today's rain. pulled up some burdock and I have patches that need to be pulled. I promised the ponies that after I clear the burdock from the Inner Sanctum, they can start grazing. It's only 1/4 acre, hardly enough to produce grass founder.
Often in April I give them 3 days at a time, on and off. Makes them very happy, saves ME mowing, and no apples or cherries are growing yet.
DH wants to sit in a chair and keep me company as I garden this year, whenever possible.
I plan to buy him this:

https://www.ruralking.com/gracious-living-adirondack-chair-teal-11643-22

Except, in dark blue.
Rural King hasn't put them out yet, probably end of the month, beginning of April, and then they have stacks of them, in a rainbow of colors. Holds 400 lbs max, and he Isn't that big.
I always try to buy bigger for him.
DD's all love theirs. I have suggested that DD's north of us never leave theirs outside bc they will cry "steal me."
Nobody is gonna take stuff from my yard, and this chair is plastic, so it can handle the elements.

 

[ducks4you]

I got sucked in AGAIN!

Order #148263475​

Product	Quantity	Total
Cabbage - Acre, Red - Sampler Pack (Appx. 60 seeds) - $1.99 $1.00	1	$1.00
Marjoram, Sweet - Sampler Pack (Appx. 230 seeds) - $1.99 $1.00	1	$1.00
Cauliflower - Violetta (Purple) - Sampler Pack - $1.99 $1.00	1	$1.00
Lettuce - All Year Round - Sampler Pack (Appx. 200 seeds) $1.50	1	$1.50
Chervil (French Parsley) - Sampler Pack (Appx. 100 seeds) $1.50	1	$1.50
Basil, Cinnamon (Mexican Basil) - Sampler Pack (Appx. 50 Seeds) $2.00	1	$2.00
Catnip - Sampler Pack (Appx. 240 seeds) $4.00	2	$4.00

Subtotal$12.00
Discount (Y3HA9KD4)-$5.93
Shipping (FLAT-RATE STANDARD SHIPPING (processing in 7-10 business days))$5.93
Total$12.30

 

[digitS']

Catnip!

Good Heavens, don't you have enuf of that in your neighborhood?

If you don't have 10 plants per cat, you may have to protect it from the felines climbing on it. If your tastes are like mine, you may be surprised that it makes a quite tasty tea. Try it dried, not fresh.

Steve, who might be taking catnip cuttings so as to to have more handy

 

[ducks4you]

DD's have 2 INDOOR cats and mine would probably enjoy it, too!
Something Else to grow and dehydrate and pulverize.
DD promises to fill pouches for kitty toys.

 

[heirloomgal]

@heirloomgal , I copied the list of NOT to buy, so here it is:
What NOT to buy at the dollar store
Don’t buy: Seeds or soil
First, never buy seeds or soil—those are two things worth splurging for from a reputable seed catalog or supplier.
You never truly know the origin of the seeds and soil you find at the dollar store, whether they’re actually organic or even contaminated, how the seeds have been stored and what kind of germination rate to expect. (Sometimes it’s zero, and by the time you realize your seeds won’t sprout, you’ve already lost a couple of weeks.)

Seeds and soil are the foundation of your whole garden, so it pays to know your sources.

Don’t buy: Gardening gloves (unless they’re your throwaway pair)
Second, don’t bother buying gardening gloves from the dollar store. I’ve worn through countless pairs of cheap gloves, sometimes several a season, and in the end it just makes more sense to invest in a good, sturdy pair that will last a long time.

Don’t buy: Gardening hand tools (unless they’re for your kids)
Along the same lines, don’t buy pruners, trowels, or other essential gardening tools because they seem like such a good bargain.
They’re not as sharp or durable as heftier tools from reliable brands, and you’ll end up replacing them sooner than you think.

There is nothing more frustrating than a tool that doesn’t perform or breaks in the middle of a job—I’ve been there.

(Though to be fair, I do have a dollar-store trowel that’s been with me for a few years, but only because it’s a backup that gets used once a year to stir up soft, fluffy potting soil.)

I can definitely attest to the last 2, I've thrown away every pair of gardening gloves I've ever bought by the end of the season. And the hand tools generally have fallen apart on me. The soil I've tried has been good, but far too expensive considering the amount you're getting.