RUNuts 2018 Garden thread (attempt)

[digitS']

Oops!

No, I won't be paying any attention to that, @Ridgerunner .

What I have found with Texas A&M is that they have lots of information on plant diseases. It's a big state and their information of irrigation needs has been helpful. Also, I like the Lady Bird Johnson wildflower information. It isn't just for Texas .

Steve

 

[RUNuts]

Thank you for that. I will be doing a bit more research. Yep, 2 seasons. Wet and dry.

 

[RUNuts]

I've got an area designated for the garden. Had 3 more trees felled due to death. The rain from the hurricane pushed 3 over the edge and I'm watching a couple more.

So tree trunk chunks for edging, cardboard in an attempt to suppress bermuda grass (6" of composted wood chips and it is pushing through! I'll dig down, rip it and cover the hole.) Branches that I need to shorten and flatten on top of cardboard. I'm thinking of filling in the branches to flush with the composted wood from the dump. That means I'm hauling in garden soil to top and plant. If I stop at 8" of branches and chips, I'll need 6" of dirt for lettuce this year?

10 ft x 4 ft raised bed needs 20 cubic feet of dirt to get 6". That is 3/4 of a cubic yard. Use the other 1/4 cubic yard in the kitchen bed on top of the chips.

I need to get one bed done this year and not strive for everything. What makes this easy, I hauled 5-ish loads and dumped them in the yard in the designated garden area. I should be able to move those over and plant in the soil surrounded by the chips. They are weathering nicely.

So my "free" hobby has me buying fencing, dirt, different tools and plants. When I get to the cost of a gym membership, do you call it break even? Or do you throw in the "free" food?

So I will have almost a cubic yard of finished compost from my pallet pile. Will need to move that for the gardens. Can I use this instead of dirt? Or do I still need dirt?

Then after that is emptied, I get to clean the ground parrot loft and start next year's garden compost.

 

[baymule]

Eight inches of branches and chips covered with 6 inches of dirt..... It should work for shallow rooted veggies. Make sure the wood chips are composted so they don't heat up and cook the roots of what you plant.

Your "free" hobby also has the benefit of exercise and good, fresh food that may keep you out of the hospital for heart surgery.

My very first egg that I ever got only cost me $730. After that, the price came WAY down!

Bermuda is almost impossible to kill. Dig out all you can. If you want it absolutely dead, dead, dead, build a movable chicken coop and they will utterly destroy it. Move coop to next spot.

 

[RUNuts]

Checked my math. The tree trunks aren't 24" across. I'll be realistic and have 1" of branches AND cardboard on bottom. Cover lightly with chips may get us to 3". Still need dirt. I may get a total of 10" in there before it spills...

So I was tired when hauling the logs. Looks like I did a good job of putting the big ones on the high spots and the small ones in the low spot. Fixed it. I loathe double work.

Lettuces are shallow rooted, no? The other stuff will go on the north side (was a drive way filled with sand and some rocks) that is higher and drains better. [into the spot that I'm adding raised beds, so we get to play with drainage]

Yes, I'd love to run the ground parrots over this spot before I plant. February is almost here! Still need a fence. I think I'd rather get one bed aging before the fence.

If you don't count the dog kennels, my first egg was a little less than that. I'm just glad I was able to find used dog kennels. Crazy Lady is still upset that I'm using the dog kennels to keep the dogs "out" of the loft area. But they are keeping the dogs "in" the rest of the world. She looks at stuff backwards.

 

[RUNuts]

BTW - checking the math on dog kennels versus t-posts and fencing, I should have bought t posts. 50 feet of 7' welded wire fence and t posts are cheaper. Look at all the money I'm saving.

 

[Nyboy]

I don't think there is any hobby that is free. Fact hobbies cost money. Have you read "The $64 Tomato"? Funny book easy read

 

[ducks4you]

You might try planting wildflowers on some of the space, and then till them under end of the season. Wildflowers do not require good soil, but they will enrich the soil you have. I live on an old farm property, and I, too, have clay soil. I had to amend this for my beds and it has taken years, even with my horse and chicken manure, but you can also cut your lawn and add clippings, just watch to not add when the lawn has gone to seed, which would be maybe June, for you. ANY vegetation composted will help. DON'T GIVE UP!! We are all rooting for you!
Also, keep searching here for ways to garden cheap, and on the INET. Hobby gardeners are a cash cow for stores with seasonal garden centers and they want you to waste your money on plants that don't do well in your zone or soil, and then need to be replaced every year, like perennials that aren't zoned for your area. I once saw a white rose that was zoned for zone 10, for sale locally. Really?!?!?
I once met a woman at Rural King who was looking for annuals. She didn't think she knew much bc her MIL was a "Master Gardener" who spent $thousands every year to maintain her property!! I also ran into a real Master Gardener who is a visiting host of Mid American Gardener at the same store and SHE was looking for bargains there.
The easiest thing is to start from seed, although it is a time consuming winter activity. Usually my inside starts dry out on me. I try to bring in last year's annuals, most shade plants and I am always forgetting to water Them. One nice thing about gardening...they are only plants when they die, NOT kittens!

 

[baymule]

I built 2 A-frame Asian Ground Parrot movable coops. I ripped 2x4's for the frames, using treated ones for the skids. All lumber was scraps or came off the reject rack at Lowes. The backs are layered because I had long skinny pieces. The T-1-11 sides were scraps from having our porch built. Even the stain used was leftover from the porch. Very handy, they hold 3-4 AGP's and are easy to move.

 

[flowerbug]

@baymule do you have a pic or link to pics of the birds?