What Did You Do In The Garden?

[Zeedman]

if you have room i'd certainly not discard the old seed, especially if you are worried about not having enough for the future. i keep samples from as many seasons as i can store here. i don't have room for everything, but i won't throw away old seeds. i will eat them instead for sure (or feed them to the worms if i don't like the looks of them).

Nothing has been thrown away. The only reason I would throw away any legume is if the seed was spoiled. I discard spoiled or diseased seed during sorting, but have never had beans spoil in storage. All of those older beans, peas, and soybeans are stored in metal cabinets, and are part of my emergency food supply. I'm not really concerned with using them as backups, since any crosses which occur can usually be eliminated within a year or two. When I feel the need to save backup seed, I use frozen storage.

I just went through all of the old cowpeas today, mixing them all together & packaging them into 1# bags... there were 14 bags. The result is quite colorful; and while the different varieties may vary in flavor, they tend to cook uniformly. DD is vegan, and really loves these.

 

[flowerbug]

Nothing has been thrown away. The only reason I would throw away any legume is if the seed was spoiled. I discard spoiled or diseased seed during sorting, but have never had beans spoil in storage. All of those older beans, peas, and soybeans are stored in metal cabinets, and are part of my emergency food supply. I'm not really concerned with using them as backups, since any crosses which occur can usually be eliminated within a year or two. When I feel the need to save backup seed, I use frozen storage.

I just went through all of the old cowpeas today, mixing them all together & packaging them into 1# bags... there were 14 bags. The result is quite colorful; and while the different varieties may vary in flavor, they tend to cook uniformly. DD is vegan, and really loves these.
View attachment 37930View attachment 37931

yum! yes, those do look good!

 

[Trish Stretton]

Yesterday, the Apple tree in the front yard got trimmed of lower branches. Some were catching my hair when I mow the lawns and the other werent getting any light and not producing anything so I decided they may as well come out too. These got chopped up with the loppers and scattered over the bed, except some of the fatter branches that will be good for kindling.

My elderly neighbour and I have had a few signs of people on the property, so we are in the process of trimming hedge plants down so we can see into each others front yards more clearly.
Most of the shrubs are on her side of the boundary so she's getting all the stuff that will be good firewood but doesnt want the twigs for kindling or the leaves. Thats okay, cos I like using them for mulch.
She has a hole where a small pond used to be, so I have been taking over my lawn clippings to help her fill it up.

I finally managed to get the Rocoto chili seeds to sprout, so far just 4 which will give me and my daughter 2 each, if thats all that comes up.

My seed sowing has definitely improved even with some of the seed being quite old. I desperation I went a bit overboard and now have a dozen Sweet Granite melons to find homes for.
This week has pretty much been a hurry up and tidy up cos family are coming on the weekend, so apart form watering seedlings and making sure they dont cook, as well as the plants already in the ground, its been trim back and get all the 'mulch' over to where it should be.

 

[Cosmo spring garden]

Its wet and cold here so I am dreaming and planning for next years garden. I did sow onion seeds today and that gave me much needed dirt therapy lol. I collecting some hay from our pasture to add to chicken run.

 

[ducks4you]

I am thinking about cleaning the barn floor and throwing that in MY chicken run. How often do you rake it up and replace?

 

[Cosmo spring garden]

I am thinking about cleaning the barn floor and throwing that in MY chicken run. How often do you rake it up and replace?

It depends on if I need it for a garden bed I'm prepreparing. In the winter it stays for 2 months at least

 

[ducks4you]

I LIKE that! Great idea. I'm gonna steal it.

 

[Cosmo spring garden]

I LIKE that! Great idea. I'm gonna steal it.
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I love it. It's a bit of extra work but the chicken manure mixed in to the hay makes for great food for plants.

 

[Dirtmechanic]

I chopped up and moved an old red cascade rose. Now I have 3 and they are in more sun. I had never considered that plants can get rootbound on top of clay, but if they cannot survive downwards and they are airpruned at the mulch edges that is exactly what I would call that rose root. I needed an axe really instead of a shovel. It was what I imagine cutting peat must be like. Also transplanted a red camillia so I could have it's spot for a pink perfection camillia. I think grouping is better so 3 reds are together now. One more pink to arrive but it's lost in ups space somewhere. I put out 10 bags of hardwood bark mulch. Dreamed a little. Had a pleasant day. I dug up about 50 lily bulbs. Need to find a new location for them. I gave their spot to the cascade roses.

 

[Trish Stretton]

Today was water everything early in the morning and tie the tomatoes up again and thin out the laterals that for some reason, I missed.
Somehow, my San Marzano's are Beefsteaks and vis versa, no idea how that happened.
There was one that just looked sad, so I pulled it.

Sweet Granite rock melons got planted out. as well as some Honeywort.

My Sweet Purple Jesu asparagus needed to be potted up, so they went into an old polystyrene fish box with holes in the bottom. That should see them right for the next year.