Garden tilled...16 - 4ft sections... I finally got it squared off... Now to figure how many & what distance to space them....
Dumped a bunch of chicken manure on the garden yesterday. Got the garden tilled and a few early seeds planted today. Just need to pick up some lettuce and radish seeds and taters. Got a couple trenches cut for the taters..hopefully I'll get them in the ground before the rain hits tomorrow. Peppers and matters have all sprouted in their trays.
I have questions on gardening in an inhospital environment, read=lots of weird questions. Should it go here or do I need a new thread in this forum?
I'd just keep it here WW. For some reason I am not getting 'alerts' back to this forum? But will keep checking it out.
Hoping for feedback, I want a small patch of sod for my lil one this summer. Is a 10' x 10' even worth it? Water is scarce here, both from the sky, and we do not have a well or city tap, so I was thinking about laying a small patch near where the grey water from my clothes washing machine empties. I have an HE washer so it uses less than the older washers but thought that might help some, except what about the detergents and bleach cycles? My other thought was some forgiving veggies and flowers for lil one. We have a very short growing season at this high altitude, as well as I don't know of any drought tolerant veggies lol. The soil is alkaline and I assume high lime from the deposites all over here. Thanks for any thoughts!
Wild, 10x10 is enough. You can also container garden herbs and smaller veggies. Two years ago I had an eggplant variety, Hansel, that did outstanding in containers. It produced through October. Research varieties that will do well in your region. For instance, there are some really short season tomatoes. For water issues, I suggest getting at least one water barrel and researching mulching. Here is a link that might help: http://www.uwyo.edu/barnbackyard/resources/gardening.html
Thanks! To clarify, I was thinking 10 x 10 sod, then some flowers and veggies in containers. I have extra ~30 gal rubbermaid tubs from moving last year, was thinking about drilling holes in the bottom of them for the containers. Will that work? Also I want to order some microgreens from your other post!
You are welcome. Almost anything can be used as a container. You should do with cold weather crops there. Here is a quick list:http://www.sunset.com/garden/garden-basics/cool-season-crops-0. You can find more on the internet.
I have not....I do not have gutters. We get minimal rain here, but any amount would help. I am toying with the idea of fixing an old trailer and buying another water tank to use gravity feed from. What do you think?
If you don't have gutters collecting rain is hard to do. Hauling water isn't fun either. Look into different types of grasses...some need less water than others. I know the turf around here needs about 1" - 1.5" per week to stay nice looking in the heat of summer. That's about 65 - 90 gallons for a 100 sqft area... Will may have some better options.
That's a tough go, any way you look at it, WW. I applaud y'all's effort, wow! I was wondering about the HE wash machine- unless that ground has good drainage, beyond being bone dry, I've seen our lawn get nasty soggy, and foamy... Of course that's washing 2-3 times a week, with town water. DD didn't mention straw bale gardening- hmmm. Now if you could place them near your washer runoff, I'd say that straw would wick up moisture to the roots of yer veggies, and maybe leave the heavier stuff below? IDK- just suggesting. And even tho you don't get much rain, I like lukem's suggestion- what about catching melt water from snow, store it under ground in poly tanks? Eric VW
Thanks for the estimate. That is absolutely achievable. That amounts to one extra pick up load a month (400 gal tank), it's not expensive and an easy solution to get lil one some lawn.
Thanks Eric, no worries on an HE washer foam bog The gray line is buried for the cold weather here, and I have used it for over a year now with no soggy soil. The gray line exit actually isnt in the most convenient place for a lawn, I was trying to make the most out the water he hauls..... *if* I estimate an extra 400 gal a month for a patch of lawn, I can locate it in a better location for me to supervise the lil one. I really appreciate your input.
I bet if you build it in a raised bed area, and start with some good soil you could possibly lower your water consumption a bit. And don't forget, with all that watering your going to need to mow it.
Must be nice! My garden area are still under a heavy blanket of snow. No idea how far the frost went down this year, but it was one of the coldest winters on record. Also the most snow. So who knows. I just hope it doesn't flood when it melts. We are going to have some above freezing temps later this week. Almost have forgot what that is like.
Straw bale gardening would be awesome but I am not sure how it would hold moisture there. Wild, you could try a couple bales to see how it works. I wouldn't use the runoff water because of the unknown chemicals.
Had a gift card from Christmas I hadn't used yet, so I ordered one of these last night............http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NCTGQE/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Also have an old gray metal shelving unit out in the shop that will probably get repurposed for seed starting duty. Garden is losing snow pretty quick now, so it should be ready to plant by the time these seedlings are ready.
Wish mine would dry up some. I want to dig about a foot or two out and bury a bunch of brush in it. Supposed to really help with moisture retention. Kinda a bad time to do it but short on time.
Similar to a Hugel. For less digging, you could try this way: https://cheapskategarden.wordpress....r-true-permaculture-and-long-term-production/ Just a thought... Eric VW
