I bet the trees love it too. I used to compost chopped leaves, vegetable food waste, and rabbit manure, but the tree roots took it over and now I have a 2 foot tall mound in the back yard. I didn't turn it, unlike you!
Yes, those are tree roots hanging off the makeshift screen on the black wheel barrow. Probably from the maple tree that is next to the oak tree.
Supposed to get down to 30ºF tonight so pulled the pepper plants completely out and harvested the last of the jalapeno. I missed a few bell peppers the other day when I picked the last of the bell peppers.
I set up one of those plastic compost bins with a cover and slits in the sides for my sister and went back almost a year later and the (silver I think ) maple tree I had set it up under had completely filled it with roots. I got the bin off it but had to chop the mass of roots with an axe. Some recommend turning daily or every two weeks for really good compost, fast. That's not happening.
Sometime awhile ago, a friend told me about a guy that grew boat loads of tomatoes in buckets w/a water reservoir and wicks that pulled the water up to the tomaotes. The idea being that you didn't need a lot of soil because the plants are fed off the fertilized water reservoir. I put a couple together today. Cut the tops of the buckets to fit, drilled holes for the wicks and filler pipe. Got 4 dish towels at the Dollar store. Drilled a weep hole just below the divider so it can never be over filled. Anyone ever hear of this? Thoughts/comments/suggestions welcome
Primarily a vegetable gardener here in Minnesota, but do enjoy flowers as well. Some of my beds in April 2018, the day I started planting some cold weather hardy greens. Same beds in June with garlic, beets, kale, spinach, asparagus, beans, strawberries, raspberries, and some zucchini growing on top of one of my compost piles from 2017. I also see a yarrow plant. I have great success using a well seasoned compost mixture of hoarded fall leaves from the neighborhood, my fresh grass clippings, kitchen scraps, and coffee grounds from home, church and work (5 -10 gallons a month). I also bury a lot of fish remains all over the garden with a post hole digger. I continually mulch everything with compost.
I've tried burying remains (quite deep too ) and some animal comes and digs them up. Even if I pile rocks on the hole. Looks like you might be trying to keep rabbits out.
You aren't wrong about the rabbit fence billb3. Last winter the snow was deep enough in February that the cottontails got in. They started in on the raspberry canes, then went to work on the black raspberries, then almost totally girded two of my apple trees (they survived). The berries made it just fine as well. They pooped a lot in there, which didn't hurt the plants either! At our gardens up north at our cabin I can't burry fish remains, as some critter always digs them up and eats them all. I did find that if I burry them in a very hot compost pile they end up as nothing but bones and scales within a short time,. This technique really seems to really benefit the nutritional value of the finished product. When spread over the garden as finished compost nothing bothers it. Another thing I like to do is to soak a bucket of fish remains in water for a few days to make a "fish juice" that I apply to my tomato plants in particular.
damm, I've never had anything except japanese beetles bother the raspberries. Even the berries themselves. We had a Mastiff that would try to get the berries off but didn't like the thorns.
Oh man we had the Japanese the last few years here too. Raspberries, pole beans and apple trees are their preferred food in my garden. To some extent asparagus strawberries, and rhubarb too. They don't touch onions, garlic, squash, tomatoes, peppers, or greens in our yard. I have a ritual each day of killing them on plants in the mornings. I also put out the traps even though I have heard conflicting things about them, but who cares I don't notice any more with them and it is somewhat satisfying to kill thousands of them a summer this way. I throw the bags in the chest freezer in the garage for 30 min or so, then dump their carcasses in the compost.
I'll be growing a garden again this coming season. I'll start seeds inside like I have in years past as well. I haven't had a garden in the last 2 seasons just herbs and a few tomatoes in pots on the patio.
The Pink Lady's seem to be enjoying the buckets. I have a Christmas tomato and squash. New suckers are coming on for the third generation for the garden this summer. We are getting lettuce faster than we can eat it. Seemed like everything is really slow....but then I think it is getting much less sunlight than in the summer. Thinking next year, I want to get all plants well established by Oct....rather than plant them in Oct. We shall see.
This is nice to see and your plants look happy. My garden looks like the frozen tundra right now! What zone are you in? Do you have to heat that space 24/7?
Gardening - First project for the spring/summer. It has a heat source. It's a 750/1500 watt under desk heater. It is set on 750 watts. It has 10 temperature settings. It is set on the 3rd highest. It only cycles on at night. When the sun is out, even if it is cold.....below 40F, I have to open the vents and sometimes the door or it gets too hot. It's only 660 cu/ft. Even the floor is insulated. It takes very little to keep it warm. The polycarb panels are proving to be everything they were cracked up to be.
Looks like you are getting really good results. Yeah, if it has been as cloudy there as here for the last month or so, it will affect the plants. Add the shorter days and really long angle of the sun, and they are probably doing excellent by any standards. I would say to add a light source for supplement, but if you are producing as much as you can eat already, I'd just let it be.
One month after transplanting the tomatoes to the buckets..... I think they are liking it. This presents so many possibilities.
Dug up some carrots for stew and some for my sister. The tunnel is just to keep the ground from becoming soaking wet and freezing around the carrots. A little surprised at how green the tops still are. Some clear greenhouse plastic and a layer of cut up bulk bag to block some light and hopefully not create heat. I'm not trying to grow carrots, just store them right where they grew over the Winter. Fairly dry and easy digging considering it was 22ºF .
