Gardening,organics,sustainable gardening,food crops,etc

[Midnight Rambler]

I can wait, I first have to grow them.

What kind of squash do you grow? Do ya have some seeds?

[Dennis Leahy]

Posted by Inelia (here)

Posted by Midnight Rambler (here)
Mildew wiki

And how to prevent it

Fantastic, now my plants will have a better chance... I found this too, I think it's what I will be using if it comes back this year: http://organicgardening.about.com/od...gsodaspray.htm

Inelia,

I have made so many mistakes in gardening, allow me to pass on one of them - so you can avoid it: plants need air circulating through the leaves. I have done it more than once (slow learner, I guess), where I underestimate how wide the plants are going to get, and plant things too close together.

Unlike companion planting (where the beans and maybe even squash vines might use the corn stalks for a trellis), if you plant most plants too close together, air cannot circulate, water stays on the leaves too long, and you'll get a variety of fungal problems. Tomatoes are very susceptible, but it can happen with potatoes, peppers, carrots, strawberries, squash...

Also, last year's vines and leaves that had fungal problems should not go in your compost pile, unless you are an advanced wizard at composting and can nearly make the pile light itself on fire. A typical compost pile will not kill the fungus, and though the composted soil will look rich, it will contain millions of mold spores.

Another 100 years of gardening, and maybe I'll make every mistake possible, and can pass on more tidbits of info.

Dennis

[blake]

Posted by Beth (here)
Hi all, thought I'd just add to this thread instead of starting a new one. Just wanted to share my little project with you

Our garden is doing really well so far and I plan on canning quite a bit of stuff. A customer of ours is going to give us a canning machine, which is very nice of her!




Also, I've been raising some chicks for eggs, they are growing quite fast. We also built the coop ourselves and it's almost done (thank God, lol).






Here's a pic of them as babies for all you fellow animal lovers:

Hello Beth,

Nice Chicken Coop! Ae your chicks winter hardy?

Mr. Davis
2/10/11

[Beth]

Hi Mr. Davis, they are white rocks, which are very winter hardy. It's also important to get chicks at the right time of year to acclimate them to the weather. That's why it's good to get spring chicks, so they are ready by the fall.

[Dennis Leahy]

Posted by Midnight Rambler (here)
I can wait, I first have to grow them.

What kind of squash do you grow? Do ya have some seeds?

I intended to grow 8 kinds of squash last year - some from seeds I had saved, some from seeds I bought, and a few from plants (starts.) I dedicated 1/3 of my garden to squash.

So I found out, the hard way, that squash plants easily cross-pollinate and make up new, strange varieties. I believe that I had crosses between delicata+spaghetti, pumpkin+something else, and some strange butternut squash variety that was green instead of tan. Those were the weird ones, but I also grew:
Winter squash:
Orange Kabochia*
Buttercup*
Butternut* (normal, dark tan ones)
Delicata*
Spaghetti

Summer squash:
Zucchini
Yellow
Zephyr

The ones with an asterisk are my recommendations. I may plant just one yellow squash this year, and at most one zucchini. I got several bushel baskets full, and no one wants them. It's like trying to give away a fruitcake at Christmas.

Since I got the weird cross-species, and since none of the crosses were anything I'd really want to do again, I'm buying new squash seeds this year, not saving. (If/when Monsanto takes over the world, I'll reconsider and keep all seeds.) I guess the best accident was the spaghetti+delicata cross, which gave a stringy texture like spaghetti squash, and a bit more flavor. They were immense compared to Delicata (which is more like a big cucumber size), and not as big as the biggest Spaghetti squash.

The seeds we purchase (from organic seed companies) are from very large fields of the same variety - that's why they can say with relative certainty just what you'll end up with.

Dennis

[blake]

Posted by Beth (here)
Hi Mr. Davis, they are white rocks, which are very winter hardy. It's also important to get chicks at the right time of year to acclimate them to the weather. That's why it's good to get spring chicks, so they are ready by the fall.

Hello Beth,

I have Black rocks. I didn't know they came in white. We have been very happy with ours. They have been producing all winter! So many people told me that egg production would slow down in deep winter, but so far we have been very lucky.

Sincerely,
Mr. Davis
2/10/11

[Beth]

Posted by blake (here)

Posted by Beth (here)
Hi Mr. Davis, they are white rocks, which are very winter hardy. It's also important to get chicks at the right time of year to acclimate them to the weather. That's why it's good to get spring chicks, so they are ready by the fall.

Hello Beth,

I have Black rocks. I didn't know they came in white. We have been very happy with ours. They have been producing all winter! So many people told me that egg production would slow down in deep winter, but so far we have been very lucky.

Sincerely,
Mr. Davis
2/10/11

Well we made a window for them in the coop so that they could receive adequate sunlight in the winter, which sunlight is very important for producing eggs. We are getting good egg numbers as well. Plus the window serves to help heat the coop and extra 10 degrees.

Glad to hear things are going well for you too!

[Highwhistler]

Posted by Inelia (here)
... all the plants were covered in some really nasty white stuff, it looked like chemical burns, it killed the corn outright, the squash did survive, and the beans were half and half. The tomatoes all split after a certain size ...

We've been trying different methods to scare birds, as well as covering the plants, but they still manage to get them! Now, I am wondering, would putting a huge bird feeder during the fruit season help or make it worse?

The "white stuff" was probably a fungus that lives in the soil, and when the conditions are just right in your local, unique garden ecosystem, it quickly grows and attacks certain varieties of plants.

Try befriending the local organic farmers -- the people who set up booths at the farmer's market -- and pick their brains to see what unique varieties of tomatoes, beans, squash (and everything else) they are growing. They -- through years of trial, error and experimenting -- have found the varieties that grow well in your local micro-climate. The specific varieties that they are growing & selling have proven to have a natural resistance to the fungus and diseases that are also natural to your local ecosystem.

Another tip is to find ways to not water your garden from above as much as possible. He-he ... that may seem like an impossibility, but that is exactly what I do. Return to my garden photos that started this thread and you will see a huge, robust garden that is watered from under the soil's surface. For that garden, I have soaker hoses spaced 12 inches apart, that are 1 inch below the surface of the ground. The whole watering system runs on two, small, inexpensive, battery operated timers that water the garden twice a day for 20 minutes each. One watering is at 4pm ... one is at 4am. Hence, I hardly do any hand-watering at all for the entire year ... and the whole garden operates on automatic pilot. I do surprisingly little work in the garden.

Plants absolutely LOVE consistent below ground watering throughout the season and throughout their lives. And, by watering your garden with below ground soaker hoses, you only use 1/3 of the total amount of water that is used through typical above ground sprinklers, hoses, and spraying by hand.

The final suggestion is to continue doing everything that you can to nourish and loosen the soil. Building an incredible, heavenly soil over the years will manifest plants that are a reflection of the soil, and that have natural defenses against molds, fungus, diseases and insects.

With your fruit and the birds who love them -- for the time-being, get large, wide rolls of bird netting. At the first sign that the birds are enjoying an excessive amount of fruit, cover-up your trees and fruit-bearing plants from top to bottom. You have to cover the whole plant and not leave any openings as the clever little birds will go under the netting and have a wonderful feast.

[SHAPE]

Posted by Dennis Leahy (here)

To try to make the garden fun, whimsical, and inviting to my daughter, we did a family project to make the garden sign (arch above the garden gate.) I just did the carpentry; my wife and daughter made the cool art work.

I also bandsawed out a wiggly handle for the door, and we planted a lot of colorful veggies (both for extra phytonutrients and fun!), such as 2 kinds of purple potatoes, purple string beans, purple ("Purple Haze") and white carrots, purple sweet basil, purplish tomatoes, and 8 different squash of various colors.




A big day of tomato harvesting (3 or 4 varieties in this giant bowl.)




This was the purplish variety, "Pruden's Purple " that we grew.





Fresh garden salsa, "salsa fresca" - one of the best instant gratification rewards for gardening. Several kinds of tomatoes (the sweet Sungold dominated the flavor), onions, jalapeno peppers, garlic, cilantro. All organic - only the garlic was purchased. Organic non-GMO blue corn chips. Can you taste it?

Dennis

Hi Dennis

The salsa fresca looks absolutely delicious!!!

We are doing the same here in oz and totally agree one of the many rewards for doing your own garden.

Maybe we can share ideas ? Any reason why you don't grow your own garlic ? Let me know my partner has started her own crop of spanish garlic and was harvested over the spring here in oz.

BTW love the sign over the garden.

Peace and love

[SHAPE]

Posted by Beth (here)

Posted by blake (here)

Posted by Beth (here)
Hi Mr. Davis, they are white rocks, which are very winter hardy. It's also important to get chicks at the right time of year to acclimate them to the weather. That's why it's good to get spring chicks, so they are ready by the fall.

Hello Beth,

I have Black rocks. I didn't know they came in white. We have been very happy with ours. They have been producing all winter! So many people told me that egg production would slow down in deep winter, but so far we have been very lucky.

Sincerely,
Mr. Davis
2/10/11

Well we made a window for them in the coop so that they could receive adequate sunlight in the winter, which sunlight is very important for producing eggs. We are getting good egg numbers as well. Plus the window serves to help heat the coop and extra 10 degrees.

Glad to hear things are going well for you too!

Hi Beth and Mr Davies

similar story here, we have rhode island reds and they too are laying very healthy, even though we have had a vey hot summer here in oz. My partner loves her babies!!

Mind you at times our roosters can be very aggresive, but like usual pick them up and give them a big hug and kiss and they remmeber all is good.

peace and love

[blufire]

Inelia, I would like to suggest a couple more ideas regarding your mildew/fungus problem. Two things I do if faced with fungus/mildew.

1) I use a spray much like the recipe you found but while the foliage is still wet I distribute diatomaceous earth (.fossilized remains of diatoms) liberally over the plants. Whenever a plant is stressed, such as mildew event, the insects will then attack and further damage the plant. This is a prophylactic measure to give the plant the best possible chance to recover and grow healthy. DE is an organic pest control. I put DE (food grade) in my livestock feed to control parasites and worms.

Also, where my chickens come in and out of the hen house I dig a bit of a hole 12”x12” and add a couple inches of DE so they will have to walk through it. I have never had a problem with mites or parasites with the “girls”

2) If I have a summer where there is significant mildew, fungus or nematode problem, I “cook” the soil that fall and into the following spring. I get fresh poop (chicken, horse, goat, cow) and spread about 4” over the area (I have lots of poop) cover the poo with 6” or 8” of weather hay and water well. Then black plastic is put over these layers and secured. The result is a solar oven and the ground will heat up to 160 to 180 degrees which destroys the mold, fungus, nematodes and sterilizes the soil and you have a great composted area to grow in!

[ZuLiZ]

Posted by iceni tribe (here)
dont even need a garden



water is important to

Thanks for the pictures - I'm a visual learner so they help! What is the shed on the right used for - chickens?

¤=[Post Update]=¤

Posted by iceni tribe (here)

Posted by Midnight Rambler (here)
Are those tomatoes?

they be spuds my friend these are toms lol

Ha ha...... can I come and be your neighbour!! Wonderful!

[Thunderbird]

Posted by beth (here)
hi all, thought i'd just add to this thread instead of starting a new one. Just wanted to share my little project with you

our garden is doing really well so far and i plan on canning quite a bit of stuff. A customer of ours is going to give us a canning machine, which is very nice of her!



also, i've been raising some chicks for eggs, they are growing quite fast. We also built the coop ourselves and it's almost done (thank god, lol).






here's a pic of them as babies for all you fellow animal lovers:

awesome beth!!!

[Thunderbird]

Posted by ZuLiZ (here)

Posted by iceni tribe (here)
dont even need a garden



water is important to

Thanks for the pictures - I'm a visual learner so they help! What is the shed on the right used for - chickens?

¤=[Post Update]=¤

Posted by iceni tribe (here)

Posted by Midnight Rambler (here)
Are those tomatoes?

they be spuds my friend these are toms lol

Ha ha...... can I come and be your neighbour!! Wonderful!

THIS IS AWESOME TOO!

WOW y'all are so inspiring!!!

Im in the middle of seed starting right now in the Bathhouse.....cause its a greenhouse too.

We have got a BUNCH of work ahead of us....5 acres of planting, and a greenhouse to build along with irrigation and raised beds around the kitchen house...

Im gonna start taking pictures and sharing with yall!

¤=[Post Update]=¤

This is BY FAR THE COOLEST THREAD here!

[norman]

I'm going to say it exactly like it is for me right now.

I grew up on a small farm in the 60s and have a lot of deeply embedded 'natural' nounce for agriculture and almost as much for horticulture too ( my mother grew up as a daughter of a market gardener )

I now find myself living in a tiny little terraced house with very little garden. I'm not very fit or active these days either.

I would be very interested in hearing from someone here who lives in UK with the means or the money to create a 'ground up' self sufficient unit. I would leave the fancy stuff up to others ( although I do have a keen interest in making music ) and apply myself to the practicalities of the basics.

Anyone?

PM me if you think this migtht be what could be a match with your situation and aspirations. My house isn't worth much right now but I'd happily sell it and relocate to a more organic situation than this obviously derelict way of life I have right now.

[Dennis Leahy]

Posted by SHAPE (here)
Hi Dennis

The salsa fresca looks absolutely delicious!!!

We are doing the same here in oz and totally agree one of the many rewards for doing your own garden.

Maybe we can share ideas ? Any reason why you don't grow your own garlic ? Let me know my partner has started her own crop of spanish garlic and was harvested over the spring here in oz.

BTW love the sign over the garden.

Peace and love

Yes, we all need to share our best ideas, whether we believe we invented them (I'm always re-inventing inventions hahahaha), or got them from another source. We ALL need gardening skills - might even be life or death survival skill, if enough Sh!t hits the fan.

After a few years of not gardening (except just potted tomatoes), the past 3 years I have gotten back into it big time. Each of the past 3 fall seasons, I swear I'm going to put garlic in, and each fall, I'm so overwhelmed with harvest and food storage that I just don't do it. I have friends that grow lots of organic garlic, so no problem (so far) getting good garlic in trade. I think it is also possible to put garlic in the ground in early spring, for a (moderate) fall harvest, so I'll look into that.

Thanks!

Dennis

[Dennis Leahy]

Posted by norman (here)
I'm going to say it exactly like it is for me right now.

I grew up on a small farm in the 60s and have a lot of deeply embedded 'natural' nounce for agriculture and almost as much for horticulture too ( my mother grew up as a daughter of a market gardener )

I now find myself living in a tiny little terraced house with very little garden. I'm not very fit or active these days either.

I would be very interested in hearing from someone here who lives in UK with the means or the money to create a 'ground up' self sufficient unit. I would leave the fancy stuff up to others ( although I do have a keen interest in making music ) and apply myself to the practicalities of the basics.

Anyone?

PM me if you think this migtht be what could be a match with your situation and aspirations. My house isn't worth much right now but I'd happily sell it and relocate to a more organic situation than this obviously derelict way of life I have right now.

Norman,
For the current (quickly approaching) growing season, if you remain where you are but want to increase the number of plants you can grow in a small space, consider (small-scale) "vertical farming." Here's a link to some good ideas: http://containergardening.wordpress....rdening-ideas/

Another possibility is sprouting seeds at home in a sprouting jar - they are packed with nutrients (especially when compared to the bleached-out lettuce often served at restaurants!)

If you are not active, but want to become more active, gardening may be a great way to get a bit of exercise and some sunshine. Just don't overdo it on any one day, and quite likely, you'll see your stamina grow as you exercise a bit more. Don't let yourself grow sedentary! I know, from personal experience, that once you get out of shape, the road back to health is much more difficult than maintenance.

Best of luck to you, and happy gardening!

Dennis

[Highwhistler]

Hi Norman and others in the UK,

Have you seen this amazing organization that
connects people who want a space to grow a garden
with people who have a gardening space
that they want to share?

Landshare

[Inelia]

Posted by Highwhistler (here)

Hi Norman and others in the UK,

Have you seen this amazing organization that
connects people who want a space to grow a garden
with people who have a gardening space
that they want to share?

Landshare

OH! that is fabulous. I've been googling something like this for the USA, but can't seem to find one. I would love to share my yard with someone who knows what they are doing and split things 50/50 (not a big yard, but it's something).

[SHAPE]

Posted by Dennis Leahy (here)

Posted by SHAPE (here)
Hi Dennis

The salsa fresca looks absolutely delicious!!!

We are doing the same here in oz and totally agree one of the many rewards for doing your own garden.

Maybe we can share ideas ? Any reason why you don't grow your own garlic ? Let me know my partner has started her own crop of spanish garlic and was harvested over the spring here in oz.

BTW love the sign over the garden.

Peace and love

Yes, we all need to share our best ideas, whether we believe we invented them (I'm always re-inventing inventions hahahaha), or got them from another source. We ALL need gardening skills - might even be life or death survival skill, if enough Sh!t hits the fan.

After a few years of not gardening (except just potted tomatoes), the past 3 years I have gotten back into it big time. Each of the past 3 fall seasons, I swear I'm going to put garlic in, and each fall, I'm so overwhelmed with harvest and food storage that I just don't do it. I have friends that grow lots of organic garlic, so no problem (so far) getting good garlic in trade. I think it is also possible to put garlic in the ground in early spring, for a (moderate) fall harvest, so I'll look into that.

Thanks!

Dennis

Good on you Dennis, sounds like you are now back on track with your gardening and doing very well!!!.

I believe planting garlic in spring is possible so good luck with that.

Peace and love.