Author Topic: Planting / Growing your own 2018  (Read 94183 times)

sparkytheop

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #700 on: November 14, 2018, 01:08:46 PM »
I struggle to find joy in the garden during the cooler months and especially as winter approaches. 

I do have some greens planted, along with some garlic and onion, but overall, I don't do a whole lot.  I am going to pull my potatoes soon as the greens died back completely.  Hopefully I have enough for Thanksgiving.

I had feared that I killed my saffron...  The bulbs I gave to my mom did great.  She had forgot to water them all summer, and it worked out quite well for her!  She started giving them just a little bit of water sometime around late August/early September.  Over a few days, several flowers popped up, and we picked the stigmas, put them in an open spice jar left in the car (to cheaply dehydrate them), and now I have a nice little pile.

Mine hadn't bloomed.  Still didn't bloom.  Then a few days ago I got one!  Yea!  I managed to not kill one little bulb :D  I can grow mint and weeds really well, but I kill everything else.  One little bulb was a success.  Then, last night, another bloom.  And tonight when I got home from work, there was one more!  I planted five bulbs, so I've got over a 50% survival rate and am extremely happy about that.

I'll be looking up recipes this weekend to see what I can make with my tiny little harvest.  I don't like seafood, so paella is out...

Anyway, I'm just thrilled that I got to see something from start (bulb) to harvest all by myself!  Saffron has survived my black thumb of death.  Like the mint, it has earned it's place in front of the house and will hopefully be around for many years to come.

I'm envious.  I planted several saffron bulbs from a reputable place and I haven't seen one come up.  Oh well, maybe one will surprise me in the future.

I got mine from Baker Creek... https://www.rareseeds.com/ 

I hope you get to see some, if not this year, then next year!

horsepoor

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #701 on: November 22, 2018, 02:05:36 PM »
Now I'm re-working my garden beds to make things more efficient and hopefully easier to care for.  Will post and update when it's done (hopefully in a couple weeks).  Need to haul in a few truckloads of manure to fill them and top up the old beds.

I  can't believe I actually got this done, but here is the photographic evidence!

I took a 4x12' bed out of the front left and replaced with these 3, 3x5' galvanized side beds.  I should have been more careful with the math and made them a little longer and narrower - there is only 14" between them, but it should be fine.

Towards the back on that side, I took out a trellis structure that was interfering with my cherry tree, and reduced the size of the bed it was in, added 2, 4x12' beds there.  On the right side of the path, I had 4x16' beds, but one half would get watered from overspray from the lawn, so they were difficult to manage.  They are now gone and the beds are reconfigured so the two on the far right will get the lawn overspray, and the two near the paver path will get watered with soaker hoses.

Lastly, I built a little "tool kiosk" mostly with scrap, including 4x4s from the trellis structure I took down.  I still need to add some hooks and things on the inside, but I love this little shed.  Hopefully I'll be much less prone to leaving my tools out in the rain to rust, and my wheelbarrow finally has a home.

Overall, I think this will make everything more productive and easier to manage, so I'm looking forward to the 2019 growing season now!


RetiredAt63

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #702 on: November 22, 2018, 06:38:08 PM »
Now I'm re-working my garden beds to make things more efficient and hopefully easier to care for.  Will post and update when it's done (hopefully in a couple weeks).  Need to haul in a few truckloads of manure to fill them and top up the old beds.

I  can't believe I actually got this done, but here is the photographic evidence!

I took a 4x12' bed out of the front left and replaced with these 3, 3x5' galvanized side beds.  I should have been more careful with the math and made them a little longer and narrower - there is only 14" between them, but it should be fine.

Towards the back on that side, I took out a trellis structure that was interfering with my cherry tree, and reduced the size of the bed it was in, added 2, 4x12' beds there.  On the right side of the path, I had 4x16' beds, but one half would get watered from overspray from the lawn, so they were difficult to manage.  They are now gone and the beds are reconfigured so the two on the far right will get the lawn overspray, and the two near the paver path will get watered with soaker hoses.

Lastly, I built a little "tool kiosk" mostly with scrap, including 4x4s from the trellis structure I took down.  I still need to add some hooks and things on the inside, but I love this little shed.  Hopefully I'll be much less prone to leaving my tools out in the rain to rust, and my wheelbarrow finally has a home.

Overall, I think this will make everything more productive and easier to manage, so I'm looking forward to the 2019 growing season now!

PS  Can you give more detail about your bed construction and the galvanized metal sides?*  I have been using spruce and it rots out.  And the beds are low, those look much easier to plant and weed becasue of the added height, and the plant roots have more space too.

*Or a URL or book that explains it, you don't have to type it all out.

That is impressive, looks well organized, next year should be a great gardening year for you.

Can you come visit me next spring?  I have lots of projects to keep you busy/happy.
« Last Edit: November 22, 2018, 06:40:03 PM by RetiredAt63 »

Trifle

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #703 on: November 23, 2018, 03:21:59 AM »
Wow that looks really great @horsepoor!  Love the tool kiosk.  I have a huge redesign of our garden on tap for the spring -- can you come over and help?  :)   

RetiredAt63

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #704 on: November 23, 2018, 06:59:14 AM »
Wow that looks really great @horsepoor!  Love the tool kiosk.  I have a huge redesign of our garden on tap for the spring -- can you come over and help?  :)

NO, I asked first!

horsepoor

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #705 on: November 23, 2018, 06:29:42 PM »

PS  Can you give more detail about your bed construction and the galvanized metal sides?*  I have been using spruce and it rots out.  And the beds are low, those look much easier to plant and weed becasue of the added height, and the plant roots have more space too.

Sure, I just made corners by joining 2x4's in an "L" shape by bolting them together with lag bolts.  I used a little Dremel saw to cut the metal, which worked great.  I was nervous about that because my dad helped me with the first ones on the right, and I remember him using a special blade on my circular saw, and LOTS of sparks flying.  The Dremel went through like butter, not too many sparks.  The galvanized panels are about 26" wide, so I just cut them right down the middle to get 13" sides.  I then used lathe screws to attach them to the 4x4 corners.  I cut 2x2's to fit along the top edge of the metal, in between the 2x4 "L" corners, and also attached those with lathe screws.  Next was putting on the top 2x4's, again attached with lag bolts.  Last, I used deck screws to attach the 2x2 reinforcements to the top 2x4's to help stabilize the metal sides.

I think I've been offered a few years' worth of work building and maintaining other people's gardens since I finished this up, so I'll put you on the list.  ;)

RetiredAt63

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #706 on: November 24, 2018, 07:47:27 AM »

PS  Can you give more detail about your bed construction and the galvanized metal sides?*  I have been using spruce and it rots out.  And the beds are low, those look much easier to plant and weed becasue of the added height, and the plant roots have more space too.

Sure, I just made corners by joining 2x4's in an "L" shape by bolting them together with lag bolts.  I used a little Dremel saw to cut the metal, which worked great.  I was nervous about that because my dad helped me with the first ones on the right, and I remember him using a special blade on my circular saw, and LOTS of sparks flying.  The Dremel went through like butter, not too many sparks.  The galvanized panels are about 26" wide, so I just cut them right down the middle to get 13" sides.  I then used lathe screws to attach them to the 4x4 corners.  I cut 2x2's to fit along the top edge of the metal, in between the 2x4 "L" corners, and also attached those with lathe screws.  Next was putting on the top 2x4's, again attached with lag bolts.  Last, I used deck screws to attach the 2x2 reinforcements to the top 2x4's to help stabilize the metal sides.

I think I've been offered a few years' worth of work building and maintaining other people's gardens since I finished this up, so I'll put you on the list.  ;)

This is really great detail, thanks.  The galvanized panels - what are they sold for/what are they called?  I have to be able to explain at the store what I am looking for  ;-)  And am I shopping in a home hardware store or a farm supply store?  Dremel, which bit?

horsepoor

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #707 on: November 24, 2018, 08:03:25 AM »
They are corrugated roofing panels.  They might have them at a farm store, but any Lowe's or Home Depot will carry them.

The Dremel I have is actually a tiny circular saw, not an attachment to a regular Dremel tool.  If you have a circular saw, you can get a special blade, or you might be able to cut with tin snips, it would just be tedious.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Dremel-SawMax-3-3-8-in-6-Amp-Worm-Drive-Corded-Circular-Saw-with-Steel-Shoe/50078404?cm_mmc=SCE_PLA-_-ToolsAndHardware-_-RotaryAndOscillatingTools-_-50078404:Dremel&CAWELAID=&kpid=50078404&CAGPSPN=pla&store_code=688&k_clickID=go_625706834_53014029837_258132035406_pla-424719174430_c_9029605&gclid=CjwKCAiAiuTfBRAaEiwA4itUqIDED2-aQBsBpVPcckFSViIZ38mZ7gBEIiyJGExKt4x1SZfA26jC9xoCZesQAvD_BwE

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #708 on: December 10, 2018, 03:33:32 PM »
You guys!  I just ate a bowl of popcorn I grew myself!  It's not cured quite enough... it should get fluffier as it ages, but it was so good!  I grew Calico Popcorn this year... 9 rows, 12 plants per row.  I've got SO much popcorn!  40-50 pounds maybe?  And it's delicious... it tastes more, um, corny, I guess, than store-bought popcorn.


We had a tiny harvest and ate our sweet corn raw (I never knew this was a thing); it was delicious.  The rest was Gem corn and we just made some popcorn. 

I'm envious of your harvest.  One day....


I got mine from Baker Creek... https://www.rareseeds.com/ 

I hope you get to see some, if not this year, then next year!

Thanks!  Their catalog is the only one I get and it just arrived.  They announced they now have free shipping within the U.S.  I stopped shopping there for a while, but I might just have to place an order.

lettuceevangelist

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Re: Planting / Growing your own 2018
« Reply #709 on: December 10, 2018, 06:59:14 PM »
Horsepoor, you have inspired us. We have 12 4x8 raised beds, which we built with untreated wood (because they're for growing food). After 5 years, they have rotted, and will need to be replaced before we do big planting next spring. Corrugated metal looks like just the thing!

 

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