Same here, Skeeter. We don't know how much extra we'll need, and we don't even know if our garden's going to do well, so we are utilizing our soil nutrients to their fullest potential and planting as much as we can. I'd rather have too much, but I'm that way with most things in life. It's...
I was recently gifted this book by a friend. It's a great book, but here's what I can see and what I've experienced.
I let my chickens in the garden at the END of the growing season. They do all the fine soil tilling for me and harvest what's left of the plants. By the time they're done with...
I didn't buy a seed bucket. That would be serious overkill for 2 people and a few chickens. I just got one of the smaller packs, and the care that goes into preserving and packaging these seeds is obvious. I was so pleased that I also purchased some seeds from him for Tigger melons and black...
Well, I put my seeds in Jiffy peat pellets last Sunday and had sproutage in the broccoli & cauliflower by Thursday (within 4 days). I planted a dozen different varieties in a pack of 72 cells. As of this morning, about 1/3 of them have tiny sprouts! In the seed bed on the side by the...
As of today, all 4 broccoli & all 4 cauliflower have sprouted in the Jiffy pellets, and others are showing signs of sprouting! Wow! That was hecka quick!
You are not gonna believe this! I just put my seedlings in my Jiffy peat pellets on Sunday, 2/12/12. Today, 2/16/12, 4 days later, 2 of the 4 broccoli plants have ALREADY sprouted! Wow! Keeping a close eye on them, making sure as many of them as possible make it all the way to transplant...
I am sure that I am over-planting this year, but that's primarily because we are not quite sure how well our garden will do with this being our first full-year in this house/climate/area. We are unsure as to what will actually grow, what won't do well here, etc. I would rather end up with too...
I am kinda glad we're having a late winter and that we'll have a somewhat wet spring. We really need the precipitation this year for the farmers et al.
Besides, the only things I'm going to be planting in the next couple of weeks are winter/cold-tolerant vegetables. In the meantime, we're...
Well, apparently it is not quite as spring here as we thought. We didn't think we'd get much of a winter this year. We've had about 4 cold (REALLY cold) nights, but nothing really serious.
Had a very light dusting of snow yesterday, though. I hear more is coming & we'll be snowed upon for...
According to the brand new USDA Hardiness Zone map for 2012, we're in 9A. This used to be 8A. This is my first year growing in this area... my old area was zone 7 (which is really only about an hour away).
We got a late winter... it showed up this morning. I got up with big plans to put...
Thanks, Lesa. It is nice to know that folks are having success with the traps. We do have some "barn kitties" on the property that were adopted to keep vermin under control, and they do well on other parts of the property. We are "ranch assistants" on an alpaca ranch and rent the...
I hate those gophers. They have tunneled up into one of my chicken pens this past week, but they were stupid enough to go into "Freezer Camp" which is where the roosters that are destined for the roasting pan get to live... those big ol', mean Rhode Island red boys pecked that gopher square in...
Started my first group of seedlings inside today. Here's what I started:
The following four heirloom tomatoes (I know there are non-heirloom varieties of these same ones, but these are heirlooms):
Roma tomatoes, Rutgers tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes, and large red cherry tomatoes.
I also...
Oh, I have quite a few new-to-me things I'm planting this year!
1) Luffa sponge (it's really a curcubit/squash/gourd).
2) Kohlrabi (never even eaten it, but it looks/sounds delicious).
3) Stevia.
4) Turnips.
5) Blueberries.
6) Chard.
7) Heirloom tomatoes (3 new-to-me...
For those interested in non-GMO, non-hybrid, open-pollinated seeds, I order mine from this guy:
http://stores.ebay.com/Mozybeau-Auctions?_trksid=p4340.l2563
While this is my first year ordering from him, I am having almost 100% success on the seeds I've test-germinated in my kitchen window...
It is not illegal to save them for one's own use. According to the most recent Stokes catalog, they have the guideline written in there very clearly & I am happy to share that information here. You can save seeds for your own use but cannot sell the seeds that reproduce.
"PVP--Plant Variety...
I will have to look to see what you have for sale. :) I buy the majority of my seeds from an organic seed preservationist and ex-marine in Kentucky whom I found on ebay. Sidney is right up front about where he gets his seeds, how he collects/saves his seeds, and all are open-pollinated...