Colette's Garden (& Chickens)

[coco25]

Like very much! Those are perfect coops!

Thank You, they too are still a work in progress, as is pretty much everything it seems haha...

 

[coco25]

Your garden is looking good! I had 3 year old bell peppers and they produced nice peppers. Your's probably needs some help, compost it and mulch it. Cute chicken coops!

Thank you, okay, thanks for the tip. I was seriously surprised that they were still producing.

 

[coco25]

Well that was a great way to repurpose them! I notice a chair in the pen. Do you sit with them?
I used to have a chair in my chicken pen and I would sit and visit with the girls, and the very friendly ones would hop up on my lap. I can't believe I had the time to do that. Must have been before I got a laptop.

Yeah it turned out to be the perfect thing instead of building a new coop & just having those two empty houses, I saved a good deal of money....& who doesn't LOVE that hahaha
Yes I do sit in there with them occasionally, I have spoiled them rotten, they LOVE green grapes so they will all gather at my feet for me to feed them treats, there's a few that will jump up on my lap.
I have chairs outside of the run too so I can sit there in the shade and just watch them sometimes.

 

[just2rosey]

How do you over winter bell peppers? What growing zone are you in? Your garden is WAY ahead of mine and just beautiful (sigh).
Also, just a thought about your garden, if you have heard this before, sorry. You mentioned that both tomatoes and squash grow beautiful plants but don't produce as much as you expected. I always heard that this is because of to much nitrogen and not enough potassium. Nitrogen feeds leaf production, but potassium supports blooming and fruit production. Maybe you need to tweak what/how you are feeding them. Just a thought, I don't know if it will help.

 

[Smart Red]

Don't know how others do it, but I've dug well producing pepper plants up from the garden, potted them, and over-wintered them in the sun room.

In their native environment peppers are perennials, not annuals. As long as they don't freeze they should keep growing. Mine lost all leaves during the winter and leafed out again in early spring. I've kept the same three pepper plants growing for three years. The stems get woody, but the fruit is just like that of newly planted peppers.

 

[seedcorn]

I met a gardener in Louisana that had a pepper plant that was 4' tall. He kept it alive for 3+ years. Keep thinking I'll dig one up, place in 5 gallon bucket and try to over winter it.

 

[coco25]

Pretty much got the nest boxes done today, still a little inside painting etc. to do & to put shingles on top of box, but so far so good!

 

[baymule]

I had mine in my crappy PVC frame, plastic wrapped greenhouse at our old house. It was great to pick fresh bell peppers in the winter. Now I am grateful to pick anything at all.

 

[coco25]

How do you over winter bell peppers? What growing zone are you in? Your garden is WAY ahead of mine and just beautiful (sigh).
Also, just a thought about your garden, if you have heard this before, sorry. You mentioned that both tomatoes and squash grow beautiful plants but don't produce as much as you expected. I always heard that this is because of to much nitrogen and not enough potassium. Nitrogen feeds leaf production, but potassium supports blooming and fruit production. Maybe you need to tweak what/how you are feeding them. Just a thought, I don't know if it will help.

I am in zone 9a....way south Louisiana. I didn't do anything to over winter any of the plants, they just didn't die, we only got one day last winter that it got to 34 so I never covered anything & this spring they all just started producing again! Just luck & this southern weather I suppose!
Thanks for the tip about the K, I will defenitely look into that. I use triple 13, but maybe I need a higher K content!

 

[coco25]

It rained on & off most of the day today, but between the rain I got out in the garden & picked some fresh herbs & veggies to make a little love from home basket for my oldest daughter.
Thankfully she loves all veggies & always tries to eath healthy so she always loves when I have fresh veggies for her!