Lickbranchfarms 2019 garden thread

[canesisters]

Oh how I know about those goals and how they tend to crawl along....
THIS YEAR (for the 3rd year) my chicken coop is going to get it's final expansion..

If you haven't already, do some research on rotational pasturing. You'll get WAY more use out of a smaller area.

 

[flowerbug]

stuff happens, i'm not doing any of this to make my life worse or more miserable, so if something doesn't work out this year i try again next. Mom is a bit more tightly wound and doesn't like untidy half-finished projects lingering. sorry Mom, just the way you hatched me. your fault. lol just kidding. i do my best and she knows it.

 

[6884]

Well, I was finally able to get the tractor into the big garden and disk it in, also disked the Okra field in. Since I will not be planting corn in the usual spot, I decide to just join the 2 gardens together and move the road that separated the 2 to the far side. I like this a lot better for now, once picking time rolls around I may change my mind. Rows that were once 115' long are now close to 225'. With this length of row, I will probably focus more on 1 row of variety's like zucchini and squash, but leave room to rotate a new row in every 2-3 weeks.

I am looking at adding something new this year, sweet potatoes. With the added room, this should fill in the bottom portion of the garden nicely. I am going to give peas and beans another try this year, but they will be fenced in. No more worrying about deer.

I also will be adding 3 new raised beds (for now) for my tomatoes. I would like to add some for my peppers too, but if I can get 3 new beds made this year, I'll focus on the others next year.

Put my seed order in today, also got a small green house to keep in the barn. Now that I have electricity on the farm, I don't have to start seeds in my office Lol.

 

[flowerbug]

@Lickbranchfarm will be fun to see how it comes out! good luck all around, but of course i'll be interested in how the beans/peas go...

 

[Ridgerunner]

Have you grown sweet potatoes before? They should do great in your area. They spread all over. I leave about 5-1/2' to 6' clear on all sides and still have to work to turn the runners back. Instead of one long row I grow them in short rows about 3-1/2' apart to conserve space. And I plant them in hills, that makes them easier to dig.

 

[6884]

Have you grown sweet potatoes before? They should do great in your area. They spread all over. I leave about 5-1/2' to 6' clear on all sides and still have to work to turn the runners back. Instead of one long row I grow them in short rows about 3-1/2' apart to conserve space. And I plant them in hills, that makes them easier to dig.

I have not, but I have dug a ton of them when I was younger. I had planned to do a small section of those and Pontiac reds, maybe all in the same row. I do know they used to be planted everywhere around here before deer corn became popular. I agree they should do really well here with the heat and extended growing season.

 

[baymule]

You may want to plant some plants in blocks of short rows instead of one long row. It makes for better pollination.

 

[6884]

You may want to plant some plants in blocks of short rows instead of one long row. It makes for better pollination.

Your absolutely right Bay, Im going to be trying a new layout this year, most of the garden will be in short blocks of 4-6 rows, but some will be in long rows, just the way the land lays there's no getting around a few long rows.

 

[baymule]

You are going to have a HUGE garden this year!

 

[6884]

You are going to have a HUGE garden this year!

Yep, I did some measuring trying to figure the best lay-out for ease of access plus for watering purposes, by GPS the big garden is a smudge over a 1/2 acre and the Okra field is just under a 1/4 acre.

I will be running some new water lines in a few weeks. I want to make sure that I have at least 2 close by the big garden and another for the Okra field. Still need to get the raised beds for the tomatoes built. Me and Minnie me will be constructing our new seed starting rack this afternoon. I was going to buy a cheap plastic green house to use but after thinking about it, this will be something I use every year, why not build one that will last a good 10 years or so, don't plan on having it out doors so it may last me my lifetime. I have some 2x6's laying around so I wont have a lot in it other than lights and heat pads.

The big Garden this year.....

Okra field.....