Sprig's Summer Gardening

[SprigOfTheLivingDead]

This should be interesting. Many of us have so if you have any specific questions, ask You are running out of time. In general start with sharp knives and have plenty of water handy.

It went pretty well. I mean, we had a ramshackle setup (screwed a board to two trees (amur maple, so don't waste any tears on them) and attached the control cone to that) and had my normal woodworking temp-table (horses with some 2x6s and a sheet of plywood I cut in half and cut comfy handholds into) on top of that with a plastic table cloth and then our tubs of water all around for cleaning the birds including one that I ran a hose directly from the water heater in) but it worked.

Afterwards I actually got a "you were right. we should have gotten an outdoor burner like us used for deep frying so we had actual scalding water"

Anyways, we were able to harvest all but one, which apparently was not in the run when we got them in there two days prior. So now there's one lone guinea running around calling out for its buddies. Some of them look ok, but others look like we took a hammer to it. HAHA.

It was a good experience. I wouldn't want to go through all that effort for less than 14 birds though. The setup and tear-down is a lot of work. Not sure what else to share. My wife didn't want to kill any, so I did that and she did the catching of them with a big ass fishing net.

 

[flowerbug]

maybe recording the bird calling and playing it back will get it to where you can catch it...

i don't need to hear any details of dispatching animals. i really don't like to do it, but when i have to i can do it. i also say i'm sorry. if i am eating them i say thank you. this morning i had to kill a mouse that was in a trap. i'm glad i was able to get it before it suffered for long. poor creature.

 

[baymule]

We have two large oak trees for shade when we process Cornish Cross chickens. It's a lot of work, but it's nice to have meat you raised in the freezer. Congrats on your first butchering.

 

[ducks4you]

@SprigOfTheLivingDead , that's what I have used to catch chickens, a big 'ole fishing net!

 

[SprigOfTheLivingDead]

Weeding is fun, right?

Anyways, I spent the last two days (seriously, out before 8 and in around 7) weeding our squash area and then our raspberries and blueberries. I attempted our squash in mounds -- noble, right? -- but I need to do some SERIOUS mulching this fall and maybe some tilling (I really hate tilling, but maybe I should till and then mulch a few inches thick with leaves), if I want to continue with mounds next year. I've read some abstracts that blueberries don't react well to maple leaves breaking down, so I'll need to account for that

Anyways, our blueberries are producing!

 

[digitS']

I don't like tilling either, Sprig. A hoe became a hated tool during my childhood.

Winter squash, I like. Last year, I had a lot of extra space and put in extra pumpkins. Don't let those things begin to vine before you kill the weeds!

Maybe it helps to know that a spading fork and a long-handled cultivator are my favorite weeding tools. Of course, they aren't very efficient against the smaller weeds. I'm down to plastic gloves and a stool to sit on for those. But Yes! I'll run the tiller through the vining veggies, soon. Gotta do something. It also helps with the paths, that so quickly are beaten down to near-pavement conditions. Too bad that the weeds can still maintain a toehold.

Steve

 

[flowerbug]

Weeding is fun, right?

Anyways, I spent the last two days (seriously, out before 8 and in around 7) weeding our squash area and then our raspberries and blueberries. I attempted our squash in mounds -- noble, right? -- but I need to do some SERIOUS mulching this fall and maybe some tilling (I really hate tilling, but maybe I should till and then mulch a few inches thick with leaves), if I want to continue with mounds next year. I've read some abstracts that blueberries don't react well to maple leaves breaking down, so I'll need to account for that

Anyways, our blueberries are producing!

View attachment 35910

when i think of it as worm food harvesting it helps improve my attitude.

i have a lot of weeding that will need to be done this next week to catch up on the north garden edges, but the central part was done in about 3hrs - which isn't bad for about 600 square feet of space. since i have to work around the daffodils and other plants along the edges and also get some weeds out of the creeping thyme it will take me probably several days to get it all done. that's ok. i finally have more time (once i get the strawberries picked). i'm so glad i just finished up planting. yeah, i planned it that ways... if you believe this i have a bridge to sell too...

in that 600 square feet of space i had only a few deeper rooted grass plants with seeds on them and a few alliums that i removed that went into the weed bucket, everything else got buried deep enough to become food for the next generations of wormie friends. most of it was purselane, about 5% oxalis and the rest various mixed weeds of the usual sorts around here. very glad to see not much sow thistle and zero horsetail.

 

[ducks4you]

@digitS' Tilling makes my job easier, even though I KNOW it brings up old seeds.
Either way, using a tiller or using a hoe, neither us needs to do crunches!
All articles I have read tell you to work so that the weeds don't make seeds, so sometimes you can postpone getting the weed out if you another pressing garden issue.

 

[SprigOfTheLivingDead]

So I've started my peppers and tomatoes as well as all my tree farm buckeyes and some catalpas - probably need to start another 20 or so.

For the first time this year I'm going to try watermelons and I'm curious for you how far ahead of frost you start those. I'm assuming they're kind of in the realm of zucchini or other creeping/vine plants and don't jump the gun on them or you'll just have a mess.

I also plan on planting corn, zucchini, strawberries and a few thousand sunflowers

 

[SprigOfTheLivingDead]

Had the kids help me build two new beds this year. I helped them with the first one but the second one they put together all by themselves . I'm really proud of them. I of course had to fill them in but I'm happy all the same.



I then sunk some t-posts down and used a bunch of leftover fencing wire to create some tunnels for my sweet pea currant tomatoes and our cucumbers (sikkim and early fortune)



Otherwise I'm growing Dester tomatoes, Craig's Grande Jalapenos, Scotch Bonnets and King of the North bell peppers