Time To Talk About Next Year

[so lucky]

Due to shade and roots from two big trees on the north side of my yard, the north quarter of my garden is not as productive as I think it ought to be. So I am thinking of expanding to the south, about 8' by 20' and enclosing it in the same fencing I have around the rest of the garden. The ground is grass/sod right now. In order to get a crop in this next year, what do you think is the best/easiest way to prepare the ground? My son has my tiller right now, but if it is in running order, I can get him to bring it over and till up the sod, turning it under. If I do that, and then put a lot of mulch and semi composted chicken poop and straw on top, then have him till all that in, in the spring, I think that would be the best. Is that how you would do it? My gardening method is to keep permanent rows and paths, and spade up the rows each season, incorporating more compost in each year.

I, too, am trying to focus on growing things that I know will be eaten, and that are the biggest producers for the amount of time/money/space invested. I know I am going to plant a lot more spinach, as organic spinach is selling for about 49 cents per ounce at Bigmart.

I use an awful lot of peppers and onions in my cooking, and like to have them cut and frozen, so I will be planting more of these.

And I gotta get some fruit trees planted. But the sod in the field, where I have room for the trees, is so, so very thick and tough, I need a backhoe to plant them. (Must devise a plan )

It's so nice to be planning next year's garden. :tools

 

[Ridgerunner]

So Lucky, if you have a tiller that can turn that sod, thats a great plan. My tiller doesnt work that well in sod so I turn it with a mattock or shovel and try to remove all the grass roots I can. I hate Bermuda grass all the way to the roots.

Putting that stuff on it and tilling it in, whether now or in the spring, sounds like a solid plan to me. Just put it on soon so it has time to work over the winter.

 

[digitS']

/ounce! ಠ_ಠ

I have had mixed results with . . . umm . . . everything, So Lucky. Tilling during the growing season has worked well for me, repeated multiple tillings. Yeah. Give the plants a couple weeks to stage a comeback, then knock 'em down again. They gather themselves after a couple of weeks - hit 'em again! Don't sow anything early on that ground - keep banging on those weeds until it time for a 2nd planting of green beans, or something.

Mulch has worked and not worked. One plant that tends to laugh when I have put down mulch is quackgrass. Of course, it can multiply when I go over it with a tiller!

I think you will have the best idea for your location. The ground is beginning to freeze here and everything has moved into dormancy. Tilling decisions are both a soil conditions and a growing conditions call. But, if your son has a strong back and some time and, did I mention, a strong back -- removing and composting the sod is a good way to clear ground for a garden.

Steve

 

[Jared77]

Right now I'm torn because with a slightly slower growing bird 12 weeks vs 8 weeks there is a little more grace with the learning curve. I keep hearing about the learning curve with Cornish crosses & really to me that's not something I want to jump into. Not only is an unessecary loss of life it's also a total waste of money & time. With every loss the price per lbs goes up since you lost the investment into any birds you lose, and your dividing that loss over fewer pounds harvested. Any 1 of the three I'm not ok with but all 3 is not unacceptable. Ive heard it being equated as learning to drive behind the wheel of a Ferrari. Lots of losses because of the demands of the CX & the margin of error.

I want better meat, and I want the manure. The benefits far outweigh the negatives for me but I still want to start out slow & ease into it. 11-12weeks should be ok where the boys are just starting to find their voices & will be harvested at that point anyway. I want them in the tractor and be moving their tractor over the garden starting in sometime in Sept. They would be processed and in the freezer no later than first week of Nov. Can't have them interfering with deer camp & the weather has fully turned by then too so they need to be dealt with by then, just really no alternative there. Would be the same end date regardless of what birds they were.

The CX I bought at the farmers market was REALLY disappointing. Tasted fine, bird was plenty big, but wasn't any richer than grocery store meat. Was soft, tender, juicy, but next to a store bought bird cooked the same way we couldn't tell you a difference. Yes there's a difference between what you get at Walmart (less fat on the bird) but if you buy a brand name bird say Perdue we didn't notice a difference. Where did we notice a difference? The price! I'm all for supporting local businesses especially family farms but the product wasn't noticeably better I can't justify it. Yes it was free range, yes it's hormone & antibiotic free but it's still way too much for what we were got back. It really failed in the hype to reality department.

So we want a little slower growth to get a bit more chicken flavor from it too. I'd love to raise a true roasters like some Light Sussex (my first choice) or some Brahmas (my second choice) that I could slow roast all day & have the pan lined with celery, onion, carrot, fresh rosemary, fresh thyme, garlic cloves, some stock & cover that to slow roast all afternoon. .

My problem is I like wild turkey, and pheasant, that rich dark meat that is packed with flavor. My chicken doesn't have to be THAT however I want more flavor if I'm going to put the work into it.

I do need to get a remote thermometer to figure out the temps in my hopefully soon to be root cellar. Right now it holds Christmas decorations including our fake tree. I'm excited to think at some point I'd have milk crates full of stored veggies if the temps hold down there.m it's dry, just not sure the temps.

So it's getting there, just need to prioritize, and start making things happen.

 

[journey11]

You probably won't like the Cornish Roasters then, Jared. They otherwise look and taste the same as the CX and toward the end is where I started having problems with their health. They are the same cross as a CX, but of a different strain that just grows a little slower. You might want to look at Freedom Rangers instead, which are harvested around 16 weeks. Or just go old-school all together.

 

[Jared77]

I've thought about Freedom Rangers too I'm really not sure what the plan is so maybe it gets put off another year hard to say. Good to know about the roasters though.

 

[seedcorn]

Not to be stoned, I'd suggest spraying area with glysophate or Liberty, kill all the weeds. Then till it. Then later add manure, till it again.

If you just till, expect grass to keep coming. One time use of contact killer will not be the worst thing on your food.

 

[so lucky]

OK, Seedcorn, I won't be throwing any rocks at you, but I prefer not to use glysophate on it. I'm not sure how long the chemical would remain in the tilled-under dead sod. And I'm trying to go as organic as possible. I did have a hard time getting all the grass completely out of the last bit of lawn I converted to garden space, tho. But using several layers of newspaper in the paths, with mulch on top, cut down on the amount of work I had to do during the summer.

 

[Smithyard Farm]

Do you have chickens? you could make a temporary place for them. The would have it cleaned up in no time!

 

[so lucky]

I do have chickens, and I have thought about trying to herd them into the new garden area on a regular basis. It is not going to be as secure as their chicken yard, so I wouldn't want to have them there on days I'm not there to keep an eye on them, for fear of the neighborhood dogs and hawks. I may still do that. However, my new chickens are not as easily led or herded as the old gals are. I could get out the meal worms to entice them, I guess.