|
Jhet posted:I anxiously await your post on canning all those tomatoes at the end of summer. If you can't make that happen I'm willing to rescue tomatoes to be canned from you  I can't wait until it's this time again:  (I'm going to be planting a ton of burpee super sauce hybrids because they just worked so well for me)
|
#
?
Mar 10, 2021 03:38
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 25, 2024 21:11 |
|
|
My canning method is boil -> strain -> concentrate -> freeze. I'm still eating last year's! I have three more varieties that I'm going to plant about 10 each too. We'll see though. I planted 40 blocks to make sure that I had no fewer than 25 just as a stop-gap against poor germination rates and the like. I plan to give extra plants away and i have several people already indicating that they'll take extras from me. I suddenly just became paranoid that I planted a different variety than Amish Paste though. I'm not always the best at record keeping (which is something I'm changing this year, but I can't undo the errors that I made in the fall while we were moving...)
|
|
#
?
Mar 10, 2021 03:55
|
|
|
Oh and I just lined up a truck load of used chicken bedding 
|
|
#
?
Mar 10, 2021 03:56
|
|
|
CommonShore posted:My canning method is boil -> strain -> concentrate -> freeze. Nothing wrong with that if you have the freezer space.
|
|
#
?
Mar 10, 2021 04:18
|
|
|
Motronic posted:Nothing wrong with that if you have the freezer space. Really isn’t. My mother does freezer sauce for hers, but I’ve never had that much room and a chest freezer. I did freeze some collards a couple years ago, and that was really nice in December before I ran out.
|
|
#
?
Mar 10, 2021 05:12
|
|
|
CommonShore posted:Oh and I just lined up a truck load of used chicken bedding Let it rot for a year or so or you’ll get the biggest, prettiest tomato plants anyone has ever seen and 3 tomatoes
|
|
#
?
Mar 10, 2021 05:19
|
|
|
Kaiser Schnitzel posted:Let it rot for a year or so or you’ll get the biggest, prettiest tomato plants anyone has ever seen and 3 tomatoes Lol ya. I think I'm going to mix it in with my other composting materials to break down before I use it. Quick drive-by question question: for $65 I can get enough basic brown kraft packing paper to cover my entire greenhouse 3 layers deep for smothering the grass. Is there any reason that I shouldn't use that for my no-dig base the way that Dowding uses cardboard? It seems pretty ideal and it saves me the gas of driving around to pick up cardboard, and the time of ripping pieces of tape off of it.
|
|
#
?
Mar 10, 2021 19:32
|
|
|
CommonShore posted:Lol ya. I think I'm going to mix it in with my other composting materials to break down before I use it. You can buy rolls of cardboard too. I’ve never seen this paper, but if it’s pretty thick it might work - but just think about how long it’ll hold up once it’s wet vs. thick brown card.
|
|
#
?
Mar 10, 2021 19:39
|
|
|
wooger posted:You can buy rolls of cardboard too. I'm just looking at the store's description right now, but I think it's just the basic unwaxed stuff that businesses wrap packages in.
|
|
#
?
Mar 10, 2021 19:44
|
|
|
CommonShore posted:I'm just looking at the store's description right now, but I think it's just the basic unwaxed stuff that businesses wrap packages in. I used this to create new flower beds. It works great, but you need lots of layers and something on top to really smother things. Also, amazon has huge rolls for $20, you might want to look there as well.
|
|
#
?
Mar 10, 2021 20:26
|
|
|
Solkanar512 posted:I used this to create new flower beds. It works great, but you need lots of layers and something on top to really smother things. I'll take a look on amazon, but 36 inches by 1200 feet long for 65 seems decent quote:Spicers Packing Paper Cheaper than Amazon. CommonShore fucked around with this message at 21:27 on Mar 10, 2021 |
|
#
?
Mar 10, 2021 21:25
|
|
|
I've been grabbing pallet flats from work to cover my yard. Still seeing attempts at new growth under it after a few weeks, but I'll probably give it another couple weeks. I hope they break down a little more though because a test run with the tiller indicated they're gonna be a pain to till in to the soil when the time comes to sow and transplant.
|
|
#
?
Mar 11, 2021 01:27
|
|
|
Jhet posted:For the project it was 36/38 cells. I only plant 1 per cell anymore, except for the erjingtiao which I did 2 per for 100% germ rate. So now there’s four plants when I’d expected two. Only ones I had issues with was called Chiltepin Tucson and I gave them 2 months before calling it, but at least got one plant there. It's been a while but I ended up planting some (a paltry 4) of the seeds I'd saved from dried er jing tiao. Direct to soil, no soaking. But while all my other plants have successfully germinated, the er jing tiao have yet to show up. Did you do anything different?
|
|
#
?
Mar 11, 2021 22:40
|
|
|
Jan posted:It's been a while but I ended up planting some (a paltry 4) of the seeds I'd saved from dried er jing tiao. Direct to soil, no soaking. But while all my other plants have successfully germinated, the er jing tiao have yet to show up. Did you do anything different? I went with a seed starting mix and a heating mat, but otherwise nothing out of the ordinary for starting seeds. If you have a fresh bag of sun dried peppers you should be okay with it. If it was kiln dried then they’re toast. If you have more try soaking some in a damp paper towel inside a sealed container for a few days. So long as it’s warm enough (70-75 is ideal) you should see if they’re viable within a week.
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 00:12
|
|
|
Organic Lube User posted:I've been grabbing pallet flats from work to cover my yard. Still seeing attempts at new growth under it after a few weeks, but I'll probably give it another couple weeks. The whole concept we were kind of talking about is no-dig (AKA no till) - put a few inches of compost on top of the paper and plant directly into that - and the paper/ cardboard will not hold up to roots by the time they reach it. No tilling ever. Regardless, make sure you wet down well whatever you use. Jan posted:It's been a while but I ended up planting some (a paltry 4) of the seeds I'd saved from dried er jing tiao. Direct to soil, no soaking. But while all my other plants have successfully germinated, the er jing tiao have yet to show up. Did you do anything different? It can take at least 2 weeks for chillies, and they kind of require heat. The packet I got suggested soaking in warm water fir an hour before sewing.
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 00:34
|
|
|
Motronic posted:You know how much easier it will make your life. Evan a very basic old boat anchor. Does a skid steer count? Neighbor and I are going in on a New Holland L785 tomorrow. Brush grapple, tree cutter, and about six other attachments. Motor rebuilt 300 hours ago, has a hydraulic leak but what doesn't. We'll park it next door in the shop and shake it down. Gonna tear some poo poo up this year.
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 02:31
|
|
|
All 12 of my garlic have come up! I didn’t plant them too early. About half of my onions are coming up too. Makes me happy to be working from home. I can walk right out into my garden to inspect for work breaks.
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 04:20
|
|
|
Earth posted:All 12 of my garlic have come up! I didn’t plant them too early. About half of my onions are coming up too. Makes me happy to be working from home. I can walk right out into my garden to inspect for work breaks. To be fair to your garlic you probably could have planted them in November or December and they still would have come up happily. Most garlic loves having a cold winter. I do love walking out to the garden with a coffee in the morning though. It is a most enjoyable experience.
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 04:26
|
|
|
Earth posted:All 12 of my garlic have come up! I didn’t plant them too early. About half of my onions are coming up too. Makes me happy to be working from home. I can walk right out into my garden to inspect for work breaks. this was one of the few things keeping me sane last summer- I'd wake up, deal with my high priority work emails and then putter around in the garden drinking coffee for a bit before the day really started
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 04:27
|
|
|
So last year I gardened and enjoyed it and I want to do it again. I live in a small apartment building with a decent backyard for the city, but my landlord for 'reasons' has decreed that i can only put my bucket planters on the side of the house, a small alleway in between the brick wall of the building and the parking lot nextdoor. It faces south. So I'm looking for either vegetables that can handle roughly all the sun, ever, or ideas on vegetables that can handle the heat if I rig some kind of shade over them. I'm going to be picking up plants from a local nursery since I don't have enough space to sprout my own just yet, and I'm in Chicago which is zone 6 now apparently?
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 05:48
|
|
|
Most vegetables love the sun, so south facing is great. Tomatoes, potatoes, beans, peas, peppers (need heat though), eggplant. Squash love sun but need a bit of soil to produce well. How much space do you have? How big are your planters going to be? Smaller stuff you can grow more densely includes kale, carrots, radishes, mustard greens, beets, chard, etc. Also annual herbs like parsley, cilantro, dill. And garlic or onions. Just check on timing for everything. And make a plan based on spacings (square foot gardening has spacing guides that work well for buckets). There's a lot you can grow!
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 06:44
|
|
|
Veritek83 posted:this was one of the few things keeping me sane last summer- I'd wake up, deal with my high priority work emails and then putter around in the garden drinking coffee for a bit before the day really started Yeah, getting a bunch of watering done while called into a meeting was awesome.
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 06:49
|
|
|
Here's a picture of my back alley bucket garden of 10 years ago, for reference: Squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, chives, shiso, huauzontle and some perennial herbs. (PNW, so rosemary, thyme, sage, etc survive the winter outside. That's probably not true for Chicago.) In other years I also grew potatoes, garlic, bush beans and probably other stuff I can't remember. Some tips: - Do use potting soil and not just soil from the ground. It has to be light for containers. - You'll need to water religiously, like every day during the summer. Containers dry out faster than garden beds. - Get buckets and containers that are opaque and UV resistant. Those transparent sterilite ones in the middle did not last well, whereas I probably still have some of the black nursery pots.
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 06:58
|
|
|
Veritek83 posted:this was one of the few things keeping me sane last summer- I'd wake up, deal with my high priority work emails and then putter around in the garden drinking coffee for a bit before the day really started I moved house right before pandemic. If I would have been stuck in the old house I'd be very stressed right now. The new house allowed me to spend my time creating my fairly decent garden space. If you didn't get to see it when I posted it you can find it in this thread quite a few pages back. This year I get to enjoy the garden space. My greatest stress is trying to get a multi-grafted pear tree.
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 13:21
|
|
|
I just remembered I wanted to grow a peanut plant this year. Anyone have any suggestions on where to get seeds or growing tips?
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 15:25
|
|
|
Earth posted:I just remembered I wanted to grow a peanut plant this year. Anyone have any suggestions on where to get seeds or growing tips? yeah give us the tips peanuts are one of my experiments this year
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 15:33
|
|
|
mischief posted:Does a skid steer count? Neighbor and I are going in on a New Holland L785 tomorrow. Brush grapple, tree cutter, and about six other attachments. Motor rebuilt 300 hours ago, has a hydraulic leak but what doesn't. We'll park it next door in the shop and shake it down. Tractors are "do a bit of everything" compromise tool. The only thing they are truly good at is pulling, which is what they were actually designed to do. They became so ubiquitous that people started bolting all kinds of other crap on them, like loaders. Skid steers are pro mode loaders. If you get one with high flow hydraulics you can get all KINDS of indavisable stuff that totally tears poo poo up like field mowers, graders, rock hounds, etc. I regret and do not regret selling mine. Partly I was getting really tired of dealing with Bobcat. But I still miss it on days that I'm doing loader work. That should be a good machine. And yeah....they always leak. If you aren't leaving a trail it's not leaking enough to worry about
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 16:37
|
|
|
Earth posted:I just remembered I wanted to grow a peanut plant this year. Anyone have any suggestions on where to get seeds or growing tips? They were on the Pacific Northwest Seeds racks in with the vegetables last year - "Peanuts Valencia". Maybe try Amazon? I'm wondering if raw unroasted nuts from the bulk healthfood store would work? I have no idea how to grow them in Zone 8. I started them inside in soil cubes than transferred them to the hoop house with the tomatoes thinking they'd like the extra heat. A half-dozen plants produced a small handful of nuts. Not sure if that's successful or not. The seedlings look like something from the Carboniferous era. 
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 17:13
|
|
|
Earth posted:I just remembered I wanted to grow a peanut plant this year. Anyone have any suggestions on where to get seeds or growing tips? Squirrels get raw peanuts from the neighbors, bury them in my garden and pots, and they come up like weeds. So I would say buy a bag, put them two knuckles deep in soil, and water whenever. They don’t seem to be picky.
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 17:19
|
|
|
Fitzy Fitz posted:yeah give us the tips Southern exposure seed exchange probably has a bunch of them. There are different varieties for roasting/boiling/butter/oil I think. I’ve never grown them but maybe I will because green peanuts make the best boiled peanuts.
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 18:10
|
|
|
Jhet posted:I went with a seed starting mix and a heating mat, but otherwise nothing out of the ordinary for starting seeds. If you have a fresh bag of sun dried peppers you should be okay with it. If it was kiln dried then they’re toast. Yeah, I had er jing tiao from the same place you got yours (Mala Market), I just hadn't thought to plant those seeds before you had mentioned it earlier in the thread. I'll give the direct planted ones some more time but throw a bunch of them in a damp container to sprout in the meantime. The heating mat I have is hilariously inefficient, and doesn't really seem able to put out more than 1-2 degrees above ambient, but that was enough for tomatoes and (sweet) peppers in the past...
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 18:47
|
|
|
Jan posted:Yeah, I had er jing tiao from the same place you got yours (Mala Market), I just hadn't thought to plant those seeds before you had mentioned it earlier in the thread. Yeah, they should be fine as those are supposed to be sun dried. They do germinate fairly quickly for peppers (5-10 days), so maybe you just grabbed some from a dud pepper. Let me know if you can’t get them to work and I can put seeds from my round of growing them for seed in the mail if you’re in the US. The ones I tested for germ all did fine, so hopefully everyone is having good luck with them coming up. If you can get them to sprout in a closed damp container then you can always stick those into dirt gently and they should grow just fine too.
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 19:09
|
|
|
we have germination! Tomato seeds only took 4 days to pop from 1" soil cubes on a heated surface! Wowee zowee that heat makes a big difference. They're going into pots and moving to a sunny spot today.
|
|
#
?
Mar 13, 2021 17:14
|
|
|
Under soil heating and adjustable height light made the biggest difference in my seed starting. I’m pretty sure that’s why my grandma would always plant 2-3x what she was going to need. She had to count on slow or terrible germination for lots of things.
|
|
#
?
Mar 13, 2021 17:56
|
|
|
Motronic posted:Compost pile turning day. I just have an old rolling trash bin I drilled holes in for a compost bin but I got irrationally excited over the winter when I looked out the window and saw steam coming out the holes. I felt like I truly accomplished something for one in my life.
|
|
#
?
Mar 13, 2021 18:17
|
|
|
That is an impressive pile. Thumposaurus posted:I just have an old rolling trash bin I drilled holes in for a compost bin but I got irrationally excited over the winter when I looked out the window and saw steam coming out the holes. I was just thinking this when I saw the same this weekend and posted about it over in the compost thread. 
|
|
#
?
Mar 14, 2021 21:40
|
|
|
I made a couple raised garden beds that are sort of vertical and sort of have square corners, so I am pretty happy with them.  Anyone know if I need to add a brace across the middle so the sides don't bow out? cedar 2x6s
|
|
#
?
Mar 15, 2021 16:11
|
|
|
gvibes posted:I made a couple raised garden beds that are sort of vertical and sort of have square corners, so I am pretty happy with them. Lol those already look more pro than 95% of raised beds out there. I haven't really seen them bowing, but a brace couldn't hurt if you're worried. Are you planning on putting them on the ground or on that concrete slab? You can probably get away with the concrete slab if you have to, and treat them like a giant container, but the idea with raised beds is that they go down into the ground below, and there are vegetables that benefit from having more than one foot of soil to grow in. If on the slab, then you could fill them with potting soil, which is much lighter than what you'd use if in the ground, and less likely to cause bowing.
|
|
#
?
Mar 15, 2021 16:32
|
|
|
Thumposaurus posted:I just have an old rolling trash bin I drilled holes in for a compost bin but I got irrationally excited over the winter when I looked out the window and saw steam coming out the holes. one of my favorite greenhouse heating methods I’ve seen is to take a sunken greenhouse and pile compost outside the walls I’ve seen places that will dump manure into it.
|
|
#
?
Mar 15, 2021 16:56
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 25, 2024 21:11 |
|
|
My largest cedar bed is 3’x7’ and made with 2”x8”s stacked three high. I didn’t put in a cross brace because I doubt it’ll bow.
|
|
#
?
Mar 15, 2021 16:58
|
|