How about a gardening thread?

[Delta4-3]

Damn delta, you went all in on that one.

A 5 year old girl was dictating how it went together...do you think I could have gotten off with any less?
It was a really fun project to do together, and it's still not done yet!

 

[EasyGravy]

Looks great. And it will keep those little chuckleheads from runnin a muck

 

[Delta4-3]

Looks great. And it will keep those little chuckleheads from runnin a muck

Thanks brother! I was going to let them free range because I have 2 acres of yard to mow, but I have two English setters who are very fond of birds, and I don't think I would have a single chicken left within 10 minutes of putting them in the dogs' AO. The pen is pretty big though, judging by other pens in the area. Aura, my daughter, will sit out there with those chickens all day catching them bugs and stuff. They will walk right up in to her lap and eat out f her hands. It's pretty cool! For anyone who wants to do the solar powered lights, I paid $18 bucks for the better one, and it will light up the 10x10 coop really well. I was surprised at how much light it puts out! The windows are on a series of pulleys so that even she can open them at her small size. It cracks me up that after building the roost that I was all proud of, the birds roost on the frame of the walls instead.

 

[Delta4-3]

Delta, That's the nicest chicken house I've ever seen!

Thanks! Its the chicken palace egg makin factory.

 

[JByrd]

me and the boys patch got the rain when we needed it. LETS EAT!

 

[Sean the Nailer]

Update:
We went out yesterday, weeded, cultivated some, and planted the squash. Here are the progress shots.
6-12-14 7-17-14


6-12-14 7-17-14

So, you can see the 'before and after' shots, as well as the growth of the 'beans' which isn't much at all. We planted the squash yesterday, of which we were trying to sprout them at home. Out of 22 seeds, only 2 sprouted. Not sure what went wrong there.

But, the main thing is, this is our first corn crop. How is it doing? Bad, Average, or Good? I/we have nothing to compare it to, so I can't rate it at all. All I can say though, is that we are happy it is growing and are curious as to what the 'harvest' is going to be.

 

[MtnCreek]

It's a little crowded, but you can get away with that better with the nice soil you have and intensive care. The darker green color means it's fed sufficiently. Looks good.

I've had good luck sprouting on a plate. Lay a couple paper towels on the plate, spread seed, cover with a couple more paper towels and keep moist in a dark, warm area. Make sure it's not near an AC vent. Once they sprout, need to be careful about touching them; oils from hands can harm them. For some seeds that can be harder to get up (like okra), I just soak them in water overnight and plant. Seems to make them jump better / faster.

If the weather allows, I have a lot of corn and peas to put up this weekend. I got a little carried away on peas this year. Between Mississippi Purple Hulls and Butter Peas, I have either 6 or 8 (can't remember), ~280 ft rows. Shelling peas gets a little old after the first 5 hours or so... but the kids will dig in too, so should be alright.

Edit: Every time I click on this page I look at that chicken house in amazement!

 

[Sean the Nailer]

Our corn is coming up nicely, (I'm guessing, this is our first crop) though our beans have been decimated by the rabid veloci-bunnies. They will be negotiated with at the soonest possible interception. Coincidentally, it seems that our squash plants are untouched, though they are very small and not doing well at all.

Largest lesson learned this year, don't listen to the 'locals' as to when to plant. It is obvious to us, that their timing is drastically wrong. We're going out tomorrow to start to harvest some corn. Pictures to follow. (and bringing this thread back to life, it seems, as I had to go searching for it.)

 

[cav has been]

Our garden is producing pretty well though things are slow this year. Pea harvest is winding down, just short of 5 gallons so far. Cukes in droves, several gallons of pickles in the works. Tomatoes are slow as hell, only ate two so far. Pole and bush beans holding their own. Squashes are prolific. Raspberries are outstanding. Potatoes are looking good and tasting even better. Strange year but I could learn to like this global warming. We are at about eighty days since last frost, year before last we had seventeen days between frosts.

 

[Delta4-3]

It's a little crowded, but you can get away with that better with the nice soil you have and intensive care. The darker green color means it's fed sufficiently. Looks good.

I've had good luck sprouting on a plate. Lay a couple paper towels on the plate, spread seed, cover with a couple more paper towels and keep moist in a dark, warm area. Make sure it's not near an AC vent. Once they sprout, need to be careful about touching them; oils from hands can harm them. For some seeds that can be harder to get up (like okra), I just soak them in water overnight and plant. Seems to make them jump better / faster.

If the weather allows, I have a lot of corn and peas to put up this weekend. I got a little carried away on peas this year. Between Mississippi Purple Hulls and Butter Peas, I have either 6 or 8 (can't remember), ~280 ft rows. Shelling peas gets a little old after the first 5 hours or so... but the kids will dig in too, so should be alright.

Edit: Every time I click on this page I look at that chicken house in amazement!

Thanks! It's come even farther since. I'll try to get an updated pic soon. She works with me 10+ hours a day doing the night vision thing, as that is one of her passions, but now she is ramping up for her egg sales. They should start laying here in a month or so and she thinks she is going to be loaded with cash selling eggs from her 13 chickens. How nice it must be to be 5 years old and not realize that the chicken feed costs her daddy as much as she is going to sell the eggs for! She has a plan to charge more money for her eggs, but each one comes with a happy face drawn on it....I'll post pic when she gets her first batch.

 

[Sean the Nailer]

Delta, so she's working on the "lower-profit=higher volume" premise. Same as what Ray Kroc did when he began the McDonalds franchise. She's gonna be rich!!!!



Seriously though, great on ya. Looks like a fantastic venture, that is a massive investment into your family. If only more, would do half as much as you are...... where would we be today?

 

[Sean the Nailer]

Here's what our corn looked like on the 18th, when we did our first pick:


Now, to add to this, here is a shot of the 'before' and 'after' boiling the corn for a minute or so, immediately upon picking:
View attachment DSC_0096.jpg

But here is one ear/cob(?) that is definitely different, and we don't know why. Anyone?
View attachment DSC_0098.jpg
The above cob looks so mutant, that I just had to ask. All those 'ungrown' niblets and then there are all those huge niblets.... just seems real weird to us.

So what do you think?

 

[hankpac]

Each and every kernel on a cob of corn must be individually pollinated from it's strand of silk. Any that didn't make it will not develop. Look it up. Pretty cool. the wind does most of the pollination, so sometimes the cobs on the upwind side of the corn patch won't get any pollen. I used to plant in blocks, rather than rows, to allow for the most possible pollination.

 

[Delta4-3]

If you aren't checking on your chickens with night vision, you're not doing it right!

 

[Sean the Nailer]

Well, here's the final pick. Man, were we ever disappointed. What the heck is wrong with these ears now? I get what was said earlier, regarding the individual kernels need to be fertilized in order to grow, but these ones look like they shrunk/regressed. And the worms. Wow, worms everywhere, and inside.

Today, the opinion is 'screw it, never growing corn again' and would much rather walk up and knock on some farmers door and offer to pay cash right there on the barrel-head. We've got faith that at least the "professional" knows what he's doing, considering a family to feed and all.

We'll see what ya'll say, and maybe re-think after calming down. Fair bit of effort and funds (traveling back and forth to the farm) to do this, only to be 'flushed out' so bad with such a dismal showing. The worms, though... they put my Lady off this corn something fierce.

Here it is, this is the whole 'pickins' right there.

View attachment DSC_0049.jpgView attachment DSC_0052.jpgHere's a close and closer up shot of them,

View attachment DSC_0055.jpgand here's a nice and juicy shot of just one of the 'worm-infested' cobs. Of which there were so damn many, we tossed the lot. (over half had visible worms, I don't know what was in the 'less than other half'.) It just ain't worth it, and we'll go and get some 'real corn' to satisfy our needs with.

 

[Delta4-3]

They are pollinated from the bottom up. Mine looked like that this year too. A strong wind laid out my corn earlier on, so only the bottom half had kernels.

 

[Sean the Nailer]

Delta, so you're saying that we didn't do anything wrong? If correct, then "that's cool".

Our local 'veggie store' that deals with all the local growers just got a call from one particular corn farmer yesterday, and he told her that he lost his whole crop to worms and bad growth. Holy crap.

Anyone have any suggestions as to do this better, and what mixture of napalm works on these worms? I can handle spiders and all, but these worms in this food,,,,, nossir.

Indoor farming sound appealing, but raises the wrong eyebrows, eh?

 

[0311 Hesco]

Harvest Moon happened. Let's see some harvests!

 

[Delta4-3]

Delta, so you're saying that we didn't do anything wrong? If correct, then "that's cool".

Our local 'veggie store' that deals with all the local growers just got a call from one particular corn farmer yesterday, and he told her that he lost his whole crop to worms and bad growth. Holy crap.

Anyone have any suggestions as to do this better, and what mixture of napalm works on these worms? I can handle spiders and all, but these worms in this food,,,,, nossir.

Indoor farming sound appealing, but raises the wrong eyebrows, eh?

I don't think you did anything wrong. However, you can prevent the worms. When they just start to get silks, put a drop of mineral oil on the silks of each ear. No more worms.

 

[Cephalotus]

Ghost Pepper

 

[0311 Hesco]

I thought Ghost Peppers were translucent like Casper? Lol. Good looking plant man. Be careful with those.

Is this all the harvests? I'm in Pakistan and didn't get to have a garden this year. I need some MOTIVATION. lol