Official Gardening/Homesteading thread: Our back yards are our grocery stores

Discussion in 'The Mainboard' started by lhprop1, Apr 9, 2015.

  1. BayouMafia

    BayouMafia Thought Leader in Posting
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    Early returns on the rock wool are quite pleasing.

    4th and 5th column from the left are French Charentais Melons that I couldn’t even get to germinate last year in potting soil. This is after 4 days.

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  2. gritzy

    gritzy I am a hurricane on the golf course

    where do you like to buy your seeds?
     
  3. BayouMafia

    BayouMafia Thought Leader in Posting
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  4. PJP3

    PJP3 Well-Known Member
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    I was able to get a lot of my stuff to survive through our "winter" so I've got some serious tomatoes and peppers already ripe. I've noticed bell peppers will always produce way more the 2nd year they are planted. I'd get like 1-2 peppers per plant first year, but ill get like 10 the 2nd year.
     
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  5. Hail Southern

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    Just found out the house we are buying next week has free locally sourced irrigation included with our hoa. Sounds like everyones sprinkler systems run off of the neighborhood ponds.

    Hoping to order all of my plants on the 24th after we move in.
     
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  6. bigred77

    bigred77 Well-Known Member
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    Congrats!
    Having a well for my outside watering has been one of my favorite things about my house
    I can water my grass every damn day if I want to
     
  7. Hail Southern

    Hail Southern GATA Eagles!
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    I took your advice and ordered 3 PawPaw trees from them. :beerchug:
     
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  8. One Two

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    So I’ve got the pruning thing figured out, problem is that it’s been a relatively mild winter and plum and peach trees are starting to bloom and bud out. In Birmingham we typically get one last freeze in late March or early April so I’m guessing just need to be patient on pruning them.
     
  9. BayouMafia

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    I was irrationally happy this weekend to find peach blossoms on the trees I planted back in September
     
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  10. One Two

    One Two Hot Dog Vibes
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    Yeah the Santa Rosa plums I planted were supposed to have another couple of years before they bloomed but here we are
     
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  11. billdozer

    billdozer Well-Known Member
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    So who's looking to expand their garden now? I guess worst case for me, we'll be eating honey glazed lamb a lot.
     
  12. Bo Pelinis

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    Doubled the size at the end of last season. Thinking that was a good plan.
     
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  13. billdozer

    billdozer Well-Known Member
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    Been hanging out on the farm with the girls when not working from home.



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  14. billdozer

    billdozer Well-Known Member
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    The easy way to cut the front lawn
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  15. billdozer

    billdozer Well-Known Member
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    Since we're letting the sheep graze around the house now, we started working on fencing the garden today. Hopefully will have all of the posts set tomorrow.
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    #1915 billdozer, Apr 6, 2020
    Last edited: Apr 6, 2020
  16. Arliden

    Arliden Well-Known Member
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    Meant to ask this the other day but is your property fully fenced? Hard to tell in the picture.

    Thoroughly enjoyed the lamb races video btw.
     
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  17. billdozer

    billdozer Well-Known Member
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    Pretty much. The only part that isn't is the road frontage in front of the house and that is being fenced next week. The rest is a mix of field fencing, boards, or barbed wire. The part that is field fence used to be barbed wire that we replaced with high tensile (for horses), but when we got the sheep we put the field fence in. The previous owners had dairy cows.
     
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  18. Arliden

    Arliden Well-Known Member
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    Not sure if this is the thread for it, but had a weasel roam into the garage today.

    Had no idea we had them on our property, hopefully it starts taking out some ground squirrels.
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  19. bigred77

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    He looks hilariously cute
     
  20. Arliden

    Arliden Well-Known Member
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    He was, insanely inquisitive too.
     
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  21. comrade static

    comrade static i love french fries
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    What did you name him? He looks awesome
     
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  22. Arliden

    Arliden Well-Known Member
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    Rikki Tikki
     
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  23. Funshot Residue

    Funshot Residue Mammoth Stabber
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    Working on a new rotation setup for our 2 sheep this spring. They only want the tender short stuff, so we have to concentrate them in a smallish area to keep the grass under control. Working so far, but not sure if they can keep up all summer. Chickens are kicking ass in terms of laying. Finished splitting and stacking next years firewood on Sunday. Kinda nice to be home more, though I wish it was under better circumstances.
     
  24. billdozer

    billdozer Well-Known Member
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    Got 9 post set, leveled, and tamped in. Have 6 more to do, then cross bracing, wire, and gates.

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  25. bigred77

    bigred77 Well-Known Member
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    Having a tractor is so clutch
     
  26. Funshot Residue

    Funshot Residue Mammoth Stabber
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    Hell yes. I'd be a broken soul without mine. I've been looking to upgrade somewhat, but jeez at the $ for new/newer ones. Maybe get the truck paid off and finance the next machine. Or just hit the lottery. Then I could afford a hi-flow skid steer with a forestry mulching head too. Fuckers are like $75k used.
     
  27. billdozer

    billdozer Well-Known Member
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    It'd be impossible to have this place without one.
     
  28. bigred77

    bigred77 Well-Known Member
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    How many acres you got?
    I don't have enough to justify one, but my uncle used to live like 3 miles away on 10 acres and had a 30 hp Mahindra
    That was just close enough I could drive that sucker over here when I wanted it

    I was sad when he moved and sold it
     
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  29. billdozer

    billdozer Well-Known Member
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    17. We use it for bush hogging, fertilizing, post hole digging, moving round bales, etc.
     
  30. bigred77

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    Damn, I'm kinda surprised you buy round bales for 18 acres

    But consider that I grew up/live in Texas where most people I know that buy round bales have hundreds of acres
     
  31. billdozer

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    Well we currently have 4 horses and 45 sheep. The main purpose of the round bales is to spare the pastures during the winter and the summer. We're planning on getting rid of 2 of the horses and sell down some of the ewes though.
     
  32. thunderstruck

    thunderstruck I'm a Boss

    I’d love to run one of those mulchers, they’re so badass.
     
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  33. BayouMafia

    BayouMafia Thought Leader in Posting
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    thoughts on pesticides that won't harm pollinators? My lavender bush and other flowers constantly have a few bees around, but I pulled a tiny green wormk out of one of the buds on my pomegranate tree. I want to kill those pests but not harm any bees.
     
  34. billdozer

    billdozer Well-Known Member
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    Do it by label. The best option is to not do it while flowers are blooming. Next best is do it at dusk after the bees have gone back to the hive.

    Below is from the UGA bee lab:

    Preventing Pesticide Kills
    Apply pesticides in the evening
    [​IMG]Many pesticides are extremely toxic to honey bees and other beneficial insects. Honey bees are attracted to blooming flowers of all types. If at all possible do not spray blooms directly with pesticides. If the bloom needs to be sprayed, apply the pesticides in the evening hours. Honey bees forage during daylight hours when the temperatures are above 55-60°F. As the sun begins to set, they return to their hives for the evening. Thus, spraying pesticides in the evening hours can greatly reduce honey bee mortality because the bees are not in the fields.

    Choose the appropriate formulation
    The appropriate choice of formulation is another way to avoid honey bee pesticide kills. Pesticides come in different formulations: dusts (D), wettable powders (WP), soluble powders (SP), emulsifiable concentrates (EC), solutions (LS), and granulars (G). Solutions, emulsifiable concentrates, and granulars are the best formulations to use. Solutions and emulsifiable concentrates dry quickly and do not leave a powdery residue unlike the dusts and wettable powders. Granulars are similar to dusts but are larger in particle size. They are applied into the soil or broadcast on the surface of the ground. They are seldom used on blooming plants and are essentially non-hazardous to bees. On the other hand, dusts and wettable powders will adhere to the thousands of tiny hairs found on the body surface of the honey bee. These dust particles are then transferred back to the hive and stored along with the pollen. This can cause an entire colony to collapse if the pollen is fed to the queen or the brood.

    Use less toxic, rapidly degradable pesticides
    Using less toxic pesticides that degrade rapidly is also important in reducing honey bee mortality (See Table of Insecticides and Miticides for pesticide toxicity and residual time). Many of the newer pesticides being marketed today have a faster residual time which is the time required to reduce the activity of the chemical to safer levels for bee activity. When these pesticides are sprayed in the fields, it takes only a few hours for them to degrade as opposed to a few days or weeks.

    Alter application method
    [​IMG]The method of application can also change the risk of pesticide poisoning. Aerial applications have the highest potential risk for causing bee kills. Most bee kills occur when the pesticide drifts or moves from the target area into the apiary or onto crops attractive to the bees. The outcome of drift can be catastrophic. Spraying during windy days greatly increases the risk of drift. Using granular formulations, soil treatments or equipment that confines the spray to the intended target can help reduce the risk of drift from pesticides.
     
  35. One Two

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    Neem oil. Not the most effective but as long as you spray when bees aren’t present it won’t kill them
     
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  36. thunderstruck

    thunderstruck I'm a Boss

    Do you just want a new one or are you needing a bigger one? What’s that kubota, like 45hp?
     
  37. Funshot Residue

    Funshot Residue Mammoth Stabber
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    Think you got me confused with billdozer . I have a JD870. 30hp 4wd. I'd like to get into the 45+ horsepower range but not be a lot bigger. Also, having learned on a shuttle, I really don't want a hydro trans. There isn't much point me having anything too nice, I'll just tear it up. Rebuilt the front 4wd axle/hub/spindle this winter on mine after being too hard on an old tractor.
     
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  38. billdozer

    billdozer Well-Known Member
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    I've got a 50 hp Kioti NX5010. We have the shuttle and didn't want the HST because you lose PTO hp. We needed the 50 hp because it was strong enough to lift round bales and was the minimum size to run a no-til-drill, which we can rent from the county if we want to use it.
     
  39. billdozer

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    While we were working on the garden fence one of my hives started to swarm. One of my girls helped me get those. As we finished, someone called me with a swarm on the side of their house, so I went and got those too.

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  40. Funshot Residue

    Funshot Residue Mammoth Stabber
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    LadyRes wants bees next year. I think it is a great idea, but not sure of practicality. Any pointers appreciated.
     
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  41. billdozer

    billdozer Well-Known Member
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    What are your questions? People have bees in all types of places. The main thing would be do you or her want to actually deal with them on a regular basis? If not, it's a waste of money and bees, because they'll be dead within a year or two.
     
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  42. Funshot Residue

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    She'll put in the work. I am most concerned about hive placement, as we have bears. I am also given to understand that hives can fall prey to mites of some sort. She is interested in the flowhive as well, which neither of us have any experience with.
     
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  43. timo

    timo g'day, mate
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    The mustard, turnip, collard, etc. greens, along with arugula, peas, lettuce, cilantro, and various herbs I've got growing have saved me several trips to the supermarket, while providing much needed daily vitamins and anti-oxidants in the middle of this virus.

    On the other hand, the tomatoes I started indoors have gone to complete shit. I did something wrong with the soil starter chemistry or something.
     
  44. billdozer

    billdozer Well-Known Member
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    Bears are a problem, even for some people around here. When I take my hives to the mountains for sourwood honey (only like 20 minutes away), I use a solar powered electric rope fence.

    You will have to test/treat for varroa mites yearly or twice a year.

    I don't have any experience with the flowhive. I know it's really expensive, but may be worth it if you are only having 1 hive if you don't have access to an extractor for a normal hive. If you look on the first pages of this thread, I know at least 1 bought a flow hive. If they're still around, maybe you can tag them and ask them about it.
     
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  45. bigred77

    bigred77 Well-Known Member
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    My tomatoes i started from seed have been the same
    They grew like crazy in the tiny starter pod, then when I transferred them to bigger cups some died immediately, some seemed to do good for a week or some, some longer, but I'm down to like two

    Peppers i started the exact same way are all doing well, so well I'm gonna have more pepper plants than I was planning on room for
     
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  46. timo

    timo g'day, mate
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    My peppers are healthy, but are smaller than ideal at this point in the spring. What's more, the 2 week look ahead weather wise here in DC is looking on the cool side. Was hoping to move some of them outside during the day to start to harden them off (and get them more sun) before they go in the ground, but I can't really do that if the highs aren't going to hit 60.
     
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  47. billdozer

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    Got the rest of the holes dug, post set, and cross bracing installed. Still need to put the cross wire tensioners in and then just the gate and fence is left.
    [​IMG]
     
  48. ashy larry

    ashy larry from ashy to classy
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    gonna be in the low 40s for a few hours tonight. worried about my tomatoes. do i need to cover them?
     
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  49. BayouMafia

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    Everything I started from seed died this year after I transplanted the pods into pots so all of my tomatoes, zucchini, squash, and eggplants are plants from my local produce stand. Should do great, but I really like the varieties I grow from seed.

    I started some chanterais melons on a paper towel last week and put the seedlings in the ground today so fingers crossed at least one of them makes it. Those French melons are so much better than the cantaloupes we have here. Really want some this year
     
  50. texasraider

    texasraider thanks
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    Where do you live?