WaterfowlForum.Net

It's not too far out for us here and finally living in my own house I finally get my garden. Grandpa past down his old tiller that I have fired up again and ready to go. Now time to plan for what and where I will plant. What is does everybody else have going on?

Searching for those mysterious flying creatures that are usually referred to as ducks. They are not coming in to any of my spots.

Duck season is wrapping up this Sunday. Ill be focusing on servicing my tractor for the spring and summer work out at the club. Also getting my gear in order for the up coming fishin season. Some where in there I'll be working on my veggie garden. My dove food plots are my first thing on my list of chit I gotta get done. Its been a headache the last couple of years. Either to much spring rain to get in the field to disc and plant or not enough after they sprout to produce good seed. Hoping for a dry and frost free early March. And a wet April and may.

I just tilled a spot and put in garlic yesterday. Need to get some more in, quickly. I'm already 3 weeks late. As for what's going in this year, I'm not sure. But I know what I'm NOT planting- no corn, and no melons. I tell myself that every damn year, and every damn year I take up space and time planting that crap. I can buy corn cheaper, and melons get old after about the first 15. Not to mention between the two, they took up about a third of my garden. More lima beans, more green beans, and more herbs this year. Same number of peppers and tomatoes, although I'm going with all Romas, no sandwich tomatoes. Less red onions and more yellow onions. Red onions are good and I like them, but last year I went about 50/50, which was stupid, because red onions are good in salads and on burgers, and that's about it. Yellow onions are far more practical to have around. I love that garden, even though I cuss it.

assateague wrote:I just tilled a spot and put in garlic yesterday. Need to get some more in, quickly. I'm already 3 weeks late. As for what's going in this year, I'm not sure. But I know what I'm NOT planting- no corn, and no melons. I tell myself that every damn year, and every damn year I take up space and time planting that crap. I can buy corn cheaper, and melons get old after about the first 15. Not to mention between the two, they took up about a third of my garden. More lima beans, more green beans, and more herbs this year. Same number of peppers and tomatoes, although I'm going with all Romas, no sandwich tomatoes. Less red onions and more yellow onions. Red onions are good and I like them, but last year I went about 50/50, which was stupid, because red onions are good in salads and on burgers, and that's about it. Yellow onions are far more practical to have around. I love that garden, even though I cuss it.

Looking forward to your garden again and I'm sure I'll have a question or two along the way. Really want to try the potatoes in the tires like you do. I've been talking it over with the FIL and just need the tires now. I'm all about maximizing the space I have, about 25' x 25'

Remember, you will need a LOT of dirt. I mean a lot.

FIL has been getting loads of good souls trucked in the last few years but it has never been tilled in. He always did raised beds until last year although it was always a very halfassed attempt. I'm guessing I will spend most of this year getting the soil right and really see decent results next year maybe

Flightstopper wrote:FIL has been getting loads of good souls trucked in the last few years but it has never been tilled in. He always did raised beds until last year although it was always a very halfassed attempt. I'm guessing I will spend most of this year getting the soil right and really see decent results next year maybe

This sounds very sinister. As if he's a vampire or demon, out harvesting the weak for your benefit.

Flightstopper wrote:FIL has been getting loads of good souls trucked in the last few years but it has never been tilled in. He always did raised beds until last year although it was always a very halfassed attempt. I'm guessing I will spend most of this year getting the soil right and really see decent results next year maybe

How will souls help in your garden? Sounds kind of ghoulish to me!

Horse shit. FInd someone with horses, and load up a truck and you're good. Horse shit is a slow release, won't burn the plants. You really can't use too much horse manure. Everything else, you have to be careful, but not horse manure. And when you're done at the end of the season, till it up and hand sow some oats or rye, then till them under in the late winter. You'll never have to mess with the soil again. Just keep doing this.

So where does he get those truckloads from?

MuddyWaterWarlock wrote:

Flightstopper wrote:FIL has been getting loads of good souls trucked in the last few years but it has never been tilled in. He always did raised beds until last year although it was always a very halfassed attempt. I'm guessing I will spend most of this year getting the soil right and really see decent results next year maybe

How will souls help in your garden? Sounds kind of ghoulish to me!

Without souls my ginger garden would severely lack it's legendary proportions

assateague wrote:Horse shit. FInd someone with horses, and load up a truck and you're good. Horse shit is a slow release, won't burn the plants. You really can't use too much horse manure. Everything else, you have to be careful, but not horse manure. And when you're done at the end of the season, till it up and hand sow some oats or rye, then till them under in the late winter. You'll never have to mess with the soil again. Just keep doing this.

This is exactly the kind of shit I need Assa, keep it coming as you can. I really need all the help I can get to get this started right. I see it as the same as having a freezer full of meat. Fuck the grocer and relying on other people for what I can do myself.

assateague wrote:Horse shit. FInd someone with horses, and load up a truck and you're good. Horse shit is a slow release, won't burn the plants. You really can't use too much horse manure. Everything else, you have to be careful, but not horse manure. And when you're done at the end of the season, till it up and hand sow some oats or rye, then till them under in the late winter. You'll never have to mess with the soil again. Just keep doing this.

Too bad I have chickens. Burned up half the garden this year and had to start over. Oops.

Yeah man, chicken manure is potent, potent stuff. So is cow manure. I can mulch right up to plants in the middle of June with fresh horse manure and it won't burn. I started doing the rye two years ago, and I noticed a huge difference from all that nitrogen being pumped back into the soil.

Chicken manure. Your neighbors will hate you. Lol.

Bad17 wrote:Chicken manure. Your neighbors will hate you. Lol.

Only when you use tons of it. I'm down to under 30 now so it's not too bad.

30 tons.

Bad17 wrote:Chicken manure. Your neighbors will hate you. Lol.

March 16th is our "legal" date for spreading manure around here. Nothing but chicken farms, everywhere you go. When they start spreading, it's straight up nasty for about 6 counties there for a while. And I was raised around it. Really gets the imports riled up.

Bad17 wrote:30 tons.

Uhhh no, 30 birds.

I figured I forgot the LOL.

Bad17 wrote:30 tons.

I was thinking it too.

That's a lot of chicken poo.

I got the poo on me. In my best Joe Dirte voice.

It's Dirt. Don't try to church it up none.

Assa, how many potato tire stacks would you say you need for a couple people. Eating potatoes maybe a couple times a week at least

You'd need a lot. I had 1 stack of of four produce well, and a stack of three just ok. I need to pack the dirt around the rim of the tire (where the air goes) far far tighter this year to keep them separated. And then I hedged my bets and planted 21 regular hills, for a total of 28 hills. We have about 15-20 pounds left, but they go quick. No way will I make it to next harvest with what I have.

The thing is, even with the regular hills, they don't take up much room. I plant my potatoes really close. I'd say including the tire stacks, all my potatoes were in a 4'x15' area. Just make sure you rotate the location. Other things aren't as important, but never plant potatoes, tomatoes, or eggplant where potatoes were. You can back tomatoes with potatoes, but not the other way around. The potato beetles live in the ground, and re-hatch every year. But they only overwinter under where potatoes were, even though they also eat tomatoes and eggplant, nothing else.

I had better luck with store bought potatoes than seed potatoes last year for some reason. Same kinds. If you don't have a feed store around that sells seed potatoes, don't buy them at Walmart or anything. Just get a few 5 pound bags from the grocery store a month or so before you plant and let them eye up, then cut them in half or thirds (depending how big they are) and plant them 4" deep eye up. I dip my cut sides into a bag if powdered sulfur, but it's not 100% necessary.

You also have to hill up around them as they grow (not if they're in tire stacks). When they get about 6" tall, mound dirt around them until just the top two leaves are poking out. Keep doing this until your mound is at least a foot high. Otherwise your potatoes will ripen too close to the surface and will be green and no good to eat.

Thanks. Great to know

Some good info here. I am planning on expanding my garden this year. I just had a small one last year. It was the first time I've been around a garden since I was about 8-9. So I am learning a lot. I actually enjoyed it last year, so I'm going bigger this year.

I am going to move my little garden in to where my pheasant pen used to be. Its about 3x the size of last years garden and is fully enclosed with chicken wire (top too), if that don't keep tug out I give up.

sent from my Galaxy S3 using tapatalk 2

McDonald's is my garden.