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Misc Gardening Thread

Shawn said:
I started doing the no dig/no till and realized it's very good to not destroy the living soil underneath
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How do you control weeds? I've heard about no till but don't really know how it works.
 
EmersonGA said:
How do you control weeds? I've heard about no till but don't really know how it works.
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Heavy mulch either from hay or wood chips. We use a layer of manure/compost, then hay and then weed fabric. Eventually we will be able to get rid of the weed fabric, but it has proved to be absolutely amazing with beating down and killing the Bermuda.
 
Arcc said:
Heavy mulch either from hay or wood chips. We use a layer of manure/compost, then hay and then weed fabric. Eventually we will be able to get rid of the weed fabric, but it has proved to be absolutely amazing with beating down and killing the Bermuda.
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How does it work with row crops such as corn? I grow my tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant under lights but don't like the idea of corn, beans, and okra as well. Do you just cut long rips in the fabric for those?
 
A blessing for me and the farmers! ?A0E833C2-4DEA-4828-B5E8-FDFB6F3532F4.png
 
EmersonGA said:
How does it work with row crops such as corn? I grow my tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant under lights but don't like the idea of corn, beans, and okra as well. Do you just cut long rips in the fabric for those?
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The corn we planted this year we just used heavy mulch. That said it was the first time we planted corn in years. The beans we cut the fabric and folded it back. The okra I did both ways, however making individual holes for each plant has made much bigger plants. So it would work the same for others, just more initial work. Unfortunately, I’ve kind of let the okra go. I need to go cut it.

Most of the principles we use come out of this method.

Foundations for Farming | Feeding the Nations

foundationsforfarming.org foundationsforfarming.org
 
Within a couple years or less, the weeds naturally die off. I use cardboard instead of fabric etc.
 
Got a tractor question for y'all. I've got a Kubota BX2380 and just got a 48" King Kutter tiller from my boss for a steal. I have a steep hill from my barn to the garden plot so I'm thinking I'll need to have the front end loader on as ballast for the weight of the tiller. What do y'all think?
 
If it's easy to hitch up the loader I'd go for that. Or weights if you have them. It'll be harder to steer without.
 
SD said:
Best way to get rid of moles survival of the mole is not a factor
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I'm all ears on this one too. I've killed at least a dozen over the last 3 years using traps over their tunnels. Haven't put a dent in the population
 
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metwannabe said:
I'm all ears on this one too. I've killed at least a dozen over the last 3 years using traps over their tunnels. Haven't put a dent in the population
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I've been running over this bastard with the lawn mower and had him forced out of the yard but he came back this morning. Ultimately getting rid of grubs is the answer but I need this thing gone today
 
SD said:
I've been running over this bastard with the lawn mower and had him forced out of the yard but he came back this morning. Ultimately getting rid of grubs is the answer but I need this thing gone today
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You sure it’s moles and not voles? Anywho, I know you’re smart and went to the Wolf school, the spear traps are really the best as long as you’re not a member of PETA
And I have had a Boston terrier kill a few also! As you said, they are rooting for the grubs, and can do quite a number on the ole turf/yard
 
Tarheel1 said:
You sure it’s moles and not voles? Anywho, I know you’re smart and went to the Wolf school, the spear traps are really the best as long as you’re not a member of PETA
And I have had a Boston terrier kill a few also! As you said, they are rooting for the grubs, and can do quite a number on the ole turf/yard
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A little light reading, they apparently love earthworms too! So killing them I guess is your only hope? Maybe try poisons??
 
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Finally had to break out the water hoses to get the clover started. Well can't handle a lot of watering all day, but I'm able to do sections at a time. What I started watering a week ago is already sprouted up.

A while back a community garden close by hired me to prepare an area for them that used to be briars, kudzu and brush. The dirt was 100% red clay, nothing useful.

I told them not to plant anything in the main plot I was working for 1 year. Over that first summer I planted nothing but crimson clover. Once it grew and flowered, I'd turn plow, till and plant more of the same. Went through 3 plantings. By late fall the dirt was already turning a nice brown color. I planted some sweet potatoes in this area the following year, never saw them any bigger even in stores.

Building soil through crimson clover is a proven method to build up a healthy soil environment.
 
tractor girl said:
Finally had to break out the water hoses to get the clover started. Well can't handle a lot of watering all day, but I'm able to do sections at a time. What I started watering a week ago is already sprouted up.

A while back a community garden close by hired me to prepare an area for them that used to be briars, kudzu and brush. The dirt was 100% red clay, nothing useful.

I told them not to plant anything in the main plot I was working for 1 year. Over that first summer I planted nothing but crimson clover. Once it grew and flowered, I'd turn plow, till and plant more of the same. Went through 3 plantings. By late fall the dirt was already turning a nice brown color. I planted some sweet potatoes in this area the following year, never saw them any bigger even in stores.

Building soil through crimson clover is a proven method to build up a healthy soil environment.
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I started doing that a few years ago and it does work wonders. I'm lucky that my garden gets flooded about once a year so it has tons of nutrients and the floods also push horse manure from the pasture next door. That said, I plowed last night and will till and add clover to most of it on Saturday.
 
SD said:
So what's the secret to the spear traps and the tunnel I'm 0 for this week
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Monitor their movement and patience. I've trapped one the next day and sometimes have left it there for a week before it worked.
 
EmersonGA said:
I started doing that a few years ago and it does work wonders. I'm lucky that my garden gets flooded about once a year so it has tons of nutrients and the floods also push horse manure from the pasture next door. That said, I plowed last night and will till and add clover to most of it on Saturday.
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Just ordered some Durana white clover. Supposedly it is very hardy and will be great for the bees. It if grows well I may plant a lot more in the spring.
 
Crimson clover is starting to come in nicely.

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tractor girl said:
Crimson clover is starting to come in nicely.

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I planted greens the other day. Lettuce, Arugula, collards , broccoli , radish, and beets! They are all coming up now . If I didn’t plan on growing on em I’d have tried crimson clover! I was talking to a farmer in Knightdale and that’s what they do with their 90 acre property


 
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tractor girl said:
Widened my big plot another 15', it's now sitting at 100x50. Using periodic turn plowing and tilling (every 2-3 weeks, and only a few days after a rain) to help kill off bermuda stolons and rhizomes. It's hot and very dry right now. Soil is baking.

Plan to eventually put red clover for over wintering.
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Happy to report back that I've had zero regrowth of the bermuda grass in either of the garden plots I started working a couple months ago. I have equipment most don't have easy access to.

Would def not recommend just light tilling of the top 3-5 inches of ground as you will def have regrowth. I know because I set aside a small test area where I only let the tiller get 6" deep, and there is visible regrowth 2 months later.

Whereever I ran the turn plow first (at a depth of around 12-14") there's zero regrowth. I had drought like conditions IMBY in both test plot and full garden beds. In fact I've been watering the big garden beds regularly. Not even seed regrowth there.

I should also point out that the soil I am working with is mostly compacted red clay, which almost nothing grows in very well (other than bermuda it seems). I am working to build this soil by incorporating a lot of green biomass (crimson clover).
 
Lake lure bridge garden. Was down in Greenville for a few days!C7F2DA5E-14D9-44A5-86CE-7961D9A22D01.jpegC7F2DA5E-14D9-44A5-86CE-7961D9A22D01.jpeg
 
J.C. said:
Question, I happened to spot this renegade tree at about 3000' in the Cohutta Mountains in northwest Georgia. It was in a protected ravine surrounded by rhododendrons. I'm thinking its a Fraser Fir, but I couldn't get close enough to really get a better look. Any thoughts?

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There's about 50 acres of both red spruce and fraser fir on bald mountain (at the summit and going up the tearbritches trail). They seem to be thriving. Northwest facing.

Did you see this lone one down close to a creek?
 
Javissworld said:
There's about 50 acres of both red spruce and fraser fir on bald mountain (at the summit and going up the tearbritches trail). They seem to be thriving. Northwest facing.

Did you see this lone one down close to a creek?
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Yes! I had to get closer to it to get a better look, I swore it was a red spruce. That’s awesome, I’m glad they are doing well. Thanks for the confirmation!
 
J.C. said:
Yes! I had to get closer to it to get a better look, I swore it was a red spruce. That’s awesome, I’m glad they are doing well. Thanks for the confirmation!
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Another thing to keep in mind, there is an understudied orographic effect that looms over the Grassy/Bald/Potato Patch mountain complex that also skews the weather data. During the winter / spring, there's likely 100+ days where it's drenched in fog. This likely helps support the spruce / firs in such area.

That's cool that you saw it further down the trail near the creek. I only surveyed the summit patches and a few near the trailhead. Some seeds must have been carried by the wind. Was it the conasauga river or tearbritches creek? On trail or did you bushwack some?

Additionally, this is confirmation that they are self-reproducing and naturalizing. Saw many of different ages up there.
 
While this is back at the forefront: variegated lemon tree is blooming! And a new Pothos houseplant called :N joyBC76638A-543E-467A-B6E7-3853A9D8AA25.jpegCA78E827-CDBA-4EE6-A4A8-C8DE06471FDD.jpegF9640CF5-EDC1-4A2F-A4C4-BF59EF537984.jpeg
 
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