Back to Eden Gardening and Hugelkulture and other non-conventional garden methods

[igorsMistress]

Thanks politicalcenter I am going to look into it and see what it entails.

 

[lazy gardener]

Has this product been applied to your gardens?

https://funsubstance.com/fun/363867/dihydrogen-monoxide/

 

[politicalcenter]

Only when it doesnt rain. Heck, I have been known to drink the stuff.

 

[lazy gardener]

Kudos to appps for posting a link to this guy's gardening style. Worth a trial: Core gardening:

 

[Arielle]

Kudos to appps for posting a link to this guy's gardening style. Worth a trial: Core gardening:

I too will have a look at this.

And I too need a GH. Til then ...

Seeding peas in pots and making a mini green house. Have a huge manure pile that needs turning. Will see if still decaying and producing warmth. Will consider digging down and putting pea pots into the warmth....IF IF IF I can secure plants from duck bills. lol

Tried planting peas in flat of potting soil for greens. Cut twice. The Dwarf sugar Grey pea shoots are delish in stir fry.

Bok Choi is easy, too. Picking the small outer leaves allows the plant to continue growing.

 

[lazy gardener]

A hay bale cold frame is super easy to make, and you can grow an amazing amount of greens in a frame that is 2 bales long. I'm still catching voles in my HB CF. Still on the original chocolate chip. I think my count is up to 6 voles on that one choc. chip.

 

[Arielle]

Found a box of books that are worth dusting off and reading. From the 70's a collecting of gardening books. Encouraged crowding in different veggies to maximize space AND a simple coldframe design!!!!

Brain is working overtime ......maybe combine the hay bales with the lid for the coldframe.

My experimental effort with growing Oregon Spring tomatos in the cold 50 degree basement in full sun has reached am unexpected turn of events. One tray of 6 has 4 wilted and two strong plants. Tray two has most going strong,. a few wilted ( no specific count at this time),Tray three of 10 has 8 wilted, and two looking strong.

Moved two strong plants from tray one to windowsill of south window..... hoping for more light from sun and a growlight is there also, and the temps are a bit warmer than the 50 degree basement but not as warm as the bathroom where the bok choi, peas , etc are.

hmmmm. Should try the bok choi in the basement. With a grow light, maybe 50 is better for them.

Experiments are fun!!

Have eaten a few of the tomato prunings, and gave remainder to the chickens.......

 

[DesertBrahma]

I just started my journey on a BTE garden. I finally got done laying the wood mulch yesterday. I have my nasty yucky NM soil then composted horse manure mixed with hay, then cardboard and the mulch on top. I'm going to add a bit of my chicken compost on top by sprinkling it over the top. I have a problem with very alkaline soil, and very intense sun. We also get hot winds from the west, and heat up to 110 at times during the summer. I've never been able to hold moisture in my garden for my plants. Last year my tomatoes didn't produce, my cucumbers were so bitter the chickens wouldn't even eat them, and my corn got worms. The only things that did ok was my potatoes, sweet potatoes, zucchini. I got carrots this spring that I planted seeds for last spring, and finally have red onions and garlic I planted last year coming up. So not a very good garden. I didn't get any regular tomatoes, just a few cherry, and my peppers turned black, I didn't get any jalapeño, or cilantro. So no salsa for us. I've added some blood meal to the wood chips, and some organic fertilizer to the manure. Hopefully I get a lot better growth this year. I put a ton of peat moss, garden soil, and tilled it last year. This year I didn't. I just put in the manure, added the organic fertilizer, watered, put down cardboard, watered then added the wood chips, and blood meal and watered again. Next step is to get some of my chicken manure compost and spread that too, and water. Then let it sit for a couple weeks before I start planting. I'm also going to be gathering more mulch to build an orchard I've been wanting. I got about 4 inches of mulch on all my trees that are holding moisture really well. I also added blood meal and composted horse manure to them. I'm finally seeing buds on my youngest tree. My fig isn't showing anything yet. My pretty plants are growing well. I'm already seeing growth on it and we're just starting to really warm up. Also the oldest mulch is starting to break down and looks like beautiful soil. I'm still trying to figure everything out on this type of gardening. I've always done it the old fashion way. Now I can really see why putting a good mulch layer on is a great idea to hold moisture. Keep me posted on all the results y'all get. I'm hoping this works with our intense summer sun.

 

[lazy gardener]

Sounds like you are making progress in the right direction.

 

[DesertBrahma]

I know it's going to take time to get everything right. It's in the experiment stage for me right now. I had to get my potatoes in the ground yesterday because they were sprouting and getting a soft. Hopefully they really grow.