BYC gardening thread!!

[Bogtown Chick]

After last winter that went on forever, and a summer that seems to be going-gone too fast...I'm thinking I can go for a delay in the snow myself. I know what your sayin' Mark! Ha!

 

[marktoo]

We got working girls now! 3 of 4 are laying! Here they're loading up for a hard day in the garden. I was amazed how willing they were to enter this tractor, while they are familiar with it, it has been 4 - 6 weeks since they've seen it. A chicken memory is only suppose to be about 2 weeks but this has me wondering.


Transport to the job site was a little rough as they tended to gather at the trailing end of the tractor but on the way home they stuck to the center.
Blows me away how quickly 4 chickens can demolish a garden bed, as I write this they are leveling the bed on the right. I plan to put some compost & manure on these two beds, let the hens till it in, then plant strawberries come spring.

 

[SunnySkies]

I bought two pigs this week to run in my garden. Put 4 cattle panels together to make a pig tractor and put it where the potatoes were. They are cleaning up and plowing. As I move their pen, I plan to run the chickens over that new bare patch then smooth it, and when they are done, mulch it with the straw I have laying around here. Hopefully it will all be ready by spring and have less grass and weeds than if I had the guy with the tractor run through it and have a better garden. Then butcher the hogs and repeat next fall.

Downside is I have to pull the drip system up. That is ok, as I want to reconfigure it a bit to make it better.

I hope for a cold winter to kill off the bugs. We had way too many. But I do not like cold and snow. Our farm is perched on top a hill, and our driveway is a 30% grade. I hate it when it snows.

 

[Penny Hen]

Thanks, it has been brutally hot with a 105 heat index again all this next week

I like it. The veggies and chickens not so much. Full Sun seems to mean somethin different deep down south here lol
As it cools off for fall do you think the vines will fruit and still produce or did the heat kill the window of time to do so? I hate to waste garden space on something that failed (like my 4 year old artichoke that's living it up and refuses to bloom). You are sooooo right about heirlooms needing more space lol

I found that planting basil around the tomatoes helped shade them and keep them cooler. It also seemed to keep everything away except tomato hornworm and a tiny white worm that was only 1/4 and inch long. Diatomacious earth took care of them and I found I had some parasites that kill the hornworms but they can still do a lot of damage before they can kill them. The seem to suck them dry.

What causes browning/yellowing of tomato leaves with little pinholes. I have trimmed this out of my tomatoes but it keeps showing up again.

By the way 7 Top turnip greens make a fine trap crop for tomatoes. I still don't know what was eating them but they weren't touching the tomatoes. I was going to take pictures today but it is raining. My chickens liked the hornworms but just don't stand too close when they are eating them they tend to sling the juices around!

Oh, another trick in the south to keep your tomatoes blooming in the heat is to plant them on the east side of a wood fence that runs North/South. That way they get the full morning sun but when the hottest part of the day arrives the fence shades them. Shade cloth is also an option if you don't have a fence.

I am so delighted with the basils I grew. One is Ararat that comes from Israel (Bakersfield Heritage Seed), It is very spicy and when fresh slightly citrus. It drys to a sweet spicy scent and is good for por... popor....

aromatherapy scent mixes. I have found it good on chicken and it will probably do well on fish too. It doesn't flavor the same way a Genovese basil dose. It almost has an a light anise edge. I also planted some Blue Spice basil. This is even more different! I want to figure out how to make it into perfume. I haven't tried cooking with it yet but it seems more likely to to be a confection than a savory dish. Maybe pizellies (Italian cookie).

I planted a purple one too. Not so thrilled with it's flavor but it is extremely beautiful in the garden and now that it is cooler is even growing well. This is one that could do well in the north or very early.

I didn't get but a 1/4 done of what I planned but I plan to construct raised beds all winter. I'll be ready for spring Oh, yes I will!

 

[Angelicisi]

Thanks!
I grow lotsa basil. Green & purple.

I love it as an edible filler in the garden and have enough to sprinkle fresh in the chickens nests (they LOVE flinging pintched basil tops on their backs while laying lol weird but sure smells good! Hubby says I'm trying to Pre-season lmao.

The purple smells like black licorice to me, anise* someone said lol bleh. But I Love the purple ruffle leaves!

I found that planting basil around the tomatoes helped shade them and keep them cooler. It also seemed to keep everything away except tomato hornworm and a tiny white worm that was only 1/4 and inch long. Diatomacious earth took care of them and I found I had some parasites that kill the hornworms but they can still do a lot of damage before they can kill them. The seem to suck them dry.

What causes browning/yellowing of tomato leaves with little pinholes. I have trimmed this out of my tomatoes but it keeps showing up again.

By the way 7 Top turnip greens make a fine trap crop for tomatoes. I still don't know what was eating them but they weren't touching the tomatoes. I was going to take pictures today but it is raining. My chickens liked the hornworms but just don't stand too close when they are eating them they tend to sling the juices around!

Oh, another trick in the south to keep your tomatoes blooming in the heat is to plant them on the east side of a wood fence that runs North/South. That way they get the full morning sun but when the hottest part of the day arrives the fence shades them. Shade cloth is also an option if you don't have a fence.

I am so delighted with the basils I grew. One is Ararat that comes from Israel (Bakersfield Heritage Seed), It is very spicy and when fresh slightly citrus. It drys to a sweet spicy scent and is good for por... popor.... aromatherapy scent mixes. I have found it good on chicken and it will probably do well on fish too. It doesn't flavor the same way a Genovese basil dose. It almost has an a light anise edge. I also planted some Blue Spice basil. This is even more different! I want to figure out how to make it into perfume. I haven't tried cooking with it yet but it seems more likely to to be a confection than a savory dish. Maybe pizellies (Italian cookie).

I planted a purple one too. Not so thrilled with it's flavor but it is extremely beautiful in the garden and now that it is cooler is even growing well. This is one that could do well in the north or very early.

I didn't get but a 1/4 done of what I planned but I plan to construct raised beds all winter. I'll be ready for spring Oh, yes I will!

 

[TXchickmum]

We are transitioning from summer to winter in the garden! The gals are tilling up the soil and clearing any lingering grubs. The herbs are still doing wonderfully well (and I have a little OEGB that loves to scratch around and perch a while in them)!

 

[marktoo]

We're in the middle of doing the same thing. Most of the winter is in, still need to clean up the summer garden & plant Favas & cover crops.
Why not Wyandottes in the garden?

Gonna miss these greens but we gotta harvest the potatoes





Stinkin Gophers! Hope they ate themselves to death.

 

[SunnySkies]

So...sweet potatoes...grew them on a whim for the very first time. When do you know to dig them? I'm sure we should soon, but is there an optimum time?

My pigs are doing a great job plowing up where the potatoes were and even found some the kids missed when we dug those back in July. I move the pen every few days to give them more grazing and get more plowed, then I go behind them with a bow rake, smooth it down and mulch with straw. Wish I had some living ground cover seeds. Sigh. Wasn't that far thinking.

 

[outlander]

What causes browning/yellowing of tomato leaves with little pinholes. I have trimmed this out of my tomatoes but it keeps showing up again.

Sounds like flea beetles... They can be tricky to eradicate, as you have to interrupt their life cycle. They produce two cycles per year. It's a management process, so I won't go into the long details here. Check around the internet for further explanation...good luck!!

 

[marktoo]

So...sweet potatoes...grew them on a whim for the very first time. When do you know to dig them? I'm sure we should soon, but is there an optimum time?

My pigs are doing a great job plowing up where the potatoes were and even found some the kids missed when we dug those back in July. I move the pen every few days to give them more grazing and get more plowed, then I go behind them with a bow rake, smooth it down and mulch with straw. Wish I had some living ground cover seeds. Sigh. Wasn't that far thinking.

I have been growing them for 5 or 6 years & they've always done well for me. The book I just looked at says to check the them for size at about 70 days. I generally start my slips mid April, plant them early June & harvest Mid to late September. This allows me to have use of the greens for as long as possible while still giving me time to get a cover crop in & started before it turns cold here.

Glad to hear the pigs are working out for you. Ain't got no little piggies to do my tilling & tiller doesn't get much use since I started using a broad fork 9 or 10 years ago. I much prefer the broad fork. Still working on the best way to put the chickens to work, garden cleanup seems to be the ticket.