BYC gardening thread!!

[marktoo]

We use the rabbit waste...directly in the gardens now, the plants LOVE it.
The chicken waste I compost in a barrel composter (few weeks) then use it, never had a burning issue.

I too read so much conflicting info I usually try it out on test areas 1st lol

How's that composter working out for you? I'm thinking about building a double barrel composter in the not too distant future to handle the coop bedding. I am hoping to turn out a high grade compost quickly. The rest of the garden waste goes in the bins, takes about a year to break down as I'm not to attentive to them. The piles only get turned when I move them from one bin to another.

 

[marktoo]

The snow missed us, lol. It was not that far north though! And if it was raining here, it is cold enough we would be getting snow.

I had not thought of painting that tree, that would be a good idea for it. I'm totally new to tree care.

Yeah...my dad never worried about veggies he grew in ground fertilized by whatever we got out of the coops and fields, pretty much right away. But now, yeah, if you don't let the field rest 120 days (required for organic growers, actually) you will DIE of some horrible fecal-borne disease. I don't quite believe that, especially as I don't factory farm. But, well, pig poop seems more....um...fresh to me than coop litter. I DLM my coops, so when I clean them, it is half composted anyway. I have used that as is on the garden.

I'm also kind of looking to slow down outside activities, lol. I have had three quilts in progress for a couple years...I would like to finish them this winter! So I'm cool with lettin the pigs plow, mulching as they go past, and come late February, getting some late kale and things like that in.

Rabbit manure is the best!

The boxes came from Lowe's and are called City Pickers boxes. I got them to grow carrots in...the ground here is not good carrot ground, unless they are the little round ones. Worked great, as we had beautiful purple carrots this spring and summer.

I think big ag & biotech are behind all the regulation, trying to push the little guys out. Then they'll be trying to outlaw backyard gardens.

We put in our first fruit trees last winter, it was recommended that the trunks be painted with watered down latex to guard against sun scald & to keep the bark from cracking, which allow bugs easy access. Not sure about wound care though.

Got no rabbits...got no rabbit manure. I wanted to try raising rabbits years ago, I got shot down. My wife & daughters weren't about to eat no cute little bunnies, so I wasn't about to raise them as pets. My wife is beginning to rethink her position on this but I think I'll keep rabbits as a back up plan if the stealth chickens are discovered. This chicken tractor would make a fine rabbitry with a few minor modifications. Rabbits are even more heat sensitive than chickens from what I hear. Sure gets hot around here in the summer.

 

[marktoo]

Haha! - "Go Red sox" -- the world series..

VERY serous stuff you are in the Boston region, Some days I would like to switch climates with you! but we snowmobile too... which is hard to do without the snow! I guess all regions have their ups and downs.

I started an herb garden this past spring.. looking for ideas to add to it. Do any of you add herbs or other plant material to your chickenfeed? I do pick off the marigold flowers and pull apart an dry them, and then mix in with the feed.. but wondering about anything else? ideas??

I'm not much of a sports fan but I knew what you meant. A conversation last week with my neighbor about all their whooping & hollaring the night before (no, I wasn't complaining just curious about what had em so riled up) probably helped. The playoffs!

Can't switch climates with me, I don't miss snow at all.

We have a perennial herb garden but don't use it to it's full potential, so I would be interested in this also.

 

[Angelicisi]

I constantly give the chickens and rabbits herbs from the garden. I pinch if leaves of green basil, purple basil, rosemary, Mexican tarragon, oregano and dill- while checking on the gardens and then sprinkle them in the nest boxes and drop some on top of their treat dish. A few of my girls LOVE rosemary and thyme in the nest boxes lol they go on strike when I miss a few days :/

The Mexican tarragon is in bloom and the girls eat up those lil flowers like they're meal worms lol

Haha! - "Go Red sox" -- the world series..      VERY serous stuff you are in the Boston region,   Some days I would like to switch climates with you! but we snowmobile too... which is hard to do without the snow!  I guess all regions have their ups and downs.

I started an herb garden this past spring..  looking for ideas to add to it. Do any of you add herbs or other plant material to your chickenfeed? I do pick off the marigold flowers and pull apart an dry them, and then mix in with the feed.. but wondering about anything else?  ideas?? 

 

[SunnySkies]

I scored a little greenhouse from TSC for $6 a couple days ago. The manager knows me pretty well now -- after having spent about $10k in there since moving here, lol -- and set it aside for me to have first crack at it. No way to turn that down!

That gives me three...two of these little ones (you stand in front of them to work) and one large one (walk-in)...for under a total of $80. Not bad. Each shelf holds a couple medium sized trays, so that is a lot of seeds.

Trying to decide if I want to try CowPots to start seeds in next spring or stay with plastic. I didn't like the peat ones. Recycled yogurt containers worked well too.

 

[lazy gardener]

I scored a little greenhouse from TSC for $6 a couple days ago. The manager knows me pretty well now -- after having spent about $10k in there since moving here, lol -- and set it aside for me to have first crack at it. No way to turn that down!

That gives me three...two of these little ones (you stand in front of them to work) and one large one (walk-in)...for under a total of $80. Not bad. Each shelf holds a couple medium sized trays, so that is a lot of seeds.

Trying to decide if I want to try CowPots to start seeds in next spring or stay with plastic. I didn't like the peat ones. Recycled yogurt containers worked well too.

I hate to contribute to land fill issues, but I get fantastic results from Styrofoam cups. I do some vertical cuts in the sides, poke a few holes in the bottom, and squish them into the flats. The plants seem to grow better in these cups than they do in even the large cell packs. I think it may be b/c the root zone is insulated. I hate peat pots, no matter what I do, either they grow a lot of mold and I have damping off issues, or they dry out too fast, and the plants are stressed. I sow marigolds in the containers that bulk meat comes in, no need to do individual pots. Could do the same with lettuce and other greens. Little green houses will pay for themselves many times over in the seedlings and head start on the season that they provide. I had 2 units similar to the ones that you describe, and built a little cart for them so I can wheel them in/out of the garage to harden off my plants. I've been using those units for close to 10 years, and the plastic is degrading, frames are in great shape, so will have to get creative in coming up with a user friendly cover for them. Also have a 8 x 8 cattle panel green house, and am using hay bale cold frames with good results this fall.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote: Those ramen noodles that come in the styrofoam cups make good plant pots. The only thing is that the chicken grease never really gets out of them very easily (compared to just rinsing out some yogurt or cottage cheese containers) and thus it is a big clean up job to prepare them for planting. I have done it though. I grew some nice tomato starts like that one year.

I have also used milk jugs with tops cut off. I agree with the peat pots...I cannot use them.

 

[marktoo]

Mid winter I buy my soil amendments & put up a temporary cold frame. I start my seeds in soil blocks. Come spring I use the amendments, & plant the seedlings. Goodbye cold frame! Mid summer I put up a temp pvc frame & cover with shade cloth to protect fall seedlings from hot California sun. Sometimes I cover this frame with clear plastic or a row cover for frost protection later in the season.

 

[lazy gardener]

Mid winter I buy my soil amendments & put up a temporary cold frame. I start my seeds in soil blocks. Come spring I use the amendments, & plant the seedlings. Goodbye cold frame! Mid summer I put up a temp pvc frame & cover with shade cloth to protect fall seedlings from hot California sun. Sometimes I cover this frame with clear plastic or a row cover for frost protection later in the season.

Now, that's creative cold framing! I scored 2 tempered glass aluminum framed windows this week, each 30" x 74", which is perfect for the interior of my hay bale cold frames. The second layer of protection will increase the microclimate of the frames from my Zone 4B-5A to Zone 7B-8A. Obviously, you have much different climate. What's that growing behind the cold frame? I'm seeing some hay in the foreground. Do you use mulch in your gardening? I keep a constant mulch on my garden and wouldn't garden any other way. As soon as the ground freezes, I go through garden withdrawal. So, am hoping to experiment with aquaponics on a VERY small scale this winter.

 

[SunnySkies]

Awesome cold frames!

Farmtex sells replacement mini greenhouse covers kind of expensive though. I've wondered if one could sew it out of heavy duty plastic.

Been thinking about growing tomato seedlings, herb starts, etc and selling them for a few bucks each next spring.