BYC gardening thread!!

[Smithyard Farm]

Does anyone know what this flower is? Bought it at bunnings but it had no tag on it...

agree with Sunnyskies - Salvia - its an annual

my mom used t have the red ones all over the place

 

[SunnySkies]

I miss my garden. I had to go to the store the other day, and I hate buying produce. It doesn't taste right.

Thinking of getting some PVC electrical conduit and making a low tunnel. I could grow some greens and broc and stuff like that...maybe...I read about a guy in Maine who does this in the winter, where it is far colder than here...

Might be something the wind will just blow away, lol.

 

[lazy gardener]

I made a simple little tunnel that might be of interest to you. The frame was made with 5 pieces of 1/2 or 3/4" x 10' PVC, 2 lengths of 8' 2 x 3, 2 lengths of 4' 2 x 3, and a single 8' length of 1 x 3, and 4 lengths of 8' 1 x 2. Basically, I drilled 5 holes through each of the 8' 2 x 3 pieces, and a hole through the ends of the 4' pieces. These holes are designed to allow the ends of the PVC to go through them and be pushed into the soil. The 1 x 3 is drilled for the PVC to go through as well and acts as a ridge pole. Two 1 x 2's are used to staple to the plastic where it will touch the ground on the long sides. the other (2) 1 x 2's are used to provide support and stability as well as a place to attach the sides when you roll them up to access the interior for harvesting or tending your crops. This unit will need to be stabilized with cross tying to keep it from collapsing in either direction. You then put your plastic over the frame. I have yet to figure out the best way to close in the ends. I settled on using rip-stop nylon threaded over a wire frame, but you might also try using plywood. after using this unit for several years, I built a green house out of cattle panels. There are a lot of good instructions on the web for completion of a cattle panel green house.

Were you reading about Elliott Coleman? I'm in Maine, about a 1/2 zone further north of him, and my cattle panel green house has been fantastic. It will keep stuff growing until mid November, and stuff will start growing again mid Feb. currently, I'm using hay bales for grow frames, letting the chickens use the cattle panel green house this winter for a sun room. I go through soil withdrawal as soon as the ground freezes.

 

[SunnySkies]

It might have been Coleman. I had spotted an article in Mother Earth News, and the method seems very simple and very inexpensive. And quite impressive for what he gets out of his low tunnels all winter. If I hurried, I could get one going and get greens started, which would likely be able to grow most of the winter, other than a few weeks in January and February.

I have a cattle panel hoop house, but....and this is huge....they can and will blow away here at my farm. My hoop coop got picked up and blown away a few weeks ago. Chickens were in it asleep at the time. Very scary. So I am looking for things with lower profiles, especially since the garden is at the top of our mountain, but I was wishing for a greenhouse hoop the other day. Oh well. I do have three small greenhouses near the house where they can't blow away (one did, the first year we were here). But I prefer things in the ground.

I have to work out how to water it too....the hose can freeze solid if I'm not careful...

 

[lazy gardener]

I have my cattle panel unit tethered to the ground with cinder blocks and 12" ground screws. I can't even think about using a hose in the winter... It would freeze before I got it dragged to where I would need the water. Luckily, when stuff goes dormant in the coop, it doesn't need to be watered. Just be sure you get it watered before it gets really cold.

 

[SunnySkies]

This looks cool. Wonder how much $$$ to build and if the anchoring system they use would actually stay in my soil.

If I built something like this, I'd take the plastic off and use it year around.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/orga...News&utm_campaign=11.20.13 SLCS#axzz2lCPVUfSL

 

[Angelicisi]

Harvested some stuffs before a week of freezing...

 

[SunnySkies]

Yum.

 

[SunnySkies]

Guess what I'm currently reading....

Baker Creek's Whole Seed Catalog is out.

Time to start planning!!

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

Guess what I'm currently reading....

Baker Creek's Whole Seed Catalog is out.

Time to start planning!!

Keep us posted!