Green thumb is itching, anyone else?

[Kassaundra]

Good morning everyone;I've been busy with the garden, spring cleanup and chores It's a never ending list. (I think I should leave it in my will for someone. Wouldn't that be funny.)

Bought Egyptian walking onions yesterday and now to find a permanent place for them. Can't wait to see them at the end of the summer.(NO I can wait)

My one girl has been flying over the fence, coming up onto the porch and eating the herbs I have in my pots. I installed the fence last summer so anyone passing by couldn't see them.a lot of good that did .

I've had one girl Yeta that is always escaping into the yard (where I live it is okay and amusing), recently one other one has learned the secret and so now I have two their real names are Yeta, and Nugget, but their new nick names are Thelma and Louise.

A chicken won't go up and over in one motion, they go up and perch, then over, so if you make the top of the fence impossible to perch on that should work. Wing clipping mentioned is another option, but only clip one side so they are not balanced. (not 100% effective for a determined bird though)


Oh and I forgot to mention, I plan on putting my walking garlic and onions in my asparagus beds.

 

[AliceMae]

You've all got me so curious about your great sounding gardens and all of your "girls". My imagination can only go so far. If it's not gobs 'o trouble, sure would like to see more pictures! And I have to say that some of the names are just a hoot!!

I watched a video on making little bio-degradable pots out of newspaper and another one on weaving up tomato plants. These are my new trial and error projects for this spring.

Anyone tried the weaving thing and did it work as well as it looks? Thanks for input!

 

[AliceMae]

Oh, forgot to ask Kassaundra - what the heck is a sonic screwdriver???

 

[Kassaundra]

Oh, forgot to ask Kassaundra - what the heck is a sonic screwdriver???

I am a huge Doctor Who fan and he saves the universe every week w/ his sonic screwdriver, it's a screwdriver only sonic. LOL LOL LOL

 

[babymakes6]

Weaving tomatoes?
Yes, it works much better than any tomato cages, in my opinion. You need tall, sturdy stakes-hardwood, or metal, at least 5 feet tall for it to be effective. Place one at each end of your row of tomatoes, and every other tomato-it works best to only have 2 tomatoes between stakes. Start when your tomatoes are small, and weave it around each plant and wrap around each stake to keep it tight. Then come back down the other side of the row, weaving on the opposite side of the plant. As your tomato plants get bigger, keep repeating, and your row of tomatoes will stand up tall and be much narrower than with cages. It also makes it so much easier to pick the tomatoes when they are ripe. Good luck!
I worked on a produce farm for 8 years as a teen-early 20's, and it was always my job to "string the tomatoes." The men would pound the stakes in, and I would get to tie them up-I loved doing it!

 

[wyoDreamer]

What are you weaving the tomatoes with? is there just some wire strung between the fenceposts, a nylon 4" mesh, a chunk of fencing?

 

[Kassaundra]

What are you weaving the tomatoes with? is there just some wire strung between the fenceposts, a nylon 4" mesh, a chunk of fencing?

I've never done it, but read about it was going to try it out, I think it is rope you string them with.

 

[babymakes6]

Baling twine works well, or a nylon twine. Sisal twine tends to break/rot before the season is over, causing your tomatoes to fall over.

 

[AliceMae]

One of many videos I watched about weaving cautioned to use "Tomato Twine" as it's softer and shouldn't damage the stems. We'll see... with the horrible winds we have out here in the country, we'll just see....

I found some at a Menards store (MN) called 2-ply Jute Tomato Twine. It does feel a bit softer than baling twine, it's green and pretty ~ BUT, it's NOT cheap! And they only carried little 800 foot balls. ($3.50 each) Depends on how many plants you grow I guess - I only do around 25.

So, maybe if my first time weaving is successful, I'll post pictures! No laughing now, I'm old but still trying...

 

[MrsSerfesME]

I finally have my own property this year and I can't wait to start planting things. There are some crocuses which ave all wilted now and daffodils that have come up that my DH's grandmother had planted, we also have some small pink/purple flowers in one spot that I have not identified yet, and other bulbs that have sprouted everywhere in random place but I do not know what anything is.

I am so excited to be able to plant a real vegetable garden on my own land, instead of having a tiny little circle area that I was limited to before that had terrible soil and turned into a pond each time it rained.

We are starting off small with the vegetable garden this year, and will add more next year, since we kind of novices at it.

I was thinking of growing tomatoes upside down in hanging buckets, anyone ever done this and had good luck? Luckily DH's grandfather left us all kinds of 5 gallon buckets because he saves everything (we moved into their old house, they moved to a smaller place). I will probably use some of them as planters for other vegetables that I was thinking of trying in planters. The only thing we are limited on know is where the sun hits and for how long because we have lots of tall trees around.