Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[gladahmae]

Ooooooh! OK.

Pretty excited about maybe being able to have a NICE looking flower bed in the back yard by the end of the summer. Looks like I may have to mow the back again since the little bit of rain we got has made the grass back there grow 3in again. Keeping things mowed down seems to help keep the mosquitos down too since they don't have a cool shady place to hang out, as well as trying to keep any and all standing water from occurring.

I should take a before and after picture of my flower bed. it's pretty jungle-y back there right now.

 

[RaZ]

I should take a before and after picture of my flower bed. it's pretty jungle-y back there right now.

Please do.

 

[tmkuroda]

kimmy so sorry to hear about your sisterinlaw..

I have been looking into hugel bed.. and after my gardens are planted will be working on those.. i have everything you need for one..

Nag and Holly...looked up hugel beds and I don't even know you two but I so love you right now This is going to save me SO much money and time! I can do all of this this summer and it will be ready when I move up to Grayling next spring! It will also stop me from worrying if there is enough water on the plants as well! THANK YOU thank you ty ty...

 

[gladahmae]

Please do.

Well I can give you the before, along with a shot of my 2 largest nemesis plants: purple thistle, and something that I don't know what it is, but it spreads like mad and has really deep roots.


^ ^ ^ From the north end, looking south.


^ ^ ^ Purple thistle seems to THRIVE here. I've been pulling it out for THREE YEARS NOW.



^ ^ ^ What ever the lighter green plant is in the center of this picture....it pops up all over the place and seems to be impossible to get rid of in my flower bed.



^ ^ ^ I have 3 peony plants I got from my mother's clumps of peonies. They haven't bloomed in 3 years. And they never get over a foot tall. I made sure to not bury them too deep, so I have no clue why they aren't doing well. Thoughts?

^ ^ ^ From the south end, looking north. My clumps of irises seem to be a haven for grass. I think when they're done blooming this year, I might lift them, pull all the grass out, and re-plant them with the newspaper and mulch. I'd rather not sacrifice this year's blooms.

You can see it in the picture, but I have some young clematis plants growing along the back fence line, along with a couple of very small knock-out rose bushes, and the daylilies I bought last year may have died. We'll have to see if they poke their little heads up in the next few weeks.


I'm wanting to make a 'hedge' of cosmos by my veggie garden, on top of my tulips since cosmos are very drought tolerant. However, that area is ALSO very overgrown with grass and weeds. If I do the newspaper and then top with some soil, will the roots from the cosmos be able to grow DOWN through the newspaper, and will the tulips be able to grow UP through the newspaper? I'm thinking no, and I'll just have to be vigilant about weeding there, but I'd love to get some ideas.

 

[naglady]

i use newspaper and mulch on garden keeps the weeds down pretty good, plus i use well aged horse manure..
i agree no shiny newspaper..

like the strawbale garden..

trying to come up with some kinda of fencing around my garden so if the chickens get out of their fencing dont bee line it to my garden, i accidently left the fence cracked alittle and they got out. i do want to put a barrier around my garden for other wildlife.. i have them all..

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

I need to fence round mine, too. Like now, I could use the ducks in there... Later, not so much. I like this guy's fence.

I think RaZ's straw beds are quite similar to the Hugel beds, just the Hugel have the logs beneath the straw. This week is dragging, I'll be do glad when the long weekend gets here.
Have a good weekend everybody.

Gaitngirl, did you get eggs?

 

[ladyrsanti]

Just to share in all the garden talk, here's my garden fence. Just finished it yesterday. We have deer here (you can't see but there's actually some deer netting inside all that chicken wire, barbed wire and lattice-work).



So I finally snagged a great egg customer. She's a former chicken owner who retired and can't keep chickens due to spending long periods in Florida. I'm very grateful that she chose me because she said they'd been shopping around the locals for eggs and she found mine to be the tastiest so... It was hard-earned but I got her and she left with three dozen today. It sounds like she was happy with the way I raise them, similar to her experience and that's probably why she likes the eggs so much. My birds are well tended, that I'm here all day, every day and they free range every day as well with scraps too. But it's kind of sad that it takes a like-minded chicken owner to appreciate what I have here. It was sort of my intention to reach out to those who take their easy lifestyles for granted. I live sandwiched between two subdivision-like streets, rows of 1 acre lots with lawn-loving, prepackaged food folks. You'd think they'd want a taste of the good life. But alas, no. Still, I'm glad she chose me.

She also gave me about fifty egg cartons!

 

[SillyChicken]

don't those need ants to help them bloom? Maybe the soil is too dry? IDK... I just like to hear myself type...........

 

[gladahmae]

don't those need ants to help them bloom? Maybe the soil is too dry? IDK... I just like to hear myself type...........

Yes on the ants, but i'm not even getting buds. if/when they set buds, they are usually 2-2.5ft tall. My mother's plants also do this in one location....not sure why as she has them in 2 other places and they bloom every year. I'm thinking about stealing the soaker rings from my trees in the front yard in the fall and try watering the heck out of them next year. I'm disappointed in these year after year....and they're my all-time favorite flower.

My less-than-intelligent chickens won't come out of the rain today....especially the silkie who is looking like a wet rat at this point. I tossed some scratch in the coop for them and then shut the pop door when the roo called them all in for treats.

 

[ant1]

Don't use shiny ad fillers from the paper. Use the regular newsprint. Water will pass through to the soil, the paper prevents weed seeds from germinating and/or sprouting. The mulch keeps the newspaper in place while providing a layer of insulation to the soil and helps it retain moisture for your plants. And it looks nice. The newspaper will decompose in a couple of months.



It was kind of windy so I wet the newspaper as I put it down on top of the weeds. This is a straw bale garden so there is no mulch.





I have since planted flowers, sweet potato vine, tomatoes and peppers in the bales. Before long, the vines will completely cover the bales.

Please keep posting photos I want to see how this progresses!