Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[naglady]

opa, my last hatch i had one chick hatch a 1 1/2 days b4 anyone else, then it was a hatch fest.. 11 more.. it was funny because you could tell which eggs had internal pips because the hatched chick would hang out with the pip egg.


gladahmae soaker hose would work wonders..i have all sand soil also.. and started to amend it last year.. and finally got some produce after amending the soil.. so i am hoping this year is a better year yet.. i use alot of composted horse manure, i have a free source and been shoveling alot of poo last year and this year already lots of mulching thats for sure... i put lime in the soil last fall, did till already.. this spring, started planting , is there anything else you do special for your sandy soil,

 

[SillyChicken]

well that's my problem then. the water part. my garden gets all day sun. ALL. DAY. hmmmm....wonder if there's anything I could do to help just the peppers.....everything else grows like gangbusters. OR, maybe I need to run my new soaker hose along the peppers. Hmmmmm.

Check your soil ph...?

What bell peppers like:
-Warm temperature and soil. Studies have shown increasing the soil temperature bell peppers are planted in will increase their yield and the overall health of the plant. In areas where temperatures are not already high outdoor bell peppers may need in ground heater to produce large fruit.
-High humidity. Bell peppers love humidity, hot and dry can not only affect pepper size but may even kill the plant. You can increase humidity by misting, planting humidity increasing companion plants and ground covers to help the soil stay moist.
-Well drained soil. While bell peppers do enjoy humidity they don't enjoy being over watered. They are also prone to root rot. Be sure your soil drains well (clay is not recommended) or if you are container gardening provide ample drainage.
-Space to stretch. Peppers will grow in close quarters with other plants, but overcrowding can affect pepper size. Make sure any companion plants don't prevent sunlight from your peppers and that there is enough room for roots. Peppers also don't like to be alone as they can be fragile to the elements. Around a foot between each plant is considered ideal to block wind but give each plant its space.
-Slightly Alkaline pH. pH can have a dramatic affect on fruit growth. Bell peppers dislike acidic soil preferring a pH of around 6-7.
How to maintain bell pepper plants for optimal health:
-Prevent Pests. Any type of pest or disease in plants will affect health and in turn affect pepper size. Check your plants regularly for infections. As bell peppers are food plants organic pest control is recommended. Several companion plants will deter most pests such as marigolds.
-Pinch early flowers. Sometimes bell peppers will attempt to make peppers before maturity. If you catch your bell peppers trying to jump the gun, pinch the flowers before fruitation and your later harvests will be healthier.

 

[gladahmae]

opa, my last hatch i had one chick hatch a 1 1/2 days b4 anyone else, then it was a hatch fest.. 11 more.. it was funny because you could tell which eggs had internal pips because the hatched chick would hang out with the pip egg.


gladahmae soaker hose would work wonders..i have all sand soil also.. and started to amend it last year.. and finally got some produce after amending the soil.. so i am hoping this year is a better year yet.. i use alot of composted horse manure, i have a free source and been shoveling alot of poo last year and this year already lots of mulching thats for sure... i put lime in the soil last fall, did till already.. this spring, started planting , is there anything else you do special for your sandy soil,

we got a truckload of composted horse manure last year too, and then had a REALLY horrible time with weeds. I also mulched my strawberries with some straw from TSC and there were a lot of seed heads in it, so I'm not really sure which caused the problem. This fall I think I'm going to plant some winter rye and then till that in in the spring, maybe till in all the shavings/poo from my coop cleanout right before I plant the rye. We're mostly muddling our way through things. Last year I hosed the garden down with miracle grow (one of the sprayer attachments for the hose) 2x a week and my tomatos did great. My cukes, on the other hand, were horrible (grew great, tasted awful); that was drought-related though.

I can get finished compost from a landscaping place by the tractor scoop about 30min away, so I may have to have DH take the capper off his truck and get me a scoop or 2 to spread in the garden this weekend. Guess that means I need to hold off on planting things today then.

I want to put in a sunflower patch in a big open area between our house and the curve in our driveway (maybe a 1/4 acre? probably a little less). Shoud I rototill rows and just plant rows, so should I rototill the whole area? (the thought of doing the whole area makes me want to

)

Good thing we aren't someplace where we have to pay for water! putting in a yard, maintaining a vegetable garden, 3 flower beds, and possibly a sunflower patch is going to use lots of water and lots of hose!

 

[Opa]

There isn't much I can add to the question about peppers as it has been very well covered. Most horse manure is a poor choice for a garden because very rarely has it been composted long enough and at high enough temperatures to kill the weed seeds. A horse's digestive system does not handle seeds very well and most are excreted full capable of germination.

Sandy soil does take a long of amending to produce a good crop. However, it does work quite well for the cultivating of asparagus.

 

[naglady]

gladahmae in the fall i put horse manure all over garden when i am planting i put it right in the whole where i am planting the plant, that way you know there is enough there.. for the plant to grow...
especially my cabbage and other plants that have a bigger root system..

opa i agree on the horse manure, mine is already black dirt.. about 4 yrs old.. i didnt have a big weed problem, but i do hoe and then put lots of hay leaves down, between rows and plants, that helps.. i geuss if i had a bad problem i would lay down non glossy papers under mulch. to help keep the weeds from growing.. kill off the weeds..

hows those eggs doing are they all hatching yet.. sending hatching vibes your way.. Good luck..

 

[NativeBeauty]

So...storms blowing in and who do I find running coopside?? The D'Uccle hen I had looked for over an hour outside for earlier today!!!

Heartbroken earlier, I had given up on her and returned the free rangers back to the run (as we headed out to bus the kids to after-school activities) and wrote her off as a "goner" to the Red-Tail that intermittantly flies by. I even went so far as to adjust our coop numbers and erase her name, so sure that she was indeed dead.

I scooped up our "Chicken Little" and no sooner do that and the hail begins to fall. Glad she woke up from her "dirt nap" to return home in time to find shelter. I always

a happy ending!!

 

[Stacykins]

-Slightly Alkaline pH. pH can have a dramatic affect on fruit growth. Bell peppers dislike acidic soil preferring a pH of around 6-7.

A pH of 6-7 isn't alkaline, though...it is slightly acidic to neutral. Do you mean a pH of 7-8? That would be s lightly alkaline.

 

[NativeBeauty]

Showgirl rooster in Holt, MI. Nice Loooking!!!

mailto:[email protected]?subject=showgirl%2Fsilkie%20rooster%20(holt)&body=%0A%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Flansing.craigslist.org%2Fgrd%2F3758810631.html%0A

 

[NativeBeauty]

DARN!!! I'll try again:
How's this?? http://lansing.craigslist.org/grd/3758810631.html

 

[tmkuroda]

OMG... It took me 3 days to catch up on a weeks worth of posts lol. But I HAD to know what is going on with Raz.. So is there anyway you could take this case to a higher level court Raz?