Michigan

[babszoo]

My brother would like a couple hens to go with his lonesome Roo if you have extra's.

Also Grads to you both on the WI Rabbit show. Hannah looks so excited.

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[Jared77]

Congrats on the rabbit wins. Thats great to hear.

Im still putting the final touches on our garden orders.

New things this year for us are going to be a container of "black" or "chocolate" cherry tomatoes and a larger sized "black" or "chocolate" tomato variety too. First year doing pole beans (have alway done bush beans so poles are new this year) and some giant sunflowers to put on the very end of the garden to help add some visual appeal but not shade anything. Plan is to line the back end of the garden with the sunflowers. It should look really good. We went this route since I didn't get the trellis built that I wanted to so I could climbing roses on it.

I'm pretty excited about the different colored tomatoes. If we like them then they'll be a staple in the garden. We usually do some of these new varieties in a container so we don't get a burden of something we don't really like. But the trade off is if they are great then we've only got a few. So far its worked out really good for us doing it this way.

Thats our plans this coming season. Plus build bigger tractor for this years broilers and get our first 2 top bar hives built and be ready for the 2012 season. Bees are something I've always wanted to do, but with the garden expansion and tractor expansion I think thats enough for this year. Ive waited to do bees this long 1 more year isn't going to matter.

Its going to be a busy summer but a VERY delicious one

 

[keyt1969]

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kate, was that spin/kick the 'happy bunny dance' that they sometimes do when they are happy and excited? Sometimes bunnies will jump up in the air and do this weird kick/half twist when they are happy.

No, I meant to mention that. No, this was as if something hurt or he was confused or something. When I would put him down before he would do a kick, but this time his head was tilted and he went around in several circles. He did it more than once too.

 

[SillyChicken]

http://lansing.craigslist.org/grd/2138842565.html

150$ for a coop in lansing area

 

[Olive Hill]

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My orders this year were from Baker Creek (rareseeds.com), Dixondale Farms (dixondalefarms.com) and Gurneys/Henry Fields (gurneys.com). But there are hundreds of seed companies to choose from; Harris Seeds, Territory, Johnny's, Fedco, etc, etc. Google "Seed Catalog" and you'll be inundated with them.

I wouldn't say you necessarily get better quality seeds/crops by ordering direct from a seed company. I invariably see something in stores halfway through the spring that I want to try and pick up a packet here or there and always have good results. The reasons I order direct are variety first and foremost. In stores there are a few varieties of mostly the "common" garden veggies, but if you want anything more than that -- harder to find types or less commonly grown veggies -- you pretty much have to go straight to the source. Availability earlier in the year is another reason. I get my garden plans down now for the year, get my seed orders in and be done with it by the time other chores/projects pick up around here. And convenience. I can sit down with my catalogs, a cup of tea or a soda, highlighters, post-its, my garden blueprints from last year, etc, etc and plan. The stores would probably begin to frown upon this if I did it in store given I spend hours on it over the course of weeks.

Some seeds should be started inside (or bought as plants), others can be direct sowed outside. When to plant depends on what you're growing. Eggplant is the first thing I start here; 8-10 weeks before last frost. Onions and leeks are also early starters if you're going to grow them from seed -- I buy plants at this point (from Dixondale, link above). Next are peppers and tomatoes; 6-8 weeks before last frost, melons 3-4 weeks, and then broccoli, cauliflower, etc 2-4 weeks before. And I'm sure I'm missing something in there...

Then, outside, you can direct sow your spring crops before the last frost -- some up to a month or more before. Things like carrots, greens, peas, radishes, beets, etc. And your onion plants, likewise can be set out before last frost. And then after last frost you can get your beans, squashes, pumpkins, cukes, etc started straight in the ground.

Depending on the quantity you're growing you may want to start seeds yourself or you may want to buy plants. Seeds are a LOT cheaper. Usually just cents (or less) per seed, whereas plants are a couple dollars each, but you have costs to get them started too. Pots, soil, electricity to run lights, etc. So if you only want to grow a couple of tomato plants, it may be just as easy to buy the plants. It's a personal decision. I, personally, go with seeds because the savings is huge at the quantity I am growing. I'd have a few hundred just in tomato plants. And that's not counting all the other things I grow. Instead I have about $200 into the seed/starting supplies for all varieties.

If you do start seeds inside, buy yourself lights. The plants cannot get enough light from the sun, even if you do have a very sunny location in your house. I have lots of south facing windows. It's just not enough. The sun is not plentiful or strong enough in Michigan at the time seeds need to be started. You can get grow lights complete with the bulb and fixture for less than $10. It's well worth it. Otherwise, while the plants will grow they'll tend towards being tall, spindly, leggy and weak rather than short, stout and strong. And they're far less likely to transplant well. When you set your lights up they need to be VERY close to your plants. They're cool burners so you can have the tops of your plants touching the light and it won't do any harm at all. Any more than a couple inches away and they don't work their magic nearly as well so make sure you install them in a way that allows you to either raise/lower the plants or the lights.

The other thing is to make sure you're using clean soil and pots so your seedlings don't get creeping crud before you even have a chance to get them outside. Check daily for signs of mold.

And finally, make sure you're hardening them off in the spring. You can't just put them out in the garden, wind, sun, rain, etc will kill them. They have to learn to live outside slowly, over the course of several days to a couple weeks depending on the conditions.

Hopefully this helps. I'm far from a garden expert, just what I've picked up along the way. I try to learn something new every year and most of the time it's not what I thought I wanted to learn because Mother Nature always has her own plans.

I'm pretty excited about the different colored tomatoes. If we like them then they'll be a staple in the garden. We usually do some of these new varieties in a container so we don't get a burden of something we don't really like. But the trade off is if they are great then we've only got a few. So far its worked out really good for us doing it this way.

Jared, may I suggest Black Krim? They're vigorous plants that thrive even in adverse conditions; beautiful, decent sized fruits; nice yield; easy to find in both plants and seeds -- even locally -- and superb taste. My favorite black variety.

We always grow a lot of our old standby -- Celebrity, haven't found anything that can out perform them -- and then a few beds of other varieties for fun/novelty/variety. Black Krims are always in the mix. We love pineapple for yellow -- mild taste on them, but they're HUGE and meaty and always prolific. Haven't found a green variety I'm real keen on yet and don't grow pink -- they just look perpetually under ripe to me -- or white -- same as the pink, another that the appearance is just not appetizing to me.

We're going to try Grandma Oliver's Green and either Green Sausage or Malakhitovaya Shkatulka for our greens this year and I'm hoping one of them really stands out in both production and taste.​

 

[Jared77]

Jared, may I suggest Black Krim? They're vigorous plants that thrive even in adverse conditions; beautiful, decent sized fruits; nice yield; easy to find in both plants and seeds -- even locally -- and superb taste. My favorite black variety.

I had those on the list, along with Cherokee purples. I couldn't decide and figured another pot wouldn't hurt. Plus would give us a good basis of comparison. This is our first year black tomatoes. We'd also planned on "black cherrys" to give us a small salad tomato in that variety too.

Forgot to add we're doing purple and chocolate sweet peppers this year too. Ive had the purples, just have not ever had the chocolates.

Olive's right the variety you can get with ordering from a catalog or even online is SOO much better. Thats a big plus when your trying to find something that will work good for you, or something you want to try. Ive grown varieities that I don't care for and others that I swear by but I never would have found them in your typical box store or local nursery. They just can't afford to stock all the options. Nothing wrong with what the box stores or local nursery carries as I too buy some things there but some of the varieties you can only find online.

I do buy from the local nurseries though too, usually its more of the staple stuff like early girl tomatoes, or my romas, and other "basics" but then I do plant a lot of those. Ive got a 45' x 55' garden so you can imagine how many I plant.

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

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My plans are to feel guilty that for the first time in years I am not going to plant a garden.

 

[frjeff]

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My plans are to feel guilty that for the first time in years I am not going to plant a garden.

Full layout plan done and nearly all of the seeds on hand!

 

[michickenwrangler]

Anyone know of any company that sells Northern Spy apple trees? I tons for honey crisp and Macintosh and Delicious but rarely do I see Spy. Either bareroot or potted.

 

[Olive Hill]

I personally, will not buy plants from a big box store and now, reading back over my previous reply I can see I wasn't clear on that. I do not think you necessarily get better quality buying seeds through the mail vs from a store, but plants are a whole different ball game, imo. I do buy plants from local nurseries with knowledgeable staff. I do not buy plants from big box or chain stores whose specialty is not those plants. They are simply not set up to ensure what they are selling is quality and far too often it's not. First, many have their plants shipped in from states away which does not bode well for the thrive-ability of the plant in our climate. Second, they both are unequipped to and uninterested in running a tight ship as to the health of their plants. They do not have the staff that is either capable or willing to spot and cull diseased plants as they're found. One diseased plant from a big box store can wipe out an entire crop, that's not a risk I'm willing to take. The blight epidemic that wiped out the crop from New England throughout the Midwest and south a couple years ago? Traced to diseased plants that were shipped north and sold in big box stores across the region. More backyard gardeners is a great thing, but when they don't know what they're doing and what to look for and then they get unhealthy plants from unscrupulous sources .... well, that's what happens. And the grand majority of us can't know what to look for in every single instance, so the best thing to do is simply not buy plants from businesses that have no place selling them to begin with. Erase the demand, they'll stop supplying and that will be a very good thing -- both for the health of future crops and local businesses who do know how to source and sell plants to hobbyists.