((Serious Gardening))

[western edge]

The zucinni are very prolific producers and do keep pretty well in a cool dry basement or a root cellar making them great chicken feed also. I fed the last of my pumpkin and zucinni just last week to my flock of 60. Kept it in a cool dry basement corner along with some carrots and beets and cabbage which are buried in a couple feet of wheat straw. Those vegeis are still as crisp as the day I placed them there last november. I m hoping for a new rootcellar one day soon.This season I am planting winter squash. They keep even longer..

 

[Junkmanme]

Quote:
Mel,

When I lived in Colorado.....in the FALL of the Year.....when we "dropped-by" the Pub for a beer after work...
....we ALWAYS rolled up our vehicle windows and locked the vehicle.
OTHERWISE someone would FILL your car with Zucchini while you were enjoying your "after-work Brew".

(They NEVER DID leave tomatoes or peppers !!! )

Ha-Ha !!!
-Junkmanme-

 

[western edge]

Bubba Gump Zucinni.... deepfried, sauteed, boiled, broiled, baked, grilled, pureed, mashed, butterflied....... My chickens dig it raw.

 

[Brocolli]

The best Gardening tip I can give is to group together plants that
prefer the same soil Ph range, and then maintain that range well
with Ph UP and Ph DOWN powder or liquid. Also, never use tap
water to water plants , get special rain water storage tanks.

Other than that you need to get some Bat Guano, a variety that is
high in nitrogen and one that is high in phosphorous, use the
first one for vegging plants, and the second for flowing or fruiting plants.
You can also use chicken droppings for a nitrogen source !!!!!

Then you need some kelp and lime powder. For micronutrients.

It is important to use good potting containers, you don't want
anything transparent because light will cause bad bacteria
and fungal growth in the soil. I am looking for a good online
container source at the moment, I came across
New Pro Containers, and some others, but I am open to
suggestions.


Lastly, keep bugs away at all costs, in the air and in the soil.
There is many organic products that can be used to accomplish this.
Such as Diatomaceous Earth and Neem oil, etc.. If you can keep
bugs away you will rarely have problems with diseases.

This is the most vital info you should know to be a good gardener.

 

[Smittenroade]

Quote:
Yea, that some good advice, pretty complicated stuff for the standard gardener too lol. We actually have bats down here in East Texas, I was thinking about throwing up a bat house and collecting the guano that drops down. It would be a good natural mosquito killer too. Does anyone by chance have bat houses and could give some advice on them?

 

[Junkmanme]

Quote:
Yea, that some good advice, pretty complicated stuff for the standard gardener too lol. We actually have bats down here in East Texas, I was thinking about throwing up a bat house and collecting the guano that drops down. It would be a good natural mosquito killer too. Does anyone by chance have bat houses and could give some advice on them?

PERSONALLY, I'd stay as far away from bats as possible. Bats ARE the NUMBER ONE carrier of Rabies...far and above ANY other "critters".

-Junkmanme-

 

[Olive Hill]

Quote:
Yea, that some good advice, pretty complicated stuff for the standard gardener too lol. We actually have bats down here in East Texas, I was thinking about throwing up a bat house and collecting the guano that drops down. It would be a good natural mosquito killer too. Does anyone by chance have bat houses and could give some advice on them?

Bat houses? You don't need no stinkin' bat houses. Old, poorly sealed barns, work much better. And they're larger. They house more bats.

Nasty critters they are. Not real likely to cause you problems though, if you don't go handling them willy nilly like pets. If you encourage them to take up residence near your house do make sure it's well sealed though. Nothing like waking up in the middle of the night and seeing a bat crawling across the ceiling directly above you. Ask me how I know.

Pine trees make good natural bat houses or if you're so inclined you can build them bird-like houses, but larger. Mount them on a tall pole. Where there is shelter they will come.

Bats are common carriers of disease, but they're also excellent mosquito control. Writing from a wet state that grows mosquitos roughly the size of bats, I can't say that's a bad thing.

 

[Junkmanme]

Quote:
I expect that Brocolli is a much better gardener than I am...becasuse there are MANY folks who are better at it than me.

BUT.....I do disagree with a couple of these statements. (Of course, to disagree is EASY )
Grouping plant together "depending upon Ph reguirements" may seem like a good idea...BUT some veggies DON'T LIKE certain other ones near them (although the same Ph is required). Other veggies actually prefer certain other herbs and veggies near them. (Google "Companion Planting")

FRESH Chicken Manure is "hot" and will likely burn your Garden Plants. It should be "composted" before use.

NOT ALL "bugs" are detrimental to your garden. A few examples of the Beneficial Insects are: Praying Mantis, Ladybugs, Parasitoid Wasps, etc.

Many "veggies" (depending on the soil-type) are better served with phosphorus than nitrogen....Nitrogen will often encourage plant growth (leaves and stalks) but discourage the setting of the produce that you desire...such as tomatoes. They will need a balance of nutrients in order to produce effectively.

So....I really don't think that Brocolli is correct in saying that is ALL you need to be a "Master Gardener". Perhaps it works for him/her.

Out here in the Southwest...with Alkaline soil, mostly....you wouldn't want to add LIME POWDER to your soil...that would make it MORE Alkaline. Sulphur would be better here...to help make the soil more Acidic (lower Ph).

just a differing opinion,

-Junkmanme-

 

[Smittenroade]

Quote:
I expect that Brocolli is a much better gardener than I am...becasuse there are MANY folks who are better at it than me.

BUT.....I do disagree with a couple of these statements. (Of course, to disagree is EASY )
Grouping plant together "depending upon Ph reguirements" may seem like a good idea...BUT some veggies DON'T LIKE certain other ones near them (although the same Ph is required). Other veggies actually prefer certain other herbs and veggies near them. (Google "Companion Planting")

FRESH Chicken Manure is "hot" and will likely burn your Garden Plants. It should be "composted" before use.

NOT ALL "bugs" are detrimental to your garden. A few examples of the Beneficial Insects are: Praying Mantis, Ladybugs, Parasitoid Wasps, etc.

Many "veggies" (depending on the soil-type) are better served with phosphorus than nitrogen....Nitrogen will often encourage plant growth (leaves and stalks) but discourage the setting of the produce that you desire...such as tomatoes. They will need a balance of nutrients in order to produce effectively.

So....I really don't think that Brocolli is correct in saying that is ALL you need to be a "Master Gardener". Perhaps it works for him/her.

Out here in the Southwest...with Alkaline soil, mostly....you wouldn't want to add LIME POWDER to your soil...that would make it MORE Alkaline. Sulphur would be better here...to help make the soil more Acidic (lower Ph).

just a differing opinion,

-Junkmanme-

You are very right Junkman, lime is put in to make soil more alkaline. I add lime because I live in East Texas because it is a swampy-like soil and much too acidic for most things. Citrus actually grows here pretty well because it likes a highly acidic soil. If your soil is too alkaline I would add Iron Sulphate and/or Magnesium Sulphate. Some people even just mix in mulch through out the winter to neutralize the salts by springtime. Flooding the salts out can be done as well.

Something that matters quite a bit more than PH and everything is soil texture. Is your soil too sandy where water tends to perculate through? Or maybe it is too humus where it drowns the plants? Yours could be too clayish where water puddles and causes root rot? Any of these can be fixed with the right soil mixture or tending to.

If anyone wants a good soil mixture for potted plants or to throw in a garden here is the one I use:

2/10 Vermiculite
3/10 Canadian Spahgnum Peat Moss
5/10 Sand-ish Top Soil

Also, I like to add some liquified Atlantic Salmon. Plants absolutely love it, but so do varmits. If your garden is not fenced in add it at your own risk because raccoons/dog/cats just about anything will dig your plants up to get to the smell. Later in life I like to also sprinkle those extended release plant nutrient pellets, the ones meant for flowering, they help with big lush fruit growth.

By the way, on the bug note. Many farmers like to add lady bugs to eat the aphids on their plants. Aphids are little demons, they will eat your plants very quickly! If you have bug problems there is usually another bug that can counter the bad ones. It is nature friendly, much better than spraying your garden with pesticides.
Anyways thats my two cents.

 

[NanaKat]

Compost added to your soil
helps your plants deter bad bugs/diseases,
improves soil texture,
mulches out weeds,
helps balance the ph of soils,
provide natural fertilizer and beneficial microbials,
and
it's free.