What did you do in the garden today?

[lazy gardener]

Shoveling snow into your garden can be good tho. Especially if your garden is mulched. Snow carries a ton of atmospheric nitrogen which is great for plants. But it'll wash away pretty quick if you don't have carbon for it to mix with.

I find that amusing. In snow country, we don't shovel any more than necessary. Snow is heavy, and the hospital census goes up after every storm: fractured hips, heart attacks, back injuries. In theory, yes, but... if you are dealing with snow on a regular basis, I strongly urge folks to be careful when dealing with it.

 

[pennyJo1960]

I find that amusing. In snow country, we don't shovel any more than necessary. Snow is heavy, and the hospital census goes up after every storm: fractured hips, heart attacks, back injuries. In theory, yes, but... if you are dealing with snow on a regular basis, I strongly urge folks to be careful when dealing with it.

Very good advice there Lazy

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Lazy, I live in the Cleveland snow belt. We get lake effect. We're the literal definition of snow country.
But if you're shoveling snow out of your chicken pen anyhow, and your garden happens to be right there, putting the snow in the garden bed is a good thing. I just built a garden bed just outside my chicken pen this fall. We got about 8" of snow recently and if I want my birds to leave their coop at all, that means shoveling it. Might as well put it to good use! It's only an extra few feet.

 

[lazy gardener]

Well, then, you have a sensible plan. I shovel a little path from the pop door to the covered section of the winter run. Unfortunately, when I knock the snow off the sunroom tarp (which I do every 2 - 4") half of it falls down into a snow mountain right in front of the covered section. Ah well... move it, then move it again. My garden is at least 50' away from the run. And, I don't have to worry about adding snow. I haven't seen the ground there since some time early to mid November, and likely won't see it again till mid April. Plenty of poor man's nitrogen there this year!!!

 

[Beer can]

I have a small 4x8' coop with a 8x50' run right next to the garden. Plan was to use it like a chicken tractor and move it across the garden from fall to late spring. Not all that easy to move though. I've only moved it a few times.
They sure can take care of weeds and add plenty of fertilizer lol.
I'll be planting pumpkins where the coop is and winter squash, dry pole beans and indian corn where the run is come spring.

 

[chickmom3941]

I find that amusing. In snow country, we don't shovel any more than necessary. Snow is heavy, and the hospital census goes up after every storm: fractured hips, heart attacks, back injuries. In theory, yes, but... if you are dealing with snow on a regular basis, I strongly urge folks to be careful when dealing with it.

So true. Hubs uses the snow blower as much as possible, and a few years ago, we purchased a plow that attaches to our SUV to plow our long driveway. Hubs often says it's one of the best purchases we've ever made. It literally saves him hours of time keeping the driveway cleared, and it also keeps him from freezing temps, frostbite, and possible falls & injury - well worth the money!

 

[lazy gardener]

I've been planting "seeds" (this is a gardening thread, right?) with hubby about us buying a small garden tractor with a snow blower attachment. @bruceha2000, this is ALL YOUR FAULT. We have a 4WD truck, and could put a plow on it, but surely, just as soon as we do, the truck will suffer a fatal death. (truly repetitively redundant) So, getting a garden tractor makes more sense.

 

[chickadoodles]

We had a tiller. But dh let ds#1 borrow it. It's never been back. But neither of us can push it anymore anyways.
So it will be raised beds in the greenhouse for us.

 

[lazy gardener]

I have a tiller, wonderful little Pony TroyBilt. I love that thing. I think it's still on the original spark plug and I bought it in 1983. One of the best investments I've ever made. The only time I use it is if I'm breaking new ground, digging out soil to make a new walkway, or planting a tree. Otherwise, all of my soil work is done with a garden fork.

I'm convinced that repeated tilling does more damage to the soil structure than any possible benefit that can be derived from the practice.

 

[chickadoodles]

The ground where we are going to put the greenhouse has never been worked.
If we could till it up it would only be once. But that is not going to happen.
So I will have to buy soil and peat moss and pine bark mulch to start. I have many of the other amendments already.