What did you do in the garden today?

[lazy gardener]

Happy chooks Dennis. Now, you're thinking like a lazy gardener! My motto: never work any harder than you have to or want to!

 

[RichnSteph]

I have got to get off my rear and get our raised bed set up and a fence installed around the duck pond this weekend......

 

[DennisK]

Happy chooks Dennis. Now, you're thinking like a lazy gardener! My motto: never work any harder than you have to or want to!

Never truer words said! I certainly have enough to do as it is; so let the chickens have their new adventure. I was completely ignorant when it comes to pruning these vines as you can see in my pictures, but thanks to YOUTUBE, I now have a better idea. This is the kind of mess I am going to have to straighten out:

 

[DennisK]

I have got to get off my rear and get our raised bed set up and a fence installed around the duck pond this weekend......

RichnSteph, What are you planning to plant in your raised bed? I was thinking about doing something like that. I have a bunch of cement/clay bricks that are looking for something to do … one of these days .. Fencing – the worst gardening job, as far as I'm concerned, but one of the most necessary.

 

[lazy gardener]

Grapes are in my future. I've ordered some fruit trees and shrubs, some nuts, and can get some grape cuttings from a friend. Will be working on a "Back to Eden" as well as a hugelkulture mound this spring. Hope to have all of that underway before those trees and shrubs arrive.

 

[RichnSteph]

RichnSteph, What are you planning to plant in your raised bed? I was thinking about doing something like that. I have a bunch of cement/clay bricks that are looking for something to do … one of these days .. Fencing – the worst gardening job, as far as I'm concerned, but one of the most necessary.

Dennis,

It's not a true "raised bed" it's the bed for our aquaponics set up. I put a 785 gallon trough in the ground for the water source and fish and it instantly became a duck pond. I'll be putting a cute picket fence around it to keep out 19 month old daughter out of it and leave a gap or two for the duck and the chickens to access it. Out first bed is a 7'x6' trough just like the one we made into the pond. It's 28" deep and we'll be putting 10" of lava rock in there as media for the plants to adhere to. We're planning tomatoes and peppers for sure along with our basil, thyme and oregano since we use them frequently. Possibly some kale and swiss chard along with spinach if I can't figure out how to put a grow-boat into the pond and keep the duck from eating them. Our hope is to get the first one set up and running and then purchase three more of the troughs for more grow beds. Barring that I'll have to build them and I am in no way a carpenter. I've seen how well cucumbers and zucchini do in AP systems so we'll plant those also. We do have two traditional raised beds that will be filled with soil from our compost bin and will have our onions, carrots, radishes, garlic and some others in there.

I wish I could take a month off from work and just get it all done. I'm surprised how much work it is to get a garden set up and running.

 

[DennisK]

Grapes are in my future. I've ordered some fruit trees and shrubs, some nuts, and can get some grape cuttings from a friend. Will be working on a "Back to Eden" as well as a hugelkulture mound this spring. Hope to have all of that underway before those trees and shrubs arrive.

Hugelkulture – I had to look that one up. A neat idea! I tried planting veggies in straw bails, but I had better luck planting in just plain dirt. I could have buried those bails under a mound, and probably had better luck. I am also thinking about fruit trees. When I first moved out here, I was completely ignorant of the competition there was for food and water. I drove up past Sacramento to buy bare-root peach trees from a nursery. I brought back twenty of them. Little did I know that behind every bush and within every mound were beady little eyes watching and waiting. When the trees started leafing, they also blossomed and started growing little peaches. That is when the horde attacked. Ground squirrels, rabbits, field mice and pack rats stripped every peach, leaf and even the smaller twigs from my trees. I was wiped out. Even the soaker hoses were gnawed through for their water. I later learned that these creatures were only the beginning. Heavier artillery came in the form of deer and big ground tilling boars. And when I got chickens, I found waiting were coyotes, bobcats, hawks and even the occasional mountain lion. (lions, tigers and bears – oh my!)
Today, things are different. I learned that before any endeavor, I must first build a high fence with an electrical wire on top to surround my work. ( I'm also thinking of mining the perimeter, and installing machine gun turrets at every corner.) I also have some dogs that can't abide coyotes, bobcats, deer or boars. They manage the daytime security. During the night, they sleep at the foot of the bed – part of the dog contract I had to agree to before signing them on.
Yes, this time I am ready … I'm going to get some more peach trees, almonds and also hazel nut trees/bushes to name a few. But first, I need to do some fencing.

 

[attimus]

Hugelkulture. Thankyou been trying to remember that term forever.

 

[lazy gardener]

Dennis, I'm sure the dogs have a secret alliance with the night time vermin. It's blatantly obvious that that's what's going on, otherwise, they wouldn't have extracted such a contract from you. Have you not heard those dogs laughing in their sleep??

 

[DennisK]

Dennis, I'm sure the dogs have a secret alliance with the night time vermin. It's blatantly obvious that that's what's going on, otherwise, they wouldn't have extracted such a contract from you. Have you not heard those dogs laughing in their sleep??

At first, I thought they were suffering from asthma, but that wheezy little noise occurred only on the excelled breath; so I chocked it up to them having strange dreams …?...