What did you do in the garden today?

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Good morning gardeners. I woke up to a delicious 59F this morning. Soooo nice! After I fed the chickens I dumped the last 10 gallon bag of potatoes. I had raided this bag before for a couple of potatoes, but only got 1/2 pound of small red potatoes. Still no signs of winter squash babies, but did spot a few more tiny ears of corn developing. No silk yet. I only picked two Early Girl and a few cherry tomatoes. I picked a bell pepper more so because there were several others developing on the same plant which is still smaller than normal, but small peppers are just as good. The okra plants are loading up on baby okra. It seems that most of the vegetable plants are responding to the Epsom Salts treatment. Something I find curious is the vine borer issue. I finally lost a zucchini plant to it in a matter of 36 hours. It seems a bit strange to me that this isn't a local issue but is cropping up in the Midwest as well. Are these nasty little bugs airborne? At least the chard is doing well. I picked another 1/2 pound this morning. Also some more green beans and a jalapeno. The surviving lima bean plants are looking healthy and loaded with blooms and a few bean pods. Maybe I'll get a serving or two of them. With no real rain in the forecast, I watered everything good this morning. Now it's on to laundry, bread baking and pasta making. I'm turning a boatload of chard into ravioli. Sorry about your foot @Sueby. My most frequent foot issue is dropping a full water bottle on my sandaled or bare foot. I hope your foot heals soon. Sorry you're not loving the poblano peppers so much @Acre4Me. I've not experienced a truly hot poblano, however I think it's a bit of an aging thing where your taste buds enjoy more heat (perhaps I lost a few taste buds over the years). When you seeded the peppers did you remove the veins? There's still a lot of heat in them if the veins are left intact. More likely the type of poblano is hotter than what I've used.

 

[WthrLady]

@Swiss hay and straw are two different animals

Hay is cut, green, growing vegetable matter, that is allowed to dry and then is stacked or baled. It contains dried flowers, leaves, seeds etc.
Straw is green matter that has been either allowed to dry naturally on the stem OR more commonly, green matter where the desired product, oats, barely, wheat has been harvested from the tops, and the stems allowed to dry (usually in situ) are harvested, and bundled or baled. Straw is usually a single crop bale, and devoid of 99.9% of seed matter.

Baled straw is almost 100% dry while hay, which is used as a feed or feed addition has a measurable, albeit low moisture content.

 

[WthrLady]

And compost and cardboard under the straw. I used hay and didn't have a real problem with weeds, but I know this hay round I used was mostly grass and beyond having a seedy problem.

 

[Birdsonghill]

I really don't remember the rabbit manure smell being bad. But, as I said, I would clean out the spent straw under the wire cages as needed to keep the smell under control. I agree that chicken droppings can also be quite potent if not managed properly. But since I switched over to the deep litter system in my coop, I don't have to spend hardly any time cleaning it out (maybe twice a year) and it never smells.

I start out with a layer of maybe 4 inches of wood chips in the coop and fluff them up occasionally and/or add another layer to the deep litter. When the deep litter gets to be about 12 inches deep, then I'll shovel it out and put it into the chicken run to compost for a number of months before I use it in the garden.

I suspect a deep litter system under rabbit cages would work better than the straw I used back in the day, but I don't currently have any rabbits so I am only guessing. One thing I like about rabbit manure is that you can use it immediately on the garden, whereas the chicken compost needs to age a number of months to cool down so it does not burn the plants. I typically harvest my chicken run compost in the fall and put it on the garden beds when all the plants are finished for the season. Then it sits in the garden beds over winter and the beds are ready to plant in the spring.

Agreed, about the rabbit poop not being particular stinky, it is not to me! The urine , however is very odorous, and in our 100 degree summers, with the droppings and Urine together, under the cages, odor could become strong and attract flies, if not cleaned up, regularly, as well. My favorite poop for the garden was from rabbits, but my sheep came in a close second (and made a lot more) and it too, was not as stinky as chickens, cattle or horse manure can be! I compost all manure here normally, thoroughly, except occasionally, spreading litter /droppings over an area that needs a lot of nitrogen like pasture or a corn patch. I have found some over compost/manure fed/fertilized plants, especially tomatoes, get huge lush foliage, with little or no fruit, for much/most of the season! Too much manure(even composted for months) on the garden can actually reduce yields of some fruits and vegetables! I actively grow year round in my gardens, utilizing row covers and hardy greens and fall planted crops for spring harvest. The bulk of my lettuce, spinach, kale, carrots, turnips etc. and main crop onions are in my gardens over the cooler seasons/winter, as well as cover crops like White clover, vetch and etc.. That is one reason why, I seldom broadcast barn/coop litter over my gardens during the winter. The other reason is, I never have enough compost to cover all my Farms needs, both ornamental and food crops, as much as I would like! The grape vines, fruit trees, blueberries, landscaping and my gardens make a huge supply desirable! I do not have a front end loader or large equipment and my gardens and composting is done by hand(back) with small garden carts and a small garden tractor to move the materials. Every peck of compost is valuable and the farm animals waste makes that compost work faster and be full of nutrients! Happy gardening and enjoy your rabbits, chickens or other homestead projects today!

 

[Birdsonghill]

And compost and cardboard under the straw. I used hay and didn't have a real problem with weeds, but I know this hay round I used was mostly grass and beyond having a seedy problem.

Hay around here, is usually full of Bermuda and or Dallas grass seeds and likely many other seed heads of forbs and grasses that can turn a garden into a prison camp ,you are forced to work in long hours! I got nut grass in one of my gardens, using less than completely worked compost, containing old hay left from my horses supplies! It appeared to be well broken down compost, but did not get hot enough to destroy the weed sedges from the old hay! Never use hay is my rule for my gardens and garden compost piles. In fact, I am careful to exclude all seed heads from pulled/cut weeds from my gardens composting piles. It is too easy, to not kill all the seeds or sedges and the pain that results is miserable. I use clean wheat straw only (only straw that is readily available here)in my gardens or as litter that will be composted later. Even some of the wheat straw gets rejected due to it containing weeds( wheat grown without herbicides may contain more weeds) possibly from the edges or weak spots in the crops field. I pile up weeds and old hay into their own "compost" piles and use the resulting product on pasture or under/around the trees were I can just mow or weedeat down any weeds that result.

 

[gtaus]

Agreed, about the rabbit poop not being particular stinky, it is not to me! The urine , however is very odorous, and in our 100 degree summers, with the droppings and Urine together, under the cages, odor could become strong and attract flies, if not cleaned up, regularly, as well.

This is why I suggested using a deep litter method under the rabbit cages. I know the deep litter method works great for my chickens, and I think it might be as beneficial for rabbits under their cages. However, chicken poo is not the same as rabbit urine, and if the wood chips cannot soak up the rabbit urine and control the smell, that would not be good. When I raised rabbits, the straw would get urine soaked and smelled bad. But I found that straw gets stinky with chickens as well. The deep litter method with wood chips works great for my chickens, and I wonder if it would work for rabbits as well.

I actively grow year round in my gardens,

I only have about 4 months of growing crops in my garden - June, July, August, September. I made some raised beds with hoops this year and might try to extend my growing season this fall and early next spring.

I never have enough compost to cover all my Farms needs

Since I converted my chicken run into a composting chicken run, using wood chips, grass clippings, leaves, and just about anything else organic pulled from the garden, I now have more compost ready to harvest whenever I want for my garden and raised beds. But I don't live on a farm, just have a garden and a number of raised beds to tend.

I do not have a front end loader or large equipment and my gardens and composting is done by hand(back) with small garden carts and a small garden tractor to move the materials.

I wish I had a front loader, not so much because I "need" it for the volume I deal with, but rather to save my old back from wear and tear. Like you, I use garden carts that I can tow behind my riding mowers. I have a number of different sized forks to load up the trailers/carts depending on the material.

One big labor/back saver I made was a cement mixer compost sifter. I can now fork in my chicken run compost into the cement mixer compost sifter and sift out about 6 cubic feet of finished compost in ~15 minutes. I sift the finished product directly into a Gorilla yard card and hitch it up to the riding mower to move it wherever needed.

For years, I used a manual compost sifter made from 2X4's and wire mesh. It would take me hours to fill a 6 cubic foot cart and I would be dead tired. I cannot tell you how happy I am with my investment in the cement mixer compost sifter I made. Here is a video on such a sifter.

Here is a picture of my setup and a link to the thread How fine should chicken run compost be sifted? in case you might be interested. I made some modifications to the design in the YouTube video which I believe improve the setup. I talk about that in my BYC thread. My modifications require no drilling so you can easily return the cement mixer to it's original condition without holes in the mixing barrel.

 

[Birdsonghill]

Very interesting sifter, I have seen similar devices. I love using row covers most of the year, I use some, for shade, insect control and of course, wind and frost protection. I enjoy fresh salads in January and February from my, covered beds(lettuce is difficult here by mid July and through August is poor quality or goes to seed immediately). My mini farm is not a big commercial operation and is shrinking yearly, now. However, I do have several different vegetable gardens, several permanent raised beds, and extensive landscaping and fruit trees, bushes and vines. Our full , 7 plus months(sometime 8 months) of frost free weather and mostly mild winters, makes a big difference compared to much of the country. I never used deep litter under the rabbits, raised outdoors( indoors the deep litter may be the ticket!). I just used it directly in the gardens or in my compost piles and put a couple inches of straw or chips down for a fresh base. The deep litter I used in Chicken runs, just became a soggy stinking, gnat infested, mess in them, from our frequent heavy rains and was discontinued 40 years ago. I use the deep litter method in my chicken coops with great success (usually wheat straw but several other materials as well). I (somewhat patiently)compost all of my finished compost to a small, loose, crumbly texture that is garden ready and does not require sifting out large particles, due to it all being broken down to a fine and light size and texture. It requires a pile method that performs best with at least a 3 to 4 foot height and width maintained and turned occasionally. The pile should emit steam or even smoke when working properly and opened up. Mine are usually much bigger (wider/longer). Nothing woody, bigger than about an inch or two is included in my piles, though sawdust, wood chips, and chipped bark is ok, along with the normal leaves, grass clippings, garden/kitchen waste, coop litter and etc.( the more varied the materials the better the compost). The heat needed to kill common insect pest and weed seeds(found in quality compost ingredients frequently) require the deep pile method or some cooking. I went to sand and/ or crushed stone in my dedicated runs, years ago, due to the stink and mess of exposed deep chips or straw litter in our rainy , hot climate! My runs are enclosed with wire completely but the tops are not completely covered with roofing. The rain washes away the droppings and that is better than the flies, gnats and stink from wet litter here. Everybody's situation varies to degrees, according to their location and personal tolerances! I love talking about these topics! That brings me to my composting worm bin! Most of my kitchen waste and some garden waste goes to them! The screening device you built is what worm composters use to separate the worms from the finished worm castings or any uneaten waste! I have toyed with building one, but my labor is more abundant than my money! Good to talk to you and best wishes for your flock and gardens! Try composting worms, you have a good start to easy harvesting of the worms and or compost!

 

[pennyJo1960]

I stabbed myself in the foot with my heavy chicken shears. My hands don't work well sometimes & I dropped them tip first into my foot. Foot is pretty sore & my shoes hurt to wear & make it start bleeding all over, lol. I'm my own worst enemy.

OUCH! hope you heal fast there

 

[TJAnonymous]

Picking tomatoes daily.

Wish I could say the same... I'm picking tomatoes about once a week and getting a couple at a time. Lots of tomatoes on the vine.... Just growing super slow. Probably from the lack of rain. I am watering the garden every other day but I don't think it's enough because I don't really have time to DEEP water.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Finally have enough grapes to make jelly... I'm using about 95% Catawba grapes from the garden and then supplementing a cup or so of dark seedless grapes from the store since I was right on the cusp of not having enough.

Sterilizing jars and lids at the moment...

About to eat some fresh picked watermelon.