What did you do in the garden today?

[WthrLady]

I have three pairs of sneakers squirreled away in the closet. When I find shoes that fit I buy extra.

yep

 

[fuzzi]

Thanks. I wrote them down to check them out. I have always purchased my seeds locally, but this year, for whatever reason, I was not able to find some of the seeds I was looking for my gardens. Maybe a good idea to look into real seed stores online.

I am very happy with Baker Creek seeds!

 

[fuzzi]

ITA! & what's with the stretchy jeans? By the end of the day they're all saggy & falling off. I despise stretchy jeans.

I wear jean skirts with large, deep pockets.

 

[Happy hen lover]

Unfortunately , not so much for me any more

We got ours from Culligan man store. All the same size

 

[gtaus]

New YouTube video on 3-year Review of Hügelkultur Raised Bed

Over the years, I have become a big advocate for the hügelkultur method to use in raised beds. It just works for me. I understand the theory of the hügelkultur method, but does it deliver in actual use?

I want to share a link to the following video where they tear apart a 3-year-old hügelkultur raised bed and take a good look at how it is performing. If you are not convinced to give hügelkultur raised beds a try now, you probably will want to consider it after watching this 10-minute video...

A few points that I think are worth noting again:

He used freshly cut logs in his hügelkultur build. That works, and after 3 years in the raised bed, they could see the wood softening up and becoming more spongy, which holds water better. As the wood ages and breaks down, it feeds the soil and retains water better. Based on their 3 year look, they estimated that the wood logs in that bed might be good for about 20 years!

I use freshly cut wood if I have to clean up the yard. I had 2 big trees fall down last winter and used the wood to make some new raised beds this spring. Why not? However, if you want even better results earlier, then pick out some old rotting logs to start with.

The hügelkultur beds get better with age. As the wood decomposes, it feeds the soil from below. The rotting wood also retains more water as it continues to turn into a giant sponge. I have seen this in my hügelkultur beds as well. They just to perform better with each passing year.

He mentioned that his first attempt at making hügelkultur raised beds was not a complete success. Basically, he failed to adequately fill the voids between the logs and his raised bed soil level dropped almost 1 foot the first year! That is just crazy!

After he figured out that it was necessary to fill those voids between the logs, then the soil level dropped the normal 1-2 inches per year. That is what you want. Every year, you just top off that 1-2 inches with fresh compost. Perfect!

As to filling those voids, he used potting mix, which I find is pretty expensive. I can get free wood chips at our local county landfill, and that is what I use to fill the voids Still free for me to use as a filler, and being wood, it will also sponge up the water and break down over the years feeding the soil. What's not to love about that?

I'd love to hear any feedback on this video, and if you have any ideas on how to make hügelkultur raised beds even better. I have had great results with my hügelkultur raised beds, but I'm always looking to make improvements. Thanks.

Edit: I decided to try to make this a separate thread of discussion on this specific gardening topic. If you have any interest, please join me at the new Hügelkultur Raised Beds thread with your comments. Thanks.

 

[FrannyNZooey]

Yup. I much prefer men's pants. The pockets are bigger (ie, useable!), the stitching is better, the quality overall is better. I just have to find them in my size.

I would love to hear what you think of pickled garlic!

Has anyone else here made or eaten it?

I haven’t made it, but it sounds yum. I think I’m going to try to make a batch over Thanksgiving. We’ve got the Korean chili flakes in the spice cabinet. If you don’t have those, regular crushed red pepper flakes are a decent substitute, just a little spicier.

 

[chickengr]

We don't can anything anymore. Dear Wife prefers to freeze everything. I think it works great for soups and chilis but have never tried freezing broth. I would think it would be the same.

Our freezer is full of all kinds of food, including many items that cannot be canned, of course. We repurpose lots of plastic containers for freezing food, so no expense there. All we do is label and date the container with masking tape and a sharpie. We typically use the frozen goods in less than 6 months. There has been almost no freezer burn if we use the food up by then.

Considering the time it takes to can goods and expense in canning equipment to start with, can somebody tell me what the advantages that canning has over just freezing?

We gave away all our canning jars, lids and rings to a relative who was still canning. But I kept our pressure cooker and other canning equipment in case we ever decide to can again. I used to like canning, back in the day, but Dear Wife says it was too much effort. Freezing food is a lot easier.

I grew up with frozen broth. the only thing I don't like frozen is carrots in a broth. only if I mince carrot I freeze it (in broth, soups, etc.).

 

[Sueby]

Did y'all know USDA changed the plant hardiness zones?
https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/

eta: I went from 6a to 6b.

Not that any of it really makes much of a difference, lol.

 

[Sueby]

As to filling those voids, he used potting mix, which I find is pretty expensive. I can get free wood chips at our local county landfill, and that is what I use to fill the voids Still free for me to use as a filler, and being wood, it will also sponge up the water and break down over the years feeding the soil. What's not to love about that?

When I did mine a couple years ago I did the same, logs & woodchips, then uncooked compost, then a mix of soil & compost from my local garden shop. It's worked fantastic. The level has dropped an inch or 2 but works well as it leaves me room to add more compost. I have that issue with regular beds - I run out of room to add compost. I do no till so I don't like to disturb them.

 

[Smokerbill]

Did y'all know USDA changed the plant hardiness zones?
https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/

eta: I went from 6a to 6b.

Not that any of it really makes much of a difference, lol.

Mine remained the same at 8a. The new map is a lot more detailed than the older one.