What did you do in the garden today?

[GardenTillers44]

This is great! How long to have slips ready to plant from setting sweet potato in water?

We start ours in April about a month ahead of planting. You can start them about anytime and just trim the roots if they start packing the jar. Add a drop of miracle grow or some kind of hydroponic fertilizer occasionally to keep them green and growing. Sweet potatoes are amazingly resilient. I found a bag of small ones we saved from the garden last year in the garage all dried up. We applied the jar rooting method and got about 80% starts after a winter in the garage!

 

[CapricornFarm]

 

[chickmom3941]

View attachment 1198074

Isn't that cute! Is it a sign? Did you make it? I really like the design (it would look great in my perennial bed - lol).

 

[CapricornFarm]

Isn't that cute! Is it a sign? Did you make it? I really like the design (it would look great in my perennial bed - lol).

Yes, i do woodburning and sell my signs for $15 plus $10 shipping. I am going to seal it with a clear finish.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

*rolls in* Hello friends. It's been a while. Is anyone else planning their spring gardens unreasonably early right now? Cause I sure am!

 

[igorsMistress]

@ChocolateMouse. How's it going? Whatcha been up to and what are you planning?

 

[ChocolateMouse]

It's been a strange year. Lots of dumb family stuff. Long story short, my dad (who is 75 and does not have enough savings to retire/cover end of life expenses) bought my deadbeat 40+yr old brother with a history of violence and several failed businesses under his belt (all built on other peoples money) a farm. Like an entire farm, crop land with a house and well on it, plus a brand new barn. His excuse to me was that it was to make up for not being able to pay for his college when he was young because said brother didn't want to have to sign up for the draft to fund his schooling so he didn't go to college.
Like, HELLO? You didn't pay for ME to go to college EITHER dad. :T I don't have a degree. You aren't exactly buying ME a farm. You couldn't ACTUALLY afford to buy one farm, let alone two. You have seven kids and you spent 10's of thousands on the least stable kid of the bunch, putting him in direct competition with what I'm doing... But now he has a 50+ grand head start.

Ah well. It's just a mess. *throws hands in the air* I have NO idea what to do about it. :T

Right now I'm starting my square foot layout for next year and digging new beds. It's unseasonably warm so I can still do that.
I'm also working on controlling the wireworms that are in my potato boxes and ate all my potatoes last year. I have a pal bringing me coffee grounds for it and we're gonna get nematodes too. I don't have a good alternative location for the potatoes.
I might also be building a separate bed for sun-loving crops to do more effective crop rotation. I'm having trouble placing my tomatoes and peppers this year, and need more space to be able to move them around!
But I did end up putting away nearly 20 pints of tomato sauce this year and 13 half pints of salsa, despite fighting serious fungal blooms. I am really happy about that.

 

[igorsMistress]

I understand your feelings Your success will be sweeter when you don't have to thank your dad for his help. Keep that in mind.

Way to go on the salsa and tomatoes! I can't stand the store bought stuff after making it fresh from the garden.

I'm deciding on location for a quick raised bed to plant some lettuce, mustard greens and carrots. I've got some pavers to remove and replace, and need to till the soil and let the chickens work it over before I transplant some bushes. Working on cover and shade for them before next summer.
I'm also going to try to convert a little greenhouse to a structure to beed black soldier flies for the chickens. That might have to wait until next year though, not sure if the crepe myrtles will come back in spring.

 

[lazy gardener]

I threshed my kale and lettuce seeds. I have a bowl full of each, still with a lot of chaff in them that need to be winnowed. I think I will then stir some DE into each bowl of seeds just in case there are any weevil or other nasties lurking in the seeds that would eat them before spring.

Planted 2 Lingonberry plants that were held in fabric pots all summer.

 

[CapricornFarm]

It's been a strange year. Lots of dumb family stuff. Long story short, my dad (who is 75 and does not have enough savings to retire/cover end of life expenses) bought my deadbeat 40+yr old brother with a history of violence and several failed businesses under his belt (all built on other peoples money) a farm. Like an entire farm, crop land with a house and well on it, plus a brand new barn. His excuse to me was that it was to make up for not being able to pay for his college when he was young because said brother didn't want to have to sign up for the draft to fund his schooling so he didn't go to college.
Like, HELLO? You didn't pay for ME to go to college EITHER dad. :T I don't have a degree. You aren't exactly buying ME a farm. You couldn't ACTUALLY afford to buy one farm, let alone two. You have seven kids and you spent 10's of thousands on the least stable kid of the bunch, putting him in direct competition with what I'm doing... But now he has a 50+ grand head start.

Ah well. It's just a mess. *throws hands in the air* I have NO idea what to do about it. :T

Right now I'm starting my square foot layout for next year and digging new beds. It's unseasonably warm so I can still do that.
I'm also working on controlling the wireworms that are in my potato boxes and ate all my potatoes last year. I have a pal bringing me coffee grounds for it and we're gonna get nematodes too. I don't have a good alternative location for the potatoes.
I might also be building a separate bed for sun-loving crops to do more effective crop rotation. I'm having trouble placing my tomatoes and peppers this year, and need more space to be able to move them around!
But I did end up putting away nearly 20 pints of tomato sauce this year and 13 half pints of salsa, despite fighting serious fungal blooms. I am really happy about that.

My lazy brother who is a sometimes painter and got fired from a good job with the RR that Dad got him... has been supplied with free housing his whole life . Lives in the house we grew up in, Albany NY area. Of course i got no such benefit. He hated my Dad, and yet he got $20,000 when Dad died and I got $2,000! We are the ones that sold our house to move to FL and help my parents! So very unfair life is.