What did you do in the garden today?

[lazy gardener]

Peas can be planted any time you can get a hole scratched deep enough for them. It helps to pre-soak, or even pre-sprout, just until you see the root tip breaking or ready to break the skin. Then get them covered with plastic. It helps to put that plastic down even before you're ready to plant. It pre-warms the soil. an other thing that you can do to prepare for next year, is to get a heavy mulch over your soil. People say that mulch keeps the soil from warming up... but IMO, the mulch keeps the frost from going as deep, so you can plant much earlier in a mulched garden. I put all of my bones in the wood stove. I'm hoping that the calcium is still reserved even though they're burned. A recent fad is bio-char, and charred bones instead of regular bone meal. I give spring only 6 weeks to show up, even though I'm to the north of you. Granted, we won't be planting yet, and there'll still be more storms to come. But, winter fury will be pretty much spent.

 

[hennible]

Have you ever made bone broth? Apparently after boiling the bones down for 24 hours or so on low you end up with bones that you can break apart in your hands into a dust... Seems like that would be a good garden additive.

 

[Arielle]

Yeah you can put peas in before the last frost but you need to more than double the amount of seed because there's a much higher chance the peas will rot before they sprout... Sigh...
Have you tried to cover the areas you seeded with clear plastic when you plant before the last frost? It helps me anyway.

I'm too frugal to waste seed by putting in twice as much. WOuld rather wait until soil is warmer. Haahaaa, I was thinking about something like hte clear plastic to warm up the soil, though I thought of using the black mulch , or black plastic. Before the seeds go in of course.

 

[Arielle]

Peas can be planted any time you can get a hole scratched deep enough for them. It helps to pre-soak, or even pre-sprout, just until you see the root tip breaking or ready to break the skin. Then get them covered with plastic. It helps to put that plastic down even before you're ready to plant. It pre-warms the soil. an other thing that you can do to prepare for next year, is to get a heavy mulch over your soil. People say that mulch keeps the soil from warming up... but IMO, the mulch keeps the frost from going as deep, so you can plant much earlier in a mulched garden. I put all of my bones in the wood stove. I'm hoping that the calcium is still reserved even though they're burned. A recent fad is bio-char, and charred bones instead of regular bone meal. I give spring only 6 weeks to show up, even though I'm to the north of you. Granted, we won't be planting yet, and there'll still be more storms to come. But, winter fury will be pretty much spent.

Presoaking is a definite this year. IF it only takes a few hours of soaking to get a jump, I"m there! I can see your point of keeping the frost from getting so deepinto the soil. maybe getting one bed prepped that way in the fall would be worth a try. We had a strange December. Lots of rain, so not sure how deep the frost went this year, and yet now the temps seem lower than usual. BUT WITh snow cover, there is tat insulation. OH SO MANY FACTORS

I'm not for burning many things. BOnes are a complex combo of several minerals and protein.If there is a way to make it into smaller pcs like Hennible mentioned, perhaps that would preserve the protein, and make the bone friable enough to nosh on. THe chickens, that is. lol

 

[lazy gardener]

I'm energy frugal also, so any boiling would be in a crock pot, or possibly a very tiny pot on the very tiny little top of my wood stove. But that's a good idea. I often don't have enough bones to make it worth while... unless I froze and stock piled them... That's worth some thought. Thanks.

 

[hennible]

I'm too frugal to waste seed by putting in twice as much. WOuld rather wait until soil is warmer.  Haahaaa, I was thinking about something like hte clear plastic to warm up the soil, though I thought of using the black mulch , or black plastic. Before the seeds go in of course.

I have times of pea seeds... Lol every year I over plant beyond what I'm capable of harvesting and everything else turns into seed stock...

I'm energy frugal also, so any boiling would be in a crock pot, or possibly a very tiny pot on the very tiny little top of my wood stove.  But that's a good idea.  I often don't have enough bones to make it worth while... unless I froze and stock piled them... That's worth some thought.  Thanks.

I need to do that... freeze my bones...

 

[Arielle]

lol all my bones go into a stock pot. lol

 

[hennible]

Mine too, sometimes it would just be worth saving some up to do more stock at a time... And then add the bones to my garden.

 

[lazy gardener]

I have times of pea seeds... Lol every year I over plant beyond what I'm capable of harvesting and everything else turns into seed stock...
I need to do that... freeze my bones...

I freeze my bones every time I step out the back door. 16* right now, and the wind is howling like a banshee.

 

[hennible]

Haha

I can't complain about the temperature though it's only -5°C so 23 Fahrenheit...