What did you do in the garden today?

[aggiemae]

In reading the last blog link, it was noted that container gardening has issues with leaching nutrients. Does anyone use compost ? Better yet what is the problem and how is it solved??

When you garden in containers it is helpful to add a cup of dolomite lime to every 5 gallons of soil. I make an organic planting mix using 50% coco core and 50% compost. (2-3 gallons of each) Then mix in a few cups of vermiculite. I fill the container 1/2 then add dolomite (lime) and worm castings to the top half of the container. I also side dress with a 3-3-3 fertilizer after planting but after the plant leafs out I use the lowest nitrogen fertilizer I can find. 1-3-3 (?) because I want food not foliage. The planting mix can be reused but need to be dumped out and reconditioned every year. I just make a pile on the ground cover it with plastic (wet it before you cover it if it's dry) and let the microbes and the worms will come up and to their thing for a few months.

The nutrients will last longer and microbes will live longer in the containers if you water with warmed rain or non chlorinated water.

For tomatoes, peppers and eggplant I also make a potassium/calcium side dressing out of banana peels and egg shells. I bake them till dry and grind them to a powered with a coffee grinder. this will stop blossom end rot. It is good in the garden but essential in a container.

 

[Meaghan]

Finally got the outdoor pen for the sprouts made. It's doing a great job of keeping the neighbor's chooks out so far. Hopefully this will help with the plants that have sprouted. We're going to reseed some of them as well.

 

[hennible]

Has anyone here ever grown melons in a green house?

Only place I can grow them. Works well, I do have to hand pollinate quite a bit, despite the greenhouse being full of solitary bee species.

 

[3goodeggs]

Quote: One tree had nothing at all yet, another tree had some that were still hanging on but zapped from the last frost with some new berries still white...But my dwarf mulberry- that grew into a giant in the greenhouse- is loaded. and very good.
My dwarf is only small leaves not small plant.

I bought a dwarf banana today. I see how big it gets.
I am too short for these giants.

 

[3goodeggs]

Here's a quick snap pea snack before work.

And yes they are on the fence behind my blueberries
That are still green

But very happy

I pulled the last of my peas out yesterday and replaced them with cucumbers. I will miss eating my way through the garden.
I hope we get a good blueberry crop this year. I want some muffins in the worst way.

 

[RichnSteph]

Congrats RichnSteph on getting your bed planted. What kind of fish?

Thank you! We were planning on tilapia but I got a case of the "ick" from a fillet a few months ago and can't stand the sight of them anymore. Too bad since they rear their young in their mouths and reproduce well. We're going to use a local distributor of "stock tank" fish that sells a hybrid perch that does well in AP systems. The cross is a male Bluegill and a female Green perch. Should produce 1/2 pound fish in 5 months and 1 pound fish in 8 if fed properly. We'll be feeding floating game fish food to start with and then BSF larvae once they are large enough to handle them. They will reproduce in our tank as long as we provide shade (lily pads) and the proper substrate (crushed lava rock left over from the grow beds). I hope to have a sustainable population before the end of the year.

I'll be sure and post a picture of the second grow bed tomorrow when it's filled and planted.

 

[Tiller]

Tilapia can be a lot of fun to raise. Good feed leads to great growth.
Planted peas onions and lettuce finally. Still can't touch half my garden because it is too wet. Also planted some raspberries and cut a little rhubarb

 

[attimus]

Our Blue Berries get eaten by the darn birds long before they are any where near ready.

I've posted them before but I put these over my boxes or I wouldn't have anything to enjoy

 

[3goodeggs]

Quote: We were thinking of using catfish. I do not care much for the non flavor of Tilapia.
I might just try some comets first to make sure it all works before I kill anyone off accidentally.

 

[RichnSteph]

We were thinking of using catfish. I do not care much for the non flavor of Tilapia.
I might just try some comets first to make sure it all works before I kill anyone off accidentally.

Hehe. We put two dozen bait minnows in ours this afternoon to test it. I ran a water test yesterday and it came out great across the spectrum from PH to Nitrates.