What did you do in the garden today?

[ChickenCanoe]

The peas--was I supposed to soak them first??? Mine haven't come up, and I'm not so sure what's going on with the lettuce and spinach. Inside, though, things look good. Tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, squash, and cucumber are up. Hope I didn't start the latter too soon. I suspect they'll be fine. I sprinkled Azomite on the soil earlier this week and continue to tie the raspberries to the trellis. The strawberries need some work too. I suspect the slugs are already at work based on some missing leaves.

What have your low temps been. Soaking peas starts the sprouting process much faster. Same with most seeds if done so at the proper temperature for the plant.

 

[chickadoodles]

Got our new kiddie pool garden going today.



I've got tomato's planted in two bags and turnip seeds in one. I need some more soil for the 4th bag. I thought 75 lbs of soil would be enough for 4 - 5 bags. lol

 

[Ardj]

Wow planting tomatoes outside already ? Good for you, we are still in low temp. Last night it was 26F. I can't wait to get my plants outside.

 

[chickadoodles]

Wow planting tomatoes outside already ? Good for you, we are still in low temp. Last night it was 26F. I can't wait to get my plants outside.

These tomato plants have been outside for a couple of weeks already. I don't think I will get a frost this late but If I do I will cover them with plastic.

It will warm up for you soon.

 

[lazy gardener]

THey have lost the understanding that they have their own two hands to change their world. Hard when big government has taken away the ability of the people to act.

When there is MORE than enough land per person......I think of a now small group of native people still living in S. America that live in huge hovels, carefully maintained common ground stretch between homes, and lots of fish in the river to trap and food to gather in the surrounding jungle. And a friend to visit with. Family close by.

I have recently realized that we Americans are headed for a deadend....
Sorry LG. I brought up the hybrid angle.... didn't mean it as a diss toward you.. rather another point of discussion. Sorry.

GMOs can have a purpose... years ago I was impressed that with a change using GMO methods rice could be altered to have vit A, and as rice was the primary food source, it saved the eyesight of those that ate it. I always thought this was a valuable method to help save eyesight. BUT the use of GMOs has taken on a life of its own..... and big agriculture companies are in control when they should NOT be.

I watched a utube video of a couple in FL that was forced to remove their front yard garden because the neighbors objected to the view... with fines at $50 per day, they had no choice but to rip out their food source. OMG!!!!!!!! ( ANd yes, I think the source was credible.) Added fuel to my fire to improve the abililty of my land to be self sufficient.

And to realize that the stripping of land of its minerals is the price of big agriculture....and small, if we are not careful......

Arielle, in no way did you cause offense re: the hybrid issue! All good discussion. GMO, good discussion also. Yes, some GMO is good, but, as you say, big ag is taking over and forcing their will on government, the farming industry, controlling food production. A big concern for me are the many GMO "round up ready crops". Glyphosphate use is making an incredible impact on the health of our soil. Strip the health from the soil, and the health is stripped from the crops that we eat. From my understanding, farmers, in contract with Monsanto now heavily dose wheat crops with Glyohosphate towards the end of the production cycle. This kills the plant, and forces the seed to ripen at the same time, yielding a larger crop. Curious about the huge increase in Celiac disease (gluten intolerance)? There are many folks who are theorizing that gluten is not the issue, but... glyphosphate exposure is! These issues, along with the similar contamination of our meat supply are why I am becoming more active in growing my own food.

This morning, I had a discussion with hubby regarding the whole food production issue. He's NOT a farmer! A city boy with country benefits. I am thankful that he supports me in my pursuits. Any how, we were discussing what our country would look like if government actually encouraged folks to grow their own food. If every land owner had a small garden spot, perhaps even a small flock of chickens, or even a pig or goat, what would that do for our economy? What would that do for folk's morale: to know that they are able to provide at least part of their food? Does our government enjoy having people being so dependent that they can't provide ANY of their own food???? During WWII, government was encouraging every family to have a garden plot. I think there may have even been programs that provided chicks to families as well. We've moved a long way away from that ideal.

Hubby and I put a fence around the garden this weekend. I now have a well defined veggie garden, and he has a well defined lawn! My garden is 48' long x 32' wide. Completely surrounded with cattle panels. This will not keep chickens out, nor will it keep ground hogs out, or any other pests. What it will do is give me a great garden surround that can be used to trellis tomatoes, cukes, squash, peas, and all sorts of other climbing yummies, to yield more space for even more veggies in the middle. I'll still need to put some sort of light duty fencing around the outside to discourage the chickens. Raspberries at the west end will be moved out. I may move high bush blue berries and strawberries at south side out as well. Now, I need to get busy and finish moving the mulch in to complete the BTE system. From the poking around that I did under the mulch laid last fall, my soil is in incredible shape. Many of the seedlings I started less than a week ago are up. Need to start the rest of them. It looks like my mini-orchard has survived the winter, in spite of the soil being too wet. Even found one of my Elderberry shrubs that I lost track of!

 

[politicalcenter]

A GMO is an organism that has had a DNA splice. They use an enzyme to cut the DNA and insert a new sequence of gene's . A hybrid is just a cross of two similar organisms in sexual reproduction. A hybrid and a GMO are two different things.

I would rather use heirloom seeds than risk saving seed from hybrids.

 

[politicalcenter]

I watered my plants, moved everything back outside, and bought some reduced poppy plants at Wally World.

 

[Bugseye]

What have your low temps been. Soaking peas starts the sprouting process much faster. Same with most seeds if done so at the proper temperature for the plant.

Maybe it's that. Nighttime temperatures have been near or at freezing, even though the days have been in the 60s and 70s. Tied up a few more of the straggling raspberries and hovered over my seed starts to see what's poking up through the soil.

 

[GardenNut]

I transplanted my cucumber starts today! I may regret it, but I'm going for it!

 

[Bugseye]

Ha! Have that frost cover ready. Mine don't have true leaves yet, so no temptation.