What did you do in the garden today?

[TJAnonymous]

Hum...did not realize this could cause problems! Is there anything that doesn't cause problems LOL?
Mine are doing well thus far?

Amen sister!

I had the local tree service dump their wood chips (4 LOADS!) last summer. While they have had a year to dry & season, there's ALWAYS fungi growing on them....not to mention any potential bacteria or viruses they brought from other places. I think using mulch is better than nothing at all, but if the cardboard is doing a decent job of keeping the soil moist and blocking weeds, why add the potential for something bad with the mulch on top?

To be fair, I *did* add mulch on top of the cardboard around the peppers, nasturtiums, and sunflowers. I am just hesitant to add it around the tomatoes because of potential for disease and the zucchini because squash bugs LOVE mulch (found that out last year).

Since this is my first time using cardboard in the garden, I'm just wondering what might happen if I don't cover it with mulch? I'm guessing it will just break down faster? I can live with that by simply adding more cardboard on top of it. This sounds reasonable but what am I missing?

 

[CNJ]

I bought some dollar laundry baskets a few years ago from Walmart. I wonder if they will ever sell them again? I put a weed fabric around the sides of the laundry basket and grew a semi determinant Roma tomato plant in it and I got a bumper harvest from it.

I left the laundry basket as is without drilling drain holes on the bottom, so there were about an inch of water in the reservoir. The only problem I had with this air prunning laundry basket was I had to water this basket daily, and if I missed a day the tomato plant would be wilted. I was thinking about using my stacked 5 gallon bucket water reservoir system and string along 3 plants with a 3/8 inch vinyl tube. However, Walmart stop selling these cheap laundry baskets.

I could drill large holes around a 5 gallon bucket instead, but its requires more labor. I will probably drill some holes next season because I noticed how compacted my tomato plant's roots were today while adding fertilizer around the rim of my 5 gallon wicking buckets.

 

[TJAnonymous]

I'm pushing harder to get some quotes to hook my house up to solar power. I intended to do this last year but got too busy with work. Now it's crunch time....things are going to go seriously sideways this summer.

 

[Sally PB]

approx 350 seed potato

WOW!!!

I had the local tree service dump their wood chips (4 LOADS!) last summer. While they have had a year to dry & season, there's ALWAYS fungi growing on them

I have found what I think is slime mold on the top of my pile of chips. I scraped it off into a box and burned it in the wood stove.

Since this is my first time using cardboard in the garden, I'm just wondering what might happen if I don't cover it with mulch? I'm guessing it will just break down faster? I can live with that by simply adding more cardboard on top of it. This sounds reasonable but what am I missing?

My problem was the cardboard would curl after it got wet, and then wind would lift it and blow it around. Or I'd trip on the corners. So I covered it with leaves. Also, DH thought it looked like a garbage pit when he could see the cardboard.

Even covered with leaves, it did its job for two seasons very well. I don't know if it would break down faster with nothing on it, or if it would last longer.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

I grew a few tomato plants in large pots last year. The harvest wasn’t great, but still better than grocery store tomatoes. I think they would have done better in a larger container. I’ve used plastic lattice to make circular garden beds lined around the inside with landscape fabric and it has lasted 3 years so far. I’m on garden season #4 with them and they are still holding up. As for my peach tree: the tree is now 4 years old. Last year was my first year of harvesting and it was a really good one. I only sprayed with neem oil once so some of the peaches were a little wormy. I just cut them out and sliced then froze them. I sprayed once before the tree budded and now that there are peaches developing I’ll spray again with only neem oil. The only fertilizer I use are ashes from my pellet stove. The year I used store bought chemical fertilizer none of my fruit trees even bloomed. So sometimes, less is more.

 

[CNJ]

I just read and article about gardening hacks and came away with two that I am going to use. One idea was to sprinkle baking soda around the base of a tomato plant to make the tomato sweeter and the other was to use a coffee filter on the base of a small pot to slow down the draining. I have a lot of coffee filters I can use that were left over since I bought my keuriig coffee machine.

 

[TJAnonymous]

WOW!!!

I have found what I think is slime mold on the top of my pile of chips. I scraped it off into a box and burned it in the wood stove.

My problem was the cardboard would curl after it got wet, and then wind would lift it and blow it around. Or I'd trip on the corners. So I covered it with leaves. Also, DH thought it looked like a garbage pit when he could see the cardboard.

Even covered with leaves, it did its job for two seasons very well. I don't know if it would break down faster with nothing on it, or if it would last longer.

Thanks for the feedback. I have mine pinned down with landscaping pins which help keep it in place. Being inside the hoop house also helps keep the wind from playing havoc on it. I do trip on the corners though in the aisleway. Where I've used the cardboard outside the hoop house, I've covered it with wood chips, except around the broccoli. Again, haven't needed to mulch it because my heavy-duty row covers keep it down along with the landscaping pins.

I completely understand about the "trashy look." I felt that way too on the cardboard outside the hoop house. That's partially why I covered most of it with wood chips....

 

[Gammas Bearded Babies]

Amen sister!

I had the local tree service dump their wood chips (4 LOADS!) last summer. While they have had a year to dry & season, there's ALWAYS fungi growing on them....not to mention any potential bacteria or viruses they brought from other places. I think using mulch is better than nothing at all, but if the cardboard is doing a decent job of keeping the soil moist and blocking weeds, why add the potential for something bad with the mulch on top?

To be fair, I *did* add mulch on top of the cardboard around the peppers, nasturtiums, and sunflowers. I am just hesitant to add it around the tomatoes because of potential for disease and the zucchini because squash bugs LOVE mulch (found that out last year).

Since this is my first time using cardboard in the garden, I'm just wondering what might happen if I don't cover it with mulch? I'm guessing it will just break down faster? I can live with that by simply adding more cardboard on top of it. This sounds reasonable but what am I missing?

Well I'm just using cardboard for first time as well...I put some out yesterday without any mulch cuz I'm out...I thought the rain would got would flatten it down...nope it curled up! So I'm guessing the mulch/wood chips helps keep it down and in place.
But I'm out so we'll get to test on mine LOL!

edited: just read @sallyPB post...so she had same with it curling...n my DH did say it looked junky...but oh well he did get me more boxes at sonic! Hehehe

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

I bought some dollar laundry baskets a few years ago from Walmart. I wonder if they will ever sell them again? I put a weed fabric around the sides of the laundry basket and grew a semi determinant Roma tomato plant in it and I got a bumper harvest from it.

I left the laundry basket as is without drilling drain holes on the bottom, so there were about an inch of water in the reservoir. The only problem I had with this air prunning laundry basket was I had to water this basket daily, and if I missed a day the tomato plant would be wilted. I was thinking about using my stacked 5 gallon bucket water reservoir system and string along 3 plants with a 3/8 inch vinyl tube. However, Walmart stop selling these cheap laundry baskets.

I could drill large holes around a 5 gallon bucket instead, but its requires more labor. I will probably drill some holes next season because I noticed how compacted my tomato plant's roots were today while adding fertilizer around the rim of my 5 gallon wicking buckets.

You can get them at dollar store or dollar tree.

 

[NewBoots]

I was so excited to see how many flowers were on our sour cherry trees. Well, it doesn't look like very many got pollinated. I saw just a very few that look like they're growing cherries. This is one of those times when I hope I'm really wrong.

Same thing with our prune plum tree, I don't see a single plum on it. Oh well, the apples look good.

I like fishing but not enough to pay for a license.

I could go fishing every day, I caught a 7lb bass our first summer here.

I went to the farmer's market today and got 3 one foot tall peppers, and I planted them in pots in the shelter of the greenhouse. Planted more zucchini in the raised beds.