Starting a garden

[Kirtley Howe]

  On 6/26/2022 at 3:26 PM, clayton86 said:

I’ve been tossing the idea around of starting a garden since moving into this house 2 years ago. My dad and grandfather had a big garden and they grew everything they needed tomatoes, corn, peppers, pumpkins stuff like that. I want one for same reason that and not having to mow the giant yard we have haha at least not a acre and a half. 
 

I know it’s to late in the season to start one now and have it produce anything this season. When’s the best time to start one and is there a way to start one without like a rototiller I don’t have any power equipment and sure as hell can’t afford stuff the way it is now a days. 

 

Gotta be some gardeners to share wisdom on gardening here. 

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Around here (Southern Tier of New York State) you can rent a RotoTiller from equipment rental places for $50-$100 a day depending on the size/power you need. Well worth the investment to get the ground prepared. I rototill the area a couple of times to get the depth of loose soil I want, then spread fertilizer (treated cow manure which does not stick like fresh manure and is available at any garden supply store) and rototill that into the soil. Then plant as you wish. Depending on what you are planting, you may want to spread plastic sheeting over the area and just poke holes in it for the seeds. That will prevent any weed growth...but that does not work for all vegetable crops, so do some research.

 

  On 6/28/2022 at 6:37 PM, Kirt Howe said:

Around here (Southern Tier of New York State) you can rent a RotoTiller from equipment rental places for $50-$100 a day depending on the size/power you need. Well worth the investment to get the ground prepared. I rototill the area a couple of times to get the depth of loose soil I want, then spread fertilizer (treated cow manure which does not stick like fresh manure and is available at any garden supply store) and rototill that into the soil. Then plant as you wish. Depending on what you are planting, you may want to spread plastic sheeting over the area and just poke holes in it for the seeds. That will prevent any weed growth...but that does not work for all vegetable crops, so do some research.

 

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should read "does not STINK like fresh manure"......

[throttleplate]

i gave my garden a miracle grow treatment last night.

[flyfisher]

  On 6/28/2022 at 6:15 PM, TnRiver46 said:

Should I send you all my pictures of groundhogs up in trees???

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I believe it....i did see one in my raised bed but i put out a trap and caught and relocated him   Any of his family members got the idea I guess because I haven't had any issues since.

 

[Way north bass guy]

We just built new raised beds at our place this spring. That’s what we had at our last place and we found them much easier to deal with. Our new place has very heavy clay soil, and it was not good last year when we tilled up a spot to plant for the first summer. Was going to take way too much work to get the soil to decent shape.  With the raised beds there’s very little weeds, smaller footprint to water, easier on the back and very little bugs due to them being up off the ground. We have lots of deer here so I built a fence around it, and they are staying away from the veggies this year. Ours is built like an upper case letter E, except with a fourth “arm” too it. This way it’s all connected, we can run soaker hose throughout the entire thing, and you can also reach every spot in the garden by walking the perimeter. Because we’re not walking in it, you can plant your veggies closer together, making for more veggies per sq ft of garden space. 

[Trox]

I once had big dreams of starting a garden... even cut down a tree because it was "in the way"...

 

d**n I miss that tree...

[Mobasser]

I grew up around a truck farm, and have had many successful gardens over the years. Turn the soil in the fall, and add organic compost.  Manures can be very good, but only add them in the fall. They're too hot for spring crops. Read up on or talk to someone at a greenhouse about when it safe  to plant your seeds, or plants.  Keep your spot watered, and weeded.  Good luck on your garden!

[throttleplate]

went to our cities compost lot and the compost is free so we loaded up some 5 gallon buckets and put it around all our veggies and hand tilled it in.

Should i have done this? This is the first time i have ever put compost in the soil.

[flyfisher]

  On 6/29/2022 at 4:14 AM, throttleplate said:

went to our cities compost lot and the compost is free so we loaded up some 5 gallon buckets and put it around all our veggies and hand tilled it in.

Should i have done this? This is the first time i have ever put compost in the soil.

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Anytime I have used free compost from teh city it was absolutely riddled with weeds and all kinds of junk.  We got hte free mulch once to put down as the initial layer for a huge playground area in our backyard to save some money and then topped it with good stuff and it was ridiculously weedy and tons of mushrooms popping up everywhere.  Not worth the hassle

[throttleplate]

  On 6/29/2022 at 11:22 PM, flyfisher said:

Anytime I have used free compost from teh city it was absolutely riddled with weeds and all kinds of junk.  We got hte free mulch once to put down as the initial layer for a huge playground area in our backyard to save some money and then topped it with good stuff and it was ridiculously weedy and tons of mushrooms popping up everywhere.  Not worth the hassle

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I talked to a guy at the compost site and he tells me the city does a good job of sifting the weeds, rocks, debri out. I filled my buckets and ran across a few weeds, it passed my smell test so to say. It is free so thats works for me.

[gim]

  On 6/30/2022 at 1:37 AM, throttleplate said:

It is free so thats works for me.

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I think you should pee in your garden too @throttleplate.  Better than drinking it!

[flyfisher]

  On 6/30/2022 at 1:37 AM, throttleplate said:

 

I talked to a guy at the compost site and he tells me the city does a good job of sifting the weeds, rocks, debri out. I filled my buckets and ran across a few weeds, it passed my smell test so to say. It is free so thats works for me.

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Yeah we aren't that lucky.  I have thought about making a compost bin for a multitude of reasons but it seems like more work that I am not ready to commit to at this point in time.

[PressuredFishing]

  On 6/29/2022 at 4:14 AM, throttleplate said:

Should i have done this? This is the first time i have ever put compost in the soil

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Yes it is most likley fine, there is no plant list of actual weeds, but plants with weedy characteristics, usually annuals that grow well in disturbed compacted soil. Phytotoxcicity can be a problem in compost, not enough research is done on that topic to give scientific advice, and usually is only seen slow plant growth down slightly in the long run. Weeds are actually good for the environment in the long run despite what people say.

[clayton86]

My buddy keeps telling me to start bow fishing with him I might just to use the carp as fertilizer. 

[throttleplate]

  On 7/3/2022 at 12:51 AM, clayton86 said:

My buddy keeps telling me to start bow fishing with him I might just to use the carp as fertilizer. 

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Beware as you will attract a hoard of flies.

[soflabasser]

  On 6/26/2022 at 3:26 PM, clayton86 said:

I’ve been tossing the idea around of starting a garden since moving into this house 2 years ago. My dad and grandfather had a big garden and they grew everything they needed tomatoes, corn, peppers, pumpkins stuff like that. I want one for same reason that and not having to mow the giant yard we have haha at least not a acre and a half. 
 

I know it’s to late in the season to start one now and have it produce anything this season. When’s the best time to start one and is there a way to start one without like a rototiller I don’t have any power equipment and sure as hell can’t afford stuff the way it is now a days. 

 

Gotta be some gardeners to share wisdom on gardening here. 

Expand  

Congratulations on thinking about starting a garden. Gardening teaches you how to be patient, how to pay attention to detail, and many other things. I have grown everything you mentioned, I find tomatoes to be the easiest to grow, so it is a great plant to start growing. Best piece of advice I can give you is to grow plants that do well in the area you live in during the seasons they grow best. Make sure to water when needed, do not overwater or underwater your plants. Try to stay away from pesticides and other nasty chemicals, especially if you plan on eating what you are growing. Good luck and I hope you enjoy taking care of your garden.

[throttleplate]

Wife doesnt allow me to touch my own tomato plants because in the past i would prune them and pull off the stringers and end up with a naked looking plant.

[mrpao]

I've been doing container and raised beds gardening as a hobby for a few years now.  Also dabble with flowers and other plants.

This year the wife decided she wanted to help out and learn. So far she's really enjoyed it. Since she works from home, it gives her something to do on her breaks and after work in the evenings. She's really enjoyed the eggplants, cucumbers and tomatoes. She says it helps her to relax and get her mind off work.