when are you sowing your garden this year?

[rbeau30]

I have a very quiet very accurate pellet gun your welcome to borrow

I have my crossman at the ready for the bunnies.

Was thinking about these curtains from Ikea... 3.99 each

http://blog.trashbackwards.com/2013/...arden-netting/

[hollohas]

Wow, I really admire your gardening set-up. Where did you get your hoops? Is that section planted in direct sunlight? How often do you water, and do you find soaker hoses to be worth it?

Oh- I found one little fuzzy green peach hiding among the leaves on my peach tree! So, it doesn't need cross-pollinating; it's just mocking me.

Thank you. The hoops are just 1/2 schedule 40 pvc cut to size. Super easy. This part of the garden is in FULL sun on the south side of my house. When the garden is just seedlings I water everyday. Now every couple/few days depending on weather. I have tried hand watering but am too lazy. I tried small drip house with the little buttons and sprayers but it was too cumbersome and full of problems. Now I use plain old soaker hose and it seems to work great. I have it hooked to a simple mechanical timer which allows me to turn it on to a certain time and forget it...because that's exactly what I did without a timer...forgot it. Only to wake up to a flooded yard the next day. The timer turns it off when I forget. Good mulch works wonders. Add a layer of straw and it will cut your watering need in half. In my experience anyway, that's not scientific by any means.

I am super glad you found a peach! Hopefully it's followed up by many more! I'm jealous and wish I had fruit trees too.

Are you zoned for agriculture?

That's awesome man. I envy your setup.

Ha! Nope but I do have the biggest garden in my suburban neighborhood which isn't saying much.

I have my crossman at the ready for the bunnies.

Was thinking about these curtains from Ikea... 3.99 each

http://blog.trashbackwards.com/2013/...arden-netting/

My dog keeps the bunnies away and fortunately I don't have a problem with birds but that's only because I don't have fruit trees or berry bushes. I plan to change that next year.

Those sheer curtains look like a GREAT idea. How big are they?

[TheGrey]

Thank you. The hoops are just 1/2 schedule 40 pvc cut to size. Super easy. This part of the garden is in FULL sun on the south side of my house. When the garden is just seedlings I water everyday. Now every couple/few days depending on weather. I have tried hand watering but am too lazy. I tried small drip house with the little buttons and sprayers but it was too cumbersome and full of problems. Now I use plain old soaker hose and it seems to work great. I have it hooked to a simple mechanical timer which allows me to turn it on to a certain time and forget it...because that's exactly what I did without a timer...forgot it. Only to wake up to a flooded yard the next day. The timer turns it off when I forget. Good mulch works wonders. Add a layer of straw and it will cut your watering need in half. In my experience anyway, that's not scientific by any means.

I am super glad you found a peach! Hopefully it's followed up by many more! I'm jealous and wish I had fruit trees too.


My dog keeps the bunnies away and fortunately I don't have a problem with birds but that's only because I don't have fruit trees or berry bushes. I plan to change that next year.

Those sheer curtains look like a GREAT idea. How big are they?

That sounds like something I can do.

If you're looking for chokecherries, I can help. We have a bunch of them, and man do the birds love them! Once our trees start producing fruit, I'll figure out how many to leave for the wildlife, and how many to cover.
The curtains are a great idea, and I see you can even use tulle. Hobby Lobby, Joann Fabrics, Michael and Colorado Fabrics all sell tulle, and often have sales.

[rbeau30]

Those sheer curtains look like a GREAT idea. How big are they?

110" x 98" I thought so too. I like the throw in washer at end of year and put away till growing season part.

I see you can even use tulle. Hobby Lobby, Joann Fabrics, Michael and Colorado Fabrics all sell tulle, and often have sales.

I work right across from Hobby Lobby, I'll give them my business instead of the Swedes. LOL

[TheGrey]

I work right across from Hobby Lobby, I'll give them my business instead of the Swedes. LOL

Smart move- they usually have the best sales and the largest sheets of tulle (although sometimes, Joanne's has massive sales on tulle online.)

[rbeau30]

LOTS of little green tomatoes! 4 big zucchini!

I just canned some raspberry "jammy" I made jam but strained most of the seeds out. 4 cup of juice yielded 8 half-pints of "jammy".

4 cups prepared fruit + 2 tsp unsalted butter + 6 tbsp classic pectin *boil* + 5.5 cups sugar *boil* + 15 minutes in a boiling water bath canner = yum!

[SamuraiCO]

For those with rasberries does it take a few years? I had some come up wild (bird droppings) that I dug up and replanted in my yard. They have not produced anything yet. Sun and water needs?

[rbeau30]

For those with rasberries does it take a few years? I had some come up wild (bird droppings) that I dug up and replanted in my yard. They have not produced anything yet. Sun and water needs?

Mine are all up against the East wall of my house. They get half a day's direct sun. I never water them. I have heard that transplanting them can be tricky.

I do have some that apparently were planted by a previous owner that are a good 15 feet from the east wall of the house and they get a lot more sun. I also dont water them. They are significantly smaller canes than theones up against my house. It is possible they could be a dwarf variety?

These raspberries I have up against the house are ripenining hourly. I go through and pick a bunch, and the ones that weren't quite ripe and hour or two later are ripe.

[HoneyBadger]

I picked my first "harvest" today! 15 snow peas. Ate them all before going back inside.

I re-sowed some of my peas and beans that didn't sprout the first time around and they are starting to break through the soil now.

Next year I am definitely doing tomatoes in their own individual pots. My Roma plants are getting out of control and within a month they will be choking each other out.

Would it be helpful to pinch off the buds of beans? They are flowering and I don't want to damage the sprouts, but I only got a few good plants and I want to maximize my yield. It doesn't help that I live at 7000 ft.

[Dave]

I've got peppers forming and my strawberries are producing again. The leeks are fattening up too. I grabbed rosemary and mint today to dry out.

I have some raspberries in my yard and they only seem to have large amounts every other year. Last year was going good until the birds came in. Then one of my dogs caught a bird... This year the other one caught a rabbit that made its way into the backyard.