Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Gman on September 24, 2012, 05:46:08 PM
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I decided to try my hand at gardening this year. I have a small patch at our lake cabin that was about 500 sq feet of space to use with good soil brought in from a neighboring farm. I lucked out by going to a greenhouse just before the May long weekend this year and everything was 2 for 1 that day for their grand opening special. I spent about 40 dollars on various plants, 4 cucumber, 25 tomato, 2 dill, 4 green pepper, some corn, and finally a few peas and carrots. As the garden was about 20 minutes away from my primary residence, it didn't always get the attention that it should have probably, but overall it was fairly well cared for.
I'm absolutely shocked at the results. I did use a lot of higher end plant food, and we got a good bit of timely rain and a lot of sunshine this year which certainly helped I'm sure. We cropped out over 500 Tomatoes, 90 Cucumbers, 60+Peppers, and a lot of corn which is still coming down. For very little money and a little bit of work every 2nd day or so, the amount of product we received is astonishing to this first timer. Plus, one of the cucumber plants died on day two or so, and they were only about 4 inches high when I planted them. It's simply amazing how much the 3 survivors grew and spiraled up the rebar I stuck in the ground for them to climb. The wife has made two dozen jars of salsa from a small number of the tomatoes and peppers, so all of our family and friends are set for nacho's and the football season.
I know gardening is the "pastime" in the UK, and with so many Brits on board here I'm sure a few will sound off with their results and experience. I'd like to have a better plan for next year and advice on the best way to plan out a garden, and any tips and tricks would be welcome. Now I realize it isn't exactly rocket science, but it's been quite a bit of fun "creating" and growing something from scratch as this is something well outside my usual skill set.
(http://www.mediafire.com/conv/69828ca79fbf0787328d3da25be0df9dec47db9a8759ef656af7f5572ba5dd436g.jpg)
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I'm not a gardener but looks like you did well.
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Damn, now I'm hungry! Nice results!
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Them maters look real nice! The cucs and peppers are a bit small, most likely due to weather, but it sounds like you got more than your $40 back.
Due to local farmers market pricing I've stopped doing a ton of veggies and instead have switched to doing more herbs. Fresh herbs on dinner is priceless as anyone who helped eat the pork loins at Dayton this year will agree with.
Great first time effort Gman. :rock
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WTG, Looks great for a first try.. Love homegrown food, the best..
We only grow Heirloom strains, no Hybrids..
Our potatoes, carrots, onions, rutabagas, and brusselsprouts, rocked this year.. :aok
Rutabagas are the size of soccer balls.. :O
Corn not so good, and the deer ate our tomato blooms before they even had a chance.. :furious
Such is life at the edge of the wilderness.. But we still got a few..
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I Love it! What kind of corn?
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Nice work Gman, growing your own food is very satisfying I find :)
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Corn not so good, and the deer ate our tomato blooms before they even had a chance.. :furious
Such is life at the edge of the wilderness.. But we still got a few..
Hello Rng.
I live on a mountainside inside a national park. What does that mean? EVERY single animal has carte blanche and is protected--even the nasty ones. The previous owners of this house left 3 open areas unenclosed by fencing. We pit in 5' fencing the day we moved in and completely enclosed the back yard. This may not be possible for you. One thing that works for deer is thick (heavy lb) fishing line in a circle surriunding your garden. One strong strand at 8" and another at 3 feet high off the ground. This will NOT however, keep out gophers, rats, moles, squirrels, etc.
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Hello Rng.
I live on a mountainside inside a national park. What does that mean? EVERY single animal has carte blanche and is protected--even the nasty ones. The previous owners of this house left 3 open areas unenclosed by fencing. We pit in 5' fencing the day we moved in and completely enclosed the back yard. This may not be possible for you. One thing that works for deer is thick (heavy lb) fishing line in a circle surriunding your garden. One strong strand at 8" and another at 3 feet high off the ground. This will NOT however, keep out gophers, rats, moles, squirrels, etc.
My dog is pretty good at keeping other animals out of my garden :)
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I do a lot of gardening. Best thing I hsvr found to get and animals to stay away is I brew a tea overnight consisting of ground up habenero peppers, garlic, and some tobacco. Spray this around the perimeter of your garden and you can train the pests to go elsewhere for dinner. I especially go heavy on the garlic as rabbits and deer really hate the smell. I only lost 1 plant this year and that was early on after heavy rains I had not resprayed soon enough.
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I also pee around the perimeter of my garden.
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I was gunna post a picture of cali garden a few yrs back when I had all my paper work current :devil but then I decided not too....
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Grats looks good..... now really start from scratch.... seeds :D
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Hello Rng.
I live on a mountainside inside a national park. What does that mean? EVERY single animal has carte blanche and is protected--even the nasty ones. The previous owners of this house left 3 open areas unenclosed by fencing. We pit in 5' fencing the day we moved in and completely enclosed the back yard. This may not be possible for you. One thing that works for deer is thick (heavy lb) fishing line in a circle surriunding your garden. One strong strand at 8" and another at 3 feet high off the ground. This will NOT however, keep out gophers, rats, moles, squirrels, etc.
Heya Geez
Yeah we put up a bit of fence every season.. Did about 400ft this year, 6ft cedar fence..
Replacing old 5ft wire fence, deer just jump it.. Just the way it is, we don't mind too much..
We have a slice of tribal land, right on the border of Olympic National Park, with a clear view
of the Pacific Ocean.. Our paradise, in the "Red Zone", as the Agenda 21 econazis call it..
Our little bit of heaven, and the deer are welcome to my freezer too! :devil
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I also pee around the perimeter of my garden.
This works quite well actually! :aok Been known to do the same Von,the deer seem to like my flowers! :devil
:salute
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Heya Gman!
You still in Canuckistan?
I'll be in Vancouver for a conference in Oct.
:cheers: ??
First time gardening? Too busy reloading? :D
I did an all=potato garden this year due to numerous out of town trips.(All potato gardens require almost 0 weeding and water whenever...)
We harvested about 125 lbs of reds and Yukons, I have them hanging in gunny sacks in the crawl space keeping cool. :cool: