Carmen your enthusiasm is wonderful and contagious. We are all blessed to love gardening and to appreciate the rewards. I hope we all gain a lot of freedom from the grocery stores. In case no one noticed, I'm a self appointed advocate for naturally grown local food.
You wait until 3 or 4 days before planting to cut your potatoes. The cuts will dry like a scab to help prevent rot. Some people dust or dip them in some kind of fungicide to also help. Leave at least 2 eyes on the pieces.
My potatoes always start sprouting if I don't use them fast enough. My question is do they sprout better in light or darkness. I know they'll do it in both but which is better? Mine aren't sprouting yet and I only have about a month.
That recipe looks like one I need to make. Thanks.
feeding the soil first!
Thanks for the recipe c! It looks delicious! I uploaded the Osaka Purple Mustard to plant files. I know it takes a couple days to be reviewed, so here it is...
And here's a pic of the Canton Bok Pak Choi I got from you twiggy!
Thank you Twiggy, yes I do get excited about growing veggies, expecially now that I am seeing the results of my labor. I am also trying to gain freedom by growing local and not have to go to the grocery stores to buy everything, (expecially walmart). I am starting small now but hope to grow little by little.
I have also been talking my husband into getting a few chickens as well, I live in a new neighborhood but we don't have an association thank god! so after a lot of research I found that I can actually have chickens in my backyard as long as they are kept clean and in an enclosed area, so hopefully as soon as we are done with all of our projects we can build a small chicken coup and get a few chickens maybe 4 or so.
I placed my potatoes in a dark and cool place, they are in the laundry room. I read various articles saying that this is how you chit the potatoes. Not sure if this would be faster or not.
Is funny I've been trying to convince some friends, they have 8 kids that they need to grow their own food in their lot, they have an acre, tons of sunshine and perfect location and they just keep giving excuses of why they can't grow anything, they did try last summer and they had tons of squash but everything else did not produce very well, the vegetables got overtaken by bugs, but seriously they never took really good care of their veggies and never sprayed or did anything regarding the bugs. I guess if you don't love it you just see it as a chore.
If you would have asked me about 4 years ago to squish a bug I would have thought you were crazy, now I do that all the time every morning I am looking for new bugs in my veggies to kill, and I mean bad bugs of course.
Wow Kelly they look so good! thank you so much for sharing. I am growing the same canton pack choi as well thanks to twiggy. I love it, it is such as beautiful plant.
It's fascinating to lurk... OSP.... Potatoes under cloak of darkness (at least mine were)...Whole food Stores...soup...I can't wait 2 see wher we end up next....
Chickens! I can just see your little ones feeding them. I bet I know what you're thinking. Four chickens are enough to compost everything you can put in their pen and also prep the space for future garden beds right in your "poor" soil. No new raised beds required.
The feed and seed here starts selling them in March. They get 3 or 4 different kinds each week until it gets too hot to ship them in. They always have some hybrid egg layers that are all female and the standard breeds are mixed. I miss having chickens although I used to cuss when I had to go buy feed. I always tried to have too many and I rarely eat eggs. Homegrown eggs make a noticeable improvement in baked goods.
Bringing a chicken home would rank along with bringing a straw bale home. Either way, I'd need a new home...and, I DO eat lots of eggs...
lol Linda - not sure you'd want to share your straw house with a chicken!
We've talked about getting chickens as well. We're allowed 20 hens (no roosters) in the city limits;o) You have to have them 80' from your neighbor or have permission. We live on a corner lot with no neighbors on the west side of our property - yeah!!
I love to kill bugs too! Well, except maybe big hornworms. Those I pay my boys to kill or I chop them in half with my garden scissors. They give me the creeps!
Linda you could send him to summer camp on a dude ranch so he can become acclimated to all these wild ideas.
I've never minded hearing roosters but I know for a fact that many people do object even out here in the country. I'd lots rather hear a rooster than barking dogs which all my neighbors have plenty of.
Twiggy, you read my mind. Yes I was thining of having a small number 4 or so, even though I can have as many as 10 chickens, no roosters though, I don't think the rules applied for roosters.
This morning I woke up to see my plants, I am very sad, I did not realize that we were going to have a freeze so I did not cover any of them. They are all a little druppy but they don't have any black spots on them. I went ahead to the house and got a watering can full of warm water to pour ot top of the plants I really hope they make it, expecially the broccoli, it was already forming little tiny heads. Only god knows though.
carminator1 - don't worry about your broccoli, it will pick right up again once the frosty weather has gone. My broccoli and collards have come through several freezings already this winter, and I'm a zone north of y'all :)
They taste better once the frost has kissed them :) :)
Kelly,
I felt the same way about the hornworms, until I began studying them closely this past year. In fact, I actually held one in my bare hand! (of course, a fellow DGer was standing by my side when I did...)
Now, I find them to be very intriguing and beautiful, and I'd actually be willing to give them a chance to turn into the beautiful moths they become, if I grew plants (Other than my tomatoes!) that would satisfy their voracious appetite!
I can now pick them up with my gloved hand, when I'm alone!
^^_^^
Hornworms are beautiful if you take the time to look at them. Maybe we'll have to try planting a few mater and pepper plants away from the garden a little bit. Then we can relocate them and see them change. My kiddos would like that - lol.
Congratulations on graduating from the yuck factor - lol. What bothers me is when they start thrashing around - reminds me too much of a snake!
Ok, guys. Much as I hate to do it, this thread has gotten too LOOOOOOOOOOONG.
So, meet me over in "feeding the soil first - Part 2
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1064365/
Carmen I think your plants will be ok. My lettuce got a little tip burned once last winter and I just cut that off with scissors when I harvested those leaves.
It is better to have 4 chickens and buy a carton of eggs once in awhile than to be buying feed often and have a surplus. I love roosters. They're useless but sooo beautiful.
I also admire the hornworms and hate to touch them. I feel guilty killing them. I have woods at the back of my place and really should transplant some of my volunteers for them. It stays so shady there that I doubt they'd thrive but at least I could salve my conscience.
Linda a new thread is in order but I'm posting one last time because I'm already here. Thanks.
Bump!
Gerry41, it's been a long time since we visited your lightbox kit! I have need and will be making one tomorrow. And, since I've gone off and learned a lesson or two, how about a couple of modification suggestions to your desIgn?
First, you think I could use a cardboard box with a lid instead of a plastic tub? I have a Staples paper case box that's about 2/3 the height of your tub, and square (the cups would sit flat all the way round). I could line the bottom with plastic, or a drip tray might fit inside. The lid fits snugly, just like the tub. And, since the box is shorter, the light would be closer to the seedlings.
Second, I could use a glue stick and line the inside of the box with Aluminum foil to reflect even more light!
Let me know what you think.
Cheerio.
Linda
This message was edited Jul 8, 2010 10:05 PM
This message was edited Jul 8, 2010 10:14 PM
I think the box will be fine. I also found higher watt CFLs online. I tried a new product this year sure to grow cubes instead of rockwool starter cubes. I could not get good germination and growth in the sure to grow cubes.
Good luck
Gerryd41,
How much wattage should I be looking for?
I used the equivalent of a 100 watt daylight bulb- about 23watts. It did pretty good but you can get 50 watt CFL daylight bulbs online. The 23 watts are pretty common at wallyworld and box hardware stores.