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WannaFly — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:50:03 +0000

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Day One: Research

NicoleNorton — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 14:03:21 +0000

Wow….here it is Day One and I am lost more than ever. So many things to think about and so many things I have no clue about. We purchased a 10 acre farm just 24 days ago. Used to living in a small subdivision lot, I must say that I never knew how much I could enjoy my little 10 acres of heaven. We have 6 acres of pasture for the horses and I am trying to decide where to place my garden and the chicken coop. Long term goal: harvest enough organically grown vegetables and berries to sustain my family of 4 and have enough to sell at our local farmer’s market. This is a journey for me….a journey to reduce the stress of my fast-paced corporate world, fill the void that is being left by my children growing up and moving on to build their own lives, and to grow healthy, pesticide free vegetables, herbs and berries. So today, I begin this journey with research, research and more research.

What I learned for next year

dragynmyrlin — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 20:28:14 +0000

I have learned much this year and as a result I expect to be better prepared for next year and have an even better garden. Pumpkins, for example, need to be carefully tended to prohibit squash borers from taking up residence. I will use foil, Sevin and any other method I can find to prevent them from eating my vines. I expect upwards of 20 pumpkins but will be lucky to get 5 nice ones. Potatoes don’t grow as well in bags as expected, so will discontinue that practice. I have been offered unlimited garden space next year and will take my big crops to the old farmstead. Potatoes will be hilled in the ground, pumpkins, corn, squash and perhaps more onions will be done there. Peppers do not do so well in pots if there is not enough dirt. Must use more dirt and a cover to prevent weeds. Onions MUST be on top of soil and if I want them to be large, I must start with seeds or buy transplants, not sets. You only get small onions with sets. Cantalope, oh yes, going to the farm along with watermelon, need more room to prevent powdery mildew. Tiny watermelon are cute, but they are barely enough for two people to eat. Need to find a midsize watermelon and let them spread out more. I need to space my lettuce planting out more so I don’t get 10 pounds ready to eat in two weeks time. Carrots need perfect soil. If you have rocks or wood chips or other materials you will get weird shaped carrots.

There is no replacement for rotted manure. Too bad it’s so hard to find. Plan my watering system before it’s time to use it. That way when you find they no longer make some of the parts, you can make a different plan. Most importantly, make sure you know what you are buying. Strawberries that are on clearance are there for a reason. Alpine strawberries are super sweet but you can’t grow enough on 40 plants at the same time to make one pie. Next time, bring a veggie book with you or have access to the internet at the nursery.

Not as many this year

dragynmyrlin — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 22:10:45 +0000

I usually have an abundance of tomatoes, with the exception of last year with the blight problem. This year, the plants seem leggy and out of proportion. I am harvesting tomatoes one at a time, instead of a bowl at a time. I used good compost, peat moss, Miracle Gro (twice now), mulch and lots of sun/rain but just seems to be a smaller crop. The tomatoes also seem smaller than usual. My Big Beef are more like Early Girl size. Troubling.

just ordered a new compost tumbler

downs — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 14:18:08 +0000

Ordered a new compost tumbler . Have been using pallets. Takes too long to get compost. I hope it works !

2010

dragynmyrlin — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 16:30:03 +0000

I got an early start this year. Added composted manure and peat moss of about 4 inches per raised bed. Planted the lettuce and spinach in April. We received the perfect amount of rain, only having to water twice through May. This year I added an overhead drip watering system to my existing ground system. Still working out the kinks. I used small bits of 1/4″ soaker for the drip part on some and an emitter on others. The emitters work better but our local store no longer carries them. This year I hung the peppers instead of the tomatoes as I have the worst pepper crops by far. Slug problem, for which I put down bait several times during the season. Pet safe, of course. So far, this is showing to be a bountiful year. Have harvested copious amounts of lettuce. Spinach did not fair well but when it was done I planted carrots in their place. It is now nearing the end of July and we’re still eating the lettuce. This will be the last week. By August 1st I will be replanting the lettuce for a wonderful fall crop. I found that the Romaine grew the best and was most resistant to bugs. Buttercrunch is lovely but takes up too much space for too few plants. Leaf is nice but the slugs love it. For the first time ever, I have many, many watermelon (sugar baby) on the vine along with muskmelon. Many pumpkins as well, might even have enough to give away this year. Or sell.

GReat Garden

jimmmbo — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 18:13:13 +0000

This place is great! I love the tools and energy of the other users. Ihave been stuck creating apps for all types of email marketing services latley so its nice to break away and get back to nature!

Until next time!

Solar Panel

sydneysolar — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 09:11:02 +0000

On the12th of November 2009, the NSW Government announced a "gross" Feed-in Tariff for NSW households with solar panels commencing January 1, 2010. NSW's Solar Bonus Scheme will now deliver the highest rebates to families of anywhere in the country. Under a Gross Feed-in Tariff households will be paid for every single kWh their solar electricity system of energy they generate instead being paid only for what they don't use. "These changes will see an average family paid around $1,496 a year...That's a 62 percent increase on the previous scheme and means households can pay off their investment in solar panels in around three years." "Under our scheme, homeowners will know up-front how much they will be paid for all the energy their solar panels produce...Households with solar panels will be paid 60 cents per kilowatt hour and an average household system would generate annually around 2500 kWh."

Rising Above

jykfrog — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 05:59:02 +0000

Well, because of all the troubles I’ve had this year with dwarfen plants (and because of all the chunks of clay in my garden plot), I am considering raised beds. I’m worried about it only because of the amount of time and money it will take to make them. How much does topsoil even cost for a truck load? I think I will use some of the square foot garden concepts still although I’m thinking longer beds 3ft wide with no real break between 3 or 4 ft sections but still keeping the grid plots. My dad said I can get railroad ties for $5 each. I would like to go two high but that will double the cost of the raised beds. Ideas, comments, and whatnot welcome.

End of June Progress

GRMTMK Garden — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 14:38:28 +0000

The garden is growing, not real fast, but growing none the less. We have a lot of grape tomatoes and acorn squash coming. So far we don’t have too many bug or critter problems. We have had a lot of rain and now we need some serious sunshine. There seems to be a bit of a problem with the cukes, not sure what is going on there. They are not looking very perky, and not growing very well. Everything else seems to be moving along well though.