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| Anarchy Plots
Posted: 6/27/2008 8:05:36 AM | ^^^^^ Great thread! Just came back from my own small garden in the back yard. Picked some snow peas for the first time this season. Regular green preas will be ready in another week. Two different kind of beans have sprouted already and growing, although I have to keep an eye on the slugs that attack them when they are beginning to sprout. The best thing about the beans is that I planted the seeds that I saved last fall, and they are all coming in just fine. Tomatoes are already growing in the plants, although the plants that I started from seeds are not that big yet, but they will grow fine, just like last year I hope. Zucchinis have sprouted already, and hopefully will get something before the bugs kill the plants. I don't want to use any chemical pesticides, but if anyone knows of any secrets to keep the zucchini plants healthy, please let me know. Parsley, basil, oregano, dill, peppers, are all doing very well in my little plot, which is very anarchic, mostly for its lack of form though.
Cheers to all the orgasmic farmers out there! It is amazing that right wingers and liberals have found some common ground. No name calling here!    | |
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| Anarchy Plots
Posted: 6/30/2008 9:10:01 AM | Might be a little late for this season, but for the die-hard orgasmic anarchists here's a few tidbits maybe for next year's anarchist plots:
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"""If grocery prices have you thinking about cutting costs with a garden, you may be on the right track...."""
If you're looking to save money rather than to start a hobby, here are five garden crops likely to give you the best return, five to leave to experts, and some tips to help get the best return:
http://finance.sympatico.msn.ca/savingsdebt/insight/article.aspx?cp-documentid=7747342
May just be a sign of the times when you find a gardening article in the finance section...as odd as it is finding one in a politics section...
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Posted: 6/30/2008 12:18:42 PM | interesting read....
i think the person in the article learned some important lessons and could have avoided much of the costs by simply sticking to keeping it simple....also the seed saving part is not so simple (LOL) in that you can't just save seed from any old plant and have it work out since some plants will cross with different plants of their particular variety and the offspring will have characteristics that are not predictable so to gain seed one must plant only one species of most crops and then save seed from that.
also the food listed to leave to the pro's are some of the easiest to grow and the best to store, such as spuds and carrots. you can leave carrots in the garden during the winter, under a cover of mulch and go out and harvest when you wish...they actually get sweeter that way...beets too.
some of the foods mentioned do not store well either without freezing or canning. i'm trying to get away from things that are electric dependent thus am focusing on things that will store all on their own such as root crops, dry beans, onions, garlic, etc..... lettuce doesn't store AT ALL and is a luxury crop as far as i'm concerned.... i only eat it this time of year... in the winter i get my greens from sprouted seeds....
spinach dries quite nicely and is a good way to keep greens through the winter.
just for fun, i tried sprouting black beans and pinto's from the regular old grocery store the other day and they sprouted just fine. i am planning to try to plant them and see how they do... protein from the garden is a goal.
they now make 1/4" drip irrigation lines in 50' rolls that are made from recycled tires which work pretty well if you don't use water with too much stuff in it, say coming from a creek with a pump...it tends to clog and you have to mess with it a lot but if you just have a line coming from a well they are less work, though cost more to use because of the electric costs.... also some plants like aerial watering which you can't do with drip line.
the infusion of organic material is key... anywhere you can get it from, except if it has been contaminated, is good. ask your neighbors who don't use crap on their lawns to save clippings, get to know a rancher or someone who keeps critters and get their manures, critters that digest seeds such as goat, sheep, llamas are the best manures.
there is a learning curve so the more you try the better you'll get until you get to a point where you develop a system..... | |
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Posted: 6/30/2008 9:01:39 PM | | I started small this year, one tomato plant and one basil plant. I've already used some of the bail and I'm watching the tomatoes impatiently, they are growing, just not fast enough to suit. Next year I'm hoping to be more ambitious. | |
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Posted: 7/1/2008 12:41:42 AM | throw in a pepper plant and move it indoors and have peppers during the winter too!!!
basil is the best....
next year you will have to be more ambitious because things aren't getting any cheaper.... | |
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Posted: 7/1/2008 7:27:14 PM | I love chewing on a thread like this....the plot lines are thick with green....the colour that means GO!
I have 3 rows of spinach (16 ft each) all grown from last years seeds and they're out performing last years crop!
Another row of sweet peas (last years seeds) that are nearly a foot high....but no flowers yet. Any ideas why?
I haven't bought seed potatoes in three years. Yukon Gold are the best!
Each year I increase the # of tomato plants I buy...mostly the cherry (and related types)...they're so sweet I often eat them for dessert.
I always let a few of my chive plants go to seed...more shoots next year! Although I have to restrain myself from nibbling on the flower heads...sooo sweet...then hot!
This year is my first attempt at asparagus...the shoots have arrived! I'll be smacking my lips in anticipation for the next two years though.
Great zucchini last year...trying for spaghetti squash this year.
Of course, strawberries and raspberries are a must...along with mint (grows like a weed...no tending required...save halting its tentacles)
Oregano...marjoram...thyme...parsley...rosemary...
I'd really like to try to grow Quinoa...I think it will grow in my zone.
RE: Composting: In my field of work, I create large amounts of vegetable waste so I usually have two composters cooking at the same time...along with another that's nearly ready for the garden. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) I now have competition for the scraps...but am happy to share. It's an avenue of growth that gardeners may want to look at...
they now make 1/4" drip irrigation lines in 50' rolls...
You can purchase a package from Lee Valley....50' of solid (but thin) hose....100' of 1/4" soaker hose...a poker to poke holes in the solid hose...several couplings to attach the soaker hose to the solid hose. Cut the soaker hose to desired length and insert the plug. Add a timer and never have to worry about watering again.
The main drawback is (as mentioned) the quality of the water. For me, the soaker hoses are only reliable for about two years.
They also have attachments for aerial watering and drip lines.
i tried sprouting black beans and pinto's from the regular old grocery store
I assume dried beans? Not sure I could do it in my zone, but I am interested... | |
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Posted: 10/4/2008 4:41:14 PM | It's Autumn and the trees are dropping their leaves. Take all those leaves and add them to your yard garden. Then rototill, rototill, rototill. Will make wonderful loamy soil for next spring planting.
Assuming you will be adding fallen leaves to your yard garden now... also include manure before you start rototilling.
My personal preference is rabbit droppings. I consider that gardeners gold!!! A few lessons to understand about manure...
I prefer to avoid cow and horse. It contains a lot of weed seeds. Pellet feed rabbits will have weed free droppings.
Also... I use fresh rabbit droppings as a mulch. Using fresh rabbit, mulch several inches thick. Not only will you avoid weeding, but it is self fertilizing with every rain. Then come Autumn, rototill in. That makes some super sweet soil. You can NOT use fresh cow or horse as a mulch. (it is too hot)
Obviously... don't use manure mulch on edibles that the manure would come into contact with. Such as root veggies or edibles that lie on the ground, such as strawberries. So you do have to be cautious. Pole climbing veggies would be a good choice. | |
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Posted: 10/4/2008 4:46:03 PM | | Someone told me of their great idea... they purchased "cattle panel" and arched it like a trellis!!! Perfect for climbing varieties!!! They arched it tall enough to walk under for ease of picking. | |
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