frankj1
a year ago

New garden completed. 9,000 sq footah.

Took us about 5 hrs yesterday and about 4 today. Thousand dollars worth of materials.

Wife and I are sore AF. Took some pictures but don't think I was able to get the entire garden in frame.

I'll go through the pics later on and try to post one through Imgur. I'm hoping that once we add the 4 ft of black deer netting the pictures will show the size of the garden better.

Over and out...

RobertHively wrote:


10% for tithing!
that's 900 sf the local serfs can work and feed off of...
frankj1
a year ago

Got part of my all garden roto tilled before the ground froze. Not sure how many sq feet it is, but my old garden has been shrunk twice before and I think it will be under 5000 square feet. I imagine it will be a lot of work next summer. Still need to move the fences in on two sides and get the rest of the garden cleaned up and tilled.

tonygraz wrote:


I assume you must drop enough ashes in there to provide some kinda benefit to the soil...HA!
RobertHively
a year ago

Rent part of it out... 👍

DrafterX wrote:




Thanks Drafter. Hey I have a hollow I'm not using if you want to buy some carbon credits to help offset that new gasoline powered truck you recently bought. 😟
RobertHively
a year ago

Sounds good Robert. I started a compost bin. Gonna try to stay with that. Maybe see how it works out for garden material. Shredded paper and leaves currently. Kitchen scraps. Will see how it goes.

Jakethesnake86 wrote:




So do you think you'll have enough compost to use it instead of fertilizer?

I started one last summer, but it's nowhere near big enough for the gardens. It takes a long time...

I'm still gonna buy fertilizer this year
RobertHively
a year ago

Got part of my all garden roto tilled before the ground froze. Not sure how many sq feet it is, but my old garden has been shrunk twice before and I think it will be under 5000 square feet. I imagine it will be a lot of work next summer. Still need to move the fences in on two sides and get the rest of the garden cleaned up and tilled.

tonygraz wrote:




My neighbor told me to plow asap in order to "get the ground broken up.":-k

What's the point of tilling in the winter? Anybody know?


Last year I plowed at the beginning of March and by the time mid May rolled around it didn't even look like it had been plowed. Had to plow again before I planted. Kinda seemed like a waste of time.

As far as the square footage that we have now, Idk how we're gonna keep up with it. Last year was tough bc of the drought and now my gardens are 3x bigger. But this new garden is mainly for corn and I'm gonna stagger the plantings/harvests so hopefully we won't be overwhelmed. It is a lot of work...
RobertHively
a year ago

10% for tithing!
that's 900 sf the local serfs can work and feed off of...

frankj1 wrote:




10% to the Big Guy...upstairs?😟
RobertHively
a year ago

https://imgur.com/a/new-garden-12-27-24-HjTXNwj 

That's everything except the northwest corner.

I might post one of the inside sometime (in da spring?), so you guys can see how much ground it takes up

I really like that big Sycamore tree in the background. I have 5 other big trees on my flat (4 Sycamore, 1 Beech) but that one is my favorite.
DrafterX
a year ago
Does the power company not own an easement under the lines..?? 😕
frankj1
a year ago

10% to the Big Guy...upstairs?😟

RobertHively wrote:


I see what you did there...HA

initially I was kidding around, but connecting a few dots you've laid out over the years...gotta be some kinda food bank or whatever that would be grateful to do a little (10%?) harvesting, and from a bunch of miles away it feels like it fits you guys...kinda...sorta.

btw, Shabbat Shalom...enjoy your rest.
RobertHively
a year ago

Does the power company not own an easement under the lines..?? 😕

DrafterX wrote:




I'd be surprised if they didn't


https://imgur.com/a/corn-plot-6-30-24-3Kf5OrU 

😟
RobertHively
a year ago

I see what you did there...HA

initially I was kidding around, but connecting a few dots you've laid out over the years...gotta be some kinda food bank or whatever that would be grateful to do a little (10%?) harvesting, and from a bunch of miles away it feels like it fits you guys...kinda...sorta.

btw, Shabbat Shalom...enjoy your rest.

frankj1 wrote:




We help out a few older people when we can.

Nothing has went to waste other than a few squash. We won't make the mistake of growing that many again. It was out of control last year.
Jakethesnake86
a year ago
Robert plowing late season can help with the freeze thaw and also on heavy clay it helps the ground to break up instead of turning cloddy. If your soil fills up nicely in the spring I’d skip that step. I have mellow ground here at home so I don’t do that.

Compost won’t be ready by spring but I may still spread it out there and work it under basically just to build the soil up a little. I won’t count on any nutrients from it. Even if it doesn’t do much it’ll be gone. I’ll start a new pile immediately and maybe by the following year it could be composted enough. I started it too late. But. Figured I’d give it a go
I’m the snake
RobertHively
a year ago
^
My soil is pretty good. Flat bottomland along a creek.

The thing I hate doing the most is raking all the grass & weeds up after I plow. Raking up the clumps and shoveling them into a wheelbarrow is tiresome and boring. I know that there are tools I could use to make it easier but tractors are expensive... You know of any way of removing grass & debris, that's easier than raking?

I'm also kinda worried about taking care of almost 14,000 sq ft worth of gardens; managing 4,600 sq ft was pretty tough during a drought. But, I needed the additional space for corn and potatoes.

Watering every other day was a real pain in the a$$. Hope we don't have drought conditions again this upcoming season...

On the compost, ours isn't very big either. We need to be more consistent. Sometimes we go long stretches without adding to it.
frankj1
a year ago
frankin' hippies playing farmer
Jakethesnake86
a year ago
I’m an actual hippie farmer 😂

Robert I don’t dig all that stuff out. I till it let it lay and till it again. That stuff will break down especially if you hit it early. Let it lay the. Till again right before you plant. The more stuff you leave on the ground the better in my opinion. You don’t need a tractor to garden. I have all the access in the world to equipment and I don’t use anything. Just a little Frankenstein rototiller I put a harbor freight predator engine on. (Cheap way to get a tiller). Basically fits everything. Even set my little cousin up with a Troy built horse with a predator engine. Works fantastic

I like to plant my garden here zone 7 may 1st. (Potatoes early April 100th day of the year whatever day that is)

So if the weather cooperates I rototill early march/april. Soon as I can. That stuff has a chance to rot down a bit after a couple few rains. Then I hit it again right before I plant. I like to keep all that organic matter. Just my theory. Treat it like a little field
I’m the snake
Jakethesnake86
a year ago
I use an old statesman brand rototiller with counter rotating tines I like a small one so my rows can be close. It was given to me by a neighbor. It didn’t run so I swapped engines. I had a craftsman my mom bought me when I was a kid but I wore the tunes out completely
I’m the snake
RobertHively
a year ago
^
You ever looked at those BCS tillers? Powerful but pricey.

https://www.bcsamerica.com/products/tractors 
Jakethesnake86
a year ago

^
You ever looked at those BCS tillers? Powerful but pricey.

https://www.bcsamerica.com/products/tractors 

RobertHively wrote:



Totally missed this post
I have saw those before but they’re too far out of my price range. A Troy built horse is about one of the best rototiller I’ve ever used. I do own a couple of those but I find them to be a bit big for my gardening wants. I put a harbor frieght predator engine on one of those as well for my cousin.

The bcc stuff is way cool but I just don’t need the other attachments for anything so I couldn’t justify spending the kind of money

Also I never see any used attachments for those things. It’s always just the “tractor”
I’m the snake
RobertHively
a year ago
^

Yeah they're too expensive for me as well. They do look cool though. My Stihl/Cub Cadet dealer sells them...

Last year I bought a lightly used Cub Cadet 65r tiller. Has a 190cc Honda motor on it.

I like it, but there are times I'd like to have a little more power. Those Honda engines are supposed to be good long lasting engines though.
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