BTE, hugelkulture, hydroponics and other unconventional gardening

Looking forward to following the progress with your greenhouse and peach tree. Be sure to keep us updated.

I will probably start a new thread if we go ahead with the greenhouse.
The neighbor got a couple of large commercial greenhouses - for the effort of taking them down and removing everything from the site. A lot of work for an older gentleman with a bad heart, but he did it. His plan is to sell it off in smaller sizes of framing for greenhouses. He put up one section at his place and covered it with a really heavy, non-clear plastic and is using it as a storage building.

We will have to build the ends and get new plastic. It may not be in the cards for us at this time. A lot of projects started already this summer with winter coming way too soon. we need to finish what we have started.

Getting free framing is a big deal. Simply store it until you are ready to put it up.

I believe this guy is in zone 5, a bit S of me, but his videos have some good ideas that I hope to implement. I especially like his hinged hoop house cover which is shown towards the end of this video. He posts a how to in an other video.

This is me, climbing up on my soap box once again. How many readers are saving seeds in their gardens this year, to plant in your gardens next year? Seeds are the future of gardening. Are you leaving that future in the hands of big Ag? Don't be so sure that big Ag has your best interests at heart!

4 mega companies now control 60% of the seed market. They continue to patent rights to genetic material that makes up our food chain. So... it's easy to think that this doesn't affect me, a little back woods home gardener. BUT, it does! When a company controls the rights to what a farmer may plant, controls the cost of that seed, controls the breeding programs that produce that seed, that company can in effect control the food chain of every country engaged in food production.

https://civileats.com/2019/01/11/the-sobering-details-behind-the-latest-seed-monopoly-chart/

I've been reading through the published articles of MOFGA (Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association) and found this article that just might inspire you:

http://mofga.org/Publications/Articles-for-Reprinting/Seeds-of-our-Futures

I've been saving seeds from some of my favorite annual and biannual crops for years. Selectively choosing Calendula for double blooms and yellow centers. Have had some fantastic crosses in my squash, but unable to breed it true in successive generations. As a matter of course, I allow lettuce, spinach, dill to reseed. They often do so with wild abandon to the point of becoming aggressive weeds. Though, it's not a bad thing to have aggressive weeds that you enjoy eating. My most recent escape from control is Savory. Again, not a bad thing, since it took me 2 years to procure seed! Fortex french fillet bean seed is ridiculously expensive to buy. I've been saving my own seed since buying my first packet shortly after this seed became available to home gardeners.

I urge you to become familiar to OSSI (Open Source Seed Initiative) and it's goals, as well as the seed companies that support OSSI. OSSI exists to put the right to seed production and breeding back in the hands of the gardeners who are growing the food. And, I further urge you to boycott any seed companies that are not participants in OSSI.

I've been doing a bit of homework. My plan is to construct some raised beds to help me organize use of the garden. I have a pile of painted/galvanized steel roofing that is just begging for a project. Thought it would work well to make some raised beds. But... before going to commit mode, I sent out a few queries about risks associated with galvanized/painted metal (40+ years old, but in very good shape). Caleb at MOFGA sent this publication to me.

http://cwmi.css.cornell.edu/Metals_Urban_Garden_Soils.pdf

So, it's back to the drawing board. Will be using either engineered decking material or rough sawn wood, most likely treated with Shou-sugi-ban followed by a deep penetrating wood stain.

So... I did my homework. I can get composite decking material for raised beds. cost works out to around $56.00/raised bed 10 - 12' x 4'.

Cedar decking 5/4 would work out to $38/bed but is not available in this area this time of year.

My local sawyer can give me hemlock rough cut 2 x 6 x 16' @ $8.00 each or 2 x 10 x 16' @ $16.00 ea. Or rough cut red oak 2 x 6 x 10' @ 7.50 each. These will yield raised beds at $16 - $19.00 each!

Google tells me that hemlock or red oak are not good choices for outdoor applications.

Shou Sugi Ban technique promises to weatherproof hemlock, oak, cedar, and even pine. So... My intent is to get some hemlock AND red oak, and play with fire to make those raised beds. After the wood has been treated according to the you tube DIY instructions, I will apply the oil stain that I bought at Lowes (dark pigmented interior, oil base found on the oops! shelf for $1.28/gal) for yet more protection.

@Lazy Gardener It will be interesting to see how the raised beds turn out for you. How tall are you going to make them?

Young cedar doesn't actually last any longer than douglas fir. It takes the really nice old growth cedar to have the anti-rot properties. All the woodworkers here will happily warn about that fact. Both woods are fairly cheap and common here. The fir boards do run a bit cheaper.

Nothing lasts long here with the wetness and rain so much of the year. The garden beds were made with cedar because it was the only 2x12s the store had at the time. 5 years on they are half gone. I ordered some corrugated steel raised beds for the beds I'm going to put my grapes in. I'll probably spend the extra money and use cinderblocks for the next set of garden beds.

I've been drying out the blackberry brambles as I cut them back to use in the bottom of the new beds. They must be dry and dead or the stupid things will root. Himalayan blackberries suck as an invasive.

I had some cedar beds that must have lasted about 15 years. They were 1 x 6, stained x 2, and lined on the inside with black plastic.

I had hemlock beds that were not treated, got about 8 years out of them.

So, it will be interesting to see what the oak and hemlock does this time around, with the extra treatment of scorching + stain. I may also line the inside with plastic. Couldn't hurt, yes???

@wyoDreamer, I have good garden soil, so will only make them 6" high. I really don't need to do raised beds, could continue gardening in my usual fashion. But, I'm changing it up with the raised beds to FORCE myself to become more organized in my gardening plan. Instead of scrunching everything together, I hope that the beds will force me to cut back. The beds will also provide a handy framework for a duck tractor, trellising, and some poly-tunnels. I've really enjoyed the 2 beds I made this spring. They were constructed from engineered decking, and are each planted with rhubarb and chives at one end, with the rest dedicated to interplanted strawberries and asparagus. I love the wide path between the beds.

BTW, I had some purple potatoes for supper tonight. They were awesome. Hubby took one look at them, and said, "I'll pass!" Luckily, I also had some cooked plain ol' white potatoes. One of these days, I'm gonna force that man to eat supper with a blindfold on!