Lazy Gardener's Little Town Farm

[Lazy Gardener]

That sounds like he caused an accident, they were totally supposed to come home with you! I have been avoiding tsc here because I didn't want to be tempted into bringing home chicks.

Well... perspective... I just sold 21 hens this spring, to down size my flock. I could actually get rid of an other 4, and still have enough birds to meet all of my own egg needs, as well as sell a few eggs to pay for feed. But... of course, we all know that one must replace a few birds every year in order to keep the flock rejuvenated! Now... if they'd been a "must have" breed... he would have needed to work harder at preventing the accident.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

Today, Hubby and I took down the chunnel between the chicken run and the old coop. The old coop will hold chickens in, but is absolutely not predator proof. So, it is destined for destruction. I'm harvesting herbs, and hanging them from the canopy over the deck to dry. So far: a lot of oregano, as well as sage blossoms, and lemon balm. I think I'll use some of the latter two with white vinegar to make a kitchen cleaner. I'm in the process of tearing all the extra junk out of the herb bed. It will be amended with chicken compost, fluffed up, and replanted with a bunch of herbs that are just begging to get their feet in some good soil.

Oh how I love this time of the year: strawberries, carrots, lettuce, radish, sugar snaps are on the daily menu. It won't be long before new potatoes, green beans, onions, garlic and summer squash make their debut.

Hawks are circling and "scree-ing" over head.

 

[henless]

Sounds like you've been busy, busy, busy LG! I love the smell of drying herbs. I want an herb bed up close to the house, but haven't made one yet. I have a rosemary bush planted in an extra large pot out in the garden. I always pinch off a piece when I walk by.

Wish we didn't have venomous snakes here. Water moccasin & copperheads are most common here on our place. We also have the non venomous ones, rat snake, king snake and garter snake. I've found an orange one a couple of times here. No idea what it was.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

Strawberries, lettuce, chard, spinach, radish, garlic, sugar snaps, and carrots are making their way into our meals now.

Today, I spent a good part of the day planting a bunch of perennials that I bought a week or so ago. Have just a few more plants to tuck into the bed in front of the house. Then... some squash and melons will complete the first plantings for the year. Time to make more holes, and start crops for late summer/fall.

I am 65 years old, and have been gardening most of my life. It's taken me this long to learn how to grow good carrots! In the past, I would sow a wide row, or band of carrots, and then... If I remembered to do so... I'd thin them. Often, the weeds would take over, and my carrots were always stunted, and pathetic. I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of good carrot harvests I've had during my life time.

This year, I tried a different technique. In the carrot bed, I prepped the soil, put in a LOT of compost, and watered it completely. THEN, I made rows of indents about 1/4 - 1/2" deep across the bed, with each indent being approximately 1.5" apart. I dropped 2 - 4 seeds into each indent. Then, watered well with a gentle spray. The spray provided enough "action" to knock some soil into each indent to cover the seeds. The bed is then covered with cardboard, newspaper, or old boards. Any thing to eliminate light, hold the moisture, and provide optimal germination temp. I check regularly for germination, and to be sure the bed does not dry out. At first sign of germination, remove the covering.

I am impressed: the covering hastens germination, while eliminating 90% of the weed issues. The only thinning required results in carrots that are of decent size for table use. By the time the bed is completely thinned to a single carrot in each spot, I'll have harvested pounds of tender baby carrots. The bed remains weed free. Carrots may have just become elevated to one of my easiest crops to grow!

 

[JanetMarie]

Strawberries, lettuce, chard, spinach, radish, garlic, sugar snaps, and carrots are making their way into our meals now.

Today, I spent a good part of the day planting a bunch of perennials that I bought a week or so ago. Have just a few more plants to tuck into the bed in front of the house. Then... some squash and melons will complete the first plantings for the year. Time to make more holes, and start crops for late summer/fall.

I am 65 years old, and have been gardening most of my life. It's taken me this long to learn how to grow good carrots! In the past, I would sow a wide row, or band of carrots, and then... If I remembered to do so... I'd thin them. Often, the weeds would take over, and my carrots were always stunted, and pathetic. I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of good carrot harvests I've had during my life time.

This year, I tried a different technique. In the carrot bed, I prepped the soil, put in a LOT of compost, and watered it completely. THEN, I made rows of indents about 1/4 - 1/2" deep across the bed, with each indent being approximately 1.5" apart. I dropped 2 - 4 seeds into each indent. Then, watered well with a gentle spray. The spray provided enough "action" to knock some soil into each indent to cover the seeds. The bed is then covered with cardboard, newspaper, or old boards. Any thing to eliminate light, hold the moisture, and provide optimal germination temp. I check regularly for germination, and to be sure the bed does not dry out. At first sign of germination, remove the covering.

I am impressed: the covering hastens germination, while eliminating 90% of the weed issues. The only thinning required results in carrots that are of decent size for table use. By the time the bed is completely thinned to a single carrot in each spot, I'll have harvested pounds of tender baby carrots. The bed remains weed free. Carrots may have just become elevated to one of my easiest crops to grow!

100 likes!

 

[Lazy Gardener]

Finally, there is no more room in the garden. Every single corner has been planted. I even tucked squash or melon plants at the end of each walk way between the raised beds. I have 3 Wormwood aka Artemesia plants that will go in buckets. Also, have a Pineapple Sage that needs to be potted up. And will do a couple pots of herbs/lettuce/radish to set on the deck. Done... Done... Done!!!

And, here's my garden: https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=4517a5ef890f185eaafdd5328b741ba6&oe=60CFE95E

 

[Lazy Gardener]

Next big garden project: Gary and I bought 3 x 50' rolls of rabbit fencing yesterday. I intend to pull the CP from the front of the garden to open it up so I can: Do complete weed removal where the grass/creeping charlie has grown up through the deer netting and CP. Deer netting has worked well for me in the past. But, I hate how it breaks down in the sun, and the weeds grow up through it. I may use the TroyBilt to complete that process so I can lay in some 12" concrete pavers just outside the fence line. While that side of the garden is open, it will allow me to finish the mulching with increased ease. (we'll be able to back truck/trailer up w/o fencing hindrance.) Then, I intend to cut and attach the rabbit fencing directly to each section of CP, so... I can open up that fencing on that side of the garden in the future. After that end is done, I will do the same to the N and W sides as well, though I won't cut the rabbit fencing on those sides. I've found that combo of pavers with wood chips outside the fence line keeps the rhizome types of weeds from encroaching on the garden, while providing a convenient mowing strip.

The next bags of grass clippings (we get about 8 bags per mowing) are full of white clover blossoms. I'll be happy to let some of those clippings go back onto the lawn for free seeding, give some to the chickens, and use the rest in the garden.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

Hopefully, after I get the garden under control so that tall weeds don't grow up through the fencing, I'll also get the ticks under control in the garden! I may even focus on laying down a load of cedar chips in the space between pavers and fencing!

 

[baymule]

Ticks! AAARRGHHH!! I hate them. None in my garden, thank goodness.
What about building a smallish chicken tractor and putting it in the garden? De-tick one area at a time. When the garden is done, let the chickens have it.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

Chickens and ducks have a go at the garden when it's not producing food. My garden is so intensely planted that it wouldn't be possible to have a tractor in it. Every year, I tell myself: NEXT year, I'll not plant as much, and I envision a neat garden, with plenty of space for a tractor, or even rotational beds, so the chickens or ducks could have 1/4 of the foot print to work on. Then, spring rolls around, and it's plant, plant, plant.

So far today, I've pulled all the CP from the S side of the garden, mowed the tall grass there, and am ready to run the tiller through the area that will have the pavers. On the E side, I completed that last year. There is a 6" wide strip outside the CP that is covered with wood chips, then, there are the pavers. This set up has done a great job keeping the weeds from growing up through the fencing, provides a nice finished edge to the garden. I expect that when I finish doing all 4 sides in the same fashion, ticks will no longer be an issue in the garden. Inside the garden, I use the CP to grow vine crops. Makes for a crowded garden, but it produces like crazy.