The Garden Thread

[peejman]

Lots of great info thanks.

 

I am thinking I will rent the tiller the first time as these rental places normally have the bigger and better models. In the fall I have my eye on a Husqvarna with reverse for $600 clams. On that big of a purchase I'll think about it for a while.

 

So you'd recommend spraying it now? I have been told by others not to spray. Never asked why though. Are you saying kill the grass and all or get some type of chemical that only kills certain things?

 

 

You can rent a tiller for generally less than $100 for a weekend.  That's a 6 year payback and you don't have to store it, maintain it, and climb over/around it the 10 months/yr you don't use it.  If you've got a barn and a huge garden, that's one thing.  I have a garage that's already jammed with stuff. 

 

 

 

I used the stuff that kills everything.   Round-up, Spectracide, etc...  Some may claim that it leaches into the soil and may harm what you plant later.  I didn't have that problem.  The newer chemicals aren't supposed to leach beyond the spray area.   I try to use minimal chemicals, but after the total PITA that big flowerbed was, I didn't care and wanted it all dead.  :death:

 

You're probably going to miss the early plantings (broccoli, greens, carrots, etc.).  Its just gonna be too wet to get the new space ready until it warms up and dries out a little.  I think it was nearly June before I got stuff planted.  I have another small space that I put the early stuff in and saved the hot weather crops for the new space. 

[maroonandwhite]

Yeah I'm gonna miss some of them. I don't think I'm gonna do any root crops this year though. I read something about the ground still having alot of grass in it the first year that parasites like so to stay with fruiting plants. I do want to do greens though. Maybe I can get them in time. Tomatoes, okra, squash and peppers are where it's at though. I may do some sweet corn as well.

 

The grapes will be a new adventure entirely but honestly I'm not too worried with those if it doesn't take this year. I had plans for fruit trees as well but that ship has sailed on me until next year.

[bud]

. Edited August 6, 2015 by bud

[bud]

. Edited August 6, 2015 by bud

[maroonandwhite]

So anyone in the Lebanon area want to make a few bucks?  :wave:

[Trekbike]

You can rent a sod cutter for 100 bucks a day and it'll cut the sod as fast as you could mow the area with a push mower. Then toss sod into back of truck and dump on compost pile

Or you could bring it to my house and I'll put it down since my yard is pretty much a weed patch. :)

[maroonandwhite]

So I have narrowed it down to tilling lightly over it to break up the grass and them raking it up or just renting a sod cutter to get it off. The ground is not perfectly flat in some spots so I don't know how the cutter will do? What would you do? I really just don't want to spray this close to planting and not sure how much good it will do right now anyways.


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[peejman]

So I have narrowed it down to tilling lightly over it to break up the grass and them raking it up or just renting a sod cutter to get it off. The ground is not perfectly flat in some spots so I don't know how the cutter will do? What would you do? I really just don't want to spray this close to planting and not sure how much good it will do right now anyways.


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Depends on the kind of grass you have and how long the roots are.  Sod cutters only take a couple inches.  If the roots are deeper than that, the grass will come back.  I have a bermuda/fescue mix and the bermuda was by far a bigger PITA to get rid of.  You could try covering the whole area with several layers of newspaper to try and smother out the grass, then just till it in. 

[maroonandwhite]

Depends on the kind of grass you have and how long the roots are.  Sod cutters only take a couple inches.  If the roots are deeper than that, the grass will come back.  I have a bermuda/fescue mix and the bermuda was by far a bigger PITA to get rid of.  You could try covering the whole area with several layers of newspaper to try and smother out the grass, then just till it in. 

I will admit I know nothing about grass. Maybe I'll take a pic and see if you guys can identify it. This may not be something I should even worry about. I'm sure I'll be fighting it back regardless so I may just be better of tilling it up and going with it.

[bud]

. Edited August 6, 2015 by bud

[maroonandwhite]

This area was originally grown up waist high so I would call it pasture grass but who knows. I'll get a picture if it's not flooded tonight.

[maroonandwhite]

I really don't think it's bermuda though. I am leaning towards just tilling it in and keeping at it with a hoe. Heck half the fun of a garden is working in it!

[peejman]

Bermuda is golf course grass and it doesn't grow waist high, consider yourself fortunate.   No amount of hoeing or pulling will kill bermuda.  Keep it at bay for a few days?  Yes.  Kill it?  No.  And bud clearly knows more about this than I do.  I have a very specific mowing pattern to minimize the amount of clippings blown into the flowerbeds.  I just wish I could keep my neighbor from blowing his clippings into my garden. 

[Ted S.]

2. Mark it out and spray the whole area with your preferred brush killer.  Spray it again 2 weeks later.  Then spray it again after another 2 weeks.

 

:eek:  That one made me cringe!

 

Don't even get me started on glyphosate use in food plots, "round up ready" plants, and Monsanto.

 

:dirty:

[peejman]

If you guys have other suggestions on how to keep bermuda from coming back, I'm all ears.  I've found nothing else that works. 

[gregintenn]

If you guys have other suggestions on how to keep bermuda from coming back, I'm all ears.  I've found nothing else that works. 

A gooseneck hoe. Repeat as necessary.

 

I finally got around to turning my garden this evening. I'd wanted to do it sometime back, but it's just been too wet most all winter.

 

It won't be too long until time to get the old garden started!

[Mark A]

Ordered a tiller and subsoiler for the tractor yesterday. I'm hoping it will be here Wed or Thursday of next week. Now we need to dry out. 3 consecutive days without rain/snow/ice would be really nice. Especially if those 3 days were with sunshine...

[Mark A]

Also ordered 6 more apple trees, and a bunch of various berries: Heritage Red Raspberry & Dorman Red Raspberry, Austin Blueberry and Pink Lemonade Blueberry, Aronias, Gojie. A couple of those will go into the slowly growing edible backyard we are building but most will go to the farm.

 

Going to have to hire a guard dog or something for the farm or I will have the best fed deer population in the state...

 

Mark

Edited March 19, 2015 by Mark A

[maroonandwhite]

I too am waiting on the soil to dry. My soil is mostly clay so I definitely don't want to till it wet. I did get the grapes and muscadines in the ground though. So now I wait for two years on those haha.

[Omega]

Anyone tried planting in half 55gl plastic barrels?  I used four white ones of these for water recovery for a year then discovered they created too much algae so I replaced them with blue ones. I have to move my garden area so instead of a traditional garden plot I wanted to try something new and figured if I cut these in half and raise them a couple of feet it could be a good raised garden..thoughts?

[peejman]

Anyone tried planting in half 55gl plastic barrels?  I used four white ones of these for water recovery for a year then discovered they created too much algae so I replaced them with blue ones. I have to move my garden area so instead of a traditional garden plot I wanted to try something new and figured if I cut these in half and raise them a couple of feet it could be a good raised garden..thoughts?

 

 

Sounds like a good idea for a raised bed. 

[Mark A]

Anyone tried planting in half 55gl plastic barrels?  I used four white ones of these for water recovery for a year then discovered they created too much algae so I replaced them with blue ones. I have to move my garden area so instead of a traditional garden plot I wanted to try something new and figured if I cut these in half and raise them a couple of feet it could be a good raised garden..thoughts?

 

Re-purposing something instead of throwing it in the landfill? How un-American of you...

 

My wife would give me her "you're crazy" look then by the time I had dirt in there she would be out with her paint stuff decorating them in some happy garden theme. 

 

I'm curious to see how this will work out. I'm casting about for ideas that could work for pulling larger plants in and out of a greenhouse. It will be a year or so before we get to build it but I'm going to try some figs and a few other things that will have to be able to be pulled in and out during colder season.

 

If you do this please keep us up to date with what you've tried and how it is working out. Remember pictures or it never happened...

 

Mark

[monkeylizard]

I will admit I know nothing about grass. Maybe I'll take a pic and see if you guys can identify it. This may not be something I should even worry about. I'm sure I'll be fighting it back regardless so I may just be better of tilling it up and going with it.

 

If it's brown right now, it's probably bermuda. If it's green right now, it's probably fescue (maybe rye grass).

[monkeylizard]

Anyone tried planting in half 55gl plastic barrels?  I used four white ones of these for water recovery for a year then discovered they created too much algae so I replaced them with blue ones. I have to move my garden area so instead of a traditional garden plot I wanted to try something new and figured if I cut these in half and raise them a couple of feet it could be a good raised garden..thoughts?

 

It works just fine. If it were me, I'd try to find some food-grade barrels if yours aren't. I personally wouldn't want the plastic stuff leeching into my root systems. Build some stands out of 2x4 lumber and you're all set. Make the racks tall enough to put the surface of the dirt at a comfortable height. No need to bend over to weed and such if you don't have to. Be sure to drill some holes in the bottom (formerly the side) for drainage.

[Omega]

It works just fine. If it were me, I'd try to find some food-grade barrels if yours aren't. I personally wouldn't want the plastic stuff leeching into my root systems. Build some stands out of 2x4 lumber and you're all set. Make the racks tall enough to put the surface of the dirt at a comfortable height. No need to bend over to weed and such if you don't have to. Be sure to drill some holes in the bottom (formerly the side) for drainage.

Yup, the height issue was a given.  I looked over some rack examples online and it looks easy enough to do.  The drums were food grade, I used them as a water collection system for two years.  I am contemplating using them as a back stop at my range to strategically make holes through them :woohoo: