What did you do in the garden today?

[henless]

I'm trying not to till and only have about an inch over the cardboard (OK, an inch is pushing it.) Might toss some alfalfa seeds on top and see what happens. If my wood chips come, I'll just bury whatever sprouts are growing.

Can't hurt, right?

Do you have any leaves you can put on it? That's what I'm using.

 

[shortgrass]

I'm trying not to till and only have about an inch over the cardboard (OK, an inch is pushing it.)  Might toss some alfalfa seeds on top and see what happens.  If my wood chips come, I'll just bury whatever sprouts are growing.

Can't hurt, right?

Do you have any leaves you can put on it? That's what I'm using.

Or raid the coop; coop clean out is one if my favorite times, all that beautiful poo!

You can always find a couple bales of straw or hay to cover with, and some oats or wheat would sprout faster and root deeper than alfalfa, essentially breaking the cardboard down faster.

Lol cardboard is one of my favorite ways of clearing an area quick, if I could only get DH to quit tossing my cardboard stash ha-ha

 

[Stacykins]

I truly wish it was warm enough to turn the soil. Alas, the upper peninsula is currently a frozen wasteland right now.

I am looking forward to spring. I'll definitely be starting seeds inside ahead of the last freeze date, so I can get them in the soil as soon as it is safe.

I went a little wild with the squash varieties this year. The garden always has butternut. It is a great keeper. The basement is full of them right now, and we eat on them until spring or they're gone, whichever is soonest (usually they're eaten, hah). But I wanted to try other varieties, rarer squashes, that are also supposed to be good keepers. So I purchased Upper Ground Sweet Potato squash seeds and Seminole squash seeds. Also, I found some Mandan squash seeds for summer squashes. I do plan on carefully hand pollinating all these squashes to ensure I can collect pure seeds.

My plan is to plant blocks of corn, squash, and beans together. A bit of traditional planting. I will try a block with amaranth rather than corn (I grew amaranth on its own last year, it did great), but I don't think the Giant Golden Amaranth will have strong enough stalks to support pole beans. We shall see.

 

[jerryse]

Around here the canneries plant Dickinson pumpkins . Cushaws are great for pies . Your sweet potato squash may be in the cushaw group .

 

[lazy gardener]

Our Bermuda is probably closer to quack grass if you have it that far north. It grows on rhizomes and can grow right on top of landscape fabric.

Years ago I read an article about an older lady that would use hay for mulch. Every time a weed popped up she would just smother it with hay.
Back then I lived in an area that would gather up all the leaf debris people raked to the side of the road and compost the stuff in the back of a local park. In the spring they would run it through a big mulch-er and load it on your pickup for free. Needless to say I had a fabulous garden. I used the same method of smothering the weeds and it worked well. So I guess I have been BTE gardening for years.

Our soil is very rocky and this fall I wanted carrots. I built a raised bed and made seed mats with paper towels. I filled the bed with old, rotten hay. I planted Danvers 129 and raised the best carrots I ever have. After I planted them they thrived. So hay has to work...it sure worked for me.

I have to use leaves and pine straw because that's what I have.

Started a broccoli plug tray today.

Bee is in WV, she has Bermuda. None of that here in Maine. I think some of the old timers refer to some of the nasty grasses we have as quack grass. The stuff we have sends out horizontal stalks that root at every node, so a single plant will travel 6' in every direction. And they re-seed copiously, so if you're not diligent, you will have an impenetrable mass that is all knotted together. I ripped out my shoulder muscles one year, doing battle with the stuff. I think the old lady you refer to was Ruth Stout. If you can find any of her books, (may have to buy used from Amazon) they are well worth it. It was her book that got me going with hay mulch many many years ago. BTE specifically refers to using wood chips.

Or raid the coop; coop clean out is one if my favorite times, all that beautiful poo!

You can always find a couple bales of straw or hay to cover with, and some oats or wheat would sprout faster and root deeper than alfalfa, essentially breaking the cardboard down faster.

Lol cardboard is one of my favorite ways of clearing an area quick, if I could only get DH to quit tossing my cardboard stash ha-ha

I hide my cardboard. I think my hubby has given up trying to rehab me. I have piles of broken down boxes hidden in strategic places in the shop: between a couple of sheets of plywood, behind the door... He knows that if he hauls it off to the dump, I'll just go back to the dump and get more! Can't wait till the ground is bare again, so I can start my diabolical plans to cover my domain with cardboard and wood chips again!!! I'm working on DLing my new run, so any litter that comes out of the coop goes straight into the run. The girls are amazing at breaking those shavings, leaves and poo down into compost.

 

[Stacykins]

Around here the canneries plant Dickinson pumpkins . Cushaws are great for pies . Your sweet potato squash may be in the cushaw group .

I do know the Upper Ground Sweet Potato it is a Cucubita moschata. So it can definitely cross pollinate with the Seminole. I know to identify female flowers in the evening, when they look ready to open the next day, and tie them shut to keep them closed. Plus at least three male flowers. Then, the next morning, open the female flower, carefully pollinate with the males, then tape it closed again so no insects can get it. As curious as I am to cross varieties of squash, I want to maintain non crossed seeds too, since heirloom varieties are so important!

Squashes are important to my family, we eat so much of it. This year I think I need to buy a dehydrator so I can dehydrate our ample squash. Plus it'll help preserve so many other garden foods. Mmm, dehydrated cherry tomatoes on homemade pizza!

 

[hennible]

Dan... Crud can't remeber your whole user name, anyway this neat article about grafted plants made me think of you.
http://m.phys.org/news/2016-01-grafted-genomes.html

 

[Arielle]

Quote: Great idea.

Otherwise I have been searching on line extensively to learn about each one. Found a Cummins Nursery in NY-- turns out this is a professor/researcher at Cornell that develops and tests new rootstock. Very cool!! Looked to see what rootstock he carries and sells.

Fireblight seems to common all across the country, so the Geneva stock is ( usually) resistant to this. The Malling stock varies for this disease. Continue to research diseases and problems likely in this area of the US.

I was saddened to find that all these trees have a limited lifespan. So different from the trees at my mother's that are still going strong --they were mature trees back in the 70's. I have started to think about how to make use of that stock. Just not sure that taking a few seeds is how this works. Was thinking to grab a few scion cuttings ( in a few years from now) and work from there.

 

[Arielle]

Quote: Love how you think--- I love the old squashes now that I have a lovely pile stored on the stairway to the second floor. So many beautiful shapes. And the subtle flavor differences.

 

[Arielle]

Great Ideas!!!!!! I have been stewing over a remodel for a couple years. I fashioned a make shift model using clear plastic ( used shavings bags) and mics stick material found at a box co that leaves stuff for everyone to pick thru. Just used new screws to fasten it all together. Rather good really. It got remade in to a chicken coop for the extra males. So I am pulling together a plan to make another one.

Winter has hit here finally. Mother nature has been playing with us for the last few months-- huge swings in temperatures. Snow in October-- WTH?? ANd ultra warm for many days in December. Finally winter is here. So yes, a few extra months at the beginning of the season and the end would be wonderful.

In the mean time I am screwing up the courage to ask an acquaintance who has a flower shop with a HUGE greenhouse if I might rent some space. I'm still debating if that is too forward. . . . and rude . . . .