Same thing I was thinking.
Then I considered setting up in my basement, but then my cats would destroy it, the grow lights would probably get expensive, yet my computers would help keep the temp in a decent range down there this winter, and I just overall don't have enough space down there.
I planted a garden this spring, and have every year past since I've lived here in 2013. I want to do raised beds or get plastic, because the weeds grow a lot and takeover what I planted.
As I learned as a young lad, when my parents always had a garden out back, "weeding" is a necessary activity and we kids had to do it once a week. Backbreaking work, pulling up weeds in a garden (ours was about 1/4 acre) but undesirable weeds steal nutrients from the desirable plants so they HAVE to be pulled up by the roots. Today I grow (in spring and summer) a smaller garden plot with tomatoes and other edibles, and even as small as it is, I weed once a week. It keeps me in touch with the earth and in touch with the way I was raised.
My nemesis these days is the horn worm... a.k.a. the tomato worm. It's green and hard to spot amongst the green leaves of the tomato plant... but to spot one you have to look for parts of the vine that have been stripped of leaves. Look closely on that vine or nearby and you'll find the little bugger. I always dispatch them by removing them to a spot on my driveway where they can be seen, and the birds do the rest. It's interesting to watch as the birds swoop in for the kill.
And that's been my problem. We have about 40 or so chickens, 10 peafowl, cats, and dogs, and an almost 1 year old son, and another child on the way. Plus I have my own biz. So finding time to weed my garden was hard. Our tomatoes did pretty good after I addressed blossom end rot. The horn worms I would also find them from the nubs. When I found them, I took them straight to my chickens to tear apart.
Our broccoli didn't do great. The plants got big but didn't produce a lot of heads. Our cabbage and lettuce did real well in late spring/early summer. The peppers took forever to grow and produced but the weeds took over by then and I didn't have much time or interest in maintaining it.
Same for the potatoes.
If you have the available room with proper temps you can overwinter your pepper plants for the next year and get a much earlier start. That's what I'm doing this year with my super hots. There are many videos online that will demonstrate how to prune the plant back to just a few main branches and dig the plant out of ground to pot it up for storage.
i’m hoping to try garden fabric next year and see how that does. I used mulch this year and it was definitely helpful but I still
had loads of creeping charlie and some dandelions to deal with.
This year I did raised beds with cinder blocks. Not the prettiest option but cheap and I put my herbs in the holes of the block on the perimeter. First year doing it and it worked great. Had cilantro and dill when I harvested my cucumbers and maters.
Same thing I was thinking. Then I considered setting up in my basement, but then my cats would destroy it, the grow lights would probably get expensive, yet my computers would help keep the temp in a decent range down there this winter, and I just overall don't have enough space down there.
I planted a garden this spring, and have every year past since I've lived here in 2013. I want to do raised beds or get plastic, because the weeds grow a lot and takeover what I planted.
As I learned as a young lad, when my parents always had a garden out back, "weeding" is a necessary activity and we kids had to do it once a week. Backbreaking work, pulling up weeds in a garden (ours was about 1/4 acre) but undesirable weeds steal nutrients from the desirable plants so they HAVE to be pulled up by the roots. Today I grow (in spring and summer) a smaller garden plot with tomatoes and other edibles, and even as small as it is, I weed once a week. It keeps me in touch with the earth and in touch with the way I was raised.
My nemesis these days is the horn worm... a.k.a. the tomato worm. It's green and hard to spot amongst the green leaves of the tomato plant... but to spot one you have to look for parts of the vine that have been stripped of leaves. Look closely on that vine or nearby and you'll find the little bugger. I always dispatch them by removing them to a spot on my driveway where they can be seen, and the birds do the rest. It's interesting to watch as the birds swoop in for the kill.
And that's been my problem. We have about 40 or so chickens, 10 peafowl, cats, and dogs, and an almost 1 year old son, and another child on the way. Plus I have my own biz. So finding time to weed my garden was hard. Our tomatoes did pretty good after I addressed blossom end rot. The horn worms I would also find them from the nubs. When I found them, I took them straight to my chickens to tear apart.
Our broccoli didn't do great. The plants got big but didn't produce a lot of heads. Our cabbage and lettuce did real well in late spring/early summer. The peppers took forever to grow and produced but the weeds took over by then and I didn't have much time or interest in maintaining it. Same for the potatoes.
If you have the available room with proper temps you can overwinter your pepper plants for the next year and get a much earlier start. That's what I'm doing this year with my super hots. There are many videos online that will demonstrate how to prune the plant back to just a few main branches and dig the plant out of ground to pot it up for storage.
I'd never heard that. Thanks for the tip!
You should record their tiny screams of "Noooooooooooooooooo..."
Or, "HELP MEEEEE" 😁
Saw that when I was 10, had nightmares!
"HELP MEEEEE"
i’m hoping to try garden fabric next year and see how that does. I used mulch this year and it was definitely helpful but I still had loads of creeping charlie and some dandelions to deal with.
Old newspaper works well as a weed too.
Newpaper/ cardboard and mulch works very well.
Get 2 chickens and let them in the garden every now and again. They took care of my potato beetles and they love horn worms.
Mulch or weed barrier FTW
This year I did raised beds with cinder blocks. Not the prettiest option but cheap and I put my herbs in the holes of the block on the perimeter. First year doing it and it worked great. Had cilantro and dill when I harvested my cucumbers and maters.
This is a good idea and I like it. I'm assuming you used potting soil in the block holes?
Just regular old top soil and some chicken bedding mulch.
In Guam I learned cats are tasty and a good source of protein
don't forget the seasoning.... CATsup!
Yeah, no, none of that.