The Holy Roller Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 You have to put something around the corn to keep the animals away or they will no doubt eat it if it blooms. OK children, this reminds me of a story. A long time ago in the HR Garden there were a dozen 100 foot rows of delicious sweet corn just a couple days away from peak deliciousness. That night varmints came. (I suspect coons but that would be profiling and we all know that's bad). About a third of the ears of delicious corn were carefully picked, shucked and eaten right there in the garden and the remnants were left on the ground, mocking me. Thinking maybe some light and some noise would deter a repeat story the next night, I, HR, the master gardener, ran an extention cord and about 100 feet of Christmas lights down to the garden and spread the lights around in a threatening manner. I, HR, also hooked up a radio and put on a local public radio station station. Surely this would stop any "coons" from eating the rest of my delicious corn. That night my oldest daughter came home from a school function and I could hear her wake up one of her brothers saying, "THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE GARDEN AND IT LOOKS LIKE A UFO!" "That's just dad trying to stop the coons from eating his corn." Haha. The next morning I went down to see how my plan worked. Every last ear of corn was picked, shucked, and eaten! The coons left a note. "How bout some beer?" F@#$&%#ers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rovers Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 (edited) Sorry, but the "organic" gardeners make me chuckle. Chicken poop organic? OK... but, what did those chickens eat? Were they treated with insecticides to rid them of parasites? What chemicals are in that poop? Man made ferts are often safer than these organic sources of nutrients. At least you know what is in them.... chicken poop? Unless that poop is from organically grown chickens, it is NOT organic, it is likely to contain more pesticides than anything else you would put in your garden. Pesticides that are labeled for vegtables have been tested six different ways from Sunday times five. The stuff is VERY safe if applied as per the label.... and the label IS the LAW. Arsenic is organic. The most deadly pestide there is is organic.... nicotine. Organic does NOT mean safe. Man made does NOT mean unsafe, bad or unhealthy. Otherwise, my small garden is in. The usual wide variety of medium to very hot peppers, cukes, zuchinni, many herbs and some tomato plants. I'm an Osmocote and miracle grow guy.... you can keep the chicken poop. I also like to use epsom salts instead of fert once my pepper plants start to fruit.... crispier peppers that way. Edited May 29, 2009 by Rovers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Holy Roller Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 Sorry, but the "organic" gardeners make me chuckle. Chicken poop organic? OK... but, what did those chickens eat? Were they treated with insecticides to rid them of parasites? What chemicals are in that poop? Man made ferts are often safer than these organic sources of nutrients. At least you know what is in them.... chicken poop? Unless that poop is from organically grown chickens, it is NOT organic, it is likely to contain more pesticides than anything else you would put in your garden. Pesticides that are labeled for vegtables have been tested six different ways from Sunday times five. The stuff is VERY safe if applied as per the label.... and the label IS the LAW. Arsenic is organic. The most deadly pestide there is is organic.... nicotine. Organic does NOT mean safe. Man made does NOT mean unsafe, bad or unhealthy. Otherwise, my small garden is in. The usual wide variety of medium to very hot peppers, cukes, zuchinni, many herbs and some tomato plants. I'm an Osmocote and miracle grow guy.... you can keep the chicken poop. I also like to use epsom salts instead of fert once my pepper plants start to fruit.... crispier peppers that way. I guess if you really want to press the meaning of "organic" it could be anything that is from Planet Earth. Perhaps "cost" is a factor in the use of chicken poop over chemically derived fertilizer. And I am really liking the epson salts idea! Old guys know best!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 Sorry, but the "organic" gardeners make me chuckle. Chicken poop organic? OK... but, what did those chickens eat? Were they treated with insecticides to rid them of parasites? What chemicals are in that poop? Man made ferts are often safer than these organic sources of nutrients. At least you know what is in them.... chicken poop? Unless that poop is from organically grown chickens, it is NOT organic, it is likely to contain more pesticides than anything else you would put in your garden. Pesticides that are labeled for vegtables have been tested six different ways from Sunday times five. The stuff is VERY safe if applied as per the label.... and the label IS the LAW. Arsenic is organic. The most deadly pestide there is is organic.... nicotine. Organic does NOT mean safe. Man made does NOT mean unsafe, bad or unhealthy. Otherwise, my small garden is in. The usual wide variety of medium to very hot peppers, cukes, zuchinni, many herbs and some tomato plants. I'm an Osmocote and miracle grow guy.... you can keep the chicken poop. I also like to use epsom salts instead of fert once my pepper plants start to fruit.... crispier peppers that way. Chuckle away. This "organic" gardener is amending his soil with compost made from scraps of vegetables he grew or brought home from his restaurant that buys much of it's produce from local organic farmers. To be honest, my primary issue with commercial ferts is that they load up on the elements that make plants big and produce impressive looking fruit but not the trace elements that make those same fruits and veggies tastier or more nutritious. As I mentioned before, our garden is not completely free of man-made chemicals. We use round-up, for instance because I researched how it works. Because our soil is healthy, our plants are vigorous enough that they don't tend to suffer many of the ailments that other gardeners face. We're neither dogmatic or quixotic in our "organic" gardening practices, rather we've found that we're getting great results going this way. We switched to an organic lawn care and now spend half as much each year and our lawn has never looked better. It is not Josh Gordon free, but it never was before and, actually, we don't mind the lawn violets that our chem-lawn guy seemed hell bent on eradicating. We also water our lawn a fraction as often as our neighbors but you wouldn't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheikYerbuti Posted May 29, 2009 Author Share Posted May 29, 2009 So, I just found out 3 things: 1. I have slugs in my garden. 2. Slugs LOVE to eat strawberries. 3. I have to find out how to get rid of slugs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slambo Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 2. Slugs LOVE to eat strawberries. 3. I have to find out how to get rid of slugs. I've used a product called Sluggo with good results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rovers Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 Chuckle away. This "organic" gardener is amending his soil with compost made from scraps of vegetables he grew or brought home from his restaurant that buys much of it's produce from local organic farmers. To be honest, my primary issue with commercial ferts is that they load up on the elements that make plants big and produce impressive looking fruit but not the trace elements that make those same fruits and veggies tastier or more nutritious. As I mentioned before, our garden is not completely free of man-made chemicals. We use round-up, for instance because I researched how it works. Because our soil is healthy, our plants are vigorous enough that they don't tend to suffer many of the ailments that other gardeners face. We're neither dogmatic or quixotic in our "organic" gardening practices, rather we've found that we're getting great results going this way. We switched to an organic lawn care and now spend half as much each year and our lawn has never looked better. It is not Josh Gordon free, but it never was before and, actually, we don't mind the lawn violets that our chem-lawn guy seemed hell bent on eradicating. We also water our lawn a fraction as often as our neighbors but you wouldn't know. Home made compost is about the best fert there is. No disagreement there, and my post was not generally directed at you... rather a general comment on what many people think is safe... if it's organic it's safe, and just isn't necessarilly so. I use both man made ferts, insect contorls and plenty of "ogranic" amendments too. Some people just don't like the smell of stuff like Milorganite (human poop, sterilized) or fish and chicken poop. The stuff just smells like what it is... poop. As for me, my business is in making lawns and gardens look perfect. Can't be done with an organics only program, but can be done safely with a combination of controls and ferts when used responsibly. Lawns NEED organic amendments. Most people over water their lawns... frequent shallow irrigation schedules are very bad for lawns, something you have figured out Det. Infrequent deep watering is the way to go. Wet leaves encourage fungus and other lawn problems. The leaves should be kept as dry as possible, but the root system moist. I use a bit of Osmocote mixed with my compost.... not much, but a bit, and it adds some important trace elements that could be missing in the compost. I don't want to soil test my compost every year. Then, every now and again, some Miracle grow. This combo has worked best for me over the years, but if your approach is working, great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hat Trick Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 I've used a product called Sluggo with good results. Slambo is a wise wise man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheikYerbuti Posted June 1, 2009 Author Share Posted June 1, 2009 I've used a product called Sluggo with good results. Couldn't find Sluggo, but did put down some of this. Also, read in an article that slugs hate rough terrain, so I went to the feed supplier and got a bale of straw and mulched the entire strawberry patch with it. And, actually, that's why they call them "straw"berries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Holy Roller Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 Couldn't find Sluggo, but did put down some of this. Also, read in an article that slugs hate rough terrain, so I went to the feed supplier and got a bale of straw and mulched the entire strawberry patch with it. And, actually, that's why they call them "straw"berries. Who'd a thought? With straw going for about $4 a bale here I decided to quit raising wheat and oats and just raise the straw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hat Trick Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 Couldn't find Sluggo, but did put down some of this. Also, read in an article that slugs hate rough terrain, so I went to the feed supplier and got a bale of straw and mulched the entire strawberry patch with it. And, actually, that's why they call them "straw"berries. Yep, I did the straw thing as well. It is free to me since my dad puts it up for the cows and horse, but I still got them. Sluggo did the trick. I might add that I am swimming in strawberries right now. I keep giving them away to more than willing neighbor and friends. I have 20 lbs frozen from this year already and still 15 jars of jam from last year. I'm eating all I can with ice cream every night..I can see myself getting fatter. Damn they are good though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whomper Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 So how are your gardens doing ? I have to say with all of the rain we have had here in NJ this has been one of the easiest years to tend I have ever had. It rained 22 out of 30 days in June. All I have been doing is just weeding and vining and tying the plants to the poles when they get too big. My garden has tons of flowers but havent turned to fruit yet. It looks like I am going to have a nice yield . My cherry tomatoe plants have tomatoes already but the beefsteaks etc are just flowering at this point. The plants look nice and healthy . My cuke plants have a million small cukes. The plants have exploded. My eggplant have small eggplant buds on 2 out of the 3 plants. Animals ate my zuccini. I attempted squash. So far plant looks good but no fruit yet just flowers. All in all it looks like it will be a nice year. My daughters garden is doing well too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Because we started everything from seed and had a cool spring, our tomatoes are way behind everyone else around here and haven't produced yet but are big and healthy and loaded with blossoms. The cherokee purple ones have a lot of fruit set but they're still all green. The cubanelle peppers are loaded but the others are just big and bushy with no fruit Zukes have been producing but not at the stage where you can't keep up. Effing rabbits or something are totally devouring our green bean plants. The pole beans don't stand a chance and we've given up. We've got wires and netting over the bush beans and are hoping they'll be big enough to spare a leaf hear and there by the time we have to remove it. Cukes. Christ. We will learn how many cukes we can eat this year. We've reached the stage where you can go out nearly every day and harvest about 6-10 and miss at least that many. Lots of pickles it seems. Our pumpkin plant has basically taken over a corner of our veggie garden and has popped through the fence, climbed up on a honey suckle plant and up our shed. Small fruits are now starting to appear. Melons have been pretty slow but are coming along. Onions and potatoes are done for the season. Potatoes did well but we didn't water the onions enough it seems, so they weren't that impressive. I read, too late I should add, how much water they need per week and didn't given them anywhere near that much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twiley Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Friggin squirrels are having a field day with my tomatoes, I'm going to build a fortress around them that should rival the most secure prisons Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Dick Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Mine is underperforming this year. Lots of rain and not much sun has put me way back. Tomatoes have been slow. Cukes are just now starting to produce. We've picked green beans already. Peppers are starting to produce, but slow. Snow peas didn't look anything this year. Already harvested radishes, lettuce, and spinach. Getting too hot now to re-plant those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Footballjoe Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 I have gotten only one red tomatoe so far and it was small. I have a lot of large green ones though. I am just waiting for them to turn. I have gotten a few green peppers already and have tons of them on the plants. Onions are doing well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheikYerbuti Posted July 8, 2009 Author Share Posted July 8, 2009 Cherry tomato plants have started flowering in the last week or two. The plants are nice and strong thanks to them starting in the ground. I'm officially done with seed starters and transplanting for life. I planted 3 planters full of spinach, all of which died in the monsoons. It was just too wet for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whoopazz Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 Cherry tomato plants are falling all over themselves, as well as the better boys. We can't eat em as fast as they ripen. Major bumper crop. Cukes are doing well, but just getting going since I put them where the peas were, which are long gone (yummy) in this heat. About the same with the the summer squash. Lettuce crop was awesome but also done now. I'll plant another couple of big rows of peas and lettuce in late summer. My broccoli is sucking wind. Just too hot here I think and too many critters. Peppers are looking good, but no fruit yet. That's all I got. Other than lots of flowers that are all doing really well (we've had significant rain for a change this year). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hat Trick Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Strawberries have been over for quite awhile now but I ended up with tons and tons. Green Beans are kicking my butt right now, canning away. I planted them in stages so I will be canning these for weeks. I have 3 rows fully mature and 3 other rows that are 4 weeks behind those. Peppers are all growing, going to pick some of the banana peppers tonight. Tomatoes are all in between a golf ball and baseball right now and in a couple weeks I will have so many I won't be able to give them all away. Watermelon plant is taking over the back corner of my garden so I draped it back into the strawberry patch. Baby yellow squash has done very well, eating them and giving them away as fast as I can pick them. Brocolli looks good, but it will still be awhile before I start seeing heads on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whomper Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Strawberries have been over for quite awhile now but I ended up with tons and tons. Green Beans are kicking my butt right now, canning away. I planted them in stages so I will be canning these for weeks. I have 3 rows fully mature and 3 other rows that are 4 weeks behind those. Peppers are all growing, going to pick some of the banana peppers tonight. Tomatoes are all in between a golf ball and baseball right now and in a couple weeks I will have so many I won't be able to give them all away. Watermelon plant is taking over the back corner of my garden so I draped it back into the strawberry patch. Baby yellow squash has done very well, eating them and giving them away as fast as I can pick them. Brocolli looks good, but it will still be awhile before I start seeing heads on them. If you are looking to send out some of that home made strawberry jam I can PM you an address Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 Updated photo album from the garden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Dick Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 Updated photo album from the garden That's a good looking garden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Footballjoe Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 Nice pics and garden Det. What size timbers did you use to build your frames? They didn't look treated but I guess you have to be careful in a veggie garden. Did you treat them with anything? I am going to expand my garden and I liked the looks of yours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 I used 1x6's pressure treated. I put up a 2 foot fence around 'em to keep the critters out. Tomatoes are bursting all over and should be ripening up in the next week or so. Oh yeah. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whomper Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 Detlefs Pictures are getting rave reviews and rightfully so. My friend on FB sent me a message asking who you were. She was very impressed. So to recap This woman on facebook sent me a message since I am a member of facebook to compliment my imaginary internet friends garden. I may as well hand in my twig and berries Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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