Where do you go when...

[Eeilee]

I’ve learned some things reading your post pepper.
I’m going to now make my own fertilizer lol

 

[pepper]

I’ve learned some things reading your post pepper.
I’m going to now make my own fertilizer lol

That's awesome! And thank you, I am glad it gave you some ideas to try

 

[Eeilee]

That's awesome! And thank you, I am glad it gave you some ideas to try

Curious about the hardwood pile.
How does that work? I’d love to make soft fluffy mushroom compost.
I have everything except a bucket with a lid to make fish fertilizer/molasses. Can’t be hard to find a good sealing bucket at Lowes. I’ll pick one up.
We started two compost bins. One for yard waste and kitchen waste and one for only leaves.
There’s room to build a 3rd bin for the mushroom compost and I’m game to try it!

 

[pepper]

Curious about the hardwood pile.
How does that work? I’d love to make soft fluffy mushroom compost.
I have everything except a bucket with a lid to make fish fertilizer/molasses. Can’t be hard to find a good sealing bucket at Lowes. I’ll pick one up.
We started two compost bins. One for yard waste and kitchen waste and one for only leaves.
There’s room to build a 3rd bin for the mushroom compost and I’m game to try it!

I am using logs but blocks or whatever would work too, probably faster. But I fill it inbetween with manure compost so there is no air flow and a part of each log is sitting on/in it. And I keep it watered also just like it's a garden, you need that constant moisture for rot. If you ever burned wood and had a wood pile it's the same idea. A wood pile you want air flow and something over it to keep it dry and on pallets or something to keep it off the ground otherwise it will hold moisture and rot. So this is the total opposite of a good woodpile lol. The smell is one of my favorite parts about it, I love the smell of mushroom fungus! Reminds me of old growth mossy hardwood forests

 

[Eeilee]

I am using logs but blocks or whatever would work too, probably faster. But I fill it inbetween with manure compost so there is no air flow and a part of each log is sitting on/in it. And I keep it watered also just like it's a garden, you need that constant moisture for rot. If you ever burned wood and had a wood pile it's the same idea. A wood pile you want air flow and something over it to keep it dry and on pallets or something to keep it off the ground otherwise it will hold moisture and rot. So this is the total opposite of a good woodpile lol. The smell is one of my favorite parts about it, I love the smell of mushroom fungus! Reminds me of old growth mossy hardwood forests

I love that smell! It’s one of the reasons I love to hike. Smelling that missy dewy old growth!
I’m going to try this. We have a pile of logs for our fire pit. I’ll use some of those!
Thank you for this info. I’m excited to try this.

 

[pepper]

I love that smell! It’s one of the reasons I love to hike. Smelling that missy dewy old growth!
I’m going to try this. We have a pile of logs for our fire pit. I’ll use some of those!
Thank you for this info. I’m excited to try this.

We will have to share our fungi pics! I am looking forward to seeing what we get. I might drill some holes in the wood and fill them with compost to help it along. I have been meaning to do that just haven't gotten around to it yet.

 

[LouisFerdinand]

I have learned a lot about vegetable gardening from my maternal grandparents.
They have two large vegetable gardens.

 

[A.Lyric]

It's honestly not very impressive. For the fish emulsion all you have to do is toss some fish in a bucket, add some leaf compost then fill it up with molasses and water. Put the lid on with an airlock to keep out bugs and flies and let it sit for a few months out of sight out of mind lol. Same organic stuff that costs a small fortune in the stores but it's free and almost no work to it. Making bone meal is just as easy. Chicken, turkey, venison bones all work. Just boil/simmer them for a few hours like you are making stock. Then let them sit in the sun for a while and once dried out completely they will crumble. Then put them in an old blender you pick up at a yard sale for $5 and turn them into powder. I also throw all my bone and meat scraps into my fire pit and they just turn to ash. Then toss it onto the compost or till it into the garden. The fish fertilizer is something new for me.

This year I am growing new things I haven't grown yet like hybrid gypsy peppers, pimento peppers, sweet cubanelle peppers, hot Durango peppers, lemon cucumbers and another kind I forget off hand the name of, scarlet nante carrots, Paris island romaine lettuce, and Simpson lettuce. The rest is my usual stuff like beefsteak tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, red and yellow onions and national pickling cucumbers... Dill and everything else that comes up by itself each year.

I have never tried belt alpha cucumbers or sun sugar cherry tomatoes, sounds interesting! You should take some pics to post come harvest, I'd love to see them

Nothing wrong with buying compost. I just do it the lazy way and toss everything in a heap. My neighbors dogs always get into it and dig around so I don't have to bother turning it lol! I don't know what they eat in it because it's mostly manure, rotting fruits, veggies, coffee grounds, leafs, twigs and weeds but they must have some rancid gas after snacking on it lol. I am starting a new method with barrels. Once a week kicking them around the ground like Donkey Kong to stir them up. Also started a hardwood pile to get some mushroom fertilizer.

You're light years beyond me! Except for my failed attempt at hot composting, the rest of your DIY projects never entered my mind as possibilities. But wait! I do maintain one DIY project that I'll share.

I was researching garden-related stuff and came across the words “worm farm”. Ew! What in Sam Hill is a worm farm, who the heck has one, and why?! Worms were such odd, mildly revolting things. So I clicked on the link, and came face to face with my shameful level of ignorance, including the fact that we'd all be dead in about ten years without worms.

Now I'm the reformed owner of a stackable red wiggler bin, which I keep in the house. And while I admit to liking dogs and cats better, I have a whole new respect for worms in general and my “EW!” factor died a natural death. They are quiet, stay put, eat my kitchen scraps, rabbit poop, dead leaves, reproduce like crazy, and give me vermicompost.

You must have an enormous garden to have such a variety of peppers! I planted a few pretty little green pepper seedlings which looked promising, then went out one morning and saw naked stubs sticking up where my seedlings had been. I'm thinking snails, roly polys or both.

Your Donkey Kong Compost image made me laugh! I love it! Not only are you getting compost, but some great exercise in the process. Thanks to you, I'm wondering if I could just roll a barrel down the hill at the side of my house and get the same effect. lol

I use to listen to Alberta Urban Gardening on YouTube. His scientific approach to gardening saved me from myself so many times! Lots of good info coming out of Canada!

 

[A.Lyric]

I have learned a lot about vegetable gardening from my maternal grandparents.
They have two large vegetable gardens.

One of my three grandchildren are often at my elbow when I'm in the garden with their questions and curiosity and desire to "help". I see that as a blessing for us both.

 

[pepper]

You're light years beyond me! Except for my failed attempt at hot composting, the rest of your DIY projects never entered my mind as possibilities. But wait! I do maintain one DIY project that I'll share.

I was researching garden-related stuff and came across the words “worm farm”. Ew! What in Sam Hill is a worm farm, who the heck has one, and why?! Worms were such odd, mildly revolting things. So I clicked on the link, and came face to face with my shameful level of ignorance, including the fact that we'd all be dead in about ten years without worms.

Now I'm the reformed owner of a stackable red wiggler bin, which I keep in the house. And while I admit to liking dogs and cats better, I have a whole new respect for worms in general and my “EW!” factor died a natural death. They are quiet, stay put, eat my kitchen scraps, rabbit poop, dead leaves, reproduce like crazy, and give me vermicompost.

You must have an enormous garden to have such a variety of peppers! I planted a few pretty little green pepper seedlings which looked promising, then went out one morning and saw naked stubs sticking up where my seedlings had been. I'm thinking snails, roly polys or both.

Your Donkey Kong Compost image made me laugh! I love it! Not only are you getting compost, but some great exercise in the process. Thanks to you, I'm wondering if I could just roll a barrel down the hill at the side of my house and get the same effect. lol

I use to listen to Alberta Urban Gardening on YouTube. His scientific approach to gardening saved me from myself so many times! Lots of good info coming out of Canada!

I downsized my garden a lot this year. Never thought to mention but another new thing I am trying this year is growing some of the tomatoes and peppers in buckets and large flower pots just to see how they turn out. Next year I will try those black fabric garden bags. It makes life much easier when it comes to weeding, watering and not having to till but time will tell the fruit size and taste comparison and to me that is most important.

Worm farm sounds fun! I've been thinking of cricket farming just for the summer, they are good at munching some stuff. Or possibly meal worms. Free trout bait and compost to boot lol.

 

[MiniOrchardDude]

Wow it looks like a lot of have learned the hard way. Simply because of wrong information. My biggest mistakes are following advice from YouTube channels that are not local to me. Gardrning in California is a lot different than in the Midwest. There are county extensions in the US that have recommendation for fruit varities for your area. Not all worked for me but helps make a better decision. Know the diseases that are common to your environment. For me bacterial spot and fabraea are no joke. Took some years to figure that out and removed a lot of bacterial suseptable trees. Peaches, nectarines and plums must be bacterial spot resistant for me. What a difference in vigor, blooms and color. I won't plant another european pear tree simply because they are suspentible to fabraea. Asian varities are naturally resistant so I only plant those now. It still shows up but very little with no side effects.

My best advice is learn your environment and soil type and use that information to make the most logical decsion at that particular point in time. My soil is sandy and that requires more water and fertilizer. Early on I wondered why my 6 year old 18 foot peach never bloomed. Now my trees bloom so much my garden looks like a flower show and all my trees are no higher than arms reach. Absolutely beautiful in May. It only took me about 8 years to have it as nice as i do now. I still learn and still research. It will never stop because of my love for gardening.

MOD