Hobby Farms Forums / Gardening and Crops / HobbyFarms.com Forum Topics

Fence post depth; concrete vs. tamped rock

nickvree — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 16:02:36 GMT

I'm new to the forums, so hi all!

Anyways, I'm looking at putting in a garden fence to keep out the deer. To do this, it needs to be substantially tall, and I've decided on 8'. I'll be using 10' 4x4 pressure treated as posts, and putting 3 2x4s between each post (one at the top, middle, and bottom). I'll also be putting wire fence from 1' in the ground to the top (perhaps only 'deer netting' the top 4-5' for this year). The garden will be 32' on a side, with the posts every 8 feet.

So, with that background, I have some questions from more experienced folks.

For setting the posts, because we have extremely rocky soil, I'm planning on only going 2' deep. I know that the rule of thumb is that you want 1/3 of the post in the ground, but it won't really be possible in our case. Because of that, I was planning to use concrete to give the posts a better 'hold'... however concrete is expensive and would put me over budget quickly. So, with a two foot depth, would just using tamped rock/soil to hold the fence work?

Thanks!

Healing Garden Hands

HFfriend — Thu, 03 May 2012 06:57:58 GMT

The hard work of harvesting and putting by your garden's bounty can leave your hands dried, cracked and irritated. What are your suggestions for healing harvest-abused hands? Weigh in for a chance to have your tip published in the September/October issue of Hobby Farm Home magazine.

How much to grow?

Melody — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:00:33 GMT

Does anyone have a site or plan they like that tells how much to grow per person in a family? I looked around online today,and I found two. One said to plant 10' of asparagus per family of 4; the other said 15-20' of row per person! Both said they were not considering having extra for canning; this was just for fresh eating. Other vegetables were similar; 8 feet of row of broccoli on one list, 10-20' of row per person on the other.
I remember my old Ball canning book having a chart in the back, but the new one doesn't!

lima/butterbean harvest period

flaja — Tue, 01 May 2012 15:47:29 GMT

I am trying to work out a planting schedule for the Piedmont region of South Carolina just in case I end up buying a piece of property there. All of my growing experience has been in Florida- which isn’t part of the real world climatologically speaking. If I move I will have to learn how to have a garden all over again. Since I’ve always had limited space in Florida I have never planted lima/butterbeans in the spring (to maximize the green/snap bean crop before the 90 degree weather takes over). My lima/butterbean crop has always gone in at the end of June or first part of July because they can take the hot weather here. The harvest comes in the 2^nd half of September. But by then our rainy season is in full-force so the plants never last long enough to get a second picking. So can anyone give me some idea as to how long a lima/butterbean harvest can last? I need to judge how long I will have to reserve planting beds for lima/butterbeans before I can plant something else.

Compost and bears

AriesBC — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 23:52:36 GMT

We are in the midst of fencing our property and setting up the garden. I had set up a make-shift compost till we had the material and space ready. It seems though the bears (we are assuming as heavy things have been moved to get at it) are also interested in it's contents. What suggestions are there for building a bear proof compost? I didn't really think of this issue, I was preparing for rodents and smaller animals. Is it even worthwhile setting a compost up? At least one using table scraps, etc.

Planning an orchard

flaja — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 07:16:43 GMT

I know a lot would depend on the variety you are growing and your climate and location, but is there anyway to get even a ballpark estimate for the number of fruit trees you’d need to plant (based on their size- standard, semi-dwarf or dwarf) per person that you want to feed? I am interested in a property in South Carolina that has less than 5 acres, but I want to be able to produce as much variety as I can to have a CSA farm while being as self-sufficient as I can be.

Trouble in East Texas

CalMinnTenn — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 06:26:34 GMT

I was wondering if there was anyone else in the East Texas area that has been having trouble with their garden this year.

The change I made from last year was to lay done Preen(tm) granules after tilling, then using Preen(tm) barrier paper to keep any other weeds at bay. I replanted seedlings in March, but nothing has taken up. I beginning to wonder if the granules are inhibiting the grown of the plant, but the instructions state that would not be the case.

Is it possible that last years drought may have affected the soil? I have not tested the ph yet.

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Fruit Trees

countrylady — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 05:13:54 GMT

I have a few fruit trees that I have planted now the tees are small but I have had apple trees for about two years now and I have yet to receive any fruit. I also have peach and nectarine trees. The trees bloom and are loaded with fruit but they only get the size of a walnut and dry up and fall off. If anyone has any thoughts or Ideas for me please email me. thank you.

Finally got the garden in.

cappy — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 08:07:14 GMT

Well, I finally finished putting in the garden last week. I've been planting and working on it since mid February. I put in the sprinkler system last week and watered heavy. Everything looked great, plants coming up nicely. That afternoon we got that 20% chance of scattered thunderstorms. The hail lasted over an hour. Nothing big, just marble sized plus strong winds and HEAVY rain that lasted over 2 hours. Later that night we got another round but without the hail. The next morning I checked the garden. The sprinklers were working great, only most of the plants were beat up pretty bad. I managed to salvage some but it looks like re-planting most.

After a week it still looks pretty sad so it's replanting time.

This was the worst storm we've had since moving here 5 years ago. Seems the storms always skirted us but last week we go a direct hit. Has anyone else noticed an upturn in the intensity of storms this year? We've had several in the area that were pretty intense.

Ken

Mild spring-late getting started

Douggifford — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 20:18:05 GMT

We've had about ten days of very mild weather here in northeast Missouri which should have allowed me time to do a lot of gardening. However, I'm still late getting my gardening activities together. I just got my tractor running well last week and the rototiller is still in the shop. I didn't get tomato plants started until mid February, and then it took them two weeks to sprout. I just got most of my pepper seeds started earlier this week. I should have planted lettuce, greens, spinach, and peas by now, but I haven't. Oh, well, I have 6-7 months of gardening season left so I guess I'll catch up eventually.

Nectarine tree problems

bhford — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 07:51:24 GMT

Every year my nectarine blooms beautifully and then puts on lots of little nectarines. They get about as big as a ping pong ball, then they get moldy and rot. I do thin them when they are about the size of a marble, so they are not too crowded. Any suggestions?

chicken litter in gardens

bhford — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 03:59:18 GMT

I use wood shavings in my chicken houses. How long should it compost before I can use it in my gardens?

Tomato harvesting

editor — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 19:57:45 GMT

Hi All. I have several varieties of tomatos that are getting rather full of beautiful green tomatos. My questions to you more experienced gardeners/growers are these?

1. When is the best time to pick the fruit off the vine for the longest "shelf life"?

2. How long after the "last fruit" should I leave the plant in the ground?

3. What's a good follow up to tomatos?

I am in Southern California, where it is beautiful right now but come May it will start to get consistently into the mid to high 80's and will continue to climb until we reach the 115+. I appreciate any input. Thanks.

starting a lettuce bed

3tmd — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 19:39:06 GMT

well i built myself a little hot bed to start a lettuce bed and radish bed my dad always planted them on feb 14 we had fresh lettuce when it snow was on the ground has anybody done this thanks

How far down?

cweick — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 07:21:10 GMT

Just purchase P2 some tomatoes and bell pepper plants in a gallon size pot. We normally start off with the little ones, but these are the only ones I can get my hands on.

How far down should we plant his tomatoe plants?

Getting our garden back

Tractor Nut — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 04:58:59 GMT

Moving into an apartment that's in a more country setting with an area off patio for a small garden. Just going to plant salad fixings along with some peas/green beans. We are very excited

Gardening

freespirit — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:51:00 GMT

Hay Freespirit again,

I forgot to ask where is a good place to get heirloom seeds.

Thanks.

Freespirit

Will Deep Tilling Ever Come Back?

Plowpoint — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 12:03:11 GMT

I just got down doing something I love to do...plow soil with a plow. As I was plowing along and the soil rolled out nicely, I could not help but think how easy it will be to disc harrow next Spring. A single pass should level the soil right out since the corn stalks will be tilled under, mostly decomposed and less corn stubble to chop through.

So then I got thinking about the economics of it. It takes us three passes to get a field from corn stubble to plantable using a 33 foot disc harrow. Last year the maintenance cost for new bearings, broken disc's, etc was $12,000 dollars. Wouldn't it make more sense to plow the soil first, reduce the discing time by two thirds, and reduce wear and tear on an expensive disc harrow, and put the heavy burden on the plow...a implement designed for abuse?

If you do the math, it would take 3 passes with our 7 bottom plow to reach the same width as the disc harrow, but rather then rely on one tractor, one operator working the same field over 3 times, you could get more done in a day with two tractors, two operators, toting two different implements.

I know no-till farming is starting to be viable with the improvement in GMO and Hybrid corn seed, but until they meet consistency standards and yield compared to deep-tilled/minimum-till soils, I am thinking it makes more sense just to deep-till it and move on.

Gardening

freespirit — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:43:47 GMT

Hay everyone,

I am currently part of a community garden start-up. I wanted to know if anyone had any ideas on what would be a good heirloom veggie to start in my garden plot. I live the Seattle area, and as you know I'm sure, we get alot of rain (man is that an understatement). Looking forward to hearing from you!

Thanks,

Freespirit

How do you KILL this weed????

cweick — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 05:57:25 GMT

I have mowed it over, dug it up, sprayed and it just comes back stronger each time.

Cheery Trees

cweick — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 07:22:23 GMT

Do these low chill hour cherry trees need a mate?

What kind of varieties for baby food?

BirchCreekBliss — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 10:41:55 GMT

I'm looking for some been-there-done-that parents that make or have made their own baby food.
We're swapping houses with Husband's grandmother about mid-April and we'll finally have a good-sized, well-established garden (abt 40X90 feet). We had some practice on it last year as Husband's grandpa was ailing and died last March so we took over his beloved garden, but only used about 20X40 of it as I'm new to gardening and Husband was gone a lot with his job in the ARNG so I was the one doing the work with two small boys in tow. Having the garden in the yard will be so nice this year!
We're also expecting a little one in mid-February (#3 for us and we're finally getting a girl!). I'm really excited because she'll be at the age of eating solids when things start ripening in the garden.
So what are some good varieties of vegetables for making baby food? By that, I mean - what are varieties that baby will like to eat? I made some baby food with my last baby, but had to learn the hard way that butternut squash goes over better than crookneck squash. Also, how much do you plant to get a good stash? I plan on freezing some too as she'll probably still be on purees for awhile after harvest is over.

growing in Tin cans?

trouz — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 11:19:30 GMT

Howdy,

with winter already here (edmonton, ab) .. I was thinking of using coffee cans (tin i think they are made of) to grow some herbs...

Im wondering if this is a bad idea or not..

any advice?

Hey B.B. or anyone else who KNOWS

cweick — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 07:27:34 GMT

See the heart in the middle of each leaf?

WHERE CAN I GET THIS SEED?

DOSE ANYONE KNOW THE NAME OF THIS CLOVER?????

Asparagus bed

foreverfarmgirl — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 11:04:37 GMT

This is my first attempt at an asparagus bed. So far so good, the plants all look great and healthy. My question... do I cut my first year asparagus back for the winter? As everything is turning into their fall colors, this is not... as of yet. Is is supposed to? Any advice for preparing an asparagus bed for winter is appreciated.

Tomato plants growing now; how to salvage to indoors

hotrodryder — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 13:00:53 GMT

I have found MANY nice tomato plants that are volunteers all over my property and wondered what is the best way to salvage them? I have heard you can dig them up and grow them indoors in the winter but have no rooms with great sunlight so wondered if anyone has successfully grown tomatos indoors over winter and if so, how? I hate to have twenty or so plants just die off.

Pumpkin Fertilizer

kmw — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 17:07:39 GMT

This thread started in the Discussions section (Calling Amelio). I sort of moved it here 'cause I thought Amelio could get more help in the Garden section. He wants to grow massive pumpkins and is looking for fertilizer ideas.

Cweick contributed a milk solution in an IV.

I suggest Oma-Gro (http://omagro.com). Shipping to Germany will kill you and I doubt they take Euro's . The stuff is the real deal though. My tomatoe plants are always over 6' tall. Hopefully the web site will give a good enough description of the stuff so you can find something like it over there.

Mulching Squash and gourds

GotGoats — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 08:48:00 GMT

Hello! I am new to this forum so I'm sorry if a similar question has already been posted! I am looking into growing squash and gourds for the farmer's market this year and I'm looking for an inexpensive mulch to use. I know black plastic is wonderful but I really can't afford it.

I have lots of bedding from sheep and goats and thought I could use that. Our soil is poor as well as sandy so I thought that would build the soil and conserve moisture. My question though...will a deep mulch cause my squash to rot if they sit on it too long?

Also, I 've heard about using cardboard but I was wondering if the ink on the boxes would be bad for the soil? Thank you so much for any help or suggestions!!

Cover Crop

av8rwife — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 17:16:04 GMT

We are new to farming and would like to plant a cover crop that we can turn back into the garden in the spring when we plant again. We'd like something that the chickens and ducks can forage in during the winter.

peppers hot and sweet inside?

trouz — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 06:22:27 GMT

Howdy,

has anyone tried growing peppers (sweet and hot ) inside?
I want to use my grow lights during winter.. and am thinking aboot peppers.

Any suggestions on kind / type or what I should consider would be appreciated.
my narrowed down list:

jupiter (sweet, big )
Purple Beauty Pepper
Red Belgian

bolivian rainbow peppers
Serrano Tampequino Pepper

thanks in advance,
Trouz

Fall Corn crop

av8rwife — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 05:48:21 GMT

We planted 4 rows of sweet corn on 7/12. Here in AR the weather has been less than perfect for gardening or perhaps it's due to our inexerpience. Whatever the reason -- the silks have turned brown and I pulled about 2 doz. ears, it is in the milk stage but the cobs are not fully formed to the end of the ear and there are gaps of kernels. I had about 4 ears that were almost filled out to the end. What causes this?

Be aware of what's in your graden..

cweick — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 13:08:41 GMT

Well it's been dry and then the rain set in. So the 1st two picking of beans were needless to say and lack of better words tough. Then with the set on rain, P2 got another picking on his 4H garden project. Well we all decided to pull the plant up and pick, give to cow the stems and stalks. Well getting to the very last hand full and thank GOD my dad pulled the last bean plant up ALONG with a snake. How nobody got bite is beyond my understanding. So when working in tall beans or other veggies in the garden watch where you put you hand, you may find something other then an ant.

Hornbeam silage

amelio — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 15:34:14 GMT

This weekend i cleared woodland with still green leaves on hornbeam and common maple, because our little son wants to grow giant pumpkins on this speck.

I chiped the branches up to halfinch with my old MTD Chopper.

"This mix of Chipwood and leaves is so beautiful, that it is a must to silage it!"

So i added Fe2SO4 and citric acid while pressing it into a rain barrel.

In November i will put it into another rain butt and buckets with lactic bacteria from Addcon added and calcium benzoate...(additives against fungi from Addcon)

I´m so happy that Addcon Green Chemistry supports my tries...

Practicle Weed Management in Row Crops

JohnnyAd — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 11:33:55 GMT

I hate weeds. I bet every grower does. I had my field cleared and expanded with a literal bulldozer and a short time later it was all full of grass again. The whole thing looks like a lawn in a matter of months.

I am going to plow and till this fall and again in the spring but for a large corn planting on one part and pumpkins on another. Does anyone have any suggestions on keeping grass GONE!?!?!?

manure silage

amelio — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 07:17:25 GMT

Now i make weedsilage again: Reynoutria japonica (Fallopia japonica) mixed with Solidago canadensis pressed in covered buckets for 4 weeks.

I also press chicken dung with chipwood in a bucket with 1 Vol.-% Fe2SO4 for 2 weeks and than for another 2 weeks with dry citric acid inbetween.

After 4 weeks i will mix the weedsilage with the nice-smelling dung and press it again in covered buckets for several month.

To get minerals into the manure silage, it can be mixed with boiler sand, fly ash, lime or bentonite before bringing out.

Not a drop of rain in sight

Farmermom — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 15:29:59 GMT

We had a shower this morning that didn't amount to squat so I've got the timer on the sprinkler out in the garden and am hoping that 2 1/2 hours gives it a good enough soaking for tonight.

Have got to say though that the blank itty blank zucchini are liking all this heat & humidity, I'm going to have to break out the grinder later and get at least 4 ground & in the freezer.

Hoping that by monday or tuesday it will be cool enough I can finish picking the peas & greenbeans and get the fall crop of peas planted.

Back to Eden Gardening

greglamp — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 13:57:16 GMT

A friend passed this film to us and we watched it and we are changing our entire gardening approach. To state it in the simplest form, it is gardening using heavy mulch and no tilling.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

www.backtoedenfilm.com

We watched the first 30 minutes one night and talked about it, we thought it was a crazy idea that would never work and came up with all kinds of problems with it. Then we finished the film the next day and all our questions were answered.

Also, they are not trying to sell anything (unless you want to get a hard copy of the film). They are just trying to get the word out about a more natural way to garden.

Fall onions

av8rwife — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 11:28:46 GMT

Will onions grow as a fall crop like radishes and carrots?

What plants can be put into the garden now?

NEAlaMADhouse — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 19:53:35 GMT

I had mixed results with my summer garden this year - tomatoes, potatoes, lettuce, and cabbage did well but squash, peppers and onions didn't do well at all.

Now we are fighting drought, but I would still like to try a fall garden. Any ideas?

Dark lines in tomatoes

av8rwife — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 06:04:18 GMT

My tomatoes have dark lines on the top half near the stem. They almost look like cracks. Does anybody know what causes this?