Posted on 03/04/2011 5:04:58 AM PST by Red_Devil 232
Good morning gardeners. It is finally March and in Central Mississippi it has come in like a Lamb so far, does that mean it will go out like a Lion?
People used to believe that bad spirits could affect the weather adversely, so they were cautious as to what they did or did not do in certain situations. Those beliefs often included ideas that there should be a balance in weather and life. So, if a month came in bad (like a lion), it should go out good and calm (like a lamb).
I am still waiting for my tomato seeds to germinate. I am not worried about them yet as they take 14 – 21 days. A couple of my squash seeds have sprouted. Time to get the garden ready and my soil tested. The testing only costs $6.00 at the county extension. Regular tests include: pH, Lime Requirement, Phosphorus, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc, and Sodium.
If you are a gardener or you are just starting out and are in need of advice or just encouragement please feel free to join in and enjoy the friendly discussion. Our Freeper community is full of gardeners, each with varying interests and skill levels from Master Gardener to novice.
The basic plan is to plant root crops (say, rutabaga), edible stem-bodied plants (like broccoli) and fruiting veggies (we'll say peppers) in three groupings. Group one would be planted according to the signs and group two would be planted in the least auspicious phase of the moon. Group three would be the control. Data kept would include growth rates, flowering, harvest amount and weights and general appearance, flavor and seed germination rates in the next generation.
Anybody have experience with this stuff? Anyone believe in sign planting - and why?
I'm not being critical of these beliefs, but we are interested in using the scientific method to obtain factual data. What data we obtain may, or may not, support sign planting as folklore.
Anything you can share would be most welcome and probably make up part of the final presentation.
P.S. The old Foxfire books have a terrific treatment of this stuff by old mountain folks showing and telling. Unfortunately, that generation is now largely passed. If you're a believer, we'd like to hear from you via FReepmail of a posting.
Thanks,
WCF and blood kin
All those recipes should serve an inspiration until harvest time arrives.
You do NOT want to get caught on I-90 east of Rapid in a high-plains blizzard...
We already had that pleasure 3 winters ago ... not fun. It must take some seriously bad weather for them (SD) to put the gates down on the freeway ... Idaho pulls the plug much quicker than that (saving us southerners from ourselves).
Same for me. Potatoes and onions are big crops around here. Carrots are pretty cheap, especially at Sam's club. Plus they store REALLY well.
I can't see bothering with produce which is not cost effective to grow. There are other veggies which are far better fresh and save a lot more money for the garden space they take up.
I do tomatoes, peppers, beans, zucchini, scallions, and lettuce, and I'm going to try beets this year, since they are not cheap and I can eat them. I also grow snow peas since they can easily grow up a fence and thus take up very little garden space. They are mostly for snacking on for a little variety.
Thanks for all the info!!!! I read your post to hubby and now I think he wants to add the taters to the list.
thanks for the tips. We’ve been looking through the stacks of catalogs I have and may drop by the garden center when we are out tomorrow.
We still have a bit of time before we will start putting anything into the ground yet!
LOL! You and me and the beets :)
I’m like you about the cost effectiveness of what I’m going to grow. Ease of dealing with is another consideration. For that reason hubby has been making noises about not doing peas this year, unless they’re some kind of bush variety. He’d rather limas and/or green beans for pole beans.
We concocted 4 “bean poles” from what we had laying around after taking down the swing set. We based them on the pictures in the seed catalogs for the setups they what 20+ bucks a piece for!!!!
My wife has a basic knowledge of Solar planting seasons because she has witches in her past. I’ll try to have a seance with her and get back to you...
Thanks for the nice comments folks! To answer your questions, I’m in Southwest Washington just across the Columbia River from Portland, Oregon. We usually have pretty mild winters here and it rarely gets below freezing for any significant length of time.
The coop design is my own. I looked online quite a bit for ideas and guidelines and ended up designing as I went. I have a large sketchbook and another that is large sheets of graph paper, 1/4” graduations. It makes drawing something like this a lot simpler; all I need is a couple of sharp pencils and a good straightedge. I built it in my head for a couple of months before I ever got started and drew it all out as I went. I even made my own plexiglass windows.
I provided 4 square feet of coop space per bird, and 10 square feet of covered run space per bird. Each bird in the coop needs 2 square feet of ventilation, and three windows exceed that. I also have passive ventilation so no matter what, there is air turnover inside. Those are the essential design guidelines....just figure out how big of a flock you want then build accordingly.
The run has a cubic yard of coarse gravel in it covered by 1 1/2 yards of coarse building sand. The run stays dry and in the winter months I throw some straw in there too and the girls like to nestle in it during the day.
Our City has an “Urban Livestock” Ordinance that was adopted some time ago that permits five laying hens per resident. I feel fortunate because a couple of other cities in the area are trying to write their own Ordinances, but it is more of an exercise in how much they can make issuing permits per chicken, how often to inspect people’s coops and generally intrude where they are not welcome, wanted or needed.
I was out turning my compost bin today and adding the week’s coffee grounds, and of course the girls pay close attention. I have to keep the bin fenced so the girls don’t gorge themselves on all the redworms in there. I just put 2000 red wigglers in there a month ago, and I want them eating compost, not feeding chickens.
I turned up an enormous fat nightcrawler today. That sucker had to be 10” long, easy. I turned around with it in my hand and I was mobbed by greedy chooks. One jumped up and snatched that worm out of my hand, and a chicken scrum ensued. The one that grabbed the worm first took off running, and another cut her off and snatched the worm away, then another snatched it from her. Everyone had the worm at one time or another and it kept getting shorter every time. It lasted all of 10 seconds, and everyone got a bite of it by the time it was done....
Well the resident witch wasn’t as much help as I had hoped but the grist is plant underground root crops on the waning and dark of the moon and above ground fruiting plants on the waxing and the full moon. I just gave my Foxfire books to the cancer thrift store along with all my homesteader and how to do it books...
Thank you surfer, I’ve put the address in my computer and will contact him after I talk with some folks here about using that format for a community garden and one for the high school. I really appreciate your helping me (us), because this community really needs something to help some folks. Actually, I’m more interested in beginning a “Farmers Market” with expansion in mind, but to get it, we need to start with the basics..veggies and fruit..then build from there.
How is hubby progressing, aftr? We keep you in our prayers, for strength and hubby for complete healing.
I’ll look for those. I know the school here has “heritage” tomatoes, so I’ll ask for the yellow Brandywine tomatoes.
I’ve been told not to plant tomatoes, yet, it’s too early for here. Thanks Arrowhead.
Ah, you poor dear. I love the snow though. I remember, when I was stationed in Germany, we had ice in our “alley” from October until mid April. My gardening neighbor was not a happy camper.
Do a Google Search. The parts are available.
Are the lavendar plants you’re growing, the English plants? I wouldn’t know a lavendar plant if I was standing next to one, but love the smell. We live in central Texas and I keep thinking of growing a low hedge of lavendar along the front of our property facing the golf course, hopefully they’ll hide the balls, lost by those chipping up on the 3rd green.
I’ve planted garlic with my cabbage and onions under hay and leaves, hoping they’ll pop up. I’ve also planted some with my weeping rose to keep away black spot.
Plastic sifters?
OH, I’ll have to dust off the mud from my potaotes, no wonder they are now showing their pretty little leaves. I have the “buds” buried. Thank you for the information.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.