It's planting season!

[fronobulax]

Thinking about garlic. I missed our November plant time. Since it needs a long time in cold ground (which I didn't know was the reason for November planting), I wonder if I could use a container with a lid, fill it with dirt, stick some garlic in, and keep it in the fridge for two or three months, then plant outside or in a pot. Do I even need the dirt? Could I just keep it in the fridge for a while then plant? Maybe I'll try both and see if either will work.

IIRC there are some bulbs that need to be frozen before they will bloom again and the growing instructions for temperate climates are to stick them in the freezer for a while. Seems to me all you needed to freeze was the bulb and not any associated soil. Sounds like you are on the right track.

 

[JohnW63]

Opsimath,

It all depends on what we can keep alive and producing. If we got a bumper crop out of all 14, we'd have to give stuff way. The first year was best. Now we have installed PVC piping and micro lines to sections of the beds so we can control the water better and more consistently.

 

[Opsimath]

Opsimath,

It all depends on what we can keep alive and producing. If we got a bumper crop out of all 14, we'd have to give stuff way. The first year was best. Now we have installed PVC piping and micro lines to sections of the beds so we can control the water better and more consistently.

I hope to have to give stuff away. At some point I want to put in irrigation, but that will be later on, maybe even a year or more. The spot I plan to soon clear out, what I call "my" spot is near the barn. It's only about 25x30 feet now but could be pushed out a little with a bit of work. I'm at the barn twice a day so can monitor what's going on. It has 3 or 4 layers of "barn findings" (horse and cow manure, stall shavings, and feed bag paper) that have made very dark loose dirt. It looks promising. Once I get the light back in there I'm hoping it will produce well.

And a fence. Those rabbits I see hopping around will not be munching my carrots this go round. And no more earthworms for those blasted armadillos.

Anyway, hoping to turn my black thumbs of certain plant death into something with a bit of a greenish tint.

Wishing you great success this season. May you have to give stuff away!

 

[Nuuska]

I'd LOVE to have an armadillo in my garden - I've never seen one . . .

 

[JohnW63]

Opsimath,

Word from those that have been there. Rabbits can hop through chainlink fence like it's not there. We had to put a layer of chicken wire around out fenced in garden. Just a couple feet up, not the whole 5 foot height.

"that have made very dark loose dirt "

I'm green with envy. We had to have a dump truck with soil come in to have something good enough to start with. It's too dry and hot to really compost. We'd have to have a sprinkler just for a compost heap. Those black plastic barrels you roll the stuff around in would cook it in the summer.

 

[Opsimath]

I'd LOVE to have an armadillo in my garden - I've never seen one . . .

You are more than welcome to all of them around here! Just so you know, a couple years ago they would come in and dig for my earthworms and dig up the plants. I lost count of how many times I replanted the sweet potatoes. They made potatoes only about the size of French fries, and that was the year I had planted purple as well as orange. Very disappointing.

Armadillos are not my friends!

 

[JohnW63]

They would need a big sweater to hang out in Finland.

 

[gjmalcyon]

You are more than welcome to all of them around here! Just so you know, a couple years ago they would come in and dig for my earthworms and dig up the plants. I lost count of how many times I replanted the sweet potatoes. They made potatoes only about the size of French fries, and that was the year I had planted purple as well as orange. Very disappointing.

Armadillos are not my friends!

When the effin' tree rats (aka gray squirrels) were avidly hunting my tulip bulbs, I re-planted by flower beds with fresh bulbs, laid chicken wire down on top of the soil and covered with mulch. Stopped them from digging.

You'd have to pull it up to get at your potatoes, though.

 

[Opsimath]

Opsimath,

Word from those that have been there. Rabbits can hop through chainlink fence like it's not there. We had to put a layer of chicken wire around out fenced in garden. Just a couple feet up, not the whole 5 foot height.

"that have made very dark loose dirt "

I'm green with envy. We had to have a dump truck with soil come in to have something good enough to start with. It's too dry and hot to really compost. We'd have to have a sprinkler just for a compost heap. Those black plastic barrels you roll the stuff around in would cook it in the summer.

So hot the compost would cook? That's hot!!

Yes I know rabbits can squeeze through small spaces. I've had my fencing for a while, forgot what I ended up buying - not chain link - but I also picked up some stuff to attach low on the fence, probably with zip ties, and then spread out a bit on the ground, anchor with landscaping pins and then cover with dirt. Hoping that will keep anything from digging under the fence.

Or I could just set land mines around the perimeter.

A dump truck with dirt would have been easier. Every layer of barn findings I put in the garden consisted of placing 6 layers of feed bag paper (encourages worms, discourages weeds) and then dumping and spreading the barn goodies on top of that, and I put those down pretty thick. To cover the entire garden spot once took 6 weeks or so working on it about an hour in the mornings, 5 or 6 days a week. I did the whole spot 3 times then the 4th time added more just to the low side so that didn't take as long. I think it's fairly level now.

Just need to get the trees down and the fence up and I'll be ready to get some seeds and/or plants into that new dirt.