Starting a garden with a chainsaw (pictorial)

Jeff · May 25, 2008, 11:37:10 PM

Mel Bartholomew, yep, thats what I've been reading.

I even used his planting mixture recipe for soil.

zopi · May 26, 2008, 12:15:15 AM

His book is about three feet away...keep it in my bedside table...I don't do the square foot thing, more along the lines of French intensive..I'm a big fan of Permaculture too..

Engineer · May 27, 2008, 11:11:06 AM

The Square Foot Gardening method is all I've used for the past 10 years. My parents adopted it about four years ago after 40 years of "flat" gardening, and they've doubled their yield in half the space. I have a small Mantis tiller that I use to stir fresh compost into each bed every spring.

I just sorted out my "junk lumber" pile this weekend looking for new box material. I usually use 5/4 pine, and replace the boxes every 3-4 years.

Jeff · July 25, 2008, 07:12:27 PM

Digital cameras are amazing. Mine even helps weed my garden. I just went and did it, took these photos and saw some big old weeds in the photos that I've been apparently missing. :D

WH_Conley · July 25, 2008, 09:03:07 PM

Just send those big old weed in the first photo my way, I'll show you what to do wit them. ;D

SwampDonkey · July 26, 2008, 04:17:48 AM

Nice garden Jeff. The peppers seem to be fruiting well and lots of blossoms on those cukes. Any troubles with cuke leaf beetles?

Don P · July 26, 2008, 08:05:16 AM

Quote from: zopi on May 25, 2008, 11:34:47 PM
Mel Bartholomew is proud of you guys..lol

I've got an eighth of an acre plus a couple of beds planted..everything from the standard
corn beans and squash to Japanese soybeans, beets and asparagus and (count 'em) five
varieties of potatoes...and the garden is expanding..we're thinking of a tropical hothouse
heated and cooled by a rudimentary ground source heat pump...the idea of fresh veggies yar around appeals...and probably a big tank of tilapia for good measure...

When Michelle worked at State some years ago one of the projects she maintained was a grad student's experimental greenhouse. They had dug pools beneath the floor lined with plastic. The garden above consisted of benches with slightly inclined bottoms filled with sand. Tilapia lived under floor grates in the pools and provided fertilizer for the vegetables above. The water from the pools was pumped up to the sand beds watering and fertilizing the plants. The plants cleaned up the water. It worked pretty well for the couple of years she worked on it. Those tilapia are tough to kill :D, pretty tasty too. It was designed for arid third world countries but with a biomizer hooked to the pool could probably work up north pretty well.

Jeff · August 18, 2008, 02:10:35 PM

This is starting to be all worthwhile.

digin_2

OneWithWood · August 18, 2008, 02:11:27 PM

Mmm, Mmmm, good 8)

Jeff · August 18, 2008, 02:13:51 PM

It really was. Hillbilly wholewheat bread, and bacon cooked on the grill with just a dab of Mayo. By the way, I call these TLB's Not BLT's, just to aggravate the Wildflower. ;D

OneWithWood · August 18, 2008, 02:16:43 PM

You just like gettin' thumped :D

I see your feeling a lot better. Glad for that.

pigman · August 18, 2008, 02:32:49 PM

I see it was Jeff's turn to do the dishes.

Jeff · August 18, 2008, 02:36:42 PM

Its never my turn unless I'm by myself. We have an arrangement. I do all the cooking, she does the clean-up. She doesnt like to cook or plan meals, I do.

beenthere · August 18, 2008, 04:26:36 PM

Quote from: Jeff on August 18, 2008, 02:13:51 PM
It really was. Hillbilly wholewheat bread, and bacon cooked on the grill with just a dab of Mayo. By the way, I call these TLB's Not BLT's, just to aggravate the Wildflower. ;D

TLB like in Tractor Loader Backhoe??

Looks like some white oak leaves in der... ;D

Gary_C · August 18, 2008, 04:31:20 PM

I had exactly the same thing last night with some of our fresh Roma tomatos from the garden. Only problem was I am supposed to be on a low salt diet and that DanG bacon was so salty I could not eat it.

WDH · August 18, 2008, 04:44:15 PM

Quote from: beenthere on August 18, 2008, 04:26:36 PM

Looks like some white oak leaves in der... ;D

Yes, Beenthere, I agree. More like post oak. Notice the lower leaf in the pic is distinctly cross-shaped................Of course, post oak is a white oak ;D :D.

Norm · August 18, 2008, 04:57:20 PM

Patty and I have the same arrangement Jeff. I hate doing dishes so if I'm home by myself I make sure what I cook uses as few dishes as possible. :D

I love cooked tomatoes but the raw ones are just awful. I told myself I just wasn't giving them a fair chance so when Patty was eating them like candy I popped one in my mouth.....yuck!

We're gearing up for Charlie's famous salsa as soon as we have a big batch of ripe ones ready.

Jeff · August 18, 2008, 05:35:07 PM

Our Romas are really good, problem is they get ripe one or two at a time and are smallish and we have been eating them quicker then they ripen and I aint getting enough at once to make anything with. I see days coming though where I will be able to. The "grape" tomatoes are really coming on.

OneWithWood · August 18, 2008, 08:01:26 PM

Those Romas make the best sauces.

Burlkraft · August 18, 2008, 10:11:26 PM

Hey Gary,

You better stay away from that salt :-\ :-\

I been eatin' 'em with my venison bacon. That was made smoked and not brined.

It's good and good for you.

Glad to see yer feelin' good.........you too Jeffery ;D ;D

SwampDonkey · August 19, 2008, 06:15:11 AM

What I used to do with tomatoes if they have heavy foliage, was to prune back the leaves and then the fruit would come on quicker. Your plants look well balanced though Jeff, so only a matter of time.

We grew mostly Beefsteak here, but we liked Siberian as well, but you can't buy Siberian here anymore. It was an early tomato of medium size. Often my garden would be full of "volunteer" tomatoes that seeded down the season before. They would catch up to the greenhouse started tomatoes. More Weeds!!! :D