Just empty the paper shredder at the office once a season,.. great compost accelerator.
How many grow gardens?
- Thread starter Mike Zierath
- Start date
You bet. Just so you know it takes a while, perhaps one growing season. Make sure there is good aeration.
Yeah, I’m adding shredded paper from the office about every other week or so. Maybe every three. Coffee grounds, vegetable scraps, shredded cardboard, fruit scraps, some torn up bread that went out of date, some yard waste collected when mowing (from the neighbor).
will add the accelerator notes and see if that helps speed things up. It’s a tumbler compost bin, only working on one side right now. When it gets about 2/3 full, I’m gonna start filling the other side as well.
Z
As long as it's organic it will break down. Paper is mainly cellulose so should be easy.
For stewed tomatoes, I use primarily Big Boy, Better Boy, and Celebrity
Up here in NW Iowa the garden season has been fairly disastrous for me.
I had ankle/foot surgery on March 15. I have been non-weight bearing until last week.
So I got off to a horrible start.
Could not plant early crops potatoes,onions,spinach and lettuce til late May.
Cold April and May put me behind.
Did get 28 tomatoes and 14 pepper, bell and hot.
My beans and peas and flowers are under severe rabbit attacks nightly.
These rabbits have become more voracious the last couple of years.
I shoot them as much as possible but they breed...you know.
I have spent much time erecting security chicken wire fences around crops. Frustrating as hell.
I had ankle/foot surgery on March 15. I have been non-weight bearing until last week.
So I got off to a horrible start.
Could not plant early crops potatoes,onions,spinach and lettuce til late May.
Cold April and May put me behind.
Did get 28 tomatoes and 14 pepper, bell and hot.
My beans and peas and flowers are under severe rabbit attacks nightly.
These rabbits have become more voracious the last couple of years.
I shoot them as much as possible but they breed...you know.
I have spent much time erecting security chicken wire fences around crops. Frustrating as hell.
Tomatos
Not directed at you just reading about tomatoes and potatoes reminded me of the infamous "potato(e)" gaffe.
I like Better Boy and Big Boy and Early Girl because they are good tasting, nice round tomatoes and easy to process for canning or juicing.
I had an Ash tree planted 30 years ago, and for the past several years I have been paying to have it treated every other year. I wish the Nursery had not recommended it, mostly because it drops sticks on a regular bases. Arrrrrg!
Here are some photos of Ash Borers. There are also some photos of my pumpkin patch, sunflower patch, and sorghum patch.
Where I live (the Southwood planned community in Tallahassee) we have big houses and tiny lots for the most part so we’re not allowed real gardens planted into the ground but I make due with 5 hashtag copyright “Earthboxes” trademark, a large three level herb garden with spots big enough for 7 different bunches of herbs, and dozens of regular pots (some of which are succulent gardens for show or orchids but most are other herbs).
To picture my space, I have a decent sized two story house built into a hill where my front door is level with the crest of the hill but the back door/really the main entrance (insert comedian eel pic here) is a full story and half above the ground where the garage is located. So in between the garage I have two wooden decks/patios, the first is uncovered and to the left of the staircase about half a story above the ground. I use that as my outdoor cooking space with my vertical pellet smoker and my four in one grill next to it (charcoal grill and gas grill connected in the center with a stick burner smoker box to the left of the charcoal grill and a gas stovetop burner to the right of the gas grill). I only keep a teak bench and some teak lawn chairs on that level with the outdoor Cooking equipment.
The second deck/patio is to the right of the staircase and is twice as big with half of it covered with a see-through acrylic roof and an outdoor ceiling fan and smart with an area big enough for a full length outdoor couch, a coffee table and two outdoor chairs (when I have a lot of people over I move that to the garage and get a foldout table with eight foldout chairs). In the uncovered half of the top deck I have an outdoor metal table with six metal chairs as well as a big deck box for storage and on that table when not entertaining I stack up the three level herb garden and a bunch of pots.
At the base of the one and half story deck and somewhat in between the garage and that deck I stack up the five Earthboxes and add some additional pots.
What I’m growing currently in the Earthboxes are three boxes (12 plants total) of various hot peppers. I’m currently growing 2 Datils, 2 Shishitos, 2 Habaneros, a prolific jalapeno cultivar, 2 Malawi Picquantes (the pepper used to make Peppadews), 2 Aji Charapitas and a Brazilian Starfish pepper. I’ve also got 2 more Habaneros and 2 Peachadew Peppers growing in other pots. The other 2 Earthboxes have two Casper Eggplants each at the moment.
In the 3 level herb garden I’m growing, two separate bunches of Sweet Italian Basil, a bunch of English Thyme, a bunch of French Tarragon, a bunch of Italian Oregano, a bunch of Syrian Oregano, and some green sage. In pots, I have three different colored varieties of sage, watercress, French Sorrrel, Tuscan Blue rosemary, prostrat Rosemary, garlic chives, onion chives, Kentucky Colonel Mint and Moroccan Mint.
To picture my space, I have a decent sized two story house built into a hill where my front door is level with the crest of the hill but the back door/really the main entrance (insert comedian eel pic here) is a full story and half above the ground where the garage is located. So in between the garage I have two wooden decks/patios, the first is uncovered and to the left of the staircase about half a story above the ground. I use that as my outdoor cooking space with my vertical pellet smoker and my four in one grill next to it (charcoal grill and gas grill connected in the center with a stick burner smoker box to the left of the charcoal grill and a gas stovetop burner to the right of the gas grill). I only keep a teak bench and some teak lawn chairs on that level with the outdoor Cooking equipment.
The second deck/patio is to the right of the staircase and is twice as big with half of it covered with a see-through acrylic roof and an outdoor ceiling fan and smart with an area big enough for a full length outdoor couch, a coffee table and two outdoor chairs (when I have a lot of people over I move that to the garage and get a foldout table with eight foldout chairs). In the uncovered half of the top deck I have an outdoor metal table with six metal chairs as well as a big deck box for storage and on that table when not entertaining I stack up the three level herb garden and a bunch of pots.
At the base of the one and half story deck and somewhat in between the garage and that deck I stack up the five Earthboxes and add some additional pots.
What I’m growing currently in the Earthboxes are three boxes (12 plants total) of various hot peppers. I’m currently growing 2 Datils, 2 Shishitos, 2 Habaneros, a prolific jalapeno cultivar, 2 Malawi Picquantes (the pepper used to make Peppadews), 2 Aji Charapitas and a Brazilian Starfish pepper. I’ve also got 2 more Habaneros and 2 Peachadew Peppers growing in other pots. The other 2 Earthboxes have two Casper Eggplants each at the moment.
In the 3 level herb garden I’m growing, two separate bunches of Sweet Italian Basil, a bunch of English Thyme, a bunch of French Tarragon, a bunch of Italian Oregano, a bunch of Syrian Oregano, and some green sage. In pots, I have three different colored varieties of sage, watercress, French Sorrrel, Tuscan Blue rosemary, prostrat Rosemary, garlic chives, onion chives, Kentucky Colonel Mint and Moroccan Mint.
Yep, we have a huge garden. I just built my first Hugelkultur garden this spring and put a variety of vegetables on that, so far they are looking great.
Our 70ish tomato plants are looking great, we already have a dozen or so good sized tomatoes. The bush beans and sweet corn not looking so great. Pole beans are doing well. We tried a couple different techniques with our potatoes, we planted around 30, most of those are growing well.
Our summer squash and zucchini look good so far, but last year they got destroyed by cucumber beetles. Same with our cucumbers. The pumpkins and gourds look good so far as well.
We have some watermelon and cantaloupe
growing, hopefully they produce this year.
We’ve had good harvests of radishes, lettuce, spinach, kohlrabi, and peas so far this year.
So far so good this year!
Our 70ish tomato plants are looking great, we already have a dozen or so good sized tomatoes. The bush beans and sweet corn not looking so great. Pole beans are doing well. We tried a couple different techniques with our potatoes, we planted around 30, most of those are growing well.
Our summer squash and zucchini look good so far, but last year they got destroyed by cucumber beetles. Same with our cucumbers. The pumpkins and gourds look good so far as well.
We have some watermelon and cantaloupe
growing, hopefully they produce this year.
We’ve had good harvests of radishes, lettuce, spinach, kohlrabi, and peas so far this year.
So far so good this year!
Well, our doe took out the cucumber plants that had just started to grow. She hasn’t taken out the peppers or tomatoes, yet. She comes by every evening, which has led to a few comical interactions with the dog.
I grew several cherry tomato plants in containers a couple of years ago, but the fruits were sparse and never seemed to mature and ripen.
I mentioned it to my wife (no pics) and then a few days later she sent me a video of a couple of deer feasting on the plants early in the morning. That was the last gardening I've done, I'm not a grocery store for those 4 legged assholes.
Gardening season is just about over here at Tradition Manor. I have a few tomatoes waiting to ripen, but everything is mostly done at this point.
I'm trying sweet potatoes this year (one of the few things you can grow across the summer down here).
In the fall, we'll do a second round of tomatoes, cukes and green beans, and also do things that can overwinter down here (onions, broccoli, strawberries, etc.).
I'm trying sweet potatoes this year (one of the few things you can grow across the summer down here).
In the fall, we'll do a second round of tomatoes, cukes and green beans, and also do things that can overwinter down here (onions, broccoli, strawberries, etc.).
Deer got a tomato and pepper plant last nite
Shot 3 rabbits in last 2 days....this is war!
Shot 3 rabbits in last 2 days....this is war!
My father also built a small greenhouse. Probably 16’ x 20’. He puts tomatoes in the greenhouse in March and then fresh tomatoes in mid June
