Guard Dog or Guard Chicken?

This was sent in by our very own member of the Grow Dat Nation (Redleg) and I had to share with everyone. 

Oy!

Happy High Holy days to the Grow Dat Nation Members of the Tribe and happy Friday to our goy (Yiddish for someone not Jewish...don't worry, nobody is perfect) counterparts!


                               

Slowly and Steady

Cucumbers

Freshly planted Kale and Chard

 

  

Kentucky pole beans growing on the trellis

Summer squash

Chard, Radishes, Dill and Carrots

Kidney Beans

    

What's Growing in the Garden

I removed and added some veggies yesterday so I thought I would give an update as to what is currently planted.  I haven't had much luck with the legumes, specifically the soy beans and filet beans so I either planted something else in their place or I'm going to in the near future. One soy bean plant is hanging tough...hangin' tough (an homage to Kelly and her obsession with NKOTB).  The yellow and red chard is doing well, but the Bright Lights variety is struggling.


On Sunday I transplanted 7 broccoli plants which I bought (okay, my mom bought) at the farmer's market in Jackson, MS.  I added them to the box with the squash.


On Monday, I planted more Dinosaur Kale, Georgia Collard Greens, swiss chard (red, yellow, & Bright Lights). I also planted 2 squares of dill, which I will use when I pickle the cucumbers and pole beans, and 3 squares of radishes (48 total--16 Ruby Red and 32 Valentine's Day mix).  Radishes are very quick growers so hopefully in 1 month I'll be posting pictures of me pulling my first veggies out and then frantically running around trying to figure out what the hell to do with 48 radishes.  Any suggestions/recipes? Don't be afraid to leave a comment...in fact, you would be the first commenter in the short history of the Grow Dat blog and in turn would be the winner of a bag full of radishes.   


23-Aug-2010 (mind the date format Commander Flatus): planted 8 cucumbers (4 squares), 16 carrots (1 sq) and 1 summer squash (9 squares).  


24-Aug-2010: planted 8 squares of kidney beans (1 per sq) and 2 more squares of Kentucky pole beans.  


I'm trying to stagger the planting dates so I don't have an abundance of vegetables ripe for the picking at the same time.  


Future plans include beets, garlic, cauliflower, more broccoli, and a 4'x8' bed devoted entirely to greens.


I attached the following diagrams because 1) you can't really tell what's what with a picture quite yet since everything is just starting to sprout, 2) to show you what I've been using to keep up with what I've planted and what I plan on planting and 3) to give an easy overview of everything planted to date.  It's just a simple table made in Word.  Don't worry, I'll attach some new photos soon.  For the time being, use the photo at the top of the blog page for a reference as to where everything is planted.

North
This is the bed on the far right.

North
3rd bed from the right.

North
4th bed from the right.

FDA warning

My workmates were bored one Friday when I was out of town and posted this on my door.  I can't figure out why there has been a sudden decline in my egg sales.  Have a good weekend.

  

Irrigation

I decided an irrigation system would be fun. One of the main reasons I have built these gardens is to try and learn the most efficient and affordable methods for putting food on the table. If I can effectively learn how to grow in raised beds/SFGs, then I can start bringing this expertise into the community to help establish neighborhood gardens. With that being said, an irrigation system could serve as an integral part of the raised bed community gardens.

We originally used soaker hose when we planted this year's crop in the ground, but eventually ran into some problems. The soaker hose we used was cheap and had an affinity for springing leaks. Easy to repair, but annoying because the line was buried under ground. I also felt like the amount of water dispersed was inconsistent with some areas being saturated while others were arid. Below are some photos of the project.

We used these stakes to keep the hose in place, but the only reason I'm showing this picture is because of Grant's commitment to showing the significance of this crucial step. As is clearly evident, he is very serious about soaker hose stakes.

Nonetheless, it served its purpose, but I wanted to play with a more sophisticated and sexier watering system.

There are numerous variations to drip irrigation systems. I just had to jump off the deep end knowing that adjustments will have to be made along the way. I went to the local irrigation/landscaping store and picked their brains, well not literally as that could have been slightly awkward. They were very patient and helped me design my kit. Instead of using soaker hose, I opted to use 360 degree emitters on 6" stakes. After plugging and playing, I found that 1 emitter covered 4 squares well. The setup was fairly straight forward:

1. An adapter to connect the spigot to the 1/2" hose
2. 1/2" hose running to the garden
3. T-connector to run 1/2" hose to the beds
4. 1/4" hose running from 1/2" hose to the emitters in the beds

Pictures might explain better:

The black hose is the 1/2" line running from the spigot to the beds.

New raised beds

For years now I’ve been reading about Mel Bartholomew’s concept of Square Foot Gardening and, seeing as how we want to promote urban ag, this appears to be the most feasible option.This method provides flexibility based on the space you have available to grow crops. My brother-in-law and fam. built a great raised bed in their garden last year. It was 2’x4’ with a bottom and was raised on almost 5’ legs so no one had to bend over. It was hugely successful and the kids loved bringing food in from their garden. So for the past couple of weeks I have been preparing my new raised beds. In total, I’m going to have 5 beds—3 4x8x8 and 2 4x4x8.

I ended up laying out weed blocker first and then putting the beds on top and then adding hay. Not only does this look tidy but this should theoretically solve the weed conundrum. I also put a 3' fence around the perimeter to allow for the chickens to still roam around the yard without destroying the beds. Nothing gives me more pleasure than working in my garden while the chickens run around scavenging for bugs and getting stung by yellow jackets. I used hog panels that were sitting around the yard and then synthetic chicken fence to finish it. I even rigged a little gate. Well worth the time and expense.

My plans for the new beds are as follows:

Bed 1 (4'x4')

· Garlic—8 to 12 cloves per square ft for a total of 128 to 192 . Galrlic is planted when the kids go back to school (normally Sept. but I’m shooting for Oct) and is harvested when school lets out in May. This is why I’m planting on the far bed so I can just plant it and forget it.

Bed 2 (8'x4')

· Kentucky pole beans—8 per sq ft for a total of 32 plants. These will be trellised

· Shirofumi soy beans—a.k.a. edamame. 2 plants per sq ft for 8 total plants

· Basil—2 purple & 2 sweet basil

· Dinosaur Kale—1/sq ft (4 total)

· Georgia Collard Greens—1/sq ft (4 total)

· Swiss chard—4/sq ft (8 Bright Lights; 4 Red; 4 Yellow)

· Carrots

· Beets

· Radishes

Bed 3 (8'x4')

· More of the same

· Broccoli (only when it gets cold…broccoli does not do well with heat)

Bed 4 (8'x4')

This is going to be my dedicated salad/greens bed. Greens grow really well in New Orleans in the fall and winter so I’m planning on this bed being fairly productive.

Bed 5 (4'x4')

· Summer squash—1/9 sq ft

Pictures of the process:

1. Nothing like some fresh chicken poo to get the beds ready for the new crop

2. I amended the soil with my own compost and the chickens are helping mix it all together

Taken from my shower.

This gives you a good idea what I mean with the squares. For example, the first 4 squares each have 8 Kentucky pole beans planted.