when i got home i arrived with another pear tree. even though our first pear tree alleges self pollination they do better in pears. we quickly transitioned to gardening mode. i started my tiller and masticated the lower half of the garden. there was a partial cover crop of turnips that got munched into the soil. i am so pleased with our tiller. i read about no-till methods and rest happily in my chosen gardening method. i like to see the dirt. i like marching through the deep loamy soil that we have created over the past few years.
i also arrived with new soaker hoses. our old ones are starting to give up the ghost. i am trying a new technology. these hoses have a lifetime satisfaction guarantee. they are made by gilmour and employ a fire-hose style technology. they are stitched into a flat ribbon. the water weeps from the stitches. i am already very happy. they were a breeze to set-up and i can see that they will tear down and store much better than our hard rubber versions that are slowly dying.
we also scouted the new tree locations. while in the orchard tabitha trimmed one of the apple trees. i hung a bar of lye soap over the peach tree trunk. this should coat the trunk during rains and deter insects that might like to eat my peaches before i can.
we have decided to replace the coral cattle panels with goat panels. no we are not getting goats again. we want to see if we can keep the chickens in the lower paddock. we really like letting them out to be happy chickens but once the spring garden is in they must stay out of it. i know people swear that their chickens are the biggest garden help eating bugs and stuff. we have not had that experience. they like tomatoes and that won't do.
our winter wheat is up and is very pleasing to see.
this will get tilled in as green manure just before we plant in this area.
tomorrow will be potatoes and pear trees.
4 comments:
I love the chickens roaming around too but last year they ate all the spinach seed I had planted and then started on the peas. So they spend the summer in a tractor that we move over dormant parts of our garden.
Oh, can you give more info on that new garden hose? Perhaps have Tabitha link to it on Amazon? I find one 5 star Gilmour hose with one review (is that you??). We gave up on soaker hoses a few years ago because, as you know, they are somewhat brittle and hard to store.
Thanks for the info once again, Karl!
My experience with chickens in the garden hasn't been a positive one. They tend to eat or scratch up whatever I'm trying to grow. So, once the seeds go in, the chickens have to stay confined. I'd prefer to let them have the run of the entire backyard, but I would also like to harvest some of my crop myself ;). We're going to build a "yard" for the chickens and ducks this year. It will give the ten birds just over 700 square feet, including the "coops", to roam. Hopefully, that will be enough for them to be content, and hopefully, it will clean up my yard a little bit ;).
We planted our onions, lettuce, brocolli and cabbage last night. We hope to plant our potatoes tonight.
We do not use soaker hoses because watering is so expensive for us...we have city water but we also have a cistern which we want to hook up to a watering pump.
Do your soaker hoses add to your water bill or maybe you don't have a water bill?
We keep our chickens in our chicken tractor... for the very reason that like to enjoy our garden too:)
Renee
Post a Comment