Sawdust’s Garden 2022

[Sawdust]

It has begun my wife started some tomatoes and peppers the other day and a few tomatoes have emerged. We plant the other seeds directly.

I emptied out one of my compost bins and put that in our three raised beds. I have two other bins ready but I’ll use that in the garden as we plant. I ended up with about 3” deep in each bed. I counted 30 shovels in each bed. I also bought a 40lb. bag of 10-10-10 granulated fertilizer for around $14. which I thought wasn’t bad. Last year we couldn’t get it anywhere. I added a little of that to the raised beds then raked it all around good.

Remember Rusty he’s my third leg he goes everywhere I go. He’s been a good asset but just too playful.

 

[4getgto]

I like your raised beds Jim. But I'm trying to guesstimate the length. Look like really long planks. Or you're good at hiding the butt splices.

 

[Sawdust]

Bill they are 20’ L x 2’ wide. I used 5/4” x 6” x 16’ treated poplar fence rails which were around $10. each. I used a 16 and a 4 for the sides. They are butt jointed with stakes on the inside. That one that is deeper was for sweet potatoes but my wife says we don’t eat them that much so I’m going to take that top section off and use those boards to make some strawberry planters. This will be the third year using them. It’s so much better using beds. Beets go in the one next to the fence, onions and carrots go in the middle one and cabbages in the one I’ll be cutting down. I like covering the cabbages up with cheese cloth to keep the cabbage moths out.

Before I put the soil mix of peat moss, compost and a little sand I lined the bottom of the beds with twigs, tree bark, and a few branches not too big. This will eventually break down creating a massive worm bed. I toss that little mini tiller in there and just mix it up not going too deep to upset the worms they don’t like that

 

[Sawdust]

Yesterday I shoveled a heap of chicken manure that’s been sitting for a year. I hauled it over to our second garden we added last year. Only corn and potatoes will go in there. It worked out really good. It took four trailer loads. I drove the tractor down the middle then took a shovel and broadcasted it evenly. I added some granulated 10-10-10 fertilizer then raked it in slightly. I wanted to get all this done by yesterday because we got two days of rain that started this morning.

 

[chieffan]

Hope to get the plate with teeth for the loader bucket this week some time. Want to clean the goat barn out and put some of it on the garden. Tried with a skid steer and straight bucket last year year but it just slide over the top. Could not get under it. Hope the teeth will be able to get under it and get it cleaned out once again. Well over a month away from doing any garden work yet. Down to 27°F this morning with a NW wind.

 

[Propane1]

Two months and a bit before any garden work here.

Noel

 

[Propane1]

Hehe. The way gas prices are going, I won’t be able to afford to start any tractors for garden work. And for $15.00 I can buy 50 lbs of potatoes at the local potatoe growers. So makes ya wonder if it’s really worth while growing them.

Noel

 

[Sawdust]

Hehe. The way gas prices are going, I won’t be able to afford to start any tractors for garden work. And for $15.00 I can buy 50 lbs of potatoes at the local potatoe growers. So makes ya wonder if it’s really worth while growing them.

Noel

Wow Noel coming from you that makes me want to listen to my gut feelings. My wife has been saying that every year. When I came in yesterday first thing she says “ I don’t know why you do that every year for something so cheap at the store”. It’s the most strenuous veggie to grow and compared to winter prices it’s the worst payback. We usually buy no more than the five pound bag every other week. If we buy the ten pounder they spoil. Funny thing about tractor gas is this year no pleasure seat time or no more idle times than necessary.

 

[Propane1]

Wow Noel coming from you that makes me want to listen to my gut feelings. My wife has been saying that every year. When I came in yesterday first thing she says “ I don’t know why you do that every year for something so cheap at the store”. It’s the most strenuous veggie to grow and compared to winter prices it’s the worst payback. We usually buy no more than the five pound bag every other week. If we buy the ten pounder they spoil. Funny thing about tractor gas is this year no pleasure seat time or no more idle times than necessary.

Ya Jim. But a fella has got to have some fun. I just don’t know how. But if there is no use for the tractors. There’s no sense having them. I sure like doing the ground and wood work with them. Gasoline sill more than likely keep going up. And when it gets to the point where in may come down, it won’t come down as fast as it went up. And if everybody keeps buying it, which we all will, why would they put the price down to where it was, say 4 months ago or so. I’ll still have to buy it, but I am limiting my use of it.
There now, a mini Sunday afternoon rant. Hehe

Noel

 

[chieffan]

Hehe. The way gas prices are going, I won’t be able to afford to start any tractors for garden work. And for $15.00 I can buy 50 lbs of potatoes at the local potatoe growers. So makes ya wonder if it’s really worth while growing them.

Noel

That is what we said about 15 years ago.

 

[Sawdust]

I planted some white and yellow onion sets in one of the raised beds on Thursday. I planted four five foot rows and will do it again in about two weeks. I knew it was going to rain on Friday so no need to water them that day.

If I can scrounge up enough materials I’m thinking about building a strawberry tier about three or four beds high. We’ve been out here going on seven years and haven’t grown them yet. We had something similar at our old place I liked a lot.

 

[hamman]

You guys are getting a real head start on us. Ground and raised beds are still frozen here. No planting for a while. Only thing that isn't still frozen is my side drive where I need to get the concrete truck into to pour the garage floor. A few more weeks for it to firm up to do that.
Roger

 

[Sawdust]

We’ve had some unusual warm weather for late winter around here. Our last frost date is around the end of April and have had snow on Easter many times. It will be awhile before most other things can be planted. Onions and maybe later lettuce is our early crops. I’m anxious and a little worried about the availability of things later but I don’t want to get too eager.

 

[chieffan]

Getting some rain now so when the ground is ready will get some radish and lettuce in. Will see how cleaning the goat barn goes if I put that on the garden. My have to sit in a pile for a while to break up the slabs that like to come up. Will those small hove running over it for about 3 years it will be packed together. No potatoes or sweet corn. Can buy it cheaper than trying to raise it. My put in some sweet potato plants again. Got to have the giant pumpkins for the grand kids.

 

[Cvans]

We are suppose to be getting moisture of different types starting tonight through Wednesday. Way too early to think about gardening this far North.

 

[Propane1]

Two and a half months or so before planting here. Last possible frost date here is June 10. And I’ve seen and had 6” tall potatoe plant tops blacked by the frost in the third week of June. I have had potatoes planted in the third week of April one year. Doesn’t seem do any good planting early. They all seem to get harvested about the same time any way. I know a commercial potatoe grower here and he doesn’t plant till about the third or fourth week of May.
Noel

 

[Sawdust]

I didn’t feel like it today but we have occasional off and on rain predicted for the next two weeks so I tilled both gardens today. It was drier than I thought so it worked out well.


I couldn’t get my Simplicity 7117H ready in time to use the rear mounted tiller. I had to use my old reliable Jc Pennys tiller. Every year I say I’m going to sell it because it wears me out. This thing is a beast, I turned up a couple of football size rocks and it just tossed them out without any problems. My onions are up about 2” and doing well in one of the beds.

Our tomatoes and peppers are almost ready to transplant into larger pots. Rain all day tomorrow I may just relax and do nothing.

 

[SimplyRad]

Those rear mounted tillers are so much easier to use, I have some raised beds so I have to use my mini tiller but the dirt is soft.

 

[chieffan]

I think the ground in the garden may be ready but I am not. Rain moving in later today then off/on shower for a couple more days. Working on sewer line opening today. Tanks are pumped but line is still stopped up. Coming back with the big jetter this afternoon, that will open it up.

 

[Sawdust]

Those rear mounted tillers are so much easier to use, I have some raised beds so I have to use my mini tiller but the dirt is soft.

Yeah I know I only got to use the rear mounted tiller for two years and I thought wow this is the only way to go. I want to designate my 7117H to do just that and maybe a little grunt work. I toss my mini tiller in the raised beds too. I have three 20’ raised beds. I was going to make a couple more this year but lumber prices are just too high right now.