My garden 😞

[Duckfarmerpa1]

Silly me...I forgot to post the pic.

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She’s quite a looker..everytime you mention her as a ‘mutt’ I’ve been picturing a 10 lb ball of fur from everywhere. Kind of like my ****zu...he couldn’t scare a predator to save his life!! He’s scared of his reflection in the mirror...poor Muggs Mayfield.

 

[Baymule]

We’ve been working like mad in the garden, preparing to plant. We have triple thick cardboard pumpkin boxes laid in one part of the garden, deep covered in mulch and we rolled out weed cloth in a 50’x36’ patch to try it out this year. We have tilled, weeded, and worked in the glorious rich soil it has taken us 6 growing seasons to transform from beach sand to the dark loam we now have. I have plants to set out and seeds to plant. So far I have broccoli, green onions. Beets, radishes, English peas, mustard greens, and garlic up and growing. Yesterday I picked 3 broccoli leaves, a handful of beet leaves 2 radishes and 3 green onions and made us each a salad. So. Darn. Good!

 

[Jesusfreak101]

Ah see beekiss i was wondering if they would eat plants. Cause my ducks do, my kids got a pair of runners and I was debating about letting them in the garden or not. It's a large area thats isn't solely garden but is was concerned they would eat my plants.

 

[Mini Horses]

I'm jealous -- nothing growing here. BUT...in my defense, I'm cooler than both of you, I've worked 45 hrs this week, the garden was final tilled yesterday by DS -- THANKS!! -- so I can work in it all weekend. Since I have started my seedlings very late, I actually bought 6 tomato plants at TSC....something growing!! I need to see that...& tomato takes longer to mature for eating. Plus on sale. All good, right?

@Xerocles -- look at you go!! You've got that all ready. Just how big is it? I'm way oversize with mine and that is a concern.

I do plan to plant some things for animals feeds which also work as a cover, so not need for the extreme weed control of rest of garden. Hope it works -- the plans sound fantastic! You could do same but, rabbits take far less than my 20 goats!

 

[Mini Horses]

It's a large area thats isn't solely garden but is was concerned they would eat my plants.

I can tell you chickens will!! Not so much after the plants get size on them but, new ones -- fair game! Then, ducks don't want to dig it all up like a hen.

 

[Jesusfreak101]

Lol I have seen that happen with my hen but they also love the veggies they are not allowed in the garden because they are bandits. It's not fun to go pick veggies only to find that all have had half eat by the birds. One of the rooster we had went to the freezer because he had learn to get in there and no matter what we did clipping wings fencing ect he would still get in there and taught the hens they would eat everything.

 

[animalmom]

You know @Sheepshape, you keep posting pictures of the snakeheads I'm just going to have to go get some bulbs. They are an enticing flower. Do they spread quickly or are they slower to take over the world?

 

[Beekissed]

Ah see beekiss i was wondering if they would eat plants. Cause my ducks do, my kids got a pair of runners and I was debating about letting them in the garden or not. It's a large area thats isn't solely garden but is was concerned they would eat my plants.

They will eat tender plants like lettuces and other greens and any small seedlings, but older plants aren't a problem....the only thing is they can be pretty rough on squash leaves when there are squash bug eggs on them. They will shred them while eating the eggs...which to me is a sacrifice I'm willing to make. The squash plants will recover from duck nibbles more than they will survive the hoards of squash bugs.

They never bothered my tomatoes, taters, corn, pumpkins, winter squash plants, flowers, peppers, etc.....basically, anything with a larger, tougher stem and leaf growth wasn't damaged at all.

 

[Xerocles]

Let's reset the scene for my garden. This is not meant to be a garden in the sense many of you think. This is a "pre-garden", a rehearsal for next years garden. The location was chosen because it was the only semi-level spot on the place. It was a crowded copse of saplings, no more than 2 ft apart in all directions. Heavy, sticky clay with only a fraction of an inch of topsoil. I didn't get the saplings cleared until the December timeframe.
I am a city transplant, NO equipment, limited financial buffer, and so little experience (except for ill-planned failures) as to be counted as zero.
The soil needs desperate upgrading before it can grow anything but weeds and vines.
So here I stand. No knowledge, no equipment, and no suitable soil. Faced with a large field of options. Tried containers last year. Pretty much a failure, because I let other ventures monopolize my attention (infrastructure of the rest of the place). I considered raised beds....but the work involved in making them would be equivalent to the work I am putting into this garden, and not doing anything toward actually improving the land. Short term benefit, nearly instant productivity. But I really don't NEED productivity. It's only me and (pre-Corona days) I could buy such produce as I needed, and probably cheaper than what I will invest in growing my own. Plus, with the learning curve I can already see that, with my lack of knowledge, instant productivity would be a joke anyhow.
My research led me to the Ruth Stout method, somewhat akin to Back to Eden gardening as I read it. Deep Deep mulch to gradually improve the soil, avoidance of soil disturbance to lessen damage of the microcosm of beneficial organisms near the surface. Water retention, erosion control, weed control, limit of actual physical attention required, and a reduced dependence on chemical compounds. Why not?
Now, it will take years for this to actually work, but again, this is not a "need" except in the psychological sense. I don't have an extended family to feed. Heck, I don't even have friends and neighbors to share any excess that I may produce. Except the chickens and rabbits. And their numbers are so small that they can eat only so many tomatoes.
The plot size is probably average to slightly above average by today's standard for a family garden, but tiny compared to my grandparent's gardens. The shape is trapizoidal (physical limitations). It is 100 ft X 80 ft X 30ft X 60 ft. Without involving advanced mathematics, probably about 350 sq ft. Now I could probably grow all I need in about 50 sq ft, but why not improve the whole area while I'm at it? Someday someone might need and appreciate what I have helped to improve.
This year, each plant will be a "mini" garden. Large hole improved (replacing the existing clay) with compost made last year plus generous helpings of rabbit manure.
But right now, I'm floundering. What to plant, how much to plant, when to plant, how to care for it and probably dozens of other questions that I don't even know to ponder about.
So, it's an experiment...a pre-garden if you will. There is no failure, because there is no goal. Except learning. Just the beginning steps in a long learning curve.
Oh, and @Beekissed thanks for the tips. #1 no plans to plant next to the fence...need room for my big feet on all sides of the plants. #2 yep already learned about the runner ducks nibbling. Protection already planned for. #3 sacrificial plants. Some suggestions for varieties would be appreciated. #4 I only wanted 2 ducks, but could not locate grown Runners, could not buy sexed ducklings, and only wanted 2 females for eggs AND bug control. No plans to raise them, so why have drakes? Will cull down to two, once I can determine sex.
Question. Right now they're barely a month old and growing. So feeding basically unlimited. But I don't want to turn them into "barn cats" that are over fed and don't catch mice. If they don't keep the garden practically bug free they're useless. But I don't want to starve them either. So when they approach maturity, how much and when do I feed them?
Please keep those tips coming. I need all (and the most trivial) help I can get. You bet they're all read, heeded, and appreciated.

 

[Duckfarmerpa1]

First of all, that’s a great sized garden! And, you sound overwhelmed. I get you there..I OFTEN bite off more than I can chew...not saying that’s your deal, just comparing me. I think you have a good head start. You’ve done a lot of research. I hope the ducks help? My ducks ruined the garden...yesterday I tried to sell the ducklings and Chris had to actually stop me. But, I had 43...and, perhaps runners will do just what you intend for them to do? Wouldn’t that be great if someth went as planned?! Our soil...ugh. Mostly clay, tons of rocks..the more we till, the more they grow. We do have a few very large gardens...but we were always trying to get away with a small tiller, two bottom plow, a dis. Well, not thisyear Chris went all out. If you were close, I’d give you one of our small tillers..the one works too good..too hard for him handle at times. Plus, we just have to much ground to till b6 hand. Perhaps look online for used equipment..like a tiller. Last year, due to all that rain..we made some raised beds...and my farmer/grower hubby...doesn’t think that counts. But it worked since the ground was too wet. The advantage there..once you make them, you e got them...for awhile? And, if you’re swamped with rain, like last year...the beds work great! As for feeding the ducklings...it’s still way too cold here for little ones..4” of snow yesterday. Are they outside and eating bugs? I had set meal times for my ducks. I actually have a thread on BYC...’are ducks ever NOT hungry’...quite simply..no. The more you feed them from your hand, the more the6 will expect it, and, doesn’t sound like you want them all up in your business? Mine free ranged all through the day. At nigh5 I gave them a good amount...sometimes I measured, sometimes no...but...a limited amount. Those feeders where the feed keeps coming out? In my opinion...not to be used for ducks..a few reasons...they will eat every single drop! Second, the old metal ones aren’t made with a big enough space for aduck bill to get down to the feed. I e actually had ducks get their goofy beaks stuck in the feeders. So, by the time I was ready to sell, them , I had it down to a science...mine didn’t need fed in the morning...just goin* out was enough..in the summertime. In the winter I let them out, and used a big feeding tray...a pan will do. Put the feed in there. When they are done..I take it away, so they can’t poop in it. Same thing at night. The crumbles keep them on their toes to get them in and out..but, if you overfeed a duck...what’s that? My pekins got too big and it was a health issue. You won5 have that...but, why give them unlimited feed, when they really don’t NEED it is how I see it. My chickens get unlimited feed, but they know when to eat and when to stop.
pits up to you how you do it..I’m just giving you my experience. Also, with the drakes..if you have to cull three..you’ll need to get a friend for the one left behind. They need to be in at least a pair. But, definitely don’t have more than one drake. Not with a few ducks. If your soil is clay, and you say you have no ‘tools’. How do you plan to get it up enough? This year we are expanding...but, the original garden will still be used. If it doesn’t grow like two seasons ago...it’s done, I’ll use it for...pigs? We are starting new gardens..and two are pre-gardens as you say. We are prepping the soil for...maybe next year? We might plant a row or two of corn..just to test it out. As for what to plant...pick veggies that last a long time!! Butternut squash can be saved in our root cellar for months and months!! We love them sooo much. Zucchini no one can screw up. And one plant yields a lot. I’d try a variety of tomatoes, to see which take nest in your area? We are still playing with ours...this year we’re growing those giant sweet orange ones that are supposed to have less acid? They taste good, arebig, and sell great!! Plant things that you can feed to the other animals too...dark leafy greens, etc. cucumber for the chickens...

We start out seeds inside..but our season is much later. We can’t put anything in the ground until Memorial Day. Even then we lose some. The trick is..make sure you don’t start too soon. If the plant is too tall when you replant it is likely not to be strong enough for the wind. At least here...it’s terribly windy. Plus, look at the days to yield. You don’t want your snap peas to be starting inside, like we did last year, because then they are done way too soon. Also, last year, we tried a few things we don’t typically eat. Chris though5 wed have rutabaga our the wazoo. I was afraid we’d starv3 to death from eating too much. Luckily they did not do well, out of about a million..we got about three. We also tried new things we don’t typically like from the store. Amaz the difference when it’s from a garden. Now, we plant many weird things, so they can sell...it attracts people...but, by doing that we’ve discovered a bunch of veggies we never though5 to try!!
ok, that’s all I can think of now. Be careful with your fertilizer...last year we got many different advice. We tried some 19-19-19...seemed to not do well. But again..depends on the soil. Ok..enough dirty talk....how about the bunnies?? I haven’t seen that thread moving for a bit?! Updates please!! Pictures too!