Raised Bed YES!! Out in the garden this morning!!

ioujc

MARANTHA!! Even so, come LORD JESUS!!!
It isn't raining or snowing, so went out to check on the garden.

I have 4 raised beds, each one, being 4 foot by 60 feet long. Since I have not been able to garden for quite some time (3 years; due to working 12 hours a day :bhd: ) I have FINALLY at least semi-retired>>>at 68 years old I am dropping down to 2 days a week and the rest of the time will be spent doing what I want>>>>NOT making a fortune for someone else!!

ANYWAY>>>>the beds are overgrown with the DEMON DEVIL grass we have here!!! It spreads by rhizomes, as well as seeds and if any part of it is left, it will begin to reproduce again!! It is impossible to eradicate. The rhizomes have POINTED ends, which can penetrate all but the thickest tarp, plastic or weed barrier. I am using the covers for cotton from river boats as liners inside the beds!!

I am going to set the chickens inside the beds in a type of chicken tractor like I have been watching lately on the Justin Rhodes homestead videos>>>LOTS of good info and ideas on there!! Plus, he now has a mini-series he is making about the farm, which is now in it's 4th generation. You need to check out his website and videos on You.tube>>>they are GREAT!! Not so much for knowing how to farm or homestead, but for the inspiration and the "community" he is building on his website!

The reason this is important is the same reason this place is important>>>>my family, the niece and nephew and their children, who are all I have left, think I am nuts! This is because they were raised by my sister, who told me once, when I was excitedly telling her about my canning and work in the garden:


"You sure do work hard to grow something that would cost you 39 cents at the grocery store."

She never did "get it." I even gave her home grown and home canned food and she said she couldn't tell the difference in the taste!!!

The "community" are all folks who are starting out in having their own homestead and trying to become as self-sufficient as possible.


I am SO EXCITED!!!

This will be the FIRST year I can devote myself entirely (almost) to my little farm!! The feeling of being able to do what I want and not having to listen to some idiot tell what to do, when they really don't know squat about anything>>>is AWESOME!!

Free at last>>>THANK GOD I am FREE AT LAST!!
 
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ioujc

MARANTHA!! Even so, come LORD JESUS!!!
Black plastic doesn't touch this stuff>>>it is a type of wild tall fescue. The rhizomes can go down into the earth 3 feet and can spread an unknown distance. The only way that it dies is if you cover it with black plastic and completely smother the roots and deprive it of sunlight for a seven year period!!

Like I said>>>>it is DEMON DEVIL WEED!!

But yes, I am so excited Moldy, that I can hardly stand it. Just getting dirt under my fingernails today felt SOOO WONDERFUL!! I pulled some grass and weeds and thought about what I would plant where.

SOO much to plant!! I definitely want Gold Yukon taters this year and also a red potato. Of course the foolwoing are guaranteed:
For ME!!
Tomatoes
Peppers>>>hot and sweet and banana
Eggplant!!
Lettace
Cabbage
Brussel sprouts
Asparagus (already have a bed that is established and still going)
Onions>>>they came in the mail today from Dixondale Farms
BEETS!!
PARSNIPS!!!
licorice
Mint
Parsley
Dill
Comfrey
All my spices>>>chives, oregano, etc.>>>many of which are also medicinal
Medicinal plants
Goldenseal
Echinacea

For the LIVESTOCK
Corn>>>for the goats and chickens
Pumpkins>>>for the goats and chickens this winter
Sweet potatoes>>>for ME AND the livestock
Squash
Oh and so much more!!

I want to make two more raised beds this year and experiment with Hugelkultur. Lots of chicken manure to spread and I can't wait to get the bunnies and start using that in both the garden and to make a worm bed!!

I did kinda go nuts on seed buying>>>I have a 6" X 11" storage box of seeds and three canisters in the refrigerator too!!
Also bought clover, buckwheat and oats for making the front yard into a pasture>>>that's OK, this is out in the country!!

Oh what a WONDERFUL Spring this is going to be!!>>>It is supposed to rain for the next week>>>and you know what the past two weeks were like with all the snow and freezing weather we just had>>>But that's OK>>>>as log as the Spring does eventually come!!
 

China Connection

TB Fanatic
My experience is not to go too deep with the raised beds. The fertilizer washes out and most vegies have shallow roots.

I prefer using chip what has started to retain water than new logs also.
 

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
Black plastic doesn't touch this stuff>>>it is a type of wild tall fescue. The rhizomes can go down into the earth 3 feet and can spread an unknown distance. The only way that it dies is if you cover it with black plastic and completely smother the roots and deprive it of sunlight for a seven year period!!

Is it edible?
 

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
My experience is not to go too deep with the raised beds. The fertilizer washes out and most vegies have shallow roots.

I prefer using chip what has started to retain water than new logs also.

My beds are 28 inches tall, OC thought I was nutz but now that he's getting older he's glad he listened to me. We have sticks, leaves, mulch, etc., in the bottom of our beds and top dress with compost, etc., every spring.
 

ioujc

MARANTHA!! Even so, come LORD JESUS!!!
Is it edible?
Yes, you can grind the seeds and make flour. It is a type of wild grass.

Deer love it and cattle are raised on it without any issue. However it causes some issues with goats and other cloven hoofed animals because it can cause foot rot. Alpacas will eat only a certain amount and after that point it is toxic for them.

My beds are two concrete blocks tall>>>that is a comfortable sitting level for me>>>>got SHORT legs!!

My beds are basically pure cow and horse manure with some hay mixed in.

From this point on, I will be using my own chicken and rabbit manure to fertilize and I have purchased hay from a local farmer who does nothing to his fields>>>>No chemicals, it is just land he grazes cattle on and then lets sit fallow for a season and then raises hay on it before he returns the cattle to that field.
 

Rabbit

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Black polyethylene mulch is effective, though. Control Bermuda grass by covering it with black plastic, which will prevent sunlight from reaching the plant. To do so, irrigate and mow the grass, and place plastic over the grass, leaving it in place for at least six weeks during the hottest summer months. * Solarize.17 July 1999
Preventing Bermuda Grass From Spreading - Los Angeles ...
I am going to do that. I not only have Bermuda grass but I've got nutsedge that is totally out of control.

I also want to ask you if you have ever used 30% vinegar to kill weeds in the garden or anywhere for that matter? I am using regular 5% to kill the weeds and grass on my brick patio. 5% keeps under control but doesn't kill the roots so I'm wondering if 30% would do better. Plus if it will kill nutsedge I'll buy more than a gallon.
 

moldy

Veteran Member
If you need a source for seeds, Strictly Medicinal is great. I started licorice last year, and am planting more this year. The roots need to be about 3 years old before harvesting. Comfrey has always been an easy thing to grow - you might consider yarrow as well (great plant with many many uses).

Don't know where you are, but goldenseal has a pretty limited area it likes to grow. If you are growing strictly for antimicrobial properties, you might consider anything with berberine. Goldenseal would not do well here, so I grow Oregon grape (Mahonia repens). It does better here, but I have it out in the pasture and try to just leave it alone until I can get a good stand going. Barberry is another plant with lots of berberine in its roots.
 

Marie

Veteran Member
Ioujc try a weed burner you hook it to a propane tank like the ones that go on bbq grills. Congratulations! I just retired last September for the same reason! Ain't it grand?
 

ioujc

MARANTHA!! Even so, come LORD JESUS!!!
Thanks Moldy>>>I have never grown licorice before and actually don't know much about it except that I HATE the plastic wax they sell now a days and call it licorice!!

I LOVE REAL LICORICE!! About the only place you can get that flavor is in black jelly beans and it is not the "true" flavor even there. I did find some real licorice from Europe several years ago. It was so strong I almost couldn't eat it!! It is not good for you in large quantities!! It impacts potassium and can cause heart issues!

Hey Marie, that is AMAZING>>>>I JUST bought a propane torch thingy or that very reason about two weeks ago!! ;)
 

ioujc

MARANTHA!! Even so, come LORD JESUS!!!
OH MY GOODNESS!! WHAT a DIFFERENCE a couple of weeks makes!!

I actually got HOT out there!!

Was pulling weeds and trying to see if the asparagus made it through the last few years>>>>I can't really tell??? It looks like it, but nothing really green out there yet but WEEDS! Which I got a good bit of exercise pulling out!! Not really weeds, but the DEMON DEVIL GRASS I have talked about before!!

I have raised beds that are two concrete blocks high>>>>MAN!! Has the soil settled! It is only as high as the first block>>>gonna have to clean the hen houses (I have two) and get some compost going!!

Now I am all grimy and kinda stinky!! As gross as that sounds>>>>It feels GOOD!!

Took out all the compost stuff I had accumulated in the house>>>>LOTS of egg shells and coffee grounds, which I dug holes and spread around the garden!!

My peaches already have blossoms trying to POP! I hope they will hold off for a while>>>>there is always a late freeze. Last year, I covered the trees with blankets and I actually got about 6 peaches on each tree (that was only their third year) and my mouth was watering for them>>>>>they were JUST at the peak of perfection!! Went to bed that night got up the next day to pick them>>>>>only TWO left on one tree, but had BIG BITES TAKEN OUT OF THEM!! Some critter got them!!This year I am gonna wrap them or something>>>>I am eating them, not some VARMINT!!

The grapes and elderberries have nothing yet. My lone surviving apple tree is just sitting there! The mint is going strong already, not big yet though.

Now I am wiped out>>>fresh air and sunshine>>>>makes me want to curl up and take a nap!
 
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