dirtdiva
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Post by dirtdiva on Jul 13, 2020 15:18:16 GMT 10
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Beno
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Location: Northern Rivers
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Post by Beno on Jul 13, 2020 15:47:59 GMT 10
Hence the name “dirtdiva”. What a garden! it looks like a well managed market garden.
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Post by spinifex on Jul 13, 2020 17:35:48 GMT 10
Nice work there!
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Post by SA Hunter on Jul 14, 2020 0:20:40 GMT 10
Oh WOW - Spin, you have some serious competition!!!
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Post by Joey on Jul 14, 2020 9:26:02 GMT 10
That's a big setup.
Seasonal rotation?
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dirtdiva
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Post by dirtdiva on Jul 14, 2020 11:19:22 GMT 10
That's a big setup. Seasonal rotation? Always. As we age have started installing more raised boxes, no till methods lots of mulch and reverting to natives and perennial fruits more and more. As we approach 70 that back feels it. |
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Post by spinifex on Jul 14, 2020 18:33:16 GMT 10
Oh WOW - Spin, you have some serious competition!!! A fellow enthusiast is all I see! |
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dirtdiva
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Post by dirtdiva on Jul 14, 2020 23:45:01 GMT 10
Oh WOW - Spin, you have some serious competition!!! A fellow enthusiast is all I see! I agree spinifex and you are obviously in your element. |
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dirtdiva
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Post by dirtdiva on Jul 15, 2020 0:16:59 GMT 10
I have been requested by SA Hunter to do a series of posts that I have done at another US site on gardening tips and tricks. Unsure how applicable these will be to you all but hope they help. I am big into recycling and reusing. Tip 1 Pots for starting seeds and transplanting seedlings. Tear newspaper in long strips. Wrap strips around tin can and fold bottom under or you can make the bottom open. The pots and all can be planted. This is similar to spinifex planting in toilet paper rolls. We also use newsprint torn in strips in the worm bed (fish bait). Or newsprint can be used as a ground cover under mulch ( straw, grass or wood chips) to smother those stubborn weeds. It will usually rot down in a season.  |
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dirtdiva
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Post by dirtdiva on Jul 15, 2020 8:39:33 GMT 10
When you plant small plants out of the greenhouse try this. I buy distilled water for my husband's cpap machine regularly. I cut the bottom out of those jugs (Milk jugs also work)and save sticks from my fruit tree prunings as stakes. Leave the top off to vent heat. Plant your little plant and stake this over it by punching a small hole in the jug roof and leave it for a week or two. Protects from frosts, rabbits, some bugs, wind and hail and makes a little tiny greenhouse environment over your plant. Because it is opaque it also gives a little protection from the bright sun. You will see a huge difference between this plant and the one without the jug. Works to keep seeds warm and will help them come up faster because it warms the soil under it when the sun shines. Try putting a small piece of gauze or cheesecloth over the top hole with a rubber band to keep out insects and moths. When I finish with them then my husband strings them back up and suspends them from the rafter of the shed for next year. Makes a huge difference. Just a little trick. Hope it helps.  |
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dirtdiva
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Post by dirtdiva on Jul 15, 2020 8:55:20 GMT 10
What to do with the lid to a canning jar once it is used. Don't throw it away. They make great row markers. My husband took 9 wire and bent it to make a crook with a loop on the end. Just take a nail and make a hole ( or drill) in your lid and with a paint pen write the name of your crop. At the end of the season I throw them away because I always have more and save the wire for next year.  1-100_2273 by Dirt Diva, on Flickr |
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dirtdiva
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Post by dirtdiva on Jul 15, 2020 9:00:21 GMT 10
Critters in the garden. Try taking a bucket or foot tub and set it in the garden upside down. I put a brick under one side to allow sound to escape. Place a radio under it and find a really loud acid rock station. Let her blast. Of course I live in the country. Might not be advisable in town. 
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dirtdiva
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Post by dirtdiva on Jul 16, 2020 5:08:59 GMT 10
Seed starting made simple right on your back porch. Those milk jugs are so handy. This is how I start my early season flower seeds on the back porch that then move directly to the beds. If the weather turns cool overnight I just move them to the shower for the night.  |
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dirtdiva
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Post by dirtdiva on Jul 16, 2020 5:15:54 GMT 10
Don't you hate having to space those tiny seeds. I save restaurant napkins because they are usually really thin and flimsy. Water soluble school glue ( you can make your own with flour and water) A ruler and marker. I mark the seed spacing on my napkin and glue a tiny seed on each mark with just a tiny dab of glue. Let dry. I place these in the garden and cover lightly with soil and water. Once these get wet a time or two they are so thin the just fall to pieces. The glue melts away and your seeds are properly spaced. I can set at my kitchen table and make these and not have to be bending over in the hot sun trying to get that spacing right. Saves a ton on thinning too.  |
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dirtdiva
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Post by dirtdiva on Jul 16, 2020 5:24:16 GMT 10
Corn seed drying. Heavy wooden board for base. Small vertical board attached at center base. My husband nailed nails up the sides of vertical board and then cut the nail heads off. I slide the corn cobs onto the nail heads and allow the corn to dry out in my pantry away from birds and mice.  |
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dirtdiva
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Post by dirtdiva on Jul 29, 2020 15:08:26 GMT 10
A time of plenty. My days are long but my pantry is filling. 
Kandy Supersweet 
Beans drying 
A beautiful summer day! |
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norseman
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Post by norseman on Jul 29, 2020 16:05:48 GMT 10
Fantastic effort!
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Post by SA Hunter on Jul 29, 2020 20:19:39 GMT 10
Do you save your own seed? For me seed saving is a way of life. When the pandemic hit here and the grocery stores went bare the seed companies were the first to follow. Fortunately I had tucked away years worth of seeds of varieties that I know grow in my area that I had saved myself. Food security at it's basic beginning. I store many of my seeds in small plastic ziploc envelopes that I purchase from arts and crafts stores. They are used to put buttons and small items in. You can purchase a huge amount for a very small price here. I write on them with just a permanent marker. 
These small packets are then placed into a food container with alid and placed into boxes that I store in my freezer.
 How long will the seeds stay fertile in the freezer? |
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dirtdiva
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Post by dirtdiva on Jul 29, 2020 23:45:44 GMT 10
Do you save your own seed? For me seed saving is a way of life. When the pandemic hit here and the grocery stores went bare the seed companies were the first to follow. Fortunately I had tucked away years worth of seeds of varieties that I know grow in my area that I had saved myself. Food security at it's basic beginning. I store many of my seeds in small plastic ziploc envelopes that I purchase from arts and crafts stores. They are used to put buttons and small items in. You can purchase a huge amount for a very small price here. I write on them with just a permanent marker.
These small packets are then placed into a food container with alid and placed into boxes that I store in my freezer.
How long will the seeds stay fertile in the freezer? I have had seeds stay viable for many years. Make sure the seeds are very dry. Every few years I clean some out and plant them as cover crops. |
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Jul 7, 2024 11:02:41 GMT 10
Jul 7, 2024 11:02:41 GMT 10
