Hello Everyone,
Today marks the first day of my garden in Upstate New York.
It's also my first garden ever, outdoors that is :D
So let's see what I have going on here..
Chuck Hafners Farmers' Market & Garden Center
I stopped by a local garden center in Upstate New York yesterday to grab some starter plants.
I was pretty impressed with not only the variety they had, but also how healthy everything was.
I acquired:
- Tomatoes
- Cucumbers
- Squash
- Eggplant
- Red Bell Peppers
- Green Bell Peppers
I got it all set up and all of the small plants in the soil today.
This is somewhat of a rough draft.. because this fencing is not sturdy enough due to the stakes being too short, but it's not a big deal because I have more of these stakes. Tomorrow I will simply drill some into the already staked stakes, effectively increasing the height of them, and will staple it up good. They are from an old crib in the basement here, just recycling stuff to save a little money..
My biggest worry is animals digging up underneath this plastic fencing. I may need to enforce the bottom with 2X4's or something if animals start assaulting the crop.
I couldn't make it as wide as I was hoping, due to concrete foundation being under the top soil for old clothes hangers. It's alright though because I feel this little patch is ample space for my garden.
We can see here with these photos that this fencing is not proper, but it will be when I'm done with it tomorrow.
The soil in this garden feels very fertile in my hands. I think this patch has been gardened before, and everything feels right.
And that put's a smile on Futuremind's face.
I'm not sure what I'll fill the empty space with yet but I'm open to suggestions! ;D
Thank you for stopping by.
Have a great day! -@futuremind
That's fantastic to be doing it outdoors, especially with the new variables of the environment around you like insects, birds, and mammals. The weather too because now it's not so controlled. It looks like a fun challenge ahead.
Thank you @litguru. I'm sure there will be some serious challenges ahead, but I'm looking forward to the learning process.
Awesome! vegetables and herbs are such fun
Thank you! It's due time I grow some :D
I'm delighted! Lovely start!
What?! No chili peppers? That surprises me.
Consider at least 4 foot wide chicken wire, which is kind of expensive but much more sturdy. Leave a one foot "apron" flush on the ground on the outside of the plot. Put rocks on the apron. Digging animals go laterally as far as they can, then dig down, so they'd be trying to dig through chicken wire. If deer are a problem, use inexpensive 7 or 8 foot stakes, and string deer fencing, or that plastic you already have, up high so they don't jump over.
Looks really good! I'm so happy for you!
Thanks so much @owasco!
I'm undecided if I will grow some chili peppers in the garden this year but maybe. I have some seeds so I might germinate some.
I was thinking last night I should have probably used chicken wire, and this plastic stuff was 18 dollars for a roll anyway which I think is kind of expensive for fifty feet of cheap plastic.
I probably could have spent four hours in that greenhouse but the driver seemed to be in a bit of a hurry and we were only there for maybe twenty minutes.
You got a great selection. Sam's suggestion of seeded crops is good too, although birds may have gotten all of my seeds this year.
I tried to imagine you getting all these thing safely to your house on your bike.
It would have been too far of a trip for the bike lol.
The neighbors want to be a part of it , so they are helping with rides to get supplies/plants. His girlfriend more so but he's excited about it too.
That's really great! What a difference from your last neighbors!
Consider:
onions
oregano
peppermint
cilantro
kale
All really easy, the herbs are perennial, and not much bothers any of them.
Massive congratulations to you on this most happy day!
I would personally add some salad type stuff in the gaps, like rocket, lettuce & parsley. And then i would let a few plants go to flower at the end of the year and collect seeds as these things will potentially grow through the winter. We always drop below zero here but the rocket, lettuce & parsley are not affected. It should be noted that if a plant is capable of growing all year, then we should probably be eating it all year.
You could also just let the seeds drop where they want at the end of the year and see where they start to grow. Usually they choose the place where they are happiest.
Don't forget to throw in a bit of electroculture!
The most simple thing you could do is just spiral some copper wire on a stick (ideally going clockwise from the top to the bottom) and put it in the middle of the plants. You will see how the plants closer to the antenna are healthier and this will make you want more elctroculture...
Have fun & please give my best wishes to the magnificent city of New York 🌱
I love the "if it grows all year, we should be eating it all year" idea. Parsley for sure, mine was only unavailable for two months here, not far from where @futuremind lives. ong
I've gotten very fond of dandelion root this year. Fresh, lightly cooked, it's very good! I let my dandelions go to attract early bees and pollinators, so I have a ton of the stuff. I think we could eat that year round too, as long as we could dig it out of the frozen ground.
Dandelion root sounds interesting. I am not sure if I've ever heard of eating it like this. Really cool!
It's actually very good, kind of like a carrot. Everywhere!
Excellent reminder for me there. Have been letting dandelions do their thing in my garden for the last few years after planting a bunch there to get them started. And until now i've not used them for anything except salad leaves. Looking forward to trying something new 🙏
You are the only other person I know who encourages dandelions. They put on quite a show in the spring! I love everything about them. Those that come up in my raised beds are very easy to harvest. Today I plan to make a wild leek and dandelion root soup, with other stuff of course, because I can't control myself in the kitchen.
Thank you for the kind words and advice @samstonehill!
I'll add these recommendations to the list of things to grow in the garden this year. I have some lettuce seeds already so it won't take me long to get that going.
I hadn't considered whether or not I'm going to add some copper coils, but now I'm feeling motivated to give it a try.
I'll refer back to this as a guide when I am preparing to make them. The shapers I believe come in both clockwise and counterclockwise but I'll have to check the prints to make sure.
Thanks again, I'm super excited to see how this gardening project goes. No animal assaults last night so we're off to a good start :D
I wrote a post on the clockwise/anti-clockwise question here but in essence i believe it relates to our requirements. Bigger plants like trees which extend above the antenna will respond well to one direction while smaller plants which sit beneath it will respond well the other. We are sending earth energy upward or cosmic energy downward. Though with this said i have seen good (and bad!) results with both so i no longer think it is as simple as this. Season, type of plant & exact position on the land all seem to play a role, so you could just ignore my comment altogether and simply play around, making sure to observe your results carefully.
There is an antenna in my double infinity potato bed (copper wire going clockwise from top to bottom) and the potatoes around the antenna are around double the size as those which are further away, despite receiving same light and same water.
You can just about see in this image. Bamboo antenna on the right.
Can also see a bunch of random stuff popping up at the base of the antenna. Tomato, rocket, lettuce and it blows my mind how these same things are not popping up further away from the antenna, despite receiving same water, same light etc. They simply have more cosmic energy there. So that's cool!
We also found a new plant near one antenna which we've never seen in our garden before, like an orange coloured poppy. Could be unrelated but i've read about this happening with pyramids. They can unlock old varieties which are thought to be extinct. So when the conditions are correct the rules of our playground change and that which appears like magic can happen...
I’m surprised that this is your first garden and it is really doing well. I can imagine how it will be in weeks to come
Must be really good
Thank you my friend!
I'm also surprised I've never done this outdoors before, but it's not very common where I live in a dense city. Some people have gardens like this but it's somewhat rare.
Man, I learned a lot my first couple of years. Spacing is so important. Also, some plants that you wouldn't expect get so big. If you want an easy crop, throw a few strawberries in the ground. They grow like weeds, but you'll be fighting birds for the results. Good luck!
Thank you for stopping by @kryptik.
I'm hoping I have proper spacing with all of the plants, and hopefully the placement isn't off with how they grow. It will be a learning experience for sure!
That's inspiring. I haven't grown anything for years. I used to love working in the soil and planting stuff, watching it grow. We're in a new house and already looking around for the best place to make a garden. After looking at your pictures, I called my son and told him we have to get ready for our garden :) Remembering the year I grew pumpkins, made fresh pies from my pumpkins and donated them to the kid's school fair.
Thanks for bringing back those memories.
Thank you for the kind words my dear friend!
There's nothing quite like the feeling of working in the soil and getting that nature exercise and fresh air :)
Is your son coming over to help prepare the garden in the new house?
He is going to put up the fences and do all the heavy work. I'm going to do the fun--planting :)
let's fuucking gooooooooo
@tipu curate
Upvoted 👌 (Mana: 17/37) Liquid rewards.
Hahaha thank you my friend! <3
I love your tomatoes, soon you'll be harvesting lots of them.
Good eye my friend , thank you. I think these tomatoes will definitely be heavy producers. They will get a lot of sun in this spot too.
Yes, they produce a lot, my tomatoes lasted for more five months producing.
How did you start this idea of having your crops outside? I think it's perfect that you started at once and that the fence was not an excuse to say, well tomorrow I'll get the fence right and the next day I'll start with the crop.
Have no doubt that all of us around here are going to be waiting for those results and learning. I started to germinate acorn seeds at home, I have a moenton but they take a while to grow.
I've always wanted to have a garden outside, but it has never happened for many different reasons. Most places here it is difficult or impossible to have one.
It comes with many challenges of course.
I think it is so cool that you are germinating acorns.
I have been following you for a long time and have learned a lot from you on how plants grow well if they are well taken care of.
Thank you my friend. I try my best to give the plants proper care.
This is so cool. I can’t wait to see how all the plants begin to fill in that space. It will be so cool for you to have fresh garden veggies.
Thanks man, I'm keeping my expectations realistic because I've never done this before. I'm feeling optimistic about it overall.
Looking forward for the Day 2.😊 @futuremind
Thank you! Hopefully I can be consistent :D
Hehehe, fighting. @futuremind
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