2ftgd's 2023 Homestead Makeover

11787 Views 786 Replies 20 Participants Last post by Wydaho, 17 h ago

2ftgd

Discussion Starter · 3 mo ago (Edited)

I'm going to use this thread as a journal of sorts to record the changes and improvements I make to my garden. So y'all know what I'm working with:

Font Rectangle Screenshot Electric blue Parallel

Because of our elevation, we are probably closer to zone 6a, but this is what comes up for my zip code.

Rectangle Font Parallel Number Slope

This was my 2022 garden layout.

Plant Land lot Tree Grass Groundcover

This is how the garden looks now. I planted soft red wheat for a cover crop, but it only grew well in a few rows.

Plant Plant community Vegetation Land lot Tree

This section is shown on the far right of my diagram.

Plant Natural landscape Tree Land lot Wood

This picture is from May 2022 (hubby always tills for me on Mother's Day) but it is to show what I have between the 2 garden sections.

The tree in front was a volunteer peach tree, and our best peach producer. But the roots made it difficult to till the garden from end to end. So, about 10 years ago I split the garden into two sections, and the center, unused strip became the weed pile and garden junkyard.

I do best if I break up a big job into much smaller jobs. So my goals to accomplish before last frost are:

get junk yard cleaned out
expand potato bed into the unused strip
build additional potato bed at south east edge of existing garden
move trellis to North side of garden, to be used for peas. It just makes more sense than trying to till around it, cause peas go in early.

Ok, I've got about 4 weeks to git er done. 😁

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wilderness bushman

· #2 · 3 mo ago

I did not need to fight with tree roots of trees I wanted to keep alive. but you could till close as you can until you start hitting roots and then you could use cardboard to help smother up to/around tree and tilled area and cover with soil to grow above roots,,
I might smother the grass around tree[to help stop it from spreading back into garden] but instead of using soil close to tree use wood chips about 3 feet out around trunk, if you go this route it might be a good place to use plastic on top of cardboard and under wood chips so in a couple years the grass is not coming up threw chips.

do you use kiddy pool to grow in? lol how about cutting hole in middle big enough to go around peach tree and a cut to open from hole in center to outside edge to wrap around tree then plant something inside pool you want to control spread of ? thinking mint? would still use cardboard under it to smother grass out

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2ftgd

Discussion Starter · #3 · 3 mo ago

wilderness bushman said:
I did not need to fight with tree roots of trees I wanted to keep alive. but you could till close as you can until you start hitting roots and then you could use cardboard to help smother up to/around tree and tilled area and cover with soil to grow above roots,,
I might smother the grass around tree[to help stop it from spreading back into garden] but instead of using soil close to tree use wood chips about 3 feet out around trunk, if you go this route it might be a good place to use plastic on top of cardboard and under wood chips so in a couple years the grass is not coming up threw chips.

do you use kiddy pool to grow in? lol how about cutting hole in middle big enough to go around peach tree and a cut to open from hole in center to outside edge to wrap around tree then plant something inside pool you want to control spread of ? thinking mint? would still use cardboard under it to smother grass out

I'm going to dig by hand as much as I can, take the top soil out, lay cardboard down, mix top soil with well composted chicken manure and whatever other organic matter I find around here. Then put the potatoes on the cardboard and cover well with soil mix. At least that is what I was thinking.

The kiddy pool was for my ducks.

Bird Vertebrate Plant Beak Grass

But when they flew the coop (literally...I didn't clip their wings enough...) I tried growing sweet potatoes in it. It was a fail. Pup will inherit it to play in this year.

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wilderness bushman

· #4 · 3 mo ago

2ftgd said:
Pup will inherit it to play in this year.

roflmao please do not tell us you got him a light red bikini

so sorry the devil made me do it

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2ftgd

Discussion Starter · #5 · 3 mo ago

wilderness bushman said:
roflmao please do not tell us you got him a light red bikini

so sorry the devil made me do it

Now listen here buster. Take note of his BLUE collar!

Dog Dog breed Carnivore Grass Snout

Do they make BLUE Speedos for dogs?

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2ftgd

Discussion Starter · #6 · 3 mo ago

wilderness bushman said:
so sorry the devil made me do it

No you're not, but that's OK. 😁

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wilderness bushman

· #7 · 3 mo ago

he is sure looking good ,,,I like the way he is looking like he is waiting on command
attention /focus

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2ftgd

Discussion Starter · #8 · 3 mo ago

wilderness bushman said:
he is sure looking good ,,,I like the way he is looking like he is waiting on command

Thank you. He's a good boy. Loves to dig in the garden though, so we'll see how that goes.

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Shepez

· #9 · 3 mo ago

2ftgd said:
I'm going to use this thread as a journal of sorts to record the changes and improvements I make to my garden. So y'all know what I'm working with:

View attachment 508986
Because of our elevation, we are probably closer to zone 6a, but this is what comes up for my zip code.

View attachment 508987
This was my 2022 garden layout.
View attachment 508988
This is how the garden looks now. I planted soft red wheat for a cover crop, but it only grew well in a few rows.

View attachment 508992
This section is shown on the far right of my diagram.

View attachment 508993
This picture is from May 2022 (hubby always tills for me on Mother's Day) but it is to show what I have between the 2 garden sections.

The tree in front was a volunteer peach tree, and our best peach producer. But the roots made it difficult to till the garden from end to end. So, about 10 years ago I split the garden into two sections, and the center, unused strip became the weed pile and garden junkyard.

I do best if I break up a big job into much smaller jobs. So my goals to accomplish before last frost are:

get junk yard cleaned out

expand potato bed into the unused strip

build additional potato bed at south east edge of existing garden

move trellis to North side of garden, to be used for peas. It just makes more sense than trying to till around it, cause peas go in early.

Ok, I've got about 4 weeks to git er done. 😁

Looking forward to your progress. I really love looking at peoples layouts and have been watching a ton of gardening videos lately. I’m in Zone 6a and just started seeding a few things. Definitely adding more flowers this year. Hoping for more pollinators.

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wilderness bushman

· #10 · 3 mo ago

2ftgd said:
I'm going to dig by hand as much as I can, take the top soil out, lay cardboard down, mix top soil with well composted chicken manure and whatever other organic matter I find around here. Then put the potatoes on the cardboard and cover well with soil mix. At least that is what I was thinking.

I am lost now if you are going to dig it and I assume remove weeds/roots from top soil to put back on top of cardboard? then you really do not need the cardboard unless you think a bunch of the weeds/grass roots will still be in soil you can not get up?,, the cardboard only last a season if lucky when its covered, that's why I use it to smother ground, lay it down this spring and cover ,,this fall I can till it right into the soil,,but it slowed /smothered most of the grass/weeds under it

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BrettTheOkie

· #11 · 3 mo ago

You should ask the mods to "pin" your thread!

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2ftgd

Discussion Starter · #12 · 3 mo ago

Shepez said:
Looking forward to your progress. I really love looking at peoples layouts and have been watching a ton of gardening videos lately. I’m in Zone 6a and just started seeding a few things. Definitely adding more flowers this year. Hoping for more pollinators.

I love flowers in and around the garden. The herb garden has bergamot, hibiscus, Comfrey, and assorted other flowering perennials. That will get some major attention this spring too.

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2ftgd

Discussion Starter · #13 · 3 mo ago

wilderness bushman said:
I am lost now if you are going to dig it and I assume remove weeds/roots from top soil to put back on top of cardboard? then you really do not need the cardboard unless you think a bunch of the weeds/grass roots will still be in soil you can not get up?,, the cardboard only last a season if lucky when its covered, that's why I use it to smother ground, lay it down this spring and cover ,,this fall I can till it right into the soil,,but it slowed /smothered most of the grass/weeds under it

Yes, other than the thick peach tree roots that inhibit tilling, that strip in the center was taken over by blackberry bushes, poison Ivy, and some invasive plant I don't know the name of, all with spreading root systems. My thoughts were to dig out what I can, then cover and kill out these plants, under the cardboard, under the potatoes. Think it will work? I'll take pics when the sun comes up (and after coffee...

😀)

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Weedinhoe

· #14 · 3 mo ago

BrettTheOkie said:
You should ask the mods to "pin" your thread!

Good suggestion!

"I do best if I break up a big job into much smaller jobs." Oh yeah! You can eat the whole elephant... one bite at a time.

Looking forward to watching how you fill in that nice blank slate you have!

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Weedinhoe

· #15 · 3 mo ago

2ftgd said:
...that strip in the center was taken over by blackberry bushes, poison Ivy, and some invasive plant I don't know the name of, all with spreading root systems. My thoughts were to dig out what I can, then cover and kill out these plants, under the cardboard, under the potatoes....

This is going to be one of those "hit it as hard as you can and then monitor the heck out of it" things. The blackberries will insist on coming back (CityKitty can tell you about that) so a constant watch for stuff that tries to sneak back after the first removal is necessary. Be ruthless!

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2ftgd

Discussion Starter · #16 · 3 mo ago

Weedinhoe said:
This is going to be one of those "hit it as hard as you can and then monitor the heck out of it" things. The blackberries will insist on coming back (CityKitty can tell you about that) so a constant watch for stuff that tries to sneak back after the first removal is necessary. Be ruthless!

Yea, them blackberry roots are persistent! I pulled one out, the roots reaching out about 8'. The property line is all blackberry bushes, they made their way over to the garden about 100' away. But the poison... not looking forward to it.

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Weedinhoe

· #17 · 3 mo ago

I fight with grape roots in the two beds nearest the grape fence. Twice a year I have to use the broadfork on those beds and pull that fibrous mess out or it would eventually the top 6" would be almost impenatrable!

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2ftgd

Discussion Starter · #18 · 3 mo ago

Yesterday, I worked at hacking away at the brambles, digging up roots, and general cleanup.

Tire Wheel Plant community Plant Wheelbarrow

Here is a view from the other side:

Plant Automotive tire Grass Land lot Tree

Filled a contractor's bag w/ broken pots, buckets, and disintegrated plastic. Yes, mtnairkin, I know...

Twig Plant Wood Terrestrial plant Grass

This is the plant, covered with frost, that takes over every square inch of open space and spreads its roots far and wide. Probably not a good enough picture to ID it, I'll try again later.

Plant Road surface Grass Groundcover Twig

Another obstacle I forgot to mention, is another volunteer peach tree seedling, and a hawthorn seedling. I'm going to relocate them now, while they are small, but don't know where yet.

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citykittyatheart

· #19 · 3 mo ago

2ftgd said:
Yes, other than the thick peach tree roots that inhibit tilling, that strip in the center was taken over by blackberry bushes, poison Ivy, and some invasive plant I don't know the name of, all with spreading root systems. My thoughts were to dig out what I can, then cover and kill out these plants, under the cardboard, under the potatoes. Think it will work? I'll take pics when the sun comes up (and after coffee...😀)

Ah yes, the endless battle with the blackberry bushes! A couple of years ago I dug out my blackberry bush to replace a portion of my hedge that had died. I'd planted the blackberry in a small circle, thinking that it would be polite and grow up the side of my house. I was new to prepper gardening then, and have since learned that blackberry is NOT a polite plant! It was choking out a rose bush and since the hedge needed replacing, I thought I'd move the blackberry over there. That particular space is just below my deck, so the thorns will make a burglar think twice before climbing the 12' to my deck, and the rose would be saved.

I dug and I fiddled, I fiddled and I dug. I too found stolons that were several feet long, and dug them out as carefully as possible. I moved every cane I could and kept cutting back those that appeared in the old spot. In the meantime, the canes I'd moved took to their new spot very well. Almost nothing else will grow there, but the blackberry is happy! And the blackberry has grown back in the old spot. At this point I just try to keep it contained, bid the rose good-bye (though I did root a cutting and plant it elsewhere) and find contentment in having two stands of blackberry. Free food is good. LOL

The poison ivy is a problem, yes. Not much use for that! Comfrey will spread all over your yard, just like blackberry, but it does have its uses. I make a salve for back pain from mine, but beware of the potential for alkaloid poisoning. And good on you for taking it in steps! That's what I do too. What Weed says about the elephant is true, and it looks like you've got some cleaning up to do. One season at a time! Gardening is great therapy and you get tomatoes. And other goodies LOL.

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2ftgd

Discussion Starter · #20 · 3 mo ago (Edited)

citykittyatheart said:
Ah yes, the endless battle with the blackberry bushes! A couple of years ago I dug out my blackberry bush to replace a portion of my hedge that had died. I'd planted the blackberry in a small circle, thinking that it would be polite and grow up the side of my house. I was new to prepper gardening then, and have since learned that blackberry is NOT a polite plant! It was choking out a rose bush and since the hedge needed replacing, I thought I'd move the blackberry over there. That particular space is just below my deck, so the thorns will make a burglar think twice before climbing the 12' to my deck, and the rose would be saved.

I dug and I fiddled, I fiddled and I dug. I too found stolons that were several feet long, and dug them out as carefully as possible. I moved every cane I could and kept cutting back those that appeared in the old spot. In the meantime, the canes I'd moved took to their new spot very well. Almost nothing else will grow there, but the blackberry is happy! And the blackberry has grown back in the old spot. At this point I just try to keep it contained, bid the rose good-bye (though I did root a cutting and plant it elsewhere) and find contentment in having two stands of blackberry. Free food is good. LOL

The poison ivy is a problem, yes. Not much use for that! Comfrey will spread all over your yard, just like blackberry, but it does have its uses. I make a salve for back pain from mine, but beware of the potential for alkaloid poisoning. And good on you for taking it in steps! That's what I do too. What Weed says about the elephant is true, and it looks like you've got some cleaning up to do. One season at a time! Gardening is great therapy and you get tomatoes. And other goodies LOL.

There are plenty of blackberries growing wild, so I don't mind so much seeking and destroying the ones that won't mind their manners.

Flower Plant Terrestrial plant Herbaceous plant Petal

The goats used to love the poison ivy and keep it in check, but goats are gone. I'm going to try a natural spray, it was I think Dawn and vinegar maybe, have to go look it up.

Fortunately, have not had too many encroaching problems with Comfrey. The catnip is another story...

Thanks for the encouragement!

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