2026 Gardens!

[MossRoad]

Had to do the same…

Wife and I joked about spending $500 on electric fence to protect $28 worth of vegetables.

 

[jyoutz]

Wife and I joked about spending $500 on electric fence to protect $28 worth of vegetables.

Hopefully a garden will produce far more than $28 worth of produce.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

I have probably $300 into the fence, but pumpkins alone are $700+ per year, another several hundred in corn, beans, tomatoes and peppers

 

[Torvy]

Saw an Anaheim pepper a few inches long already.

Blackberries are starting to go from green to red. Bushes are loaded.

We've foraged some wild dewberries and blackberries already. Lots of wild strawberries this year, too.

Tomatoes are still growing. This year I'm making a point of training them into the cages so they get more support.

 

[MossRoad]

Hopefully a garden will produce far more than $28 worth of produce.

I doubt it.... but I will produce about 200# of ground chuck, ah, err, woodchuck!

I tell her we'll never starve. We might not like it, but we'll never starve.

 

[Torvy]

Just discovered one of our red mulberry trees is fruiting, too. So we get another gift, at least if the birds leave us some.

 

[jyoutz]

Just discovered one of our red mulberry trees is fruiting, too. So we get another gift, at least if the birds leave us some.

I’ve never had those. What do they taste like?

 

[DJ54]

Wife and I joked about spending $500 on electric fence to protect $28 worth of vegetables.

I tried that 5-6 years ago, it worked for a couple years then the Deer started jumping over it. Got tired of weed eating around the fence, so just took it down.

I experimented 10 years ago making a living hedge fence from Sunflowers, multiple rows (6-8) 3' wide. Worked very well around a sweet corn patch. Theory is, a Deer will not jump over anything it cannot see the other side of. I tried it completely around the garden the last 2 years, but seed aren't what they used to be and got a very poor stand.

So today I'm trying something different. I planted around 8-10 rows of Sudan Grass/Sorghum around the garden. Supposed to grow 10' -12' high, I left a 10' opening at one end where I will put a small electric fence gate in to access it with tractors, and to pick. It is supposed to mature in 30 days so it should be full growth before much of anything will be interesting to the Deer.

Hope it works, took less than $4 worth of seed.

 

[fatjay]

Last year and the year before, I got overrun by weeds. I till under twice a year.

I did pumpkins, corn, cabbage.

Any suggestions?

 

[jyoutz]

Last year and the year before, I got overrun by weeds. I till under twice a year.

I did pumpkins, corn, cabbage.

Any suggestions?

For pumpkins and corn you could lay down weed barrier fabric and cut holes for your plants. For corn, you just have to weed until the corn is tall enough to overcome the weeds.

 

[fatjay]

For pumpkins and corn you could lay down weed barrier fabric and cut holes for your plants. For corn, you just have to weed until the corn is tall enough to overcome the weeds.

Any chance I can till that weed barrier fabric under after season? It's a pretty long stretch.

 

[rswyan]

Yup - sure is a chance.

Check out the compostable mulches from johnnyseeds (.com)

Amazon has other products as well.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Just planted some winter squash last night. My wife is on a squash kick lately and so I thought I would see if we can grow some. It is a heirloom variety from Baker Creek Seeds. I planted 4, I hear they are space hogs so it should be interesting to see if I can keep them from getting out of hand. Will probably trellis them.

 

[jyoutz]

Any chance I can till that weed barrier fabric under after season? It's a pretty long stretch.

Not the kind I’m familiar with, but they might sell biodegradable paper mulch weed barrier. It’s worth looking into.

 

[CH4Ohio]

Last year I set 12 dozen out and never got 1 tomato with all the heat here, they simply went dormant. I did have one ripen towards the end of Summer. Kept my eye one it, and one evening I guessed it would be ready the next evening. Walked out the row after chores to where it was supposed to be and didn't see it. Looked around and finally saw the stem laying on the ground, a Deer had eaten it.

Seems like the deer here only take one bite out of every tomato. Don't think I've ever seen them eat a whole one!

 

[CH4Ohio]

Wife and I joked about spending $500 on electric fence to protect $28 worth of vegetables.

Yeah! It doesn't pay to do the math on this gardening thing . . .

 

[CH4Ohio]

Can't beat a tiller for garden prep. Two quick passes with the old 5' KingKutter and another 4 rows of corn planted with the Earthway planter. 30 minutes tops.

Whatever happens, we should at least have some sweet corn this summer.

 

[CH4Ohio]

Just discovered one of our red mulberry trees is fruiting, too. So we get another gift, at least if the birds leave us some.

Mom said Grandma would spread sheets under the mulberry trees and they'd shake the branches and catch them for mulberry jam. They are good!

We have several but don't use them except eating a few off the trees. The birds can sure make a mess with them.

 

[CH4Ohio]

I’ve never had those. What do they taste like?

Kinda like a blackberry. Sweet, juicy, purple.

 

[CH4Ohio]

Any chance I can till that weed barrier fabric under after season? It's a pretty long stretch.

No. Whether you use fabric or plastic, it will just wad up in your tiller. You can leave it and plant through it again next year. Or pull it up and pitch it.