Garden and Chickens 101

[adamsredlines]

I finally have a good place to do stuff like this so I think I am going to give a garden a whirl this summer and potentially get some chickens going also. I know there is a plethora of information on both out there but does anyone have any links that they are willing to share that is a crash course to kind of get the ball rolling?

I bought some seed today (corn, cucumber, okra) and will look into doing some potatoes and onions and possibly a few other things eventually.

II figured those three seeds that I bought would be decent starter Gardener choices and can grow from there?

I realize I have much to learn and I'm kind of going at it blind but you got to start somewhere right?

 

[hunter966]

My folks and grandparents always said to get the potatoes in the ground by saint patricks day if I remember right.

 

[dennishoddy]

Do a soil test first of all and specify on the sample that it is for a garden listing what you want to plant.
The test must be taken at root level and in at least a dozen spots where the planned garden is going to be.
My garden is horribly alkali so I have to add acid to make the soil PH good for growing.

 

[Aku]

Not sure how far away you are from a grocery store, But I could never get potatoes and onions to be financially beneficial to grow. Just too easy to buy and store them. The other thing I learned over the years. Buy a tiller. And cut cucumber and okra daily, or it will get out of hand. Knee pads are also a life saver. Or some kind of pad if you don't have raised beds.

 

[kirk1978]

Scratched up my dirt last weekend, need to add some cow crap and get it planted over the next few weeks. Anyone ever cover theirs with straw? I hear it helps with weeds and helps keeps the moisture in, you just have to add nitrogen??

 

[dennishoddy]

Scratched up my dirt last weekend, need to add some cow crap and get it planted over the next few weeks. Anyone ever covered theirs with straw? I hear it helps with weeds and helps keeps the moisture in, you just have to add nitrogen??



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My buddy tried the cow manure. Had a semi load brought in. There were weeds in there that roundup wouldn't kill. Combines don't get all the wheat from the heads. I've used straw a lot, but you have to expect volunteer wheat to come up.

 

[kirk1978]

My buddy tried the cow manure. Had a semi load brought in. There were weeds in there that roundup wouldn't kill.

Oh that's not good, I was going to get the bags at Lowes (easy to handle and spread)

 

[Aku]

Sometimes, I'll plant buckwheat or rye to fix the nitrogen, and then till in before planting. In my old plot, both were thick enough to keep weeds at bay.

 

[dennishoddy]

Oh that's not good, I was going to get the bags at Lowes (easy to handle and spread)

Much better than fresh! LOL!

 

[adamsredlines]

I am a bit further north than you guys are (North Central Nebraska) and the ground is still frozen solid here so I still have time to plan things out.

As far as the grocery store, it is about 8 Miles away in either direction but that is not really the point. They are small town grocery stores and if stuff gets stupid I don't want to be the only person around it does not have a food supply. I have been trying to stock up on meats... Currently that is the only thing in my freezer and buying canned goods when I buy the bulk meats but decided as the weather gets better here in the next month or so I need to look into some kind of self-sustaining food source.

I found this from the Farmers Almanac which they said is specific to my area and I will be using it as a guide of when to plant.

I have an old (1968) Cub Cadet garden tractor with a plow and disk I will use to cultivate the soil. The soil up here is ridiculously fertile and easy to work with... So I think it will til very well with just that.