Garden Time, JINMAN ??????

[Bird]

Jim, it's a shame to see good groceries go to waste, but I had that same problem when I lived down in the country. That garden sure does look good.

 

[MarkV]

Jim your plants are looking great. With the drought we are having here in Georgia it might be cheaper for me to drive to Texas and raid your garden than it is to keep up with the watering. The deer also hit our garden and pretty much wiped out the beans, spinach and lettuce this week. First time we have had a problem with deer in the garden. I guess our drought isn’t making it easy for them to find young growth to munch on in the woods. Looks like I’ll be doing some replanting this week.

MarkV

 

[txdon]

Jim, I fought the weeds and the weeds won. This week I'll till, with the 6 footer, all but the okra and corn. My shoulder and neck hurt for two days after using the small tiller for 3 hours. I think my weeds actually enjoyed it. My best success has been in previous years with my raised beds. I will try to till regularly and add more organic matter, maybe I will win next year.

I am still in awe over your lack of weeds! (I don't think that is normal.)

 

[MadDogDriver]

When looking at JC's and Jim's pics, it reminds me of why I love the country so much. Mmmm.... You guys do a great job!!

One thing I really miss from my youth is when we'd get together with all the neighbors and put each other's hay up. Man, those were some feasts both during and after the work was done.

 

[jinman]

Jim, I fought the weeds and the weeds won.

Don, I feel for you. That sandy soil can be really tough. Every time you till it up, you just turn up more weed seeds.

I also love my little tiller, but it does make me a little sore thru the shoulders. I took the wheels off of it and make it go back and forth like a floor buffer. I once had a neighbor buy one because they saw me using mine and I made it look so "easy." About two months later, they were selling it in a garage sale. Maybe because the engine sits about half-way up on mine it is easier to manipulate.

I really don't know why weeds are not a problem for me. You can see by my pictures that weeds and grass grow fine around the garden and my plants seem to love the soil. Maybe I have the weeds "boondoggled" into thinking they can't beat me.

 

[mwood]

I am envious of the nice looking dirt and the lack of weeds.

Here in Upstate NY, we've got clay with a never ending supply of rocks. I've tried everything, but can't kill the grass -- even with tons of tilling. It seems that by the time my planted seeds sprout, they're directly competing with the grass seeds which must have been in the soil next to them. Can't till them or risk killing hte seeds I want to grow. Really starting to get frustrating.

Hopefully, I'll have something other than a hand tiller in the near future (with the purchase of the tractor). I'm getting sick of tilling close to 2000 sq ft by hand. With all the rocks, my back takes a beating!

Congrats! Hopefully, this year we'll get some fruits for our labor!

 

[WayneB]

Jim I missed what little tiller you own. I have my old Troybilt (1982) that I have rebuilt once. Still works great and no need to look further for a walk behind tiller. I have an Echo hand held tiller I use to weed with from time to time. It works fine during the early growing time.

Got my potatoes and peas in and a few small tomato plants. Rained almost everyday last week and this morning it was 35 degrees so we are still holding off until next week to do much planting. Ground is just too cold.

Your beans look great!!!!!!!!!!Wow.

Wayne

 

[jinman]

Jim I missed what little tiller you own. I have my old Troybilt (1982) that I have rebuilt once. Still works great and no need to look further for a walk behind tiller. I have an Echo hand held tiller I use to weed with from time to time. It works fine during the early growing time.

Wayne and mwood, I have a little 2-cycle tiller exactly like this one below. I've taken the wheels off so I can easily work it from side-to-side. The tines are reversible, but I leave them put normally. I have tilled with this tiller for years and years while only replacing the gas pump bulb and lines and the drive flexshaft cable one time.

2-cycle tiller

The attachment is a picture of me using the tiller to clean weeds out of my melon patch. I can do several hours worth of "hoeing" in less than an hour with this tiller. Before I planted, I did till this spot at least three times and plowed it once to lay out the rows. The soil is very cultivated, but still gets rock hard when it drys because of all the clay. I'm as amazed as everyone that I don't have more weeds.

 

[jinman]

First time we have had a problem with deer in the garden. I guess our drought isn’t making it easy for them to find young growth to munch on in the woods. Looks like I’ll be doing some replanting this week.

MarkV

Mark, it's bad enough to be in drought and worse to have to keep critters out of the garden. That's what happened to me last year at the end of the season when the squirrels and 'coons decided they wanted my melons more than me. I probably lost 25 melons to critters. I'm hoping this year will not be a repeat performance. Deer have never been a problem because of our dogs, but nothin' can stop a smart 'coon.

 

[txdon]

Jim, with the rain we had Sunday night it looks like I will get to mow BEFORE I till the garden !
We went on an Easter egg hunt mission to find vegetables. Very surprisingly we found a few. (The plums in the upper right don't count they are native wild, like the weeds.)