Just did the last of the sprouts and one final zucchini was shred. Pumpkins and squash in basement for winter consumption. I kept that one to harvest seeds so it was a biggie. Also trying to harvest my own corn seeds too. 2 calves in 2 more to come. Pretty much ready for winter , thanks to my bro for most of the grunt work.

Nice. I've had Brussels into mid winter. Got cabbage bugs so I haven't planted them the last 2 season. Definitely will in 2021.
I am still harvesting oregano and the rosemary pine tree, lol.
Great herbs to plant for year round use.

Clint S
Calf number 3 was had outside Tueday. Seems to be doing well and eating.

Great news! Glad it's doing well. If it's a heifer maybe name it Gail in honor of the snowstorm it beat by a day.

That's awesome pen. Not trying to one up but we typically don't use heirloom just because they are prone to disease easier and tend to split. Maybe it's my growing.
While I don't, I would reccomend a soil sample. Those who do have a far better crop. Generally, you'll want to add a good amount of calcium in your soil prior to planting such as bone meal. There's nothing worse than having great looking tomatoes only to get bottom rot due to calcium deficiency. If it happens, you can mix bone meal in a bucket of water to dilute and pour around plants. It usually helps quickly to stop bottom rot but can attract unwanted animals being on the surface.
I believe we ended up with 88 healthy tomato plants last season. It was a huge amount and we had over 100 plus quarts of sauce. I'm definitely scaling back to about 50 or 60 plants.
Yes, it's time for me to start my seeds too😀.
Pepper seeds need a warm soil to germinate and take quite some time to reach planting size so if possible try and warm the trays and plant early.
We also secured 100 chickens, in 2 batches of 50. And the piglets are secured from our farmer.
With what I seen last season with EVERYONE doing gardening and buying meats, we couldn't wait and hope things would just be available as normal.

Good luck and have a happy, healthy garden

Always good tips, Thanks TB.

So I have my light set up done. I'm going to start my seeds probably end of the month. Once they pop up and I transplant them into individual peat pots, how much light do they need? I've read a couple things. One says 12 to 14 hours another says 22 hours. What does everyone suggest?


*****EDIT I was being lazy. Read back through these pages and found answers. Sorry fellas.******

Got 72 tomato seeds done today. Gonna see how they do. If I end up weak, I have more to try. Hopefully it works out... gotta start somewhere I guess.

I got tomaote seeds pooping!!! Out of the 72, I'd say 50 came up so far. I have another flat to do. Hopefully I can get about 80 plants. Gonna do my pickles and cukes also. I'll put some pics up soon. I forked all the sheep chit my neighbor brought over outta the barn last fall. Is some great weather out there today. Even if yinz just git aht for some rec time. Enjoy!!!

Made first batch of syrup today, will get the plants started this week. I can still work, just have to take breaks.

Looks like I'll be transplanting those seedlings this week. I probably started them too early, but what tha heck I was getting antsy.

What's everyone think about Pickles n Cukes? Should I just plant the seeds when it comes time or should I start some indoor seeds? Mind you, this is my first year for seedlings. I've always bought plants and stuck em in the ground.

I start them inside about 3 to 4 weeks or so before transplant. If not they get too big too fast and their roots suffer. I add also plant seeds straight in so I have staggered harvest

I got my tomato plants in the green shelves and lights set up Saturday. They are doing great. I'm actually about 2 weeks behind but things should work out well. Only advice I can give is to not plant seeds in peat pots or small starters. Once they start, their upper stems and leaves need space.

Don't start cukes or zucchini indoors. Direct sow, as TB said, mid June.
Do start long run or cooler seeds inside such as cabbage, Brussels, cauliflower and such. You'll want them to be mature by fall.

I ran the rototiller the other day. That sheep chit my neighbor brought from the barn went a long way. I ended up with about 70 sum tomatoe plants that really took. I haven't started anything else yet. We planted that herb and lettuce garden already and I moved all the strawberry plants out of the main garden. Speaking of chickens... these girls and the wife are trying to talk me into a dozen chicks. Neighbor raves about how good the eggs are. Maybe later in the summer, I dunno we'll have to see.

12 egg chickens is a lot. My son with a family of 6 had a dozen egg chickens and he was giving eggs away constantly.
If the chickens produce, then you'll end up with about 60 eggs a week. If we eat a dozen eggs a week that's good enough and it's much easier to get them from a local farm at $4.00 a dozen than to care and maintenance of the birds.
If the wife and kids are intent on them, I'd suggest no more than 6 birds.
Good luck

Yeah I’d only go with 6 also because when they 1st start laying you’ll get 4-6 a day and that adds up quickly unless you have someone or somewhere to get rid of the extras. I currently have 14 but they are all 3+ years old and I still get 5-9 a day.