2015 SFG in Brooks, Ga

Hi yolos.  Oh it was so nice to see your photos!!  You have been the busy bee.  I see that your semi-retirement is suiting you nicely.  Those sweet potatoes were something else!  Wow!

Your photos from today are also quite impressive.  I'll be interested to see how things progress.  Thanks for posting!

Finally finished my Fall/Winter compost pile.  I built this 4 x 4 x 4 compost bin in the fall of 2011 and it is on its last leg.  Probably the last time I can use this bin.  I have been dreaming and scheming about a new bin.  But I learned one lesson, Do not make it 4x4x4 it takes too much effort to fill it.  The next bin will be 3x3x3.


I had to turn one of the ends upside down because it was rotting away at the bottom.  But this will work for the time being.

YOLOS
your compost is looking great.
I agree with the 3 x 3 as opposed to the 4 x 4, I started with 3 x 3 and love that size.
If your not concerned about looks, why not set up 4 corner posts and place 36 inch 2 x 3 wire around it.
The wire size holds back a lot and helps to aerate the bins.
This was one project I never wanted to change


e, the 3 x 3.

Thanks for your suggestions jimmy cee.  Right next to my 4 x 4 I have a 3 x 3 that is in worse shape than the one in the picture.  It is unusable.  It was built with 2 x 2 frames and 1/4 inch and 1/2 inch hardware cloth around the sides.  The sides keep bowing out and I had to put poles in the middle of each side to keep it all together.

So this time, my idea is - 4 x 4 corner posts.  1 x 6 (or 2x6) horizontal top and bottom rails, and maybe 2 x 4 horizontal rails midway between the top and bottom rails.  All covered with 1/4 inch or 1/2 inch hardware cloth to keep the contents within the bin.  Also, the type of front that opens up like Sanderson's.

Ditto on 3x3x3' cages, so much less work. Sanderson's compost bin (early 2014) for the new folks.

I re-did the cage last November 2014, leaving the garden cage (green plastic coated) and replacing the metal fly screen with 1/2" hardware cloth.  When Ken first built the cage, I inwardly grumbled that he built the 3 sides (each 3' x 3' and hinged together) like house framing.  But, now, I think it has held up remarkably well the way he built it.  The garden caging and hardware cloth are secured with giant staples used for Romex electrical wire.

Sanderson, I'm assuming that you just slide out the front boards when you want to access it...?

How much trouble do you have turning it?  I'm thinking about having 2 bins side by side to make that easier...

Much much easier with two bins.

Good to know.  Thanks, Yolos!

2 bins side-by-side would be great but I don't have the room, just a 3' x 3' area. To answer the size question, which task would you want to face on a hot day, turning 27 cu ft or 64 cu ft???

Yes, I slide the boards in as I build it, and slide the boards out as I empty it, one at a time. As far as turning it, it's not that it's hard but that it is more meticulous as I do the Berkeley method. With 2 bins, it would take less time but I would still have to set the top 6" aside until I had the bottom 6" of the new bin covered with some inner core material. I would love 2 bins.

I used two and a half bins with a 1-1/2 foot space between the 2 large.
In that small space I store coffee grinds, you oughta see the worms living there !!!!
I think the more area one has around the compost bins makes composting much easier.

It is going down to 27*F this evening and 30*F tomorrow evening.  I just got thru re-setting up my "Christmas Lights" low tunnel so my lettuce should be ok.  I am not covering the pole shell peas or anything else except the spinach.  They should survive.  The problem I had last time the temps dipped was the pods on the shell peas froze and were inedible.  Hope that doesn't happen again because there are a lot of peas on the vines.  I harvested anything that was close to being ready.


I harvested my spinach for the third time today, fertilized it, covered it with straw and threw a 4 mil plastic cover over it.  It really shouldn't need the cover but I had it sitting around doing nothing so I said what the heck and covered it anyway.



I placed shredded straw mulch on top of my Leeks (bottom of the picture), Garlic and shallots.  Do you see that line of dirt in the middle of the bed of garlic.  Nothing in that row sprouted.  I couldn't figure out why not one garlic sprouted in that row when all the other garlic sprouted 100%.  So I dug down in the row and realized I never planted a single clove in that row.  What a nummy nut.  

Your beds look so cozy with their straw, covers and light. I had a square that seemed like it would never sprout. Well, it never did because I forgot to sow the parsnip seeds in it! One bed of snow peas has lovely flowers. Hope they survive our little cold snap.

Looks great, Yolos!  And a great photo to show DH about the lights...  Thanks!  

Between you & Sanderson, he'll get the idea.

Really nice looking garden, Yolos

AtlantaMarie wrote:Looks great, Yolos!  And a great photo to show DH about the lights...  Thanks!  

Between you & Sanderson, he'll get the idea.

Thanks everyone.

AM - I am not really sure the lights are doing much good.  There were ice crystals on the outside top of the hoop tunnel.  If it were warm enough inside the tunnel, I would think that there would not be ice on the top.  But who knows.  My next big purchase will be to find a weather station that has at least 3 outdoor thermometers that will send the data to my computer so I can record the temps outside, under the plastic and under the Agribon 19.

Beautiful, yolos! Spinach fresh from the garden....yum! Love the pics

Well we had 6 inches of rain in the last 4 days.  Needless to say, the ground is super soggy.  We have Bermuda grass around the house.  Somehow the water got underneath the sod and raised the sod up in the air.  It was like walking on a waterbed.  We had to punch holes in the sod to let the water escape from underneath the sod.  And this sod has been growing for 8 years so should have had enough root system to keep it attached to the ground.  Weird.

Is the soil under the sod a poor quality with poor drainage? That must have been so weird to walk on floating sod.

sanderson wrote:Is the soil under the sod a poor quality with poor drainage?  That must have been so weird to walk on floating sod.

yes, the soil under the sod is hard packed red georgia clay,

I have been learning how to preserve my harvest in different ways.  In the past, I have been usually freezing things in food saver bags in the freezer.  Now I am retired and have more time to learn to use other methods.  This is my somewhat successful attempt to dehydrate various veggies and then grind into powders.  I am trying to eat more nutritious food that is quick and easy to have on hand for fast meals or a substitute for a fast meal.  So I thought the powders could just be sprinkled on most any food I am preparing or added to a smoothie once I buy a smoothie maker.  Tomato, Spinach, Broccoli, Carrots.


I also experimented with various dehydrated veggies to put in a stew or soup.  Lima Beans, Green Beans, Carrots, Leeks, Onions, Corn.


And my latest attempt at preserving.  Pressure canning - these are carrots in various shapes and mixtures.  Now I just need to figure out how to put all my testing into the next experiment - Pressure Canning ready to eat meals such as soups, stews etc.


And I have started growing Micro-greens and eating them for lunch most days.  As soon as I figure out what smoothie machine to buy, I can also add them to my smoothies.


And now I will have to cook with herbs other than salt and pepper.  This is my new Aerogarden planted with herbs.

Wow yolos you are going all out. Well done for sure. I'll be starting up my microgreens again in a few days.

Yolos, You are going all out - very healthy.

Thanks TD and Sanderson - I have not been eating very healthy food recently.  Too much trouble.  A couple pieces of cheese for breakfast, a bologna sandwich for lunch, and who knows what for dinner.  So I am really trying to store food that won't end up going bad and will be nutritious additions to my meals.  I just had a microgreen salad for lunch and sprinkled it with my mixture of veggie powder (spinach, broccoli, carrots).  Yummy and very nutritious.  No breakfast, eggs are old and I am out of cheese.  I just saw a video where they dehydrated raw eggs but I think that is not something that is safe ?????

I have been eating better since June (horrible photo of me prompted me to lose the weight I had gained since retiring) and have lost 15 pounds so far. But, I need to eat better, have a couple of health issues, and lose more weight. At the family gift exchange, I got a whole bunch of deluxe chocolate candies!! Plus other little things and the health books. I tell the kids, nothing for Ken and I, but they always come up with a little something.

Good for those of the SFGers choosing healthier lifestyles for ourselves! Veggies and fruits are the cornerstone of that healthier habit!