2016 SFG Adventures in Hampstead, NC

From what little searching I have done for trellis material, cattle and sheep panel is my pick.
Cattle panel is larger squares than sheep, not sure of exact measurements.
If you cannot get it to fit in your vehicle, ( I can't )  cut it in section that you can fit. then when putting it back together, I'll use the electricians wire ties. http://www.amazon.com/b?node=507844
They are extremely durable and can be tightened as much as needed.
I'll be cutting mine to fit in an suv, those panels are 5 foot wide X 16 foot long, Sheep are a little more.

Thanks Yolos. we will see if they hold up.

Jimmy Cee, sometimes the simplest solutions are the best solutions. I don't know why I didn't think of cutting them at the store...I will keep that in mind next time I go. I am going to go by the Tractor Supply store and see what they have in the way of panels, but for now, I think what I have will do for a bit.

jimmy cee wrote:From what little searching I have done for trellis material, cattle and sheep panel is my pick.
Cattle panel is larger squares than sheep, not sure of exact measurements.
If you cannot get it to fit in your vehicle, ( I can't )  cut it in section that you can fit. then when putting it back together, I'll use the electricians wire ties. http://www.amazon.com/b?node=507844
They are extremely durable and can be tightened as much as needed.
I'll be cutting mine to fit in an suv, those panels are 5 foot wide X 16 foot long, Sheep are a little more.

I buy the Hog Panels, About 4 x 8 feet.  Buy two and make a 8 ft x 8 ft trellis.  Just fold the panels partially over just enough to slide into the suv (once it is partially folded over it ends up being about 4 x 4 x 2 ft high or so.).  tie the sides together with wire.  Then just straighten out when you get home.  It is more expensive buying two hog panels than 1 cattle panel but entails no cutting.  Most of my trellises need to be about 8 ft tall so it is perfect for me.  I just tie one to the uprights with zip ties, then set the next one on top of the one already tied up and it ends up being 8 ft tall.

Bad news first, then the good news...

Bad news:
To follow up on this jalapeno plant...

ralitaco wrote:

I dug down some to look at the stem and as I suspected it was damaged. I pulled it up and picked up a new plant.


As for the tomato plant that broke...it did not make it either so it was pulled out and replaced.
One of the celery plants turned to brown mush but the other one is growing some green leaves, so there is hope there.

The good news:


I have 3 pole beans popping up so far

Ralitaco, you have a very good attitude.  There can be bad news with gardens, but you can usually find some good new too. 

I have been busy reading about composting so I haven't been posting any progress or taking pictures...I'm a real slacker at times.

I have several Pole Beans sprouting and they are in each square so my experiment in scarification showed no benefit (at least for the pole beans).

I have added some watermelons to 2 beds and have just a few empty squares left...decisions, decisions.

After reading about composting, I stopped by a Starbucks and grabbed some coffee grounds. That was kinda funny to me since I'm LDS.

Also, I have picked up some 3/4" EMT to use for the supports for my tomato plants, etc. I plan to use the string method where you have it tied off above the plant and wrap it around the stem. I am thinking in my 2' beds, I can put 3 pieces of conduit across the top. 1 in the center and 1 on each end. then I can make a V and have 2 strings per plant. (don't worry, I'll post some pictures to explain)

Just wanted to post an update...now I have to head to work to pay for my addiction.

ralitaco wrote:Just wanted to post an update...now I have to head to work to pay for my addiction.

Well I sort of worked today, but not really. Instead I got the oil changed in the company vehicle and on my way home stopped by a fence company that sets out their scraps. Over the past week I have scored a bunch of lumber:


I got all of that plus about 8 - 6.5' untreated 2x4's that I put in my shed.

Here is what I have gotten done so far:




I have 2 of these in progress. I will finish putting the side wood on, then I will line them with either hardware cloth or the 2"x4" fencing I have. Then I have to figure out how what to do to make the 2 bins into 3...in other words, what am I going to build for the back.

Looking good!

Thank you. Hoping to finish with the wood tonight and get some fencing on there too

Pretty.  I love getting free lumber and stuff.  It gives me the same thrill as mixing MM does.
Can't wait to see your tomato set up.
CC

CapeCoddess wrote:Pretty.  I love getting free lumber and stuff.  It gives me the same thrill as mixing MM does.
Can't wait to see your tomato set up.
CC

Me too...on both parts.
As for the free lumber: when I was pulling some pieces out of the dumpster, I realized at that very moment that I had become that old guy. (anyone remember the short story "A Piece of String")

I need to get working on my mater setup before the plants get too big to work around.

Here are some more photos of my compost bins. Since I didn't know what I wanted to build or how to build it, I decided to build 2 separate bins and figured I could join them in the back by adding a panel. I am trying to decide if I want to store the finished compost in the middle in a narrower opening or if doing that will end up being a pain to turn the piles that far apart...that is what I am leaning towards that it will be too far.

A finished bin with old 2"x4" semi-rusted fencing (I may go back and add some 1/2" or 1/4" hardware cloth and/or weedcloth):






I ran out of the 4' rusty fence and started using 2' vinyl coated fencing I had left over. You can see where I had to splice the pieces together:



The bins in their final location in the yard. It looks off because the neighbors fence did not go all the way to the back property line but I plan to put fence up this summer.
I am a bit concerned about putting it under a tree because of the roots, but if it becomes a problem, I can line the bottom with bricks or something.




This is my dilemma about the middle bin. I went ahead and test fit my sifter and it will work great there.

The bright white is the end of my jig that sits on top of my wheel barrow. I have to add a few pieces, but I will be able to sit that jig up there or pull it off if I need it for the wheel barrow.
If I decide that I want to make the middle bin 3' wide and use it to turn the pile, I will have to adjust the structure so the jig can fit on the 36" opening or narrow up the end bin. I am thinking that decision will be made as I turn my first pile.

Hopefully, I will be able to get some more free wood for the fronts. I am thinking about making 2 - 18" high panels so I can pull the top one off to use as the bottom when I turn and then I don't have to shovel everything 3' in the air.

Any suggestions on the design, placement of the bins, etc. would be appreciated.
Thanks

Well, you did ask for suggestions.  The jig and sifter can go any where.  Concentrate on building the 3-chamber compost bin.  You are so lucky to have the space and skills (and free wood) to have it.  Good you are thinking ahead about the tree.  design the middle chamber so that you can remove.  That way, you can put bricks under one chamber at a time.

A Piece of String?

Add: I found and read it. Such writing is a lost art.

http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/PiecStri.shtml

ralitaco wrote:This is my dilemma about the middle bin. I went ahead and test fit my sifter and it will work great there.

The bright white is the end of my jig that sits on top of my wheel barrow. I have to add a few pieces, but I will be able to sit that jig up there or pull it off if I need it for the wheel barrow.
If I decide that I want to make the middle bin 3' wide and use it to turn the pile, I will have to adjust the structure so the jig can fit on the 36" opening or narrow up the end bin. I am thinking that decision will be made as I turn my first pile.

Any suggestions on the design, placement of the bins, etc. would be appreciated.
Thanks

Goodness gracious you are very industrious.  That looks great except for the sifter operation being in the middle.  Yea, wait until you turn the pile to make the final decision where to put your sifter.  I would definitively put the two bins next to each other and make your sifter operation on the side. You may be bigger, stronger and younger than I am, but you will expend a whole lot of energy getting the compost turned if the bins are not next to each other.

Dang, RT! Sweet set-up!

Heeding the advice of those wiser than me...


Now I'm off to get some buckets, hopefully some more free wood and maybe some free horse manure

Wiser: already tried and it didn't work so good

And, maybe some more boards to slip inside the front as you build your pile?

sanderson wrote:And, maybe some more boards to slip inside the front as you build your pile?  

working on that part. I was thinking about 2 - 18" sections instead of a bunch of boards. Ran out of time tonight so I will ponder this evening. Thanks for everyone's help!!!

On Saturday, I bought 13 buckets with 10 lids for $10 (I figured it was worth it not to drive around to a bunch of stores), got some more free wood and filled 10 of those buckets with lids with free horse manure.
On Sunday, after getting ready for work, I somehow pinched my sciatic nerve and have nothing beyond the bed and the doctor's office. Thank goodness for prescription meds.

I am hopeful that I can get outside in the next day or two to create/build my front panels and get my pile started.

Question: will I be better off, SMELL-WISE, to leave the horse manure in the buckets with the lids ON or to dump it out into a pile until I am ready to create my pile?

ralitaco wrote:

Question: will I be better off, SMELL-WISE, to leave the horse manure in the buckets with the lids ON or to dump it out into a pile until I am ready to create my pile?

I leave mine in buckets in the shed out of weather until I'm ready to use in compost. I still have one from last fall ..

jimmy cee wrote:I leave mine in buckets in the shed out of weather until I'm ready to use in compost. I still have one from last fall ..

Thanks JC, I feel much better now. Especially after my neighbor brought me a bag of Rabbit manure and newspaper bedding. UGGHHH!! That stuff was vile.

So I did get outside today and put together some front panels for my compost bin. I want to make at least one more set but I think I will need to get another pallet first.

I used some 12" 2X4 scraps and the 1x4's from a pallet. They 1x4's were 42" long and I cut them down to 33" & 9". Since my opening b/n the 4x4's is 29", the 2x4's are set back 2 1/8" so they slide inside the 4x4 corner posts. The 33" 1x4's overlap the 4x4 on the front by 2" and the 9" 1x overlaps the back side of the 4x4 by 2".

Here is a side view. Because of the angle of the picture, you can't really tell but the vertical 9" 1x4 extends 2"















The finished product


I can remove the top one and make it the bottom when I turn the piles

I had to add some 2x4's to the middle bin. The white one made it flush with the 2x's that I used across the top and bottom. The 2nd 2x was to give me something for the front panels to slide down.

Now off to the composting thread to ask about how to layer my pile and what to do with the stuff (leaves and kitchen scraps) that I sort of started making a pile with.

ralitaco wrote:After seeing what some others (Yolos) have done on this forum to document their gardens, I decided to follow suit and create an Annual Thread in my Regional forum.

I had been posting in my Adventures in Table Top thread in the DIY forum. It is essentially my 2015 Adventures even though I started it in 2014, it was for the 2015 growing season. Although, I did start post there in 2016 starting with this entry: Start of 2016 Thread but from here on out, I plan to use this thread for the remainder of the 2016 season.

Having said that, not much has changed since my last post in Adventures in Table Top, but I wanted to go ahead and get this thread started.

I did purchase some transplants at the Herb & Garden Fair I attended this weekend.
I picked up the following:
Spinach
Celery
Tomato (slicing & cherry)
Peppers
Several herbs

Updates and pictures coming soon

Oh, I also retired my old avatar:


And created a new one...keeping with my sci-fi theme

I thought the Tardis was appropriate, especially since you can grow so much in such a small space.

Love your new avatar.

yolos wrote:

ralitaco wrote:I decided to try the scarification process on half of the Pole Bean seeds. I think it will be interesting to see how much of a difference, if any, there will be for the germination time.
I also saw something online about "peeling" the hull off the squash seeds. I figured I would try it and see what happens so I removed the hull and planted 2 seeds in the MM in a 1'x2' square.

As far as I know, beans are the easiest seed to germinate.  I have never done anything to them except sow the seeds.  No presoak, no scarification, etc. This year I am trying an innoculant to see if they perform better.

In a few weeks time, that will be a jungle of veggies.  I can't wait until they take off and see them climbing the trellis.  I will be planting out this week.  We will have to compare the growing of our tromboncino squash.

What I just learned the hard way about beans is that warm nights are required. Mine were in peat pots on the deck, doing nothing.(Night temps in the high 40s.) They need lows above 60 I guess. As soon as I brought them inside they popped right up. (Night temps in my sun porch in the mid to high 60s.)