KillingtonZone.com

the equinox has come and gone and spring corn will soon be here....


all that aside it's time to begin this year's garden...



Words of wit from none other than New Holland Brewery makers of Madhatter beer...



indoor starts and greens

here's what i got. 11 raised garden beds covered in black landscaping cloth (not plastic). 50'x90' 5 ' high fenced in plot. my plan is to mix 2 bags of organic raised bed soil into each bed. starting small with 2 beds and take it from there. already have brussel sprout seedlings going. since i'm late will probably rely on store bought seedlings for everything else. tomatoes, broccoli, zucchini, asparagus are my faves. eggplants, green beans & peas as well. anyone need to board horses ...
not sure what this is ... these are supposedly blueberry bushes. got 10 of these.

Nice layout. Not enough sun in my yard - everything needed to grow at 45 degree angle with low yield.

skiadikt wrote:here's what i got. 11 raised garden beds covered in black landscaping cloth (not plastic). 50'x90' 5 ' high fenced in plot. my plan is to mix 2 bags of organic raised bed soil into each bed. starting small with 2 beds and take it from there. already have brussel sprout seedlings going. since i'm late will probably rely on store bought seedlings for everything else. tomatoes, broccoli, zucchini, asparagus are my faves. eggplants, green beans & peas as well. anyone need to board horses ...

IMG_1130.JPG

not sure what this is ...looks like a compost bin that they grew squash in...great idea and I like the way the pallet keeps the fruit off the soil...

IMG_1134.JPG

these are supposedly blueberry bushes. got 10 of these.awesome keep them fences around til the forest around you greens up or the deer may eat em...

IMG_1132.JPG

you got some top notch stuff to work with there....

with all those beds you can set up a real good rotational system whereby all your plants nutrient needs are met...

you only really need to enrich the beds of the most nitrogen heavy users...



asparagus requires a dedicated planting area as it's a perennial...it requires well drained VERY rich soil...you are on the right track w horse boarding....if you got a close by neighbor farmer you s/b able to get a pile dropped at your place and compost it down...it composts quick and doesn't really smell either..


root vegetables and nitrogen fixers ( like peas) can be grown in any of those beds as is...

time for peas right about now...install some green wire garden fence through the middle of one ( or more) of those raised beds and plant your peas on either side of it...do the fence first so the peas can climb right up it as they grow and you don;t have to damage the pants installing the fence...


mrs hatter and I need to take a ride over and visit soon for a more detailed discussion...you got yourself the makings of a nice gentleman's farm there...

Hey Phil maybe you can get a stand at the Farmers Market! It's a great market

Asparagus has sprung, first harvest today with a lot more to follow each day now.

Skiadikt, that's one impressive layout, way to go.

f.a.s.t. wrote:Asparagus has sprung, first harvest today with a lot more to follow each day now.

Skiadikt, that's one impressive layout, way to go.

wow those are amazing. how many years did that take?

thanks. impressive layout ... now i have to figure what to do with it. i lived in manhattan for 30 years so this is all new. just moved in 2 months ago so thinking baby steps. happy if i can get just a few things to grow this year.

Skiadikt: It's not hard to grow vegetables. I'd start by getting a large bag of 10-10-10 time release fertilizer. You can use it on anything early season. I'd take one raised bed and plant carrots and beets. Just put some fertilizer (follow instructions on bag) on the ground (maybe some lime) and turn the soil over with a spade. Get a string and two sticks and run a straight line. Then take a hoe and dig a trench and plant the seeds. 15 minutes and one of your beds is done. You could put more in, butt you have quite a few beds. One great garden tool is hoe with two tines on one side and a blade on the other. It's great to run along the string to dig a trench and then push the dirt to cover them up.
Once they start to grow mulch the beds to keep down weeds and keep moisture consistent. F.A.S.T. had some pictures with straw mulch and it looked like it worked well.
Start a compost pile. PM Madhatter if you have any questions. Good luck in god's country.

you could probably steal some K mulch, they have so much...

skiadikt wrote: impressive layout ... now i have to figure what to do with it. i lived in manhattan for 30 years so this is all new. just moved in 2 months ago so thinking baby steps. happy if i can get just a few things to grow this year.

Did anyone else hear the Green Acres theme while reading this?

skiadikt wrote:

f.a.s.t. wrote:Asparagus has sprung, first harvest today with a lot more to follow each day now.

Skiadikt, that's one impressive layout, way to go.

wow those are amazing. how many years did that take?

thanks. impressive layout ... now i have to figure what to do with it. i lived in manhattan for 30 years so this is all new. just moved in 2 months ago so thinking baby steps. happy if i can get just a few things to grow this year.

I have two raised asparagus beds, one is 4' x 8', with 10 crowns and another 2' x 8' with 5 crowns. Purchase crowns at a garden center and they are easy to plant. Only problem is that you have to wait 2 years before you can harvest them.

You have a lot of space. If you don't have a lot of experience, don't overwhelm yourself; especially if you don't have a lot of time to maintain all of those raised beds that will take a lot of time. Don't worry if some things don't work out, every gardener has failures.

f.a.s.t. wrote:Asparagus has sprung, first harvest today with a lot more to follow each day now.

Skiadikt, that's one impressive layout, way to go.

mine are still completely dormant...

things are just greening up in madhatterville...the soil is just about ready for planting, garlic has been up a couple weeks...still not much growing in the woods so the deer are brave and come in real close to the house...peas, radish and greens are going in this week/weekend ( seeds, direct sow) and perhaps my broccoli starts will go out as well if I have time to set up the low tunnel hoop, otherwise they'll simply become fodder for the deer...big ol' tom has been out all morning strutting his stuff, harem in tow...

madhatter wrote:

skiadikt wrote:here's what i got. 11 raised garden beds covered in black landscaping cloth (not plastic). 50'x90' 5 ' high fenced in plot. my plan is to mix 2 bags of organic raised bed soil into each bed. starting small with 2 beds and take it from there. already have brussel sprout seedlings going. since i'm late will probably rely on store bought seedlings for everything else. tomatoes, broccoli, zucchini, asparagus are my faves. eggplants, green beans & peas as well. anyone need to board horses ...

IMG_1130.JPG

not sure what this is ...looks like a compost bin that they grew squash in...great idea and I like the way the pallet keeps the fruit off the soil...

IMG_1134.JPG

these are supposedly blueberry bushes. got 10 of these.awesome keep them fences around til the forest around you greens up or the deer may eat em...

IMG_1132.JPG

you got some top notch stuff to work with there....

with all those beds you can set up a real good rotational system whereby all your plants nutrient needs are met...

you only really need to enrich the beds of the most nitrogen heavy users...



asparagus requires a dedicated planting area as it's a perennial...it requires well drained VERY rich soil...you are on the right track w horse boarding....if you got a close by neighbor farmer you s/b able to get a pile dropped at your place and compost it down...it composts quick and doesn't really smell either..


root vegetables and nitrogen fixers ( like peas) can be grown in any of those beds as is...

time for peas right about now...install some green wire garden fence through the middle of one ( or more) of those raised beds and plant your peas on either side of it...do the fence first so the peas can climb right up it as they grow and you don;t have to damage the pants installing the fence...


mrs hatter and I need to take a ride over and visit soon for a more detailed discussion...you got yourself the makings of a nice gentleman's farm there...

my beds are approx 4'x16'. for the peas, is that just one garden fence down the middle with seeds on either side or do i have room to do 2 fences say a foot apart?

planning to order the asparagus crowns. these seem to be highly rated:

https://www.gurneys.com/product/asparabest-asparagus

skiadikt wrote:

f.a.s.t. wrote:Asparagus has sprung, first harvest today with a lot more to follow each day now.

Skiadikt, that's one impressive layout, way to go.

wow those are amazing. how many years did that take?

thanks. impressive layout ... now i have to figure what to do with it. i lived in manhattan for 30 years so this is all new. just moved in 2 months ago so thinking baby steps. happy if i can get just a few things to grow this year.

That's great! Where did you go?