Your 2025 Garden

[Justagalwithchicks]

I have used plastic sheeting and fabric landscape cloth in flower beds with pinestraw mulch on top. I had a lot of problems with slugs. Grass and weeds grew through it, both broke down pretty quickly. It was a pain to remove. Now I just use pinestraw(we have lots so free) for flowerbeds. It I get a weedy
spot, I pull back the straw and cover with cardboard and pull the straw back in place. This has worked well.

In the veg garden about once every week to 10 days or so I used a stirrup hoe. It's easy to use and keeps things mostly weed free. My favorite garden tool! Sometimes I also mulch around plants with leaves/straw.

Stirrup hoe will let you weed standing up.

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I pulled mine up also. I didn't have much laid down but the voles learned that they had a perfect place underneath it! Nope! It had to go! Those voles are awful hard to get rid of once established

 

[NanaK]

Those voles are awful hard to get rid of once established

I can sympathize! I have them here too.

 

[Justagalwithchicks]

I have a whole "fancy" note on my phone with info on the garden plants I want it's a WIP but I like to have all the info ready beforehand before I do something.

Are the different color tomatillos different varieties or just stages of ripeness?

I grow tomatillos and make salsa Verde .. we absolutely love it! I just grow the green and use the recipe in the ball book of canning for canning it.

 

[Nomadicus]

I pulled mine up also. I didn't have much laid down but the voles learned that they had a perfect place underneath it! Nope! It had to go! Those voles are awful hard to get rid of once established

I'm going to put out some traps to see if I have any. I'd rather fight than switch....

 

[R2elk]

I'm going to put out some traps to see if I have any. I'd rather fight than switch....

The previous snow build up had many vole tunnels in one particular area. I put out "treats" for the voles. This past snowstorm showed no new vole activity. Hopefully this was due to the consumption of the "treats".

 

[TOMTE]

How to deal with voles, shrews, mice, chipmunks, rats, etc: let predators get 'em

How to lose chickens: have predators around


At least my chickens kill the shrews that find their way into the run

We have so many little critters around, being surrounded by woods, and it sure does bring in the predators. Raccoons, possums, foxes, potential bobcat, domestic cats, there are fishers in the area but I haven't seen signs of them yet, and almost definitely weasels. Birds of prey too everywhere all the time. Yet they don't seem to make a dent in the critter population. I'm sure they do, but it sure doesn't seem like it!

I don't like poison. It gets back into the environment and ends up killing other animals. Kill traps (like snap traps and electric ones) are the best option but some of these buggers are smart and learn to avoid them, or even get the bait out without triggering them. So then it's back to "let the predators take care of it" but I have to be extra vigilant because the chicken run is not that secure.

 

[NanaK]

My peppers have germinated. I need to start some marigolds next. These are really helping keep the root knot nematodes in check. Plus I love marigolds!

 

[TOMTE]

My peppers have germinated. I need to start some marigolds next. These are really helping keep the root knot nematodes in check. Plus I love marigolds!

Marigolds! That's another one I need to add to the list! I hear chickens love 'em, and they make the yolks nice and orange.

Last year we did Chinese 5 color peppers. They were SO SPICY, even the purple ones, which are supposed to be mild. They're tasty and can make a nice ornamental plant too, because the peppers are so pretty. They go from purple, to white/cream, to yellow, to orange, to red as they grow. Unfortunately our plants didn't do too well. I think some disease struck. But we still got plenty of peppers out of them.

 

[NanaK]

Marigolds! That's another one I need to add to the list! I hear chickens love 'em, and they make the yolks nice and orange.

Last year we did Chinese 5 color peppers. They were SO SPICY, even the purple ones, which are supposed to be mild. They're tasty and can make a nice ornamental plant too, because the peppers are so pretty. They go from purple, to white/cream, to yellow, to orange, to red as they grow. Unfortunately our plants didn't do too well. I think some disease struck. But we still got plenty of peppers out of them.

I grow French marigolds for the garden. I read that the nematodes don't like them. I plant them at the base of my tomatoes and throughout the garden. It seems to be helping. I check roots when I pull plants at the end of the season. I have read it is added to some brands of layer feed for it's effect on yolk color. I've found pumpkins, carrots, butternut squash and greens do this as well.
I am wimpy when it comes to hot peppers.
I grow sweet bells and a couple cayenne. I make pepper vinegar with cayenne.

I did grow an ornamental pepper in the past that sounds similar to the one you mentioned. It was supposed to be very hot but I did not taste it.
I thought it was very pretty and nothing bothered it. No deer or insects.

 

[CatInTheHenHouse]

Okay so grow light question: has anyone used the multicolored lights and do they work? All the grow lights I’ve ever used have been white.