Just feeling particularly ornery.

Here's shot of my own "red dent" corn variety, showing signs of robustness next to a thriving crop of escarole. The purple in the background are a couple of white peach trees. The foliage to the far right is trellised peas.
Note the leaf mulch between the corn and escarole.
Note the volunteer dill in the lower left, and the tomatillo just above that.



Here are a few random shots that might further illustrate the use and convenience of cattle panels.

Jalapenos.
From forty plants, we picked around 25 five gallon buckets of peppers all told for the season.



Mortgage Lifters



Cherokee Black beans



M Lifters, onions and cabbage. Again, note the heavily mulched paths.
Looks like a mix of grass clippings, leaves and wood chips.



This is a shot from the northwest corner of the main garden.
The trellis is waiting for little chili pepper plants to fill it.
They took a while to do so this year for the cool, wet summer.
Note the asparagus jungles to the left and upper right and center.



And, lastly, for those concerned about weeding.....
This just wouldn't work at all in the tomato and pepper applications, but for double row crops, still in varying stages of infancy/adolescence......
My daughter, who is rapidly approaching six feet tall, gets an obvious kick out of her tunnel weeding ventures. I imagine the task will fall almost exclusively to young Matthew, this year and following.....though he shows signs of heading for loftier heights, as well.

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“I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” Barry Goldwater.
III

[QUOTE=Forerunner;4257896]Tomato trellises......


We use the tomatillos for green enchilada sauce and salsa.
I make my salsa with a very sharp knife, cutting up tomatoes, tomatillos, garlic, onion, hot and mild peppers and cilantro into pieces the size of a small pea. I add a few larger chunks to make it interesting, then I add just a little salt and vinegar to taste, and the texture of the fine cut produce just DOES it, if you know what I mean.


QUOTE]
Great Work. We can see you make great soil, plants, kids and salsa.

Would you mind telling about your green sauce too?

Our enchilada sauce is a simple recipe.
It calls for about equal parts pureed onions and tomatillos, pureed garlic, quantity to your taste, salt and lemon juice or vinegar to your taste.
We can ours in pints with a boiling water bath.

__________________
“I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” Barry Goldwater.
III

Does this need to be cooked for immediate table use like as a salsa?

Thank you.

It would be criminal to cook such nutrient rich bliss, whether it be the green sauce or the red. I think part of the incredible flavor of both are the fact that they are still "alive". It pains me severely to can the stuff........

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“I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” Barry Goldwater.
III

Very well. "Long may they live." Long enough to be eaten.

As for the pain--try standing a little farther away from the canner.

I hear what you are saying. After you have gone to all of the effort with making a perfect produce...

Beautiful pictures. Thank you for sharing both the pictures and your ideas. I can't wait for spring.

Hi Forerunner,

Very impressive pictures of your gardens! I have a few questions for you about your growing methods.

1. What difference do you see between the end result of the path mulch composting down directly in your garden vs the compost you make in your bins? (Sheet composting vs regular composting).
2. What do you do with the mulch in your growing beds when growing season is done? Does it stay there?
3. Do you till compost in or just spread it on top of your plots?
4. How do you see your composting operation change if diesel and farm equipment are unavailable?

Thanks

Brian

Forerunner,

I placed an order yesterday for Mortgage Lifter tomatoes and Moon and Stars watermelon. Your pics were so inspiring!

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www.SAHMville.blogspot.com

Awesome garden porn. I can feel the sun's heat looking at your garden! A great warm-up photo for this cold nasty day. And a huge incentive to plan this year's garden!

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For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring - Carl Sagan

Thanks for all the positive feedback, folks.
I started this thread mostly to get on Rose' nerves, apparently, and just look where it went from there !
It delights me to no end that yer all taking such inspiration from the work here.

Farmerbrian asks some good questions.

1. What difference do you see between the end result of the path mulch composting down directly in your garden vs the compost you make in your bins? (Sheet composting vs regular composting).

Sheet composting is a long term investment, and any bonafide investor will bear second witness to the worth of that. My intent with my mulching, however, is more to protect the soil from sunlight and wind evaporation of moisture and nitrogen, as well as keeping down weeds and just making an attractive and clean area to walk and work as the season progresses.
Certain crops, such as potatoes, need the mulch to keep the soil cool and moist, while others, such as tomatoes and peppers, like warm soil.
Therefore, I spread potato mulch soon after planting, (late April/early May) and mulch the warm bloods after the soil has reached the warmer temps of June.
On the other hand, the application of good, black, finished compost is without equal for facilitating an immediate and drastic change in soil fertility.
The mulch feeds the soil life, especially the worms, over time, and then gives it's nutrient to the plants. Good, finished compost has everything a plant was intended to have available, not only the base nutrient value, but the enzymes necessary for making certain nutrients that are always in the soil available to plants that wouldn't be able to take them up otherwise.

2. What do you do with the mulch in your growing beds when growing season is done? Does it stay there?

I always leave it on, and have both fall tilled and spring tilled the material into the soil. As per your later question, I am slowly working the pattern into a no-till, for the gardens--not yet the fields-- and leaving more of my mulch permanently as would better serve in the absence of power equipment.
We simply peel back the mulch from each row as we plant.

3. Do you till compost in or just spread it on top of your plots?

Always till it in, unless you cover it immediately with a high carbon mulch to protect it from sun and wind. The rule, according to my personal hero, Ehrenfried Pfieffer (now there's a man to google) is to never let compost sit in an open field for more than three hours.
I have taken that to the next level and spread my compost early morning or late evening, preferably on cloudy or even slightly foggy/drizzly days, to preserve as much of the nutrient value, especially the nitrogen, as possible.
Usually, as I am spreading the material, a son is working it in with a disc at the same time.

4. How do you see your composting operation change if diesel and farm equipment are unavailable?

I am going overboard now so that, when that day comes, my family will be gardening and farming in at least two feet of the richest blackness on the planet (I hope )
Between the cattle and the chickens, we come up with an awful lot of material even without going abroad, but I definitely see the day when outside material will be difficult to get, at best.
That's why we all need to be beating the bushes for the stuff now.



Thanks

Brian[/QUOTE]

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“I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” Barry Goldwater.
III

Really inspiring, especially on a cold, grey day like today when Growing Season seems a very long way off. (Of course it isn't that far really and will no doubt sneak up on me and overtake, as always!

Thanks a lot for the detailed response Forerunner!

I'd love to hear more details about your long term plans for no-till gardening. Im in my second year with a no-till garden of about 10K sq ft. My situation is a bit different than yours in that I am starting off with fairly fertile loamy soil instead of hard clay.

Your operation is a superb example of the power of compost in building soil fertility, but I am hoping I can develop a plan that preserves my existing substantial fertility and slowly build it up over time. So permanent deep mulch is where I am going right now but still so much to learn. I've been meaning to start a thread in the garden forum on this subject...I need to get on that!

I honestly don't know how I'd feel if I had to start out with ready-made soil.
I might go stir crazy with so little to do.
For those psychoanalysts out there, I admit that I do have a tendency to need something to focus large amounts of energy into...... sometimes a lot more than maybe one man ought to take on.
Age is finally catching up with me at a ripe old 42, and it isn't easy thinking about slowing down. I do hope that I can instill a bit more of a sense of reasonability into my progeny.

In your situation, mulch and compost made from your own "waste" resources-- be that weeds, animal bedding packs, garden leftovers, household scraps, etc.-- will be plenty to maintain and slowly improve the soil you've described. The size of plot you are working with should be perfect for a medium sized family, and that with some to spare in the better years.

I envision the day when the "farming" side of my operation will morph into a very lush pasture and some fat milkers running around, thus facilitating a far less labor-intensive approach. The garden(s) will all be deep and rich in black, easily hand-worked tilth that a heavy machine need never violate.
Once the soil is established via compost, or nature, as in your situation, the bacteria and enzyme populations do wonders to quickly break down any organic matter that you might add as mulch. Couple that with the sustained worm activity in heavily mulched and fertile soils and you have your deep tillage and vegetable matter recycling covered with very little input on your part.

I have often wondered, regarding my own composting efforts, when enough is enough. So far, I have been at this for ten years. Each year sees an increase in both opportunities for procurement and in net compost applications on the soil. I have yet to see a peak in improved plant response.
Every year, most of the crops see improvement--sometimes vast improvement-- in drought resistance, pest resistance, disease resistance, this last year... even cold and damp resistance!
Keeping quality, size, flavor, overall appearance..... everything keeps getting better. It has to go without debate that mineral content and nutrient value of the crops improves right along with the outer obvious.
Another thing I really noticed last year more than any other was how I have reduced the typical growing season requirement for some crops. I expect others to follow. My cabbages, especially, matured to very large and healthy heads in about a third less time than usual. My peppers and tomatoes, in spite of a late, cold and wet start, broke all previous records with their mid to late season explosion of productivity.
I expect that may have been the "secret" in northern climates that may have, at one time, been for more conducive to growing the food needs of the local populations..... extreme soil fertility.

It can be accomplished almost anywhere. All one must do is begin seeking out the opportunities and roll up his sleeves. I have pursued many productive endeavors in my time, but improving soil and watching the results has been, by far, the most gratifying.
The harmony and balance experienced by a man, diligently and purposefully putting his energies into so directly providing sustenance for family and fellow, alike, is beyond description.
It gives me great pause to ponder the first commandment purportedly given to man by his Creator...... "dress and keep the earth".

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“I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” Barry Goldwater.
III

Just ran across your extreme composting thread and the links to your other threads and I must say, I'm impressed and inspired. We're moving to the Ozarks in less than two months to start our homestead and the soil there is heavy clay similar to yours most likely but maybe with more rocks. I've been stressing about how to get things going as far as soil goes and we'll most likely be doing mostly raised beds at least to start but I don't want to rely on that forever. Aside from free manure, I had not even thought of outside sources for composting, building soil and figured I was going to end up buying stuff. Ironically the next town over has a sign out there for free mulch and any tree service would love to bring you as many loads as you want.

So thanks for opening my eyes to the obvious.

I noticed your house and I think I saw that design or at least very similar. It was one of those free designs from an ag ext site. #7252 correct? ETA: (actually it's the tall building, not sure if it's the house though)

I'll be reading all your linked posts and researching Ehrenfried Pfieffer.

wow your garden looks not only well tended but immense as well. What are the dimensions?

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"Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow the fields of those who don't."-Thomas Jefferson

:banana02:


Just beautiful and inspirirational to say the least.

Excellent work!


Thats living life right there!

Just what I needed right now! It is such an inspiration to read posts like this as I sit here, indoors, awaiting spring. Anyday now I should be able to get out and start working in the garden - and the first thing I am doing this year is getting some of those panels for my tomatoes!!

Karin

I figured this thread was gone forever.

My garden dimensions ?
I'd have to ask, which one ?
I suppose I have an acre and a half under garden type crops.
I have several acres in wheat, hay, buckwheat, rye, etc. on occasion and we use those crops to supplement the family diet, as well as the livestock.

The tall building was likely my powerhouse where the electric system and small shop are housed, with a small greenhouse above.
I sort of designed my house after a small barn that my father built in the 1980s.
The rest of my buildings just morphed as they were constructed, depending on what the farm needs were and used material supply was at the time.

I did just start tomatoes, peppers, onions and sweet potatoes inside today.

JohnP...... Ehrenfried delves into the ethereal. Prepare to be amazed. You might also see "Secret Life of Plants", and "Secrets of the Soil", by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird.

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“I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” Barry Goldwater.
III

lovely photos..yeah, I walked out to the back woods yesterday, on the slush, but it is still too snowy to see my gardens other than a few Jerusalem Artochoke tops still sticking up out of the snow, tops eaten by deer

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Brenda Groth
http://restfultrailsfoodforestgarden.blogspot.com/