Replacing our two 4'x4' raised wood boxes with a u-shaped setup like this. And figure out a hoop house for it so we can plant early. Here in CO the saying is don't plant until Mother's Day, but with some type of greenhouse we can start late March or early April. I have no idea what we'll grow this year. Our staples are corn, snow peas, and broccoli, and usually a one tomato plant for me.

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The secret of a long life is you try not to shorten it.
-Nobody

Looks like solid plan. I’ve seen some cool hoop house set ups with rebar pounded in the ground leave 6” exposed and bending some PVC to form a hoop.

We are building on the property, living in the old house. I’m hoping to move in a month, and use the old house for starting seeds, they tear it down this summer.

First big project is fixing the second half of my fence, 500' left.

I also want to finally get electric and water run to a few different spots.

I never like unsolicited advice when it is given to me so I apologize in advance, 10 apple trees is a lot of apples once they start really producing. I've got 4 and one is a dwarf. I had almost 20 bushels off them last year. And had a shit time selling them, I had so many my normal people I give them too were tired of them. Trimming gets to be work too.

Love my grapes. Do that. Easy care. Blueberries too. Easy care, easy picking, just need to make sure you have the soil ph good, usually by adding some sulfur to make it more acidic. I always love my sweet corn and all sorts of peppers. Squash always do well. Melons almost never do well for me. Oh, and really like home grown cucumbers. And eggplant.

I need to replant strawberries in a new spot, so that will need cleared.

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I'm beginning to think that we are much more fucked than I thought.

Appreciate the advice. Good to know. I will scale back. I’ll prob do dwarfs. Was thinking Honeycrisp. Ideas on good cross pollinators? Good idea on berries.

Do any of you have a good soil PH meter than you can recommend?

I would like to be able to test the PH at various places on my property. We've amended the soil differently based on the needs of trees and plants, so taking one sample to the Ag Extension office wouldn't do us any good.

I have used this one, and the soil testing kit below it. Work fine.
This is a Canadian company's site, but you might be able to search the brand.

https://www.leevalley.com/...-ph-meter?item=AB927

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"I keep hoping for you to use your superior intellect to be less insufferable. Sadly, you continue to disappoint." - gofigure

Thank you. I looked on Amazon before asking the question and wasn't really able to tell because the ratings were either skewed from compensated reviewers or they were reviewing the moisture meter functionality.

Lee Valley reliably sells quality stuff. I have bought a lot of things with only one issue, which was quickly rectified . You can use them as a reference for future needs.

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"I keep hoping for you to use your superior intellect to be less insufferable. Sadly, you continue to disappoint." - gofigure

I’m in zone 4b.

Think I’m going to get my lettuce from Jonny’s seeds.

Strawberry— what type? Be interested in the single season and the perennial— can’t remember types.

Tomatoes— plants bought locally?

Learn me on blueberry?

Any other seed sources?

One tip on honeycrisp. Store for a few weeks at normal temperature before putting in cold storage. Local apple farmer told me this. He said until they figured this out they lost a lot due to rot when put direct in cold storage. Just look up optimal storage method on internet’s. different from other apples apparently

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They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot

I have a chart somewhere but can't lay my hands on it. Might have been in an old spray book my dad gave me. McIntosh is a good pollinator for Honeycrisp. And is a very hardy apple that always produces, so I would think it is a good choice. But generally speaking as long as it isn't the same variety and blooms at the same time you are good to go. There are only a couple, winesap (and you aren't going to plant it anyway since I have never seen it at a nursery and the only one I have ever seen used to be in my parents' yard) comes to mind, that don't cross pollinate. Even Crabapples will do.

My biggest advice for Honeycrisp is don't miss your spray schedule. If you do they will be small and knobby and not pretty. I have Red Delicious, Yellow Delicious, McIntosh, and Honeycrisp.

The Honeycrisp is by far the most susceptible to spotting and such from fungus. There is a reason they have developed CosmicCrisp, which I don't think you can buy as a tree yet and I think it is only available for commercial orchards right now, because it is a sturdier apple with the same flavor qualities.

I like all 4 of them but my Yellow Delicious is by far the best as far as combo of reliable production, taste, and versatility for eating, baking, cider.

McIntosh is more tart and cooks down so makes good applesauce as well as releasing juice good for cider.

A lot of people aren't that fond of Red Delicious but I like eating them right off the tree and if you make cider just from them it is a lighter crisper flavor. They store for shit (get mealy quickly) and bake about as well.

The university extension services are a huge trove of info. I usually go out to Washington State's site. All you ever wanted to know - https://treefruit.wsu.edu/

I like all my fruits. The only thing I have truly failed at is currants. Just can't get them to grow. Oh, and the woodpeckers are a formidable opponent when it comes to my peaches.

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I'm beginning to think that we are much more fucked than I thought.

Presently:
- 14 hens, 2 roosters. Adding six Easter Egger hens in the spring. We sell them to friends and coworkers basically at cost. It's a fun hobby and they love the fresh eggs.
- Heirloom apple orchard is overgrown, looking to thin the herd by about 1/3 and trim back the keepers. Currently the waste feeds the chickens below where they range.
- Two pear, three peach, one tart cherry tree
- Majority of my blackberry bushes turned into horse snacks so hoping they'll grow back after getting nubbed.

Not looking to add anything this year but to maximize yield and manage more efficiently.

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The devil made me do it the first time, second time I done it on my own - W

I just bought 11 colored egg layers from Hoover’s, total of 30 now.

I’ll sell eggs this summer, been giving them to family. Fun hobby.

Just south of Houston. Fall/winter crop is still growing and producing. We have 7 4x8 raised beds with asparagus (2023 plant, just cut back last week and looking for to a year or two down the road when we can harvest), carrots, lettuces, radishes, peas, green onions. Just planted some tomato seeds today and hoping for better results this year; the heat last year decimated the crop, though some of our spring plants did make it to the fall and produced some smaller fruit. Have a peach tree in ground that should be leafing out soon. Also have several citrus in pots who produced quite a bit last year.

Buy tomato plants/strawberries local?

Or online?

Tomato plants are a good one to start from seed indoor. You can get some cool heirloom varieties that way. It is cheap. And you can give away some to gain points with other gardeners

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They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot

If you want only a few tomato plants of one variety, or only a few but different varieties, I would buy (local).
If you want lots of plants, or all one type, I would grow from seed.

Strawberries I would buy local, but do some looking to make sure you are getting the characteristics you want. Lots of variation in fruit timing, size and sweetness of berries, amount of runners produced.

Personally, I only order from the internet if I can't get the plant or seeds locally.

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"I keep hoping for you to use your superior intellect to be less insufferable. Sadly, you continue to disappoint." - gofigure

Stated seeds, I’m a little late. Should be planting middle of May.

Reccs on tomatoes/peppers for salsa? Not real hot, more flavor and freshness.

I started mine early, I think I had grow lights to close, and sunburn them, been almost a month since they germinated and just starting to show a true leaf.

Tomorrow start a new tray of Tomatoes and we shall see.

Trying a GMO Purple tomato first GMO sold to consumers. Hopefully this works out.

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Just Triing
Triathlete since 9:56:39 AM EST Aug 20, 2006.
Be kind English is my 2nd language. My primary language is Dave it's a unique evolution of English.

I fired up the rototiller this evening and did a first pass on the new strawberry patch. I have the plants, hope to get them in the ground this weekend.

Got the first two sprays on the apple trees and they are blooming, looksa little sparse, which isn't surprising given the massive crop last year. Pears and cherries are blooming and look good. Blueberries are looking very good.

First asparagus popped up too.

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I'm beginning to think that we are much more fucked than I thought.

Last July we moved onto 4.5 acres. Last year we focused on our koi pond.
So far this year I've nodded about 1,500 sf to give us some yard. We've planted 4 trees: Vitex, Loblolly Pine, Chinese Fringe, and a Desert Museum Palo Verde.
Next up is a couple of large flower gardens plus working on my bike trail.

I put up a small (6x8) greenhouse last summer, so I am looking forward to using that. I will grow the same cucumbers in pots in the greenhouse and in the raised beds, and see which does better. Started loofah seeds yesterday, for the first time. We are still 4 weeks from outdoor planting here, but I am hoping to get some of the stuff out from the grow lights and into the greenhouse in 2-3 weeks. We had a extremely cold week in January(-40c or worse for 3 nights, highs of -35c), but it so far seems all my zone 4 stuff survived near the house foundation. I should know about the primroses in a week or so. Pruned the roses last weekend and they all have healthy buds. First alpine columbine flowered last week, then it snowed today. I think it will be fine.

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"I keep hoping for you to use your superior intellect to be less insufferable. Sadly, you continue to disappoint." - gofigure

At the risk of other forum crossover, tell me about bike trail on 4.5 acres.

Oh yes lots. We have raised garden beds for vegetables. Planted potatoes, spinach, peas, carrots, brussel sprouts, green onions, and will plant cabbage.

Around our patio we have smaller planters with mint, oregano, basil, catnip.

Getting three roman geese soon just to give our dog something to do besides run with me (AOOGA OOGA AHOOGA AHOOGAH triathlon topic detected!)

Flowers out front and a few new bushes. Wildflower seeds along the back fence. Landscaping in general is coming along nicely this year. New paving stones path, new edging around our trees.....

Edit: we have a pond too. Goldfish seem to be happy in there.

My farmers market is the ICU. The unit secretary alone will buy as many eggs as we can produce and others are on a wait list.

Our flock is up to 26, but only 10 are laying age currently. The rest are juveniles in various stages. Dark brown, light brown, cream, and blue, with green eggers a few months off from laying age. They're currently ranging in the fenced-in apple & pear orchard since it's so overgrown it isn't manageable for harvesting. That's a down the road project, reclaiming the orchard. It will require selective reduction and I'm not excited about it.

We're only doing flower bed gardens for veggies this year. The sour cherry, apple, pear, and peach trees are blooming presently.

Oh, and we now have a turkey. Apparently a turkey chick got mixed in with the green egger chicks at TSC and it became evident in days that it was a different animal. Very friendly, bonded to a young hen in his cohort and loves being pet and put away in the coop. Can't say we have a need for a turkey but there she is, so we're keeping her.

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The devil made me do it the first time, second time I done it on my own - W

Shout out to Indiana Berry - https://www.indianaberry.com/

I've used them for years and always pretty happy with them.

I had around 90% mortality rate on new strawberries this year from unknown cause. Had my reorder ready to go and thought I would call them, thinking maybe they'd give me a few percent off my $50 + shipping order. Nope, sending me 50 replacements no charge, not even shipping.

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I'm beginning to think that we are much more fucked than I thought.