Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Pond Boss Anyone planning a garden this year?

Okay, you're making my pretty little head hurt. I prefer to use it because it doesn't have a chemical smell and it's safe to use around the critters who visit my yard -- birds, deer, toads, etc. The local nursery where I like to trade recommends it -- he's a good guy & his recommendations work like he says they will. Faith thing -- I guess so. I have faith that my nurseryman tells me the truth about what works, etc. So far he's been reliable & my trust borne out.

Here's a link to an EPA document: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/biopesticides/ingredients/tech_docs/brad_100137.pdf

Just looking at the table of contents made my eyes glaze over, but I'm sure there's good information in there & that it'll even make sense to some of y'all here on this forum.

Me, I use it because my nurseryman said it works, and he's not steered me wrong in the 20 yrs. or so I've been trading with him.
He even told me that the baking soda remedy for ball moss only sorta works, that copper sulfate works better -- but that my birds & critters may not appreciate it & it may turn things blue. I opted to send my hubby up on a ladder to cut the stuff out when it was higher than I could reach with a pole trimmer.

I got some pelleted seeds, being a newbie, and those things take some time to germinate (I hope they do) That is why I started some peppers early.

Surprising to see so many things sprouting so quick. Two varieties of Cabbage, Blue Vantage, and Early Thunder are coming up and I only started them this past Sunday!

Tuesday morning while watching Jimmy Kimmel (I only get one station) I started some Leeks, this morning they have germinated and are breaking through. That is less than 36 hours. Plus I just looked and I have a couple Jalepino's busting out that were started at the same time.

Something weird going on around here. Temp's are usually held around 72F with only northern exposure. It is usually below zero around here at this time. My Mom and Sister are having the same thing happening and they do some really big gardens every year. My seeds are however germinating much faster than theirs.

Last year I did not even get my garden started till the first week of July and everyone said it Rocked!

I am a bit concerned with the pelleted seeds. I just dug one out and the coating has not dissolved. And these were started a bit over two weeks ago, and have the appropriate temps and moisture.

I think I don't like pelleted seeds. If they come up, fine, But will replace them with conventional seeds.

Looks like the EPA waived safety tests because it is naturally occurring. Actually, I am sure it as safe as registered herbicides, and way safer than organic and naturally occurring arsenic-based crop chemicals. If you like it, I would never impinge on your freedom to do as you please. Just pointing out that safety and effectiveness can be supported with scientific data, and are not necessarily correlated with "natural" or "organic". We use high-intensity farming techniques on our farm which has allowed us to devote 95% of our land to wildlife habitat. Organic production takes way more land due to lower production which eats up more land. I also think use of manure on food crops is an unacceptable risk. OK - I'll hop off the soap box now.

Peppers like it hot, so I hope that you have big pots and lots of room. We don't raise cool season crops (onions, leeks, cole crops, lettuce, etc.) so I was not thinking of these. Pelleted seeds help in planting, but don't help much if you are raising seedlings in a greenhouse. We germinate in flats and then transplant to plug trays, but we raise a lot of plants. Use of plastic-culture over raised beds with drip irrigation allows us to produce some of the earliest fresh-market (staked) tomatoes in the state.

Thanks for the suggestion, Goldie. For the many of us that are not high volume, nor high teck farmers, the corn gluten deal is good info. I am not afraid of and I use chemical herbicides and pesticides frequently, but it's good to know of a readily available and viable option.

I hear ya on that one -- I'm only speaking for my little 1/2 acre yard. I've also learned it's important to read the definition of organic as it applies in the specific case in which you read it -- there're some wildly varying definitions of organic out there, too. My family on my mom's side are rice farmers, raised hogs & had a garden & chickens for family use -- and to sell eggs locally if the chickens were layin' good.

Personally, I love nothing better than spraying red wasps, yellow jackets & hornets with whatever foamy stuff that shoots really far they sell at HD, Lowe's or anywhere else that sells it. I'm sure it's not necessarily safe, or environmentally friendly, but it's definitely effective & I like being able to stay far away from the stingin' things!

I battle fire ants every year, too. They don't care what I use because apparently they like my yard, especially the flower beds -- the dang things mound up right at the edge of the gravel bed I've got surrounding our a/c unit -- nasty ants.

Have you tried Over n' Out with fipronil? Use it sparingly all over the yard. It works slowly so that it is passed thru out the colony.

Thanks! I'm headed back into lurkdom -- maybe permanently. We use herbicides & pesticides, too, on occasion. But when it makes sense, is a less expensive option, etc. we try to be environmentally sensitive on our little postage stamp yard, that sits on land that's part of the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone.

No, but it's now on my list. I've gotta get a new bulb for the zapper -- really has made a difference & cut back on some of the chewin' worms & caterpillars having that zapper decimate the moth population in our yard! Thanks for the suggestion! The ones in our yard think Orthene is free candy for all the good it does!

Now don't be doing that!

RAH:

I want to set up a drip system for the orchard. Where do you source your drip supplies? Do you use a fertilizer injector in the system or apply it topically?

that is a great thought about the zapper killing so many moths, thus less 'worms'. Mostly I see complaints that the zappers dont kill many skeeters, but so many poor moths.

Today I am off to load up un chicken and steer manure for my raspberries. I have two red, one gold and one black variety already pruned down. Been established for 4 years now, propagated from just a few vines. I just traded some rootstock for a big jar of dark honey. They are pretty low maintenance, and nothing better fresh raspberries, which are very expensive. They go great in cornbread, belgian waffles, desserts and I will eat them right off the vine. Early in the morning I'll pick them in the summer when they are still cold and eat them right then. They are wired in with green vinyl coated wire and up against a fence next to a park. I get free water from the park but have a soaker in there just in case. I'll be in this thread a lot. I have a lot of garden stuff, veggies from seeds, fruit trees, especially citrus. It's how I was raised.

essup - We use heavywall pressure-compensating Netafim tubing under our plastic (from Hummert). It lasts many years if you don't get rodent damage, but you can repair it if needed. We do not bury the tubing in the soil. We use this because we plant 300 foot rows so the pressure compensating emmiters even out the irrigation. If you pump from a pond, you need a filter. We bought a disk filter over 20 years ago, purchased from a retailer on the east coast (before we moved to Indiana). The water pressure needs to be below around 25 PSI, so a pressure control valve is advisable.

Esshup, I put a small drip irrigation system in for a hundred Black Walnuts last year. Used the poly pipe and pressure compensating emitters. Have the orchard on two zones and used these controls http://www.dripirrigation.com/drip_irrig...71rg13ppkicols0

I didn't put in an injector port, but wish I had because the system can get plugged up with algae or Ca+ carbonate.

We use a hozon which is a cheap siphon fertilizer injector. You need good flow though.

Thanks guys. I was going to use well water to irrigate with, so no crud (well minimal) going thru the line. Yep, filter is a must, unless it's city water. I ran drip when I lived in Ca., and I regretted not installing a fertilizer injector. Drip is big and easy to get out there, not so much here in the Midwest.

I've got the poly, fittings, & pressure comp. emitters. I'm looking for the filter, fert inj and misc fittings. I'd like to run the drip tape (or a varient of that) for the row crops in the garden, and put both systems on a timer. I think it will help minimize the weeds, plus being on a timer will take some of the headache of watering. I'm on sandy soil, so the water doesn't last long in the soil.

It is better for production to water heavily less often. It promotes better root growth for vegetables. Watering only when the plants show stress improves plant health and yield. A timer to shut off the water is beneficial, but no automatic on. We use a small gas pump and irrigate enough rows so that one tank of gas is perfect.

good suggestions. Let the crop stress a little before setting blooms makes them think they are going to die, thus they produce more.

A friend from Ok. told me that he knew a guy that would go out and beat the tar out of his tomatoes with s cane. They looked terrible, but produced profusely.

Can you use a small gas pump with a shallow well?

I am driving in a shallow well this spring and was planning on running an electric pump from a generator.

A gas pump might be an option if it would work. Then I could use a battery powered timing relay to shut down the pump rather than a more elaborate setup to first shut off the electric pump, then the generator.

Read an article yesterday to watch where your straw, compost, and manure comes from. Dow is selling an herbicide called aminopyralid to horse and cattle owners. It has a half life of 533 days and can pass through a cows gut, end up in manure, and still kill tomatoes, peas, and beans 2 years later. That city supplied compost is looking better and better even though I am close to a large supply of free composted manure right down the road.

If the aminopyralid is still acive, do not use the manure on vegetables because it is not well enough composted to kill the pathogens that can make you really sick! I do not recommend using manure on any food crops. Its too dangerous.

A gas powered pump will work on a shallow well, but you may need a foot valve so the draw pipe stays full. If you figure out how much gas will run the pump for a particular amount of time, you can use measured amounts of gas in the tank to control the shut off time.

I am not sure that drought stessed plants think that they are going to die, but they do grow strong roots and soil pathogens are kept in check.

Thanks RAH,

The well point I have, I believe is capable of 40gpm plus. I'll have to double check. It will be driven into the gwt into a layer of very coarse sand and gravel mix, and it is always wet down there.

I know a bit about electrical pumps of various flavors and know they can be cooked if conditions favor that direction without safeguards. So I was a bit Leary of a gas powered pump with a well.

That being said, I would prefer something from the Honda lineup.

What do you think about one of these:

http://www.hondapowerequipment.com/produ...odelid=WX10K1AT

Or I could get something more on the industrial side.

Anyone, let me know what you think.

Thanks

It is important to be sure that the pump does not run dry (gas or electric), so be sure not to overpump the well. I use a 5.5 hp Honda with a three inch line from our pond. It is over 20 years old and I bought a new one after a flood submerged it two years ago. By the time the new one came in, I had the old one running like a champ. The new one is in the barn still in its box as a spare. I have no experience with the smaller models, but Honda has a great reputation.

So I think it maybe a test on the permeability of the gwt and what the well point will actually produce. I may be able to test that.

The other option is. I could dig a big hole off to the side (like a small pond, maybe 20x40 or something) and pull it out from there. Then the dog's would have a swimming hole, and that would kill two birds with one stone.

I kinda like that. My Lab Loves Water, and it would not take much to prep the site up for an excavator to dig more than the 6 feet I dare to go.

That may be a better idea!

I know exactly where to put this, but I have to move a huge brush pile. Another advantage, if done correctly, the deer could come up to water. They already cleaned out my garden (with what was left) a few weeks ago. So I would not need too much of a shift from where things are at.