Jannie Vaught,

Suddenly growing a garden and raising a few hens for the eggs is not a Hobie but something very important. Seeds are now hard to find and laying hens are also. Chicks are available but those seem to all bought up and under the brooding lights till they get some growth. As this gardener has been steady at doing this using Permaculture methods we are a little ahead of the preparation for soil garden and egg production.

As the gardens are mostly in by now the reminder is to be consistent with the care and Corn blow over also. This year we are trellising our peas and cucumbers on Net trellising, Horta Nova. With T post placed every 6 feet or so and the trellis tightly placed between the post and zip tied or wired onto the post. Remember to raise the netting a few inches above the soil line so the hoe doesn’t get tangled when chopping weeds. You can use a solid piece of rope or even covered wire to run along the top and middle as these plants will get heavy with fruit. Using a flat trellis makes pruning and picking much easier. As for the 5 varieties and 36 tomatoes in the ground, we will use T post and 16-foot cattle panels. Secured with heavy wire or zip ties and use an end brace on each end of the row. This is a heavy rope tied to the top of the post and secured into the ground about 2 feet away and tied to a wood or metal stake in the ground and make it tight to give s good stretch. As these tomatoes get heavy and they will, you can tie them securely and prune succors and all the lower leaves off much easier than a cage. This helps with feeding and keeping mildew and insect problems down as there is much more airflow. Start when their little and train as they grow.

That everyday gardener again. On to potatoes. They are in the ground now and up. When they get leaves, begin to hill or pull soil under the leaves from the sides of the row. You can hill as much as you want, especially if you see green spuds breaking through the soil. Hilling corn. Corn is air pollinated and needs to be planted on Blocks. Big squares. 30 to 36 inches between rows and 4 inches apart. Minimum 3 rows in the block for good support and pollination. Try not to get them too close or thin before they get too big. Too close and they will get spindly and often make too many leaves that block the sun and airflow making them blow over easily. Corn has a crown row of roots as it gets big. You can see them when hilling corn simply pull soil up around this crown of roots. If you have a problem with corn blowing over you can place t posts at the end and a few between the rows and intertwine a stout cord on the t posts front and back of the row. Each kernel has silk and each silk need to be pollinated. Some times a good shake then the plants are tasseled and the silks are showing helps to get a full ear.

So from Hobie gardens to necessary additions to our food abundance, Its time to get digging and planting.

Growing Green With Jannie