Stephanie Crocker

Our field has been fenced with 4 foot tall 2x4 wire welded fencing since we began cultivation. This is our first year with rabbit pressure. We'd like to upgrade the perimeter of our fence with chicken wire along the bottom. We know we can't exclude rabbits 100%, but we'd just like to improve our odds.

Price of chicken wire is substantial these days given we'd need about 500 feet. Would 1' along the bottom suffice or would we have to pay double and get the 2' tall. I've seen rabbits sneak through the 2x4 fencing, but I have a hard time imagining them lifting up their front paws over the chicken wire and balancing enough to get through gaps that are 12" tall. But I'm not a rabbit acrobatics expert.

I've also considered weaving willow branches along the bottom to close the gaps? I know they could chew through these though. Tulsi basil does nothing.

Around the perimeter, we do have a layer of vegetation. I've been starting to cut that back to help make it a little more open (so rabbits may feel vulnerable). What's interesting to consider is the same vegetative cover that I want to help attract snakes (I've got at least one rat snake hanging out and a lot of small brown snakes), also attracts peter rabbit.

I have a closet that I am considering converting into a root cellar by using a coolbot. It's not an outside facing closet so I'll have to figure out where the a/c unit would go. I may also be able to mount a cooling unit in the attic above the closet. I would of course insulate the space.

My question is I believe I may be violating the principles of root cellar storage as I believe mechanical refrigeration has a dehumidifying effect on the air. This may be more certainly true if I'm using an air conditioning unit/coolbot system.

I will be storing potatoes, sweet potatoes, winter squash, onions, and garlic.

I know each of these has different needs regarding humidity, and that is what I am trying to figure out.

What are your thoughts?

Seems like it would be a good border plant for me to keep my chickens out of certain planting beds!

Spring here and I have a long list of things to do. Too long to manage, I think. But I also want to keep track of what I do to serve as a guide for next year. Obviously, I want to know when I planted what and how many and where I planted it.

Right now, I have a master spreadsheet with all my planting dates, varieties, etc. I also have a journal where I try to keep track of what I do each day. I also have a to do list app. I know it's too many systems, but I'm trying to figure out a good workflow to be able to use the assets about each methods.

How do y'all keep track of your planting information?

the temperature of the creek is about 42 degrees F so it's actually perfect for passive cooling. We're not trying to use electricity b/c otherwise, we'd just get a refrigerator.

i'll try to get a photo up soon.

We're selling our Airstream which formerly housed two beer kegs (so we didn't have to purchase/run an additional refrigerator). In the interest in keeping our utility costs low (rates are very high here in NC), we'd like to explore using our creek to cool the keg. We're in zone 7a/6b so we do get some 10 degree days in the winter. The creek never freezes over, but we do see some ice forming along branches. The creek runs year round, but can get as low as 6" deep at times. There's a nice shady spot under some rhododendrons.

We're trying to think of a way to use the nice cool running water to cool the keg, but not have it freeze on the top. We imagine building some sort of bridge structure with holes for each keg that would secure them from tipping over in periods of high waters. We're thinking we might have to dig a hole and line with bricks to immerse the keg deeper, but that's going to be challenging with a fast running creek.

And then preventing freezing in the winter months...

Any thoughts?

this might be a silly question, but I've got some perennial herbs (thyme, rosemary, yarrow, etc) and want to cover the soil when they are dormant.

I'm in western north carolina (zone 6b) and I've got the following cover crop seeds to choose from:

rye
winter wheat
barley
oat/pea mix
fava

the thing I'm having trouble wrapping my head around is the planting time for my cover crops is now, but my herbs are still big and full...should I undersow the cover crops under the herbs? perhaps put them in rows directly next to the herbs?

and then what happens in spring?

Just having trouble wrapping my head around my plan.

I'm making a spreadsheet where I want to be able to automatically calculate the days to harvest; however, often this date is listed as a range of dates and I don't want to get all complicated with a formula that accounts for that range.

So now I'm staring at the wall trying to decide to pick the first date, the last date, or something in the middle??? I know this is a silly quandry, but I'd love to hear how everyone else trys to calculate their harvest date.

Which brings up another topic...that days to maturity aren't the same as days to harvest. And half the time, i can't find both of these pieces of info since I'm growing a lot of herbs.

ANd a third topic, some crops can be harvested over a range of dates so they'd have beginning harvest, and ending harvest, which I suppose I can just plug in as I go along.

I know this isn't an exact science, but I'd like to have a better idea of the timeline until I get it under my belt.

Thanks!

would it be unreasonable to add onions to the mix? last year I planted leeks in the fall (from seed) which were harvested in spring, and I'm considering doing some bulbing onions to overwinter as well, except I'm starting the onions from seed and I'm not sure this is the way to do it. (last year, I planted onion sets in the fall)

I'm down the rabbit hole trying to understand crop planning with a spreadsheet that seems to get wider and wider with every bit of data I'd like to collect. Have tried general planning tools, but often plants I wish to sow are not on those lists, so having to collect my own data.

Of course this will all become easier with experience, but for now, I need an easier way to keep on track!

I currently have a notebook where I list sowing dates, when I pot up the plants and how many I get, then hopefully when and where I put them in the garden.

Would love to see what sort of tools/spreadsheets/etc. y'all use to document your garden