Jen Fulkerson

I love planting all sorts of things in my main veggie garden. There are lots of benefits, and it looks beautiful. I only plant eatable plants.
I'm lousy at marking what I have planted. I write it all down, so I can keep track of when things were planted, varieties I liked, or didn't, but in the garden I often don't label anything. It's not a big deal for me, because I planted it, I recognize a lot of plants by leaf, or what it looks like. Unfortunately this is not the case for my kids.
I was talking with my daughter the other day, and she decides what she is going to pick and eat, by tasting stuff. (they have been around gardening long enough to recognize a tomato plant, so you don't have to worry about them eating those) I just thought it was funny she just nibbles her was through the garden.
It also made me grateful everything in the garden including flowers are eatable.

This fall my son planted peas all over the place. Unfortunately critters eat most of them, but I pointed out some that survived in a pot. the next day he showed me the little trellis he made. I love it. Functional and pretty.

Crepe myrtle can be great, or horrible depending on how you feel. My husband loves them, I'm not a fan. We have one in the yard, I've pruned it many times, but not in several years. We never water it, yet the picture was taken in the dead of summer. On the other hand I had one in the way of where I wanted to extend my rose garden. We cut it down and dug out all the trunk and roots we could find. This was many years ago. I have fought it ever since. It's my nemesis. So make sure you want it for ever where you plant it, because at least for me it's impossible to get rid of.

I'm finally done with phase 3. For me installing the drippers is the hardest part. My fingers, neck and knees are killing me, ( a reminder of how old, fat and out of shape I am) but it's done.
I have the wood chips. I hope my son will bring them close with the  bobcat. There's no access to dump them in the roses garden, but he can bring the pile close.

The max I get is 12 at a time. I was actually thinking about that yesterday. I can extend the shelf if I need to. You have a good idea, I might have to think about that. I have already discovered a few flaws, I wish I had done differently. That's just the way it is. Live and learn.

I have had chickens for about 20 years now.  We usually don't have a rooster, so every 2 or 3 years I get I new batch of chicks. I got chicks last year, and thanks to a persistent raccoon I'm getting chicks this year too. I have been using a large tote in the house to start them out for many years. It a total pain. I'm short, so it's difficult to reach, and care for the chicks. They also fill the water with the bedding immediately. I'm always fighting to lid, and the heat lamp.
I decided I wanted something more functional. I built a brooder. I'm not a carpenter, and there are lots of mistakes. I also used a lot of repurposed wood. I bought 6 fence pickets, hinges, screws, and some paint. Everything else was pallet wood, or wood given to me from no longer needed stuff. It cost me about $70.00. 30.00 for the pickets, 18.00 for the paint, and 10.00 for the bottom tray, and around 10 to 12 for the hinges and screws. I already have the hardware to cloth.
I'm quite pleased with it. It cost more than I wanted to spend, and took a lot longer to build then I thought. I think it's going to be so much more functional.
I bought a dog crate tray, and built it around the tray. I made a door to easily remove the tray to clean. I made a door in the front because I'm short and have a difficult time tending the chicks. There's a small elevated section on one end for the food and water in hopes of keeping them from filling with the bedding. That end also has a door for quick and easy food and water maintenance. The top is removable with 2 screws. ( if I end up needing to remove the top more than I think, I will put hinges on it). The legs are a very basic frame, and not attached. There's hardware cloth under the tray. when it's warm I can take the brooder outside, remove the tray a the chicks can play safely in the grass.
I don't have the chicks yet, so we will see, but I think it's going to be a lot nicer for them, and a lot easier for me.

When I first heard of this method, I thought it was just a silly fad. The more I see and read about it, the more I'm interested. I thought I would give it a try. A lot of people recommend bubble wrap, and I have some bubble wrap Amazon bags,  I also have some free seeds, so I decided why not?  I just couldn't plant my free tomato seeds. The thought of planting food in plastic, not intended for that purpose just seems like a bad idea. I planted marigolds (my seeds, so still free). Even though they are eatable, we don't eat them.
I actually enjoyed the process, and look forward to watching my snail come to life.
As a side experiment I poked some of seeds down and laid some sideways, we will see what germinates faster.
I look forward to hearing the results of using material. I worry the roots will grow into it.
Good luck everyone

I brutally removed most seedlings that didn't look good. It was hard for me, I'm the person who always wants to save everything. I keep hearing about plants that get stunted and survive, but never really become productive. I have seen this happen a few times, so I decided to start over. Strangely the Tomatoes did the best.  

I was quite impressed with the first set of soil blocks I made, they were easy to make, looked perfect, and really held their shape. I didn't like how hard they were to water properly.   I'm sure with practice I would eventually figure it out, but starting over now is very late for my claimant, so I'm  going back to what worked for me in the past. I added a good amount of sifted potting soil and a sifted bagged compost to what was left of the first recipe.(I wanted to  lighten up the mix, and maybe have less biology? ) I was sure this was going to make it much harder to make my soil blocks. It didn't. The technique I learned make a huge difference. The blocker was easy to fill, made perfect little blocks, and I didn't have to rinse the blocker after each one. The blocks look good, but definitely aren't as firm. My first batch I could toss from hand to hand and it would keep it's shape. I'm pretty sure these would fall apart if I tried that.
I will restart all my peppers, some tomatoes and and some herbs. Who knows maybe starting later, and having plants in pots a much shorter time before they can go into the garden will end up being a good thing, time will tell.
As for the 2" blocks I have greatly reduced my watering, and the difference is amazing. The seedlings are growing and putting on more leaves, and no more soil gnats. It's surprising how fast things turned around once I realized my mistake. Of course I wish I would have figured it out sooner, oh well. It probably hasn't hurt that it's warmed up a lot too.
Wish me luck for round 2. Thanks

I live in N California zone 9B, and for me Rosemary is a plant that just wants to be left alone. I have the best luck when I plant it near something that wants attention. The one planted behind a raised bed never gets watered, and I couldn't possibly use that much rosemary. It gets butchered occasionally when it's taking up to much room. It's also one of the only plants I can plant into the ground the gophers don't destroy. I don't know if they don't like it, or it's exceptionally tough.
I have had good luck with cuttings. I tried the method where you put damp sphagnum Moss in a clear plastic bin. I put root tone on the bottom of the cutting. The cutting goes in the moss. put the lid on. I opened it every couple of days to let fresh air in. I don't remember how long it took, because it's been a while, but most of the cutting rooted. I planted them once there was a good root system. I planted what I wanted, and gave a bunch away to family and coworkers.

I read somewhere petunias repel asparagus beetle. So I planted petunias In my asparagus bed. Does it work? I honestly don't know if I even know what an asparagus beetle looks like. I get so much asparagus, and it tastes better than I imagined it could, so maybe 🤔.  In my zone the petunias are perennial. They look pretty, and when the petunias Wilt it reminds me to water in the summer when the asparagus is just a pretty fern like plant.
I've read basil, nasturtium, comfrey, and tomato. I haven't tried any of these, because I grow in a raised bed (gophers prevent me from planting anything in the ground) At this point there just isn't any extra room.
Good luck