Fireknot farm 2016

[maxmurder]

Rice straw will not seed.... Ask the supplier of the rice straw for the Ag certificate, they should have a copy to give you, or at least show you, but i guess it depends on how big the place is and how much they sell.

I had 70 bales of Rice Straw delivered a couple months ago for erosion control purposes.... And I'm going to get more to use as mulch for my plants once the season gets started for me.

2 years ago we got rice straw to put down so the dep tarps wouldn't get dust on the flowers, last year i went to same place and the lady goes "you know that stuff has been sprayed with chemicals right? that's why there's no seeds" (in bitchy voice). which kinda bummed me out so i got the regular straw and had a few sprout but if you let um get a foot tall they pull right out then you can tip your hat and just chew on em like the old school farmer you are.
then again i use it for walkways that stay pretty dry.

 

[_tessarecting]

Good info...that sucks...I definitely want something organic

I think I'll use 5' this year.

 

[TheOutlawTree]

'Rice straw is a byproduct of the rice harvest. Unlike wheat and barley straw, rice does not have seeds that can sprout in the garden'

I think that lady was wrong maxmurder, its not sprayed with chemicals to keep the seeds away.... But finding organic rice straw is a must, and might be a challenge. I didnt think about the organic factor but I'm with you on that... I wont use it for mulch unless i can find organic.

 

[redlaser]

Non organic rice probably had an insecticide or fungicide treatment or both. There is a GMO rice by Bayer that can be sprayed with a non selective herbicide that isn't roundup. Rice industry was non GMO on purpose until Bayer in about 2005 came out with herbicide tolerant rice.

 

[FoothillFarming]

Build a soil's cover crop is quite nice. I like to call them and ask for 20% more micro clover in the mix. Any of the unruly plants get pulled roots and all, and laid down right on top of the cover crop as a mulch. Little extra work, but the biology takes care of those quickly. Once plants are plugged in full season pots, build a soils mix should be cleared 12 -18" from stem base. I do this by piling a nice worked EWC over the cover crop once plugged.

I had experimented with just clover, clover with rye, and clover with rye and forage oats. All for great, however I like the build a soil mix the best. Maybe just clover if using a 15 gallon pot or smaller.

 

[plantingplants]

Foothill, why do you prefer their blend over white clover? Especially since it requires more maintenance? I just ordered intermediate white clover (New Zealand var.) so I'm wondering if I should cancel, or order some of their blend and mix them. Or if I stick with white clover would you suggest getting microclover instead?

 

[megayields]

Good to know thanks guys. I found the same electric pump from a cali supplier. If this also falls thru I will probably go with a honda unless the timing is bad...

Fence is almost done. Im going with 7ft deer fencing and then string tied at 8 and 9 ft with some flapping shit up on the poles to freak the deer out. I don't want them to get any ideas. They love it up there. I'm kinda chillin for a bit today. Work has been intense. I think timing is looking pretty good right now for everything. Watering will be a bitch but in a couple days it will actually start to look like a garden and I'm stoked to see it coming together even though I still feel totally wrecked.

Still lots to do but at least the majority or the harder stuff has been done.

sorry bro the pump was frozen ......;-(

 

[oct]

Just run whatever cover crop you feel like and throw a layer of straw on it if its get out of control. Or don't plant one at all. Or sow a mixtures of 30 different cover crops . Theres a 100 ways to skin this big fat cat.

Don't get stuck on the minutiae ferris wheel.

 

[theJointedOne]

7' tall rolls of remesh. home depot can order it. lumber yards usually have it. if 7' is hard to find you can probably just use a 5' roll because the first cage doesnt have to be tall , just need to keep the plant from falling over or being ripped out by wind.


trellis isnt good for your initial support. the remesh cage is like an exoskeleton for the main stem. get the remesh you won't be sorry, plus it lasts forever

once the plant grows past the remesh cage you should get ready to put up the first layer of trellis

This

 

[plantingplants]

oct, I contend that the devil's in the details. I'd rather do it right the first time. Smarter, not harder. I don't want to deal with dead mulch so I'd rather get my live mulch on point. I guess it comes down to what you consider minutia to be. Sugar or molasses? Air pots or smart pots? Brand of mycos? What percentage of compost in your soil? The golden living mulch that fixes nitrogen, shades the soil, doesn't compete, and is easily managed?

but point taken-- don't want to get hung up on details that won't break anything. But hey as long as it's not stressing you out or holding things up, then I say geek the fuck out.

Still gotta figure out what species of bamboo to use for my trellis supports........ /sarcasm

 

[FoothillFarming]

Foothill, why do you prefer their blend over white clover? Especially since it requires more maintenance? I just ordered intermediate white clover (New Zealand var.) so I'm wondering if I should cancel, or order some of their blend and mix them. Or if I stick with white clover would you suggest getting microclover instead?

Sorry if this is beating a dead horse.....

Cover crops are about bringing diversity to the rhizosphere and the phylloplane for that matter. To bring the most diversity, one must introduce many different varieties of plants.

Your white clover is one of the most popular cover crops, and the one I prefer if using small containers. If you wanted to do anything, add another variety or two. Crimson clover would go great with the white clover.

In this thread people talk about build-a-soils cover crop, which is excellent. You can also look into "the Dirty Gardener Cover Crops" on amazon. He has crimson, white, micro, red clover options. Also spring, fall and winter cover crop blends that I would recommend all of them for each time of the year. I would go with the Spring crop as a companion crop, but the winter mix is great for building green matter in the winter.

Clover seems to be the most expensive part of the seed mix, and I like to have a higher % than most of clover. I almost always contact the seller and ask for additional clover species, as they seem far easier to keep from becoming unruly.
Good luck.

 

[_tessarecting]

I'm probably going to just go with the cover crop and pull the larger ones and lay them down as suggested above. If it's not good enough I have a pile of oak leaves to pull from. If that's still not enough...I'll figure it out later... non-organic mulch could destroy the biology and contaminate the soil with nasty chems...I'm not taking chances...

Today the first thing I'm going to do is water in the micros by mixing them all in a 5gal bucket and watering in with a wand. After the fence is done, or at least done enough for now, I'll start picking the winners and putting them in the mounds 1 at a time with 50 gallons of water pH'd to 6.5 with agsil16h. Pepzyme-c and spectrum extra being irrigated as well.

Fuck yeah.

 

[plantingplants]

Stoked for you tess. Can't wait to put mine in

How did you do the bottom of your mesh mugs? Did you just use a square piece and bend it up the sides and secure it?

 

[_tessarecting]

2x2 piece with 8 ties at least

 

[_tessarecting]

Ammending done.

Deer fence done. I doubled up and made it 9-12'...those asshole deer wont be getting in!

2 sky lotus a sorcerers apprentice and a heaven mountain planted. Got a little bent from the truck ride.

Remesh and chicken wire will be done after planting tomorrow.

Only problem im having right now is my water is under 60F because I dont have storage setup yet. And I forgot the pepzyme-c and spectrum extra!

J time

 

[jbarsk8]

Looks good man, hard work pays off!

 

[Noonin NorCal]

Looks great man, way to grow. I have 4 starts about that size in 2.9 gallon rose pots. That will only be plugged into 45 gallon Geo's. What are those close to 3 feet tall?

 

[Stone House]

Looks like your ready to roll, can't wait to see those girls take off.

Good job on the deer fence, well worth the effort!

 

[oct]

Don't lose your ambition after a good year or two man. I see too many guys get paid and go soft. Keep that stellar ethic you've got. My hats off to you.

 

[plantingplants]

Nice! Those are big ladies. Is that roughly one foot of the basket sticking out?