First for Sparta

what's wrong with my jalapeno?

i liquid feed every week or two with an 8:3:1 mix + added chicken poop when i planted it. temperate climate. summer currently.

potting mix is kept moist. planted in a semi shady spot (don't have full sun access), but so are my other jalapenos and capsicum and they're doing fine.

I have a hard time growing mushrooms in my garden but now these guys popped up in a plant pot. Would anyone be able to identify them or give me a hint on where to search?

North Western Europe, I live in an oak forest area and it’s been freezing, if that helps

>>2799243
I think you're short on potassium and calcium. If you have some wood ash around then try adding that to the top of the soil. If you use too much then you can get problems with pH and salinity, but you shouldn't need to worry about that with a thin topdressing.

>>2799270
Get a spore print

>>2799295
thanks. any alternatives to wood ash?

>>2798981
Will you murder me if I want to grow stuff indoors as a project? I want to get 2 or 3 100w grow LEDs and try to grow chillies, herbs, tomatos and whatever I can get to grow. Kinda make my living/bedroom a grow house. Combine the light I have from the windows with lamps basically. Anyone ever done something similar here? I feel like I need living stuff in here. How will plants behave when there are no real seasons?

>>2799392
Climate is Germany btw. Could I theoretically grow chillies all year long? What other useful plants would you suggest that might work?

>>2799392
I've grown peppers indoors. I didn't use grow lights and had them by a window, but the light wasn't very good (it was a north-facing window with a slight overhang so it was often pretty shady); they lived just fine, but didn't really produce fruit. with grow lights, you'd probably do better, but I can't say to what extent or how it'd compare to growing outdoors.

>>2799398
I was thinking to try a lot of different stuff and see what goes. Tomatoes, chillies, herbs, maybe garlic? I'd have a big worktable at a big window facing westwards. And maybe build a second workstation with another lamp. I am aware it will be like 50 euros a month but that's alright. I was just wondering if there are anons that did similar stuff in their ivory tower lol.

>>2799398
I'd also like to know how there plants would behave if grown in winter months.

>>2799392
you would need good air circulation as to avoid fungal disease, root rot, gnats, etc.

>>2798981
I made 8gallons worth of leaf mulch compost
How good are they gonna be for my soil?
The leaves were mostly from hogplum trees and my jujube tree
Of course I'll add ash and manure to my clay soil to supplement

>>2799387
Anything with potassium and calcium. You could even use banana peels and eggshells if you want. You'll want the calcium to be in a more soluble state than it is in eggshells. You can soak them in vinegar to dissolve the calcium, but make sure you neutralize the vinegar before you apply it. Wood ash has plenty of both in soluble forms so it's convenient.

>>2799419
It will be great. You won't get much in the way of nutrients for years, but the organic matter will condition your soil so it's better for plant growth and can hold more water and nutrients.

>>2799392
>>2799401
Depends on the plant. Some plants need a cold period to trigger certain behavior like flowering. Saffron crocus is one example. Others just need some number of light hours to switch between vegetative growth and flowering, like lettuce.

>>2799456
i collect eggshells. will try this. thanks.

Tis the time of the year.
Are your shopping lists ready? Already prepared for next season? Seedtrays full?
I'm gonna get more fig cuttings and try to grow some Pomegranate.

>>2799463
What varieties are you looking for? I think I'm gonna get some cuttings from Etsy. I also just took some cuttings to propagate last night, hope they take. Ignore the ghetto setup, basement is being redone where they should normally be

>>2799467
Pastiliere, green michurinska and probably few more.
They need to be early and have good cold resistance.
I already bought RdB and campaniere last year, but few more should be nice.

>>2799468
One of those cuttings is a RdB, I hope that one roots the most, it's probably going to be the best performer in my area(6b). All three of those are on my list, as well as I-258, Longue d'Aout, and Black Madeira. Black Madeira cuttings are insanely expensive, it hurts

>>2799471
>I-258, Longue d'Aout, and Black Madeira.
Do you have lights for them?
I-258 and BM and late figs. I'm zone 7 and there is no chance for them to ripe on time.
My first fig I bought was panache and although pretty and apparently tasty, I've never got a single fruit from it.
Maybe once I get a green house/LED lights and move it inside, but currently no plans for either.

>>2799472
>Do you have lights for them?
Yeah, and a small greenhouse to extend the season. My Panache was as big as a golf pencil when I got it in June, it's over 5ft now, I hope I get fruit from it next year. I figure even if I don't get fruit from them, they're still pretty to look at and I can make money from selling cuttings/rooted trees. Picrelated is my winter protection, I also threw a tarp over over them and it gets easily 20+ degrees hotter than outside

>>2799478
>next year
note to self, it is now current year

>>2799459
I am really trying to do my homework here but it seems like everyone has a different opinion on the whole ordeal. My absolute dream would be to have chillies growing all year long.
I am really a noob but I want to finally force myself to learn this stuff. I do have a nice garden too but pests are a real problem here. And if not pests it's the woodland critters that raid here.

>>2799483
It's almost like we have a little bit too much nature here they absolutely raped my tomatoes a few years ago and I didn't really try since.

I've got a zillion sq ft of empty living room space and got the idea I should grow large plants and create a kind of jungle. Maybe get a big variety and sell cuttings for some extra side income. I already have some large ceramic planters that look cool.

Anyone been in a similar situation or got any recs? If the plants are functional (able to produce food or tea or something) that'd be a plus. I already have Monstera Delicioso but so does everyone.

Also, this is in Norway and the empty living room space is away from windows. I have a hanging grow light and will get some more... but medium or low light species would be ideal.

>>2799490
I've been asking almost the same thing yesterday hehe. Yes I want to indoor junglemaxx too. I am planning to get 2 LEDs for extra light and then I'll start growing whatever works. Will post here. We can help each other. It'll be my project for 2025.

>>2799490
Also the /plant/ general in /an/ is probably the right thread for us.

>>2799492
>>2799491
Thanks for the tip. I'll copy post over there.

I've seen a guy grow a huge chili "tree" indoors that produced chili for years and years. Maybe that's the way to go for the functional part. I consume vast amounts of spices

>>2799496
I'm German but I am somewhat addicted to chillies and I used to be able to buy habaneros in bulk when I was a cityfag. So now I am seeking to supply myself with them. And since I am planning to grow the devil's lettuce (legal now) I thought why not widen the operation to everything else and have it as decorative as possible.

>>2799501
But I have no idea if this is just wishful thinking

>>2799462
No problem and good luck. I recommend using red cabbage juice to check the pH. Pic related.

>>2799490
Only way I can see this turning any kind of profit is if you grow microgreens and lettuce for yuppie restaurants and sell at exorbitant prices

>>2799243
Some type of mosaic virus

Can I incorporate a creeping plant into a gate, or are they too brittle to survive the hinging?

>>2799483
I'm pretty sure chillies flower when you shorten the light cycle. You should be able to harvest them year round if you force them to flower one after the other.

>And if not pests it's the woodland critters that raid here.
If you set out traps then you could eat whatever is eating your garden. Look up your local hunting and trapping laws first.

>>2799771
If it's woody like climbing roses then there's no chance. If it's something like ivy then you can train the vines so there's extra slack around the hinges

garden friends
i am a fledgling gardener
can someone please tell me what the term is called when you have a plant (i suppose an example would be a succulent) that freezes overnight and causes the bulbs(?) to droop, deflated? i assume it's something to do with any fluid/water within to expand while frozen.
the only plant i can name with accuracy is an aloe vera, for more of a frame of reference

>>2799828
>i assume it's something to do with any fluid/water within to expand while frozen.
I would assume the water freezes therefore expands, the ice crystals pierce the cells membrane and therefore after the ice crystals return back to the liquid form, the cells can no longer contain it.
But I'm talking out of my ass here, I'm not botanist.

Am I supposed to keep patches of soil that I'm not currently using moist during summer?

Is this the thread for raising animals too, cuz I don't see /hsg/ around?

>>2799880
No. But I would recommend you throw some cover crop seeds over it. They're cheap and it'll keep down the weeds and increase the fertility for next year.
Field peas, rye, oats, whatever.

>>2799880
>>2799962
Alfalfa is the best cover crop

>>2799955
There's usually more relevant threads on /an/ but this time of year I think everyone is waiting for spring again. Post whatever you want. Whatever animals you raise you should add crushed lump charcoal to their diet at about 2% by weight. It keeps them healthier and they'll smell a lot better.

>>2799828
>>2799837
Anon is correct. Frost tolerant crops essentially have antifreeze in their sap, but frost damage is irreversible once it happens.

>>2798981
Celery, why are your leaves curling down like this? My pink celery isn't doing it to that extent at all.

>>2799463
>fig cuttings
Little buddies grow real quick.

>>2799991
I was going to ask why my aloe veras had half their leaves broken, didn't have this issue last winter but I guess this time it rained just before one of the rare freezing nights we get here or something
now I'm wondering if I can harvest the leaves for the jelly or if it will stress the plants too much

>>2800148
It's either a fungus or a pest. Quarantine your celery while you figure it out and treat it. Try to keep things less humid too if you can.

>olive tree with browning leaves hardening and curling inwards
i tried not watering it for a week and watering it daily, neither changed its appearance. another one about a metre away in a more shaded position is doing fine

just started gardening and don't know how to tell if a plant is being under or overwatered

>>2800312
You can tell if a plant is over watered or under watered by sticking your finger in the dirt about an inch. If it feels dry then it needs water and if it feels very wet then it's been over watered. Pictures of the leaves would be helpful. I assume it's some kind of nutrient deficiency. Try sticking a galvanized nail or a piece of copper in the soil near its roots and water that spot twice a week. Zinc, iron, and copper are common plant deficiencies so as they corrode your tree should recover. You can make compost or manure tea by soaking either in a bucket of water for a couple weeks and then straining it. Pour the tea around your roots and spread the leftover solids in your garden. The tea will have every nutrient that your tree could be missing so it's a more surefire way to address the deficiency, but because it will take a couple weeks to make you might want to try doing both. It could take multiple applications.

sup bros redneck retard here
i am here to present some information and request feedback on said information

so i buy cheap dirt instead of topsoil because good topsoil is expensive, right?
but more often than not, this cheap dirt is totally dead, no microbial life to speak of

so i took to mixing up some baker's yeast and rid-x septic treatment, which is a mix of molasses and beneficial bacteria and enzymes, then spreading that over the soil via watering can
anecdotally, my garden blew the fuck up as a result. i got mycelial beds forming, plants grew huge and put out tons of fruit compared to untreated soil.

i think the bacteria is freeing up extant nutrient and making them more bioavailable
there isn't much info on people doing this, besides a few old forum posts with mixed results (i think the fails were retards)

but one of those posts claims that the mix of bacteria is basically the same shit as some expensive innoculant people use for this purpose
cept a big fat box of rid-x is $7 at walmart, not $70.

has anyone else tried this? anyone interested in trying it?
i'm sure the sugar content also helps with plant growth short term, but i got huge results for the whole growing season.

i'm also gonna buy a 4.5lb bottle of crosman copper coated steel BBs and use them as soil amendment too.
ten bucks for that bottle, the bbs have a high surface area and should rust fairly quickly to make some good, iron-rich soil.

>>2800338
I'd think that septic mix would be more suited for aquatic environment but sounds like a good idea if it works

My indoor peppers and tomatoes are still doing well, peppers come out really small compared to size I was getting during summer but taste is still really good

Covered globe artichokes with woodchips to protect them from cold.
Winter has been unusually warm so far, temperature still haven't gone below -7C even once.
Meanwhile last year it was -15C already in early December and went down to -20C in January.

>>2800338
I wouldn't use a septic mix on soil for a few reasons, but it is easy to make your own microbes soil amendments. Bokashi and vermicompost leachate and fermented teas are good examples. You can add mycorrhizal fungi and nitrifying bacteria inoculants.

>>2800537
are you using growlamps? what kind? i was planning on something similar.
are those your plants from summer?

>>2800338
If you're planning to consume whatever you're growing, don't use anything which isn't explicitly aimed towards growing food. You may contaminate your soil with chemicals you wouldn't want to eat.

Wanna know the secret to big gains? Get a compost tea kit and some liquid fish emulsion, follow the directions.

>>2800639
>are you using growlamps?
Those are normal 10$ LED bulbs, if they had grow in the name they would cost like 30+$ for this brightness.
There is nothing special about growlights that makes them different from normal LEDs at this price point, to have actual features like dimmability, high efficiency, easy height regulation and built in timer you would need to spend much more for professional stuff.
If you don't want to spend a lot just use high lumen, low light angle, 4000+K LED bulbs for house lighting.
Low light angle is really important, you want all light to go down, not to waste it up or to sides and get something with at least 1000 lumens, preferably more, plants need a lot more light than your eyes.

I posted my lights several times, those are 3900 lumen, 39 watts, 4000K, E27 with 3 LED segments that can be tilted as needed, they also make 4 segment version 5200 lumen version now.
They are good value if you can get them for 10$ although considering the inflation they are probably more like 12$ now.
Half of my bulbs was pretty noisy but that was easily fixable by opening them and bending a capacitor that was touching a coil and magnifying it's vibrations, pretty stupid to put them so close together.

>are those your plants from summer?
Yes, 4 micro dwarf peppers, two proper peppers, two micro dwarf tomatoes, all started last year, you can probably see them somewhere in this picture from last Spring, I also have coffee plants and thanksgiving cacti under the light

>>2800690
and with the lights you can just keep them growing and harvest multiple times a year? im a noob and i was asking myself if the plants need a "winter".

>>2800691
It seems so, this photo is from December >>2800537 before I harvested fruits, this one I made just now, they are flowering and setting fruit again now.
But I'm not certain, it's the first time I'm overwintering peppers and tomatoes at room temperature without them going dormant in cool storage.

>i was asking myself if the plants need a "winter".
Depends on a plant, some don't need it, they still can go dormant and usually do during a drought for example but don't have to unlike many cold climate plants like garlic which needs to experience cold to grow properly.

USDA zone 7 equivalent here (but EU), is it time to start growing my chili seeds? Last year I started way too late and missed the second harvest, which was a shame.
Also if I have a grow light, do I want to have that on 24/7, or if I have it on half the day, do I want to have it on during the nights to balance out light over time or do I want to have it on during the day, so plants get a day/night cycle?
Picrel is my balcony last year towards the latter half of august, at which point I didn't have a single fruit yet.

>>2800746
You could start now, it's really early tho, days are still short and sun is low so you'll need to use supplemental light so they don't become leggy.
Also you'll probably need to move them into at least 1 liter container somewhen in April if you start now.
I would waiting at least till February but if you like experimenting you could also start just 2-4 plants now and see how it goes.

I usually start mine end of February / beginning of March, this is how they looked like last year 23th March last year.

>>2800746
>>2800763
And this is 20th May, right before putting them into soil as you can see they outgrew their half a liter containers.
So if you start now yours will look like this at the beginning of April and it'll still be one month before you can put them into ground I assume and you'll have to move them into larger containers than this.

>>2800746
And despite me starting them beginning of March this is 28th July so you really don't need to rush that much, especially if you don't have a lot of space indoors.

>Also if I have a grow light, do I want to have that on 24/7, or if I have it on half the day, do I want to have it on during the nights to balance out light over time or do I want to have it on during the day, so plants get a day/night cycle?
Day and night cycle, iirc you don't get much benefit from going beyond 18 hours on because plants need a rest period.
I usually do 16 hour on, 8 hours off cycle using an automatic wall plug timer, I aim to have about 20 DLI (day light integral), you can use your smartphone with an app such as Photone to measure it, error bar is pretty large but you only need to be in right ballpark, it's not rocket science.

>>2800763
>Also you'll probably need to move them into at least 1 liter container somewhen in April if you start now.
Yeah, that's probably a bit early for me. I think I'll start in mid February then, that sounds more reasonable. I grow them in a small room in my flat before I can transfer them outside and the window isn't that large in that room, so if I have too many plants some necessarily get too little light.
>I usually start mine end of February / beginning of March, this is how they looked like last year 23th March last year.
Are you in zone 7 as well? I'm asking because how long it is warm enough would change things. Last year I started too late (as I already said) and we had those few super cold days that came out of nowhere which stopped any growth on my chilis early, so my harvest was pretty low. I'm probably overcompensating this time around, especially since I overwintered two of my chilis, so those should already have a big headstart no matter what.
Thanks for all the info anon, your garden looks gorgeous, I'm jealous as a inner city apartment dweller who is limited to his balcony.

>>2800773
I recommend waiting until mid February, month from now, that should be fine even if you don't have a lot of space.

>Are you in zone 7 as well?
Zone 6, last frost is mid May.

>I'm jealous as a inner city apartment dweller who is limited to his balcony.
I think I remember you from last year, you posted about starting chills late back then, you are German, right?

>>2800775
>I think I remember you from last year, you posted about starting chills late back then, you are German, right?
Yeah that's me. This general is what got me into gardening in the first place in 2022, before that I only had a few herbs on my window sills and one or two pots of neglected plants. In 2022 I grew a lot of different plants like sorrel, wild salad, swiss chard, tomato, bok choi, cucumbers and kohlrabi.
Then in 2023 I made my own sub irrigated planters and instead grew chilis, jerusalem artichoke, different tomato varieties and currant. I also started a vermiculture.
In 2024 I decided to go all in on chilis because those (and tomato) were the most fun to me that year, but I started too late and missed out on a nice harvest because of it. Still got a lot, but I could have easily gotten double that had I started properly.
This year the plan is to grow the chilis again but also replace a plant or two with either tomatoes again or some other new plant to keep things fresh.
Picrel is my seed collection from the different years, it's nice to see it grow slowly.

>>2800338
>cheap dirt is totally dead, no microbial life to speak of
If it's dead, it's dead for a reason. Figure out why first. For example, is it mostly inorganic matter and no biological matter? Was it transported mostly dry?
It's not like you're holding a sealed petri dish in an otherwise 100% sterile environment and going "hawt diggidy, if only I had some microbes".
If you really want to, you can pick up a bucket of topsoil and dirt from a forest nearby and inoculate your "dead" soil with it, but I'd bet you'd get the same results by just watering.
Maybe you want to add some stuff like worms, springtails, isopods, or other macroorganisms that might not arrive on their own in a short amount of time, but microbes? They're everywhere, they get to your soil via wind, rain, groundwater, debris like leaves, bird and other animal droppings, and a lot more ways.
If it's some exotic mycorrhizal fungus for your imported houseplants, maybe think of buying some.

>>2800197
Thank you. I see no visible pest and they were started indoors so it's likely a fungus. I have let it dry out and it's looking much healthier.

I have another question, for anyone up for it. I planted a citrus seed, calamondin, and it grew like a rocket for the first 6 weeks, and now it's abruptly stopped. The leaves look somewhat iron deficient maybe? But I'm fairly certain it has sufficient fertilizer since it has osmocote plus in the soil.

Do I buy soluble iron fertilizer and water it in to attempt a fix here? I am very unfamiliar with citrus.

Forgot the image, sorry.
>>2801017

Otherwise everything is doing fantastic. I have fig cuttings that think it's the middle of summer, they've doubled in size in just 3 months. I hope they'll be ready for 3 gallon pots before planting season, I want these things HUGE.

>>2800772
Those black peppers are gorgeous. Are they hot or sweet? Well done, anon.

Doesn't photone need a light measurer?

>>2801022
>Those black peppers
Sweet, "Nocturne".
Turns red when ripe, tasty, vigorous and good yield, skin could be a bit thicker fro my taste tho, still I very much recommend it.

>Doesn't photone need a light measurer?
No, it uses your phone's light sensor (the one used to set screen brightness when in auto brightness mode), hence it's not very accurate, still much better than nothing.

I've been wanting to get into gardening to lower my food costs (and for fun), and while I have a decent sized yard for growing my indoor storage space is low.
I was wondering if it was possible to succession plant a few resilient things (potato, beet, cabbage, etc.) year round to effectively have a small harvest every month or so?
My goal is to have a few staples available year round in addition to some seasonal things.

If I plant a seed from a store bought clementine will it grow into viable citrus?

>>2801171
You are me 5 years ago, I recommend growing variety of stuff, you'll learn more way and find what grows best in your place.

>I was wondering if it was possible to succession plant a few resilient things (potato, beet, cabbage, etc.) year round to effectively have a small harvest every month or so?
Depends on your climate, if you live near arctic circle obviously not, if you live near tropics, it's possible.

>My goal is to have a few staples available year round in addition to some seasonal things.
If you want to save on food cost focus on expensive crops you can grow and spend a lot of money on.
For example where I live sweet potatoes cost about 3 times of what normal potatoes cost per kilogram, I like both but I don't even bother with normal potatoes and grow sweet potatoes only because I can buy potatoes cheaply and my space is limited.

>>2800772
>>2801056
> Sweet, "Nocturne".
I wanna try some more peppers this year. I had two in my green house last year, but I started too late and had a shitton of slugs. I’ve now pruned the slug wilderness behind my green house and moved the compost out of the fucking middle of the beds so now at least from that side, I’ve got a better chance.
With tomatoes, I know what I wanna plant, but peppers are somewhat new to me. Occasionally you accidentally buy some that are actually really great but I haven’t yet found some cultivars I wanna plant.
Any recommendations on stuff that also can stand on its own and is not just
>meh. It’s a pepper. Guess it ads some crunch.

>>2801226
Also on the list to start this spring:
I wanna have some plants around the perimeter of my property. (Road is low traffic/ residential, so not worried about pollution)
Trying to go for a mix of decorative and useful. Stuff like blackberries and such to have some fruits besides the apples, cherries and plums which are a few metres back from the fence.

>>2801184
Yes but there's no way of telling exactly what kind of fruit it will produce. Basically every citrus is already a hybrid

>>2801228
Do you mind if whatever you plant starts to climb on your fance?
If not you could try grapevines, assuming there is not too much wind and not too wet where you live.
You could also do rhubarb, globe artichoke (very decorative but needs at least zone 7 to overwinter without protection), sweet potatoes (decorative and edible leaves, they will vine on the fence), marigolds, onions (onion flowers are quite decorative), potatoes (also decorative flowers), crocus (for saffron), mint (it spreads a lot tho), chives, this list could be very long as you don't have many constrains

>>2801233
Mostly thinking about shrubs and bushes. Wine is definitely on the list. Some red wine already came with the property, so I know climate works for it. Artichoke is already on the list too.
Saffron sounds interesting, but that’s more of a lawn plant and nothing for the fence.
Last year I had some squash growing on it, definitely gonna do that again, but I mostly want to plant stuff for nice and leave it be. I’ve got enough normal beds for vegetables and such. But I probably could go for more rhubarb. Made some jam out of some last year and that’s fantastic stuff, but the two plants I got aren’t really enough for a years supply of jam.
Only issue I’m seeing for many plants:
It’s just some ratty ass, mossy, clovery lawn. Far from the dead zone of a well manicured boomer lawn but not exactly the kind of soil you’d want for a lot of stuff.

>>2801228
I'm growing elderberries on my fence line as a hedge to keep the deer out

Bros help I'm going nuts.

>1 acre of slopped land that I wanted to challenge myself to convert into a closed loop food production system.
>cover crops are expensive, I would need to broadcast ass loads, risk losing the crop, and even if it grows well I need to until a decent mulch is established and I would still require the seed continuously.
>buying in compost is expensive and an outside source I'm trying to generate on site.
>trees on the other hand are stupid cheap through the forestry department and I've looked into alley cropping using trees and other perennials for chop and drop and their leaf mulch.

I'm trying to make sense of Masanobu Fukuoka, Back To Eden, Ruth Stout, and no plastics or season extension and maybe even no transplanting. The problem I think is the idealism is getting in the way of realistic cultivation.

The best plan i have so far is:
>trees on contour in dense rows 12' apart (ala Inga alley cropping)
>3 rows of kitchen or staple crops direct sown into the pulled back leaf mulch in Spring. (ala Ruth Stout/Back To Eden)
>perennial nursery cultivated in beds nearest to the house for root stock to plant out (herbs, fruit shrubs/bushes/trees)
>simple crop rotation yearly between rows.
>no transplanting, no potting mix, excess crop and weeds can go to the chickens to generate compost for perennial cuttings.

What would you do in my position?

This is, in theory, my best bet. Inga trees are nitrogen fixers and I could use a native nitrogen fixer like black locust or catalpa but I wonder if a blend of native trees with different flowering times and different influences on soil biology is better.

MAYBE I might have to fight the mulch when the seed is first planted but idk

>>2801226
For slugs best way is to wait for wet evening and knife every slug you find in half, a few days of this and you'll get most of them.

>Any recommendations on stuff that also can stand on its own
For sweet peppers I like "Nocturne" the best overall I also like "Ingrid", very sweet, take a while to grow tho, "Ożarowska" and "Oleńka" are also ok but not my first choice.
For chills what I care about the most is if they air dry well and classic "Cayenne" is really good at this.

>>2801228
>>2801235
What zone are you in?
What kind of annual rainfall do you get?
What kind of soil do you have?
Do you want to block the view into your property?
Do you mind thorns?
Are you fine with having to prune often?
Do you prefer sweet of tart taste?

>>2801318
I feel like you are falling into the trap of trying to bring the idea of your ideal garden into reality regardless of how viable it actually is.
Once you start cultivating your garden you quickly learn why people generally don't stick to radical hippe stuff like no dig for example, it can work for some people in some circumstances but it's not something that will work everywhere for everyone, you need to find what works for you in your place for you instead of trying to implement someone's idea that worked for him in his place.

>chop and drop
Doesn't really work in my opinion, it takes years for stuff to break down and amount of organic matter soil gets is miniscule, think about it, the land you stand on has been getting natural chop and drop plus animal manure for thousands of years yet it still isn't all that good, is it?
Better throw it all into a compost pile and apply when it's ready imo.

>cover crops are expensive
Can't you just get something that spreads on itself where you live or plant some and harvest seeds later?

>no plastics or season extension and maybe even no transplanting
You'll be losing out on a lot of nice things by not utilizing those amazing techniques.
A greenhouse can be a great tool allowing you to grow stuff like watermelons close to arctic circle or overwinter stuff like figs and citrus where they wouldn't survive the winter
Same with transplanting, you can get viable pepper or sweet potato crop despite having short growing season.

>What would you do in my position?
I would build some nice swales to capture run off and plant fruit trees and shrubs on them, assuming you have the problem of not having enough water, not the problem of too much of it.
A simple vegie and herb garden like one I already have near the house.
Some chickens in enclosure so they don't fuck vegie garden up.
But I'm not in your place I don't actually know your soil and climate so I doubt whatever I'm thinking would work out.

>>2801333
I agree with you there. I used to work in greenhouses almost entirely automated and I developed a bit of an Uncle Ted complex regarding how artificial so much of the crop production was.

I've gone too far to the other side of agricultural philosophy and it's put me in a bit of a rut.

I'm still an ass about plastics. I understand the value of a greenhouse but I'm in Zone 7b with a long growing season.

It's gonna be -10F(-23C) tonight, halp

>>2801318
Go slower. You're overwhelming yourself.

>>2801022
>>2801056
Photone has a lot of phone models pre calibrated. If your phone isn't supported then you can use the sun to calibrate it on a clear day by looking up the information for your area.

>>2801017
>>2801019
I would spray it down with some compost tea and give it more sun. Whatever it's missing will be in the tea.

>>2798981
Prepped some soil

>>2801500
Oh yeah I'm a scraper
I scrape junk and reuse them
I don't really care about microplastics or forever chemicals
The veggies taste good anyway
The soil is rich in clay
I should've added some sand in as well but I didn't have any sand on me hands

>>2801503
Crush up lump charcoal and use that instead of sand. It works a lot better, but you have to soak it in fertilizer first.

>>2801575
I will burn up the twigs I have stored up
Just need to build a rocket stove
I'll go hunting for tin cans today or tomorrow

>>2801479
I appreciate that, anon. Too much theory and not enough practical effort. Double digging the beds I've built and I'm doing nothing with the other land until I establish a system I'm happy with.

Any anons here worked with black soldier fly composting any? I've started fiddling with it, attempting fully indoors. Have pupae pupating away, should have flies soon. I'm wondering if I can run the goat hay-manure mix through them as long as I pre-innoculate with chicken poop (turned up several papers showing feeding chicken poop changes larval intestinal microbiome to make cellulose digestion more efficient). I know I am not going to get insane efficiency, but producing something useful and reducing compost volume would be incredibly handy.

>>2801575
I'm fleshing out a drainage system for the goat barn I'm putting in this spring/summer. It's right next to a river so I don't want to risk springtime or heavy rain overflow into the river - it's just rude.

My thought was to dig down about 8 inches, lay down a water impassable layer sloped to the downhill corner, layer 2 inches of sand or gravel, then recover with top soil. The impassable layer would be run up the sides with ground-contact 2x6 to protect/hold in place until it compacts in nicely. After that I'm thinking a buried 55 gallon drum with top access that the leach water drains into, filled with fine biochar with holes and a sand layer on the bottom. Seems to me that lets me capture escaping nitrogen and minerals while keeping the goats from contaminating the local water. Does this seem reasonable?

>>2801582
I think vermicomposting with worms is going to be easier and better. For one thing your compost won't fly away.

>>2801576
Try to restrict the oxygen as much as possible. Charcoal is only formed in the absence of oxygen.

>>2801581
No problem, anon. Keep at it

>>2801584
That would work. Consider installing Stamets style mycofilters too. If you're not familiar it's just a burlap sack filled with wood chips and oyster mushroom spawn that you use kind of like sandbags. You can put them in the river itself too if you'd like.

>>2801584
>>2801676
As a last thought, could you build a French drain that flows away from the river?

>>2801674
I'm running the BSF inside, winters hit -60F on occasion and I'd like to operate year round. I think I'll have minimal problems with uncontrolled pupating but they're contained if I do. I am considering vermicomposting for the BSF frass, but worms are ironically a little harder to manage on the scale I need (or I just need to get good). Being able to skip the initial decomposition would also be tremendously useful.

>>2801676
>>2801677
I hadn't considered a mycofilter, but that's easily doable. I have almost unlimited access to wood waste through the local lumberyard ($11 a yard is a reasonable price anyways).

I could build a french drain that flows away from the river, and I could even terminate it where the septic leech field is. Only real problem is that with a proper rise/run it will terminate about 3' below ground level which the water table will hit come spring, the other problem being it is liable to freeze in the winter and not thaw until well after surface thaw, which is why I was leaning toward a compact accessible biofilter that I can drain after first frost and thaw in spring if needed.