I just saw the new lessons today, so I am going to work on lesson#3 right away. I actually have been working in my vegetable garden today, and a few times last week since we had a few rare, sunny Oregon sun shines including this morning. I did a bit of more work on inputting data for the veggies in the last week, did not get too far because my Father in Law was visiting from Nebraska.
I am finally getting my vegetable garden beds organized, the way I was talking about before.
Which means I will have to change the beds in IGPro again
Since we got the chickens last year and chickens can help me eat the bugs on the not used beds, or before I get them ready for growing I decided I needed to change my layout again. Before I had a lot of 3'x3' beds, some 3'x6' and a few huge 3'x9'.
Aside my garden is completely devout of vegetables I don't want the hens on my beds eating and scratching out my plants or contaminating them, so I need a way to keep them restrained to the beds which are empty, so I am building a PVC hoop house with chicken netting which will just fit over my 3'x6' beds. Having all different sizes does not work so well with this so I have taken apart my beds and extended or shortened them, so they are all the same size. I have one more to go before I finish them off with my compost and mint straw. I have now 12 - 3'x6' beds, and two mini beds 3'x1-1/2' which I tucked behind other beds. So I have a total of 225 sqft of growing area, not including paths plus a 6'x9' Asparagus bed outside the fenced area. I have more room to add more beds if I want to, but I think that will do me for now.
So now I will be able to contain the chickens on one or two beds (I might make the hoop house that wide) and it will always fit perfect.
My lower garden I now mainly use for fruit and my Artichoke plants. I might get a new apricot tree, since my other one died a few years back and I still want to add an apple tree which will be a good baking apple for cakes and pies. I am a bit indecisive on that apple tree, can't decide which one to get. I have been eating a lot of apples from the farmers markets, suggestions from the farmer for baking/pie apples, but the Americans seem to prefer a more sweeter apple for baking, while in Germany pie apples are crisp, fruity and a bit tart. If anybody has suggestions for the perfect apple tree for me, please share. I have been working on getting an Apple tree for more then two years now, if I don't get one soon I might as well forget it, there we will be moving to Portland in maybe 5 years.
So I will go now and work on Lesson # 3.
Thanks again George for taking this time to design these Lessons
Isabell
PS: Anybody interested in building a worm bin?
Go here
http://diegartenfrau.blogspot.com/2010/01/composting-with-worms-building-worm-bin.html