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Post by mastercatter on Mar 28, 2010 11:00:12 GMT -5
 Our garden did not do very well last year as there is too much sand and gravel there. It was fertilized and limed good before planting..This year I will use a tip from Bobberguy and place old carpet down to help keep moisture in the ground..Will cut holes in it for the plants . Next, where each plant will be am going to place a 1 lb bag of potting soil / old compost when transplanting the plants..Since we are on a well, I will put two of the dollar store sprinklers in the garden spot to water each day if no rain.. Should it be watered in the morning or in the late afternoon? I have heard of both being bad to do....The garden spot is in full sun with no shade . Will have tomatoes, sweet peppers , bush green beans, squash , cukes and watermelon.
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Post by olhillbilly on Mar 28, 2010 14:55:52 GMT -5
I'd water late in the evening. That way it'll give the plants a chance to soak up some of the water. If ya water in the morning before it gets hot, you could just have a garden fulla boiled veggies.
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Post by tentfire on Mar 29, 2010 12:28:50 GMT -5
I agree, late in the evening is the best time to water when it is hot .... unless you want 'fried green tomatoes.' I have never heard of using old carpet like that, but I may give it a shot. Threw some away not too long ago, darn it all. I would worry, though, that it would invite bugs to congregate underneath. Careful about putting those cukes and watermelons too close together ..... I have never had cucumbers taste like watermelons, but I have had watermelons come out tasting like cucumbers.... yuk!
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Post by mastercatter on Mar 29, 2010 14:04:21 GMT -5
I'll keep the melons and cukes apart...Do not like the mixed taste. Bobberguy is the one that posted about the carpet...If anything goes wrong with the insects He will get the blame...I'll sprinkle sevin dust over the carpet or some other insecticide on it also........Just kidding there Bobber!
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Post by bobberguy on Mar 29, 2010 21:37:05 GMT -5
I also like to put a foot strip of carpet between the rows. This way you can walk between the rows with no weeds or mud! The carpet satys wet and anytime you need worms after a rain look under the carpet! Turn the carpet upsidedown so the back is facing up. The light back also reflects light back under the leaves and really helps pepers! You can even cover the edges of the carpet with dirt! Sprinkle some garlic water on the carpet and the snails will never come around. Some hot peper on the carpet will keep animals away! Lots of ways to use it! Always cut the carpet from the back with a straight knife and its very easy to get a 1 by 12 foot piece. people throw out rug all the time. Most carpet comapnies will be glad to give you the old carpet or just grab it when their dumpster s over filled! The carpet will last for about 4 years in the garden! Once you wet it it usually stays in place!
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Post by mastercatter on Mar 30, 2010 6:27:03 GMT -5
Like I said above I;m going to try it this year.
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Post by tentfire on Mar 30, 2010 11:59:41 GMT -5
I love that idea of the carpet between the rows. Gosh, all that carpet I have pulled out of my house over the past year or so and either burned or trashed! I still have a couple of rooms I am pulling out. One is a double garage-sized room full of indoor/outdoor carpet that is next to come out. I bet that will work good.
I'm trying to keep the chickens out of my garden. They have gotten in and eaten all of my 'special order' lettuce seed twice now.... GRRRRRR....... I even set out bricks on 4 corners, then laid a piece of quarter-inch wire mesh over my patch of lettuce seeds.... what did they do?..... they stood on the mesh to mash it down so they could get their beaks through it to get the perty white (expensive) seeds! This is going to be some really expensive lettuce by the time I get any of it to come up! (a real pretty, ruffled, solid red leaf lettuce)
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Post by bobberguy on Mar 30, 2010 14:47:35 GMT -5
Put the clear plastic over it and when it comes up some old screens up off the ground 6 inches! Don't forget I am a carpet installer and sales men for 47 years so if you have any questions i can answer them about new carpet!
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Post by dsmith on Mar 31, 2010 19:46:33 GMT -5
Go to the trash behind any carpet store, and you will probably find some carpet scraps. One time we needed just a little bit for a small area. Someone had suggested that to us. We found some beautiful, hardly worn carpet big enough to do a room.
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Post by bobberguy on Mar 31, 2010 19:54:07 GMT -5
When I worked in Virginia as a carpet salesmen in a Million Dollar new carpet store I always checked the dumpster. The dumpser was out side my office. I move down ther by myself not knowing anything about the area. I installed for 2 months befoe the store had its grand opening! The installers would throw a half roll of pad away every day. They did not care they just threw everthing away! I picked up like a 100 yds of carpet and sold it for extra money! I had a room there that cost me $300 a month in 1990! I finally went with another guy and got a condo for $850 and rented out a bedroom for $200 a month! I was there for a year but never liked the heat in the summer!
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Post by tentfire on Apr 7, 2010 3:45:02 GMT -5
Love all these ideas! I still have a couple of rooms of carpet to rip out, though, so I will probably use that up first. Just haven't been able to get down on my knee to rip any more out, but getting there. Been easier to just stand up and work the hoe. And I don't plan to replace my carpet with any more carpet!! I have stacks of tile setting around waiting to go back down in its place.  I may break down and put some upstairs, though, not sure yet. DEFINITELY none is going back down in the kitchen nor the bathrooms .... yuk! In the chickens' scratching around, they must have buried a few of the lettuce seeds instead of eating them, because a few actually came up, pretty evenly, too. At least I won't have to worry about thinning them. It is getting 'well watered' right now. |
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