Working in the Garden is actually fun

This weekend saw a lot of changes to the garden so I’ll get started on the happenings for everyone.

If you didn’t see the tutorial on how to make tomato cages please be sure to check it out here.  We ended up making 28 cages from the galvanized wire mesh but we are 3 short for the 31 tomato plants that were planted in the last two weeks.  Oh well.  We also setup the drip irrigation for the tomatoes (and future peppers).  The squash and zucchini are looking a little yellow after they were planted but they are bouncing back now that they have their own drip irrigation.

We also have about 25 pepper plants to get into the ground.  They are doing well in the greenhouse but I know they are itching to get into the ground so they can show me their potential.  🙂

The soil was loosened up a little with my trusty Troybilt tiller to get ready for planting the cucumbers, okra and silver queen corn.  We also setup something for the cucumbers to climb up as they grow.  This makes harvesting the cucumbers easier and prevents those extra huge cucumbers from forming that hide amongst the vines.  I’m sure the chickens enjoy these cukes as a snack but I would prefer to eat them myself.

We also tilled under the winter rye where the Rattlesnake Pole beans will be planted.  We setup some supports and twine supports for the pole beans to climb as they grow.

We will also be putting down some of the homemade compost to help with the soil structure.  Soil structure in a mostly red clay soil is very important but it takes time for everything to mesh together.  We will continue to work on the soil health for this new garden area in the coming years.

Unfortunately, the rain came in early before we could get the seeds planted.  It looks like there will be some strong storms until Wednesday of this week so planting will have to wait until this coming weekend.  We really enjoy farming and providing our fresh produce at the Dallas Farmer’s Market in Dallas, Georgia each Saturday.  Not much ready at this time because the carrots, lettuce, spinach and onions are taking their sweet time getting ready for harvesting.

As always, if you like this post please let us know by clicking the Like buttons on this post.  Stay tuned and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter.  Thank you for reading our C & L Farms blog.

Our Website:  http://www.clfarmsgrows.com

Twitter:      Search for @CLFarmsGrows or https://twitter.com/CLFarmsGrows

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/AquaponicsAtCandLFarms

Google+:     https://plus.google.com/u/1/118101862705604240197/posts/p/pub

Aquaponics @ C & L Farms

Hello Readers!

This is the first post in a new series called “Aquaponics @ C & L Farms”.  Over the next few months, we will be blogging our trials and tribulations on our first Aquaponics system.  Please keep in mind that this is not a commercial Aquaponics system by any stretch.  This is simply a small diversion in our overall gardening program which we hope to use as a stepping stone for other home gardeners to use for sustainable gardening practices in their own personal gardens.  We will be learning how to maintain an Aquaponics system simply as a way to inspire others to look at Aquaponics as “a system of aquaculture in which the waste produced by farmed fish or other aquatic animals supplies nutrients for plants grown hydroponically, which in turn purify the water.”

We have already started the project by digging the sump tank for our CHIFT PIST configuration.  For those of you new to Aquaponics, I will try to include a brief definition of the terms and abbreviations used which are associated with Aquaponics.  To get this started, here is the definition for CHIFT PIST:

CHIFT PIST:  Constant Height In Fish Tank, Pump in Sump Tank.  Basically, this means the sump tank, usually below the level of the fish tank, will have the pump in it and water will be pumped from the sump up to the fish tank.  The fish tank will then overflow at a set height down pipes, via gravity, into the growbeds.  The growbeds will then fill to a desired height, usually around 1″ below the top of the media, and some form of siphon will be activated which will drain the growbeds back into the sump tank.

We will be posting more details and pictures of the build as it progresses over the next few months.  We will also be sprinkling in other blog posts about the farm or topics that we find interesting and want to share with our readers.

Once we have the Aquaponics system in place and running, we would be happy to show anyone local to the Douglasville, GA area how the system works.  Stay tuned and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter.

Twitter:      Search for @CLFarmsGrows or https://twitter.com/CLFarmsGrows

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/AquaponicsAtCandLFarms

Google+:     https://plus.google.com/u/1/118101862705604240197/posts/p/pub

Greenhouse Progress

Everything is ticking along for the Spring plantings. We are still finishing up the storage building and greenhouse but this bitter cold in Georgia has slowed the progress down a lot. Hope for better weather this weekend so we can finish up the siding and to get started on the framing for the greenhouse.

We are also still planning our test Aquaponics system once the greenhouse is finished. We are slowly getting the materials and liners for the fish tank and the growbeds. This season will have 95% of our vegetables and herbs coming from the dirt garden but we hope to have some unique vegetables from the Aquaponics test system by early Summer.

We are also planning on selling some tomato and pepper transplants at The Dallas Farmer’s Market in Dallas GA (http://tdfm.org/) starting in May 2014.

Please help us spread the word about our farm venture to your friends on Facebook. Be sure to like our new page C & L Farms (https://www.facebook.com/AquaponicsAtCandLFarms) to help us promote self-sufficiency using Aquaponics.

Happy New Year to everyone who supports us now.

Meet my neighbors

Hello all,

We have been debating whether we should move the vegetable garden that we built next to the swimming pool to a larger area outside of the safety of the fence.  If you have been following this blog then you are probably already aware of the nice raised beds that we built last Spring once we moved into the new house in the West Georgia area.  The first season of crops outperformed our expectations and I want more space to grow more vegetables.  I’m sure everyone understands that desire if you like to get your hands in the dirt like I do.  Just to catch you up, the image below is a picture of the raised beds that we built.

As you can see from the picture, there is some open space on the other side of the fence for more vegetables.  In reality, there is a lot of open space over there that is not used for anything except grass.

Now, to get to this new area we have recently ordered a new garden tiller from Troybilt.com.  It should be here in a couple weeks so I will be working all winter on clearing the grass out and amending the new garden space with manure and compost.  I am planning two garden plots on the other side of the fence as well as moving the existing raised beds and reclaiming the space with grass and other non-vegetable plants.  🙂

My concern though are my neighbors.  They seem to show up at the strangest hours and are voracious in cleaning out my vegetable plants and their fruity offerings.  There are 3 of them that we have seen creeping through the yard where the new vegetable garden plots will be so now I have to figure out how to keep them out of the garden.  I’m sure you have figured out what I’m talking about by now so here are a couple pictures I took last week.  If anyone has ideas on how to keep the deer out of my garden without building a fence around my acre property, please leave a comment.

Also, I would appreciate if you would click on some of the social media sharing buttons and help spread the word about my blog.  I will post some pictures of the new tiller once it arrives so stay tuned.

Spring is coming early this year…To Georgia

It bodes well to all fellow Georgia gardeners that we will have an early Spring.  At least according to Gen. Beauregard Lee.  The South’s iconic groundhog, Gen. Beauregard Lee, waddled out of his “Weathering Heights” mansion and failed to see his shadow on the Georgia red dirt.  The development bodes well for warm weather.  But does this really mean we can put out our tomatoes early?  Probably not.  I mean, Gen. Lee only has a 94% success rate with predicting whether we have an early or late spring.  It is entirely possible that we will have an early Spring.  The weather this Winter has been crazy warm with an expected temperature of 70 today.  I will not be putting my transplants out into the garden any earlier based on a groundhog’s prediction.  As everyone else knows, waiting for the last frost-free date for you area is recommended.