by Noel | Jun 14, 2015 | CobraHead, Gardening
Last year I bought a bundle of 7’ bamboo stakes specifically to build a reliable tomato trellis. I built a beefy structure that performed well, but it had drawbacks. Here is last year’s trellis post. This year I’ve simplified the design. I eliminated the traditional tomato cages. In a well-trellised system, the cages are only in the way. They are hard to weed around and fruit gets wedged in the wires. I’m also using the t-posts that hold up the structure as...
by Noel | Jun 3, 2015 | CobraHead, Gardening
Comfrey (Symphytum officinale L.) reminds me a lot of tobacco, which is grown as a cash crop by farmers here in Cambridge, Wisconsin. I’ve read that comfrey can be smoked as a tobacco, but I have no interest. I grow it as a compost crop and for that purpose, its value is remarkable. I previously posted about using comfrey in compost here. An established growth of comfrey can be harvested up to four times per year. I decided to cut some to use as a mulch in the...
by Noel | May 25, 2015 | CobraHead, Gardening
Inexpensive and easy to erect low hoop tunnels can save the home gardener a lot of work in getting seed starts into the garden. For the past several years I’ve nearly eliminated the tedious chores of carting flats of vegetables outdoors and back inside daily to harden them off. Additionally, I don’t have to pot off seedlings to larger containers. Instead, I merely transfer sprouted seedlings directly to the soil in the bed under the hoop tunnel. There are...
by Noel | May 23, 2015 | CobraHead, Gardening
It’s May 23rd here near Madison, Wisconsin. This morning, I planted 17 sweet potato slips into a raised bed covered with a sheet of black polyethylene. Memorial Day weekend has always been my target planting date for sweet potatoes, and this year I’m right on time. I used this black poly sheet last year. I’ve gotten three years from a single sheet, but usually after two seasons they get torn and brittle and have to be trashed. The white rings are cut from PVC...
by Noel | Apr 5, 2015 | CobraHead, Gardening
Open raised beds lend themselves well to home vegetable growing. A trellised pea planting demonstrates their versatility. I try to cover my beds with leaves in the fall. The leaves protect the beds during the hard freeze, slow down weed production, and make it easier to get into the garden early in the spring. This picture shows the leaves raked off and any weeds that did sneak through pulled out. I use the leftover leaves as mulch in the paths or I just sweep...
by Noel | Mar 30, 2015 | CobraHead, Gardening
I like to start my own seeds. I rarely buy started vegetables. Starting your own seed saves lots of money and it gives you access to far more variety than you can find by buying plants started by others. And if you have a larger garden, buying plants quickly becomes cost prohibitive. My seed starting ritual has evolved to a fairly consistent pattern. I try to start my onions in mid to late January. Tomatoes, eggplants, and most brassicas have a March 15th target...
