Garden Thoughts

Follow me on my garden advice and more.

[bartalgardens-blog-blog]

More my photos ->

[bartalgardens-blog-blog]

Great blog on what tools will help you with your garden. A must read for new gardeners.

[bartalgardens-blog-blog]

Great recipe for making some delicious cold brew tea.

[bartalgardens-blog-blog]

How to keep your waterhose safe

My friend’s teenage son attempts to make a little extra cash in the summer by mowing all the neighbor's lawns on our road for a small fee. Which is great, teaches him to work and teaches him the value of money. All of that I am 100% in support of.

What I am not a supporter of is a garden hose meeting the previously mentioned lawn mower. You would think that I would be smart enough to get the hose out of the yard, however, I forgot Seth was coming by to mow while I was going to be gone to the office. And honestly, you would think that a glaring white water hose would be noticeable against my dark green grass.

So this year, I invested in one of those garden hose reels that are the little wheeled cart and you use the handle to crank the hose back in. It is pretty cool actually, but I think I’ll always make sure that hose is rolled back up in it before I leave the house. It really stinks to get home ready to water your veggies and find your hose in several pieces with an I’m sorry note stuck to your door. Seth didn’t want me to pay him for mowing the yard that day, but honestly mistakes happen, so we met in the middle and I paid him half. He’s a good kid after all. I figure only getting half pay would still help him to remember the lesson without me feeling guilty that he didn’t get anything for working that day.

[staff]

[bartalgardens-blog-blog]

staff:

Y2K might have been made up by the media, but there is another very real limit in computer software: the 32-bit integers that represent most numbers max out at 4,294,967,295. (See this chart for reference)

We never fathomed Tumblr would come close to 4 billion posts, so, unfortunately, our...

Almost thought this was real til i clicked the chart. Nice one Tumblr.

[bartalgardens-blog-blog]

Spraying to keep away deer

In my opinion the deer seem to get worse with every single year that passes. And every year I dread them more and more. I have tried all kinds of store bought sprays, scarecrows, etc. to scare off and dissuade the deer, but they are hard headed and determined. So i did a little online sleuthing and found a recipe on Gammy’s Garden. I am going to try this one in my garden sprayer and I will be praying that it works.

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons cayenne pepper – ground

1 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup peeled garlic

1 cup clear ammonia

1 cup Murphy’s oil soap

1 bar Ivory hand soap (optional)

Directions:

Boil the cayenne in the vinegar for one minute, then strain it through a coffee filter. In a blender, purée the garlic in two cups of water, then strain that mixture through another filter.  Combine the two filtered liquids with the ammonia and oil soap in a 3-gallon garden sprayer.  Fill the sprayer to the maximum level with water, and spray this concoction around all of the areas you want to protect. For extra stickiness, float a bar of Ivory or Irish Spring soap in the sprayer and let it slowly dissolve over several fillings.  For maximum effectiveness, reapply weekly, as well as immediately after every rainstorm.

More frequent spraying may be warranted if deer browsing your lawn or garden is intense. Has anyone else used these types of mixes in their sprayers? How did it work?

[readjessie-blog]

[bartalgardens-blog-blog]

readjessie:

 Tiger lily 

original by Jessie…

Saw this and thought of my wife, I will soon be getting out the bulb planter to help her plant some of these.

[martinbrose-blog]

[bartalgardens-blog-blog]

martinbrose:

For years dogs have been considered to be man’s best friend. However, I feel that a good quality garden sprayer should be considered the small gardener’s best friend. With the way the economy is (and seems to be continuing to head) and the recent resurgence into self-sufficiency, I feel that this...

More information on Garden Sprayers for those of you gardening this year. Just go to martinbrose's blog.

[bartalgardens-blog-blog]

Choosing a Good Backpack Sprayer

With spring upon us and the planting season soon starting; it has come to me that many people who have never gardened before are going to attempt to do so this coming gardening season. Whether this is due to the economy, the multiple natural disasters, the grassroots movement, increase in food prices, or just an urge to get back to your roots, I personally feel that this is a great thing that people are doing.  Being able to feed yourself is something that will always count as a good personal quality in my book. You never know what the future might hold.

Now, for those of you who are looking at garden sprayers and wondering which one would be right for you or your uses, I have found some information on how to choose a backpack sprayer (this is my personal sprayer of choice, easier to tote around in my opinion)

Choose between a manual backpack sprayer or a motorized sprayer. A manual one will require you to pump with one hand and spray with the other. A motorized sprayer will keep your hand free and require less effort.

Decide what type of pump you want if you want a motorized sprayer. Piston pumps are inexpensive and provide a great spraying pressure. Diaphragm pumps are more durable and support many spray formulas. Some spray formulas, like wettable powders, can wear out piston pumps rather quickly.

Determine how much formula you want to hold in your tank. Most tanks hold four gallons, but five and six gallon tanks are also available.

Know what type of formulas you want to spray in your garden. Most backpack sprayers are resistant to pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals, but you still have to make sure the sprayer can support the chemicals you intend to use.

Spend the extra money to buy high-quality hoses, spray nozzles, strainers, pump seals and gaskets. These parts are most likely to fail if they are cheap. Top-of-the-line parts will benefit you in the long run.

Look for adjustable and comfortable shoulder straps and a waist belt. Backpack sprayers can get rather heavy, so proper support is necessary.

Now that you know how to choose the backpack sprayer for your needs, you should know what brands of backpack sprayers are available. There are many many brands out there, however, the brands that I personally have had the best luck with are:

Solo Backpack Sprayers Chapin Backpack Sprayers Gilmore Backpack Sprayers

[martinbrose-blog]

[bartalgardens-blog-blog]

martinbrose:

I’ve been digging through my basement getting things out and ready for when the warm weather gets here (and cleaning them up, some stuff has either a. gathered some dust while in storage or b. I put it up before cleaning it). I’ve set out my Seeder for the garden, my tiller for, well, tilling my...

Great post about Garden Sprayers.

[bartalgardens-blog-blog]

Earthway Garden Seeder

I have an Earthway Precision Garden Seeder (I'm sure this comes as no surprise, as I have nearly every gardening gadget known to mankind).  It does a great job while planting my garden and it makes the labor of planting so much easier.  Let me tell you about all of the seed plates that are offered for this particular model.

There are eleven different plates the first one is the Bean Seed Plate, it has 3.6 inch spacing and besides beans it will plant some small peas.

The next one is the Beets Seed Plate.  It has 3.6 inch spacing also, and will plant okra, swiss chard, and other medium seeds.

The Carrot Seed Plate has 4.5 inch spacing and will plant lettuce, turnip, endive, cabbage, onions, tomatoes, and other fine seeds.

The Carrot-Light Seed Plate had 4.5 inch spacing and will plant light lettuce, turnip, rutabaga, light cabbage, mustard, kale, and other fine seeds.

The Cauliflower Seed Plate has 1 inch spacing and will plant mustard, cabbage, cauliflower, turnip, rutabaga, and other fine seeds.

The Cucumber Seed Plate has 9 inch spacing and will plane some pumpkin seeds, gourds, squash and other flat seeds.

The Lima Bean Seed Plate has 12 inch spacing and will plant peanuts and other large seeds.

The Peas Seed Plate has 3 inch spacing and will plant some jumbo and early june peas.

The Popcorn Seed Plate has 9 inch spacing and will plant medium sized seeds of a size less than 0.25 inch diameter.

The Radish Seed Plate has 3 inch spacing and will plant leek, asparagus, spinach and other fine seeds.

The Sweet Corn Seed Plate has 7.2 inch spacing and will plant most varieties of sweet corn and some other larger seed types.

If you have any trouble, like the small seeds getting behind the seed plate, dip it in soapy water then let it air dry.  You can adjust the spacing of the seeds by covering one or more holes in the seed plate with bees wax.

This particular garden seeder is so handy and easy to use that almost anyone can plant with it.  It is mainly for large gardens, but my husband and I have a small garden and not much time so we purchased one of these this past summer to speed up the process and save time.  I am so thankful that we found this; there is a seed plate for practically every seed.  If there is one that you need to plant but is not specifically listed you just have to test each plate, eventually you will find one that works.  The Corn, Pea, Carrot, Bean, Radish, and Beet Seed Plates come standard with the 1001B Earthway Precision Garden Seeder, if you need the others you can buy them separately or in the optional seed plate set.  The optional set will save you money rather than buying them each individually.  Some of the plates are gray and some are green, the colors do not make a difference in how they work. I hope this helps someone out, I wish I would have known about this sooner!

[huggelig-blog-blog]

[bartalgardens-blog-blog]

Caring for your Garden Sprayer

For those of you who either have a garden sprayer, or you are planning on investing in one for the upcoming growing season, you should know that after each time you use your sprayer that you will need to flush it out, otherwise, you could accidentally spray your vegetables with weed killer (this is definitely not something you want to do. Trust me, I speak from experience). Cleaning out your garden sprayer, the tank, and all of its parts is something that must be done in order to prevent residues of chemicals from destroying your plants, garden, flowers, and/or lawn.  The process of flushing out your garden sprayer will add a little extra time to your gardening chores but it is definitely an easy task that is necessary to keep your plants healthy.

Step 1

Fill the garden sprayer tank with clean water after all the chemical liquid has been emptied from the tank. Fill the tank to about 10% of its capacity.

Step 2

Shake the water around the tank to rinse it. Spray the water out onto your lawn, garden, or wherever you were spraying the chemical.

Step 3

Repeat this process twice more. Rinse the outside of the tank, the sprayer head, and all of the garden sprayer’s parts with clean water. Allow the now empty, clean sprayer to dry before storing it.

Step 4

Clean the sprayer tank using a 1 to 2 percent solution of insecticidal soap between uses. Clean the tank with the insecticidal soap before storing the garden sprayer in the winter.

Source: http://www.gardenguides.com/89306-flush-out-garden-sprayer.html#ixzz1EcEuICwP

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[bartalgardens-blog-blog]

Earthway Products help with springtime needs

If you plan to be doing any yard work with your Earthway Precision Garden Seeder this spring then you have to keep your equipment in top running condition.  I usually inspect all my equipment in the winter and order parts, etc., so that I can have my machine ready to go by the time warm weather arrives.  The Earthway Precision Garden Seeder is easy to replace an broken or worn out parts on affordably by going online to Earthway-outlet.com.  They carry standard seed plates, single seed plates for specific seeds, the optional seed plate set, seed plate storage bags, the fert-a-ply side dressing attachment,  the garden seeder belt, seeder ground openers, hopper assemblies, the seeder row marker, row marker assembly, rear wheel, front wheel assembly and the marker retainer clip.  Now let's discuss some of these parts.   The Earthway Precision Garden Seeder Standard Seed Plate Set:

Set of six seed plates for Earthway Garden Seeder model 1001B

This is the set included with the original purchase of the Earthway 10001B Garden Seeder

Color of plates vary 

This set includes the corn plate, pea plate, carrot plate, bean plate, radish plate, and beet plate.  With these plates you can also plate other plants and varieties using the same plate.  Some of these vegetables include jumbo peas, early june peas, lettuce, turnips, endive, cabbage, onions, tomatoes, leek, asparagus, spinach, okra, and swiss chard.  Compare the size of any seed to the size of the seed the plate was intended to be used for.  If they’re similar in size then you can probably use that plate to spread the seed. The Earthway Precision Garden Seeder Optional Seed plate Set:

Set of five seed plates for the Earthway Garden Seeder model 1001B

Includes Carrot-light, cauliflower, cucumber, popcorn and lima beans

This is the complete set of optional plates available

Color of plates vary

In addition to the specified seeds for each plate you can plant light lettuce, turnips, rutabagas, light cabbage, mustard, kale, cabbage, pumpkin, gourds, squash, and peanuts. You can also purchase each plate individually.  If you do this each plate will run about $5.49.  You can see that by buying the set you save a lot of money.  If you really only need one then it might be best to buy the individual plate. Seed plate tips:

If you have problems with small seeds getting behind the seed plate, dip the seed plate in soapy water then let air dry. This should solve your problem.

You can adjust the spacing of the seeds by covering one or more holes in the seed plate with bees wax.

The Earthway Fert-A-Ply Side Dressing Attachment:

  For use with the Earthway Precision Garden Seeder 1001B.

Attaches easily to garden seeder

Calibrated slide plate allows precise flow of all granulated fertilizers

Fertilizer can be applied above or below ground to depth of two inches

Positive action On/Off handle helps eliminate waste

Made from durable weather resistant materials

Non corrosive

Attaching:

Remove Row Marker Assembly

Slide the 1500 between the handle and lock the attaching arms over the Handle Mounting frame.

Operating Instructions:

Rotate Flow Adjusting lever to vary the application rate of the fertilizer.

The Earthway Seed Plate Storage Bag is for use with the Earthway Precision Garden Seeder 1001B.  Keep your seed plates handy and safe with a seed plate storage bag.  This bag wraps around and clips to itself.  It stores up to 10 plates.  The bag is made from nylon. The Earthway Precision Garden Seeder Belt is also for the 10001B the part number is 19109.  The Earthway Precision Garden Seeder Ground Opener is handy tool used with the 1001B.  The part number is 48300.  The Seed Hopper Assembly is sold as a unit, not individually.  The parts included are the pulley, hub, seed hopper and back plate.  You can buy the row marker or the row marker assembly.  The row marker assembly is sold only as a unit so if the shaft breaks you’ll have to buy the whole assembly.  The Row Marker Retainer Clip will come in handy with this part.  You can get the rear wheel replaced and the front wheel assembly (only sold as a unit).  If you don’t want the whole unit now go ahead and buy it anyway you’ll never know what parts you’ll need if something happens again. I was able to find all of these items at Earthway-Outlet.com

[balazsrenyi]

[bartalgardens-blog-blog]

balazsrenyi:

Melted snowman.

[bartalgardens-blog-blog]

Ice-Melt Spreader for Winter Weather

With the winter weather that just keeps hitting us over and over one thing that never seems to go away is ice.  Parking lots, driveways and sidewalks are extremely dangerous for people of all ages, but especially elderly and children.  Now is a good time to buy an ice melt spreader.

Earthway is known for their spreaders & gardening equipment.  They also have two Ice Melt Spreaders, the Earthway 2030Pi and the Earthway 2130 High Output Ice Melt spreader.

According to Earthway, the 2030Pi is “Specifically designed for spreading ice melt, rock salt, dry sand and other high volume products.  The 2030Pi spreader is ideal for the homeowner.  Featuring a generous hopper, Ev-N-Spred High-Volume drop shut-off system and pneumatic rust-proof wheels for easy rolling on frozen surfaces, this spreader makes quick work of neutralizing slick areas. The features for this spreader include:·           Fully assembled with flip-up handle with comfort grip·           Easy to use gauge and lever control·           High-capacity rust-proof poly hoppers·           Ev-N-Spred High-Volume drop shut-off system for spreading Ice Melt and large sized material·           8” pneumatic rust-proof wheels for easy rolling on frozen surfaces·           Ev-N-Spred High-Speed ICE MELT Gearbox·           65lb capacity The 2130 is “Specifically designed for spreading ice melt, rock salt, dry sand and other high volume products. The 2130 spreader features an extra large hopper, large 13” stud type pneumatic wheels on rust proof poly rims & heavy-duty Diamond chassis with 175lb load bearing capacity and 3-position handle.” The Earthway 2130 High Output Ice Melt Spreader requires some assembly and features: ·           Semi-assembled just install wheels, handle and control rod pivot·           Large 13” stud type pneumatic wheels on rust proof poly rims·           Extra large 1,830 cu. in. hopper·           Large Aperture HIGH-OUTPUT shut-off system·           Heavy-duty Diamond chassis with 175lb load bearing capacity and 3-position handle·           Ev-N-Spred “T-Speed Handle” Rate Control and Gauge with solid linkage·           Ev-N-Spred High-Speed GearboxThe high volume aperture keeps ice melt and other large granular products from hanging inside the hopper allows for quick dispersal of material.  The deflector kit for this spreader prevents spreading ice-melt into your yard.  Salt or ice-melt will kill your grass.  You may also consider purchasing the rain cover.  This will provide a barrier between the rain and snow that may be coming down when you use this spreader.  The salt will spread better if it is dry. A special note - This spreader should not be used with fertilizer, grass seed or other similarly sized granular products  The large aperture high output system on this spreader will cause waste and over seeding or over fertilization of an area. Why spread salt?  Salt lowers the freezing point of water making it melt when salt hits ice.  It also makes the water much colder.  That is why you use rock salt when you make ice cream.  Some people even put salt in their coolers to make their beverages colder. You can see the entire line of Earthway Spreader Ice Melt Spreaders at www.earthway-outlet.com/specialspreaders.htm