Eying the Future
Taken less than a week ago, the radish patch as I've been calling it looks great. I've had to chase the deer from it a few different times and I'm sure they've been in there more times than I've caught them, but any damage they have caused has been minimal thus far. In the short term, I've bought a net fence that can be electrified if necessary to install around it next spring. Since the radishes will die in a matter of weeks, I didn't think it was worth installing the fence when I would only have to take it down again in the spring to more easily till up everything. Thus why I have been chasing deer manually.
Also on my list of things to do is to dig up and remove that old fire pit in the foreground. It had seen it's better days before we even moved into the property and it certainly hasn't gotten any better. Weeds grow up requiring me to constantly spray and pull them at various points during the summer. The pit itself is falling into rubble and is a real shin burner if you sit too close. So I'm going to dig it up, stack the pavers somewhere and dispose of the rest, probably at the bottom of the gully left of this vantage point. My wife wants just a patio with a portable firepit someplace else on our property as a replacement. I've not cared much for those portable ones as you then have to empty out the ash and and can't easily use big logs on it which is what I have mostly to burn. I'm still thinking of a compromise but until then, I want to dig up the firepit.
Another thing on my agenda, and one of the last hurdles for permanently transferring our farm garden to the urban garden is starting a new asparagus bed. For a long time, I thought I would just buy some new crowns and plant them in the spring and then wait for a couple years before our first harvest. But recently, I started looking into transplanting. Our harvests from the rural patch, while still bountiful, have been gradually decreasing and from what I have read, asparagus does that when it gets over crowded with time. So I've thought about digging up some of the crowns from the old farm bed and transferring them up here, perhaps later this fall even. Some say you can even pick some of the first growth the following spring though I would still probably wait a year. One more dilemma is where I want to plant it. According to google, deer will eat asparagus in a pinch perhaps. I would like to put some space between my new asparagus patch and the garden for ease of access to both but not create a void that must be mowed. So I have thought about starting it several feet away from one end of the garden, outside my net fence I plan to put up in the spring with enough space I can mow between the fence and the asparagus. If the deer reek havoc, I can always move the fence to include the asparagus and cover the strip between it and the garden with mulch.
Eventually when we get things figured out, I would like to install a more attractive permanent fence around things to keep the deer out and the veggies in but that can wait a few years.
You seem to really know how to go about it and seem to be taking the long view.
ReplyDeleteThat is the result of many sleepless nights contemplating this subject after we made the decision that we need to start or give up altogether.
DeleteWe have a. large solo fire pit, that is truly portable and has been used as much away from home and at home. It looks like you have enough space to establish a large and productive garden. -Jeff https://fromarockyhillside.com
ReplyDeleteI have heard of those but never seen one in action. My worry about them is a few fold. First, don't they just turn sooty black over time or otherwise discolored from the heat? Second, we like to have weenie roasts as a family celebration and those look like there isn't anyway to gently heat a weenie, i.e. allow access to coals. Finally, I'm trying to come up with something that will serve us well into the future when I will probably not be interested in having to do maintenance such as emptying the ash after every use or try to move a heavy object.
DeleteGood luck with the deer.
ReplyDeleteI've had excellent luck with the same kind of fence down at the farm so I'm not worried about it being a problem here.
DeleteThe radishes shouldn't winterkill until you have a few consecutive days of temperatures in the lower twenties if I'm remembering it right. I've read that it smells like a natural gas line is leaking when they get a killing freeze.
ReplyDeleteMy asparagus bed was planted by digging up an established bed and transplanting them to the new bed almost twenty years ago. I seem to remember that the roots were a lot bigger (deeper and wider) than I expected them to be, and a couple of plants would almost fill a wheelbarrow. If I did it again, I'd plant them in a row instead of a bed, and I'd plant them farther apart in the row (that depends on the size of the roots, so I can't really give a measurement).
From what I have read, they should be planted a minimum of 18 inches apart. I was thinking about planting them that or perhaps 24 inches apart in an equilateral triangle pattern or essentially two rows next to each other. Our old bed is about that wide and I find it comfortable picking from each side to the middle.
DeleteI can't wait to smell the radishes in their death throws. I'll have to report back on what they smell like.
You have so many projects, but you seem to enjoy them and the sense of accomplishment they bring. It's a win-win!
ReplyDeleteThey give me something to do anyway. Job security.
DeleteThe radishes are coming along fast. I hope the deer get some enjoyment out of them before they get tilled under. (But not so much that it defeats your purpose!)
ReplyDeleteDeer are hard to find a balance like that. Thus far, they don't seem to be doing a lot of damage. I suspect now that the radish greenery is more mature, it isn't as desirable as it was when it was young.
DeleteI envy all that land and your many options of this or that. I have a very small patch of purple asparagus started from seed. I find it more delicious than the standard green and have transplanted it twice already. I also transplanted our green asparagus but I didn't water it well so you could say I killed it. Here in Hawaii we have asparagus all year long but it has to be watered daily.
ReplyDeleteAccording to what I've read, I'm supposed to wait until the foliage dies before transplanting so I'm still waiting. But I'm going to start prepping a bed for when that happens.
DeleteDeer will be visiting you daily:) Once they find you they tell all their relatives!
ReplyDeleteThey certainly do, especially since there is a pond 100 yards to the east of our property. But thus far, they don't seem to be keenly interested in the radishes. They have browsed for a short time a handful of times but for the most part, tend to keep on their path on the backside of our greenhouse.
DeleteOoo, deer. Always a nuisance when it comes to gardens. But it's looking great so far. Good idea about transplanting the asparagus.
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping it will improve the old bed because I've read that when asparagus gets over crowded, production goes down and our production seems to be slowly decreasing.
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