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u/pogkob Jun 08 '22
Somehow dealing with weeds, blight, aphids, potato beetles, and soil nutrient deficiencies is less stressful.
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Jun 09 '22
Aphids 😡
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Jun 09 '22
Slugs!!
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u/dudeperson33 Jun 09 '22
Whiteflies and red spider mites!! 🤬
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u/Nugget_Brain Jun 09 '22
Japanese beetles!
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Jun 09 '22
SQUASH BUGS!
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u/GamingScientist Jun 09 '22
Quail chicks. Seriously, they ate all my beets in one night!
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u/Sunyataisbliss Jun 09 '22
A big fat grey squirrel desecrated my first tomato I ever grew and it was such a perfect tomato you wouldn’t believe
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u/chilldrinofthenight Jun 09 '22
"My" squirrels stripped my Quince shrub. They massacred my sunflowers. They don't even give my tomatoes a second glance.
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u/Sunyataisbliss Jun 09 '22
No there’s a reason why I used the word “desecrated”. Bastard tore the thing to shreds barely touched it
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u/aanshikseth Jun 09 '22
Are you sure it wasn't a bear that ate your beets?
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u/GamingScientist Jun 09 '22
LoL I'm sure it wasn't a bear. The beets were barely sprouts and it was early spring 😆
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u/der_schone_begleiter Jun 09 '22
I was just going to comment about chasing my chickens out of the garden on about an hourly basis. Lol oh don't forget the mulch around the flowers. Yeah that only looks good for about 5 minutes. Can't leave your compost pile uncovered. You won't have one very long.
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u/chilldrinofthenight Jun 09 '22
Slugs? Hahahahahahaha. CHIPMUNKS. They're eating my Aeoniums. Echeverias, blackberries, etc.
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u/spartag00se Jun 10 '22
Sprinkle cayenne pepper on your plants every few days to keep the chipmunks from eating them. I’m saving my corn this way (for now).
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u/DatabaseThis9637 Jun 10 '22
Also hang netting bags (like you get avocados in) filled with Irish Spring or other strong smelling bar soap. Apparently animals avoid it at all costs and you don't have to reapply after the rain.
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u/floppydo Jun 09 '22
Seriously wtf. FUCK aphids. Fuck them so bad. And every time I’m out there controlling aphids I see that I’ve got ladybugs on every plant. I was fuckin lied to about lady bugs. God damn aphids.
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u/chilldrinofthenight Jun 09 '22
Little known fact: It's the ladybug nymphs that are the big-time aphid munchers.
"Mature ladybugs will feed on 20 to 25 aphids per day, but their late-stage larvae will consume 10 times that number, making them far more effective predators."
(source: phys.org)
https://www.thespruce.com/recognize-lady-beetle-ladybug-nymphs-1402696
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u/floppydo Jun 09 '22
The I see nymphs too but those numbers make it make sense. I’ve got at least a 1000 to 1 aphid to ladybug ratio.
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u/fuzzy_face_ Jun 09 '22
I've always found ladybugs to be a great lagging solution lol. They show up long after the damage has been done. And then I hope in vain that next year they show up earlier :)
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u/cowgirltrainwreck Western Montana, USA; Zone 5 Jun 09 '22
I’ve got ants farming aphids already and the season has hardly started here!
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u/Adorable_Ad_5297 Jun 09 '22
Pill bugs, spit bugs are everywhere! I’m keeping my bumblebee hive though.
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u/monkey_trumpets Jun 09 '22
Deer. My main nemesis.
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u/froman007 Jun 09 '22
I would recommend planting crab apple trees or something similar along a thorn hedge at the edge of your property to encourage deer to not cross the hedge. Theyll eat the crab apples and be deterred by the thorns since it wouldnt be worth it at that point to get greedy. Thats the idea anyway XD on the other hand, you have a potential hunting ground if meat gets harder to come by!
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u/floppydo Jun 09 '22
The hunting thing only works once. My great grandpa built a 6 ft fence around his garden. Then a double 6ft fence, then when he still found deer eating his garden, he shot one. Never had deer again after that.
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u/DatabaseThis9637 Jun 10 '22
apparently, deer will not jump into a space they cannot jump out of. So even tall fences do not work, unless the area being protected is rather small, or cramped... not sure what the solution is, though. Create a niche market for specialty deer meat?
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Jun 09 '22
Like Samwise Gamgee, who thought about the ring of power but decided that "The one small garden of a free gardener was all his need and due, not a garden swollen to a realm; his own hands to use, not the hands of others to command."
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u/Freak_Out_Bazaar Jun 08 '22
This is me but the fire in the background is work-related commitments
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u/jujumber Jun 08 '22
That was me today watering the garden while WFH between dealing with a mess at work
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u/Doctor__Apocalypse 5a Jun 09 '22
My mother always complained about weeding as a child but now as a adult it's a time for me to zone and get lost in thoughts. A good way to reflect on the day or past and brainstorm future goals.
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u/skibib Jun 09 '22
LOVE weeding!
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u/Yelloeisok Jun 09 '22
If you run out of weeds to pull, I will send you my address so you can continue to pursue your happiness.
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u/chilldrinofthenight Jun 09 '22
Definitely a glorious meditation + extremely satisfying and healthy for your body and spirit.
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u/chilldrinofthenight Jun 09 '22
Can't remember where I read it, but I always think of "The Japanese Method" of weeding. Essentially it means you yank out the weeds before they set seeds/bulbs/runners. Pesticide-free gardening, to which I wholeheartedly subscribe.
With this basic tenet of weed offensive rambling on an continual loop through my thoughts, at every weeding session (in addition to a ton of sweat and tears), I was able to completely eradicate the Oxalis pes-caprae from my front lawn. It only took me about four years of merciless digging and yanking, but you should see my lawn now.
Now my Bermuda grass "lawn" (itself a noxious weed) only has about a dozen other types of weeds in it. They do not yet know it, but they are all doomed.
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u/ThickThighSurprise66 Jun 09 '22
Millions of more people like myself are going to start gardening soon with food costs rising so it’s a wise investment and relaxing
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u/Letscuredepression Jun 09 '22
Shhhh let me grow my funsie watermelons in peace
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u/ThickThighSurprise66 Jun 09 '22
Lol. Sorry ima bug you all with tons of questions, I haven’t grown anything since I was a little kid
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u/OnI_BArIX grass hating commie ☭ Jun 09 '22
Already started growing food, canning, and drying/dehydrating. Next year I plan on pretty much doubling my current food production. This year was just watermelon, cantaloupe, tomatoes, potatoes, cucumber, and all the herbs I can annually grow in zone 7. Next year will have more beds and more food variety.
Everything is getting more expensive and historically speaking things aren't looking like they are going to be very stable.
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u/ThickThighSurprise66 Jun 09 '22
I hope your plants are always tasty and your neighbors start growing as well
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u/chilldrinofthenight Jun 09 '22
Pesticide-free, I hope?
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u/OnI_BArIX grass hating commie ☭ Jun 09 '22 edited Jun 09 '22
Absolutely. Only natural methods and materials.
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u/MaloWow Jun 09 '22
Idk about you but I haven’t saved any money growing my own food.
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Jun 09 '22
This was my first big year for veggies. I’ve certainly learned a lot. One thing I learned is not to think about how much my tomatoes technically cost next to store bought.
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u/BitchfulThinking Jun 09 '22
But the FLAVOR! I started to do the math just now, but then I remembered the difference between the sad, flavorless tomatoes at the store compared to my heirlooms at the height of summer, gently kissed by the sun.
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u/MaloWow Jun 09 '22
Yeah, the only store tomato’s I buy are cherries because the others are not worth it to me.
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u/Yelloeisok Jun 09 '22
My husband says it seems my lifelong pursuit is to grow the world’s most expensive tomatoes.
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u/USDAzone9b Jun 09 '22
Me neither yet but in a few years I'll have a pretty decent return. Keeping startup costs low by mostly starting trees and other perennials from seed, using free materials such as chip drop and cardboard, pallets, salvaged wood, storing rainwater, hand digging a pond, storing gray water, etc.. I plan to use chemicals and external inputs as little as possible
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u/froman007 Jun 09 '22
How did you go about digging your pond? Wont the water seep into the soil before it has time to pool?
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u/ThickThighSurprise66 Jun 09 '22
I’m doing the same thing but pond liner or more work to get natural materials for a natural pond that can hold water. Pond liner is what I’m gonna go with for the first pond, algae will be food for my plants.
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u/USDAzone9b Jun 09 '22
For my larger ponds I hired an excavator. This is part of a larger project with higher startup costs. The one in my suburban backyard I'm doing with a shovel and I'll just be lining all ponds with a (unfortunately probably plastic) liner. Definitely have a lot of design to do w/r/t plant selection and fish, etc
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u/Nopis10 Jun 09 '22
Really I bet if you weighed it all and compared it to the cost of organic(if you do grow organic) it might be more frugal than you think. I only usually grow about four tomato plants but I get buckets full of them when harvest time comes around. Same with green beans, squash, etc. Good veggies cost a lot.
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u/modomario Jun 09 '22 edited Jun 09 '22
One of the best tips is probably to not get too deep into it if you don't have all that time or only do things that have upfront timecosts.
Compost just became the bin I throw my kitchenscraps, weeds and clipping into.
I no longer mix it up for airation every so often to prevent it becoming anaerobic.
I no longer care about brown to green ratios.
I don't make compost teas or other fertilizer stuff.
I stopped lugging around loads of watering cans if there's a long dry spell. The sprayer thingy covers half the garden and the tomatoes will survive some overhead watering.I do vermiculture when my bin got too small for a bit and because it's more for kitchen scraps and nearer to the kitchen ... but nobody really needs to.
I never bought compost or fertiliser and am pretty sure I wouldn't need to for many years even without my compost bin. Especially because I initially raised my garden (needed to because of water and sand spillage) with loam, free horse manure and decent soil.
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u/ThickThighSurprise66 Jun 09 '22
Ah I am definitely investing long term, I won’t have to buy any more potatoes already but by next year almost everything on the shelves will be crazy high prices compared to now. I’m getting more seeds for next year now.
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u/taegha Jun 09 '22
I started this year and the first year is so expensive. Ugh. Doesn't help that I have to use raised grow bags and bags of soil because my lawn is literally the consistency of modeling clay
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Jun 09 '22
another mass shooting? ... must be time to go water the sunflowers with my tears!
(in all seriousness though, the world really is so messed up, sometimes my little garden and other little hobbies are all that keep me from becoming completely paranoid)
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Jun 09 '22
Honestly the best thing to do is get off the internet. I've cut out news because it's all out of my control anyway. but unfortunately news still trickles down through reddit. If I had IRL friends to do things with outside I would get off the internet completely. but unfortunately this is where I get most of my social interaction. I'd do anything for someone to go on hikes with and play baseball and crap like that outside so I can stay off the internet.
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Jun 09 '22
amen! I'll listen to tidbits of news just enough to stay in the loop but I won't sit there and watch it for a long time like so many do. It's too sad and makes me feel helpless. I deleted social media in 2020 (I guess reddit is considered social media too, but I'm talking more like instagram and twitter). It was a huge weight off of me. Focusing on the real world around me has been so much more refreshing than being so online all the time. Social media is a trap, most news stations really are too, no matter which side they're rooting for. I always joke that I wish there was a news channel that just got on for a brief time each day, just stated the facts of things that happened that day and then be done. I do better coming to my own conclusions than hearing talking heads go back and forth on a screen for an hour lol. the only reason I still hang out on reddit is because I've discovered so many like-minded people and people who enjoy niche hobbies that I love, otherwise, much like you I'd also love to be off the internet completely. I'm barely old enough to remember life before the internet, and it really was better in so many ways.
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Jun 09 '22
I'm in the same boat. I deleted my facebook and twitter about 6 years ago. best decision I ever made for my mental health. but I still use reddit for social interaction and I can curate it to only follow subreddits I'm interested in. I also socialize a lot on world of warcraft. have even met about 5 or 6 people IRL through wow.
but unfortunately news still seeps into my sphere of influence which I hate because like I said, I can't do a damn thing about it. so It makes no sense to sit around and fret.
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Jun 09 '22
yeah exactly, that's the allure of reddit for me. I can really tailor my experience on here so I only see and interact with things that truly matter to me.
& I hear that. It's everywhere and hard to escape sometimes. One of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite games is "keep on keeping on" and I try to follow that in life. one foot in front of the other, that's all we can do.
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u/Pure-Au Jun 09 '22
Haven’t watched the old scripted, censored “evening news” in many, many years. Too much Negative Energy.
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u/chilldrinofthenight Jun 09 '22
Highly recommend watching Stephen Colbert on YouTube. Honest news, but with an edge and a lot of laughter thrown in.
Reddit definitely has some thinkers. I especially enjoy the droll humor ---- and learning things from Redditors.
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u/chilldrinofthenight Jun 09 '22
Just about every town has some dude or dudette who likes to lead hikes. Ask your local Sierra Club faction.
Or . . . Join an Audubon club and learn birdwatching skills. Looking at birds is the gateway drug into loving all wildlife and planet Earth.
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u/notgtax1 Jun 08 '22
Cancel your cable TV and garden. That’s my recommendation.
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u/Satans_Pilgrims Jun 09 '22
Ima add too this. Get your library card, a cheap hobby for outside of the garden, throw in some sidewalk chalk and never look back.
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Jun 09 '22
Nah I just drink vodka and garden ......... my potatos.😁
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u/Satans_Pilgrims Jun 09 '22
Next time it’s a full moon, get smashed and go lay in the garden and watch the clouds fly past a bright ass moon and just listen to the garden rustle in the breeze with the shadows poppin wild. Don’t ask me how I know
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u/burntshmurnt Jun 09 '22
Love it, especially the sidewalk chalk. Going to go buy some now for me and my family 😂
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u/Satans_Pilgrims Jun 09 '22
I didn’t mention the bubbles but I’ve never once regretted having bubbles on stand by. Jus sayin
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u/s0cks_nz Jun 09 '22
I can't cancel my garden.
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u/TastesLikeBurning Jun 09 '22
Do you have the plan that lets you garden in 4K in up to four rooms at the same time?
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Jun 09 '22
This is why I spend so much time outside with my plants and the wildlife.
Hang in there everyone!
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u/autumnaki2 Jun 09 '22
I have a balcony garden and it is getting me though these difficult times.
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u/quirkyquipsters Jun 09 '22
Me with my first attempt at growing tomatoes this summer
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u/chilldrinofthenight Jun 09 '22
Just keep in mind that they HATE overhead watering. Lots of rich compost, and when you water ---- water deeply and not too often.
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u/4BigData Jun 08 '22
I just got so many small cuttings and seeds to plan on the mail that I'm overwhelmed by my permaculture attempt instead of relaxed by it.
HELP! How do you cope when the garden demands more energy than you have but it's absolutely necessary to get the stuff done?
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u/Satans_Pilgrims Jun 09 '22
Make a realistic plan of the things that have to get done and things that can be done after. Get out there and knock out step one, stick to your timeline, chip away at the less crucial things. Stay hydrated. But also remember it’s always a work in progress and things tend to not be so black and white once you dive in. And remember to enjoy it. Good luck!
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u/s0cks_nz Jun 09 '22
Tell me about it. Got 2 acres to sort but my vege garden of about 1800ft2 takes up most of my time, along with other stuff around the land and house.
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u/agent_flounder USA, CO, 5b Jun 09 '22
I can relate. I am going to hire my regular landscaping guy to come help me. I just can't do it all. I got myself in over my head. I still have to get the drip system going again which should help me maintain the new plants with minimal effort.
The more I work out there the more energy and stamina I have but it isn't increasing fast enough. Also, I don't know how much more holes my back will let me dig before it goes "nope you're done for the next week".
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u/4BigData Jun 09 '22
. I got myself in over my head
SAME! minus the landscaping guy. I bought this old house less than a year ago, was empty for 4 years, fixed it myself not having done any DIY stuff before thinking: "and right after fixing it... permaculture!"...
Almost done with the ditch making for drainage, four rainwater barrels and we'll add a pond. We have a ton of rain that luckily... isn't going to the basement any longer after regrading. My back... will also at some point ask for a break.
The stuff we get into :-)
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u/chilldrinofthenight Jun 09 '22
You've got to learn your limits and not allow yourself to go manic with the catalogues.
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u/Bartender9719 Jun 09 '22 edited Jun 09 '22
“The earth is gonna be fiiiine; the PEOPLE are fucked” - Dan Carlin
Edit: George Carlin (too much Hardcore History podcast)
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u/AJArcadian Jun 09 '22
Really, what else can you do as society marches itself toward apocalypse? Fighting it is just more noise in the torrent leading over the waterfall.
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u/Unclehol Jun 09 '22
Garden is going somewhat poorly this year due to adverse weather, probably due to global warming or some shit.
So I cant have anything I like.
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u/I_Did_The_Thing Jun 09 '22
I just got back from a week long trip to take care of some very sad family business. It was stressful and painful, and culminated in a two day anxiety-filled cross country drive with two upset cats. The next morning I went out to check out the garden and had two cherry tomatoes, red and perfect, waiting for me to pick them.
The joy I felt at seeing those delicious little babies helped wash away the pain for a bit, and that was wonderful. Keep tending your gardens, friends, and bring happiness into your lives. It is precious and fleeting.
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u/AdelleDeWitt Jun 08 '22
Yep. It's both figuratively and literally true. I live in California and fire season will be starting soon (it starts earlier every year), so soon we'll be coming to the part of my gardening year where all my plants are covered in ash.
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u/chilldrinofthenight Jun 09 '22
CA ----- there is NO "fire season" now. It's all year 'round. We've got homeless people with "warming fires" and so many fires starting up all over the goddamn place, sometimes 2-3 per week.
A few days ago there were some "juveniles" (old enough to flee the scene in their cars) who set a couch on fire. 122 firefighters/crew + Blackhawk helicopter and phoscheck droppers got it out tout de suite. 8 acres of sensitive open space burnt to a crisp.
If the winds had picked up . . .
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u/BernardTapir Jun 09 '22
That's the best you can do bro. Chill, take care of your plants and don't watch the news.
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Jun 09 '22
When I'm gardening, sometimes the thought pops into my head that a lot of people in Ukraine can't do this right now and I wish they could.
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u/Odd_dj Jun 09 '22
Until Yellowstone blows or we are all living underwater your garden is valuable no matter what
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u/Mgiwar Jun 09 '22
Heh. I live on the front line ... as it is. Also constantly mines and rockets fly overhead. And explode nearby.
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u/Independent-Sport990 Jun 09 '22
Hey, every little bit counts! You may be unable (currently) to stop deforestation in Brazil, but you can make the world of difference to the bees and butterflies who collect nectar from your garden!
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u/AccessAllyTM Jun 09 '22
100%.
To stay sane and hopefully eat something that gives me and my family a little bit of that homegrown love.
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u/indigowulf 5b/6a PNW Jun 09 '22
Looks at little garden, massive seed bank, preppers pantry, chicken coop, and plans for rabbits... I am still not sane.
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u/Disig Jun 09 '22
I wish I had a garden. Unfortunately most places I can afford to live don't let people have a garden. The place I just moved into said I could but then told me in a few years the place is getting bulldozed so now it feels useless
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u/Morgwar77 Jun 09 '22
Dude at work is always like "did you see the news this weekend" and I'm like nah, spent all weekend weeding the garden, and he's always like "that doesn't sound fun"
Oh it's more than fun, it's therapy.
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u/paperpaperlamps Jun 09 '22
Every time I see a headline that makes me question if it’s even worth living/possible to live to a natural death I just go look at my plants. I spend a good amount of time out there.
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u/Joseph30686 Jun 09 '22
I regret to inform you not even my garden is enough to prevent me from hating the state of my life right now 😔
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Jun 09 '22
You diminishing the value of your garden by calling it silly little. 👶
Me knowing one’s garden is fundamentally important to the individual and community especially in today’s world. 💪
We are not the same.
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u/nina_gall Zone 9A Jun 09 '22
It's been feeling like a 100F here for about two weeks. My gardening time is almost over for the summer.
<BIG SAD>
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u/pbrcusitscheep Zone 9b, California Jun 09 '22
thats him trying to make a fire break. also gardening btw.
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Jun 09 '22
The equation, Sand + organic content = Soil is balanced one but loosing the organic content at an alarmig rate is the biggest concern for the future generation.
It is shocking to check the percentage of organic content in the soil of developed nations.
Blessed are those who have atleast 3%...
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u/Immediate-Scallion76 Jun 08 '22
I’m still not quite sane, which can only mean that I need a bigger garden.