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  • Gardening Supplies to Stock?

    I'd be interested in knowing what supplies (purchased or scavenged) you experienced gardeners would recommend stocking in advance.

    I'd also like to know which fertilizers you prefer?

    Here is my list (not all acquired yet):

    General
    Garden twine
    Wooden stakes
    Landscape fabric & staples (to discourage weeds)
    Composter

    Watering
    55 gallon plastic drums for water collection

    For Seed-Starting
    Heirloom seeds
    Potting trays for seed-starting
    Seed starter soil mix
    Cold frame
    Old pots for covering tender transplants
    Inoculant

    Soil Amendments
    Pelletized garden lime

    Extending Growing Season
    PVC tubing (for erecting visqueen tents over garden beds)
    Visqueen (for making tents to protect against frost)

    Pest discouragement
    Vinyl coated wire fencing
    Fabric row covers (to protect crops from insects)
    Berry netting
    Small animal traps
    Old CD's to hang to discourage birds

    For Fruit Trees
    Dormant oil (what brand do you folks recommend?)
    Fruit tree spray system (how do you spray your trees)
    Fruit picker http://www.lehmans.com/store/Outdoor...13340039?Args=
    Buckets with handles to gather fruit & vegetables (I use 2 to 5 gallon buckets from a bakery)

  • #2
    I would probably add a couple of good shovels and a rake or two. You could use the shovels to turn the dirt, but a motorized or manual tiller would be much easier. You can pick up old manual tillers sometimes at flea markets and yard sales.
    I just set up a rain barrel for my mom last weekend to catch the runoff from her guttering. We used a big plastic barrel and bored a hole near the bottom for the spigot. Screwed the spigot in with Teflon tape wrapped around the threading and then caulked around that. We also screwed a plastic T shape pipe fitting on the inside to help stabilize the spigot. We placed it up on concrete blocks and attached a flexible downspout to the gutter that directed the water into the barrel. The barrel came with a 2 piece lid which we took apart and then screwed the outer ring back on with screen underneath so no debris would fall in the water. So far it was worked out well. It was very easy to do and only took about 15 or 20 minutes. We also bored a hole at the top to attach a hose to avoid the barrel overflowing and to divert the water from the foundation.
    We usually save our cleaned yogurt containers for starting seeds in every year. We put little holes in the bottom so they don't trap too much water.
    As far as dormant oil spray goes, we use Hi Yield brand in a regular pump sprayer. We spray at night so it doesn't kill our bees. Since we started our bee hives we have noticed a large increase in production. The bees are really neat to work with too. We also include the excess honey in our food storage as well.
    My mom used to use old CDs hung on her potted tomatoes. I've seen some people use aluminum pie tins too.
    10-10-10 seems to be a catch-all fertilizer. We also use a lot of chicken, goat and rabbit manure.
    Your local county extension service can analyze your soil to see and give you recommendations on what to add to amend it. Just bring in a jar of the dirt from your garden and in a couple of weeks they'll send you a pamphlet with your soil analysis. Each plot is different so you might want to have another test done if you were going to start another garden or expand even a couple hundred yards away.
    Also, I always keep a good set of leather gloves on hand so I don't get blisters after a day of planting, hoeing, etc...
    Last edited by Kat; 07-26-2010, 04:08 PM. Reason: more info

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    • #3
      Humm, seems like a lot of stuff to me. I am not real big on the storage idea myself, so if it was me, I would try to learn how to make some kind of cordage from native plants in the area, wooden stakes are also easy to make, as long as you have trees (but if you don't, they don't last long so store a lot and get the best you can), landscape fabric--well, I guess I wouldn't bother my garden grows just fine weeds and all, composter- any pile will do, you don't need a special composter for it to work, a water catchment system--definitely! I am working on one now for our house, I would suggest as many barrels as you can put together, heirloom seeds--yup good idea but I have never had very few heirlooms (especially tomatoes) grow well here so far, everything else on your seed starting mix can be made, the lime seems like a good idea, as for the items on the extended growing season- I wouldn't even bother unless they are something you will eventually be able to make yourself. I would make more cold frames.No point in getting used to using something if it may be all gone the next year. Fencing--good idea, I have chicken wire around mine, no pests so far. It's been there 9 years and I got it for free. Berry netting I am not really sure what that is used for. Small animal traps--good idea, but I would also look into how to set snares- just because that info may be needed eventually. CD's--I tried it, but was never really sure if it worked or not but might be nice to have, they are useful for all sorts of things. The buckets and fruit tree pickers would be great, I don't spray my trees because I think once the spray runs out then you have to learn to deal with the bugs all over again. I agree, I think the most important thing to have are good tools, or look into how to make replacement tools yourself, learn how to keep your tools sharp yourself as well. I have a tiller though I am not sure how useful it would be if I didn't have gas. Just my thoughts on this, I don't have a lot of room for storage so I am mostly going with whatever I can learn to make, won't have to be stored.

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      • #4
        Originally posted by Kat View Post
        We spray at night so it doesn't kill our bees. Since we started our bee hives we have noticed a large increase in production. .
        Good tip on the bees. I haven't sprayed my apple trees yet, but would never of thought to spray at night.

        Also thx for the other good info--you packed a lot into this post.

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        • #5
          Becky, thanks for your reply. I don't have a lot of storage space either, but I guess I feel that gardening is going to be a lifesaver in the future and anything I can do now to make it easier would be good. Every year I end up buying something for the garden--so I thought I would just buy a little extra. I actually inherited a spool of twine which weights about 5#--that should last me for the rest of my life, so thankfully, I won't have to make my own cordage.

          Berry netting? You hang it over fruiting trees and bushes to protect them from birds, but I haven't tried it yet--just saw it used by a local farmer to protect his berries and I wanted some. Birds always steal my cherries and blueberries--grrrrr. I don't know if the CD's work or not either, but since it's a free solution, I do it.

          I see you're in GA, I'm in the north, so extending the growing season is important to me. We can have some frosts, but then lots of nice growing days after them. Last year we made plastic tents stretched over the garden beds and kept plants producing a month later than normal and allowed my late corn to come in. It was an experiment--a lot of extra work and w/food as cheap as it is now, the yield didn't really justify it, but if things change in the future, I figure it'd be worth it then.

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          • #6
            Humm, I see on the bird netting for the bushes. I have never had much problem with birds here, I am not sure why. I have a holly tree right across the dirt road from the house and the starlings attack it every year so maybe that is why they don't need my berries. Now that I think about it, it may be a useful thing to have for other things as well. I may look into how to make it myself, just like making a net, I imagine.
            I am in GA but I used to live in NH when I was a kid. We had a one acre garden, bees, made maple syrup, hunted, fished, raised chickens, rabbits and beef. We had no problem feeding ourselves with our garden and we never had any of this stuff, lol. A tractor and manure and a lot of hard work was all we put into that garden. Things here in GA are quite a bit different. It is harder when you start out with nothing but pure red clay. The things that I have found that worked the best here and that I would want to have stored (or have an idea of how to make something similiar that worked just as well) were soaker hoses and regular hoses. When my rain catchment is done I want to hook it up to the garden and raised beds. I have a big compost pile down by the garden, mostly chicken manure but some rabbit and horse manure from the neighbors has gone into the garden but no matter how much organic matter I put in it, my garden does well only when I supply it with enough water and since I am lazy about dragging the hose down there, I am hoping the water catchment will help solve that problem.
            I guess, my way of thinking is that if you can learn how to make it, you probably should, because storage doesn't last forever, and if you learn how to make it, there is no reason to store it. I am not saying that your list is not fine for you, you store what you think you will need, my only point is that eventually the stuff will run out and if you don't have the knowledge to make it yourself or do without it, when stuff does run out you will be right back where you started. I guess, if you only need it for a few years it would be great but I tend to think of survival on a longer basis because I think if anything ever does happen, it will be quite a lasting event. Anyway, just my thoughts, I don't believe everyone should agree with me, we all would never learn anything if we all agreed, lol.

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            • #7
              The biggest and best thing you can do now is get your soil tested NOW. Test any and all areas you want to plant -if your not already using them now. Go ahead and amend your soil now even if you don't have time to garden now, etc.

              Realistically it's going to be doing things like that and getting the experience necessary NOW- while you can still fail and not starve- that's going to be the most important things.

              This series might lay out some of the potential pitfalls so folks can deal with them ahead of time-

              www.homesteadingandsurvival.com

              www.survivalreportpodcast.com

              "Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed..."

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              • #8
                Great thread BTW, 5 stars!
                www.homesteadingandsurvival.com

                www.survivalreportpodcast.com

                "Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed..."

                Comment


                • #9
                  I will be looking forward to watching that series when I get home. Unfortunately, the sound was taken off my work computer before I ever got this job.

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                  • #10
                    RDC,
                    I thought your list was pretty inclusive. Since the wild rabbits around here get into our strawberries the berry netting is a great idea. I should probably get some myself. If I understood your post correctly, you are talking about stocking these items in advance. Since preparedness is the name of the game, and stocking things up ahead of time is preparedness, I think you're right on the money here. Using things that are already there is a great way to find creative uses for things but there's nothing wrong with going ahead and stocking it now, while times are good, for later use. That's what survival and preparedness is all about. Plus, if you are going ahead and using them too, you will be continuing your seed supply and your seeds won't die.
                    A pile of compost/manure will work just fine. We did that kind of on accident and it worked. My mom prefers to use a composter. So each to their own on that. She did find a snake in it one day, which we never had in our open pile. Not such a great surprise there.
                    As far as making tools go, my husband and I blacksmith from time to time and I'm pretty sure I'd like to stock any tools that thought I would need ahead of time instead of making them myself. It's too much noise, smell and time for "Post" living.
                    We have long term food storage as well as what we produce from gardening and raising livestock because things happen and we've lost animals before, had crops that didn't do so well, and we try to do everything we can NOW to make sure our family has what it needs to survive.
                    You really lucked out on the twine! We use that on our tomatoes with some wooden stakes that we've been reusing for several years. Time savers are always good.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Just my thoughts on actual equipment. I'm a lousy gardener, even with good equipment.

                      Garden seed, equipment & supplies
                      non-hybrid seeds
                      soil turning spade
                      utility shovels
                      soil rake
                      planting hoe
                      cultivating hoe
                      planting dibble
                      short handled digging trowel
                      short handled cultivating rake
                      row marking stakes & string
                      tuber harvesting fork
                      corn husking pin
                      scythe & wooden fork (to cut & handle hay)
                      harvesting knives
                      harvesting striking stick
                      harvesting sickle (grains - wheat & rye)
                      seft & wooden mat hook (grains - wheat & rye - hold straw with mat hook)
                      grain cradle (scythes with light wooden racks to catch the cut straw)
                      (for small grains)
                      thrashing flails
                      gathering baskets, buckets, boxes & bags w/shoulder slings or belts
                      wheel barrow/garden cart
                      hand pump pressure sprayer
                      hand pump spray cans
                      irrigation ditch control gates
                      pest control devices
                      (scarecrows, spinners, traps, decoys)
                      scythe hammer & anvil to straighten nicks, whetstone to sharpen blades

                      Orchard equipment
                      grafting knife
                      pruning sheers
                      pruning knife
                      pruning saw
                      step ladder
                      extension ladder
                      pick knives & tools
                      pick baskets & buckets
                      storage baskets & boxes


                      Mulch & compost tools & equipment
                      mulcher/shredder
                      mulch storage bins
                      compost rotation/turn-over bins
                      compost storage bins

                      Jerry D Young
                      http://www.jerrydyoung.com/news.php


                      Prepare for the worst, hope for the best, and always remember TANSTAAFL

                      (There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch) Robert A Heinlein

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                      • #12
                        Good list!

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                        • #13
                          I keep rabbits and use the manure for fertilizer and also keep a couple 5 gal pails of 5-10-10 and 10-10-10 fertilizer and a couple bags of lime in plastic pails

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                          • #14
                            Jerry, thanks for that well-thought out list. I've copied it and am checking it against the tools I have in my garage.

                            Good idea Crossbow, I have some extra 5 gal pails and I'm going to put my fertilizer/lime in them.

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                            • #15
                              So much good info here. I'm glad you started this thread RDC! :)

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