New homesteaders cannot find reliable answers for fencing and water setup
11 posts across 4 communities in the last 60 days; 46% from r/gardening.
“hi Reddit! i'm growing buckwheat for the first this year, so I will admidt I'm not quite sure what I'm doing yet lol. BUT i did notice that the seeds that I harvested are looked differnet than the seeds I got from a freind. Why do they look so ... raisin-y? lack of pollination?…”
“Can someone tell me what connector to use to connect my polywire to my fence charger. Ive looked at different things online but cant seem to figure out what I need. Im new to this. All ive found is polytape to energizer, and polyrope to energizer connectors. I was told not to…”
“Got any good resources you can recommend for DIYing the irrigation? I’m planning to do mine next year [re: Installed irrigation myself this year. The neighbors set the bar, I may have raised it. Twin cities.]”
Several posts indicate homesteaders are seeking advice on various aspects of small-scale farming, including pea cultivation, rain barrel setup, fencing for livestock (quail and poultry), and carrot harvesting. This suggests a common need for practical guidance and troubleshooting in managing basic agricultural tasks.
SOURCES (31)
“Got any good resources you can recommend for DIYing the irrigation? I’m planning to do mine next year [re: Installed irrigation myself this year. The neighbors set the bar, I may have raised it. Twin cities.]”
“Soil type is very important. I was struggling to grow root veggies in soil with high clay content for a while. You want a looser soil with more sand and less clay. Also carrots especially look done much sooner than they actually are.”
“Me and my wife are taking a very slow (>5 year) and steady approach to learning homesteading before we inevitably move farther out of town. My goal is to have as close to a 100% automated farm as possible. Time isn't a huge concerns; I just crave the lifestyle, but also the ability to leave for a couple of weeks. We started off with chickens towards the end of last winter and we've got them just about fully self-sufficient (>3 weeks with no intervention), but I knew winter would be”
“Me and my wife are taking a very slow (>5 year) and steady approach to learning homesteading before we inevitably move farther out of town. My goal is to have as close to a 100% automated farm as possible. Time isn't a huge concerns; I just crave the lifestyle, but also the ability to leave for a couple of weeks. We started off with chickens towards the end of last winter and we've got them just about fully self-sufficient (>3 weeks with no intervention), but I knew winter would be”
“A random new(er) comment drew my attention to this post after 16 years, I made it back in 2010!!! Follow up question, did you manage to get some tea plants established over there in zone 8a-b?”
“This is my second attempt at growing carrots with no success. My other vegetables grow just fine, but these never seem to get bigger than this no matter how much I water/feed/wait submitted by /u/Whitewomanslayer1 [link] [comments]”
“I agree with this but it also looks like OP's rain barrel accepts water at the top with that mesh screen. If drilling 3in below, unclear if that plant pot area on top will get water if intended.”
“5 hours of watering? You just need to keep the seed moist and not drenched. I personally do once every hour, on a water timer, for like 3-5 minutes depending on time of day just to keep it wet. You don’t want to water too much where it’s puddling. Evaluate on your first day and see how long it takes to keep the seeds damp throughout the day and adjust accordingly. Obviously if rain is coming in the forecast then hold off watering whenever rain does come”
“When overseeding what starter fertilizer is everyone using? I plan to top dress with compost. Do you aerate/dethatch, overseed, starter fertilizer then top dress? submitted by /u/pooorSAP [link] [comments]”
“Yeah! Although, vegetable beds can be more straight to install auto irrigation later.”
“For the plants that spread out low on the ground, do you still try to use a sprayer or is a bigger single drip enough? I'm thinking I can move the emitter away from the crown, but watering just one side of the plant seems insufficient. I have a few plants that are getting water directly on the leaves and petals from sprayers. I know that's wrong, but not sure what the right answer looks like.”
“I would add in some slow release fertilizer in the spring as growth is starting to kick off. I would look up each plant you have and see what types of fertilizers it favors. A balanced fertilizer will work well for most, but some might like say, a more nitrogen heavy or phosphate heavy mix. Be aware that it is fully possible to overfertilize, and it causes symptoms similar to overwatering, such as root rot. When in doubt though, potted annuals to your rescue if you need something flashy for the”
“Potato foliage dies down by the time you harvest it and you need to dig the potatoes out anyway. Onions and garlic are easy to harvest compared to other crops since they don't have that much of a root system. Their leaves will likely get mangled in the mesh along with any weeds that are in that bed too. Garlic grows by bulbs not by seeds. Not a good idea, imo.”
“Hey everyone! My peas have been thriving, but all of the sudden the base of the plant looks like it is struggling. Please let me know what you think may have caused this. We have gotten tons of rain and it has been hot (high temps in the high 90s). I have not added any fertilizer to the peas but I have added it to other raised beds in the garden. submitted by /u/danielledurr [link] [comments]”
“The smaller, the better. About the length of your hand is best flavor. The bigger they are, the little tougher & those are great for zucchini bread!”
“hi Reddit! i'm growing buckwheat for the first this year, so I will admidt I'm not quite sure what I'm doing yet lol. BUT i did notice that the seeds that I harvested are looked differnet than the seeds I got from a freind. Why do they look so ... raisin-y? lack of pollination? too little sun? (my "patch" is growing in a large tub on the balchoney in direct sun from around 1pm to 8pm on summer days) the seeds I harvested are the first photo, the seeds I got is the second ph”
“My first aquaponic setup and my first sprout submitted by /u/Shifter1589 [link] [comments]”
“I got the impression that for my garden to make profit, I would need all the tricks. Greenhouse, sub-irrigation planters, rain barrels, compost bin. Obviously that's a pretty big initial cost to maintain a man-made growing environment shielded from Mother Nature.”
“I mostly garden experimentally right now. This is a companion plot known as Three Sisters. It's an Indigenous argicultural practice. The beans are meant to replenish the soil with the nitrogen the corn takes while using the stalks to vine upward. It's supposed to be a self-sustaining garden. Sorry to hear your own corn experiences faltered. I'm hoping to find a path forward that works well enough for me.”
“This year, I gave peas a chance. I had some shelling, sugar, and snap peas given to me a while ago that I finally planed. Pretty pleased, but if anyone has pointers, especially for shelling peas, please share! Also, recipes. Looking for advice particularly on optimal harvest, storage, and processing. Planted in mid april (zone 5-6 northeast), well before last frost, as per directions. I was afraid they'd all get eaten, and a few probably did, but overall they sprouted really well with fairly”
“I have a question about the best way to use a hose to capture sump pump water and feed it into a water barrel. I'm already using the barrels existing intake hole for a downspout diverter, so I'll need to add a new outlet for the hose somehow. Can anyone help? submitted by /u/_Utaurus_ [link] [comments]”
“Can someone tell me what connector to use to connect my polywire to my fence charger. Ive looked at different things online but cant seem to figure out what I need. Im new to this. All ive found is polytape to energizer, and polyrope to energizer connectors. I was told not to hook the polywire directly to the charger. I have the super thin yellow and black braided polywire that American Farm Works makes thats maybe the width of a wooden skewer, if that. Thanks everyone. submitted by”
“Just acquired about 15 quail, from my partner’s work. We’ve moved onto land owned by his boss and said we’d have the quail for the eggs to feed the reptiles he breeds at work. I’ve kept chickens, ducks, guinea fowl, geese but never quail. They’re in a stable stall with no outside access (yet, we are going to get them an outside run sorted over the summer). I’ve found some guides which say they need deep substrate but not what kind. Shavings, hemp, straw? Need to be able to find the eggs but I th”
“Finally got the fish side online and marinating to build bacteria for livestock this summer. submitted by /u/FarmerAndy88 [link] [comments]”
“quail eggs disappear fast in deep shavings, i switched to chopped straw so they dont vanish every morning”
“There should be. Our overflow is at the top, and middle of the barrel has what looks like a hole that can be punched to accommodate incoming. It should just be able to be threaded in and the hose attached”
“Ours has two ways in: one for intake and one for overflow. Is there such a thing as a hose valve that allows water to flow into the barrel instead of out, like a typical spigot does?”