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A Farm of My Own:  Thinning out....  |
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TeresaJ25
True Blue Farmgirl
975 Posts
Teresa
Medford
NY
USA
975 Posts |
 Posted - May 29 2010 : 1:08:14 PM
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I was just curious--does anyone else get a little saddened by the thinning out of crops?
Here I am in my garden this morning. I noticed that it was time to thin out my bean crop to 6" apart. I took my little scissors and nipped off the little sprouts at the soil line. I did it as quickly as I could, just to get it over with.
Poor little sprouts. They struggled to pop out of their little shells, just so I could end their short little lives.. all because they weren't exactly 6" from the previous sprout!!! 
I know it's silly, but thought I would share that with you all.. Nobody in my house would understand.. maybe my sisters would!! 
~Teresa
Farmgirl Sister #1348
*Anyone can criticize and complain and predict doom and gloom.
Be the person who fills the room with sunshine! |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
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Lessie Louise
True Blue Farmgirl
1406 Posts
Carol
PECULIAR
MO
USA
1406 Posts |
Posted - May 29 2010 : 1:23:37 PM
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That is the one thing I hate about gardening. I started Square foot Gardening this year and you don't have to thin as much, it helps.
Forget buns of steel, I'd rather have buns of cinnamon!
Farmgirl #680! |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - May 29 2010 : 2:46:36 PM
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I have a seeder and it spaces the seeds out just right so I don't have to thin anymore!! I love my seeder. But I used to have to do it and hated it. My DD pulled up the little bean plants and trasplanted them into another row so they were all saved. It's a lot of work and extra water but now she has an extra row of beans. Her wayer bill was double this past month.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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natesgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1735 Posts
angela
martinsville
indiana
USA
1735 Posts |
Posted - May 29 2010 : 4:48:48 PM
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I have a seeder I use and I will spend weeks planting my garden so there is little to no thinning. Then if stuff doesn't sprout I will 'fill in' with new seed. I like that so much better.
Farmgirl Sister #1438
God - Gardening - Family - Is anything else important? |
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nelliesue17
Farmgirl in Training
37 Posts
Nellie
PA
USA
37 Posts |
Posted - May 29 2010 : 7:16:16 PM
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I can definitely relate! I'm even like that when the maple seeds start germinating in the spring in my flower garden. I had to pull 6 of them out of a 12 inch square area!
Nellie Sue
Life is a bowl of beautiful bright berries |
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laurentany
True Blue Farmgirl
3259 Posts
Laurie
Patchogue
NY
USA
3259 Posts |
Posted - May 29 2010 : 7:52:29 PM
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Hi there sister!
Yes- I totally agree.. I have to go out there and thin my lettuce and so far I just dont have the heart to do it.. it almost just seems wrong to "kill" a living thing like that! A perfectly good little seedling.. and then "Wham".
I guess we have to take the good with the bad...
Happy gardening!
~Smiles,
Laurie Farmgirl Sister #1403
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.. |
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TeresaJ25
True Blue Farmgirl
975 Posts
Teresa
Medford
NY
USA
975 Posts |
Posted - May 30 2010 : 03:53:16 AM
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So glad I am not alone!
~Teresa
Farmgirl Sister #1348
*Anyone can criticize and complain and predict doom and gloom.
Be the person who fills the room with sunshine! |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
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clothedinscarlet
True Blue Farmgirl
1333 Posts
Siobhan
Battle Creek
MI
USA
1333 Posts |
Posted - May 30 2010 : 07:35:02 AM
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I just had to do some young veggie murdering today too :( It really makes me sick....all of those veggies going to waste after they fought so hard to pop up from the earth...
How does a seeder work for those crops that have a lower germination success rate? It only plants one seed, right? What if several seeds don't germinate, do you just go with less plants?
Farmgirl Sister #1110
Siobhan - AKA Liza-Jane (my farmgirl name), wife to my best friend, Trent, and mommy to Camden (11/28/05) and Bennett (7/11/07). and Truman (7/28/09) |
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Bear5
True Blue Farmgirl
13055 Posts
Louisiana/Texas
USA
13055 Posts |
Posted - May 30 2010 : 12:31:10 PM
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Teresa:
Yes, my husband will NOT thin the carrots. This is the first time we plant carrots. He refuses to thin them. LOL. He says they are too pretty. Oh, well... I guess there will be a lesson to learn from this.
Marly
"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." Elisabeth Kurler-Ross |
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Bear5
True Blue Farmgirl
13055 Posts
Louisiana/Texas
USA
13055 Posts |
Posted - May 30 2010 : 12:32:24 PM
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Siobhan:
I just noticed your thread about "veggie murdering". Funny.
Marly
"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." Elisabeth Kurler-Ross |
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Cindy Lou
True Blue Farmgirl
2325 Posts
Susan
Lonsdale
MN
USA
2325 Posts |
Posted - May 30 2010 : 1:09:49 PM
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I feel the same way. I now plant in raised beds and make sure not to plant so many seeds that I need to thin them. Most of the seeds germinate anyway so why go through another process?
Another problem I've had is that wild violets and wild geraniums grow as weeds in our garden. I can't tell you how many times I've transplanted them rather than tossed them. But I have to admit that the patch under our big apple tree is gorgeous in full bloom and even DH is impressed with them.
On another tangent, do any of you remember an old children's chapter book series called the Boxcar Children? In it the kids have lost their mom and were living in an abanonded railroad boxcar. The older brother worked helping a man thin his garden and brought home the thinned out veggies and bread he bought with the small amount of money he earned. It was pretty touching.
"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"
Mary Oliver |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - May 30 2010 : 4:03:04 PM
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Susan, that does sound pretty. And the story is sad but what a smart kid.
Siobhan, the seeder has a plates for different types of seeds. Mine came with 6 plates. The holes are spread about 1" apart and as the wheels turn a seed is dropped and a chain drags the ground to cover the seed. It's THE most handy dandy garden tool ever invented. I love mine. I've only had it about 3 years now. My hubby told me after, what, about 28 years of gardening, that he rememberd a devive when he was a kid that made rows, planted the seeds and covered them up. So I started looking and found one. It was about $80 but the best $80 I ever spent. I can get my big huge gardens planted in about an hour now.That's about 100 foot rows.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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Rxgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
216 Posts
Dana
Id
USA
216 Posts |
Posted - May 30 2010 : 9:38:33 PM
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I also feel like it's "veggie murder". Most of the time I don't have the heart to thin them and just let things like my tomato plants go with 2 plants per spot. It's been ok so far. My husband thinks I'm nuts so it's nice to see others who feel like me!
Dana
"He who throws mud only loses ground"-Fat Albert |
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natesgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1735 Posts
angela
martinsville
indiana
USA
1735 Posts |
Posted - May 31 2010 : 12:20:41 PM
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I have a wheel seeder with all the plates for it, about 20 or 25. It spaces things out a little more than I like for intensive gardening, but it works out nicely. I give the seeder planted seeds 2-4 weeks head start, then fill in the spaces with more seed and bingo! I have two crops staggered out on the harvesting dates! I have even planted companion seed inbetween seeder planted seed rows and it is usually spaced out perfectly for that. My Hubby loves the tillers and the seeder as they are 'power' tools just made for a mans style of gardening he says. Makes my gardening jobs so much easier with so much help. It cost me about $120 for the seeder and all the plates. So, so worth it!
Farmgirl Sister #1438
God - Gardening - Family - Is anything else important? |
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msdoolittle
True Blue Farmgirl
1145 Posts
Amanda
East Texas
USA
1145 Posts |
Posted - Jun 01 2010 : 09:46:39 AM
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Honestly, I don't thin, other than maybe the errant carrot. I plant everything very closely together, i.e. intensive gardening, so I don't worry about thinning. I just let it grow! Even with my tomatoes, I couldn't bear to thin them so they're 2x thick. Oh well..they're doing fine :0D We eat whatever I do happen to thin out. I have found that people often plant too many seeds anyway ;0) For my beans/peas, I plant them about 1.5" apart, one at a time and don't thin. I put them around the sides of a tomato cage.
Susan, I do remember the Boxcar Children! I loved those books. Didn't they wash their clothes with sand by the stream and keep the food behind a waterfall or something? It's fuzzy....
FarmGirl #1390
www.mylittlecountry.wordpress.com |
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A Farm of My Own: Thinning out.... |
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Thinning out....
