Yeah, we had chickens growing up. My mom’s motto was “dont let the kids be the first ones to check on them in the morning”
We lost a duck to what I’m guessing was a raccoon. Gruesome crime scene. I say raccoon cuz that sort of precision requires opposable thumbs
Never found the head 
I’m guessing you have not seen a hawk open a chicken? I can’t split a chicken breast that efficiently with a good knife! Raccoons are messy for sure!
I’m having Chocolate Chip pancakes for breakfast 
And you forever reclaimed your title @breadwinner
No fair. You didnt grow that!
I have seen pics of a high tunnel of morels, but upon further research learned that they were one of the least desirable kinds of morel. I would still love to be able to pull off cultivating them. Chicken of the woods is still the best wild shrooms I have tried, also very hard to grow.
Fried chicken of the woods!
I like hen of the woods too, cast iron. those little tips get all crunchy like mushroom popcorn 
Free shrooms are the best shrooms 
Damn I cant believe, it’s been a month now. And oooboy the garden is coming alive. Harvested my first two poblanos today, they were stunting the plants. Show and tell. In two weeks I’ll be filing baskets.
I’m setting up a little 5 gallon bucket garden today for fruiting vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, squashes, etc.) and I could use some help on my potting mix.
I was planning on potting with perlite, peat moss, lime, rock phosphate, manure (probably cow or sheep), and compost. Just wondering if anyone has a 5 gallon bucket recipe they’d recommend or any improvements on the mix I suggested. Thanks!
Edit: also, I’m in Colorado. I was planning on going with black buckets, but I was thinking white might be better due to heat? Gets pretty hot here in the summer.
Check out the recipe for Coots Mix. It’s what I generally use when building new beds or filling pots. If you want a premade mix, I usually go with Roots Organic.
Unless you are consistently in the 100s for more than a few days back to back, the black pots should work fine. The nightshade family (tomatoes, peppers, etc) rather enjoy the roots being really warm. As long as they don’t dry out, should be good. When it gets too hot here, I just switch to watering twice a day.
I usually bottom water in hot weather. Set the buckets in a kiddie pool or saucer of some sort. If you haven’t drilled holes in the bottom yet, you can drill them on the sides a couple inches from the bottom. Doing so encourages a moisture reservoir in the bottom, similar to a sub irrigated planter.
If you are growing tomatoes in a 5 gallon bucket, it is easier if you have a dwarf or compact determinate variety. You can still have a good yield with an indeterminate, but it needs strong fertilizer to keep producing. I like alternating calcium nitrate and masterblend 4 18 38.
Thanks @Akoyeh and @Autumn_Ridge_Hemp
Would you guys recommend some type of drainage material in the bottom of the bucket, like mulch/bark/hydroton?
It probably depends on your mix. I usually use a peat based grow mix, which does not require extra material to drain. I like the peat because it wicks moisture upward, all the way to the top of the container. Some mixes won’t accommodate bottom watering as well.
I was planning on incorporating peat and some perlite so I think my drainage should be sufficient it sounds like.
I’m with @Autumn_Ridge_Hemp on this one. Coots Mix is about 1/3 peat and does make bottom watering significantly more effective.
When you say “Coots Mix” is this what you’re referring to?
Yep. That’s pretty much it. Clackamas Coot’s mix has given me my best results. Start incorporating the appropriate cover crops/mulching/teas and no-till is easily maintained.
Great, thanks! I’ll see what I can find at Lowe’s to make it. I’ll post my plants after I plant today 
