Jacquelita and I put up a garden
I always said I might rip up a corner of the yard and put in a row of tomatoes and corn, and when J suggested we could make it a project, this is finally the year. What we have constructed is two raised beds, 8 foot by 3 foot. The yard in this area is marshy a lot, so I figured raised bed was the only way to go. We used treated lumber so that it wouldn't rot. It would appear that the "bad" treated lumber, which killed every single child of every single deck owner, and which would poison you instantly if used to grow things, is now reformulated. Phew!
Only the first bed has soil so far. Here you can see the simple-but-effective bolt-into-post method of securing everything. None of this stuff is going anywhere.
Implements of destruction
There are three rows of carrots set in already. Not pictured is 72 seeds in 72 little peat pots that are germinating. These are tomatoes and squash. In two weeks frost period will be over and the rest goes in, peas, beans, corn.
The crazy thing is that if it's messed up somehow, if mistakes are made, one can only wait another year and try again. What a learning experience.
Tell the Bean story. That's Bean with a capital B.
Judging by what appears to be vermiculite particles, you purchased a metric buttload of potting soil...
That's right. It may be a miscalculation, but by the bale, it seems to be as cheap as getting a delivery of the best soil from the local garden place or renting a truck. At lower levels it mixes with the local soil...
The bean story is that the Beaner, the dog, couldn't help but dive right in. He's fearless, is that dog... fearless and not really all that bright...
How do we know that you aren't snipping this from a magazine or something?
We did almost exactly the same thing...except we went a little higher since the soil underneath was mostly rock and we also got our soil as composted leaves from the Manchester landfill....5 bucks a trailer load! Darkest soil I have ever seen.
FD, you work to "closer tolerances" than we do. :D
As if beans and dirt and carrots care.
It is very nice to enjoy the gardening process.
FD, you work to "closer tolerances" than we do. :D
Nah...just good lumber in this case...was very straight and it was kinda easy to get it looking like we knew what we were doing... we planted corn, carrots and green peppers the first year... I overseeded the carrots so they were so crowded they barely produced, the corn was allowed to grow to almost maturity before the deer yanked them out of the ground over the fence and ate them ... and the green peppers just didn't do that well ... oh well...it was fun anyway.
If you've ever noticed...well, even if you haven't....corn doesn't grow as tall along the edge of a plot/field. The tops seem to be pretty uniform height until you get to the last few rows at the edge.
Corn doesn't seem to do as well when there are only a row or two. You'll only get 1 or 2 ears per stalk and with a raised bed it'll need watering even when the ground in wet under the bed.
I'd give up the corn for things that will give you more bang for the buck, more eating per square foot. :2cents:
I just bought a house - well, almost bought it, and I guess there was a garage and now it's just a pile of dirt, so I'm intrigued by these garden boxes. You just build the box and fill it with dirt? Did you have plans on how to make these or did you just do it?
I really like them and I want to grow stuff - especially since i don't have a job to look forward to after graduation.
Any guidance is much appreciated :).
Start your compost pile(s) if you havent already!
The allotment that I rented last year has gone total community(8 gardners) , so we are planning together the whole site. What I'm looking forward to is learning about rotation and interplanting. I can make it attractive, but I want it to produce as well! Here's last year's dining room project done. 10 x 10 patch of brick pavers in the sunken spot. My favorite coffe spot. Now the baby trees just need to get big!
!!!
Damn, that is *nice*. I am so incredibly envious. Not of the work, just the result.
Beautiful, Warch. Nice garden as well. :blush:
We liked our first raised bed so much we made a second one for roses on the side of our garage.
And we liked that one so much, well, you get the picture.
Here is the first bed with green things growing ... and one cat named bosley since we made the mistake of also planting catnip.
He looks like he's enjoying himself.
Too much.
Has he recovered the ability to walk straight?
How deep are the corner posts? How did you get them in there, and are they secured in any way? I am interested in trying this at my home...neat, guys! That cat in the garden is a riot.
I bought a post hole digger but it turned out that a hole-diggin' shovel did a better job, more precise and faster. Actually you can see these in the "implements of destruction" picture in the first post. The holes go down about a foot. None of this stuff is going to move.
The expenses involved are higher than I first thought but many of them are one-time expenses such as the lumber and tools.
So no cement or anything to secure their bases, just packed dirt in around? I have one of those shovels, the black one with the torn label, that's the one you used, yes?
Yes, we just packed in the dirt, and since it was muddy I think that helped stabilize everything when it dried up. Even then, a few of the posts were not perfectly stable, but after bolting the planks to them everything is so solid that it can't move.
The bolts are "lag bolts" and I pre-drilled a hole about the size of the core of the bolt and let the bolt screw itself in very firmly.
We should really put a garden in this year. I love having fresh tomatoes that actually have flavor and fresh basil too. Both are easy to grow. We've had gardens in the past, but didn't get around to it last summer. We had no need for a raised bed. The ground worked fine for us.
The mosquitos are so bad here that it's a pain to water the garden in the evenings without being eaten alive. I like to shower after I douse myself with bug spray. During the weekends, it's not so bad, because I'll load up on bug spray and be outside all day, but during the weeks, the payoff is hardly worth the hassle. Kind of turns it into a big production when I'm only outside for 5 minutes.
Each year I think that I need to set up some sort of path for the water to follow, so I can leave a hose in the garden, attached to an open faucet outside, and control it with the water shut-off valve in the basement. Don't have to go outside for that. Take that, you fucking tiger mosquitos. I imagine myself saying.
How deep are the corner posts? How did you get them in there, and are they secured in any way? I am interested in trying this at my home...neat, guys! That cat in the garden is a riot.
We actually just left the posts a little long, level on the otherside, then flipped it when ready ... dug the sod out and made large enough holes for the posts. (just a normal shovel).
Bosley the cat is a riot for sure...he would go sit in the cat nip and get quite contented.
He looks like he's enjoying himself.
Too much.
Has he recovered the ability to walk straight?
How about this shot...does he look zoned or what??? :lol:
That is one VERY happy cat.
Reminds me of Stoner Kat..a neighborhood stray that ate 3 catnip plants to the ground.
And drove my own Maxwell nuts in the process.
Glatt , we have a skeeter problem here as well , what we did this last year and for here ever after , is bought a soaker hose( you know it has small holes all along the length and a cap on the end ) , ziged zaged it back and forth under the black plastic , i got one of those 2 way diverters ( buy a good one , they are worth it ) drag one hose to the soaker hose in the garden ( under the black plastic ) hook it up to the soaker hose and turn on the water for about 30- 45 minets , that gives me time to speed water the rest of the flowers all the FUCK over the place .
OH , by the way short ( 2-3 ft ) lengths of 1-2 inch PVC pipe driven into the ground in the corners of those raised beds works well to .
I will post a few pics of our raised 'erb garden and our tilled but unplanted veg garden in a few days .
Project continues!
Overall. I have to talk the neighbor into letting me cut down that section of brush.
Beans. It's cool, they come out of their bean shell looking like a bean, and drop off the shell part and then start leaves. The got it all worked out, how to save up energy in the seed and such. Pretty amazing.
Zucchini, coming out of its original jiffy pot thingie where it started indoors. An earlier set was planted outside too early and didn't survive.
Carrot row.
Additional tomato plants are started indoors. Not really visible yet are peas and cauliflower. I don't have high hopes for the cauliflower.
Neat, UT! Looks great so far. Mine is coming along too, but is halfway covered in Jerusalem artichokes from last year's gardeners. I have to go out there and weed them out one of these days.
I'm excited! I have limited space for sunny tomatoes, but this is what I found to try this year...
Nyagous Black Tomato
Origin: Russia
This variety was originally introduced to the United States from the collection of the famous tomato enthusiast, Reinhard Kraft of Germany. Of late, Nyagous Black has become one of the more highly sought after Russian tomatoes by tomato lovers.
Nyagous produces wonderful globe shaped tomatoes in small clusters of 3 to 6 tomatoes each. The tomatoes produced by Nyagous have a very smooth, round shape which makes this an ideal tomato for market growers. Unlike many other black tomatoes, Nyagous Black is much less prone to cracking or cat-facing. The tomatoes are typically a dusky-red color (but lighter and darker variations do exist, ranging from typical red to a near black with an emerald green interior) with meaty flesh and possess a sweet, aromatic taste.
Can't wait! Got 4 plants. Grow babies, grow!
awesome project =) Home grown stuff rocks. I lack garden but my desk is slowly being colonised by a growing cluster of basil, parsley, thyme & tomato plants in pots. An early experiment with putting tomato plants on the windowsill ended in trajedy - came home & leaned out the window to find a shattered pot and broken stem 4 stories down.
...Nyagous produces wonderful globe shaped tomatoes in small clusters of 3 to 6 tomatoes each. The tomatoes produced by Nyagous have a very smooth, round shape which makes this an ideal tomato for market growers. Unlike many other black tomatoes, Nyagous Black is much less prone to cracking or cat-facing. The tomatoes are typically a dusky-red color (but lighter and darker variations do exist, ranging from typical red to a near black with an emerald green interior) with meaty flesh and possess a sweet, aromatic taste.
WOW...
Are you a tomato aficionado, or do you just like to research your projects? When Tony and i started we found one decent PA gardening book and a good seed provider on the web - so far it seems to be working out!
In fact we're growing some bean varieties I never heard of - I don't know what they'll taste like - but it's fun watching them actually sprout and take off. I can't wait until we can harvest something.
BTW honey - the plants look great - I can't believe how much the beans spouted over night - I think it is so cool the way the leaves come out of the middle of the bean "meat".
I found a 4 pack of these guys at a hippie school plant fundraising sale, just hand labeled heirloom Nyagous...They looked the healthiest, then I came home and had to look them up. What's a black tomato like? We'll see!
these little beanies are like time lapsed photography with a majestic sountrack..maybe the theme from 2001?
I found a 4 pack of these guys at a hippie school plant fundraising sale,
Warch - You're supporting hippie school?!? :eek:
I found a 4 pack of these guys at a hippie school plant fundraising sale, just hand labeled heirloom Nyagous...They looked the healthiest, then I came home and had to look them up. What's a black tomato like? We'll see!
these little beanies are like time lapsed photography with a majestic sountrack..maybe the theme from 2001?
Hey Chica, hows about you save me a few seeds this fall? We'll figure out a barter.
WOW...
Are you a tomato aficionado, or do you just like to research your projects? When Tony and i started we found one decent PA gardening book and a good seed provider on the web - so far it seems to be working out!
In fact we're growing some bean varieties I never heard of - I don't know what they'll taste like - but it's fun watching them actually sprout and take off. I can't wait until we can harvest something.
Rodale Press and the county extension agent are good sources of info. ;)
My mom's flower garden is working out well:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/happymonkey/13954676/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://photos10.flickr.com/13954676_5cd9d58fc2.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Purple Jack-in-the-Pulpit" /></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/happymonkey/13955010/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://photos10.flickr.com/13955010_0bb4c18ab5.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Columbine" /></a>
Columbines are so bizarre looking.
My mom's flower garden is working out well:
I love the Jack in the Pulpit. Mine haven't come up yet.
Yeah, there are a lot in the woods near my house, but no purple ones, and none of them are as big.
(hippie school is actually a small Quaker school where my friend's kids go. I support!)
I seem to have a bumper crop of Jacks this year- more the woodland variety. Anyone nearby can come for some freebies! Jacks are both sexes at the same time. Plants are freaky.
If I get some lucky tomatoes, I will definitely save you some seedage, Griff. Do I just dry a tomato to get em? Who knows about proper seed saving?
Before its too late, plant some dinosaur kale/lacinato kale and some nasturtiums. They win for beautiful plants, healthy and tasty.
My garden. 2 years ago I flipped a coin to see if make bigger or let grass have it. I lost. So I had 2 truck loads of old saw dust hauled in. Let that set over winter, then 100 bucks of top soil on top. County extension agent checked soil and said good to go. On far right are blueberry bushes. 1st row on right LA. purple pod beans. I can see them to pick. Next maters 3 kinds, some bush type. One grape mater in the bunch paid 2.94 for the flapping thing. Next more maters, egg plants and a few hot peppers. Next row will be okra and what ever. Wire on left is for cucumbers. In back ground in the county jail, boy it's close :mg:
Maybe you could hire a few from the jail when you have some hauling or want to expand.
Right. Hell they want even mow the land line right.:smack: I saw today when I cut grass someone has been using my yard for a shortcut around jail w/pickup or truck. Trustees I guess. But that crap will stop!
But that crap will stop!
Time for a few strategically placed steel-reinforced concrete birdbaths?
I have a friend here whose house backs up onto the SCI Graterford Property. He got a great deal on the house for obvious reasons ... and expects never to have a problem given his location since the last place an escaped prisoner wants to be is right next to the prison.
I don't lock my doors. Before they built the new jail, one night a young kid ran out of lockup into woods, boy it was so thick you couldn't get though there in daylight. Anyway my dog was getting reved up over all the shit. So I hollowed did they want me to turn my dog loose. The kid came out. looked like he had been rolled in barbed wire. BTW they built all that shit years after my house was here.
By the by, that's a beautiful garden you have there, buster.
If I get some lucky tomatoes, I will definitely save you some seedage, Griff. Do I just dry a tomato to get em? Who knows about proper seed saving?
:)
This is from memory but I'll check before fall. Take the seeds and pulp out (you can still use the meat) and soak them in a glass of water for a few days. The water ferments a little bit separating the seed and pulp. Floaters are bad seeds sinkers are good'uns. You then lay them out to dry. I'll check specifics, I've got a seed savers handbook around here somewhere, but Grifftopias library isn't exactly laid out Dewey decimal...
Take the seeds and pulp out... soak... Floaters...bad...sinkers..good
Can do. Please alter protocol to match documented best practice. :coffee:
Columbines are so bizarre looking.
Those are Columbines!! :eek: I didn't know that and I've eaten a ton of those suckers.
Are you thinking of Nasturtiums? peppery, also have the kinda cone-tail-like things. They are more of an edible flower. I dunno about eating columbines.
As an aside, all gardens should have nasturtiums. Pack of seeds, grow anywhere, any time, great in salads and beautiful too.
Not sure, but they look just like those and grow wild all over New England. Not peppery at all, we'd bite off the little bulbs at the end of the cones which is filled with sweet nectar.
I eat, therefore I bee. ;)
buster how the hell do you live with a backyard so exposed?? !!
cant you plant a heddge or some trees to protect your privacy in your yard??
Well my yard, I kinda do as I please. I try not to embarrass the folks in the dentist office next door. But hey I was here first.:) Butt holes have got kinda narrow-minded about the discharging of firearms though. :smack:
Grow all over New England and sweet - honeysuckle?
yep, definitely honeysuckle! I used to slurp them in PA, too.
<a href="http://images.google.com/images?q=honeysuckle&hl=en">Here's honeysuckle.</a>
The beans and peas really like the wet weather and have gone into serious production mode.
Cauliflower and zucchini
Carrots are ready to be thinned out.
At this point they have a light orange hue, and if you break them in half they smell like carrots. Which is what they are.
Boy, are you gonna have to do some serious zuchinni training. Those suckers will trail a long way.
You better start lining up your adoptive zucchini parents now, UT ... you will reach a point where everyone you know has zucchini from your garden, or has been gifted with a variety of zucchini products from your kitchen.
It's not just about you. Everyone plants too many zukes. I don't know why it works that way. It may have something to do with the hotdog/bun conspiracy, but I haven't fully worked out the connection.
Just remember that the zucchinis taste better when they are smaller. More tender that way. Don't wait until they are the size of footballs before you pick them. It's easy to forget this point.
I really want to try eating stuffed zucchini blossoms this year. I'll see if I can find the recipe that I was eyeing... That'd get a jump on your bounty.
yep, definitely honeysuckle! I used to slurp them in PA, too.
I don't see any honeysuckle that looks like this and grows one or two blossom per stem about 1.5 ft high. No vine or bush or clusters. :confused:
<a href="http://www.pfaf.org/leaflets/flowers.php">It looks like they're edible.</a> Honeysuckle is, too, but I don't think you can confuse 'em.
Bruce, I ate a columbine. Thought of you. kinda sweet, but not nectary. (er..the flower) :)
Of course the flower, I'm nectary as hell. :blush:
Bruce, I ate a columbine. Thought of you. kinda sweet, but not nectary. (er..the flower) :)
FYI
That was a very columbine looking dwarf honeysuckle there.
Last week we hosted Elfin Bedwe'er's playgroup and some of the moms decided to get all "back to the land" and started nibbling tall volunteers from the paths between the raised beds.
Later inb the day, I'm weeding and I get a "What's this? We ate some of it and we thought it tasted pretty good and we should put it in a salad mix."
Weeell, that is a shasta daisy. Right next to it is a foxglove. Don't be eating things you don't know anymore, 'cause I ain't gonna be a single dad nursing no toddler.
J and I put up a little leaning chicken wire wall for the beans and peas to climb.
The pole variety of bean grows a large stalk very quickly. The stalk twirls a little so it automatically weaves its way into the chicken wire.
The peas have little tendrils that reach out and, when they find something, they wrap tightly wround it. Half of them have found the chicken wire. Once they wrap, the tendrils can't be undone... they wrap tight. Some garden weasel, probably the local rabbit, has started eating these leaves. It must die. But since I won't kill it, we will be putting up more chicken wire as fencing.
Left to right, carrots, zucc, cauliflower. Yes the zucc is growing right massive immediately, and we have taken one out, leaving us with two plants.
The corn has begun, and we will thin it next week.
Proud Jacquelita
Proud UT
Proud Jacquelita and UT together not in a garden.
You two are honorary hicks. You'll have to get some bib-overalls or some Amish duds.
Oh and good luck with the bunny, although they usually don't just nibble the edges. Might be an insect or snail.
You could plant some orange columbine for him. :lol:
Marigolds are supposed to be a good bunny deterrant, but I think you'd do better to invest in a bottle of coyote urine.
I'm not sure what Pearl and Bean will think of it, though.
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Proud Jacquelita and UT together not in a garden.
So that pose that Jacquelita is striking....
Is there something you'd like to share UT ?
All precautions have been taken against undue pollenation...!
Overnight, two of the bean stalks reached the top of the mesh. Now that whole "jack and the bean stalk" thing makes much more sense. In under two weeks they grew four feet!
Silent, I was thinking the same thing :D
My parents used a live trap to catch and remove unwelcome diners from their garden. I used to love to go with them and drop off the bunnies at a roadside park about 10 miles from our house.
live traps for varmints
Those zucchinini leaves are huge...
All precautions have been taken against undue pollenation...!
I dunno bro, all this gardening looks like nesting behavior to me.
Beautiful work guys! I do however reserve the right to resent your superior growing season down there.
So that pose that Jacquelita is striking....
That's just a bad habit of mine when having a picture taken. Sort of a sub-conscious effort to hide the belly. Not that it works - In fact it draws attention to it (doh!)
It's funny, my sister made a comment about me holding my belly right after she took the picture...
I thought it just looked like you were laughing really hard.
What a lovely farmin' couple! You look proud and happy!
I think I am suffering from pea frame envy.
We have ours on a fence but want to build some sort of vertical supports for the zuchini and beans. And we best get crackin!
So far we've enjoyed one rhubarb pie and two rhubarb crisps, some good baby greens salads with the teeniest little radish thinners. We've had a cool wet spring, so the greens are great.
Its also been a bumper year for morels. I've been fascinated to meet two separate individuals that are huge, morel hunters. Like fishing, they have their particular hot spots...I never knew it was even going on!
You can see the sophisticated wire-tie-wrap method of construction that we used!
I took those pictures two days ago and the bean stalks have now reached the top of that frame. They are so fast! I tried to train them not to climb any higher, but they won't have any of it.
It's funny, my sister made a comment about me holding my belly right after she took the picture...
Sister? :love:
I tried to train them not to climb any higher, but they won't have any of it.
Hell, you might as well herd cats. Lucky to keep them out of the house.
In case anyone else is too shy to say it, I think I should just point out that Jacquelita is hot.
We'll be needing to see a pic of your sister for comparative purposes, though. We wouldn't want to fix Bruce up without due process... :lol:
I dunno bro, all this gardening looks like nesting behavior to me.
Beautiful work guys! I do however reserve the right to resent your superior growing season down there.
I second the first part Griff. But you're crying on the wrong shoulder when it comes to short seasons. Our Average Last Frost was memorial day! Peas are up and so is the first round of spinach. Some squash seedlings just were put in today. All told we've got 114 days before it's all over. 30 below in the winter. (zone 4)
I'm trying parsnips this year.
Yes, Jacquelita is hot.
I just spent hours weeding our garden. Our plants are not nearly as nice as yours look. I think the weeds are starving them.
I think the overabundance of weeds is probably due to either a. we want to go organic with this stuff, so we haven't used any chemicals. and or b. We used cow manure for fertilizer (because of our desire to go organic) and cows eat things that have seeds, therefore there might have been seeds of weeds in the manure. Ugh. We also have a huge upcropping of Jerusalem artichokes from the last year and I don't know how to get rid of some of them without digging with a spade. Back to it tomorrow, I guess.
In case anyone else is too shy to say it, I think I should just point out that Jacquelita is hot.
We'll be needing to see a pic of your sister for comparative purposes, though. We wouldn't want to fix Bruce up without due process... :lol:
Awe thanks 'spode (and Case)! I'm blushing... :blush: (UT calls me Hot Mama sometimes :p ) I think it's funny!
Sorry XOXO my Sista is seriously married (20 years). But if things suddenly go south, you'll be the first to know :D
Thank you. :heartpump
You know, at my age "going south" is considered a good thing, as in FLA for the winter.
Resist the roundup. For weeds, or to make a new bed, you can spade the dirt, turn the greens under, put down 3-4 sheet layer of newspaper, cover with soil, compost, then chips to hold it down and make it not butt ugly. you can plant right through the paper. the paper, greens will feed the bed. Some tough weeds you just haveto dig out, then mulch well to keep them pullable and learn to live with in moderation. But organic is worth it. If you have some funky diseased plants, leaves, pick, remove, and dont compost.
I'm battling prairie grass. massive roots. I'll post a pic when I get it together. This weekend is a big farm work session.
and foot! Zone 4 represent! We best get crackin.
I posted the last beanstalk picture four days ago. Since that time it has grown 15" above the top of the frame! We had a soaking storm followed by 90 degree temps.
UT my beans have grown over a 5 ft. concrete reinforcing wire that I have on metal post and on way back down. If rain lets up will post a few photos of my garden, but Arlene is in the Gulf and may drop by with more rain.
I am so jealous of people with gardens. I can't even grow dirt properly in my current setting.
Resist the roundup. For weeds, or to make a new bed, you can spade the dirt, turn the greens under, put down 3-4 sheet layer of newspaper, cover with soil, compost, then chips to hold it down and make it not butt ugly. you can plant right through the paper. the paper, greens will feed the bed. Some tough weeds you just haveto dig out, then mulch well to keep them pullable and learn to live with in moderation. But organic is worth it. If you have some funky diseased plants, leaves, pick, remove, and dont compost.
I'm battling prairie grass. massive roots. I'll post a pic when I get it together. This weekend is a big farm work session.
and foot! Zone 4 represent! We best get crackin.
Here are some photos from a few weeks before last frost. (mid april)
My Protegé, Elfin Bedwe'er, demonstrating his bed leveling technique.
The chicken wire keeps the neighborhood cats from availing themselves of the facilities, as it were. It comes up after the plants get established, or in some cases after seeding, then it is replaced by floating row covers.
Behind me is 6x6 remesh. The ultimate in pea fencing, cuke trellis, or tomato cages. I'll show more pictures when I get them.
Elfin B is almost fully trained to collect rocks and load up the dump truck. He is a liitle shaky on the whole "let's move them to the rock pile" part of the program, but he shows promise.
Also you need to keep him on task, sometimes he thinks that seedlings and tomato plants need to go in the truck too. That's when we call in the enforcer, SWMBO.
Here's a few photos of my garden. http://www.flickr.com/photos/busterb/
Why is there razor wire in your backyard? Are you growing something valuable? :fumette:
Buster's property backs up onto a prison.
Great pics, foot. You're serious! Floating row covers, eh?! Posh.
The community veggie plot I work on just this weekend got some donated cukes, tomatos, cabbages, brussels sprouts and peppers. We're a little more rustic (and less effective) in our arrangements and critter barriers. I'll try for some pics. The harvest goes to our neighborhood seniors org, and all that they want are tomatoes and more tomatoes.
That dump truck pic is ridiculously cute.
The first zuke has arrived. It's so cool! The first sign of a yellow squash is now happening as well. I would have more pics but I can't find the batteries for the camera!
Honey...
I think I have them
Great pics, foot. You're serious! Floating row covers, eh?! Posh.
The community veggie plot I work on just this weekend got some donated cukes, tomatos, cabbages, brussels sprouts and peppers. We're a little more rustic (and less effective) in our arrangements and critter barriers. I'll try for some pics. The harvest goes to our neighborhood seniors org, and all that they want are tomatoes and more tomatoes.
That dump truck pic is ridiculously cute.
I got the row covers through Fedco (
www.fedcoseeds.com) check the organic growers supply section. 250 feet of 83" wide row cover was only 37 dollars. It seemed a better alternative to losing my entire cuke crop (like last year) to the evil striped cucumber beetles.
They gave the cukes bacterial wilt in fifteen minutes. I set the seedlings out to harden off, I went in the house to get a cup of coffee, came back and they were covered in beetles. I maybe got ten pounds of cukes from eight plants.
Not again.
Each year I meet a new critter, and each year I figuratively close the barn door after the horse has fled.
It keeps me off the streets, as my dad used to say.
I'll pass on what little I've learned about home gardens. In a small spot only plant determinate plants, as the indeterminate plant will grow out of any cages you put around them, they will grow over a 4 ft. cage and fall over. This pertains to tomatoes. In a few weeks I'll post a photo about this at above link. Beans you have no control over unless you plant bush type. Most places you buy plants aren't marked as being determinate or not. Bonnie plants sucks about this. I planted some winter squash, butternut, one year they tried to take the whole garden and yard. Couldn't give them away as the rednecks around here don't grow them. :smack:
TEN DAYS since the last set of pics and look! Look at the change!
First zucc!
Yellow squash forming!
The peas have begun a fight with the beans that they cannot win.
Bounty!
Yum! We're about 2-3 weeks behind.
Ouch. I have a 1" red stripe of third degree burn across my lower back from the sun. I was out working in the garden last Sunday, beautiful here, and sunscreened my entire uncovered person. I didnt realise that when hunched over, my shirt road up enough to expose a bit of my back above the waistband. No tattoo there, but maybe it will be come the trendy new farmer tan. Still stings, waiting for the itchiness, then the peel. ick. I definitely know the sunscreen works. The rest of me was fine.
Warch,
Is that the gardener's version of "plumbers crack"?
It a little higher and horizontal...but yeah.
UT said Bounty!
Oh shit !!! tHAT DOESN'T WORK DOES IT ??????!
It was nice to see Pearl helping in the garden, checking to see if there are any spots that need watering, or perhaps finding a place to dig a hole for some new seeds!
Okay all you homebody gardeners types - I just have to say it. I"m so glad my days of love affairs with dirt and my own homegrown veggies have given away to sailing. What I used to invest in labor and supplies I can save 3/4 and get all the organic veggies I want at the local farmer's market or Fresh Fields and not be tied to my own back yard.
Sailing is too much work! I paid Celebrity Cruises to sail me to Bermuda, and they did it in style with massive gourmet meals and events and games and a casino and jacuzzis and stuff.
If you are good at it, it isn't too much work. The boat does most of it.
But that's how I feel about the garden! Nature does most of it, all we did was to build something to frame it, and that was easy.
I know, I got it. It's just that I used to do that too until I realized exactly how much I was paying for those tomatos (had to get someone in to till it first thing in the spring and onward from there but I had a 50'x50' garden and tried to grow way too much stuff). Now I don't even have a yard.
Well Jacquelita would like to get a boat too, but one thing at a freakin' time :D
You know, they say that the two happiest days are the day you buy your boat and the day you sell it. :)
You know, they say that the two happiest days are the day you buy your boat and the day you sell it. :)
BWAHAHAHAHHAAHA!
It is also said that a boat is a hole in the water you throw money into.
I'm told that there's an aptitude test: Go dress up in your best clothes, go to the bathroom and get in the shower. Step in and turn it on full blast, full cold. Now reach into your pocket and pull out hundred dollar bills one at a time and tear them into pieces and let them fall to the floor and down the drain. Repeat.
You know, they say that the two happiest days are the day you buy your boat and the day you sell it. :)
Yeah but there isn't the pain when you sail on your bf's boat <g>
I don't have to pay for it or clean it or all the other nonsense!
One of those little pontoon deals doesn't look like that much work...
BWAHAHAHAHHAAHA!
It is also said that a boat is a hole in the water you throw money into.
I'm told that there's an aptitude test: Go dress up in your best clothes, go to the bathroom and get in the shower. Step in and turn it on full blast, full cold. Now reach into your pocket and pull out hundred dollar bills one at a time and tear them into pieces and let them fall to the floor and down the drain. Repeat.
Yeah my sailing days are over. I sailed from Seattle to Ketchican in November, so I can attest to BigV's comments. Only I'd add it's more like burning the hundreds to keep a cigar lit. Same diff.
Also, having been in two hurricanes at sea, I'll take my chances on land, in a storm, any day.
Besides while gardening I can focus all my sublimated anger and frustrations at the cucumber beetles. Excuse me, I meant to say the
filthy bastard cucumber beetles.
:rar:
UT and I enjoyed the first bounty from our garden. Fresh carrots and a zucchini boiled and served with a little butter and salt. There is truly something wonderful about eating fresh fare that comes from your own garden.
The carrots and zucchini were served as a delightful side dish, accompanying a beautiful cut of steak (broiled to medium-rare perfection) and delicious mashed red skin garlic potatoes.
We also enjoyed a wonderful old Cabernet Sauvignon that UT had been hiding away. All served in romantic candlelit splendor. A truly memorable meal.
My man sure knows how to treat me right! I expressed my sincere appreciation for his thoughtfulness later that evening... :p
You let him watch sports on TV? :lol:
No, but she did take the parental block off of G4.
Buster, are those purple beans like stringbeans or do you shell them? :confused:
String beans, they turn green when cooked.To me just easier to see when picking.
And they are beeee-uuuuuu-tiiiiii-fullllll!
BusterB,
What is the name of the seed, and where can I get it?
I was just outside looking at the sugar snaps and snow peas. I didn't realize that they had begun to set pods. I saw the flowers last week, so i figured it would be soon, but they are pretty well hidden. (Or I need glasses)
Purple would make it easier.
Louisiana purple pod beans. I get mine at feed store. I love sugar snaps & snow peas. Guess I need to get more wire for a row next year. Or plant bushh type so can pull up when time to plant other things.
Blue berrys on wash rack I built. Pie this wkend. Yumm.
Wow busterb, nice job! The pipe planters in your album interested me, what did you use to seal the ends up so the dirt doesn't fall out?
LR, I know you weren't talking to me, but I found this. May be interesting/useful.
http://thepipeplug.com/NonPressurePlugs.htmMy parents came back from their place in the country with 20 pounds of cherries, and my mom's been pitting and preserving ever since. :yum: It was pie last night.
I like the washrack, you're full of good ideas. Last year I put up about 30 pints of blueberry jam. I think washing them took about half the time.
This year I am freezing everything, I've got more room than time.
15 quarts of strawberries so far.
LR. I cut the ends out of pressure treated 2x 12s, then screws. 1 board made the base and ends HAd to cut 2 circles out. 1 for the ID and 1 for OD.
Happy gardeners, the amount of growth still amazes me.
Zucchini flower.
Yellow squash coming along, can't wait for this.
Beans developing - and wrapping around each other very tightly.
First sign of pea development.
Whoa, first sign of pea development? I'd expect your peas would have been done a month ago.
[bragging] our sugar snaps are over six feet, and the snow peas have just about reached escape velocity.[/bragging]
The beans and peas are in week 6 or so.
Thank you for putting up with me
It's the other way 'round Farmer Toad.
Thank YOU....for putting up with US.
:notworthy :thankyou: :notworthy
J noticed that there are a 2-3 ready pea pods this morning, so by this time next week...
I froze about 4 or 5 pounds of turnip greens and beet greens last night.
God help me (or my wife) when the peas are ready for freezing. The first planting was 40 feet. Both sides of a 20' trellis.
More beans at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/busterb. I didn't pick for 2 or 3 days, while messing w/new AC and roof. Boy they liked to got ahead of me.
3 FT. old folks rumor has it as beet greens are like nightshade, bad news. I know of no one in my part of south who plants beets. Me I like them. But they smell just like new plowed ground. Thanks Army for feeding me them. Not the rest of crap. hahahaha Canned beets, onions and dago dressing, great
3 FT. old folks rumor has it as beet greens are like nightshade, bad news. I know of no one in my part of south who plants beets. Me I like them. But they smell just like new plowed ground. Thanks Army for feeding me them. Not the rest of crap. hahahaha Canned beets, onions and dago dressing, great
Buster, as a carpenter I once worked with liked to say: "ya gotta die of something it might as well be..." you fill in the blank.
For me, steamed beet greens with a humongous pile of butter is just damn fine. :love: As for night shades, the only thing I love more than beet greens is 'taters and spinach with a bunch of olive oil or butter.
My wife tries to give me the old "spinach has too much oxalic acid" crap, and I just give her the raised eyebrow look.
I know the beets, onion dago dressing thing. I like it, but sometimes people slip in the green beans. I like those steamed with butter/garlic alone next to chicken.
Harvested a salad spinner full of snow peas today. gonna remove the strings and freeze them.
I was big on canning last year, but we got this freezer (lowes, haha) and although I was born in Georgia, I like my greens green, not BDU green.
I like Spinach also, but doesn’t do well here, too hot? I do my beans and new taters in pressure cooker. Taters first, about 4 minutes depending on size. Then take them out, put beans in and taters on top for around another 3 minutes. Of course w/a big teaspoon of bacon grease, S&P.
Buster you could probably grow spinach in the winter. It germinates at 40º readily. Up here by now, it is way too late for spinach. I let a couple of plants go to seed, just to see what they looked like, the seed is nearly ripe by now. I'm told the plants will survive 30º nights. I may try a fall planting.
I thought they were just kidding when they said that if you let a zucc go it will grow as big as a bat. This one is as big as my forearm.
I thought they were kidding when they said there would be too much!
First corn husk. The corn is as high as my eye on the 6th of July.
Big ol beans coming along.
Green beans ready. I wish they were purple so we could find them all.
Peas ready. The first harvest yielded about 100 of them, which is not enough to fill a small bowl. The next one will fill that bowl. But I hope we get more, because they're great.
I can see I'm going to have to come down for a visit soon to enjoy some of that produce!
In a small spot only plant determinate plants, as the indeterminate plant will grow out of any cages you put around them, they will grow over a 4 ft. cage and fall over. This pertains to tomatoes. This photo is what I'm talking about. If we get wind from Dennis, will wreck them. The red ribbon is top of cage.
I sure hope you planted some peppers to go with them 'maters, Buster. Is there some salsa in your future?
Yes, if you let a zucchini grow it will just grow and grow and grow.
Until it's very impressive.
But some zucchinis are less impressive than others.
:biglaugha I did try to warn you about the zucchini.
You know, if you just switch to hand lotion, you don't get those uneven tan lines that you get with sunscreen...
But some zucchinis are less impressive than others.
I bet you'd be happy with that 'little one', though. ;)
I vote for shot number two. That's your best angle, UT. I mean, at least from THIS remove. :)
First 3 photos are of pepper I raise for sauce.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/91776888@N00/What's happening in Green Acres? :question:
Oh I envy all of you with your long warm growing seasons!! (not so sure about the long warm growing thing that UT is holding though......eeep)
From what I've seen at UofA farm in Fairbanks and giant veggies in the Mananuska Valley, you've got nothing to envy for gardening. :biggrin:
I've got no pictures of it, but the 3 plum tomato plants and 3 eatin' tomato plants are in heavy, heavy production right now. We have et several, and they were great as expected, and there must be at least 12-15 more fruits per plant coming along.
Finally the late garden pics. Here's everything left growing right now. In front are two massive cauliflower plants. In back are the six tomato vines.
We didn't think the cauliflower would even happen. We thought the zucchini overgrew it, and it wasn't until about six weeks ago that the white cauliflower part appeared in the center of the massive leaves. And now, both are almost ready.
The tomatoes have been great, although a patch was invaded by some sort of spider or something that wound up dwindling down the plum toms a bit. Here's the other enemy of the toms: we've had so much rain that the toms got over-juicy and the skins burst.
We still have about 10 plum toms out there. A large batch was used two weeks ago to make a homemade pasta sauce ("gravy", if you rather, since it included some meat) that could not be beat.
I'm still envious.
Our trees have lost all their leaves, and the snow has made it's way even further down the mountains. Brrr....
Webmaster, Professional Musician, Stud, Farmer .........Where will it end? :devil:
we have been working on these for a few years ,
Just uncovered , and they are growing BEFOR your EYES !!!!!
Sweeeet!! I have wanted to grow asparagus for a long time, but I always read the "harvest in three years" thing and it turns me off. Of course if I had planted the asparagus crowns six or so years ago when I wanted to........ oh nevermind. :)
What type is that? Jersey Knight?
Marth Washington
3 years to get a harvestable crop , then 10 years of groth , so we are thinking about where we can put some purple rootlings we got a while back
What do you do about weeds zip? I think we're going to plant more roots this spring using the glorious composted goat poo. Our earlier attempt is thin and weedy.
we have them in a raised bed , and ever now a then sit and pick weeds , not to bad
Webmaster, Professional Musician, Stud, Farmer .........Where will it end? :devil:
You can cut it out now Bruce, you've already got the moderator job.:p
Your lack of respect for the great frog father has been noted in your permanent file.:rtfm:
I found Florida dragon's raised beds were great to see built in stages.
bysterb's garden was interesting in it's location. He has scare owls on his bean poles plus he had the biggest blueberrys I've ever seen in my life.
someones got great ornamental peppers too.
Maybe we will see more additions as time goes on.