What's going on in your garden (2018-2022)?

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beds photo bed 1 overall-.jpg

beds closeup plan 1-3-.jpg

The photo is Bed 1. Which has now all been planted. The lettuce area on the schematic includes 3 varieties, minus the "salad blend". Bed 3 (b and c) will be winter squash this year.
Happy planting, everyone!!!
 
Saranak said:
Mi dispiace, please what means zone 5?

Sarana x
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In the US, and I believe also in Canada, agricultural areas are divided into zones. Primarily used to decide which plants are perennial hardy for overwintering depending on winter cold, this can also give annual growers an idea when in the year one can start crops outdoors, after the usual last frosts. The higher the zone number, the more tropical the climate is, especially through winter. I'll be back to post a chart, but it will be based on North America.
 
Mountain Cat said:
In the US, and I believe also in Canada, agricultural areas are divided into zones. Primarily used to decide which plants are perennial hardy for overwintering depending on winter cold, this can also give annual growers an idea when in the year one can start crops outdoors, after the usual last frosts. The higher the zone number, the more tropical the climate is, especially through winter. I'll be back to post a chart, but it will be based on North America.
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Grazie Mountain Cat. BTW I love you user name!

Sarana x
 
Morning Glory said:
Didn't understand any of that sentence. :ohmy:
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"hilling potatoes" - as someone else said, earthing them up. Means putting more dirt around them as they break up from the soil below. It enables them to have more potato parts underground as the soil potentially rises higher, as more earth is placed to surround them. This also keeps any parts of the edible potato from breaking up from the soil and turning green with sunlight. Which is not something we should eat.
 
Hardiness Zones look at the average first and last frost dates and the extreme lows temperatures for a particular region. Most fruit and vegetable plants sold in the U.S. have the hardiness zone on the tag. The Hardiness Zone is really just a general guide. Depending on the chart I am in either zone 9a or 9b. Those zones stretch all across the continental U.S.
Different regions within the same zone can not all grow the same crops - especially fruit trees. The best source of information is the local Extension Office.
In the U.S. each state has a Land Grant University. The Universities receive land and financial grants to establish an agriculture research program to study the proper way to grow crops and develop new hybrids. Each county in each state has an extension office. LSU is my Land Grant University. They have published a Louisiana Vegetable Planting Guide. In Texas A&M is the Land Grant University. The LSU research station in in the Baton Rouge area. Their planting guide is spot on for me. Gardeners in the northern part of the state have to adjust/delay planting dates b y 2 or 3 weeks. Texas is another story. A&M's research center is in College Station. Gardeners in West Texas are better served by following the planting guidelines established by New Mexico.
Are you confused yet?
 
Milkduds said:
I"m just getting started with my garden. I have 16 pepper seedlings that I'm growing in bags. About that many tomatoes but I know some of them won't make it. And will plant cucumbers this week sometime, along with some Jakuri melons that a friend sent me seeds for. Also some canteloupe, so I am very interested in the sling method ElizabethB is using. I have lettuce growing in the sunroom upstairs and will sow some spinach soon as well. I'm a pretty haphazard gardener though. I once dug up my entire front yard but it was too much to take care of.
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I have practiced Square Foot Gardening since the '80. It is a system of intensive gardening originally developed in France. Mel Bartholomew had a gardening show where he encouraged viewers to implement square foot gardening. He is often, erroneously, credited with developing the system. The principle calls for individual 4' x 4' garden boxes divide into 12" x 12" squares - hence the name square foot gardening. He has published two books, I have both. Many crops like cantaloupe, watermelon, cucumbers and tomatoes are grown vertically requiring less space. In the back four squares of one box I have 1 cantaloupe and one watermelon growing vertically. The back four squares of another box are planted with 1 cucumber plant per square. Frames are required for growing vertically. G made frames from re bar and conduit, stuff he had hanging around. He has a welding machine so he was able to do it himself. For the cucumbers, cantaloupe and watermelon I tied chicken wire between the uprights. I train the plants by tucking the growing tip of the vines into the openings.
I also grow tomatoes vertically. Indeterminate (vine) varieties are needed. I tied twine to the top cross bar and train the plants by gently wrapping the leader with the twine as it grows, With this method I can grow 1 tomato plant in 1 square foot. Determinate (bush) tomatoes require 4 square feet per plant, if they are caged. Peppers - 1 plant per square foot. Eggplant 1 per square foot. Eggplant needs caging to support the weight of the fruit. Bush type green beans and butter beans - 9 seeds per square foot. Beans produce in a flush. By staggering the planting i get and extended period of production. The first row (4 squares) are nearly done. I may get another handful of beans. The second 4 squares are flowering. I will pull the plants from the first 4 squares and plant more seeds.
Maintenance is minimal. Very few weeds. All parts of each box are within arms length. My boxes used to be on the ground. I had no problem getting down to plant or harvest. Eventually I developed a problem getting back up. Sweet George built table height garden boxes. An old lady's dream.

41442


Sides are 2" x 8" boards stacked two high. The bottom is 3/4" plywood. G used a 1" or 1 1/2" hole cutting attachment to cut a hole in each of the 16 1' squares. The box was lined with heavy duty landscape cloth to keep the soil in the box. Each box is supported by 5 cinder block, one on each corner and one in the middle, resting on a pave stone.
If you look closely you can see the strings dividing each square. You can also see the tomatoes growing up the twine. They are so sad. I snipped off the diseased foliage.
41443


Baby watermelon

41444


baby cantaloupe in their hammocks.
If you look close you can see the chicken wire.
41445


This is the re bar frame with chicken wire.
The frame in the background is a tomato frame with string. It was intended for the last box but with this virus I will fill the last box with beans.
If any of you are interested in SFG please get Mel's books.
 
caseydog said:
I had to look up "hosepipe" to be sure of its meaning. We'd call it a garden hose.

Anyway, I went industrial grade last time I bought hoses. Mine are made by Continental, the tire company... or tyre company. It is rather heavy, but is does not kink like most garden hoses... or hosepipes.

CD
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Continental also make conveyor belting. My trade for many years. And very good rubber glue (industrial 2 pot mix.) called conrema. I've sold hundreds if not thousands of tins.

Russ
 
ElizabethB said:
I have practiced Square Foot Gardening since the '80. It is a system of intensive gardening originally developed in France. Mel Bartholomew had a gardening show where he encouraged viewers to implement square foot gardening. He is often, erroneously, credited with developing the system. The principle calls for individual 4' x 4' garden boxes divide into 12" x 12" squares - hence the name square foot gardening. He has published two books, I have both. Many crops like cantaloupe, watermelon, cucumbers and tomatoes are grown vertically requiring less space. In the back four squares of one box I have 1 cantaloupe and one watermelon growing vertically. The back four squares of another box are planted with 1 cucumber plant per square. Frames are required for growing vertically. G made frames from re bar and conduit, stuff he had hanging around. He has a welding machine so he was able to do it himself. For the cucumbers, cantaloupe and watermelon I tied chicken wire between the uprights. I train the plants by tucking the growing tip of the vines into the openings.
I also grow tomatoes vertically. Indeterminate (vine) varieties are needed. I tied twine to the top cross bar and train the plants by gently wrapping the leader with the twine as it grows, With this method I can grow 1 tomato plant in 1 square foot. Determinate (bush) tomatoes require 4 square feet per plant, if they are caged. Peppers - 1 plant per square foot. Eggplant 1 per square foot. Eggplant needs caging to support the weight of the fruit. Bush type green beans and butter beans - 9 seeds per square foot. Beans produce in a flush. By staggering the planting i get and extended period of production. The first row (4 squares) are nearly done. I may get another handful of beans. The second 4 squares are flowering. I will pull the plants from the first 4 squares and plant more seeds.
Maintenance is minimal. Very few weeds. All parts of each box are within arms length. My boxes used to be on the ground. I had no problem getting down to plant or harvest. Eventually I developed a problem getting back up. Sweet George built table height garden boxes. An old lady's dream.

View attachment 41442

Sides are 2" x 8" boards stacked two high. The bottom is 3/4" plywood. G used a 1" or 1 1/2" hole cutting attachment to cut a hole in each of the 16 1' squares. The box was lined with heavy duty landscape cloth to keep the soil in the box. Each box is supported by 5 cinder block, one on each corner and one in the middle, resting on a pave stone.
If you look closely you can see the strings dividing each square. You can also see the tomatoes growing up the twine. They are so sad. I snipped off the diseased foliage.
View attachment 41443

Baby watermelon

View attachment 41444

baby cantaloupe in their hammocks.
If you look close you can see the chicken wire.
View attachment 41445

This is the re bar frame with chicken wire.
The frame in the background is a tomato frame with string. It was intended for the last box but with this virus I will fill the last box with beans.
If any of you are interested in SFG please get Mel's books.
Click to expand...

My wife wants the rebar thing as well. Your garden looks good. I'm impressed. !

Russ
 
Everyone I know who has tried SFG, especially the vertical growing, has become an avid fan.
The legs of the frames were much longer when the boxes were ground level. The legs had to be shoved into the ground at least 18" for stability. On the table height boxes G attached the the frame to the sides using C brackets.
 
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ElizabethB said:
Everyone I know who has tried SFG, especially the vertical growing, has become an avid fan.
The legs of the frames were much longer when the boxes were ground level. The legs had to be shoved into the ground at least 18" for stability. On the table height boxes G attached the the frame to the sides using C brackets.
Click to expand...

My first trade was welding. I could make that frame. Maybe I should surprise the wife with one.?

Russ
 
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