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Fort Worth, TX
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IWreckALot
2/20/2017 8:29am
2/20/2017 8:29am
Edited Date/Time
10/24/2017 7:53pm
This is my first year to have a garden on my own. My dad had a garden when I was younger, and I helped with that, but never had one on my own. I built the frame and filled it with 2 yards of lava sand/ compost mix on Saturday. Last night I planted 15 tomatoes (4 or 5 different strains) and 4 bell pepper plants. I have room for 58 more plants unless I decide to make more.
The rest of those 58 spots will be filled with cilantro, spinach, green beans, jalapenos, okra, cucumbers, garlic, onion, maybe some more bell peppers, squash and zucchini, and potatoes, and some strawberries.
I took a small gamble planting some this early. If we have another freeze, it'll be $30 down the drain but I wanted to get it going.
The rest of those 58 spots will be filled with cilantro, spinach, green beans, jalapenos, okra, cucumbers, garlic, onion, maybe some more bell peppers, squash and zucchini, and potatoes, and some strawberries.
I took a small gamble planting some this early. If we have another freeze, it'll be $30 down the drain but I wanted to get it going.
We put in our potatoes yesterday because that big rain was coming and the dirt was finally right.
Keep us posted how that new setup goes, looks very nice.
The Shop
I've read that the lava sand does really well at retaining moisture and provides a lot of organic nutrients. I plan on putting some cedar mulch on top when I'm done planting. From what I've read, cedar is the best natural insect deterrent. You have any other tricks? I'm bad about remembering to water regularly so I plan on setting up a timed device to water routinely.
The guy that had my house before me left the 6x6 mesh along with about 40 tomato cages. I guess he was going to have a garden but just never got around to it. I'll put all that stuff to work.
EDIT: Don't forget to turn them off before you go tend to the plants. lol
In a space that big I would probably only put a total of 9 tomatoes with nothing else. No potatoes as they can pass diseases back and forth. Plus, they both need similar nutrients so they will compete for those and will stunt both. I recommend planting sweet peppers alone as well.
Build a separate raised bed for the strawberries. Put the garlic and onions in with them. Those will work symbiotically
and the garlic/onions will help deter pests. Maybe even plant jalapenos in there, too.
Cucumbers,squash and zucchini take up lots of space and need lots of water.
Use a trellis for green beans to train them to grow up.
Spinach likes cool weather and not too much sun. You have to grow a lot of plants to even get a salad. You can harvest a few leaves off each plant for a few weeks, if lucky.
Grow the cilantro inside on a window sill
Okra is gross and have no idea how to grow it.
Good luck and remember nothing tastes better than something you grew.
I grew jalepenos once and they grew really well but they did not get hot. Not at all.
Good luck and have fun.
I went back and transplanted my tomatoes to spread them out after suggestions here and I think I may have shocked most of the transplanted ones. That and we have had some sub 40 degree nights here lately. I may have to scrap the dead looking ones and go grab a few more. maybe 6 at the most.
I also plan on hooking up a drip system or soaker hose to my garden. Watering daily and consistently is going to be difficult. I can see the value in an auto control.
Pit Row
Something about the dirt I got this time, lettuce and spinach do not like it.
The tomatoes love it.
Bush green beans are easy to grow.
That Miracle Grow plant food for tomatoes in the little green box works great, once a week.
Dissolve in a bucket of water.
One can see the difference.
And some blackberries.
Had a guy who was going to pull the trees and rip the ground and he kept flaking on me. Tried to rent a 320 excavator but none were available so we ended up pulling all the trees with a couple of small Kubota excavators (KX040 and KX080). Everyone was laughing when I had them hauled in, but they did a great job. Got a larger excavator after the trees were pulled from a friend to help with the burn piles and to pick up the really big rocks. Rented a D8 with 3' rippers to bring up rocks to the top and to loosen the "soil" (really sugar sand for the most part). Got a large wheatland tractor to disc it up today and fumigator coming tomorrow.
I love the historical significance of this site and can't wait til we get it fully renovated. We have packing and storage facilities in the two large buildings, but I think I want to start doing ciders there and pack our fruit elsewhere. This is about 20% of our acreage (60 acres on that site) and I could honestly see it eventually being developed into a community riverfront site with a marina. But not quite yet!
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