Getting The Garden Ready

IWreckALot
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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.







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JAFO92
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2/20/2017 8:51am
Very cool, love the raised bed setup, you wont hafta worry about rot if it rains too much.

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.
kzizok
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2/20/2017 8:53am
Ive done those too. They work well. I assume you hit summer time extra early, like we did too and can get planting earlier.
MR. X
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North Tonawanda, NY US
2/20/2017 8:54am
This is usually the time of year I start coming up with excuses not to do a garden. I really do enjoy when the garden is fully stocked and you can go out back and get stuff to make dinner with.
2/20/2017 9:02am
Looks good. Raised beds are nice, but they dry out very quickly in the heat of summer. Keep it moist and watch out for rabbits!

The Shop

borg
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2/20/2017 9:14am
Are those tomatoes in that center section? Not sure about the varieties you picked but I have to space mine at 3' on center or they smother themselves. I usually grow indeterminates and they get huge. I noticed the 6' x 6' mesh up against the fence. That's what I use for the cages.
IWreckALot
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2/20/2017 10:05am
JAFO92 wrote:
Very cool, love the raised bed setup, you wont hafta worry about rot if it rains too much. [url=http://www.extremesportspromotions.com/misc/garden/]We put in our potatoes yesterday [/url]because that...
Very cool, love the raised bed setup, you wont hafta worry about rot if it rains too much.

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.
Ha. My septic tank sits under that. It is an aerobic system that sprays in my other backyard so I'm not watering with "grey water". Ha. I'm hoping we don't get another freeze. So far, our forecast for the next 10 days says we'll be in the 70's all week so I think we're out of the freeze danger. If not, i'll go throw a tarp over it all if it looks like it's going to freeze.
IWreckALot
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2/20/2017 10:09am
Looks good. Raised beds are nice, but they dry out very quickly in the heat of summer. Keep it moist and watch out for rabbits!
Last Septemberish, I was mowing that side yard where the garden is. And as I was mowing, I noticed a couple of critters hopping out from behind my mower. Scared the shit out of me. Turns out it was a baby den. Well, I looked around for more baby rabbits and didn't see any and went back to mowing and turns out there was one more in the den still. Lopped its ear and half its face right off. Poor guy.

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.
IWreckALot
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2/20/2017 10:11am
borg wrote:
Are those tomatoes in that center section? Not sure about the varieties you picked but I have to space mine at 3' on center or they...
Are those tomatoes in that center section? Not sure about the varieties you picked but I have to space mine at 3' on center or they smother themselves. I usually grow indeterminates and they get huge. I noticed the 6' x 6' mesh up against the fence. That's what I use for the cages.
Yeah, they are tomatoes. I was going back and forth about the spacing. I probably need to go back and pull the middle row and move them to a different space. Hopefully I don't shock the plants to death by transplanting them too many times.

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.
2/20/2017 10:49am
sweet setup hope it works like you planned it
SEE ARE125
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2/20/2017 11:36am Edited Date/Time 2/20/2017 11:37am
Get a couple motion activated sprinklers. It'll deter the critters and give the plants a quick splash. Still need to supplement with regular watering though.

EDIT: Don't forget to turn them off before you go tend to the plants. lol
Kenny Lingus
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Watkins Glen, NY US
2/20/2017 12:39pm
Not trying to be a dick, so please don't take this wrong. You are high as hell if you think you can fit that many plants in that small of space. They will crowd each other out, competing for sun, water, root space and nutrients. The roots will literally strangle each other. You will be disappointed with your yields.

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 grossSick and have no idea how to grow it.

Good luck and remember nothing tastes better than something you grew.Smile
borg
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2/20/2017 1:25pm
Don't be surprised if the mater plants just sit there for weeks. Another thing I learned is that they wont grow much at all unless the night time temps stay consistently above 50 degrees. For me, underwatering has been a much bigger problem than overwatering. I did not realize that this soil drained very quickly. Much like your raised beds will.
I grew jalepenos once and they grew really well but they did not get hot. Not at all.
Good luck and have fun.
JRT812
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2/20/2017 5:33pm
Nice man! Always wanted to do something similar. Be sure to keep this thread alive and post your progress.
borg
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3/7/2017 6:30pm
Getting mine ready now. Don't have much room. 4' x 20'. 3 tomatoes, 1 Serrano, 2 Jalapeno, onions and radish so far. Will add some spices too. I will be going drip this year. Hooking it up to my sprinkler controller so it keeps me out of the watering loop. That's how I screwed it up last year. The parts are cheap. Saves water too if you are in an area where it matters. We still have use restrictions.
IWreckALot
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3/8/2017 7:13am
Nice man. I just planted some serrano's, jalapenos, and habanero peppers. I've also planted some onions since my OP.

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.
borg
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4/10/2017 7:22pm
We need an update Wreck. How's the garden?
4/10/2017 8:15pm
Good stuff, here's my setup I used a cattle fence panel for a trellis.



IWreckALot
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4/11/2017 3:23am
borg wrote:
We need an update Wreck. How's the garden?
Funny you should bump this thread. I spent all weekend doubling it up. The first bed has cherry tomatoes coming in already. I've also planted some flowers around to encourage bees over there. The pepper plants look like they're about to start budding also. I lost a few of the plants because it got close to freezing a few times so I've either pulled or replaced them. My little niece helped me plant the second garden. The first bed was my "salsa" garden. The second one has green beans, okra, squash, zucchini, bell peppers, banana peppers and strawberries. I also threw in a couple more tomato plants.





IWreckALot
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4/11/2017 3:31am
Good stuff, here's my setup I used a cattle fence panel for a trellis. [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2017/04/10/187132/s1200_20160427_155054.jpg[/img]
Good stuff, here's my setup I used a cattle fence panel for a trellis.



I'm thinking I'm going to have to put a net over mine to lee the birds out. I've been doing some searching on what to do there. I like that setup. It's raised a nice amount. My dads getting old and his knee gives him problems so we built his extra tall.




TX24
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San Antonio, TX US
4/11/2017 7:06am
Looking good. I have about a 6 x 10 planter and three pots with tomatoes.
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.
TXDirt
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4/11/2017 7:28am
Nice work by everyone. Who doesn't love a kick ass gardening bed!! The wife has been bugging me about getting one built. Going to give it a try over the long weekend. Will post a few pics if it doesn't turn out like shit lol
JRT812
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4/11/2017 7:52am
TXDirt wrote:
Nice work by everyone. Who doesn't love a kick ass gardening bed!! The wife has been bugging me about getting one built. Going to give it...
Nice work by everyone. Who doesn't love a kick ass gardening bed!! The wife has been bugging me about getting one built. Going to give it a try over the long weekend. Will post a few pics if it doesn't turn out like shit lol
Same here about the wife. Her priority/honey do list keeps changing. Appears install swing set, spring landscaping, garden, and paint master bath all rotate to number one depending on what hits her radar at that moment. I will post pictures as well. Need to keep this thread going
IWreckALot
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4/11/2017 8:08am
I do have some tomatoes coming in already.

And some blackberries.

APLMAN99
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Dallas, TX US
4/11/2017 3:44pm
I'm preparing a "garden" spot too! About 20 acres, ripped out some old apple trees for some new ones to go in.

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.











TXDirt
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4/12/2017 12:51pm
APLMAN99 wrote:
I'm preparing a "garden" spot too! About 20 acres, ripped out some old apple trees for some new ones to go in. Had a guy who...
I'm preparing a "garden" spot too! About 20 acres, ripped out some old apple trees for some new ones to go in.

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.











Love the views!! Looks like an awesome place!
APLMAN99
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4/12/2017 9:36pm
It's a really unique site. The ridge line across the Columbia River is a placed called Ribbon Cliff. The river actually used to undercut that mountain. In 1872 there was an earthquake that brought down that mountain down and completely blocked the Columbia for quite a while. Even now that there are dams all along the river and the waterline is raised, there are "rock islands" that you have to be careful for.

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!

TXDirt
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4/24/2017 8:04am
Was able to get started this weekend on mine. Will post a few more pics when it's complete and I have some stuff planted.






borg
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Long Beach, CA US
4/25/2017 7:00am
So far so good over here. It's not quite as big as APLMAN99's "garden" but it's what I have. Keep shipping those Granny Smiths Kevin.



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